The wolf could not have been very hungry, or it would, I suspected, have attacked the horses; though I have since heard that a single wolf will seldom attempt to kill a horse, a pair of heels proving more formidable weapons than its fangs.
Having collected enough wood, I returned to the hut. Pat was in the same semi-conscious state as before, still he appeared to me to be getting better, and I hoped that by the next day he would be sufficiently recovered to set off with me towards the fort. I watched him anxiously for some time, wishing, should he awake, to give him some more broth. Finding that he slept on, I was compelled by sheer drowsiness and fatigue to lie down, when I myself was soon fast asleep. When I awoke, I found him sitting up and scratching his head.
“Arrah! now, what’s it all about?” he muttered. “Shure I’ve been dhrameing. I thought I was out riding along in the snow.”
“I hope you feel better, Pat,” I said.
“For the matter of that, I’m mighty ager after some mate, for I do not know when I last put some between my grinders,” he answered.
“If you wait a bit, you shall soon have some broth,” I said, seeing that he was still weak and scarcely himself. “Lie down, and I’ll get it ready for you.”
I quickly warmed some broth, as I had promised, and brought it to him. He eagerly swallowed it, and asked for more. This I had not to give him, but I promised if he would go to sleep again that I would get some ready for the morning. I accordingly cut off some more meat, and putting it into the pot, filled it up with snow. I then put the pot on the fire, and sat inside the hut watching it while it was boiling.
The occupation kept me awake. As I was looking out into the darkness beyond the fire, I fancied that I saw a shadowy form gliding by. It was, I suspected, that of the wolf, which had been attracted by the scent of the boiling meat.
The creature was afraid of approaching the fire, or I should soon have had the contents of my pot carried off. I got Pat’s gun, and having withdrawn the charge and carefully reloaded it, I placed it by my side, to be ready for use.
Now and then the wolf got near enough to show me its glaring eyeballs, and several times I was greatly tempted to fire, to try to kill it, but I did not wish to throw a shot away; and, should I miss, the bullet might find its way towards one of our horses, which were feeding at some distance beyond.