mpathized with him, for
he relished a hunt almost as well as his reverence; but all the rest,
with the help of the Russians, amused themselves with _making_ game. I
have said they were in great spirits, particularly Count Theodore;
indeed he was generally the gayer of the pair--his sister being
evidently the more prudent--and in this respect they resembled the
Lorenskis. Many a jest, however, on the non-appearance of the wolves
went round our sledge, of which I remember nothing now, except that we
all laughed till the old wood rang.

"Be quiet, good children," said the priest, turning in his seat of
command: "you make noise enough to frighten all the wolves in creation."

"They won't come to-night, father; they are preparing for mass," cried
Count Theodore. "Juana, if the old Finn were here now, wouldn't he be
useful?"

"Perhaps he might," said the countess, with a forced laugh; but she cast
a look of strange warning and reproof on her brother.

"What Finn?" said the priest, catching the count's words.

"Oh, he is talking of an old nursery-tale we had in St. Petersburg,"
hastily interposed the lady, though I thought her face had no memory of
the nursery in it.

"About the Finns I'll warrant," said Father Cassimer. "They are a
strange people. My brother the merchant told me that he knew one of them
at Abo who said he had a charm for the wolves; but somebody informed
against him for smuggling, and the Russian government sent him to the
lead mines in Siberia. By Saint Sigismund, there's the first of them!"

As the priest spoke, a large wolf appeared, and half the guns in the
sledge were raised. "Not yet, not yet," said our experienced commander,
artfully turning away as another and another came in sight. "There are
more coming," and he gradually slackened our pace; but far off through
the moonlit woods and the frozen night we could hear a strange murmur,
which grew and swelled on all sides to a chorus of mingled howlings, and
the wolves came on by troops.

"Fire now, friends!" cried Father Cassimer. "We are like to have skins
enough for Christmas;" and bang went all our barrels. I saw five fall:
but, contrary to expectation, the wolves did not retire--they stood for
an instant snarling at us. The distant howlings continued and came
nearer; and then from every glade and alley, down the frozen stream, and
through the wide openings of the forest, came by scores and hundreds
such a multitude of wolves as we could not