e next, I s'pose," said Sneak,
assisting him up. Joe made no reply; but as soon as he could cut the
string away from his wrist, seized Sneak by the throat, hurled him on
his back, and springing upon him, a violent struggle ensued for a few
moments before they could be separated.

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Glenn, dragging Joe away from his
prostrate victim.

"What did you do that for?" asked Sneak, rising up and brushing the
snow from his head and face, his fall having broken the icy surface.

"You rascal, you! I'll show you what for!" cried Joe, endeavouring to
get at him again.

"Joe!" said Glenn, "if you attempt any further violence, you shall not
remain another day under my roof!"

"He boxed my ear like thunder!" said Sneak; "I didn't think the fellow
had so much pluck in him! I like him better now than ever I did. Give
us your paw, Joe." Joe shook hands with him reluctantly, and then
wiped a flood of tears from his face.

"He told me to put some asafetida on my hoots, and said I could then
kill more wolves," said Joe; "and it came within an ace of making them
kill me."

"It was very wrong to do so, Sneak," said Boone, "and the boxing you
got for it was not amiss."

"I believe I think so myself," said Sneak. "But it did make him kill
more wolves after all--jest look at 'em all around here!"

Joe soon recovered entirely from the effects of his swing, his fright,
and his anger, and looked with something like satisfaction on his many
trophies lying round him; and when he disengaged his musket from the
bough of the tree, he regarded it with affection.

They moved homeward, entirely content with the result of the
excursion. Boone explained the reason why so many of the wolves were
congregated about the island. He stated that the vines and bushes on
which the deer feed in the winter were abundant and nutritious in the
low lands along the river, and that great numbers of them repaired
thither at that season of the year. The wolves of course followed
them, and having now destroyed all the large deer in the vicinity of
the island, and the small ones being enabled to run on the snow-crust,
they found it necessary to muster in the chase as great a number as
possible, and thus prevent their prey from escaping to the prairies.
He said that the wolves preferred the timber, being enabled to make
more comfortable lairs and dens among the fallen trees than out in the
cold prairies. But their guns had wrought a fearfu