“Meantime, the dogs were scenting about in the drifts and growling and yelping. Hal looked up and saw that they were off following some tracks. He ran after them for a few rods and then came back, calling them to come in.
“‘Those were bear tracks,’ he explained, as the dogs obeyed most unwillingly. ‘I wish I had some way to trap them without having the fur ruined by other animals.’
“‘Couldn’t you set a trap right in range with the chink of the door, and if you hear other animals about you can shoot them,’ I said.
“‘But it would waste a lot of valuable ammunition,’ he replied.
“He set the trap where I had suggested, however, and said he would wait and see what happened.
“We felt better for that day’s fresh air, but the storm settled down again during the night, and it was several days before it stopped snowing. The cold held on longer, but we knew it was clear by the bright gleam of light that filtered through our smoke-hole.
“‘I wonder if we can get out to-day?’ I asked, but at the same time howls were heard coming from the pines.
“‘Guess you will do better to stay in to-day,’ smiled Hal.
“That night we found it impossible to sleep, for the wolves howled madly just outside the hut, and some of them pawed at the smoke-hole so that Hal finally picked up a red-hot firebrand and poked it up through the opening just as one of the beasts tried to nose down into the hut. It must have caught him well, for he set up a terrific howling.
“The next night, as the wolves came back again to pay their nightly visit, we heard a new growl coming from a distance. I looked at Hal for information, and he chuckled with satisfaction.