... The ending to the story "The Interlopers" by H.H. Munro that is. In the December 12 issue, READ editors published the story of two enemies brought together by the need to survive a hunting trip gone bad. They barely made it through their ordeal only to meet with wolves in the end. But was that the end? We'll never truly know what transpired, but it is fun to think about. These students provided their own endings to the story. Read on through these endings and find the good, the bad, and the bloody.
1.
The wolves were running faster and faster as they neared the men. Georg could hardly see them running down the mountain, so Ulrich shouted out and told Georg not to worry because he had a plan. Ulrich shouted at the wolves to draw near him instead of Georg, and three of the five wolves did. Ulrich spread his arm out further than his max expansion and grasped his knife from his coat pocket. Ulrich had half of his left arm with his knife in it and stabbed one wolf to send him off whimpering. The other two wolves jumped on Ulrich causing him to loose his knife. The wolves were shredding through the men's coats, as kaabooooom! Kabooooom! was heard echoing throughout the forest. Georg's men arrived in the knick of time to kill two of the wolves and sending the other two sprinting into the forest. The men scurried down to the prisoners under the tree to release their misery. As the men approached, they realized that Ulrich, their enemy was lying beside their boss. They threatened to kill him, as Georg shouted "No!" because they had become friends while lying in the forest. Georg's men released the two men under the tree and the men began telling their very fortunate story.
-- Joseph Jones
2.
"Wolves? You can't be serious Ulrich! You must have too much blood in your eyes!" Georg laughed nervously.
"No. I'm afraid not. I'm sorry, friend," Ulrich sighed with exhaustion.
"Maybe, just maybe, we can make it out of this. If we work together," Georg struggled for breath, his lungs squished by the tree.
Out of nowhere, Ulrich's men appeared. They helped him get free. Georg got very quiet, then spoke again.
"Ulrich, have you freed yourself?"
"Yes, Georg, I have. My men are here. They have helped me," Ulrich smiled.
"Then you can free me too!" Georg yelled in excitement.
"Ahh, that is where you are wrong, my friend. I have waited far too long to own this land. I'm not going to lose that chance by helping you now!" Ulrich laughed evilly.
"But Ulrich! Please!" Georg pleaded, but it was too late.
Ulrich and his men raced off, away from the wolves, and away from the tree. Georg's shrieks of pain and his constant begging for help eventually faded into the darkness. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ulrich tripped over a tree root and hit the ground with a loud thunk.
"Men! Come help me! I have fallen!" Ulrich yelled. His head throbbed, and he couldn't feel his leg. As he felt it his hand brushed along a huge gouge, and something else that was very sharp.
"Argh! My leg is broken! Someone, come help me!" He yelled again.
No one responded. He couldn't even hear Georg anymore.
But there was one thing he could hear-the howling of wolves and the pattering of feet-getting nearer and nearer.
--Aly O
3.
The wolves began to circle and stalk their prey. Ulrich could see their blood thirsty eyes pierce through him like a bullet. Wait, Ulrich still had his rifle! He slowly reached for it, his fingers inches away, but he was too late. A wolf lunged, latching himself onto Ulrich’s neck. Georg struggled to help his new friend, but the wolf backed away from Ulrich’s limp body and then turned to him. Out of nowhere, a bullet ripped through the wolf's flesh. Georg looked up to see Ulrich’s family. Before he could say anything, they shot him!
--Samantha U.
4.
They just stood there, watching the two men lying helplessly. About fifteen minutes past, but they were still there. The wolves could have taken them for dinner by now. At first, the larger wolf that seemed to be the pack's leader started to step back. Ulrich whispered as if he was out of breath, "Why don't they attack? They seem as if there too shy to approach us." Georg just lay there, trying to see, but his eyes were glued shut with the dried blood. "The largest wolf is walking away," explained Ulrich. "And the other wolves are following. There completely gone now." Now they had another dilemma. Georg and Ulrich were still wounded with nothing to eat or drink. The bottle of wine was dropped and was too far to reach. Even if Ulrich hadn't have dropped it, the wine wouldn't go very far thirst wise. Help!
Hours that seemed like days passed, but neither group spotted the two immobilized men. "Help!" cried Georg. Ulrich said, "On the count of three." The two men lay there, determined to be released. "Help!" they both cried at once. It seemed to get dark all of a sudden. "It's almost dark," said Ulrich. "How are the troops going to find us now?"
The morning came, and the two men were still there. A loud sound woke them up. Georg spotted a vine on the ground. Wait, it wasn't a vine. It's moving! "A snake!" he whispered. All of a sudden, they heard a bark. When Ulrich looked up, he saw that it was the pack of wolves, but this time, they were dashing straight at Georg and Ulrich. They were almost there, but all of the wolves stopped. "They are for sure peace makers. The wolves are back and they are right in front of me," said Ulrich. It was true. If the leader had taken one more step, he would have been on the tree that held Ulrich and Georg on the dirt that was making their clothes and hair dirty. The wolves were followed by a group of people. They were saved!
-- Melanie A.
5.
The beast came running through the forest as fast as it could. The wolves, slobber dripping down their face, ran straight for Georg Znaeym. George broke off a branch from the tree that had fallen on him and Ulrich. He started swinging at the blood thirsty wolves. He crushed one in the head and killed it instantly. The others started jumping on him and he struggled to hold them off. Then all of a sudden these men showed up and shot all the wolves and killed a big percentage of them, before the rest ran off. These men ran to both of the trapped men and they told them, "Hang on we will have you out in no time. The two men grasped their wounded bodies. A man cames back with an axe and chainsaw and they started going to town on this huge tree. They finally got these men out and dragged them to an open area, where the two men united.
--Bradley Wallace
6.
The wolves were about 30 meters away. They looked thin, probably starving. Ulrich glanced at Georg with terror in his eyes. If there was any thinking to do, it was now. He glanced at the wolves. They had stopped and started to sniff the air, hungrily. They looked at Ulrich. He glanced away quickly, knowing that if he looked them straight in the eye, they would consider it a threat. The wolves started to prance to where Georg and Ulrich were lying, helplessly. Since Ulrich's one arm was free, he tried to reach into his sachel for his pocket knife. Georg barely saw that the wolves were just now only about 10 meters away and he told Ulrich to hurry. Ulrich could barely touch the handle of his knife when he was startled by a low growl. He slowly looked up. Right above him, staring him straight in the eye, was one of the largest wolves he had ever saw. His huge, yellow teeth reeked of rotting meat and death. His saliva was dripping off of his teeth onto Ulrich's face. He dare not to move. But as he was staring at the wolf's dainty, green eyes, he slowly reached into his sachel for his knife. All of a sudden, he heard Georg scream. Another wolf was about to bite into his leg. Ulrich retrieved his pocket knife and stabbed the vicious beast in the leg, sending it off of himself. The wolf gave off a yelp that sounded eerie and dark. The pack started to retreat. Far off in the distance, Georg heard Ulrich's party searching for them. At last, they were saved. He now knew not to put an unnessesary dispute between he and his neighbor, for it can turn out deadly.
-- Mara M.
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