“What is the matter now?” inquired McShane.
“Do you see that black mass coming down the hill? it’s the main pack of wolves; I fear we are lost; the horse cannot go on.”
“Then why not cut his traces, and go on with the three others?” cried Joey.
“The boy is right,” replied the man, “and there is no time to lose.” The courier went down on the sleigh, spoke to the driver in Russian, and the horses were pulled up. The courier jumped out with his knife, and commenced cutting the traces of the tired horse, while the other three, who knew that the wolves were upon them, plunged furiously in their harness, that they might proceed. It was a trying moment. The five wolves now came up; the first two were brought down by the guns of McShane and Joey, and O’Donahue killed a third from the carriage windows.
One of the others advanced furiously, and sprang upon the horse which the courier was cutting free. Joey leapt down, and put his pistol to the animal’s head, and blew out his brains, while McShane, who had followed our hero, with the other pistol disabled the only wolf that remained.
But this danger which they had escaped from was nothing compared to that which threatened them; the whole pack now came sweeping like a torrent down the hill, with a simultaneous yell which might well strike terror into the bravest. The horse, which had fallen down when the wolf seized him, was still not clear of the sleigh, and the other three were quite unmanageable. McShane, Joey, and the courier, at last drew him clear from the track; they jumped into their places, and away they started again like the wind, for the horses were maddened with fear. The whole pack of wolves was not one hundred yards from them when they recommenced their speed, and even then McShane considered that there was no hope. But the horse that was left on the road proved their salvation; the starved animals darted upon it, piling themselves one on the other, snarling and tearing each other in their conflict for the feast. It was soon over; in the course of three minutes the carcass had disappeared, and the major portion of the pack renewed their pursuit; but the carriage had proceeded too far ahead of them, and their speed being now uninterrupted, they gained the next village, and O’Donahue had the satisfaction of leading his terrified bride into the chamber of the post-house, where she fainted as soon as she was placed in a chair.
“I’ll tell you what, Joey, I’ve had enough of wolves for all my life,” said McShane; “and Joey, my boy, you’re a good shot in the first place, and a brave little fellow in the next; here’s a handful of roubles, as they call them, for you to buy lollipops with, but I don’t think you’ll find a shop that sells them hereabouts. Never mind, keep your sweet tooth till you get to old England again; and after I tell Mrs McShane what you have done for us this day, she will allow you to walk into a leg of beef, or round a leg of mutton, or dive into a beefsteak pie, as long as you live, whether it be one hundred years more or less. I’ve said it, and don’t you forget it; and now, as the wolves have not made their supper upon us, let us go and see what we can sup upon ourselves.”