The Yazoo sentinel. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1878-1916, 1891-04-23
A BaCkWO0dS "HQId-UI."
Ky CLARENCE PULLEs.

n nv uiiNHuJ was ltctlluBs Inc Fel bguN
rel's "chitter' md the rustic Of som
9 falling twig were the only sounds tia
] broke the stiffness
, But soon there were signs OF life astir
Among the bushes that lined the oil,
Robinson logging road large gray vol
was standing, with ears cooked. listen
ing. A half mile away n black bear
lean from q winters fasting, whom tho
noonday warmth had tempted into tht
outer air, was making the bcsto Of his wa,
back 70 bis den. At the end Of O fallef
tE6e IN a roadside clearing vicious.
looking loupcTvier, or Canada lynx,
With upturncd, tulted ears was dining
of n rabbit
The wolf lifted his nose and howled
n call presently answered By similar
sounds IN other parts Of the forest. Then
he stepped into the path and waited.
soon there was gimmer Of yellow
metal nmOng the lealcss trees, the
crunching OF frozen snow under o mans
heel and round turn in the road came
walking rapidly a tall, slender youth,
carrying large brass horn sung to him
by \ strap passing over his shoulder.
This young fellow, Gideon Philbrick,
taught tho district school in Plantation
a. lie had left the single camp of Pete
McDermott an hour before, and was still
three miles from home, with not a house
| to be seen in the whole distance.
Gideon from his talncss and budding
whiskers seemed a man. but really was
only II years Of age. His height and
siimness were q common subject of jest
ing in the neighborheod.
"You must have sprouted in cellar
n grown rank, was Deacon Aminidab |
Green's comment; and the young school. /
master had also been disrespectfully |
compared to "a potato ball on a whip |
stick
Gideon, who played the bass horn in .
the brass band 10 BIS native village. had .
taken his instrument with him into this
remote backwoods settlement. The peo-
Pie looked with doubt at the great brass
piece with It's tlaiiug end digger n a
punkln leaf, aud were not pleased with
its melody. "Cap'n" Otis Stinchfeld
voiced the general opinion when he said
'for q hoedown he'd gin more for
nun battery o such brass pieces as that
young spraout OF a school teacher wuz
so master fond o tootin'.p
The Pete McDermott referred to was
goood'tempered, happy.go -luoky fellow,
who made shingles in the winter, and
far thase de''ea~a az af,arx marry,
making IN tho whole country about. lie n
was always ready Tor auythIngVJut work,
90 when Gideon, taking advantage of
mt on a lumber sled, had visited his
camp on this Saturday he had gladly
taken up his fiddle to join his guest in
duets with the two oddly combined in l
ptruments. They had thus pleasantly
passed the hours together until it was !
overtime for Gideon to start; and now !
The schoomaster was making his way
with every prospect OF finish |
Ing the walk by starlight. h
About midway in his journey the sound i
d iar.away bowling caused him to {
quicken his pace. He had now reached S
he point where we find him walking. V
minute later he stopped suddenly at n
he sight ahead of what seemed a mon. b
trous dog facing him from the path. h
For moment he paused, then walked
esolutely onward, hoping that the animal k
would make way for him. But the crea- il
ure grinned tiereely, showing long white ii
eeth, and, with hair bristling along its Il
ack, stood its ground. r,
The young man felt creeping sens Ii
tion at the roots Of his hair and down ii
rs spine as FOR the first time he realized ii
hat he had wolf to deal with. He had W
one too far to retreat, and ,in desperation u
ut his horn to his lips and blew it loudly. W
eginning with frighttul shrek at high az
and ranging downward through a Il
lmbled chromatic scale to a dismal NJ
elbow at double b flat Fl
This hideous and unexpected sound a
ompletely demoralized the wolf, which w
'aped upward as fsomething had stunc ii
im. His tail lowered until il swept 70
nc snow, and he whimpered piteouslv. ca
len With low, long jump he landed in dl
he waysids bushes and bolted over the III
'est OF a low ridge lying parallel with
le logging road. tn
With a sigh Of relief the Young man in
alked on. But presently he saw that n
10 wolf had not gone far away, but was an
inning along the ridge as If he meant iii
keep him in sight. The sun had gone ju
'wn, the woods already were gloomy.
ID the bowling had come nearer. He for
resaw that In few minutes more. the de
Dives would attack him. As he entered IN,
clearing ho looked wildly about for FOR
me way Of escape. Near the middle tire
the opening stood dead birch tree Of bat
usual size. Its top and small branches the
d fallen, ana the white bark was peel drC
away IN great patches from its ITS
ink. yol
Gideon started al full speed across the hin
)w-crust Tor this tree. Hall way &c its $40
It he looked around and saw that sew. poJ
] wolves had already entered the keT
airing and were coming toward him /
a gallop. wol
50 inteat was he on the wolves that aloi
did not notice at the end OF a large NOT
, directly in his path. mass Of gray Eze
which suddenly revealed a savage thei
az Of teeth and claws as q loup-cer- Ions
Z, with great snarliag and splitting, the
ped up almost into his very face. cure
en- turning, the ill-tempercd creature they
Ted to The tree which Gideon was nois
ng to reach, ran Up is trunk anu q.
< position in the fork Of a large sho.
nch. 10 c,
was not an Inviting prospect 10 try 81
shin up the tree ia the face Of the Eek,
~ animal glaring down with round. Lom
ow eyes. but there was worse behind / See
IL 4. ] a.