Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-03-26

scratch the snow away, that they might
leap down into the cabin and make short
work of the young soldiers. For mo-
ment Jean and Antoine shrank together
| aghsst.
Lovkl the doorl the doort" shouted
Jean, dropping his drum-sticks. They
are here again. Antoine.
Once mere the boy with the musket
| fred at the lot outside, to hear another
howl and to see the pack deyour a slain
comrade.
I But this time the wolves did not fall
| back; they continued to try 20 force the
| door while Antoine reloaded with half.
frozen hands and Jean held the barri-
cade
The animals on the housetop made
! good deal of noise and the boys had be-
| gun to think the roof could rot be forced,
| when Jean cried out that a pair of eyes
were cleaning overhead, and the young
! soldiers looked and both saw the head of
/ wolf.
1T is big follow" said Antoine,
| bringing his musket to bear on the Rppar-
| ition. ct is the head of the wolf
we disturbed when we rame to the hut.
| The next moment the cabin was file
with smoke and the boys saw the head
vanish, and the stars only were seen
! trough the hole 10 the roof
'Listen!' said Jean, suddenly, and he
bent toward the door, making an ear-trum
pet with his hands.
The little 6fer looked through a crack
He turned to his friend, crying out with
Joy;
II see dark figures moving over the
snow. They seem TO be bOrsemen. What
ever they are, they are coming this way
They are too tail TO be more wolves.
Jean picked up the drum and beat a
wild tune, which went out over the snow.
1t was answered by shouts, and both
could see horsemen galloping forwad
They are Cossacksm whispered An.
| tome his shoulder to the door. Antoine
mechanically met them firing away his
last charge and dropping his weapon.
In another moment a party of wild
| looking CoSsacks swooped down upon the
hut and surrounded it while the wolves
drew off,
Come 5ut," cried the Cossacks, Come
out. you are within! Surrender to the
soldiers of the great czar!"
| Jean and Antoine opened the door and
walked forth. When the Cossacks saw the
two boys they set up loud laugh, and
/ their hetman, fne-lookiDg fellow,
satirically touched his cap in the way of a
| salute. They had expected to capture
number of mcn soldiers
eyes, there is the big wolf on the roof
said Jean 10 Antoine; and sure enough up
there lay the gray monster, the cause OF all
their trouble. One of the Cossacks pulled
the carcass from the roof and threw it on
the snow.
"Play for us, ;" commanded the leader of
the wild band
| Jean and Antoine drew up together in
the snow, and in moment the lively airs
of France were waited over the dreary
waste. For while the faces of the Cos
sacks couded
| But at last they swung their great cans
over their heads and cheered the boys of
the Yonne
"You shall go back to your army" said
the hetnan "You shall not be taken to
prison. You have been brave. We like
brave boys like our own.
The next day the rear guard of the
grand army saw approaching them with
white flag a troop of wild horsemen of the
st9ppes, and the regiment to which Jean
and Atoine belonged was overjoyed to re-
ceive once more into the ranks the little
musicians.
The boys endured the horrors of that
retreat, and in after years, when they sat
with old playmates under the spreading
trees of the village and related stories of
Napoleon s ilfated campaign, they never
failed to tell how they fought the big
wolf and his pack, and their rescue by the |
Cossack of the Don.