sh howls into the scarcely less fiendish
yells of men.

At the sight he rushed downstairs, and found the boys hastily gathering
in the dark living room, arming themselves from the gun rack, and taking
their places beside the windows.

In the middle of the room stood the major, supporting with one arm the
unsteady form of his brother Frederic, who had risen at the first alarm
in spite of his wound, and who insisted upon fighting with the rest.

"The Gray Wolves have come," he said. "They will be hard to drive off.
But you must do it, or go yourselves."

Stella and the young Japanese girl were standing at one of the windows
peering fearfully out.

"Come away from there, Stella," said Ted. "They might see you and fire."

"All right, Ted, but you can bet that I will be in this somewhere," said
Stella. "It's my business to defend this girl, and I'm going to do it."

Ted smiled, but said nothing, and passed on around the room, seeing that
the boys were properly placed to resist the attack when it came.

Outside all was quiet again. The howls had ceased, and not a man was in
evidence anywhere. It was the calm before the storm.

"What's the plan?" said Bud, coming up to Ted, for he and Clay had run
into the house at Ted's shot from the cupola.

"I hardly know," answered Ted. "My plan is somewhat upset. I thought at
first that they were going to attack us immediately in this room. But
they seem to have changed their minds."

"I've got a hunch," said Bud, scratching his head in a meditative way.

"Let us have it. That's what we need now."

"They're creeping up on us. I see one o' them a minute ago. They're
countin' on gettin' up ter ther house before we expect 'em, an' then
pourin' a volley inter us, an' puttin' us out o' business quick."

"That would be like that brute Mowbray."

"I've got it figgered that way. Now, s'posin' we fool 'em by not bein'
here. They sneak until they git so's they kin fire through ther windows
without any danger ter themselves, an' run away. But we ain't here."

"Where will we be?"

"Comin' up on them from behind."

"That's the stuff. Notify the boys at once. We'll get behind the house
and creep up on them through the grass. We'll fool them at their own
game."

As silently as ghosts the broncho boys deserted the living room and went
to the back door. After carefully reconnoitering the situation without,
Ted softly opened the door, and led the boys into the shadow of the
house, an