s his
skill with the spouter.

He was taken out on all their hunting expeditions, and fully initiated
into all the mysteries of seals, walrus, deer, and musk-ox killing. Of
course the wonderful gun was brought into frequent requisition, but its
owner was obliged to have regard to his powder and shot, and had to
explain that without these the spouter would refuse to spout, and all
its powers would vanish. When this was thoroughly understood, his hosts
ceased to persecute him with regard to displays of his skill.

One day, in the dead of the long winter, Cheenbuk proposed to Nazinred
to go on a hunt after bears. The latter declined, on the ground that he
had already arranged to go with Mangivik to watch at a seal-hole.
Cheenbuk therefore resolved to take Anteek with him instead. Gartok was
present when the expedition was projected, and offered to accompany it.

"I fear you are not yet strong enough," said Cheenbuk, whose objection,
however, was delivered in pleasant tones,--for a change for the better
had been gradually taking place in Gartok since the date of his wound,
and his old opponent not only felt nothing of his ancient enmity towards
him, but experienced a growing sensation of pity,--for the once
fire-eating Eskimo did not seem to recover health after the injury he
had received from the Fire-spouter's bullet.

"I am not yet stout enough to fight the bears," he said with a half-sad
look, "but I am stout enough to look on, and perhaps the sight of it
might stir up my blood and make me feel stronger."

Old Mangivik, who was sitting close by, heaved a deep sigh at this
point. Doubtless the poor man was thinking of his own strength in other
days--days of vigour which had departed for ever--at least in this life;
yet the old man's hopes in regard to the life to come were pretty
strong, though not well defined.

"Well, you may come," said Cheenbuk, as he rose and went out with Anteek
to harness the dogs.

In less than half an hour they were careering over the ice in the
direction of a bay in the land where fresh bear-tracks had been seen the
day before.

The bay was a deep one, extending four or five miles up into the
interior of the island.

We have assumed that the land in question was an island because of its
being in the neighbourhood of a large cluster of islands which varied
very considerably in size; but there is no certainty as to this, for the
region was then, and still is, very imperfectly know