Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-03-14

lux lOI NhIuf anu Slth0NlIE INV ann
well as ] could in the rocking sleigh, fred
full at the whole dark mass in front Ap-
parently the ball passed. harmles,ly through
Them but in an instant all had vanished
behind and into the bushes-as a swarm of
iiies vanish at the waving Of handker.
chief, Only for a second however, and
one after another they were back again.
A second shot fired again at random in
to the mass, was more successful: aud once
more we saw them drop back and crowd
together in the trail behind us while the
swapping and snarling grew fainter as the
horses plunged on.
Half Of the last ten miles had now been
Travelled, and FIVE miles more would bring
us To Gulch City and security The ex
citement Of that race was uuspeakable: the
narrow lane of the trail lying white ahead
of us and behind US between the dark
borders of the brush, seen fitfully through
the steam from the maddened horses
But the respite this time was shorter
than before. Once more our relentless
foes gathered round US, silently, one by
one. The wolves seemed to know as well
as we that time was short and escape lay
not far away; for hardly had the pack set.
tied in their places round us before | saw
one animal throw himself recklesslv at the
horses throats. There was a sudden mad
spairing neigh, a short yelp from the VOLTS
throat, and the dark form that had seemed
to hang for a moment, leech like, to the
chest Of one Of our brave beasts was beaten
Gown under the hoofs
The others did not wait even for the
sleigh to pass, but leaped upon the strug.
Cling form even as the runners were upon
it. In my excitement did "a foolish thing.
Leaning over. and thrusting my revolver
almost against the skins of the fierce brutes
fired two shots in quick succession. They
had their effect, | know, for | saw one of
the dark figures throw itself convulsivelv
out of the mass into the brush, where
others sprang upon it, and a death cry
went up in the night air But we could i'll
spare the ammunition.
This idec evidently occurred to Gates
Leaning suddenly toward me. but with his
ewes fixed oil the horses and the road
ahead, he called:
How many shots have you left
"Onlv one 50
Not even one apiece for US
Aud knew that he was in earnest |
knew also that he was right that it would
be better to die So than to be torn tu pieces
by that snarling, hungry crew.
But it was too late now. Five shots out
of the six were spent, and twenty minutes
] NtL must pass ltlOIc We Ntiulu ItatN llle
camp. And even while these few words
were being said the pack was close upon us
again. Fiercer now, and more determined
than ever to make an end of it, they
crowded around. One even flung himself
at the low side Of the sleigh to snap at me-
| and his teeth caught for a moment in the
| sleeve of my coat | struck him on the
head with the clenched hand holding the
pistol. On both sides, too, they iostled
each other, TO reach the flying horses, and
| knew that in few seconds more | must
sacrifice the last cartridge in my revolver.
| As a forlorn hope l snatched the buffalo
robe " hich lay on Gates's knees, and threw
it to them. But they hardly stopped to
tear it to pieces. There was more satisfy
ing food in the sleigh. And they closed
around the horses again.
| For the first time Gates turned to look at
me.
Jack" he called, excitedly, the giant
POWDER
For a moment l did not grasp his mean
ing. Seeing my indecision he shouted
again; The giant powder, Jack"
Then it came TO me. Thrustng the pis-
tol into its case, / scrambled over into the
rear part of the sleigh, and | did so the
wolves that were following behind fell
back few feet. Hastily fumbling among
the various supplies, found the old sack
in which the sticks of dynamite were
wrapped, and with them the small package
of caps and fuse Taking three of the
sticks tied them tightly together with my
handkerchief and, quickly fitting the end
of an inch of for, in this case, the
shorter the piece the better-iuto a cap,
thrust the latter into the center of the
three sticks. | was still at work, when a
sudden swing of the sleigh and a cry from
Gates warned me that something was the
matter. The horses were plunging violent
ly and as the near horse reared | saw that
a wolf had leaped upon its withers and was
clinging, with its teeth apparently in the
side of the horses neck. In their terror
the horses had stopped, and were actually
backing us into the brush Something had
to be done, and with some vague hope, |
fired the last shot from the revolver into
the dark circle which already surrounded
the plunging horses The shot had its eff
feet for one of the brutes leaped into the
air with a yelp and fell backward into the
bushes. The horse, too, sprang suddenly
forward, and the wolf that was clinging to
it fell to the ground and was trampled un-
der the hoofs. In an instant, those of the
: pack that had not already flung themselves
upon the wounded animal in the bushes
rushed upon this one that was lying lifeless
or stunned from the horses feet; and once
more, for few seconds, we had breathing
= space, and the sleigh sped along through
the keen air, our enemies snarling and
quarreling behind us.
1 But the last shot was spent!
Turning my attention again to the giant
a powder, l fixed the cap and fuse more
a firmly in their place, and taking off my
coat made an extra covering of that, knot
a ting the sleeves tightly on the outside,
that the ravenous teeth might he delayed
n in tearing the bundle apart Crouching
down in the sleigh, lighted a match, and,
!, as l did so, | saw that the wolves were
q upon us again, apparently as numerous
>. and as tireless as ever The match went
=, out; and second Crouching lower still
a made barricade against the wind with
a anything ! could lay my hands on in tht
N sleigh, and at last dull red spark caught
q the end of the fuse,
h The pack was already crowding rounC
a the terrified horses which it seemed to
a me- were almost worn out, and move,
"A more heavily than heretofore. And how
= slowly the fuse burned, Nursing it care
- fully with my hands, | blew upon tn,
in spark and kept it glowing as it ate its way
~ slowly into the cotton Why had | no
II made it shorteri Every moment | ex
40 pected to feel the sudden jolt which tol,
y, that the wolves had pulled down one of tn
- horses and that the end had come
ls At last the dull red glow had almos
80 reached the end of the cap. A few sec
r. onds more and it would explode Thrust
~ ing the bundle hastily into another sack
If forgetting even the wolves in my terro
n lest it should explode in my hands, | thre'
nt it with all my force into the midst of tn
~ | moving forms abreast of the horses.
il, The beasts flung themselves upon it, AN
as we swept by, the whole pack was agai
,a collected into a struggling, snarling hea
"a beside the trail We were sweeping roun
-. a curve in the road, and before the hors,
h. had taken a dozen strides the brush shl
If out the path behind us and the wolves.
A moment later and the air and I'll
.s earth shook around us. | was still ha
mo- standing, clutching the low side of Il
ss, sleigh, and the conclusion threw me upo
Ne my face The report was not the crash {
ha a cannon nor the sharp noise of gunpowde
IL. but a dull heavy roar like an instantaneol
ha clap of distant thunder. The stiffness tn
"a followed was intense, but | thought that
no heard, from the direction where the wolv'
I had been, one broken, muttied howl.
'at What had been the effect of it. Bo
La Gates and myself leaned forward aud vii
n, voice and hand urged the horses on Wh'
nd would those grim, gray, ruthless forms =
mo appear The seconds passed; minute f
ON lowed minute and the horses, breathil
he painfully, labored on over the level ira
With every yard Travelled hope increase
,er until leaning over again | said TO Gates
'av II don't believe they're coming, Charlie
,er But his only reply was shake OF q
,ra reius and another word to the horses.
ms Then suddenly there came twinkle
~ light in the distance The brush fell avn
= | from the trail and the white eNpanse