With arms braced at his sides and head bent forward, he set out at a
jog-trot, which was better suited for getting through the deep snow than
an ordinary walk. Fortunately he was in the very pink of condition. The
steady, hard work of the preceding months, combined with the coarse but
abundant food and early hours, had developed and strengthened every
muscle in his body and hardened his constitution until few boys of his
age could have been found better fitted to endure a long tramp through
heavy snow than he. Moreover, running had always been his favourite form
of athletic exercise, and the muscles it required were well trained for
their work.

"I'll do it all right inside the hour," he said to himself. And then, as
a sudden thought struck him, he gave a nervous little laugh, and added,
"And perhaps make a good deal better time if I hear anything of the
wolves."

Try as he might, he could not get the wolves out of his head. He had not
himself seen any signs of them, but several times the choppers working
farthest from the camp had mentioned finding their tracks in the snow,
and once they had been heard howling in the distance after the men had
all come into the shanty for the night.

On he went through the snow and night, now making good progress at his
brisk jog-trot, now going more slowly as he dropped into a walk to rest
himself and recover breath. Although the moon rode high in the heavens,
the trees which stood close to the road allowed few of her beams to light
his path.

"If it was only broad daylight I wouldn't mind it a bit," Frank