a little lonely
here on the high barren. He wondered, all at once, what he should do if
he came upon a grizzly. It was a long, long way from camp, and Kiopo's
protection. He began to be conscious that he was very much alone.
Something made him look suddenly behind.

Not fifty paces away he saw an enormous wolf.

It stood stock-still, as if caught in the act of stealthy movement, and
Dusty Star noticed with uneasiness that between them there was no
obstacle or cover of any kind. A couple of swift bounds and the creature
could be upon him. Instinctively he realized that it had been stalking
him for some time, and was now preparing for the final rush.

For a moment his heart failed him. Then he rallied. Face to face with
the Terror of the Carboona, Dusty Star did not flinch. The fine Indian
breed of him, descending through long generations, rose magnificently to
the test.

He took in his surroundings with a glance. On one hand lay a pool; on
the other, a tangle of bushes. Behind him, the ground rose. He waited
for the wolf to make the first movement.

For a moment or two, Lone Wolf remained in the half crouching attitude
in which he had been surprised. Then, snarling threateningly he began to
move slowly forward.

Dusty Star drew his hunting-knife in readiness, and stood his ground.
The wolf continued to advance. When not more than a dozen paces
separated them, he stopped again. Dusty Star noted the cruel light in
his eyes, and knew that he paused for the first spring of the attack.
Yet his own gaze did not falter. He held the wolf boldly with his eyes.
Never before had Lone Wolf borne the direct stare of the human eye face
to face, and the experience made him uneasy. He felt the presence of a
mysterious power out of all proportion to the body which contained it.
His own eyes glittering with evil as they were, lacked this power. He
was fully conscious of his own importance--a great wolf, lord of a wide
range; yet some unexplained feeling within him told him that he was now
in the presence of a creature greater than himself. For all that, he
knew that this new enemy must be attacked, and his right to enter
Carboona challenged. For he felt that here, though he could not
understand it, was a challenge from the wolves.

Without further warning, he sprang. In the same instant, Dusty Star
leaped aside, escaping by a hair's breath the slash of the wolf's fangs
at his throat. But he had not been able to leap quite far enou