they drew up in a circle around the tree
upon which Jasper Grinder rested, and from which hung the bear meat. At
one point under the tree there was a spot covered with bear's blood, and
this blood several of the wolves licked up in a manner to make the
former teacher's own blood run cold.

"If they get at me they'll chew me up, I know they will," he moaned.
"Oh, why did I ever come out in this savage waste!"

Sitting in a circle, the wolves lifted their heads and howled dismally.
Two came to the tree and scratched the bark, as if to attempt climbing.

"Go away! Go away!" shrieked Jasper Grinder. "Scat! Go away!"

The wolves left the tree-trunk, but did not go away. Instead one after
another began to leap up, trying to reach the meat which hung so
temptingly above them. One or two prowled among the stores, tearing
this and that, and picking up the scraps of the morning meal.

In this fashion half an hour went by, and it is safe to state that this
was the longest and most trying half hour that Jasper Grinder
experienced in his whole life. He shouted at the wolves and threw bits
of sticks at them, but to this they paid no attention. Then he cried for
help, but the Rovers and John Barrow were too far off to hear him.

"If I only had the gun, I could fire it as a signal," he said to
himself. "Why did I not bring it up with me?"

He wondered if he could pull the gun up by means of a string he found in
his pocket, and resolved to try. Making a loop in one end of the string
he lowered it with care, until it rested close to the gun, and then he
did his best to slide the string along under the barrel. This was
comparatively easy, for the barrel was tilted up against a rock.

The wolves watched the maneuvering with interest, and no sooner did the
gun begin to shift than three leaped forward, snarling angrily. One
snapped at the barrel of the piece, one at the butt, and a third at the
trigger. An instant later came the report heard by the Rovers and John
Barrow.

The shot was almost a deadly one, not alone for two of the wolves, but
also for Jasper Grinder, who was not expecting the gun to go off. The
piece was loaded with buckshot, which tore through the sides of two of
the beasts, and then passed upward into the tree-branches, taking the
former school-teacher in the left shoulder.

"I'm shot!" gasped Jasper Grinder, and almost fell from his perch. But
he managed to save himself, and hung in a crotch, weak and almost
h