Comrades of the Saddle | Page 2

another howl, and an instant later a big black form, for all the world like a large dog, leaped from the bushes into the road.
"Quick, quick!" cried Larry, seizing his brother's arm and pulling him along, for Tom had slackened his speed, as though fascinated by the sight of the strange animal. "It must be that wolf father read about, the one that got away when the circus train was passing through Husted."
And, Larry was right. The animal was indeed a wolf that had escaped from its cage through the door, the fastener on which had been jarred out of place by the motion of the train, and had leaped to liberty.
The circus people had reported the loss as soon as it had been discovered and it had been duly announced in the papers.
Mr. Alden had read about it, but all had laughed at the thought of a wolf in placid Ohio and dismissed the story as a circus man's joke.
Rejoicing in its freedom, the beast had wandered about till it struck the swamp and now the air brought to its keen nose the scent of the boys passing. Ravenously hungry, the wolf hastened toward the lads.
As it bounded into the road the glare from the lights of the farmhouse momentarily blinded it and it stood blinking.
But only for an instant. Instinctively realizing that it must catch them before they reached the lights, the wolf uttered a savage snarl and bounded forward.
Larry's words to his brother had roused the boy, and together they were racing toward the welcome lights of their home.
But the wolf with its leaps covered three yards to their one, and as the older of the boys looked over his shoulder he saw that the beast was gaining on them.
Fifty yards ahead was the house and thirty yards behind them was the wolf.
Well did the boys know they could not win the race. But they did not lose their heads.
"Father! Harry!" yelled Larry. "Joe! The wolf! the wolf! Get the rifle!"
"The wolf! the wolf!" added Tom. "Shoot the wolf!"
The yells, breaking the stillness of the night, startled Mrs. Alden and the hired men, who were awaiting the coming of Mr. Alden and the boys.
Unable to distinguish the words, the hired men rushed to the door and threw it open. Peering along the path of the light, they saw the forms of the boys.
"Quick! The rifle! The wolf's after us!" shouted Tom.
Fortunately Mr. Alden always kept a loaded rifle on a rack on the kitchen wall with which to shoot foxes that attempted to raid his hen-roost.
Hastily the hired man named Joe sprang for the weapon, seized it and dashed from the door, shouting:
"Where is it? Where is it?"
Before the boys could answer, however, his keen eyes espied the black form.
Joe had often amused himself shooting at a target with Larry and Tom and was able to make four bull's-eyes out of five, but never before had the opportunity to aim at a live mark come to him, and as he raised the rifle his hands trembled.
"Shoot! shoot!" yelled Larry. "No matter if you don't hit it, shoot!"
Bang! went the gun, and as the report of the firearm died away the wolf was seen to stagger and fall. Soon the beast arose again, but by that time the hired man was ready for another shot. This finished the beast, and with a yelp it rolled over and breathed its last.
CHAPTER II
MR. ALDEN BRINGS NEWS
Exhausted by their run and the excitement of their escape, Larry and Tom staggered into the house and dropped into chairs, their mother and the hired men pressing about and plying them with questions. But it was several minutes before the boys recovered their breath sufficiently to speak.
Tom was the first to get over his fright, and, as soon as he could control his voice, gave a vivid account of their attempt to reach home before their father, their hearing the uncanny sound from the swamp, the sudden appearance of the wolf behind them and their desperate race to get to the house before the beast should overtake them.
"It's a good thing I practiced shooting last winter," exclaimed Joe as the story ended. He was proud of what he had accomplished.
"There's father," declared Mrs. Alden as a "whoa!" sounded from the yard.
Quickly Larry picked up a lantern, and, followed by all but his mother, went out to help unhitch the horses and take them into the barn.
"What's been going on?" demanded the farmer as the others joined him. "I heard the rifle shot."
Eagerly they all started to tell.
"Don't all speak at once," interposed Mr. Alden. "You're talking so loud and so fast I can't understand a word. Tom, suppose you explain?"
Excitedly the youngest of the brothers poured forth the tale.
"A wolf in Bramley, eh? Well,