ed up close to him, clapped the
muzzle of his piece into his ear, and shot him dead. Then the rogue
turned about to see if we did not laugh; and when he saw we were pleased
by our looks, he began to laugh very loud. "So we kill bear in my
country," says Friday. "So you kill them?" says I; "why, you have no
guns."--"No," says he, "no gun, but shoot great much long arrow." This
was a good diversion to us; but we were still in a wild place, and our
guide very much hurt, and what to do we hardly knew; the howling of
wolves ran much in my head; and, indeed, except the noise I once heard on
the shore of Africa, of which I have said something already, I never
heard anything that filled me with so much horror.

These things, and the approach of night, called us off, or else, as
Friday would have had us, we should certainly have taken the skin of this
monstrous creature off, which was worth saving; but we had near three
leagues to go, and our guide hastened us; so we left him, and went
forward on our journey.

The ground was still covered with snow, though not so deep and dangerous
as on the mountains; and the ravenous creatures, as we heard afterwards,
were come down into the forest and plain country, pressed by hunger, to
seek for food, and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages,
where they surprised the country people, killed a great many of their
sheep and horses, and some people too. We had one dangerous place to
pass, and our guide told us if there were more wolves in the country we
should find them there; and this was a small plain, surrounded with woods
on every side, and a long, narrow defile, or lane, which we were to pass
to get through the wood, and then we should come to the village where we
were to lodge. It was within half-an-hour of sunset when we entered the
wood, and a little after sunset when we came into the plain: we met with
nothing in the first wood, except that in a little plain within the wood,
which was not above two furlongs over, we saw five great wolves cross the
road, full speed, one after another, as if they had been in chase of some
prey, and had it in view; they took no notice of us, and were gone out of
sight in a few moments. Upon this, our guide, who, by the way, was but a
fainthearted fellow, bid us keep in a ready posture, for he believed
there were more wolves a-coming. We kept our arms ready, and our eyes
about us; but we saw no more wolves till we came through that wood