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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Walrus Hunters, by R.M. Ballantyne
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Walrus Hunters
+       A Romance of the Realms of Ice
+
+Author: R.M. Ballantyne
+
+Release Date: June 6, 2007 [EBook #21709]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WALRUS HUNTERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+"The Walrus Hunters", by R.M. Ballantyne (1825-1894), 1893.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+This book is full of action.  It deals with both a tribe of Red Indians,
+of the Dogrib nation, and a tribe of Eskimos.  Normally a certain
+animosity existed between these two, but this tale relates how under
+certain circumstances, members of these tribes could not only become
+close friends, and work together towards a common goal, but also
+intermarry.
+
+There is no doubt but that the reader will have a greater knowledge of
+the ways and thoughts of the Indian and the Eskimo, and kindly feelings
+towards both, after reading this book--an easy task, for it is a good
+and absorbing read.
+
+In this little preface we have deliberately used the old-fashioned terms
+for the two races, fully aware that they are both inexact, and that
+today we would, for instance, use the term Inuit instead of Eskimo.
+However, this book was written in 1893, and things were different then.
+
+It has been written of Ballantyne that, in the last years before his
+death in 1894, the quality of his work was failing and indeed
+repetitive.  Anyone reading this book can see that this is untrue, for
+it is one of his very best.  Indeed it is a strange thing that his
+earlier books, which were well-promoted upon their publication, should
+still be so much more read than his later ones.  While working upon this
+edition of "The Walrus Hunters" we found ourselves several times
+reflecting upon this strange state of affairs.
+
+Robert Michael Ballantyne was born in 1825 and died in 1894.  He was
+educated at the Edinburgh Academy, and in 1841 he became a clerk with
+the Hudson Bay Company, working at the Red River Settlement in Northern
+Canada until 1847, arriving back in Edinburgh in 1848.  The letters he
+had written home were very amusing in their description of backwoods
+life, and his family publishing connections suggested that he should
+construct a book based on these letters.  Three of his most enduring
+books were written over the next decade, "The Young Fur Traders",
+"Ungava", "The Hudson Bay Company", and were based on his experiences
+with the H.B.C.  In this period he also wrote "The Coral island" and
+"Martin Rattler", both of these taking place in places never visited by
+Ballantyne.  Having been chided for small mistakes he made in these
+books, he resolved always to visit the places he wrote about.  With
+these books he became known as a great master of literature intended for
+teenagers.  He researched the Cornish Mines, the London Fire Brigade,
+the Postal Service, the Railways, the laying down of submarine telegraph
+cables, the construction of light-houses, the light-ship service, the
+life-boat service, South Africa, Norway, the North Sea fishing fleet,
+ballooning, deep-sea diving, Algiers, and many more, experiencing the
+lives of the men and women in these settings by living with them for
+weeks and months at a time, and he lived as they lived.
+
+He was a very true-to-life author, depicting the often squalid scenes he
+encountered with great care and attention to detail.  His young readers
+looked forward eagerly to his next books, and through the 1860s and
+1870s there was a flow of books from his pen, sometimes four in a year,
+all very good reading.  The rate of production diminished in the last
+ten or fifteen years of his life, but the quality never failed.
+
+He published over ninety books under his own name, and a few books for
+very young children under the pseudonym "Comus".
+
+For today's taste his books are perhaps a little too religious, and what
+we would nowadays call "pi".  In part that was the way people wrote in
+those days, but more important was the fact that in his days at the Red
+River Settlement, in the wilds of Canada, he had been a little
+dissolute, and he did not want his young readers to be unmindful of how
+they ought to behave, as he felt he had been.
+
+Some of his books were quite short, little over 100 pages.  These books
+formed a series intended for the children of poorer parents, having less
+pocket-money.  These books are particularly well-written and researched,
+because he wanted that readership to get the very best possible for
+their money.  They were published as six series, three books in each
+series.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+THE WALRUS HUNTERS, A TALE OF LIFE ON THE ARCTIC SHORES OF CANADA, BY
+R.M. BALLANTYNE.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+A ROMANCE OF THE ICE-WORLD.
+
+A SURPRISE, A COMBAT, AND A FEED.
+
+There is a river in America which flows to the north-westward of Great
+Bear Lake, and helps to drain that part of the great wilderness into the
+Arctic Sea.
+
+It is an insignificant stream compared with such well-known waterways as
+the Mackenzie and the Coppermine; nevertheless it is large enough to
+entice the white-whale and the seal into its waters every spring, and it
+becomes a resting-place for myriads of wild-fowl while on their passage
+to and from the breeding-grounds of the Far North.
+
+Greygoose River was the name given to it by the Dogrib Indians who dwelt
+in its neighbourhood, and who were wont, every spring and autumn, to
+descend its waters nearly to the sea in quest of game.  The Eskimos,
+who, coming from the mysterious north, were in the habit of ascending it
+a short way during open water in pursuit of their peculiar prey, named
+it Whale River.
+
+The Indians and Eskimos did not often meet while on these trips.  They
+did not like meeting, because the result was apt to be disastrous.
+Besides, the land was wide and the game plentiful enough for both, so
+that they were not much tempted to risk a meeting.  Occasionally,
+however, meetings and encounters did take place, and sometimes bitter
+feuds arose, but the possession of fire-arms by the Indians--who were
+supplied by the fur-traders--rendered the Eskimos wary.  Their
+headstrong courage, however, induced the red men to keep as much as
+possible out of their way.  In short, there was a good deal of the
+spirit of "let-be for let-be" between the two at the time of which we
+write.
+
+One morning in the spring-time of the year, soon after the floods caused
+by the melting snows had swept the ice clean out of Greygoose or Whale
+River, a sturdy young Eskimo urged his sharp kayak, or skin-covered
+canoe, up the stream in pursuit of a small white-whale.  But the
+creature gave him the slip, so that, after an energetic chase, he turned
+his light vessel towards the left bank of the stream, intending to land.
+
+Cheenbuk, for such was his name, was one of those sedate beings whose
+energies run calm and deep, like a mighty river.  This feelings,
+whatever they might be, did not usually cause much agitation on the
+surface.  Disappointment did not visibly depress, nor did success unduly
+elate him.  The loss of the whale failed to disturb the placid look of
+grave contentment which sat on his good-looking countenance.
+
+For it must be noted here that Cheenbuk was a handsome savage--if,
+indeed, we are entitled to style him a savage at all.  His features were
+good, and strongly marked.  His young beard and moustache were black,
+though not bushy.  His dark eyes were large and full of tenderness,
+which expression, by an almost imperceptible raising of eyelid and
+contraction of brow, was easily transmuted into a gaze of ferocity or
+indignation.  His bulky frame was clothed in the seal-skin garb peculiar
+to his people; his hair was straight, voluminous, and unkempt, and his
+motions gave indication of great strength combined with agility.
+
+And no wonder, for a large part of our young Eskimo's life had been
+spent in battling with the forces of Nature, and the hardships of life
+as displayed in the Arctic regions--to say nothing of frequent conflicts
+with the seal, the walrus and the polar bear.
+
+Running his kayak among the rushes of a small inlet, Cheenbuk stepped
+out of the hole in its centre into the stream.  The water was
+ankle-deep, but the youth suffered no discomfort, for he wore what may
+be styled home-made waterproof boots reaching to above the knees.  These
+had been invented by his forefathers, no doubt, in the remote ages of
+antiquity--at all events, long before india-rubber had been discovered
+or Macintosh was born.
+
+Drawing his little craft out of the water, the young man took some food
+from its interior, and was about to begin his truly simple meal by
+eating it raw, when a distant sound arrested his hand on the way to his
+mouth.  He turned his head slightly on one side and remained for some
+moments like a singularly attentive statue.
+
+Presently the voice of a wild-goose was faintly heard in the far
+distance.  Evidently the young Eskimo desired a change of fare, for he
+laid down the slice of raw seal, on which he had been about to regale
+himself, and disengaged a long slender spear from the bow of his kayak.
+
+It is well-known that wild-geese will, with proverbial stupidity, answer
+to an imitation of their cry, particularly in spring.  Indeed, they will
+answer to a very bad imitation of it, insomuch that the poorest
+counterfeit will turn them out of their course and attract them towards
+the crier.
+
+Availing himself of this weakness, our Eskimo hid himself behind a bush,
+and was opening his mouth to give vent to a stentorian goose-call when
+he was checked, and apparently petrified, by a loud report, which echoed
+among the neighbouring cliffs.
+
+The youth knew the sound well.  He had heard it only once before, but,
+once heard, it could never be forgotten.  It was the gun, or, as his
+people called it, the fire-spouter, of an Indian.  Plunging quietly into
+the underwood, he hastened towards the spot where a little wreath of
+smoke betrayed the position of what may be almost styled his hereditary
+foe.
+
+Cautiously, carefully, and with a catlike motion that could hardly have
+been excelled by an Indian brave, Cheenbuk advanced until he reached the
+edge of a partially clear space, in which he beheld an Indian leisurely
+engaged in pushing the head of a large grey goose under his belt.  At
+his side, leaning against a tree, was the long-barrelled fowling-piece,
+which he had just reloaded.  It was one of those common, cheap,
+flint-lock affairs which were supplied by the fur-traders in those days.
+
+The Indian was a tall, powerfully built middle-aged man, and, from his
+look and manner, was evidently unsuspicious of the presence of a foe.
+He seemed to be quite alone.
+
+The Eskimo poised his light spear, but hesitated to launch it.  He
+shrank from killing a defenceless foe.  The hesitation betrayed him, for
+at the moment the sharp ear of the red man heard, and his eye discovered
+him.
+
+The gun flew to the Indian's shoulder, and the Eskimo launched his
+spear, but by good fortune both weapons failed.  The well-directed spear
+was cleverly dodged, and the gun missed fire.
+
+To re-cock the weapon, take a more deadly aim, and pull the trigger, was
+the work of three seconds; but again the flint proved faithless.
+Cheenbuk, however, divined the meaning of the attempt, and sprang upon
+his foe to prevent a repetition of the action, though he was now
+practically unarmed,--for the little stone knife which he carried in his
+bosom was but ill suited for deadly combat.
+
+The Indian clubbed his gun to meet the onset, but the Eskimo, evading
+the first blow, caught hold of the weapon with both hands, and now began
+a fierce and prolonged struggle for possession of the "fire-spouter."
+
+Both hands of each combatant being engaged, neither could venture to
+draw his knife, and, as the men were pretty equally matched, both as to
+size and strength, they swayed to and fro with desperate energy for a
+considerable time, each endeavouring to throw the other, while the sweat
+poured down their faces and their breathing came in fitful gasps.
+
+At length there was a pause in the conflict.  It seemed as if they had
+stopped by mutual consent to recover breath for a final effort.
+
+As they glared into each other's faces, each felt surprised to see
+little or nothing of the evidence of that deadly hatred which usually
+characterises implacable foes.  Suddenly Cheenbuk relaxed his grip of
+the gun and stepped back a pace.  In so doing he put himself, to some
+extent at least, at the mercy of his adversary.  With quick perception
+the Indian recognised the fact.  He drew himself up and dropped the gun
+on the ground.
+
+"Why should we fight?  The hunting-grounds are wide enough!" he said, in
+the grave sententious tones peculiar to his race.
+
+"That is just what came to my thought when I let go," answered the more
+matter-of-fact Eskimo.
+
+"Let us part, then, as friends," returned the red man, "and let us do it
+in the manner of the pale-faced traders."
+
+He extended his right hand as he spoke.  Cheenbuk, who had heard a
+rumour of the white man's customs--probably from men of his race who had
+met with the crews of whalers--advanced, grasped the extended hand, and
+shook it in a way that might have done credit to any Englishman!  He
+smiled at the same time with a slightly humorous expression, but the
+other maintained his solemnity.  Fun is not a prominent characteristic
+of the red man.
+
+"But there is no need that we should part before feeding," said the
+Eskimo.
+
+"Waugh!" replied the Indian, by which it is to be presumed he signified
+assent.
+
+The reconciled foes being both adepts in the art of cookery, and--one of
+them at least--in woodcraft, it was not long before a large fire was
+blazing under a convenient fir-tree, and the grey goose soon hissed
+pleasantly in front of it.  They were a quiet and self-contained couple,
+however, and went about their work in profound silence.  Not that they
+lacked ideas or language--for each, being naturally a good linguist, had
+somehow acquired a smattering of the other's tongue,--but they resembled
+each other in their disinclination to talk without having something
+particular to say, and in their inclination to quietness and sobriety of
+demeanour.
+
+Here, however, the resemblance ceased, for while the Eskimo was free and
+easy, ready to learn and to sympathise, and quick to see and appreciate
+a joke, the Indian was sternly conservative, much impressed with his own
+rectitude of intention, as well as his capacity for action, and
+absolutely devoid of the slightest tinge of humour.  Thus the Eskimo's
+expression varied somewhat with the nature of the subjects which chased
+each other through his mind, while that of the red man never changed
+from the calm of dignified immobility--except, of course, when, as
+during the recent struggle, his life was in danger.
+
+While the goose was roasting, the erstwhile foes sat down to watch the
+process.  They had not to watch long, for the fire was strong and
+neither of them was particular.  Indeed, the Eskimo would gladly have
+eaten his portion raw, but waited patiently, out of deference to what he
+deemed his companion's prejudices.
+
+"You are alone?" said the Eskimo interrogatively.
+
+"Yes--alone," returned the Indian.
+
+To such men, this was mental food for at least a quarter of an hour.  By
+the end of that time one side of the bird was sufficiently done.  The
+Indian turned the stick on which it was impaled, drew his
+scalping-knife, and commenced on the side that was ready while the other
+side was being done.  Cheenbuk drew his stone knife, cut a large slice
+of the breast, and also fell to work.  They ate vigorously, yet the
+process was not soon over, for the goose was large and their appetites
+were strong.  Of course they had no time or inclination for conversation
+during the meal.  When it was finished, the grey goose was reduced to a
+miserable skeleton.  Then both men sighed the sigh of contentment, wiped
+their knives on the grass, and looked gravely at each other.
+
+Cheenbuk seemed as if about to speak, but was arrested in his intention
+by the strange and unaccountable proceedings of his companion, who now
+drew forth a gaily decorated bag which hung at his belt behind him.
+From this he extracted a whitish implement with a little bowl at one
+end, and having leisurely filled it with a brown substance, also drawn
+from the bag, he put the other or small end of the instrument between
+his teeth.  Then he took up a burning stick and applied it to the bowl.
+
+The Eskimo had been gazing at him with ever-widening eyes, but at this
+his mouth also began to open, and he gave vent to a gentle "ho!" of
+unutterable surprise, for immediately there burst from the Indian's lips
+a puff of smoke as if he had suddenly become a gun, or fire-spouter and
+gone off unexpectedly.
+
+There was profound interest as well as astonishment in the gaze of our
+Eskimo, for he now became aware that he was about to witness a
+remarkable custom of the red men, of which he had often heard, but which
+he had never clearly understood.
+
+"Does it not burn?" he asked in breathless curiosity.
+
+"No," replied his friend.
+
+"Do you like it?  Hi--i!"
+
+The exclamation was induced by the Indian, who at the moment sent a
+stream of smoke from each nostril, shut his eyes as he did so, opened
+his mouth, and otherwise exhibited symptoms of extreme felicity.
+
+"Would you like to try it?" he asked after one or two more whiffs.
+
+Cheenbuk accepted the offer and the pipe, drew a voluminous whiff down
+into his lungs and exploded in a violent fit of coughing, while the
+tears overflowed his eyes.
+
+"Try again," said the Indian gravely.
+
+For some minutes the Eskimo found it difficult to speak; then he
+returned the pipe, saying, "No.  My inside is not yet tough like yours.
+I will look--and wonder!"
+
+After being admired--with wonder--for a considerable time, the Indian
+looked at his companion earnestly, again offered him the pipe, and said,
+"Try again."
+
+The obliging Eskimo tried again, but with the caution of a child who,
+having been burnt, dreads the fire.  He drew in a little smoke by means
+of the power of inhalation and choked again slightly, but, being now on
+his mettle, he resolved not to be beaten.  The Indian regarded him
+meanwhile with grave approval.  Then it occurred to Cheenbuk to apply
+the power of suction instead of inhalation.  It was successful.  He
+filled his mouth instead of his lungs, and, in his childlike delight at
+the triumph, he opened his mouth to its full extent, and sent forth a
+cloud with a gasp which was the combined expression of a puff and a
+"ho!"  Again he tried it, and was again successful.  Overjoyed at this,
+like a child with a new toy, he went in for quite a broadside of puffs,
+looking round at his friendly foe with a "ho!" between each, and
+surrounding his head with an atmosphere of smoke.
+
+Suddenly he stopped, laid down the pipe, rose up, and, looking as if he
+had forgotten something, retired into the bush.
+
+The Indian took up the discarded pipe, and for the first time displayed
+a few wrinkles about the corners of his eyes as he put it between his
+lips.
+
+Presently Cheenbuk returned, somewhat paler than before, and sat down in
+silence with a look, as if of regret, at the skeleton-goose.
+
+Without any reference to what had passed, the Indian turned to his
+companion and said, "Why should the men of the ice fight with the men of
+the woods?"
+
+"Why?" asked Cheenbuk, after a few moments' profound meditation, "why
+should the men of the woods attack the men of the ice with their
+fire-spouters?"
+
+This question seemed to puzzle the Indian so much that he proceeded to
+fill another pipe before answering it.  Meanwhile the Eskimo, being more
+active-minded, continued--
+
+"Is it fair for the men of the woods to come to fight us with
+fire-spouters when we have only spears?  Meet us with the same weapons,
+and then we shall see which are the best men."
+
+The Indian looked at his companion solemnly and shook his head.
+
+"The strongest warriors and the best fighters," he said, "are not always
+the best men.  He who hunts well, keeps his wives supplied with plenty
+of food and deerskin robes, and is kind to his children, is the best
+man."
+
+Cheenbuk looked suddenly in the face of his sententious companion with
+earnest surprise in every feature, for the sentiments which had just
+been expressed were in exact accordance with his own.  Moreover, they
+were not what he expected to hear from the lips of a Dogrib.
+
+"I never liked fighting," he said in a low voice, "though I have always
+been able to fight.  It does nobody any good, and it always does
+everybody much harm, for it loses much blood, and it leaves many women
+and children without food-providers--which is uncomfortable for the men
+who have enough of women and children of their own to hunt for.  But,"
+continued the youth with emphasis, "I always thought that the men of the
+woods loved fighting."
+
+"Some of them do, but I hate it!" said the Indian with a sudden look of
+such ferocity that the Eskimo might have been justified in doubting the
+truth of the statement.
+
+The flash, however, quickly disappeared, and a double wreath of smoke
+issued from his nose as he remarked quietly, "Fighting lost me my
+father, my two brothers, and my only son."
+
+"Why, then, do you still come against us with fire-spouters?" asked
+Cheenbuk.
+
+"Because my people will have it so," returned the red man.  "I do what I
+can to stop them, but I am only one, and there are many against me."
+
+"I too have tried to stop my people when they would fight among
+themselves," returned the Eskimo in a tone of sympathy; "but it is
+easier to kill a walrus single-handed than to turn an angry man from his
+purpose."
+
+The Indian nodded assent, as though a chord had been struck which
+vibrated in both bosoms.
+
+"My son," he said, in a patronising tone, "do not cease to try.  Grey
+hairs are beginning to show upon my head; I have seen and learned much,
+and I have come to know that only he who tries, and tries, and tries
+again to do what he knows is right will succeed.  To him the Great
+Manitou will give his blessing."
+
+"My father," replied the other, falling in readily with the fictitious
+relationship, "I will try."
+
+Having thus come to a satisfactory agreement, this Arctic Peace Society
+prepared to adjourn.  Each wiped his knife on the grass and sheathed it
+as he rose up.  Then they shook hands again after the fashion of the
+pale-faces, and departed on their respective ways.  The red man returned
+to the wigwams of his people, while the young Eskimo, descending the
+river in his kayak, continued to hunt the white-whale and pursue the
+feathered tribes which swarmed in the creeks, rivulets, and marshes that
+bordered the ice-encumbered waters of the polar seas.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+WARUSKEEK.
+
+Alas for the hopes and efforts of good men!  At the very time that
+Cheenbuk and the Indian were expressing their detestation of war,
+elsewhere a young Eskimo was doing his best to bring about that unhappy
+and ruinous condition of things.
+
+He was an unusually strong young Arctic swashbuckler, with considerably
+more muscle than brains, a restless spirit, and what may be styled a
+homicidal tendency.  He was also tyrannical, like many men of that
+stamp, and belonged to the same tribe as Cheenbuk.
+
+Walrus Creek was the summer residence of the tribe of Eskimos to which
+Cheenbuk belonged.  It was a narrow inlet which ran up into a small
+island lying some distance off the northern shores of America, to
+discover and coast along which has been for so many years the aim and
+ambition of Arctic explorers.  How it came by its name is not difficult
+to guess.  Probably in ages past some adventurous voyagers, whose names
+and deeds have not been recorded in history, observing the numbers of
+walruses which scrambled out of the sea to sun themselves on the cliffs
+of the said creek, had named it after that animal, and the natives had
+adopted the name.  Like other aborigines they had garbled it, however,
+and handed it down to posterity as Waruskeek, while the walruses,
+perhaps in order to justify the name, had kept up the custom of their
+forefathers, and continued to sun themselves there as in days of yore.
+Seals also abounded in the inlet, and multitudes of aquatic birds
+swarmed around its cliffs.
+
+The Eskimo village which had been built there, unlike the snow-hut
+villages of winter, was composed chiefly of huts made of slabs of stone,
+intermingled with moss and clay.  It was exceeding dirty, owing to
+remnants of blubber, shreds of skins, and bones innumerable, which were
+left lying about.  There might have been about forty of these huts, at
+the doors of which--or the openings which served for doors--only women
+and children were congregated at the time we introduce them to the
+reader.  All the men, with the exception of a few ancients, were away
+hunting.
+
+In the centre of the village there stood a hut which was larger and a
+little cleaner than the others around it.  An oldish man with a grey
+beard was seated on a stone bench beside the door.  If tobacco had been
+known to the tribe, he would probably have been smoking.  In default of
+that he was thrown back upon meditation.  Apparently his meditations
+were not satisfactory, for he frowned portentously once or twice, and
+shook his head.
+
+"You are not pleased to-day, Mangivik," said a middle-aged woman who
+issued from the hut at the moment and sat down beside the man.
+
+"No, woman, I am not," he answered shortly.
+
+Mangivik meant no disrespect by addressing his wife thus.  "Woman" was
+the endearing term used by him on all occasions when in communication
+with her.
+
+"What troubles you?  Are you hungry?"
+
+"No.  I have just picked a walrus rib clean.  It is not that."
+
+He pointed, as he spoke, to a huge bone of the animal referred to.
+
+"No, it is not that," he repeated.
+
+"What then?  Is it something you may not tell me?" asked the woman in a
+wheedling tone, as she crossed her legs and toyed with the flap of her
+tail.
+
+Lest the civilised reader should be puzzled, we may here remark that the
+costume of the husband and wife whom we have introduced--as, indeed, of
+most if not all Eskimo men and women--is very similar in detail as well
+as material.  Mangivik wore a coat or shirt of seal-skin with a hood to
+it, and his legs were encased in boots of the same material, which were
+long enough to cover nearly the whole of each leg and meet the skirt of
+the coat.  The feet of the boots were of tough walrus-hide, and there
+was a short peak to the coat behind.  The only difference in the costume
+of the woman was that the hood of her coat was larger, to admit of
+infants and other things being carried in it, and the peak behind was
+prolonged into a tail with a broad flap at the end.  This tail varied a
+little in length according to the taste of the wearer--like our ladies'
+skirts; but in all cases it was long enough to trail on the ground--
+perhaps we should say the ice--and, from the varied manner in which
+different individuals caused it to sweep behind them, it was evident
+that the tail, not less than the civilised skirt, served the purpose of
+enabling the wearers to display more or less of graceful motion.
+
+"There is nothing that I have to hide from my woman," said the amiable
+Eskimo, in reply to her question.  "Only I am troubled about that
+jump-about man Gartok."
+
+"Has he been here again?" asked the wife, with something of a frown on
+her fat face.  "He is just as you say, a jump-about like the little
+birds that come to us in the hot times, which don't seem to know what
+they want."
+
+"He is too big to look like them," returned the husband.  "He's more
+like a mad walrus.  I met him on one of the old floes when I was after a
+seal, and he frightened it away.  But it is not that that troubles me.
+There are two things he is after: he wants to stir up our young men to
+go and fight with the Fire-spouters, and he wants our Nootka for a
+wife."
+
+"The dirty walrus!" exclaimed Mrs Mangivik, with as much vigour as if
+she had been civilised, "he shall _never_ have Nootka.  As for fighting
+with the Fire-spouters, I only hope that if he does go to do so, he will
+get killed and never come back."
+
+"H'm!" grunted Mangivik, "if he does get killed he's not likely to come
+back."
+
+"Who is not likely to come back?" asked a young girl, with an
+affectionate expression in her pretty brown eyes, issuing from the hut
+at that moment and seating herself close to the old man.  The girl's
+face, on the whole, was unusually pretty for that of an Eskimo, and
+would have been still more so but for the grease with which it was
+besmeared--for the damsel had just been having a little refreshment of
+white-whale blubber.  Her figure was comparatively slim and graceful,
+and would have been obviously so but for the ill-fitting coat and clumsy
+boots with which it was covered.
+
+"Your mother and I were talking of a bad man, Nootka," said Mangivik.
+
+"Ay, a very very bad man," exclaimed Mrs Mangivik, with a decided nod
+of her head.
+
+"If he is so very bad," returned Nootka, "it would be good that he
+should never come back.  Who is it?"
+
+"Gartok," answered her mother, with the air of one who has mentioned the
+most hateful thing in creation.
+
+Nootka laughed.
+
+"Surely you are not fond of him!" exclaimed Mangivik, regarding his
+daughter with a look of anxiety.
+
+"You know that I'm not," answered the girl, playfully hitting her sire
+on the back with the flap of her tail.
+
+"Of course not--of course not; you could not be fond of an ugly walrus
+like him," said the father, replying to her pleasantry by fondly patting
+her knee.
+
+Just then a young man was seen advancing from the beach, where he had
+left his kayak.
+
+"It is Oolalik," said Mrs Mangivik, shading her eyes with her hand from
+the sun, which, in all the strength of its meridian splendour, was
+shining full on her fat face.  "He must have made a good hunt, or he
+would not have come home before the others."
+
+As she spoke Nootka arose hastily and re-entered the hut, from out of
+which there issued almost immediately the sounds and the savoury odours
+of roasting flesh.
+
+Meanwhile Oolalik came up and gave vent to a polite grunt, or some such
+sound, which was the Eskimo method of expressing a friendly salutation.
+
+Mangivik and his wife grumped in reply.
+
+"You are soon back," said the former.
+
+"I have left a walrus and two seals on the rocks over there," answered
+the youth, sitting down beside the old man.
+
+"Good," returned the latter.  "Come in and feed."
+
+He rose and entered the hut.  The young man who followed him was not so
+much a handsome as a strapping fellow, with a quiet, sedate expression,
+and a manly look that rendered him attractive to most of his friends.
+Conversation, however, was not one of his strong points.  He volunteered
+no remarks after seating himself opposite to Nootka, who handed him a
+walrus rib which she had just cooked over the oil lamp.  Had Nootka been
+a civilised girl she might have been suspected of conveying a suggestion
+to the youth, for she was very fond of him, but, being an Eskimo of the
+Far North, she knew nothing about ribs or of Mother Eve.  The young man
+however required no delicate suggestion, for he was equally fond of
+Nootka, and he endeavoured to show his feelings by a prolonged stare
+after he had accepted the food.
+
+One is irresistibly impressed with the homogeneity of the human race
+when one observes the curious similarities of taste and habit which
+obtain alike in savage and civilised man.  For a few moments this
+youth's feelings were too much for him.  He stared in admiration at the
+girl, apparently oblivious of the rib, and sighed profoundly.  Then he
+suddenly recovered himself, appeared to forget the girl, and applied
+himself tooth and nail to the rib.  Could anything be more natural--even
+in a European prince?
+
+Nootka did not speak--young women seldom do among savages, at least in
+the company of men,--but she looked many and very unutterable things,
+which it is impossible, and would not be fair, to translate.
+
+"Will the others be back soon?" asked Mangivik.
+
+Oolalik looked over the rib and nodded.  (In this last, also, there was
+indication of homogeneity.)
+
+"Have they got much meat?"
+
+Again the young man nodded.
+
+"Good.  There is nothing like meat, and plenty of it."
+
+The old man proceeded to illustrate his belief in the sentiment by
+devoting himself to a steak of satisfying dimensions.  His better-half
+meanwhile took up the conversation.
+
+"Is Gartok with them?" she asked.
+
+"Yes, he is with them," said the youth, who, having finished the rib,
+threw away the bone and looked across the lamp at Nootka, as if asking
+for another.  The girl had one ready, and handed it to him.
+
+Again Oolalik was overcome.  He forgot the food and stared, so that
+Nootka dropped her eyes, presumably in some confusion; but once more the
+force of hunger brought the youth round and he resumed his meal.
+
+"Has Gartok killed much?" continued the inquisitive Mrs Mangivik.
+
+"I know nothing about Gartok," replied the young man, a stern look
+taking the place of his usually kind expression; "I don't trouble my
+head about him when I am hunting."
+
+He fastened his teeth somewhat savagely in the second rib at this point.
+
+"Do you know," said Mangivik, pausing in his occupation, "that Gartok
+has been trying to get the young men to go to the Whale River, where you
+know there are plenty of birds and much wood?  He wants to fight with
+the Fire-spouters."
+
+"Yes, I know it.  Gartok is always for fighting and quarrelling.  He
+likes it."
+
+"Don't you think," said the old man suggestively, "that you could give
+him a chance of getting what he likes without going so far from home?"
+
+"No, I don't choose to fight for the sake of pleasing every fool who
+delights to brag and look fierce."
+
+Mrs Mangivik laughed at this, and her daughter giggled, but the old man
+shook his head as if he had hoped better things of the young one.  He
+said no more, however, and before the conversation was resumed the voice
+of a boy was heard outside.
+
+"Anteek," murmured Nootka, with a smile of pleasure.
+
+"The other hunters must have arrived," said Oolalik, polishing off his
+last bone, "for Anteek was with them."
+
+"He always comes first to see me when he has anything to tell," remarked
+Mrs Mangivik, with a laugh, "and from the noise he makes I think he has
+something to tell to-day."
+
+If noise was the true index of Anteek's news he evidently was brimful,
+for he advanced shouting at the top of his voice.  With that
+unaccountable ingenuity which characterises some boys, all the world
+over, he produced every sort of sound except that which was natural to
+him, and caused the surrounding cliffs to echo with the mooing of the
+walrus, the roaring of the polar bear, the shriek of the plover, the
+bellow of the musk-ox, and, in short, the varied cries of the whole
+Arctic menagerie.  But he stopped short at the door of the hut and
+looked at Oolalik in evident surprise.
+
+"You are back before me?" he said.
+
+"That is not strange: I am stronger."
+
+"Yes, but I started off long before you."
+
+"So you thought, but you were mistaken.  I saw you creeping away round
+the point.  When you were out of sight I carried my kayak over the neck
+of land, and so got here before you."
+
+"Have you told?" asked the boy anxiously.
+
+"Never said a word," replied Oolalik.
+
+"Here," said Nootka, holding out a piece of half-cooked blubber to the
+boy, "sit down and tell us all about it.  What is the news?"
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed Anteek, accepting the food as if he appreciated it.
+"Well, I've killed my first walrus--all alone too!"
+
+"Clever boy! how was it?" said Mrs Mangivik.
+
+"This was the way.  I was out by myself--all alone, mind--among the
+cliffs, looking for eggs; but I had my spear with me, the big one that
+Cheenbuk made for me just before he went off to the Whale River.  Well,
+just as I was going to turn round one of the cliffs, I caught sight of a
+walrus--a big one--monstrous; like that," he said, drawing an imaginary
+circle with both arms, "fat, brown, huge tusks, and wide awake!  I knew
+that, because his back was to me, and he was turning his head about,
+looking at something in the other direction.  I was astonished, for
+though they climb up on the cliffs a good height to sun themselves on
+the warm rocks, I had never seen one climb so high as that.
+
+"Well, I drew back very quick, and began to creep round so as to come at
+him when he didn't expect me.  I soon got close enough, and ran at him.
+He tried to flop away at first, but when I was close he turned and
+looked fierce--terrible fierce!  My heart jumped, but it did not sink.
+I aimed for his heart, but just as I was close at him my foot struck a
+stone and I fell.  He gave a frightful roar, and I rolled out of his
+way, and something twisted the spear out of my hand.  When I jumped up,
+what do you think?  I found the spear had gone into one of his eyes, and
+that made the other one water, I suppose, for he was twisting his head
+about, but couldn't see me.  So I caught hold of the spear, pulled it
+out, and plunged it into his side; but I had not reached the heart, for
+he turned and made for the sea.
+
+"There was a steep place just there, and he tumbled and rolled down.  I
+lost my foothold and rolled down too--almost into his flippers, but I
+caught hold of a rock.  He got hold at the same time with his tusks and
+held on.  Then I jumped up and gave him the spear again.  This time I
+hit the life, and soon had him killed.  There!"
+
+On concluding his narrative the excited lad applied himself to his yet
+untasted piece of blubber, and Nootka plied him with questions, while
+Oolalik rose and went off to assist his comrades, whose voices could now
+be heard as they shouted to the women and children of the colony to come
+and help them to carry up the meat.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+PEACE OR WAR--WHICH?
+
+Soon afterwards the Mangivik family received another visitor.  This was
+the bellicose Gartok himself, whose heart had been touched by the fair
+Nootka.
+
+Like his rival, he sat down opposite the maiden, and stared at her
+impressively across the cooking-lamp.  This would seem to be the usual
+mode of courtship among those children of the ice; but the girl's mode
+of receiving the attentions of the second lover varied considerably.
+She did not drop her eyes shyly under his gaze, but stared him full in
+the face by way of a slight rebuff.  Neither did she prepare for him a
+savoury rib, so that he was obliged to help himself--which he did with
+much coolness, for the laws of hospitality in Eskimo-land admit of such
+conduct.
+
+After some desultory conversation between Gartok and his host, the
+latter asked if it was true that there was a talk of the tribe paying a
+visit to Whale River.
+
+"Yes, it is true," answered the young man.  "I came to see you about
+that very thing, and to tell you that there is to be a meeting outside
+the big hut to-day.  We shall want your advice."
+
+"Why do the young men wish to go there?" asked Mangivik.
+
+"To get food, and wood for our spear-handles and sledges, and berries,
+and to have a good time.  Perhaps also to fight a little with the
+Fire-spouters."
+
+The youth glanced furtively at Mangivik as he concluded.
+
+"To get food, and wood, and berries is good," observed the old man; "but
+why fight with the Fire-spouters?  We cannot conquer them."
+
+"You can ask that at the meeting.  It is useless to ask it of me."
+
+"Good, I will do so.  For my part, I am too old to go on long
+expeditions, either to hunt or fight--but I can give advice.  Is
+Cheenbuk to be at the meeting?"
+
+"Did you not know?  Cheenbuk has already gone to the Whale River.  We
+only propose to follow him.  He may not like our business, but he'll
+have to join us when we are there."
+
+Having picked his rib clean, and receiving no encouragement from Nootka
+to remain, Gartok rose and departed.
+
+That afternoon there was a large meeting of the heads of families in
+front of what was known as the big hut.  There was no formality about
+the meeting.  Unlike the war councils of the Indians, it was a sort of
+free-and-easy, in which blubber and other choice kinds of food did duty
+for the red man's pipe.  The women, too, were allowed to sit around and
+listen--but not to speak--while the hunters discussed their plans.
+
+Gartok, being the biggest, most forward, and presumptuous among them
+all, was allowed to speak first--though this was contrary to the wishes,
+and even the custom, of the tribe.  He did not make a set speech.
+Indeed, no one thought of delivering an oration.  It was merely a
+palaver on a large scale.
+
+"We want spear-handles," said Gartok, "and wood for our kayak-frames,
+and deer for food, as well as birds and rabbit-skins for our
+underclothing."
+
+"That is true," remarked one of the elderly men; "we want all these
+things, and a great many more things, but we don't want fighting.  There
+is no use in that."
+
+"Ho! ho!" exclaimed several voices in approval.
+
+"But we do want fighting," retorted Gartok firmly; "we want the pretty
+coloured things that the Fire-spouters sew on their clothes and shoes;
+also the iron things they have for cutting wood; and we want the
+spouters, which will make us more than a match for them in war; and we
+can't get all these things without fighting."
+
+"Do without them, then," observed Mangivik sharply; "why should we want
+things that we never had, and don't need?  Listen to me, young men--for
+I see by your looks that some of you would like a little fighting,--even
+if we had the spouting things, we could not make them spout."
+
+"That is a lie!" exclaimed Gartok, with the simple straightforwardness
+peculiar to the uncivilised.  "Once I met one of the Fire-spouters when
+I was out hunting at the Whale River.  He was alone, and friendly.  I
+asked him to show me his spouter.  He did so, but told me to be very
+careful, for sometimes it spouted of its own accord.  He showed me the
+way to make it spout--by touching a little thing under it.  There was a
+little bird on a bush close by.  `Point at that,' he said.  I pointed.
+`Now,' said he, `look along the spouter with one eye.'  I put one end of
+it against my cheek and tried to look, but by accident I touched the
+little thing, and it spouted too soon!  I never saw the little bird
+again; but I saw many stars, though it was broad daylight at the time."
+
+"Ho! hoo!" exclaimed several of the younger men, who listened to this
+narration with intense eagerness.
+
+"Yes," continued Gartok, who had the gift of what is called "the gab,"
+and was fond of exercising it,--"yes; it knocked me flat on my back--"
+
+"Was it alive, then?" asked Anteek, who mingled that day with the men as
+an equal, in consequence of his having slain a walrus single-handed.
+
+"No, it was not quite, but it was very nearly alive.--Well, when I fell
+the man laughed.  You know his people are not used to laugh.  They are
+very grave, but this one laughed till I became angry, and I would have
+fought with him, but--"
+
+"Ay," interrupted Anteek, "but you were afraid, for he had the spouter."
+
+Before Gartok could reply Mangivik broke in.
+
+"Boo!" he exclaimed contemptuously, "it is of no use your talking so
+much.  I too have been to the Whale River, and have seen the
+fire-spouters, and I know they are _not_ nearly alive.  They are dead--
+quite dead.  Moreover, they will not spout at all, and are quite
+useless, unless they are filled with a kind of black sand which is
+supplied by the white men who sell the spouters.  Go to the Whale River
+if you will, but don't fight with any one--that is my advice, and my
+hair is grey."
+
+"It is white, old man, if you only saw it," murmured Anteek, with native
+disrespect.  He was too good-natured, however, to let his thoughts be
+heard.
+
+"Come, Oolalik," said Mangivik, "you are a stout and a wise young man,
+let us hear what you have got to say."
+
+"I say," cried Oolalik, looking round with the air of a man who had much
+in his head, and meant to let it out, "I say that the man who fights if
+he can avoid it is a fool!  Look back and think of the time gone away.
+Not many cold times have passed since our young men became puffed up--
+indeed, some of our old men were little better--and made a raid on the
+Fire-spouters of the Whale River.  They met; there was a bloody fight;
+six of our best youths were killed, and numbers were wounded by the
+little things that come out of the spouters.  Then they came home, and
+what did they bring? what had they gained?  I was a boy at the time and
+did not understand it all; but I understood some of it.  I saw the
+fighters returning.  Some were looking very big and bold, as if they had
+just come from fighting and conquering a whole tribe of bears and
+walruses.  Others came back limping.  They went out young and strong
+men; they came back too soon old, helped along by their companions.  Two
+were carried--they could not walk at all.  Look at them now!"
+
+Oolalik paused and directed attention to what may be called an
+object-lesson--two men seated on his right hand.  Both, although in the
+prime of life, looked feeble and prematurely old from wounds received in
+the fight referred to.  One had been shot in the leg; the bone was
+broken, and that rendered him a cripple for life.  The other had
+received a bullet in the lungs; and a constitution which was naturally
+magnificent had become permanently shattered.
+
+"What do you think?" continued Oolalik.  "Would not these men give much
+to get back their old strength and health?"
+
+He paused again, and the men referred to nodded emphatically, as if they
+thought the question a very appropriate one, while some of the
+peacefully disposed in the assembly exclaimed "ho!" and "hoo!" in tones
+of approval.
+
+"Then," continued the speaker, "I passed by some of our huts and heard
+sounds of bitter weeping.  I went in and found it was the wives and
+sisters of the men whose bodies lie on the banks of the Whale River.
+There would be reason in fighting, if we had to defend our huts against
+the Fire-spouters.  Self-defence is right; and every one has a good word
+for the brave men who defend their homes, their women, and their
+children.  But the Fire-spouters did not want to fight, and the men who
+lost their lives at the fight I am speaking of, threw them away for
+nothing.  They will never more come home to provide their families with
+food and clothes, or to comfort them, or to play with the children and
+tell them of fights with the walrus and the bear when the nights are
+black and long.  Most of those poor women had sons or man-relations to
+care for them, but there was one who had no relation to hunt for her
+after her husband was killed--only a little daughter to take care of
+her.  I speak of old Uleeta, who is--"
+
+"That is a lie!" cried Gartok, springing up and looking fierce.  "Old
+Uleeta is, as you all know, my mother.  She had _me_ to hunt for her
+when father was killed, and she has me still."
+
+"You!" exclaimed Oolalik, with a look of scorn, "what are you?  A
+hunter?  No, only a fool who wants to be thought very brave, and would
+leave his mother and sister to the care of old men and boys while he
+goes away to fight with the Fire-spouters!  No," he continued, turning
+away from the angry young man with cool contempt, "old Uleeta has no
+son."
+
+Gartok was so taken aback with this behaviour of Oolalik, who was
+recognised as one of the gentlest and most peacefully disposed of the
+tribe, that he stood gaping for a moment in surprise.  Then, observing
+the half-amused, half-contemptuous looks of the men around him, he
+suddenly caught up the unfinished handle of a spear that leaned against
+the wall of the hut beside him, and made a desperate blow with it at the
+head of Oolalik.
+
+But that youth had expected some such demonstration, and was prepared
+for it.  Being very agile, he made a step swiftly to one side, and the
+handle came down on the skull of a walrus which hung on the wall, with a
+violence that would have surprised its original owner had it been
+within.
+
+Before the blow could be repeated Oolalik sprang towards his assailant.
+
+Eskimos know nothing of a blow "straight from the shoulder," but they
+know how to cuff.  Oolalik brought his open hand down on Gartok's cheek
+with a pistol-shot crack that tumbled that fire-eater head over heels on
+the ground.
+
+The man was too strong, however, to be knocked insensible in that way.
+He recovered himself, sitting-wise, with his mouth agape and his eyes
+astonied, while the whole assembly burst into a hearty fit of laughter.
+High above the rest was heard the juvenile voice of the delighted
+Anteek.
+
+What the fire-eater thought we cannot tell, but he had the wisdom to
+accept his punishment in silence, and listened with apparent interest
+while Oolalik concluded his remarks.
+
+The effect of this belligerent episode was to advance the cause of the
+peace-party considerably--at least for a time--and when the meeting
+broke up, most of the people returned to their various homes with a firm
+determination to leave the poor Fire-spouters alone.
+
+But Gartok, who was still smarting under the disgrace to which he had
+been subjected at the hands of Oolalik, managed to rekindle and blow up
+the war-spirit, so that, two days later, a strong party of the more
+pugnacious among the young men of the tribe set off in their kayaks for
+the Whale River, taking with them a few of the women in one of their
+open boats or oomiaks--chiefly for the purpose of keeping their garments
+in repair.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+WAR PREVAILS.
+
+It would seem, at times, as if there were really some sort of spiritual
+communication between people whose physical frames are widely sundered.
+
+For at the very time that the Eskimos, in their remote home on the
+ice-encumbered sea, were informally debating the propriety of making an
+unprovoked attack on the Dogrib Indians--whom they facetiously styled
+Fire-spouters--the red men were also holding a very formal and solemn
+council of war as to the advisability of making an assault on those
+presumptuous Eskimos, or eaters-of-raw-flesh, who ventured to pay an
+uncalled-for visit to the Greygoose River--their ancestral property--
+every spring.
+
+One of their chiefs, named Nazinred, had just returned from a visit to
+the river, and reported having met and fought with one of the Eskimos.
+
+Immediately on hearing this, the old or head chief summoned the council
+of war.  The braves assembled in the council-tent in solemn dignity,
+each classically enveloped in his blanket or leathern robe, and
+inflated, more or less, with his own importance.  They sat down silently
+round the council fire with as much gravity as if the fate of nations
+depended on their deliberations,--and so, on a small scale, it did.
+
+After passing round the pipe--by way of brightening up their
+intellects--the old chief held forth his hand and began in a low voice
+and deliberate manner.
+
+"My braves," said he, "those filthy eaters-of-raw-flesh have, as you
+know, been in the habit of coming to Greygoose River every spring and
+trespassing on the borders of our hunting-grounds."
+
+He paused and looked round.
+
+"Waugh!" exclaimed his audience, in order to satisfy him.
+
+With a dark frown the old chief went on.
+
+"This is wrong.  It is not right.  It is altogether unbearable, and more
+than the Dogribs can stand.  They _won't_ stand it!"
+
+"Waugh!" again said the audience, for the old man had delivered the last
+sentence with considerable vehemence, and meant that it should tell.
+
+Being apparently destitute of a flow of ideas at that time, the speaker
+had recourse to a not uncommon device among civilised orators: he
+cleared his throat, looked preternaturally wise, and changed the
+subject.
+
+"When the sun of spring rises over the ice-hills of the great salt
+lake," he continued, pointing towards the Pole, "when it melts the snow,
+opens the lakes and rivers, and brings the summer birds to our land, the
+braves of the great Dogrib nation take their guns, and bows, and canoes,
+and women, and travel nearly as far as the icy sea, that they may hunt
+and feed--and--sleep, and--and--enjoy the land.  Nobody dares to stop
+us.  Nobody dares to hinder us.  Nobody dares even to look at us!"
+
+He paused again, and this flight of oratory was received with a very
+decided "ho!" of assent, as it well might be, for during nearly all the
+year there was nobody in that uninhabited land to attempt any of those
+violent proceedings.  Dilating his eyes and nostrils with a look of
+superlative wisdom, he continued:
+
+"But at last the Eskimos dared to come and look at our hunting-grounds.
+We were peacefully disposed.  We warned them not to come again.  They
+came again, notwithstanding.  We took our guns and swept them away like
+leaves that are swept by the winter winds.  Are not their scalps drying
+in our lodges?  What we did then we will do again.  Has not one of our
+chiefs--Nazinred--been attacked by one of them?  No doubt more will
+follow that one.  My counsel is to send out a band of our braves on the
+war-path.  But first we would like to know something.  As the Eskimo did
+not take the scalp of Nazinred, how is it that Nazinred did not bring
+home the scalp of the Eskimo?"
+
+The old chief ceased, amid many "ho's!" and "hoo's!" with the air of one
+who has propounded an unanswerable riddle, and all eyes were at once
+turned upon Nazinred.  Accepting the challenge at once he stretched
+forth his hand:
+
+"My father has spoken," he said, "but his words are not the words of
+wisdom.  Why should we fight the Eskimos again, and lose some of our
+best young men, as we lost them in the last great fight?  The Eskimos
+have come near our lands, but they have not of late hunted on them.
+They have only looked and gone away.  And even if they did hunt, what
+then?  The land is wide.  We cannot use it all.  We cannot kill all the
+birds and deer, and even if we could we cannot eat them all.  Would it
+not be wise to live at peace with the Eskimos?  They have many great
+teeth of the walrus and skins of the seal.  Might not the white traders,
+who take our furs and give us guns and powder, be willing to take these
+things too?  Thus we could buy from the one and sell to the other, and
+fill our lodges with tobacco, and guns, and beads, and cloth, and powder
+and ball, and other good things."
+
+The Indian stopped at this point to ascertain the effect of his remarks,
+but only a few faint "ho's!" greeted him.  The councillors did not feel
+quite sure of their own minds.  His remarks about peace and war were not
+palatable, and his suggestions about trade were a novelty.  Evidently
+Nazinred was born much in advance of his time.
+
+"It is true," he continued, "that I had a struggle with a young Eskimo;
+but he was very strong, and so was I.  Before I could kill him he caught
+hold of my gun, but he could not force it from me, and I could not force
+it from him.  As we strove we looked into each other's eyes and we each
+saw peace and good-will there!  So we ceased to fight.  We kindled a
+fire and sat down and fed together.  As the light slowly increases while
+the sun rises, so light came into my mind.  The Dogribs have always
+talked of the Eskimos as if they were fools.  I found that this young
+man was not a fool--that he was wise--wiser than some of our own braves.
+His mind was deep and wide.  He did not talk only of food and sleep and
+hunting.  He spoke of things past and present and future, and of the
+Great Spirit, and the world to come.  Also of peace and war; and we both
+agreed that peace was good and war hateful.  More than that, we found
+that it was foolish.  Then we parted.  He went, I suppose, to his people
+on the sea of ice, and I came home.
+
+"He told me that none of his people were with him--that he was alone.
+There is therefore no occasion for the young men to look fierce or go on
+the war-path."
+
+Having thus tried to throw oil on the troubled waters Nazinred came to
+an abrupt pause.
+
+Instantly one of the younger councillors, named Magadar, sprang to his
+feet.  He was unusually excitable for an Indian.  Indeed, he differed a
+good deal from his companions in other respects, being passionate,
+impulsive, hasty, and matter-of-fact; in his speech-making too he
+scorned the use of symbol and metaphor, but went straight to the point
+at once in the simplest and most forcible language at his command.
+
+"Braves," he said, looking at the previous speaker with a dark frown,
+"the Dogribs know nothing of those strange and stupid notions that have
+just come out of the lips of Nazinred.  He says that this dirty Eskimo
+is a deep thinker and a man who loves peace.  How does he know that one
+of that sort may not think so deeply as to deceive him?  How does he
+know that the young man is not a liar--that many of his warriors may not
+be in our hunting-grounds even at this moment, though he says there are
+none?  As for his talk about the Great Spirit and the future, what does
+he know about either the one or the other?  Is he wiser than the
+Dogribs?  Does his attack on Nazinred look like a lover of peace?  His
+leaving off when he found that Nazinred was his match seems to me more
+like sly wisdom than the hatred of war.  My advice is not to trust these
+dirty men of the ice, but to take our guns at once and drive them from
+the land."
+
+It was quite evident from the way in which this speech was received that
+the war-party was in the ascendant, and there is no doubt that Magadar's
+advice would have prevailed, and a war-party been organised forthwith,
+but for the arrival of a band of successful hunters, who had been out
+for some time in quest of food.
+
+For a considerable part of that winter those Indians had been in a
+condition of semi-starvation.  They had managed with difficulty to
+sustain themselves and families on rabbits, which were scarce that year.
+With the return of spring and the wild-fowl, however, things had begun
+to improve, and the hunting party above referred to was the first of the
+season that had returned to camp heavily laden with geese, ducks,
+plover, and other supplies of food, so that the half-famished people
+gave themselves up to feasting, and had no time to think further of war.
+
+Thus many days were passed without any reference being made to a fight
+with the Eskimos, and Nazinred, believing that the fancy to go on the
+war-path had passed away, set off on what was to be a long hunting
+expedition with three of his comrades who were like-minded with himself.
+Among other plans, this party intended to visit the establishment of
+the fur-traders on Great Bear Lake.
+
+Thus when the belligerent party of Eskimos arrived at the mouth of
+Greygoose, or Whale, River, they found the place, as they had been
+accustomed to find it, a complete solitude.
+
+At first they expected to overtake their comrade Cheenbuk there, but he
+was not found, having gone a considerable way inland in pursuit of game.
+Being aware of his peaceful proclivities, however, the Eskimos were not
+sorry to miss him, and they set about making an encampment on the shore
+at the mouth of the river, intending to leave the women there while they
+should be engaged in hunting and in searching for the Fire-spouters.
+
+Meanwhile these Fire-spouters, having eaten and slept, and eaten and
+slept again, to the extent of their capacities, began to experience a
+revival of the war-spirit.
+
+In front of one of the lodges or leather tents, one morning early, there
+sat two squaws engaged in ornamenting moccasins and discussing the news
+of their little world.
+
+It was one of those bright genial mornings in spring peculiar to Arctic
+lands, in which Warmth comes out with a burst victorious, and Cold
+shrinks away discomfited.  Everything looked as if a great revival of
+Nature were at hand--as in truth it was, for the long Arctic winter is
+always driven away with a rush by the vigour, if not the violence, of
+the brief Arctic spring.
+
+One of the women was young and pretty--yes, we might almost say
+beautiful.  It is quite a mistake to suppose that all savages are
+coarse, rough, and ugly.  Many of them, no doubt--perhaps most of them--
+are plain enough, but not a few of the Indian squaws are fairly
+good-looking, and this one, as we have said at the risk of being
+doubted, was beautiful; at all events she had a fine oval face, a smooth
+warm-coloured skin, a neat little nose, a well-formed mouth, and
+jet-black hair, with large lustrous eyes, to say nothing of her teeth,
+which, like the teeth of most Indians, were regular and brilliantly
+white.  Her name was Adolay--that being the Indian name for Summer.
+
+The other squaw was her mother.  She was usually styled Isquay--which
+means woman--by her husband when he was at home, but, being a great
+hunter, he was not often at home.  Poor Isquay might have been
+good-looking in her youth, but, alas! hard work, occasional starvation,
+and a rough life, had prematurely dissipated her beauty, whatever it
+might have been; yet these conditions could not put to flight the lines
+and dimples of kindliness which played about her weatherworn eyes and
+cheeks.  You see, she had a gentle, indulgent husband, and that made her
+happy and kept her so.
+
+"Magadar is stirring up the young men again to go on the war-path," said
+the younger woman, without looking up from the embroidered moccasin with
+which she was engaged.
+
+"Yes, I know it.  I heard him as he passed our tent talking to Alizay.
+I don't like Alizay; he is like gunpowder: the least thing sets him off,
+and he flashes up horribly."
+
+"But many of our other braves have no desire to quarrel with the
+Eskimos," said Adolay; "indeed, some are even fond of them.  And some of
+the men of the ice are very handsome.  Don't you remember that one,
+mother, that we met when we went last spring with some of our men to
+shoot at the Greygoose River?  He was a fine man--big and strong, and
+active and kind--almost good enough to be a Dogrib."
+
+"I remember him well," returned Isquay, "for he saved my life.  Have you
+forgotten that already?"
+
+"No, I have not forgotten it," answered the girl, with a slight smile.
+"Did I not stand on the riverbank with my heart choking me when I saw
+the ice rushing down with the flood and closing on your canoe--for I
+could do nothing to help you, and none of our men were near!  And did I
+not see the brave man of the ice, when he heard my cry, come running
+like the deer and jump into the river and swim like the otter till he
+got to you, and then he scrambled on a big bit of ice and lifted you and
+the canoe out of the water as if he had the strength of a moose-deer,
+after which he guided the ice-lump to the bank with one of your paddles!
+Forget it! no.  I only wish the brave Eskimo was an Indian."
+
+"I think you would be offering to be his squaw if he was," said the
+mother with a short laugh.
+
+"Perhaps I would.  But he's only an eater-of-raw-flesh!"  Adolay sighed
+as gently as if she had been a civilised girl!  "But he has gone away to
+the great ice lake, so I suppose we shall never see him again."
