" cried Fred, rushing up. "Why, man, you're
covered with ice! What's happened to you?"

"Been in the river," Peter managed to ejaculate. "Get my moccasins
off, boys--rub feet with snow. Afraid--I'm going--to lose toes!"

With exclamations of sympathy the boys got his frozen outer clothing
off,--broke it off, in fact, from the caked ice,--removed his moccasins
and socks, and rubbed his feet with snow. Several of the toes had
whitened, but they regained color after some minutes' rubbing, and
began to hurt excruciatingly. Peter squirmed with the pain.

"But I don't mind it," he said. "Rub away, boys. I certainly thought
I was going to lose part of my feet."

Perhaps the solid cake of ice that had instantly formed over his heavy
socks and moccasins had actually protected them from freezing. At any
rate, he got off much more easily than he would have thought possible.
The attack of the wolves had left little mark on him, either. He had a
few light lacerations on his hands and face, but for the most part the
beasts seemed to have laid hold on him where the thick, ice-caked cloth
was almost like armor plate. And no doubt the arrival of the pack had
saved him from death by freezing.

Fred dragged up the carcass of the fallen wolf and skinned its head and
ears for the Government bounty. The rest of the pelt was so terribly
torn with buckshot as to be worthless.

"Your scheme didn't work, Mac," he remarked.

"It did work. It worked only too well," Macgregor protested. "It's
the best scheme for catching wolves I ever heard of."

"You don't want to try it again, do you?"

"Well--that's a different thing!" he admitted. "No, I don't know that
I do. But if I hadn't gone through the ice we would probably have
bagged nearly the whole pack."

After thorough snow friction Mac considered it safe to approach the
fire by degrees. The ice thawed off his clothing, but left him wet to
the skin. It was certain that he ought to get back to the cabin and
dry clothing as soon as possible, and he thought he would be able now
to travel. It was less than two miles.

It proved a painful two miles, but he reached the cabin at last, where
his companions put him to bed in one of the bunks, covered him warmly,
and dosed him with boiling tea. It was then growing close to three
o'clock in the morning.

Naturally they did not get up as early as usual for breakfast.
Macgregor's feet were sore and somewhat swollen, but there wa