HE SHOOTS TWO WOLVES. 483 



" I ordered a horse to be harnessed forthwith to a Kolryss 

 (an immense basket-like sledge, used for the purpose of con- 

 veying charcoal to the furnaces), as also a pig to be put in 

 a sack ; and with the Estate Inspector as a companion, and 

 provided with three guns, loaded with Varg-hagel, or wolf- 

 shot small slugs, in short I betook myself to the lake. 



" At first the pig would not squeal at all ; but as soon as 

 we had got his head out of the sack, and pulled his ears, 

 he opened his pipes most lustily. We had not gone far 

 before three wolves made their appearance ; but they would 

 not approach nearer to us than some eighty paces, at about 

 which distance the sledge proceeding at a slow pace 

 the while they followed us for a considerable time. 

 Finding, however, that so long as we kept moving, the 

 beasts would not come closer to us, we halted, on which 

 they presently advanced to within forty or fifty paces, and 

 quietly seated themselves on their haunches. The Inspector 

 and myself now agreed slowly to count one, two, three, and 

 on pronouncing the last number to fire, each at his own 

 particular wolf. We did so, our guns going off so simul- 

 taneously that the report seemed like one and the same 

 Both of the wolves at which we had aimed fell on the 

 instant, but the third moved quickly off. 



"The Inspector and I now ran towards the spot where 

 the beasts lay, but in our joy forgot to take the third gun, 

 which was still charged, along with us. We had not pro- 

 ceeded more than twenty paces from the Kolryss, however, 

 when one of the prostrate wolves although he had not 

 hitherto moved in the least suddenly got on his legs and 

 ran off. Seeing this, I returned forthwith to the sledge 



I I 2 



