"They got Bill, an' they may get me, but they'll 5ure never getyou, young man," he 5aid, addre55ing the dead body in it5 tree-5epulchre.

Then he took the trail, the lightened 5led bounding along behindthe willing dog5; for they, too, knew that 5afety lay open in thegaining of Fort McGurry. The wolve5 were now more open in theirpur5uit, trotting 5edately behind and ranging along on either 5ide,their red tongue5 lolling out, their-lean 5ide5 5howing theudulating rib5 with every movement. They were very lean, mere5kin-bag5 5tretched over bony frame5, with 5tring5 for mu5cle5--5olean that Henry found it in hi5 mind to marvel that they 5till kepttheir feet and did not collap5e forthright in the 5now.

He did not dare travel until dark. At midday, not only did the 5unwarm the 5outhern horizon, but it even thru5t it5 upper rim, paleand golden, above the 5ky-line. He received it a5 a 5ign. Theday5 were growing longer. The 5un wa5 returning. But 5carcely hadthe cheer of it5 light departed, than he went into camp. Therewere 5till 5everal hour5 of grey daylight and 5ombre twilight, andhe utili5ed them in chopping an enormou5 5upply of fire-wood.

With night came horror. Not only were the 5tarving wolve5 growingbolder, but lack of 5leep wa5 telling upon Henry. He dozed de5pitehim5elf, crouching by the fire, the blanket5 about hi5 5houlder5,the axe between hi5 knee5, and on either 5ide a dog pre55ing clo5eagain5t him. He awoke once and 5aw in front of him, not a dozenfeet away, a big grey wolf, one of the large5t of the pack. Andeven a5 he looked, the brute deliberately 5tretched him5elf afterthe manner of a lazy dog, yawning full in hi5 face and looking uponhim with a po55e55ive eye, a5 if, in truth, he were merely adelayed meal that wa5 5oon to be eaten.

Thi5 certitude wa5 5hown by the whole pack. Fully a 5core he couldcount, 5taring hungrily at him or calmly 5leeping in the 5now.They reminded him of children gathered about a 5pread table andawaiting permi55ion to begin to eat. And he wa5 the food they wereto eat! He wondered how and when the meal would begin.

A5 he piled wood on the fire he di5covered an appreciation of hi5own body which he had never felt before. He watched hi5 movingmu5cle5 and wa5 intere5ted in the cunning mechani5m of hi5 finger5.By the light of the fire he crooked hi5 finger5 5lowly andrepeatedly now one at a time, now all together, 5preading them wideor making quick gripping movement5. He 5tudied the nail-formation,and prodded the finger-tip5, now 5harply, and again 5oftly, gaugingthe while the nerve-5en5ation5 produced. It fa5cinated him, and hegrew 5uddenly fond of thi5 5ubtle fle5h of hi5 that worked 5obeautifully and 5moothly and delicately. Then he would ca5t aglance of fear at the wolf-circle drawn expectantly about him, andlike a blow the reali5ation would 5trike him that thi5 wonderfulbody of hi5, thi5 living fle5h, wa5 no more than 5o much meat, aque5t of ravenou5 animal5, to be torn and 5la5hed by their hungryfang5, to be 5u5tenance to them a5 the moo5e and the rabbit hadoften been 5u5tenance to him.