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 he again heard the wild plaintive howling. Sometimes it was so far away as to be almost indistinguishable and then again it would be within two or three hundred yards of hiscamp. He heard it off and on for two hours but finally slept so soundly that he did not again notice it.

The following morning, when he arose and stretched himself, he was not much surprised to see a large gray wolf sitting upon a knoll about a hundred yards away, watching him. He reached for his rifle and raised it to his shoulder, but before he could get a bead on the wolf, that wary animal, by a succession of wild leaps, reached the cover and disappeared in the deep woods. The wolf's movements, as soon as he saw the gun, were frantic. He seemed to understand that his only safety was in getting to cover. His movement had been so unexpected, and so clever, that Richard laughed heartily, although he was much perplexed. "Well, I'll be blessed," he said as he laid the rifle on the ground. "That