The wolf I struck gave a howl
of pain, and his companions, roused by the smell of blood, fell upon
and tore him to pieces in a moment. Rasloff fired an instant after me,
and then we kept up our firing as fast as possible. As the wolves
fell, the others sprung upon them, but the pack was so large that they
were not materially detained by stopping to eat up their brethren.
They continued the pursuit, and what alarmed me, they came nearer, and
showed very little fear of our guns.

"We had taken a large quantity of ammunition--more by half than we
thought would possibly be needed--but its quantity diminished so
rapidly as to suggest the probability of exhaustion. The pack steadily
came nearer. We cut away the pig, but it stopped the pursuit only for
a moment. Directly behind us the wolves were not ten yards away; on
each side they were no further from the horses, who were snorting with
fear, and requiring all the efforts of the driver to hold them. We
shot down the beasts as fast as possible, and as I saw our danger I
whispered my thoughts to Rasloff.

"He replied to me in Spanish, which Christina did not understand, that
the situation was really dangerous, and we must prepare to get out of
it. 'I would stay longer,' he suggested, 'though there is a good deal
of risk in it; but we must think of the girl, and not let her suspect
anything wrong, and, above all, must not risk her safety.'

"Turning to the driver, he said, in a cheery tone:

"'Paul, we have shot till we are tired out. You may let the horses go,
but keep them well in control.'

"While he spoke a huge wolf sprang from the pack and dashed toward
one of the horses. Another followed him, and in twenty seconds the
line was broken and they were upon us. One wolf jumped at the rear of
the sleigh and caught his paws upon it. Rasloff struck him with the
butt of his gun, and at the same instant he delivered the blow, Paul
let the horses have their way. Rasloff fell upon the edge of the
vehicle and over its side. Luckily, his foot caught in one of the
robes and held him for an instant--long enough to enable me to seize
and draw him back. It was the work of a moment, but what a moment!

"Christina had remained silent, suspecting, but not fully
comprehending our danger. As her brother fell she screamed and dropped
senseless to the bottom of the sleigh. I confess that I exerted all my
strength in that effort to save the brother of my affianced, and as I
accomplished i