rom his birth, he prepared to face a wolf of
unknown size and ferocity with considerable coolness, if not
indifference to danger.

Glumm meanwhile reached the other end of the ravine, and there, to his
intense disappointment, found the track of the wolf leading away towards
the open mountains beyond. Just where it left the ravine, however, the
animal had run about so much that the track was crossed and recrossed in
confusion. Glumm therefore had difficulty at first in following it up,
but when he did so, great was his joy to find that it doubled back and
re-entered the defile. Pressing quickly forward, he came to a broken
part, near the centre, where, among a heap of grey, weather-worn rocks
he perceived two sharp-pointed objects, like a pair of erect ears! To
make certain, he hurled a stone towards the place. The objects
instantly disappeared!

Immediately afterwards, a long grey back and a bushy tail were visible
as the wolf glided among the rocks, making for the side of the
precipice, with the intention, doubtless, of rushing past this bold
intruder.

Glumm observed the movement, and promptly went in the same direction.
The wolf noticed this, and paused abruptly--remaining still, as if
uncertain what to do. The hunter at once put to flight his uncertainty
by gliding swiftly towards him. Seeing this, the wolf abandoned the
attempt at concealment and bounded into the centre of the ravine, where,
with his bristles erect, his back slightly arched, and all his
glittering teeth and blood-red gums exposed, he stood for a moment or
two the very picture of intensified fury. The hunter advanced with his
spear levelled, steadily, but not hastily, because there was sufficient
space on either hand to render the meeting of the animal in its rush a
matter of extreme difficulty, while at every step he took, the
precipices on either side drew closer together. The brute had evidently
a strong objection to turn back, and preferred to run the risk of
passing its foe, for it suddenly sprang to one side and ran up the cliff
as far as possible, like a cat, while it made for the upper end of the
ravine.

The Norseman, whose powerful frame was by this time strung to intensity
of action, leaped to the same side with the agility of a panther, and
got in before it. The wolf did not stop, but with a ferocious growl it
swerved aside, and bounded to the other side of the ravine. Again the
hunter leaped across, and stood in its way.