of the author's brain, it may be well to state that
he has seen it in the establishment of the patentees, Messrs. Thornton
and Company of Edinburgh.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

BENJY'S ENJOYMENTS INTERRUPTED, AND POLOELAND OVERWHELMED WITH A
CATASTROPHE.

One pleasant morning, towards the end of summer, Benjamin Vane went out
with his gun in the water-tramp on the large lake of Paradise Isle.

Leo and he had reached the isle in one of the india-rubber boats. They
had taken Anders with them to carry their game, and little Oblooria to
prepare their dinner while they were away shooting; for they disliked
the delay of personal attention to cooking when they were ravenous!
After landing Benjy, and seeing him busy getting himself into the
aquatic dress, Leo said he would pull off to a group of walruses, which
were sporting about off shore, and shoot one. Provisions of fowl and
fish were plentiful enough just then at the Eskimo village, but he knew
that walrus beef was greatly prized by the natives, and none of the huge
creatures had been killed for some weeks past.

About this time the threatened war with the northern Eskimos had
unfortunately commenced.

The insatiable Grabantak had made a descent on one of Amalatok's smaller
islands, killed the warriors, and carried off the women and children,
with everything else he could lay hands on. Of course Amalatok made
reprisals; attacked a small island belonging to Grabantak, and did as
much general mischief as he could. The paltry islet about which the war
began was not worthy either of attack or defence!

Then Amalatok, burning with the righteous indignation of the man who did
not begin the quarrel, got up a grand muster of his forces, and went
with a great fleet of kayaks to attack Grabantak in his strongholds.

But Grabantak's strongholds were remarkably strong. A good deal of
killing was done, and some destruction of property accomplished, but
that did not effect the conquest of the great northern Savage. Neither
did it prove either party to be right or wrong! Grabantak retired to
impregnable fastnesses, and Amalatok returned to Poloeland "covered with
glory,"--some of his followers also covered with wounds, a few of which
had fallen to his own share. The success, however, was not decided. On
the whole, the result was rather disappointing, but Amalatok was brave
and high-spirited, as some people would say. _He_ was not going to give
in; not he! He would fight as