THE HUNGER CRY

The day began auspiciously. They had lost no dogs during the night, andrnthey swung out upon the trail and into the silence, the darkness, andrnthe cold with spirits that were fairly light. Bill seemed to havernforgotten his forebodings of the previous night, and even waxedrnfacetious with the dogs when, at midday, they overturned the sled on arnbad piece of trail.rnrnIt was an awkward mix-up. The sled was upside down and jammed between arntree-trunk and a huge rock, and they were forced to unharness the dogsrnin order to straighten out the tangle. The two men were bent over thernsled and trying to right it, when Henry observed One Ear sidling away.rnrn“Here, you, One Ear!” he cried, straightening up and turning around onrnthe dog.rnrnBut One Ear broke into a run across the snow, his traces trailingrnbehind him. And there, out in the snow of their back track, was thernshe-wolf waiting for him. As he neared her, he became suddenlyrncautious. He slowed down to an alert and mincing walk and then stopped.rnHe regarded her carefully and dubiously, yet desirefully. She seemed tornsmile at him, showing her teeth in an ingratiating rather than arnmenacing way. She moved toward him a few steps, playfully, and thenrnhalted. One Ear drew near to her, still alert and cautious, his tailrnand ears in the air, his head held high.rnrnHe tried to sniff noses with her, but she retreated playfully andrncoyly. Every advance on his part was accompanied by a correspondingrnretreat on her part. Step by step she was luring him away from thernsecurity of his human companionship. Once, as though a warning had inrnvague ways flitted through his intelligence, he turned his head andrnlooked back at the overturned sled, at his team-mates, and at the twornmen who were calling to him.rnrnBut whatever idea was forming in his mind, was dissipated by thernshe-wolf, who advanced upon him, sniffed noses with him for a fleetingrninstant, and then resumed her coy retreat before his renewed advances.rnrnIn the meantime, Bill had bethought himself of the rifle. But it wasrnjammed beneath the overturned sled, and by the time Henry had helpedrnhim to right the load, One Ear and the she-wolf were too close togetherrnand the distance too great to risk a shot.rnrnToo late One Ear learned his mistake. Before they saw the cause, therntwo men saw him turn and start to run back toward them. Then,rnapproaching at right angles to the trail and cutting off his retreatrnthey saw a dozen wolves, lean and grey, bounding across the snow. Onrnthe instant, the she-wolf’s coyness and playfulness disappeared. With arnsnarl she sprang upon One Ear. He thrust her off with his shoulder,rnand, his retreat cut off and still intent on regaining the sled, hernaltered his course in an attempt to circle around to it. More wolvesrnwere appearing every moment and joining in the chase. The she-wolf wasrnone leap behind One Ear and holding her own.rnrn“Where are you goin’?” Henry suddenly demanded, laying his hand on hisrnpartner’s arm.rnrnBill shook it off. “I won’t stand it,” he said. “They ain’t a-goin’ tornget any more of our dogs if I can help it.”rnrnGun in hand, he plunged into the underbrush that lined the side of therntrail. His intention was apparent enough. Taking the sled as the centrernof the circle that One Ear was making, Bill planned to tap that circlernat a point in advance of the pursuit. With his rifle, in the broadrndaylight, it might be possible for him to awe the wolves and save therndog.rnrn“Say, Bill!” Henry called after him. “Be careful! Don’t take nornchances!”rnrnHenry sat down on the sled and watched. There was nothing else for himrnto do. Bill had already gone from sight; but now and again, appearingrnand disappearing amongst the underbrush and the scattered clumps ofrnspruce, could be seen One Ear. Henry judged his case to be hopeless.rnThe dog was thoroughly alive to its danger, but it was running on thernouter circle while the wolf-pack was running on the inner and shorterrncircle. It was vain to think of One Ear so outdistancing his pursuersrnas to be able to cut across their circle in advance of them and tornregain the sled.rnrnThe different lines were rapidly approaching a point. Somewhere