They had crept in while Buck and Spitz were fighting, and when the two men sprang among them with stout clubs they showed their teeth and fought back.

They were crazed by the smell of the food.

Perrault found one with head buried in the grub-box.

His club landed heavily on the gaunt ribs, and the grub-box was capsized on the ground.

On the instant a score of the famished brutes were scrambling for the bread and bacon.