Was it a dog?
No.

The long and piteous howl that followed told that the animal was no dog, but a wolf--_the barking-wolf (Canis latrans_).

The moment it had ceased, another took up the strain, and then another and another, until the woods rang on all sides with their hideous howls.

This did not come from any particular side, but seemed everywhere; and as the boys looked into the dark aisles between the tree-trunks, they could perceive glancing eyes--a perfect circle of them all around! "Bah!" cried Basil, now breaking silence, "it's only a pack of prairie-wolves.

Who cares for their howling ?" The minds of all were thus set at rest.