outrnthere in the snow, screened from his sight by trees and thickets, Henryrnknew that the wolf-pack, One Ear, and Bill were coming together. Allrntoo quickly, far more quickly than he had expected, it happened. Hernheard a shot, then two shots, in rapid succession, and he knew thatrnBill’s ammunition was gone. Then he heard a great outcry of snarls andrnyelps. He recognised One Ear’s yell of pain and terror, and he heard arnwolf-cry that bespoke a stricken animal. And that was all. The snarlsrnceased. The yelping died away. Silence settled down again over thernlonely land.rnrnHe sat for a long while upon the sled. There was no need for him to gornand see what had happened. He knew it as though it had taken placernbefore his eyes. Once, he roused with a start and hastily got the axernout from underneath the lashings. But for some time longer he sat andrnbrooded, the two remaining dogs crouching and trembling at his feet.rnrnAt last he arose in a weary manner, as though all the resilience hadrngone out of his body, and proceeded to fasten the dogs to the sled. Hernpassed a rope over his shoulder, a man-trace, and pulled with the dogs.rnHe did not go far. At the first hint of darkness he hastened to make arncamp, and he saw to it that he had a generous supply of firewood. Hernfed the dogs, cooked and ate his supper, and made his bed close to thernfire.rnrnBut he was not destined to enjoy that bed. Before his eyes closed thernwolves had drawn too near for safety. It no longer required an effortrnof the vision to see them. They were all about him and the fire, in arnnarrow circle, and he could see them plainly in the firelight lyingrndown, sitting up, crawling forward on their bellies, or slinking backrnand forth. They even slept. Here and there he could see one curled uprnin the snow like a dog, taking the sleep that was now denied himself.rnrnHe kept the fire brightly blazing, for he knew that it alone intervenedrnbetween the flesh of his body and their hungry fangs. His two dogsrnstayed close by him, one on either side, leaning against him forrnprotection, crying and whimpering, and at times snarling desperatelyrnwhen a wolf approached a little closer than usual. At such moments,rnwhen his dogs snarled, the whole circle would be agitated, the wolvesrncoming to their feet and pressing tentatively forward, a chorus ofrnsnarls and eager yelps rising about him. Then the circle would lie downrnagain, and here and there a wolf would resume its broken nap.rnrnBut this circle had a continuous tendency to draw in upon him. Bit byrnbit, an inch at a time, with here a wolf bellying forward, and there arnwolf bellying forward, the circle would narrow until the brutes werernalmost within springing distance. Then he would seize brands from thernfire and hurl them into the pack. A hasty drawing back always resulted,rnaccompanied by angry yelps and frightened snarls when a well-aimedrnbrand struck and scorched a too daring animal.rnrnMorning found the man haggard and worn, wide-eyed from want of sleep.rnHe cooked breakfast in the darkness, and at nine o’clock, when, withrnthe coming of daylight, the wolf-pack drew back, he set about the taskrnhe had planned through the long hours of the night. Chopping down youngrnsaplings, he made them cross-bars of a scaffold by lashing them high uprnto the trunks of standing trees. Using the sled-lashing for a heavingrnrope, and with the aid of the dogs, he hoisted the coffin to the top ofrnthe scaffold.rnrn“They got Bill, an’ they may get me, but they’ll sure never get you,rnyoung man,” he said, addressing the dead body in its tree-sepulchre.rnrnThen he took the trail, the lightened sled bounding along behind thernwilling dogs; for they, too, knew that safety lay open in the gainingrnof Fort McGurry. The wolves were now more open in their pursuit,rntrotting sedately behind and ranging along on either side, their redrntongues lolling out, their lean sides showing the undulating ribs withrnevery movement. They were very lean, mere skin-bags stretched over bonyrnframes, with strings for muscles—so lean that Henry found it in hisrnmind to marvel that they still kept their feet and did not collapsernforthright in the snow.rnrnHe did not dare travel