Once, he climbed a high rock and looked down at them. They were mountain
wolves of the largest and most dangerous kind, some reaching a length of
seven feet. He watched them with a sort of fascinated awe, and long
after he left the rock he still heard the growling. When it ceased he
went back to his perch again and saw only the great skeleton of the
bear, picked clean, and the last wolf gone.

That afternoon the two men took down the vast skin of the grizzly and
scraped it with their hunting knives, working on it a long time, and
also admiring the length and luxuriance of the hair.

"It shows that this big fellow lived high upon the mountains where
there's lots of cold," said Boyd. "Why, this is really fur, not hair.
Maybe he never saw a human being before, and being king of all his range
he couldn't have dreamed that he would have been killed by something
flying through the air, and that his body would find a scattered grave
in the stomachs of wolves."

"Ef the worst comes to the worst, an' it grows too awful cold," said the
Little Giant, "this will make a splendid sleeping robe, big enough fur
all three of us at the same time."

They kept their fire going all day and all night, and they also
maintained a continuous watch, the three taking turns. More snow fell
and then melted, and they were glad that it was so, as they felt that
the trail was now hidden completely. They also kept down the blaze from
their fire, a great bed of coals now having formed, and, as they were in
a bowl, the glow from it could not be seen more than ten or fifteen
yards away.

At dawn they set out again under cloudy skies with a raw, cold wind
always blowing, and advanced slowly, owing to the steep and dangerous
nature of the way. Once more they replenished their larder with mountain
sheep and mule deer, and packed upon the horses all they could carry.
The hunter and the Little Giant agreed now that the sky was ominous, and
they had more to fear from it than from pursuit by either Indians or
Felton's outlaws.

"I tell you, Jim, an' you too, young William," said the Little Giant,
"that we'd better do what would have been done by the big grizzly that's
now runnin' in the stomachs o' mounting wolves."

"What's that?" asked Will.

"Hole up! When you can't do anythin' else hole up an' wait 'til the
skies clear."

"That would be simple," said Boyd, "if only we three human beings had to
hole up, but while we might drive the horses and mul