ss than two minutes' time, the heavy
mass came down with a dead sound upon the shoulders of one of the pack,
causing him to howl fearfully!

Marengo, who had been alert all this time, now growled louder than ever;
and the combined noises awoke the three sleepers. Basil saw what it
was; and, starting up, seized his rifle and ran forward, followed by
Francois and Lucien.

All three dashed in among the wolves, firing their pieces as they ran,
and then rushing on them with "clubbed" guns. The animals, of course,
took to their heels, and scattered in every direction; but some of them,
in their flight, did not fail to carry off choice pieces of the
bear-meat. Two were killed by the rifle-bullets; and a third--which
Francois had peppered with shot--was overtaken and worried to death by
Marengo.

The meat was soon gathered up; and Basil, who though somewhat chagrined
was still confident of his plan, once more looped it in the lasso, and
pulleyed it up. This time, however, he tied the end of his rope to the
high branch of a tree; and as the wolves are not tree-climbers, all felt
certain that, cunning as these creatures are, they could not reach it
thus secured.

After throwing more wood upon the fire, the three brothers again took to
their blankets, expecting that nothing would occur to disturb them
before the morning.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

THE CIRCLE OF FIRE.

That expectation, however, was a vain one. Poor lads! they little
thought what was before them. Their nerves were to be tried still
farther, and by as severe a test as they had yet endured. The wolves
howled fearfully around the camp, and their eyes still shone through the
gloom. But this would not have kept the boys from sleeping, had their
attention not been called to another sound--the voice of a far different
creature. They heard it amidst the howlings of the wolves, and knew it
at once, for it resembled not these. It was more like the squalling of
an angry cat, but far louder, fiercer, and more terrible. _It was the
scream of the cougar_!

I say that the young hunters recognised the voice of this animal at
once--for they had heard it while hunting in the forests of Louisiana,
although they had never been exposed to its attack. From ample
testimony, however, they knew its power and fierce nature; and were,
therefore, terrified by its scream--as men of strongest nerves had often
been before them.

When its cry first reached their ears, it a