of the Old World. , 383 



efforts, their doom seemed sealed, and their case 

 hopeless, when their chief, giving an expressive look 

 to the narrator, drew his pistol and shot the man 

 nearest to him through the head. He threw up his 

 arms and dropped the reins, but although stone-dead 

 he sat firm in the saddle, the affrighted animal carry- 

 ing him until a second discharge brought both to the 

 ground. Again the pursuit was checked for a time, 

 and the konak appeared in view ; luckily the door 

 was open, for it was deserted, men and horses rushed 

 in, the door was closed and a ponderous bar drawn 

 across inside, when suddenly a loud heart-rending 

 yell was heard from without, above the howling of 

 the wolves, and they saw through the chinks between 

 the logs, one of their comrades whose horse had 

 broken down and lagged behind, unperceived by the 

 rest, surrounded by the horde and fighting desperately 

 a moment more and he was pulled from the saddle 

 and both man and horse devoured before their eyes. 

 Then the wolves surrounded the hut, and, finding 

 themselves baulked of their prey, began to fight 

 amongst each other, at times endeavouring to scratch 

 away the earth under the logs or force their ways 

 through the crevices, but the hut being substantially 

 constructed, resisted all their efforts, and a deadly 

 discharge of fire-arms was kept up from the interior, 

 which thinned their numbers, and revenged their 

 fallen friends, but the dead wolves were speedily de- 



