"Why," Jimmy was heard to say afterwards, when the shock of battle was a thing only of memory, "both his lamps looked like yellow fires, and that red tongue hung from his mouth, while I could see his long white fangs bared to beat the band. Then I heard the bang of Ned's gun, and that wolf fell back in a heap. When I saw the way he lay crunched up at the foot of my tree, I knew he'd gone and croaked. Gee whiz! but that was a pretty close shave for Jimmy McGraw, let me tell you!"