Brer Wolf

“ Nobody stirrin’. Den he look in, en dar lay Brer Fox stretch out on de bed des es big ez life. Den Brer Rabbit make like he talkin’ to hisse’f.
“‘Nobody ’roun’ fer ter look atter Brer Fox—not even Brer Tukkey Buzzard ain’t come ter de funer’l,’ sezee. ‘I hope Brer Fox ain’t dead, but I speck he is,’ sezee. ‘Even down ter Brer Wolf done gone en lef’ ’im. Hit’s de busy season wid me, but I’ll set up wid ’im. He seem like he dead, yit he mayn’t be,’ sez Brer Rabbit, sezee. ‘W’en a man go ter see dead fokes, dead fokes allers raises up der behime leg en hollers, wahoo!’ sezee. ”

“ Brer Fox feel so bad, en he git so mad 'bout Brer Rabbit, dat he dunner w'at ter do, en he look mighty down-hearted. Bimeby, one day wiles he wuz gwine 'long de road, old Brer Wolf come up wid 'im. W'en dey done howdyin' en axin' atter one nudder's fambly connexshun, Brer Wolf, he 'low, he did, dat der wuz sump'n wrong wid Brer Fox, en Brer Fox, he 'low'd der wern't, en he went on en laugh en make great terdo kaze Brer Wolf look like he spishun sump'n. ”

“ Ole Miss Wolf, she 'uz sailin' 'roun' fryin' meat en gittin' brekkus, en dar hangin' 'cross er cheer wuz Brer Wolf wes'cut where he keep he money-pus. Brer Rabbit rush up ter do' en pant lak he mighty nigh fag out. ”

“ Brer Fox seed 'im comin', en he sorter back off. Brer Wolf got little closer, en bimeby he make a dash at Brer Fox. Brer Fox dodge, he did, en den he put out fer de woods wid Brer Wolf right at his heels.
"Den atter so long a time, atter Brer Rabbit got done laughin', he call up de little Rabs, gi' um some 'lasses fer supper, en spanked um en sont um ter bed.'"
"Well, what did he spank 'em for, Uncle Remus?" asked the little boy.
"Ter make um grow, honey,—des ter make um grow!" ”

“ I also imagined I detected the noise of padded feet and the scraping noise of claws on the wood. A shudder ran through me. Was a panther, a mountain lion, about to spring [210] upon me? No, I abandoned the thought and instinctively I knew that it must be one of the black wolf pack. Then I remembered hearing the cracking and breaking of sticks or timber while I was trying to sleep in the bedroom, and I felt that Pluto had broken out of the pen and was creeping up on us slowly and stealthily as I have seen a fox creep up on a covey of quail. ”

“ The eagle screamed, descended like a thunderbolt and skilfully avoiding the branching antlers, struck the bull, driving one talon into the neck and the other into the back, flapping its huge wings as it tore with its beak at the body of the elk like a trained “bear coote.”
I was thunderstruck. The evident partnership of the wolves and bird needed explanation and it was not long in coming. A shrill whistle pierced the air, the black wolves immediately ceased to worry the elk, the eagle soared overhead, and for an instant the elk stood confused, then leaped high in the air and fell dead. ”

“ In the melee the lantern was upset and the struggle ended in darkness as it began, but when things quieted down and Pete relit the lantern there were only two wolves which were alive and they were fiercely attacking each other. We soon dispatched them, however, and then devoted our attention to the Wild Hunter over whose body Big Pete was now bending.
“By the great horn spoon, Le-loo!” cried he, looking up for a moment, “we’ve wiped out the pack, and now that the scrap is over here comes the Injuns. I calculate our friend here [215] is a dead one; Pluto has chewed him to pieces. ”

“ He would be given a frequent chance of exercise, in some secure enclosure where he could run, and jump, and stretch his mighty muscles, and breathe deep. And not infrequently—after dark as a rule—his master would snap a massive chain upon his collar, and lead him out, on leash like a dog, into the verdurous freshness of park or country lane. But when the show was on tour, then it was very different. Lone Wolf hated fiercely the narrow cage in which he had to travel. ”

