the dark.

"Attim," he murmured.

"Here you are," replied Attim's tail with a flop that was quite as
expressive as the tongue--and softer.

"You take charge of that," said the sly man, transferring the bladder of
snow from his own bosom to that of the dog; "you have more heat than I
have."

Whether the Indian was right in this belief we cannot say, but the
humble-minded dog received the charge as a special favour, and with an
emphatic "I will" from its ever-sensitive tail again lay down to repose.

Thereafter the two went to sleep, and spent six or seven hours of
unbroken rest, awaking simultaneously and suddenly to find that the dogs
outside were also awake and wishing to get in. Indeed, one of them had
already scraped a hole in the wall that would soon have admitted him had
not his master given him a tap on the nose with the butt of his gun.

Of course it was still dark, for the morning was not far advanced, but
the star-light and the aurora were quite sufficient to enable them to
see their way, as they set out once more on their lonesome journey.

Breakfast was a meal of which Nazinred made no account. Supper was his
chief stand-by, on the strength of which he and his dogs slept, and also
travelled during the following day. Soon after they had awakened,
therefore, they were far from the hut in which the night had been spent.

The Indian's plan was to travel in a straight line in the direction in
which the Eskimos had been last seen. By so doing he counted upon
either crossing their tracks, which he would follow up, or, coming to
some large island which might prove to be their winter quarters, would
skirt the shores of it in the hope of meeting with some of the tribes of
which he was in search. The expedition, it will be seen, was somewhat
of the nature of a forlorn hope, for drifting snow quickly obliterates
tracks, and if the natives, when found, should turn out to be hostile,
they would probably take from him his little possessions, if not also
his life. But Nazinred's love for Adolay was too strong to admit of his
allowing such thoughts to weigh with him. Ere long, he found himself
far from his woodland home, lost among the rugged solitudes of ice, with
a fast diminishing supply of provisions, and, worst of all, no sign of
track or other clue to guide him.

One day, as he was plodding slowly northward, guided by the stars, his
faith in the success of his mission began to flag. Hard continuous toil