As he finished speaking I fired, followed by Uncle Mark and the other men; and, as the result, four wolves rolled over dead.  The rest of them, however, disappointed us by turning tail and scampering off to a safe distance, from whence only their howls reached us.  Uncle Mark, however, did not consider it prudent to follow them.  Indeed, had they heard us approaching they would probably have retreated out of shot; for wolves, though they will follow a fugitive, like other savage animals, will generally try to escape when pursued.  So, having secured the skins of those we had killed, although they were of no great value, we returned homewards.