“ With a thong of buckskin he tied the bundle to the ridgepole, at the very rear of the tent and almost at the brink of the river. But every day the thought of their possession was dearer to him. Soon he could leave the dreadful forest, and take them with him down into the valleys. Men would admire them there, and many would try to buy them. He wondered if any of these admiring men would try to kill him for them.
But his self-control was not so perfect that he could shut out certain haunting memories. And all at once Wolf remembered that his brother had been a particularly able swimmer. ”

“ Then burst upon the stillness of the night such an uproar that for a moment I thought the whole pack was mixed in the fight, but at length I heard Pluto’s snarling, rumbling growl, answered by the distant howl of the wolf pack, followed immediately by a close-by yell that chilled my blood; after this came Big Pete’s war cry, then the crash of falling objects, shrieks and growls and savage yells. ”

“ Suddenly, right under his nose, there was the scent of a human—that Otter Cove human!
Two Toes rose seven feet in the air and returned to the earth struggling as he fell, fearful that he would land in a steel trap of some kind. The rabbit cut a corner and escaped.
All the joy of the chase, all lust for rabbit food, went out of the wolf's mind in an instant. He couldn't smell anything but that human for days, every time he thought about it. His followers were vastly annoyed, too—except two of them who licked their chops when they passed the trail of the man. ”

“ Quietly, Wolf edged forward to the street, automatically noting that his men were doing the same. Several of the guards had turned, were running back toward the source of the excitement, and others were turned toward it. But those around Mayne Landing had not responded. They were keeping their eyes fixed on the crowd. They were too well trained to be drawn off, and Wolf cursed under his breath. ”

“ Ride a mile to the west of our line of march. Keep your eye out for enemies. If you see any, get back to us full speed. Great Bear has sixty braves. Maybe more. We are only twenty. He would wipe us out."
Away went Red Wolf. He was only a scout, but he was a youngster doing warrior duty, and he felt as if the fate of the whole band depended upon him. It was another big thing to add to his remarkable experiences of the day before,—a fort, guns, a grand cock-fight, and the heroes of the border,—white chiefs who were famous among all the tribes. ”

“ They wondered why the Pawnees were delaying their attack. The maneuver made them suspicious.
"My brothers, we must keep watching," cried Wolf Robe. "The Wolf People are very sly. Perhaps they are moving forward like the fox. Then they will rush ahead. If we are not ready, then——"
At that instant he was interrupted by a wild outburst of piercing whoops, and a multitude of yelling horsemen emerged from the shadows and swept toward the camp. Having entirely surrounded the village, they charged with a reckless fury that might have temporarily demoralized the bravest foes. ”

“ Nothing showed the vicious ingratitude of the Wolf more vividly than the fact that instead of waiting for the morning before entering upon his wicked enterprise, he started within three minutes after Black Bear, the chieftain, finished his little speech. The sachem picked up his own rifle from where it leaned against the tree and handed it to him, while Wau-ko-mia-tan stood at the other end of the group, until the warrior, his ugly face glowing like that of a demon, stepped to his side. ”

“ There lay Big Pete Darlinkel, dead or unconscious, and within ten feet of him stood the giant bear surrounded by a vicious pack of gaunt red-mouthed wolves. The bear made a rush and a shadow passed over the ground; I heard the sound of a large body rushing swiftly through the air, and an immense eagle struck the bear like a thunderbolt; at the same instant the wolves attacked him from all sides ”

“ But look at Big Pete!
As motionless as a statue, with a solemn face he stoops with a rigid figure pointing to the trail! I hastened to his side and saw that the moccasin prints ceased in the middle of an open, bare, muddy place and beyond were nothing but the dog-like tracks of the wolves.
I looked up and all around; there were no overhanging branches that a man could swing himself upon, no stones that he could leap upon—nothing but the straggling bunches of ferns; but here in this open spot the Wild Hunter vanished. ”

