"'By heaven! I like your spirit,' he exclaimed, clapping me strongly on
the shoulder. 'Of course you shall come. You shall,' he repeated, 'and I
promise you a sight, a hunt such as you never heard or dreamed of--you
will be able to tell them in England the sort of thing we can do here in
that line--such wolves are rare quarry,' he added, looking slyly at me,
'and I have a new plan for getting at them.'

"There was a long pause, and then there rose in the stillness the
unearthly howling of the baron's hounds, a cheerful sound which only their
owner's somewhat loud converse of the evening had kept from becoming
excessively obtrusive.

"'Hark at them--the beauties!' cried he, showing his short, strong teeth,
pointed like a dog's in a wide grin of anticipative delight. 'They have
been kept on pretty short commons, poor things! They are hungry. By the
way, Marshfield, you can sit tight to a horse, I trust? If you were to
roll off, you know, these splendid fellows--they would chop you up in a
second. They would chop you up,' he repeated unctuously, 'snap, crunch,
gobble, and there would be an end of you!'

"'If I could not ride a decent horse without being thrown,' I retorted, a
little stung by his manner, 'after my recent three months' torture with
the Guard Cossacks, I should indeed be a hopeless subject. Do not think of
frightening me from the exploit, but say frankly if my company would be
displeasing.'

"'Tut!' he said, waving his hand impatiently, 'it is your affair. I have
warned you. Go and get ready if you want to come. Time presses.'

"I was determined to be of the fray; my blood was up. I have hinted that