distant howl of the dogs, and then
near at hand the night was startled by the defiant howl of many wolves,
long, loud and terrible in unexpected suddenness, and so close that the
boys involuntarily rose from their crouch.

"A pack!" whispered Skipper Ed, "and a big pack! See them coming there!
Too many for us to tackle, lads! Keep quiet, now, lads, and don't lose
your heads and don't shoot! We must keep to leeward of them so they
won't get our scent, and we must get back to the cabin. They're too many
for us to tackle."

As he spoke the leaders of the pack--great, fearsome creatures looming
big on the glistening white of the moonlit snow--straggled leisurely
around the bend of the frozen stream--one--two--three--Skipper Ed
counted until more than twenty had appeared, and still others were
coming. It was a pack large enough to be fearless of any enemy and to
attack boldly any prey that crossed its path.

Leading the way, and keeping under cover of trees, with Bobby and Jimmy
close at his heels, Skipper Ed turned and ran down the gulch toward the
cabin, which was not above a mile distant. The gulch ended in an open
space, which was a marsh in summer but was now a white expanse of
hard-beaten snow. Between this open space and the bay shore a hedge of
thick brush grew. On its northern and southern sides the open was
flanked by the forest, extending from the gulch mouth to the shore of
the bay, and on the northern side it continued to Skipper Ed's cabin and
beyond.

Skipper Ed led the way into the forest to the southward of the open,
that they might keep well to leeward of the pack, and thus avoid so far
as possible danger of the wolves getting their scent. He hoped that this
maneuver might permit them to circuit back to the cabin under the
protecting cover of the brush fringe along the shore and the forest to
the northward. To have crossed the open would have been to invite
discovery, for it was evident the wolves would follow the bed of the
stream through the gulch and into the open.

Whether they would answer the call of the dogs and turn northward, or
whether they would range southward in quest of prey, was uncertain. If
to the southward they would be very sure to catch the wind of Skipper Ed
and the boys almost immediately, and be upon them before they could
reach safety. If they answered the dogs, there would still be danger,
but the three in that case would be enabled to keep on the lee side of
the pack with th