To have crossed the open would have been to invite discovery, for it was evident the wolves would follow the bed of the stream through the gulch and into the open.
Whether they would answer the call of the dogs and turn northward, or whether they would range southward in quest of prey, was uncertain.

If to the southward they would be very sure to catch the wind of Skipper Ed and the boys almost immediately, and be upon them before they could reach safety.

If they answered the dogs, there would still be danger, but the three in that case would be enabled to keep on the lee side of the pack with the probability of detection considerably lessened.
Therefore Skipper Ed hoped and trusted that the wolves would answer the challenge of the dogs.
Even then there was still the danger that the trail made by them on their way up the gulch would be discovered, and unless the dogs proved a greater attraction Skipper Ed knew that the moment the wolves came upon the trail they would take up the fresh scent, and might overtake them before they could gain the shelter of the cabin.
As it came about, they were behind the brush hedge, running up the shore, when the wolves wound out of the gulch and into the open.

Through a break in the brush Skipper Ed saw them dimly, in the distance.

The leaders stopped and sniffed.