Noble watched Argus turn right off the drive and head out onto the road. “We can only hope.”

* * *

The ranger and Phyllis returned from grocery shopping well after sundown. They hadn’t planned on spending so much time there, but someone had broken into the Redstone IGA’s meat locker overnight, and the manager wanted the ranger’s opinion on who or what might have done it. The manager had tried to convince the ranger that it was the same wolves that had killed Ernie Ilson’s dog, but the ranger just shook his head and said, “What kind of wolves break into meat lockers? It was probably kids, or some drunk, that’s all.”

The manager wasn’t convinced, and it took the ranger and Phyllis almost an hour before they could start their shopping. And so, by the time they arrived back at the house, they were tired and eager to call it a night. They emptied out the car and headed inside, their arms full of shopping bags. The ranger had the added burden of a large case of diet cola.

“Is there anything left in the car?” Noble asked, as Phyllis placed her bags on the kitchen floor.

“No, that’s it,” she said. “Our money just doesn’t buy as much as it used to.”

“You can help put this stuff away, though,” the ranger said, passing the case of soda to Harlan, while Tora busied herself with putting away bags of cookies and boxes of cereal.

The ranger took a look around. “Where’s Argus?”

Harlan headed for the cold-storage room, pretending he hadn’t heard. Tora opened and closed a few cupboards, seemingly confused about where things went. And Noble just kept searching in the shopping bags on the floor, as if the answer lay somewhere between the apples and the bags of milk.

“Okay,” said the ranger. “Let me rephrase that…where is Argus?”

No answer.

“Noble?” the ranger asked.

There was no avoiding the question now, Noble realized, who, almost by virtue of his name, was bound to tell the ranger the truth.

“Uh,” Noble said, looking up. “He sort of went out.”

“Out? Where?” The ranger’s voice was loud now, with a tone of urgency.

“Out,” Noble said, pausing, “for a run.”

“What?” The ranger’s anger was now in full bloom. “I told all of you that I didn’t want anyone running through the forest.”

Noble was faced with a dilemma. He didn’t want to rat on his brother, but he didn’t want to protect him anymore either. He realized that he had no option but to tell the truth and let Argus deal with the ranger’s wrath.

“He didn’t go out running as a wolf,” Noble said, at last.

Phyllis breathed a sigh of relief. The ranger was also visibly relieved, but all he said was “And?”