ONE DOLLAR PER ANNUM, INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
TOWANDA:
Qatnrimn fttoroinn, fttnrci) 3, 1855,
glutei) Ipoctnt.
BEAUTIFUL STANZAS.
'• 1 will lead them in lite paths they have not biotcn."
ISAIAH xi.ni, ll>-
How few wlio, from their youthful day,
I.ook'or. to what their life may be;
Fainting the visions of the way
In colors soft, and bright and free.
How few who to such paths have brought
The hopes and dreams of early thought!
For God, through ways they have not known,
Will lead His own.
The eager hearts, the souls of fire.
Who pant to toil for God and man;
And view with eyes of keen desire
The. upland way of toil and pain;
Almost with scorn they think of rest.
Of holy calm, of tranquil breast,
But God, through ways they have not known,
Will lead His own.
A lowlier task on them is laid,—
With love to make the labor light;
And there their beauty they must shed
Gn quiet homes and lost to sight.
Changed aie their visions high and fuir,
Yet, calm and still, they labor there;
For God. through ways they have not kuown,
Will lead His own.
The gentle heart that thinks with pain,
It scarce can lowliest tasks fulfil;
And. if it dared its life to scan,
Would a-k but pathway low and still.
Often such lowly heart is brought
To act with power beyond its thought;
For God. through ways tlicy have nt known,
Will lead His own.
What matter what ttie path shal. •
That end is clear and bright to view;
We know that we a strength shall see.
Whate'er the day may bring to do,
We sec the end. the house of God,
But not the path to that abode;
For God, through ways they hare not known,
Will lead His own.
jfoltffffc Calf*
HKLI.-TI I E-WOLF:
OR.
How Ben Holick Won his Eride.
TK VNSLATETi FROM THE GERM AS.
In the sequestered valleys of that noble chain
of mountains known as the Wushitah range
•he genuine American backwoodsman is still te
iie found. Homely but upright, rough but
hardy, he is as remarkable for the self-sacrific
ing generosity of his friendships as for the dead
liiiess of his hatred." The toils of the chase,
the cultivation of the land, and, above all, the
rearing of cattle, furnished him with the means
of subsistence. For these last named ojtera
'ions the region is "especially adapted, by the
mildness of the climate and by its undulating
surface, here rising into grassy slopes and ante
sinking into depressed hollows of marshlam
covered with acres of reed and rush. The rear
ing of vast herds of cattle is thus a matter o
very little trouble.
One enemy, however, the backwoodsman ha
to contend with, one that, in spite of rifle am
trap, in spite of wearisome pursuits and eudles
stratagems, he has never yet been a match for
The cunning, merciless and bloodthirsty enemy
was the wolf. In vain the backwoodsinau
brought all his skill and experience to bea:
ngaiust the crafty thief. Seldom could the wary
beast he tempted within gun shot. In spite o
constant watchings, the wolves increased and
multiplied year bv rear, and the herds dimin
idled in proportion, till the cattle-fanners fell
that decisive measures must he adopted, unless
they were prepared to own themselves vanquish
ed. and to quit the field and give up their em
jilovincnt altogether. A backwoodsman van
quished. by the wolves —rattlesnakes and buf
faloc*! it was not to be thought of; life-long
disgrace and shame were involved.
That under such circumstances the best shot
i he regarded as the best man was but
natural; ami -n it was that Benjamin Holick,
in the half year since he had come out of
Missouri to settle at Washitah, had killed no
lev than seventeen of these formidable lieasts
bitii his rifle—received the honorable sobriquet
<>t Wolfs lien, with the reputation of being
tin R!fi<t skilful marksman in the district.
Wolf? lh-n was, moreover, a fine fellow to
•vfit; he stood full six feet high, had a gi-
Bfit breadth of shoulders and a brawny mns
'nlar arm. and was considered a more powerful
*r<*uliT than a man. though himself no craven,
U "u'ri care w adlody to provoke. With all
tl'K he wa> the most good temjered. patient.
'" • -'ing friend that a settler could make. A
•"fi wi.ni would win anything from him; he
w 'fill gh.- away his powder to the last charge,
Gie very ia.-t crust out of his wallet.
