e, but after supper sat down on their
tails again to watch as before, though in a more languid frame of mind.

When the hut was finished he sat down outside, the night being clear and
comparatively warm, or rather, we should say, not bitterly cold. During
the meal he kept up the interest of the dogs to a keenly hopeful point
by occasionally tossing a morsel to each. When the meal was over, and
they knew from long experience that nothing more was to be hoped for,
they curled themselves up in the lee of the hut, and, with a glorious
disregard of bedding and all earthly things, went to sleep.

It was found rather difficult to get the sledge into the hut, as
Nazinred had forgotten to make allowance for its size, but by enlarging
the door and manoeuvring, the difficulty was overcome--a matter of
considerable importance, for there was no knowing what Arctic monsters
might take a fancy to play havoc with its contents while its owner
slept.

Then the Indian spread a large deerskin with the hair on over the floor
of his hut, and was about to spread his blankets above that, when he
remembered that he would want water to drink in the morning--for it is
well-known that eating snow during the intense cold of Arctic winters is
very hurtful. He had provided for this by taking a bladder with him,
which he meant to fill with snow each night and take it to bed with him,
so that his animal heat--and he had plenty of that--might melt some of
it before morning. He was then on the point of closing up the doorway
when it occurred to him that if the dogs were inside they might make the
place warmer, but upon reflection he feared that they might also make it
suffocating--for the dogs were large and the hut was small. After
pondering the subject for a few minutes, he decided to take only one of
them inside.

"Attim, come," he said quietly, as if speaking to a human friend.

Attim, without any remark save a wag of his tail, arose promptly,
entered the hut, and lay down. You see, he was accustomed to little
attentions of the sort.

At last, everything being completed, Nazinred closed the door, plastered
it well with snow round the seams, so as to render the place air-tight,
wrapped himself in his blankets, took the bladder of snow to his bosom,
laid his wearied head on one of his bundles, and prepared to slumber.

But ere he reached the land of forgetfulness an idea struck him, which,
Indian though he was, caused him to smile even in