Year: 1871

Just one more story, grandma, about
when you were a little girl and lived in the
woods" said Frank


And grandma drew of her spectacles and
shut her book She leaned her head back
against the large easy chair and shut her
eyes, thinking.


remember as if it were only yestor.
day." she said, raising her head and looking
at the children, who had gathered around
her. " was only seven, AMI my little baby
brother wasn't year old.


go I'm going to the spring house, said
mother and you must stay in the room and
rock the baby if he wakes So took my
knitting, for / had learned to knit, aud was
very proud Of the stocking that was growing
under my arm.


"It was a cool day late in the fall, and
the doors we're all shut. Baby slept and |
knitted for half an hour. Then he awoke
and began to cry. As got down from moth.
er's great easy chair, where had been sitting,
| thought heard a strange noise outside. 1t
wasn't Lion, for he had gone of with father
to the mill. Something rubbed against the
door and made the latch rattle. | felt afraid,
and went to the door and fastened the bolt
stood still, listening, with baby in my arms
he had stopped crying-and ! could hear
my heart, thump, thump, thump


" All at once there came a short, cruel kind
Of bark, and then a snar 4 moment after,
the window broke with a loud crash, and
saw the long head, open jaws, and fiery eyes
Of a wolf glaring in upon me- An angel sent
by our good Father in heaven must have told
me in that instant Of terror what to do. The
wolf was climbing in through the small win
dow, and to have fingered but a second or two
would have been death Moved as if by a
power not my own, and without thinking what
it was best to do, ran, with baby in my
arms, to the stairs that went into the loft.
Scarcely had my foot left the last step ere he
was in the room below. With savage growl
he sprang after me. As he did 50, let the
door, which shut like cellar door, fall over
the stairway, and it struck him on the nose
and knocked him back. A chest stood near,
and something told me to pull this over the
door. So | laid baby down and dragged at
the chest with oil my strength. Just as
got one corner over the door, the VOLTS head
struck it and knocked it up little. But be-
lUIt ne NOulu elllht II dEiiu hdl Aut NutSl
clear across This would not have kept him
back if had not dragged another chest over
the door, and piled ever so many things on
top Of these. How savagely he did growl and
snarl But | was safe.


And now grew frightened about mother
Ifshe should come back from the spring-house
the wolf would tear her to pieces. There was
only one window or opening in the loft, and
that did not look toward the spring-house
and so there was no way in which could
give her warning, or let her know, if she had
seen the wolf, that We were safe.


For a long time the wolf tried and tried
to get at US, but at last | could hear hin
going down stairs, lie moved about in the
room below, knocking things around for eyei
so long, aud then | hesrd him spring up tC
| the window. At the same moment | heard
my fathers voice shouting not far off. O
how my heart did leap for gladness Then
came Lions heavy bark, which grew excited
and l soon heard him yelling down the road
the widest way. The wolf was still in thC
window. / could hear him struggling anC
breaking pieces of glass. Lion was upon him
when my father called him off in command
All was silent now, but the silence was quickly
broken by the sharp quick crack of rife
which sent bullet in the VOLTS head, killing
1 him instantly.


Father father, | cried from the lof
window He told me afterward that mi
voice came to him as from the dead. He raj
around to that side of the house. Mother
was with him, looking as white as a sheet
saw them both clasp their hands together
aud lift their eyes in thankiulness to God.


"When | tried to pull the chests away
could not move them an inch. In my grea
danger God had given me strength to dray
them over the loft door, but, now that tn
danger was past, my little hands were to,
weak to remove them. So father had t.
climb up ladder to the loft window an,
release baby and me from our place of refuge


Mother did not know anything of ou
danger until she had finished her work in tn
spring-house. just as she came out she sav
the VOLTS head at the window, and at tn
same moment father and Lion appeared il
sight"


81 wonder the wolf didn't get you" sal,
Frank, with wide open eyes, breathing deeply