, 1875-10-24

= anartlng cry, Accompanied by the quick patio
;. ing OF feet among the withered 1enyes and IL
snow, and then = long g-drawn whining howl, tn,
0 seemed to isaue from fifty tbroats. While .la,
n objects hogan ia glance, phautomlke, bstwee
4 the trees
i wolves! volses!" cried Annietta, with
snraek of terror, but already the af1righte
horses had set of at mad gallon, swerylnc fno1
! side to side OF the road in u,anner that thraaI
! ened to upset tho sledge. Again there bur-
1oith that horr1d ory and Marstou exerted hi
sAiu and strength in maintaining mastery o7e
, the anors1ng horses. Annette, looking fear
! / that they were pursued.
You must be cool dearest one, now, for bot
our sakes-for mine,' said the young Eneliat
man as he cast glance at the dark specks dot
, ! tsng the snow You can drive well. know
be weu'' ~~ Wa -
As the Young Countess took the rsins, Edaa
stooped Tor bis trusty rife, and leyeled it witt
dehoerate ann at the foremost wolf, now bound
ing aasr rar before e the rest The huge brute rolled
and pain that was answered by the yell Of The
! hurrylng pack; and then succeeded a hideous
medley Of confused sounds, followed by period
Of ailence-
Have they given up the puranit?'' asked
! his piece.
| "No, moi" answered the young man, shak.
lnR has head The creatures have but paused,
as 8 their custom, to deyour their wounded
comrade. It Is but an instanta bresthing- time,
| which" ~'
He fred both barrels as he spoke into the
thick Of the advancing pack.
Then ensued a terrible contest OF speed boz
tween the gallant horses, wild with fear, and
| sne Willy and earoge denizens OF the Russian
Woods. Four moro shots from Edgnrs ride
| brought do~n as many wolves, but they wexe
| now too near, and too eager in their raYeuing
fury, to be beaten off, The winding Of the
road, too, enabled somo Of the leaders OF the
PACK to gain upon tho fast-lying slsdge, and,
with rare audacity, to endeavor to oyerioap
IT'S eldes, while Edgar, nlns'ng down the eun,
slashed At tho broad paws and hairy throats with
tho Keen blade Of his heavy hunting -knile, and
J succeeded. though with difficulty, IL disabling
The TWO foremost OF tha assai!ants. Tho third,
| slightly hurt etuniz bowling away; but few
Yards in the rear tho clan,or OF the remainder of
| :he tleTce drove told how ruthlessly the chase
was maintained.
Edgar Narston, with a groan, ea he cast de-
spalr1ns g!ance along the road, and noted that
already two OF the Gauut pursuers wu1e ncarly
abreast Of The sledge; Vasllkof as reckon, is
but three rersta from this, nut before we cover
the two miles that lie between us and safe:y,
yonder yelling irutes Will drag down our horses
and have ns q. their mercy. at any cost Annette
must be saved and tho wolves DELAYED"
He rose to his feet az he spoke, and looked TO
the right and left Closo to the roadside on the
back to thai tree, kill or cripple the iirss Of the
furious wolves, aud swing himself up among the
lower branches out OF reach Of tho otheEA lie
might hare yet chance OF life, Wills the sIedge
11 would gain ,.s 50 n much vantage-Eround that it
ate venture must bo TIskel-
Hastily the young nan kissed Anniet.e's cold
cheek, and, bidding her be OF good cnear, Since
he had devised = strataSem thrt vonld ocruit
The wolves, he struck the stunning horses Sharp
betTeen G-s tectl, tooh q clear leap over the luw
brushwood, and fell on his hands aud knees at
the foot Of the beech-srce.
Edgar! Edgar!' criod the agouizcd girl az
rain Ill the terrified horses On they went like
wind. while the clamor OF tao exulting wolves
told That taov nad deslstcl IRON tito chase to
crowd around Ali easy prey.
Goaded BY terror, tta horses for .1ong the
narrow road, which fortunately At this past Of
its course became atraighter than it had hith-
erto been. and the light sledge was hurried
along As II 1t had been . featheg-welght over
the frozen snow. whirl Of confused thoughts |
passed through the girls brain with relentless
from the spot where Edgar Harsson had sprung /
out to confront what appeared to be ineyitaDle !
desth.
ssFor me! for mel" Annette murmured, as |
after last despairlng effort to rein in the M |
manageable steeIs, she cast glauce back ut the
from the woodland into the open country, in the
first rays Of the uewly-risen MOON
Of the dread pursue-s she now sAw and heard |
nothiug, but she shuddered as the remembrance |
forced :tse!f upon her OF the probable Gauss OF I
the disappearance Of tho wolves. Her lover
could ale doubt it2-had purchased her safety
with his own blood. Their fonr-footed foes had !
baen too many for mortal yalor to have prevailed
IN the unequal contest against their numbers
She was safe-safa-for nov she WAS among
GoTI md N+74fg %H1 19n
gloomy Forest and there before her lay Fasilkof,
he mooubeams cleaning on the Furnished cop |
,er domes Of Its churches; but she scarcely re-
Ilizcl the fecs Of her own escape, go busy Was
Ter fancy with the peril Of him whom she loved.
The scared horses needed no urging to strain |
very sinew in the race as, snorting and gasp !
pg for breath, they daghed into the vide, strag- |
ling min street of YasiIkof.
In the spacious maraot~placo or pubhc-squaro
+ the town crowd had collected, in tho midst |
u g1steuing bayonets Of steel and the bright |
ress mountlngs Of military accoutrenonts. L
olumn OF the hat-cappcd, Eray-coa.ed infantry |
+ the Russian lne WAS preparing TO march,
;hilo cavalry escort encompassed two or three
arriaEes mounted on sledge-runnars, and to :
ach Of which three or more horses had bean
arueEsed. Sundry persons in authority, rs | c
neir civil or military Uniforms denoted, were t
ustling to and fro, soma mounted and others I
n foot, while the drums rolled and the tum- t
trough the streets as though to call the lag d
ards who vet fingered to tbs muster. r
.s Halt, there ! halt, Say u called out een-
mel roughly, IS the aledge that bore Anniette | Q
1ept like whirlwind acFoss the market-place,
altering to right aud left in dis1nay all who | =
arred its frantic course. And then followed b
abel Of loud outc1ies OF surprise, alarm, and | t
ty for tho picture that was then presented to |
10 gazers, in the Euddy glare Of the torch1ght, =
as not one readily to be forgotten In the t
edgo. still mechanically graspiug the reinS, sat t
10 tarror-stricken girl her face white and rigid
or dark hair streaming loose, for the furred | l
BOD OF her mantle had fallen back, and her .
,autiful head was uncovered. u
Among those who had been present when the =
edge croHsed the square had been the old b
punt and Countess Galitzin- They had b
cognizeG their daughters pallid face as she d
Is hurried past, and within few moneuts Ii
10 half-fainting g.r1 was in the arms Of her y
rents, and surrounded by friends and we'll b
shers, who seemed disposed to welcome her /
one risen from the dead. q
i" We we're about to eet out for CZergorod,' .;
e Count explained, when Annietto appeared to Il
senslble to her mothers caresses aud endear- a
z words, :" with the escort with which the I
ndness Of his Excellency the Governor had b,
I