Badlands Billy 
Dogs came pouring down the path, in single 
file perforce, and Duskymane received them as 
they came. A feeble spring, a counter-lunge, 
a gash, and ‘‘ Fango’s down,” has lost his foot- 
hold and is gone. Dander and Coalie close 
and try to clinch; a rush, a heave, and they 
are fallen from that narrow path. Blue-spot 
then, backed by mighty Oscar and fearless 
Tige—but the Wolf is next the rock and the 
flash of combat clears to show him there alone, 
the big Dogs gone; the rest close in, the hind- 
most force the foremost on—down—to their 
death. Slash, chop and heave, from the swift- 
est to the biggest, to the last, down —down— 
he sent them whirling from the ledge to the 
gaping gulch below, where rocks and snags of 
trunks were sharp to do their work. 
In fifty seconds it was done. The rock had 
splashed the stream aside—the Penroof pack 
was all wiped out; and Badlands Billy stood 
there, alone again on his mountain. 
A moment he waited to look for more to 
come. There were no more, the pack was 
dead; but waiting he got his breath, then rais- 
ing his voice for the first time in that fatal 
163 