. "vfi ufln tions were fixed upou the only
'-''iter of Kobert Sutton, a charming girl,
arin <- of all her father's wealth. Ay.tin n
uieruli; that he, a poor adventurer in tuc
" ' r:; Utt his knife and his riHe,aiid his strong
>;.euld be accepted of as the son-in-law of
--aau w! ;o had the largest poss<-.--:o: - •••
•ohitaLi and Red River, ami who c'y
v 'a' riiHnutaius once a year for hi- health,
f the sake of pasturage for the tiork<,
. Uu! a very likely thing to happen. And
•ii In rciueiultered too that button was com
••■} rtpuk-d a covetous man, of what weight
" 'ha one would be Beqjaujiu's personal
. ba<l often tried to devise some scheme
it' ::i - a little money—of late he had
ol it much and sadly—just enough to
T< , .'"f" s,,irt - to sot him going as it were.
ifK.r-V 1 lt '' v <lail - v babor, and so from week to
1 . >i -liar to dollar seemed too tedi
t yiq something must be done, for he
! :;u ! . 1<; *°ald not be the first wooer fot
um button had placed the bench outsidi
bit where, in the quiet course ol
V". woodland lib-, was he likely tomcet
THE BRADFORD REPORTER.
: / - T „ . , . S wt !' Z " ? ,£ ' 6 .RHKIJCJR $■?:&* •"V Jfittf ;*J
with the golden opportunity and to seize it ?
A thoughtful sadness fastened on him. lie
avoided the houses of his companions—passed
whole days and nights in the woods, having
nothing to show for his walks bntthe scalps of
the wolves he destroyed—the three dollars a
head with which the State rewarded his good
service, and which still amounted to a mere tri
fle, being carefully put by, as the foundation of
his claim for the hand of pretty Mabel.
It was about this time that, in a short ex
cursion in Texas, old Sutton was told, by some
of the outlaying cattle-farmers there, of a plan
for utterly banishing the wolves from any dis
trict in which they had established themselves.
The plan was this: A wolf to be caught,
and taken alive; and tlieli, after having a bell
fastened around his neck, he was to be set at
liberty. The creature, would naturally turn to
his comrades; but no sooner did these hear the
unwonted sound than they took to their heels,
and in wild confusion fled before their former
associate, lint wherever they fled the bell still
followed; for the strange ornament around his
throatj and the dinning noise in his ears, made
the solitude doubly distasteful to him.
lie shakes himself, lie rolls, he leaps, he spins
round and round, he essays every possible means
of ridding himself of the torment: and exasper
ated to the highest pitch to iiud that he can no
longer steal unobserved and noiselessly upon
his prey, but is ever betraying his approach by
the sound of the hated bell, lie seeks the socie
ty of his brother wolves; and there too he on
ly succeeds in driving herd after herd from the
mountains which he had formerly selected as
his dwelling place; auu, urged to extremity,
tiiids himself at last to seek another hunting
ground. There again the sound of the bell be
trays him. and frequently drives the flocks, in
well compact* d phalanx, to the shelter of the
settlement.
Tie. txpei'iic-ut must assuredly be tried in
Wushitah. Sutton returns on a sudden, takes
counsel with the neighboring farmers, ami in
concert with them announces it reward of twen
ty dollars to whosoever shall bring a live wolf
to the "village.
It was all very well to affix the reward, but
the wolves were more crafty than the hunters.
And even after Ben had brought in scalp after
scalp, it seemed to him iuiposs>ible to catch
one of the cunning beasts alive and bring him
unhurt to the farmer; for the pits that he dug
for them were all empty, or trapped only the
neighbors' sheep or swine.
When Benjamin lloliekwas unsuccessful the
other lads of the settlement soon began to de
spair; and the farmers, red hot upon the mat
ter, and determined on any terms to make trb
al of the experiment, raised the sum to be giv
en for a real live wolf to the unheard of price,
in these woodland regions, of two hundred dol
lars.
This was truly a stimulus to Benjamin. With
two hundred dollars could ho not stock a little
farm, purchase a few cattle, make a beginning;
and then Mabel! —ay. who knows if slu: would
not be able to persuade her father, if once he
saw Ben with the black thief in chains at his
heels? But there was no time to be lost; for
the the reward had of course brought all the
hunters of the neighboring country into th
field: and the Woods resounded with the stroke
of the axe upon the sapling trees that the men
cut down to prepare the only kind of traps
known in the district. Steel traps for instance
were useless, as there was rbk of wounding, if
not of destroying the prey—and the premium
was offered exclusively for a ' live and unharm
ed wolf.'
