Indians noiselessly led the way. The
other Indians had orders to remain in the camp and keep the dogs with
them, and as quiet as possible. They had not travelled more than half a
mile before the boys heard the most discordant screeches. Still they
had not the slightest idea of what sort of an experience was before
them. Louder and louder were these sounds, as they came directly with
the wind toward them. When they reached a little depression in the
trail they found that Mustagan and Paulette had stopped and were
awaiting their arrival. It was now so light in the eastern sky that the
boys could see as they approached that the Indians were making signs for
perfect quiet. So, as noiselessly as possible they, with Mr Ross,
joined them. Then they were informed that just over the brow of the
steep hill before them a couple of wolverines had chased a couple of
wild cats up into a large tree. The cats had each captured a muskrat,
and were making off with them when the wolverines came along and tried
to rob them of their prey. However, the wild cats had succeeded in
getting up into this solitary large tree with their game, and although
the wolverines can climb trees they did not like to do so to attack
these fierce cats, as their being already above them in the tree would
give them such an advantage.

Very distinctly now could be heard the growls of the wolverines, and
then the defiant snarls of the cats. With their guns loaded with ball,
they all began the cautious crawl up the hillside, with the Indians in
the advance. Fortunately for them, the top of the hill was studded with
short, stunted spruce trees. By each person keeping one of these well
in front of him, they were all able to crawl up to positions where they
could distinctly see the tree with the wild cats ensconced on its large
branches and the wolverines at the foot of it. The tree was not an
evergreen, and so every branch was distinctly visible. For a time they
watched the various manoeuvres of the animals. They noticed that when
the wolverines were not active in their movements the wild cats kept
eating bits off the muskrats. This seemed to anger the furious brutes
on the ground, and so they would one after another make the attempt to
get up the hard, smooth trunk. How the cats had succeeded was a mystery
to the boys. Wolverines are fairly good tree climbers, but they had no
show at all here, for when one of them succeeded in getting well up the