him, when
they sprang at him, that some of the froth from the mouth of one of them
fell upon him.

To his surprise, these two did not long follow him, but sprang into the
gloom of the forest and disappeared. In the last half of the S-like
river Alec was now speeding. He felt confident that if he could once
reach the lake he would be able by speed, and perhaps some quick
dodging, to elude them; but this last portion of the crooked river
troubled him, and made him doubly cautious.

There is need for it all, for look! There are now not less than a dozen
of them, and they are so arranged on the ice and on the shore that there
is apparently no escape. Those strange howlings, so blood-curdling and
so weird, which the first pair of wolves uttered were understood by
others, and here they are, ready and eager to join in the attack and to
divide the prey.

They seem so confident now, and so loudly do they howl that the great
high rocks echo back the doleful music. To Alec it was now the martial
music that only sharpened his faculties and made him more cautious and
more brave. Boldly skating up to them, he suddenly turned, when almost
in their clutches, and instantly started back up the river as rapidly as
he could skate. On and on he fairly flew, until, owing to the bend in
the river, he was completely out of their sight. Then skating near to
one of the shores he pushed on a couple of hundred yards or so.
Crossing over to the other side, he quickly turned to a spot where,
sheltered by a large tree, he was securely hid in the deep shadow, which
was in sharp contrast to the bright moonlight near him. In this retreat
he had not long to wait ere he saw the wolves, evidently disconcerted,
but coming on his trail. They were stretched out quite apart from each
other, and covered such a distance that he saw that those in front would
be doubling back on him ere all had passed. However, he was confident
that so suddenly could he dash out that, by skillful dodging on the
glassy ice, where the wolves would not have much of a foothold, he could
elude them.

It was a trying moment for the boy, as on the opposite side of the tree,
which rose up directly out of the ice, he heard the measured steps and
even the heavy breathings of the cruel monsters, not fifty yards away.
Fortunately, there was no wind to carry the scent from him to them, and
so they did not detect his stratagem. When about half of them had
passed, with a dash a