It was at this season that a visitor came to
the mountains, who occasioned the greatest un
easiness to our friend Ben, and even became
dangeross to him. This was a so-called cousin
of Sutton's, a citizen in a blue coat with silver
buttons, and trousers with straps to them.—
How the children laughed when he went into
a house and set down! How they put their
dirty faces together and whispered; and then,
casting a shy, sidelong glance at the "straps."
and bursting l into tits of uncontrollable laugh
ter. tumbled in wiid confusion out <f the door.
This, however, w as no great matter—the urch
ins were but children who knew nothing cf the
world, and as little whether a man had any
thing in him or not And this man. certainly
had an uncle who passed for the richest plan
ter in Alabama, and lie was his only heir. No
wonder that oh I Sutton received him in the
most friendly manner, treated him as his <on,
house and everything in it, his daughter's hand
not excepted, entirely at his disposal.
Mr. Metealf appeared to be fully a Ware of
the treasures thus thrown in his way: and what
if the young lady herself were shy and avoided
his presence, and on every |x>ssible occasion
gave him to undesrtand that all the sweet
things he said w ere ]K>sitivelj distasteful to her
—was he, a man brought up in New Orleans,
to be driven from his purposes by a little eonn
terfied prude? Like a prudent man he strove
bv everv means to ingratiate himself with the
father, flattering the old man in all his weak
ness, ami in a very short time persuaded him
that he was the best hunter, the boldest rider
the finest fellow that had over worn the liun
ti r's coat, Ac., Ac., till by his cunning and pro-
display of learning, especially in things
winch he hud uever heard before, he so beguil
ed his host that Sutton was hoard to say that
Mr. M' t'-alf w-a® ; " smartest and best man in
the 1 :ut : his daughter refused to
to- i:: i' nana, sue would have to reckon
Without tmu, her lather. on that score.
Poor Mabel! in a private meeting with Ben
she declared that it would be impossible to live
without him, and pronounced herself the most
miserable creature on the lace ol the earth!—
B n perfectly agreed with her as he held her
hand in his, and looked with a, sad and -y
thiziug gaze into her blue eyes. " Dear Ma
bel'"said he, "be not cast down—all will be
well. 1 have been at Work uilnight, and kuve
set four new trajis with u dainty bait in each;
the wolf once caught, I secure a small capital,
and say to your father, " Friend Sutton, I wish
to marry vuur daughter. I have a comforta
ble home to take her to, and 1 want nothing
but herself. I ask for no portion or dowry,"
and when I add that you are favorable to iny
suit'—
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT TOWANDA, BRADFORD COUNTY, PA„ BY E. O'MEARA UOODRICU.
" RE6AR.DLESS OP DEJiCNCIATION FROM ANY QUARTER.'*'
"Oh!" cried Mabel, interrupting him, and
sobbing as she spoke, " but, you w ill not be Lhe
first to catch the wolf. The dany stranger has
beeu talking of nothing the whole evening but
the newly invented snare; and he t h fls my fa
ther that he is going to set it in the woods.—
Ah! he knows all the tricks aud suares that
they invent iu the cities, and he will bullie you,
and turn you out of the path yet."
" Let not that trouble you, Mabel," replied
Ben, soothingly, while a smile of self-confidence
stole over his face. " Don't be downcast for
that. Men may invent snares and traps in the
cities, but they must learn to use them in the
forest; aud if the city-born prove too much for
us there, it's our own fault, and we deserve it.
And as to what you tell me of his pretending
to know something of the hunter's eruft, why.
there I meet him ou uiv own ground and yieid
to no man living; and now, since I've beeu
talking witli you, I don't know how it is, but I
feel as if new life and confidence had been in
fused into me. Only be true to me Mabel!—
\onr father cannot force you into marriage;
aud when he finds that 1 want neither his
goods nor his gold, but only yourself for my
wife, lie will see at once that such a son-in-law
will bring him far more honor than won Id the
smart citizen.aud I shall yet will a consent from
him." So taking a cheerful leave of the mai
den, he shouldered his rifle, and walking with
a firm step and a brave heart toward the
forest.
