"I trust that no harm has come to him and Egbert.

He said he would return to-day without fail; he said three or four days, and this is the fourth.

It is dull work here alone.

You think so, Wolf, don't you, old fellow?
And it is worse for you than it is for me, pent up on this hummock of ground with scarce room to stretch your limbs." A great wolf-hound, who was lying with his head between his paws by the embers of a fire in the centre of the hut, raised his head on being addressed, and uttered a low howl indicative of his agreement with his master's opinion and his disgust at his present place of abode.
"Never mind, old fellow," the boy continued, "we sha'n't be here long, I hope, and then you shall go with me in the woods again and hunt the wolves to your heart's content." The great hound gave a lazy wag of his tail.

"And now, Wolf, I must go.