mself on one. Cheenbuk and the others jumped in, the whips cracked,
and away they went amid the shouting of the drivers and the yells of
children and women left behind.

It did not take long to find one of those giants of the frozen seas.
Some miles out on the ice they came to a place which the walruses had
kept open as a breathing-hole. At the time of their arrival it had not
been disturbed for some hours, for the water was covered by a coat of
young ice, which was quite able to bear the weight of the men singly,
though scarcely sufficiently strong for the sledges.

Just as they arrived a walrus took it into its very thick head to crash
up through the young ice and have a gambol. The party retired behind a
hummock and prepared for action.

"Will the man-of-the-woods go first and try the spouter?" asked
Cheenbuk.

"No," replied Nazinred; "the man-of-the-woods prefers to watch how the
men-of-the-ice do their work. After that he will use the spouter, which
_we_ call _pasgissegan_. The white traders call it _gun_."

Harpoons and lances were at once got ready.

"Come, Anteek, with me; bring a harpoon and a coil with you. We will
show the man-of-the-woods what we can do."

He said this with a look of self-confidence, for Cheenbuk, being a noted
hunter among his fellows, was naturally rather proud of his powers.

Waiting until the walrus dived, the Eskimo and his companion ran towards
the hole of open water, and then suddenly lay down, for they knew the
habits of the brute, and that he would soon reappear. This, in fact,
happened before they had lain more than a few minutes. After another
gambol the ungainly animal dived again. Up got the two Eskimos and ran
at full speed to the very edge of the hole. On rising the third time
the walrus found Cheenbuk standing with the harpoon raised. One look of
huge astonishment it gave at the man, who instantly drove the harpoon
deep into its side, and then ran from the hole as fast as he could,
uncoiling the long line of hide until he was some distance off. Then he
struck a piece of bone, sharp-pointed, into the ice, and put the loop at
the end of the line over it. This checked the dive of the walrus, which
in furious rage came up and smashed another hole in the ice, looking
fiercely around as if in search of its persecutor. Anteek's opportunity
had now come. He ran towards the creature, which, so far from being
afraid, smashed up the ice in vain attempts to get upo