The favorite resort of the wolves was an en
closure adjoining the homesteads and at the
outskirts of the wood, where the cattle were
littered down at night; and here it was that
Benjamin Holick had set his silares. One of
these—that to which he especially looked to
crown his hopes with success—was placed near
a track the wolves had made betweon twb ele
vated ridges, so narrow that it was impossible
for them to pass without observing the tempt
ing bait with which it was garnished—the head
of a fresh killed horse. The locality had one
great advantage. It was commanded by the
summit of a craggy rock, from whence Benja
min's eagle glance could at once ascertain how
matters stood below. The necessity of close
inspection was thus obviated, and there were
110 treacherous footprints to arouse the aus
picious of the wary foe. lie could not in
deed see to the bottom of the pit, but he eonld
see whether the trap was set or whether it had
been sprung.
There was nothing to be done at night, and
after his parting with Mabel. Ben made at once
for his bivouac ou the lull side, where he had
determined to remain until ho had achieved the
eutcrprize. He soon succeeded in kindling'a
fire, and after eating his simple supper, rolled
himself up iu his blanket and quietly fell
asleep.
There was no need of eock-crowintr to arouse
him iu the morning, for at the first -plaintive
note of the whip-poor-will he had started to his
feet, and prepared his coffee, of which every
sportsman in the backwoods carries with him
a supply roasted and ground, in a linen or lea
thern bag—and then sat impatiently watching
for the first streaks of daylight in the eastern
sky.
Slowly, but at last—nt lat the longed for
light began to dawn, the signal for the return
of the wolves to their accustomed and general
ly inaccessible dens; and now, creeping rather
than walking, aud carefully avoiding such with
ered branches and cracking brushwood as
might have told to some lingering beast the
tale of his approach. Ben made the best of his
way to the look out ou the rock.
The top of the snare was no longer to be
seen—had it indeed fallen! His heart beat
with feverish anxiety, and it was with a strong
effort that he restrained his impatience, and
waited for a full morning light erejhe desceud
ed to the hunting ground. The suspense at
length became intolerable, and as he looked
with fixed and straining gaze against the grow
ing light, ho became convinced of the fact—it
was no longer a hope—a doubt—it was a cer
tainty. The snare had fallen, and a wolf must
be ut the bottom. With rapid puce he descend
ed the height, and made for the spot where,
amid a thicket of sassafras and spicebushos, in
a heap of driftwood brought down by the
mountain torrent, aud sprinkled by its clear
rushing waters, the suair had been laid.
4 Hurrah!" shouted Ben, giving vent to his
ecstasy in one lond ringing note of triumph.—
He had reason —for there, at the bottom of the
pit, looking shy, and as if ashamed to be seen
in the dvalight, was a line, black coaled he
wolf. The creature's eyes glared fiercely when
through the opening of his prison, they fell on
the form of the young hunter—the most peril
ous of all the enemies by whom lie was beset,
into whose hands he could have fallen.
" Hark ye, beostie," said Benjamin, Looking
dowu between the interstices of the fallen
beauts, which were about a handbreath apart.
" I have put a stop to your handiwork at last,
von hoary old glutton! And there you are. af
ter having snarled away al! your fellows from
the newly discovered dainty, seated in the place
of honor behind the grating! Only wait a while,
and I have still more glorious sport in prospect
'for thee."
The wolf showed his teeth and grinned sav
age Iv at the young huuter as he bent over the
trap, but uo attempt to stir, seemiug like an
enraged dog to await his opportunity for a spring.
It was not Ben's purpose to irritate the animal
further ; he cast one more look dowu and thcu
laughing cried—
" I am not altogether unkindly disposed to
ward thee, old fellow, for though you are not
altogether the most likely looking of suitors,
you shall yet help me to wiu a bride; and so
we will part friends;" and then nodding pleas
antlv to his captive and shouldering his rifle.
Ben sprang, leaping down the somew hat deep
declivity that led by the nearest path to the
homesteads, in order to get assistance without
delav, and so at ouce to bell the wolf: 44 and
thcu hurrah! how he will jump! He shall go
free enough then; a clear course aud liberty at
will."
The inhabitants of Woodviile had not per
ceived the yonug hunter s approach, and he
took all by surprise as be rushed, singing and
shouting into Sutton's d<ta;c!!e, And poured out
such a wild rhapsody about wolves, scalps, Ac
that no wonder it was soon noised abroad that
Benjamin ITolick had cone out of his wits. By
degrees, however, the matter was made clear;
and no sooner did oid iStitlou ice how thiug.-
were going, than lie took down his gun and
powder-fla-k, and, fully participating in the
yonng man's -delight, prepared at once to set
forth with him. regretting only the absence oi
Metcalf, who liad also passed the night in the
wood, watching.
