CHAPTER VII.

THROUGH THE ICE.

Happily, the wolf was not the least frightened member of the party. His
plunge through space had been unintentional, and when he rolled off into
one corner of the cabin he gave a howl of terror.

Brick and Hamp gathered themselves up from the pine boughs, where the
blow had tumbled them. They felt sure that they were lost; they expected
to be instantly torn limb from limb.

"Stand aside!" yelled Jerry, as he stepped in front of his companions.

There was no time to shoot, for the wolf had turned in desperation, and
was in the act of rushing at his enemies.

Jerry clubbed his rifle and let drive. Thud! the heavy stock landed on
the brute's head, and tumbled him over in a heap.

"Hurrah!" shouted Hamp and Brick, in one breath, as they rushed to the
attack.

The wolf was a tenacious fellow, and he struggled desperately to rise.
Sorely wounded though he was, he actually managed to get upon his feet.
Then a charge of buckshot from Jerry's gun, settled him for good and
all, and he rolled over lifeless.

The whole affair transpired in about a minute, and the plucky lads next
turned their attention to the peril that threatened them from overhead.

Two howling brutes were digging and tearing at the hole in the roof.
Their lolling red tongues and white teeth glistened in the firelight.
The rest of the pack yelped and scurried around the cabin, as though
they knew that the feast would soon be ready.

"We'll fix those fellows, never fear," panted Jerry.

He and Hamp lifted their shotguns, and fired together, straight at the
glaring eyes and hungry jaws.

With a yelp of agony one of the brutes rolled from the roof, and crashed
heavily to the ground. The other was invisible when the smoke cleared;
he must have leaped back upon the rock.

The boys were cheered by their victory. They reloaded their weapons and
waited, keeping an eye on all vulnerable spots.

"This will be something worth remembering, if we come through it all
right," said Brick.

"Morning can't be many hours off," added Hamp. "The pack will be sure to
go then."

But the brave lads were spared the horrors of a further siege. All at
once the wolves became strangely silent, and the boys heard a rushing
noise far back in the forest, mingled with a chorus of faint howls.
The sound came closer, and then veered off in another direction, growing
more and more indistinct.

"Listen!" whisper