a distinctive blonde; in other words, one of those unusual creatures of her kind, an albino.  Her nose was pink, the palms of her little feet were pink, and each of her pretty pink eyes was set in an iris of sky-blue.  It was evident that she did not regard old Kawook’s passion-dance with favour and sensing this fact Kawook changed his tactics and falling on all four feet began to chase his spiky tail as if he had suddenly gone mad.  When he stopped, and looked to see what effect he had made he was clearly knocked out by the fact that Iskwasis had disappeared.

For another minute he sat stupidly, without making a sound.  Then to Miki’s consternation he started straight for the tree in which Neewa was sleeping.  As a matter of fact, it was Kawook’s dinner-tree, and he began climbing it, talking to himself all the time.  Miki’s hair began to stand on end.  He did not know that Kawook, like all his kind, was the best-natured fellow in the world, and had never harmed anything in his life unless assaulted first.  Lacking this knowledge he set up a sudden frenzy of barking to warn Neewa.

Neewa roused himself slowly, and when he opened his eyes he was looking into a spiky face that sent him into a convulsion of alarm.  With a suddenness that came within an ace of toppling him from his crotch he swung over and scurried higher up the tree.  Kawook was not at all excited.  Now that Iskwasis was gone he was entirely absorbed in the anticipation of his dinner.  He continued to clamber slowly upward, and at this the horrified Neewa backed himself out on a limb in order that Kawook might have an unobstructed trail up the tree.

Unfortunately for Neewa it was on this limb that Kawook had eaten his last meal, and he began working himself out on it, still apparently oblivious of the fact that the cub was on the same branch.  At this Miki sent up such a series of shrieking yelps from below that Kawook seemed at last to realize that something unusual was going on.  He peered down at Miki who was making vain efforts to jump up the trunk of the tree; then he turned and, for the first time, contemplated Neewa with some sign of interest.  Neewa was hugging the limb with both forearms and both hind legs.  To retreat another foot on the branch that was already bending dangerously under his weight seemed impossible.

It was at this point that Kawook began to scold fiercely.  With a final frantic yelp Miki sat back on his haunches and watched the thrilling drama above him.  A little at a time Kawook advanced, and inch by inch Neewa retreated, until at last he rolled clean over and was hanging with his back toward the ground.  It was then that Kawook ceased his scolding and calmly began eating his dinner.  For two or three minutes Neewa kept his hold.  Twice he made efforts to pull himself up so that he could get the branch under him.  Then his hind feet slipped.  For a dozen seconds he hung with his two front paws—­then shot down through fifteen feet of space to the ground.  Close to Miki he landed with a thud that knocked the wind out of him.  He rose with a grunt, took one dazed look up the tree, and without further explanation to Miki began to leg it deeper into the forest—­straight into the face of the great adventure which was to be the final test for these two.