Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-09-08

| tion there, but IN IA moment they were
on shore again, barking with fury,
and racing with even increased speed.
could see their red tongues in the
moonlight and the white foam flying
from their jaws. Soon they recovered
their ground, and the foremost wolf
was almost abreast of me. He dashed
out upon the ice, slipped, and then'
with almost scream of anger, he lost
his momentum and fell behind.
was skating in the middle of the
stream.
A moment later another wolf darted
out upon the ice, bending his course
SO as to intercept me. I held my way
until within five feet of the spot where
we should have met, and then, swerving
suddenly away from HIM, 1 described
curve and went on, leaving the ami
NAL bowling and gnashing his teeth.
Again and again these tactics were
repeated. Once the leading wolf fairly
intercepted me, but my uncle's ak was
ready. I knew its use, and left the
brute dead and bleeding with one blow
from it.
But such running fight could not
continue. was still three miles from
home. The wolves had seen the hope
lessness of their mode of attack, and
were beginning to string themselves
out along the bank ahead of and be-
hind me.
At that rate my death was certain
within mile There would be wolves
to intercept me if I advanced, and
wolves to cut me off if l retreated, and
to take to the opposite bank was also
sure death.
At this point ] saw, on the left bank,
little deserted cabin, about quarter
of mile ahead. If could reach that
before my pursuers began to close in l
might be safe.
bent every atom of my remaining
strength to do this, and l had almost
reached the goal when the wolves
ahead began to shoot ont over the ice,
completely cutting off my escape up
the river. Then the ones far ahead
came dashing back toward me, and the
others in the pack began to close III
from behind and at the sides. l was
the objective point in semicircle Of
fifty ravenous, man-killing beasts, and
the door of the cottage WAS my only
hope
picked out the wolf that would
reach it first. My race was with him.
1t all occurred in a space of less
than twenty seconds. l shot up to
the bank like stone from catapult.
The wolf was ahead of me, but, leav-
ing the ice with bound, and with the
tremendous momentum which L had
acquired, 1 few into the air like
bird, and, passing over the brutes
head, landed squarely on my feet, and
in a fash had reached the door of the
cottage, forty feet away.
To rush inside and slam the door
was the work of a second, but the
whole pack was behind me. They
paused for moment and in that time
| saw that there was no fastening to
door. The cabin had been stripped
even of its bolts.
The upper floor was gone, but the
rafters were there three feet above my
head, and hastily thrusting the ax in
my belt gave leap, grasped one of
them, and drew myself up. Then
dozen bodies were dashed against the
door and the room below me was filled
with the pack.
They howled, snarled and screamed
with fury and disappointment. They
dashed themselves against the walls,
and bounded up towards the rafters.
Sometimes such was their hunger
and desperation, that they actual Sc
cured hold near me but then my ax
came into play, and they fell back,
cut and bleeding, upon their fellows.
Then another idea struck me. Work
ing my way toward the door, climbed
partially down, and, with a long strip
of wood which I found lying across
the rafters, slammed the door shut
then thrust the strip into crevice
in the door casing, and with a nail
which was sticking loosely in the
upper end, l nailed it to the wall.
The wolves we're my prisoners.
To knock a hole in the roof with my
ak was easy work, and in few mo-
ments 1 was sitting on the roof, enjoy
ing the cold air and the discomfort Of
my enemies.
By this time those inside were thor.
oughly cowed and frightened, while
the one or two still left in the open
air had begun to feel very nervous. A
few chunks of wood, smartly thrown,
caused them to slink off into the
woods, and then felt almost free.
And now it was nearly eight O'Clock,
and the people in my uncles house
had grown alarmed could hear
shouts in the distance, and presently
lights appeared coming down the ice,
and my uncle and cousins, carrying