+
+"Unless," said Isquay, "he comes back this spring with his people, and
+our braves have a fight with them--then you would be likely to see his
+scalp again, if not himself."
+
+Adolay made no reply to this; neither did she seem shocked at the
+suggestion.  Indeed, Indian women are too much accustomed to real
+shocking to be much troubled with shocks of the imagination.  Holding
+out her moccasin at arm's-length, the better to note the effect of her
+work, she expressed regret that her father had gone off with the
+hunters, for she felt sure he would have been able to allay the
+war-fever among the young braves if he had remained at home.
+
+"Ay, he would easily have put down Alizay and Magadar; but the old chief
+can do nothing, he is growing too old.  The young men don't mind him
+now.  Besides, he is warlike as well as they."
+
+While they were conversing thus, the young men referred to had finally
+decided to go on the war-path--to search for the Eskimo who had fought
+with their chief Nazinred, find him and kill him, and then continue the
+search for his companions; for they had set him down as a liar,
+believing that no Eskimo had the courage to visit their hunting-grounds
+by himself.
+
+To resolve and to act were almost simultaneous proceedings with those
+energetic savages.  In a very short time between twenty and thirty of
+them left the village in single file, armed with the deadly gun, besides
+tomahawks and scalping-knives, and took their way to a neighbouring
+creek on the banks of which their canoes were lying.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+A RENCONTRE AND FLIGHT.
+
+Thus it naturally came to pass that the two bands of men who had gone to
+the same place to meet each other met in the course of time.
+
+There was a good deal of wandering about, however, before the actual
+meeting took place, for the Eskimos had to provide a quantity of food on
+landing on the Arctic shore, not only for themselves, but to supply the
+four women who had accompanied them, and were to be left on the coast to
+fish and mend their spare garments and boots, and await their return.
+
+"We shall not be long of coming back," said Gartok as he was about to
+leave his mother, old Uleeta, who was in the crew of one of the oomiaks.
+
+"I wish I saw you safe back, my son," returned the woman, with a shake
+of her head, "but I fear the Fire-spouters."
+
+"_I_ don't fear them," returned the young man boastfully, "and it does
+not matter much what you fear."
+
+"He will never come back," said one of the other women when he was gone.
+"I know that because I feel it.  There is something inside of me that
+always tells me when there is going to be misfortune."
+
+The woman who thus expressed her forebodings was a mild young creature,
+so gentle and inoffensive and yielding that she was known throughout her
+tribe by the name of Rinka, a name which was meant to imply weakness.
+Her weakness, however, consisted chiefly in a tendency to prefer others
+before herself--in which matter Christians do not need to be told that
+she was perhaps the strongest of all her kin.
+
+As the weather was comparatively warm, the women contented themselves
+with a tent or bower of boughs for their protection.  They were not long
+in erecting it, being well accustomed to look after themselves.  In less
+than an hour after their men had left them they were busy with
+seal-steaks over the cooking-lamp, and the place was rendered somewhat
+home-like by several fur garments being spread on the rocks to dry.
+
+"Yes, Gartok will get himself killed at last," said old Uleeta, drawing
+her finger across the frizzling steak and licking it, for her appetite
+was sharp-set and she was impatient, "He was always a stubborn boy."
+
+"But he is strong, and a good fighter," remarked Rinka, as she spread a
+seal-skin boot over her knee with the intention of patching it.
+
+"I wish all the other men were as strong as he is, and ready to fight,"
+said one of the other women, giving the steak a turn.
+
+It must not be supposed that, although the Eskimos are known to their
+Indian friends--or foes--as eaters-of-raw-flesh, they always prefer
+their food in the raw condition.  They are only indifferent on the
+point, when the procuring of fire is difficult, or the coldness of the
+weather renders it advisable to eat the flesh raw, as being more
+sustaining.
+
+"I only wish that they would not fight at all," said Rinka with a sigh,
+as she arranged the top-knot of her hair.  "It makes the men too few and
+the women too many, and that is not good."
+
+The fourth woman did not express an opinion at all.  She was one of
+those curiously, if not happily, constituted creatures, who seem to have
+no particular opinion on any subject, who listen to everything with a
+smile of placid content, who agree with everybody and object to nothing.
+They are a sort of comfort and relief in a world of warfare--especially
+to the obstinate and the positive.  Her name was Cowlik.
+
+"There is no reason why we should continue to roast our seal-meat over a
+lamp now," observed old Uleeta.  "There is plenty of wood here.  Come,
+we will gather sticks and make a fire."
+
+The others agreeing to this, three of them rose and went into the bush,
+leaving Cowlik to watch the steaks.
+
+Meanwhile the young men who had followed the lead of Gartok--fifteen in
+number--were cautiously ascending the Greygoose River, each in his
+kayak, armed with a throwing-spear, lance, and bow.  One of their number
+was sent out in advance as a scout.  Raventik was his name.  He was
+chosen for the duty because of his bold, reckless nature, sharpness of
+vision, general intelligence, and his well-known love for excitement and
+danger.
+
+"You will always keep well out of sight in advance of us," said Gartok
+to this scout, "and the first sight you get of the Fire-spouters, shove
+in to some quiet place, land, haul up your kayak, and creep near them
+through the bushes as quietly and cleverly as if you were creeping up to
+a bear or a walrus.  Then come back and tell us what you have seen.  So
+we will land and attack them and throw them all into the river."
+
+"I will do my best," answered Raventik gravely.
+
+"It is not likely," added Gartok, "that you will find them to-day, for
+they seldom come down as far as here, and they don't know we are
+coming."
+
+The scout made no reply.  Having received his orders he stepped into his
+kayak and paddled off into the stream, against which he made but slow
+progress, however, for the river happened to be considerably swollen at
+the time.  He was also impeded at first by his comparative ignorance of
+river navigation.  Being accustomed to the currentless waters of the
+ocean, he was not prepared by experience to cope with the difficulty of
+rushing currents.  He went too far out into the stream at first, and was
+nearly upset.  Natural intelligence, however, and the remembrance of
+talks to which he had listened between men of his tribe who had already
+visited the place, taught him to keep close in to the banks, and make as
+much use of eddies and backwater as possible.  The double-bladed paddle
+hampered him somewhat, as its great length, which was no disadvantage in
+the open sea, prevented him from keeping as close to the banks as he
+desired.  Despite these drawbacks, however, Raventik soon acquired
+sufficient skill, and in a short time a curve in the river hid him from
+the flotilla which followed him.
+
+Now it so happened that the Indians who were supposed to be a
+considerable distance inland were in reality not many miles from the
+spot where the Eskimos had held their final conference, which ended in
+Raventik being sent off in advance.  It was natural that, accustomed as
+they were to all the arts of woodcraft, they should discover the
+presence of the scout long before he discovered them; and so in truth it
+turned out.
+
+The Indians had ten birch-bark canoes, with three warriors in most of
+them--all armed, as we have said, with the dreaded fire-spouters and
+tomahawks, etcetera--for, as they were out on the war-path for the
+express purpose of driving the dirty Eskimos off their lands, Magadar
+had resolved to make sure by starting with a strong and well-equipped
+force.
+
+Of course Magadar's canoe led the van; the others followed in single
+file, and, owing to the nature of their paddles, which were
+single-bladed, and could be dipped close to the sides of the canoes,
+they were able to creep along much nearer to the bank than was possible
+to the kayaks.
+
+At a bend in the river, where a bush-covered point jutted out into a
+large pool, Magadar thrust his canoe in among some reeds and landed to
+reconnoitre.  Scarcely had he raised his head above the shrubs when he
+caught sight of Raventik in his kayak.
+
+To stoop and retire was the work of a few seconds.  The men in the other
+canoes, who were watching him intently, at once disembarked, and, at a
+signal from their chief, carried their light barks into the bushes and
+hid them there, so that the Eskimo scout would certainly have passed the
+place in half an hour without perceiving any sign of his foes, but for
+an incident which enlightened him.
+
+Accidents will happen even in the best regulated families, whether these
+be composed of red men or white.  Just as the last canoe was
+disappearing behind its leafy screen, one of the young braves, who was
+guilty of the unpardonable offence of carrying his gun on full-cock,
+chanced to touch the trigger, and the piece exploded with, in the
+circumstances, an appalling report, which, not satisfied with sounding
+in the ears of his exasperated comrades like a small cannon, went on
+echoing from cliff to cliff, as if in hilarious disregard of secrecy,
+and to the horror of innumerable rabbits and wild-fowl, which
+respectively dived trembling into holes or took to the wings of terror.
+
+"Fool!" exclaimed Magadar, scarce able to refrain from tomahawking the
+brave in his wrath--"launch the canoes and give chase."
+
+The order was obeyed at once, and the flotilla dashed out into the
+stream.
+
+But Raventik was not to be caught so easily as they had expected.  He
+had turned on hearing the report, and swept out into the middle of the
+river, so as to get the full benefit of the current.  His kayak, too,
+with its sharp form, was of better build and material for making headway
+than the light Indian canoes--propelled as it was with the long
+double-bladed paddle in the strong hands of one of the stoutest of the
+Eskimos.  He shot down the stream at a rate which soon began to leave
+the Indians behind.
+
+Seeing this, Magadar laid aside his paddle for a moment, raised his gun
+to his shoulder, and fired.
+
+Again were the echoes and the denizens of the woods disturbed, and two
+other Indians fired, thus rendering confusion worse confounded.  Their
+aims were not good, however, and Raventik was interested and surprised--
+though not alarmed--by the whizzing sounds that seemed close to his
+ears, and the little splashes in the water just ahead of him.
+Fortunately a bend in the river here concealed him for some time from
+the Indians, and when they once more came in sight of him he was almost
+out of range.
+
+In the meantime his comrades, amazed by the strange sounds that burst on
+their ears, put hastily on shore, carried their kayaks into the bushes,
+and climbed to the summit of a rising ground, with the double purpose of
+observing the surrounding country and of making it a place of defence if
+need be.
+
+"Raventik must have found our enemies," said Gartok to Ondikik, his
+lieutenant, as he led his men up the slope.
+
+"That is certain," returned Ondikik, "and from the noise they are
+making, I think the Fire-spouters are many.  But this is a good place to
+fight them."
+
+"Yes, we will wait here," said Gartok.
+
+As he spoke Raventik was seen sweeping into view from behind a point in
+the middle of the most rapid part of the river, and plying his long
+paddle with the intense energy of one whose life depends on his
+exertions.  The Eskimos on the knoll gazed in breathless anxiety.  A few
+minutes later the canoe of Magadar swept into view.
+
+"The Fire-spouters!" exclaimed Ondikik.
+
+"Three men in it!" cried Gartok.  Then, as one after another of the
+canoes came into view, "Four! six! ten of them, and three men in each!"
+
+"And all with fire-spouters!" gasped the lieutenant.
+
+"Come," exclaimed Gartok, "it is time for us to go!"
+
+The Eskimos were by no means cowardly, but when they saw that the
+approaching foe was double their number, and reflected that there might
+be more behind them, all armed with guns, it was no wonder that they
+bethought themselves of retreat.  To do them full credit, they did not
+move until their leader gave the word--then they sprang down the
+hillock, and in three minutes more were out in their kayaks making for
+the mouth of the river at their utmost speed.
+
+On seeing this the Indians uttered a wild war-whoop and fired a volley.
+But the distance between them was too great.  Only a few of the balls
+reached the fugitives, and went skipping over the water, each wide of
+its mark.
+
+"Point high," said Magadar to Alizay, who had just re-charged his gun.
+
+The Indian obeyed, fired, and watched for the result, but no visible
+result followed.
+
+"That is strange," muttered the chief; "my brother must have pointed too
+high--so high that it has gone into the sun, for I never yet saw a
+bullet fired over water without coming down and making a splash."
+
+"It may have hit a canoe," said Alizay.  "I will try again."
+
+The second shot was, to all appearance, not more effective than the
+first.
+
+"Perhaps my brother forgot to put in the balls."
+
+"Is Alizay a squaw?" asked the insulted brave angrily.
+
+Magadar thought it wise to make no answer to this question, and in a few
+seconds more the kayaks doubled round a point that jutted into the
+stream and were hid from view.
+
+But the two bullets had not missed their billets.  One--the first
+fired--had dropped into Gartok's canoe and buried itself in his left
+thigh.  With the stoicism of a bold hunter, however, he uttered no cry,
+but continued to wield his paddle as well as he could.  The other ball
+had pierced the back of his lieutenant Ondikik.  He also, with the
+courage of a savage warrior, gave no sign at first that he was wounded.
+
+At this point, where the Eskimos were for a time sheltered by the
+formation of the land, the Greygoose River had a double or horse-shoe
+bend; and the Indians, who knew the lie of the land well, thought it
+better to put ashore and run quickly over a neck of land in the hope of
+heading the kayaks before they reached the sea.  Acting on this belief
+they thrust their canoes in among the reeds, and, leaping on shore,
+darted into the bushes.
+
+The Eskimos, meanwhile, knowing that they could beat the Indians at
+paddling, and that the next bend in the stream would reveal to them a
+view of the open sea, kept driving ahead with all the force of their
+stout arms.  They also knew that the firing would have alarmed their
+women and induced them to embark in their oomiak, push off to sea, and
+await them.
+
+And this would have turned out as they had expected, but for an
+unforeseen event which delayed the women in their operations until too
+late--at least for one of the party.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+A SURPRISE, A STRUGGLE, AND A CAPTURE.
+
+When the Eskimo women, as before related, made up their minds to discard
+the cooking-lamp and indulge in the luxury of a wood fire, they sent one
+of their number into the bush to gather sticks.  The one selected for
+this duty was Rinka, she being active and willing, besides being
+intelligent, which last was a matter of importance in one totally
+unaccustomed to traversing the pathless woods.
+
+The girl obeyed orders at once, and soon had collected a large armful of
+dried branches, with which she prepared to return to the encampment.
+But when she looked up at the small trees by which she was surrounded,
+she felt considerably puzzled as to the direction in which she ought to
+walk.  Of course, remembering that her back had been toward the sea when
+she set out, nothing seemed simpler than to turn round with her face
+towards it and proceed.  But she had not done this for many minutes,
+when it occurred to her that she must have turned about more or less,
+several times, during her outward journey.  This brought her to an
+abrupt halt.  She looked up and around several times, and then, feeling
+quite sure that the shore must lie in a certain direction pointed out by
+Hope, set off in that direction at a good round pace.  As the wood
+seemed to get thicker, however, she concluded that she was wrong, and
+changed direction again.  Still the undergrowth became more dense, and
+then, suddenly coming to the conclusion that she was lost, she stood
+stock-still and dropped her bundle of sticks in dismay.
+
+For a few moments she was stunned, as if her position were unbelievable.
+Then she became horrified and shouted to her companions, but her
+feeble, unassertive voice was unable to travel far, and drew forth no
+response.  Indeed, she had wandered so far into the forest that, even if
+possessed of a man's voice, she might have failed to attract the
+attention of the women.  Then the sound of distant firing began to
+salute her ears, and in an agony of anxiety she ran hither and thither
+almost blindly.
+
+But there were other ears besides those of Rinka which were startled by
+the guns.
+
+Sitting under a tree--all ignorant of the presence of his brethren or of
+the warlike Indians--Cheenbuk was regaling himself on the carcass of a
+fat willow-grouse which he had speared a little before the firing began.
+
+Our Eskimo was making for the coast where he had left his kayak, and had
+halted for a feed.  The sport in the woods, after its novelty wore off,
+had lost interest for one whose natural game, so to speak, was bears and
+walruses, and he was on his way back when this rattle of musketry
+arrested him.
+
+The sudden eruption of it was not more puzzling to him than its abrupt
+cessation.  Could it be that some of his tribe had followed him to the
+river and fallen in with the men of the woods?  He thought it not
+unlikely, and that, if so, his assistance, either as fighter or
+peacemaker, might be required.
+
+Bolting the remainder of the willow-grouse precipitately, he jumped up,
+grasped his weapons, and made for the coast, as near as he could guess,
+in the direction of the firing.
+
+It happened, at the same time, that one of the young Indians, who was on
+his first war-path, and thirsted for scalps as well as distinction,
+chanced to keep a more easterly direction than his fellows, when they
+took to the bush, as already related.  This man, coming to an open glade
+whence he could see the shore, beheld the Eskimo women launching their
+oomiak in a state of frantic alarm.  They were also signalling or
+beckoning eagerly as if to some one in the woods.  Casting a hurried
+glance to his right, he observed poor Rinka, who had just got clear of
+the forest, and was running towards her companions as fast as her short
+legs could carry her.
+
+Without a moment's hesitation, he took aim at her and fired.  The poor
+girl uttered a loud shriek, threw up her arms, and fell to the ground.
+It chanced that Cheenbuk was within a hundred yards of the spot at the
+moment, but the bushes prevented his seeing what had occurred.  The
+report, however, followed by the woman's shriek, was a sufficient spur
+to him.  Darting forward at full speed, he quickly cleared the underwood
+and came suddenly in view of a sight that caused every nerve in his body
+to tingle--Rinka prostrate on the ground with blood covering her face
+and hands, and the young Indian standing over her about to operate with
+the scalping-knife.
+
+The howl of concentrated rage and horror uttered by Cheenbuk instantly
+checked the savage, and made him turn in self-defence.  He had run to
+finish his horrible work, and secure the usual trophy of war without
+taking time to re-load his gun, and was thus almost unarmed.  Grasping
+his powder-horn he attempted to rectify this error--which would never
+have been committed by an experienced warrior,--but before he could
+accomplish half the operation, the well-aimed spear of Cheenbuk went
+whistling through the air, and entering his chest came out at his back.
+He fell dead almost without a groan.
+
+Cheenbuk did not stop to finish the work by stabbing or scalping, but he
+kneeled beside the wounded girl and gently raised her.
+
+"Rinka," he said, softly, while he undid her jacket and sought for the
+wound, "is it bad?  Has he killed you?"
+
+"I feel that I am dying.  There is something here."  She laid her hand
+upon her side, from a small wound in which blood was issuing freely.
+
+The heart of the man was at once torn by tender pity and bitter
+indignation, when he thought of the gentle nature of the poor creature
+who had been thus laid low, and of the savage cruelty of the Indian who
+had done it--feelings which were not a little complicated by the
+reflection that the war-spirit--that is, the desire to kill for mere
+self-glorification--among some of his own people had probably been the
+cause of it all.
+
+"It is useless.  I am dying," gasped the girl, drawing her bloody hand
+across her forehead.  "But don't leave me to fall into the hands of
+these men.  Take me home and let me die beside my mother."
+
+She was yet speaking when old Uleeta and her companions came forward.
+Seeing that no other Indian appeared, and that the one who had shot
+Rinka was dead, they had quelled their alarm and come to see what had
+occurred.  Cheenbuk, after stanching the flow of blood, availed himself
+of their aid to carry the wounded girl to the oomiak more comfortably
+than could have been possible if he had been obliged to carry her in his
+own strong arms.
+
+With much care they placed her in the bottom of the boat, then the women
+got in, and Cheenbuk was about to follow, when the report of a gun was
+heard, and a bullet whizzed close past old Uleeta's head--so close,
+indeed, that it cut off some of her grey hair.  But the old creature was
+by no means frightened.
+
+"Quick, jump in!" she cried, beginning to push off with her paddle.
+
+Cheenbuk was on the point of accepting the invitation, but a thought
+intervened--and thought is swifter than the lightning-flash.  He knew
+from slight, but sufficient, experience that the spouters could send
+only one messenger of death at a time, and that before another could be
+spouted, some sort of manipulation which took time was needful.  If the
+Indian should get the manipulation over before the oomiak was out of
+range, any of the women, as well as himself, might be killed.
+
+"No," he cried, giving the boat a mighty shove that sent it out to sea
+like an arrow, "be off!--paddle!--for life!  I will stop him!"
+
+Old Uleeta did not hesitate.  She was accustomed to obedience--even when
+there were no fire-spouters astern.  She bent to her paddle with Arctic
+skill and vigour.  So did her mates, and the oomiak darted from the
+shore while the Indian who had fired the shot was still agonising with
+his ramrod--for, happily, breech-loaders were as yet unknown.
+
+Cheenbuk was quite alive to his danger.  He rushed up the beach towards
+his foe with a roar and an expression of countenance that did not
+facilitate loading.  Having left his spear in the body of the first
+Indian, he was unarmed, but that did not matter much to one who felt in
+his chest and arms the strength of Hercules and Samson rolled into one.
+So close was he to the Indian when the operation of priming was reached,
+that the man of the woods merely gave the stock of his gun a slap in the
+desperate hope that it would prime itself.
+
+This hope, in the artillery used there at that time, was not often a
+vain hope.  Indeed, after prolonged use, the "trade gun" of the
+"Nor'-west" got into the habit of priming itself--owing to the enlarged
+nature of the touch-hole--also of expending not a little of its force
+sidewise.  The consequence was that the charge ignited when the trigger
+was pulled, and the echoes of the cliffs were once more awakened; but
+happily the Eskimo had closed in time.  Grasping the barrel he turned
+the muzzle aside, and the ball that was meant for his heart went
+skipping out to sea, to the no small surprise of the women in the
+oomiak.
+
+And now, for the second time since he had landed on those shores, was
+Cheenbuk engaged in the hated work of a hand-to-hand conflict with a
+foe!
+
+But the conditions were very different, for Alizay was no match for the
+powerful Eskimo--in physique at least, though doubtless he was not much,
+if at all, behind him in courage.
+
+Cheenbuk felt this the moment they joined issue, and on the instant an
+irresistible sensation of mercy overwhelmed him.  Holding the gun with
+his right hand, and keeping its muzzle well to one side, for he did not
+feel quite certain as to its spouting capacities, he grasped the
+Indian's throat with his left.  Quick as lightning Alizay, with his free
+hand, drew his scalping-knife and struck at the Eskimo's shoulder, but
+not less quick was Cheenbuk in releasing the throat and catching the
+Indian's wrist with a grip that rendered it powerless.
+
+For a minute the Eskimo remained motionless, considering how best to
+render his adversary insensible without killing him.
+
+That minute cost him dear.  Five of Alizay's comrades, led by Magadar,
+came upon the scene, and, as it happened, Cheenbuk's back chanced to be
+towards them.  They did not dare to fire, for fear of hitting their
+comrade, but they rushed unitedly forward with tomahawk and
+scalping-knife ready.
+
+"Take him alive," said Magadar.
+
+Cheenbuk heard the voice.  He disposed of poor Alizay by hurling him
+away as if he had been a child, and was in the act of facing round when
+Magadar threw his arms round his body and held him.  To be seized thus
+from behind is to most men a serious difficulty, but our Eskimo made
+short work of his assailant.  He bent forward with his head to the
+ground so violently that the Indian was flung completely over him, and
+fell flat on his back, in which position he remained motionless.  But it
+was impossible for Cheenbuk to cope with the other four Indians, who
+flung themselves on him simultaneously, and seized him by arms, legs,
+and throat.
+
+Of course they could have brained or stabbed him easily, but,
+remembering their chief's order to take the man alive, they sought to
+quell him by sheer force.  Stout and sinewy though the four braves were,
+they had their hands full during a good many minutes, for the Eskimo's
+muscles were tougher and harder than india-rubber; his sinews resembled
+whip-cord, and his bones bars of iron.  So completely was he overwhelmed
+by the men who held him down, that little or nothing of him could be
+seen, yet ever and anon, as he struggled, the four men seemed to be
+heaved upward by a small earthquake.
+
+Alizay, who had risen, stood looking calmly on, but rendered no
+assistance, first, because there was no room for him to act, and second,
+because his left wrist had been almost broken by the violence of the
+throw that he had received.  As for Magadar, he was only beginning to
+recover consciousness, and to wonder where he was!
+
+Suddenly Cheenbuk ceased to strive.  He was a crafty Eskimo, and a
+thought had occurred to him.  He would sham exhaustion, and, when his
+foes relaxed their grip, would burst away from them.  He knew it was a
+forlorn hope, for he was well aware that, even if he should succeed in
+getting away, the spouters would send messengers to arrest him before he
+had run far.  But Cheenbuk was just the man for a forlorn hope.  He rose
+to difficulties and dangers as trouts to flies on a warm day.  The
+Indians, however, were much too experienced warriors to be caught in
+that way.  They eased off their grip with great caution.  Moreover
+Magadar, having risen, and seeing how things were going, took off his
+belt and made a running noose of it.  He passed the loop deftly round
+Cheenbuk's legs and drew it tight, while the others were still trying
+vainly to compress his bull-neck.
+
+The moment that Cheenbuk felt the noose tighten on his legs he knew that
+it was all over with him.  To run or fight with his legs tied would be
+impossible, so, like a true philosopher, he submitted to the inevitable
+and gave in.  His captors, however, did not deem it wise or safe to
+relax their hold until they had swathed his body with deerskin thongs;
+then they removed the belt from his legs and assisted him to rise.
+
+It is not the custom of Indians to indulge in much conversation with
+vanquished foes.  They usually confine their attentions to scowling,
+torturing, and ultimately to killing and scalping them.  The Dogribs who
+had captured Cheenbuk could not speak the Eskimo tongue, and being
+unaware of his linguistic powers, did not think it possible to speak to
+him, but one of their number stood by him on guard while the others dug
+a grave and buried the Indian whom he had slain.
+
+We have already made reference to our young Eskimo's unusually advanced
+views in regard to several matters that do not often--as far as we
+know--exercise the aboriginal mind.  While he stood there watching the
+Indians, as they silently toiled at the grave, his thoughts ran somewhat
+in the following groove:--
+
+"Poor man!  Sorry I killed him, but if I had not he would have killed
+me--and then, perhaps, some of the women, for they had not got far away,
+and I don't know how far the spouter can send its little arrows.  I
+wonder if they _are_ little.  They must be surely, for I've never seen
+one.  Hoi! hoi! what fools men are to kill one another!  How much better
+to let each other alone!  I have killed _him_, poor man! and they will
+kill me.  What then?  The ice and snow will come and go all the same.
+No one will be the better for it when we are gone.  Some will surely be
+the worse.  Some wife or mother may have to rub her eyes for him.  No
+one will care much for _me_.  But the walrus and the seal-hunt will not
+be so big when I am gone.  I wonder if the Maker of all cares for these
+things!  He must--else he would not have made us and put us here!  Did
+he make us to fight each other?  Surely not.  Even I would not shape my
+spear to destroy my kayak--and he must be wiser than me.  Yet he never
+speaks or shows himself.  If I had a little child, would I treat it so?
+No--I must be wrong, and he must be right.  Speech is not always with
+the tongue.  Now it comes to my mind that we speak with the eyes when we
+look fierce or pleased.  Perhaps he whispers to me inside, sometimes,
+and I have not yet learned to understand him."
+
+Cheenbuk had now dropped into one of his frequent reveries, or trains of
+thought, in which he was apt to forget all that was going on around him,
+and he did not waken from it until, the burial being concluded, one of
+the Indians touched him on the shoulder and pointed to Magadar, who had
+shouldered his gun and was entering the bushes.
+
+Understanding this to be a command to follow, he stepped out at once.
+The others fell into line behind him, and thus, bound and a captive, our
+Eskimo turned his back finally--as he believed--on what we may style his
+native home--the great, mysterious northern sea.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+FLIGHT AND MISFORTUNE.
+
+While the scene we have described was being enacted, the other Indians,
+who had crossed the neck of land for the purpose of cutting off the men
+in the kayaks, failed in the attempt, partly owing to the distance being
+greater than their memories had assigned to it, and partly to the great
+speed of the kayaks when propelled by strong men fleeing for their
+lives.
+
+All the kayaks were well out of gunshot range when the shore was
+reached, except one which lagged behind.  At this one the Indians
+discharged several volleys, but without effect, and soon after, it also
+was beyond range.
+
+The little vessel which thus lagged behind belonged to the unfortunate
+Gartok, whose leg, it will be remembered, was wounded by one of the
+balls discharged by Alizay.  Despite his energy, and desperate though
+the situation was, Gartok could not overcome the depressing influence of
+pain and haemorrhage.  He fell gradually behind the others, each of whom
+was too anxious about his own safety to think much of his comrades.
+
+When the firing ceased and the flotilla was well out of range, Gartok
+laid down his paddle and bound up his wounded limb with some scraps of
+seal-skin; at the same time, hailing the kayak nearest to him.  As soon
+as it was discovered that their chief was wounded, all the Eskimos came
+clustering round him.  Among them was his lieutenant Ondikik.
+
+"You also are wounded," said Gartok, observing the pallor of his face.
+
+"Yes; I can find no arrow, but there is blood."
+
+"Is it bad?" asked the chief, with an angry exclamation at their
+misfortune.
+
+"I cannot tell," replied Ondikik, "but--"
+
+He finished the sentence in the most expressive manner by fainting dead
+away, and falling over to one side so heavily that he would have
+infallibly upset the little craft if his comrades had not been close at
+hand to prevent that catastrophe.
+
+"Hail the oomiak!" cried Gartok, in a voice that, for him, felt
+singularly feeble.  "Put him into it, and let two of the women change
+with two of the men."
+
+In a few minutes the women's large open boat was alongside, and poor
+Ondikik was, with some difficulty, transferred to it.  Two men then gave
+up their kayaks to two of the women, and took their places in the
+oomiak.  While this was being done some of the people gave a shout of
+alarm, for it was observed that Gartok himself had quietly fallen back
+in a state of insensibility.
+
+The men, therefore, lifted him also out of his kayak and laid him beside
+his lieutenant.
+
+This accomplished, the little fleet paddled out to sea, and they soon
+lost sight of the Arctic shore.  They did not again pause until they
+reached a group of small islets, on one of which they encamped for the
+night.
+
+Fortunately the weather at this time was calm and warm, so that those
+hardy inhabitants of the icy north required no better lodging or bed
+than the cold ground, with the star-spangled sky for curtains.  With
+lamps flaring, seal-steaks and wild-fowl simmering, and hot oil flowing,
+they quickly made themselves comfortable--with the exception, of course,
+of the warlike Gartok and the hot-headed Ondikik.  These two, being
+fellow-sufferers, were laid beside each other, in order, perhaps, to
+facilitate mutual condolence.  To do them justice, they did not grumble
+much at their fate, but entertained each other with a running commentary
+on the events of the day.
+
+"And that is strange news that my old mother tells me," resumed Gartok,
+after a short pause in the conversation.  "Cheenbuk must have given the
+Fire-spouters sore heads from the way he gripped them."
+
+"I wish I had been there," growled Ondikik.
+
+"I'm glad I was _not_ there," returned Gartok.  "I could not have saved
+him from so many, and it would not have been pleasant to go into
+slavery--if not to torture and death.  Poor Cheenbuk! he was ever
+against war--yet war has been forced on him.  I fear we shall never see
+him again.  Hoi! my leg is bad.  I can't understand how the
+Fire-spouters could hit it without the little thing going through my
+back first."
+
+"I wish all the Fire-spouters were deep in the inside of a whale's
+belly," growled Ondikik, whose wound was beginning to render him
+feverish and rusty.  "Arrows and spears can be pulled out, but when the
+little spouter things go in we don't know where they go to.  They
+disappear and leave an ugly hole behind them."
+
+At this point Raventik, on whom the command had devolved, came forward
+with a choice piece of juicy walrus blubber on a flat stone for a plate.
+
+"Our chiefs will eat," he said, "it will do them good--make their hearts
+strong and ease the wounds."
+
+"No," said Gartok decisively, "none for me."
+
+"Take it away!" cried the other sharply.
+
+"No?" exclaimed Raventik in surprise.  You see, he had never in his life
+been wounded or ill, and could not understand the possibility of
+refusing food, except when too full of it.  Being a sympathetic soul,
+however, he pressed it on the invalids, but received replies so very
+discouraging that he was induced to forbear.
+
+Old Uleeta turned out to be a more intelligent, it not more kindly,
+nurse.  After she had eaten her supper and succeeded in bolting the last
+bite that had refused to go down when she could eat no more, she came
+forward with a bladder full of water, and some rabbit-skins, for the
+purpose of dressing the wounds.
+
+"Gently, mother," said Gartok with a suppressed groan, "you lay hold of
+me as if I were a seal."
+
+"You are quite as self-willed, my son," replied the old woman.  "If you
+had not gone out to fight you would not have come back with a hole in
+your leg."
+
+"If I had not come into the world I should not have been here to trouble
+you, mother."
+
+"There's truth in that, my son," returned the woman, as if the idea were
+new to her.
+
+At this Ondikik groaned--whether at the contemptibly obvious character
+of the idea, or at ideas in general, or in consequence of pain, we
+cannot tell.
+
+"You said, mother, that Cheenbuk gave them a good deal of trouble?"
+
+"Ay, he gave them sore hearts and sore bodies."
+
+"They deserved it! what right had they to come with their fire-spouters
+to attack us?"
+
+"What right had you to go without your fire-spouters to attack _them_?"
+demanded old Uleeta, somewhat maliciously.
+
+Gartok, who was destitute neither of intelligence nor of humour,
+laughed, but the laugh slid into a most emphatic "hoi!" as his mother
+gave the leg a wrench.
+
+"Softly, mother, softly!  Treat me as you did when I was so big," he
+exclaimed, indicating about one foot six between his hands.
+
+The old woman chuckled, or rather "hee! hee'd!" a little and continued:
+
+"Yes, Cheenbuk fought like a bear.  We could not see him, for they were
+all on top of him at once, but hi! how he made them heave!  I wonder
+they did not use their knives."
+
+"They felt sure they had him," said her son, "they wanted to drive him
+to their huts and kill him slowly to amuse their women."
+
+This was such a horrible idea that the old woman became unusually grave.
+
+"These Fire-spouters are worse than white bears," she said, "for these
+never torture other beasts, though they often kill them."
+
+"True, mother.  Now I wish you would go away and leave my leg alone.
+Ondikik there needs your help.  Go to him and hurt him as much as you
+please.  I won't grumble."
+
+"You were always a thankless boy--ever since you could speak," replied
+the dame, reproachfully.
+
+"Did you ever hear of any one being thankless before he could speak?--
+hoi! mother, you've tied it too tight.  Slack it a little."
+
+After complying with her son's request, old Uleeta went to Ondikik, to
+whom, however, she could render but little service, owing to the nature
+of his wound.  Then she paid a visit to Rinka, whose injuries, however,
+proved to be more alarming than severe; after which she joined the rest
+of the tribe at supper.
+
+While the Eskimos were thus proceeding to their home among the islands
+of the Arctic sea, the captors of Cheenbuk were paddling up-stream to
+the lands of the Dogrib Indians.
+
+At first the stout Eskimo meditated an attempt to escape.  Indeed he
+made one vigorous effort when they were leading him through the bush
+with his hands tied behind him.  Just as they came to the place where
+the canoes were lying, the thought of home, and of his probable fate as
+a prisoner, pressed so heavily on him that he suddenly became furious,
+tripped up the man beside him with his foot, kicked over the one behind
+him with his heel, ran his head like a battering-ram into the back of
+the man in front of him, and then strove to burst his bonds with a
+succession of mighty wriggles, but, not being quite equal to Samson, he
+failed, and on seeing that two savages stood over him with drawn
+scalping-knives, while Magadar put the muzzle of a gun to his head, he
+deemed it wise to give in and uttered the exclamation "hoi!" with the
+air of one who feels that his game is played out.  He marched forward
+after that in submissive silence.
+
+On reaching the canoes, however, a fresh burst of indignation assailed
+him, and for a moment he meditated sending his foot through the bottom
+of the frail craft which was to carry him into exile, but on second
+thoughts he decided to delay the performance of that violent measure
+till they were well out in the middle of the current, when there would
+be the chance of drowning some of his foes as well as himself.  By the
+time the desired position was reached, however, his spirit had calmed
+down a little and his philosophic mind--to say nothing of his heart--had
+begun to suggest the uselessness of gratifying his feelings by a revenge
+which he probably could not enjoy much while in the process of drowning,
+and, doubtless, could not enjoy at all after he was drowned.
+
+Thus it came to pass that our hero restrained his passions, and, in
+process of time, found himself a prisoner in one of the lodges of the
+Dogrib Indians.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+IN THE HOUR OF NEED.
+
+On reaching the Indian village Cheenbuk was firmly bound to a tree a
+little way outside the camp, and left there to his meditations, while
+his captors went to the old chief's tent to hold a council.
+
+Meanwhile the women and children went to look at the captive.  Among
+them were Adolay and her mother.  The moment the former set eyes on
+Cheenbuk she recognised him as the youth who had rescued her mother from
+drowning the previous year.
+
+"Mother," she whispered, drawing her parent aside, "that is him!  Don't
+you remember him?"
+
+"I think it is," returned Isquay, gazing steadily at the Eskimo, who
+looked at the crowd which surrounded him with a gaze of supreme
+contempt, though he did not by any means feel contemptuous.
+
+"Come, mother," said Adolay, with sudden earnestness, "he has not
+recognised us in the crowd.  I must go and find out what the braves are
+palavering."
+
+As she spoke she drew her mother towards their own lodge, and there left
+her while she hurried on to the council-tent.  In the shelter of some
+bushes she crept as near to it as possible.
+
+There was no difficulty in making out what was said, for the warriors
+made no secret of their intentions, and spoke in loud tones.
+
+"He shall die," was the remark of Alizay just as the girl came within
+hearing, "he has killed one of our braves."
+
+"Ay, and he shall die by torture," said Magadar, who was a relation of
+the man that had been slain.
+
+"Ho! ho!" exclaimed most of the warriors in tones of approval, but there
+were a few among them who were silent.  They leaned to mercy's side.
+
+"Better to spare his life and make a slave of him," said one of these,
+"we can keep him always tied like a bad dog till we need him; then we
+can loose his legs and make him drag our sledges."
+
+"The brave who has spoken is young," said the old chief.  "He does not
+know much about men.  Will not the Eskimo watch for his chance, get free
+from his bonds, kill some of us when we are off our guard, and, perhaps,
+escape?"
+
+"That is so.  He must be killed," remarked Magadar, with a glance of
+scorn at the merciful youth, "and the sooner the better."
+
+"Let us do it at once," said one of the blood-thirsty.
+
+On hearing this the heart of Adolay beat anxiously, and for a few
+moments she was undecided whether to run to the tree to which the Eskimo
+was bound and set him free by cutting his bonds, or enter the
+council-tent, tell the story of his having saved her mother's life, and
+plead that the youth's might be spared.  Both courses, she knew, were
+about equally desperate.  If she were to follow the first, all the
+children would see her do it, and give the alarm, in which case the
+Eskimo would be pursued and certainly recaptured, for a fugitive in a
+strange country would have no chance with men well acquainted with every
+nook and corner of their native land.  Besides which, she knew not what
+terrible punishment might be inflicted on herself for making such an
+attempt.  On the other hand, for a woman to violate the sanctity of a
+council-tent was so unprecedented that she felt sure it would be sternly
+resented, and, therefore, useless.
+
+Fortunately she was saved the necessity of acting on either alternative
+by the arguments of the next speaker, who was one of the blood-thirsty
+braves.
+
+"Let us not be in haste like women and children," he said; "if we leave
+him bound to the tree all night he will have time to think of the fate
+that is coming, and we shall have good sunlight in the morning, which
+will enable even the oldest squaw to see well."
+
+After some palaver it was agreed that the execution of Cheenbuk should
+be postponed to the following day, and that a sentinel should be posted
+beside him during the night to make sure that he did not manage to undo
+his fastenings and escape.
+
+On hearing this decision arrived at, Adolay crept back into the bush and
+hastened to her mother's tent.
+
+"They have fixed to kill him, mother," she exclaimed, anxiously, on
+entering.
+
+"I expected that, and I'm sorry," returned Isquay, "but we cannot help
+it.  What can women do?  The men will not mind what I say.  If only
+Nazinred was here they would listen to _him_, but--"
+
+"Yes, they always listen to father," interrupted the girl, with an
+anxious frown on her pretty brows, "but as father is not here you must
+do what you can for the man."
+
+"You are very fond of him!" said the squaw with a keen look at her
+daughter.
+
+"Yes, I am very fond of him," replied Adolay with an air of unblushing
+candour, "and I think, mother, that you should be fond of him too."
+
+"So I am, girl, so I am, but what can I do?"
+
+"You can go and tell the story to the old chief.  He is not hard, like
+some of the young men.  Perhaps he may help us."
+
+Isquay shook her head, but nevertheless agreed to try her influence with
+the old man, and went out for that purpose.
+
+Meanwhile Adolay, who had not herself much faith in her mother's
+advocacy of the poor Eskimo's cause, resolved upon a separate course of
+action.  Throwing a blanket over her head and shoulders, she started for
+the place where Cheenbuk stood, scornfully regarding the little boys who
+surrounded and insulted him by flourishing knives and hatchets close to
+his defenceless nose.  They did not, however, dare to touch him, as the
+time had not yet arrived for actual torture.
+
+Running forward, Adolay, who was a favourite with the young people,
+drove them back.
+
+"Keep clear of him," she cried with a fierce glare in her eyes--which
+was wonderfully realistic, considering that it was a mere piece of
+acting--"I want to speak to him--to terrify him--to fill him with
+horror!"
+
+This was quite to the taste of the wretched little creatures, who fell
+back in a semi-circle and waited for more.
+
+"Can you understand my speech?" she demanded as she turned on Cheenbuk
+with flashing eyes.
+
+The Eskimo thought he had never seen such magnificent eyes before, and
+wished much that they would look on him more kindly.
+
+"Yes," he replied, "I understand a little."
+
+"Listen, then," cried Adolay in a loud tone, and with looks more furious
+than before.  "You are to die to-morrow."
+
+"I expected it would be to-night," replied Cheenbuk calmly.
+
+"And you are to be tortured to death!"  At this the boys set up a howl
+of delight.  At the same time the girl advanced a step nearer the
+captive, and said in a low voice hurriedly:
+
+"I will save you.  Be ready to act--to-night."  The softened look and
+altered tone opened the eyes of the captive.  Although the blanket
+partially concealed Adolay's face, Cheenbuk at once recognised the girl
+whose mother he had saved the previous spring.
+
+"I am awake!" he said quietly, but with a glance of bright intelligence.
+
+"Yes, you are doomed to die," continued Adolay, when the boys' howling
+had subsided, "and if you are to be tortured, we will all come to see
+how brave you are."
+
+As she said this she went close up to the captive, as if to make her
+words more emphatic, and shook her little fist in his face.  Then--in a
+low voice--"You see the cliff behind me, with the dead tree below it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Run for that tree when you are free--and _wait_."
+
+Turning round, as though her rage was satisfied for the time being,
+Adolay left the spot with a dark frown on her face.
+
+"Leave him now, boys," she said in passing.  "Give him time to think
+about to-morrow."
+
+Whether it was the effect of this advice, or the fact that the shades of
+evening were falling, and a feeding-time was at hand, we cannot say, but
+in a short time Cheenbuk was left to his meditations.  He was, however,
+quite within sight of several of the lodges.  As the daylight gradually
+faded a young brave left his tent, and, shouldering his gun, went to the
+place where the captive was bound.  Examining the bonds to make sure
+that they were secure, the youth carefully renewed the priming of his
+weapon, shouldered it, and began to pace to and fro.  His mode of
+proceeding was to walk up to the captive, take a look at him, turn
+round, and walk about thirty or forty yards away from him, and so on to
+and fro without halt or variation for upwards of two hours.  During all
+that time he uttered no word to the Eskimo.
+
+Cheenbuk, on his part, took no notice whatever of his guard, but stood
+perfectly still and looked with calm, lofty indifference over his head--
+which he was well able to do, being a considerably taller man.
+
+As the night advanced the darkness deepened, and the poor captive began
+to entertain serious misgivings as to his prospects.  Would the girl try
+to carry out the plan, whatever it was?  Yes, he had not the slightest
+doubt on that head, because, somehow, she had inspired him with a
+confidence that he had never felt in woman before.  But would she be
+able to carry out her plan?  That was quite another question.  Then, the
+darkness had become so intense that he could barely see the outline of
+the cliff towards which he was to run, and could not see the dead tree
+at all.  Moreover, it occurred to him that it would be impossible even
+to walk, much less to run, over unknown and perhaps rough ground in
+darkness so great that he could hardly see the trees around him; and
+could only make out the whites of the sentinel's eyes when he came close
+up.
+
+It was therefore with a feeling of relief that he at length observed a
+faint glow of light in the sky, which indicated the rising of the moon.
+
+Soon afterwards a dark figure was seen approaching.  It was Alizay, the
+blood-thirsty brave, who had come to relieve guard.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+TRYING MOMENTS AND PERPLEXING DOUBTS.
+
+The first thing that the new sentinel did was carefully to examine the
+cords that bound the captive to the tree, and tie one or two additional
+knots to make him more secure.  Then he turned to the other Indian, and
+asked sharply:--
+
+"Has he been quiet?"
+
+"Quiet as the tree to which he is bound."
+
+"Has he uttered speech?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Good.  You may go.  I will watch him till morning: after that he will
+need no more watching."
+
+Alizay looked sharply at the Eskimo while he uttered these words,
+perhaps to ascertain whether he understood their drift, but Cheenbuk's
+visage was immovable, and his eyes were fixed, as if in meditation, on
+the moon, which just then was beginning to rise over the cliffs and shed
+a softened light over the Indian village.
+
+The new sentinel shouldered his gun and began his vigil, while the other
+left them.
+
+But other ears had listened to the concluding words of Alizay.
+
+The tree to which the Eskimo was bound stood close to the edge of the
+bush, or underwood.  In front of it was an open space, up and down which
+the sentinel marched.  Had the Indian dreamed of a traitor in the camp
+he would not have deemed the captive's position as secure as it should
+be, but the idea of any one in the village favouring a contemptible
+eater-of-raw-flesh never once entered his imagination.
+
+Nevertheless, Adolay was in the bush behind the tree, and not only heard
+his words, but saw his movements.  Watching her opportunity when the
+sentinel had just turned and was marching away from the tree, she cut,
+with a scalping-knife, the cord that bound Cheenbuk's right arm and
+placed the knife in his hand.  Almost at the same moment she slipped
+back into the bush.
+
+Cheenbuk made no attempt, however, to free himself.  The sentinel's beat
+was too short to permit of his doing so without being observed.  He
+therefore remained perfectly motionless in his former attitude.
+
+It was a trying moment when the Indian approached to within a couple of
+feet and looked him straight in the face, as was his wont at each turn.
+But Cheenbuk was gifted with nerves of steel.  His contemplation of the
+moon was so absorbing, that a civilised observer might have mistaken him
+for an astronomer or a lunatic.  Alizay suspected nothing.  He turned
+round, and the Eskimo allowed him to take about five paces before he
+moved.  Then, with the speed of lightning, he ran the sharp blade down
+his side, severing all his bonds at one sweep.
+
+Next moment he was free, but he instantly resumed his former position
+and attitude until his guard was within a yard of him.  Then he sprang
+upon him, dropped the knife and seized him by the throat with both
+hands, so tightly that he was quite incapable of uttering a cry.
+
+Alizay made a vigorous struggle for life, but he had no chance with the
+burly Eskimo, who quickly decided the fight by giving his adversary a
+blow with his fist that laid him insensible on the ground.
+
+Springing over his prostrate form he ran straight for the cliff that
+Adolay had pointed out to him, leaping over fallen trees, and across
+what looked like young chasms, in a state of reckless uncertainty as to
+whether he would plunge into ponds or land at the bottom of precipices.
+With a feeling of absolute confidence that the girl with the lustrous
+eyes would not have told him to run where the feat was impossible, he
+held on until he reached the bottom of the cliff and stood beside the
+dead tree unhurt, though considerably winded.
+
+There he resolved to wait according to orders.  To most ordinary men,
+waiting, when they are filled with anxiety, is much more trying than
+energetic action.  But Cheenbuk was not an ordinary man, therefore he
+waited like a hero.
+
+Meanwhile Adolay, having seen the Eskimo fairly in grips with the
+sentinel, ran swiftly back towards the village, intending, before going
+to Cheenbuk at the cliff, to let her mother know what she had done, and
+what she still purposed to do--namely to embark with the Eskimo in a
+birch-bark canoe, guide him across the small lake that lay near the
+village, and show him the rivulet that would lead him into the Greygoose
+River.  But she had not gone far, when, on turning a bush, she almost
+ran into the arms of a young Indian girl named Idazoo, an event which
+upset all her plans and perplexed her not a little--all the more that
+this girl was jealous of her, believing that she was trying to steal
+from her the affections of Alizay, whom she regarded as her own young
+man!
+
+"Why run you so fast?" asked the girl, as Adolay stood panting before
+her.  "Have you seen a bad spirit?"
+
+"Yes, I have seen a bad spirit," answered Adolay, (thinking of Alizay),
+"I have seen two bad spirits," she added, (thinking of Idazoo).  "But I
+cannot stop to tell you.  I have to--to--go to see--something very
+strange to-night."
+
+Now it must be told that Idazoo was gifted with a very large bump of
+curiosity, and a still larger one, perhaps, of suspicion.  The brave
+Alizay, she knew, was to mount guard over the Eskimo captive that night,
+and she had a suspicion that Adolay had taken advantage of that fact to
+pay the captive--not the Indian, oh dear no!--a visit.  Unable to rest
+quietly in her tent under the powerful influence of this idea, she
+resolved to take a walk herself--a sort of moonlight ramble as it were--
+in that direction.  As we have seen, she met her friend, not
+unexpectedly, on the way.
+
+"I will go with you," she said, "to see this strange thing, whatever it
+be.  There may be danger; two are better than one, and, you know, I am
+not easily frightened."
+
+Poor Adolay was dismayed by this proposition, and hurried forward, but
+Idazoo kept pace with her.  Suddenly she made up her mind, and, changing
+her direction, made for the cliff at a rapid run, closely followed by
+her jealous friend, who was resolved to see the mystery out.
+
+She purposely led her companion round in such a way that they came
+suddenly upon the waiting Eskimo, whose speaking visage betrayed his
+surprise at seeing two girls instead of one.
+
+On beholding Cheenbuk standing there unbound, Idazoo stopped short, drew
+back, and gazed at him in alarm as well as surprise.
+
+"You have now seen the strange sight I spoke of, but you must not tell
+it in the lodges," said Adolay.
+
+Without answering her, Idazoo turned to fly, but Adolay grasped her by
+the wrist and held her tight--at the same time motioning with her hand
+to Cheenbuk.
+
+The Eskimo was prompt as well as intelligent.  He did not wait for
+explanations or allow surprise to delay him.  With a bound he was beside
+the girls, had grasped Idazoo, and looked to Adolay for further
+instructions.
+
+"Hold her till I tie up her hands," she said, drawing a stout line of
+deerskin from a pocket in the breast of her dress.
+
+With this she proceeded to bind her inquisitive friend's wrists.
+Perceiving that she was to be made a captive, the girl opened her mouth
+and began a shriek, which, had it been allowed full play, would no doubt
+have reached her friends in the village, but Cheenbuk had observed the
+intention, and before the first note had struggled into being, he
+clapped his hand on her mouth and quenched it.  Idazoo wore round her
+neck a brightly coloured cotton kerchief, such as the fur-traders of
+those days furnished for barter with the Indians.  Cheenbuk quietly
+plucked this off her neck and tied it firmly round her face and mouth so
+as to effectually gag her.  This done they fastened her to the stem of
+the dead tree.
+
+The whole operation was performed without unnecessary rudeness, and with
+great celerity.
+
+"Now, Idazoo," said Adolay, when they had finished, "you have done me
+great injury this night.  I am sorry to treat you in this way, but I
+cannot help it.  You _would_ come with me, you know.  If I could trust
+you even now, I would take the cloth off your mouth, but I dare not, you
+might yell, and everybody knows you were never good at keeping your
+promises.  But it does not matter much.  The handkerchief is not too
+tight to prevent the air getting up your nose--and it will give your
+tongue a rest, which it needs.  Besides, the night is not cold, and as
+our braves pass here every morning when starting off to hunt, you will
+soon be set free."
+
+The Eskimo showed all his brilliant teeth from ear to ear while this
+little speech was being made.  Then he accompanied Adolay through the
+bush until they reached the shores of a small lake, beside which a
+birch-bark canoe was lying, partly in the water.  At an earlier part of
+that evening the girl had placed the canoe there, and put into it
+weapons and provisions suitable for a considerable voyage.
+
+"You have got this ready for me?" said Cheenbuk.
+
+"Yes.  You saved my mother's life once, and I will save yours," replied
+the girl, pointing to the bow of the canoe as if ordering him to embark.
+
+"Are you going with me?" asked the youth, with a look of hopeful
+surprise and a very slight flutter of the heart.
+
+"You do not know the lake.  I will guide you to the place where the
+little river runs out of it, and then, by following that, you will get
+into Greygoose River, which I think you know."
+
+The Eskimo's heart ceased to flutter, and the hope died out of his
+expressive eyes as he said, still hesitating, "But--but--I am very heavy
+and you are very light.  A canoe does not go well with its head deep in
+the water.  Don't you think that I should sit behind and steer?"
+
+"And where would you steer to?" asked Adolay, with a somewhat pert
+smile.  "Besides, look there," she added, pointing to the stern of the
+little craft, "do Eskimos not use their eyes?"
+
+Cheenbuk used his eyes as directed, and saw that a heavy stone had been
+placed in the stern so as to counteract the difference of weight.  With
+an air of humility, therefore, he stepped into his allotted place, took
+up a paddle and sat down.  Adolay pushed the craft into deeper water,
+stepped lightly in, and, giving a vigorous shove, sent it skimming out
+on the lake.  Then the two dipped their paddles with a will, and shot
+over the water like an arrow.
+
+Profound silence was maintained until the other end of the lake was
+reached, when the moon came out from a bank of clouds and enabled the
+girl to find the reedy source of the little river without difficulty.
+
+"We will land here and lift the canoe past the reeds," she said,
+steering the little craft to the side of a grassy bank.
+
+Walking along this bank, and guiding the canoe with their hands, they
+soon came to an open space in the forest, whence they could see the
+rivulet winding like a thread of silver through the land in front of
+them.
+
+"This is the place where we must part," said Adolay with a sudden
+determination of manner which surprised and puzzled the Eskimo.  "You
+have now no further need for me.  You have only to go straight on with
+the running of the water.  There are only two falls on the way, but you
+will hear the noise before you come to them, and you have only to lift
+the canoe a short way through the bush to the still water below the
+falls.  Our braves often do that; you will find it quite easy."
+
+"I know something of that," returned Cheenbuk; "we have no falls in our
+great salt lake, but we have plenty big lumps of ice, and when these are
+like to crush together we have to jump out of our kayaks and lift them
+out of the water--ho! and we do it quick too, sometimes, or we get
+squeezed flat.  But if I go on with the canoe how will you get home?
+You cannot swim back."
+
+"I can walk round the lake.  Are the Eskimo girls not able to walk, that
+you ask such a question?" said the girl, raising her dark eyes with
+something of an amused look to the face of her companion, who was
+looking anxiously down at her.
+
+"Oh yes, they can walk well.  Ay, and run too when needful.  But--but--
+I'm sorry that we must part.  Must!--why must?"
+
+The youth said this in a meditative tone, for it had occurred to him for
+a moment that the girl was now in his power; that he could compel her to
+get into the bow of the canoe, and might steer her to his home at
+Waruskeek if he chose, whether she would or no.  But Cheenbuk's soul was
+chivalrous.  He was far in advance of his kindred and his times.  He
+scorned himself for having even thought of such a thing for a moment;
+and it was with an air of profound humility that he continued--
+
+"Must--of course you must.  One of the young braves would have a sore
+heart if you did not return."
+
+"No one that I know of," she replied quickly.  "I care not for the
+braves; but my mother would have a sore heart if I did not return.  Yet
+I fear to go back, for that Idazoo will tell, and perhaps they will kill
+me for helping you to escape."
+
+"Then you must _not_ go back," said the Eskimo stoutly.  "Come with me
+and I will take good care of you."
