ull sixty miles lay between him and his native village,
that Ujarak felt himself to be comparatively safe, and halted for a
prolonged rest.

Without a word, he made for himself a shelter with a bear-skin under a
low bush, devoured a lump of raw seal's flesh, and then went to sleep,
leaving the women to look after themselves, the dogs, and the children,
as best they might. Fortunately, they were well able to do so, and,
being very weary, were not long in doing it. While they went about the
work, however, they could not help remarking the unusually morose and
surly manner of their master, and expressed the opinion that he was
already troubled with that mental complaint to which we give the name of
remorse.

And they were right. Bad as the wizard was, he had hitherto kept within
the bounds of Eskimo propriety; but now at last he had overstepped those
bounds and become a criminal--an outlaw. By one hasty act he had cut,
for ever, the cords which had united him to his kindred.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

TELLS OF DESPAIR AND A WILD PURSUIT.

On discovering that Nunaga and the children were not at Moss Bay, and
that there were no fresh sledge tracks in that region to tell of their
whereabouts, Simek drove back to the village at a wild scamper, in a
state of mind very much the reverse of jovial. His hope was that the
girl might have been to some other locality, and had perhaps returned
during his absence; but the first glance at Nuna put that hope to
flight, for the poor woman was in a state of terrible anxiety.

Cheery little Kunelik and her mild son did their best to comfort her,
but without success, for she knew well the determined character of the
man who had probably carried off her children.

"Has she not come back?" demanded Simek, appearing, like an infuriated
Polar bear, at the inside opening of the passage to Okiok's mansion.

"No," gasped Nuna.

Simek said no more, but backed out faster than he had come in. Ippegoo
followed him.

"Run, Ippe; tell all the men to get all their sledges and dogs ready,
and come here to me."

Ippegoo ran off at once, while the energetic hunter rearranged the
fastenings of his own sledge and team as if for a long journey.

He was thus engaged when Okiok and Angut were seen approaching the
village at an easy trot. Evidently they knew nothing of what had
occurred. Simek ran out to meet them. A few words sufficed to explain.
The news seemed to stun both men at first, but