club, and held out his hand.

"Let's shake, Celie," he said. "I'm mighty glad you understand--we're
pals."

Unhesitatingly she gave him her hand, and in spite of the fact that
death lurked outside they smiled into each other's eyes. After that she
went into her room. For half an hour Philip did not see her again.

During that half hour he measured up the situation more calmly. He
realized that the exigency was tremendously serious, and that until now
he had not viewed it with the dispassionate coolness that characterized
the service of the uniform he wore. Celie was accountable for that. He
confessed the fact to himself, not without a certain pleasurable
satisfaction. He had allowed her presence, and his thoughts of her, to
fill the adventure completely for him, and as a result they were now
facing an appalling danger. If he had followed his own judgment, and
had made Bram Johnson a prisoner, as he should have done in his line of
duty, matters would have stood differently.

For several minutes after Celie had disappeared into her room he
studied the actions of the wolves in the corral. A short time before he
had considered a method of ridding himself of Bram's watchful beasts.
Now he regarded them as the one greatest protection they possessed.
There were seven left. He was confident they would give warning the
moment the Eskimos approached the stockade again. But would their
enemies return? The fact that only one man had attacked the wolves at a
time was almost convincing evidence that they were very few in
number--perhaps only a scouting party of three or four. Otherwise, if
they had come in force, they would have made short work of the pack.
The thought became a positive conviction as he looked through the
window. Bram had fallen a victim to a single javelin, and the scouting
party of Kogmollocks had attempted to complete their triumph by
carrying Celie back with them to the main body. Foiled in this attempt,
and with the knowledge that a new and armed enemy opposed them, they
were possibly already on their way for re-enforcements.

If this were so there could be but one hope--and that was an immediate
escape from the cabin. And between the cabin door and the freedom of
the forest were Bram's seven wolves!

A feeling of disgust, almost of anger, swept over him as he drew
Celie's little revolver from his pocket and held it in the palm of his
hand. There were four cartridges left. But what would they avail
agai