“ When Terry and the dog appeared, Old Boy quietly slipped away about his own affairs.
Woof took the track from the bed with hot eagerness, but Terry held him down to a gait the horse could keep comfortably. He knew that this would be no dash into success. The wolf was warned, and he was shacking away. The hunter studied the course the raider took.
The fugitive went straight up the mountain. He ascended a steep no horse could climb. He was a wise Old Boy, and knew exactly what a dog meant on his trail. He knew what a horse meant. He knew what a man would mean, too, speaking of other men. ”

“ And Berach said to the cow, "See, Mother Bel, this shall be your child now, in place of the little one which is gone. He will be a kind and gentle son to you, I promise." And to the wolf he said, "Here, Wolf, is the mother whom you need to make you gentle and good. You shall be kind to her, and make her forget the wrong you have done by being a loving and dutiful son, ever doing her bidding." So after that the cow and the meek wolf dwelt peacefully together in the meadows of the monastery, and he shielded her from danger, and like a huge watchdog kept away the other wild beasts from the herd. ”

“ He kept thinking how lonely it would be for him now in the barracks with the excitement of the autumn manœuvres a thing of the past, and with the monotonous winter work beginning again.
Above, on the limber, Wolf sat between Truchsess and Plettau. The nearer the wished-for day of freedom approached the more nervous Wolf became. He tried not even to think of life after his discharge, always fearing that some slip might still occur to detain him longer in his fetters. ”

“ The youth felt the change in his own spirit. There is a difference between looking after cattle, managing horses, living at a ranch, and going forth into the mountain heights hunting a grey, competent wolf to the death. He could not scorn that loud-voiced, stealthy-traveling, hard-hitting brute. Terry knew that the wolf was perhaps his equal in strategy. ”

“ He desired nothing more in the world than the contact with that great, bristling black body, to leap aside from those ominous teeth, to set his fingers in the wolf's throat. Reason might have told him the folly of such a strife, but all that remained in his mind was the love of combat—a blind passion. His eyes glowed like those of the wolf, yellow fire against the green. Black Bart crouched still lower, gathering himself for the spring, but he was held by the man's yellow gleaming eyes. They invited the battle. Fear set its icy hand on the soul of the wolf. ”

“ The strange appearance of this big, powerful, smooth shaven man in a buckskin hunting costume with a retinue of black wolves and a trained eagle, the mysterious manner of his hunting and his coming and going, aroused in me great interest and curiosity and I could realize the effect it evidently had upon Big Pete’s superstitious mind in spite of the fact that the big fellow was accustomed to facing almost any sort of danger. ”

“ I cried impatiently; “this is no four-legged witch nor bear either. That was a man and when he thought he would be followed he put on moccasins made from bears’ paws to leave a disguised trail. And moreover I believe that man is none other than the Wild Hunter without his wolf pack. And that pass is the pathway he takes in and out of this park. I’m going to trail him whether you want to or not. ”

“ It was the Wolf; slim, vital, clean-limbed, smiling, in marked contrast with all those others.
On the instant Fyles remembered something of Fraser’s description of the Wolf.
“I don’t know how it is with you, Sergeant,” he had said. “But I’m all for fool instinct when it comes to estimating the other feller. I can’t place the Wolf, and that’s a fact. He’s the brains and ability of a township of hard-living citizens. But he’s more. He looks like a half-breed and lives like one. Nevertheless, he’s white as you or me. They call him the Wolf, without any other name. ”

“ He knows how to make Injuns love him and varmints fear him, he kin pack all his duffle in my bag, he need not cough up eny money when he’s with me. Reckon we be alright here, but waugh! we’ve gotter watch tha’ black wolf pack!—yes and also that young Indian whose ram you shot; it seems he looks after the wolves and sees to it that they are fastened up in their corral. ”

“ He stooped over the beast, and lifting him with an effort—for he was very large—cast him out at the side of the tent flap. And at once there arose such a snarling that all of the party within the hollow held their breath.
'It would be like that were we to be taken,' said Chu-Li grimly. 'Perhaps it is as well for us to know; for then we shall fight the more fiercely. I say that there are many who imagine, never having seen a wolf, that such beasts cannot be so very dangerous. One has to meet them to understand. Now, we will take the brands and stand ready. ”