XVI. THE STARVING MOON 119

XVII. THE TURN OF THE TIDE 131

XVIII. SPRING AND FLEUR 135

XIX. WHEN THE ICE GOES SOFT 145

XX. THE DEAD MAN TELLS HIS TALE 150

XXI. THE BLIND CLUTCH OF CIRCUMSTANCE 157

XXII. IN THE DEPTHS 170

XXIII. IN THE EYES OF THE CREES 175

XXIV. ON THE CLIFFS 181

XXV. INSPECTOR WALLACE TAKES CHARGE 188

XXVI. THE WHELPS OF THE WOLF 193

XXVII. THE TRAP IS SPRUNG 198

XXVIII. BITTER-SWEET 212

XXIX. THE FANGS OF THE HALF-BREEDS 216

XXX. CREE JUSTICE 224

XXXI. THE WAY OF A DOG 228

XXXII. FROM THE FAR FRONTIERS 234

XXXIII. RENUNCIATION 238

XXXIV. THE VOICE OF THE WINDIGO 243

XXXV. RAW WOUNDS 253

XXXVI. DREAMS 259

XXXVII. FOR LOVE OF A GIRL 264

XXXVIII. THE WHITE TRAIL TO FORT GEORGE 270

XXXIX. THE HATE OF THE LONG SNOWS 280

XL. "HE'S GOT HIS MAN!" 290

XLI. AS YE SOW 296

The Whelps of the Wolf

CHAPTER I

THE LAND OF THE WINDIGO

The solitudes of the East Coast had shaken off the grip of the long
snows. A thousand streams and rivers choked with snow water from bleak
Ungava hills plunged and foamed and raced into the west, seeking the
salt Hudson's Bay, the "Big Water" of the Crees. In the lakes the
honeycombed ice was daily fading under the strengthening sun. Already,
here and there the buds of the willows reddened the river shores, while
the southern slopes of sun-warmed ridges were softening with the pale
green of the young leaves of birch and poplar. Long since, the armies of
the snowy geese had passed, bound for far Arctic islands; while marshes
and muskeg were vocal with the raucous clamor of the nesting gray goose.
In the air of