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LAUGHTER OF THE SPHINX

i i.ip i L i m i

A-

Sfe!

Uxxaf

)

Laughter of the Sphinx

ALBERT WHITE VORSE

WITH Ii:.I,C8TRATION8 BY F. W. STOKSS

Artiit-Member of the Peary Relief Bxpedltlon, 1891, and of Ihe
North Greenland Expedition of 1893-94

klAifl^A.

^rt^'^^cJ.

\s^S^

TOSOMTO LONDON

DREXEL BIDDLE, PUBLISHER

NEW YORK PniLADBLPHIA SAN FRANCIKO

67 Fifth Avenue 228 South Fourth St. 317-331 Sansome St.
1900

' !

f
t

91 7H

4'^'

V-

Ulbrvry of Con(i>^««

Two COflfl Rcccivco

JUN 21 1900

Ctf|"|M jMiy

saoNf> corv.

OtMHMl It

oftoii mvtsiON.

I lilN Q2 IQOO

r !i

I'^i iir'r'! iBii "m" T"-'-"^ ■^"■' " " ""*

"'""•'' ' ^---f 'ntVri I i . i rrn i M' ii i _ ■ - -

V-

Zo tbc nDcn wbo bo
not fear tbe Spbtnx

■ IIW

The author is grateful to the editors and
publishers of Scribner's Magazine, Ainslee's
Magazine, the St. Nicholas, the Independent,
Godey's Magazine, Harper's Round Table,
the Illustrated American, the New York
Evening Post, and the New York Commercial
Advertiser, for permission to republish these
stories.

|1 W ;

dontenta

' - PAOB

LAUGHTER OF THE SPHINX l^

''"JARRING SECTS" 37

{ THE EDUCATION OF PRAED 69

*^PSALM VII. 15 89

AN ARCTIC PROBLEM 133

t TOM'S VINDICATION 19J

'^ AN ESKIMO WHIP aOQ

/ THE GLACIER IMPLEMENT 231

•^IN ARCTIC MOONLIGHT 249

^ THE DOLOROUS EXPERIENCE OF KUKU . . .273

y A TALE OF DARKNESS AND OF THE COLD . . 297

•■'. \ >•

"ilfffiffP""'^"--""- -

W ii l.i|-^l « i NH>jf^jjpiyi « iii ai p i i tii i iT« i n^

:;5

•, 4 >'■

lUu0tration0

PACING
PAGE

Laughter of the Sphinx .... Frontispiece.

"See what I have found! Edelweiss!" . . . .48*'

. . . the scene of her first meeting with Latta . . . 9a .

" Kee-eepsa-ake" «30 ^

Kywingwa reached down the glacier-implement , . . 846 -

He thrust his weapon into the brutes shoulder . . . 268 '

. . . seemed to be snarling at something beyond him . . ag* '

She was bending over him *94

Figures were moving across the sea . . . . . 3*°

"TUug-wing-wal donotleavem*/" 3**

LAUGHTER OF THE SPHINX.

» uuu«W» li»'' H i »,i l Wi l lHi' B W>

.fl land o)

H toward:

I apparel

The Johann T. Bundergup expedition for
the exploration of Greenland was a promis-
ing enterprise. Ostensibly its mission was
to make detailed charts of the west coast
from Cape York to Lockwood and Brainerd's
furthest, to determine the northern limits of
the great island, and to complete the unex-
plored line from Peary's Independence Bay
southward upon the east coast to Cape Bis-
marck. The scientific corps attached to the
expedition was to take thorough observations
of the weather, the glacial and magnetic
phenomena, the rocks, the sea and its depths,
and the birds, animals, and plants of what-
ever region it should traverse. There was a
clause in the published plans, however, pro-
viding for a "dash" from the northernmost
land over the ice pack of the Arctic Ocean
the Pole. It was a modest clause,
pparently thrown in quite incidentally among

«3

. a ft .jt ' -

lauobtcr of tbc Spbini

the other objects of the expedition. The
public was supposed to look askance at at-
tempts upon the North Pole, because there
is no money to be made there. But as the
leader knew, and every volunteer knew, and
most of the public knew, the clause was the
heart of the plan.

The scheme of operations was drawn up
according to the most recent theories of Arc-
tic authority. The advance upon the Sphinx
of the North was to be conducted according
to strategic principles with ample provision
for retreat. There were precautions against
death from starvation. An enormous depot
of supplies was to be established at Whale
Sound, and renewed every summer by relief
vessels from New York. From this main
store a line of caches, thirty miles apart, was
to be laid along the entire route of the expe-
dition.

The completion of these plans was esti-
mated to be the work of twenty-five men
for upwards of six years. If twenty years
should be necessary, that would make no
difference. There was plenty of money to
last for an indefinite time. The patron of the

^nHIMr

n. The
e at at-
se there
t as the
lew, and
was the

rawn up
3 of Arc-
2 Sphinx
ccording
jrovision
s against
lus depot
It Whale
by relief
:his main
part, was
the expe-

was esti-
■five men
nty years
make no
money to
ron of the

Xauabtcr of tbe Spbinr

expedition, a retired brewer who had made
an enormous fortune and had acquired a
longing for fame, perceived that immortality
lies in having one's name attached to some
part of the earth's surface. To accomplish
this, he had set aside two of his many mil-
lions. The interest of that sum was to sup-
port the Arctic expedition, on conditions that
all newly discovered territory should some-
where bear his name and that the island
nearest to the Pole should be called Bun-
dergup Land.

" Unt mit dot," said the shrewd old Ger-
man, " efery poy unt girl vorefifer, vot goes to
dot school unt deir geographie learnt, vill mis-
bronounce my name unt vill hafe hatred for
me. Aber, my name vill pe dere on de book
unt meine Seele in Paradies vill know."

Eleven hundred and three men responded
to a call for volunteers. The leader selected
twenty-five for the first two years of service.
The Arctic Sphinx employs various methods
of warfare against her assailants. Not only
does she attack them directly, with ice-floes
that crush them, snow-storms that smother
them, and the powers of cold that chill away

■i'

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbini

their lives, but also she has a guerilla fashion
of wearing upon their nerves with the dark.
After his second consecutive winter in the
far north a man loses enthusiasm, and when
enthusiasm is gone, muscle and endurance
are of little avail against the Sphinx. There-
fore the leader had devised a system of relays.
Each force of twenty-five was to be replaced
after the second season with fresh men from
home.

On the 2ist of June the new Arctic ship
Bundergup, sheathed outside with greenhart
and fortified inside, after the manner of
sealers, with scores of stanchions to resist
ice-pressure, steamed north from her dock
in Brooklyn. On the 30th of July the party
landed their wonderful equipment upon a
sunny beach in Greenland. Twelve days
afterwards a house, firmly anchored against
Arctic winds, stood perched upon a muddy
foothill, half-way between the magnificent
snow-crowned cliffs of red sandstone and
the bay. About the house clustered several
sealskin tents, and among the tents lounged
human beings with dark complexions, ruddy
cheeks, white teeth, and long black manes.

I fashion
he dark.
r in the
nd when
idurance
There-
of relays,
replaced
len from

•ctic ship
Teenhart
inner of
to resist
ler dock
the party
t upon a
live days
i against
a muddy
ignificent
tone and
:d several
> lounged
ns, ruddy
k -manes.

Xauobter of tbc Spbini

They were clad in the skins of seals, ice-
bears, and blue-foxes.

The ship sailed home, and the representa-
tive of the Associated Press, who returned
with her, reported that the party had made
friends with the Eskimos and had chosen a
delightful spot for their winter home.
"Around their house," he said, "a million
poppies lift their little yellow-and-white heads
to the never-setting sun. The botanists are
crouching over rare Arctic plants. The eth-
nologists are scrambling after black-and-white
spiders, yellow butterflies, and gorgeous
bumble-bees. The hunters have killed wal-
rus enough to feed the dogs for the whole
winter, and by this time, doubtless, have sup-
plied the party with haunches of reindeer,
which remain ever fresh in that germless
air. The morale of the party is excellent.
It is safe to predict a brilliant success for the
expedition."

