o a running noose, and then waited until the wolves should summon up
courage to attack again. It was not long. Furious with hunger, which the
prey they had already devoured was only sufficient to whet, the wolves
again approached and began to spring towards the bough.

Malchus dropped the noose over one of their necks, and with an effort,
hauled it to the bough, and despatched it with his dagger. Then he moved
along the bough and hung it on a branch some ten feet from the ground,
slashing open with his dagger its chest and stomach. Having done this he
returned to his place. Six wolves were one after the other so hauled
up and despatched, and as Malchus expected, the smell of their blood
rendered the pack more savage than ever. They assembled round the
foot of the tree, and continued to spring at the trunk, making vain
endeavours to get at the supply of food which hung tantalizingly at so
short a distance beyond their reach.

So the day passed as before without signs of rescue. When it became
dark Malchus again descended to the lowest trunk, and fired his three
remaining arrows among the wolves below him. Loud howls followed each
discharge, followed by a desperate struggle below. Then he tumbled from
their position the six dead wolves to the ground below, and then as
noiselessly as possible made his way along a bough into an adjoining
tree, and so into another, till he had attained some distance from the
spot where the wolves were fighting and growling over the remains of
their companions, far too absorbed in their work for any thought of him.

Then he dropped noiselessly to the ground and fled at the top of
his speed. It would be, he was sure, some time before the wolves had
completed their feast; and even should they discover that he was missing
from the tree, it would probably be some time before they could hit upon
his scent, especially, as, having just feasted on blood, their sense of
smell would for a time be dulled. His previsions were accurate. Several
times he stopped and listened in dread lest he should hear the distant
howl, which would tell him that the pack was again on his scent. All was
quiet, save for the usual cries and noises in the forest. In two hours
he saw a distant glow of light, and was soon in the encampment of his
friends.

"Why, Malchus!" his comrades exclaimed as he entered the tent, "where
have you been these two days? Why, you are splashed with blood. Where
are Halcon and Chalcus?"

"De