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208
Animal Heroes
·
Ernest Thompson Seton
81
Wolver
Ryder
often
hunted
in
that
country,
and
before
long,
he
came
across
a
five-and-one-half-inch
track,
the
foot-print
of
a
giant
Wolf.
Roughly
reckoned,
twenty
to
twenty-five
pounds
of
weight
or
six
inches
of
stature
is
a
fair
allowance
for
each
inch
of
a
Wolf's
foot;
this
Wolf
therefore
stood
thirty-three
inches
at
the
shoulder
and
weighed
about
one
hundred
and
forty
pounds,
by
far
the
largest
Wolf
he
had
ever
met.
King
had
lived
in
Goat
country,
and
now
in
Goat
language
he
exclaimed:
"You
bet,
ain't
that
an
old
Billy?"
Thus
by
trivial
chance
it
was
that
Duskymane
was
known
to
his
foe,
as
'Badlands
Billy.'
Ryder
was
familiar
with
the
muster-call
of
the
Wolves,
the
long,
smooth
cry,
but
Billy's
had
a
singular
feature,
a
slurring
that
was
always
distinctive.
Ryder
had
heard
this
before,
in
the
Cottonwood
Cañon,
and
when
at
length
he
got
a
sight
of
the
big
Wolf
with
the
black
mane,
it
struck
him
that
this
was
also
the
Cub
of
the
old
Yellow
fury
that
he
had
trapped.
These
were
among
the
things
he
told
me
as
we
sat
by
the
fire
at
night.
I
knew
of
the
early
days
when
any
one
could
trap
or
poison
Wolves,
of
the
passing
of
those
days,
with
the
passing
of
the
simple
Wolves;
of
the
new
race
of
Wolves
with
new
cunning
that
were
defying
the
methods
of
the
ranchmen,
and
increasing
steadily
in
numbers.
Now
the
wolver
told
me
of
the
various
ventures
that
Penroof
had
made
with
different
kinds
of
Hounds;
of
Foxhounds
too
thin-skinned
to
fight;
of
Greyhounds
that
were
useless
when
the
animal
was
out
of
sight;
of
Danes
too
heavy
for
the
rough
country,
and,
last,
of
the
composite
pack
with
some
of
all
kinds,
including
at
times
a
Bull-terrier
to
lead
them
in
the
final
fight.
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