His forecast might, perhaps, have been
verified but for the carelessness of a waiter
in a restaurant.

The waiter was not a member of the ex-
pedition. The party was chiefly made up of

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbliu

scientific men. Most of them were Germans
or of German parentage, but the principal
hunter was an American, a member of one of
the oldest families in New York. He had been
chosen at the request of Mrs. Bundergup,
who desired to be received in society. He
was a fine big fellow named Van Den Zee.
The Associated Press representative de-
scribed him as the "young aristocrat, who
has killed elephants in Africa, tigers in
India, and ladies in the ball-rooms of all

nations."

He made no boast of his social position.
The member of the party who proclaimed
his high standing in the aristocracy was the
doctor. As a class, surgeons of Arctic expe-
ditions are the finest of men. Dr. Brank of
the Bundergup expedition was an exception.
He had been a protege of the patron. Bun-
dergup had chosen him out of a public school
in Chicago, had sent him to college, where
he learned to play a winning game of bil-
liards, and to the schools and hospitals in
Paris, where he learned to deride religion
and to worship the footlights. He rated
himself a man of the world, and spoke of his

jermans
principal
3f one of
had been
udergup,
ity. He
)en Zee.
itive de-
:rat, who
:igers in
ns of all

position,
roclaimed
r was the
ctic expe-

Brank of
exception,
iron. Bun-
blic school
:ge, where
me of bil-
ospitals in
e religion

He rated
)oke of his

Xauabtcr of the spblnr

honor with respect. Bundergiip, who never
did things by halves, had forced him upon
the leader, and, indeed, but for his restive
tongue he would have been a passable ex-
plorer. H(; overtopped even Van Den Zee
by an inch or two, and he had several medals
(he brought them with him to impress his
companions) won in college athletics.

He was the tallest of the party, but none
of the men lacked two inches of six feet.
None had passed through an Arctic winter,
but most of them were experienced in out-
door life.

"A magnificent corps," said the leader to
himself, as he glanced down the table at the
first dinner. " We ought to carry everything
before us."

There followed a series of cracking sounds,
like the reports of a six-pounder rapid-fire
rifle. The entomologist, who had written
poetry, remarked afterwards that the Arctic
Sphinx had laughed. But at the time the
exclamation ran about the table :

" Hello, there goes another iceberg from
the glacier ! "

Whatever it was it raised a great wave,

|i '!

OLauabtcr of tbc Spbinr

which darted up the beach and carried away
the windmill. The windmill lay near the
shore, waiting until the party should be ready
to set it up. The wave rolled it down the
slope, floated it deftly between a floe and a
berg, and tilted the masses of ice together.
After twelve hours of hard work, the ex-
plorers and the eight Eskimos in the village
chopped a hole in the floe and fished up
what was left of the sail. Considered as a
grotesque effect in wrought iron, it was ad-
mirable ; considered as a windmill, however,
it was too curly. It had been designed extra
heavy, to endure Arctic winds. The whole
force of the party failed to make it look like
anything but a gigantic spider playing 'pos-
sum.

" Very well, boys," said the leader to his
red-faced party, "leave it alone. We can
easily make another windmill. A wooden
one will do just as well."

When the wooden windmill was es*:ab-
lished, and guyed against the northern tem-
pests, a sudden squall came down from the
clifls at the south and whirled the structure
over. In falling, the huge wheel broke loose.

20 -

linx

larried away
ay near the
uld be ready

it down the
a floe and a
ice together,
rork, the ex-
n the village
id fished up
sidered as a
n, it was ad-
[lill, however,
ssigned extra
. The whole
:e it look like

playing 'pos-

leader to his
ne. We can
. A wooden

11 was es*:ab-
northern tem-
3wn from the
the structure
2I broke loose.

Xauflbtcr of tbe Spbinx

The wind rolled it down the hill, bounding
like a broken hoop, caught it up at the beach,
and lodged it upon a majestic iceberg that
was floating down the bay. The iceberg
grounded opposite the house. The windmill
hung in a cleft: between a tall pinnacle and
the main mass of ice, and raided a request
for succor.

" I'll go and get it," volunteered the doctor.

" No, no !" commanded the leader, hastily.
" Never venture near an iceberg. They are
dangerous. At any time they are likely to
tip over and crush you. The slightest thing
may disturb their equilibrium. Once a ship
in which I was a passenger was passing near
a big conical berg that looked as stable as a
church. Some one had occasion to blow
the big steam-whistle. At the sound the
whole thing crumbled to pieces, and turned
over. If it had thumped us on the keel it
would have split us. We are in the midst
of tremendous forces, gentlemen. It is neces-
sary to be cautious. "

He sauntered despondently into the house.

" He is an old fogy !" commented the doc-
ter. " I'm going to have the windmill."

auuobter of tbe Spbinx

••Better not try," remonstrated Van Den
Zee. ''That spire is tottering now. Wait
until it falls. I wish we could get the sail
though. We may need it."

The windmill was intended to furnish
power for the electric plant. Without it the
party would be forced to make shift with
dim oil-lamps in the Arctic darkness. With
the aid of an arc-light Nansen brought his
party cheerfully through three winters. The
leader had hoped for much comfort in his
dynamo.

"However," he said, "other expeditions
have done with oil."

Again the Sphinx chuckled, and another
wave rolled up the beach and snatched at
the oil-barrels, but they had been hauled out
of its reach. It returned upon the ice-berg,
shifted it around, and tilted it up on one
side, so that the pinnacle hung out over the
water apparently just ready to topple over.
To see whether it had fallen was the first
thought of the explorers when they turned
out of their bunks in the morning — for by
this time the sun was rising and setting
regularly as it does in the temperate zones.

22 . '•

►inx

Xauabter of tbc Spbinr

;d Van Den
now. Walt
get the sail

i to furnish
thout it the
e shift with
ness. With
brought his
inters. The
mfort in his

expeditions

and another
snatched at
n hauled out
the ice-berg,

up on one
)ut over the
topple over,
was the first

they turned
ning — for by

and setting
)erate zones.

But the ice held as steady as a leaning
tower.

•'Why doesn't the thing go!" exclaimed
the doctor. " The sight of that windmill ex-
asperates me. I'm going to fetch it down."

He fired twice with his rifle. A few chips
flew from the base of the ice, but no crash
followed.

" Very well," said the doctor. " I'm going
to chop it down. Hello, there is a new
berg."

A vast block of ice had taken the ground
a hundred feet east of the first. Its sides
were hewn square, but it had a pitched roof,
red with basaltic mud.

"Looks like a church," remarked the doc-
tor, who was brandishing an axe. "We had
better call our headquarters Camp Cathe-
dral. I'm going to desecrate one of these
places of Arctic worship."

But the Sphinx had other plans. An Es-
kimo came running up the beach with news
that evil spirits had entered into his wife,
and a request for the angekok to come and
charm them away.

It was a case of inflammatory rheuniatism,

iiil

l\i'

lUuabter of tbc Spbinr

and it developed into pneumonia. The doc-
tor worked hard, and ultimately saved the
woman, thereby winning loyal affection from
Tung-Wee, her husband, and awe from the
rest of the tribe. Inflammatory rheumatism
is the bane of Eskimos.

To know the Eskimos and not be fasci-
nated by them is not possible. To the doctor
and to Van Den Zee the tribe was a god-
send ; it provided them with amusement.
Through the season of storms, when the
snow gathered higher on a level than a
man's head, and far into the cloudless season
of darkness and still cold, when noonday
was a twilight so dim that print was illegible
out of doors, and when for months the mer-
cury thermometer might have served as a
bullet, the Eskimos kept up the spirits of the
two white men.