" Ah! he'll have had like luck, T said
the old man, '"for he had fine prospects, and
seemed sure of his game. Well, well, there's
no harm done, you can divide the reward, and
two wolves arc, after all. surer than one. Is it
a wolf that you've trapped ?"
"Ave, and a fine one, too, as ever tore a
calf!" *
" Capital, capital!-—come along. Ben. Hol
la! fcseipio and C'ato, away with ye both!—
Where did you say the beast is! By the frog
spring ?"
"On the bank of the stream, abont six hun
dred paces from the split in the hill-ridge, and
just opposite where the devil's pulpit hangs over
the brook. The niggers will be able to find
the spot."
" All right, man; they can't well miss it—
Seipio knows every inch of the ground—and now
for the rope and the bag. Have you got tin
collar Ben?"
The young man nodded assent, shook the
little bell right merrily, and seemed hardly at k
to wait till the spot was reached, so eager was
he to complete the achievement, and to seal hi
victorv.
Their quick walk soon brought them in tin
vicinity of Ben's supposed preserver.
"Hey, Ben what are you peeping at there?"
cried Sutton, as the young man had leaped or
to the trunk of a fallen tree, and, grasping tin
overhanging branch of a young lieeeh, was
gazing steadfastly into the depths of the hol
low that lay beneath; but he returned no an
swer.
"lley, Ben! what ails ye. man! Yondon'l
rightly know where yon are, I suspect," cried
the farmer, looking impatiently around. "We
are in tlie wrong hollow."
Still Ben Holiek answered not a word; but,
with a look of deathlike paleness, pointed, a.-
though incapable of utterance, to a confused
heap of polos aud withered brushwood, in the
midst of which the old man's practiced eve quick
ly discovered the rough, four-cornered, massivt
framework of a wolf-snare, such as were com
monly used in the forest.
" "Tis a cheat! a cheat, after all!" he cried
when a second glance had convinced him thai
it was empty. "This is really too much; and
now. the sooner I am up the hill again the bet
tor."
But as lie turned to climb the ridge, his eye;
fell upon the wild and haggard countenance o
the so late joyous hunter; and as he wasabou
to ask" what ailed him, the words—" it i
KMJTV!" broke in A hollow whisper from Ben'
lips.
Farmer Sutton was alarmed, and quickly ox
claimed: " Do you really mean to tell me thai
yon left a wolf under that trap?"
" Under that trap," repeated his dispirite*
companion, slowly aud mournfully, as lie stooi
gazing on the pitiless wreck of all his hopes o
happiness.
"And you would really have ine believ*
that?" growled the old man, as he nevvrthe
less began to descend tiie slope, till he cam*
over against the spot where the trap had beet
set.
It was empty, indeed; but of one thincr then
was no longer any doubt—it had fallen. Th<
flesh inside did not appear to have been touch
ed; but there was a trace of scent, and,on fur
ther search. >omc white hairs adhering to ont
of the rough beams, that could have come on
ly from the belly of a wolf. But what hac
become of him? That he could have worket
his way onr. tinder the heavy frame work, rn,
iiupot-siblo. Milton stepped down and put hi
shoulder to lift it; lie could scarcely raise it :
foot.
While he was thus employed Benjamin joinc*
him, and without speaking a word placed hi
rifle against a tree, threw the bell ami collarT*c
side it and "tepping into the middle of the ruin
ed heap, began carefully, but without disturb
ing anything, to examine the state of matter
within.
" And you really had a live wolf there tui,
morning?" repeated Sutton, after a panse, du
ring which, in spite of the evidence of the hail
and the scent, he had become confirmed in hi;
belief.
'• 1 give you niv word of honor on it," saU
Ben, in a brikeu voice. "A stout hc-wol
was sitting under the trap when 1 left thi
spot scarce an hour since; but the strength o
three wolves would not have sufficed to mov*
these beams and to make an opeuing througl
them; and even if they had, they must certain
ly have left at least half their skin on the toug!
bark."
" I think so too" said button. " And yot
are fully persuaded that it was a wolf?"'
