Reedle Откройте в мобильном приложении
Понятно
Понятно
Для того чтобы воспользоваться закладками, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Отмена
Для того чтобы воспользоваться озвучкой предложений, необходимо
Войти или зарегистрироваться
Отмена
Озвучка предложений доступна при наличии PRO-доступа
Купить PRO-доступ
Отмена
221
With
night
came
horror
.
Not
only
were
the
starving
wolves
growing
bolder
,
but
lack
of
sleep
was
telling
upon
Henry
.
222
He
dozed
despite
himself
,
crouching
by
the
fire
,
the
blankets
about
his
shoulders
,
the
axe
between
his
knees
,
and
on
either
side
a
dog
pressing
close
against
him
.
He
awoke
once
and
saw
in
front
of
him
,
not
a
dozen
feet
away
,
a
big
grey
wolf
,
one
of
the
largest
of
the
pack
.
And
even
as
he
looked
,
the
brute
deliberately
stretched
himself
after
the
manner
of
a
lazy
dog
,
yawning
full
in
his
face
and
looking
upon
him
with
a
possessive
eye
,
as
if
,
in
truth
,
he
were
merely
a
delayed
meal
that
was
soon
to
be
eaten
.
223
This
certitude
was
shown
by
the
whole
pack
.
Fully
a
score
he
could
count
,
staring
hungrily
at
him
or
calmly
sleeping
in
the
snow
.
They
reminded
him
of
children
gathered
about
a
spread
table
and
awaiting
permission
to
begin
to
eat
.
And
he
was
the
food
they
were
to
eat
!
He
wondered
how
and
when
the
meal
would
begin
.
Отключить рекламу
224
As
he
piled
wood
on
the
fire
he
discovered
an
appreciation
of
his
own
body
which
he
had
never
felt
before
.
He
watched
his
moving
muscles
and
was
interested
in
the
cunning
mechanism
of
his
fingers
.
By
the
light
of
the
fire
he
crooked
his
fingers
slowly
and
repeatedly
now
one
at
a
time
,
now
all
together
,
spreading
them
wide
or
making
quick
gripping
movements
.
He
studied
the
nail-formation
,
and
prodded
the
finger-tips
,
now
sharply
,
and
again
softly
,
gauging
the
while
the
nerve-sensations
produced
.
It
fascinated
him
,
and
he
grew
suddenly
fond
of
this
subtle
flesh
of
his
that
worked
so
beautifully
and
smoothly
and
delicately
.
Then
he
would
cast
a
glance
of
fear
at
the
wolf-circle
drawn
expectantly
about
him
,
and
like
a
blow
the
realisation
would
strike
him
that
this
wonderful
body
of
his
,
this
living
flesh
,
was
no
more
than
so
much
meat
,
a
quest
of
ravenous
animals
,
to
be
torn
and
slashed
by
their
hungry
fangs
,
to
be
sustenance
to
them
as
the
moose
and
the
rabbit
had
often
been
sustenance
to
him
.
225
He
came
out
of
a
doze
that
was
half
nightmare
,
to
see
the
red-hued
she-wolf
before
him
.
She
was
not
more
than
half
a
dozen
feet
away
sitting
in
the
snow
and
wistfully
regarding
him
.
The
two
dogs
were
whimpering
and
snarling
at
his
feet
,
but
she
took
no
notice
of
them
.
She
was
looking
at
the
man
,
and
for
some
time
he
returned
her
look
.
There
was
nothing
threatening
about
her
.
She
looked
at
him
merely
with
a
great
wistfulness
,
but
he
knew
it
to
be
the
wistfulness
of
an
equally
great
hunger
.
He
was
the
food
,
and
the
sight
of
him
excited
in
her
the
gustatory
sensations
.
Her
mouth
opened
,
the
saliva
drooled
forth
,
and
she
licked
her
chops
with
the
pleasure
of
anticipation
.
226
A
spasm
of
fear
went
through
him
.
He
reached
hastily
for
a
brand
to
throw
at
her
.
But
even
as
he
reached
,
and
before
his
fingers
had
closed
on
the
missile
,
she
sprang
back
into
safety
;
and
he
knew
that
she
was
used
to
having
things
thrown
at
her
.
She
had
snarled
as
she
sprang
away
,
baring
her
white
fangs
to
their
roots
,
all
her
wistfulness
vanishing
,
being
replaced
by
a
carnivorous
malignity
that
made
him
shudder
.
He
glanced
at
the
hand
that
held
the
brand
,
noticing
the
cunning
delicacy
of
the
fingers
that
gripped
it
,
how
they
adjusted
themselves
to
all
the
inequalities
of
the
surface
,
curling
over
and
under
and
about
the
rough
wood
,
and
one
little
finger
,
too
close
to
the
burning
portion
of
the
brand
,
sensitively
and
automatically
writhing
back
from
the
hurtful
heat
to
a
cooler
gripping-place
;
and
in
the
same
instant
he
seemed
to
see
a
vision
of
those
same
sensitive
and
delicate
fingers
being
crushed
and
torn
by
the
white
teeth
of
the
she-wolf
.
Never
had
he
been
so
fond
of
this
body
of
his
as
now
when
his
tenure
of
it
was
so
precarious
.
227
All
night
,
with
burning
brands
,
he
fought
off
the
hungry
pack
.
When
he
dozed
despite
himself
,
the
whimpering
and
snarling
of
the
dogs
aroused
him
.
Отключить рекламу
228
Morning
came
,
but
for
the
first
time
the
light
of
day
failed
to
scatter
the
wolves
.
The
man
waited
in
vain
for
them
to
go
.
They
remained
in
a
circle
about
him
and
his
fire
,
displaying
an
arrogance
of
possession
that
shook
his
courage
born
of
the
morning
light
.
229
He
made
one
desperate
attempt
to
pull
out
on
the
trail
.
But
the
moment
he
left
the
protection
of
the
fire
,
the
boldest
wolf
leaped
for
him
,
but
leaped
short
.
He
saved
himself
by
springing
back
,
the
jaws
snapping
together
a
scant
six
inches
from
his
thigh
.
The
rest
of
the
pack
was
now
up
and
surging
upon
him
,
and
a
throwing
of
firebrands
right
and
left
was
necessary
to
drive
them
back
to
a
respectful
distance
.
230
Even
in
the
daylight
he
did
not
dare
leave
the
fire
to
chop
fresh
wood
.
Twenty
feet
away
towered
a
huge
dead
spruce
.
He
spent
half
the
day
extending
his
campfire
to
the
tree
,
at
any
moment
a
half
dozen
burning
faggots
ready
at
hand
to
fling
at
his
enemies
.
Once
at
the
tree
,
he
studied
the
surrounding
forest
in
order
to
fell
the
tree
in
the
direction
of
the
most
firewood
.