At headquarters the scientific staff wa'3 not
doing as well. In order to occupy his men,
the leader had imposed upon them sledge-
making. At first they found carpentry en-
tertaining, but none of them was used to the
atmosphere of shavings, and long before
Christmas the professors scowled upon the

"iii<iiiiiti%Vi»i^

The doc-
saved the
:tion from

from the
leumatism

t be fasci-
the doctor
as a god-
nusement,
when the
el than a
ess season
I noonday
IS illegible
5 the mer-
:rved as a
irits of the

iff WA? not
y his men,
em sledge-
pentry en-
ised to the
ng before
I upon the

Uauobter of tbe Spbinx

plane, while the leader drew up his eye-
brows at their sledges. He tried to rouse an
interest in games, but the men of science
scorned cards. One set of chessmen turned
up among the supplies. Over the board
after the day's planing had been finished
two of the party usually wrangled, while the
others strained their eyes by the single lamp
with often-read books or with their journals.
It was only upon the arrival of the doctor
and the hunter with lively tales of their
Eskimo friends that cheerfulness entered
the house.

The leader noticed this. One night after
dinner he drew the two companions apart.

" Look here, you fellows," he said. "We're
in a pretty bad way. The nerve of the men
is going ; they're getting quarrelsome. You
two who seem to have kept your sand are
holding the party together. When you're
away we are dismal. I wish you would stay
at home more, a good deal more. You will
deserve credit for saving the expedition if
you do."

"Certainly," answered Van Den Zee.

If the Sphinx chuckled, she did it quietly.

Uauabter of tbe Spbini

It was her hour, however. The two explorers
remained at home, told stories to their com-
rades, laughed as much as they could, and
for a time lightened the atmosphere of the
house. They issued out of doors only at the
exercise hour. At the end of seven even-
ings their laughter rang flat and their stories
gave out.

"Van Den Zee," said the doctor, " this al-
truism isn't what it's cracked up to be. We
need a change. I'm all murky inside my
head, and you're green in the face. Come
out and chop ice ; it's my turn to furnish
drinking-water. "

They harnessed the dogs and raced with
the sledge out over the snow-covered floes to
the bergs.

"There's that damned windmill yet," said
the doctor. " I'm going to have a hack at
that spire, if it falls and kills me."

He was in a perverse mood, and Van Den
Zee was not in his normal good humor or he
would have known better than to remon-
strate.

" Don't be a fool !" he said.

The doctor flashed around at him.

ijr '*!" '-,, tifc
<!'' i I I III inm.

explorers
^jeir com-
)uld, and
-e of the
ily at the
en even-
ir stories

" this al-
be. We
iside my
Come
) furnish

ced with
1 floes to

et," said
hack at

'^an Den

or or he

remon-

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbinr

"A fool," he demanded. "What do you
mean by calling me a fool ?"

"Just what I say," responded the hunter
coolly. "It's foolish to risk your life need-
lessly."

Brank's eyes gleamed in the dark, like a
wolf's.

"Van Den Zee," he exclaimed, "I allow
no man to call me a fool. If any one in this
party but you had said it "

"What would you have done?" asked the
hunter.

" Don't put on airs with me," burst out the
doctor. "I'm as good as you. I've lived
m France, and I know how gentlemen setde
their differences."

"If that's the case," replied Van Den Zee,
" I had better run away. Good night."

He turned on his heel and strode to head-
quarters. Half an hour afterwards the doc-
tor entered with a sledge heavily loaded with
ice.

"The old church-spire will never come
down," he proclaimed. " I've chopped away
half its foundations. It's as stiff as dogma."

" Dr. Brank," exclaimed the leader, " this

T''

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbinr

is direct disobedience of my orders. I de-
sire that you will never again risk your life
needlessly."

The doctor cast a quick glance at Van
Den Zee, and his face turned red.

" Your orders are old maid's orders," he
blurted out. " If your men and dogs can
save a few hundred feet of hard travel by
cutting ice from the nearest berg, you ought
not to make a row. I'm going where my
friends are better tempered."

Before the leader could reply he had left
the house. He did not return at sleeping
time, and one of the Eskimos brought word
that he had taken up his quarters at Tung-
Wee's. The leader asked Van Den Zee to
fetch him back.

" I doubt if I am the best messenger," re-
plied the hunter. " He is down on me, just
now, and I don't feel particularly amiable
towards him. Christmas is almost here.
Can't you send one of the fellows to remind
him of the dinner?"

It was the custom of the leader to observe
holidays and birthdays with feasts, according
to the time-honored Arctic precedent. The

■n-faMfflpapf i'?iiaftv.-.iig?is^mir'gt '■in

I de-
vour life

at Van

:rs,'

3gs can
avel by
u ought
lere my

had left
sleeping
ht word
,t Tung-
1 Zee to

ger," re-
me, just
amiable

St here.

3 remind

observe
ccording
nt. The

Xawo»5ter of tbc Spbinr

Christmas dinner was to be the great event
of the year. It was set for Christmas eve,
and next day there was to be a tree, with
presents, sent by friends of the party to the
leader before the expedition sailed, and
brought among the supplies in a mysterious
box. The leader hoped for much good from
the Christmas jollity.

The doctor appeared at the feast in high
spirits.

"Why don't you fellows turn in with the
Eskimos ?" he exclaimed. " It's the only way
to live in a savage country — adopt the cus-
toms of the natives. I'm not sure that they
have not solved the problems of morah that
we are always bothering about at home.
When an Eskimo is tired of his wife, for in-
stance, he exchanges spouses with a friend.
Now, why can't we do that at home ? I know
of half a dozen cases among the best families
in New York where that plan would have
relieved serious situations." '

The doctor knew how to tell a story, funny
or dramatic, and during the succeeding half
hour even the scientific corps forgot the
hardships of carpentry in laughing over bits

Xaudbtcr of tbc Spbinx

of scandal. Van Den Zee, however, glow-
ered from a corner, and his face turned
crimson. At last he broke in with a harsh
voice.

"Dr. Brank," he said, "the last three
stories you have told concern friends of mine.
I know the stories to be false. You read
them in the newspapers."

"They are personal friends of mine, too,"
retorted the doctor. " The man in the last
case gave a swell banquet for me, just beforo
I came away — and by the same token, the
waiter poured a bottle of Worcestershire
sauce over my shirt front and made it a
brown pulp."

"They don't have Worcestershire sauce at
— at swell dinners," roared Van Den Zee.
"They season their food outsi ie."

" Do you mean that I lie ?" challenged the
doctor.

" Gentlemen ! " exclaimed the leader.
"Have you forgotten yourselves ? Sit down,
both of you. I'm sorry for this. I was going
to propose a toast to our friends at home."

The doctor glowered for a moment. Then

he sank into his seat with an indifferent air.

cr, glow-

e turned

a harsh

ist three
1 of mine,
foil read

ine, too,"
I the last
St befor.;
Dken, the
;stershir<i
lade it a

sauce at
3en Zee.

nged the

leader.
Sit down,
ras going
home."
It. Then
rent air.

Xauabtcr of the »pbinr

"Beg your pardon, sir," he said. "Pro-
pose your toast."

There was plenty of wine, and every one
drank a good deal. The spirits of the ex-
plorers rose; the scientific men told scien-
tific anecdotes, which are extremely funny,
with a flavor altogether their own. The
quarrel appeared to be forgotten by every
one except Van Den Zee, who sat silent.

At twelve o'clock the leader called for the
last toast.

' ' Sweethearts and Wives, " he said. Every
one drank, broke his glass, and turned to his
bunk.

In the midst of the confusion the leader
seized Dr. Brank by the arm and led him to
Van Den Zee's side.

"This has been a most successful even-
ing," said the leader. " It needs only one
thing more to be perfect. You two men
must shake hands and be friends."

"Willingly," exclaimed the doctor. He
seized Van Den Zee's reluctant hand and
pressed it close.

" That's good," said the leader. " Now
I'm satisfied that we shall pull through."

Xaugbtcr of tbc Spbini

He turned away. Hrank retained the
hunter's hand in a firm grip. The pupils of
his eyes contracted.

"You cad," he whispered, "you told m(^ I
lied. Dare you to fight."

"I'll fight you," returned the hunter, " but
not until after the expedition is over.
Then "

" Here, and to-night," interrupted the doc-
tor. " Come out of doors after those drunken
men have gone to sleep, and bring your re-
volver. I'll back up every story I told."

