American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-06-19
TRACKED by A WOLF.

WHEN q llttle boy stayed Tor q long
time with my father and mother in a
little valley on the northern slopes of the
Pyrenees. One fine afternoon in August
l started on a ramble among the
mountains all by myself, meaning to be
out till tea-time. As 1 was going up /
met Jean Baptiste coming down.
Take care you don't go too far, Mon
sieur Henri" said he; "Pierre Martin
has just come down from the upland
pastures, saying that he's lost couple of
sheep lately, and he thinks there must be
wolves about. Better keep to the lower
slopes, or, if you will 60 higher, take one
of the dogs with you."
But only laughed and went on, say
ing l wasn't afraid. got past the lower
slopes pretty early in the afternoon, be-
ing in light rig; for when 1 went hill
climbing always put on the tartan suit
! had worn in the Alps-kilt and stock
ings, with Glengarry cap. So, finding
that l had plenty of time left, went, of
course, straight to the very place where
l had been told not to go, the upland
pastures.
Suddenly saw, right ahead of me, a
thick, dark wood, lying between two
high ridges. couldn't recollect ever
having seen it before, and plunged in it
at once, quite set up with the idea of
breaking fresh ground. Up till now l
had no more thought of danger than of
the man in the moon; but when l had
got q little way into the wood, whether
it was that it looked SO black and dismal
or that old Jeans warning about the
wolves came back to me all at once, 1
certainly did begin to feel rather queer.
It's true that I'd always thought of a
wolf as cOwardly brute, who would
run if you only cried "Shoor but now
it suddenly struck mc-suppose he didn't,
what then? And at that very moment,
asif to answer my thoughts, 1 heard a
rastling and cracking among the bushes
as if something heavy was forcing its
way through them!
This, of course, might be only Wait,
our old hound, seeming me out; but /
seemed to know, somehow, that it wasn't;
it came upon me like flash; what must
it be? l flew up the nearest tree like
wild-cat,,a and had barely got out of reach
when there came a great crash in the
thicket and out burst huge gray wolf,
and leaped after me more than his own
length off the ground, with a snap of
his great white teeth as loud as the fall
ing-in of a steeltrap. But when he saw
that he couldn't reach me he lay down
at the foot of the tree with his great
tongue lolling out and his ugly, greenish-
yellow eyes glowering wickedly up at
me, as much as to say: "Now that I've
got you here, my boy, mean to stick to
you, and no mistaken
So here at last was a regular Wayne
Reid adventure of the real old "up
tree" sort; but now that / had got it
didn't like it SO very much, after all. In
all the fancies ever had about it had
always made it out that l was to get the
better of the wolf but now, somehow or
other, the wolf seemed to have got the
better of mo. AT first was SO frightened
that 1 couldn't think of anything, but
Just sat staring down at him like a fool;
but after a bit began to get my wits to-
gether and tried to recOllect how all the
fellows I'd read about, when they got
into such fixes, managed to get out
again. But l didn't get any great COM
fort out of that. Basil, when the bear
went up the tree after him, got his
brothers to throw him a rope from be-
low; but had no rope and no brothers
to throw it. That fellow in "The Des-
ert Homes" when the peccaries freed
him, peppercd 'em with his rifle; but
then l hadn't got rifle. RUDE,
and Carey and Capt. What's-his-n name,
when the MeXicans surrounded the rock
they were on, were saved by their own
side coming up to the rescue; but there
was no sign of anybody coming to rescue
me- And even if Wait did trace me out
N@o pSihuPo nv hiis,'ieJp VIM 'ss' w soy
whether the wolf mightn't be one too
many for him, after all? Altogether,
Wayne Reid didn't seem to help me
much; and the wisest thing could think
of was just to sit still where | WAS.
/ don't think | was ever more glad in
my life for, if it came to matching n
VOLTS endurance of hunger against mine,
l knew who was likely to get the worst
of the bargain) than when l suddenly
heard the distant bark of dog. My
friend the wolf seemed to hear it too, for
he started up and stood listening. The
bark came again, this time much nearer,
and 1 scrambled up on my feet upon the
bough, and sang out: ".Waif! Wailr" as
loud as | could roar. But just then my
feet slipped, and crashl down l came to
the ground!
The wolf was upon me like lightning;
but after that moment there came a rush
among the bushes, and l saw dark
thing shoot over me, and fall right upon
the VOLTS back. Over he went with Wait
at his throat and Roland on his side;
while, just then, l heard Jean Baptiste's
shout, and up he came full pelt, brand
ishing his pikestaff over his head. What
with Roland and Wait and the iron-shod
stick it was long odds against Mr.. Wolf;
and almost before could get to my feet
again he was as dead us Julius Cesar.-
G00d Words