buried to the full limit of the
trap chain.

Some nights later Breed passed a cross fox that had strayed down from
the high country and had stepped into one of Collins' traps. The fox was
never still, weaving in and out, looping and turning round the pin that
held the trap; lashed into constant movement by his native nervousness
but making no strenuous efforts to break loose. Later the same night he
found a bobcat. The big cat made no move save a slight creasing of his
facial muscles preparatory to a snarl if the wolf drew near. The first
pain had dulled and he rested quietly, lacking the hardihood to stretch
his own flesh and bones in a struggle against the trap.

But Breed always found a trapped coyote fighting,--fighting silently and
gamely to the last heartbeat. Coyotes are high in the scale of
intelligence and so each one has an individuality of his own. One would
surge time after time against the chain, driving savagely to the end of
it. Another would grind his teeth against the cold steel till his jaws
dripped blood, while a third would amputate the mangled foot. But
whatever the method, the basic fact was the same,--no coyote waited
submissively for his fate but waged a ceaseless, desperate fight for
freedom.

All these things heightened Breed's suspicions. He felt the reassertion
of wolfish caution within him, driving out the coyote desire to outwit
man. Three times he unearthed the traps and stole the bait. Then he
refused to go near stale meat. He was nauseated by the smell of it and
merely avoided instead of investigating the spots from which the scent
came to him. And this was not through fear of traps--he retained full
confidence in his ability to detect them--but from the fact that
wherever he had found traps in the past he had also found poison and so
these two were associated together in his mind.

Throughout a whole month of accustoming himself to these new conditions,
Breed had visited Shady but twice. He had the companionship of coyotes
to fill his time and the lonesome howls of the she-wolf were unanswered.
It is the stock dog without steady occupation that reverts to the wild.
Mere inactivity, even if coupled with kindness, is insufficient to still
his natural restlessness and fill his life; he must have careful
training and active employment to be content,--and Shady was half wild.

The mating time of wolves was drawing near and Breed caught the new note
in Shady's voice. He dropped all other