SEVENTEENTH OF MAY A DISTURBED NIGHT. 210 



of course long ago bitten to death. I was not a little surprised 

 when I saw the dog move, get up, and shake itself. Yes, didn't 

 I know it ! It was, of course, the unhappy ' Svartflekken ' who 

 had been in hot water again. He came slowly up to camp, 

 looking very much subdued. 



But there was an old wolf which had no intention of being 

 frightened off by such a trifle as a few rifle-shots, and was not 

 going to let ' Svartflekken ' off so cheaply. He started slantwise 

 towards him. But when ' Svartflekken ' saw what he was about 

 he stopped short, faced his enemy and showed his teeth as well as 

 he could for the muzzle. The wolf was not quite so courageous 

 after that. It stopped, and then they both began to walk side- 

 ways towards one another, show their teeth and growl, though 

 both were half afraid. Amusing as this might be, I thought we 

 had had enough of it by this time, and sent the wolf a bullet 

 through both shoulders, which laid it low. The rest of the pack 

 were by this time in wild flight up towards land, and only two 

 animals were left lying on the field of battle ; but of the fugitives 

 Schei had wounded two so severely that they could not keep up 

 with the pack. They turned off into the drift-ice, where they were 

 lost to sight between some hummocks, and there probably they 

 died. 



Altogether twelve wolves had attacked the camp. The tracks 

 showed that they had made an onset from two sides at once, and 

 my dogs being dispersed, they had made for them first. Schei's 

 dogs, which were all lying together in another place, had probably 

 seemed rather too numerous for a beginning. 



' Svartflekken ' was in a terrible state. His head and neck had 

 suffered most, and both his ears were bitten off almost to the roots. 

 Drip by drip his tracks were red with blood. His face swelled up, 

 so that at one time he was stone blind with one eye, and I should 

 say saw very little with the other. On the whole, he was not of 

 much use till far on in the season. But just now he was the 

 hero of the moment : his fellow dogs sniffed him, licked him, and 

 did what they could for him, and he vouchsafed to suffer it. 



There is some character about these dogs ! ' Svartflekken ' 

 had not been especially attacked ; it was only that he was 



