The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1870-05-04
''Do you not hear "a sound on the ice ~

In!iucti quiet Il lew minutes, and then SUD
denly lashed the horses with the whip. at III
same time saying to hsr,,.ffe. s.they are CON
slng." By this time, lis manner had frightei
Ell her, and III alarm she said, ''Who =" Bu
he dld not answer, he only muttcrad sentcr
ces to himself, inaudible to her. ! paus,
and again he said
Yes. they are coming; do you not hea
them ~
Hear whom ~ she said, who would b
out at this time ~
But he replied not, his mind was too full o
agony to say more but still the souud in
creased, and he said again
DO you not hear them now /. here the,
come, nearer and ncarerin
"Who, who!" she said. ..OIi. dearest Kris
tian, how you frighten me; who are coming p
lie, lie bent down and whispered in her ear
"Thc wolves
Yes, sure enough, they could distinctly
hear the long, low howl of the forest wolf;
ana now, worse than all, heard the muir
muring, grating sound made By wolves when
crossing the ice. They do not run. they sit
down on their hind legs, and impel item.
selves forward with tiier front ones. Fast
new the horses over the ice. but faster.
steadily faster, advanced the wolves. Before
they had come i'll sight, Marguerite had faint
ed. No assistance was to be expected from
her. What could be DONE
Inc ice was now past: six miles before he
was monte; lie knew that wolves, when in
large packs, could be stopped by notLing.
what could he do ! The wolves were aImosf
on on nm: one OF the horses must 90. by which
iieS might gain little on the wolves The
thought no sooner occurred TO him than he
darted out Of the sletlse, cut the traces, and
leit the poor animal to its fate. In an in
stant he was in again, and urged the remain
my morse 10 ITS s"iftest pace. All, Il Shrek.
and howl. the poor horse is down 'rI,,t Ia
lays them; but what is a horse to ;, r.,cl- /,
hardly mouthful apiece Not a yestige of
hiih was lett; again they rushed forward in
pursuit of the sledge "''''' III
hristlan bethought him of two nistols
winch he had with him in the sledre: these
nc GOT our, ana discharged one of them at the
i'' i'''tanclls ta pack; wolf dropped; immediate
~ thc others rent it in atoms. and devoured
1t. Tie then discharged his other ristoI.
another wolf dropped, and was deyourrd ms
! before. 'o' "'
All his means OF defence were now gone: ON
came the wolves in long stream. the tIcet-
est OF freshest taking the lead, for the herd
was continually being joined by others, as
:hcs went along. The poor horse was sink
| ing; his pace was slackenimg: three more
miles, and the wolves within tifty wards of
him. 's janus vi
Now they gained on him, nearer and nearer
'heS c'iiic, their raycnous mouths open their
eyes Slaring, their tongues ,lroopinc. and
their jaws stained with the blood of their
own companions
On, on good horse, thou drawest a precious
ourdeh-on, ON, though 1t cost thee thy life
ne foremost wolf had now reached thnr,
Its neat appeared at the side of the sledue.
hfiStlan, with desperate stroke Of his Ionn
Diaded knife, stabbed it dead: il fell. only to
be replaced by another.
D9t Wiiefc was Marguerite all this time ,
enc 81 t';u recovered from her swoon, but only
of t.,, I
on frenzy: kristian dispatched several
wolves III the manner have Just mentioucd. /.
p4s n4t M't't'c''+ .cgs OF ~ ~. In, r.,
weak. He hastily rolled Il clio; x around his |
arm, and again returned to his operation of
stabbing.
ut last, however, two lg.rge wolves came
up, one on one side of the sledge, and one on
tue other; the one on the right fell back, his |
skull cleft by the knife of kristian. But, as
he dealt that blow, he heard sIiriek. which |
fulfilled his dire forebodings; he looked round; |
the wof mad caught hold of-tne arm OF Mar
guerite, had already dragged her from the
siedSe; an instant more, the rest of the pack |
closed round her; Il second shrek, and she |
was gone kristian was senseless, through |
grief and rage, and almost forgot his own |
danger, III his desire to revenge himself on |
those who had been the murderers of his pre- |
cious wife.
But there was 10 time tor thinking, ne |
must rouse himself and reach home, il he
could, IN safety. The sledge, relieved of half
its burden. was drawn WITH greater ease by
the Jadcd horse. But half a mile, and he
would be at his own house. On bounded the |
horse, and on rushed the wolves behind him:
put the horse had thasadvantage, there was
little declivity leading down to the house:
the sledge almost flew dowa, and Kristian
leaped out, rushed through the door. which
ms father had opened, and then closed and
DOTTED 1t fast. 4 fearful shrek announced
that the steed had become food for the
wolves, but his master was saved.
SUCH was the old mans story and he added
NO wonder L am miserable when think of
him, and no wonder each howl hear causes
every nerve to vibrate and thrill with fear"
But what became of kri,sian ~ | asked.
He then said
OF some weeks he was in state border
ing on madness; he ate hardly sufficient to
Keep body and soul together and scarcely
spoke word. But after spending q month
III TINS doieful torpor, one day he suddenly
raised himself, took a,!ze and nistols and
penetrated into the depths of the wood. I'm
the day time, wolves are not so bold: they
VIII not attack man by day, except when
In large numbers, and then, only when driven
ON by the last extrenities of hunger and
starvation.
kristian went out into the forest. and oc-
cnpied his time with telling and trimming
trees. But woe betide any unlucky wolf
that happened to show his fac to him: in an
instant a pistol-ball pierced Elm, and he fell
dead. Day alter day did If;stian do this,
until the number of wolves Il mad killed was
sonaas 1aiaes unieard Of i,u,ke,,s, .-..,.
what was his reason Tor tILsss- ss5c.ierinr the
wolves 10 revenge, to appe.sse the names of
his dead wife Not long after that awful
night, he made a solemn vow never to spare
single wolf that crossed his path; and that
oath he kept terribly; it was computed that.
during the six years that ae lived after the
death OF his wife, he slaughtered from fifteen
hundred to two thousand wolves.
One day, however, during severe frost. he
went out carly to his accustomed work. but |
he returned not. The old n,an feared what
had happened, and having traversed the for |
est in search of his lost son, for more than a |
week, came upon the debris ef a brace of pis- |
tolls and the atlze, which his son used to /
carry; nothing else could be seen; this then |
was his end, no doubt: the wolves had met !
hln III large numbers, Le-~as overpowered /
by them, and became their prey Such was /
the melancholy fate of the n,ononaniac.
l need not say how | sympathized with the |
old man and tried to console him. but in |
vain; even now the mark of the angel of !
death was on his brow; and not lone after. |
heard that lie had breathet his last. and had /
departed TO join his son in !, happier world.
so you are going to keep school ~ said a
young lady to her old aunt. 'sWell. for NV
part, sooner than do that would marry n
widowcr with nine clildren.n ~ should pre-
ier that myself" was the reply; but where
is the widowers- s-
10 BEAUTIFY THE TEEru.-Dissolvc two
ounces OF borax in three puts of boiling
water, and before it is cold add one teaspoon.
fui of the spirits of ca,asllo;. and bottle for