ld animals, even the
bears, seemed not to like the work of walking where the footing was
soft, so they made paths of their own which they followed from one part
of the country to another. On this great Alaskan island nearly every
mountain pass had bear trails and fox paths leading down to the valleys
along the streams or from one valley over into another. The foxes as
well as the bears seemed to find a great deal of their food along the
beaches.

As the young native ran along the fox trail the others had difficulty in
keeping up with him.

"What's the matter with him? What's up, Rob?" panted John, who was a
trifle fat for his years. "Why doesn't he keep in the plain trails?"

"Let him alone," said Rob. "He may have some idea of his own. See there,
he is heading over toward the beach."

They followed him along the faint trail, dimly outlined at places in the
moss, and soon they caught the idea which was in his mind. The path
headed toward the beach and then zig-zagged, paralleling it as though
some fox had come down and caught sight or scent of something
interesting and then had investigated it cautiously. Others had trodden
in his foot-prints, and so made this path, which at length straightened
out and ran directly to the beach just opposite the place where the dead
whale lay.

"Plenty--plenty!" said Skookie, pointing his short finger to the trail
and then down to the beach where the carcass of the whale lay. Whether
he meant plenty of fox or plenty of food for the foxes made little
difference.

"They're feeding on the whale, now that the boats have gone," explained
Rob. "That is plain. Skookie is just showing us the new trail they have
made the last few nights."

Skookie turned back and began to follow the trail toward the mountain.
Without comment the others followed him, and so they ran the faint path
back until it climbed directly up the steep bluff, fifty feet in height,
and struck a long, flat, higher level, where the foxes all seemed to
have established an ancient highway. Several trails here crossed,
although each held its own way and did not merge with the others; as
though there were bands of foxes which came from one locality and did
not mingle with the others.

"Now, what made him come up here?" asked John, whose shorter legs were
beginning to tire of this long walk. "We're getting a good way from
home."

"Just wait," advised Jesse. "We'll learn something yet, I shouldn't
wonder. Skookie's after