Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-09-30

millions of gems. walked little dis
lance along the shore, and found Il
rude canoe. in the bottom of which lay
single paddle, broken midway of the
handle. The pond, then, was really
found. and the Captain sleeping upon
its shores all unconscious of the fact
In retracing my steps, while
yet 1 stood upon the shore OF
the water at the precise point
where l first reached it, l was
sure that saw something pass between
myself and the fire. 1t might have
been a dog; I could not see distinctly,
for the opening between the trees was
small. watched for moment and
it repassed. Then it sat down and
fixed its glowing eyes seemingly upon
myself. 1t might be dog, thought,
yet no dog of ours, for none was with
us. Howl, howl, howl! Good heav-
ems! 1t was wolf, then. And then
there was an answering howl to the
left, to the right, beyond the fire, across
the pond-on every side, one after the
other, did voice answer to voice in that
chorus. l know that my imagination
doubled and quadrupled the number,
for l have reason to suppose that there
were not above half dozen in all.
But the sound was horrible to my ears
as it woke the stiffness of that lovely
night.
And / was alone on the shore of the
pond. Whether to fire at the wolf, and
so wake the Captain. if nothing more
was accomplished, or whether to trust
the bowling itself to wake him, l did
not know. Whether firing would eX-
asperate, and so increase the danger,
l did not know. l knew nothing of
wolves, only the little l had read in
books, and that little was just sufficient
tc fill me with horror. So stood par
alyzed, holding my gun and doing
nothing.
The ring of a rifle, the sudden dis
| appearance of those balls of fire which
had been fixed upon me, and the pat
| of a bullet upon the water, told me
| Mat the Captain was awake. He
called, and l answered.
At this time we were both actually
in perfect safety, he protected by the
fire, and having the resource of the
boat; but did not, in my ignorance,
think of the fire, and he did not know
of the boat. He rushed down, there
fore, to protect me, and was driven
back by the hungry pack, which had
gathered between US. And still the
bowling went on.
Flight bravelyr' he shouted 81
will save you at every hazard"
l, however, could only hear his
voice; l could not understand his
words. And the wolves came
nearer, gathering around myself l
could see their savage forms pass
and repass between me and the fire, and
now and then one would sit down and
fix his glowing eyes upon me, as in the
first instance. Nearer and nearer-hOw
many l could not tell. And I could
see nothing of Captain Whitney, and
he did not speak to me again. As a
last resort, when they pressed me too
closely, l showed the canoe into the
watcr and padded safe distance from
shore. There was a bowling back in
| the forest, and in five minutes not a
wolf in sight.
Captain Whitney. believing that I
was in imminent danger, and deter
mining, like the noble man that he
| was, to rescue me or share my fate,
| had left the protection of the fire and
taken dctour to his left; his purpose
being to join me on the shore. And
now was safe and the wolves upon
his track. l heard him halloo once,
and l answered the call. l could de-
termine that he was many rods from
the fire and near the shore of the
pond.
There was then time of complete
silence, how long time will not pre-
sumo to say seemingly half an hour
really perhaps five minutes. hallooed
many times but received no answer.
Neither was there howl of wolf. The
only voice which woke the echoes of
that hill-bound water was my own.
Were l to tell what suffered in the
time, should tell so much less than
the truth that forbear to tell at all.
heard faint call, and looked to
my right. The rock rose perpendicu-
larly from the water at this point, to
the height of twenty feet, and then
formed broad shelf. Back of the
shelf there was another rise perpndic-
uliI vi uiIC VI Ctu 1CCt, sAuu tuCn tJlC
ground sloped of into ridge covered
with trees.
Upon this shelf. in the serene NOON
light, stood Captain Whitney, and
around him the dark, savage forms of
the wolves. He had on neither hat,
coat nor vest, and even his shirt was
torn to tatters. Iqueried whether he
would leap the precipice, and padded
in that direction to help him, in case
he should venture the feat. l saw him
step upon the verge and look over,
while he swung his gun blindly around
him. to keep off the beasts.
cit is death if you leap" said I.
There were sharp splinters of rock at
the bottom, standing out of the water.
Then he braced his back against the
rock behind him, and fought the battle!
Such battle; and for two hours of
time! One, two, three, four, five.
Il was so near that l could count
them, their long, hungry bodies
and savage eyes. And was l the cow
ard to sit in safety, and coolly see the
man devoured by wolves? Heavens!
that must confess it! There he stood