Then a thought of horror flashed across her mind. She had been brought here to perish in the wilderness. Probably Silver Face and his men, desiring to wreak vengeance upon Ted, and feeling that keeping her a prisoner would be too much of a burden, had brought her into this dangerous place to leave her a prey to the wild animals that she knew infested the forests.
If they had only left her Magpie, she might have stood some chance of escaping.
But her fortitude soon returned to her. She was not dead yet, and, while she had a fighting chance, she would not despair.
Something of pity must have moved the men, for she found that they had left her revolver and her rifle beside her in the lean-to, and that in a pile not far from the fire was food enough to last her for several meals.
She set about cooking some breakfast, and caught herself singing as she did so.
After she had eaten she sat down in her shelter to think a way out of her predicament.
She was in the midst of a reverie when she was brought to her feet by that most dreaded of sounds—the howl of the timber wolf.
For a moment she stood trembling, trying to think what her best course would be.
The wolves had smelled the frying bacon from afar, and had been attracted to it, for the scent had carried far in the clear air.
From another direction came another wolf cry, and presently they seemed to come from every direction.