Van Den Zee's face flushed still redder.
His fists clenched, and he drew back his
hand as if for a blow. The doctor shrugged
his shoulders disdainfully and left the house.
In the confusion of bed-time his absence
passed unnoticed. Van Den Zee crawled
beneath his blankets without undressing.
When everything except the heavy breath-
ing ot the party was quiet, he loaded his
revolver and stole out of doors.

Two flaring lights shone from the beach.
Approaching them, Van Den Zee found the
doctor, Tung-Wee, and another Eskimo, with
three torches of wood soaked in kerosene.

Incd tho
pupils of

:oltl me. I

;(;r, " but
is over.

1 the doc-
drunken

your re-
old."
1 redder,
back his
shrugged
le house.

absence
! crawled
dressing,
y breath-
)aded his

le beach,
bund the
:imo, with
rosene.

Xauobtcr of tbc Spblnt

"These are c ir seconds," said the doctor.
"Come along.

He led the way out over the ice-fields
toward the two grounded bergs. Mechani-
cally Van Den Zee followed.

The snow was soft and sticky about his
feet, and for the first time the hunter noticed
that the weather had changed. There was
blowing one of those warm southwest winds,
called fohns, which sometimes spring up in
the Arctic winter. The sky was overcast
with low drifting clouds, from which fell a
few hot rain-drops. The floes out in Baffin's
Bay, broken up by the warmth, were roaring
with tiie mighty tide. Bits of ice, snapped
off by the change of temperature, were jing-
ling down the sides of the two bergs, whos^
white masses loomed ghos^'y in ihe heavy
darkness.

At the first berg the doctor paused.

"We will fix torches, six feet high, into
the sides of these bergs" he said. "We
will stand directly in front of them, so that
our fon.is will be clear enough to shoot at.
You will go on to that berg, while I will set
my torch here. Tung- Wee will hold the

3 33

.^-J-

lUuobtcr of tbc Spbinjc

third torch half-way between us. When he
drops it we will fire. I have explained it
to him."

Van Den Zee glanced about at the dismal
scene, drew a breath or two of the fresh air,
and passed his hand across his forehead.

"Look here," he said, turning to the doc-
tor. "I don't want to fight you now. Wait
until we have done our work."

" Lache" exclaimed Brank, and struck the
hunter in the face. Van Den Zee gazed at
him for a moment, and without a word made
his way to the second berg, dug a socket in
it with his knife, and planted his torch.

When he turned, the doctor's head, which
had put the torch in eclipse, was surrounded
by a misty corona. Tung- Wee's red light
flared murkily, in the middle ground, well
out of line.

" Are you ready ?" called the doctor.

"Yes."

"Tung-Wee! Igni peterangituT shouted
the doctor.

The Eskimo smothered his flame in the
snow. The report of the two forty-six
calibre cartridges rang out. Van Den Zee

s. When he
: explained it

at the dismal

the fresh air,

forehead.

g to the doc-

j now. Wait

nd struck the
Zee gazed at
a word made
g a socket in
s torch,
s head, which
is surrounded
je's red light
ground, well

: doctor.

i^u/" shouted

flame in the
two forty-six
/an Den Zee

Xanobter of tbc Spbittjc

dropped his pistol and clapped his hand to
his right arm.

There followed a series of sharp snapping
noises, a roar, and a crash that shook the
whole frozen bay. The doctor's torch went
out. The church-spire had fallen.

Lights appeared at the headquarters, and
black figures with lanterns rushed out over
the ice. The leader found Van Den Zee
leaning against his berg. Blood dripped from
his right arm. He could give no clear in-
formation.

"I fired in the air," he repeated once and
again. " Heaven knows I didn't fire towards
him !"

A man supported him to the house ; the
others hastened to fetch picks and shovels.
They found Dr. Brank under the edge of the
debris. By some miracle he had escaped
death, but his usefulness to the expedition
was ended. As they carried his shattered
body towards the shore, the six-pounder at
the glacier opened fire, and a wave tossed
and cracked the solid ice-fields beneath them.

The leader shook an impotent fist towards
the north.

Xauobtcr of tbe Spbinjc

" Laugh, damn you !" he growled.

The nerves of his men, already shaken,
gave way under the shock. When the relay
party arrived, in July, they found twenty-five
disaffected explorers, with boxes packed,
waiting to go home.

y shaken,
1 the relay
wenty-five
> packed,

JARRING SECTS.

" Our work has led us to an awful land,
gentlemen, said the leader. " The climate of
Greenland is heavenly in summer ; in winter
it is, if I may be permitted to employ a for-
cible simile, infernal. In committing his
vilest criminals to a circle of ice, Dante ex-
hibited a knowledge of physical conditions
that was far in advance of his epoch. I will
not assert that the Arctic winter makes
Judases of men ; that were, perhaps, too
violent. But it is certain that the cold, the
darkness, and the isolation from one's fellow-
beings tend to bring out in the human crea-
ture some of the savage elements which are
repressed by civilization."

He paused and glanced up and down the
long dinner-table set in the Arctic head-
quarters.

"But with this party," he resumed, "I
have nothing to fear. Each one of you has

i
I

„-^'r

1 It

■■\\

)

!1
I

Xauflbter of tbc Spbini

already achieved distinction in his own
branch of science ; yet each one of you knows
that the greatest opportunity of his life lies
immediately before him. You will labor
strenuously, and in your work you will for-
get petty dissensions. And, if differences of
opinion should arise — you are all men of the
highest intelligence ; you will know how to
control yourselves. The members of Lieu-
tenant Greely's party were chiefly common
soldiers ; yet, with one or two exceptions,
they exhibited the noblest fortitude and good
humor amid fearful perils. How much more
fitted are we, men of enlightenment, to smile
in the face of hardship !"

He sank into his chair amid a loud clap-
ping of hands. The members of the Second
Bundergup Expedition for the Exploration
of Greenland made a show of veneration for
their leader, first because he was the cousin
of Johann T. Bundergup, by whose muni-
ficence the party had been equipped and sent
out ; second, because he had won world-wide
renown as a meteorologist in the United
States Signal Service. Except for the chief ,,
hunter and one other man, a writer of novels

I his own
' you knows
his life lies
will labor
^ou will for-
fferences of
men of the
now how to
rs of Lieu-
^y common
exceptions,
le and good
much more
mt, to smile

, loud clap-
the Second
Exploration
neration for
3 the cousin
hose muni-
)ed and sent
world-wide
the United
"or the chief
er of novels

3arrino Sccte

sent by a New York newspaper to do the
popular history of the expedition, every
member of the party was an authority in
some branch of science, and knew how to
respect the distinction of others.

"Good speech, wasnt it?" asked the nov-
elist as the geologists, botanists, entomolo-
gists, and meteorologists dispersed to their

fields of work.

" Yes," assented the hunter. " It sounded
as pretty as an oration upon the tariff ques-
tion, and contained as much sense."

The novelist's eyebrows curved (as he
might have said in a story) into interrogation
points. The hunter laughed.

" Mr. Dahlgren," he said, " you are here to
find copy— that's the technical word, isn't it?
Well, you will find it."

" I have found enough already to make a
book," replied the writer. " What splendid
local color! These magnificent cliffs crowned
with the purest snows, these misty days
when the black sea, as flat as a floor, extends
away into space like the distances of an
opium dream; these stately icebergs with
their caves, blue as the grotto of Capri,

1 «

XauQbter of tbe Spbinx

darting at you azure reflections which they
have caught from the sunlit ripples ; this
midnight sun, which turns the foreground
into goblin land, with grotesque shadows,
and the distance into fairyland, with
glorifying light — what nobler background
could a man desire? And for characters,
look at the natives, with their black tangles
of hair, glowing eyes, dusky skins, and red
cheeks ; creatures of the past ; men of both
the stone age and the golden age ; eaters of
meat without salt ; lovers of peace ; wor-
shippers of I know not what gods ! The
only wonder is that every one of us isn't
metamorphosed into a poet."

