er arms close about him and her
warm breath fans his fevered cheek, as he is drawn, willingly, closer
and closer to her bosom.

But what is this? The embrace draws tight, tighter and yet tighter; he
becomes rigid in her arms, he cannot breathe, and life seems to be going
from him. He feels his ribs cracking under the pressure; he cannot cry
out; he cannot struggle. Now comes the sound of something ripping, of
flesh being torn by ruthless claws. A quiver of nerves, a sigh, and the
man is still.

Down the path of that woful gorge in a headlong rush comes the
wolf-pack. A great figure with lolling body looks up. Its broad head and
short muzzle are poised alertly. So it stands, and under its merciless
fore paws is the mangled corpse of Nick Westley. It is a monstrous
grizzly, monstrous even for its kind. It turns from its victim with
shambling but swiftly moving gait, growling and snarling with terrible
ferocity as it goes, but never hesitating. This shaggy monarch is no
coward, but he is cunning as any fox, and, unlike the mountain lion,
knows the limitation of his powers. He knows that even his gigantic
strength could not long make stand against the oncoming horde. What he
leaves behind will check the fanged legions while he makes good his
escape.

The pack pours like a hideous flood over the spot where the last act of
Nick Westley's tragedy has been played out. A brief but fiendish tumult,
and little remains to tell of the sorry drama. The impassive mountains,
unmoved spectators, give no sign. The stupendous reticence of the
wilderness, like the fall of a mighty curtain, closes over the scene,
taking the story into its inviolable keeping.

THE END.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of In the Brooding Wild, by Ridgwell Cullum

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