Summer of the Wolves by Polly Carlson-Voiles Page A

yard.”
    The wire cutters they’d borrowed from the Camerons’ toolshed were dull, and cutting turned out to be much harder than they’d expected. When they’d finally cut a jagged hole just big enough for the skunks to escape, Thomas whispered, “Don’t worry, they’re fixed, so they won’t squirt us.” They knelt to watch. It wasn’t long before skunks slipped out, shimmying silently into the brush behind the cages, holding their tall tails high like flags, their butts swaying back and forth.
    Next they went to work on the fox pen. The foxes stopped their pacing and slouched in surprise. They jerked back whenever Nika or Thomas moved. This time Thomas cut a flap in the wire and tied it open. When they stood back to watch, two very thin, splotchy red foxes crept up to examine the hole. One squeezed out, then another, followed by the blackish one. Soon they were quick shadows flicking through the trees.
    The raccoons seemed very tame, coming up close to the fence while Nika snipped the wire. Their coats were matted and dull. When they finished, four raccoons jammed through the hole in close single file and hunched away into the trees. The dog barked hoarsely when they got close to his cage, so they threw him a handful of dog biscuits that Thomas had thought to bring and hurried to the enclosure holding the cougar. The dog stopped barking long enough to eat the biscuits but continued to growl and follow them with his eyes.
    Nika’s hand cramped as she clamped the wire cutters on the chain link of the cougar’s cage. She wasn’t sure she could cut it. She laid the clippers down to rest her hand. Hesitating, she looked at the animal and listened to its gravelly breathing. It was so big. They hadn’t thought much about how it might hurt them. Nika watched the cat’s twitching tail tip and motionless eyes.
    Thomas said, “It doesn’t really look like it wants to leave, does it?”
    Tail twitch. “Either that, or it’s getting ready to attack,” answered Nika. “Besides, it’s old, isn’t it? Look how its ribs stick out.” Just then the cougar showed them that it might be old, but it could still lunge and make a nasty snarl. They both jumped and ran.
    When they stopped, Nika’s hands were shaking. “Scary, huh?” she managed to say.
    Thomas nodded, wiping sweat from his face. “Can you believe we were dumb enough to think that cougar might just stroll off into the forest?” He thumped his head with one hand.
    â€œAt least not so dumb as to actually cut the wire,” Nika said weakly. Soon both of them were laughing and making cougar snarls at each other.
    When they looked back, the cougar was on the roof of the lean-to again. As they walked through the alleys of town, they heard it cough-roar several times. The sound kept them moving quickly toward the dock.
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    As Thomas’s boat chugged out into the lake, he steered it around Eagle Island, heading for the nesting tree. They looked at each other, but neither spoke. When they could see the nest, Thomas cut the engine and they drifted, lying back on the seats, staring silently at the flat blue sky and the smooth reflecting lake.
    Letting out a breath that was half laugh and half gasp, Thomas said, “Those foxes really moved! And those raccoons waddled like old ladies. I hope the skunks do okay without their sprayers . . .”
    â€œThey’re all free!” said Nika.
    They both sat up, reached over, and high-fived.
    â€œOh, look, one of the eagle parents is coming with food,” she said, pointing. “See the chicks’ heads poking up?” They sat in the gently rocking boat watching as one eagle landed and proceeded to rip the fish apart and stuff bits into reaching beaks.
    Thomas leaned forward and tapped Nika’s arm. “Look, did you see that?” He pointed into the woods beneath the nest. “I saw something