" Mow, hung it, man!" exclaimed the ban
ter, stuug beyond endurance by disappointment
aud now by the oft repeated suspicion of hii
truth, "do you think 1 don't know a wolffroir
a lamp of horse-flesh? but there! l<*ok in and
convince yourself at last." As he spoke h*
suddenly jumpped into the mid*ile of the heap
and with one vigorous effort throw back tin
spring that covered the trap, as though it ha*
been but a sapling lath, and swung himsch
with one leap to the bottom. "There! look!'
lie exclaimed, as he {Kiinced to the humid sur
face. ' Here! here! litre! again, are tfl*
marks or the claws, since you will not take rro
word: here is the pku-e where he drove in tin
spring as he was taking the bait: and hero, ii
.scents, is the spot whenr it fell. Would yea
liave more proof that jt is a fact and not a Ik
that I'm telling you? Plague and poison! i
is a vile trick that one of those skulking villain;
of the hamlet who can never look me straigb
in the face, has piaved me. The wad lieast hn,
lieen set tree of wanton malice, end, by m;
right band! the nun who has thus shameful!;
laid Lis fiugur on J>n ifotick's property, ha'
better never -ec* banks o f Wavhitahf thai
-iR-onii([r my gaze, it* unec 1 trace the deed
homy to him."
MlmiiphTuiurmorodflm chimin; "it's a won
derful story, certainly. Who slibn!B*ivo Hinta-If
the trouble fjV&t a wolf loose just for tbcs:&e
of spiting you? Aad innt }i<r not hare dogged
\v>ur foot-Tens and been at your heels the whole
night -or how should he ftavi* Idiow'n the exqrt
moment when he might set about his work with
impunity?"
Ben made no reply., but climbed up the pit
arid began to search the wood for any indica
tions that might put him on the right track:
but the withered brodiwood gave no signs; and
he found nothing but a few hairs, and the prints
of his daws where the animal had made hi> first
spring on emerging from the snare, whence he
uppeared to have made at once for his covert In
itio shortest cnt across the hollow. There was
no trace of human footsteps: the only tiling
that met the young man's eye was a couple of
stones sunk to an unusual depth in the wet soil
—-notwith-binding \rhich they were perfectly
<ll*y: lie w!io had made use of them innst then
have passed over within a very short space of
time.
Hoick pointed out the stones to the old man,
who confessed that it seemed to him also al
though sonic ] oTfon had passed that way: but
that of course afforded no cine to any particu
lar individual. From the eiTst of the ridge
there was a track that passed in a straight line
over the hill for about a mile, and then termi
nated abrabtly in several rough stony declivi
ties. It was exactly the spot that any one wish
ing to avoid pursuit would have selected; both
saw at once that further search in this direction
would be oscf'ss.
Tlie negroc-- were sent back, and Sutton, in
no very pleasant humor, followed. Jfclick re
mained to make further examination of the
wood, and to explore the tra'-k which lie im
agined the stones to indicate, in the hope that
somepropit'on-turnmight bring him—hestamjv-
I'd his foot fiercely as he thought of it-—face to
face with his treacherous enemy. He found
nothing. The whole day wa spent m crossing
anil ie-cros>iug the wood; and when lie return
ed at evening weary and dispirited to the ham
let, he had to endure the condolence of the
neighbors, and to minister to the curiosity which,
under the guise of sympathy, eagerly craved
the minutest dt ttyh of the event. Metealf es
pecially was ino<t friendly in offering his servi
ces ti go over the track with him again. He
had had. as he assured Sutton, great expe
rience in tracking, and was convinced he should
be able to discover some clue. Holiek how
ever, considered himself, in this matter, as good
a man as any that ever trod in moeeasins,
and conrteoasly. but positively declined the
offer.
There wn c something in Metenlfk I<> ■ k and
voice, from which Ifou Hblick recoiled with in
stinctive aversion. Was it party bias & jealousy
| tfoit inspired su li groundles- hatred of the man?
; wn- it not r dh'T—
" Hod for-iVc me!" he exclaimed, "that I
I should think ihn* unkindly of a man. who. a
far as I know, has never done me wreng: I nt
this Mctentf cmr comes amoss me as mv evil
spirit, and if tin re lives the man at whose door
I would lay thi- devil's villainy, it i-' HK. But
beware J if it be then, mv master, thou hn-t a
pair of as sharp eves upon thee a< any that are
to be fouud in the hamlet: and who knows wlie
rher we may not yet have something to say 1"
each other?"
