The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Read Online Free PDF

chorus of yelps and howls, and the first of a considerable pack of wolves came loping into the station yard. There was a flash and a deafening report as James fired his musket among them. Solly whipped up the horses, who needed no whipping, and the carriage seemed almost to spring off the ground, so rapid was the motion with which it left the building and lights behind.
    There had been a new fall of snow and their progress was silent as they flew over the carpeted ground, save for the muffled hoof-beats and the cry of the wolves behind them.
    ‘Those poor men in the station!’ exclaimed Sylvia. ‘Will they be safe?’
    ‘Oh yes,’ Bonnie told her reassuringly. ‘They have plenty of ammunition. We always bring them some when we come, and food too – and the wolves can’t get in. It’s only troublesome when a train has to stop and people get out. But tell me about that poor man – what is the matter with him? Was he taken ill?’
    ‘No, it was his portmanteau that fell on him and knocked him unconscious,’ Sylvia explained. ‘The train stopped with such a jerk.’
    ‘Yes, the drivers always do that. You see, if the wolves notice a train slowing down, they are on the alert at once, and all start to run towards the station, so as to be there when the passengers get out. Consequently, if a train has to stop here, the driver goes as fast as he can till the very last moment, in order to deceive them into thinking that he is going straight through. But now tell me about yourself,’ said Bonnie, affectionately passing an arm round Sylvia and making sure that she was well wrapped up. ‘Did you have a pleasant journey? Are you hungry? Or thirsty?’
    ‘Oh no, thank you. I had some provisions with me for the train. We had quite a pleasant journey. A wolf jumped into our compartment last night, but Mr Grimshaw – that gentleman – stabbed it to death and we moved into another compartment.’
    ‘Is he a friend of yours?’ Bonnie said, nodding over this incident.
    ‘Oh dear no! I had never seen him before. Indeed, I did not like him
very
much,’ Sylvia confessed. ‘He seemed so strange, although I believe he meant to be kind.’
    The two children were silent for a moment or two, as the carriage galloped on its way. The soft rugs were delicious to Sylvia, and the grateful warmth of the foot-warmer as it struck upwards, gradually thawing her numbed and chilled feet, but the sweetest thing of all was the friendly pressure of Bonnie’s hand and the loving brightness of her smile as she turned, every now and then, to scan her cousin.
    ‘I can’t believe you are really here at last!’ she said. ‘I wonder which of us is the taller? What delightful times we shall have! Oh, I can’t wait to show you everything – the ponies – my father has bought a new little quiet one for you, in case you are not used to riding – and the hot-house flowers, and my collections, and the wolf-hounds. We shall have such games! And in the summer we can go for excursions on the wolds with the pony-trap. If only Mamma and Papa did not have to go away it would be quite perfect.’
    She sighed.
    ‘Poor Bonnie,’ said Sylvia impulsively, squeezing her cousin’s hand. ‘Perhaps it will not have to be for very long.’ She received a grateful pressure in return, and they were silent again, listening to the crunch of the wheels on the snow and the cry of the wolf-pack, now becoming fainter behind them in the distance.
    There was something magical about this ride which Sylvia was to remember for the rest of her life – the dark, snow-scented air blowing constantly past them, the boundless wold and forest stretching away in all directions before and behind, the tramp and jingle of the horses, the snugness and security of the carriage, and above all Bonnie’s happy welcoming presence beside her.
    After a time Bonnie said, ‘I wonder how that poor man is. What did you say was his name?’
    ‘Mr Grimshaw.’
    Bonnie leaned across and plucked