rmined palate, while his long tongue
flapped out at intervals, and appeared to sweep the surface of the
water. At intervals, too, he was seen to close his mouth--the huge jaws
coming together with a "clap-clap," the noise of which could be heard
echoing far over the lake!

He did not go long in one course; but ever and anon kept turning
himself, and quartering the bay in every direction.

It was a long time before the spectators could find any explanation of
these odd manoeuvres on the part of the bear. They might have fancied
he was merely taking a cool bath to refresh himself: for the day was
exceedingly hot, and the air was filled with mosquitoes--as our hunters
had already learnt to their great discomfort. It might have been to get
rid of these tormentors that Bruin had submerged his body in the water;
and so Pouchskin concluded, and also Ivan--though both were puzzled by
the odd behaviour of the bear, in swimming open-mouthed, and at
intervals snapping his jaws as he did. Alexis, however, was a better
reasoner; and soon discovered the why and the wherefore of these
mysterious demonstrations. Alexis saw that the surface of the water was
thickly coated with something; and, on scrutinising it more closely, he
made out this something to be a swarm of insects. There appeared to be
more than one species of them--two indeed there were--both about the
size of ordinary gadflies; but altogether different from each other in
colour and habits. One was a sort of water-beetle that swam near the
surface; while the other was a winged insect that occasionally rose into
the air, but more generally crawled along the water--making short runs
from place to place, then stopping a moment, and then darting on again.
The whole surface of the bay--and even out for some distance into the
lake--fairly swarmed with these creatures; and it was in pursuit of them
that Bruin was whisking his tongue so rapidly about, and bringing his
jaws together in such sonorous concussion. The animal was simply
indulging in a favourite meal--which in summer is furnished him not only
on the shores of the Great Slave Lake, but most of the smaller lakes
throughout the Barren Grounds.

Alexis had scarce finished making the observation, when a loud "whoop"
was heard from the direction of the lake; and almost at the same instant
the canoe of the Indian was seen shooting through the water, right for
the entrance of the bay!

Obedient to the signal, the thr