ality.

It would have been easy for them to kill enough game to feed a
small army, as the valley now fairly swarmed with it, although
nearly all of it was of large species, chiefly buffalo, elk, and
bear. There was one immense herd of elk congregated in a great
sheltered space at the northern end of the valley, where they fed
chiefly upon twigs and lichens.

Hanging always upon the flanks of this herd was a band of timber
wolves of great size and ferocity, which never neglected an
opportunity to pull down a cripple or a straying yearling.

"I thought we had killed off all these timber wolves," said
Albert when he first caught sight of the band.

"We did kill off most of those that were here when we came," said
Dick, "but others, I suppose, have followed the game from the
mountains into the valley."

Albert went alone a few days later to one of their traps up the
valley, walking at a good pace on his snowshoes. A small colony
of beavers had been discovered on a stream that came down
between two high cliffs, and the trap contained a beaver of
unusually fine fur. Albert removed the skin, put it on his
shoulder, and, tightening his snowshoes, started back to Castle
Howard.

The snow had melted a little recently, and in many places among
the trees it was not deep, but Albert and Dick had made it a
point to wear their snowshoes whenever they could, for the sake
of the skill resulting from practice.

Albert was in a very happy frame of mind. He felt always now a
physical elation, which, of course, became mental also. It is
likely, too, that the rebound from long and despairing ill health
still made itself felt. None so well as those who have been ill
and are cured! He drew great draughts of the frosty air into his
strong, sound lungs, and the emitted it slowly and with ease. It
was a fine mechanism, complex, but working beautifully.
Moreover, he had an uncommonly large and rich beaver fur over his
shoulder. Such a skin as that would bring twenty-five dollars in
any decent market.

Albert kept to the deep snow on account of his shoes, and was
making pretty good time, when he heard a long howl, varied by a
kind of snappy, growling bark.

"One of those timber wolves," said Albert to himself, "and he has
scented the blood of the beaver."

He thought no more about the wolf until two or three minutes
later when he heard another howl and then two or three more.
Moreover, they were much nearer.

"Now, I wond