Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1899-01-11

W IiSt. ACOIdHSe lIleu To I'LL MN up, Out
was unable to do so; she could only drag
him to young elm tree, and set him up
with his back against the trunk.
Stop there, my poCf Laurent she
said, wrapping her cloak around him.
and | will run to the doctor at Ursay;
he will come and fetch you III his cart.
"She started off on her way to the viii
lage, and she turned the bend in the
road when she heard the report Of a gun
and cry for help. She ran back to her
lover, whom she found CHASTITY pale with
pain ard fear, one hand convulsively
cIutching his gun, which was lying on
the ground.
"'What is the matter, Laurent, dear?'
she asked anXiously. Was it you who
fired?'
eyes he replied. Soon after you
had left me l noticed a strong SMELL and
when | looked up | saw an animal with
glazing red eyes, and as big as great
dog. | believe it was a wolf
Did you fire at it?'
Ono; | couldn't lift the gun, you
know. on account of my arm. | pulled
the trigger as it rested on the ground to
brighten the brute, and you see he is
gone
"'Will it come back?' said solange.
after a moments reflection.
81 am sure it willr answered the
young man. You'll have to stop here
with me, Solange, if you don't the beast
will eat me-
Every we'll, dear said Solange, I'll
stop with you. Let me have your gum
''She took up the weapon. shook out
the discharged cartridge and put in
fresh one, and they both waited anxious
| ly.
''Two hours. perhaps more, passed.
| The moon, still invisible. had risen above
the horizon, for the sky reflected a con-
| fused light, which became brighter each
minute. Laurent was feyerish-he shiv-
cred and groaned. Solange. benumbed
with cold standing up with her back
against the tree began to get droWsy.
''All at once kind of whine or howl,
like that Of a dog chained up at night,
I made her jump. In the semi-darkness
she saw two fiery eyes; it was the wolf.
Laurent tried to get up and take the
gun. but the pain was too great. and he
fell back again into a sitting position with
4 grOan.
Make ready, Solange.' he cried. Aim
straight between the eyes and don't fire
too soon
'Solange raised the weapon to her
shoulder, took aim and fired, but the kick
! of the gun made her miss the animal.
| Nevertheless, scared by the report. it fled
along the road and was quickly out of
! sight. 4 little while afterWard they heard
| it bowling in the distance, and it was an
swered by others.
The moon now emerged from behind
the trees and lighted Up the whole OF the
i forest. and terrifying sight met the eyes
of the lovers. Within a gunshot were
| five wolves seated on their hindquartcrs
like dogs across the path. while another,
| holder than its fellows, was slowly max
| ing its way towards Laurent and Solange
Listen to what / tell you. SOlange,
| said Laurent. Take aim at the one which
| is coming towards us; if you can manage
! to knock him over the others will eat him,
| and we shall have d rest while they are
doing it
1.-The wolf continued to advance slowly;
| they could see its red eyeballs, its bones
| showing through its dull, ragged-loOking
cOat-s0 thin was it through hunger-and
its open mouth, with the tongue hanging
| cut.
|'FRest the butt of the gun we'll in the
| hollow of your shoulder said Laurent.
| Now, let him have it,,
! Bang! The wolf gave a jump in the
| air and fell dead without a sound; the
others rushed away as hard as they could
and disappeared in the brushwood.
. Run to the wolf. quick, Solangen eX
| road as you can; there is no danger; the
others won't come back yet
''She ran to the dead wolf, but he called
her back when she had gone few steps.
GIVE ought 70 cut off the head, you
know. so as to get the reward
11dNe YOU SOI Il hIliP. she asked.
Yes here in my belt
1T was a hunting knife, with a short
handle and a wide blade. She took If.
and. running to where the animal lay, she
cut off its head and dra gged the carcass
by one foot over the slippery ground as
far away as she could, and returned to
Laurent with the head.
What Laurent had foreseen took place.
The wolves, frightened at first by the
death OF their companion, came back
al five of them-When they smelled the
blood. By the light of the moon the two
young people saw the group of wolves
struggling, fighting and rolling over one
another in their efforts to get a full share
of the prey, of which they devoured every
scrap.
Laurent began to suffer terribly from
his broken leg. SOlange, whose nerves
were giving way under the strain, was
vainly endeavoring to struggle against ia
tigue and droWsiness, twice the gun near
" fell from her hands.
Having finished their meal, the wolves
began to come nearer to the young peO
pie. The girl fired once, twice at random
in their midst, but her frozen fingers trem-
bled, and the bullets went wide of the
| scurried away along the road for some
short distance, where they stopped for a
few minutes, and then came back
Laurent and Solange knew that it was
all over with them then, and that they
must perish. The girl let the gun fall to
the ground, but not for an instant did
she think of abandoning her wounded low
err and saying herself by flight. She lay
down upon the frozen ground by his side
and drew one end Of her cloak, which she
had wrapped him in, over her own be-
numbed limbs, and putting her arms
around him, she laid her head against his
cheek: thus, outwardly frozen by the cold
and inWardly burning with fever, they
both waited for death.
Strange fancies took possession of
their disordered minds as they lay half
unconscious; it was once again summer
time, and they were wandering through
the forest decked with summer verdure,
enjoying the lovely June evening; then the
trees and hedges became suddenly bare
and the forest covered with snow, upon
which stood out clearly a mass of NOV
ing forms with blazing eyes and gaping
mouths-a mass which grew larger every
minute and drew nearer to them to de-
YOUR them.
But fortunately, neither Laurent nor
Solange was destined to die IN that aw-
full manner. Providence believe in
providence, my boys-ordained on that
very morning [ was returning through
tho forest in my cart from Saint Bonnet