CHAPTER XXIII.A NOTABLE DAY AMONG THE WOLVES.
Then, at length, when their bodies were wearied with the fatigue ofconstant tramping, and their souls worn out with disappointment, andtheir hearts sick with hope deferred, there came a day of great joy forBoris and Nancy.
It befell on this wise. They were out, as usual, quartering the forest,and hunting every clump of birch cover and grove of young fir trees,Boris being in front, and Nancy behind on the left, when a cry from hiswife caused the hunter to start and look round, fingering his axe, forhe knew not what might befall in these dark depths of the forest. Nancyrepeated her cry and rushed forwards; and Boris knew at once that itwas no cry of terror, but of ecstasy and joy. He too sprang forward torejoin Nancy, and a wonderful sight met his eye.
There, close before them in an open space between the trees, a hugeshe-wolf was trotting across the glade, followed by her six cubs,and chasing after the tail of the procession was a tiny human child,hurrying along as fast as it could make way on hands and knees, losingground, however, rapidly, and crying because it could not keep up withthe rest.
With swift inarticulate cries of great joy Nancy rushed open-armed inpursuit, and Boris was not far behind.
The old wolf stopped once, and turned and snarled savagely at Nancy;but its heart failed, and it quickly disappeared among the trees,followed by its four-legged cubs, leaving the little foster-child. Herthe true mother, frantic with love and happiness, caught quickly upand hid close in her bosom, bending over it and calling it every sweetname in the English language, and in the Russian also, and cooing andtalking nonsense to it.
But the child snapped, and scratched, and growled, and struggled, andfought, as though it were no human child but a very wolf born and bred.So fiercely did it fight and kick out for its freedom that Nancy wasobliged presently to set it down, when it instantly made off on handsand knees in the direction taken by its companions.
Boris fairly roared with laughter in the exuberance of his delight tosee the child alive and well; and Nancy in her joy could do nothingwiser than laugh also, as they both walked quickly after the littlecrawling thing, easily keeping up with it, though it went far quickerthan they would have believed possible. This time the father pickedup the wild tiny creature, and well he got himself scratched for hispains, of which he took no heed whatever. Presently the poor babe,finding that her captor had no intention of hurting her, lay quiescentin his arms, and after a while fell asleep, tired of crying andfighting, and doubtless feeling very comfortable.
Nancy meanwhile walked beside her husband, feeling no ground beneathher feet. All her weariness and her heart-soreness had vanishedentirely, and the lines of care which had set themselves upon herface, and caused her to look old and worn in the May-time of her life,had vanished also. She danced and sang as she went, and in all thatforestful of gay singers there was none that was so happy as she. Andat home, what though the little savage bit and snarled and refused tobe fed or washed, and for many hours thought of nothing but how toescape back into the woods--why, a mother's love and care would soonrecover it to herself, she said, and she could well afford to wait fora few days longer for her full happiness, she who had waited so longand wearily in tears and sorrow!
As a matter of fact, the faithful Nancy had not to wait very longbefore matters began to mend. The little wolf-girl soon found that shewas well off, and that no one wished to do her hurt. After this it wasmerely a matter of patience, for the little one became more human, andshowed less of the wolf every hour, until, at the end of a week, shepermitted herself to be washed and dressed and fed and petted with nomore opposition than is generally shown by people of the age of four orfive months! What opposition she did make to anything she disapprovedof was perhaps more savage than that of most babies; but there thedifference ended.
One peculiarity remained for many a day--an intense love of the woodsand of the open air generally, as well as a marked taste for scuttlingabout on hands and knees, which she managed to do at a very greatspeed considering her size. Nancy was wont to declare that for neitherof these characteristics was she indebted to her sojourn among thewolves, but that she simply inherited both her love of the forest aswell as her nimbleness from her father. I who write these lines aminclined to believe that her wolfish infancy is a sufficiently goodreason for both.
Thus ended happily the most terrible experience that a devoted fatherand mother could pass through; and if the child was loved before, shewas ten times as dear to both parents after her almost miraculousrecovery from the very jaws of death. Boris declared that he couldnever kill another she-wolf unless it were to save his own or anotherlife; and this resolution, I may add, he kept until his dying day.
Thus the months and the years went by at Karapselka in peace andhappiness, with but an occasional adventure to break the monotony ofsuch an existence. Boris was perfectly happy; but for all that he wasconscious from time to time of a feeling of regret for his old days ofactivity in the Tsar's service, and of honour fairly won and unfairlylost, and he felt that this fleeting sensation might at any momentstrengthen into an irresistible desire and longing to be up and aboutonce more among his fellow-men. This sort of life was all very wellfor a time, but, after all, it was an inglorious sort of existence,and Boris knew that even his devotion to Nancy and her babies--forshe had two now--would not suffice to keep him at Karapselka verymuch longer, especially if anything should happen to reawaken his oldspirit of enterprise, or to bring him again within the magic of theTsar's presence and favour. Of this last Boris had but little hope, forPeter's displeasure had been too deep for forgiveness; but there wererumours of war with Sweden, which Colonel Drury, who brought the news,said would be a long and terrible struggle if the threatenings came toanything; and Boris in his wanderings through the forest continuallyfound himself turning over in his mind the idea that if war brokeout with Sweden he must have a share in the business, ay, even if heenlisted as a soldier of the lowest rank to do it. Had not the Tsarhimself started at the very foot of the ladder? then why not he? Hewas barely twenty-eight; there was plenty of time to carve himself outnew honour and a new career with the sword. And if, _if_ he were sofortunate as to gain the notice of the Tsar, by some feat of arms, forinstance, or some act of bravery on the battle-field--and the Tsar'seye saw everything, so that it would not escape his notice--who knows?As a new man his beloved master might take him into new favour.
