A BllAVE WOMAN. 
263 
floor, there, sure enough, she saw the shining 
eyes and ugly head of a wolf. She had sent 
the children up-stairs before,—for there was 
an upper chamber to the house, a kind of 
garret,—and she soon followed them quick 
enough, only stopping to take down her 
husband’s gun, which hung ready loaded, 
with his powder-horn and shot-bag, on some 
hooks in the room. She had just got up 
the ladder, which wasn’t very high, as the 
wolf forced up one of the planks and stuck 
his head through. She pushed the young 
ones back, and kneeled down by the top of 
the ladder, steadying the gun on something; 
and, just as he was trying to get his fore¬ 
paws up on the floor, she fired and shot him 
through the head. He gave one yell and 
dropped down dead. The noise of the gun 
and all scared the others, so that they re¬ 
treated to the edge of the woods and never 
come near the house again all night, though 
they kept up a tremendous howling, and 
now and then one or two would come out 
into the moonlight and look towards the 
house, as if trying to get up their courage 
for another attack. I suppose it was a very 
long night to the mother and her children, 
