m?"

"I am sure I don't know. Perhaps from over the mountains. Don't you
remember Jed Sanborn telling us of the packs of wolves over near
Pine Mountain?"

"Yes."

The two boy hunters had not ventured to the lowest limb of the tree.
Now, as Whopper started to step down, one of the wolves, large and
savage, leaped up at him with a vicious snarl.

"Not to-day!" cried Whopper, and drew himself up again. "I don't
want you to sample my leg!"

"If we only had our guns!" sighed Giant.

"I wanted to get them, Giant. But I don't know if it will do any
good---there are so many of them. One or two less won't count."

The wolves now seemed to grow impatient and snapped and snarled
loudly as they crowded around the tree and tried to leap up towards
the boys. They were evidently a hungry lot.

"I've got an idea!" said Giant, presently. "I am going to cut a
notched stick and reach down for the guns with that."

"Just the thing!" answered his chum. The stick was soon cut, and
then both boys went "Fishing" with it. Both the gun and the rifle
were hanging up by straps, and it was an easy matter to catch the
notch under the straps and hoist the weapons up to where the youths
stood.

"Hurrah! So far so good!" cried Giant. "Now then, we'll give the
wolves something that will surprise them."

"Yes; but don't forget one thing, Giant. The shots will surely
scare the game away from around here, and that will mean good-by to
the silver deer---at least for the present."

"Well, we have got to do something."

"I agree on that."

"I'll take that savage-looking fellow right below us."

"And I'll fire at the one over yonder. Are you ready?"

There was a pause.

"Yes."

"Then fire!"

And the shotgun and the rifle spoke up almost as one piece.

CHAPTER XXVI

SOMETHING ABOUT TRAPPING

When the smoke cleared away the two boy hunters saw two wolves
stretched upon the ground, dead. The rest of the pack had retreated,
yelping and snarling more frightfully than ever.

"That's the time we did it!" cried Whopper, reloading the rifle,
while Giant attended to his shotgun.

"But it hasn't sent them away," was the answer of the smaller youth.
"Here they come back!"

Giant was right. Sniffing suspiciously, the remaining wolves came
as close to the tree as before. Strange to say, they scarcely paid
any attention to those that had been killed.

"Let us fire again," said Whopper, and his companion nodded. On