“Gone to see a tame moose of his, Sir,” he said, “in the pasture; but they will be back directly.”
“Well,” sais I, lighting a cigar by Peter’s pipe, and taking a seat alongside of him, “go on Jackson; don’t let me interrupt you.”
“I was just telling Mr McDonald, Sir,” said he, “of a night I once spent on the field of battle in Spain.”
“Well, go on.”
“As I was a saying to him, Sir,” he continued, “you could ear the wolves among the dead and the dying a owling like so many devils. I was afraid to go to sleep, as I didn’t know when my turn might come; so I put my carbine across my knees, and sat up as well as I could, determined to sell my life as dearly as possible, but I was so weak from the loss of blood, that I kept dozing and starting all the time amost. Oh, what a tedious night that was, Sir, and how I longed for the dawn of day, when search should be made among us for the wounded! Just as the fog began to rise, I saw a henormous wolf, about a hundred yards or so from me, busy tearing a body to pieces; and taking a good steady haim at him, I fired, when he called out:
“‘Blood and ounds! you cowardly furrin rascal, haven’t you had your belly-full of fighting yet, that you must be after murthering a wounded man that way? By the powers of Moll Kelly, but you won’t serve Pat Kallahan that dirty trick again anyhow.’
“As he levelled at me, I fell back, and the ball passed right over me and struck a wounded orse that was broke down behind, and a sittin’ up on his fore-legs like a dog. Oh, the scream of that are hanimal, Sir, was just like a Christian’s. It was hawful. I have the sound of it in my ears now halmost. It pierced through me, and you might have eard it that still morning over the whole field. He sprung up and then fell over, and kicked and struggled furious for a minute or two before he died, and every time he lashed out, you could a eard a elpless wounded wretch a groanin’ bitterly, as he battered away at him. The truth is, Sir, what I took for a wolf that hazy morning, was poor Pat, who was sitting up, and trying to bandage his hankle, that was shattered by a bullet, and the way he bobbed his head up and down, as he stooped forward, looked exactly as a wolf does when he is tearing the flesh off a dead body.
“Well, the scream of that are orse, and the two shots the dragoon and I exchanged, saved my life, for I saw a man and a woman making right straight for us. It was Betty, Sir, God bless her, and Sergeant M’Clure. The owling she sot up, when she saw me, was dreadful to ear, Sir.
“‘Betty,’ said I, ‘dear, for eaven’s sake see if you can find a drop of brandy in any of these poor fellows’ canteens, for I am perishing of thirst, and amost chilled to death.’
“‘Oh, Tom, dear,’ said she, ‘I have thought of that,’ and unslinging one from her shoulders put it to my lips, and I believe I would have drained it at a draft, but she snatched it away directly, and said: