up instantly.

It took a few moments to tighten the strap, and it must have been then
that the wolves caught the scent, and after hurriedly finishing the meal
in hand, galloped off for another without taking the slightest notice of
the fox skin that Reddy had tossed to them. Tom made a fresh start,
feeling more confident on his feet than he had at first, and he was well
under way when he heard the howl of the wolves behind him. Gathering all
his energies together he managed to keep ahead of them until the woods
became less dense, and he saw through the interlacing branches the open
meadows and fields.

"They are too hungry to leave off now," he said to himself as he
hurriedly searched the valley below for the nearest farmhouse. In front
of him was a very high, steep hill, that same hill, in fact, where
Nora's coasting party had taken place. Glancing behind him, he caught a
glimpse of the gray brothers trotting through the forest.

"I'll take the hill," he thought. "It's quickest and there must be some
kind of a refuge below." With long, swift glides he reached the knob
which had hidden Miriam's sled from view as she bore down on Anne the
night of the coasting party.

The wolves were right behind him now, and unless something turned up he
hardly dared think what would happen.

But Tom Gray had always possessed an indomitable belief that things
would turn out all right. It seemed absurd to him that he was to be food
for wolves when he had still a long and delightful life before him.
Certainly he would not give up without a struggle.

Perhaps it was this fine confidence that his destiny was not yet
completed that gave him the strength which now promised to save him. As
he fled down the hill he saw below an old oak tree whose first branches
had been lopped off. Exerting every atom of strength in him, just as he
reached the bottom Tom gave a leap. He caught the lowest limb with one
hand, pulled himself up and calmly took his seat in the crotch of the
tree.

He was just in time. The wolves were at his heels, snarling and snapping
like angry dogs. The boy regarded them from his safe perch and burst out
laughing.

[Illustration: Tom Gray Escapes from the Wolves.]

"So I fooled you, did I, you gray rascals?" he said aloud. "You think
you'll keep me here all night, do you, old hounds? Well, we'll see who
wins out in the long run."

Meanwhile, the wolves ran about howling disconsolately while Tom sat in
the branches