had walked when the Dogs walked and run when
they ran, before he turned to the Factor and said: "A beeg Voolf--he
come after ze cariole all ze time."

Now they followed the track where it had crossed to the west shore. Two
miles above Kildonan woods the Wolf had stopped his gallop to walk over
to the sled trail, had followed it a few yards, then had returned to
the woods.

"Paul he drop somesin' here, ze packet maybe; ze Voolf he come for
smell. He follow so--now he know zat eez ze drunken Paul vot slash heem
on ze head."

A mile farther the Wolf track came galloping on the ice behind the
cariole. The man track disappeared now, for the driver had leaped on
the sled and lashed the Dogs. Here is where he cut adrift the bundles.
That is why things were scattered over the ice. See how the Dogs were
bounding under the lash. Here was the Fiddler's knife in the snow. He
must have dropped it in trying to use it on the Wolf. And here-what!
the Wolf track disappears, but the sled track speeds along. The Wolf
has leaped on the sled. The Dogs, in terror, added to their speed; but
on the sleigh behind them there is a deed of vengeance done. In a
moment it is over; both roll off the sled; the Wolf track reappears on
the east side to seek the woods. The sled swerves to the west bank,
where, after half a mile, it is caught and wrecked on a root.

The snow also told Renaud how the Dogs, entangled in the harness, had
fought with each other, had cut themselves loose, and trotting homeward
by various ways up the river, had gathered at the body of their late
tyrant and devoured him at a meal.

Bad enough for the Dogs, still they were cleared of the murder. That
certainly was done by the Wolf, and Renaud, after the shock of horror
was past, gave a sigh of relief and added, "Eet is le Garou. He hab
save my leel girl from zat Paul. He always was good to children."

VI

This was the cause of the great final hunt that they fixed for
Christmas Day just two years after the scene at the grave of Little
Jim. It seemed as though all the Dogs in the country were brought
together. The three Huskies were there--the Factor considered them
essential--there were Danes and trailers and a rabble of farm Dogs and
nondescripts. They spent the morning beating all the woods east of St.
Boniface and had no success. But a telephone message came that the
trail they sought had been seen near the Assiniboine woods west of the
city, and an hour later the hu