But I won't be cross-grained. I'll lind ye a hand av
ye behave yerself. It's a bad thing to be cross-grained," he continued,
pocketing his pipe and assisting to arrange the sledge; "me owld
grandmother always towld me that, and she was wise, she wos, beyand
ordn'r. More like Salomon nor anything else."

"She must have directed that remark specially to you, I think," said
Fred--"let Dumps lead, West, he's tougher than the others,--did she not,
O'Riley?"

"Be no manes. It wos to the pig she said it. Most of her conversation
(and she had a power of it) wos wid the pig, and many's the word o' good
advice she gave it, as it sat in its usual place beside the fire
forenint her; but it was all thrown away, it wos, for there wosn't
another pig in all the length o' Ireland as had sich a will o' its own;
and it had a screech, too, when it wasn't plaazed, as bate all the steam
whistles in the world, it did. I've often moralated on that same, and
I've noticed that as it is wid pigs, so it is wid men and women--some of
them at laste--the more advice ye give them, the less they take."

"Down, Poker; quiet, good dog!" said West, as he endeavoured to restrain
the ardour of the team, which, being fresh and full fed, could scarcely
be held in by the united efforts of himself and Meetuck while their
companions lashed their provisions, etcetera, on the sledge.

"Hold on, lads!" cried Fred, as he fastened the last lashing. "We'll be
ready in a second. Now, then, jump on, two of you! Catch hold of the
tail-line, Meetuck! All right!"

"Hall right!" yelled the Esquimaux, as he let go the dogs and sprang
upon the sledge.

The team struggled and strained violently for a few seconds in their
efforts to overcome the _vis inertiae_ of the sledge, and it seemed as
if the traces would part, but they were made of tough walrus hide, and
held on bravely, while the heavy vehicle gradually fetched way, and at
length flew over the floes at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour.
Travelling, however, was not now quite as agreeable as it had been when
they set out from the ship, for the floes were swept bare in some places
by the gale, while in other places large drifts had collected, so that
the sledge was either swaying to and fro on the smooth ice, and swinging
the dogs almost off their feet, or it was plunging heavily through banks
of soft snow.

As the wind was still blowing fresh, and would have been dead against
them had they attemp