+
+"No, I cannot," returned the girl thoughtfully; I cannot forsake my
+mother and father in such a way without even a word at parting.
+
+"What is your name?" asked the youth promptly.  "Mine is Cheenbuk."
+
+"They call me Adolay; that, in our language, means the summer-time."
+
+"Well, Adolay, I don't know what my name, Cheenbuk, means--perhaps it
+means winter-time.  Anyhow, listen to me.  If there is any chance of you
+being killed you must _not_ go back.  I will take you to my mother's
+igloe and you will live with her."
+
+"Have you, too, got a mother?" asked Adolay with interest.
+
+"Ho! yes; and a father too--and they're both fat and heavy and kind.
+When they come to know that you have been so kind to me, they will
+receive you with joy."
+
+"No," said Adolay, shaking her small head decidedly, "I _will_ not go.
+They may kill me if they like, but I will never forsake my mother."
+
+"Are you determined?"
+
+"Yes--for sure."
+
+"Then so am I," said Cheenbuk, taking hold of the canoe and turning the
+bow up-stream.  "Get in, Adolay, and we will return to the lodges of
+your people and die together."
+
+Cheenbuk had a way of saying and doing things that convinced his hearers
+that he was thoroughly in earnest.  The Indian girl felt this, and
+regretted much that she had said anything at all about her danger.  She
+now tried to counteract the evil.
+
+"What do you mean?" she said, anxiously.
+
+"I mean that I am not afraid to go back and die with you."
+
+"But it is not certain," she replied, "that they will kill me.  If my
+father was at home they would not dare to do it, and perhaps they will
+be afraid of his revenge when he comes back.  But for you there is no
+chance at all.  They will be sure to kill you with slow tortures."
+
+"I care not.  If I go back they will not be so likely to kill you.  But
+listen to me, Adolay.  I have a thought.  If you come with me to my home
+in Waruskeek I will take you safe to my father's igloe, and you shall
+live with my mother and sister.  I will not ask you to be my squaw, but
+you will stay with them till we collect a strong band of young men, when
+we will go to visit your people and take you with us.  If they are
+friendly--well, and we can traffic together.  If they receive us ill
+there will be a fight--that is all.  I do not like fighting--but
+whatever happens I promise that you shall be restored to your father and
+mother.  Now, will you go?"
+
+Adolay looked up earnestly into the grave countenance of the young man.
+There could be no doubt of his thorough sincerity--she felt that--still,
+she hesitated.  It was a bold step to take--even for an Indian heroine!
+
+At that critical moment there broke upon their ears a distant sound that
+caused them both to start and look round anxiously.  It was faint, and
+so far away that at first they could make nothing of it.  A few seconds
+later it was repeated louder than before.  Then a look of intelligence
+broke over Adolay's countenance.
+
+"I know!" she exclaimed, "Idazoo is shrieking!  We should have put the
+cloth over her nose!  She has got her mouth free and--"
+
+Another sharp yell rendered it needless for her to complete the
+sentence.
+
+"Come," she said, laying hands on the canoe.  "Turn it round.  We will
+go!"
+
+A few minutes more and the pair were flying down the swift current of
+the little river as fast as they could dip their paddles in the stream.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+A WILD CHASE AND A BAD FAILURE.
+
+It does not necessarily require the influences of civilised life to make
+an honourable, upright man, any more than it needs the influences of
+savage life to make a thorough scoundrel.  Of course the tendency of
+civilisation is to elevate, of savagery to debase, nevertheless it is
+certain that as we occasionally see blackguards in the highest ranks, so
+we sometimes find men and women with exalted conceptions of right and
+wrong in the lowest circles of life.
+
+The truth would seem to be that the Spirit of God is not confined to
+ranks or conditions of men--a fact that appears to be confirmed by the
+Scripture statement that "in every nation he that feareth God and
+worketh righteousness is acceptable to Him."
+
+Cheenbuk's mind must assuredly have been influenced by a good spirit
+when, after descending the little river at the utmost speed possible--so
+as to render recapture for a time at least improbable--he directed his
+companion to run the canoe on the bank in an eddy formed by a flat rock,
+and then, against his own most earnest desires, advised Adolay to return
+to her people.
+
+"While we were paddling down-stream," he said, "I have been thinking
+much, and I cannot believe that your people would be so hard as to kill
+you for only helping a poor Eskimo to escape.  Now, I have changed my
+mind.  I have often found that it is better to think more than once
+before acting, if you have time to do so.  What I think now is, that we
+should hide the canoe here, and return to your village on foot together.
+When we get there--or when we meet them chasing us--you will go on, and
+I will hide to see how they receive you, and if they receive you
+kindly--as I feel sure they will do--I will return here to this spot,
+take the canoe, and go to my home alone.  I cannot bear to take you from
+your father and mother.  I think the Great Spirit, who is the father of
+all, would be angry with me.  But I will not force you to return if you
+are afraid."
+
+"I am afraid," returned Adolay, quickly.  "You do not know how angry the
+men will be: and you don't know how sharp their eyes are.  If you were
+to return with me they would see you long before you could see them, and
+would give you no chance to hide."
+
+"Then there is nothing to be done but to go on," said Cheenbuk, with a
+sigh which he loyally strove to vent as a sign of regret, but which
+insisted on issuing forth as a distinct sound of satisfaction!
+
+"You have promised to take me safe to your mother's igloe, and to bring
+me back to my own home," said Adolay, with a look of confidence.  "I
+will go on and trust you."
+
+Without another word the Eskimo pushed off the head of the canoe, which
+was caught by the current and swept down-stream.  Ere long they reached
+the Greygoose River, and, paddling into the centre of the current, were
+soon careering towards the sea at a pace which they thought rendered
+their being overtaken almost impossible.  To make quite sure, however,
+they continued the voyage far into the night, and did not land for a
+very brief rest until the grey dawn had begun to appear over the eastern
+tree-tops.
+
+Being both somewhat fatigued by that time they scarcely uttered a word
+as they encamped, but went about the work as if half asleep.  Cheenbuk
+lifted the canoe out of the water and laid it on the bank, bottom up, in
+which position it formed a rough and ready tent for his companion, who,
+meanwhile, carried up the provisions.  Seated on the grass beside it
+they ate a little dried venison, which required no cooking--uttering
+only a monosyllable now and then with half-closed eyes, and sometimes
+with an imbecile smile, which terminated occasionally in an irresistible
+nod.  The feebleness of the light, too, as well as the quietness of the
+hour, contributed not a little to this state of semi-consciousness.
+
+The frugal supper having been washed down with a draught of water, from
+Nature's own cup--the joined hands--Adolay lay down under the canoe.
+Cheenbuk retired to a neighbouring spruce-fir and stretched himself
+under its branches.  Need we add that sleep closed their eyelids
+instantly?
+
+But the Eskimo was much too experienced a hunter and warrior to allow
+the drowsy god to enchain him long.  Like a dead log he lay for little
+more than two hours, then he awoke with a start and stretched himself.
+
+"Hoi!" he exclaimed sharply, looking towards the canoe, which was
+distant from his lair about five or six yards.
+
+The exclamation had scarcely passed his lips when Adolay sprang up, and
+next moment went blinking, yawning, and stumbling down the bank with the
+provisions under one arm, the paddles and weapons under the other.
+Cheenbuk lifted the canoe and followed her.  In a few minutes they were
+once more out in the middle of the strong current, paddling with might
+and main.
+
+Now, it was well that they had used such diligence in their flight, for
+the pursuers were closer behind them than they had supposed.
+
+When the unfortunate Alizay was felled by the Eskimo, as we have
+described, he lay for a considerable time in a state of insensibility,
+but he was by no means killed--not even seriously damaged--for
+Cheenbuk's intense dislike to take life had not only induced him to drop
+the knife with which the Indian girl had supplied him to cut his cords,
+but inclined him to use his ponderous fist with moderation, so that
+Alizay, on recovering, found himself none the worse, except for a severe
+headache and an unnaturally large bridge to his nose.
+
+Gathering himself up, and gradually swelling with rage as he reflected
+on the treatment to which he had been subjected, he ran at full speed to
+alarm the camp and begin a search.  But where were they to search?--that
+was the question.  There were four points to the compass--though they
+knew nothing about the compass--and the fugitive might have gone off in
+the direction of any of these, or between them, and it was too dark a
+night to permit of his trail being followed by sight, for, although the
+moon might aid them in the open, it would be quite useless in the
+darkness of the woods.
+
+A hurried council was held, and a good deal of distracting advice given
+while the young braves were arming themselves.  To add to their
+perplexities, a lad rushed suddenly into the council-tent with glaring
+eyes, saying that the girl Idazoo had disappeared from the village.
+This news greatly increased the fury of Alizay, but he had scarcely
+realised the truth when another lad, with, if possible, still more
+glaring eyes and a gaping mouth, rushed in to tell that the girl Adolay
+was also missing.  This blew up the agitation to a frenzy of
+excitement--not usual among the Red men of the north--because the
+necessity for prompt action was great, while the impossibility of doing
+anything definite was greater.
+
+It was just at this point, when the clamour was at its height, that a
+sound was heard which instantly produced dead silence, while every man
+and boy became as if petrified, with eyes enlarged and ears cocked to
+listen.
+
+Again the sound was heard--a distant yell undoubtedly, coming from the
+direction of the cliff.
+
+All the self-possession and promptitude of the Indians returned in a
+moment.  In a second the braves glided out of the council-tent and
+disappeared, each making a straight line for the sound, while the women
+and children left behind listened with profound attention and
+expectation.
+
+There was no lack of guiding sounds now, for the moment Idazoo managed
+to clear her mouth of the gag she began and continued a series of
+shrieks and yells which were intensified in vigour by the fact that she
+gradually became hysterical as well as wrathful.
+
+The first to reach the spot was Alizay.  On beholding him the girl
+stopped, and, after two or three exasperated echoes had finished their
+remarks, a profound silence reigned.
+
+Lovers among the Dogribs are not yet very gallant.  Civilisation may do
+something for them, as to this, in time.
+
+"You can make a noise!" said the youth, stepping up to her.
+
+"I have reason to do so," replied the maiden, somewhat abashed.
+
+"Did Adolay go with him?" asked Alizay as several of the other braves
+ran up.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Willingly?"
+
+"Yes--she helped to tie me and showed him the way."
+
+"Where did they go?"
+
+"In the direction of the lake."
+
+Instantly the whole band turned and ran off in the direction mentioned--
+Alizay being last, as he paused just long enough to cut the bonds of
+Idazoo, but left her to disentangle herself as she best could.
+
+On reaching the shores of the lake the footsteps of the fugitives showed
+clear in the moonlight, and the marks of launching the canoe were
+visible, so that there was no further doubt as to what should be done.
+The Indians knew well that there was only one outlet from the lake.
+Their canoes were close by, and their guns and tomahawks in their hands.
+Nothing therefore required to be done but to embark and give chase.
+For this purpose two canoes were deemed sufficient, with three men in
+each.
+
+Magadar took charge of the leading canoe.  Alizay steered the other, and
+the rest of the braves returned to the village to gloat over the news
+that Idazoo had to tell, to feast on the produce of the previous day's
+hunt, and to clear--or obfuscate--their intellects, more or less, with
+their tobacco-pipes.
+
+As the six pursuers were very wrathful, and pretty strong, they caused
+their canoes to skim over the lake like swallows, and reached the head
+of the little river not very long after the fugitives had left it.  A
+stern chase, however, is proverbially a long one, and as they overhauled
+the chase only inch by inch, there seemed little chance of overtaking it
+that night.  The leaders, however, being men of great endurance,
+resolved to carry on without rest as long as possible.  This they did
+until about dawn--the same hour at which the fugitives had succumbed--
+and both parties put ashore at last for a rest, neither being aware of
+the fact that their separate camping-grounds were not more than three
+miles apart!
+
+Well was it then for Adolay that her stout protector was a light
+sleeper, as well as a man of iron frame, and that he had aroused her
+fully an hour and a half sooner than the time at which the Indians left
+their camp to resume the chase.  It was well, also, that Cheenbuk
+required but a short rest to recruit his strength and enable him to
+resume the paddle with his full vigour.  The joy, also, consequent upon
+the discovery that he loved the Indian girl, and that she had made up
+her mind, without any persuasion on his part, to run away with him, lent
+additional power to his strong back.  Perhaps, also, a sympathetic
+feeling in the breast of the maiden added to the strength of her
+well-formed and by no means feeble arm, so that many miles were soon
+added to the three which intervened between the chasers and the chased.
+To the horror of Adolay she found when she and Cheenbuk reached the
+mouth of the river, that the sea was extensively blocked by masses of
+ice, which extended out as far as the eye could reach.
+
+Although thus encumbered, however, the sea was by no means choked up
+with it, and to the gaze of the young Eskimo the ice presented no
+insurmountable obstacle, for his experienced eye could trace leads and
+lanes of open water as far as the first group of distant islets, which
+lay like scarce perceptible specks on the horizon.
+
+But to the inexperienced eye of the girl the scene was one of hopeless
+confusion, and it filled her with sudden alarm and despair, though she
+possessed more than the usual share of the Dogrib women's courage.
+Observing her alarm, Cheenbuk gave her a look of encouragement, but
+avoided telling her not to be afraid, for his admiration of her was too
+profound to admit of his thinking that she could really be frightened,
+whatever her looks might indicate.
+
+"The ice is our friend to-day," he said, with a cheery smile, as they
+stood together on the seashore beside their canoe, surveying the
+magnificent scene of snowy field, fantastic hummock, massive berg, and
+glittering pinnacle that lay spread out before them.
+
+Adolay felt, but did not express surprise, for she was filled with a
+most commendable trust in the truth and wisdom as well as the courage of
+the man to whose care she had committed herself.
+
+"If you say the ice is our friend, it must be so," she remarked quietly,
+"but to the Indian girl it seems as if the ice was our foe, for she can
+see no escape, and my people will be sure to follow us."
+
+"Let them follow," returned Cheenbuk, with a quiet laugh, as he
+re-arranged the lading of the canoe before continuing the voyage.  "They
+won't follow beyond this place!"
+
+Lifting out the big stone, which had formed a counterpoise to his
+weight, he flung it on the beach.
+
+"We will change places now, Adolay," he said, "you have guided our canoe
+when on the inland waters; it is now my turn to steer, for I understand
+the sea of ice.  Get in, we will start."
+
+When Magadar and his comrades arrived at the mouth of the Greygoose
+River and beheld the aspect of the sea, a cry of mingled surprise and
+disappointment escaped them, but when they had landed and discovered the
+canoe of the fugitives far away like a speck among the ice-floes, the
+cry was transmuted into a howl of rage.
+
+"Quick! embark!  Let us after them!" shouted Magadar.
+
+"Death to them both!" yelled Alizay.
+
+For a few minutes the Indians followed the lanes of open water, till
+their turnings began to appear somewhat complicated; then the warlike
+spirit became a little subdued.  Presently one of the Indians
+discovered--or thought he discovered--that the lead of water was
+narrowing, and that the ice was closing in.
+
+Promptly both canoes were put about, and the shore was regained with
+amazing speed.
+
+After that the Dogribs paddled quietly up the Greygoose River, and
+meekly returned to their woodland home.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+ENCAMPED ON THE ISLET.
+
+It was with feelings of profound thankfulness and relief that Adolay
+landed on the first of the islets, and surveyed the chaotic though
+beautiful floes from which they had escaped.
+
+And in truth Cheenbuk had required all his skill and experience more
+than once to avoid the dangers by which they had been beset, for,
+although the weather was perfectly calm and the ice nearly motionless,
+they had frequently to pass through channels so narrow that the
+slightest current might have caused a nip and obliged them to take
+hurried refuge on the floes, while, at other times, when compelled to
+pass rather close to the small bergs, lumps dropped into the water
+perilously near to them from the overhanging ice-cliffs.
+
+"There has been some danger," remarked the girl, turning to her
+protector.
+
+"All is well when it ends well," replied the Eskimo, nearly, but
+unconsciously, quoting Shakespeare.  "But the danger was not very great,
+for if the ice had closed in we could have jumped on it, and carried the
+canoe to the nearest open water."
+
+"But what if a lump had dropped into the canoe and sunk it?" asked
+Adolay.
+
+"We should have had to scramble on the floes and wait there till--till
+we died together."
+
+He said this with some degree of solemnity, for it was an uncomfortable
+reflection.
+
+"I would prefer,"--she stopped suddenly, for in the haste of the moment
+she was going to have said--"that we should live together rather than
+die together,"--but maiden modesty, not unfamiliar even among savages,
+restrained her, and Cheenbuk, who was not observant in the matter of
+imperfect speech, took no notice of the abrupt pause.
+
+The evening was far advanced, for it had taken them the whole day to
+reach the islet, owing to the windings of the lanes of water and the
+frequency with which they had to turn back in consequence of having run
+into what may be termed blind alleys.  It was resolved, therefore, that
+they should rest there for the night.
+
+As there was no fear, by that time, of their being pursued by Indians,
+Cheenbuk resolved that they should have a good warm supper to recruit
+their somewhat exhausted energies.  Of course Adolay was only too glad
+to fall in with this arrangement, and said that she would go along the
+shore and collect small masses of drift-wood for the fire, while her
+companion lifted up the canoe and made the encampment.
+
+"You will not find much drift-wood, I think," said Cheenbuk, as she was
+about to set off, "for the currents don't set upon this island much.
+The long point of the bigger island over there turns the currents off
+from this one, but perhaps you may find a little."
+
+Adolay found this to be true, for she wandered several miles along
+shore--indeed, went nearly round the islet, which was a low rocky one,
+almost devoid of verdure--before she had collected a good bundle of dry
+sticks.
+
+Meanwhile the Eskimo set to work with characteristic enthusiasm to
+arrange the camp.  Choosing a spot where a low wall of rock sheltered
+him from the north, he laid a few stones in a heap to mark the place for
+the fire.  Then he carried up the canoe, and laid it down bottom up, so
+as to face the fire.  Underneath it he made a snug nest of twigs and
+leaves for Adolay to rest in.  Then, on the opposite side of the fire,
+he made another lair--a sort of open-air nest--for himself, after which
+he collected a good many of the small dead twigs among the scrub, which
+he piled up in readiness around a large piece of drift timber he had the
+good fortune to discover, not far from the spot where they landed.
+
+This done, he stood back a few paces and admired his handiwork, his head
+on one side with quite the air of a connoisseur.
+
+Presently he began to wish that Adolay would return, and then sat down
+to make fire by the slow and laborious Eskimo process of rubbing two
+pieces of stick rapidly together until the friction should ignite them.
+He was still absorbed in the work when the Indian girl returned with a
+bundle of wood which she threw down beside the rest.
+
+"You have had better luck than I expected," said Cheenbuk.  "See, I have
+made you a nest to sleep in," he added, pointing to the canoe.
+
+"It is very nice," she observed, with an appreciative smile.  "What are
+you doing?"
+
+"Making fire," he answered, resuming his work and continuing it with
+such vigour that beads of perspiration stood on his brow.
+
+Without speaking, the girl went to the canoe and opened a bundle wrapped
+in deerskin which formed part of its lading.  She drew therefrom a
+fire-bag, richly ornamented with beads, such as Indian chiefs and braves
+are wont to carry under their belts.  It contained the pipe, tinder-box,
+flint, steel, and tobacco which are usually supplied by the fur-traders
+to the Red men.
+
+Cheenbuk was so interested in the proceedings of his companion that he
+ceased to carry on his own work, thereby allowing the sticks to cool and
+losing his labour.
+
+"You need not work so hard," said Adolay, taking a flint, steel, and
+piece of tinder from the bag and, beginning to strike a light, to the
+great interest of the Eskimo.  "We manage to get fire differently and
+more easily."
+
+In a few seconds a spark caught on the tinder, which began to smoke, and
+the girl, wrapping it in a bundle of dry grass, whirled it round at
+arm's-length until the draught caused it to burst into flame.  Thrusting
+the burning mass into the heart of the twigs, which had been previously
+prepared, she glanced up at her protector with a look that said plainly,
+"Watch, now, the result."
+
+But Cheenbuk required no encouragement to do so.  He had been watching
+all the time with mouth, as well as eyes, wide-open, and a loud "hoi!
+hoi! ho!" burst from him as the flame leaped up, suffusing the canoe and
+wall of rock and the near objects with a ruddy glow which paled
+everything else to a cold grey by contrast.
+
+"I've seen that once before," exclaimed Cheenbuk with delight, taking up
+the fire-bag tenderly, "and have often wished that I had these things
+for making fire."
+
+"Well, you may have them now.  They belonged to my father.  All our men
+carry bags with these things in them."
+
+"And I've seen this too--once," continued the youth, smiling, as he
+pulled out a tobacco-pipe.  Then he bent his head suddenly, put his nose
+to the bag, and made a face expressive of supreme disgust.
+
+"Ho! and I've seen this too.  I have tasted it, and after tasting it I
+was very miserable--so miserable that I hope never to be as miserable
+again!"
+
+As he spoke he looked at Adolay with that extreme solemnity which was
+one of the characteristics of his face.
+
+The girl returned the look, but did not smile.  She did not speak, but
+waited for more.
+
+"The man who showed me these things was a good man," continued Cheenbuk.
+"I do not know his name, but I liked him much.  Yet I think he was not
+wise to fill his mouth with smoke and his inside with sickness."
+
+"Was he sick?" asked Adolay.
+
+"No--he was not, but--I was."
+
+While he was speaking he drew a long piece of Canada twist tobacco out
+of the bag, and looked at it sagaciously for some time, nodding his head
+as if he knew all about it.
+
+"Yes, that is the thing he put in the pipe, and, after making a small
+fire over it, drew the smoke into himself.  At first I thought he would
+die, or catch fire and burst--but he--he didn't, and he seemed to like
+it."
+
+"All our men like it," said Adolay; "they smoke every day--sometimes all
+day.  And some of our women like it too."
+
+"Do _you_ like it?" asked the Eskimo, quickly.
+
+"No, I don't like it."
+
+"Good--that is well.  Now, we will cook some of your dried meat for
+supper."
+
+By that time the fire was blazing cheerily.  As the shades of night
+deepened, the circle of light grew more and more ruddy until it seemed
+like a warm cosy chamber in the heart of a cold grey setting.  A couple
+of small stakes were thrust into the ground in such a way that the two
+pieces of venison impaled on them were presented to the heart of the
+fire.  Soon a frizzling sound was heard; then odours of a kind dear to
+the hearts of hungry souls--to say nothing of their noses--began to
+arise, and the couple thus curiously thrown together sat down side by
+side to enjoy themselves, and supply the somewhat clamorous demands of
+Nature.
+
+They said little while feeding, but when the venison steaks had
+well-nigh disappeared, a word or two began to pass to and fro.  At last
+Cheenbuk arose, and, taking a small cup of birch-bark, which, with a
+skin of water, formed part of the supplies provided by Adolay, he filled
+it to the brim, and the two concluded their supper with the cheering
+fluid.
+
+"Ah!" sighed the girl, when she had disposed of her share, "the white
+traders bring us a black stuff which we mix with water hot, and find it
+very good to drink."
+
+"Yes?  What is it?" asked Cheenbuk, applying his lips a second time with
+infinite zest to the water.
+
+"I know not what it is.  The white men call it tee," said Adolay,
+dwelling with affectionate emphasis on the _ee's_.
+
+"Ho!  I should like to taste that tee-ee," said the youth, with
+exaggerated emphasis on the _ee's_.  "Is it better than water?"
+
+"I'm not sure of that," answered the girl, with a gaze of uncertainty at
+the fire, "but we like it better than water--the women do; the men are
+fonder of fire-water, when they can get it, but the white traders seldom
+give us any, and they never give us much.  We women are very glad of
+that, for the fire-water makes our men mad and wish to fight.  Tee, when
+we take too much of it--which we always do--only makes us sick."
+
+"Strange," said Cheenbuk, with a look of profundity worthy of Solomon,
+"that your people should be so fond of smokes and drinks that make them
+sick and mad when they have so much of the sparkling water that makes us
+comfortable!"
+
+Adolay made no reply to this, for her mind was not by nature
+philosophically disposed, though she was intelligent enough to admire
+the sagacity of a remark that seemed to her fraught with illimitable
+significance.
+
+"Have you any more strange things in your bundle?" asked the Eskimo,
+whose curiosity was awakened by what had already been extracted from it.
+"Have you some of the tee, or the fire-water, or any more of the thing
+that smokes--what you call it?"
+
+"Tubuko--no, I have no more of that than you saw in the fire-bag.  The
+white men sometimes call it bukey, and I have no fire-water or tee.
+Sometimes we put a nice sweet stuff into the tee which the white men
+call shoogir.  The Indian girls are very fond of shoogir.  They like it
+best without being mixed with water and tee.  But we have that in our
+own land.  We make it from the juice of a tree."
+
+The interest with which Cheenbuk gazed into the girl's face while she
+spoke, was doubtless due very much to the prettiness thereof, but it is
+only just to add that the number and nature of the absolutely new
+subjects which were thus opened up to him had something to do with it.
+His imperfect knowledge of her language, however, had a bamboozling
+effect.
+
+"Here is a thing which I think you will be glad to see," continued the
+girl, as she extracted a small hatchet from the bundle.
+
+"Yes indeed; that is a _very_ good thing," said the youth, handling the
+implement with almost affectionate tenderness.  "I had one once--and
+that, too, is a fine thing," he added, as she drew a scalping-knife from
+her bundle.
+
+"You may have them both," she said; "I knew you would need them on the
+journey."
+
+Cheenbuk was too much lost in admiration of the gifts--which to him were
+so splendid--that he failed to find words to express his gratitude, but,
+seizing a piece of firewood and resting it on another piece, he set to
+work with the hatchet, and sent the chips flying in all directions for
+some time, to the amusement, and no small surprise, of his companion.
+Then he laid down the axe, and, taking up the scalping-knife, began to
+whittle sticks with renewed energy.  Suddenly he paused and looked at
+Adolay with ineffable delight.
+
+"They are good?" she remarked with a cheerful nod.
+
+"Good, good, very good!  We have nothing nearly so good.  All our things
+are made of bone or stone."
+
+"Now," returned the girl, with a blink of her lustrous eyes, and a yawn
+of her pretty mouth, which Nature had not yet taught her to conceal with
+her little hand, "now, I am sleepy.  I will lie down."
+
+Cheenbuk replied with a smile, and pointed to the canoe with his nose.
+
+Adolay took the hint, crept into the nest which the gallant youth had
+prepared for her, curled herself up like a hedgehog, and was sound
+asleep in five minutes.
+
+The Eskimo, meanwhile, resumed his labours with the scalping-knife, and
+whittled on far into the night--whittled until he had reduced every
+stick within reach of his hand to a mass of shavings--a beaming
+childlike glow of satisfaction resting on his handsome face all the
+while, until the embers of the fire began to sink low, and only an
+occasional flicker of flame shot up to enlighten the increasing
+darkness.  Then he laid the two implements down and covered them
+carefully with a piece of deerskin, while his countenance resumed its
+wonted gravity of expression.
+
+Drawing up his knees until his chin rested on them, and clasping his
+hands round them, he sat for a long time brooding there and gazing into
+the dying embers of the fire; then he rose, stretched himself, and
+sauntered down to the shore.
+
+The night, although dark for the Arctic regions at that time of the
+year, was not by any means obscure.  On the contrary, it might have
+passed for a very fair moonlight night in more southern climes, and the
+flush of the coming day in the eastern sky was beginning to warm the
+tops of the higher among the ice-masses, thereby rendering the rest of
+the scene more coldly grey.  The calm which had favoured the escape of
+our fugitives still prevailed, and the open spaces had gradually widened
+until the floes had assumed the form of ghostly white islets floating in
+a blue-black sea, in which the fantastic cliffs, lumps, and pinnacles
+were sharply reflected as in a mirror.
+
+There was a solemnity and profound quietude about the scene and the hour
+which harmonised well with the sedate spirit of the young Eskimo, as he
+stood there for a long time contemplating the wonders and the beauties
+of the world around and about him.
+
+We know not what passes through the minds of untutored men in such
+circumstances, but who shall dare to say that the Spirit of their
+Creator may not be holding intercourse with them at such times?
+
+Turning his back at length upon the sea, Cheenbuk returned to the camp,
+lay down on the couch which he had made for himself on the opposite side
+of the fire from the canoe, and, in a few moments more, was in the
+health- and strength-restoring regions of Oblivion.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+HOME--SWEET HOME--AND SMOKE, ETCETERA.
+
+The favouring calm continued until Cheenbuk with his companion arrived
+at Waruskeek.
+
+It was about mid-day when their canoe turned round the headland and
+entered the inlet near the head of which lay the Eskimo village.
+
+The boy Anteek happened to be standing on the shore at the time, beside
+the young girl Nootka.  They were looking out to sea, and observed the
+canoe the moment it turned the point of rocks.
+
+"Hoi-oi!" yelled Anteek with an emphasis that caused the inhabitants of
+the whole village to leap out of every hut with the celerity of
+squirrels, and rush to the shore.  Here those who had first arrived were
+eagerly commenting on the approaching visitors.
+
+"A kayak of the Fire-spouters!" cried Anteek, with a look of intense
+glee, for nothing was so dear to the soul of that volatile youth, as
+that which suggested danger, except, perhaps, that which involved fun.
+
+"The kayak is indeed that of a Fire-spouter," said old Mangivik, shaking
+his grey head, "but I don't think any Fire-spouter among them would be
+such a fool as to run his head into our very jaws."
+
+"I'm not ready to agree with you, old man," began Gartok.
+
+"No; you're never ready to agree with any one!" growled Mangivik
+parenthetically.
+
+"For the Fire-spouters," continued Gartok, disregarding the growl, "are
+afraid of nothing.  Why should they be when they can spout wounds and
+death so easily?"
+
+Poor Gartok spoke feelingly, for his wounded leg had reduced his vigour
+considerably, and he was yet only able to limp about with the aid of a
+stick, while his lieutenant Ondikik was reduced to skin and bone by the
+injury to his back.
+
+Suddenly Mangivik became rather excited.
+
+"Woman," he said earnestly to his wife, who stood beside him, "do you
+see who steers the kayak?  Look, your eyes are better than mine."
+
+"No.  I do not."
+
+"Look again!" cried Anteek, pushing forward at that moment.  "He is not
+a Fire-spouter.  He is _one of us_!  But the one in front is a
+Fire-spouter woman.  Look at the man!  Don't you know him?"
+
+There was an intensity of suppressed fervour in the manner of the boy,
+and an unwonted glitter in his eyes, which impressed every one who
+noticed him.
+
+"Yes, he is one of us," said Mangivik, shading his eyes with one hand,
+"and he has stolen a Fire-spouting girl with her kayak!"
+
+There was a look of pride in the face of the old man as he spoke, but it
+was as nothing to the shout of triumph--the shriek of ecstasy--that
+burst from Anteek as he uttered the word--"Cheenbuk!"
+
+Just then a strong clear voice came rolling over the water to the shore,
+and a roar of joy burst from the whole assemblage, for there was no
+mistaking the voice of their comrade and best hunter.  The hearts of
+Nootka and her mother beat with no ordinary flutter as they heard the
+familiar shout, and as for Anteek, he went into a paroxysm of delight,
+which he sought to relieve by bounding and yelling till the canoe
+touched the shore.  Then, by a powerful effort, he subdued himself, and
+turned his energies into a prolonged look of unutterable amazement at
+Adolay.
+
+Of course the eyes of the entire population were turned in the same
+direction--for Eskimos do not count it rude to stare--so that the poor
+girl felt somewhat abashed, and shrank a little behind her stout
+protector.
+
+Observing the action, Cheenbuk took hold of her arm gently and led her
+towards his mother.
+
+"This is my mother, Adolay," he said; "she will take care of you."
+
+"Your _wife_?" asked Mrs Mangivik, with an anxious look.
+
+"No, not my wife," replied the youth, with a laugh.  "Take her to our
+hut, you and Nootka, while I go and speak with the men.--She saved my
+life, father," he added, turning to Mangivik, "be good to her."
+
+On hearing this, Nootka and her mother took the girl affectionately by
+both hands and led her away.
+
+Cheenbuk meanwhile went up to the big hut, just outside of which was
+held a meeting of nearly the whole population, to receive an account of
+his adventures from the man whom they had long ago given up as lost.
+
+"My friends," he began, surveying the expectant assembly with a grave
+straightforward look, "when I went by myself to the Whale River, my
+intention was to hunt around and find out if there were many birds and
+beasts on lands near to it, and if many men lived or hunted there, for
+it came into my mind that this little island of Waruskeek is not the
+best place in the world to live in, for our tribe is continually
+increasing.  I thought that if there were Fire-spouters there already,
+we must be content with the lands we have got, for it is not right to
+take what belongs to other men."
+
+Cheenbuk paused here and looked round, because he knew that he was
+treading on somewhat new and delicate ground in thus asserting a
+principle of _right_; and he was not mistaken, for, while the most of
+his audience remained silent, several of them expressed dissent.
+
+"Besides," he continued, "it is not wise to attack men with
+fire-spouters, which send into their enemies heavy little things like
+that which was lately picked out of Gartok's leg; the same as still
+seems to be sticking in Ondikik's back."
+
+"Ho! ho!" exclaimed a number of the men, as if that truth commended
+itself to their understandings.
+
+"Well, when I got to the river, I found plenty of white-whales at the
+mouth of it, and great plenty of birds of all kinds, and of deer--a land
+good for man to dwell in, with many trees that would make
+sledge-runners, and much dead wood for our fires, and no one living
+there, nor signs of anybody.  Then I thought to myself, Why should we
+live always among the floes and bergs?  The few Fire-spouters whom we
+have seen and heard of have better food, better homes, better tools of
+every kind.  Why should not we have the same?"
+
+Here the wise Cheenbuk drew from the breast of his seal-skin coat the
+axe and scalping-knife which Adolay had given him, and held them up.
+
+This was a politic move, for it won over almost the entire audience to
+the young hunter's views, while looks of ardent admiration were bestowed
+on the coveted implements.
+
+"When men find it not easy to get food," resumed Cheenbuk, in the tone
+and with the air of a man who has much to say and means to say it, "they
+change to some place where hunting is better.  When fish become scarce,
+they do not remain still, but go to places where the fishing is better.
+They always seek for something that is better and better.  Is this not
+true?  Is this not wise?"
+
+"Ho! ho!" exclaimed the assembly, assenting.
+
+"Why, then, should not we go to a land where there is much that is far
+better than we find here, and live as the Fire-spouters live?  Did the
+Great Maker of all things intend that we should remain content with
+these treeless islands among the ice, when there are lands not very far
+away where we may find much of all kinds of things that are far better?
+If it is wise to change our hunting and fishing grounds close at hand,
+surely it may be wise to change to those that are far away--especially
+when we know that they are better, and likely to make us more
+comfortable and happy."
+
+This suggestion was such a tremendous innovation on ordinary Eskimo
+ideas, such a radical conception of change and upheaval of age-long
+habits, that the assembly gazed in awe-struck and silent wonder at the
+bold young man, much as the members of Parliament of the last century
+might have gazed if any reckless M.P. had dared to propose universal
+suffrage or vote by ballot, or to suggest that measures should
+henceforth be framed in accordance with the Golden Rule.
+
+"After I had travelled a short way inland," continued Cheenbuk, "I met a
+Fire-spouter.  He was all alone.  No one was with him.  He pointed his
+spouter at me, and it clicked but would not spout--I don't know why.  I
+threw my spear.  It went straight--as you know it always does--but the
+man was quick; he put his head to one side and escaped.  Again he
+pointed his spouter at me, but again it only clicked.  Then I rushed
+upon him and caught hold of it before it could spout.  We wrestled--but
+he was a very strong man, and I could not overcome him--and he could not
+overcome me.  Our breath came short.  The sweat poured down our faces
+and our eyes glared; but when we looked steadily into each other's eyes
+we saw that we were both men of peace.  We let our bodies go soft, and
+dropped the spouter on the ground.
+
+"`Why should we fight?' said he.
+
+"`That was just in my thought,' said I.
+
+"So we stood up, and he took hold of my hand in the way that the white
+traders do, and squeezed it.  I will show you how.--Give me your hand,
+Anteek--no, the other one."
+
+The boy extended his hand, and Cheenbuk, grasping it, gave it a squeeze
+that caused the little fellow to yell and throw the assembly into
+convulsions of laughter, for Eskimos, unlike the sedate Indians, dearly
+love a practical joke.
+
+From this point Cheenbuk related the rest of his interview with the
+Indian, and was particularly graphic in his description of the pipe,
+which he exhibited to them, though he refrained from any reference to
+its effect upon himself.  Then he discoursed of his subsequent
+exploration of the mainland, and finally came to the point where he met
+and rescued Rinka.--"But tell me, before I speak more, is Rinka dead?"
+
+"No, she is getting well."
+
+"That is good," he continued, in a tone of satisfaction.  "Old Uleeta, I
+doubt not, told you of the fight I had with the Fire-spouters?"
+
+"She did," cried Anteek, with delight, "and how you gave them sore
+hearts!"
+
+"H'm! they gave me a sore heart too; but I don't care now!  And they
+would have roasted me alive, but one of their girls had pity on me,
+helped me to escape, and came away with me.  Adolay is her name--the
+girl you saw to-day."
+
+"Ho! ho! hoi-oi?" broke forth the chorus of satisfaction.
+
+"Yes, but for her," continued Cheenbuk, "I should have been under the
+ground and my hair would have been fluttering on the dress of a
+Fire-spouter chief by this time.  Now, I have promised this girl that I
+will get a large party of our young men to go back with her to Whale
+River and give her back to her father and mother."
+
+At this there were strong murmurs of dissent, and a man whom we have not
+yet introduced to the reader lifted up his voice.
+
+This man's name was Aglootook.  He was the medicine-man of the tribe--a
+sort of magician; a sharp, clever, unscrupulous, presumptuous, and
+rather fine looking-fellow, who held the people in some degree of
+subjection through their superstitious fears, though there were some of
+the men among them who would not give in to his authority.  As Eskimos
+have no regular chiefs, this man tried to occupy the position of one.
+He had just returned from a hunting expedition the day before, and was
+jealous of the interest aroused by Cheenbuk's arrival.  Moreover,
+Cheenbuk was one of the few men of the tribe whom he disliked, and
+rather feared.
+
+"What folly is this that I hear?" said Aglootook, as he frowned on the
+assembly.  "Are we to get up a war-party and put ourselves to all this
+trouble for a woman--and a Fire-spouter woman!"
+
+"It is not a war-party that I want," said Cheenbuk quietly.  "It is a
+peace-party, and such a strong one that there will be no fear of war.  I
+will conduct it, and, as I know the way, will go by myself unarmed to
+the village of the men of the woods, tell them that I have brought back
+their girl, and that a large party of my people are waiting at the mouth
+of the river with plenty of skins and walrus teeth and other things to
+trade with them."
+
+"But does any one think they will believe that?" said Aglootook with
+something of scorn in his looks and tone.  "Will the Fire-spouters not
+accept the girl and roast Cheenbuk, and then meet us with their spouters
+and kill many of us, even though we should beat them at last?"
+
+"It is my opinion there is something in that," remarked Mangivik.
+
+"Besides," continued the magician, "what folly is it to talk of changing
+our customs, which have never been changed since the First Man created
+fish and animals!  Are we not satisfied with whales and walruses, bears
+and seals, deer and birds?  Is not our snow igloe as comfortable as the
+Fire-spouters' skin tent?  What do we care for their ornaments or other
+things?  What does Cheenbuk know about the Great Maker of all things?
+Has he seen him?  Has he talked with him?  If there is such a Maker, did
+he not place us here, and surround us with all the things that we need,
+and intend us to remain here?  Why should we go and look for better
+things?  If he had thought that woods and lakes and rivers had been good
+for us, would he not have made these things here for us, so that we
+should have no need to go far away to seek for them--"
+
+"Ay, and if Aglootook is right," interrupted Cheenbuk in a calm but firm
+voice, "why should we go far away to seek the bear, the walrus, and the
+seal?  Why does Aglootook go hunting at all?  If the Great Maker thought
+these things good for us, would he not have made them to walk up to our
+igloes and ask to be killed and eaten?  Why should they even do that?
+why not walk straight down our throats and save all trouble?  Is it not
+rather quite plain that man was made with wants and wishes and the power
+to satisfy them, and so advance from good to better?  Does not Aglootook
+prove by his own conduct that he thinks so?  He might make life easy by
+sitting near his hut and killing for food the little birds that come
+about our dwellings, but he goes on long hard journeys, and takes much
+trouble, for he knows that slices of fat seal and walrus-ribs are better
+than little birds!"
+
+There was a general laugh at the expense of the magician, for his mental
+powers were inferior to those of Cheenbuk, and he felt himself unable to
+see through the entanglement of his logic.
+
+"Boh!" he ejaculated, with a sweep of his long arm, as if to clear away
+such ridiculous arguments.  "What stuff is this that I hear?  Surely
+Cheenbuk has been smitten with the folly of the Fire-spouters.  His
+words are like a lamp with a very bad wick: it makes too much smoke, and
+confuses everything near it."
+
+"Aglootook is right," said Cheenbuk, who resolved to end the dispute at
+this point, "many words are like the smoke of a bad lamp: they confuse,
+especially when they are not well-understood, but the Fire-spouters
+confuse themselves with real smoke as well as with words.  See, here is
+one of their things; the white traders call it a paip, or piep."
+
+As he spoke he opened the fire-bag which Adolay had given him and took
+out of it the clay pipe, tobacco, and materials for producing fire.  The
+medicine-man was instantly forgotten, and the mouths as well as the eyes
+of the whole assembly opened in unspeakable wonder as Cheenbuk went
+through the complex processes of filling and lighting the pipe.  First
+he cut up some of the Canada twist, which, he explained, was the tubuk
+of the white men.  Then having filled the pipe, he proceeded to strike a
+light with flint and steel.  In this he was not very successful at
+first, not yet having had much practice.  He chipped his knuckles a good
+deal, and more than once knocked the flint and tinder out of his
+fingers.  But his audience was not critical.  They regarded this as part
+of the performance.  When, however, he at last struck a succession of
+sparks, he also struck an equal number of short, sharp expressions of
+astonishment out of his friends, and when the tinder caught there was a
+suppressed grunt of surprise and pleasure; but when he put the fire into
+the pipe and began to smoke, there burst forth a prolonged shout of
+laughter.  To see a man smoking like a bad lamp was a joke that seemed
+to tickle those unsophisticated children of the ice immensely.
+
+"Is it good?" asked one.  "Do you like it?" cried another.  "Let me try
+it!" begged a third.
+
+Mindful of past experiences, Cheenbuk did not indulge in many whiffs.
+
+"No, no," he said, taking the pipe from his lips with solemn gravity.
+"Not every one who wishes it shall have a taste of this to-day.  Only a
+great man of our tribe shall try it.  Some one who has done great things
+above his fellows."
+
+He looked pointedly at Aglootook as he spoke, with solemnity on his face
+but mischief in his heart.
+
+Oolalik, however, with the reverse of mischief in his heart, interfered
+unwittingly with his designs.  He seized hold of Anteek, who chanced to
+be near him, and thrust him forward.
+
+"Here," said he, "is one of the great ones of our tribe, at least he
+will be one if he lives long, for he has killed a walrus all by
+himself--on land too!"
+
+The boy, although pretty full of what is known among the civilised as
+"cheek," was almost overwhelmed by this public recognition of his
+prowess, and was about to retire with a half-shy expression, when the
+audience received the proposal with a burst of applause.
+
+"Yes, yes," they cried; "he is a brave boy: let him try it."
+
+Seeing that they were set upon it, Cheenbuk handed the pipe to the boy,
+and bade him draw the smoke in and puff it out, taking care not to
+swallow it.
+
+But Anteek did swallow some at first and choked a little, to the great
+amusement of the assembly.  His pride carried him through, however; he
+tried again, and was successful.  Then his "cheek" came back and he went
+on, puffing out far larger volumes than his instructor had done.
+
+"You had better stop," said Cheenbuk, reaching out his hand to take the
+pipe; but the boy dodged him with a laugh and went on worse than ever.
+Seeing this, Cheenbuk smiled significantly and waited.  He had not to
+wait long.  Suddenly the face of Anteek became unusually pale.  Placing
+the pipe hurriedly in the bands of a man near him, he bolted out of the
+hut and disappeared.
+
+He was not seen again during the remainder of that conference!
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+DOINGS IN WARUSKEEK.
+
+While Cheenbuk was thus entrancing the souls of his friends near the big
+hut, his mother and sister were exercising hospitality to the Indian
+girl in their private residence.  It was rather a dark and smoky
+residence, with only one hole in the roof, about eight inches square, to
+let in light.  If truth must be told, it was also somewhat dirty, for,
+besides having only one large room in which living, cooking, receiving
+company, and sleeping were carried on, the dogs of the family were
+permitted to repose there--when they were good!  Anything approaching to
+badness ensured their summary and violent ejection.
+
+Branching from this family room was a little recess, screened off by
+skin curtains, which formed Nootka's private apartment or boudoir.  It
+was singularly unlike the boudoirs of other lands!  Black smoke, instead
+of whitewash, coloured the walls and ceiling.  No glass hung on the wall
+to reflect the visage of the Arctic beauty, but there were several pegs,
+from one of which hung Nootka's seal-skin bad-weather jacket, the
+tadpole-tail of which reached to the ground, while from another depended
+a pair of her long waterproof boots.  One half of the floor being raised
+about eight inches, constituted the Eskimo maiden's couch--also her
+chair and sofa.  There was no table, but the skull of a walrus did
+service as a stool.
+
+To this apartment Nootka introduced her young Indian friend, leaving her
+mother in the outer hall, and the two maidens at once began, as might
+have been expected, an earnest and confidential conversation.  In their
+eagerness they had not reflected that each knew not one word of the
+other's language, but of course the first sentences opened their eyes to
+the melancholy fact.
+
+They had, indeed, been opened already to some extent, but not so
+impressively as now when they longed for a good talk.
+
+"Come here," said Nootka--of course in Eskimo--as she dragged rather
+than led her new friend into the boudoir; "I want you to tell me all
+about your saving my brother's life."
+
+"I don't understand a word you say," replied Adolay--of course in Dogrib
+Indian--with a look of great perplexity in her wide-open eyes.
+
+"Oh!  I'm stupid and sorry.  I forgot.  You don't speak our language."
+
+"What funny sounds!  It seems like nonsense," remarked Adolay--more to
+herself than to her friend.
+
+"So curious!" soliloquised Nootka; "what one might expect from a seal if
+it tried to speak.  Say that over again.  I like to hear it."
+
+The perplexity on the face of the Indian maid deepened, and she shook
+her head, while the look of fun in that of the Eskimo maiden increased,
+and she smiled knowingly.
+
+Here at last they had hit on common ground--tapped a universal spring of
+human communication.  Adolay at once beamed an answering smile, and
+displayed all her brilliant teeth in doing so.  This drew a soft laugh
+of pleasure from Nootka and an intelligent nod.
+
+Nods and smiles, however, pleasant in their way though they be, form a
+very imperfect means of intercourse between souls which wish to unite,
+and the perplexed expression was beginning again to steal over both
+their youthful countenances, when something in the nature of a happy
+thought seemed to strike the Indian girl, for a gleam as of sunlight
+flashed from her eyes and teeth, as she suddenly beat with her little
+fist three times on her own bosom, exclaiming, "Adolay!  Adolay!
+Adolay!" with much emphasis.  Then, poking her finger against her
+friend's breast, she added--"You? you?"
+
+Here again was "a touch of nature" which made these two damsels "kin."
+Although the "You? you?" was not intelligible to the Eskimo, the gaze of
+inquiry was a familiar tongue.  With a smile of delight she nodded,
+struck her own bosom with her fist, and said, "Nootka!  Nootka!"  Then,
+tapping her friend, she said--"Addi-lay?"  The Indian, nodding assent,
+tapped her in return and exclaimed, "No-oot-ko?"
+
+After this little sparring match they both burst into a fit of hearty
+laughter, which roused the curiosity of Mrs Mangivik in the outer hall.
+
+"What is the joke?" shouted the old lady, who was hospitably preparing a
+feast of steaks and ribs for her guest.
+
+"Oh, mother, she _is_ so funny!--Come, Addi-lay, let her hear your fun,"
+said the girl, taking her guest's hand and leading her back to the hall.
+"Her name is Addi-lay.  I know, for she told me herself.  We quite
+understand each other already.
+
+"Speak to mother, Addi-lay.  Tell her something."
+
+"I don't know what you want me to do, No-oot-ko," returned the Indian
+girl, with a bright look, "but I know that whatever you are saying must
+be kind, for you've got such a nice face."
+
+By way of emphasising her opinion she took the face between her hands
+and laid her own against it.
+
+We have never been quite sure as to what Adolay did on this occasion--
+whether she rubbed noses or chins or touched lips.  All that we are sure
+of is that the operation was equivalent to a kiss, and that it was
+reciprocated heartily.
+
+"Didn't I tell you, mother, that she was funny?  I'll explain to you
+what she said when we are alone; but Addi-lay is hungry now, and so am
+I.  Let us feed, mother."
+
+Without more ado the trio sat down beside the cooking-lamp and began to
+do justice to the savoury viands, the odour of which was so enticing
+that it was too much for the dogs of the family.  These had to be
+expelled by means of old bones.  Mrs Mangivik being an expert shot with
+such artillery, the hall was soon cleared.
+
+After the meal, conversation was resumed, and conducted with
+considerably greater ease, owing to the chief subject of it being the
+Indian girl's costume, which was somewhat elaborate, for, being a
+chief's daughter, her dress was in many respects beautiful--especially
+those portions of it, such as the leggings and the head-dress, which
+were profusely ornamented with coloured beads and porcupine-quill work.
+The examination of the various parts occupied a considerable time.  The
+mode of ascertaining names had been already discovered, and looks of
+admiration require no translation, so that the three women were deeply
+engaged in a most interesting talk when Cheenbuk and his father entered
+the hut after the conference.
+
+"Ribs, ribs and slices!  Quick, woman," cried Mangivik cheerily as he
+sat down.  "Cheenbuk has been talking and I have been listening till we
+are both quite hungry.--That is a pretty girl you have brought home with
+you, my son," said the old man, with a stare of approval.  "Almost as
+pretty as some of our own girls."
+
+"Much prettier, I think," returned the youth, as he quietly selected a
+rib of walrus that seemed suitable to his capacity.
+
+"Tell your mother how you got hold of her," said Mangivik, whose teeth
+were next moment fastened in a steak.
+
+Cheenbuk made no reply.  Eskimo manners did not require an answer in the
+circumstances.  But when he had taken the edge off his appetite--and it
+took a good deal of dental grinding to do that--he looked across at
+Adolay with a genial expression and began to give his mother and sister
+a second, and much more graphic, edition of the speech which he had just
+delivered to the men.
+
+Of course the narration served to strengthen the bonds of friendship
+which had already been formed between the Mangivik family and the Indian
+girl, who had been thus unexpectedly added to their circle.
+
+That evening Nootka begged her brother to give her a lesson in the
+Dogrib language.  On the same evening, during a moonlight ramble, Adolay
+asked him to give her a little instruction in the Eskimo tongue, and,
+just before he retired for the night, his mother asked him if he
+intended to take the Indian girl as one of his wives.
+
+"You know, mother," was Cheenbuk's reply, "I have always differed from
+my friends about wives.  I think that one wife is enough for one man;
+sometimes too much for him!  I also think that if it is fair for a man
+to choose a woman, it is also fair for the woman to choose the man.  I
+would gladly take Adolay for a wife, for she is good as well as pretty,
+but I do not know that she would take me for a husband."
+
+"Have you not asked her, then?" persisted Mrs Mangivik.
+
+"No.  I have been till now her protector.  I can wait.  If she wants to
+return to her people I have promised to take her to them."
+
+"But surely my son is not bound to keep a promise given to one of our
+fire-spouting enemies?"
+
+"That may seem right to you, mother, but it seems wrong to me.  I do not
+understand why I disagree with you, and with most of my people, but
+there is something inside of me which, I think, is _not_ me.  It tells
+me not to do many things that I want to do, and sometimes bids me go
+forward when I wish to draw back.  What it is I cannot tell, but I must
+not disobey it, I _will not_ disobey it."
+
+With this answer the old lady had to be content, for she could extract
+nothing more from her son after that but a smile.
+
+As for old Mangivik, he asked and said nothing, but he thought much.
+
+A few days after Cheenbuk's arrival, it was arranged by the heads of the
+village that there should be a general scattering of the tribe for a
+great hunt after seals and wild-fowl, as provisions were not so
+plentiful as might have been desired.  An expedition of this kind was
+always hailed with great glee by Anteek, whose youth and very excitable
+disposition were not easily satisfied with the prosaic details of
+village life.
+
+Previous to setting out, however, an event occurred which was well-nigh
+attended with disastrous consequences.
+
+It had been arranged that Cheenbuk and his friends Oolalik and Anteek
+should keep together in their kayaks, accompanied by an oomiak to carry
+the game.  This woman's boat was to be manned, so to speak, by young
+Uleeta, Cowlik, and two other girls.  Adolay had been offered a place in
+it, but she preferred going in her own bark canoe, with the management
+of which she was familiar.  Perhaps a touch of national pride had
+something to do with this preference of the Indian craft.  Nootka, who
+had made several trials of the canoe, was judged sufficiently expert to
+wield the bow paddle.
+
+While preparations were being made, Adolay and Nootka went to the bay
+where the canoe was lying--a short distance from the village, on the
+other side of a high cliff that sheltered the bay from any breeze that
+might blow in from the sea.  The light craft was turned bottom up on the
+beach, and the two girls carried it down to the water's edge.  Launching
+it, Nootka got in first, and Adolay was preparing to follow when a
+boyish shout arrested her, and she saw Anteek come skimming round the
+point in his kayak, wielding his double-bladed paddle with great
+dexterity and power.  In a few seconds the kayak was alongside the canoe
+and the boy stepped out upon the shore.
+
+"Let me try to steer your canoe," he said, pointing eagerly to the place
+where the Indian girl was about to seat herself.
+
+Although Adolay did not understand the words, she had no difficulty with
+the boy's expressive pantomime.  She nodded assent cheerfully.  Anteek
+took the paddle, stepped into her place, and the girl pushed them off
+into deep water.
+
+Delighted with the novelty of their position the two paddled away with
+great vigour, and were soon a considerable distance from the shore.
+Then it occurred to Adolay that she would have some fun on her own
+account, and perhaps give her new friends a surprise.  With this intent
+she floated the kayak and pushed it alongside of a flat stone in the
+water from which she could step into it.  But she found that stepping
+into a small round hole in the centre of a covered craft was not the
+same as stepping into her own canoe, and even when, with great care, she
+succeeded, she found that her garments rendered the process of sitting
+down rather difficult--not a matter of wonder when we consider that the
+kayak is meant only for men.
+
+However, she succeeded at last, and grasping the paddle pushed off to
+sea.  But the long paddle with its blade at each end perplexed her
+greatly, and she had not quite overcome the awkwardness and begun to
+feel somewhat at ease when she chanced to touch on a ledge of rock that
+cropped up at that place near to the surface.  Fortunately the rock was
+quite smooth, else it would have ripped up the skin with which the
+vessel was covered, but the shock and the paddle together were too much
+for the inexperienced girl.  She lost her balance, and next moment was
+in the water with the kayak bottom up, and she incapable of extricating
+herself from the hole into which she had squeezed.