until dark. At midday, not only did the sun warmrnthe southern horizon, but it even thrust its upper rim, pale andrngolden, above the sky-line. He received it as a sign. The days wererngrowing longer. The sun was returning. But scarcely had the cheer ofrnits light departed, than he went into camp. There were still severalrnhours of grey daylight and sombre twilight, and he utilised them inrnchopping an enormous supply of fire-wood.rnrnWith night came horror. Not only were the starving wolves growingrnbolder, but lack of sleep was telling upon Henry. He dozed despiternhimself, crouching by the fire, the blankets about his shoulders, thernaxe between his knees, and on either side a dog pressing close againstrnhim. He awoke once and saw in front of him, not a dozen feet away, arnbig grey wolf, one of the largest of the pack. And even as he looked,rnthe brute deliberately stretched himself after the manner of a lazyrndog, yawning full in his face and looking upon him with a possessiverneye, as if, in truth, he were merely a delayed meal that was soon to berneaten.rnrnThis certitude was shown by the whole pack. Fully a score he couldrncount, staring hungrily at him or calmly sleeping in the snow. Theyrnreminded him of children gathered about a spread table and awaitingrnpermission to begin to eat. And he was the food they were to eat! Hernwondered how and when the meal would begin.rnrnAs he piled wood on the fire he discovered an appreciation of his ownrnbody which he had never felt before. He watched his moving muscles andrnwas interested in the cunning mechanism of his fingers. By the light ofrnthe fire he crooked his fingers slowly and repeatedly now one at arntime, now all together, spreading them wide or making quick grippingrnmovements. He studied the nail-formation, and prodded the finger-tips,rnnow sharply, and again softly, gauging the while the nerve-sensationsrnproduced. It fascinated him, and he grew suddenly fond of this subtlernflesh of his that worked so beautifully and smoothly and delicately.rnThen he would cast a glance of fear at the wolf-circle drawnrnexpectantly about him, and like a blow the realisation would strike himrnthat this wonderful body of his, this living flesh, was no more than sornmuch meat, a quest of ravenous animals, to be torn and slashed by theirrnhungry fangs, to be sustenance to them as the moose and the rabbit hadrnoften been sustenance to him.rnrnHe came out of a doze that was half nightmare, to see the red-huedrnshe-wolf before him. She was not more than half a dozen feet awayrnsitting in the snow and wistfully regarding him. The two dogs werernwhimpering and snarling at his feet, but she took no notice of them.rnShe was looking at the man, and for some time he returned her look.rnThere was nothing threatening about her. She looked at him merely withrna great wistfulness, but he knew it to be the wistfulness of an equallyrngreat hunger. He was the food, and the sight of him excited in her therngustatory sensations. Her mouth opened, the saliva drooled forth, andrnshe licked her chops with the pleasure of anticipation.rnrnA spasm of fear went through him. He reached hastily for a brand tornthrow at her. But even as he reached, and before his fingers had closedrnon the missile, she sprang back into safety; and he knew that she wasrnused to having things thrown at her. She had snarled as she sprangrnaway, baring her white fangs to their roots, all her wistfulnessrnvanishing, being replaced by a carnivorous malignity that made himrnshudder. He glanced at the hand that held the brand, noticing therncunning delicacy of the fingers that gripped it, how they adjustedrnthemselves to all the inequalities of the surface, curling over andrnunder and about the rough wood, and one little finger, too close to thernburning portion of the brand, sensitively and automatically writhingrnback from the hurtful heat to a cooler gripping-place; and in the samerninstant he seemed to see a vision of those same sensitive and delicaternfingers being crushed and torn by the white teeth of the she-wolf.rnNever had he been so fond of this body of his as now when his tenure ofrnit was so precarious.rnrnAll night, with burning brands, he fought off the