The hunter's gray eyes gazed out through
the door of the Arctic hut to the blue bay
flecked with white dots of ice. It was a
moment before his reply came.

"Yes," he assented musingly. "There is
another background, just as picturesque. I
saw it when I was here a year ago. I can't
describe it as well as you will, but it is black
and the wind blows and the ice creaks, and
your nerves are all on edge. If you are an
Eskimo, you are in awe of the devils ; if you

hich they
pies ; this
>reground

shadows,
id, with
ckground
haracters,
k tangles
, and red
ti of both

eaters of
Lce ; wor-
ds! The
f us isn't

t through
blue bay
It was a

There is
esque. I
. I can't
it is black
eaks, and
)u are an
Is; if you

3arrino Sccta

are an American, you are in awe of the
devils and the cold, too. Then — but you'll
see for yourself. There are pleasant things
as well as dismal ones. But if I am not mis-
taken grimness will be the tone of your sto-
ries. And in spite of our leader's speech, your
grimmest stories will not be Eskimo stories."

"Van Den Zee," returned the novelist,
you're a pessimist. What harm can come
to us? Haven't we a comfortable house,
plenty to eat, and nothing to do? Aren't
we, as the leader said, men of intelligence,
with ideas to exchange that will keep us
occupied in the darkness ?"

"Precisely," returned the hunter. He
finished his pipe, crossed the room to his
bunk, took down his rifle, and returned to
the door.

"Intelligent men," he said, "know more
things to quarrel about than stupid ones.
Come," he added, hastily, "I'm going north
with the ship. Don't you want to go, too ?
She will run to Littleton Island after walrus.
It's a four days' trip. You will have a chance
to stand for an hour the farthest north of all
human beings if that will give you a new

4* .

Xauabter of tbe Spbini

sensation — you are looking for sensations,

aren't you ?"

The novelist laughed.

••Thank you," he said. "I think I'll re-
main here and observe the aborigine in his
native lair."

An hour afterwards, trudging down the
beach towards the Eskimo tupiks, he waved
a farewell to the ship as she laid her course
out of the bay.

•' Good-bye, dark-spirited man," he shouted;
"bring me some walrus-hunting stories for
the book."

Van Den Zee smiled a melancholy fare-
well.

•' What a gloomy mind he has," murmured
Dahlgren. '• I feel rather like singing than
like quarreling. The spell of the Arctic
spirits is upon me. Fancy bothering with a
row in the presence of these cliffs and snows !
Even my Eskimo friends are out for a lark.
I wonder what makes them rush about like
that? It must be a dance."

A crowd of the skin-clad people was col-
lected around one of the sealskin tents, and
from all directions other Eskimos were has-

ensations,

ik I'll re-
ine in his

down the
he waved
ler course

le shouted;
stories for

:holy fare-
murmured
iging than
the Arctic
•ing with a
nd snows !
or a lark,
about like

e was col-
tents, and
were has-

3arrind Sects

tening to join the throng. As Dahlgren
drew near he perceived that none of the
dusky faces wore the easily awakened Es-
kimo smile. As he approached, the group
drew off, with glances of distrust, and per-
mitted him to ascend a little grassy mound
upon which stood the tupik.

From within came the nasal voice of Tal-
lant, the ethnologist of the party.

" Now, sir, I think I have demonstrated
beyond doubt that nature has provided the
Eskimo with an under-coat of blubber, like
that of a seal."

Dahlgren drew aside the tent-flap. Upon
the wide stone sleeping-slab at the rear lay
a naked Eskimo. His hands and feet were
bound to the corners of the rock with thongs
of seal-hide. His mouth was open, and his
eyes turned helplessly from Tallant to the
surgeon of the party, both of whom were
bending over him.

"See how the muscles are hidden by the
cushion of blubber. Yet he is a strong lad ;
it taxed my utmost power to strip him for
inspection. Are you convinced ?"

" Not altogether," replied the surgeon.

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbinx

" I see no signs of anything beyond an ordi-
nary layer of fat such as an inhabitant of the
tropics may have. Moreover, with deference
to your acknowledged ability, I must main-
tain that the methods you have used are un-
necessarily cruel, and I must beg you to
release the man."

" No, sir," exclaimed the ethnologist. " Not
unti' you acknowledge yourself to be in the
wrong. I am surprised that you, a scientific
man, should exhibit sentiment at a moment
like this. I have my lancet here, and I pro-
pose to make an incision so that you may
observe the quality of thir layer of blub-
ber."

At the sight of the lancet the Eskimo set
up an eldritch screaming, and struggled until
the slab beneath him rocked. The doctor
slipped the thong from one corner of the
stone, and with a turn or two the Eskimo
freed himself. He sprang between the two
white men and dashed down the hill towards
his tribespeople, who, in turn, seized v.'ith a
panic, scattered at his approach.

The two white men stood frowning at one
another. •

d an ordi-
ant of the
deference
lUSt main-
id are un-
2g you to

rist. "Not
be in the
, scientific
I moment
,nd I pro-
: you may
of blub-

)skimo set
rgled until
he doctor
ler of the
e Eskimo
n the two
U towards
ed v/ith a

ing at one

3arrlno Sccte

" Sir," burst out the ethnologist, " you have
thwarted my experiment !"

"Sir," retorted the doctor, "you are a
fool !" With that he turned upon his heel
and stalked up the beach towards the head-
quarters.

The ethnologist made two paces to follow,
brought his head violently against the cross-
bar of the tent-frame and paused. Dahlgren,
still poised in amazement with the tent-flap
in his hand, uttered an exclamation. The
ethnologist looked up under the hand with
which he was rubbing the bruise.

"Ah, Mr. Dahlgren," he said, "you have
been a witness of this man's pusillanimity.
He has ch.illenged my authority in a matter
about which he knew nothing, and has re-
fused to submit the case to proof. When we
have reached home if he dares to throw dis-
credit upon my theory, I shall have your word
as evidence that he shrank from the test."

Dahlgren drew a long breath.

" Oh, certainly," he said, " if the doctor
disputes you."

Tallant cast an impatient glance at the
novelist.

45 -

m
4

Hauobtcr of tbc Spbinr

"Of course, he will dispute me," he
averred. " Before we came here he had
committed himself to his dieory. 1 !e cannot
abandon it ; his authority amonjif scientific
men would be destroyed "

" Indeed," said Dahlgren, absondy. He
was glanciny^ about the settlement. A few
Eskimos still lingered in the distance, but
the tents were deserted. Tallant noted the
direction of his eyes.

"Ah," he said, "I see what you are think-
ing of. You would like to be convinced by
demonstration. I admire your cautious spirit.
But we must wait until to-morrow, my dear sir,
when the slight sensation of this incident has
worn itself out. Then we will catch another
Eskimo, and I will show you that I am
right."

When the party reassembled for dinner,
that evening, there was a vacant chair. The
leader eyed it severely through his specta-
cles. It was his theory that an Arctic expe-
dition should be conducted according to a
system, even as a weather bureau. He had
posted upon the door of the headquarters a
set of rules covering the routine duties of the

ifc

tarn

Sarrlno Sccte

me," he
•0 he hiul
I Ic cannot
J scientific

^ntly. He
It. A few
itancc, but
; noted the

are think-
ivinced by
ious spirit,
ly dear sir,
icident has
:h another
:hat I am

"or dinner,
lair. The
lis specta-
•ctic expe-
•ding to a
He had
quarters a
ties of the

day. One of the rules provided that every
member not away upon a lon^ excursion
shoukl keep meal times.

"The post -prandial smoke-hour," he
pointed out, "is the period when men ac-
quire knowledge of the best characteristics
of their comrades. Talk and tobacco cement
friendships. But the talk must be amiable,
and how can it be amiable when the meal
has been hurried and irregular, as it must be
if the members of the party do not arrive on
time? I am surprised that Prof. Morrell
should disregard this rule."

"Perhaps he has made a find," suggested
Dahlgren. " I saw him scouting along the
edge of the glacier."

