it might fall to the ground, I sent
Palmleaf with Guard round where the acclivity was not so great, to
look for it. The negro had seen the bird fall, and started off. I let
him take my musket, and, with the rest of the boys, went down to the
water, which was distant from where we then were not more than a
hundred rods. Donovan and Weymouth had already finished skinning the
glutton, and gone down to the boat. Knowing we had followed off to the
left, they embarked, and came paddling along to pick us up. They came
up; and we got in with our kittiwakes, and then stood off a few yards
to wait for the negro. I had not expected he would be gone so long. We
were looking for him every moment; when suddenly we heard the report
of his musket, apparently a long way behind the crag.

"Confound the darky!" muttered Raed. "What could possess him to go so
far?"

"Perhaps the eagle kept flying on," suggested Kit.

We waited fifteen or twenty minutes. No signs of him.

"You don't suppose the rascal's got lost, do you?" Wade said.

"No need of that, I should imagine," replied Raed.

We waited ten or fifteen minutes longer.

"We might as well go after him," Kit was saying; when, at a distance,
a great shouting and uproar arose, accompanied by the barking of dogs
and all the other accompaniments of a general row and rumpus.

"What the dickens is up now?" exclaimed Kit.

"It's the Huskies!" cried Weymouth.

"You don't suppose they are after Palmleaf, do you?" Raed demanded.

We listened eagerly. The hubbub was increasing; and, a moment later,
we espied the negro bursting over the ledges off to the left at a
headlong run, with a whole crowd of Esquimaux only a few rods behind,
brandishing their harpoons and darts. There were dogs, too. Guard was
running with Palmleaf, facing about every few leaps, and barking
savagely. All the dogs were barking; all the Huskies were
_ta-yar-r-r-ing_ and chasing on.

"They'll have him!" shouted Kit. "To the rescue!"

A smart pull of the oars sent the boat up to the rocks. Raed and Kit
and Wade sprang out, cocking their muskets; Donovan followed with one
of the oars; and I seized the boat-hook, and started after them.
Palmleaf was tearing down toward the water, running for his life. He
had lost the musket. Seeing us, he set up a piteous howl of terror. He
had distanced his pursuers a little. The savages were now six or eight
rods behind; but the dogs were at his heels, and were only kept off
hi