The dogs had set off at their long-gaited, wolfish lope. They lived only for the chase, and the rare caresses of their youthful master. They were obeying now. For their movements were inspired by the inarticulate command which had fallen from the Wolf’s lips as he vaulted to the back of his pony.
The boy went without even a glance in the direction of his playmate. His whole interest had become absorbed in the two fierce creatures who had done their best to wreck the girl’s fishing, and create discord between their human companions. His mood was the enthusiasm of the hunter. For the chase of the timber wolf never failed in its vivid appeal.
But that which he had foreseen failed to mature. He had looked for a swift heading for the ford, a few hundred yards farther down the river. He had expected a crossing to the distant woods beyond, on the eastern slopes of the valley. That had clearly been the direction of the dogs’ concern.
Nothing of the sort happened. Rene, the bitch, had, as always, taken the lead. The less responsible Pete had boisterously attempted to head her. But the lady would have none of him. She slashed at him with vicious teeth, and flung him savagely back to her shoulder. She passed the river ford as though she had no knowledge of its existence, and headed down the valley in the determined manner of one whose mind is clearly made up, and refuses to be deflected from her purpose.
The boy speculated. Why? His mind was acutely questioning. Why this sudden and unaccountable abandonment of the direction which had stirred the dogs to such profound disquiet? Had Annette been wiser than he? Had the dogs been concerned for something which had nothing to do with wolves? He was inclined to doubt his own first judgment.
The chase carried him on down the valley along the course of the meandering river. And it was a run that appealed to all that was primitive in him.
The day was brilliant, and the world about him was vividly gracious. The still, hot air was full of that tang which only ten thousand feet of elevation could give it. And the limitless spreads of forest on the valley slopes, and the dense woodland bluffs, which dotted the park-like bosom of the vast hollow, were a ripe monotony of green.
It was a panorama of wild beauty. And from the snowy glaciers on the mountain tops, which shone in the summer sun, to the verdant delights of the valley’s heart it was a world the Wolf claimed for his own.
They raced over the open. They searched their way down the leafless aisles of shadowed pine woods. Sometimes they were hugging the river bank. And again they were often a mile and more away on the higher ground, avoiding swamps of perilous muskeg. There were times when the hunting dogs were quite lost to view, and only an occasional whimper afforded a clue to their whereabouts. There were others when the pinto was close on their heels sharing the enthusiasm of the chase despite the sweat streaming into its lean flanks.
On, on they went towards the goal which the wise old Rene had so determinedly selected for the run.