ons, and they are prone to
investigate them at night while a wolf will not approach. Several dog
coyotes had braved the dangers of Collins' cabin in answer to Shady's
howls. Her soft whimpering had roused the wolfer each time this occurred
and every new admirer had been greeted with a charge of buckshot as he
slipped toward the house, three dog coyotes having paid for their
temerity with their lives.

The Coyote Prophet intended the same imprisonment for Shady the present
season but he neglected it one day too long. He came from the cabin, a
collar and chain in his hand, only to see Shady slip away into the dusk.
A minute later she howled.

Breed heard it. Every fiber of him quivered to the sound. It was the
mating call!

Collins whistled in vain. There was no answering whimper from Shady. But
the habit of obedience was strong in her and she lingered within sound
of it. Breed came nearer than ever before, his fears dulled by the
message she had sent him. Collins came from the house again and whistled
shrilly. Breed shrank from the sound and drew back as Shady trotted a
short distance toward the house; she answered the whistle with an uneasy
whine and Collins moved in the direction from which it came, coaxing as
he advanced.

Fear flooded Breed. It spurred him to sudden rushes of flight which were
halted in a few stiff bounds as the longing for Shady cried out against
his leaving her. Then came the clanking of the chain in Collins' hand.
It was the clank of a trap chain to Breed,--and he was off. That same
sound, its meaning so different for each of them, resulted in flight for
both. Shady ran with him through the night, and once started it was not
so hard to keep on. And as she ran she transferred her trust from
Collins to Breed, giving herself entirely into his keeping to lead her
through the unknown perils which lay ahead,--and she ran close to him,
her nose almost touching his flank.

CHAPTER IV

The exhilarating element of danger in trap robbing, which appeals so
strongly to the coyote, held no fascination for Shady. She was vastly
trap-wise but used her knowledge solely for self-preservation. Every
scrap of meat on the range represented possible pain or death to her and
she found no sport in close investigation with its attendant risks. She
was entirely dependent upon Breed, feeling a sense of security in his
nearness, but weighed down by the vast unknown which seemed to close in
upon her whenever t