228

Ere long one of them found an opening at a
corner large enough to admit its head; but Evan
was on the alert, and gave it such a blow with the
axe as to cause its death. Soon another tried the
same thing, and met with the same reception, with-
drawing and whirling around several times, and
then dropping dead with a broken skull.

One smaller than the rest attempting to enter,
and receiving the fatal blow, crawled, in its dying
agony, completely into the enclosure, and lay dead
at Evan’s feet. Of this he was not sorry, as his feet
were bitterly cold, and the warm carcass of the animal
served to relieve them.

In the course of the night six wolves were killed
as they sought to creep into his fortress, and several
others so seriously hacked as to send them to the
woods again; and however correct the notion that
when on the hunt they devour their fallen comrades,
in this case they did no such thing, as in the morn-
ing the six dead bodies iay about on the ice, and
Evan had the profitable privilege of taking off their
skins.

Of his thoughts during the night, a quotation from
his diary is quaintly suggestive and characteris-
tic:

NAMING THE KITTEN.

“T bethought me of the wars of Glendower, which
I have read about, and the battle of Grosmont Castle;
and I said, ‘I am Owen Glendower; this is my castle;
the wolves are the army of Henry; but I will never
surrender or yield as did Glendower.’”’

Toward morning, as the change of weather con-
tinued, and the waters of the river began to diminish,
there was suddenly a prodigious crack and crash of
the ice-bridge, and the whole mass settled several
inches, At this the wolves took alarm, and in an
instant fled. Perhaps they might have returned had

‘not the crackling of the ice been repeated fre-

quently.

At length, Evan became alarmed for his safety,
lest the ice should break up in the current, and
bringing his axe to bear, soon burst his way out and
fled to the shore. But not seeing the ice crumble, he
ventured back to obtain the other axe, and then
hastened home to his employer.

During the day he skinned the wolves, and within
a fortnight pocketed the bounty money, amounting
in all to about one hundred and fifty dollars. With
this money he made the first payment on a large

‘farm which he long lived to cultivate and enjoy, and

under the sod of which he found a quiet. grave.

NAMING THE KITTEN.

By Ciara Doty Bares.

 

“ ROSE.”

S Rose a nice name for kitty?
You.see she’s a bit of pink at the end of her nose,

 

Do you like Rose?

Gray isn’t the prettiest color for flowers, of course,
Besides, to be streaked like a tiger does make it worse,

If she were only a white puss Rosy would do,
Or even yellow—for roses are yellow too.

She’s scratched me, here, on my finger; pussy, for shame!
When I was thinking to give you the sweetest name.

Just see the mark—it is bleeding, and burns like fire;
Tl call you Brier! uy

You never shall be Rose—never!

      

RIER.”