“’Twas a narrow escape!” exclaimed Andy, sitting limply down upon the edge of a bunk.
“That it was!” and David, no less excited and relieved, was visibly shaking.
“They might have got us!” said Andy, weakly.
“They might have, but they didn’t, and they didn’t get th’ martens or tear up our sleeping bags, either,” and the trembling but proud David seated himself by Andy’s side, to recover his composure.
“You kept your grit, and were wonderful brave, Davy,” said Andy admiringly.
“Oh, ’twasn’t anything,” and David, with a brave show, arose and began unlashing the toboggan. “You kept your grit just as much, Andy. If you had run, or hadn’t got the door open or the candle lit, we’d sure been killed.”
“’Twere fine th’ gun went off, but ’tis strange she didn’t go off when you tried her before,” suggested Andy.
“If I’d tried un once more out where we first saw th’ wolves, she’d have gone off, but I gives up too soon,” said David. “Th’ tryin’ I did loosed th’ ice around th’ firin’ pin. I just had t’ try un when th’ wolves started in after us; and she were all right.”
And so it is, much too often in life. We give up too soon. We would turn many a failure into success if we would but keep on trying, and doing our best, and not permit ourselves to become discouraged.