Trails that Cross in the Snow 117 
straight across it. Not a caribou was in sight; but they 
might nevertheless be feeding, or resting in the woods 
just beyond; and for the little hunters to show them¬ 
selves now in the open would mean that they would 
become instantly the target for every keen eye that was 
watching the back trail. So they started warily to circle 
the barren, keeping just within the fringe of woods 
out of sight. 
They had gone scarcely a hundred steps when Noel 
whipped out a long arrow and pointed silently across 
the open. From the woods on the other side the cari¬ 
bou had broken out of a dozen tunnels under the spruces, 
and came trotting back in their old trails, straight down¬ 
wind to where the little hunters were hiding. 
The deer were acting queerly,— now plunging away 
with the high, awkward jumps that caribou use when 
startled; now swinging off on their swift, tireless rack, 
and before they had settled to their stride halting sud¬ 
denly to look back and wag their ears at the trail. For 
Megaleep is full of curiosity as a wild turkey, and 
always stops to get a little entertainment out of every 
new thing that does not threaten him with instant 
death. Then out of the woods behind them trotted 
five white wolves, — not hunting, certainly! for when¬ 
ever the caribou stopped to look the wolves sat down 
on their tails and yawned. One lay down and rolled 
over and over in the soft snow; another chased and 
