CHAPTER THREE

The Hungry Wolves

The day started well. The men lost no dogs during the night. Around the middle of the day, the sled had an accident. It was between a large rock and a big tree, and the men could not move it. To move the sled, they took the dogs from the sled. Then they pushed the sled.

As the men were pushing, a dog named One Ear began to run away. Henry called to One Ear, but the dog did not stop running. The she-wolf was waiting for him. One Ear ran to the she-wolf. Suddenly, many wolves appeared. The wolves were ready to attack One Ear.

Bill took the gun. He ran to the wolves. He wanted to rescue One Ear. "I won't let them kill another dog!" he shouted.

"Be careful!" called Henry.

Henry sat on the sled. There were many trees, so Henry could not see Bill and One Ear. Suddenly, he heard a violent sound and a cry of pain. Then, everything was quiet. He knew the wolves killed both One Ear and Bill.

Henry was extremely sad and frightened. After sitting on the sled for a few moments, he got up. He fixed the sled. Then he connected the dogs to the sled. He started the journey again. He helped the dogs pull the sled. He did not travel far. He quickly prepared camp. He made a very large fire, and he had a lot of wood for the fire.

Henry did not sleep that night because the wolves were very close. They sat near the fire all night, watching hirh and the last two dogs. He made the fire very large. He knew it was the only thing that could save him. His dogs were close to him. He protected them. If the wolves came too close, he would throw burning wood at the wolves.

In the morning, Henry was very tired. He cooked and ate breakfast. At about nine o'clock in the morning, the wolves left the camp. Then, Henry built a platform in the trees. He put the large box from the sled on top of the platform, and said to the dead man in the box, "They ate Bill and they might eat me, but I won't let them eat you."

Then Henry began the journey. The sled moved much faster without the large box. The wolves were following Henry. He finished the journey early that day to prepare a fire. He made the fire into a big circle. He and the dogs sat inside the circle of fire for protection.

Henry wondered when the wolves would finally eat him. He put more wood on the fire. The she-wolf stood by the fire and looked at him. Henry threw a piece of burning wood at her. She quickly ran away.

Again, Henry did not sleep the entire night. When the day began at nine o'clock, the wolves did not leave. This was the first time that they stayed during the day. They surrounded the fire. He could not go and get more wood for the fire.

All day, he and the dogs sat in the circle of fire. Night came. Henry tried not to sleep, but he could not control himself. He slept. He dreamed that he was safe in a small city, but there were wolves outside the city trying to kill him.

Suddenly, Henry woke up and saw his reality. The wolves were attacking him. One wolf was biting his arm. Henry could feel the teeth of the wolf in his skin. Another wolf bit his leg. He ran to the fire and stood inside the fire. He was wearing thick gloves on his hands, so he picked up burning wood from the fire and threw it at the wolves. His skin was now burning and the fire was hotter than he could bear.

The wolves moved away from the fire. Henry walked out of the fire. The last two dogs were gone.

"You're not going to kill me!" he screamed at the wolves.

Henry got more wood. He made the fire larger. He sat inside the circle of fire. In the morning, the fire was low. Henry needed more wood. When he tried to step out of the fire, the wolves ran to him. A wolf tried to get inside the fire, but it stepped on some burning wood and screamed. The fire was getting smaller. There were now parts of the fire-circle that were not burning and the wolves could walk inside.

Henry had no hope left "You can come and get me," he said to the wolves. Then he went to sleep.

Moments later, Henry awoke. The wolves were gone. He heard people, sleds, and dogs. Six men stood by Henry. They asked him what had happened. Henry was so tired that he could not explain. He said, "she-wolf ... our dogs ... she ate the dogs ... then Bill ... "

"Where's Lord Alfred?" one of the men asked (he meant the dead man in the box).

"He is in the last camp," said Henry. Then he slept.

(end of section)