200 HUNTING THE GRISLY, 



the mountains three miles away. As soon as 

 I saw them I saw also that the rearmost of 

 the couple had been hit somewhere in the 

 body and was lagging behind, the blood run- 

 ning from its flanks, while the two greyhounds 

 were racing after it ; and at the same moment 

 the track-hounds and the big dogs burst out 

 of the thicket, yelling savagely as they struck 

 the bloody trail. The wolf was hard hit, and 

 staggered as he ran. He did not have a hun- 

 dred yards' start of the dogs, and in less than 

 a minute one of the greyhounds ranged up 

 and passed him with a savage snap that 

 brought him too ; and before he could recover 

 the whole pack rushed at him. Weakened as 

 he was he could make no effective fight 

 against so many foes, and indeed had a chance 

 for but one or two rapid snaps before he was 

 thrown down and completely covered by the 

 bodies of his enemies. Yet with one of these 

 snaps he did damage, as a shrill yell told, and 

 in a second an over-rash track-hound came 

 out of the struggle with a deep gash across 

 his shoulders. The worrying, growling, and 

 snarling were terrific, but in a minute the 

 heaving mass grew motionless and the dogs 

 drew off, save one or two that still continued 

 to worry the dead wolf as it lay stark and stiff 

 with glazed eyes and rumpled fur. 



No sooner were we satisfied that it was 

 dead than the Judge, with cheers and oaths 

 and crackings of his whip, urged the dogs 

 after the other wolf. The two greyhounds 

 that had been with old man Prindle had for- 



