although it
smoked stubbornly for lack of draught, it furnished heat for cooking,
and when Jack returned from tethering the horses the smell of frying
ham and hot tea struck his nostrils.

"Well, that's better than rustling for myself, I will admit," he
said, as she placed his supper on an improvised table. "But it's
mighty rough on you."

"No, it isn't, either. I'm healthy--why, this prairie air gives me an
appetite that city people would pay thousands for, and I'm
strong--and happy."

He drew her to him, thrilled with the pride of her courage.

That night, before the darkness had gathered too deep, they selected
the site of their house on the very bench that McCrae had indicated.
It was about an acre in extent, and stood halfway between the prairie
level and the bottom of the coulee, where a small river was now
running...They would face their house eastward, so it would look over
the pond fifty yards from the door, and the bank behind would shelter
it from the north-west winds of winter...It was quite dark when they
sought the cover of their little tent, and the wolves were howling
far down the ravine.

Presently they were startled by a crashing noise, as of some big
animals rushing upon them through the poplars, and the horses, in
headlong haste, almost swept over their sleeping-place. On
recognizing their master the animals stood, snorting and shivering.

"That wolf howl put the fear into the silly brutes," said Harris,
speaking calmly, although his own flesh was creeping just a little.
"I suppose they've ripped their tether ropes to pieces. Well, we'll
tie them down here, where they'll have company." And he led them back
a short distance into the bushes.

A moment later, suddenly, as if congealed out of thin air, on the
bank right above them, silhouetted against the dim light in the
western sky, stood a horse and rider. Instantly into Harris's mind
came a warning of McCrae: "Sleep with one eye open when your horses
are tethered out."

Harris had no proof that the strange rider was a horse thief, but it
struck him at the moment that the terror of the horses might not have
been due altogether to wolves. Sometimes these noble animals have an
uncanny instinct for detecting danger. He stole silently toward the
tent. There was a gun there, loaded with shot for any possible game
on the prairie. As he moved in the deep darkness of the valley he
stumbled over a root and fell. The same moment came a flash of ligh