WOODLAND CHORUSES. 263 



directly above me, which here rose to the height of ten feet. There 

 was no time for thought, so I bent my head and dashed forward. 

 The wolves sprang, but miscalculating my speed, sprang behind, 

 while their intended prey glided out upon the river. 



" Nature turned me toward home. The light flakes of snow 

 spun from the iron of my skates, and I was some distance from 

 my pursuers, when their fierce howl told me I was still their 

 fugitive. I did not look back, I did not feel afraid, or sorry, or 

 glad ; one thought of home, of the bright faces awaiting my return, 

 of their tears if they should never see me, and then every energy 

 of body and mind was exerted for escape. I was perfectly at 

 home on the ice. Many were the days that I spent on my good 

 skates, never thinking that at one time they would be my only 

 means of safety. Every half minute an alternate yelp from my 

 fierce attendants made me but too certain that they were in close 

 pursuit. Nearer and nearer they came ; I heard their feet patter- 

 ing on the ice — nearer still, until I could feel their breath and 

 hear their snuffing scent. Every nerve and muscle in my frame 

 was stretched to the utmost tension. 



" The trees along the shore seemed to dance in the uncertain 

 light, and my brain turned with my own breathless speed, yet still 

 they seemed to aspirate their breath close in my ears, when an 

 involuntary motion on my part turned me out of my course. The 

 wolves close behind, unable to stop, and as unable to turn on the 

 smooth ice, slipped and fell, still going on far ahead ; their tongues 

 were lolling out, their white tusks glaring from their bloody 

 mouths, their shaggy breasts were fleeced with foam, and as they 

 passed me they glared, and howled with fury. The thought 

 flashed on my mind, that by this means I could avoid them, 

 viz., by turning aside whenever they came too near; for they, 

 by the formation of their feet, are unable to run on ice except 

 on a straight line. 



" I immediately acted upon this plan. The wolves having 

 regained their feet, sprang directly toward me. The race was 

 renewed for twenty yards up the stream : they were already close 

 at my back, when I glided round and dashed directly past my 

 pursuers. A fierce yell greeted my evolution, and the wolves, 



