d slowly, not wishing to tire our horses, and, as we left
the half dozen villages that clustered around the chateau, we had the
road entirely to ourselves. The moon rose soon after sunset, and as it
was at the full, it lighted up the plain very clearly, and seemed to
stand out quite distinct from the deep blue sky and the bright stars
that sparkled everywhere above the horizon. We chatted gayly as we
rode along. The time passed so rapidly that I was half surprised, when
Rasloff told me to get ready to hunt wolves.

"The pig had been lying very comfortably in the bottom, of the sleigh,
and protested quite loudly as we brought him out. The rope had been
made ready before we started from home, and so the most we had to do
was to turn the horses around, get our guns ready, and throw the pig
upon the ground. He set up a piercing shriek as the rope dragged him
along, and completely drowned our voices. Paul had hard work to keep
the horses from breaking into a run, but he succeeded, and we
maintained a very slow trot. Christina nestled in the place she had
agreed to occupy, and Rasloff and I prepared to shoot the wolves.

"We drove thus for fifteen or twenty minutes. The pig gradually became
exhausted, and reduced his scream to a sort of moan that was very
painful to hear. I began to think we should see no wolves, and return
to the chateau without firing our guns, when suddenly a howl came
faintly along the air, and in a moment, another and another.

"'There,' said Rasloff; 'there comes our game, and we shall have work
enough before long.'

"A few moments later I saw a half dozen dusky forms emerging from the
forest to the right and behind us. They seemed like moving spots on
the snow, and had it not been for their howling I should have failed
to notice them as early as I did. They grew more and more numerous,
and, as they gathered behind us, formed a waving line across the road
that gradually took the shape of a crescent, with the horns pointing
toward our right and left. At first they were timid, and kept a
hundred yards or more behind us, but as the hog renewed his scream,
they took courage, and approached nearer.

"By the time they were within fifty yards there were two or three
hundred of them--possibly half a thousand. I could see every moment
that their numbers were increasing, and it was somewhat impatiently
that I waited Rasloff's signal to fire. At last he told me to begin,
and I fired at the center of the pack.