Half a mile away were the steep cliffs of the river, and at the edge of these cliffs was a great cairn of rocks in which for one night Miki had sought shelter.  He had not forgotten the tunnel into the tumbled mass of rock debris, nor how easily it could be defended from within.  Once in that tunnel he would turn in the door of it and slaughter his enemies one by one, for only one by one could they attack him.  But he had not reckoned with that huge gray form behind him that might have been named Lightning, the fiercest and swiftest of all the mad wolves of the pack.  He sped ahead of his slower-footed companions like a streak of light, and Miki had made but half the distance to the cairn when he heard the panting breath of Lightning behind him.  Even Hela, his father, could not have run more swiftly than Miki, but great as was Miki’s speed, Lightning ran more swiftly.  Two thirds of the distance to the cliff and the huge wolf’s muzzle was at Miki’s flank.  With a burst of speed Miki gained a little.  Then steadily Lightning drew abreast of him, a grim and merciless shadow of doom.

A hundred yards farther on and a little to the right was the cairn.  But Miki could not run to the right without turning into Lightning’s jaws, and he realized now that if he reached the cairn his enemy would be upon him before he could dive into the tunnel and face about.  To stop and fight would be death, for behind he could hear the other wolves.  Ten seconds more and the chasm of the river yawned ahead of them.

At its very brink Miki swung and struck at Lightning.  He sensed death now, and in the face of death all his hatred turned upon the one beast that had run at his side.  In an instant they were down.  Two yards from the edge of the cliff, and Miki’s jaws were at Lightning’s throat when the pack rushed upon them.  They were swept onward.  The earth flew out from under their feet, and they were in space.  Grimly Miki held to the throat of his foe.  Over and over they twisted in mid-air, and then came a terrific shock.  Lightning was under.  Yet so great was the shock, that, even though the wolf’s huge body was under him like a cushion, Miki was stunned and dazed.  A minute passed before he staggered to his feet.  Lightning lay still, the life smashed out of him.  A little beyond him lay the bodies of two other wolves that in their wild rush had swept over the cliff.

Miki looked up.  Between him and the stars he could see the top of the cliff, a vast distance above him.  One after the other he smelled at the bodies of the three dead wolves.  Then he limped slowly along the base of the cliff until he came to a fissure between two huge rocks.  Into this he crept and lay down, licking his wounds.  After all there were worse things in the world than Le Beau’s trapline.  Perhaps there were even worse things than men.

After a time he stretched his great head out between his fore-paws, and slowly the starlight grew dimmer, and the snow less white, and he slept.