They pushed the flaps of the tent back cautiously and stared out. Jong instantly gave vent to an expression of astonishment, not unmixed with alarm, and darting into the hollow waked the two soldiers.
'Come out and tell us what you hear and see,' he demanded anxiously. 'His Excellency heard sounds, and is sure he saw figures passing across the snow. The news is disquieting.'
There was a decided expression of fear written on Chu-Li's not too handsome features as he withdrew into the hollow.
'Excellency,' he said gravely, 'those are wolves who prowl about outside. In Mongolia they can be very dangerous, though I hardly expected to find them here, or would have warned you. But there is forest land to the north, and it may happen that the cold has been very severe there for a little while, causing these beasts to travel for their food. If they are hungry, then they become very dangerous. Their ferocity is extraordinary.'
David learned the news with a distinct qualm. He had fought against human beings already, and had displayed a fair amount of courage; but against savage beasts was an altogether different matter.
'Why,' he exclaimed, taken aback at the announcement, 'I had no idea that such beasts were to be found in these parts. And you think they may be dangerous, Chu-Li? What has attracted them?'
'The ponies, Excellency; they would smell the animals a long way off, and if there were none they would scent us. Their powers of detecting food are extraordinary.'
There could be no doubt, in fact, that the presence of David's little party had been the attracting cause that had brought the wolves in their direction, while all doubt as to the animals themselves was cleared up within a few minutes. Standing at the exit of the hollow or cave in which he and his men had taken refuge from the storm, our hero soon saw the wolves distinctly. They crept hither and thither past the hollow, their eyes always directed on it. Sometimes there was a whimper from one of the brutes, but for the most part they went to and fro silently like ghosts, making those within the hollow almost shiver.
'I suppose they are waiting till they can screw their pluck up for a rush,' thought David, surveying the new-arrivals with disgust. 'From the fact that they haven't attacked yet I should imagine that they are not over hungry.'