+
+It happened that Anteek and Nootka had observed what Adolay was about,
+and were watching her with interest, so that before the kayak had turned
+fairly over their paddles dipped with a flash in the water and they
+rushed to the rescue.  And not a moment too soon, for the poor girl's
+power of endurance was almost exhausted when her friends turned the
+kayak violently up.  This was well, and Adolay drew a long gasping
+breath; but now the inexperience of the rescuers came into play, for,
+being ignorant of the cranky nature of a birch-bark canoe, they acted
+without the necessary caution, the canoe overturned and they all found
+themselves in the water.  This time Adolay managed to wriggle out of her
+position, but being unable to swim she could only cling helplessly to
+the kayak.  Nootka, equally helpless, clung to the canoe.  Fortunately
+Anteek could swim like a fish, and bravely set to work to push both
+crafts towards the shore.  But they were a long way out; the weight of
+the two girls made them difficult to push, and, being separate, they had
+a tendency to diverge in different directions.
+
+After a few vigorous efforts, the boy, perceiving the difficulty and the
+extreme danger of their position, at once set up a series of yells that
+awoke sympathetic echoes in the neighbourhood; but he did not for a
+moment relax his efforts to push his charge towards the shore.
+
+Startled by the sudden outburst of alarming cries, several men ran along
+shore in the direction whence they came.  Foremost among these was the
+powerful and active Oolalik.  On turning the point and seeing what had
+occurred he plunged into the sea and swam like a dolphin to the rescue.
+Great was the size of his eyes, and intense the swelling of his heart,
+when he saw that Nootka was one of the swimmers.
+
+"Take care of Addi-lay and the kayak," he remarked to Anteek as he drew
+near, "I will look after Nootka and the canoe."
+
+What Nootka felt on hearing these words we cannot tell, but any one
+might have seen that, despite her unpleasant position, there was a
+pleased expression on her wet face.
+
+A very few minutes more sufficed to bring them all safe to land, and no
+one was a whit the worse, but as the girls required a complete change of
+garments, it was finally decided that the hunting expedition should be
+postponed until the following day.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+IN THE WILD-WOODS AGAIN.
+
+While these events were taking place among the islands of the Arctic
+sea, the Indian chief Nazinred was slowly pushing his canoe southward in
+the direction of Great Bear Lake.  He was accompanied, as we have said,
+by three like-minded comrades, one of whom was named Mozwa--or
+Moose-deer--from some fancied resemblance in him to that uncouth animal.
+
+But Mozwa, although uncouth, was by no means ungenial.  On the contrary,
+he was a hearty good-natured fellow, who always tried to make the best
+of things, and never gave way to despondency, however gloomy or
+desperate might be the nature of his circumstances.  Moreover, he was a
+big strong man, full of courage, in the prime of life, and modest
+withal, so that he was usually rather inclined to take than to give
+advice--to be led, rather than to lead.
+
+For hours together these men dipped their paddles over the side in
+concert, without uttering a single word, or giving more than a slight
+exclamation when anything worthy of notice attracted their attention.
+The interchange of thought during the labours of the day did not seem to
+strike them as necessary.  The mere being in company of each other was a
+sufficient bond of sympathy, until an encampment was reached each
+evening, supper disposed of, and the tobacco-pipes in full blast.  Then,
+at last, their native reserve gave way, and they ventured to indulge a
+little--sometimes a good deal--in the feast of reason and the flow of
+soul.
+
+Yet the nature of their voyage was such that white men might have deemed
+verbal intercourse an occasional necessity, as their route lay through
+much rugged and wild scenery, where the streams up which they had to
+force their way were in some places obstructed by rapids and shallows,
+and a mistake on their part might have brought sudden disaster and ruin.
+For their canoe was deeply laden with the furs which they had secured
+during the labours of the past winter, and on the sale of which to the
+fur-traders depended much of their and their families' felicity or
+misery during the winter which was to come.  But the steersman and
+bowman understood their work so well, and were so absolutely in accord,
+that the slightest action with the paddle on the part of either was
+understood and sympathetically met by the other.
+
+This unity of action is much more important than the navigators of lakes
+and oceans may suppose.  In those almost currentless waters a steersman
+in any craft is usually self-sufficient, but among turbulent rapids,
+where rocks and shoals lie in all directions, and the deep-water track
+is tortuous, with, it may be, abrupt turnings here and there, a bowman
+is absolutely essential, and sometimes, indeed, may become the more
+important steersman of the two.
+
+One evening, long after the period when they left their native
+encampment, the friends paddled their little vessel into the backwater
+at the foot of a long rapid which roared in foaming white billows right
+ahead of them, offering what seemed an effectual barrier to their
+further progress--at least by water--and as the sides of the gorge
+through which the river rushed were almost perpendicular, without margin
+and with impenetrable bush everywhere, advance by land seemed equally
+blocked.
+
+Looking backward, Mozwa gave his friend an interrogative glance.
+Nazinred replied with an affirmative nod, and, all four dipping their
+paddles vigorously at the same moment, they shot out into the stream.
+Almost before the canoe was caught by the current it swung quickly into
+another eddy, which carried it up a few yards close under the frowning
+cliffs.  Here again the Indians paused, and gazed earnestly at the
+foaming torrent ahead, which, to an unpractised eye, might have seemed a
+raging flood, to enter which would ensure destruction.
+
+And indeed the two guides seemed to entertain some such thoughts, for
+they continued to gaze for a considerable time in silent inaction.  Then
+the bowman threw back another glance; the steersman replied with another
+nod, and again the canoe shot out into the stream.
+
+This time the struggle was more severe.  A short distance above the
+point where they entered it, a large rock reared its black head in
+mid-stream.  Below it there was the usual long stretch of backwater.  To
+reach the tail of this stretch was the object of the men, but the
+intervening rush was so powerful that it swept them down like a cork, so
+that they almost missed it despite their utmost efforts.
+
+"Almost," however, is a hopeful phrase.  They were not quite beyond the
+influence of the eddy when they reached the end of the tail.  A
+superhuman effort might yet save them from being swept back to the point
+far below that from which they had started.  Mozwa was just the man to
+make such an effort.  Nazinred and the others were pre-eminently the men
+to back him up.
+
+"Ho!" cried Mozwa.
+
+"Hoi!" shouted Nazinred, as they bent their backs and cracked their
+sinews, and made the big veins stand up on their necks and foreheads.
+
+A few seconds more and the canoe was floating under the shelter of the
+black-headed rock, and the Indians rested while they surveyed the
+battleground yet before them.
+
+The next reach carried them right across the river to a place where a
+long bend produced a considerable sweep of eddying water, up which they
+paddled easily.  Above this, one or two short bursts into the tails
+caused by nearly sunken rocks brought them to a point full half-way up
+the rapid.  But now greater caution was needed, because anything like a
+miss would send them downward, and might hurl them with destructive
+force against the rocks and ledges which they had already passed.  A
+birch-bark canoe is an exceedingly tender craft, which is not only
+certain of destruction if it strikes a rock, but is pretty sure of being
+swamped if it even grazes one.
+
+With the utmost care, therefore, and consummate skill, they succeeded in
+pushing up the rapid, inch by inch, without mishap, until they reached
+the last shoot, when their skill or good fortune, or whatever it was,
+failed them, for they missed the last eddy, were swept downwards a few
+yards, and just touched a rock.  It was a very slight touch.  A boatman
+would have smiled at it; nevertheless it drew from the Indians "ho's!"
+and "hoi's!" such as they had not given vent to since the voyage began.
+At the same time they rushed the canoe, with all their strength, for the
+nearest point of land.
+
+They were scarcely a minute in reaching it, yet in that brief space of
+time their craft had almost sunk, a large piece of the bark having been
+torn from its side.
+
+The instant they touched land the two leaders stepped quickly out, and,
+while they held the craft close to the bank, their comrades threw out
+the bundles of fur as fast as possible.  Then the canoe was turned over
+to empty it, and carried up the bank.
+
+"That is good luck," said Mozwa quietly, as they stood looking at the
+large hole in the canoe.
+
+"I have seen better luck," remarked Nazinred, with something that might
+almost have been mistaken for a smile on his grave countenance.
+
+Mozwa did not explain.  Nazinred knew that the luck referred to was the
+fact that before the accident occurred they had surmounted all the
+difficulties of the rapid, and that the place on which they stood was
+convenient for camping on, as well as for opening out and drying the
+furs on the following day.  And Mozwa knew that Nazinred knew all that.
+
+While the latter kindled a fire, arranged the camp, and prepared supper
+under a spreading tree, the former mended the canoe.  The process was
+simple, and soon completed.  From a roll of birch-bark, always carried
+in canoes for such emergencies, Mozwa cut off a piece a little larger
+than the hole it was designed to patch.  With this he covered the
+injured place, and sewed it to the canoe, using an awl as a needle and
+the split roots of a tree as thread.  Thereafter he plastered the seams
+over with gum to make them water-tight, and the whole job was finished
+by the time the other men had got supper ready.
+
+Indians are in the habit of eating supper in what may be styled a
+business-like manner--they "mean business," to use a familiar phrase,
+when they sit down to that meal.  Indeed, most savages do; it is only
+civilised dyspeptics who don't.  When the seriousness of the business
+began to wear off, the idea of mental effort and lingual communication
+occurred to the friends.  Hitherto their eyes alone had spoken, and
+these expressive orbs had testified, as plainly as could the tongue, to
+the intense gratification they derived from the possession of good
+appetites and plenty of food.
+
+"I think," said Mozwa, wiping his mouth with that familiar
+handkerchief--the back of his hand--"that there will be trouble in the
+camp before long, for when you are away that beast Magadar has too much
+power.  He will try to make our young men go with him to fight the
+Eskimos!"
+
+It must not be supposed that the Indian applied the word "beast" to
+Magadar in that objectionable and slangy way in which it is used among
+ourselves.  Indians happily have no slang.  They are not civilised
+enough for that.  Mozwa merely meant to express his opinion that
+Magadar's nature was more allied to that of the lower than of the higher
+animals.
+
+"Yes, and Alizay will encourage him," returned Nazinred, with a frown.
+"The man is well-named."
+
+This remark about the name had reference to the word Alizay, which means
+gunpowder, and which had been given to the Indian in his boyhood because
+of his fiery and quarrelsome disposition.
+
+"The geese and the ducks are in plenty just now," continued Nazinred; "I
+hope that he and Magadar will be more taken up with filling their mouths
+than fighting till I return--and then I can hinder them."
+
+"H'm!" responded Mozwa.  He might have said more, but was busy lighting
+his pipe at the moment.  Nazinred made no further remark at the time,
+for he was in the full enjoyment of the first voluminous exhalation of
+the weed.
+
+After a few minutes the chief resumed--
+
+"Our old chief is full of the right spirit.  He is losing power with the
+young men, but I think he can still guide them.  I will hope so, and we
+will return as soon as we can."
+
+Poor Nazinred!  If he had known that his only and beloved daughter, even
+while he spoke, was on her way to the mysterious icy sea in company with
+one of the despised Eskimos--driven away by the violence of the
+fire-eaters of the camp--he would not have smoked or spoken so calmly.
+But, fortunately for his own peace of mind, he did not know--he did not
+dream of the possibility of such a catastrophe; and even if he had known
+and returned home at full speed, he would have been too late to prevent
+the evil.
+
+For a long time these Indians lay side by side on their outspread
+blankets, with their feet to the fire, gazing through the branches at
+the stars, and puffing away in profound silence, but probably deep
+thought.  At least a sudden exclamation by Mozwa warrants that
+conclusion.
+
+"You think," he said, "that our old chief has the right spirit.  How do
+you know what is the right spirit?  Alizay and Magadar, and many of our
+braves--especially the young ones--think that a fiery spirit, that
+flares up like powder, and is always ready to fight, is the right one.
+You and our old chief think that gentleness and forbearance and
+unwillingness to fight till you cannot help it is the right spirit.  How
+do you know which is right?  You and the war-lovers cannot both be
+right!"
+
+There was an expression of great perplexity on the Indian's face as he
+uttered the last sentence.
+
+"My son," replied Nazinred, who, although not much older than his
+companion, assumed the parental _role_ in virtue of his chieftainship,
+"how do you know that you are alive?"
+
+This was such an unexpected answer that Mozwa gazed fixedly upwards for
+a few minutes without making any reply.
+
+"I know it," he said at length, "because I--I--know it.  I--I _feel_
+it."
+
+"How do you know," continued the chief, with perplexing pertinacity,
+"that the sun is not the moon?"
+
+Again Mozwa became astronomically meditative.  "Because I see it and
+feel it," he replied.  "The sun is brighter and warmer.  It cheers me
+more than the moon, and gives me more light, and warms me.  It warms the
+bushes and flowers too, and makes them grow, and it draws the beasts out
+of their holes.  Even a rabbit knows the difference between the sun and
+the moon."
+
+"My son," returned Nazinred, "I have not lived very long yet, but I have
+lived long enough to see, and feel, and know that the kind spirit is the
+right spirit, because it warms the heart, and opens the eyes, and gives
+light, and it is the only spirit that can make friends of foes.  Is it
+not better to live at peace and in good-will with all men than to live
+as enemies?"
+
+"Ho!" responded Mozwa, by way of assent.
+
+"Then the peaceful spirit is the right one," rejoined the chief, with a
+long-drawn sigh that indicated a tendency to close the discussion.
+
+As Mozwa felt himself to be in a somewhat confused mental condition, he
+echoed the sigh, laid down his pipe, drew his blanket round him, and,
+without the formality of "Good-night," resigned himself to repose.
+
+Nazinred, after taking a look at the weather, pondering, perchance, on
+the probabilities of the morrow, and throwing a fresh log on the fire,
+also wrapped his blanket round him and lost himself in slumber.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+WILD DOINGS OF THE FUR-TRADERS AND RED MEN.
+
+In course of time, after many a hard struggle with rushing rapids and
+not a few narrow escapes from dangerous rocks, the Indian voyagers swept
+out at last upon the broad bosom of Great Bear Lake.
+
+This mighty inland sea of fresh water--about two hundred miles in
+diameter, and big enough to engulf the greater part of Scotland--was, at
+the time we write of, and still is, far beyond the outmost verge of
+civilisation, in the remotest solitudes of the Great Lone Land.
+
+Here the fur-traders had established a small trading-post close to the
+shores of the lake.  It was in charge of a Scotchman--we had almost said
+of course; for it would seem as if these hardy dwellers in the north of
+our island have a special gift for penetrating into and inhabiting the
+wildest and most unlikely parts of the world.  His name was MacSweenie,
+and he had a few Orkney-men and half-castes to keep him company while
+vegetating there.
+
+It was a sort of event, a mild excitement, a pink--if not a red--letter
+day, when our Indians arrived at that lonely outpost, and MacSweenie,
+who was in the prime of life and the depths of _ennui_, gave the
+strangers a hearty and warm reception.
+
+Nazinred had been there before, and was able somewhat to subdue his
+feelings of admiration and not-quite-exhausted surprise at all the
+wonderful things he saw; but to the others it was comparatively new, and
+Mozwa had never been at a trading-post in his life.  Being a sympathetic
+man, he found it difficult to retain at all times that solemnity of
+manner and look which he knew was expected of him.  The chief, who was
+also sympathetic, experienced deep pleasure in watching his companion's
+face, and observing the efforts he made to appear indifferent, knowing,
+as he did, from former experience, that he must in reality be full of
+surprise and curiosity.
+
+And, truly, in the store of the fur-traders there was a display of
+wealth which, to unaccustomed Indian eyes, must have seemed almost
+fabulous.  For were there not in this enchanted castle bales of bright
+blue cloth, and bright scarlet cloth, and various other kinds of cloth
+sufficient to clothe the entire Dogrib nation?  Were there not guns
+enough--cheap flint-lock, blue-barrelled ones--to make all the Eskimos
+in the polar regions look blue with envy, if not with fear?  Were there
+not bright beads and brass rings, and other baubles, and coloured silk
+thread, enough to make the hearts of all the Dogrib squaws to dance with
+joy?  Were there not axes, and tomahawks, and scalping-knives enough to
+make the fingers of the braves to itch for war?  Were there not hooks
+and lines enough to capture all the fish in Great Bear Lake, and "nests"
+of copper kettles enough to boil them all at one tremendous culinary
+operation?  And was there not gunpowder enough to blow the fort and all
+its contents into unrecognisable atoms?
+
+Yes, there was enough in that store fully to account for the look of
+awe-stricken wonder which overspread the visage of Mozwa, and for the
+restrained tendency to laughter which taxed the solemn Nazinred
+considerably.
+
+"You are fery welcome," said MacSweenie, as he ushered the chief and
+Mozwa into the store the day after their arrival.  "We hev not seen one
+o' your people for many a day; an' it's thinking I wass that you would
+be forgettin' us altogether.  Tell them that, Tonal'."
+
+Tonal', (or Donald), Mowat was MacSweenie's interpreter and factotum.
+He was a man of middle age and middle height, but by no means middle
+capacity.  Having left his native home in Orkney while yet a youth, he
+had spent the greater part of his life in the "Nor'-West," and had
+proved himself to be one of those quick learners and generally handy
+fellows, who, because of their aptitude to pick up many trades, are too
+commonly supposed to be masters of none.  Mowat, besides being a
+first-rate blacksmith, had picked up the Indian language, after a
+fashion, from the Crees, and French of a kind from the Canadian
+half-castes, and even a smattering of Gaelic from the few Scotch
+Highlanders in the service.  He could use the axe as well as forge it,
+and, in short, could turn his hand to almost anything.  Among other
+things, he could play splendidly on the violin--an instrument which he
+styled a fiddle, and which MacSweenie called a "fuddle."  His
+_repertoire_ was neither extensive nor select.  If you had asked for
+something of Beethoven or Mozart he would have opened his eyes, perhaps
+also his mouth.  But at a Strathspey or the Reel o' Tulloch he was
+almost equal to Neil Gow himself--so admirable were his tune and time.
+In a lonesome land, where amusements are few and the nights long, the
+power to "fuddle" counts for much.
+
+Besides being MacSweenie's interpreter, Donald was also his storekeeper.
+
+"Give them both a quid, Tonal', to begin with," said MacSweenie.  "It
+iss always politic to keep Indians in good humour."
+
+Donald cut off two long pieces of Canada twist and handed it to them.
+He cut them from a roll, which was large enough, in the estimation of
+Mozwa, to last a reasonable smoker to the crack of doom.  They received
+the gift with an expression of approval.  It would have been beneath
+their dignity to have allowed elation or gratitude to appear in their
+manner.
+
+"Solemn humbugs!" thought the trader,--"ye know that you're as pleased
+as Punch," but he was careful to conceal his thoughts.  "Now, then, let
+us hev a look at the furs."
+
+It took the trader and his assistant some time to examine the furs and
+put a price on them.  The Indians had no resource but to accept their
+dictum on the point, for there were no rival markets there.  Moreover,
+the value being fixed according to a regular and well-understood tariff,
+and the trader being the servant of a Company with a fixed salary, there
+was no temptation to unfair action on his part.  When the valuation was
+completed a number of goose-quills were handed to the Indians--each
+quill representing a sum of about two shillings--whereby each man had a
+fair notion of the extent of his fortune.
+
+"What iss it you will be wanting now?" said the trader, addressing
+himself to Nazinred with the air of a man whose powers of production are
+illimitable.
+
+But the chief did not reply for some time.  It was not every day that he
+went shopping, and he was not to be hurried.  His own personal wants had
+to be considered with relation to the pile of quill-wealth at his elbow,
+and, what was of far greater importance and difficulty to a kind man,
+the wants of his squaw and Adolay had also to be thought of.  Mozwa,
+having left a squaw, two little daughters, and a very small son, had
+still greater difficulties to contend with.  But they both faced them
+like men.
+
+"Pasgissegan," said both men, at length, simultaneously.
+
+"I thought so," observed the trader, with a smile, as he selected two
+trade-guns--the fire-spouters of the Eskimo--and handed them across the
+counter.
+
+The Indians received the weapons with almost tender care; examined them
+carefully; took long and steady aim at the windows several times;
+snapped the flints to make sure that the steels were good, and,
+generally, inspected every detail connected with them.  Being satisfied,
+they rested them against the wall, the trader withdrew the price of the
+guns from the two little piles, threw the quills into an empty box under
+the counter, and looked--if he did not say, "What next?"
+
+Powder, shot, and ball came next, and then the means of hunting and
+self-defence having been secured, beads and scarlet cloth for the women
+claimed their attention.  It was an interesting sight to see these tall,
+dark-skinned sons of the forest handling the cloth and fingering the
+various articles with all the gravity and deliberation of experts, with
+now and then a low-toned comment, or a quiet question as to the price.
+
+"You'll want that," suggested Mowat, as he threw a small thick blanket--
+quite a miniature blanket--towards Mozwa, "your small boy will want it."
+
+"Ho!" exclaimed the Indian, with a look of surprise in spite of himself,
+"how do you know?"
+
+"I didn't know.  I only guessed; but your question shows me I'm right.
+Any more?"
+
+"Yes, two more, but bigger."
+
+"Of course bigger, for it's not likely they were all born at the same
+time," returned Mowat, with a grin.
+
+"What iss this man wantin', Tonal'?  I can't make him out at all," asked
+MacSweenie.
+
+It was found that Nazinred had been pointing with eager pertinacity at
+something lying on one of the shelves which had caught his eye, but the
+name of which he did not know.
+
+"Oh!  I see," added the trader, "it iss a cocktail feather you want."
+
+"Yes, for my daughter," exclaimed the Indian as he received the feather
+and regarded it with some uncertainty--as well he might, for the feather
+in question was a thing of brilliant scarlet made up of many feathers,--
+rigid and over a foot in height.
+
+"It's not a good plaything for a child," remarked Mowat.
+
+"My daughter is not a child--she is a woman."
+
+"Wow, man," said MacSweenie, "tell him that feather is not for a woman.
+It iss for a man."
+
+The Indian, however, needed no explanation.  That which had captivated
+him at a distance lost its attraction on closer examination.  He
+rejected it with quiet indifference, and turned his eyes to something
+not less attractive, but more useful--a web of brilliant light-blue
+cloth.  He was very fond of Adolay, and had made up his mind to take
+back to her a gift which she would be certain to like.  Indeed, to make
+sure of this, he determined to take to her a variety of presents, so
+that among them all she would be sure to find something to her taste.
+
+In this way the Indians spent several days at the "fort" of the traders
+on Great Bear Lake, and then prepared to return home with a canoe-load
+of goods instead of furs.
+
+Before leaving, however, they had a specimen of one of the ways in which
+fur-traders in those lonely regions of the far north enjoy themselves.
+The whole establishment consisted of the officer in charge--MacSweenie--
+his interpreter Donald Mowat, and seven men--two of whom were French
+Canadians, two half-castes, and three Orkney-men.  There were also three
+women, two being wives of the men from Orkney, and one the wife of one
+of the half-castes.
+
+The greater part of the day previous to that on which they were to set
+out on the return voyage, Nazinred and Mozwa spent in testing the
+quality of their new guns in company with MacSweenie, who took his
+faithful Donald Mowat with him, partly to assist in carrying the game,
+and partly for interpreting purposes.  And a superb testing-ground it
+was, for the swampy spots and mud flats were alive with wild-fowl of all
+kinds, from the lively sandpiper to the great Canada grey goose, while
+the air was vocal with their whistling wings and trumpet cries, so that,
+whether they walked among the shrubs and sedges, or sat in ambush on the
+rocky points, ample opportunity was afforded to test the weapons as well
+as the skill of the owners.
+
+The beginning of the day, however, was not quite satisfactory.  They had
+scarcely proceeded more than a few hundred yards from the fort when a
+flock of ducks was observed flying low and straight towards them.
+
+"Down, man, quick!" exclaimed MacSweenie, crouching behind a large bush.
+"You will get a goot chance, and the gun will kill if ye point
+straight, for the trade-guns are fery goot, the most of--wow!"
+
+The sudden end of his remark was caused by Nazinred firing, and
+thereafter rising with the shattered fragments of the gun in his hand,
+and a little blood trickling from one of his fingers, while an
+expression of stern perplexity overspread his visage.
+
+"Well, now, that iss most extraordinary," said the trader, examining the
+weapon.  "I hev not seen such a thing for years.  To be sure, they are
+cheap and made of cast-iron, but they seldom burst like that, an' they
+usually shoot straight, whatever!--Tell him, Tonal', that he need not
+concern himself, for I will give him another."
+
+On this being translated, Nazinred seemed content, and began to examine
+his hurt, which by good fortune was a slight one.
+
+"It might have been worse," remarked Mowat gravely; "I've seen many a
+man in this country with a short allowance of finger-joints from the
+same cause."
+
+"What you observe is fery true, Tonal'," said the trader, with a serious
+air, "it might have been worse.  There was a bit of the barrel went past
+my head that fery nearly put me on a short allowance of life.  But come
+with me to the store an' we will choose a better one."
+
+Half an hour sufficed to select another fowling-piece, which stood all
+the tests to which it was subjected, and as evening was about to close
+in the whole party returned well laden with game, and thoroughly pleased
+with the weapons.
+
+Meanwhile the men of the establishment had been variously employed,
+cutting and hauling firewood, attending the nets, etcetera, while the
+women had been busy making moccasins and mending garments.  The cook--an
+Orkney-man--had made extensive preparations for a feast, but this was a
+secret between him and MacSweenie; the latter being fond of occasionally
+giving his people a surprise-treat.
+
+It was not indeed easy to surprise them at that time with unusually good
+food, for the land was swarming with spring life, and they daily enjoyed
+the fat of it.  But there were some little delicacies which were not to
+be had every day in the wilderness of the far north.  Among them was a
+round object about the shape, size, and consistency of a large
+cannon-ball, which was tied up in a cloth and seemed to require an
+immense amount of boiling.  The smell of this was delicious, and, when
+ultimately turned out of its cloth it presented a whitey-brown mottled
+appearance which was highly suggestive.
+
+The cook also had a peculiar talent for making cakes, which no
+Nor'-Wester could imitate, but which any Nor'-Wester in the land could
+eat.  There were other trifles which it would take too long to mention,
+and large pots of tea which it would not take very long to drink.  That
+was all the drink they had, happily, for strong young people with high
+spirits do not require strong spirits to keep their spirits up!
+
+After the feast, the tables and chairs were cleared away from the
+central, or reception, hall of the fort, and preparations were made for
+spending a harmonious evening; for, you see, stout people, in the prime
+of life, who have not damaged themselves with strong drink, find it
+difficult to exhaust their energies by means of an ordinary day's work.
+
+"Now, Tonal'," said MacSweenie, "get out your fuddle an' strike up."
+
+"The ladies have not finished their tea yet, sir," replied the
+interpreter.
+
+"Nefer mind that.  Just let them hear the strains of Lord Macdonald's
+Reel, an' you'll make them chump whether they will or no."
+
+Thus encouraged, Mowat began, and sure enough there was something so
+inspiriting in the tuneful tones, the vigorously indicated time, and the
+lively air, that the excited Highlander gave a whoop that threw Indian
+war-cries quite into the shade, seized one of the "ladies" by an arm and
+unceremoniously led her to the middle of the floor.  The cook, who was
+used to his master's ways, led out one of the other ladies in a similar
+free-and-easy manner, and soon two couples were thundering on the boards
+in all the glorious _abandon_ of a Scotch reel.
+
+They danced nothing but Scotch reels, for the good reason that none of
+them could dance anything else.  Indeed, none of them, except
+MacSweenie, could dance even these in correct fashion; but the reel,
+like the Scotch character, is adaptable.  It lends itself to
+circumstances, if we may say so, and admits of the absolutely ignorant
+being pushed, trundled, shoved or kicked through at least a semblance of
+it, which to the operators is almost as good as the reality.
+
+Nazinred and Mozwa had never seen anything of the kind before, or heard
+the strains of a "fuddle."  It may well be imagined, therefore, what was
+the condition of their minds.  Native reticence stood them in good stead
+for a considerable time, though, in spite of it, their eyes opened to an
+extent that was unusual; but as the fun became faster and more furious,
+their grave features relaxed, their mouths expanded, their teeth began
+to show, and they looked at each other with the intent, probably, of
+saying, "We never even dreamed of such things."  But that look wrought a
+transformation, for when each beheld the other's grin of unwonted levity
+he burst into a short laugh, then, becoming ashamed of themselves, they
+suddenly resumed their expressions of owlish gravity, from which they
+could not again be driven until a late period of the evening.
+
+Frequent slices of the mottled cannon-ball, however, and unlimited mugs
+of highly-sugared tea, had the effect of thawing them down a little, but
+nothing could induce them to dance.
+
+Next morning they were up by daybreak and ready to start for the farther
+north.
+
+"Now mind," said MacSweenie, through his interpreter, "don't you be
+fechtin' wi' the Eskimos.  Dance wi' them if ye will, but don't fecht.
+Better try an' trade wi' them.  An' be sure ye bring some more o' your
+people wi' you the next time you come here.  We'll be glad to see you.
+The more the merrier."
+
+How Donald Mowat translated these words we cannot tell.  Perhaps he
+added to them a few sentiments of his own.  However that may be, it is
+certain that the Indians bade their entertainers farewell with feelings
+of hearty good-will, and, leaving the lonely outpost behind them, set
+off on the return journey to their wilderness home.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+SORROWS AND SINS, AND A BOLD ADVENTURE.
+
+It was autumn before Nazinred and Mozwa drew near to their village.
+They took things leisurely on the return voyage, for, as Indians have
+little else to do besides hunt, trap, fish, eat, and sleep, they have no
+particular inducement to hurry their movements.
+
+It is true that, being affectionate men, they were naturally anxious to
+rejoin their families, but being also steady-going, with considerable
+powers of self-denial, they were good men-of-business, from a savage
+point of view, and gave leisurely attention to the duties in hand.
+
+On arriving at the outskirts of their village, they were surprised to
+see that one or two children who were playing among the bushes, and who
+could not have failed to see them, slunk away as if to avoid a meeting.
+Whatever anxiety the men might have felt, their bronzed and stern
+countenances betrayed no sign whatever.  Landing near the old chief's
+hut, they drew up their canoe and Nazinred and Mozwa went to announce
+their arrival.  It was contrary to Indian etiquette to betray
+excitement, or to ask hasty questions.
+
+They saluted the old man, handed him a plug of tobacco, and sat down to
+smoke, and it was not till some time had elapsed that Nazinred calmly
+asked if Isquay was well.
+
+"Isquay is well," replied the old chief, and a barely perceptible sigh
+of relief escaped Nazinred.
+
+Then Mozwa asked about his wife and received a satisfactory answer.
+Still, it was obvious to both men, from the old chief's manner, that
+there was something wrong.
+
+"Adolay", said the old man, and stopped.
+
+"Dead?" asked Nazinred, with a look of alarm that he did not attempt to
+conceal.
+
+"No, not dead--but gone away," he replied, and then related in detail
+the circumstances of the girl's disappearance.  It must have been a
+terrible blow to the poor father, all the more that he was ignorant at
+the time of the girl's motive for forsaking her home.  But no vestige of
+feeling did he betray, save a slight contraction of his brows and a
+nervous play of his fingers about the handle of his scalping-knife.
+When the recital was ended he made no reply, but, rising slowly, left
+the hut and went to his own home.
+
+We will not follow him thither: there are some home-comings which are
+better left undescribed.
+
+But next day Nazinred relaunched his canoe, and, with a small quantity
+of provisions and a large supply of ammunition, set off alone for the
+shores of the Arctic Sea.  What he told his wife is not known, but he
+gave no explanation whatever to any of his comrades as to his
+intentions.
+
+Arrived at the coast, however, his further advance was rendered
+impossible by a sharp frost which created the first thin crust that was
+ultimately destined to turn the sea into thick ice.  As even the
+thinnest coat of ice would be certain destruction to birch-bark, the
+canoe, he was well aware, was now useless.  He therefore returned home,
+and quietly engaged in the ordinary hunting and fishing occupation of
+his tribe, but from that date he sank into a state of silent despair,
+from which his most intimate companions failed to rouse him.  Not that
+he gave expression to his feelings by word or look.  It was
+long-continued silence and want of interest in anything that told of the
+sorrow that crushed him.  It is probable that the fact of Adolay being
+capable of forsaking her parents in such a way tended to increase the
+grief occasioned by her loss.  But he spoke of his feelings to no one--
+not even to his wife.
+
+Mozwa, who was very fond of his friend, and pitied him sincerely, made
+no attempt to comfort him, for he knew the nature of the man too well to
+think that by any words he could assuage his sorrow.
+
+All the fine things that Nazinred had brought home, and with which he
+had hoped to rejoice the hearts of his wife and child, were utterly
+neglected.  He let Isquay do what she pleased with them.  The only thing
+that seemed to comfort him was the tobacco, for that, he found, when
+smoked to excess, blunted the edge of his feelings.
+
+He therefore gave himself up to the unlimited use of this sedative, and
+would no doubt have become, like many others, a willing slave to the
+pipe, but for the fortunate circumstance that the supply of tobacco was
+limited.  As the autumn advanced, the diminishing quantity warned him to
+restrain himself.  He eked it out by mixing with it a kind of leaf much
+used by Indians for this purpose, but which, by itself, was not
+considered worth smoking.  Even with this aid, however, he was compelled
+to curtail the indulgence; then the weed failed altogether, and he was
+finally induced to engage in philosophical meditations as to the folly
+of creating a needless desire which could not be gratified.  The
+unsatisfied craving, coupled with the injury to his health, added
+considerably to the grief with which he was already oppressed.  He had a
+powerful constitution, however.  The enforced abstinence soon began to
+tell in his favour, and he actually had the courage, not to say wisdom,
+to refuse occasional pipes offered him by Mozwa when he chanced to visit
+his friend.
+
+As that friend had not the loss of an only child to mourn, but, on the
+contrary, was called upon to rejoice in the addition of a new baby, the
+fine things that he had brought home were the cause of great
+satisfaction to his family.  But alas!  Mozwa, although almost perfect,
+for a savage, had one fault--one besetting sin and moral disease--he
+gambled!
+
+We almost hear the exclamation of surprise, if not doubt, with which our
+reader receives this information.  Yes; North American Indians are
+gamblers; many of them are confirmed gamblers.  They do not indeed
+affect anything so intellectual as chess or so skilful as billiards, but
+they have a game to the full as intellectual and scientific as that
+_rouge et noir_ of Monaco with which highly cultivated people contrive
+to rob each other by mutual consent, and without being ashamed!  Their
+game is not unknown to the juveniles of our own land.  It goes by the
+name "odd-or-even."
+
+The manner of conducting the game varies a little here and there in its
+details, but its principle is the same everywhere: "I want your
+possessions, and get them I will, by hook or crook!  I couldn't think of
+robbing you--O no; there might be jail or penal servitude on the back of
+that; and I won't accept your gifts--good gracious, no! that would
+involve the loss of self-respect.  No, no.  Let us humbug each other.  I
+will rob you if I can, and you will rob me if you can, and we'll
+mutually agree to throw dust in each other's eyes and call it `play'!
+Nothing, surely, could be fairer than that!"
+
+Of course poor Mozwa did not reason thus.  He was not cultured enough
+for that.  In fact, he did not reason at all about the matter, as far as
+we know, but there can be no question that the poor fellow was smitten
+with the disease of covetousness, and instead of seeking for a cure,
+like a manly savage, he adopted the too civilised plan of encouraging
+and excusing it.
+
+Aware of his propensities, Mrs Mozwa was much too knowing to allow the
+goods and trinkets destined for herself and family to remain in his
+power.  She at once appropriated them, and secreted such of them as she
+did not require for present use.  But there were articles which she
+could not well treat in that way with any shadow of excuse: for
+instance, the gun, powder and shot, bows and arrows, tobacco and pipes,
+hatchets and scalping-knives, blankets and masculine garments, which
+were in daily use.  These were frequently lost and re-won before winter
+had fairly begun, but Mozwa was too fond of the excitement of gambling
+to make desperate ventures all at once.  He liked to spin it out.
+
+One night he had what is styled a "run of bad luck."  Being in something
+of a reckless mood, he went to visit a young friend who was as fond of
+gambling as himself, and took most of his worldly possessions with him.
+The friend, with a number of companions, was seated beside the wigwam
+fire, and quite ready to begin.
+
+Taking a button, or some such object, in his hand, and putting both
+hands behind his back, the friend began to bob his head and shoulders up
+and down in an idiotic fashion, at the same time chanting in a sing-song
+monotone, "Ho yo, yo ho, hi ya yoho!" for a considerable length of time,
+while Mozwa staked his blanket, a fine thick green one, purchased at
+Great Bear Lake.  We forget the friend's stake, but it was probably
+supposed to be an equivalent.
+
+Suddenly the yo-ho-ing ceased, both hands, tightly closed, were brought
+to the front, and the whole party gazed at Mozwa with intense
+expectation.  He was not long in making up his mind.  He pointed to the
+left hand.  It was opened, and found to be empty!  The blanket was lost.
+Back went the hands again, and the "yo-ho-ing" was continued.  The new
+gun was the next stake.  It also was lost; and thus the game was carried
+on far into the night, with smaller stakes, until Mozwa had lost almost
+all that he had brought with him--gun, blanket, pipes, tobacco, flint
+and steel, fire-bag, and even his coat, so that he walked home a
+half-naked and nearly ruined man!
+
+But ruin in the wilderness of North America is not usually so thorough
+as it often is in civilised lands, owing partly to the happy
+circumstance that strong drink does not come into play and complete the
+moral destruction, as well as the physical, which gambling had begun.
+The character therefore, although deteriorated, is not socially lost.
+The nature of property, also, and the means of acquiring it, render
+recovery more easy.
+
+When Mozwa returned home _minus_ his new blanket and the beautiful
+deerskin coat which his wife had made and richly ornamented for him with
+her own brown hands while he was away, he found his old coat and his old
+blanket ready for him.  The old gun, too, was available still, so that
+he was not altogether disabled from attending to the duties of the
+chase, and in a short time afterwards, "luck" being in his favour, he
+had won back some of his lost possessions.  But he was too often in that
+fluctuating state of alternating excitement and depression which is the
+invariable accompaniment, in a greater or less degree, of the gambler's
+sin, whether carried on in the depths of the Arctic wilderness, the
+well-named "hells" of London, or the gilded _salons_ of Monaco.
+
+"You are a fool," said Nazinred one day to his friend--for even among
+savages there are plain-spoken familiar friends gifted with common sense
+enough to recognise folly, and spiritual honesty to point it out and
+warn against it.
+
+"Why does my brother say so?" asked Mozwa, who was not in the least
+offended by the observation.
+
+"Because you gain nothing by all your gaining except trouble and
+excitement, and sometimes you gain loss.  Here you are, now, obliged to
+take to your old gun, whose flint will hardly strike fire more than four
+times out of ten; you are obliged to wrap yourself in the old blanket
+full of holes; and you come to me to borrow powder and ball."
+
+"That is true," replied Mozwa, with a look of self-condemnation.  "But,"
+he added, with a sort of brightly apologetic glance, "sometimes I win,
+and then I am well off, and it is Magadar who is the fool."
+
+"Does it make you less of a fool because Magadar is one also?  Are you
+comforted to-day, in your poverty, by the thought that you were well off
+yesterday?"
+
+Mozwa's bright glance faded slowly.  He was no match for his friend in
+argument, and, possessing an honest spirit, the look of
+self-condemnation began to creep again over his visage, but, being of a
+sanguine temperament and hopeful nature, the bright glance returned
+suddenly.
+
+"Wisdom falls from the lips of my brother," he said.  "I was well off
+yesterday and I am badly off to-day, but I may be well off again
+to-morrow--if I have good luck."
+
+"Yes, and if Magadar has bad luck?" returned his friend.  "You cannot
+both have good luck.  Whatever one gains the other must lose--and so it
+goes on.  Should wise men act thus?"
+
+Mozwa was silent.  His friend had never before spoken to him in this
+way.  Indeed, no member of the tribe had ever before given utterance to
+such curious opinions.  He knew not what to reply, and Nazinred relapsed
+into the moody silence which had characterised him more or less since he
+became aware of his daughter's departure.
+
+The short autumn of those Hyperborean regions having passed away, the
+land was speedily locked in a garment of ice and snow, and the long
+stern winter began.
+
+It was not long before all the lakes and rivers set fast.  At first only
+the lakes solidified, then the more sluggish streams, while the rapids
+showed out inky black by contrast.  Gradually the liquid margins of
+these were encroached on by the irresistible frost, until they were
+fairly bridged over, and their existence was only recalled to memory by
+hollow rumblings below the ice.  At last the intensity of the cold
+overcame the salt sea itself; the floes, hummocks, and bergs became
+united into one universal mass, and every sign of liquid disappeared
+from the polar regions.
+
+It was when this condition of things had arrived that the heart-crushed
+Nazinred proceeded to carry out a plan over which he had been brooding
+ever since his return from Great Bear Lake.  His inquiries had led him
+to believe that the Eskimo who had carried off his child belonged to the
+tribe which had recently been pursued by his compatriots, and that they
+probably dwelt among the islands, some of which were seen, and others
+known to exist, off the Arctic coast opposite the mouth of the Greygoose
+River.  Moreover, a faint hope, that he would have found it difficult to
+define, was aroused by the fact that the kidnapper of his child had
+formerly been the rescuer of his wife.
+
+As we have seen, his first attempt to go off in his canoe in search of
+Adolay was frustrated by young ice forming on the sea, and for a
+considerable time afterwards the Arctic Sea was impassable to any kind
+of craft.  Now that the sea had set fast, however, his difficulty was
+removed, and he resolved to undertake the journey on foot.
+
+Well he knew that no man of his tribe, not even Mozwa, would agree to
+accompany him on such a wild-goose chase.  He therefore not only
+refrained from making to any of them the proposal, but avoided any
+allusion to his intentions.  Knowing also that Isquay was gifted with
+such an intense desire for sympathy that she could not resist
+communicating whatever she knew to a few of her dearest friends--in the
+strictest confidence--he did not mention the matter to her until all his
+preparations were completed.  Then he told her.
+
+Like a good submissive squaw, she made no objection, though the
+expression of her face showed that she felt much anxiety.
+
+"Who goes with you?" she asked.
+
+"No one."
+
+"Is it wise to go alone?" she ventured to suggest.
+
+"It may not be wise, but no one would go with me, I know, and I am
+determined to find Adolay!"
+
+"How will you travel?"
+
+"With a sledge and four dogs.  That will enable me to carry food enough
+for a long journey.  I will take my gun, of course."
+
+"But what will you do for fire?" objected Isquay; "there are no woods on
+the ice."
+
+"I will do without it."
+
+The poor woman was so amazed at this reply that she gave up further
+questioning.
+
+"You have plenty strong moccasins ready, have you not?" asked Nazinred,
+"and pemmican, and dried meat?"
+
+"Yes, plenty.  And your snow-shoes are mended, and very strong."
+
+"That is well.  I will take them, but I do not expect to use them much,
+for the snow on the Great Salt Lake is not soft like the snow in the
+woods."
+
+It was afternoon when this conversation was held, and very dark, for the
+sun had by that time ceased to rise much above the horizon, even at
+noon.  Late in the night, however, there was brilliant light both from
+the stars and the aurora.  Taking advantage of this, Nazinred left his
+lodge and hastened to the outskirts of the village, where a little boy
+awaited him with the sledge and team of dogs all ready for a start.
+
+Without saying a word the Indian put on his snow-shoes and took hold of
+the tail-line of the sledge, which was heavily laden, and well packed.
+With a slight crack of the whip he set the team in motion.
+
+"Tell the old chief," he said to the boy at parting, "that I go to seek
+for my daughter among the people of the Frozen Lake.  When I find her I
+will return."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+NAZINRED'S JOURNEY OVER THE ARCTIC SEA.
+
+While our Indian travelled through the woods he and his dogs were on
+familiar ground.  He encamped at night in the way to which he had been
+accustomed all his life.  That is to say, he selected a spot under a
+spreading fir-tree, dug away the snow until he got to the ground, which
+he covered with a carpet of pine branches.  At one end of this
+encampment--or hole in the snow of ten feet or so in diameter--he made a
+huge fire of dead logs.  At the other end he spread his blanket,
+unpacked his sledge, fed his dogs with some willow-grouse provided for
+the purpose, warmed up his pemmican and dried meat, melted some snow for
+drink, and spent the night in comparative comfort.  And it is wonderful,
+reader, how cosy such an encampment in the snow is, when food is
+plentiful and health strong.
+
+But when our Indian quitted the shore, and began his daring journey on
+the Arctic Sea, he was surrounded by new and unfamiliar conditions.  No
+trees were to be had for firewood, no branches for bedding, no
+overhanging pines for shelter.  He had gone there, however, prepared for
+the change.
+
+The sea near the shore had been set fast when in a comparatively smooth
+condition, so that, the first day's march over, it was easy.  As he had
+expected, the surface of the snow had been drifted quite hard, so that
+he could dispense with snow-shoes altogether, and the four dogs found
+the sledge so light that they felt disposed now and then to run away
+with it; but Nazinred checked this propensity by holding on to the
+tail-line, thus acting as a drag.  Ere long the shore was left out of
+sight behind, and the first of the islets--a small group--also passed
+and left behind.
+
+When night was well advanced the Indian found himself on the ice of the
+open sea with nothing but hummocks and bergs to shelter him.  Being
+acquainted, by hearsay at least, with some of the methods of the
+Eskimos, he avoided the bergs, for there was the danger of masses
+falling from their sides and from overhanging ice-cliffs, and selected a
+small hummock--a heap of masses that had been thrown or crushed up
+earlier in the winter, covered with snow, and formed into a solid mound.
+The light air that blew over the frozen plain was scarcely worth taking
+into account, nevertheless the Indian chose the lee side of the hummock
+and then began to try his "prentice hand" at the erection of a snow-hut.
+
+Nazinred had indeed some doubts as to the value of such a cold
+habitation without fire, but he knew that Eskimos sometimes used such,
+and what they could do he could dare.  Besides, love is strong as
+death--and he meant to find Adolay or die!
+
+His hut, as might have been expected, was not such as an Eskimo
+architect would have praised, but it was passable for a first attempt.
+He knew that the northern masons built their winter dwellings in the
+form of a dome, therefore he essayed the same form; but it fell in more
+than once before the keystone of the arch was fixed.
+
+"Never mind," thought Nazinred; "they have done it--I can do it."
+
+Nothing is impossible to men of this stamp.  He persevered, and
+succeeded after a couple of hours in producing a sort of misshapen
+bee-hive about six feet in diameter, and four feet high.  The slabs of
+snow of which it was composed were compact and solid, though easily cut
+with his scalping-knife, and formed bricks that could resist the
+influence of the fiercest gale.  At one side of the hut he cut a hole
+for a doorway, and reserved the piece cut out for a door.  It was just
+big enough to let his broad shoulders pass through, and when he got
+inside and lay down at length to test it, he gave a slight "humph!" of
+satisfaction.  Not that the chamber was cheerful--far from it, for it
+was intensely dark,--but our Indian was a practical man.  He did not
+require light to enable him to sleep or rest.
+
+While engaged in constructing the hut, he observed that the four dogs
+were sitting on their tails doing nothing except gazing in curiosity, if
+not surprise, at his unwonted proceedings.  Being a busy man, he
+naturally disliked idlers, and therefore unlashed some food from his
+sledge and served out their supper by way of giving them something to
+do.  They ceased idling at once, but after supper sat down on their
+tails again to watch as before, though in a more languid frame of mind.
+
+When the hut was finished he sat down outside, the night being clear and
+comparatively warm, or rather, we should say, not bitterly cold.  During
+the meal he kept up the interest of the dogs to a keenly hopeful point
+by occasionally tossing a morsel to each.  When the meal was over, and
+they knew from long experience that nothing more was to be hoped for,
+they curled themselves up in the lee of the hut, and, with a glorious
+disregard of bedding and all earthly things, went to sleep.
+
+It was found rather difficult to get the sledge into the hut, as
+Nazinred had forgotten to make allowance for its size, but by enlarging
+the door and manoeuvring, the difficulty was overcome--a matter of
+considerable importance, for there was no knowing what Arctic monsters
+might take a fancy to play havoc with its contents while its owner
+slept.
+
+Then the Indian spread a large deerskin with the hair on over the floor
+of his hut, and was about to spread his blankets above that, when he
+remembered that he would want water to drink in the morning--for it is
+well-known that eating snow during the intense cold of Arctic winters is
+very hurtful.  He had provided for this by taking a bladder with him,
+which he meant to fill with snow each night and take it to bed with him,
+so that his animal heat--and he had plenty of that--might melt some of
+it before morning.  He was then on the point of closing up the doorway
+when it occurred to him that if the dogs were inside they might make the
+place warmer, but upon reflection he feared that they might also make it
+suffocating--for the dogs were large and the hut was small.  After
+pondering the subject for a few minutes, he decided to take only one of
+them inside.
+
+"Attim, come," he said quietly, as if speaking to a human friend.
+
+Attim, without any remark save a wag of his tail, arose promptly,
+entered the hut, and lay down.  You see, he was accustomed to little
+attentions of the sort.
+
+At last, everything being completed, Nazinred closed the door, plastered
+it well with snow round the seams, so as to render the place air-tight,
+wrapped himself in his blankets, took the bladder of snow to his bosom,
+laid his wearied head on one of his bundles, and prepared to slumber.
+
+But ere he reached the land of forgetfulness an idea struck him, which,
+Indian though he was, caused him to smile even in the dark.
+
+"Attim," he murmured.
+
+"Here you are," replied Attim's tail with a flop that was quite as
+expressive as the tongue--and softer.
+
+"You take charge of that," said the sly man, transferring the bladder of
+snow from his own bosom to that of the dog; "you have more heat than I
+have."
+
+Whether the Indian was right in this belief we cannot say, but the
+humble-minded dog received the charge as a special favour, and with an
+emphatic "I will" from its ever-sensitive tail again lay down to repose.
+
+Thereafter the two went to sleep, and spent six or seven hours of
+unbroken rest, awaking simultaneously and suddenly to find that the dogs
+outside were also awake and wishing to get in.  Indeed, one of them had
+already scraped a hole in the wall that would soon have admitted him had
+not his master given him a tap on the nose with the butt of his gun.
+
+Of course it was still dark, for the morning was not far advanced, but
+the star-light and the aurora were quite sufficient to enable them to
+see their way, as they set out once more on their lonesome journey.
+
+Breakfast was a meal of which Nazinred made no account.  Supper was his
+chief stand-by, on the strength of which he and his dogs slept, and also
+travelled during the following day.  Soon after they had awakened,
+therefore, they were far from the hut in which the night had been spent.
+
+The Indian's plan was to travel in a straight line in the direction in
+which the Eskimos had been last seen.  By so doing he counted upon
+either crossing their tracks, which he would follow up, or, coming to
+some large island which might prove to be their winter quarters, would
+skirt the shores of it in the hope of meeting with some of the tribes of
+which he was in search.  The expedition, it will be seen, was somewhat
+of the nature of a forlorn hope, for drifting snow quickly obliterates
+tracks, and if the natives, when found, should turn out to be hostile,
+they would probably take from him his little possessions, if not also
+his life.  But Nazinred's love for Adolay was too strong to admit of his
+allowing such thoughts to weigh with him.  Ere long, he found himself
+far from his woodland home, lost among the rugged solitudes of ice, with
+a fast diminishing supply of provisions, and, worst of all, no sign of
+track or other clue to guide him.
+
+One day, as he was plodding slowly northward, guided by the stars, his
+faith in the success of his mission began to flag.  Hard continuous toil
+and a weakening frame had no doubt something to do with his depression.
+His dogs, also, were in much the same condition with himself,--growing
+thin, and becoming less lively.  Clambering to the top of a hummock, he
+surveyed the prospect before him.  It was not cheering.  The faint
+daylight of noon was spreading over the frozen sea, bringing the tops of
+the larger bergs out into bold relief against the steel-blue sky, and
+covering the jumble of lumps and hummocks with a cold grey light.
+
+Despite his resolute purpose the poor man sat down on a lump of ice,
+buried his face in his hands, and meditated.
+
+"Can it be," he thought, "that the Great Manitou knows my grief and does
+not care?  Surely that cannot be.  I love my child, though she has fled
+from me.  I am a child of the Manitou.  Does He not love me?  I will
+trust Him!"
+
+A cold object touched his hand at the moment.  It was the nose of the
+faithful Attim.
+
+Nazinred regarded the touch as a good omen.  He rose up and was about to
+resume the journey in a more hopeful frame of mind when a dark cloud on
+the horizon arrested his eye.  After a long gaze he came to the
+conclusion that it was land.  Two hours later he arrived at Waruskeek,
+and with a beating heart made straight for the huts, which could be
+plainly seen on the shore.  But terrible disappointment was in store for
+him.  On reaching the Eskimo village he found that it was deserted.
+
+Nevertheless the improved state of mind did not quite forsake him.  It
+was a comfort to have made a discovery of any kind, and was it not
+possible that, during the brief daylight of the morrow, he might be able
+to distinguish the tracks made by the party when they left the place and
+follow them up?
+
+With this idea in his mind he resolved to encamp on the spot, and
+indulge himself as well as his dogs with a good feed and sleep.
+
+With this purpose in view he collected all the bits of wood he could
+find, and, with a few lumps of much-decayed blubber, made a rousing fire
+in one of the huts.  The flame cheered his canine friends as well as
+himself, and filled the place with a ruddy glow.  As the hut was
+sufficiently large, he invited all the dogs to sup with him--an
+invitation which, it is needless to say, they gladly accepted--and we
+may add that the humble-minded Attim was not jealous.
+
+The hut of which Nazinred thus took possession was that which belonged
+to old Mangivik.  With his usually observant nature, our Indian looked
+keenly about him while cooking his pemmican, noting every particular
+with an intelligent eye.  Suddenly his gaze became fixed on a particular
+corner.  Rising slowly, as if afraid of frightening away some living
+creature, he advanced step by step toward the corner with eyeballs
+starting nearly out of his head.  Then with a light bound he sprang
+forward, grasped a little piece of cord, and pulled out from beneath a
+heap of rubbish what appeared to be an old cast-off moccasin.  And such
+indeed it was.  It had belonged to Adolay!  Nazinred, hastening to the
+fire, examined it with minute care, and a deep "hoh!" of satisfaction
+escaped from him; for he knew it well as being one of a pair made by
+Isquay for her daughter's little feet.
+
+Need we say that joy filled the Indian's heart that night, and a feeling
+of gratitude to that mysterious ever-present yet never visible Being,
+who--he had come to recognise in his philosophical way--must be the
+author of all good, though his philosophy failed to tell him who was the
+author of evil.  Nazinred was not by any means the first savage
+philosopher who has puzzled himself with that question, but it is due to
+him to add--for it proves him more scientific than many trained
+philosophers of the present day--that he did not plead his ignorance
+about his Creator as an excuse for ingratitude, much less as a reason
+for denying His existence altogether.
+
+But there was a surprise in store for our Indian chief which went far to
+increase his grateful feelings, as well as to determine his future
+course.  On looking about the deserted village the following day for
+further evidences of his child having been there, he came upon a post
+with a piece of birch-bark fastened to it.  The post was fixed in the
+ice close to the shore, where in summer-time the land and sea were wont
+to meet, and from which point tracks in the snow gave clear indication
+that the Eskimos had taken their departure.  This post with its piece of
+bark was neither more nor less than a letter, such as unlettered men in
+all ages have used for holding intercourse with absent friends.
+
+Knowing her father's love for her, and suspecting that, sooner or later,
+he would organise a search party--though it never occurred to her that
+he would be so wild as to undertake the search alone--Adolay had erected
+the post when the tribe set out for winter quarters, and had fixed the
+bark letter to it for his guidance.
+
+The writing on the letter, we need hardly say, was figurative, brief,
+and easily read.  It did not give the intelligent father much trouble in
+the decipherment.  At the top was the picture of a hand fairly, if not
+elegantly, drawn, with one finger pointing.  Below it were several
+figures, the last of which was a girl in unmistakable Indian costume.