Ben was a kindly, forge-hearted follow, and.
lik mr>--t men of his gigantie inonld, to<> well
proportioned mentally, if we may be allowed
the expression. to le easily pnt oft' the balance:
but i:> vortheh--, race t'lanehed b's cheek T<>
deadly paleness, as he now stood once more on
the spot which had been the goal of all his hopes
— MI ! otg struggling for—attained but to be
i dashed ;ro:n hi" hand by the knavish malice ot
! some masked villain.
Bat what availed this impotent animr? }Jr
found t ' trecc whatever; and the wolfs mark?
wore so i raft if; obliterated that Ben'- suspicion
began to vav r. lie eould hardly give credit
. tu the fopjiish citizen for so moeh adroitness* it
i wou'd ratlrvr have been one or other of tin
voung woodsmen who. as he well knew envied
1 ids favor with Mabel, and had thusend'-avor-d
to deprive him of her hand. But all was nier
I surmise, at d he saw no means of arriving ai
i certainty.
What grieved him especially, too. was. that
his lest snare was for a while rendered useless:
for until a heavy shower had obliterated even
trace of the former captive, it was vain to think
that any wolf would approach ir. and there wa
-1 no site so favorable as this.
Wolf s Ben was net a man to be daunted by
diftieiilties. lie was still master < f three traps,
and here in 'he hollow, a little higher up. one
of these might be set. This was accordingly
done; for Bed set to work with all dilligenec.
lay day and night in the woods, and kept so
vigilant a watch that not a rabbit, much I. -sm
mortal man, could have stirred in the whole of
Ills huuting c'renit without attracting his at
tention. Full of fresh hopes, he awoke every
morning with the expectation of lindmg a sec
ond wolf in his toils; hut he was doomed to
disappointment: his traps were set in vain: and
at last Ben got so utterly dispirited that he
avoided the hamlet entirly, shunning the pres
ence of all nam. and living alone in the deep
seclusion of the forest. Still, one thought, one
pnrjoso. possessed him absolutely, and to tlm
Ins energies were all bent—the capture of a
live wolf.
If he had occasion to visit Woodville. it was
i.y night, so is to avoid the possibility of en
countering Mabel, for he lmd now come tn r~
gnrd himself as a dishonest hunter, and to be
lieve that he was the object of general con
tempt ThreO weeks had been passed in thif
manner, and if Tfon Holoek's heart was un
changed, tlfing* had assumed a very diflforeni
aspect in the hamlet.
The 'eitv 'gentleman,' as the young hunter:
( of Woodville osnitily called him. received let
ters from Alabama refjuivhighi; immediate re
turn. His ' unde had died suddenly, leaving
sole heir of a propert v wbirh, as it* consistc<
chiefly of slaves, called for L 4* personal snicr
itifondfßce without- delay Tim© passed, am.
though hi* wooing had Mthefo*f ro"gr*.a(jl-o
VOL. XV. NO. 38.
slowly enough, he now brought it to a crisis at
our-, ami boldly proposed himself us the suitor
ol Mabel SuttoV.. Ou the very day of his re-'
, firing the letter. Mr. Metculf made his offer,
and although unconditionally rejected by Ma
in:!. her father, to whom the irnsj>ect of so
wealthy a son-in-law was particularly agreeable
did not scruple to give his positi.-eassent, as
suring the youug man tliat ' his daughter's re
fusal was but the nmuku bashful
ness; that he most make up to her, and theu
all would be right.
Metraff would fain have had a more favora
ble on over from the daughter, or at leust one
less expresive of aversion; but as things were
he seemed at once to accommodate himself to
tl.iem, and expressed a hope that he might bo
able, by kindness, to secure first her good will,
and ultimately her affections—at least so bo
told her father; and fixed that very evening
lor a kind of fefe, to which all the neighbors
were invited, ami which he desired might be
regarded in the light of a betrothing.
Evening eaine. and the court-huu.se was pre
pared for the occasion. It was a rough log
erection, so called from its having been first
ued as a sessions-house. Jt had bceu promis
ed to the villagers for a school, hut was at
present used a- a storehouse for inaizc.
The large room was lighted with a profusion
of candles, made from the liees'-wax found by
the hunters iu the fallen trees; the floor had
been carefully cleared of the ruaize-staw, bench
es were placed all around for the ladies; and in
one corner was a table with a seat t>ehind it,
for the solitary musician, an old fiddler. Ma
bel was almost sad; she thought of her discon
solate lover, wandering alone in the neighbor
ing woods, and fir-It r.o inclination to join the
dance and the festivity. Jt was with difticnlty
that she was persuaded even to enter the danc
ing room, and no entreaties could prevail on her
to mingle in the jovoas circle.
