k; now it was swollen to the
size of a river.

Suddenly, as they looked, two dark objects came slowly out into an
opening a mile away. At that distance they appeared hardly larger
than dogs, and Rod, whose mind was still filled with thoughts of
Wolf, exclaimed "Wolves!"

In the same breath he caught himself, and added:

"Moose!"

"A cow and her calf," said Wabi.

"How do you know?" asked Rod.

"There; watch them now!" cried Wabi, catching his companion by the
arm. "The mother is ahead, and even from here I can see that she is
pacing. A moose never trots or gallops, like a deer, but paces, using
both feet on a side at the same time. Notice how the calf jumps about.
An old moose would never do that."

"But both animals look to be about the same size," replied Rod, still
doubtful.

"It's a two-year-old calf; almost as big as its mother. In fact, it's
not really a calf, because it is too old; but so long as young moose
stick to their mothers we call them calves up here. I've known them to
remain together for three years."

"They're coming this way!" whispered the white youth.

The moose had turned, heading for the base of the mountain upon which
they stood. Wabi drew his companion behind a big rock, from which both
could look down without being seen.

"Be quiet!" he warned. "They're coming to feed on the sprouting poplar
along the mountain side. Just been over to the creek to get a drink.
We may have some fun!"

He wet a finger in his mouth and held it above his head, the forest
pathfinder's infallible method of telling how the wind blows. No
matter how slight the movement of the air may be, one side of the
finger dries first, in an instant, and is warm, while the side that
remains damp is cold, and in the lee, that side toward which the wind
is blowing.

"The wind is wrong, dead wrong," said Wabi. "It's blowing straight
toward them. Unless we are so high that our scent goes above them they
won't come much nearer."

Another minute and Rod nudged Wabigoon.

"They're within range!"

"Yes, but we won't shoot. We don't need meat."

As the young Indian spoke the cow brought herself to a dead stop so
suddenly that Wabi gave a delighted grunt.

"Great!" he whispered. "She's caught a whiff of us, a quarter of a
mile away. See how she holds her head, her great ears chucked forward
to hear, her nose half to the sky! She knows there's danger on this
mountain. Now--"

He did not finish. Like a flash the cow