+The figure in front of her was meant to represent Cheenbuk; in advance
+of him was an Eskimo woman with her tail flowing gracefully behind,
+while before her was a hazy group of men, women, and children, which
+represented the tribe on the march.  Adolay had obviously the artistic
+gift in embryo, for there was a decided effort to indicate form and
+motion, as well as to suggest an idea of perspective, for the woman and
+the tribal group were drawn much smaller than the foreground figures,
+and were placed on higher planes.  The sketchiness of the group, too,
+also told of just ideas as to relative degrees of interest in the
+legend, while the undue prominence of the leading facial feature was an
+attempt to give that advice which is so forcibly expressed in the
+well-known phrase, "Follow your nose."  Ten dots underneath, with a
+group of snow-huts at the end of them, were not so clear at first, but
+in the end Nazinred made out a sentence, of which the following may be
+given as a free-and-easy translation:
+
+"My hand points the direction in which we have gone.  Your loving
+daughter is following the man who ran away with her.  The Eskimo women
+and men, and dogs, and all the rest of them, are marching before us.
+Follow me for ten days, and you will come to the snow-huts where we are
+to winter."
+
+Could anything be plainer?  The happy father thought not.  He took an
+extra meal.  His team gave themselves an extra feed of bits of old
+blubber picked up in the camp, and while daylight was still engaged in
+its brave though hopeless struggle with the Arctic night, he tied up his
+sledge, thrust the old moccasin into his bosom, gave Attim the order to
+advance, and set off with revived strength and hope on his now hopeful
+journey.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+A SURPRISE AND A CATASTROPHE.
+
+The trail of the Eskimos as they traversed the frozen sea, although not
+always very distinct on the hard snow, was as plain as a highway to one
+so skilled in tracking as the Indian chief Nazinred.  The weather having
+been clear and calm ever since he left home, the marks had not been
+obliterated, and he pursued his way without halt or hesitation.
+
+But on the fourth day out there came symptoms of a change.  The chief
+had adopted the plan of travelling during every hour of the short day,
+or twilight, in order to make more sure of not missing the trail, and
+the stars with frequent aurora borealis had made each night so brilliant
+that he advanced almost as easily as during the day-time.  The fourth
+day, however, on awaking, his ears were greeted with sounds that caused
+him to rise in haste and force out the door of his sleeping hut, when to
+his dismay he found that a furious gale was blowing, that the sky was
+black, and that he could hardly see the poor dogs, whom he found
+crouching as close as possible on the sheltered side of the hut.  In
+these circumstances, to advance without losing his way was impossible,
+so that he was compelled to make the most of his time by sleeping as
+much as he could.
+
+To do him justice he possessed a wonderful capacity in that way.  Having
+put the sledge outside in order to make room, he called all the dogs in,
+resolving that the poor things should not be exposed to the pitiless
+storm.  Then, having fed himself and them, he lay down with them and was
+soon in happy oblivion.
+
+Of course he had no artificial means of measuring time, and, the sky
+being overclouded, darkness visible pervaded the region.  But a healthy
+stomach helped in some degree to furnish a natural chronometer, and its
+condition when he awoke suggested that he must have slept till near
+daylight of the following day.  Rousing the dogs, he gave them a feed,
+ate heartily himself, and then went out to look at the weather.
+
+The sight which the grey dawn rendered barely visible was one which
+caused him to return to the hut with extreme promptitude for his gun,
+for, about fifty yards off, were two white polar bears of apparently,
+colossal size, frolicking about in a curious manner, and evidently
+amusing themselves with something.  The something turned out to be the
+chief's sledge, which the bears had unpacked; eating whatever they had a
+fancy for, scattering about what they did not want, smashing the sledge
+itself to pieces, and twisting the leathern wraps and cordage into
+unimaginable knots.
+
+Nazinred did not discover all this at once, being too much excited by
+the unexpected visit to note trifling details.  Besides, prompt action
+was necessary, for the four dogs, on becoming aware of what was
+transacting outside, made a united and clamorous dash at the foe.  Two
+of them, being too valorous, ran close up to the bears, who seemed to
+regard them with haughty surprise.  Another movement and the two dogs
+rose into the air with a yell in unison, and fell back upon the snow,
+where they lay motionless.  The other two, learning wisdom from
+experience, kept back and barked furiously.
+
+Nazinred, although taken by surprise, was used to sudden alarms and not
+easily frightened.  Knowing that the two dogs were very courageous, and
+therefore all the more likely to run into danger, he sprang forward
+towards the nearer of the two bears.  It rose on its hind-legs to
+receive him, and in this position appeared to stand at least eight feet
+high.  Without a moment's hesitation the Indian pointed his gun when the
+muzzle was not more than a foot from the creature's breast, and fired.
+The bear fell dead on the instant, shot through the heart.
+
+The loud report and flash frightened the other bear away.  It was
+closely followed, however, by the dogs, and the chief availed himself of
+the opportunity to re-load.  While he was thus engaged a peculiarly loud
+yell told only too plainly that one of the remaining dogs was injured,
+if not killed.  He called to the remaining one to come back.  Obedient
+to the call it returned, and, to its master's great relief, proved to be
+his favourite Attim, a good deal cut about the shoulders and much
+crestfallen, but not seriously injured.
+
+"Down, Attim," said his master.
+
+The poor creature obeyed at once, and his master hurried forward, but
+the bear had retired.
+
+The result of this encounter was that three of the dogs were killed,
+many of his things destroyed, and his provisions rendered almost
+useless, while the sledge was irreparably broken to pieces.  There was
+daylight enough to render the extent of his misfortune visible, and to
+show him that the trail which he had been following so long was drifted
+over and entirely obliterated.
+
+To a man of weak resolution this might have been overwhelming, but
+Nazinred was very much the reverse of weak, and his utter recklessness
+of life in his endeavour to recover his lost child would have rendered
+him a hero for the time being, even if he had not been one by nature.
+
+After collecting the remains of his property, and ascertaining that the
+sledge was hopelessly destroyed, he made up his mind to carry the
+provisions on his back and push forward in the direction pointed out by
+Adolay until he found her.  If he did not succeed, the failure of his
+food would soon end the struggle.
+
+It was some consolation to the unfortunate man that his favourite dog
+had been spared.  The amount of "company" afforded even by an ordinary
+dog is well-known, but the civilised world can but feebly understand the
+value of a more than usually affectionate creature in the forlorn
+circumstances in which our Indian was now placed.  Like many other
+people, he had got into the habit of talking to the dog about himself
+and his affairs, as if it were human.  Whether he held the opinion we
+have heard so often expressed that "he understands every word I say," we
+cannot tell, but the gravity of his expression and the solemnity of his
+tone when conversing with it, encouraged that belief, and the very
+earnest attention of the dog almost justified it.
+
+But the friendly feelings existing between them did not relax the
+chief's notions of discipline.  Attim was not permitted to follow his
+master as an idle companion.  He was made to carry, or rather to drag,
+his own food, by means of a collar with two pieces of stick attached,
+the ends of which trailed on the ice, thus forming as it were a pair of
+trains without wheels.  This is a simple contrivance, largely used by
+the prairie Indians with their horses as well as dogs.  The two sticks
+or poles, being long, project a good way behind the animal, thus leaving
+space for a load.  As the poles are suited to their size, each horse or
+little dog is loaded with an appropriate bundle, and it is to be
+presumed does not feel overburdened.
+
+When all was arranged, Nazinred started off with a large pack on his
+broad shoulders, and Attim, with a small bundle, followed close at his
+heels.
+
+Of course the Indian shouldered his gun, and he slung upon it his
+snow-shoes, for the hard-driven snow rendered these unnecessary at the
+time.  He also carried with him a bow and quiver of arrows, with the
+ornamented fire-bag--made for him by Adolay--which contained his flint,
+steel, and tinder as well as his beloved pipe and tobacco.
+
+Things went well with him for the first few days, and although the trail
+was now lost, he guided himself easily by the stars, of which he had
+been careful to take note and make comparison with the hand in the
+letter before disturbing its position.  But one night the sky became
+overcast, and he would have been compelled to halt had he not previously
+laid his course by several huge icebergs which towered up in the far
+distance.
+
+When he had passed the last of these bergs, however, he began to
+hesitate in his movements, and Attim, trotting quietly by his side,
+looked inquiringly up into his face once or twice with the obvious
+question, "What's the matter?" in his soft brown eyes--or some Dogrib
+idiom equivalent thereto.
+
+"I'm afraid to go on," murmured the Indian gravely.
+
+To this Attim replied with a reassuring wag of his tail.
+
+"Without stars it won't be easy to keep the straight line," continued
+the chief, stopping altogether and looking up at the clouds.
+
+Attim also looked up, but evidently could make nothing of it, for he
+turned his eyes again on his master and wagged his tail dubiously.
+
+At the moment a rift in the clouds revealed some of the stars, and the
+Indian, regaining his direction again, hurried forward--all the more
+rapidly that a pretty stiff fair wind was blowing, to speak nautically,
+right astern of him.
+
+By degrees the breeze increased to a gale, and then to a regular
+hurricane, which whirled among the bergs and hummocks, shrieked round
+the ice-pinnacles, and went howling over the plain of the solid sea as
+if all the Hyperborean fiends had been let loose and told to do their
+worst.  Its violence was so great that the Indian was forced to scud
+before it, and more than once Attim's little bundle caught the blast and
+whirled him round like a weathercock, while the drifting snow at last
+became so thick that it was impossible to see anything more than a few
+yards ahead.  In these circumstances to advance was madness.
+
+"It won't do, pup," cried Nazinred, turning suddenly to his right round
+a mass of ice, and taking shelter in the lee of a towering berg; "come,
+we will encamp here."
+
+He had scarcely uttered the words when a tremendous rending sound was
+heard above the noise of the hurricane.  The Indian looked up quickly,
+but nothing was to be seen anywhere save that wild confusion of whirling
+snow, which in more southerly lands is sometimes called a blizzard, and
+the back-whirl of which nearly suffocated man and dog.  Suddenly there
+came a crash as if a mountain were being shattered near them.  Then
+Nazinred saw, to his horror, that an ice-pinnacle as big as a church
+steeple was bowing forward, like some mighty giant, to its fall.  To
+escape he saw was impossible.  It was too near and too directly above
+his head for that.  His only hope lay in crushing close to the side of
+the berg.  He did so, on the instant, promptly followed by the dog, and
+happily found that the ice-wall at the spot was slightly concave.
+
+Another moment and the stupendous mass fell with an indescribable crash,
+which was prolonged into sounds that bore quaint resemblance to the
+smashing up of gigantic crockery, as the shivered atoms shot far away
+over the frozen plain.  But the chief heard nothing of this save the
+first great crash, for the avalanche, although it passed harmlessly over
+his head, had buried him in what seemed to him a living tomb.
+
+The chamber in which he and his dog were thus enclosed was of course
+absolutely dark--a darkness that might be felt; and the man would have
+been more than human if he had not experienced a sinking of the heart as
+he contemplated his awful position.  Once again arose in his mind the
+question, Does the Maker of all care nothing about such things?  The
+feeling deepened in him that such could not be true,--that the
+All-Father must certainly care _more_ for His children than ordinary
+fathers for theirs, and with that thought came also the old feeling, "I
+will trust Him."  The poor dog, too, had the consolation of trust, for
+it rubbed its head against its master with a touch that implied implicit
+belief in his power to deal effectively with any difficulty whatever.
+
+Feeling his way carefully round the walls of his prison, the Indian
+ascertained that it was not much more than about twelve feet long by
+three or four broad.  On one side was the comparatively smooth wall of
+the berg, but for the hollow in which he would have been crushed; in
+front was the rugged heap of confused masses which had thoroughly closed
+him in.  There was no outlet anywhere; he felt assured of that after
+three careful examinations of the chamber, and how many thousand tons of
+ice lay between him and liberty of course he could not guess.
+
+There was only one course open to him now, and that was to cut his way
+out with his hatchet.  Before beginning to act he unstrapped his bundle
+and sat down to eat, having previously relieved Attim of his load and
+given him some food.  Everything he did had to be done by feeling, for
+he could not see his hand even when held only an inch from his face.
+
+Then he set to work.  It was difficult at first, for he had to strike
+out at random, sometimes hitting a lump of ice unexpectedly, sometimes
+just tipping it, and occasionally missing it altogether, when the axe
+would swing round behind him, to the great danger of Attim, who insisted
+on keeping close to his master's heels wherever he went.  By degrees,
+however, he learned to guess more correctly the position of the walls,
+especially after he had advanced a few feet and cut a tunnel, with the
+shape and dimensions of which he soon became familiar.  For hours he
+laboured with unflagging diligence, clearing back the ice debris into
+the cavern from which he had started.  But no sign of open air rewarded
+him.
+
+At last, when almost exhausted, he made preparations for passing the
+night where he was.  Before lying down he ate a hearty meal and fed the
+dog, who indicated his satisfaction by an occasional whine and the usual
+wag of the tail, which could be faintly heard though not seen.
+
+A pipe of course followed, and during the process of lighting it he and
+Attim obtained a fleeting glimpse of their abode.  As his materials
+could not produce a flame--only a dull red glow--the glimpse was not
+cheering, or of much value.
+
+Then Nazinred spread a deerskin on the ice, rolled himself in his
+blanket, pillowed his head on the dog, who seemed to be perfectly
+satisfied with the arrangement, and went to sleep till--we cannot say
+morning, for pitch darkness still prevailed, but till that point of time
+when the stomachic chronometer awoke them.
+
+After another feed the chief again set to work with indomitable
+perseverance, and extended the tunnel during many hours; yet when he had
+accomplished what appeared to him a long and severe day's work, it
+seemed as if he were as far off as ever from deliverance.  Just as he
+was giving way to weary disappointment, however, a rush of cold air came
+against his face, and with an irrepressible exclamation of satisfaction
+he found that his last blow with the axe had opened a way to the outer
+world.  A few more strokes, delivered with unwonted vigour, set him
+free, to find that the gale was over, that a profound calm prevailed,
+and that the faint grey light of the Arctic noon was illuminating the
+ghostly scene.
+
+He also discovered that during his imprisonment a heavy fall of snow had
+taken place, so that he sank a full foot into it--if not more--at every
+step.  Congratulating himself on having brought his snow-shoes with him,
+he at once put on those useful implements, and, having secured the pack
+on his back, he once more set forth on his journey, beating a track as
+he went on which the dog followed him with ease, though without such a
+track the poor thing could not have travelled at all until the surface
+of the snow had hardened.
+
+But although our Indian's heart was lighter after his deliverance, the
+toil which he had undergone, and the cold which he had experienced in
+the berg, had told somewhat severely even on his hardy frame, and when
+he built his hut that night it was with a feeling of despondency, for he
+became aware of a considerable diminution of strength.  An unusually
+keen frost on the following day increased this feeling, and when he was
+about to encamp at night, Nazinred said to himself, as well as to his
+dog, that he feared they would never complete their journey.
+
+But "Hope springs eternal in the human breast."  On looking round for a
+sheltered spot on which to build the snow-hut he observed three objects
+in the distance which bore a strong resemblance to Eskimo dwellings.
+Pushing forward eagerly, he soon reached them, and found that they were
+indeed huts of these children of the ice, but that they were deserted.
+The disappointment was very great, yet our chief bore up against it
+manfully.  He made use of one of the huts as a resting-place for the
+night.  Next morning he found that the prolonged strain had rendered him
+much weaker than he had believed to be possible.  Diminishing
+provisions, also, had increased the evil, and a still further fall in
+the temperature induced a feeling of feebleness which the hitherto
+vigorous man had never before experienced.
+
+The idea of giving in, however, had never once entered his mind.  To
+persevere in the search until success or death should arrest him had
+been his fixed resolve from the beginning.
+
+"Come on, pup," he said, patting the head of his faithful friend, as he
+fastened on his snow-shoes and set forth.
+
+To his surprise he found that he staggered a little at first, but as he
+warmed to the work his vigour increased and his powers of endurance
+seemed almost as strong as ever.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+THE ESKIMOS AGAIN, AND A GREAT DISCOVERY AND RESCUE.
+
+While Nazinred, under the influence of strong affection, was thus
+fighting with the unfamiliar difficulties and dangers of the polar sea,
+Cheenbuk and his Eskimo friends were enjoying life in what may be called
+their native element.
+
+"Will Adolay come for a drive?" said our gallant Eskimo one day when the
+sun had risen near enough to the eastern horizon to almost, but not
+quite, extinguish the stars.  "We go to seek for walruses."
+
+The Indian maiden was sitting at the time in the snow residence which
+belonged to Mangivik.  Mrs Mangivik was sitting opposite to her mending
+a seal-skin boot, and Cowlik the easy-going was seated beside her,
+engaged with some other portion of native attire.  Nootka was busy over
+the cooking-lamp, and old Mangivik himself was twirling his thumbs,
+awaiting the result of her labours.  Oolalik was there too--he was
+frequently there--courting Nootka in the usual way, by prolonged silent
+staring.  The process might have been trying to some women, but Nootka
+did not mind.  Like many young damsels, she was fond of admiration, and
+could stand a good deal of it, no matter how peculiar the mode in which
+it was expressed.
+
+"I don't care to go," said Adolay, with a sigh.
+
+Cheenbuk did not repeat the invitation or press for a reason.  He was a
+considerate as well as a gallant youth.  He knew that the poor girl was
+pining for her parents, and that she regretted having left them--even
+although remaining in her native village might have involved her being
+wed against her will to the hated Magadar, or subjected to his
+persecutions during her father's absence.  Cheenbuk did his best to
+comfort her with the assurance that he would take her back to her home
+with the very first of the open water.  But when Adolay began to realise
+what a very long time must elapse before the ice would reopen its
+portals and set the waters free, her heart sank and she began to mope.
+
+"We may as well have some women with us," remarked Oolalik, with a
+pointed glance at Nootka, but Nootka took no notice of either the
+observation or the glance.  Even Eskimo girls understand how to tease!
+
+"Will Cowlik go?" asked Cheenbuk.
+
+"Yes."  Cowlik smiled, and was quite ready to go.
+
+"No, she won't," said Mrs Mangivik, with a positiveness almost European
+in its tone.
+
+"Very well."  Cowlik smiled, and was equally ready to remain.
+
+Mangivik himself expressed no opinion on the subject, but twirled his
+thumbs faster as he expressed a hope that the cooking would be soon
+completed.
+
+It was finally arranged that only young men should go, with sledges and
+teams of dogs to fetch the meat home.
+
+The little town in which this scene was being enacted was composed of
+between twenty and thirty whitey-brown bee-hives of snow, of the usual
+shape, ranged on the ice near the shore of a large island.  The scene
+presented was a lively one, for while some of the inhabitants were
+creeping into the small tunnels which formed as it were porches before
+the doors, others were creeping out.  Men and dogs were moving about--
+the former harnessing the latter to sledges in preparation for the
+approaching hunt, while hairy little balls of children were scampering
+about in play, or sitting on the tops of the snow bee-hives, watching
+the proceedings with interest.
+
+The Eskimo sledge is a contrivance of wood capable of accommodating five
+or six men, and usually drawn by a team of from six to ten dogs, each
+dog being fastened to it by means of a separate line of tough
+walrus-hide.  In a short time the long-lashed, short-handled, powerful
+whips cracked, the teams yelped, the men shouted, and away they all went
+with much noise over the frozen sea.
+
+After a short run the parties separated and went in different
+directions.  Cheenbuk and his men drove in a southerly direction.  Soon
+they came to a place which had been kept open by walruses as a
+breathing-hole.  Here they got out, hid the sledge and dogs behind a
+hummock, and, getting ready their spears and harpoons, prepared for an
+encounter.  After waiting some time a walrus thrust its ungainly head up
+through the young ice that covered the hole, and began to disport itself
+in elephantine, or rather walrusian, gambols.
+
+Tiring of this in a few minutes, it dived, and the natives ran to the
+edge of the hole to be ready when it should come up again.  The animal
+was a female, and a small one.  When it re-appeared harpoons and lances
+were at once driven into it, and it was killed almost immediately.  This
+is not always the result of such an encounter, for this elephant of the
+polar seas is naturally a ferocious brute, and when bulls are attacked
+they are prone to show fight rather than take fright.
+
+Leaving the young men to skin and cut up the meat, Cheenbuk went on,
+with only Anteek to keep him company, in search of another
+breathing-hole.
+
+"You must harpoon the next one all alone, and kill him without help,"
+said Cheenbuk to his companion soon after they had started.
+
+"I'll try," returned the boy, with the air of confidence befitting a
+knight who had already won his spurs, yet with the modesty of a youth
+who was aware of his fallibility.
+
+But Anteek was not destined to distinguish himself that day, for, about
+three miles beyond the place where the walrus had been slain, they came
+across a track so singular that, on beholding it, they were stricken
+dumb with surprise.
+
+Stopping the dogs, they gazed at it for a few moments in speechless
+wonder.
+
+"I am not an old man," said Cheenbuk at length in a solemn tone, "but I
+have seen most of the wonderful things in this world, yet have I never
+seen a track like that!"
+
+He pointed to the track in question, and turned a look of blazing
+inquiry on Anteek.
+
+"And I am not an old boy," returned the other, "but I too have seen a
+good many of the wonderful things of this world, yet have I never even
+dreamed of the like of that!"
+
+It will doubtless strike the reader here, as an evidence that Eskimos
+are under similar delusions to the rest of the human family, that these
+two referred to that world of theirs as equivalent to the world at
+large!
+
+"What can it be?" murmured Cheenbuk.
+
+"The very biggest bear that ever was, come to frighten the wisest people
+that ever lived, out of their wits," suggested Anteek.
+
+The face of the elder Eskimo underwent a sudden change, and an
+intelligent expression flitted over it as he said--
+
+"I know now--I remember--I guess.  You have often heard me talk of the
+Fire-spouters, Anteek?  Well, the snow where they live is very deep and
+soft--not at all like the snow here, except when our snow is
+new-fallen--so that they cannot travel in the cold time without great
+things on their feet.  That,"--pointing downward--"must be the track of
+those great things, and there must be a Fire-spouter not far off."
+
+"Perhaps a number of Fire-spouters--a war-party," suggested Anteek,
+becoming excited.
+
+"I think not, for there is only one track."
+
+"But they may have walked in a row--behind each other."
+
+"That is true.  You notice well, Anteek.  You will be a good hunter
+soon."
+
+He stooped as he spoke, to examine more carefully the track, which was
+indeed none other than that made by the snow-shoes of Nazinred on his
+weary and well-nigh hopeless journey over the frozen sea.
+
+"Look here, Cheenbuk," cried the boy, whose excitement was increasing.
+"Is there not here also the track of a dog, with a strange mark on each
+side of it, as if it were drawing two lines as it went along?"
+
+"You are right again, boy.  There is here the track of a dog, but there
+is only one man.  Come, we will follow it up."
+
+Jumping on the sledge again, the Eskimo cracked his whip and set the
+dogs off at full gallop.
+
+For some time they advanced, looking eagerly forward, as if expecting
+every minute to come in sight of the man and dog who had made the
+tracks, but nothing appeared for some hours.  Then they arrived at the
+three huts where the Indian had received such a disappointment on
+finding them deserted.  A close examination showed that the stranger had
+spent a night in one of them, and, from various indications, Cheenbuk
+came to the conclusion that he had been much exhausted, if not starving,
+while there.
+
+Getting on the sledge again, he continued to follow up the trail with
+renewed diligence.
+
+They had not gone far when an object was seen lying on the ice not far
+ahead of them.
+
+Anteek was first to catch sight of it, and point it out to his
+companion, who did not speak, but let out his lash and urged the dogs
+on.  As they approached, the object was seen to move, then there came
+towards them what sounded like a prolonged melancholy howl.
+
+"The dog is alive," whispered Anteek.
+
+"I hope the man is--but I fear," returned his comrade.
+
+In a few moments more they were alongside, and the dog started up with a
+snarl as if to defend its master, who was lying motionless on the ice;
+but the snarl was feeble, and the poor beast was obviously in a state of
+exhaustion.
+
+"He is not dead," said Cheenbuk, putting his hand over the Indian's
+heart, while Anteek caught poor Attim by the nose and held him gently
+back.
+
+It turned out as the Eskimo had said.  Nazinred was not dead, but he was
+very nearly so, and it is probable that another hour of exposure and
+inaction would have ended the career of both himself and his dog.
+
+He had walked on persistently until that peculiar feeling of an
+irresistible desire to lie down and sleep overcame him.  No one knew
+better than himself the danger of his condition, yet the fatal lethargy
+is such that no resolution is sufficient to overcome it.  Lying, or
+rather falling, down, he had remained still for a few moments--then the
+state of quiet, but deadly repose had supervened and he would never have
+risen again if succour had not been sent.
+
+As it was, the Eskimos set to work with tremendous energy to chafe and
+resuscitate him, but it seemed at first that they were too late.  By
+dint of untiring perseverance, however, they became successful.  A
+slight effort to exert himself was observable in the Indian, and then,
+getting him on his feet, Cheenbuk on one side and Anteek on the other,
+they forced him to stagger about until vitality began to revive.
+
+"Now, boy, we'll get him into the sledge, and away back to the igloes."
+
+Without delay they led Nazinred to the sledge, rolled him in a large
+white bearskin, and tied him on.  While thus engaged Anteek observed
+that Cheenbuk gazed for a few moments intently into the Indian's face,
+and then became much and strangely excited.
+
+"Is he going to die?" asked the boy anxiously.
+
+"No, it is not that--but--but, I have seen this Fire-spouter before.  I
+know him!  Quick, we _must_ save his life!"
+
+If the life of Nazinred had depended on the speed of the Eskimo dogs
+there would have been much hope of it, for Cheenbuk made them fly like
+the wind until he regained the three igloes.  As for Attim, having, with
+prompt sagacity, perceived that the strangers were friendly, he resigned
+himself to his fate.  Indeed, his master had, in a dazed sort of way,
+adopted the same course, and willingly submitted to whatever was done to
+him.
+
+Arrived at the deserted huts, the Indian was allowed to lie in his white
+bearskin until the Eskimo had kindled a lamp, cooked some food, warmed
+some water, and prepared a comfortable couch.  Then he went out to
+unlash the sleeper.
+
+"Now, Anteek, I'm going to send you away, and will expect you to be
+quick and act like a man.  Drive the sledge back to where we killed the
+walrus.  Let the men pack the meat on it and away back to our igloes.
+It is not far.  You will soon get there if you make the dogs yelp.  When
+you have arrived, and told your story, get a fresh team of dogs, and two
+men, and come back here with a little meat and some more bearskins--and
+do it all, boy, as fast as you can."
+
+"I will," answered Anteek in a tone and with a look of decision that
+were quite satisfactory.
+
+It was difficult to rouse the Indian at first so as to get him to
+stagger into the snow-hut, and he was more than half asleep all the
+time, insomuch that when inside he fell down on the couch prepared for
+him, and again sank into profound slumber.
+
+Then Anteek started up, jumped on the sledge, and set off for home at
+full speed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+STRANGE CONVERSE AND DISCOVERIES.
+
+Returning to the hut, Cheenbuk continued his culinary preparations with
+great diligence, gazing often and earnestly, as he did so, at the thin
+and careworn countenance of the sleeper.
+
+Although Nazinred was considerably altered by fatigue and suffering, the
+Eskimo entertained not the smallest doubt that he was the same Indian
+with whom he had once struggled on the banks of the Whale, or Greygoose,
+River.  Equally sure was he that the Indian, owing to his worn-out
+condition when discovered, had not recognised himself, and the fancy
+occurred to him that he would at first try to avoid recognition.  To
+this end he pulled his hood a little more over his eyes, deepened the
+colour of his face by rubbing it with a little lamp-black and oil, and
+resolved to lower his voice a note or two when the time for speaking
+should arrive.  That time was not long of coming; probably the
+increasing warmth of the hut, or the smell of the seal-steak in the
+nostrils of the half-starved man, may have had something to do with it,
+but the meal was hardly ready when the Indian yawned, stretched himself,
+sat up and gazed solemnly around.
+
+"You are feeling better?" said Cheenbuk in his deepened tone, and in
+broken Dogrib tongue.
+
+The Indian fixed a steady gaze on him for nearly a minute before
+replying.
+
+"Yes," he said, in a dreamy tone, "I'm better.  If the Eskimo had not
+been sent to me I had now been with my ancestors."
+
+"No one sent me to you," returned Cheenbuk; "I found you lying on the
+snow."
+
+"The Great Manitou sent you," said the Indian gravely.
+
+It was this touch of seriousness which had originally drawn those two
+men together, but the Eskimo remembered that he was acting a part at the
+moment, and that any expression of sympathy might betray him.  He
+therefore made no rejoinder, but, placing the seal-steak on a flat
+stone, bade the hungry man eat.
+
+Nazinred required no pressing; he began at once, and was ready for more
+almost before more was ready for him.  By persevering industry, however,
+Cheenbuk kept his guest supplied, and when appetite began to fail he
+found time to attend to his own wants and keep the other company.
+
+Silence reigned at first.  When the Indian had finished eating he
+accepted a draught of warm water, and then had recourse to his fire-bag
+and pipe.  Cheenbuk expected this, and smiled inwardly, though his
+outward visage would have done credit to an owl.
+
+At last he looked up and asked the Indian how he came to be travelling
+thus alone and so far from his native land.
+
+Nazinred puffed a voluminous cloud from his lips and two streaming
+cloudlets from his nose ere he replied.
+
+"When my son," he said, "was on the banks of the Greygoose River his
+voice was not so deep!"
+
+Cheenbuk burst into a laugh and threw back his hood.
+
+"You know me, then, you man-of-the-woods," said he, holding out his hand
+in the white trader fashion which the other had taught him.
+
+"When the men-of-the-woods see a face once, they never forget it,"
+returned the Indian, grasping the proffered hand heartily, but without a
+sign of risibility on his countenance, for in this, as we know, he
+differed considerably from his companion; yet there was a something
+about the corners of his eyes which seemed to indicate that he was not
+quite devoid of humour.
+
+"But how did you discover me?" resumed Cheenbuk.  "I not only spoke with
+a deeper voice, but I put black and oil on my face, and pulled my hood
+well forward."
+
+"When the Eskimo wants to blind the man-of-the-woods," answered
+Nazinred, sententiously, "he must remember that he is a man, not a
+child.  The cry of the grey geese is always the same, though some of
+them have deeper voices than others.  A face does not change its shape
+because it is dirtied with oil and black.  Men draw hoods over their
+faces when going out of a lodge, not when coming in.  When smoking
+tobacco is seen for the _first_ time, surprise is always created.--
+Waugh!"
+
+"What you say is true, man-of-the-woods," returned Cheenbuk, smiling.
+"I am not equal to you at deceiving."
+
+Whether the Indian took this for a compliment or otherwise there was no
+expression on his mahogany face to tell, as he sat there calmly smoking
+and staring at the lamp.  Suddenly he removed the pipe from his lips and
+looked intently at the Eskimo, who in turn regarded him with evident
+expectation.
+
+"My son," said Nazinred, "I have one or two questions to put to you.
+You and I agree about many things.  Tell me, what would you think of the
+fawn that would forsake its dam?"
+
+Cheenbuk was puzzled, but replied that he thought there must be
+something the matter with it--something wrong.
+
+"I will tell you a story," continued the Indian, "and it is true.  It
+did not come into my head.  I did not dream it.  There was a
+man-of-the-woods, and he had a squaw and one child, a girl.  The parents
+were very fond of this girl.  She was graceful like the swan.  Her eyes
+were large, brown, and beautiful like the eyes of a young deer.  She was
+active and playful like the young rabbit.  When she was at home the
+wigwam was full of light.  When she was absent it was dark.  The girl
+loved her father and mother, and never disobeyed them or caused them to
+suffer for a moment.  One day, when the father was far away from home, a
+number of bad Eskimos came and fought with the men-of-the-woods, who
+went out and drove their enemies away.  They took one prisoner, a strong
+fine-looking man.  One night the prisoner escaped.  It was discovered
+that the girl helped him and then went away with him."
+
+He paused and frowned at this point, and the startled Cheenbuk at once
+recognised himself and Adolay as the hero and heroine of the story.
+
+"Did the girl," he asked, "go away with the escaped prisoner of her own
+will, or did he force her to go?"
+
+"She went of her own will," returned the Indian.
+
+"One of the women of the tribe followed her and heard her speak.  But
+the father loved his child.  He could not hate her, although she forsook
+her home.  At first he thought of taking all his young men and going on
+the war-path to follow the Eskimos, slay the whole tribe, and bring back
+his child.  But Manitou had put it in the father's mind to think that it
+is wrong to kill the innocent because of the guilty.  He therefore made
+up his mind to set off alone to search for his child."
+
+Again Nazinred paused, and Cheenbuk felt very uncomfortable, for
+although he knew that it was impossible for the Indian to guess that the
+Eskimo with whom he had once had a personal conflict was the same man as
+he who had been taken prisoner and had escaped with his daughter, still
+he was not sure that the astute Red man might not have put the two
+things together and so have come to suspect the truth.
+
+"So, then, man-of-the-woods," said Cheenbuk at last, "_you_ are the
+father who has lost his daughter?"
+
+"I am," returned the Indian, "and I know not to what tribe the young man
+belongs with whom she has gone away, but I am glad that I have met with
+you, because you perhaps may have heard if any strange girl has come to
+stay with any of the tribes around you, and can tell me how and where to
+find her.  We named her Adolay, because she reminds us of that bright
+season when the sun is hot and high."
+
+Cheenbuk was silent for some time, as well he might be, for the sudden
+revelation that the Indian who had once been his antagonist, and for
+whom he had taken such a liking, was the father of the very girl who had
+run away with him against her inclination, quite took his breath away.
+It was not easy to determine how or when the true facts should be broken
+to the father, and yet it was evident that something must be said, for
+Cheenbuk could not make up his mind to lie or to act the part of a
+hypocrite.
+
+"I have heard of the girl-of-the-woods you speak of," he said at last;
+"I have seen her."
+
+For the first time since they met, the characteristic reserve of the
+Indian broke down, and he became obviously excited, yet even then he
+curbed his tongue for a few moments, and when he again spoke it was with
+his habitual calmness.
+
+"Does my son know the tribe to which she has been taken?  And is it well
+with the girl?"
+
+"He does.  And it is well with Adolay."
+
+"Do they dwell far from here?" asked Nazinred, anxiously in spite of
+himself.
+
+"Not far.  I can soon take you to their igloes.  But tell me,
+man-of-the-woods, do you think your child had no reason for leaving home
+in this way except fondness for the young man?"
+
+"I know not," returned the Indian, with a doubtful, almost a hopeful
+look.  "What other reason could she have?  Her mother and I loved her
+more than ourselves.  All the young men loved her.  One of them--a bad
+one--had sworn to his comrades that he would have her for a wife in
+spite of her father,"--he smiled very slightly at this point, with a
+look of ineffable contempt--"but Magadar did not venture to say that in
+her father's ears!"
+
+"May it not have been fear of this man, this Magadar, which drove her
+away?" suggested Cheenbuk.  "You were not there to defend her.  She may
+have been afraid of him, although you fear him not."
+
+"That is true," returned the Indian, with a brighter look, "though I
+thought that Adolay feared nothing--but she is not her father."
+
+This wise and obvious truism, or the words of the Eskimo, seemed to
+afford some comfort to the poor man, for he became more communicative
+and confidential after that.
+
+"Do you think," asked Cheenbuk, "that your daughter has married this
+young man?"
+
+"I know not."
+
+"Don't you think it is likely?"
+
+"I fear it is not unlikely."
+
+"Why should you fear it?  Are not the Eskimos as strong and brave as the
+men-of-the-woods?"
+
+For a moment the Indian looked at his companion with high disdain, for
+the boastful question had aroused within him the boastful spirit; but
+the look quickly disappeared, and was replaced by the habitual air of
+calm gravity.
+
+"It may be, as you say, that your nation is as brave and strong as
+ours--"
+
+"I did not say that," remarked the free-and-easy Eskimo, interrupting
+his companion in a way that would have been deemed very bad manners in
+an Indian, "I asked you the question."
+
+With a look of deeper gravity than usual the Indian replied:
+
+"To your question no true answer can be given till all the men of both
+nations have tried their courage and their strength.  But such matters
+should only be discussed by foolish boys, not by men.  Yet I cannot help
+confessing that it is a very common thing among our young braves to
+boast.  Is it so among the Eskimos?"
+
+The Eskimo laughed outright at this.
+
+"Yes," said he, "our young men sometimes do that--some of them; but not
+all.  We have a few young men among us who know how to hold their
+tongues and when to speak."
+
+"That is useful knowledge.  Will my son speak now, and tell me what he
+knows about Adolay?"
+
+"He knows that she is well spoken of, and much loved by the tribe with
+which she lives."
+
+"That is natural," said the Indian, with a pleased look.  "No one who
+sees Adolay can help loving her.  Does the young man who took her away
+treat her kindly?"
+
+"No one can tell that but herself.  What if he treated her ill?"
+
+"I would hope never to meet with him face to face," replied Nazinred,
+with a frown and a nervous clenching of the fist that spoke volumes.
+
+"I have heard," continued Cheenbuk in a quiet way, "that the girl is
+very sad.  She thinks much of her old home, and blames herself for
+having left it."
+
+"Good," said the Indian emphatically.  "That is like the child, to be
+sorry when she has done wrong."
+
+"And I have heard that the young man who took her away is very fond of
+her--so fond that he will do whatever she likes to please her.  His name
+is Cheenbuk.  She asked him to take her home again, and he has promised
+to do so when the hot sun and the open water come back."
+
+"Good.  The young man must be a good man.  Will he keep his promise?"
+
+"Yes.  I know him well.  He loves truth, and he will do what he says."
+
+"It is a long time till the open water comes.  Will the young Eskimo's
+mind not change?"
+
+"Cheenbuk's mind will not change.  He loves Adolay better than himself."
+
+Nazinred pondered this statement for some time in silence, caressing the
+sleek head of Attim as he did so.
+
+"Will this young man, this Cheenbuk, be willing, do you think, to leave
+her in the lodges of her people and give her up altogether?" he asked,
+with a somewhat doubtful look.
+
+"If Adolay wishes to be given up, he will," replied the Eskimo
+confidently.
+
+"And you know him well?"
+
+"Very well.  No one knows him better."
+
+Again the Indian was silent for some time.  Then he spoke in a low tone:
+
+"My son has made glad the heart of the man-of-the-woods.  When we met by
+the river and strove together, we were drawn by a cord that anger could
+not snap.  It is strange that you should now be chosen by Manitou to
+bring me such good news."
+
+"Manitou can do stranger things than this, my father."
+
+No more was said at that time, for, as both were thoughtful men, a
+considerable space of time was allowed to elapse between each question
+and answer.  Before it could be resumed the crack of a whip and loud
+yelping were heard in the distance, and in a few minutes Anteek and two
+men drove up to the igloe with the sledge and a fresh team of dogs.
+
+"I sent for them," explained Cheenbuk.  "My father is tired, he will lie
+down on the sledge with a bearskin round him, while I take him to the
+igloes of my people.  After that I will take him to Adolay."
+
+"Nazinred will not lie down.  He is no longer tired, for his heart is
+glad."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
+
+KICK-BALL AND AN IMPORTANT MEETING.
+
+We beg the reader now to accompany us to the Eskimo village, where the
+men and boys are having a game at kick-ball, a favourite game with those
+men-of-the-ice, which goes far to prove their kinship with ourselves.
+
+But the details of the game are dissimilar in many ways--only the spirit
+is the same; namely, an effort to rouse the bodily system to as near the
+bursting-point as possible without an absolute explosion.
+
+It was a lovely northern night.  There was a clearness in the still
+frosty air which gave to the starry host a vivid luminosity, and seemed
+to reveal an infinite variety of deep distances instead of the usual
+aspect of bright spots on a black surface.  Besides the light they shed,
+the aurora was shooting up into the zenith with a brilliancy that almost
+equalled that of moonlight, and with a vigour that made the beholder
+think there was a rustling sound.  Indeed, some of the natives stoutly
+asserted that these lights did rustle--but among Eskimos, as among
+ourselves, there are highly imaginative people.
+
+Oolalik was there of course.  No game was thought complete without the
+co-operation of that robust Eskimo.  So was Raventik, for the game of
+kick-ball suited his bold reckless nature to perfection, and there were
+none of the other players except himself capable of opposing Oolalik
+with any hope of success.  Aglootook the magician also took part.  The
+dignity of his office did not forbid his condescending to the
+frivolities of recreative amusement.  Gartok was also there, but, alas!
+only as a spectator, for his wound was not sufficiently healed to permit
+of his engaging in any active or violent work.  His fellow-sufferer
+Ondikik sat beside him.  He, poor man, was in a worse case, for the
+bullet which was in him kept the wound open and drained away his
+strength.  He was wrapped in a white bearskin, being unable to withstand
+the cold.
+
+The whole male population, except the old men and the wounded, took part
+in the game, for the ball frequently bounded to the outskirts of the
+ice-field, where the boys of every shape and size had as good a chance
+of a kick as the men.  As the women stood about in all directions
+looking on, and sending back the ball when it chanced to be kicked out
+of bounds, it may be said to have been an exceedingly sociable game.
+
+Old Mangivik took great interest, though no part, in it, and Mrs M was
+not a whit behind him in enthusiastic applause whenever a good kick was
+given.  Of course the fair Nootka was beside them, for--was not Oolalik
+one of the players?  She would have scorned the insinuation that that
+was the reason.  Nevertheless there is reason to believe that that had
+something to do with her presence.
+
+Our friend Adolay, however, was not there.  The absence of Cheenbuk may
+have had something to do with her absence, but, as she was seated in
+Mangivik's igloe moping over the lamp, it is more charitable to suppose
+that a longing for home--sweet home--was weighing down her spirits.
+
+Old and young Uleeta were looking on with great delight, so was Cowlik
+the easy-going, and Rinka the sympathetic; and it was noticeable that,
+every now and then, the latter distracted her mind from the play in
+order to see that the bearskin did not slip off the shoulders of
+Ondikik, and to replace it if it did.  Not that Rinka had any special
+regard for Ondikik, but it afforded her intense pleasure merely to
+relieve suffering in any way--so strong was the weakness for which she
+got credit!
+
+The game had lasted for a considerable time, and the players were
+beginning to blow hard, when the ball, kicked by a surprisingly small
+boy in disproportionately big seal-skin boots, chanced to fall between
+Raventik and Oolalik.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Nootka to herself, with a gasp of hope.
+
+"Ho!" exclaimed Oolalik, with a shout of determination.
+
+Raventik exclaimed nothing, but both young men rushed at the ball with
+furious vigour.  The active Oolalik reached it first.
+
+"Ah!" sighed Nootka with satisfaction.
+
+"Hoh!" cried Oolalik, with a kick so full of energy that it would have
+sent the ball far over a neighbouring iceberg, if it had not been
+stopped dead by the broad face of Raventik, who went flat on his back in
+consequence--either from the tremendous force of the concussion, or
+because of a slip of the foot, or both.
+
+This incident was received with shouts of laughter and great applause,
+while Raventik sprang to his feet.  Instead of taking it in good part,
+however, the reckless man allowed his temper to get the better of him,
+and made a rush at Oolalik, who, being naturally peaceful in
+temperament, dodged his adversary, and, with a laugh, ran away from him;
+but the other was not to be baulked in this way.  A fight he was bent
+on, so he gave chase at the top of his speed.  The man of peace,
+however, was too fleet for him.  He kept just out of his reach, thereby
+stimulating his rage and inducing many a "spurt" which proved abortive.
+At last, being desirous of putting an end to the chase--or himself
+losing patience, who knows?--Oolalik suddenly dropped on his hands and
+knees, and Raventik, plunging headlong over him, fell flat on his breast
+and went scooting over the ice for about ten or fifteen yards before he
+could stop himself.  What would have happened after that no one can
+tell, for just then the attention of the whole party was diverted by a
+shout in the distance, accompanied by the cracking of a whip and the
+usual sounds that announced an arrival.
+
+A few seconds later and Cheenbuk drove his team into the village.
+
+He had warned Anteek to say nothing about the finding of the Indian, and
+the boy had been faithful to his trust, so that the whole population was
+thrown into a state of wide-eyed amazement, not to mention excitement,
+when the tall form of the Fire-spouter was seen to rise from the sledge
+and turn his grave countenance upon them with the calm dignity
+characteristic of his race.  The dogs of the village showed not only
+surprise, but also their teeth, on observing Attim among the newcomers,
+and they made for him, but a well-directed and sweeping cut from the
+whip of the watchful Anteek scattered them right and left, and rebuked
+their inhospitality.
+
+Thereafter Cheenbuk began to tell how he had discovered the Indian on
+the ice, and introduced the subject with some prolixity, like not a few
+white men when they have a good story to tell.  Moreover, the wily man
+had an eye to dramatic effect, and, observing that Adolay was not among
+the women, he made up his mind to what is called "prolong the agony" as
+far as possible.
+
+Unfortunately for his purpose, there happened to be blowing at the time
+a gentle nor'-west breeze, which, in its direct course towards them, had
+to pass over the igloe that belonged to Mangivik, and the humble-minded
+Attim, keen of scent, recognised something there that caused him
+suddenly to cock his ears and tail, open his eyes, and give vent to a
+sharp interrogative yelp!
+
+Next moment he charged through the canine throng--scattering them in
+abject terror--dashed into the tunnel of Mangivik's dwelling, and
+disappeared from view.  Another moment and there issued from the igloe--
+not a scream: Indian girls seldom or never scream--but a female
+ebullition of some sort, which was immediately followed by the sudden
+appearance of Adolay, with the dog waltzing around her, wriggling his
+tail as if he wished to shake off that member, and otherwise behaving
+himself like a quadrupedal lunatic.
+
+Eager inquiry was intensified in every line of her expressive face, and,
+withal, a half-scared look, as if she expected to see a ghost.  If she
+had really seen one the effect could scarcely have been more impressive
+when her eyes encountered those of her father.  She stood for a few
+moments gazing, and utterly unable to move, then, with a wild cry of
+joy, she bounded towards him.  In like manner the Indian stood at first
+as if thunderstruck, for Cheenbuk's information had not led him to
+expect this.  Then his wonted dignity utterly forsook him; for the first
+time in his life, perhaps, he expressed his feelings of affection with a
+shout, and, meeting the girl half-way, enfolded her in an embrace that
+lifted her completely off her legs.
+
+The Eskimos, as may well be imagined, were not only surprised but
+profoundly interested in the scene, and Cheenbuk was constrained to draw
+his narrative to an abrupt conclusion by informing them hurriedly that
+the Fire-spouter was the father of Adolay; that he had left home alone
+and on foot to search for her; that he was also the very man with whom,
+on the banks of the Whale River, he had fought and fraternised, and that
+therefore it behoved them to receive him hospitably as his particular
+friend.
+
+Cheenbuk spoke the concluding sentence with a look and tone that was
+meant to convey a warning to any one who should dare to feel or act
+otherwise; but there was little need of the warning, for, with the
+exception of Aglootook the medicine-man, the chief leaders of the
+fire-eating portion of the tribe, Gartok and Ondikik, were at the time
+helpless.
+
+While this irrepressible display of Dogrib affection was enacting, Attim
+was performing a special war-dance, or rather love-dance, of his own
+round the re-united pair.  He was an unusually wise dog, and seemed to
+know that he could expect no attention just then; he therefore contented
+himself with a variety of hind-legged pirouettes, and a little
+half-suppressed yelping, knowing that his turn would surely come in
+time.
+
+Meanwhile an incident occurred which seemed further to enhance the
+dramatic character of the meeting.  There burst suddenly and without
+warning upon the amazed and horrified multitude a miniature
+thunder-clap, which, being absolutely new to their experience, shook
+them to their spinal marrow.  Several boys of unusually inquisitive
+disposition, taking advantage of the pre-occupation of the tribe,
+ventured to poke about the sledge which had just arrived, and discovered
+the fire-spouter of the Indian.  With awe-stricken countenances they
+proceeded to examine it.  Of course, when they came to the trigger it
+went off.  So did the boys--excepting the one who had touched the
+trigger.  He, having the butt against his chest at the moment, received
+a lesson which he never forgot, and was laid flat on his back--as much
+with fright as violence.  Fortunately there was nothing in front of the
+gun at the time save the tip of a dog's tail.  Into this one lead-drop
+entered.  It was enough!  The owner of the tail sprang into space,
+howling.  Every one else, including dogs and bairns, with the exception
+of Mrs Mangivik--who, being as it were petrified with consternation,
+remained absolutely immovable--fled for shelter behind the igloes,
+leaving Nazinred, Adolay, Cheenbuk and Anteek in possession of the
+field.
+
+By degrees their fears were calmed, and according to their courage the
+rest of the population returned to the scene of the explosion, some half
+ashamed of having run away, others more than half ready to run again.
+
+"Do they sometimes do like that by themselves?" asked Cheenbuk,
+referring to the gun.
+
+"Never," said the Indian.  "Some one must have touched it."
+
+"The boys," remarked Anteek; "I know them!"
+
+Adolay laughed.  "Yes," she said, "I know them too, and they meddle with
+everything."
+
+"Come, man-of-the-woods," said Cheenbuk, "and see my father's igloe.  He
+is hiding inside of it since the spouter made its noise.  This is my
+sister, Nootka, and that," he added, pointing to Mrs Mangivik, who was
+gradually becoming untransfixed, "is my mother."
+
+"Have you told my father all, Cheenbuk?" asked Adolay as they went
+towards the hut.
+
+The Indian stopped abruptly and looked with a piercing glance at the
+Eskimo.
+
+"Cheenbuk!" he exclaimed, in a low voice.
+
+"Yes, that is my name," said the young man, with a smile, and yet with a
+something in his face which implied that he was not ashamed to own it.
+
+For a moment the Indian frowned as if he were displeased, at the same
+time drawing his daughter close to him.  The prejudices of race were at
+work within him then, and that very human weakness which shows itself in
+esteeming all nations inferior to one's own strove with his better
+feelings; but as he looked on the handsome face and brave bearing of the
+young man-of-the-ice, and remembered his sentiments and sympathy, he
+suddenly stepped up to him and held out his hand.
+
+"The white trader has taught me," he said, "that the difference in men
+is only skin-deep.  The same Manitou made us all.  Cheenbuk, my son, I
+am grateful to you for your care of my child."
+
+"My father," said the Eskimo, returning his grasp, "your mind is in a
+good state.  So is mine!  You must be tired and hungry.  Let us go and
+feed."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
+
+TELLS OF HUNTING EXTRAORDINARY.
+
+This advent of a male Fire-spouter into the little community was a
+source of much interest and delight to old and young--all the more that
+he had brought the mysterious spouter with him.
+
+Not less interesting to Nazinred was the community in the midst of which
+he found himself, for, as we have more than once indicated, our Indian
+was intellectually far in advance of his fellows, and the opportunity he
+now had of observing closely the life of the men-of-the-ice in all its
+details could not be otherwise than full of interest to an inquiring and
+large-minded man.
+
+On the day, or rather the night, of his arrival he was allowed quietly
+to eat his supper in the igloe of Mangivik, and go to sleep in peace,
+but next morning there was a crowding of relatives and friends into the
+hut, which rendered the meal of breakfast not quite so pleasant as it
+might have been, for the Indian, having been accustomed all his life to
+the comparatively open wigwam, did not relish the stifling atmosphere of
+the densely crowded snow-hut.  However, he belonged to a race of Stoics,
+and, restraining his feelings, ate his meal with moderate appetite and
+becoming gravity.
+
+There is reason to believe that he rather liked the earnest attention
+with which all his movements were closely and openly scrutinised; at all
+events he proceeded with his meal as calmly as if he had been alone, and
+in his own wigwam with none but the faithful Isquay and amiable Adolay
+to observe him.
+
+Staring, as we have already said, is not considered rude among the
+Eskimos; they therefore sat open-mouthed and eyed, taking mental notes
+in silence, till breakfast was over, when Nazinred, according to custom,
+opened his fire-bag, took out his pipe, and began to fill it.
+
+This created a sensation which was expressed by hard breathing and
+eloquent looks.  They had been waiting for this.  Of course Cheenbuk had
+often descanted to them on the subject of smoking, besides showing them
+how the thing was done, but now they were going to see the amazing thing
+done, in the right way, by the real Simon Pure--a live Fire-spouter!
+
+"My father," said Cheenbuk at this point, "the igloe is hot, and there
+are many more who wish to see you do that thing.  Will you come
+outside?"
+
+With a condescending smile the Indian rose.
+
+It was somewhat destructive of his dignity that he was obliged to go
+down on hands and knees, and creep out through the short snow tunnel,
+but as there was no other mode of egress he had to submit, and did it
+with the best grace possible, making up for the brief humiliation by
+raising himself when outside with ineffable dignity, and throwing his
+deerskin robe over one shoulder _a la_ Roman toga.
+
+He was greeted with something like a British cheer by the entire
+community of men, women, children, and even dogs, who were waiting
+outside for him.
+
+Sitting down on a snow-clad rock he went through the process of filling
+the pipe, striking a light and beginning to smoke, to the unutterable
+delight of the natives.  This delight became not only utterable but
+obstreperous when Cheenbuk gravely took out the pipe which Adolay had
+given him and began to keep him company, at the same time bestowing a
+look--a wink not yet being known to him--on Anteek, who forthwith went
+off into uncontrollable laughter and was promptly hustled out of the
+crowd.
+
+The interest aroused by the pipe, however, was as nothing compared with
+that bestowed on the fire-spouter.  For there was a mystery, noise, and
+deadliness about the latter which tended to evoke feelings of awe rather
+than amusement.
+
+"I don't like to trouble your father too much, Adolay," whispered
+Cheenbuk; "would you say to him that we wish very much to see him use
+the spouter?"
+
+Nazinred was an amiable man.  He at once consented, and went back to the
+hut for his gun, which, remembering the tendency of the boys to meddle,
+he had kept close beside him all night.
+
+Loading it inside, he re-appeared with it ready.  Taking up a lump of
+ice about the size of one's hand, he set it up on a hummock, and retired
+to a distance of about thirty yards.
+
+"Tell them all to keep back, out of the way of that, Cheenbuk," said
+Nazinred.
+
+The excitement and nervous expectation of the Eskimos had been worked up
+considerably by these preparations, so that they not only retired to a
+safe distance, but some of them even took refuge behind the igloes, and
+all held their breath while their guest took aim.
+
+He had loaded with shot, and when the explosion took place the piece of
+ice vanished, having been blown to atoms.  Of course a yell of
+admiration greeted the result, and all the dogs of the tribe fled on the
+wings--or paws--of terror, while Attim sat quietly looking on with
+somewhat of his master's dignity.
+
+But the curiosity of the Eskimos was only whetted by this.  They
+immediately began to clamour for explanations, so that the Indian found
+himself at last obliged to undertake a lecture on gunnery, as far as he
+understood it.
+
+"My father," said Cheenbuk, whose respect for the Indian was rapidly
+deepening, "some of my people want to know if you can kill bears with
+the spouter."
+
+"Yes, it will kill bears.  I killed a white one not long before you
+found me."
+
+"And will it kill the walrus too?"
+
+"Yes; it will kill the walrus.  It kills anything that has life."
+
+There was an expression of great astonishment at this.  Some even
+ventured to doubt it.  Then there was a noisy consultation for a few
+minutes, after which Cheenbuk was told to ask if their guest would go
+with them then and there to hunt for a walrus.
+
+"Oh yes;" the Indian was quite ready to go, whereupon the men scattered
+to harness the dogs and make preparation for an immediate hunt.
+
+"Go and get my sledge ready," said Cheenbuk to Anteek.
+
+The boy was only too glad to obey, for the mission implied that he
+should have a place on the sledge along with the Fire-spouter.