" Prof. Morrell vill make no find," put in
Prof. Delacour, the representative of the
French government. " I myself have scoured
ze vicinity of zat glacier. Prof. Morrell may
examine wis a microscope every foot of ze
ground ; he will discover no plant. I 'ave
zem all in my press."

" Here comes Prof. Morrell," announced
the novelist. " He is running."

The botanist burst into the hut.
47

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

"See, gentlemen," he exclaimed. "See
what I have found ! Edelweiss !"

The Frenchman's lip curled up, but his
cheeks lost some of their ruddy color.

" Edelweiss !" he exclaimed. It cannot be.
Dere is no edelweiss in Greenland !"

" See it for yourself," retorted Morrell. I
found it upon the crest of a hill, beside the
glacier. I had looked in vain along the val-
ley; nothing interesting was to be seen,
when suddenly far above me the little white
spot caught my eye. I scrambled up a
perpendicular cliff. How I did it I cannot
tell. But my peril was magnificently re-
warded."

" Meanwhile, Prof. Morrell," broke in the
serene voice of the leader, " you have kept
our dinner waiting. I rejoice in your dis-
covery and so will our patron, Mr. Bunder-
gup. I suggest that you name this variety
of the flower after him. But I repeat that
you have delayed our meal. Come, let us
sit down."

The botanist looked perplexed.
" Very well, sir," he stammered. "I should
like to put the plant in my press first."

^^i^ia^Kgm^mMm0mt»»tit

ini

med. " See

up, but his
color.

It cannot be.
nd!"

IMorrell. I
1, beside the
long the val-
to be seen,
le little white
.mbled up a
1 it I cannot
lificently re-
broke in the
)u have kept
in your dis*
Mr. Bunder-
e this variety
I repeat that
Come, let us

id.

ed. "I should

iS first."

■ "^ fe: u'' Jfe ii

3arring Sects

"I would rather have you sit down at
once," replied the leader.

The post-prandial smoke-hour was not
cheerful that day. The big Frenchman blew
rings and glowered at them ; the botanist
kept his eyes upon his plate. The ethnolo-
gist cast triumphant glances at the doctor,
who was talking cheerfully enough with the
leader. The public conversation consisted of
a dispute between the two geologists, one of
whom asserted that the strata-formation in
glaciers was caused by precipitation during
various years, in the neve basin ; while the
other declared that it was due to conflicting
pressure'' The argument waxed warm ; the
faces of t'' «. eologists turned as red as the
sandstOi V f behind the headquarters.
Finally, the leader closed the smoke-hour
ten minutes before the wonted time had
elapsed.

Dahlgren was early afoot next day. When
he sauntered out of the headquarters the
forenoon breeze had not yet begun to blow.
The bay shone as glossy and black as the
glass-covered ponds in topographical models.
Through the haze that hung over the sea

aakw.,^i^^

j^mm^

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbinx

loomed the dim masses of enormous bergs.
The sun was a crimson disc. The tide was
at rest. Nothing stirred.

" Now this sort of thing ought to be abso-
lute peacefulness," commented Dahlgren
aloud; "but it is not. On the contrary,
there is unrest in such a stupendous silence.
I feel as if the universe were in suspense ; as
if the Arctic spirit were holding its breath
for something to happen."

"Something is going to happen," re-
sponded a voice behind him. Turning, the
novelist perceived litde Dr. Morrell. With
trembling fingers the doctor thrust a folded
paper into the novelist's hand.

" Read that !" he commanded.

Dahlgren unfolded the paper.

"To Gustav Schwarz, leader of the Second
Bundergup Expedition to Greenland : Sir : "
it began. " I have understood with surprise
that the variety of edelweiss discovered in
Greenland is to be named after Johann T.
Bundergup, a man unknown to science. I
beg to call your attention to the fact that in
sending a representative upon this expedi-
tion France has conferred as great an honor

5°

bini

3arrina Sects

mous bergs.
The tide was

t to be abso-
:d Dahlgren
the contrary,
dous silence,
suspense ; as
ig its breath

lappen," re-
Turning, the
)rrell. With
ust a folded

»f the Second
iland: Sir:"
with surprise
liscovered in
er Johann T.
) science. I
t fact that in
this expedi-
eat an honor

as the patron himself. I should have been
of the opinion that the Greenland edelweiss
would have been christened either after my
country or after me, her delegate. May I
call the claims of France to your early atten-
tion?

" Meanwhile, sir, I beg you to receive the
assurances of my distinguished consideration.

" Delacour."

As Dahlgren finished this note, his lips
twitched. But when he glanced over it at
the set teeth of the little botanist, he con-
trolled his laughter.

"This is a remarkable note," he observed.

"Yes, sir," replied Morrell. "I found it
upon the floor. Now, sir, I beg you to take
note that the edelweiss was my discovery,
and by every custom known to science should
bear my name !"

" I have no doubt of it," agreed Dahl-
gren. " But what can I do in the matter?"

" Do, sir ? You are the historian of this
expedition. I adjure you to witness that
these two men, the leader and the French-
man, are in league against me. If you do
not make that plain in your book, I shall call

5»

■ I

OUuobtcr of tbc Spbinx

you to account in the newspapers. Stay, sir,
and listen," he added, as Dahlgren made a
movement to leave him. " That is not all.
They have stolen my edelweiss. It was a
concerted plot. You heard the leader order
me not to press the plant. Well, sir, after
dinner, when I sought it, I could not find it.
The matter is plain. The Frenchman pur-
loined my flower, with the knowledge and
connivance of the leader.

Dahlgren's lips twitched again.

" Isn't stealing specimens held to be rather
a matter of legitimate war fare ?" he asked.

The professor cleared his throat.

"Well, possibly— at home," he acknowl-
edged. " But here where a man's undying
fame depends upon his ability to produce the
specimen, the theft is sin, sir ; nothing less
than sin!"

" But there is more edelweiss. If you
don't care to climb for it again, send an
Eskimo,"

"True, Mr. Dahlgren, true," exclaimed
the nervous little man. "You and I will
beat them yet. I will get an Eskimo at '
once." . ;

™smm m

M-^- -~^

s. Stay, sir,
ren made a
t is not all.
s. It was a
leader order
ell, sir, after
not find it.
ichman pur-
wledge and

to be rather

' he asked.

at.

le acknowl-

n's undying

produce the

lothing less

ss. If you
in, send an

' exclaimed
and I will
Eskimo at

3arrina ^ct0

He sped away towards the tupiks. Dahl-
gren, gazing after him, suddenly ceased to
smile. Instead, he started, and sent his voice
out in a shout.

" Professor ! Professor ! Hold on ! The
Eskimos have gone."

The hill where the little tents had lifted
their dark peaks was as bare as the cliffs.
Nothing but fragments of ice lay upon the
beach where the kayaks had been. Dahlgren
ran forward towards the camp-site, and half-
a-dozen of the party, aroused by his cry, fol-
lowed. The spots where the tents had
stood were clearly marked. The sleeping-
slabs remained, and immediately about them
the ground was defiled with seal-oil, blood,
entrails, and all the foulness of an Eskimo
habitation. The great stones that had
weighted the skirts of the tents against the
wind rested in their circles. A coil or two
of agluna and a few tiny ivory toys carved
to represent seals or men or sledges lay
about. But no Eskimo was in sight.

" Was fur ein Ungliick ist hier passirtT
gasped the leader, who was apt to forget his
acquired tongue in moments of stress. " Ve

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbtnr

cannot mitout de Eskimos succeed. It is
ruin."

The explorers, collected about him, gazed
at each other, but no intelligence appeared
in any face.

"You see, Mr. Tallant," exclaimed the
doctor, "you frightened them away with your
confounded experiments."

Tallant shifted his lathy figure from one
foot to the other, as a naughty boy shifts be-
fore his teacher.

" I had not supposed," he said, " that they
would misunderstand me. I have measured
Indians, from whom these people are undoubt-
edly descended, and found them reasonable."

" I should question if zey aire descended
from ndians," interrupted Delacour. " Dat,
I know, is ze t'eory American, but it seems
to me more probable that they came from
Asia, by ze way of Alaska. Look at ze high
cheek-bones and ze oblique eyes ! Mongolian,
I assure you of it."

