er, the flock would veer and scatter
and draw together again, and finally swing in toward the shore, every
neck drawn straight as a string the better to see what was going on.
Nearer and nearer they would come, till a swift rush out of the grass
sent them off headlong, splashing and quacking with crazy clamor. But
one or two always stayed behind with the wolves to pay the price of
curiosity.

Then there were the young geese, which gathered in immense flocks in the
shallow bays, preparing and drilling for the autumn flight. Late in the
afternoon the old mother wolf with her cubs would steal down through the
woods, hiding and watching the flocks, and following them stealthily as
they moved along the shore. At night the great flock would approach a
sandbar, well out of the way of rocks and brush and everything that
might hide an enemy, and go to sleep in close little family groups on
the open shore. As the night darkened four shadows would lengthen out
from the nearest bank of shadows, creeping onward to the sand-bar with
the slow patience of the hours. A rush, a startled _honk!_ a terrific
clamor of wings and throats and smitten water. Then the four shadows
would rise up from the sand and trot back to the woods, each with a
burden on its shoulders and a sparkle in the close-set eyes over the
pointed jaws, which were closed on the neck of a goose, holding it tight
lest any outcry escape to tell the startled flock what had happened.

Besides this abundant game there were other good things to eat, and the
cubs rarely dined of the same dish twice in succession. Salmon and big
sea-trout swarmed now in every shallow of the clear brooks, and, after
spawning, these fish were much weakened and could easily be caught by a
little cunning. Every day and night the tide ebbed and flowed, and every
tide left its contribution in windrows of dead herring and caplin, with
scattered crabs and mussels for a relish, like plums in a pudding. A
wolf had only to trot for a mile or two along the tide line of a lonely
beach, picking up the good things which the sea had brought him, and
then go back to sleep or play satisfied. And if Wayeeses wanted game to
try his mettle and cunning, there were the big fat seals barking on the
black rocks, and he had only to cut between them and the sea and throw
himself upon the largest seal as the herd floundered ponderously back to
safety. A wolf rarely grips and holds an enemy; he snaps and lets go,
and snaps