Part 5 (1/2)

But there was enough of vigor and alarm in the boy to crush the door fast; after which he secured it with the bar.

He was safe, then, and had cheated the hungry beasts out of their expected dinner. Felix seemed to experience a sudden change in the state of his feelings. He had been alarmed before; now he was angry at those three bold beasts. And turning around, he picked up the Marlin with which he expected to get his ferocious grizzly; and which had been chosen particularly on account of its hard shooting qualities, as well as its faithfulness in a pinch, the mechanism never failing to work, as some guns have a weakness for doing.

Once he had the hammer drawn back, and Felix walked deliberately over to the door, which he meant to swing open. He might have taken to the window just as well, but somehow he felt so fortified by this accession of the repeating gun that he scorned such ”baby” action.

Taking down the bar, he allowed the door to open just a few inches. That gave him the chance he wanted to see the gleaming eyes and the red mouth of a wolf not two feet away.

With the shot he saw the animal roll over in convulsions; while the other two lost no time in making hasty tracks away from that dangerous locality.

And here was where Felix showed that he knew what he was doing when he selected the door instead of the smaller opening that served as a window, since it actually had a pane of gla.s.s, and a movable sash--he was enabled to immediately step outside, gun in hand, and take a couple of shots at the fleeing wolves.

With each report one of the scampering beasts rolled over. It was as fine shooting as Felix had ever done in all his life, and he had always been accounted a rather clever hand with either rifle or bird gun.

”All down in that alley; set 'em up again!” he exclaimed, thrilled with the remarkable success that had followed his work.

Not one of the ferocious beasts got up again, to try and limp away; so that the young Nimrod was not compelled to use more than a single cartridge apiece.

But when, presently, he went to the spring for that bucket of water, Felix, you may be sure, carried the rifle along with him; and the three cartridges that had been ejected were replaced by fresh ones.

There were no more wolves hovering around in that immediate neighborhood, apparently, and he was not disturbed any further. So Felix set about chopping his wood in the most unconcerned way possible, after examining the bodies of his prizes, and dragging them into a row under the big tree.

A short time later he heard Tom's ”cooie,” and answered it. Of course the other had ceased his wild run as soon as he caught the regular sound of the descending axe; but when he came up presently, fairly panting for breath, his face displayed more than ordinary curiosity.

”What was it, Felix?” he asked.

”Do you mean, why did I fire those three shots?” asked the other, meaning to tantalize his chum a little; for he could see how Tom was burning up with eagerness to know the cause of the firing.

”Yes, yes, of course. It's generally the signal that a fellow needs help,” said Tom, eagerly.

”Well, my time for needing help had about pa.s.sed when I let drive with the Marlin gun,” Felix went on, in a mysterious way that the other could make nothing out of. ”But if you could have dropped in here about a minute before that time, I tell you now, you'd have been the most welcome sight my eyes could have looked on.”

”But why? Open up, Felix, and tell me what happened. You shot something, didn't you?” Tom went on to demand.

”I shot three times, and there were just that number of the scamps, Tom.”

Whereupon Tom glanced around, and in consequence quickly discovered the several forms of the defunct beasts lying in a grim row under the big tree.

”Well, I'll be hanged if it wasn't a whole pack of wolves; and what fierce looking fellows, too!” he exclaimed, as he hurried over to examine them.

”Huh!” grunted Felix; ”I reckon each one looked about as tall as a house to me, when they stood there, and showed me by their bared fangs, and savage growls, that they didn't mean to let me make a dash from the spring to the shack without tackling me.”

”The spring! D'ye mean to say they waylaid you there? But how lucky it was that you didn't forget to have your gun along!” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Tom.

”That's where the joke comes in,” remarked the other, drily; ”because it never once occurred to me that a fellow ought to go to get a bucket of water, with his gun under one arm. It was in the cabin at the time, more's the pity.”

Tom plumped down on the ground, and mopped his face with his bandana; his run had apparently heated him up considerably.

”Spin the yarn, Felix; don't keep me guessing so hard. However in the wide world did you keep them off till you grabbed up the gun?” he urged.

”Couldn't have done it at all, I give you my word, because they were just bent on tackling me off-hand; but it chanced that I had an old newspaper in my pocket.”