An outburst of protests broke off his

speech. "I venture to disagree with "

"Dr. Brinton says " " But the tradition

of the tribe ."

cceed. It is

It him, gazed
ice appeared

reclaimed the
ay with your

re from one
)oy shifts be-

d, " that they
,ve measured
I are undoubt-
reasonable."
re descended
cour. " Dat,
but it seems
y came from
ok at ze high
>! Mongolian,

»roke off his

ee with "

; the tradition

3arrina Sccte

The voice of Morrell came out of the
chorus, as in an opera the sustained note of

the tenor emerges from the ensemble, "

moreover, you aspire to omniscience, sir, and
you descend to the meanest methods to
achieve distinction. What have you done
with my edelweiss?"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," exclaimed the
leader. "You are forgetting yourselves. I
command you to be silent."

The tumult died away.

" I am amazed, gendemen," continued the
leader. " What would they say at home, if
they could see this distressing spectacle ! To
your work, sirs. Prof. Morrell, the specimen
of Bundergup's edelweiss " — he cast a stern
glance at the representative of the French
government — " is in my keeping. You shall
have it at once."

"Meanwhile," interposed Dahlgren, who
had been scanning the stretch of beach that
lay between the headquarters and the cape
at the mouth of the bay. " If I may venture
to make a suggestion, the Eskimos can't be
far away yet. If we need them, why don't
we bribe them to come back?"

Xauobtcr of tbc Spblni

" That is a very good plan," agreed Trd-
lant. " I was about to propose it myself. I
shall start at once, and if you care to ac-
company me, Mr. Dahlgren, I shall be de-
lighted to take you."

"Wait one moment, Prof. Tallant," inter-
posed the leader. "I understand that you
are responsible for the panic of the savages.
It is not my purpose to send you as envoy.
I shall select "

'• Sir," interrupted the ethnologist, " in my
official capacity I am the proper person to
have dealings with this people. Who else
knows their language ? I demand the lead-
ership of the party of placation."

" I shall select," began the leader again.

"I give you notice, sir, that, whether
you select me or not, I shall deem myself a
member of the party. In my official ca-
pacity "

"Do I understand, sir, that this means
disobedience of my orders?"

" May I point out, sir, that your orders are
in direct contradiction to the expectations of
the scientific world ? I shall take my depart-
ure at once before your orders are given,

Teed Tnl-
tiyself. I
ire to ac-
all be de-
nt," inter-
that you
2 savages,
as envoy.

5t, "in my
person to
Wiio else
, the lead-

r again.
:, whether
1 myself a
official ca-

ns means

orders are
ctations of
iiy depart-
are given,

3arrinfl Sccta

and thus relieve myself of the onus of dis-
obedience."

He shouldered his gun and made off
rapidly towards the cape.

"Let him go," sneered Delacour, "ze
Eskimos will eat him, and we s'all 'ave one
less insane among us."

Two days afterward the ship returned from
the walrus hunt. Van Den Zee came off in
a boat, and Dahlgren met him upon the
beach.

"What luck?" asked the novelist.

"First rate," replied the hunter. "Noth-
ing to mar the pleasure, except a slight dis-
agreement between the taxidermist and the
professor of natural history over the question
whether all the walrus-skins and heads were
to be turned in to the Natural History So-
ciety, or whether some might be kept for
sale to private museums. How is it with
you here?"

Dahlgren laughed.

" Van Den Zee," he explained ; " it's really
not a time for mirth, but I can't keep my
face straight. This is the situation : There
are ten men in that house, and no two are

laugbtcr of tbc Spbinx

on speaking terms. Last night Delacour and
Morrell came to blows. Delacour had been
treating Morrell brutally, but he is the
French government, and the little professor
seems to be the butt of the party. So Dr.
Schwarz must needs order Morrell to be put
in irons."

Van Den Zee's eyes twinkled.

•' Poor little professor," he said ; " did he
resist?"

" Well, the order caused a great deal of
murmuring, and no one would carry it out.
After that — well, I can't tell you about the
confusion. No one paid any attention to
Schwarz's orders, and every one was at odds.
In the midst of the wrangle Schwarz climbed
upon the table. The thing was so unlike
him that every one stopped disputing to hear
what he would say. 'Gentlemen,' he de-
clared — you know he has an accent when he
is much excited — ' Gentlemen, I haf enough
of dees disagreements. Listen ! De Segond
Bundergup Egspedition does not exist. It is
dispandit.'

"That brought a storm about his head.
Delacour said that if Schwarz was going to

acourand
had been

le is the
professor

. So Dr.
to be put

; "did he

at deal of
rry it out.
about the
tention to
IS at odds,
rz climbed
so unlike
ig to hear
n,' he de-
t when he
af enough
)e Segond
xist. It is

his head,
i going to

3arrino Sccte

abandon the enterprise, he himself would
lead it for the honor of France. Morrell
sprang at him like a little cat. The rest
choked Morrell off, but every one clamored
to be leader, except Schwarz and the doctor.
The doctor took his sleeping-bag and left the
hut. The others fought till bed-time over
ballots taken in a hat. I turned in before
the contest was finished ; I don't know who
was chosen."

" Is this the doctor?" asked Van Den Zee.
Dahlgren turned about.
" No, it's Tallant. How oddly he is run-
ning !

The ethnologist was hastening up the
beach at the top of his speed, waving his
hands and shouting, but picking up his feet
in a curious, gingerly fashion.

" He is barefooted," commented the hunter.
Not only were his feet bare, but also they
were cut and torn, and his breath came
short.

"The ship !" he gasped as he came near.
" Not gone ? Stop her ! I want to go."

" Not gone yet. You're safe," respondf 1
Van Den Zee. " Sit down here in the bc.i;

Xaufibtcr of tbc Spbini

and wash your feet in the salt water. I've
got some whiskey somewhere."

The ethnologist slumped into the stern of
the whale-boat with his legs dangling over-
board. Van Den Zee supported his should-
ers and poured out a huge cup of whiskey.
Dahlgren bathed his feet with a bunch of sea-
weed.

"Work for the doctor here," he com-
mented. " You must have been running
for miles."

" Miles !" gasped the ethnologist. " I should
think I had."

"Gentlemen," he continued, "row me to
the ship. My usefulness among this people
is ended. I am going home."

" Didn't you find the Eskimos ?" inquired
Dahlgren.

" Yes, sir, I found them, but they are en-
tirely intractable. I will tell you. When I
left you I proceeded around the point — a
day's march as you know. No person was
visible, but I found the marks of tent-poles
that had been dragged in the sand, and I knew
I was on the right track. So I ate some pro-
visions and slept. Now, gentlemen, beyond

bini

; water. I've

) the stern of
angling over-
id his should-
> of whiskey,
bunch of sea-

z," he com-
een running

St. "I should

" row me to
I this people

s?" inquired

they are en-
•u. When I
the point — a
I person was
af tent-poles
1, and I knew
te some pro-
men, beyond

3arrina Sects

that point an enormous glacier must have
descended into the sea. It must have borne
a score at least of lateral and medial mo-
raines, and it melted away and deposited all
those sharp-edged stones in lines stretching
into the water. I had to climb over I don't
know how many.

" But once beyond them, there I saw the
Eskimos, upon a mound at the other side of
a litde sandy inlet. They ran about in the
greatest confusion when they perceived me,
and two or three men advanced almost to
the water's edge.

"C/umo/ I said. They consulted for a
moment and then one called back, 'CAimo,'
and added something else, pointing to the
inlet. The tide had gone out and left the
sand almost dry. I thought I heard the
Eskimo word for ' come,' so I hastened out
upon a spur of rock and leaped to the sand.

" To my horror, I sank at once above my
knees, and the whole surface of the inlet be-
gan to quiver like a custard. The sand
closed in about my legs. I felt as if some
sea-monster was sucking me down into its
belly. It was a quicksand.