+
+In a very short time several sledges were ready.  Nazinred seated
+himself on one.  Cheenbuk and the others jumped in, the whips cracked,
+and away they went amid the shouting of the drivers and the yells of
+children and women left behind.
+
+It did not take long to find one of those giants of the frozen seas.
+Some miles out on the ice they came to a place which the walruses had
+kept open as a breathing-hole.  At the time of their arrival it had not
+been disturbed for some hours, for the water was covered by a coat of
+young ice, which was quite able to bear the weight of the men singly,
+though scarcely sufficiently strong for the sledges.
+
+Just as they arrived a walrus took it into its very thick head to crash
+up through the young ice and have a gambol.  The party retired behind a
+hummock and prepared for action.
+
+"Will the man-of-the-woods go first and try the spouter?" asked
+Cheenbuk.
+
+"No," replied Nazinred; "the man-of-the-woods prefers to watch how the
+men-of-the-ice do their work.  After that he will use the spouter, which
+_we_ call _pasgissegan_.  The white traders call it _gun_."
+
+Harpoons and lances were at once got ready.
+
+"Come, Anteek, with me; bring a harpoon and a coil with you.  We will
+show the man-of-the-woods what we can do."
+
+He said this with a look of self-confidence, for Cheenbuk, being a noted
+hunter among his fellows, was naturally rather proud of his powers.
+
+Waiting until the walrus dived, the Eskimo and his companion ran towards
+the hole of open water, and then suddenly lay down, for they knew the
+habits of the brute, and that he would soon reappear.  This, in fact,
+happened before they had lain more than a few minutes.  After another
+gambol the ungainly animal dived again.  Up got the two Eskimos and ran
+at full speed to the very edge of the hole.  On rising the third time
+the walrus found Cheenbuk standing with the harpoon raised.  One look of
+huge astonishment it gave at the man, who instantly drove the harpoon
+deep into its side, and then ran from the hole as fast as he could,
+uncoiling the long line of hide until he was some distance off.  Then he
+struck a piece of bone, sharp-pointed, into the ice, and put the loop at
+the end of the line over it.  This checked the dive of the walrus, which
+in furious rage came up and smashed another hole in the ice, looking
+fiercely around as if in search of its persecutor.  Anteek's opportunity
+had now come.  He ran towards the creature, which, so far from being
+afraid, smashed up the ice in vain attempts to get upon it.  Another
+harpoon was deftly driven into it, and the boy, running back, fixed his
+line as the man had done.
+
+These two now began to "play" the walrus, easing off and tightening
+their lines as required.
+
+Meanwhile the other Eskimos ran forward, and, taking advantage of the
+creature's combative disposition, fixed several more harpoons in it,
+besides giving it many severe thrusts with their lances.  But the hide
+of a walrus is nearly an inch thick, and it was not easy to pierce it
+with an effective thrust.  At last, however, they succeeded in killing
+it after a battle of over three hours.
+
+"That is hard work," observed Nazinred to Cheenbuk, as they stood
+watching the cutting up and packing of their prize on the sledges, "and
+takes a long time."
+
+"Come, now, let my father show us what the--the pass--pass-gi--spouter--
+gun can do," said Cheenbuk, pointing to his sledge, which Anteek had got
+ready.  "There are more walruses yonder."
+
+He pointed to another hole, not far off, where several were seen rolling
+about in the water.  The Indian stepped on the sledge, the others
+followed, and in a short time the whole party was concealed behind a
+hummock close to the hole.
+
+Nazinred now loaded his gun with ball.
+
+"You must first throw a harpoon for fear it should sink," he said, when
+ready to start.
+
+Without a word Cheenbuk grasped his harpoon and coil and ran forward,
+for the walrus had dived at that moment.  Anteek followed, and Nazinred
+kept close to both.  Once they lay down to let the animal come up and
+dive again.  The moment it did so they ran at full speed as before to
+the edge of the hole and waited.
+
+"Send it deep in," muttered the Indian.
+
+"I will," replied the Eskimo.
+
+"So will I," thought the boy, but he was too modest to say so.
+
+The thought had barely passed when the walrus came up with a puff and
+snort that might have been heard a mile off.  Cheenbuk's weapon was
+successfully launched in a moment.  So was that of Anteek, though he
+missed the animal's side, but hit in the neck.  Nazinred took quick but
+sure aim at one of its glaring eyes, and before the smoke of the shot
+had cleared away the walrus fell over dead with a bullet in its brain.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
+
+A BEAR-HUNT AND A SAD END.
+
+The Indian chief was after this an object of almost veneration to the
+Eskimo men, of admiration to the women, and of delight to the boys and
+girls, who highly appreciated his kindly disposition as well as his
+skill with the spouter.
+
+He was taken out on all their hunting expeditions, and fully initiated
+into all the mysteries of seals, walrus, deer, and musk-ox killing.  Of
+course the wonderful gun was brought into frequent requisition, but its
+owner was obliged to have regard to his powder and shot, and had to
+explain that without these the spouter would refuse to spout, and all
+its powers would vanish.  When this was thoroughly understood, his hosts
+ceased to persecute him with regard to displays of his skill.
+
+One day, in the dead of the long winter, Cheenbuk proposed to Nazinred
+to go on a hunt after bears.  The latter declined, on the ground that he
+had already arranged to go with Mangivik to watch at a seal-hole.
+Cheenbuk therefore resolved to take Anteek with him instead.  Gartok was
+present when the expedition was projected, and offered to accompany it.
+
+"I fear you are not yet strong enough," said Cheenbuk, whose objection,
+however, was delivered in pleasant tones,--for a change for the better
+had been gradually taking place in Gartok since the date of his wound,
+and his old opponent not only felt nothing of his ancient enmity towards
+him, but experienced a growing sensation of pity,--for the once
+fire-eating Eskimo did not seem to recover health after the injury he
+had received from the Fire-spouter's bullet.
+
+"I am not yet stout enough to fight the bears," he said with a half-sad
+look, "but I am stout enough to look on, and perhaps the sight of it
+might stir up my blood and make me feel stronger."
+
+Old Mangivik, who was sitting close by, heaved a deep sigh at this
+point.  Doubtless the poor man was thinking of his own strength in other
+days--days of vigour which had departed for ever--at least in this life;
+yet the old man's hopes in regard to the life to come were pretty
+strong, though not well defined.
+
+"Well, you may come," said Cheenbuk, as he rose and went out with Anteek
+to harness the dogs.
+
+In less than half an hour they were careering over the ice in the
+direction of a bay in the land where fresh bear-tracks had been seen the
+day before.
+
+The bay was a deep one, extending four or five miles up into the
+interior of the island.
+
+We have assumed that the land in question was an island because of its
+being in the neighbourhood of a large cluster of islands which varied
+very considerably in size; but there is no certainty as to this, for the
+region was then, and still is, very imperfectly known.  Indeed, it is
+still a matter of dispute among geographers, we believe, whether
+continents or seas lie between that part of the coast of America and the
+North Pole.
+
+As far as appearance went the land might have been the edge of a vast
+continent, for the valley up which the Eskimos were driving extended
+inwards and upwards until it was lost in a region where eternal glaciers
+mingled with the clouds, or reared their grey ridges against the dark
+winter sky.  It was a scene of cold, wild magnificence and desolation,
+which might have produced awe in the hearts of civilised men, though of
+course it must have seemed commonplace and tame enough to natives who
+had never seen anything much softer or less imposing.
+
+The party had travelled about four miles up the valley, and reached a
+steep part, which was trying to the mettle of the dogs, when a track was
+observed a short distance to their right.
+
+"Bear," said Gartok in a low voice, pointing towards it.
+
+Cheenbuk made no reply, but at once ran the team under the shelter of a
+neighbouring cliff and pulled up.  The dogs were only too glad to obey
+the order to halt, and immediately lay down, panting, with their tongues
+out.
+
+Fastening the sledge to a rock, and leaving it in charge of a little boy
+who had been brought for the purpose, the other three set off to examine
+the track and reconnoitre; intending, if they had reason to believe the
+bear was near, to return for the dogs and attack it in force.
+
+The track was found to be quite fresh.  It led upwards in the direction
+of a neighbouring ridge, and towards this the party hastened.  On
+reaching the summit they bent low and advanced after the manner of men
+who expected to see something on the other side.  Then they dropped on
+hands and knees, and crawled cautiously, craning their necks every now
+and then to see what lay beyond.
+
+Now, the little boy who had been left in charge of the sledge happened
+to be a presumptuous little boy.  He was not a bad boy, by any means.
+He did not refuse to obey father, or mother, or anybody else that
+claimed a right to command, and he was not sly or double-tongued, but he
+was afflicted with that very evil quality, presumption: he thought that
+he knew how to manage things better than anybody else, and, if not
+actually ordered to let things remain as they were, he was apt to go in
+for experimental changes on his own account.
+
+When, therefore, he was left in charge of the dogs, with no particular
+direction to do or to refrain from doing anything, he found himself in
+the condition of being dissatisfied with the position in which the team
+was fastened, and at once resolved to change it only a few yards farther
+to the right, near to a sheltering cliff.
+
+With this end in view he untied the cord that held the sledge, and made
+the usual request, in an authoritative voice, that the team would move
+on.  The team began to obey, but, on feeling themselves free, and the
+sledge light, they proceeded to the left instead of the right, and,
+despite the agonising remonstrances of the little boy, began to trot.
+Then, appreciating doubtless the Eskimo version of "Home, sweet Home,"
+they suddenly went off down-hill at full gallop.
+
+The presumptuous one, puckering his face, was about to vent his dismay
+in a lamentable yell, when it suddenly occurred to him that he might
+thereby disturb the hunters and earn a severe flogging.  He therefore
+restrained himself, and sat down to indulge in silent sorrow.
+
+Meanwhile the explorers topped the ridge, and, peeping over, saw a large
+white bear not more than a hundred yards off, sitting on its haunches,
+engaged, apparently, in contemplation of the scenery.
+
+At this critical moment they heard a noise behind them, and, glancing
+back, beheld their dogs careering homeward, with the empty sledge
+swinging wildly in the rear.  Cheenbuk looked at Gartok, and then both
+looked at the bear.  Apparently the ridge prevented the distant sound
+from reaching it, for it did not move.
+
+"We must go at it alone--without dogs," said Gartok, grasping his spear,
+while a flash of the old fire gleamed in his eyes.
+
+"You must not try," said Cheenbuk; "the drive here has already tired you
+out.  Anteek will do it with me.  This is not the first time that we
+have hunted together."
+
+The boy said nothing, but regarded his friend with a look of gratified
+pride, while he grasped his spear more firmly.
+
+"Good," returned Gartok, in a resigned tone; "I will stand by to help if
+there is need."
+
+Nothing more was said, but Cheenbuk looked at Anteek and gave the brief
+order--
+
+"Go!"
+
+The boy knew well what to do.  Grasping his spear, he ran out alone
+towards the bear and flourished it aloft.  Turning with apparent
+surprise, the animal showed no sign of fear at the challenge of such an
+insignificant foe.  It faced him, however, and seemed to await his
+onset.  The boy moved towards the right side of the bear.  At the same
+time Cheenbuk ran forward towards its left side, while Gartok went
+straight towards it at a slow walk, by way of further distracting its
+attention.
+
+As the three hunters approached from different directions, their prey
+seemed a good deal disconcerted, and looked from one to the other as if
+undecided how to act.  When they came close up the indecision became
+more pronounced, and it rose on its hind-legs ready to defend itself.
+Gartok now halted when within five or six yards of the animal, which was
+anxiously turning its head from side to side, while the other two ran
+close up.
+
+The plan was that usually followed by Eskimos in similar circumstances.
+Anteek's duty was to run forward and prick the bear on its right side,
+so as to draw its undivided attention on himself, thereby leaving its
+left side unguarded for the deadly thrust of Cheenbuk.  Of course this
+is never attempted by men who are not quite sure of their courage and
+powers.  But Cheenbuk and Anteek knew each other well.  The latter was
+not, perhaps, quite strong enough to give the death-dealing thrust, but
+he had plenty of courage, and knew well how to administer the deceptive
+poke.
+
+As for Gartok, besides being incapable of any great exertion, he would
+not on any account have robbed the boy of the honour of doing his work
+without help.  He merely stood there as a spectator.
+
+With active spring Anteek went close in and delivered his thrust.
+
+The bear uttered a savage roar and at once turned on him.  Just at the
+moment the boy's foot slipped and he fell close to the animal's feet.
+In the same instant the two men sprang forward.  Cheenbuk's spear
+entered the bear's heart, and that of Gartok struck its breast.  But the
+thrust of the latter was feeble.  In his excitement and weakness Gartok
+fell, and the dying bear fell upon him.  His action, however, saved
+Anteek, who rolled out of the way just as his preserver fell.
+
+Cheenbuk and Anteek did not hesitate, but, regardless of the few
+death-struggles that followed, rushed in, and grasping its thick hair
+dragged the monster off the fallen man.
+
+Gartok was insensible, and it was a considerable time before he fully
+recovered consciousness.  Then it was found that he could not rise, and
+that the slightest motion gave him intolerable pain.
+
+"He will die!" exclaimed Anteek, with a look of painful anxiety.
+
+"Yes, he will die if we do not quickly get him home," said Cheenbuk.
+"He cannot walk, and he would freeze long before we could make an igloe.
+I must depend on you now, Anteek.  Go back as fast as you can run, and
+send men with a sledge and skins and something to eat.  The boy will
+remain with me.  Away!"
+
+Without a word Anteek leaped up, and, dropping his spear, ran as if his
+own life depended on his speed.  The little boy, who had acted so
+foolishly, came up with an anxious look on being hailed, but soon forgot
+himself in his anxiety to be of use to the injured man.
+
+There was a mound of snow within three yards of the spot where the
+combat had taken place.  To the lee side of this Cheenbuk carried
+Gartok.  Being very strong, he was able to lift him tenderly, as if he
+had been a child, but, despite all his care, the poor man suffered
+terribly when moved.
+
+It was well that this mound happened to be so close, for a dark cloud
+which had been overspreading the sky for some time began to send down
+snow-flakes, and frequent gusts of wind gave indications of an
+approaching storm.  Having placed Gartok in such a position that he was
+quite sheltered from the wind, Cheenbuk took off his upper seal-skin
+coat, laid it on the snow, and lifted the injured man on to it.  He then
+wrapped it round him and folded the hood under his head for a pillow,
+bidding the boy bank up the snow beside him in such a way as to increase
+the shelter.  While thus engaged he saw with some anxiety that Gartok
+had become deadly pale, and his compressed lips gave the impression that
+he was suffering much.
+
+"Come here," said Cheenbuk to the boy quickly; "rub his hands and make
+them warm."
+
+The boy obeyed with alacrity, while the other, hastening his movements,
+began to skin the bear.  Being an expert with the knife in such an
+operation, he was not long of removing the thick-skinned hairy covering
+from the carcass, and in this, while it was still warm, he wrapped his
+comrade--not a moment too soon, for, despite the boy's zealous efforts,
+the intense cold had taken such hold of the poor man that he was almost
+unconscious.  The warmth of the bearskin, however, restored him a
+little, and Cheenbuk, sitting down beside him, took his head upon his
+lap, and tried to shelter him from the storm, which had burst forth and
+was raging furiously by that time--fine snow filling the atmosphere,
+while the wind drove it in huge volumes up the valley.
+
+Cheenbuk noted this, and congratulated himself on the fact the wind
+would favour the progress of the rescue sledge.
+
+Sometimes the whirling snow became so suffocating that the little boy
+was compelled to cease his labours on the sheltering wall and crouch
+close to it, while Cheenbuk buried his nose and mouth in the white fur
+of the bear until the violence of the blasts abated.  By keeping the
+skin well over the face of the wounded man, he succeeded in guarding him
+from them effectually.  But his mind misgave him when he tried to look
+through the whirling confusion around, and thought of the long tramp
+that Anteek would have ere he could commence his return journey with the
+sledge.
+
+It turned out, however, that this was one of those short-lived squalls,
+not uncommon in the Arctic regions, which burst forthwith unwonted fury,
+sweep madly over the plains of the frozen seas, rush up into the valleys
+of the land, and then suddenly stop, as though they felt that all this
+energy was being spent in vain.  In a short time, which however seemed
+interminable to the watchers on the hillside, the wind began to abate
+and the wild gusts were less frequent.  Then it calmed down; finally it
+ceased altogether; and the storm-cloud, passing away to the south-east,
+left the dark sky studded with the myriad constellations of the starry
+host.
+
+Uncovering Gartok's face to see how it fared with him, and hoping that
+he slept, Cheenbuk found that he was wide awake, but in a condition that
+made him more anxious than ever.  He looked up at the face of his
+protector with a faint but grateful smile.
+
+"I have always been your enemy," he said, in a low voice, "but you have
+been my friend."
+
+"That does not matter now," replied Cheenbuk.  "I have never been _your_
+enemy.  We will be friends from this time on."
+
+Gartok closed his eyes for a few seconds, but did not speak.  Then he
+looked up again earnestly.
+
+"No," he said, with more of decision in his tone; "we shall neither be
+friends nor enemies.  I am going to the country where all is dark; from
+which no sound has ever come back; where there is nothing."
+
+"Our people do not talk in this way.  They think that we shall all meet
+again in the spirit-land, to hunt the seal, the walrus, and the bear,"
+returned Cheenbuk.
+
+"Our people talk foolishness.  They _think_, but they do not _know_,"
+rejoined this Hyperborean agnostic, as positively and as ignorantly as
+if he had been a scientific Briton.
+
+"How do you know that there is `_nothing_' in the place where you are
+going?" asked Cheenbuk, simply.
+
+Gartok was silent.  Probably his logical faculty told him that his own
+thinking, and coming to a conclusion without knowing, was as foolish in
+himself as in his comrades.
+
+The subject of conversation happened to be very congenial to Cheenbuk's
+cast of mind.  He remained thinking and gazing upwards for a minute or
+two, then he said meditatively, as if he were trying to work out some
+mental problem--
+
+"Did you ever make a sledge, or a spear, and then destroy it utterly
+while it was yet good and new?"
+
+"Never.  I have been bad, it may be, but I am not a fool."
+
+"Is the great Maker of all a fool?  He has made _you_, and if He lets
+you die now, utterly, He destroys you in your best days.  Is it not more
+likely that He is calling you to some other land where there is work for
+you to do?"
+
+"I don't understand.  I do not know," replied Gartok, somewhat doggedly.
+
+"But you do understand, and you do know, that He would be foolish to
+kill you now, _unless_ He had some work and some pleasure for you in the
+unknown land from which no sound ever comes back.  When a father gives
+his son a work to do, he does not destroy his son when the work is done.
+He gives him another piece of work; perhaps sends him on a long journey
+to another place.  When the Maker of all sees that we have finished our
+work here, I ask again, is it not likely that He will send us to work
+elsewhere, or is it more likely that He will utterly destroy us--and so
+prove Himself to be more foolish than we are?"
+
+"I do not know," repeated Gartok, "but I do know that if the Maker of
+all is good, as I have heard say, then I have not done _His_ work here--
+for you know, everybody knows, I have been bad!"
+
+Cheenbuk was much perplexed, for he knew not "how to minister to a mind
+diseased."
+
+"I have often wondered," he said at last, "why it is that some things
+are wrong and some right.  The Maker of all, being good and
+all-powerful, could have made things as He pleased--all right, nothing
+wrong.  Perhaps men, like children, will understand things better when
+they are older--when they have reached the land from which no sound
+comes back.  But I am not much troubled.  The Maker of all must be
+all-good and all-wise.  If He were not, He could not be the Maker of
+all.  I can _trust_ Him.  He will throw light into our minds when the
+time comes.  He has already thrown some light, for do we not know right
+from wrong?"
+
+"True, but although I have known right I have always done wrong,"
+returned Gartok moodily.  "I am sorry now.  If you had not been kind to
+me, your enemy, Cheenbuk, I should never have been sorry.  Ever since I
+was hurt by the Fire-spouters you have been kind to me, and now you
+would save my life if you could.  But it is too late.  You have known
+right, and done it."
+
+"You mistake," rejoined Cheenbuk gravely.  "Like you, I have known right
+but I have not always done it; only sometimes.  It is not long since I
+began to think, and it is since I have been thinking that my spirit
+seems to have changed, so that I now hate wrong, and desire right.  I
+think that the Maker of all must have caused the change, as He makes the
+ice-mountains melt, for it is not possible that I could change myself.
+I had no wish to change till I felt the change."
+
+"I wish," said Gartok earnestly, "that--if He exists at all--He would
+change me."
+
+At that moment Cheenbuk, who was gazing up into the brilliant sky,
+seemed to be moved by a sudden inspiration, for he gave utterance to the
+first audible prayer that had ever passed his lips.
+
+"Maker of all," he said, "give to Gartok the spirit that loves right and
+hates wrong."
+
+The dying Eskimo raised his eyes to Cheenbuk's face in astonishment;
+then he turned them to the starry host, as if he almost expected an
+immediate answer.
+
+"Do you think He hears us?" he asked in a faint voice, for the strength
+of his feelings and the effort at conversation had exhausted him
+greatly.
+
+"I will trust Him," answered Cheenbuk.
+
+"I will trust Him," repeated Gartok.
+
+For some time they sat in profound silence, and Gartok closed his eyes
+as if he were falling asleep.  The silence was broken by a distant
+sound.  It was the approach of Anteek with the sledge.  He had found the
+runaway dogs anchored fast between two masses of ice where the sledge
+had got jammed.  Turning the team round he plied his whip with vigour,
+insomuch that they would have arrived much sooner if the storm had not
+caused delay.
+
+Having arranged the sledge and its wraps so as to form a comfortable
+couch for the wounded man, they lifted him on to it, but when they
+removed the bearskin from his face it was found that he was beyond
+earthly care: he had passed over to the land from which no sound has
+ever come back.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.
+
+THE TRADERS AT WORK.
+
+Wherever half a dozen average men are banded together and condemned to
+make the best of each other's society for a prolonged period, there is
+apt to be a stagnation of ideas as well as of aspirations, which tends
+more or less to develop the physical, and to stunt the spiritual, part
+of our nature.
+
+So thought MacSweenie as he sat one fine spring morning on a rude chair
+of his own making in front of the outpost on Great Bear Lake which he
+had helped to build.
+
+The Scottish Highlander possessed a comparatively intellectual type of
+mind.  We cannot tell precisely the reach of his soul, but it was
+certainly "above buttons."  The chopping of the firewood, the providing
+of food, the state of the weather, the prospects of the advancing
+spring, and the retrospect of the long dreary winter that was just
+vanishing from the scene, were not sufficient to appease his
+intellectual appetite.  They sufficed, indeed, for his square, solid,
+easy-going, matter-of-fact interpreter, Donald Mowat; and for his chief
+fisherman, guide, and bowman, Bartong, as well as for his other men, but
+they failed to satisfy himself, and he longed with a great longing for
+some congenial soul with whom he might hold sweet converse on something
+a little higher than "buttons."
+
+Besides being thus unfortunate in the matter of companionship, our
+Highlander was not well off as to literature.  He had, indeed, his
+Bible, and, being a man of serious mind, he found it a great resource in
+what was really neither more nor less than banishment from the world;
+but as for light literature, his entire library consisted of a volume of
+the voyages of Sir John Franklin, a few very old numbers of _Chambers's
+Edinburgh Journal_, and one part of that pioneer of cheap literature,
+_The Penny Magazine_.  But poor MacSweenie was not satisfied to merely
+imbibe knowledge; he wished also to discuss it; to philosophise and to
+ring the changes on it.
+
+He occasionally tried his hand on Mowat, who was undoubtedly the most
+advanced of his staff intellectually, but the results were not
+encouraging.  Donald was good-natured, amiable, ready to listen and to
+accord unquestioning belief, but, not having at that time risen above
+"buttons," he was scarcely more able to discuss than an average
+lamp-post.
+
+Occupying the position of a sort of foreman, or confidential clerk, the
+interpreter had frequent occasion to consult his superior on the details
+of the establishment and trade.
+
+"I'm thinking, sir," said he, approaching his master on the spring
+morning in question, "that we may as well give the boat an overhaul, for
+if this weather lasts the open water will soon be upon us."
+
+"You are right, Tonal'," answered the trader, knocking the ashes out of
+his pipe, and proceeding to refill it.  "That iss just what wass in my
+own mind, for we must be thinkin' about makin' preparations for our trip
+to the Ukon Ruver.  We will hev to start whenever my successor arrives
+here.  Man, it will be a goot job when we are off, for I am seek--tired
+of this place.  Wan hes nothin' in the world to think about but his
+stamik, an' that iss not intellectooal, whatever."
+
+"Are we to use the inch or the inch-an'-a-half nails?" asked Mowat,
+after a moment's pause.
+
+"Whichever you like, Tonal'.  There iss plenty of both in the store, an'
+ye are as goot a judge o' these metters as I am myself.  Just help
+yoursel', man; only see that the work is done well, for there iss a
+rough trup before us when we do git away.  An' the load will be heavy
+moreover, for there will be a deal of stuff needed if we are to build an
+outpost fit to spend a winter in.  Man, it iss pleasant to think that we
+will break up new ground--open up a new country among savitches that
+scarce knows what like a white man iss.  We will feel quite like what we
+felt as boys when we was readin' Robinson Crusoe."
+
+"We will need two pit-saws," remarked the practical Orkney-man in a
+meditative tone.
+
+"No doubt, no doubt," returned MacSweenie, "and a grindstone too.  Do
+you remember what that man Nazinred said when he came here on his last
+trup,--that the Indians about his country would be fery pleased to see
+traders settle among them?  He little thought--an' no more did I--that
+we would be so soon sent to carry out their wishes; but our Governor is
+an active-minded man, an' ye never know what he'll be at next.  He's a
+man of enterprise and action, that won't let the gress grow under his
+feet--no, nor under the feet of anybody that he hes to do wi'.  I am
+well pleased, whatever, that he hes ordered me on this service.  An' no
+doubt ye are also well pleased to go, Tonal'.  It will keep your mind
+from gettin' rusty."
+
+"I am not ill-pleased," returned the interpreter gravely.--"I'm thinkin'
+there won't be enough o' pitch to go over all the seams o' the boat.  I
+was--"
+
+"Hoot, man! never mind the putch, Tonal'.  What there iss will do fery
+well, an' the boat that comes with supplies for the new post will be
+sure to hev plenty.  By the way, I wonder if that fine man Nazinred will
+hev come back when we get to the Ukon River.  It wass a strange notion
+of his the last comers told us about, to go off to seek his daughter all
+by himself.  I hev my doubts if he'll ever come back.  Poor man! it wass
+naitural too that he should make a desperate attempt to get back his
+only bairn, but it wass not naitural that a wise man like him should go
+off all his lone.  I'm afraid he wass a little off his head.  Did they
+tell you what supplies he wass supposed to have taken?"
+
+"Yes.  The wife said he had a strong sled with him, an' the best team o'
+dogs in the camp.--Do you think the boat will need a new false keel?  I
+was lookin' at it, an' it seemed to me rather far gone for a long trup."
+
+"I will go an' hev a look at it, Tonal'.  But I hev been wonderin' that
+Mozwa, who seemed so fond o' his frund, should hev let him start away
+all by his lone on such a trup."
+
+"He couldn't help lettin' him," said Mowat, "for he didn't know he was
+goin' till he was gone."
+
+"You did not tell me that," said the trader sharply.
+
+"Well, perhaps I did not," returned the interpreter, with an amiable
+smile.  "It is not easy to remember all that an Indian says, an' a good
+deal of it is not worth rememberin'.--Would you like me to set-to an'
+clean up the store to-day, or let the men go on cuttin' firewood?"
+
+"Let them do whatever you think best, Tonal'," replied MacSweenie, with
+a sigh, as he rose and re-entered his house, where he busied himself by
+planning and making elaborate designs for the new "fort," or outpost,
+which he had been instructed to establish on the Ukon River.  Afterwards
+he solaced himself with another pipe and another dip into the well-worn
+pages of the _Penny Magazine_.
+
+Not long after the conversation just narrated, the boat arrived with the
+gentleman appointed to relieve MacSweenie of his charge on Great Bear
+Lake, and with the supplies for the contemplated new post.
+
+Action is not usually allowed to halt in those wild regions.  A few days
+sufficed to make over the charge, pack up the necessary goods, and
+arrange the lading of the expedition boat; and, soon after, MacSweenie
+with Donald Mowat as steersman, Bartong as guide and bowman, and eight
+men--some Orkney-men, some half-breeds--were rowing swiftly towards the
+Arctic shore.
+
+Passing over the voyage in silence, we raise the curtain again on a warm
+day in summer, when animal life in the wild nor'-west is very lively,
+especially that portion of the life which resides in mosquitoes,
+sand-flies, and such-like tormentors of man and beast.
+
+"We should arrive at the Ukon to-morrow, if my calculations are right--
+or nixt day, whatever," said MacSweenie to his interpreter and
+steersman, as he sat smoking his pipe beside him.
+
+"Bartong is of the same opeenion," returned Mowat, "so between you we
+should come right.  But Bartong is not quite sure about it himself, I
+think.  At least he won't say much."
+
+"In that respect the guide shows himself to be a wise man," returned
+MacSweenie sententiously.  "It iss only geese that blab out all they
+think to everybody that asks them questions."
+
+"Ay, that is true," rejoined Mowat, with a cynical smile, "an' some
+geese manage, by sayin' nothin' at all to anybody, and lookin' like
+owls, to pass themselves off as wise men--for a time."
+
+Bartong, who was being thus freely discussed in the stern of the boat,
+sat in his place at the bow-oar, pulling a steady stroke and casting
+serious looks right and left at the banks of the river as they went
+along.  He was a dark fine-looking stalwart man, of what may be called
+mixed nationality, for the blood of Scotchmen, French Canadians, and
+Indians flowed in his veins--that of Indians predominating, if one were
+to judge from appearance.  He was what is called in the parlance of the
+nor'-west a "good" man--that is to say he was mentally and physically
+well adapted for the work he had to do, and the scenes in the midst of
+which his lot had been cast.  He pulled a good oar; he laboured hard;
+could do almost any kind of work; and spoke English, French, and Indian
+almost equally well.  He also had a natural talent for finding his way
+almost anywhere in the wilderness.  Hence he had been sent as guide to
+the expedition, though he had never been at the Ukon River in his life.
+But he had been to other parts of the Arctic shore, and had heard by
+report of the character and position of the river in question.
+
+"It iss gettin' late, Bartong; don't you think it would be as well to
+camp here?" asked MacSweenie.
+
+The bowman ceased rowing, and the crew followed his example, while he
+glanced inquiringly up at the sky and round his limited horizon, as
+guides and seamen are wont to do when asked for an opinion as to
+professional movements.
+
+"There will yet be daylight for an hour, and there is a small lake ahead
+of us.  If we cross it, we come to a place where one of the Indians said
+he would meet us if we came to his country."
+
+"That is true, Tonal'," said the leader, turning quickly to his
+steersman, "I had almost forgot that, it wass so long ago since we met
+them.  Both Nazinred and Mozwa said something about meetin' us, if we
+came to settle, though I paid little attention at the time.  But are ye
+sure, Bartong, that this is the lake?"
+
+"I know not.  It is not unlikely.  If it is the lake, it is small, and
+we will soon come to the end of it.  If it is not the lake, an' turns
+out to be big, we can camp on the shore.  The night will be fine."
+
+"Go ahead then, boys," cried the leader, "we will try."
+
+The oars were dipped at once, and the men pulled with a will, encouraged
+by the conversation, which seemed to indicate the approaching end of
+their voyage.
+
+The lake over the bosom of which they were soon sweeping proved to be a
+small one, as they had hoped, but whether it was the one referred to by
+the Indians remained to be seen.  A sharp look-out was kept for the
+smoke of wigwams, but nothing of the kind was seen on either side, and
+the end of the lake was finally reached without any sign of the presence
+of natives being observed.
+
+"No doubt Mozwa has forgotten, or it may be that he iss away to seek for
+his frund Nazinred among the Eskimos.  No metter.  We will camp here,
+whatever, for the night.  I think on the other side o' that point will
+be a goot campin' ground."
+
+He pointed in the direction indicated, and there was just daylight
+enough left to enable Mowat to steer into a narrow creek.
+
+There is something calming, if not almost solemnising, in the quietude
+with which a boat glides ashore, on a dark night, under the overhanging
+trees of a wilderness lake.  The oars are necessarily stopped, and the
+voices hushed, while the bowman, standing erect, with a long pole in
+hand, tries to penetrate the thick mysterious darkness that seems to be
+the very gate of Erebus.  Bartong stood ready to thrust the head of the
+boat off any rocks that might suddenly appear in their course, or give
+the order to "back all" should the water become too shallow.  But no
+obstacles presented themselves, and the boat forged slowly ahead until
+it lay alongside a ledge of rock or natural jetty.  Then the spell was
+broken as the men leaped ashore and began to unload the things that were
+required for the night's bivouac.
+
+Still, the voices were moderated, for it is not easy to shake off the
+tranquillising effect of such a scene at such an hour, and it was not
+till the camp-fire was lighted, and the kettles were on, and the pipes
+going full blast, that the cheering effect of light chased the
+depressing influence of darkness away.
+
+Then, indeed, MacSweenie, dropping the _role_ of leader, assumed that of
+_bon camarade_; and Mowat, descending from the dignity of steersman,
+enlarged upon his experiences in other days; and Bartong, still
+retaining his dignity however, relaxed his anxious frown and listened
+with an air of intelligent appreciation that charmed every speaker, and
+induced the belief that he could cap every anecdote and story if he only
+chose to open his mouth; while the men divided their sympathies between
+the narratives, the tobacco-pipes, and the music of the frying-pan and
+bubbling kettle.
+
+Then, too, the darkness into which they had penetrated fled away,--not
+indeed entirely, but forsaking the bright spot thus created in the
+wilderness, it encircled the camp as with a wall of ebony.
+
+It was not long, however, ere appetites were appeased, and the voyagers
+sought repose; for men who have to work hard all day at a healthy
+occupation are not addicted to late hours--at least not in the
+wildernesses of the nor'-west.  Ere long every man was rolled in his
+blanket, stretched out with his feet to the fire and his head on his
+coat, while the blaze sank low, until at last the red embers alone
+remained to render darkness visible.
+
+Among the last to seek repose were the leader of the expedition, the
+interpreter, and the bowman.  Having the cares of state on their
+shoulders, these three naturally drew together for a little consultation
+after the others had retired.
+
+"What iss your opeenion, Bartong?" asked MacSweenie, pushing down the
+tobacco in his pipe with the end of a very blunt and much charred
+forefinger; "do you think the savitches will come here at all?"
+
+"Maybe they will, and maybe they won't," answered the guide, with a
+caution worthy of the Scottish portion of his blood.  "We niver know
+what Injins is goin' to do till they do it."
+
+"Umph!" ejaculated the Highlander; "if Solomon had been your grandfather
+you could scarcely hev made a wiser speech.--What think you, Tonal'?"
+
+"Weel, as ye put it to me, I must say that I'm strongly of Bartong's
+opeenion."
+
+"Just so," remarked MacSweenie, with a thoughtful air; "so, as I agree
+wi' you both, I think it iss about time for us all to turn in."
+
+He turned in accordingly, by lying back in his place and drawing his
+blanket over him.
+
+The other statesmen immediately followed his example, and the camp
+subsided into silence.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
+
+THE OUTPOST, AND EFFECT OF A "FUDDLE."
+
+Soon afterwards the expedition of the fur-traders reached the Ukon
+River, a comparatively insignificant stream, but, from its character and
+position with reference to the Indians of that region, well suited for
+the establishment of an outpost.  At least so thought the natives who
+had reported upon it.
+
+"There iss no doubt," remarked MacSweenie, as he surveyed the banks of
+the river, "that the place is no' that bad, but in my opeenion the
+summer will be short, whatever, an' the winter it will be long."
+
+"Ye may be sure that you are not far wrong if it's like the rest o' this
+country," replied Mowat.
+
+"There now, look at that," cried MacSweenie, who was a sketcher, and an
+enthusiast in regard to scenery; "did ever you see a prettier spot than
+that, Tonal'?  Just the place for a fort--a wee burn dancin' doon the
+hull, wi' a bit fa' to turn a grindstone, an' a long piece o' flat land
+for the houses, an' what a grand composeetion for a pictur',--wi' trees,
+gress, water, sky, an' such light and shade!  Man, it's magneeficent!"
+
+"I'm thinkin' that it'll be a bad job if that keg o' screw-nails we
+forgot at our last camp is lost--"
+
+"Hoot, man, never mind the screw-nails.  We can easy send back for it.
+But, wow! there's a far grander place we're comin' in sight of--an'--iss
+that an Indian tent I see?"
+
+"Ay, an' there's more than wan tent," said Mowat, giving his steering
+oar a sweep that sent the boat farther out into the stream, and enabled
+them better to see what lay beyond the bend of the river in front of
+them.
+
+"Hold on, lads; stop pullin'!"
+
+The men lay on their oars and turned round to look ahead.  The view
+presented there was indeed a pleasant and inspiring one, though it was
+scarcely entitled to the appellation "magneeficent," which MacSweenie
+applied to it.
+
+The river at that place made a wide sweep on the right, round a low
+cliff which was crowned with luxuriant foliage.  The stream opened out
+into something like a miniature lake, and the water was so calm that the
+cliff and its foliage made a clear dark reflection.  The left bank was
+edged by a wide grass plateau some fifty yards wide, beyond which was a
+background of bushes and trees, with another "wee burn," which doubtless
+suggested to MacSweenie the useful as well as the picturesque.  The
+distance was closed by ground varied in form as well as in character,
+indicating that a stream of considerable size joined the Ukon at that
+point.
+
+But that which interested the beholders most of all was a number of
+Indian wigwams, which were pitched on the grassy plateau above referred
+to.
+
+"Yonder are our frunds, I make no doubt," said MacSweenie in high glee.
+"That man Mozwa iss as goot as his word; an' I do believe they have
+chosen the spot an' been waitin' for us.  Gif way, boys; an', Tonal',
+make for that landin'-slup--it must either be a naitural wan, or the
+Redskins hev made it for us."
+
+By that time the natives, having observed the boat, had launched several
+of their canoes.  The first man who came alongside was Mozwa himself.
+
+"What cheer? what cheer, Mozwa?" cried the trader as he reached over the
+side and shook the Indian heartily by the hand.
+
+"Watchee! watchee!" repeated Mozwa, returning the shake with equal
+good-will, though undisturbed solemnity.
+
+The trader's surmise proved to be correct.  Mindful of the prospect
+which had been held out to him and Nazinred, that an expedition might
+possibly be sent to establish an outpost and open up the fur trade in
+their immediate neighbourhood on the Ukon River, Mozwa had made more
+than one trip to the contemplated scene of operations, after the
+disappearance of his friend Nazinred, with the view of making himself
+well acquainted with the land, and ascertaining the best site for the
+new fort.  He did not of course suppose that the pale-faces would be
+guided entirely by his opinion, but he thought it not unlikely that they
+might weigh that opinion, and, if acted on at once, much time might be
+saved during the very brief summer season they had in which to place
+themselves comfortably in winter quarters before the hard weather should
+set in.
+
+"You are a wise man, Mozwa," said MacSweenie, when the Indian had
+explained his views to him in the united smoke of their pipes and the
+camp-fire.  "Your notion of a place for a fort iss not a bad one, an'
+efter I hev had a look round I hev no doubt that I will agree wi' you
+that this is the very best site in the neighbourhood.  Tell him that,
+Tonal', an' say that I am fery much obleeged to him for all the
+forethought and trouble he hes taken."
+
+Whether Donald translated all this as it was delivered we know not.
+From the peculiar cast of his mind, however, coupled with the moderate
+depth of his knowledge of the Indian tongue, it is probable that his
+translation was neither literal nor comprehensive.  Indeed, it is not
+unlikely that his subsequent remark to one of his comrades,--"we told
+Mozwa it was very good of him to come to meet us, an' the place would do
+well enough,"--was more like the sentence to which he had reduced it.
+But whatever he said Mozwa seemed to be quite pleased with it.
+
+"By the way, Tonal', ask him about his friend Nazinred."
+
+The serious way in which the Indian shook his head showed that he had no
+good news to tell.  In a short time he had related all that was known
+about the sudden departure of his friend.
+
+While Mozwa was thus engaged with the leader of the expedition, their
+guide Bartong was wandering among the wigwams and making himself
+agreeable to the natives, who, because of his mixed blood and linguistic
+powers, regarded him as a half-brother.
+
+"Who is this man Nazinred that our leader is always talking about?" he
+asked of the old chief while seated in his tent.
+
+"He is one of our chiefs, one of our boldest braves--"
+
+"But not so brave as he looks," interrupted Magadar, who was present;
+"he is fonder of peace than of fighting."
+
+"Foolish man!" exclaimed Bartong, with a smile so peculiar that Magadar
+did not feel quite sure that his remark was sincere.  "But has he not
+left your tribe?  I heard our steersman say something about that."
+
+"He left us in the winter to seek for his daughter, who was carried off
+by an Eskimo and has never come back since.  We don't expect to see
+either of them again."
+
+Magadar said this with a grave countenance, for, however little he cared
+for the loss of the father, that of the daughter distressed him a
+little--not much, however; for could he not console himself with another
+wife?
+
+Having questioned the old chief a little more on this point, he wandered
+off into other subjects, and finally left--intending to visit the wife
+of Nazinred on his way back to camp.
+
+Isquay was sitting beside her niece Idazoo, embroidering a moccasin,
+when Bartong entered, squatted on a deerskin unceremoniously, and began
+to fill his pipe.
+
+"What kind of a man is your husband?" asked the guide.
+
+"A good man," replied Isquay, who was tender-hearted, and could not
+speak of him without moist eyes.  "He was a good hunter.  None of the
+young men could equal him.  And he was kind.  He always had plenty of
+things to give me and Adolay."
+
+"They say he did not love war," remarked Bartong.
+
+"No; he hated it: but he was brave, and a good fighter--the best in the
+tribe.  None of the young men dared to touch him."
+
+"Was the young brave Alizay afraid to touch him?" asked the guide, with
+a sly glance at the younger woman.
+
+At this Idazoo flushed and looked up angrily.
+
+"No," she said sharply; "Alizay fears nothing."
+
+Bartong took no notice of the remark, but continued gravely to question
+the other.
+
+"Was Nazinred very fond of his daughter?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, very."
+
+"And was the girl fond of him and of you?"
+
+"Yes," replied the poor woman, beginning to weep gently.
+
+"And she seems to have been very fond of this Eskimo, who, they tell me,
+saved your life once."
+
+"She was, but I did not think she would go away with him.  It was not
+like her--she was always so good and biddable, and told me everything."
+
+"Why did your husband go off alone?"
+
+"I cannot tell.  I suppose he knew that none of the young men would go
+with him, or feared they might lose heart and turn back.  No doubt he
+thought it best to go by himself, for he was very brave; nothing would
+turn _him_ back!"
+
+A fresh though silent dropping of tears occurred here, and a severe pang
+of remorse shot through the heart of Idazoo as she thought of her unkind
+report of what had taken place beside the dead tree under the cliff.
+
+"Don't cry, Isquay; Nazinred will come back, you may be sure of that,"
+said the guide, in a confident tone, "and he will bring your little girl
+along with him, for when a man is good and brave he _never_ fails!"
+
+The brevity of summer near the shores of the Arctic Sea rendered it
+advisable that no time should be wasted in looking about too
+particularly for a site for the new trading-post; and as MacSweenie was
+well pleased with Mozwa's selection he at once adopted it and set to
+work.
+
+Deeming it important to open the campaign by putting a good taste in the
+mouths of his friends the Indians, he began by distributing a few
+gratuities to them--some coloured beads to the women, and a few lines,
+fish-hooks, and tobacco to the men.  Then he marked out a site for the
+future dwelling-house and store, got out the tools and set to work to
+fell, saw, and shape suitable timber for the buildings.  He constituted
+Magadar chief hunter to the establishment, supplied him with a new gun,
+powder and ball, and sent him off to the woods as proud as, and
+doubtless much happier than, a king.  Mozwa he kept by him, as a
+counsellor to whom he could appeal in all matters regarding the region
+and the people, as well as an overseer of those among his countrymen who
+were hired to render assistance.  Alizay was sent off in a canoe--much
+to the satisfaction of Mowat--for that forgotten keg of screw-nails
+which had lain so heavy on his mind, and the old chief was supplied with
+unlimited tobacco, and allowed to wander about at will, under the
+agreeable impression that he was superintendent-general of the works.
+Isquay, Idazoo, and some of the other women were furnished with
+moose-deer skins and needles, and employed to make moccasins for the
+men, as well as to do all the needful repairs to garments.
+
+Thus the plateau on the banks of the Ukon River presented, during the
+weeks that followed, a scene of lively bustle and unfamiliar noise to
+the furred and feathered inhabitants of those vast solitudes, and formed
+to the Red men a new and memorable era in their monotonous existence.
+
+At last there came a day when the roof of the principal dwelling was
+completely covered, the doors were fixed up, and the glazed windows
+fitted in.
+
+"Now, Tonal'," remarked MacSweenie, on the morning of that auspicious
+day, "it iss a house-warming that I will be giving to-night, for the
+Indians will be expectin' something o' the sort, so you will be telling
+the cook to make the biggest lump o' plum-duff he ever putt his hands
+to; an' tell him not to spare the plums.  It iss not every day we will
+be givin' thiss goot people a blow-out, an' it iss a matter of great
+importance, to my thinking, that first impressions should be good ones.
+It iss the duty of a new broom to sweep clean.  If it continues, goot
+and well, but if it does not begin that way it iss not likely to come to
+it, whatever.  There iss far more than people think in sentiment.  If
+you fail to rouse a sentiment of goot-will, or confidence, or whatever
+it may be, at a first start-off it iss not easy to rouse it afterwards.
+Hev ye not noticed that, Tonal'?"
+
+"I can't say that I have," answered the interpreter, with a
+matter-of-fact frown at the ground, "but I have noticed that the pit-saw
+they was usin' yesterday has been allowed to saw into the holdin'-irons
+and damaged half o'--"
+
+"Hoots, man! never mind the pit-saw!" exclaimed MacSweenie, with a touch
+of asperity.  "All the planks we want are sawn, an' if they were not,
+surely we could mend--tut, man, I wonder ye can play the fuddle.  It
+always seemed to me that a goot fuddler must be a man of sentiment, but
+ye are the exception, Tonal', that proves the rule.  Away wi' you an'
+gie my orders to the cook, an' see that you have the fuddle in goot
+tune, for we will want it to-night.  An' let him hev plenty of tea, for
+if we gain the women we're sure o' the men."
+
+Mowat retired with a smile on his broad benignant face.  He understood
+his leader, and was not offended by his plain speaking.  Besides, it was
+not easy to make the interpreter take offence.  His spirit was of that
+happy nature which hopeth all things and believeth all things.  It
+flowed calm and deep like an untroubled river.  Nothing short of a
+knock-down blow would have induced Donald Mowat to take offence, but
+that would certainly have stirred him, and as he possessed vast physical
+strength, and was something awful to behold when roused, and his
+comrades were aware of these facts, the serenity of his life was not
+often or deeply ruffled.
+
+The cook, who was an enthusiast in his art, did his best, and was
+eminently successful.  His plum-duff dumpling was bigger than any gun--
+at least of ancient type--could have swallowed, and the plums, as Mowat
+afterwards said, did not need to seek for each other.  He made enough of
+delightfully greasy cakes to feed an army, and, according to his own
+statement, infused "lashin's o' tea."
+
+Before the hour for the feast arrived that night, Mowat got out his
+violin and went into one of the rooms of the new house to put it in
+order.  The window of the room looked towards the back of the house,
+where the forest was seen just beyond the plateau.
+
+Drawing a bench to the window, he sat down and opened the case.  Of
+course he found the first string broken, but that did not break his
+heart, for he had a good supply of spare strings, and if these should
+fail--well, there were plenty of deer-sinews in the land.  It was soon
+put to rights, and, leaning his back against the wall, he began to
+tickle the strings gently.  Whatever he was at other times, there is no
+doubt that the interpreter was full of genuine sentiment the moment he
+got the violin under his chin.
+
+Now at that moment three young Dogrib braves chanced to be passing under
+the window, which was about seven feet from the ground.  Though equally
+young, and no doubt equally brave, as well as equally Dogribbed, those
+three youths were not equally matched, for one was tall and thin,
+another was short and thick, while the third was middle-sized and fat.
+They had been hunting--successfully--for the thick man carried a small
+deer on his lusty shoulders.
+
+On hearing the first notes of the instrument the three youths started
+into three different attitudes as if of petrified surprise, and remained
+so, waiting for more.
+
+They had not to wait long, for, after tickling the fiddle once or twice
+to get it in perfect tune, Mowat raised his eyes to the pine-plank
+ceiling and glided softly into one of those exquisite Scottish airs by
+means of which a first-rate performer on the violin can almost draw the
+soul out of a man's body.  We think it was "The Flowers of the Forest."
+
+Whatever it was the three Dogribs were ravished.  They turned their
+heads slowly, as if afraid to break the spell, and looked at each other,
+showing the whites of their great eyes increasingly, while each raised a
+hand with spread fingers as if to keep the others from speaking.  They
+had never heard anything approaching to it before.  They had never even
+imagined anything like it.  It was an utterly new sensation.  What could
+it be?  They had heard of something strange in the musical way from
+Nazinred and Mozwa, but with the carelessness of youth they had scarce
+listened to the comments of these men.  Now it burst upon their awakened
+sense like sounds from some other planet.  Their mouths opened slowly as
+well as their eyes, and there was an expression of awe in their faces
+which betokened a touch of superstitious fear.
+
+Suddenly Mowat drew his bow across all the strings with a skirl that
+might have shamed the bagpipes, and burst into the Reel o' Tullochgorum.
+
+The effect was electrical.  The thick man dropped the deer; the thin man
+sloped forward; the fat man sprang into the air, and all three made for
+the woods as if all the spirits of evil were after them in full cry.
+
+We need hardly say, after this, that those Dogrib Indians spent an
+excited and agreeable evening with the fur-traders.  They appreciated
+the dancing, undoubtedly, though very few of them would condescend to
+join.  They appreciated the plum-duff and the greasy cakes highly, and
+they more than appreciated the tea--especially the women--which
+MacSweenie took care to provide hot, strong, and sweet.  But there is no
+doubt that the lion of the evening was--the "fuddle."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
+
+A MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY AND A GREAT DISCOVERY.
+
+Putting on the wings of imagination, good reader, let us once more fly
+over the snow-fields of the lone Nor'-west and return to the regions of
+thick-ribbed ice.  We have to apologise humbly for asking you also to
+fly back a little in time, and plunge once more into the dreary winter,
+from which, no doubt, you thought you had fairly escaped.
+
+One morning toward the beginning of spring, referred to in last chapter,
+while yet the northern seas were covered with their solid garment,
+Cheenbuk announced to all whom it might concern that he intended to go
+off on a long journey to the eastward--he called it the place where the
+Great Light rises--for purposes which he did not see fit publicly to
+reveal.
+
+At that time the Great Light to which he referred had begun to show
+symptoms of intention to return to the dark regions which it had
+forsaken for several months.  The glimmer on the eastern sky had been
+increasing perceptibly each day, and at last had reached the point of
+producing a somewhat rosy twilight for two or three hours before and
+after noon.  King Frost, however, still reigned supreme, and the
+dog-sledge as yet was the only mode of travelling among the islands or
+on the sea.
+
+"Why go you towards the rising sun?" asked Nazinred when Cheenbuk
+invited him to be one of the party.
+
+"Because it is from my countrymen who dwell there that we get the hard
+stuff that is so good for our spear-heads, and lances, and arrows.  We
+know not where they find the stuff, and they won't tell.  I shall go and
+find out for myself, and take back plenty of it to our people."
+
+The "hard stuff" referred to was hoop-iron, which, as well as nails and
+a few hatchets, the Eskimos of the eastern parts of the Arctic shores
+obtained from whale-ships and passed on to their friends in the more
+remote regions of the farther north.
+
+"I can tell you how they get it," said the Indian.  "White traders to
+whom our people go with their furs have spoken of such things, and my
+ears have been open.  They say that there are white men who come over
+the great salt lake from far-off lands in big _big_ canoes.  They come
+to catch the great whales, and it is from them that the hard stuff
+comes."
+
+For some minutes the Eskimo was silent.  A new idea had entered his head
+and he was turning it over.
+
+"Have you ever seen these white men or their _big_ canoes?" asked
+Cheenbuk with great interest.
+
+"Never.  The salt lake where they kill the whale is too far from my
+people's hunting-grounds.  But the white traders I have visited have
+seen them.  Some traders have come from the same far-off lands in big
+canoes of the same sort."
+
+"Is it very far from here to the seas to which these whale-killers
+come?"
+
+"Very far from the hunting-grounds of the Dogribs, but it may not be far
+from here."
+
+"I will go and see," said Cheenbuk, with much decision, and he went off
+forthwith to make preparations.  The expedition consisted of one large
+sledge with a team of twelve dogs.  Being resolved not to risk failure
+by taking too many companions, the Eskimo limited the number to seven,
+besides himself--namely, Nazinred, with his fire-spouter; Oolalik, whom
+he deemed the strongest and bravest among the young men; Anteek, the
+most plucky of the big boys; Aglootook, the medicine-man, whom he took
+"for luck;" and Nootka, as being the most vigorous and hardworking among
+the women.  She could repair the boots, etcetera, and do what little
+cooking might be required.  Cowlik the easy-going was also taken to keep
+Nootka company.
+
+It was high noon when the party set out on their mysterious journey, and
+a brighter glow than usual was suffusing the eastern sky, while a gleam
+of direct sunshine, the first seen that spring, was tipping the peaks of
+the higher bergs as if with burnished gold.
+
+It was merely a whim that induced Cheenbuk to throw an air of mystery
+over the expedition.  Having no definite idea himself of what he was
+going in search of, or how long he should be away, he thought it wisest
+to look solemn and keep his thoughts to himself; thereby impressing his
+kinsmen with the belief that he was one of the wisest men of the tribe,
+which in truth he was.  Being, as we have said elsewhere, a man of
+humour and a good-natured fellow, he thought that the presence of the
+magician, whom he believed to be an arrant humbug, would add mystery as
+well as interest to the expedition.
+
+Aglootook was himself thoroughly convinced on this point, and sought by
+every means to induce the leader to disclose his object and plans, but
+as Cheenbuk maintained inflexible reticence on this matter, the magician
+made a virtue of necessity, shook his head solemnly when spoken to about
+it, and gave it to be understood generally that in his and the leader's
+minds there were rolling about thoughts and intentions that were far too
+deep for utterance.
+
+Cheenbuk would have offered a seat to Adolay, but her father thought it
+better to decline for her.  She was therefore left in the camp in care
+of old Mangivik and his amiable spouse.
+
+Travelling by dog-sledge among the Eskimos is rapid and exhilarating
+when the ice is unbroken.  When the explorers left the village and made
+for the far east, the plain of ice before them was level and smooth as
+far as the eye could reach.  They therefore went along at a swinging
+pace, the team stretching out at full gallop, a crack from the whip
+resounding only now and then, when one of the dogs inclined to become
+refractory.
+
+The short day soon vanished, and the long night with its galaxy of stars
+and shooting aurora still found them gliding swiftly over the white
+plain.
+
+At last a line of hummocks and icebergs rose up before them, as if to
+bar their further progress, and the dogs reduced their speed to a trot,
+until, on reaching the broken ice, they stopped altogether.
+
+"We will camp here," said Cheenbuk, jumping off and stretching himself.
+"Make the igloe there," he added, pointing to a convenient spot in the
+lee of a small berg.
+
+The whole party went to work, and in a wonderfully short time had
+constructed one of their snow bee-hives large enough to contain them
+all.
