CHARACTER OF THE DOG. 03 



moon, an animal, which he immediately conjec- 

 tured to be a wolf, rising an elevation on his left, 

 at a long, loping pace, making, it appeared, for a 

 run about two hundred yards distant. 



The man stopped and cocked his rifle, but 

 having no dog with him his own having been 

 worn out with the previous day's run prudently 

 forbore to fire so long as there existed a doubt 

 of his being able to sight, a mortal part. The 

 creature passed him at full speed, directing its 

 course for the run, whither the hunter cautiously 

 followed. He soon perceived that it had broken 

 the ice, and halted in the water, and under 

 cover of inequalities in the ground, he was ena- 

 bled to steal, unperceived, within good covering 

 distance. Taking deliberate aim, he pulled the 

 trigger, and the brute, leaping up with a loud 

 yell, dropped dead on the bank. The hunter 

 carefully reloaded his rifle, loosened his knife in 

 its sheath, and, with his finger at the guard of 

 his piece, slowly advanced to the spot; when, 

 lo ! instead of a grey wolf, to his utter amaze- 

 ment, he immediately recognized, even by the 

 imperfect light, the lifeless but still quivering 

 carcass of the storekeeper's favorite dog. 



After his astonishment had a little subsided, 

 he took off the scalp, and leaving the body where 



