132 A SPORTING PARADISE 



a moment and a dismal silence succeeded. All 

 was dark, save a few feet of the snow-covered 

 ground immediately in front of them. They re- 

 sumed their pace hastily, with their axes in their 

 hands prepared for an attack. Suddenly the fore- 

 most man was assailed by several wolves, which 

 seized on him, and inflicted terrible wounds with 

 their fangs on his legs and arms, and as they were 

 followed by many others as ravenous as them- 

 selves, several sprang at the breast of his com- 

 panion, and dragged him to the ground. Both 

 struggled manfully against their foes, but in a 

 short time one of the negroes had ceased to move, 

 and the other, reduced in strength and perhaps 

 despairing of aiding his companion or even saving 

 his own life, threw down his axe, sprang into the 

 branch of a tree, and speedily gained a place of 

 safety amid the boughs. Here he passed a 

 miserable night, and the next morning the bones 

 of his friend lay scattered around on the snow, 

 which was stained with his blood. Three dead 

 wolves lay near, but the rest of the pack had 

 disappeared ; and Scipio, sliding to the ground, 

 recovered the axes and returned home to relate 

 the terrible catastrophe." 



In heading this section "The Wolf of 



