The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1872-07-11

and peril. From the sounds he knew
! that the wolves were coming down on
either side Of the path he had just trav-
| eled, and therefore the nearest point of
safety was his own clearing, more than
mile away.
All this passed through his mind like
a fash, and then, called all his energies
into play, he dashed down the path
with scarcely less speed and terror than
had Uncle Tom Barry himself. Peter
| was famous runner, and had come III
victor in many trial of speed when the
people rad come together at raising
or log rolling, but this was no holiday
game. He was not taxing his muscles
to win the applause of admiring friends
or to crafty an ambition to exec.
The race was for life.
Down the long slope that led to Pix
ms Hollow, and up the ascent beyond,
fed Peter, while hardly hundred yards
behind came yelping, snarling pack,
hungry and fierce. The life of an un-
armed man would lot be worth min
| utes purchase could they once surround
him. This Peter acknowledged to HIM
self, as thought entered his mind of
standing on the defensive, tho he aban-
doned the thought before it was fully
formed, and braced himself anew for
flight.
Down another long slope, across a
| broad sheet of ice at its foot, and Leth-
erbees Hill with its long steep ascent
lay before him. He shuddered as he
glanced up its rugged side, fer he felt
that his strength would scarcely suffice
to carry him to the top. The prespira-
ton streamed from every pore, his breath
came in short, wheeling gasps, his steps
were becoming unsteady, and once, he
struck his foot against loose stone, he
then kept himself from falling only by
an effort so great that the blood spurted
from his nostrils and flames seemed to
leap from his vision.
Still he kept on, though it seemed
madness to hope, for his pursuers
had gained upon him fearfully; he
knew it by the beating of their footsteps,
but, with energies inspired by mortal
terror, he ran on, hoping only to gain
the brow of the hill, for there the ground
become more open, and his own cabin
was but few yards beyond. He felt
sure that his pursuers would not follow
him beyond the summit but could he
reach it before they would close upon
him ?
No, not by his own exertions, for just
as the thought passed through his mind,
his foot caught under a. gnarled root that
extended across the way, and he fell
heavily forward, his head struck the
frozen ground and he lay senseless.
When Peter recovered consciousness
he found himself hanging over the broad
shoulders of his brother John, and about
to enter his own door. Here he soon
collected his scattered senses and was
able to listen intelligently to his brothers
account of his rescue.
Uncle Tom Barry, in his flight, had
stopped at the cabin long enough to
shout through the window that the
wolves were cut, and then hurried on.
John, who lived with his brother, know
Ing that Peter must come through the
same path, took his gun and walked out
to the edge of the forest, where he halted
to. listen. But short time elapsed before
he heard the sound Of the pursued and
pursuers, and rushing down the hill he
arrived upon the scene just in time to
leap between Peters PROSTATE form and
the wolves, the foremost of which was
less than ten feet distant Taking steady
aim, he sent bullet through the crea-
lures brain, and then, while the pack
were fighting over the dead body of their
comrade, he slung Peter over his back
and gained the open ground in safety.
Peter frankly told the whole truth
about the affair from beginning to end,
and concluded the story with the en-
phatic assertion that as long as he lived,
he would never be guilty of another
practical joke, VOW which he faithfully
kept. A. z. j.