hungry pack. When herndozed despite himself, the whimpering and snarling of the dogs arousedrnhim. Morning came, but for the first time the light of day failed tornscatter the wolves. The man waited in vain for them to go. Theyrnremained in a circle about him and his fire, displaying an arrogance ofrnpossession that shook his courage born of the morning light.rnrnHe made one desperate attempt to pull out on the trail. But the momentrnhe left the protection of the fire, the boldest wolf leaped for him,rnbut leaped short. He saved himself by springing back, the jaws snappingrntogether a scant six inches from his thigh. The rest of the pack wasrnnow up and surging upon him, and a throwing of firebrands right andrnleft was necessary to drive them back to a respectful distance.rnrnEven in the daylight he did not dare leave the fire to chop fresh wood.rnTwenty feet away towered a huge dead spruce. He spent half the dayrnextending his campfire to the tree, at any moment a half dozen burningrnfaggots ready at hand to fling at his enemies. Once at the tree, hernstudied the surrounding forest in order to fell the tree in therndirection of the most firewood.rnrnThe night was a repetition of the night before, save that the need forrnsleep was becoming overpowering. The snarling of his dogs was losingrnits efficacy. Besides, they were snarling all the time, and hisrnbenumbed and drowsy senses no longer took note of changing pitch andrnintensity. He awoke with a start. The she-wolf was less than a yardrnfrom him. Mechanically, at short range, without letting go of it, hernthrust a brand full into her open and snarling mouth. She sprang away,rnyelling with pain, and while he took delight in the smell of burningrnflesh and hair, he watched her shaking her head and growling wrathfullyrna score of feet away.rnrnBut this time, before he dozed again, he tied a burning pine-knot tornhis right hand. His eyes were closed but few minutes when the burn ofrnthe flame on his flesh awakened him. For several hours he adhered tornthis programme. Every time he was thus awakened he drove back thernwolves with flying brands, replenished the fire, and rearranged thernpine-knot on his hand. All worked well, but there came a time when hernfastened the pine-knot insecurely. As his eyes closed it fell away fromrnhis hand.rnrnHe dreamed. It seemed to him that he was in Fort McGurry. It was warmrnand comfortable, and he was playing cribbage with the Factor. Also, itrnseemed to him that the fort was besieged by wolves. They were howlingrnat the very gates, and sometimes he and the Factor paused from the gamernto listen and laugh at the futile efforts of the wolves to get in. Andrnthen, so strange was the dream, there was a crash. The door was burstrnopen. He could see the wolves flooding into the big living-room of thernfort. They were leaping straight for him and the Factor. With thernbursting open of the door, the noise of their howling had increasedrntremendously. This howling now bothered him. His dream was merging intornsomething else—he knew not what; but through it all, following him,rnpersisted the howling.rnrnAnd then he awoke to find the howling real. There was a great snarlingrnand yelping. The wolves were rushing him. They were all about him andrnupon him. The teeth of one had closed upon his arm. Instinctively hernleaped into the fire, and as he leaped, he felt the sharp slash ofrnteeth that tore through the flesh of his leg. Then began a fire fight.rnHis stout mittens temporarily protected his hands, and he scooped liverncoals into the air in all directions, until the campfire took on thernsemblance of a volcano.rnrnBut it could not last long. His face was blistering in the heat, hisrneyebrows and lashes were singed off, and the heat was becomingrnunbearable to his feet. With a flaming brand in each hand, he sprang tornthe edge of the fire. The wolves had been driven back. On every side,rnwherever the live coals had fallen, the snow was sizzling, and everyrnlittle while a retiring wolf, with wild leap and snort and snarl,rnannounced that one such live coal had been stepped upon.rnrnFlinging his brands at the nearest of his enemies, the man thrust hisrnsmouldering mittens into the snow and stamped