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 him in a low voice, petting him on the head as he talked.

"I am in a tight place, old pal, and you must stick by me. The folks think you will desert me, but I know better. We must stand by each other if it comes to a fight at close range."

Five minutes later one of the wolves appeared in the road a dozen rods away, but the young man knew that he must not take any chance shots. All his cartridges must count, so he waited. Then another gray shape appeared and then another. There were three of them and God only knew how many more. Silversheene saw them also and he stood waiting with his mane still bristling and his eyes like blazing coals. An hour passed and the three gray shapes had gradually drawn in toward them within fifty feet. They skulked behind boulders and trees, and did not long stay in the open.

The man shouted at them, but it had no deterrent effect for they kept right on nar-