+
+Here they ate a hasty supper and spent several hours in a slumber so
+profound and motionless that it seemed as if they were all dead; not a
+sigh, not even a snore, broke the stillness of the night.  Next morning
+they were up and off long before the first glimmer of dawn proclaimed
+the advent of a new day.
+
+Fortunately a passage among the ridges of broken ice was found, through
+which the sledge was hauled with comparative ease, and before noon they
+had reached the open sea-ice beyond, over which they again set forth at
+full swing.
+
+Little food had been brought, for they depended chiefly on their weapons
+to supply them, and as seals abounded everywhere, as well as walruses,
+they had no lack.
+
+Thus they advanced for several days, sometimes being retarded a little
+by broken ice, but for the most part dashing at full speed over smooth
+surfaces.
+
+One day they came to a long stretch of land, extending to the right and
+left as far as the eye could reach, which seemed to be a check to their
+progress, for it was extensively covered with willow bushes.  Cheenbuk
+climbed a neighbouring berg with Nazinred to have a look at it.  The
+Eskimo looked rather glum, for the idea of land-travelling and
+struggling among willows was repugnant to him.
+
+"I don't like the look of this," he said, turning to his companion;
+"there seems no end to it."
+
+"Let not my son be cast down," returned the Indian; "men-of-the-woods
+understand the nature of land.  This looks like a low flat, running out
+from the mainland.  If so, it is not likely to be very wide, and we
+shall be sure to find the great salt lake on the other side of it.
+Besides, away to the left I see something like a small lake.  If we go
+there we may find hard snow on which the dogs can run."
+
+"There is bad fortune here," said Aglootook, endeavouring to look
+oracular, as he came up at that moment with Anteek.  "We must go far
+away in _that_ direction," he added, pointing to the right, and looking
+at his leader with the aspect as well as the wisdom of an owl.
+
+The fact was that from the start the magician had been thirsting for
+some opportunity to display his profound sagacity, and in his opinion
+the time had arrived, for in other men's extremity he was wont to find
+his opportunity.  True, he knew no more than the king of Ashantee which
+was the best line to take--right or left,--but much of the power he had
+acquired over his fellows was due to his excessive self-sufficiency,
+coupled with reckless promptitude in taking action.  If things went well
+he got the credit; if wrong--well, he was ingenious in devising
+explanations!
+
+"Aglootook is wise," said Cheenbuk, with gravity and a glance at Anteek;
+"I will act on his advice, but first I must take just a little run to
+the _left_, to find out something that I see there."
+
+Anteek was not naturally rude, but there was a sensation in him at that
+moment which induced him to turn his back on the magician and become
+absorbed in the contemplation of a neighbouring berg.  When he turned
+round again his face was a little flushed.
+
+Nazinred was right.  There was not only a lake at the place which he
+pointed out, but a chain of small lakes, over which the dogs scampered
+as well as if they had been on the open sea.  That night, however, they
+were obliged to encamp among the willows, but next night they reached
+the other side of what was evidently a large promontory, and finally
+swept out again on the familiar frozen sea.
+
+The day following they arrived at an obstruction which it appeared as if
+neither the wisdom of Aglootook, the sagacity of Nazinred, nor the
+determination of Cheenbuk could enable them to surmount.
+
+This was a mighty barrier of broken ice, which had probably been
+upheaved by the flow of cross currents when the sea was setting fast in
+autumn, or the action of conflicting bergs, many of which were imbedded
+in the mass, thus giving to it the appearance of a small mountain range
+with higher peaks rising above the general elevation.
+
+On beholding it Aglootook recovered some of his self-respect, and, with
+a look of wisdom quite inconceivable by those who have not seen it,
+expressed his solemn belief that they would have escaped this difficulty
+if they had only acted on his advice, and travelled to the _right_.
+
+Cheenbuk admitted that he seemed to have been mistaken, in a tone which
+again set Anteek contemplating one of the neighbouring bergs with a
+countenance not altogether devoid of colour, and the leader drove the
+team towards the least forbidding part of the ridge.
+
+"You will never get across," said Aglootook in a low voice.
+
+"I will try," returned Cheenbuk.
+
+"It is madness," said the magician.
+
+"People have often called me mad," responded Cheenbuk, "so if they were
+right I am well fitted to do it."
+
+It was an exceedingly difficult crossing.  In some places the blocks and
+masses were heaped together in such confusion that it seemed as if the
+attempt to pass were useless, and the magician solaced himself by
+frequent undertoned references to the advantage in general of travelling
+right instead of left.  But always when things looked most hopeless the
+indefatigable Cheenbuk found a passage--often very narrow and crooked,
+it is true,--through which they managed to advance, and when the way was
+blocked altogether, as it was more than once, Cheenbuk and the Indian
+cleared a passage with their axes, while Anteek led the dogs over the
+obstruction, and Oolalik guided the sledge over it.  Nootka usually
+stood on a convenient ice-mound and admired the proceedings, while
+Aglootook, who had no axe, stood beside her and gave invaluable advice,
+to which nobody paid the slightest attention.
+
+At last, after many a fall and slip and tremendous slide, they reached
+the other side of the ridge, and once again went swiftly and smoothly
+over the level plain.
+
+"We shall not find them," remarked Oolalik, becoming despondently
+prophetic as he surveyed the wide expanse of frozen sea, with nothing
+but bergs and hummocks here and there to break its uniformity.
+
+"We must find them," replied Cheenbuk, with that energy of resolution
+which usually assails a man of vigorous physique and strong will when
+difficulties accumulate.
+
+"But, my son, if we do not find them it will not matter much, for the
+white traders of the woods have plenty of the hard stuff, and all other
+things also, and when we return to the Greygoose River at the opening of
+the waters, we may take the teeth of the walrus and the skins of the
+seal and begin a trade with them.  I have much of their goods in my own
+wigwam, and Cheenbuk knows that I can guide him to the home of the
+trader on the great fresh lake."
+
+Oolalik glanced at Nootka while the Indian spoke, as if he felt that a
+splendid prospect of decorative, ornamental, and other delights was
+opening up to her.  Nootka returned the glance as if she felt that a
+splendid opportunity of securing such delights for her was opening up to
+_him_.
+
+Cheenbuk did not reply, being engaged in the profound abysses of thought
+which had been opened up by his red friend's suggestion.
+
+Before he could find words to reply, Nazinred, whose vision was keen and
+practised, pointed out something that appeared like a cloud on the
+horizon ahead of them, and which he declared to be land.
+
+"I have noticed that the eyes of the man-of-the-woods are sharper than
+those of the Eskimo," said Cheenbuk.
+
+The Indian received this compliment with a gaze of calm indifference, as
+though he heard it not.
+
+Just then an exclamation from Anteek attracted general attention.  He
+pointed to a mound of snow on the ice a short way to the left of the
+track which had a peculiar shape.
+
+"Something covered over with snow," said Cheenbuk, turning the dogs in
+that direction by the simple but significant expedient of sending his
+long whip with a resonant crack to the right of the team.
+
+"It is a man," remarked Nazinred as they drew near.
+
+He was right.  On clearing away the snow they found the dead body of a
+man, some portions of whose costume resembled that of a sailor, though
+of course none of those who discovered it were aware of that fact.
+
+"Kablunet!" exclaimed Cheenbuk, using the Eskimo term for white man.
+
+How long the poor man had lain there it was not easy to guess, for the
+body was frozen stiff, so that decay was impossible, but the fact that
+it had not been discovered by bears argued that it could not have lain
+long.  Its emaciated appearance and the empty sack slung across the
+shoulder showed that death must have been the result of starvation.
+There was a short loaded carbine lying beside the body, and in a pouch a
+flask of powder with a few bullets.
+
+"I think," said Nazinred, after careful inspection of the remains, "that
+this is one of the white men who come over the salt lake in their big
+canoes."
+
+"If so," said Cheenbuk, "we will follow his track, and may come to the
+big canoe itself; perhaps some of the Kablunets may be yet alive."
+
+The Indian shook his head.
+
+"Men do not start off alone on a journey to nowhere," he replied.  "The
+big canoe must have been crushed in the ice, and the men must have
+started off together to search for Eskimos.  I think they must all have
+died on the way, and this one walked farthest."
+
+"The man-of-the-woods is wise," said Oolalik.  "If we follow the track
+we shall soon find out."
+
+"Yes," said Aglootook, putting on his most prophetic air.  "Go on the
+track straight as we can go--that is _my_ advice, and we shall be quite
+sure to come to _something_."
+
+Cheenbuk acted on the advice.  Having buried the body of the unfortunate
+sailor in a snow-grave, and taken possession of the carbine and other
+things, they leaped on the sledge again, and continued to advance along
+the track, which, though in some places almost obliterated, was easily
+followed.  They had not advanced more than a mile when another mound was
+discovered, with another seaman below it, whom they buried in the same
+way, and close to it a third, whose costume being in some parts a little
+finer, they correctly guessed to be a chief.
+
+At last they came in sight of a large mound, and on uncovering it found
+a boat with four dead men lying near it.  All seemed to have died of
+starvation, and the reason why some of them had forsaken the boat was
+obvious, for it was crushed out of shape by ice; the bottom having been
+cut completely away, so that all the provisions they had to depend on
+had no doubt been lost.
+
+"This is not the big canoe," remarked the Indian, while they examined
+it.  "The big one must have been sunk, and they had to try to escape in
+the little one."
+
+The party spent a long time in examining the boat, and as there was a
+good deal of iron about it which might be useful, they resolved to
+re-visit it on the homeward journey.
+
+Setting off again, they now made straight for the land discovered by
+Nazinred, which now lay like a dark blue line of hills in the far
+distance.  From the abrupt termination of the land at either extremity
+of the range it was judged to be a large island.
+
+As the night was clear and the ice level, the party travelled all that
+night, and arrived at the island about daybreak the following morning.
+
+The shore was rocky and desolate, with high cliffs behind it, so that
+further progress to the eastward was evidently impossible, unless by
+passing round the island to the north or south of it.
+
+"I said you would come to _something_," said the magician,
+sententiously, as they drew near to the forbidding coast.
+
+"You were right, Aglootook.  Indeed, it would be impossible for you to
+be wrong," replied Cheenbuk, with one of those glances at Anteek which
+rendered it hard for the boy to preserve his gravity; yet he was
+constrained to make the effort, for the magician was very sensitive on
+the point, and suspected the boy.
+
+They were by this time running between the headlands of a small bay, and
+suddenly came in sight of an object which caused them all to exclaim
+with surprise and excitement--for there, under the shelter of a high
+cliff, lay a three-masted ship, or, as the Indian termed it, the white
+man's big canoe.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
+
+INTERESTING, AMUSING, AND ASTOUNDING DISCOVERIES.
+
+Although close under the cliffs, and apparently on the rocks, the vessel
+was by no means a wreck, neither had it the aspect of one.  There were
+no broken masts or tattered sails or ropes dangling from the yards.  On
+the contrary, the masts were straight and sound; such of the yards as
+had not been lowered were squared, and all the ropes were trim and taut.
+
+The deck was covered over with a roof of canvas, and the snow banked up
+all round so as to meet the lower edges of it and form a protection from
+the wind.  Up one side of this bank of snow a flight of stairs had been
+cut, leading to the port gangway, and the prints of many feet were seen
+all round the ship converging towards the stairs, the steps of which
+were worn as if by much use.
+
+At first the natives approached the vessel with extreme caution, not
+being sure of what might be their reception if any man should be on
+board, and with a sense of awe at beholding a mysterious object which
+had hitherto been utterly beyond the range of their experience, though
+not quite unknown to them by report.  By degrees, however, they drew
+nearer and nearer, until they reached the bottom of the snow staircase.
+Still there was no sound to be heard in the white man's big canoe to
+indicate the presence of a human being.
+
+At last Cheenbuk uttered a shout with the view of attracting attention,
+but there was no reply.
+
+"Make the fire-spouter speak," he said, looking at his Indian friend.
+
+Nazinred silently obeyed, pointed his gun at the clouds, and fired; then
+the whole party awaited the result, listening intently.  They heard much
+more than had been expected, for the cliffs embraced several echoes,
+which, being thus rudely awakened, sent the shot crashing back with
+multiplied violence, to the no little surprise, as well as alarm, of the
+hearers.
+
+Still all was silent on board of the ship, and at last, coming to the
+conclusion that there was no living soul there at all, the Indian,
+having reloaded his gun, began to ascend the staircase, closely followed
+by Cheenbuk, Oolalik, Anteek, and Aglootook--which last, being a
+cautious man, was careful to bring up the rear.  Nootka and Cowlik
+remained on the ice to observe the end of it all--the former anxiously
+curious, the latter curiously easy.  For some time these two stood in
+silent expectancy.  Then Oolalik appeared at the top of the staircase,
+and, looking down with a face in which solemn wonder had reached its
+utmost limit of expression, beckoned them to come up.
+
+Nootka obeyed with alacrity; her companion, leisurely.
+
+What the party saw on entering the vessel was well fitted to arouse
+wonder in their unsophisticated minds.  Whether it was one of the
+numerous discovery ships that have invaded those regions in the present
+century, or a whaler which had been driven out of its course by stress
+of weather or power of ice, is uncertain, for although some relics of
+the expedition ultimately reached the outpost of the fur-traders,
+nothing was brought away by the Eskimos which bore name or date or
+writing of any kind.  Although ignorant of the meaning as well as the
+uses of almost everything they saw, those natives were quite
+sufficiently intelligent to guess that the white man's big canoe had
+been set fast in the ice the previous autumn, and laid up for the winter
+in this place of safety to serve as a big igloe or hut.
+
+Their examination of the ship was at first very slow, for they stepped
+about on tiptoe as if afraid of disturbing some of the ghosts of its
+former inhabitants.  Then, a speculative gaze had to be turned on each
+object for a few moments, followed by an inquiring glance at each other.
+The deck and its accompaniments of masts rising through the canvas
+roof, and ropes, and blocks, hatches, skylights, companions, etcetera,
+afforded them matter for unbounded astonishment; though what they
+afterwards discovered below was productive of unutterable amazement.
+
+"Hoi!" exclaimed Cheenbuk, pointing at something with all his ten
+fingers expanded.
+
+He had discovered the binnacle, and was gazing for the first time at the
+mariner's compass!
+
+"Hi!" cried the responsive Anteek in a wide-eyed condition.
+
+He had discovered the after-companion, which was partially open, and was
+gazing solemnly into the depths below.
+
+The unwonted nature of their surroundings developed an unsuspected vein
+of curiosity in Cowlik, who pushed the companion-door open, and, seeing
+a flight of steps with some degree of light below, she began to descend.
+Whether Nootka's surprise at this sudden act of self-assertion, or her
+curiosity, was the stronger, it would be hard to say, but she
+immediately went after Cowlik.  The men, seeing the way thus indicated,
+did not hesitate to follow.
+
+Of course they all held tenaciously by the brass rail, being afraid to
+slip on the steep stair, and some of them, slewing round almost
+naturally, went down in true sailor fashion, backwards.
+
+Reaching the bottom, the girls, probably by chance, turned to the left
+and entered the after-cabin.  The men of the party turned to the right,
+and became absorbed in contemplation of the steward's pantry.  It smelt
+deliciously, but that was all that remained of its native attractions,
+for of food or drink there was nothing left.
+
+They had just made this discovery when a loud laugh and then a wild
+scream from the cabin horrified them.  Cheenbuk and Oolalik drew their
+knives, Nazinred cocked his gun, Anteek grasped a rolling-pin that lay
+handy, and all four sprang to the rescue.
+
+The scream came from Cowlik.  She had suddenly faced a mirror that hung
+in the cabin, and beheld a perfect representation of her own fat face.
+It was by no means an unknown face, for she had often had an imperfect
+view of it in pools and in calm seas, but it quite took her aback when
+thus unexpectedly and clearly presented.  The blaze of astonishment that
+followed the first glance caused the burst of laughter referred to, and
+the display of her wide mouth and white teeth in the changed expression
+induced the scream of alarm.  It also made her start backward so quickly
+that she sent poor Nootka crashing against the starboard bulkhead.
+
+"Look!" cried the frightened girls, pointing to the mirror.
+
+The three Eskimos sprang forward and received something like an electric
+shock on beholding their own faces.
+
+Cheenbuk turned to Nazinred, but that usually grave Indian was indulging
+in a patronising smile instead of sharing their surprise.
+
+"I know what it is," he said quietly.  "I have seen it before, in the
+stores of the fur-traders, but never so big as that."
+
+Familiarity, it is said, breeds contempt.  After gazing at themselves in
+the miraculous mirror for some time, an idea occurred to Anteek.  He
+suddenly shot out his tongue, which happened to be a very long one.
+Anteek's reflection did the same.  Thereupon Oolalik opened his mouth
+wide and laughed.  So did Oolalik's reflection, which had such an effect
+upon Cheenbuk that he also burst into a fit of laughter.  The girls,
+pressing forward to see what it was, likewise presented grinning faces,
+which formed such a contrast to the grave countenance of Nazinred, as he
+stood there in all the dignity of superior knowledge, that the whole
+party went off into uncontrollable explosions, which fed upon what they
+created until the tears were running down the cheeks of the Eskimos, and
+the Indian himself was constrained at last to smile benignly.
+
+But mirth gave place to solemnity again, not unmingled with pity, as
+they spent hour after hour examining the various parts of the forsaken
+ship.  Of course they could go over only a small part of it that day.
+When the short day came to a close they went to the shore and encamped
+in their usual way--not daring to sleep on board a big canoe, about
+which as yet they knew so little.
+
+On shore they found more subjects of interest and perplexity, for here
+were several mounds marked by crosses, and a large mound surmounted by a
+pole on the top of which were fluttering a few remnants of red cloth.
+The shape of the smaller mounds naturally led them to infer that they
+were the graves of white men who had died there, but the large mound was
+inexplicable until Nazinred recollected having seen a flag hoisted on a
+pole at the fort on Great Bear Lake.
+
+"I remember," he said to Cheenbuk, "that the traders used to hoist a
+piece of cloth to the top of a pole like this, at times, when something
+of importance happened.  Perhaps the chief of the big canoe died and was
+buried here, and they hoisted the red cloth over him to mark the place."
+
+"My father may be right," observed the Eskimo; "but why did they put
+such a heap of stones above him?"
+
+"Perhaps to keep the bears from getting at him," returned the Indian
+thoughtfully, "or, it may be, to show him great respect."
+
+Resting satisfied with these surmises, the two men returned to their
+encampment without disturbing the mound, which was, in all probability,
+a cairn covering a record of the expedition which had come to such an
+untimely end.
+
+Next day, the moment there was enough of light to enable them to resume
+the search, the Eskimos hurried on board the ship and began to ransack
+every hole and corner, and they found much that caused their eyes to
+glitter with the delight of men who have unexpectedly discovered a mine
+of gold.  Among other things, they found in a small room which had been
+used as a blacksmith's forge, large quantities of hoop, bar, and
+rod-iron.  While Cheenbuk and Oolalik were rejoicing over this find,
+Anteek rushed in upon them in a state of considerable excitement with
+something in his hand.  It was a large watch of the double-cased
+"warming-pan" tribe.
+
+"Listen!" exclaimed the boy, holding it up to Cheenbuk's ear, and giving
+it a shake; "it speaks."
+
+"What is it?" murmured the Eskimo.
+
+"I don't know, but it does not like shaking, for it only speaks a little
+when I shake it.  I tried squeezing, but it does not care for that."
+
+Here again Nazinred's superior knowledge came into play, though to a
+limited extent.
+
+"I have seen a thing like that," he said.  "The trader at the great
+fresh-water lake had one.  He carried it in a small bag at his waist,
+and used often to pull it out and look at it.  He never told me what it
+was for, but once he let me hear it speak.  It went on just like this
+one--_tik, tik, tik_--but it did not require shaking or squeezing.  I
+think it had a tongue like some of our squaws, who never stop speaking.
+One day when I went into the trader's house I saw it lying on the thing
+with four legs which the white men put their food on when they want to
+eat, and it was talking away to itself as fast as ever."
+
+They were still engaged with this mystery when a cry of delight from
+Nootka drew them back to the cabin, where they found the girl clothed in
+a pilot-cloth coat, immensely too large for her.  She was standing
+admiring herself in the mirror--so quickly had her feminine intelligence
+applied the thing to its proper use; and, from the energetic but
+abortive efforts she made to wriggle round so as to obtain a view of her
+back, it might have been supposed that she had been trained to the arts
+of civilisation from childhood.
+
+With equal and earnest assiduity Cowlik was engaged in adorning her head
+with a black flannel-lined sou'-wester, but she had some trouble with
+it, owing to the height of her top-knot of hair.
+
+Ridiculous though the two girls might have looked in our eyes, in those
+of their companions they only seemed peculiar and interesting, for the
+step between the sublime and ridiculous is altogether relative, in
+Eskimo-land as elsewhere.  There was no opportunity, however, to dwell
+long in contemplation of any new thing, for the discoveries came thick
+and fast.  Cowlik had barely succeeded in pulling the ear-pieces of the
+sou'-wester well down, and tying the strings under her fat chin, when a
+tremendous clanking was heard, as of some heavy creature approaching the
+cabin door.  Cheenbuk dropped forward the point of his spear, and
+Nazinred kept his gun handy.  Not that they were actually alarmed, of
+course, but they felt that in such unusual circumstances the least they
+could do was to be ready for whatever might befall--or turn up.
+
+A moment later and Aglootook stalked into the cabin, his legs encased in
+a pair of fishermen's sea-boots, so large that they seemed quite to
+diminish his natural proportions.
+
+In all their discoveries, however, they did not find a single scrap of
+any kind of food.  It was quite clear that the poor fellows had held by
+the ship as long as provisions lasted, in the hope, no doubt, that they
+might ultimately succeed in working their way out of the ice, and then,
+when inevitable starvation stared them in the face, they had tried to
+escape in their boats, but without success--at least in one case, though
+how many boats had thus left to undertake the forlorn hope of storming
+the strongholds of the polar seas it was impossible to tell.
+
+On the second night, as the Eskimos sat in their igloe at supper talking
+over the events of the day, Nazinred asked Cheenbuk what he intended to
+do--
+
+"For," said he, "it is not possible to take back with us on one sledge
+more than a small part of the many good things that we have found."
+
+"The man-of-the-woods is right," interposed the magician; "he is wise.
+One sledge cannot carry much.  I told you that we were sure to find
+_something_.  Was I not right?  Have we not found it?  My advice now is
+that we go back with as much as we can carry, and return with four or
+five sledges--or even more,--and take home all that it is possible to
+collect."
+
+"Aglootook is always full of knowledge and wisdom," remarked Cheenbuk,
+as he drove his powerful teeth into a tough bear-steak, and struggled
+with it for some moments before continuing his remarks; "but--but--ha!
+he does not quite see through an iceberg.  I will--(Give me another,
+Nootka, with more fat on it),--I will go back, as he wisely advises,
+with as much as the sledge will carry, and will return not only with
+four or five sledges, but with all the sledges we have got, and all the
+dogs, and all the men and women and children--even to the smallest babe
+that wears no clothes and lives in its mother's hood, and sucks blubber.
+The whole tribe shall come here and live here, and make use of the good
+things that have fallen in our way, till the time of open water draws
+near.  Then we will drive to the place where we have left our kayaks and
+oomiaks, some of us will go to Waruskeek, and some to pay a visit to the
+Fire-spouters at Whale River.--Give me another lump, Nootka.  The last
+was a little one, and I am hungry."
+
+The grandeur of Cheenbuk's plan, as compared with Aglootook's
+suggestion, was so great that the poor magician collapsed.
+
+Anteek looked at him.  Then he covered his young face with his hands and
+bent his head forward upon his knees.  It was too early for going to
+rest.  The boy might have been sleeping, but there was a slight heaving
+of the young shoulders which was not suggestive of repose.
+
+Later on in the evening, while Nazinred was enjoying his pipe, and the
+Eskimos were looking on in unspeakable admiration, Cheenbuk remembered
+that the last time he quitted the ship he had left his spear behind him.
+
+"I'll go and fetch it," said Anteek, who possessed that amiable and
+utterly delightful nature which offers to oblige, or do a service,
+without waiting to be asked.  In a few minutes he was out upon the ice
+on his errand.  Soon he gained the snow staircase, and, running up, made
+his way to the cabin where the spear had been left.
+
+Now it chanced that a polar bear, attracted perhaps by the odour of
+cooked food, had wandered near to the ship and observed the young Eskimo
+ascend.  Polar bears are not timid.  On the contrary, they are usually
+full of courage.  They are also full of curiosity.  The night was clear,
+and when that bear saw the youth go up the stair, it immediately went to
+the place to inspect it.  Courage and caution are not necessarily
+antagonistic.  On arriving at the foot of the stair it paused to paw and
+otherwise examine it.  Then it began to ascend slowly, as if doubtful of
+consequences.
+
+Now, if it were not for coincidences a great many of the extraordinary
+events of this life would never have happened.  For instance--but the
+instances are so numerous that it may be well not to begin them.  It
+happened that just as the bear began to ascend the snow staircase Anteek
+with the spear in his hand began to ascend the companion-ladder.  But
+the chief point of the coincidence lay here--that just as the bear
+reached the top of the stair the boy reached the very same spot, and
+next moment the two stood face to face within four feet of each other.
+
+We will not go into the irrelevant question which was the more
+surprised.  Anteek at once uttered a yell, compounded of courage,
+despair, ferocity, horror, and other ingredients, which startled into
+wild confusion all the echoes of the cliffs.  The bear opened its mouth
+as if to reply, and the boy instantly rammed the spear into it.
+
+He could not have done anything worse, except run away, for a bear's
+mouth is tough.  Happily, however, the monster was standing in a very
+upright position, and the violence of the thrust sent him off his
+balance.  He fell backwards down the stair, and came on the ice with an
+astounding crash that doubled him up and crushed all the wind out of his
+lungs in a bursting roar.
+
+Fortunately his great weight caused the destruction of five or six of
+the lower steps, so that when he rose and tried viciously to re-ascend,
+he was unable to do so.
+
+Of course the uproar brought the men on shore to the rescue, and while
+the bear was making furious attempts to reconstruct the broken
+staircase, Nazinred went close up and put a bullet in its brain.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
+
+THE SHIP RE-VISITED AND RE-EXPLORED.
+
+Cheenbuk's plan was afterwards fully carried out.  On the return of the
+party with all their wonderful news and wealth of old iron, the greatest
+excitement prevailed in the tribe, and the persons composing the
+expedition became heroes and heroines for the time being.  Each member
+formed a centre of attraction and a subject of cross-examination to its
+own particular relatives and friends.
+
+In the igloe of Aglootook was assembled, perhaps, one of the most
+surprised, if not one of the most credulous, of the gatherings--for the
+magician had a strong hold on the imagination of the greater number of
+his tribe, and a wonderful power of oratory.  His wife in particular
+idolised him, which said much for his amiability, and his only sister
+worshipped him, which spoke volumes for her gullibility.
+
+"Yes," he exclaimed, gazing round on the circle of his admirers; "I said
+from the first that this would be a wonderful trip, and that we would be
+sure to find _something_.  And did we not find it?"
+
+(Vigorous assent by look and voice from the audience.)
+
+"And," he continued, with a lowered voice and solemn look, "if Cheenbuk
+had not turned to the _left_ when I told him, we never would have found
+it."
+
+"But what was it like?" asked an elderly man with a squat-nose, whose
+mind was not quite clear, although he had already listened to an
+elaborate description.
+
+"Like?  Ho! it was like--like--"
+
+"Like a big kayak?" remarked some one.
+
+"No, no.  Far, far bigger," said the magician, making an imbecile
+attempt to indicate inconceivable size by waving arms and outspread
+fingers; "it was--as big--as--as--"
+
+"A whale?" suggested Squat-nose.
+
+"Bigger--Bigger!" said Aglootook, with a lost look in his eyes.  "You
+could stuff twenty igloes into it; and there were three great poles
+rising out of it as thick as--as _me_, with other poles across them, low
+down and high up, and walrus-lines hanging about in all directions, some
+as thick as my wrist, others as thin as my finger, and strange igloes
+inside of it--not of snow, but of wood--with all kinds of things you
+could think of in there; and things that--that--you could _not_ think of
+even if you were to try--that nobody ever thought of since the world
+began--wonderful!"
+
+This seemed to fairly take away the breath of the audience, for they
+could only glare and remain dumb.  For a few moments they breathed hard,
+then Squat-nose said in a deep whisper--
+
+"Go on."
+
+Aglootook did go on, and kept going on so long that his audience were
+forced to go off and assuage the pangs of hunger which prolonged
+abstinence and mental excitement at last rendered unendurable.  But no
+sooner was appetite appeased than the magician and his hearers returned
+to the subject with redoubled energy.
+
+"Is it very, _very_ far away?" asked Aglootook's wife, with a sigh, when
+he explained to her the wonders of the mirror.
+
+"Yes, a long, long way, and some of the ice is very rough for the dogs."
+
+"Not too far for some of us to go and return before the open water?"
+Squat-nose ventured to hope.
+
+"Plenty of time," returned Aglootook, with a patronising smile.  "In
+fact I advised Cheenbuk to start away back as fast as possible with many
+sledges, so that my woman will see it with her own eyes."
+
+"And me too?" exclaimed the sister, bringing her palms together with a
+smack.
+
+"And you too.  I advised Cheenbuk to take the whole tribe there to stay
+till the time of open water, and he agreed.  Cheenbuk is a wise young
+man: he always takes my advice."
+
+The subject of this eulogium was meanwhile giving a graphic and much
+more truthful account of the expedition to Adolay, Mangivik, his mother,
+and a select circle of friends; yet, although he did his best, like
+Aglootook, to convey an adequate impression of what they had seen, we
+make bold to say that the utmost power of language in the one, and of
+imagination in the other, failed to fill the minds of those
+unsophisticated natives with a just conception of the truth.
+
+But they did succeed in filling most of their hearts with an
+unconquerable desire to go and see for themselves, so that no difficulty
+was experienced in persuading the whole tribe--men, women, children, and
+dogs--to consent to a general migration.
+
+Even Anteek held his court that night in the tent of old Uleeta.
+
+Since the death of Gartok Anteek had shown much sympathy with that poor
+old woman.  Ill-natured people, (for there are such in Eskimo-land),
+said that sympathy with young Uleeta had something to do with his
+frequent visits to the tent.  Well, and why not?  The sympathy was not
+the less sincere that it was extended to both.
+
+Anyhow, a large circle of juvenile admirers of both sexes assembled
+under the snow roof to hear the young lecturer, and we are inclined to
+think that his discourse was quite as instructive and interesting as the
+narratives of his seniors.  He did not exaggerate anything, for Anteek
+was essentially truthful in spirit.  Nothing would induce him to lie or
+to give a false impression if he could help it, but the vivid play of
+his fancy and the sparkling flow of his young imagination were such that
+he kept his audience in a constant ripple of amusement and fever of
+anticipation.  He was particularly strong on Aglootook, and whatever
+that wily magician gained in the esteem of the adults, he certainly lost
+among the juveniles.
+
+So eager were the Eskimos to see the wonderful sights that had been
+described to them, that they at once set about preparation for
+departure.  On the second day after the return of the exploring party
+the entire village, having previously hidden away in a secure place the
+things already obtained from the ship, mounted their sledges and
+commenced their journey amid much noise and glee in the direction of
+what was to them the far east.
+
+It is needless, and would be tedious, to carry the patient reader a
+second time over the same ground.  Suffice it to say that when they
+reached the spot, and were introduced to the white man's "Big kayak,"
+they felt disposed to echo the words of the Queen of Sheba, and exclaim
+that half had not been told them--not even although that huge humbug
+Aglootook had told them a great deal too much!
+
+New circumstances are apt to engender new conditions in savage as well
+as civilised life.  It is scarcely credible what an amount of hitherto
+latent vanity was evoked by that mirror in the cabin, and that too in
+the most unlikely characters.  Mangivik, for instance, spent much of his
+time the first few days in admiring his grey locks in the glass.  And
+old Uleeta, although one of the plainest of the tribe, seemed never to
+tire of looking at herself.  Squat-nose, also, was prone to stand in
+front of that mirror, making hideous faces at himself and laughing
+violently; but there is reason to believe that it was not vanity which
+influenced him so much as a philosophical desire to ascertain the cause
+of his own ugliness!  Aglootook likewise wasted much of his valuable
+time before it.
+
+A new sense of shame was by this means developed among these natives, as
+well as the power to blush; because after people had been interrupted
+frequently in this act of self-admiration, they were laughed at, and the
+constant recurrence of this laughter aroused a feeling of indignation,
+at the same time a tendency to hop away and pretend interest in other
+things!  Squat-nose never did this.  All his actions were open as the
+day--of course we mean the _summer_ day,--and he would sometimes invite
+an intruder to come and have a look at his reflection, as if it were a
+treat.  Hence our opinion of his motive.
+
+Not so the magician.  The very way he stood, and moved about, and
+frowned at his double, betrayed his state of mind, while the sensitive
+way in which he started off to gaze out at the stern windows or have a
+look at the swinging barometer showed his feeling of guilt when caught
+in the act.  Anteek soon found this out, and was wont to lie in wait so
+as to catch him in the act suddenly and with exasperating frequency.
+
+After the first excitement of arrival was over, the Eskimos built igloes
+on the shore and settled down to dismantle the vessel and take
+possession of her stores, and of all that could be of use to them.  They
+built an elongated oval igloe on the shore as a store to receive the
+lighter and, as they esteemed them, more valuable articles.  Among these
+were included all the axes, hoop-iron, and other pieces of manageable
+metal that could be easily carried.  There were also numbers of tin
+cans, iron pots, cups, glass tumblers, earthenware plates, and other
+things of the kind, which were esteemed a most valuable possession by
+people whose ordinary domestic furniture consisted chiefly of seal-skin
+bowls and shallow stone dishes.
+
+During the few days that followed, the whole colony of men, women, and
+children were busily occupied in running between the ship and the big
+store with loads proportioned to their strength, and with joviality out
+of all proportion to their size, for it must be borne in mind that these
+children of the ice had discovered not only a mine of inconceivable
+wealth, but a mine, so to speak, of inexhaustible and ever recurring
+astonishments, which elevated their eyebrows continually to the roots of
+their hair, and bade fair to fix them there for ever!
+
+Perplexities were also among the variations of entertainment to which
+they were frequently treated.  Sometimes these were more or less cleared
+up after the assembled wit and wisdom of the community had frowned and
+bitten their nails over them for several hours.  Others were of a nature
+which it passed the wit of man--Eskimo man at least--to unravel.  A few
+of these, like the watch, had some light thrown on them by Nazinred, who
+had either seen something like them in use among the fur-traders, or
+whose sagacity led him to make a shrewd occasional guess.
+
+One object, however, defied the brain-power alike of Indian and Eskimo;
+and no wonder, for it was a wooden leg, discovered by Anteek in what
+must have been the doctor's cabin--or a cabin which had been used for
+doctor's stuff and material.  Like letters of the alphabet given in
+confusion for the purpose of being formed into words, this leg puzzled
+investigators because of their inevitable tendency to lead off on a
+wrong scent by assuming that the leg part was the handle of the
+instrument, and the part for the reception of the thigh a--a--something
+for--for--doing, they couldn't tell what!
+
+Sitting round the stone lamp after supper, some of them passed the
+mysterious object from hand to hand, and commented on it freely.  The
+leg was quite new, so that there were no marks of any kind about it to
+afford a clue to its use.
+
+Probably it had been made by the ship's carpenter for some unfortunate
+member of the crew who had come by an accident, and died before he could
+avail himself of it.
+
+Suddenly the magician exclaimed--
+
+"I know!  I always knew that I would know, if I only thought hard
+enough.  It is a club for fighting with.  When the white men go to war
+they always use these things."
+
+Grasping it in both hands, he swung it round his head, and made as
+though he would knock Oolalik down with it, causing that young Eskimo to
+shrink back in feigned alarm.
+
+"That may be so," said Cheenbuk, with serious gravity.  "I wonder we did
+not think of it before."
+
+"But if so," objected Nazinred, who always took things seriously, "what
+is the use of the hollow in its head, and for what are these lines and
+ties fixed about it?"
+
+"Don't you see?" said Cheenbuk, with increased seriousness, "after
+knocking your enemy down with it you pour his blood into the hollow till
+it is full, let it freeze, and then tie it up to keep it safe, so that
+you can carry it home to let your wife see what you have done."
+
+The usual quiet glance at Anteek had such an effect on that youth that
+he would have certainly exploded had he not been struck by an idea which
+displaced all tendency to laugh.
+
+"_I_ know," he cried eagerly.  "You're all wrong; it is a _hat_!"
+
+So saying, he seized the leg out of the magician's hand and thrust it on
+his head with the toe pointing upwards.
+
+There was a tendency to approve of this solution, and the boy, tying two
+of the straps under his chin, sprang up, in the pride of his discovery.
+But his pride had a fall, for the leap thrust the leg through the snow
+roof of the hut, and the novel head-dress was wrenched off as he
+staggered back into Cheenbuk's arms.
+
+Despite this mishap, it was received by most of those present as a
+probable explanation of the difficulty, and afterwards Anteek went
+proudly about wearing the wooden leg on his head.  The style of cap
+proved rather troublesome, however, when he was engaged in his
+researches between decks, for more than once, forgetting to stoop low,
+he was brought up with an unpleasant jerk.
+
+In a forest, as Nazinred suggested, the high crest might have been
+inconvenient, but out on the floes the unencumbered immensity of the
+Arctic sky afforded the boy room to swagger to his heart's content.
+
+Another discovery of great interest was the carpenter's cabin.  Unlike
+most of the other cabins, the door of this one was locked, and the key
+gone, though if it had been there no one would have guessed its use.
+Peeping in through a crack, however, Cheenbuk saw so many desirable
+things that he made short work of the obstruction by plunging his weight
+against it.  The door went down with a crash, and the Eskimo on the top
+of it.  The sight that met his gaze amply repaid him, however, for there
+were collected in symmetrical array on the walls, saws, chisels,
+gimlets, gouges, bradawls, etcetera, while on a shelf lay planes,
+mallets, hammers, nails, augers--in short, every variety of boring,
+hammering, and cutting implement that can be imagined.
+
+An hour after the discovery of that cabin, there was not a man or boy in
+the tribe who was not going about with cut fingers, more or less.
+Experience, however, very soon taught them caution.
+
+And here again the superior knowledge of Nazinred came in usefully.
+Like most Indians, he was a man of observation.  He had seen the
+fur-traders in their workshops, and had noted their tools.  Taking up a
+hand-saw he seized a piece of stick, and, although not an expert, sawed
+a lump off the end of it in a few seconds.  As this would probably have
+cost an Eskimo full half an hour to accomplish with his blunt knives,
+they were suitably impressed, and Cheenbuk, seizing the saw, forthwith
+attempted to cut off the end of a rod of iron--with what effect it is
+scarcely necessary to explain.
+
+In the course of a few days the quantity of material brought on shore
+was so great that it was found necessary to begin a second storehouse.
+While most of the natives were engaged on this, Cheenbuk and the Indian
+continued their researches in the ship, for a vast part of its deep hold
+still remained unexplored, owing partly to the slowness of the
+investigation in consequence of the frequent bursts of amazement and
+admiration, as well as the numerous discussions that ensued--all of
+which required time.
+
+While going more minutely into the contents of the cabin, they came,
+among other things, on a variety of charts and books.
+
+"Have you ever seen things like these?" asked Cheenbuk in a tone of
+veneration, based on the belief that the Indian had seen nearly
+everything the world contained.
+
+"Never--except that," he replied, pointing to a log-book; "the traders
+use things like that.  They open them and make marks in them."
+
+Cheenbuk immediately opened the book in question and found marks--plenty
+of them; but of course could make nothing of them, even after turning
+them sideways and upside-down.  As the Indian was equally incapable,
+they returned the whole into the locker in which they had found them,
+intending to carry them on shore when the new store should be ready for
+the reception of goods.
+
+This was unfortunate, in some respects, as the next chapter will show.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY NINE.
+
+CURIOSITY AND PRESUMPTION FOLLOWED BY CATASTROPHE.
+
+Most of the able-bodied men and a few of the youngsters set off next day
+to obtain a supply of walrus, seal, and musk-ox flesh--or anything else
+that happened to be procurable.
+
+Mrs Mangivik and other ladies were left to look after the camp and
+prepare for the return of the men, strict orders being left that no one
+should go on board the ship on any pretext whatever.
+
+But strict orders are not always obeyed.  There was one little boy in
+that community--not a bad boy, but a precocious and very ambitious boy--
+who chanced not to hear the orders given.  Whether he was partially
+deaf, or purposely did not hear the orders, we cannot say.  This little
+boy's chief weakness was a desire to mimic.  Having admired the wooden
+leg on Anteek's head, and having observed where Anteek had stowed the
+leg away before setting off with the hunters, he possessed himself of
+it, put it on his head, and strutted about the camp to the admiration
+and envy of all his compeers; for he was a very daring and domineering
+boy, although small.  His name was Doocheek.
+
+Another of Doocheek's weaknesses was a desire to ape the men, and think
+himself a man in consequence.  This, coupled with a consuming curiosity
+in regard to Nazinred's tobacco-pipe, caused him to observe--for he was
+remarkably observant--that the Indian had, for the first time since he
+resided among them, gone off on an expedition and left his pipe behind
+him--accidentally, no doubt.  Doocheek watched his opportunity and
+secured the fire-bag which contained the smoking implements.  Stolen
+waters are sweet, even in cold climates where all the waters freeze, and
+the boy cast about for a secluded place in which he might enjoy the
+sweetness of his pipe to the full without fear of interruption.  A blue
+cavern in an iceberg might do, but the atmosphere in such caves was
+rather cold.  Under the cliffs there were many sheltered places, but the
+juvenile members of the community were playing there, and would
+certainly intrude.  Out on the floes was an exposed place--to vision as
+well as to wind and drift.  What was left to him, then, but the ship?
+
+Hurrying through the village in order to carry out his plans, the boy
+encountered Mrs Mangivik at the entrance to her hut.
+
+"Where are you going, Doocheek?" demanded the woman, with a look of
+suspicion born of frequent experience.
+
+With that spirit of ambiguous contradiction which would seem to prevail
+among the youth of all nations, Doocheek replied, "Nowhere."
+
+It is interesting to observe how that remarkable answer seems to satisfy
+inquirers, in nine cases out of ten, everywhere!  At all events Mrs
+Mangivik smiled as if she were satisfied, and re-entered her hut, where
+Nootka was engaged in conversation with Adolay, while she taught her how
+to make Eskimo boots.
+
+"Did not Cheenbuk forbid every one to go near the big kayak while the
+men were away?" demanded the woman.
+
+"Yes he did," answered Nootka, without raising her eyes.--"Now look
+here, Ad-dolay.  You turn the toe up this way, and the heel down that
+way, and shove your needle in so, and then--"
+
+"I am very sure," interrupted Mrs Mangivik, "that little Doocheek has
+gone down there.  There's not another little boy in the tribe but
+himself would dare to do it."
+
+"He will lose some of his skin if he does," said Nootka quietly--
+referring not to any habit of the Eskimos to flay bad boys alive, but to
+their tendency to punish the refractory in a way that was apt to ruffle
+the cuticle.
+
+Quite indifferent to all such prospects in store for him, the boy
+hurried on until he reached the foot of the snow staircase.  It had been
+repaired by that time, and the deck was easily gained.  Descending to a
+part of the interior which was rather dark--for the boy was aware that
+his deeds were evil--he sat down on a locker and opened his fire-bag.
+
+Eskimos are not quite free from superstition.  Doocheek had plenty of
+natural courage, but he was apt to quail before the supernatural.  Apart
+from the conscience, which even in Arctic bosoms tends to produce
+cowardice, the strange surroundings of the place--the deep shadows,
+merging into absolute obscurity, and the feeling of mystery that
+attached to everything connected with the vessel--all had the effect of
+rendering Doocheek's enjoyment somewhat mixed.  To look at him as he sat
+there, glaring nervously on all sides, one would have been tempted to
+say that his was what might be called a fearful joy.  If a rat or a
+mouse had scurried past him at that moment he would have fled
+precipitately, but no rat or mouse moved.  Probably they were all
+frozen, and he had the place entirely to himself--too much to himself.
+He began at that point to wish that he had brought another little boy,
+or even a girl, with him, to keep up his courage and share in his
+triumphant wickedness.
+
+However, as nothing happened, his courage began to return, and he
+emptied the contents of the bag on the locker.  He knew exactly what to
+do, for many a time had he watched the Indian fill his pipe and produce
+fire with flint, steel, and tinder.  Beginning with the pipe, he filled
+it, and then proceeded to strike a light.  Of course he found this much
+more difficult than he had expected.  It seemed so easy in the Indian's
+hands--it was so very difficult in his!  After skinning his knuckles,
+however, chipping his thumb-nail, and knocking the flint out of his hand
+several times, he succeeded in making the right stroke, and a shower of
+sparks rewarded his perseverance.
+
+This was charming.  The place was so dark that the sparks seemed as
+large and bright as stars, while the darkness that followed was deeper
+by contrast.  Forgetting the pipe and tobacco in this new-found joy,
+Doocheek kept pelting away at the flint, sending showers of sparks past
+his knees, and some of them were so large that they even fell upon the
+deck before going out.
+
+But an abrupt stop was put to his amusement.  Whether it was that
+something or other in the sides of the ship had given way, or the
+energetic action of the boy had shaken some fastening loose, we cannot
+say, but just as he was in the act of raising his hand for another
+_feu-de-joie_, a shelf over his head gave way, and a perfect avalanche
+of pots, pans, and noisy tin articles came down with a hideous crash on
+the deck!
+
+To leap from the locker like a bomb-shell, and go straight up the
+hatchway like a rocket, was only natural.  Doocheek did that as far as
+was compatible with flesh and blood.  He could not remember afterwards
+by what process he reached the ice and found himself on the skirts of
+the village.  But at that point his self-control returned, and he
+sauntered home--flushed, it is true, and a little winded, yet with the
+_nonchalant_ air of a man who had just stepped out to "have a look at
+the weather."  His conscience was rather troubled, it is true, when he
+thought of the fire-bag and the pipe, etcetera, left behind, but nothing
+would have induced him to return for these at that time.
+
+Towards evening the walrus-hunters returned.  They had been very
+successful.  The sledges were loaded up with the meat of several large
+animals, so that there was a prospect of unlimited feasting for more
+than a week to come.
+
+"Now, old woman," said Cheenbuk with cheery irreverence to his mother,
+and with that good-natured familiarity which is often engendered by good
+fortune, "stir up the lamps and get ready the marrow-bones!"
+
+Regardless of lamps and marrow-bones, all the children of the community,
+even to the smallest babes, were sucking raw blubber as children in less
+favoured lands suck lollipops.
+
+"Had you to go far?" asked Adolay.
+
+"Not far.  We found them all close by, and would have been back sooner,
+but some of them fought hard and took up much time," answered Cheenbuk,
+who awaited the cooking process; for since he had discovered the Indian
+girl's disgust at raw meat, he had become a total abstainer on the
+point.
+
+"And," he added, beginning to pull off his boots, "if your father had
+not been there with the spouter we should have been out on the floes
+fighting still, for some of the walruses were savage, and hard to kill."
+
+After supper, as a matter of course, Nazinred looked round with an air
+of benign satisfaction on his fine face.
+
+"Is my fire-bag behind you, Adolay?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+Doocheek was present and heard the question, but of course did not
+understand it, as it was put in the Dogrib tongue.  The search, however,
+which immediately began induced him to retire promptly and absent
+himself from home for the time being.
+
+"It is not here, father."
+
+A more careful search was made, then a most careful one, but no fire-bag
+was to be found.
+
+"Perhaps Nootka took it to her sleeping-place to keep it safe,"
+suggested old Mangivik.
+
+No; Nootka had seen nothing of it, and Nootka was not a little annoyed
+when, in spite of her assertion, a search was made in her boudoir, and
+not a little triumphant when the search proved fruitless.
+
+"Surely no one has taken it away," said Cheenbuk, looking round with an
+expression that would have sunk Doocheek through the snow into the earth
+if he had been there.
+
+"_If_ any one has taken it away," said Aglootook, with a profundity of
+meaning in his tone that was meant to paralyse the guilty, and serve as
+a permanent caution to the innocent, "_something_ awful will happen.  I
+don't say what, but _something_; so it will be as well to confess, for
+I'm sure to find it out--if not soon, then in a long time."
+
+For some moments after this there was dead silence, but nobody
+confessed, and they all looked at each other as if they expected some
+one to go off like a cannon shot through the roof suddenly, and were
+somewhat disappointed that no one did.
+
+By degrees they began to breathe more freely, and at last some went out
+to seek repose in their own huts, while the inmates of Mangivik's
+dwelling began to turn in for the night.  Nootka and Adolay retired to
+the boudoir, and the men, drawing bear or seal-skins over them, lay
+down, each where he had feasted.
+
+Nazinred alone remained sitting up, the victim of unsatisfied craving.
+North American Indians are noted for their power to conceal their
+feelings, and Nazinred was not an exception to the rule, for no sign did
+he betray of the longing desire for a pipe that consumed him.  Only a
+tendency to silence, and a deeper solemnity than usual, seemed to
+indicate that all was not as he would wish.
+
+At last he lay down.  About an hour afterwards, finding that he could
+not sleep, he arose, cast an envious glance at the peaceful slumberers
+around him, crept through the entrance tunnel, and stood erect outside,
+with a gaze of subdued inquiry at the starry host overhead.  Bringing
+his eyes slowly down to the things of earth, his gaze changed suddenly
+into one of wild alarm.
+
+The cause was obvious enough.  When Doocheek fled from the avalanche of
+pots and tins, as before mentioned, he failed to observe that one of the
+sparks, which had filled him with delight, had remained nestling and
+alive in a mass of cotton-waste, or some such rubbish, lying on the
+lower deck.  With the tendency of sparks to increase and propagate their
+species, this particular one soon had a large and vigorous family of
+little sparks around it.  A gentle puff of wind made these little ones
+lively, and induced them, after the manner of little ones everywhere, to
+scatter on exploring rambles.  Like juveniles, too, their food at first
+was simple,--a few more mouthfuls of waste and a bit of rope here and
+there; hence their progress was slow and quiet.  But time and increasing
+strength soon made them impatient of such light food.  Ere long they
+created a draught of their own, and were blown into a flame.  Then some
+of them laid hold of some bedding, while others seized upon a bulkhead,
+and, gathering courage from success, they finally enveloped the
+'tween-decks in a mass of flame.
+
+It was at this point in the business that the eyes of Nazinred beheld a
+column of smoke rising from the after-companion hatch which threw his
+own smoking powers entirely into the shade, and induced him to utter an
+unreasoning war-whoop that roused the Eskimo tribe as if by a shock of
+electricity.
+
+The entire population rushed out like one man.  They saw the smoke, with
+a lurid flame licking out here and there amid the blackness, and seeing
+the Indian flying down the beach as if he were witch-possessed--as
+indeed he was--they uttered a united howl, and made off in the same
+direction.
+
+Fire brigades, of course, are unknown among the Eskimos, but the way in
+which Cheenbuk improvised and organised an Arctic brigade might have
+roused the envy even of the London force!
+
+Great men are always with us, though not always recognised.  It requires
+specially great occasions to draw them forth, and make them visible even
+to themselves.  Many a time in former years had Cheenbuk spilt water on
+the cooking-lamp and put it out.  Water at once occurred to his mind in
+connection with the tremendous lamp that was now fairly alight.  But
+water was at that time locked up seven or eight feet under the solid
+ice.  The active mind of the Eskimo naturally reverted to snow ere yet
+he had covered the distance between ship and shore.  We say naturally,
+because he was quite aware that snow also extinguished lamps.
+
+Cutting a huge block of snow with his bone knife from the beaten plain,
+he shouted in a voice of thunder: "Hi! every one.  Look at me!  Do as I
+do!"
+
+He shouldered the mass, sprang up the snow stair, and plunged down the
+smoking hatchway.
+
+Cheenbuk and Oolalik, who were as quick to obey as to command--perhaps
+quicker--followed their leader's example.  Others followed suit
+according to their respective natures and capacities.  Anteek, bearing a
+mass nearly as big as himself, also dashed below in wild excitement.
+Some of the young men tumbled their burdens of snow down the smoking
+hole and went back for more.  Even old Mangivik did that as fast as his
+rheumatic limbs would let him.  Raventik, reckless as usual, sprang down
+with a mighty lump, but finding the atmosphere below uncongenial, hurled
+it towards his predecessors, and sprang up again for a fresh supply,
+watering at the eyes and choking.  The poor invalid Ondikik walked as
+hard as his fast-failing strength would permit.  The women even, led by
+the thoroughly roused Cowlik, bore their share in the work.  The
+children took prompt advantage of the occasion to enjoy by far the
+wildest game that had ever yet been suggested to their imaginations, and
+Aglootook the magician, seeing that _something_ had come at last to
+verify his predictions, stood by the capstan and appointed himself to
+the command of the upper deck brigade, while the others were battling
+with the flames below.
+
+The battle was indeed a tough one; for the fire had got a firm hold, not
+only of the materials already mentioned, but also of a mass of canvas
+and cordage in what must have been the sail-maker's department, and the
+smoke was growing so dense that it was becoming difficult for the
+firemen to breathe.
+
+"Here!  Nazinred, Oolalik, throw the biggest lumps you can lift over
+_there_."
+
+Cheenbuk pointed to what seemed a red-hot spot in the dense smoke before
+them, and set them the example by heaving a gigantic mass at the same
+place.
+
+A tremendous hiss came forth as the snow was converted into steam, but
+there was no abatement in the roar of the devouring element as it licked
+up everything around it, making the iron bolts red, and, though not
+themselves combustible, assistants to combustion.
+
+"More snow, Anteek! more snow!" gasped Cheenbuk.
+
+The boy, with a mass of half-melted snow still in his hand, sprang up
+the ladder, scarce knowing what he did, and appeared on deck, blackened
+and wildly dishevelled.  Aglootook was close to the opening at the
+moment, giving sententious directions to some little boys.  Anteek
+hurled the snow-mass full at his face with the force of an ardent nature
+intensified by contempt, and sent him sprawling among the children as he
+leaped over the side to carry out his orders.
+
+But no energy on the part of Cheenbuk and his comrades, no efforts on
+the part of their assistants, strong or feeble, could avert that ship's
+doom.  Ere long the smoke and heat between decks became unbearable, and
+drove the gallant leaders back, inch by inch, foot by foot, until they
+were compelled to take refuge on the upper deck, when nothing more could
+be done to arrest the progress of the flames.  They retired therefore to
+the quarter-deck, where the whole of the Eskimos--men, women, and
+children--assembled to look on at the destruction which they could not
+now prevent.
+
+"This is a great loss," observed Cheenbuk regretfully, as he sat on the
+after-rail, mopping the perspiration off his blackened face with his
+sleeve.
+
+"It might have been a greater loss," said Nazinred, glancing towards the
+well-filled storehouses on shore.
+
+"That is true; but just think of what a supply of wood for spears and
+sledges!  It would have been enough to last the lives of our children's
+children, if not longer."
+
+"Did I not tell you that _something_ would happen?" said Aglootook,
+coming forward at that moment.
+
+"Yes, and something did happen," said old Mangivik, "though I could not
+see how it happened, for the smoke.  Did not a lump of snow fly in your
+face and knock you over among the children?"
+
+The magician ignored the question altogether, and, turning to Cheenbuk,
+asked if he thought there was yet any chance of saving the ship.
+
+"Not unless you manage to send some of your magic down and stop the
+fire."
+
+"That is not possible," returned the other, with a wisely grave look.
+"I can do much, but I cannot do that."