Occupied with these thoughts, Boris walked one winter day through theforest, looking for the tracks of any beast that should have had themisfortune to pass where he too wandered. Suddenly the hunter waspulled up in his reflections, as also in his stride, by a largishfootprint in the snow. He knew it at once for what it was--a wolf's;but the experienced eye of Boris knew also at a glance what a lessexpert woodcraftsman would not have known--namely, that here had passednot one wolf but several, for wolves prefer to tread in one another'stracks, in order to save themselves the trouble of plunging into thesnow and out again.
Boris examined the track, and judged that there must have been five orsix wolves, at least, travelling in a procession, and also that theymust have passed this spot but a very short while ago, for the loosesnow-powder still sifted into the holes left by the animals' feet.
The sporting instincts of Boris never required much to arouse them whendormant, and in a moment Boris had forgotten all about the possibleSwedish war, and enlistment, and everything else, excepting the factthat here was a family of wolves, and here was he, the hunter, and thatthe sooner he followed up and engaged those wolves the greater would behis happiness. So away went Boris upon the trail, flying like the windupon his light Archangel snow-shoes, which are the best in the world,and the use of which Boris understood perhaps better than any man inall Russia.
Before he had gone very far the hunter noticed that the track of a man,without snow-shoes, came into that of the wolves, cross-wise--that is,the wolves had come upon the track of this man, and had turned asideto follow it. "Hungry wolves," said Bori
s to himself; "going to run inthe man's tracks--perhaps to attack him if they get a good chance!"Accordingly Boris hastened on, for he scented fun in this, and his lifeof late had been terribly lacking in incident.
The tracks meandered about in the most curious way, now heading in onedirection, now in another, and at last travelling round in a completecircle and recrossing a point where they had passed before; andwherever the man went the wolves had gone also. "Lost his way," thoughtBoris. "How frightened the poor fellow must have been when he crossedhis own track and saw there were wolves after him!" Then the huntercould see that after crossing the old tracks the wanderer had greatlyaccelerated his pace. "Frightened," thought Boris; "and small wonder."
Soon there was audible at no great distance a noise of yelpings, suchas wolves make when they grow excited in the pursuit of their prey; andBoris rightly concluded that these wolves were very hungry, and notlikely to hold back from attacking a single man, unless he should beprovided with fire-arms. He had better make all speed, or the mattermight end unpleasantly for one of the members of the hunt.
And presently Boris ran suddenly into a stirring sight. There, beforehim, with his back to a tree, stood a big, kaftaned man, armed with adagger, keeping at bay as best he could a band of seven wolves, who, tojudge by their demeanour, had every intention of pulling him down. Ifthere was one thing in all the world that Boris would have chosen, itwas such an enterprise as this. His very soul was athirst for a goodslashing fight with man or beast--it was four or five years since hehad engaged in a real scrimmage against odds, such as this promised tobe; so Boris flourished his axe and rushed into the thick of it with ashout of real exultation. Right and left he slashed, and right and leftagain, and two wolf-lives had gone out in a moment, while two othergray bleeding creatures crawled yelping and snarling away to die inhiding. Another rush in, and the foe would wait no longer, but turned,and in an instant were skulking away into the forest.
Then for the first time Boris looked up at the man whom he had savedfrom the unpleasant position of a minute or two ago, and as he raisedhis eyes the axe fell from his hand, and his heart gave a great boundof surprise and joy, and then stood still.
Of all the men in the world least likely to be met with in this place,of all men in the world that Boris loved the dearest and honoured themost, and most ardently longed to see and to speak to, it was he--theTsar--Peter!
For a full minute neither spoke. The heart of Boris was too full forwords, and his tongue refused to utter sound of any sort. When atlength the silence was broken, it was the Tsar who spoke, and his voiceseemed to Boris unlike the old boisterous voice of three years ago; itwas quieter and a little tremulous.
"Boris," said the Tsar, "this cannot be accident; we are but puppets inthe hands of a mightier Power which overrides our puny will and laughsat our dispositions. This is the fourth time, I account it, that youhave directly or indirectly stood between me and death; how can Ipossibly continue to hold aloof from you, my brother?"
At these words all the old love and devotion that Boris had felt forhis master completely overcame him, and he fairly flung himself atPeter's knees and hugged them, weeping.
"No, no; get you up, my Bear-eater," said the Tsar, raising him."It appears to me that we were both somewhat wrong upon a memorableoccasion; I have since thought so more than once. And having said thismuch, I will neither say nor hear another word in respect of thoseevents, which are done with and lie buried in the past. As concerningthe present, my Boris, what brought you so miraculously here at theprecise moment when you of all men were the most needed? I had you inmy mind as you appeared, and had but that instant bethought me that Iwould you were with me as of old; and at that same instant you came."
Then Boris, his heart bursting with great joy, began to tell the Tsarhow that his house was but a few miles away, and that in this samehouse he and Nancy had dwelt for the last three years. Peter knewnothing of all this, for the name of Boris was never breathed at courtsince the day of his disgrace, seeing that the Tsar himself neverspoke it. Then Peter in his turn explained how he had wandered fromhis suite in pursuit of a roebuck, but had lost his way; and how hehad not thought of danger until he found himself pursued by wolves andarmed with but a knife. And both thanked God that Boris and his axe hadchanced to wander in the same direction.
Then the pair got to talking of old days and their many adventurestogether as they walked towards the house; and the Tsar graciouslysaid that now he had found him again, he could only wonder how he hadcontrived to do without his faithful bear-eater so long, and wouldBoris, forgetting all that had been unpleasant in the past, returnto his service once more, and things should be as they had been atthe return from England? And Boris could only weep for joy, and thisfoolishness was the wisest thing he could find to do.