about to cool his feet.rnHis two dogs were missing, and he well knew that they had served as arncourse in the protracted meal which had begun days before with Fatty,rnthe last course of which would likely be himself in the days to follow.rnrn“You ain’t got me yet!” he cried, savagely shaking his fist at thernhungry beasts; and at the sound of his voice the whole circle wasrnagitated, there was a general snarl, and the she-wolf slid up close tornhim across the snow and watched him with hungry wistfulness.rnrnHe set to work to carry out a new idea that had come to him. Hernextended the fire into a large circle. Inside this circle he crouched,rnhis sleeping outfit under him as a protection against the melting snow.rnWhen he had thus disappeared within his shelter of flame, the wholernpack came curiously to the rim of the fire to see what had become ofrnhim. Hitherto they had been denied access to the fire, and they nowrnsettled down in a close-drawn circle, like so many dogs, blinking andrnyawning and stretching their lean bodies in the unaccustomed warmth.rnThen the she-wolf sat down, pointed her nose at a star, and began tornhowl. One by one the wolves joined her, till the whole pack, onrnhaunches, with noses pointed skyward, was howling its hunger cry.rnrnDawn came, and daylight. The fire was burning low. The fuel had runrnout, and there was need to get more. The man attempted to step out ofrnhis circle of flame, but the wolves surged to meet him. Burning brandsrnmade them spring aside, but they no longer sprang back. In vain hernstrove to drive them back. As he gave up and stumbled inside hisrncircle, a wolf leaped for him, missed, and landed with all four feet inrnthe coals. It cried out with terror, at the same time snarling, andrnscrambled back to cool its paws in the snow.rnrnThe man sat down on his blankets in a crouching position. His bodyrnleaned forward from the hips. His shoulders, relaxed and drooping, andrnhis head on his knees advertised that he had given up the struggle. Nowrnand again he raised his head to note the dying down of the fire. Therncircle of flame and coals was breaking into segments with openings inrnbetween. These openings grew in size, the segments diminished.rnrn“I guess you can come an’ get me any time,” he mumbled. “Anyway, I’mrngoin’ to sleep.”rnrnOnce he awakened, and in an opening in the circle, directly in front ofrnhim, he saw the she-wolf gazing at him.rnrnAgain he awakened, a little later, though it seemed hours to him. Arnmysterious change had taken place—so mysterious a change that he wasrnshocked wider awake. Something had happened. He could not understand atrnfirst. Then he discovered it. The wolves were gone. Remained only therntrampled snow to show how closely they had pressed him. Sleep wasrnwelling up and gripping him again, his head was sinking down upon hisrnknees, when he roused with a sudden start.rnrnThere were cries of men, and churn of sleds, the creaking of harnesses,rnand the eager whimpering of straining dogs. Four sleds pulled in fromrnthe river bed to the camp among the trees. Half a dozen men were aboutrnthe man who crouched in the centre of the dying fire. They were shakingrnand prodding him into consciousness. He looked at them like a drunkenrnman and maundered in strange, sleepy speech.rnrn“Red she-wolf. . . . Come in with the dogs at feedin’ time. . . . Firstrnshe ate the dog-food. . . . Then she ate the dogs. . . . An’ after thatrnshe ate Bill. . . . ”rnrn“Where’s Lord Alfred?” one of the men bellowed in his ear, shaking himrnroughly.rnrnHe shook his head slowly. “No, she didn’t eat him. . . . He’s roostin’rnin a tree at the last camp.”rnrn“Dead?” the man shouted.rnrn“An’ in a box,” Henry answered. He jerked his shoulder petulantly awayrnfrom the grip of his questioner. “Say, you lemme alone. . . . I’m jes’rnplump tuckered out. . . . Goo’ night, everybody.”rnrnHis eyes fluttered and went shut. His chin fell forward on his chest.rnAnd even as they eased him down upon the blankets his snores werernrising on the frosty air.rnrnBut there was another sound. Far and faint it was, in the remoterndistance, the cry of the hungry wolf-pack as it took the trail of otherrnmeat than the man it had just missed.