128 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



of thinly growing coppice not more than twenty yards in width, 

 on tolerably level ground, within the low stone-wall which part- 

 ed it from the cultivated land. I felt that I was now upon my 

 vantage ground ; and you may be sure, Frank, that I spared 

 not the spurs ; but the wolf, conscious probably of the vicinity 

 of some place of safety, strained every nerve and ran, in fact, as 

 if he had been almost unwounded ; so that he was still twelve 

 or fourteen paces from me when he jumped on the wall. 



" Once over this, I well knew he was safe ; for I was thor- 

 oughly acquainted with the ground, and was of course aware 

 that no horse could descend the banks of the precipitous ravine. 

 In this predicament, I thought I might as well take a chance at 

 him with one of my good pistols, though of course with faint 

 hopes of touching him. However, I pulled out the right hand 

 nine-inch barrel, took a quick sight, and let drive a* him ; and, 

 much to my delight, the sound was answered by the long snarl- 

 ing howl, which I had that day heard too often to doubt any 

 more its meaning. Over he jumped, however, and the wall 

 covering him from my sight, I had no means of judging how 

 badly he was hurt ; so on I went, and charged the wall with a 

 tight rein, and a steady pull ; and lucky for me was it, that I 

 had a steady pull ; for under the lee of the wall there was a 

 heap of rugged logs into which Bob plunged gallantly, and, in 

 spite of my hard hold on him, floundered a moment, and went 

 over. Had I been going at top speed, a very nasty fall must 

 have been the immediate consequence as it was, both of us 

 rolled over ; but with small violence, and on soft snow, so that 

 no harm was done. 



" As I came off, however, I found myself in a most unplea- 

 sant neighborhood ; for my good friend the wolf, hurt pretty 

 badly by the last shot, had, as it seemed, ensconced himself 

 among the logs, whence Bob's assault and subsequent discomfit- 

 ure had somewhat suddenly dislodged him ; so that, as I rolled 

 over on the snow, I found myself within six feet of my friend, 

 seemingly very doubtful whether to fight or fly ! But, by good 

 luck, my bullet had struck him on the hip-bone, and being of a 

 rather large calibre, had let his claret pretty freely loose, besides 

 shattering the bone, so that he was but in poor fighting trim ; 

 and I had time to get back to the gray who stood snorting 

 and panting, up to his knees in snow and rubbish, but without 

 offering to stir to draw my second pistol, and to give Isegrin 

 as the Germans call him the coup de grace, before he could 



