The air was crisp and cold.

Jack and Annie shivered. They looked out thewindow at a dark gray sky.

The tree house was on the ground. There were notrees and no houses--only an endless field of ice andsnow. Morgan and the owl were gone.

"R-r-read the riddle," said Annie, her teethchattering.

Jack unrolled the scroll. He read:

I cover what's real and hide what's true. Butsometimes I bring out the courage in you. What am I?

"I'd better write it down," said Jack, shivering.

He pulled out his notebook and copied the riddle.

Then he opened the book. He found a picture of abarren white field. He read aloud:

The Arctic tundra is a treeless plain. During thedark winter, it is covered with snow and ice. In earlyspring, snow fails, but the sky begins to get lighter.

During the summer season, the snow and ice meltand the sun shines 24 hours a day.

"It must be early spring now," said Jack. "There'ssnow, but the sky is a little light."He turned the page. There was a picture of a manwearing a hooded coat with fur trim.

"Look at this guy," said Jack. He showed Annie thepicture.

"We need his coat," said Annie.

Yeah," said Jack. "Listen to this..." He read aloud:

This seal hunter wears sealskin clothing to protecthim from icy winds. Before modern times, nativepeople of the Arctic lived by hunting seals, caribou,polar bears, and whales.

Jack took out his notebook. He wrote:

The ArcticSeal Hunters wear seal skinHe was too cold to write any more.

He clutched his pack against his chest and blew onhis fingers. He wished he were back home in bed.

"Morgan said someone was coming to meet us,"said Annie.

"If they don't come soon, we'll freeze to death," saidJack. "It's getting darker and colder.""Shh. Listen," said Annie.

A howling sound came from the distance. .thenmore howling sounds.. .and more.

"What's that?" said Jack.

They looked out the window. Snow was fallingnow. It was hard to see.

The howling grew louder. It was mixed withyipping and yelping noises. Jack andAnnie saw dark shapes coming through the snow.

They seemed to be running toward the tree house.

"Wolves?" said Annie.

"Great. That's all we need," said Jack. "We'refreezing, and now a pack of wolves is coming for us."Jack pulled Annie into the corner of the tree house.

They huddled close together.

The howling got louder and louder. It sounded as ifthe wolves were circling the tree house. They whinedand yelped.

Jack couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed theArctic book.

"Maybe this can help us," he said.

He searched for a picture of wolves.

"Oh--hi!" Annie said.

Jack looked up. He caught his breath.

A man was looking through the tree housewindow. His face was surrounded by fur.

It was the seal hunter from the Arctic book.