Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-03-30

SpHC his Skull, and he fell to the ground
stone dead. His horse, mad with fright,
disappeared in the shadows that en-
veloped the wood.
The younger d Awhile stopped short
Jumped to the ground, seized his brother
III his arms and saw that his brains
were pouring from the wound, with his
blood Then he seated himself beside
the body, took the red and disfgured
head upon his knee and contemplated
the immobile face of his elder brother
Little by little Il fear invaded him, a
Sin&uiHl. fear which he ind nurer felt
before; the fear of the shadow, the fear
of the solitude, fear Of the deserted
wood, also fear OF the fantastic wolf
which had killed his brother to venge it
self upon them.
Darkness was falling rapidly. and the
sharp cold made the trees crackle. Fran
co.'s rose up Shivering, incapable Of re-
manning there longer, feeling himself
almost fainting. One could hear moth
ing, neither the voices of the dogs. nor
the sound Of horns; all was silent. And
this gloomy silence of freezing night had
in it something horrible and strange.
He seized the colossal frame Of Jean
in his hands, lifted it up and laid il
across the saddle, in order to carry it
back to the chateau. Then he slowly
started to return his mind wandering IS
il he were tipsy and pursued by holri
bic and startling images. Suddenly in
his pathway through the night a mon
strous form passed.
st was the beast.
"a shock of fright agitated the hunt
er; something cold, like a drop Of water,
glided along his lOins, and, like friar
haunted by the devil, he made the sign
of the cross. He was distracted by this
sudden temperance of the frightfll
Wanderer. But his eyes fell upon the
inert corpse lying before him, and his
fear INN ediately changing into choler,
he shook with rage. Then he SpuTned
rs horse and dashed after the Wolf. He
followed it through the copse, through
rayineS and through the forest, traverS-
ing woods which he no longer recOg-
nized, his eye fixed upon the gray spot
which few before him in the night. His
known force and ardor. He galloped
straight ahead with outstretched neck,
the head and feet of the dead man
across the saddle dashing against trees
and rocks. The brambles tore the hair
of the corpse, the forehead battered
the enormous tree trunks, SCATTERING
them with blood, the spurs ripped the
bark to tatterS.
Suddenly the animal and its pursuer
emerged from the forest and rushed in
to a valley just as the moon appeared
above the mountains. This valley was
closed on all sides by immense rocks,
without possible egress, and the wolf
found itself driven into a corner Fran
co.'s then emitted a howl of joy, the
echoes of which were repeated like a
roll of thunder, and jumped from his
horse, cutlas in hand. The bristlin2
beast waited with rounded back, its
eyes geaming like two stars. But be-
fore offering battle the hunter lifted
his brother down, seated him on Il rock,
and supporting by means of stones his
head which was hardly more than a
patch of blood, he cried into his ears,
us though he was speaking 10 a deaf
person:
Look, Jean; look there y
Then he threw himself upon the
monster He felt strong enough to
overthrow a mountain, to grind the
stones in his hands The beast would
have bitten him and tried to dash at
his stomach, but Francois had seized it
by the throat, without even the aid Of
his weapon, and slowly strangled it,
listening to the StOppage of the breath
ing in its throat, and the beating of It's
heart And he laughed wildly, closing
tighter and tighter in his powerful grip
and crying in delirium of joy:
Look, Jean; lookr
"All resistance ceased; the body Of
the wolf became limp. 1t was dead.
Then Frances took it up in his arms,
carried it and threw it at his brothers
feet, repeating in Il tender voice:
g Thine, thine, thine, my little Jean;
there it isl
Then placing the two cadavers across
his saddle, one upon the other, he set
out on his way back. He returned to
the chateau laughing and crying like
Gargantua at the birth of Banta Cruel,
emitting cries OF triumph, stamping with
joy in recounting the death of the ami
NAL grooming and tearing his beard n
telling that of his brother. And often
in after years, when he spoke Of that
day, he declared with tears in his
eyes:
If only poor Jean could have seen
me strange the brute, | am sure he
would have died contented.'
The widow of my great-great- grand
father inspired her orphan son with
horror of the chase which has been
transmitted from father to son down to
myself
The Marquis d'Arville was silent,
Some one asked:
This history is a legend, is it not:"
Il swear to you that it is tue from
one end to the other, he responded.
Then a woman said in Il soft, little
voice:
1T is Il fine thing to have such pas
sions'
THE NUCftfEI.
New York JOurnaI.-lt avs given to
Eiie to take care of. 1t was not