ed arrow with a savage grunt.

The weapon flew true! A wide rush of bubbles showed where an instant
before the otter had lain.

Both otter and arrow had disappeared, but the Aleut sat waiting grimly,
although the boys in the other boat gave a yell of exultation. In a few
moments the wounded animal showed a hundred fathoms ahead. Here, stung
by the pain of the bone head, which had sunk deep into its back, it swam
confusedly for a moment at the surface. The shaft of the arrow had now
been detached from the loose head cunningly contrived by the native
arrow-makers, and a long cord, which attached the arrow-head to the
shaft, and which was wound around the latter, now unreeled and left the
shaft floating, telltale evidence of the otter's whereabouts, even when
it dived.

[Illustration: BOTH OTTER AND ARROW HAD DISAPPEARED, BUT THE ALEUT SAT
WAITING GRIMLY]

Jimmy tried a long shot as the bidarka swept ahead under Rob's paddle,
but this time he missed, and down went the otter again. It did not dive
deep, however, and the shaft of the arrow told where it might be
expected. As its round head, with bright, staring eyes, thrust up above
the water, there came the twang of the young Aleut's bow, and the second
arrow chugged into the body of the otter. Even the older hunter greeted
this shot with applause.

The otter, however, is hard to kill with an arrow of this sort, since
its skin is loose and tough. The creature dived once more, but the
second floating shaft now began to handicap its motions. Both boats
followed it from place to place as it swam. At last, almost exhausted,
it showed once more, and the older Aleut sent home an arrow at the back
of its head which killed it at once. He hauled up across the bidarka
deck the body of the otter, a dark-brown creature, even at that season
fairly well furred, and in weight about that of a good-sized dog.

Now and again calling out in sheer exultation at the success of this
strange hunt, they all now turned ashore. That day they had plenty to do
in skinning the otter and making a rude stretching-board for the great
skin. The boys were all astonished to see how much larger it stretched
than had seemed possible from the size of the body of the animal itself;
but the hide of the sea-otter lies in loose wrinkles, so that it may
bend and turn freely as a snake when making its way in the water. They
found the skin to be more than six feet long from tip to tip.

The young friends engag