d Exeter, only to find that his brother
was crippled for funds and could give him no help. He obtained the syrup
that his sister-in-law had made from the pine sap and, after indulging in
a short visit, made an early start for home.

The roads were very rough, and the horse loosened a shoe on the way. His
progress was so slow that darkness had overtaken Hinkson by the time he
had reached the isolated home of Thomas Keats on the edge of Portsmouth.

The rider kept on his way, hoping that the distant cries he heard might
not come nearer. He was less than half a mile from Keats' home when the
howl of the wolves became more distinct. Soon he knew that a pack was on
his trail. The horse seemed to sense his master's fear and dashed
forward. At a bend in the path Hinkson turned and caught the gleam of the
fiery eyes in full speed behind him. He fired, and the pack stopped to
devour the fallen leader, while the horse plunged on. Again Hinkson's
good aim brought another wolf to the ground, but a few of the pack, mad
with the taste of blood, kept on in hot pursuit. Hinkson brought down a
third and dodged a fourth that sprang at the horse's flanks. Again the
wolf jumped and would have crippled horse and rider had not the crack of
another gun sounded upon the frosty air. It belonged to Thomas Keats,
then on his way home from town meeting. The wolves, frightened by the
double-attack and weakened in numbers, slunk away into the woods.

"This is a lucky shot for you, Hinkson," called Keats. "The town today
voted a bounty of five pounds for every head, provided the nearest
neighbor would stand witness that they were shot within the town's
boundaries. I'm that neighbor, and I'll stand witness for you." Then, as
John Hinkson fastened his bloody trophies to the saddle, Keats added,
"The heads must be nailed to the meeting-house door."

The two men parted and later Hinkson rode into his own dooryard, where
he found an anxious little wife.

She begged for the pine syrup, for her little Anthony was choking with
croup. One glance at the saddle told of the story yet to be heard, but
not until an hour of troubled watching had passed could she listen. The
little boy then rested in comfortable sleep, and John related to his wife
his exciting adventure with the wolves, adding, "I have brought home four
heads, which give me twenty pounds bounty. With my good eye and my steady
gun, I can yet relieve the town of an even greater number, and taxes at