He disappeared for a moment again, and I could hear nothing of him. But I was certain he would not remain away for any great length of time. Perhaps he had companions in the vicinity, and had gone to call them to the spot. A moment later his lonely howl arose on the night air calling to his mates. I listened with strained ears, but heard no response. With my left hand, I now set to work to untie the rope which Yates had fastened so well. In my nervous haste I broke off all my finger-nails before I had the first knot started. But finally the knot was undone, and then I began on the second. Had I been less excited I might have worked faster, but as it was, all my fingers appeared to be thumbs. The second knot was untied, and I was just congratulating myself on getting my hands free, when the wolf burst through the thicket directly ahead. I saw at a glance that he was ready to attack me. His eyes were glaring, and his teeth fairly glistened in the darkness. It was then that my voice came back to me, and I uttered one wild, unearthly scream for help. The next instant the savage beast hurled itself at me. CHAPTER XXV. A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. I now found myself face to face with one of the most dangerous positions into which it had ever been my misfortune to stumble. The wolf that had attacked me was both large and fierce, and unless by some means I became able to combat its onslaught, I felt that my life might end then and there. My terrible scream made the animal draw back for an instant, and during this brief space of time I managed through sheer desperation to free my right hand. While doing this, I remember that close to the spot where I was a prisoner, I had noticed several smaller rocks lying at the base of the elm. I bent down, and by reaching around, managed to secure one of these, and balanced it over my head. I had hardly done so before the wolf gathered himself together, and made another leap, this time directly for my throat. With all my strength I hurled the rock. By pure chance my aim was true, and the missile struck the brute squarely in the face. He uttered a sharp cry of pain and tumbled back. As he did so, I stooped down and picked up another, but much smaller stone. It took him fully a minute to recover from the blow I had given him, and when he approached again, he did so with great caution. But this time I did not give him the chance to make the leap. It was no pleasant thought to have him so close to my throat. I took careful aim at him while he was crouching, and let fly with all the strength at my command. The stone struck him directly in the right eye, and its force was so great that it must have ruined that optic. He uttered a terrible howl, and turning, slunk out of sight.