monstrance, with a good wipe down, soon put her to rights, and
Nuna was about to resume her discourse, when the sound of rushing
footsteps outside arrested her. Next moment a wild scrambling was heard
in the tunnel--as of a giant rat in a hurry--and Ippegoo tumbled into
the hut in a state of wild excitement, which irresistibly affected the
women.

"What has happened?" demanded Nuna.

"Mother," gasped the youth, turning to the natural repository of all his
cares and troubles, "he is coming!"

"Who is coming, my son?" asked Kunelik, in a quiet, soothing tone, for
the pleasant little woman, unlike most of the others, was not easily
thrown into a state of agitation.

"The Kablunet," cried Ippegoo.

"Where, when, who, how, which, what?" burst simultaneously from the
gaping crowd.

But for some minutes the evidently exhausted youth could not answer. He
could only glare and pant. By degrees, however, and with much patience,
his mother extracted his news from him, piecemeal, to the following
effect.

After having sat and gazed in mute surprise at the Kablunet for a
considerable time, as already mentioned, and having devoured a good meal
at the same time, Ippegoo had been closely questioned by Angut as to the
reason of his unexpected visit. He had done his best to conceal
matters, with which Angut, he said, had nothing to do; but somehow that
wonderfully wise man had seen, as it were, into his brain, and at once
became suspicious. Then he looked so fierce, and demanded the truth so
sternly, that he, (Ippegoo), had fled in terror from the hut of Okiok,
and did not stop till he had reached the top of a hummock, where he
paused to recover breath. Looking back, he saw that Angut had already
harnessed the dogs to his sledge, and was packing the Kablunet upon
it--"All lies," interrupted Arbalik's mother, Issek, at this point. "If
this is true, how comes it that Ippegoo is here first? No doubt the
legs of the simple one are the best part of him, but every one knows
that they could not beat the dogs of Angut."

"Issek is wise," said Kunelik pleasantly, "almost _too_ wise!--but no
doubt the simple one can explain."

"Speak, my son."

"Yes, mother, I can explain. You must know that Angut was in such a
fierce hurry that he made his whip crack like the splitting of an
iceberg, and the dogs gave such a yell and bound that they dashed the
sledge against a hummock, and broke some part of it. What part of it I
did not st