cheek.

A bright star shone down from the west; one by one they appeared in
the heavens...It grew colder. The snow no longer caked on the horses'
feet; the sleigh-runners creaked and whined uncannily.

Suddenly a strange sound came down on the north wind--a sound that
made the girl who had just been vowing to be brave nestle still
closer to the big man at her side, and his arm fell protectingly
about her. It was a succession of sharp barks like those of a dog,
but the barks presently ran together in a long, doleful howl that
rose in a high crescendo on the night air, and then slowly died away
into a minor note that seemed to echo back and forth across the
plain. As it died out in one point of the compass it was taken up in
another, until the little party wending its way in the darkness
seemed altogether surrounded by it.

"What is it?" whispered the girl. "What is it, Jack? Do you know?"

"I don't know," said the man. "It sounds like--wolves."

"Don't be alarmed, Mrs. Harris," said a quiet voice. Looking around
they found the doctor sitting up in the sleigh. He had fallen asleep
as soon as the journey started, and they had almost forgotten his
presence.

"Don't be alarmed," he repeated. "Their howl is the only terrifying
thing about them. Prairie wolves are very different from their
cousins of the woods. They fill the night air with their howling, but
they are cowardly brutes and would rather run than fight."

"I suppose you have had some strange experiences with animals of the
prairies," said the girl, with a brave effort to appear at ease, but
before the doctor could answer the team came to a sudden stop. The
sleigh in front was obstructing the road, and the party closed up in
solid formation.

"Camp Number One," called Aleck McCrae, from the head sleigh. "The
horses and cattle are tired, an'--"

"And the captain is hungry," put in Ned Beacon. "Isn't that right?"

"Well, Ah _am_ nursing a young appetite," admitted Aleck, exhibiting
the slack of his belt. "Now, run these sleighs up in two rows," and
Aleck indicated where he wanted them placed. "It's hard on the horses
an' cattle, after the warm cars, but they'll stand it tonight if
they're well blanketed. To-morrow night we'll be among the
Mennonites, with a chance of getting stable room."

Under Aleck's direction the sleighs were run up in two rows, about
twenty feet apart, facing the north. Two sleighs were then run across
the opening at the north end,