ee anything outside the harem. As long as a pup is
within twelve feet of him, he will fight on the instant if the baby is
in danger. Once it is in the nursery the bull seal forgets the little
one's existence. He couldn't leave, anyway. Some other sea-catch would
seize the harem."

"You mean that the old seal can't get away at all?"

"Not at all," was the reply.

"Then what does he get to eat?" asked Colin in surprise, "do the cow
seals bring him food?"

"Not a bite. No. He doesn't eat at all. Not all summer."

"Never gets a bite of anything? I should think he'd starve to death,"
cried the lad.

"Fasts for nearly four months. From the time a sea-catch hauls up in May
and preempts the spot he has chosen for his harem he doesn't leave that
spot eight to sixteen feet square until late in August. Stays right
there. He's active enough in some ways. No matter how much he flounders
around, he keeps right on his own harem ground. He could hardly get
away from it if he tried."

[Illustration: HOLLUSCHICKIE HAULING UP FROM THE SEA.

Rare sketch, taken before ever a camera was seen on the Pribilof
Islands. This beach, with many others, is now deserted by the depletion
of the seal herd.

_Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries._]

[Illustration: OLD BULL-SEALS FIGHTING.

Rare sketch, taken on the Gorbatch Rookery, St. Paul's Island, forty
years ago. These combats are growing rarer as the seal herd grows
smaller and the rivalry between the beach-masters is less intense. The
date on the sketch shows it to have been made before the cow-seals
hauled up.

_Courtesy of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries._]

"Why not?"

"He couldn't leave his own harem without getting into the next one.
Obviously!" the agent promptly replied. "And he'd have to fight that
beachmaster. Evidently! And so on every few feet he went. Besides, the
very moment his back was turned a neighboring bull would steal some of
his cows. Certainly! Or, an idle bull would try and beat him out."

"Which are the idle bulls?" asked Colin.

"Those fellows at the back who came late or were beaten in the fight for
places. They would charge down and take the harem, if he left it."

"Well, then, how does he sleep?"

"Doesn't sleep much," was the reply; "just little catnaps. Five or ten
minutes at a time, perhaps. Light sleepers, too. If a cow tries to leave
or an intruder comes near he wakes right up. Immediately! He's on the
alert, night and day." The agent la