+
+As he spoke, a fresh roar of the fire up the hatch-way attracted
+attention.  Gathering strength, it burst up in a bright flame, showing
+that the quarter-deck could not long remain a place of security.
+
+Suddenly Nazinred showed signs of excitement which were very unusual in
+him.  Fighting the walrus or bear, or battling with the fire, had never
+produced such an expression as crossed his face, while he cast a hasty
+glance round on the women and children, whose forms were by that time
+lit up by the dull red glow that issued from the column of smoke.
+
+"Cheenbuk," he said in a low voice, "the black stuff that I put in my
+spouter is kept by traders in round things--I forget the name.  If there
+is one of these round things here, and it catches fire, we shall, every
+one of us, with the ship, be sent up to the stars!"
+
+The remark was meant to reach the ear of the leader alone, but several
+of those around heard it, and a wild rush was instantly made for the
+snow stair, amid feminine and juvenile shrieks.  Aglootook incontinently
+hurled himself over the side, and fell on his hands and knees on the
+ice, where an opportune snow-drift saved him.  Most of the party ran or
+leaped out of the threatened danger.
+
+"Does not my father think that we should go?" asked Cheenbuk, who began
+to feel uneasy as a fresh burst of flame set fire to the canvas awning,
+and made the place they stood on unpleasantly hot.
+
+"Yes, my son, he does," replied Nazinred; "but it does not become men to
+_run_ from danger."
+
+So saying he began to move as if in a funeral procession, closely
+followed by Cheenbuk, Oolalik, and old Mangivik.
+
+As they reached the head of the staircase something like an explosion
+occurred, for the deck was partially burst up by the heat.  The three
+Eskimos, who did not think their dignity affected by haste, leaped down
+the stair in two bounds, but Nazinred did not alter his walk in the
+least.  Step by step he descended deliberately, and walked in stolid
+solemnity to the spot on which the community had assembled as a place of
+safety.
+
+They did not speak much after that, for the sight was too thrilling and
+too novel to admit of conversation.  Shouts and exclamations alone broke
+forth at intervals.
+
+The danger to which they had been exposed while on the quarter-deck
+became more apparent when a clear bright flame at length shot upwards,
+and, catching some of the ropes, ran along and aloft in all directions.
+
+Hitherto the fire had been much smothered by its own smoke and the want
+of air below, but now that it had fairly burst its bonds and got
+headway, it showed itself in its true character as a fierce and
+insatiable devourer of all that came in its way.
+
+Catching hold of the awning over the deck, it swept fore and aft like a
+billow, creating such heat that the spectators were forced to retreat to
+a still safer distance.  From the awning it licked round the masts,
+climbed them, caught the ropes and flew up them, sweeping out upon the
+yards to their extreme ends, so that, in a few minutes, the ship was
+ablaze from hold to truck, and stem to stern.
+
+Then the event which Nazinred had referred to occurred.  The flames
+reached the powder magazine.  It exploded, and the terrified natives
+yelled their feelings, while the entire structure went up into the
+heavens with a roar to which the loudest thunder could not compare, and
+a sheet of intense light that almost blinded them.
+
+The explosion blew out every fork of flame, great and small, and left an
+appalling blackness by contrast, while myriads of red-hot fragments fell
+in a shower on the ice, and rebounded from it, like evil spirits dancing
+around the tremendous wreck that they had caused.
+
+Fortunately the Eskimos were beyond the range of the fiery shower.  When
+they ventured, with awe-stricken looks, to approach the scene of the
+catastrophe, only a yawning cavern in the floe remained to tell of the
+stately vessel that had thus ended her final voyage.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY.
+
+A DECLARATION, AN INTERRUPTION, AND A GREAT FIGHT.
+
+The loss which the Eskimos sustained in the destruction of the ship was
+in one sense considerable, for the woodwork about her would have been of
+immense value to them; nevertheless their gains in what had already been
+stored were very great, so that they were able to regard their losses
+with philosophic composure.
+
+The weeks that followed--weeks of ever increasing light and warmth--were
+spent in examining and sorting their material into packages suitable for
+transport on sledges to their summer quarters at Waruskeek.
+
+And here again the knowledge possessed by Nazinred of the habits and
+implements of the white men was of great service.  Adolay also helped to
+instruct, for when among the sail-maker's tools they found a number of
+the finer sort of needles and threads, as well as a few feminine
+thimbles, so to speak, she was able to show the women at once how to use
+them, and thus saved them from the trouble of puzzling out the matter
+for themselves.
+
+"What is this?" asked Anteek of Nazinred one day, presenting a file
+which he had just picked up.
+
+"That is a thing," replied the Indian, who, being ignorant of the names
+of most tools, got over the difficulty by calling all objects
+"things"--"that is a thing made for cutting iron with; rubbing it down
+and cutting it short.  It cuts things that are too hard for a knife."
+
+"I think," returned the boy, regarding it attentively, "we might try it
+on Aglootook's nose.  That wants cutting short, and rubbing down too,
+for it seems very hard to look at it."
+
+Nazinred did not smile.  He was slow to understand a joke.  Perhaps he
+thought it a poor one, but Cheenbuk appreciated it, and met it with the
+suggestion that an axe might be more effective.
+
+They were gravely debating this point in front of the snow stores, when
+Ondikik came up and asked when it was likely that a start would be made
+for home, as he styled their old winter village.
+
+"Go and ask Mangivik.  When he gives the order I'm ready," said
+Cheenbuk.
+
+"Don't say a word to Aglootook," said Anteek, as the young man turned to
+go; "he will be sure to say that _something_ will happen if you do."
+
+"Yes, and as something always does happen," remarked Cheenbuk, "he's
+sure to be right, the moosquat."
+
+"Moo-squat" seemed to be used as a term of extreme contempt; it may not
+therefore be incorrect to translate it--"humbug!"
+
+On being consulted, old Mangivik, who was generally credited with being
+weather-wise and intelligent, gave it as his opinion that, as the things
+from the white man's kayak were all ready packed on the sledges, and the
+weather was very warm, and the days were growing long, and the ice and
+snow were melting fast, the sooner they set out the better.
+
+Aglootook coincided with that opinion, because he had been led to the
+same conclusion some days before, chiefly in consequence of profound
+thought during the dark hours of night.  "And if we don't start off
+now," he added at the end of a portentous oration, "no one can tell what
+will happen--something fearful, I know, though of course it is not
+possible to say what."
+
+As no one felt disposed to object, the preparations were hurried
+forward, and, soon after, the whole tribe went off on the return
+journey, leaving behind them a black and yawning gulf in the Arctic
+solitude where so lately a noble ship had been.
+
+Arrived at the old village, these lively and energetic nomads occupied
+themselves during the brief remainder of winter and the early spring in
+securely hiding the goods of which they had become possessed, excepting
+such light portions as they meant to carry along with them to their
+summer retreat.  Among these were a number of bows, spears, and arrows
+made from the wood of the burnt vessel, with cleverly adapted iron
+heads, filed to fine sharp points, and burnished until they glittered in
+the light.  Of knives and axes there were also sufficient to equip most
+of the young men, and those, for whom there were none, made to
+themselves pretty good knives out of pieces of hoop-iron.
+
+When at last the ocean currents and summer heat broke up the solid floes
+and set the icebergs free to resume their majestic southward course, our
+Eskimos put their sledges _en cache_, got out kayaks and oomiaks, and,
+wielding both the short and the long paddle, started off towards the
+southwest, in the direction of Waruskeek--some of the tribe, however,
+with a few of the old people, remaining behind.
+
+"Now, Adolay, we are going to take you home," said Cheenbuk, the day
+they started, while walking with her towards the oomiak in which she was
+to take her seat and a paddle.  "Will the Indian girl be glad to leave
+us?"
+
+The faintest possible tinge of red suffused her cheek, as she dropped
+her eyes and replied--
+
+"She will be glad to get home."
+
+"When you have got home, and stayed for a time with your people,"
+returned Cheenbuk, who was usually blunt and to-the-point in his
+conversation, "will you come away with me and be my woman--my squaw?" he
+added, accommodating his words to the Indian vocabulary.
+
+"I cannot leave my mother," answered the maiden in a low voice.
+
+"That is good," returned the gallant Eskimo, "but Cheenbuk can leave
+_his_ mother and his father too.  If I go and live with the
+men-of-the-woods, will you be my squaw?"
+
+Adolay with downcast eyes gave no answer.
+
+It is said that silence gives consent.  We are ignorant as to Arctic
+opinion on this point, but before light could be thrown on the subject,
+Anteek came rushing round the corner of a stranded berg with the
+exclamation--
+
+"Hoi!  Cheenbuk--here you are!  We thought you must have got into the
+teeth of a walrus or the arms of a bear!"
+
+Cheenbuk frowned savagely, caught Anteek by his nether garments and the
+nape of his neck, and, lifting him high above his head, seemed about to
+dash him on the ground.  But, instead, he replaced him gently on his
+feet, and, with a benignant smile, told him to run down to the shore and
+put his kayak in the water so as to be ready for him.
+
+Anteek, who was obedience personified, hastened away at once, rubbing
+his nether garments, and sorely perplexed as to the strange spirit which
+seemed so suddenly to have taken possession of the friend he so ardently
+idolised.
+
+It was arranged that Nazinred, being unaccustomed to the Eskimo kayak,
+should voyage with the women in one of the oomiaks.  To a younger brave
+this might have been regarded as an undignified position, but to a man
+of his years and tried experience it was only a subject for a passing
+smile.  But the Indian did not accept the position of an idle passenger.
+Although inexpert in the use of the two-bladed paddle and the light
+kayak, he was thoroughly capable of using the women's paddle with the
+single blade, as it bore much resemblance in shape and size to that used
+in his native canoe.  He therefore quietly assumed the post of steersman
+in the oomiak, which contained Madam Mangivik, Nootka, the easy-going
+Cowlik, the gentle Rinka, Adolay, and a variety of children and babies.
+The young man Oolalik, in defiance of immemorial custom, also took a
+seat and a paddle in that oomiak--out of pure hospitality of course, and
+for the sole purpose of keeping their guest company.  Nootka said
+nothing, but she seemed amused as well as pleased at the innovation.  So
+were the children, for Oolalik was a prime favourite with young as well
+as old.
+
+Old Uleeta was the captain of another of the oomiaks, and it was
+observed that Aglootook cast longing and frequent glances in her
+direction, believing, no doubt, that a place by her side would be an
+easier berth than in his own kayak, with nothing but the strength of his
+own lazy arm to urge it on; but as there was no guest in this case to
+justify the breach of ancient custom on the ground of hospitality, he
+felt that manhood required him to stay where he was.
+
+It was a pretty sight the starting of the little flotilla on a brilliant
+spring morning, with the sea as calm as a millpond, fantastic masses of
+white ice floating about in all directions, and mountainous bergs here
+and there giving dignity as well as variety, by their size and
+light-green sides and deep blue caverns, to a scene which might
+otherwise have been too suggestive of wedding-cake.
+
+Seals, walruses, sea-birds, and numerous denizens of the deep and air,
+were sporting about in fearless indifference to the presence of their
+great enemy, man, but these were unheeded until hunger began to affect
+the Eskimo.  Then the war began, with its usual result--"the survival of
+the fittest."
+
+One day, however, there was a battle in which it came about that the
+tables were almost turned, and the survival, as regards the animals,
+very nearly reversed.
+
+It happened thus.
+
+We have already referred to the ferocity of the walrus when attacked.
+As a rule, man is the assailant.  Sometimes, however, the monster of the
+Arctic deep assumes the offensive.  On the occasion we are about to
+describe the attack was made in force.
+
+The day had been brilliantly fine.  The bergs had absolutely duplicated
+and inverted themselves by reflection, so that the sunlit pinnacles
+became submarine fires, and refraction stepped in to reverse, and as it
+were shatter, the floes on the horizon, while three mock suns glowed in
+the heavens at the same time--thus making the beautiful confusion still
+more exquisitely confounded.
+
+"Walrus!" said Cheenbuk, pointing with the end of his long paddle in the
+direction of a large berg just ahead of them.
+
+Nazinred, who was close alongside of him, ceased to paddle, and shaded
+his eyes with his hand.  So did his crew.  The whole flotilla ceased to
+paddle, and skimmed slowly along for some moments in dead silence.
+
+Then Aglootook, in virtue of his office and presumption, spoke in a low
+voice--
+
+"Let us pull softly, and speak not at all.  There are plenty of beasts.
+Wonders shall be done to-day if you attend to what I say."
+
+They all acted on his advice, whether they heard it or not, for Eskimos
+need no caution to be wary and silent when approaching a herd of
+walruses.
+
+There appeared to be at least a hundred animals lying sunning themselves
+on the various ice-lumps into which the floes were broken up.  On one
+mass about half a mile off there were some twenty rolling about and
+grunting comfortably to each other.  Towards these the flotilla slowly
+drifted, for the dipping of the paddles could scarcely be seen, and was
+quite noiseless.  By slow degrees they drew near, and then the oomiaks
+hung back, with the exception of that steered by Nazinred, who had got
+his fire-spouter ready, while Oolalik stood in the bow, harpoon in hand,
+and lance ready by his side.  The women were not expected to take part
+in the action--only to look on,--but all the men in kayaks advanced.
+While these last went on towards the main herd, our Indian steered
+straight for the ice-cake on which the largest number lay, and as they
+drew near, the extreme ugliness of the creatures' faces and black heads
+became very apparent.
+
+There was an old bull with tusks not far short of three feet long among
+the herd.  Beside him was a young bull, which seemed from his wicked
+expression to be screwing up his courage to assault the old one.  The
+rest were females and young ones of various ages, down to what seemed
+the very last walrus baby.  Those that were grown up had bristling
+moustaches like porcupine-quills on their flat lips, and the young ones
+had tusks in different degrees of development--except the baby, whose
+head resembled an ill-shaped football.
+
+They did not seem in the least afraid of the approaching oomiak.
+Perhaps they thought it a very dirty piece of ice covered with rather
+grotesque seals.  At all events, although they looked at it, they went
+on with their mooing and rolling about, quite regardless of it, until
+Oolalik sent his harpoon deep into the side of one of the cows.  Then
+indeed there was tremendous roaring and confusion, as the whole herd
+tumbled off the ice raft into the sea.  The splash sent a cataract of
+spray over the Eskimos; and no wonder, for the old bull was full sixteen
+feet long, with barrel-bulk equal to a hogshead.  Some of the others
+were not much smaller.
+
+The harpoon thrown was attached to a short line, to the end of which an
+inflated seal-skin was fastened for the purpose of forming a drag on the
+animal harpooned, and, by coming to the surface, showing its
+whereabouts.  But on this occasion the creatures required no such
+contrivance to bring them up, for no sooner were the two bulls in their
+native element than they uttered a horrible succession of roars, and
+made straight for the oomiak.  A rip in the side of the skin boat would
+have been fatal, or, if one of the animals were to hook on to it with
+his tusks, an upset would be certain.  Oolalik therefore grasped his
+long lance, while Nazinred steered so as to keep the bow end-on to the
+assailants.  Another moment and Oolalik dealt the oldest bull a thrust
+in the neck that sent it back roaring.  The cry seemed to be a summons,
+for answering cries were heard all round, and the walruses were seen to
+be converging towards their savage old chief.  Meanwhile the young bull
+had reached the right side of the oomiak, where Cowlik sat with an
+easy-going look on her placid face, admiring the scene.
+
+Nazinred was so intent on keeping the craft right that he failed to
+notice it until its ugly head and ponderous tusks rose above the
+gunwale.  But Cowlik proved equal to the occasion.  The easy-going look
+vanished, and the end of her paddle went into the throat of the brute
+with a thrust so vigorous that the boat was driven to one side and the
+tusks missed their mark.  At the same moment Adolay, who sat close to
+her, grasped her paddle like a double-handed sword, and brought it down
+with surprising force on the creature's left eye.  A shot from the
+fire-spouter followed; the ball entered the same eye, reached the brain,
+and the young bull sank to rise no more.
+
+The Indian reloaded as fast as he could, but not in time for another
+charge from the old bull, which Oolalik met with a stab in the side that
+again turned him off bellowing.  A still younger bull, anxious,
+perchance, to win its spurs, took advantage of the situation, and made a
+dash at the opposite side, but Nootka sent about two feet of her paddle
+down its throat, which induced it to reconsider its intentions.
+
+Just then a loud report told that the spouter was again to the front.
+This time the ball took effect on the old bull's forehead, and remained
+there.  It neither killed nor stunned, though it probably surprised it,
+for it sheered off permanently, and all the rest of the herd went away
+to sea along with it.
+
+After this unexpected and dangerous encounter was over, it was found
+that several other animals were splashing about in a dying state, or
+fast to seal-skin buoys which the men in the kayaks had managed to affix
+to them.  One of these was closely followed up by Anteek, who had very
+cleverly launched his harpoon.
+
+Aglootook was also seen to be struggling with a buoy, which he was
+trying to haul in.
+
+"Keep off!" he cried in great excitement when old Mangivik paddled to
+his assistance; "I have lanced it twice.  I need no help.  See, the
+water is full of blood!"
+
+"That is my beast you are fighting," remarked Oolalik, as the oomiak
+came up.  "Look at the float: it is mine."
+
+The magician looked crestfallen.  He had hoped, probably, to kill the
+wounded animal, secure it to his kayak, and cast loose the buoy, so that
+no one could claim it.  He made the most of the situation, however, by
+asserting stoutly that if he had not lanced it well it would certainly
+have broken loose from the buoy.
+
+When the whole party was assembled on a large floe, cutting up and
+stowing away the meat, some of the younger men began to comment on the
+success of the hunt, and to congratulate themselves on the large supply
+of fresh provisions which they had secured.
+
+"Did I not tell you," said Aglootook, who appeared to be superintending
+the workers, "that wonders would be done to-day?"
+
+"You did," replied Cheenbuk gravely, "and one of the greatest wonders
+was that you managed to lance a walrus!"
+
+"It was indeed a great wonder," returned the magician, with a smile of
+supreme satisfaction, "for I was not hunting at all at the time--only
+looking on by way of encouraging the young men.  It just came in my way
+and I killed it, easily, in passing.  If I had been really hunting, then
+indeed," he added, with solemn emphasis, "you would have seen something
+to astonish you."
+
+"I have no doubt of that!" remarked Cheenbuk.  At the same moment Anteek
+went off into an explosion of laughter, which he accounted for by
+pointing at a baby-walrus which had just put its head out of the water
+with an expression of surprise on its innocent face that clearly
+indicated its inability to understand what was going on.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.
+
+AN EXPEDITION AND A DISAPPOINTMENT.
+
+A few days later the whole tribe arrived at their summer quarters, and
+no civilised family of boys and girls ever arrived at their seaside home
+with a more genuine expression of noisy delight than that with which
+those Eskimos took possession of the turf-mud-and-stone-built huts of
+Waruskeek.
+
+It was not only the children who thus let loose their glee.  The young
+men and maidens also began to romp round the old dwellings in the pure
+enjoyment of ancient memories and present sunshine, while the elders
+expressed their satisfaction by looking on with approving nods and
+occasional laughter.  Even old Mangivik so far forgot the dignity of his
+advanced age as to extend his right toe, when Anteek was rushing past,
+and trip up that volatile youth, causing him to plunge headlong into a
+bush which happened to grow handy for his reception.
+
+Nazinred alone maintained his dignity, but so far condescended to
+harmonise with the prevailing spirit as to smile now and then.  As for
+Adolay, she utterly ignored the traditions of her people, and romped and
+laughed with the best of them, to the great delight of Nootka, who
+sometimes felt inclined to resent her stately ways.  Cheenbuk adopted an
+intermediate course, sometimes playing a practical joke on the young
+men, at other times entering into grave converse with his Indian guest.
+Aglootook of course stuck to his own _role_.  He stood on a bank of sand
+which overlooked the whole, and smiled gracious approval, as though he
+were the benignant father of a large family, whom he was charmed to see
+in the enjoyment of innocent mirth.
+
+Cheenbuk soon formed his plans for the future, and laid them before the
+elders of the tribe the same evening after supper--at that period when
+poor Nazinred would have been enjoying his pipe, if that implement had
+not been blown with all his tobacco and tinder into the Arctic sky.
+
+It is but just to the Indian to add that he took his heavy loss in a
+philosophical spirit, and had by that time quite got over the craving--
+insomuch that he began to wonder why he had ever come under the sway of
+such a taste.
+
+"Now," said Cheenbuk, with an air of decision, "listen to my plans."
+
+"Hoi! ho!" exclaimed every one, especially Aglootook, who added "hay!"
+in a peculiar tone, thus giving him leave, as it were, to talk as much
+as he pleased.
+
+"You all know that I have promised to take Adolay back to her own home,
+and you know that I never break my promises.  It is therefore my
+intention to set off to the Whale River after two suns have gone round
+the sky."
+
+"Hoi!" exclaimed some of the young men, with looks of surprise at such
+promptitude.
+
+We may observe here that in those regions the sun in summer describes
+nearly an unbroken circle in the sky, and that Cheenbuk's reference was
+to the next two days.
+
+"I will take with me as many men and women as choose to go, but no
+children.  We will take our spears and bows to procure food, but not to
+fight, for I go to make friends with the Fire-spouters and the white
+traders.  So, if any one wants to fight,"--he looked at Raventik here,
+but that fire-eater happened to be absent-minded at the moment, and sat
+with downcast eyes,--"_to fight_," he repeated with emphasis, "he will
+have to remain at home and fight the walrus--or the women!"
+
+A faint "ho!" here indicated a desire for more.
+
+"Nazinred says he is sure his people will be glad to meet us.  I am sure
+we shall be glad to meet his people.  What will happen after that, I
+cannot tell."
+
+"_Something_ will certainly happen," murmured Aglootook, as if holding
+converse with his own spirit, or with his familiar.  "I know it; I am
+sure of it.  I tell you all beforehand."
+
+"And you will accompany us," said Cheenbuk, turning to the magician with
+a nod of approval.  "When we go on an errand of peace we need our wisest
+men with us, men whose knowledge and experience will make the
+Fire-spouters think much of us, and men who don't like fighting."
+
+"Now, then," continued the Eskimo, turning again to the young men, "who
+will go?  I shall not allow any to go who are not quite willing."
+
+There was no lack of volunteers.  The party was then and there arranged,
+and two days later they set out on their mission, a goodly band, in
+kayaks and oomiaks.
+
+The weather continued fine; the days were long; islets for
+camping-places were numerous, and in process of time the party reached
+the mouth of the Whale--otherwise Greygoose--River, which they began to
+ascend.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed Adolay, with glistening eyes, as she looked from bank to
+bank; "I know it so well--almost every bush and tree."
+
+"And you love it?" said Nootka.
+
+"Yes, yes; is it not my own country?"
+
+Nootka sighed.  "I wish I could love my country like you; but your
+country sticks.  Mine melts away--most of it--every hot sun-time; and it
+is not easy to care much for things that melt."
+
+"But Waruskeek does not melt," said Adolay sympathetically.
+
+"That is true," returned Nootka, as if pleased to think of something
+solid, round which her affections might entwine; "but we stay such a
+short time there--only while the hot sun-time lasts, and I have not time
+to get very fond of it--not so as to make my eyes open and my cheeks
+grow red like yours."
+
+"Then you must come and live with me and love _my_ country," said the
+Indian girl in a patronising tone.
+
+"What! and forsake Oolalik?" exclaimed the Eskimo maiden, with
+heightened colour and flashing eyes.  "No, never.  _He_ will not melt,
+what ever else does."
+
+"Right, Nootka," exclaimed Adolay, with a laugh.  "It would take a very
+hot sun indeed to melt Oolalik.  But perhaps the whole tribe will stay
+in my country.  I think that Cheenbuk will get us over this difficulty.
+It is wonderful what can be done by a man with a determined mind like
+Cheenbuk."
+
+"Yes, some of us Eskimos have very determined minds," said Nootka,
+complacently.
+
+Adolay laughed lightly.  "And don't you think that some of the
+Fire-spouters have also a good deal of determination--especially one of
+them who left the lodges of his people and wandered over the great salt
+lake all alone in search of his child?"
+
+"You speak truth," returned Nootka, with a pleasant nod.  "I'll tell you
+what I think: both our nations are very determined--very."
+
+Having come to this satisfactory conclusion, the maidens relapsed into
+general conversation.
+
+But a disappointment was in store which none of the party had counted
+on.
+
+When the village of the Fire-spouters was reached, not a soul was to be
+seen.  The tent-poles remained, and the ashes of the hearths were still
+there; but the ashes were cold, and not a man, woman, or child
+remained--not even a dog.
+
+Nazinred and Adolay hurried at once along the well-known foot-path which
+led to the spot where their own wigwam had stood, but the place was
+deserted.  As in the case of all the other lodges, only the bare poles,
+according to custom, were left--the coverings having been carried away.
+
+Father and child looked at each other for some time in silent dismay.
+It was a terrible homecoming--so different from what each had been
+fondly anticipating!
+
+The anxious father had strode on in advance of the Eskimo party, but
+Cheenbuk had followed.  He hung back a little from feelings of delicacy
+as they neared the old home, and was much moved when he saw
+irrepressible tears flowing from the eyes of Adolay.
+
+"Have enemies been in the camp?" he asked, when they had contemplated
+the scene for some minutes in silence.
+
+"No; enemies have not been here," answered the Indian.  "There is no
+blood on the ground; no sign of a struggle.  The tent-poles are not
+thrown down; the ashes of the fires have not been scattered.  This would
+not have been so if there had been a fight.  Keep up heart, Adolay!" he
+added, turning to the weeping girl; "no evil can have come to our
+people, for they have left of their own will for a new camp; but I am
+perplexed, for this is the best place in all the Dogrib lands for a
+village, and we had lived long here in contentment."
+
+"But if that be so, there must be good reason for their having left,"
+suggested Cheenbuk.
+
+"Good reason--yes, the men-of-the-woods never act without good reason."
+
+"My father may be perplexed about reasons," continued the Eskimo, "but
+surely he will have no difficulty in finding his people, for are not the
+men-of-the-woods good at following up a trail?"
+
+"Truly you say what is true.  It will be easy to find and follow the
+trail of a whole tribe," returned Nazinred, with a smile.  "But it is
+disappointing to find that they have forsaken the old place, and it may
+be many days before we find them."
+
+"Father!" exclaimed Adolay at this point, a bright look overspreading
+her features, "mother must have left some sign on a piece of bark, as I
+did at Waruskeek."
+
+"I had expected as much," said the Indian, looking round the camp, "and
+I had thought to find it here."
+
+"Not here," returned the girl, with a soft laugh; "you don't know mother
+as well as I do!  There is a tree, under the shade of which she and I
+used to work when the days were long.  If there is a message anywhere,
+it is there."
+
+She bounded away as she spoke, like a fawn, and in a few minutes
+returned with a piece of bark in her hand.
+
+"Here it is, father.  I knew it would be there.  Let us sit down now and
+make it out."
+
+Sitting down beside the cold hearth of the old home, father and child
+began to spell out Isquay's letter, while Cheenbuk looked on in admiring
+silence and listened.
+
+The letter bore a strong family likeness to that which had formerly been
+written--or drawn--by Adolay at Waruskeek, showing clearly whence the
+girl had derived her talent.
+
+"The hand at the top points the way clear enough," said the Indian, "but
+were you careful to observe the direction before you moved it?"
+
+"Of course I was, father.  I'm not a baby now," returned the girl, with
+a laugh and a glance at Cheenbuk.
+
+"That you certainly are not!" thought the Eskimo, with a look of open
+admiration.
+
+"It pointed _there_," she continued, extending her hand in a
+north-westerly direction.
+
+"The Ukon River flows there," returned Nazinred thoughtfully, as he
+traced the various parts of the letter with his forefinger.
+
+"Is that river better than the Greygoose one?" asked Cheenbuk.
+
+"No.  It is as good--not better," replied the Indian, in an absent mood.
+"Adolay, this piece of bark carries some strange news.  Here we have
+the whole tribe starting off for the Ukon with all their tents,
+provisions, and everything in sledges.  So they left in the cold
+season--"
+
+"Yes, father," interrupted Adolay, knitting her pretty brows as she
+earnestly scanned the letter, "but don't you see the line of geese
+flying over the tree-tops?  That shows that it was at the beginning of
+the warm time."
+
+"Adolay is the worthy daughter of a Dogrib chief!" said Nazinred,
+patting the girl's shoulder.
+
+"I hope she'll be the worthy wife of an Eskimo youth some day," thought
+Cheenbuk, but, as usual, he said nothing.
+
+"And look here, father," continued Adolay,--"what do they mean by having
+all their snow-shoes slung on their guns instead of on their feet?"
+
+"It means that the snow was very soft, beginning to melt, and it was
+easier to tramp through it without snow-shoes than with them.  I hope
+they have been careful, for there is great danger in crossing lakes and
+rivers at such a time of the year."
+
+"No fear of danger," said Adolay, with a laugh, "when Magadar leads the
+way.  Don't you see him there in front?  Mother knows how to draw
+faces--only his nose is too long."
+
+"That is to show that he is the guide," observed Nazinred.  "Did you not
+do the very same thing yourself when you made Cheenbuk's nose far too
+long--for the same purpose?"
+
+Adolay laughed heartily at this, and Cheenbuk joined her, feeling his
+nose at the same time, as if to make sure that its handsome proportions
+were not changed.
+
+"And look--look, father!" resumed the girl, growing excited over the
+letter; "that is your friend Mozwa!  I feel sure of it by the shape of
+his legs.  Who could mistake his legs?  Nobody is like mother.  She does
+legs as well as faces.  But what is that on his wife's back--not a new
+baby, surely?"
+
+"Why not, my child?"
+
+"Poor man!" sighed Adolay.  "He had enough to provide for before."
+
+"Poor woman!" thought Cheenbuk, but he maintained a discreet silence.
+
+Of course it was decided to follow up the trail of the tribe without
+delay.  As Nazinred had surmised, it was easily found and not difficult
+to follow.  That night, however, the party encamped round the hearths of
+the deserted village.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY TWO.
+
+AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.
+
+The brief summer had fled, and autumn, with its bright sunshine and
+invigorating frosts, had returned to the Far North, when one day, during
+that short delightful period styled the Indian summer, our friend
+MacSweenie and his inseparable henchman Mowat sauntered down to the
+beach in front of the new fort.
+
+"Iss it here the canoe wass lyin', Tonal'?"
+
+"Ay, yonder it is, just beyond the palin', bottom up."
+
+"Man, this iss fine weather--whatever."
+
+"It is that," replied Mowat, who could hardly have replied otherwise,
+for the fact did not admit of a doubt.
+
+There was an intense brilliancy yet a hazy softness in the air, which
+was particularly exhilarating.  Trumpeting wild-geese, piping plover,
+the whistling wings of wild-ducks, and the notes of other innumerable
+feathered tribes, large and small, were filling the woods and swamps
+with the music of autumnal revelry, as they winged their way to southern
+lands.  Every view was beautiful; all the sounds were cheerful.  An
+absolute calm prevailed, so that the lake-like expanse in front of the
+fort formed a perfect mirror in which the cliffs and brilliant foliage
+of the opposite banks were clearly reflected.
+
+"We will go down to the bend o' the ruver," said MacSweenie, as they
+launched their canoe, "an' hide in the bushes there.  It iss a grand
+spote for birds to fly over, an' there's plenty o' ducks an' geese, so
+we may count on soon gettin' enough to fill the larder to overflow."
+
+"Ay, there's plenty o' birds," remarked Mowat, with the absent air of a
+man whose mind is running on some other theme.
+
+MacSweenie was a keen sportsman, and dearly loved a day with his gun.
+As a boy, on his own Highland hills, he had been addicted to sporting a
+good deal without the formality of a licence, and the absolute freedom
+from conventional trammels in the wild North was a source of much
+gratulation to him.  Perhaps he enjoyed his outings all the more that he
+was a stern disciplinarian--so deeply impressed with a sense of duty
+that he would neither allow himself nor his men to indulge in sport of
+any kind until business had been thoroughly disposed of.
+
+"It hes often seemed to me," he said, steering towards the bend of the
+river above referred to, "that ceevilisation was a sort o' mistake.  Did
+ye ever think o' that, Tonal'?"
+
+"I can't say that I ever did.  But if it is a mistake, it's a very
+successful one--to judge from the way it has spread."
+
+"That iss true, Tonal', an' more's the peety.  I cannot but think that
+man was meant to be a huntin' animal, and to get his victuals in that
+way.  What for wass he gifted wi' the power to hunt, if it wass not so?
+An' think what enjoyment he hes in the chase until ceevilisation takes
+all the speerit out o' him.  H'm!  It never took the speerit out o' me,
+whatever."
+
+"Maybe there wasn't enough o' ceevilisation in the place where you was
+brought up," suggested the interpreter.
+
+"Ha! ye hev me there, Tonal'," returned the trader, with a short laugh.
+"Weel, I must admit that ye're not far wrong.  The muddle o' the
+Grampians iss but a wildish place, an' it wass there my father had his
+sheep-farm an' that I first made the acquaintance o' the muir-cock an'
+the grouse.  O man! but there's no place like the Heeland hills after
+a', though the wild-woods here iss not that bad.  Tonal', man, catch
+hold o' that bush an' draw close in to the bank.  There's a flock
+comin', an' they're fleein' low."
+
+The last words were spoken in a hoarse whisper, for they had just turned
+the bend of the river, and MacSweenie had caught sight of a flock of
+wild-geese, flying low, as he said, and crossing over the land, which at
+that place jutted out into the stream.
+
+Mowat, though naturally sluggish, was quick in action when circumstances
+required him to be so.  The canoe was drawn close under an overhanging
+bush, and quite concealed by it.  The two men, laying down the paddles,
+took up their guns and examined the priming to see that it was dry, long
+before the flock drew near.  Then they sat motionless and silent,
+crouching a little and looking upwards.
+
+The unsuspicious flock of wild-geese came over the point in that curious
+angular formation in which they usually travel--an old grey gander, as
+usual, leading.  A deep trumpet-note now and then told of their
+approach.  Then the soft stroke of their great wings was heard.  Next
+moment the flock appeared over the edge of the bush that concealed their
+human foes.  At the same instant sportsmen and geese beheld each other.
+The guns flew to the shoulders of the former; the angle was thrown into
+dire confusion, and the woods and cliffs reverberated with two shots,
+which crashed forth at the same moment.
+
+Trumpeting and screaming, the scattered flock passed on, and the hunters
+pushed out from the bank to pick up two plump birds which lay dead upon
+the water.
+
+But those two shots did more than carry death and confusion into the
+ranks of the grey geese.  They caused surprise and something like wild
+excitement in the hearts of a number of Eskimos who, in their kayaks,
+happened to be at that moment pushing up the Ukon River, pioneered by a
+birch-bark canoe, which was propelled by an Indian man and woman.
+
+Submitting to authority while among the ice-floes of the polar seas,
+Nazinred had, as we have seen, consented to take his place humbly among
+the women and children in one of the oomiaks.  Anteek and one of his
+companions were permitted to paddle the birch-bark canoe, to their very
+great satisfaction, until Whale River was reached.  But the moment the
+party entered on the lakes and rivers of the land, Nazinred ordered
+Adolay to take the bow paddle of his native craft, himself took the
+steering paddle, and from that moment he had quietly assumed the office
+of guide to the expedition.
+
+"Fire-spouters!" exclaimed Cheenbuk, on hearing the shots of the
+traders' guns.
+
+"Yes--my countrymen," replied Nazinred.
+
+The kayak of Cheenbuk was about half a length behind the canoe, else the
+Eskimo would have seen that though the Indian's voice was low and calm,
+his black eyes glittered with excitement.
+
+"It is not like the gun of the Dogribs," remarked Adolay, glancing back
+at her father.
+
+"Why does Adolay think so?"
+
+"Because there is too much noise.  You have yourself told me, father,
+that the Indian uses a smaller charge both of powder and shot than the
+white trader, as he cannot afford to waste it.  I never heard the guns
+of our men speak so loud.  Perhaps we are going to meet white men."
+
+The chief regarded his daughter with a pleased smile and a look of
+pride.
+
+"Adolay observes well," he said; "she is like her mother.  The sound was
+loud because the charges were big--also because two guns were fired at
+once."
+
+"I heard only one," returned the girl.
+
+"That is because you have not heard much firing of guns.  Adolay is not
+yet as old as her father.  The traders from the great fresh lake must
+have come to our land, and that is the reason why our people have
+forsaken the old home."
+
+As he spoke the flotilla rounded a point on the river, and came in sight
+of MacSweenie's canoe making for the land after having picked up the
+geese.
+
+An impartial observer would not have found it easy to determine which
+party expressed more surprise.
+
+"Fire-spouters!" shouted the new arrivals.
+
+"Eskimos!" exclaimed Mowat.
+
+"Savitches--whatever!" said MacSweenie.  "Wow! but this _iss_ goot luck!
+Gif way, my boy, an' we will meet them more than half-way."
+
+Suddenly the trader ceased to paddle, and raised a hand to shade his
+eyes from the sun.
+
+"Tonal', man!" he growled with a Gaelic expletive which it is impossible
+to spell, "iss that a birch-bark canoe that I am seein'?"
+
+"It is that," answered the interpreter, "an' I do believe that--that--"
+
+"Man!  Tonal'," interrupted the trader, as he dipped his paddle
+violently into the water.  "It's wishin' I am that I may never see the
+Grampians again in this world if yon iss not Nazinred himself wi' his
+daater in the bow!  It iss my belief there will be rechoicing in the
+Dogrib camp this night--though wi' such a band o' Eskimos there will be
+no small risk o' fechtin' also!"
+
+By this time the canoe and flotilla were so near that Nazinred
+recognised the trader, and threw up a hand in salutation, whereupon
+MacSweenie and Mowat, taking off their caps, treated the party to a
+rousing British cheer, which was so congenial to the lively Eskimos that
+they burst into a sympathetic howl, mingled with laughter and some fair
+attempts to imitate the cheer, while they splashed up the water with
+their paddles, and otherwise conducted themselves jovially.
+
+Of course Nazinred would not condescend to conduct so undignified, but
+in his way he expressed great satisfaction at the happy meeting.
+
+Then all the paddles were dipped again with vigour and the whole party
+made for the fort--the two canoes leading.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
+
+THE LAST.
+
+"I will be thinkin'," said MacSweenie to Mowat, "that it will be safer
+for our two canoes to go first to the fort an' leave the Eskimos behind
+the point till we warn the Indians o' their arrival; for there iss no
+knowin' what these fiery savitches may do if their old enemies come on
+them all of a sudden.  Tell Nazinred that."
+
+The interpreter obeyed, and as the chief was of the same opinion, a halt
+was called; Cheenbuk was consulted, and ultimately the Eskimos in their
+kayaks were left concealed behind the nearest point below the fort,
+while the two canoes advanced side by side.
+
+"We will take them by surprise, Tonal'.  I'm fond o' givin' people a
+surprise," said MacSweenie in an undertone as they drew near to the
+little wharf that had been run out from the land in front of the main
+building.  A few Indians were watching the arrival with some curiosity.
+
+But there was one passenger in Nazinred's canoe who cared little for
+interfering with human plans--namely, Attim, whose shaggy head rested on
+the gunwale as he gazed and snuffed anxiously.
+
+The moment the canoes came within a few yards of the shore, the excited
+dog plunged over the side with a huge bound.  He was a magnificent
+swimmer, and reached the land in a few seconds.  Springing up the bank,
+he shook a shower from his sides and bounded into the bushes, with the
+certain knowledge, no doubt, that he had reached home at last, and that
+his faithful nose would not fail to guide him to the tent of Isquay.
+
+"O ye rascal!" growled MacSweenie, "you've let the cat out o' the bag--
+for I make no doubt that every man an' wummin o' the tribe knows you by
+sight."
+
+And the Highlander was right, for in a few minutes the whole camp was
+roused, and the sight of the dog told them that Nazinred had come back.
+But had he found his daughter?  That was a point which every one who
+could walk, run, or hobble, hurried to the wharf to ascertain.
+
+But the point was cleared up sooner than they expected, for, before they
+reached the wharf, a graceful figure was seen to be bounding through the
+bushes, apparently in hot pursuit of the dog.
+
+Immediately after that a treble scream was heard to issue from a coppice
+behind the fort.  It was followed by an equally treble squeal, with a
+bass accompaniment of barking.  No one took the trouble to inquire the
+cause of this, for they knew, somehow, intuitively.
+
+As we have said more than once, it is unusual for North American Indians
+to demonstrate, but Isquay and Adolay were, like Nazinred, in advance of
+their times, and were in the habit of snapping their fingers in the
+hideous face of the Red Indian Mrs Grundy!
+
+Meanwhile, MacSweenie and his man were informing the Indians at the
+wharf that a band of their old foes, the eaters-of-raw-flesh, were at
+that moment lying on the other side of the point in their kayaks.
+
+The news was received with surprise, not unmingled with frowns.  Every
+one looked at Nazinred inquiringly, but that astute Red man was engaged
+in profound contemplation of the clouds.
+
+"Moreover," said the trader, "your old prisoner who gave you the slip
+and ran away with Adolay is among them."
+
+"Then," cried Magadar, starting forward, "we will get our guns and go
+after them.  The young men have long wished for a chance of revenge."
+
+"The young men hev wished for nothing o' the sort," cried MacSweenie,
+with a fierce expression in his blue eyes that was very impressive.
+"There iss no wan here wants to fecht but yourself, Magadar; but I will
+not disappoint ye.  If you must fecht wi' some wan, ye shall fecht wi'
+me.  But it iss jokin' ye are.--Come now, men; these Eskimos hev come
+here on a veesit, an' full well do I know that there's not an Indian
+tribe in all the land equal to the Dogribs for hospitality; so you'll go
+and get ready a feast for our veesitors, an' I'll gie you some goot
+things out o' the store to help it."
+
+Whatever Magadar thought about this address he shrouded his feelings
+behind an air of impenetrable and stern reserve; for he saw that the
+young men sympathised with the trader.  Nazinred also, in a few words,
+helped to confirm their sympathy by telling them that the
+eaters-of-raw-flesh were not a war-party, but had brought some of their
+women and old people along with them.  The end of it was that a shot was
+fired as a preconcerted signal for the Eskimos to advance.  In a few
+minutes the kayaks and oomiaks came sweeping round the point and made
+straight for the landing-place.
+
+The reception of the men-of-the-ice by the traders was of course hearty
+and sincere, but the hereditary ill-will of the Indians was not quite
+overcome at the first.  It was not until there had been several
+meetings, and a feast in the fort, and Donald Mowat's violin had
+exercised its soothing influence on the savage breasts, that harmony was
+produced in some degree between the two parties.
+
+At length MacSweenie began to see his way to the establishment of a
+permanent peace, and he made arrangements to have a great palaver, a
+solemn treaty, and a grand feast in connection with it.
+
+"You must know, Tonal'," he said one evening when in consultation with
+his interpreter in the privacy of his own room, "I hev got a plan in my
+head which iss calcoolated to make things go smooth, if anything will."
+
+He paused rather a long time, and as Mowat looked at him in expectation
+of hearing more, it struck him that the deepened bronze on his chief's
+face, and the slight motion of his shoulders, indicated suppressed
+laughter.  But the Orkney-man was much too sedate a character to express
+undue curiosity.  He waited patiently.
+
+"Yes, Tonal'," said the trader, taking a few whiffs of the long clay
+pipe which was his usual evening comforter, "I hev a plan, and, strange
+as it may seem to an unsentimental man like you, love is at the bottom
+of it."
+
+"Well, you might have a worse foundation," returned Mowat, with
+something of good-natured cynicism on his rugged face.
+
+"Yes," continued MacSweenie, "that iss at the bottom of it--at least
+weemen are, an' that's the same thing."
+
+Mowat shook his head doubtfully.  "I'm not so sure o' that," he said;
+"no doubt women have a good deal to do wi' love--but they're hardly the
+same thing."
+
+"Weel, Tonal', we will not fall out on that point to-night, for I hev
+got no leisure to dispute.  Another time we may tackle it, but I hev
+other fish to fry just now, an' we must begin this very night wi' a
+grand palaver."
+
+After a few more vigorous whiffs, and a frown indicative of intense
+thought, the trader continued--
+
+"I hev no doubt, Tonal', that you hev observed the curious and, if I may
+say so, extensive variety of love-makin' that has broken out in the camp
+since the arrival o' these Eskimos?"
+
+"I can't say that I have," returned Mowat, gravely.
+
+"Wow, man! for a fuddler ye exhibit a most extraordinary want o'
+perception in the more delicate affairs o' human life.  Well, well, it
+is strange.  But I hev observed it, an' I'm goin' to turn it to account,
+if I can.
+
+"You must know that I hev been troubled in my thoughts about that
+warlike fellow Magadar, for, as you know, he was sweet upon the girl
+Adolay before she was carried off by the Eskimo; an' Cheenbuk is such a
+strong and bold lad that I felt sure there would be mischief between the
+two about her; but to my surprise an' satisfaction Magadar hes gone over
+head an' ears wi' that little Eskimo girl Cowlik, who must, I think, hev
+been born in an easy-going frame of mind, which seems to hev stuck to
+her ever since, and to hev gone on increasing with her years.  Then, as
+we all know, our Indian Alizay has for long been efter the girl Idazoo.
+There's no accountin' for taste, Tonal'.  I would sooner be married to a
+ship's figure-head myself, but that's his look-out, whatever.  I hev
+also observed--'deed it would be difficult not to observe--that the man
+Oolalik iss castin' sheep's-eyes at that girl Nootka.  All this hes
+impressed me so much that I hev set myself to observe more closely than
+I'm used to do in such matters, and I hev discovered two more cases--
+namely, that poor young Eskimo that was wounded in the last fecht, but
+seems to be slowly recovering.  They call him Ondikik, and he would hev
+kicked altogether if it had not been for the nursin'--so they say--o'
+that nice little craitur they call Rinka, or something like that.  The
+other case is that lively stripling Anteek.  He's scarcely more than a
+boy yet, but young Uleeta, as they call the girl, seems to think that no
+great objection.
+
+"Now, Tonal', my plan iss to marry them all off-hand on the same day!
+You know that by virtue of my poseetion in the Service I am empowered to
+perform the marriage ceremony.  Of course, as a Christian man, I would
+not fail to impress them with the fact that no real marriage can take
+place without the blessin' o' their Manitou, but I think that the
+readin' o' the marriage service over them may impress them favourably,
+an' help in the caause of peace and goot-will.  It shall be tried,
+whatever, so you had better go an' get your fuddle in order, an' send
+the cook to me."
+
+That night MacSweenie had the central hall of his fort lighted up, and
+called together a united council of the Indians and Eskimos.
+
+"My friends," he said, after passing the pipe of peace round among the
+former, and offering it to the latter, who each took a whiff out of
+courtesy, "this is a great night, for we hev met to join ourselves
+together in a bond of friendship which I trust will not soon be
+broken.--Tell them that, Tonal'."
+
+When the interpreter had done his duty, Cheenbuk was asked to translate
+it into the Eskimo tongue.  The process was rather slow, but as natives
+and traders alike had plenty of time on their hands, and the proceedings
+were a great novelty, no one felt impatient.
+
+Then MacSweenie continued:
+
+"We pale-faces, as you call us, believe that our God, our Manitou, takes
+a great interest in all our affairs, from the least to the greatest, and
+in the book in which some of us hev written down our prayers, we ask,
+among many other things, that `there may be peace in our time.'  (For
+myself, I may give my opeenion that the prayer would hev seemed less
+selfish if it had run `peace in _all_ time'--but that iss by the way,
+whatever).--Now, Tonal', go ahead."
+
+Donald went ahead, but he took the liberty of omitting what he deemed
+the irrelevant commentary.
+
+"Peace, then, iss the thing that I am drivin' at,--peace and goot-will
+between the pale-faces and the men-o'-the-woods and the men-of-the-ice
+also.  There are many things that make for peace.  The first an' most
+important thing iss goot feelin'.  Another thing is trade--commerce,
+barter, or exchange.  (I don't see how the Eskimo will translate these
+words, Tonal', but he will hev to do his best.)  Then there iss common
+sense; and, lastly, there is marriage.  Now, I hev said my say, for the
+time, whatever, and Nazinred will continoo the discourse."
+
+Thus directly appealed to, our Indian rose, and, looking calmly round on
+the assembly, said--
+
+"Every word that our white father has said is true; and a great many
+more words that he has not said are also true."
+
+"Waugh!" from the Red men, who evidently regarded the last remark as a
+self-evident proposition.
+
+Dispensing with the services of Mowat, Nazinred turned to the Eskimos
+and acted the part of his own interpreter.  They received his words with
+an emphatic "Hoh!" as if they were equally clear on the subject of the
+last words being indisputable.
+
+"Our white father has said," continued the chief, "that the first and
+most important thing in producing peace is good-feeling.  That is true.
+It was good-feeling in my child that led her to save the life of
+Cheenbuk.  It was good-feeling in Cheenbuk that made him care for my
+child, and treat her well, and bring her back here to her mother and her
+tribe.  It was good-feeling in the Eskimos that made them kind to the
+Indian chief, and receive him hospitably, when they might have taken his
+scalp and kept his daughter.  It is good-feeling, very strong
+good-feeling, that makes the young Eskimo wish to make Adolay his squaw,
+and it is the same good-feeling that now makes Nazinred willing that he
+should have her."
+
+"Hoh!" exclaimed the Eskimos at this point, with evident satisfaction,
+and "Ho!" exclaimed the Indians, with equally evident surprise, for it
+was contrary to all their notions of propriety that an Indian chief's
+daughter should wed an eater-of-raw-flesh!  However, they said nothing
+more, and after gazing a few moments at each other in silent solemnity,
+they turned their eyes again on Nazinred.
+
+Changing his tone somewhat, that wily Red man went on in a persuasive
+manner to expatiate on the advantages of peace in general, and of peace
+with the Eskimos in particular.  He also enlarged on the great comforts
+to be derived from trade--which could be carried on with the white
+traders on the one hand and the Eskimos on the other, so that, between
+the two, the men-of-the-woods could not fail to obtain a double benefit.
+As to common sense being favourable to peace, he did not quite
+understand what his white father meant by that, for there was only one
+kind of sense among the Dogribs--though perhaps there might be two or
+three kinds where the traders came from!  But in regard to marriage,
+there could be no doubt of his opinion on that point, seeing that he was
+going to give his daughter to Cheenbuk.  Having finished what he had to
+say, Nazinred sat down, after expressing a desire to hear the opinions
+of his people on these matters.
+
+For some time nothing was said, and it seemed as if the Indians were not
+quite sure of their own minds, when Magadar arose suddenly.
+
+"Braves," he began, in his brusque manner, "I like fair-play.  If
+Cheenbuk is going to carry off one of our maidens, it seems to me
+reasonable that an Eskimo maid should be left in her place.  There is
+one of their girls who is named Cowlik.  I am willing to take Cowlik and
+make her my squaw.  Waugh!"
+
+Magadar sat down with the prompt air of a man who has conferred a favour
+at great personal sacrifice.
+
+Then Mozwa rose and delivered himself of an oration full of wise remarks
+and poetical allusions, in which he backed his friend Nazinred.  After
+him came Cheenbuk, who said that he was much gratified by the speeches
+of Mozwa and Nazinred; that from the latter he had learned his first
+lesson of good-feeling towards the men-of-the-woods, on the day when he
+strove with him on the banks of the Greygoose River; that his second
+lesson was taught him by Adolay--a lesson that he would never forget and
+could never repay, for she had not only saved his life but made him
+happy.
+
+At this point MacSweenie broke in with, "Yes, my friends, an' there iss
+a goot many more people here besides Cheenbuk that wants to be made
+happy.  For instance, there's the young brave Alizay, an' that pleasant
+craitur Idazoo, that's thinkin' about marriage just now; an' there's
+Magadar and Cowlik, and Oolalik and Nootka, and Ondikik and Rinka, and
+Anteek and young Uleeta; an' I'm not sure that there may not be some
+more of you in the same case.  If so, all right; the more the merrier.
+Ay, ye may look surprised, my friends, but I've got a way o' findin' out
+these things that is not known to every wan.--Now, Tonal', gif them that
+as best ye can, and look sherp, for there iss more to come.
+
+"Now, my fruends, I want to explain to ye that when white people get
+married they go through a kind of ceremony, an' put gold rings on the
+weemen's fingers--by way o' makin' it all shipshape an' secure, you
+know.  Now, I understand how to go about this matter, an' we hev plenty
+o' brass curtain-rings in the store that's as goot as gold any day--in
+this country, whatever.  So if it iss agreeable to the chiefs and the
+braves around me, I'm quite willin' to marry ye all off at the same
+time, and will gif ye as much baccy as ye can smoke in wan night; an'
+we'll hev a glorious feast on the back o't, an' a dance that'll keep my
+fuddler's fingers goin' as long as they can wag.--Now, Tonal', if ye
+tell them all that, ye're a cliverer man than I take ye for."
+
+Whether Mowat told them all that as faithfully as might be desired we
+cannot tell, but he addressed himself to the task with a genial fluency
+that at all events had the desired effect, for after Nazinred had
+translated it to the Eskimos, it was found that they, as well as the
+Indians, were quite disposed to fall in with the eccentric trader's
+views.  Arrangements were accordingly made without delay for carrying
+them into execution.
+
+Of course the ladies concerned had no objections to offer; and it is
+generally believed to this day, in those regions, that the interest
+aroused by the promised ceremonial, not to mention the brass
+curtain-rings, as well as the tobacco, and the feast and fiddle, had
+much to do with the ready assent of all parties to this somewhat violent
+innovation on ancient custom.
+
+Be this as it may, the wholesale wedding eventually took place; the
+feast came off; Tonal' Mowat charmed the souls of the Eskimos with his
+violin, even more powerfully than he had charmed those of the Indians;
+and Aglootook, almost carried out of himself with delight, volunteered
+an oration in which he reminded his hearers that he had told them that
+_something_ would certainly happen.
+
+They all heartily admitted the fact, and solemnly proclaimed him the
+most wonderful magician in the land.
+
+From that day to this, as far as we know, nothing has occurred to
+interrupt the flow of kindly intercourse that was at this time
+established.  The Eskimos returned to their icy fastnesses laden with
+some of the wealth of the white traders.
+
+But every spring they came back to barter for more of it, as well as for
+the purpose of seeing the friends whom they had left behind them.
+
+For Cheenbuk, being unable to tear himself away from Nazinred, took up
+his permanent abode at the fort as one of the hunters to the
+establishment.  He did not however forsake his people, but frequently
+visited old Mangivik and his mother at Waruskeek, and the old folk
+sometimes returned the visit by spending a few months on the banks of
+the Ukon River.  Anteek also elected to stay with the men-of-the-woods,
+being unable to forsake Cheenbuk, and of course young Uleeta remained
+with him.  Every year Nootka found it quite impossible to exist without
+seeing her brother Cheenbuk in his own home, and having a satisfactory
+gossip with her dear friend Adolay.  As Oolalik agreed with Nootka in
+all things, there was no difficulty in arranging the matter.  In the
+course of time Cheenbuk's youngsters and Nootka's progeny insisted on
+keeping up the intercourse that had been so auspiciously begun, and even
+the easy-going Cowlik became uneasy unless the fire-eating Magadar went
+with her occasionally to Waruskeek.
+
+As for the unselfish and tender-hearted Rinka, she of course returned
+with Ondikik to the realms of ice, and made that fortunate savage happy.
+Indeed, she made every one happy who came within her benign influence,
+and if the truth had been spoken out by every one, we suspect it would
+have been found that to her attractive powers was due much of the
+enthusiasm for intercommunication that existed between the Red men and
+the walrus-hunters, for the principle still holds good, in savage not
+less than in civilised lands, that "love is the fulfilling of the law."
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Walrus Hunters, by R.M. Ballantyne
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