a
secret foe.

V

THE LESSON ON TRAPS

A Calf had died in branding-time and now, two weeks later, was in its
best state for perfect taste, not too fresh, not over-ripe--that is, in
a Wolf's opinion--and the wind carried this information afar. The
Yellow Wolf and Duskymane were out for supper, though not yet knowing
where, when the tidings of veal arrived, and they trotted up the wind.
The Calf was in an open place, and plain to be seen in the moonlight. A
Dog would have trotted right up to the carcass, an old-time Wolf might
have done so, but constant war had developed constant vigilance in the
Yellow Wolf, and trusting nothing and no one but her nose, she slacked
her speed to a walk. On coming in easy view she stopped, and for long
swung her nose, submitting the wind to the closest possible chemical
analysis. She tried it with her finest tests, blew all the membranes
clean again and tried it once more; and this was the report of the
trusty nostrils, yes, the unanimous report. First, rich and racy smell
of Calf, seventy per cent.; smells of grass, bugs, wood, flowers,
trees, sand, and other uninteresting negations, fifteen per cent.;
smell of her Cub and herself, positive but ignorable, ten per cent.;
smell of human tracks, two per cent.; smell of smoke, one per cent.; of
sweaty leather smell, one per cent.; of human body-scent (not
discernible in some samples), one-half per cent.; smell of iron, a
trace.

The old Wolf crouched a little but sniffed hard with swinging nose; the
young Wolf imitatively did the same. She backed off to a greater
distance; the Cub stood. She gave a low whine; he followed unwillingly.
She circled around the tempting carcass; a new smell was
recorded--Coyote trail-scent, soon followed by Coyote body-scent. Yes,
there they were sneaking along a near ridge, and now as she passed to
one side the samples changed, the wind had lost nearly every trace of
Calf; miscellaneous, commonplace, and uninteresting smells were there
instead. The human track-scent was as before, the trace of leather was
gone, but fully one-half per cent, of iron-odor, and body smell of man
raised to nearly two per cent.

Fully alarmed, she conveyed her fear to the Cub, by her rigid pose, her
air intent, and her slightly bristling mane.

She continued her round. At one time on a high place the human body
scent was doubly strong, then as she dropped it faded. Then the wind
brought the full calf-odor with several trac