an incline, now dashing down another.

At last the dogs in sullen mutiny rebelled against further action.
Tinker squatted upon the ice, and the other dogs followed his example,
save Sampson, who faced about at Toby, snarling and showing his fangs.
No beating could induce them to move ahead in the direction in which
they had been traveling, though they made several attempts to swing
about to the right.

XXI

THE CARIBOU HUNT

The mutinous dogs eyed Toby's whip. They feared the whip, but no fear of
it could induce them to advance farther, in the face of the storm, upon
the unstable ice.

"What can we do now?" asked Charley in an appealing tone.

"I'm not knowin' what's ailin' the dogs," answered Toby rather
uncertainly. "I can't make un go ahead, and we can't bide here,
whatever. I'm fearin' with the way the ice heaves she's gone abroad at
the narrows. 'Tis no worse to the east'ard than 'tis here, and that's
the way the dogs wants to go. I'm thinkin' to let un go that way."

"But that will be going out to sea!" exclaimed Charley in alarm.

"Aye, but the mouth of the bay is quite a bit out past Deer Harbour, and
we're a good bit inside Deer Harbour P'int now," Toby explained. "Till
we gets beyond the mouth of the bay I'll be hopin' to get ashore. We'll
turn back before we goes too far, unless the ice floats us out."

"Let's get farther from the edge of the ice anyhow," said Charley, as a
great heave of the ice under his feet nearly threw him down.

"Aye, 'tis like to break up here any time. We'll let the dogs have their
will," agreed Toby, but not hopefully.

With that he commanded the dogs to rise, which they did readily, and
breaking the komatik loose he gave them the order to the right, and away
they went with a will, and with apparent satisfaction that they had won
their way in facing toward the eastward.

Now, with the wind nearly behind them, the animals traveled steadily,
and with no urging. It was much less trying, too, for Toby and Charley
as well as for the dogs.

"The ice has about stopped its roll," said Charley presently, and with
fresh hope. "It's a lot steadier."

"She is that," admitted Toby. "I were just thinkin' that the dogs knows
more than we does about un."

And so it proved. Following the ice that bounded the open water along
the north shore of the bay, they observed that the chasm of water
separating the ice from the land was narrowing. Presently, to their
great joy, the o