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Page 16
The old poacher took out of his leathern jacket a bit of a blackened
pipe; he filled it at his leisure, gathered up in the hollow of his hand
a live ember, which he placed upon the bowl of his pipe; then with his
eyes dreamily cast up to the ceiling he answered meditatively--
"Old falcons, gerfalcons, and hawks, when they have long swept the
plains, end their lives in a hole in a rock. Sure enough I am fond of the
wide expanse of sky and land. I always was fond of it; but instead of
perching by night upon a high branch of a tall tree, rocked by the wind,
I now prefer to return to my cavern, to drink a glass, to pick a bone of
venison, and dry my plumage before a warm fire. The Count of Nideck does
not disdain Sperver, the old hawk, the true man of the woods. One
evening, meeting me by moonlight, he frankly said to me, 'Old comrade,
you hunt only by night. Come and hunt by day with me. You have a sharp
beak and strong claws. Well, hunt away, if such is your nature; but hunt
by my licence, for I am the eagle upon these mountains, and my name is
Nideck!'"
Sperver was silent a few minutes; then he resumed--
"That was just what suited me, and now I hunt as I used to do, and I
quietly drink along with a friend my bottle of Affenthal or--"
At that moment there was a shock that made the door vibrate; Sperver
stopped and listened.
"It is a gust of wind," I said.
"No, it is something else. Don't you hear the scratching of claws?
It is a dog that has escaped. Open, Lieverl�, open, Blitzen!" cried
the huntsman, rising; but he had not gone a couple of steps when a
formidable-looking hound of the Danish breed broke into the tower, and
ran to lay his heavy paws on his master's shoulders, licking his beard
and his cheeks with his long rose-coloured tongue, uttering all the while
short barks and yelps expressive of his joy.
Sperver had passed his arm round the dog's neck, and, turning to me,
said--
"Fritz, what man could love me as this dog does? Do look at this head,
these eyes, these teeth!"
He uncovered the animal's teeth, displaying a set of fangs that would
have pulled down and rent a buffalo. Then repelling him with difficulty,
for the dog was re-doubling his caresses--
"Down, Lieverl�. I know you love me. If you did not, who would?"
Never had I seen so tremendous a dog as this Lieverl�. His height
attained two feet and a half. He would have been a most formidable
creature in an attack. His forehead was broad, flat, and covered with
fine soft hair; his eye was keen, his paws of great length, his sides
and legs a woven mass of muscles and nerves, broad over the back and
shoulders, slender and tapering towards the hind legs. But he had no
scent. If such monstrous and powerful hounds were endowed with the scent
of the terrier there would soon be an end of game.
Sperver had returned to his seat, and was passing his hand over
Lieverl�'s massive head with pride, and enumerating to me his excellent
qualities.
Lieverl� seemed to understand him.
"See, Fritz, that dog will throttle a wolf with one snap of his jaws. For
courage and strength, he is perfection. He is not five years old, but he
is in his prime. I need not tell you that he is trained to hunt the boar.
Every time we come across a herd of them I tremble for Lieverl�; his
attack is too straightforward, he flies on the game as straight as an
arrow. That is why I am afraid of the brutes' tusks. Lie down, Lieverl�,
lie on your back!"
The dog obeyed, and presented to view his flesh-coloured sides.
"Look, Fritz, at that long white seam without any hair upon it from under
the thigh right up to the chest. A boar did that. Poor creature! he was
holding him fast by the ear and would not let go; we tracked the two by
the blood. I was the first up with them. Seeing my Lieverl� I gave a
shout, I jumped off my horse, I caught him between my arms, flung him
into my cloak, and brought him home. I was almost beside myself. Happily
the vital parts had not been wounded. I sewed up his belly in spite of
his howling and yelling, for he suffered fearfully; but in three days he
was already licking his wound, and a dog who licks himself is already
saved. You remember that, Lieverl�, hey! and aren't we fonder of each
other now than ever?"
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