i% -1p 



Krag:, the Kootenay Ram 



w' ^^"^ But * n ^ e tan gl e< ^ upland birch the last of the 



<^,'»>iiih. f ew more precious yards. The Wolves were 



vVNX V;\\,v^ Ewes was losing ground; she gasped a short 



baah as, thrown by a curling root, she lost a 



^T* ^*'fr almost within leaping distance when Krag 



J^. reached the shoulder-ledge. But a shoulder 



f\rt . . , 



> ' above means a ravine below. In a moment, 



at that call of distress, Krag wheeled on the 

 narrow ledge and faced the foe. He stood to 

 one side, and the three Ewes leaped past him and 

 on to safety. Then on came the Wolves, with 

 a howl of triumph. Many a Sheep had they 

 pulled down, and now they knew they soon 

 would feast. Without a pause they closed, but 

 in such a narrow pass, it was one at a time. The 

 leader sprang ; but those death-dealing fangs 

 closed only on a solid mass of horn, and back of 

 that was a force that crushed his head against 

 himself, and dashed him at his friend behind 

 with such a fearful vim that both were hurled 

 over the cliff to perish on the rocks. On came 

 the rest. The Ram had no time to back up for 

 a charge, but a sweep of that great head was 

 enough. The points, forefronting now, as they 

 did when he was a Lamb, speared and hurled 



78 



