Claiborne guardian. [volume] (Homer, La.) 1877-188?, 1880-06-09

| y
preserving the utmost steadiness
until he could reach an old hut that
still stood in the middle of the
clearing not far of.
The wolves were becoming more
audacious every minute, and rush.
ed at him, swapping IA they went
past in closer aud closer proximity
to his thin legs. The frightened
fiddler instinctively thrust at them
with his fiddle. The sudden sound
of the string caused the wolves TO
leap aside with surprise. Dick in
stantly drew his hand across the
strings, and to his infinite relief
they sprang back and aside rs if
he had shot among them. Taking
immediate advantage OF this lucky
diversion in his favor, rs he had
now reached the end of the clear.
| ing, he made a break for the hut,
raking his hands across the fiddle
strings at every jump, until they
fairly roared again.
The astOnished wolves paused for
a moment on the edge of the clear
ing, with their tails between their
legs, looking after him; but he had
broken the spell By running, aud in
a moment they were after him.
Luckily the old man reached the
hut just as they were at his heels,
and, slamming the Tickety door be-
hind him, he had time to climb out
on the roof, where he was compar.
atively ont of danger.
The wolves. thronging the int.
rior, leaped at him with wild wells
of gnashiDg rage. Poor old Dick
had managed to cling to his fiddle
through all, and remembering that
it had saved him in the woods, he
now, with the sheer energy of DIES.
peration, drew his bow shrieking
across the strings, with a sound that
rose high above their deatening
wells, while. with his feet kicking
out into the air, he endeavored to
avoid their steel.like fangs. An in.
slant silence followed this sudden
Outburst.
But old Dick soon learned, to his
increased horror, that even wolves
are too fastidious to stand bad tid,
ding, for they commenced renew.
al of the attack as soon as the first
surprise was over more furiously
than ever. When the head of IA
great wolf was thrust up between
the boards of the roof, within
few inches of where he sat, he gave
himself mp for gone darkey, and
fell to fiddling yankee Doodle
with all his might.
With the first notes Of the air
silence commenced. The brutes
owned the subduing spell, and the
terror. stricken fiddler, when he
came to himself-astonished at the
sudden cessation of hostilities-
saw he was surrounded by the most
attentive and certainly appreciative
audience he had ever played to be.
fore; for the moment there was the
slightest cessation of the music,
every listener sprang forward to
renew the battle, and set his pipe.
stem legs to flying about in the air
again.
Bnt he had now learned the spell,
and as long M he continued to play
with tolerable correctness, WAS com.
paratively safe. The old fiddler
forgot his terror in professional
pride, for he was decidedly flattered
by snch intense Appreciation; and'l
entering fully into the spirit of the
thing, played with such gusto and
effect as he thought he never before
surpassed or even equalled. Even
the wedding, with its warm lights,
its sweetened whisky, was forgotten
for the time in the glow of the new
professional triumph.
But, as time progressed, he I've.
gan to give way under cold, fatigue
and exhaustion. But he could not
stop moment before they were at
him again, and there they pesist
emily sat, that shaggy troop of con.
nOissenrs, fidgeting on their haunch.
es with lolling tongues and pricked
ears, listening to their compulsory
charmer for several weary hours,
until the negroes at the wedding,
becoming impatient or alarmed
about the old man, came out to look |
for him, and found him thus perch.
ed upon the roof Of the tottering
hut, saving away for dear life.
They rescued the old man from
his comfortless position, while the
lingering forms of his late audience |