AIN TOP

The surprise did not come until just before night closed in, shortly
after ten o'clock that night.

A hard, grilling day had been spent on the trail, with little relief
from their labors, which were divided between hauling the ponies up
dangerous slopes, down almost sheer walls, across glacial streams cold
as ice, and last but not least the fighting of giant mosquitoes and
black gnats.

"There is only one thing lacking to make this country the limit,"
declared Stacy after they had made camp and settled down to warm
themselves while the guide was getting supper.

"And what might that be?" questioned the Professor.

"Snakes!"

"Thank goodness there aren't any such things here," exclaimed Rector.
"It is bad enough as it is. Hark! What's that?"

"Him wolf," grunted the Indian.

"I should say there were several of 'him,'" laughed Tad Butler. "They
seemed to be stirred up about something. Are they timber wolves, Anvik?"

The guide nodded and grunted.

"Are you afraid of wolves?" demanded Rector.

"No 'fraid wolves. Mebby 'fraid Ingalik."

Tad drew from this that the Indian had something in mind that he had not
spoken to them about. The freckle-faced boy eyed the Indian keenly, but
Anvik's impassive face told him nothing. The guide had discovered
something else. Tad was sure of that, but what that something was the
boy had not the slightest idea.

Tad's gaze roved about over the landscape, traveling slowly from
mountain to mountain, from peak to peak. Twice he went over the rugged
landscape spread out before them with his searching glances. Suddenly
his gaze halted and fixed on the peak of a low mountain off to the
northwest of them. Butler shaded his eyes, and Anvik, observing the
action, followed the direction of the boy's gaze.

The guide made no move, nor did he change expression, but Tad saw that
Anvik saw. A tiny ring of smoke was rising slowly from the low mountain
peak, swaying lazily as it rose in the quiet air. It was almost white.
One might have taken it for a cloud did he not know better, and only a
mountaineer would have known better.

A moment and a second ring ascended in the wake of the first one, then
after another interval a third ring rose.

"What are you looking at?" demanded the Professor sharply.

"Smoke," answered Tad.

"Where?"

"On that low peak. Where are the glasses?"

Ned hurriedly fetched the glasses. He took the first look, but saw no
smoke. Tad reached for th