But Benjamin ilolick was not wondering in
the wood, as Mabel supposed. Old Sutton as
he hunseif avowed, had. when lie found that
none were to he excluded, given him u special
invcation to the gathering. Ben, however, had
declined to be present, though he resolved to
be near at hand. Busy friends had brought
him word that it was to be a betrothing feast,
anil he immediately determined to sec with his
own oves, whether it could be true that Mabel
had lots<iken and forgotten hint! If indeed it
were so. then away for Texas! Uncle Sain was
just entering on his first campaign, and a fel
low hke Ben—lie needed no looking glass to
tell him this—was not likely to have to ask.
twice for service under him. Cautiously, and
fearful of being discovered, he stoie round the
hone, lists iiing for more than an hour to tho
merry tunes of the tiddler. lie durst not ven
ture near enough to cast one look within. Af
ter a while he saw a couple of his acquaintances
leave the place and make for the rerv spot
where he lay hidden, on their way home. He
concealed himself as well as he could behind
the stem of a hickory tree, ami heard one say
to the other, as they passed; •• Weil! Malxtl
Sutton never danced u step that 1 saw tho
whole evening."
'• Net a step,"rejoined the other; "and. more
over, she positively refused to dance at all, as
soon as she came in. I don't believe she'll ever
many him."
Ben heard no more; the rest was lost in the
distance; but, after all. what cared he to hear
more ?"
"Not danced a step! repeated Ben Holick,
with exultation; then she is neither false nor
faithless, ami she has not forgotten lien Ilolick;
but what boots it ? thou canst not help her,
poor Ben."
With these thoughts hi his mind, lie lifted
the rifle, which he had left iu a thick bush near,
from the ground, and after casting one look ut
the brilliautl/-lighted court-house, turned and
took the path thai led to tiie nearest ridge of
the Y\ asiutah range. He could uo longer en
dure the hamlt t—least of all at night, and pre
ferred sleeping by his watch-lire
He soou selected a spot in a rocky hollow,
just where a clear spring bubbled out of the
ground: and kindling his fire and wrapping
himself in his bear-akin, with a stone for his
pillow, he lay deep in thought as he gazed up
wards to the stars that seemed to shed a l'rieud-
Ij light upon him.
An unwonted silence brooded over the forest
—the very frogs croaked iD whispers; the light
tread of the opossum, the nightly robber of the
tillage hen-roosts, was distinctly heard; further
off-—and now Ben raised his head ajid listened
-it was indeed, a wolf howling his evening
song in the hi.How below. " llowl your fill,
beasti!" ho cried, "only keep out of gun shot
of me; and then Ben sank back on his stony
pillow. " I Lave a special appetite fop thy
kind to night—at least for one of ye!"
He lay thus on the watch for about half an
hour, striving at the same time to force his
thoughts into their former channel, but in vain;
the howl of the wolf,coniiugnearer and nearer,
absorbed all hi- attention: and now, impossible!
but no, it was a nearer li<wi. in answer to the
former, from a ravine behind the spot where
Ben had made his bivouac, and where he soorj
discovered tiiat the whole pack of wolves were
as tabled.
Ben now roused himself fully, sprang to hia
feet and felt for his rifle: the moon shone clear
and bright above the dusky shadows of the dis
tant mountain-chain; the hunter's spirit kindled
within him. and banished all thoughts of other
things.
" Now for you. comrade !" he muttered be
tween his teeth, as =ciziug his rifle, he t>ok np
his position behind a fallen tree: " only present
yourself in tne open space, and you shaii rejoice
in Ben lloliek's rifle bail."
He lifted his piece on to the tree—jxtiuted
it in what ho supposed to be the direction of
the beast's approach—-giving no heed to the
pack behind him. it being the weil-kuown habit
> of wolves to keep the ground they have taken
till joined by their stray comrades.
He had not long to wait. As Ben stood
listening with breathless attention for "the
slightest movement, ho soon heard a quick but
- cautious tread resound among the withered
I haves beneath a einmp of t:e oeur wfeere he
• s Trip trip trip. trip, and tta wolf-made.