hat I have
spoken no lie."

Together, one Wolf on either side of A'tim and one behind, they
glided along his back trail till they came to the scene of his
caustic farewell to Shag. Suddenly the Pack Leader stopped,
buried his nose in a hoof hole and sniffed with discriminating
intentness.

"If-if-if-fh-h! By my scent, 'tis not Mooswa--nor Caribou. What
say you, sons? Perhaps it is the Buffalo of which the Lone Dog
speaks. Phew-yi, hi! Another trail call. Here are two of these
big-footed creatures, be they Buffalo, or what--you spoke of but
one, Lone Dog; Wolves do not tackle a Herd."

"Only a silly Cow," answered A'tim. "She will flee at the first
blood cry."

The big Wolf softened a trifle. Surely here was prospect of a
mighty Kill. There would be much flesh feeding and blood drinking
till they were gorged. And the Lone Dog would keep. When the
Buffalo were eaten, then--He look grimly at A'tim's attenuated
form. "Not much to tempt one after the sweet meat of a Grass
Feeder," he muttered disconsolately. "How shall we make the Kill,
Lone Dog?" he asked.

"When we have trailed them down watch till they feed apart and
stampede the Cow with a fierce rush full of much cry; then all on
the Bull--two in front, to put them at bay, and two behind with
sharp teeth for the hamstring. That will lay him helpless as a
new Calf."

"Thou art a Leader of Sorts, Lone Dog; but why not the Cow first?
It's an easier task, and better eating."

"Ah, my Brothers, I see you have never run the Kings of the
Prairie. While you were busy with the Cow, what think you the
Bull would be doing--brushing his mane with a wet tongue? His
strong horns, stronger than Wolf tusks, would be ripping your
ribs, and the weight of his huge forehead would be breaking your
backs--flat as a fallen leaf he would crush you. No, no; by my
knowledge of these things, first the Bull--after, the Cow will
be easy."

All this logic, sound though it seemed, was born of A'tim's
desire for revenge upon old Shag for refusing to be murdered.

"Well, it is your Run and your Kill, and to the Trailer the say
of the Kill is our Law," answered the Wolf; "lead us to the
eating, and make haste lest we get too hungry."

But A'tim had started ere the Wolf had finished his implied
threat. Nose to ground, and tail almost as straight as a true
Wolf's, he raced through the ghost forms of silent poplars,
sheared by the autumn winds of their gold-leaf mantle. Over
wooded upland