136 WARWICK WOODLAjJIDS. 



partially dislodged, so that Bob swept over it, almost 

 without an effort, in his gallop; though it presented an 

 impenetrable rampart to some half dozen of the horsemen 

 who had followed. I was now in a cleared lot of some ten 

 acres, forming the summit of the hill, which, farther on, 

 sunk steeply into a dark ravine full of thick brushwood, 

 with a small verge of thinly growing coppice not more 

 than twenty yards in width, on tolerably level ground, 

 within the low stone-wall which parted it from the culti- 

 vated 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 

 stiU twelve or fourteen paces from me when he jumped on 

 the wall. 



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

 thoroughly acquainted with the ground, and was of course 

 aware that no horse could descend the banks of the pre- 

 cipitous 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 at him; and, much to 

 my delight, the sound was answered by the long snarling 

 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 un- 

 pleasant neirfiborhood ; 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 subse- 



