ppeared to him the sounds proceeded. He, of course, could move but
slowly. He had gone, as he supposed, far enough to reach the camp, or,
at all events, to be in sight of the fire, when he heard a shot, which
came, it seemed to him, from a point rather more to the left than that
towards which he was making his way. He had no doubt that it had been
fired by Hector, and he immediately turned, hoping soon to catch sight
of the fire. He was unwilling to discharge his own gun, not knowing at
what moment he might require it to defend himself from the wolves. He,
therefore, only shouted as before. He listened, and fancied that above
the yelping chorus he could distinguish Hector's voice. Presently, to
his infinite relief, he caught sight of the gleam of the fire, more
distant, however, than he had supposed it could possibly be. He made
towards it as fast as he could venture to move; notwithstanding his
caution, he first ran against a tree, and soon afterwards stumbled at a
fallen log.

He could now clearly distinguish the spot where the fire was burning, by
the lurid light which it cast on the neighbouring trees; and, with more
confidence than before, he was hurrying on, when he saw to his right a
number of glowing eyeballs, and the yelping of the wolves sounded closer
than ever.

Waiting until a pair of the glowing balls were only a few feet off, he
fired. They disappeared. A fearful yell from the whole pack followed.
He could see a number of dark forms surrounding him. There was no time
to reload, so, clubbing his rifle, he swept it round and round on every
side. He felt it striking every now and then on the heads of the
creatures which were thus providentially kept at bay. The fire became
more distinct; but the wolves continued to leap and snarl and yelp as
savagely as at first; and, notwithstanding the blows he was dealing
about, one of the brutes seized him by the coat, and another, still more
daring, flew at his throat, and though it failed to bite him, caught him
by the collar, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he saved
himself from being dragged down. He was afraid that Hector, hearing the
sound of the wolves, and not seeing him, might fire; he, therefore,
shouted at the top of his voice, to show his whereabouts. Presently, he
saw his young friend holding a couple of flaming brands in his hands,
come rushing towards him, accompanied by the two dogs, who, springing
forward with furious barks,