the direction of the outstretched arm. And as he looked
he held his breath, for something seemed to grip his throat.

Then a moment later words, sounding hoarse and stifled, came from the
depths of his storm-collar.

"Who--who is it?"

Nick did not answer. Both were staring out across the hollow at the tall
motionless figure of a man, and their eyes were filled with an
expression of painful awe. The figure was aggressively distinct,
silhouetted as it was against a barren, snow-clad crag. They might have
been gazing at a statue, so still the figure stood. It was enveloped in
fur, so far as the watchers could tell, but what impressed them most was
the strange hood which covered the head. The figure was too distant for
them to have distinguished the features of the face had they been
visible, but, as it was, they were lost within the folds of the grey
hood.

There came an ominous click from behind. Ralph turned suddenly and
seized his brother's arm as he was in the act of raising his rifle to
his shoulder. The gun was lowered, and the intense face of Nick scowled
at the author of the interruption.

"It's--it ain't a human crittur," he said hoarsely.

"It's a man," retorted Ralph, without releasing his hold.

And the two brothers became silent.

They stood watching for a long time. Neither spoke again, they had
nothing to say. Their thoughts occupied them with strange apprehension
while the dogs sprawled in the snow in the spiritless manner of their
kind when the labour of the traces is not demanded of them. The figure
on the hill stood quite still. The silence of the wild was profound. No
wind stirred to relieve it, and even under their warm furs the two men
watching shivered as with cold.

At last the movement they had awaited came. The Hooded Man turned
towards them. One long arm was raised and he pointed away at a tall
hill. Then his arm moved, and he seemed to be pointing out certain
landmarks for his own benefit. Again, on a sudden, as he fronted the
direction where the brothers stood, he dropped his arm, and, a moment
later, disappeared on the other side of the hill. The two men remained
gazing out across the hollow for some while longer, but as the Hooded
Man did not return they turned back to their dogs and continued their
journey.

Nick shook his head in a dissatisfied manner. Ralph said nothing for
awhile. He was beginning to doubt his own assertion.

The dogs leapt at their breast-draws and the sle