vigorous even in the deepest- solitudes; yet 



now, so quietly did the old wolf appear, ^ 



so perfectly did her rough gray coat blend W0&VJM/I3fl 



with the rough gray rocks, that the hillside I0>rs^^ & 



seemed just as tenantless as before. A stray i-s-T^ 



*<('■.. re- 

 wind seemed to move the mosses, that was 



all. Only where the mountains once slept 

 now they seemed wide-awake. Keen eyes 

 saw every moving thing, from the bees in 

 the bluebells to the slow fishing-boats far out 

 at sea; sharp ears that were cocked like a 

 collie's heard every chirp and trill and rustle, 

 and a nose that understood everything was 

 holding up every vagrant breeze and search- 

 ing it for its message. For the cubs were 

 coming out for the first time to play in the 

 big world, and no wild mother ever lets that 

 happen without first taking infinite precau- 

 tions that her little ones be not molested nor 

 made afraid. 



A faint breeze from the west strayed over 

 the mountains and instantly the old wolf 

 turned her sensitive nose to question it. 

 There on her right, and just across a deep 

 ravine where a torrent went leaping down to 



