fficiently clear to Kathlyn, who smiled,
shouldered the rifle and strode confidently down the winding path; but
also she was alert and watchful.

There was not a bit of rust on the rifle, and the fact that one bullet
had sped smoothly convinced her that the weapon was serviceable. Some
careful hunter had once possessed it, for it was abundantly oiled. To
whom had it belonged? It was of German make; but that signified
nothing. It might have belonged to an Englishman, a Frenchman, or a
Russian; more likely the latter, since this was one of the localities
where they crossed and recrossed with their note-books to be utilized
against that day when the Bear dropped down from the north and tackled
the Lion.

Kathlyn had to go down to the very bottom of the ravine. She must
follow the goat path, no matter where it wound, for this ultimately
would lead her to the rest house. As she started up the final incline,
through the cedars and pines, she heard the bark of the wolf, the red
wolf who hunted in packs of twenty or thirty, in reality far more
menacing than a tiger or a panther, since no hunter could kill a whole
pack.

To this wolf, when hunting his kill, the tiger gave wide berth; the
bear took to his cave, and all fleet-footed things of the jungles fled
in panic.

Kathlyn climbed as rapidly as she could. She dared not mount a tree,
for the red wolf would outwit her. She must go on. The bark, or yelp,
had been a signal; but now there came to her ears the long howl. She
had heard it often in the great forests at home. It was the call of
the pack that there was to be a kill. She might shoot half a dozen of
them, and the living rend the dead, but the main pack would follow on
and overtake her.

She swung on upward, catching a sapling here, a limb there, pulling
herself over hard bits of going. Once she turned and fired a chance
shot in the direction of the howling. Far away came the roar of one of
the mountain lions; and the pack of red wolves became suddenly and
magically silent. Kathlyn made good use of this interval. But
presently the pack raised its howl again, and she knew that the grim
struggle was about to begin.

She reached the door of the rest house just as the pack, a large one,
came into view, heads down, tails streaming. Pundita, who was at the
fire preparing the noon meal, seized Kathlyn by the arm and hurried her
into the house, barricading the door. The wolves, arriving, flung
themselve