before the conversation was resumed the voice
of a boy was heard outside.

"Anteek," murmured Nootka, with a smile of pleasure.

"The other hunters must have arrived," said Oolalik, polishing off his
last bone, "for Anteek was with them."

"He always comes first to see me when he has anything to tell," remarked
Mrs Mangivik, with a laugh, "and from the noise he makes I think he has
something to tell to-day."

If noise was the true index of Anteek's news he evidently was brimful,
for he advanced shouting at the top of his voice. With that
unaccountable ingenuity which characterises some boys, all the world
over, he produced every sort of sound except that which was natural to
him, and caused the surrounding cliffs to echo with the mooing of the
walrus, the roaring of the polar bear, the shriek of the plover, the
bellow of the musk-ox, and, in short, the varied cries of the whole
Arctic menagerie. But he stopped short at the door of the hut and
looked at Oolalik in evident surprise.

"You are back before me?" he said.

"That is not strange: I am stronger."

"Yes, but I started off long before you."

"So you thought, but you were mistaken. I saw you creeping away round
the point. When you were out of sight I carried my kayak over the neck
of land, and so got here before you."

"Have you told?" asked the boy anxiously.

"Never said a word," replied Oolalik.

"Here," said Nootka, holding out a piece of half-cooked blubber to the
boy, "sit down and tell us all about it. What is the news?"

"Ha!" exclaimed Anteek, accepting the food as if he appreciated it.
"Well, I've killed my first walrus--all alone too!"

"Clever boy! how was it?" said Mrs Mangivik.

"This was the way. I was out by myself--all alone, mind--among the
cliffs, looking for eggs; but I had my spear with me, the big one that
Cheenbuk made for me just before he went off to the Whale River. Well,
just as I was going to turn round one of the cliffs, I caught sight of a
walrus--a big one--monstrous; like that," he said, drawing an imaginary
circle with both arms, "fat, brown, huge tusks, and wide awake! I knew
that, because his back was to me, and he was turning his head about,
looking at something in the other direction. I was astonished, for
though they climb up on the cliffs a good height to sun themselves on
the warm rocks, I had never seen one climb so high as that.

"Well, I drew back very quick, and began to creep round so as to co