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Wolf Eyes was running for his life. He had just looked back over his shoulder and had seen the wolf pack. He would have to stop and make a stand soon. They were gaining on him.
He could not afford to let them separate and cut him off. He had to find cover. There was little time. It was almost dark. He wondered about Black Scorpion. Had he given up the hunt? Was the wolf pack his doing?
He came to a clearing, and suddenly he knew where he was. This was the burned out village of the Yellow Leaf. He ran down the right side of the clearing, next to the creek. He had to keep track of the wolves and where each one was. He made it to the river and ran down the trail. One wolf, a big one, separated itself from the other. Well, that is it, he thought. The big one is making his move to cut me off. I must find a place to make my stand.
The trees were big there by the river. Wolf Eyes saw his refuge – a big tree standing, with its hollow trunk facing south. The hollow trunk was big enough for a man to stand inside of it. The trunk of the tree would protect his backside. Facing out the hollow part, he had enough opening to swing his war club. He got inside just in time to get ready for the first wolf.
The wolf stopped at the sight of Wolf Eyes, who stood motionless inside the big trunk. The second and the third wolf showed up. They were growling and showing their teeth.
What a show, Wolf Eyes thought, none of you have the guts to come in and try me.
Then the big one showed up – the leader of the pack.
“A big one you are,” said Wolf Eyes. “You have been hunting these woods for a long time. You are old and wise.”
The wolves started digging at the sides and the back of the trunk.
“I know you guys,” said Wolf Eyes. “I know the way you hunt.”
A young wolf dug too close to the entrance of the tree.
Wolf Eyes waited. “Come on now, a little closer... little closer.”
A crushing blow was dealt the unsuspecting wolf. He did not see it coming. The wolf was dead on contact. Knocked cold as a wedge.
That was luck for me, thought Wolf Eyes.
It was getting dark. The wolves were still digging at the back of the tree. Wolf Eyes looked up and saw that the hollow went on up into the trunk a good ways. If worse came to worse, he thought, and if they were successful digging under the roots, I could climb up and wedge myself in higher. I can get higher than they can jump.
Darkness came, and the wolves continued to dig at the roots and circle him. But a full moon looked over the mountain and lit up the forest. He could see well now.
Another wolf attacked from the front. He charged in; almost close enough for Wolf Eyes to get a lick on him. But he stopped just short.
Wolf Eyes lay back. “That was just a test,” he said. “You just wanted to see me swing. Well, you will have to come closer. I will not show you where your boundaries lie, Little Man. Come closer, and you will find out.”
Seeing no reaction on that one, the wolf tried again. And he tried again. Each time he tried he got a little closer. Wolf Eyes could feel his hot breath on his knee that last time.
Little Man made one more charge, and the war club met his skull as he came in. His teeth made it to Wolf Eyes’ leg and drew blood, but the wolf called Little Man did not know it.
Wolf Eyes grimaced with the pain of those sharp teeth on his shinbone. He was mad at himself. He had underestimated that one. He grabbed the carcass of the wolf and threw it at the other wolves. They dodged the flying hulk. He got a good look at the others that time. There were three left. They do not look too desperate, he thought. Would they keep up the attack, he wondered. I seem, to them, hold out in this tree, like an easy prey. Yet, two of them are dead, but the others keep on. Such is the life of a predator. They are use to easy meals.
Wolf Eyes reached out and got the carcass of the Little Man. He dragged it into the hollow of the tree. He used his butcher knife and cut off the right hind leg. He skinned it back and bit into the raw meat. He preferred his meat well done, but now there was no time for that. He had to keep his strength up.
He tried to think when the last time was that he ate. That morning in the village, he thought. Waving Willow fed me well. The thought of Waving Willow rekindled his resolve to fight.
He ate most of the meat by biting in and pulling it back and forth until it came off the bone. He looked at his hands. They were a bloody mess. He painted his face with the blood off his fingers.
The wolves smelled the blood. Two wolves circle the tree, while the third one digs, he thought. I will prepare a meal for you. He cut off the other hindquarter and skinned it. “Who would like dinner?” he asked.
