Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-09-28

at top speed along the arm OF the lak5
and so toward camp.
So far, so good A moments examl.
nation convinced Henry that his leaders
evener had come unlocked from the
tongue-rod, and that the 'beamers" had
broken theirs short off at the hammer
He believed their traces had become I'M
hooked in thrashing through the lamar
ack bushes, for, as nearly as he could
tell by the sour4' both teams were run
ming freely.
Thinking himself out of present dan
ger, Henry turned his attention to the
tank He found the big road-sprinkler
right-side-up. but embedded to the base
logs in a drift of snow Then, while
he stood listening ruefully to his horses
receding hoofs and the cries of thu
wolves, he saw amid the bushes mor'
of those evil star points, and knew THAI
the stragglers of the pack had come UP.
Hoping to send these animals after
the others, Henry rushed at them, yell
ing and swinging his lantern. In his ex-
element he gave his circling light too
wide a sweep and battered it to a shape
less wreck upon the body of sapling
This left him in darkness, and he re-
treated, in some alarm, to the tank. Be-
fore he could turn to climb, however
three dusky figures leaped at him with
snarling cries. He sprang aside, and
striking out with his lantern, hit one Of
his assailants upon the head. AS this
did not discourage the wolves, he laid
about him until his wrecked lantern was
wrenched free of the sing in his hand.
Then he leaped backward and fell over
the tank tongue.
Instantly the snarling wolves were up
on him, tearing at his stout clothing
One seized him by an arm which he
flung up to protect his face and neck
and he felt the sharp pinch of the ami
mails teeth through the blanket cloth OF
his winter garments.
He gave himself up for lost, but strug
gled to his feet, and dragging the VOL
YES, seized the top beam of the tank
with both hands He succeeded in get
ting foot upon the lift lever, and thus
he climbed up, wrenching himself, for
the moment, out of the grasp of his as
sailants. But the brutes had inflicted
some severe bites, and they had torn
his blanket jacket to shreds.
He had thought to get out of their
reach by climbing UP on the tank, but
his hope was quickly dispelled. On one
side of the tank was the elevation down
which it had plunged, and against this
rise the snow-drift was tightly packed
The wolves were quick to renew their
assault from this point of vantage De-
spite the kicks and Bullets which Henry
bestowed, all three quickly leaped upon
the tank, and again attacked him with
fury.
Fighting desperately, the tankman was
again borne down, falling this time upon
a rim of ice which surrounded the tank
we'll. The wolves were upon him in
stantly, but the desperate young fellow
was seized with an inspiration. With
sudden quickness he caught two of his
assailants, one by either leg, in lum-
berman's grip, and throwing one foot up
behind the well rail- plunged himself and
the wolves head foremost into the tank.
The hold was more than half filled
with icy water, and Henry rose from
the bottom gasping. He heard the VOL
yes sneezing and churning the water
frantically, as they swan around the
sides in vain attempt to find some way
out of the trap.
Despite the cold the tankman laughed
gleefully. His first impulse was to seize
the wolves by the scruff of their necks
and hold them under water until they
should drown; but he thought better of
it as chill ran up his spinal column
By standing on tiptoe he could just reach
and grasp the rail-posts of the we'll. 1t
was only by great exertion that he sue
ceeded in drawing himself out of the
tank pit. Had he waited two minutes
longer his case would have been as des-
perate as that of the entrapped wolves.
When he had struggled to his feet
upon the tank, the third wolf, taking
warning from the strange disappearance
of its fellows, skunk away among the
bushes. Henry lost no time in closing
the tank faucets.
He dared not attempt to walk to camp
but secured his tank ak and attacked the
tamaracks and young pines near at hand.
His matchbox was waterproof, and he
soon had roaring fire, before which he
dried his clothing and nursed his hurts
Only his thick lumberman's clothing had
saved him from serious and perhaps
fatal injuries.
For a time he heard the splashing and
scratching of the wolves, but these
sounds finally ceased, and he knew the
animals were dead.
He returned to camp at daylight in
the morning, to find that his horses had
arrived in the night, battered and bruis-
ed but safe. They had followed an arm
of the lake to a log road, and then had
gone straight to camp. Their swift
running and the flying tug-chains which
had bruised their legs had doubtless
saved one or more of them from being
pulled down and killed,-Yonths Com
pdHioH.