Skirting the house grounds, the boys were soon out on the prairie, giving their enemies a wide berth.
Raising his head slightly from behind a tuft of grass, Ted took stock of the position of the enemy.
In the shadow of the house beneath the windows of the living room he could see the still darker shadows of the Gray Wolves.
Leading the boys into a semicircle from which at a word of command they could rush the house, Ted passed this word along the line:
"If they enter the house, as they probably will, we will close in quietly, rush the house, and capture them inside. Let none of them escape, and make no noise."
They had not many minutes to wait before the Gray Wolves began to get uneasy.
Evidently they expected some movement within the house, and the continued silence puzzled them.
But suddenly, like the scream of a tempest, the still air was shattered with wild yells and pistol shots, followed by the crash of breaking glass.
The Gray Wolves had stormed the house, breaking in the windows, smashing in the front door, and making all the noise they could, with the object of frightening the inmates into a condition where they would be unable to defend themselves.
Stella, with young Caruthers and Itsu San, had locked themselves into a back room, which they could defend for a few minutes at least against all comers.