"All right, fire away, but tell me what's going on, for Heaven's sake.

Don't break off in the middle that way."

"It's an awful big wolf, and its hide don't fit it. Its legs stick out of the skin, and I can see one of its feet. Gracious, it has a queer sort of a boot on it, and this wolf has human hands."

"Stella, quit your fooling. What is going on out there? This is serious.

It's no time for nonsense."

"I'm not fooling. I'm quite in earnest. Now Ted's lifting the queer thing onto the saddle, and holding it there."

"Has he killed the wolf, or man, or wolf man, or woman, or whatever crazy thing it is? I knew there was something queer about it," exclaimed Kit.

"I'm sure I don't know whether he killed it or not. I couldn't see through the hill."

"What's he doing now?"

"He has started toward the house, leading the pony and holding the thing in the saddle. Here! Take your old gla.s.s! I'm going to ride out and see what it's all about."

She thrust the spygla.s.s into Kit's hand, and, with a merry laugh at his look of disgust, disappeared through the scuttle, and a few minutes later he saw her riding like mad across the prairie toward Ted.

In the course of a half hour they were both back at the house, and Kit's curiosity led him to desert his post to find out what Ted's strange burden was.

Ted lifted something from his saddle and carried it into the house very tenderly.

Stella was very silent, and followed Ted closely, helping as well as she could to uphold his burden.

"What is it?" asked Kit.

"A girl," answered Stella curtly.

"A girl?"

Stella paid no attention to him, but rushed ahead of Ted, and led the way to her own room.

"This way, Ted," she cried. "She must be brought in here."

Ted did as he was told, and laid the strange thing he carried on Stella's bed, and stepped back to look at it.

It was the skin of an enormous gray wolf, which all but enveloped a human form. Between the opening in the head, where once had been the cruel jaws of the wolf, peeped a pretty, brown face. But the eyes were closed. And a little, brown hand swung inertly from the place where a wolf's paw once had been; while below was a dainty foot, incased in a j.a.panese stocking divided, like a mitten, for the big toe.

"Who, or what is it?" asked Kit, looking curiously down at the strange object.

"I think it must be Itsu San, the little j.a.panese girl who was Helen Mowbray's maid," answered Ted.

"Great Scott, how did she happen in this fix?"

"I don't know. We'll have to wait until she recovers."

"Is she hurt?"

"I don't think so. I think she is merely exhausted by fatigue, hunger, and fear."

Meanwhile, Stella was busy cutting away the wolfskin in which the j.a.panese girl was concealed and entangled.

The commotion had brought the boys into the room, and they gazed with wonder at the sight.

"Now, you chaps clear out," said Stella, pushing them gently toward the door. "Do you want to scare the poor thing into fits when she comes to?

The sight of all you fellows will frighten her worse than ever."

The boys hastened to leave the room, and Stella had just closed the door upon them when Itsu San, for it was she, opened her eyes and gave a little scream of joy when she saw that she was safe, and in the presence of a very pretty and kind-looking American girl of her own age.

"Don't be frightened," said Stella.

"I not no fright now," said Itsu San, with a charming smile, that was like that of a happy baby.

"How in the world did you come to be in this horrid thing?" asked Stella, kicking the wolfskin, which she had thrown to the floor.

"I come to give warn," answered the j.a.panese girl.

"About what?"

"The Gray Wolves."

"Go ahead and tell me."

"The Gray Wolves catch my blother. I hide, and hear them talk and say they kill all evelybody here."

"When?"

"Mebbe so to-night. Mebbe so to-mollow."

"Who said that?"

"The devil man."

"Who is he?"

"Mistah Mowbray."

"Mowbray and his men found you and your brother in the place where you were hiding, and took your brother after you had succeeded in hiding. Is that it?"

Itsu San nodded for reply.

"You heard them talking among themselves, and Mowbray planned to attack this house, and kill us all?"

Again the j.a.panese girl nodded.

"When they had gone you found this wolfskin, and, thinking that it was the only way in which to escape, you crawled into it, and crept all the way here, playing wolf, to warn us?"