in my flight to pass the narrow opening. The
outlet was nearly gained; one second more and I should be comparatively
safe, when the fierce brutes appeared on the bank directly above me,
which here rose to the height of ten feet. There was no time for
thought, so I bent my head and dashed madly forward. The wolves sprang,
but miscalculating my speed, sprang behind, while their intended prey
glided out upon the river.

Nature turned me towards home. The light flakes of snow spun from the
iron of my skates, and I was some distance from my pursuers, when their
fierce howl told me I was still their fugitive. I did not look back, I
did not feel afraid, or sorry, or glad; one thought of home, of the
bright faces awaiting my return, of their tears if they never should see
me, and then every energy of body and mind was exerted for escape. I was
perfectly at home on the ice. Many were the days that I had spent on my
good skates, never thinking that at one time they would be my only means
of safety. Every half minute an alternate yelp from my ferocious
followers made me only too certain that they were in close pursuit.
Nearer and nearer they came; I heard their feet pattering on the ice
nearer still, until I could feel their breath and hear their snuffing
scent. Every nerve and muscle in my frame were stretched to the utmost
tension.

The trees along the shore seemed to dance in the uncertain light, and my
brain turned with my own breathless speed, yet still they seemed to hiss
forth their breath with a sound truly horrible, when an involuntary
motion on my part turned me out of my course. The wolves close behind,
unable to stop, and as unable to turn on the smooth ice, slipped and
fell, still going on far ahead; their tongues were lolling out, their
white tusks glaring from their bloody mouths, their dark, shaggy breasts
were fleeced with foam, and as they passed me their eyes glared, and
they howled with fury. The thought flashed on my mind, that by this
means I could avoid them, viz., by turning aside whenever they came too
near; for they, by the formation of their feet, are unable to run on ice
except on a straight line.

I immediately acted upon this plan. The wolves, having regained their
feet, sprang directly towards me. The race was renewed for twenty yards
up the stream; they were already close on my back, when I glided round
and dashed directly past my pursuers. A wild yell greeted my evolution,
and the wolves, slippi