He threw the piece out to them. “Come on now, don’t be bashful.”
They ran from it at first, but then got more curious. Then one small one came in and smelled it, with caution. He picked it up, carried it off and began to eat. The others observed this. The big wolf went over and took the meat away from the smaller one.
“Come on now, I have some more.”
He cut off some of the loin and threw it out, this time a little closer to his reach. The other small wolf got it and ran off to eat his meal in private.
Wolf Eyes untied the leather cord from his waist. It was just the right length for what he had in mind. He cut off more of the loin meat, and this time he tied the leather cord around it. This cord had a special knot in it that was placed a little bit in front of the bait. The cord made two passes through this knot. If the wolf picked up the bait, no matter how hard he pulled on it, he could not draw the knot closed. But when Wolf Eyes chose, he could release one loop of the cord and snare the foot of the wolf.
After he threw it out, he waited. The other small wolf came up, and just as he got a smell of it, Wolf Eyes pulled the cord. The meat came closer to the tree. This way he inched the wolf in close. This wolf had already tasted the blood, and he was salivating for his piece. The wolf was now as close as Wolf Eyes thought he would come. He let the wolf have the bait. When the wolf grabbed the meat to run off, he stepped in the loop, and Wolf Eyes pulled hard to close the snare. The wolf was caught and let go of the meat to attack whatever had him by the foot. Wolf Eyes jerked so hard on the cord that the wolf was snatched into the hollow of the tree.
This operation had required the use of both hands to control the cord. Wolf Eyes now had the wolf by the throat. The wolf snarled and thrashed about, but then lost its strength. He crushed the larynx, cutting off the wolf’s air supply. He held on until he was sure the wolf was dead. The other wolves had finished their meal by now and were coming back to the tree.
Wolf Eyes was exhausted. The adrenaline rush was too much. He would rest for a while.
The big wolf now approached the tree. He stopped, just out of Wolf Eyes’ reach. His mouth dripped with saliva. He held his head low. This was a staring match between him and Wolf Eyes. The wolf was panting.
Wolf Eyes said, “It’s really between you and me now. You’re wondering if you want to take the chance, aren't you?”
The wolf looked back at him. He was a supreme predator. He had known no equal in this forest. This man that he now faced was, at this moment, his enemy. There was no backing down now, because he saw the man and he hated him. For this reason he would not leave, but had to fight.
Wolf Eyes recognized the challenge. He stepped forward out of the tree, and at the same instant, the wolf lunged at his throat. When the wolf leaped, he seemed almost as tall as Wolf Eyes stood. The war club was cocked and ready. The two bodies met in midair. The snarling row of teeth gaped open and were snapping rapidly with an unending viciousness that would only end in death.
Wolf Eyes’ hands were on the wolf, trying to control the uncontrollable. The wolf was strong. His teeth sunk into the left forearm and ripped and tore the flesh. But now the predator was on his back, and the hunting knife pierced his heart.
Wolf Eyes said, “Predator, your hate has killed you.”
He removed his a
rm from the mouth of the wolf. The bone was not broken, but the muscle was badly chewed. No arteries were cut. He could still move all of his fingers.
“This night I will not forget,” he said.
He looked up and saw the other small wolf leaving. The wolf did not look back, but his shadow kept pace with him in the moonlight.
Wolf Eyes sat down and leaned back against the tree trunk to rest for the night. Then another wolf appeared. This one looked familiar. He stayed off in the distance about twenty paces. The moon shined on him brightly, and the two looked the other over. Then the moon went behind a cloud and the wolf’s eyes glowed in the dark.
“Ah,” said Wolf Eyes, nodding his head slowly, “this one is the Spirit Wolf.”
The rest of the night passed peacefully. He wondered how many days he had been away from the village. He did not know how many days he had been in the labyrinths of the cave. He longed for Waving Willow.
Wolf Eyes got the rest he sorely needed, as he fell asleep in the roots of that hollowed out tree.