fi re Although they snarled and bickered they made no attempt to stray into the darkness Seems to me Henry that they’re staying remarkably close to camp said Bill Henry squatting over the fi re with the coffee pot nodded They know their hides are safe They’d sooner eat grub than be grub They’re pretty wise them dogs Bill shook his head Oh I don’t know about that Did you happen to notice the way the dogs kicked up while I was feeding them They did cut up more than the usual replied Henry How many dogs we got Henry Six said Henry Well Henry I took six fi sh out of the bag I gave one fi sh to each dog But I was short Henry One fi sh short You counted wrong Bill I didn’t count wrong One Ear didn’t get a fi sh I won’t say they were all dogs but there was seven lined up for fi sh 8
There’s six now Just counted them I saw one run across the snow Henry sighed I’ll be glad when this trip is done and over I think it’s getting to you too You’re seeing things I thought of that said Bill But I counted them and saw the tracks of the one that ran off Then you’re thinking it was one of them A long wailing cry fi ercely sad from somewhere in the darkness interrupted them Bill pointed One of them for sure Cry after cry could be heard from the distance It shattered the silence and angered the Wild The sled dogs huddled in fear by the fi re So close did they gather that their fur was singed by the fl ames Looking out around the fi re a circle of eyes like gleaming coals could be seen getting closer Wish we had more than three bullets left Henry I wish we had 300 I’d show them said Bill And I wish this cold snap would break Fifty below for over two weeks is frightful 9
Henry settled into bed by the fi re What’s got me thinking is why didn’t the dogs pitch a fi t when that other one ate a fi sh of theirs Don’t make sense Bill was already asleep They slept side by side As the fi re died down the circle of eyes drew closer When they got too close for the dogs they started an uproar Bill got up and added more wood to the fi re which kept the circles at bay Henry said Bill getting under the covers there are seven again Just counted In the morning Bill awoke fi rst and made some coffee Say Henry how many dogs we got Six Wrong Henry Seven again Henry asked Wrong again We got fi ve One’s gone It’s Fatty They ate him alive He looked at the tracks Just dragged him off and ate him alive I bet 10
2 The She-Wolf Night after night a dog went missing It was Kiche who was part dog and part wolf who led them to their death She knew the way of the man-animals Because she looked so much like a husky Kiche was barely noticed standing among the others She was a daring beast She would slink into camp and eat their food But what little food they had wasn’t enough for her or the pack she ran with So each evening she would enter the camp and lure a dog out into an open fi eld She would trot up to them touch noses and play When they trusted her she led them away from camp Once they were alone in a fi eld the pack would appear and pounce Kiche did this until there were no dogs left 11