,5'

Xauabter of tbe Spbini

"Two circumstances saved me. I had
thrown myself from the rocks sidewise, and
I was wearing rubber hip-boots. If my
back had been presented to the rocks, I
never should have escaped. As it was, with
my right hand, I could reach a corner that
hung out above me. I pulled and struggled,
but the sand kept sucking me down until
suddenly I wrenched my feet out of my
boots ; fortunately they were a size too
large for me, to allow for extra stockings in
winter. Then I could use both hands, and I
hauled myself upon the rock by main strength.
My boots sank out of sight.

"As I stood watching them a pack of the
Eskimos came running toward me ; they had
circumvented the quicksand by some way of
their own. That immense fellow, Ikwah,
was in the lead, and he flourished one of
those dog-whips with a lash thirty feet long.
This peril was as bad as the quicksand. I
have no shame in confessing that I turned
and ran."

•' They wouldn't have harmed you," broke

in Van Den Zee. " Ikwah wouldn't hurt a

mosquito. They came to help you out."

;. I had

wise, and
If my
: rocks, I
was, with
rner that
itruggled,
5wn until
It of my
size too
)ckings in
ids, and I
I strength.

ick of the
they had
ne way of
V, Ikwah,
2d one of
feet long,
ksand. I
: I turned

>u," broke
n't hurt a
out."

3arrin0 Sects

" Sir," replied the eth.'.olcgist, who had re-
covered somewhat of his ordinary authorita-
tive manner, " it is my profession to compre-
hend savage races, and I assure you that the
manner of these men was distinctly menac-
ing. Pray let me finish my narrative. I am
a fast runner, and I made good my escape.
I am good in an emergency; I am aware
that trifles must not be considered. I took
no thought for my feet ; they must have
been cut in crossing the moraines. If I
had not had the presence of mind to run,
I might have been harpooned, and my fate
would have been a blot upon the fame of
the expedition. Dr. Schwarz ought to have
detailed at least one man to accompany

me."

He sank back in his seat, nodded signifi-
cantly at each of his companions in turn,
and fell to examining his torn feet.

" Dahlgren," said Van Den Zee, "will you
come to the house with me ? I have some
arrangements to make."

Dahlgren followed the hunter up the hill.
His mouth was pursed up and his forehead
was wrinkled.

Uauabtet of tbe Spbinjc

"Look here," he broke out, presently,
"are all scientific men like this?"

"No," laughed Van Den Zee, "as a class
they are the best fellows in the world. These
men are mostly heads of institutions, used to
being worshipped like little tin gods, and
they don't understand restraint. Oh ! of
course, at home they scrap politely among
themselves, but there it doesn't matter."

" Hark," interrupted the novelist.

The sound of voices raised in anger came
from the headquarters. The two explorers
hastened to fling open the door. About the
table, set with a confusion of unwashed
breakfast dishes, were grouped the members
of the party. Every man's face was red and
every man, shouting at the top of his voice,
was bending forward and brandishing his fists
toward the head of the table, where Dela-
cour, waving a felt hat, was apparently try-
ing to make a speech. Upon the edge of
his bunk, with his forehead resting in his
hands, sat Schwarz.

Van Den Zee raised significant eyebrows
at Dahlgren, shrugged his shoulders, made
his way to the leader's side, and whispered

mmUmtm

inx

, presently,

" as a class
Drld. These
ons, used to
1 gods, and
t. Oh! of
itely among
natter."
ist.

anger came
o explorers

About the
r unwashed
he members
was red and
)f his voice,
hing his fists
vhere Dela-
)arently try-
the edge of
sting in his

It eyebrows
ilders, made
d whispered

3arrina Sects

in his ear. Schwarz listened for a moment,
nodded eagerly, and seized the hunter by the
hand.

The noise of rattling crockery broke in
upon the tumult. Delacour was belaboring
the table with his fist. A plate fell to the
floor, and sudden silence followed the crash.

" Will you listen to me a moment ?" put
in Van Den Zee. At the sound of his cool
voice the wranglers turned toward him.

The hunter advanced, smiling, to Dela-
cour's side.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this discussion,"
he said, "but Dr. Schwarz, your leader, has
asked me to say that the ship will start for
home to-morrow. By his orders, all mem-
bers of the party will be ready at five o'clock
in the evening to go with her. If "

" Nonsense, sir," burst in Delacour. " Dr.
Schwarz 'as r-r-resign. Gentlemen, examine
ze ballot ; you yourselves will see."

" One moment, please," resumed Van Den
Zee, laying a hand upon the Frenchman's
shoulder. " Dr. Schwarz adds that to-mor-
row six sailors from the ship will be here to

carry on board any — ah — bundles that are in
5 6s

laugbtcr of tbe Qpbinx

the least difficult to move, and that if six are
not enough, there are ten others, powerful
and well-disciplined, besides himself, Mr
Dahlgren, myself, and I think the doctor." '
Certainly," spoke up the surgeon. "I
for one shall be delighted to go home."

I also am ready," piped up Prof. Morrell.
Van Den Zee faced the Frenchman and
spoke m his most courteous tones.

"You, too, are ready, monsieur.?" he in-
quired.

Delacour glanced about the circle of ex-
plorers. Apparently he found no encour-

t!::zz:''' '^ ^^^' ^^^ '^ ^^-^^^^

"Man Dieu, since it is ordered," he said

- . . . '

A month afterward Dahlgren and Van
Den Zee sat beside a table laid for breakfast
"^ the restaurant of the University Club

paper. The coffee was already cool
"Here it is!" he exclaimed.

im;a'^:nr""'"^''"^''\^^^"^-^-

"Certainly I'll read it. It's headed, 'Geo- '
i6t

pWni

1 that if six are
liers, powerful

himself, Mr.
the doctor."

surgeon. "I
) home."
Prof. Morrell.
enchman and
les.
iieur.?" he in-

circle of ex-
1 no encour-
he shrugged

d," he said.

:n and Van
for breakfast
ersity Club.
5 of a news-
ool.

onfess I am
ded, 'Geo-

3arrina Secta

graphical Club Dines. A brilliant gathering of
eminent minds at the monthly feast. Prof.
Schwarz's statement. The Arctic leader de-
scribes his expedition as a remarkable scien-
tific success. A new flower discovered.
Studies of the Eskimos.' It begins with a
description of the dons present. Ah, here is
Schwarz. 'The guest of the evening was
Prof. Gustav Schwarz, leader of the Second
Bundergup Expedition, just returned from
Greenland. In response to the toast, " Our
Arctic Heroes," the professor said : "Gen-
tlemen, the applause with which you have
greeted this toast is a flattering indication
that the spirit of approval for Arctic enter-
prises lives despite the attacks of the multi-
tude. I am delighted to have been the
leader of an expedition that has made some
addition to the general stock of information
about the most fascinating of all countries,
Greenland. It is not for me, however, to
claim the chief honors of research. I owe a
debt of gratitude to my brave and faithful
assistants in the cause of science. I cannot
too highly eulogize the energy and fortitude
displayed by every member of my party. But

-s

• I

ill

Uaugbter of tbe Spbini

particularly, gentlemen, my tribute is due to
Prof. Delacour, the representative of the
French government, to Prof. Morrell, who
imperilled his life to gather that crowning
glory of the expedition, the Bundergup
edelweiss, and to Dr. Tallant, the heroic
ethnologist, whose study of the fascinating
but erratic aborigines has been indefatigable.
I can only regret that the unpropitiousness
of the season, which made our return seem
imperative, deprived these gentlemen of the
opportunity of pursuing their magnificent
efforts throughout the winter." ' "

Dahlgren's words had issued more and
more slowly and emphatically as he read on,
and here he paused, lowered his paper, and
stared over it at Van Den Zee. The hunter
raised his brows.

"My dear fellow," he said, "the public
never gets the inside history of an Arctic
expedition."

btni

)ute is due to

ative of the

Morrell, who

bat crowning

Bundergup

t, the heroic

e fascinating

indefatigable.

ropitiousness

return seem

lemen of the

magnificent

2d more and

s he read on,

is paper, and

The hunter

"the public
of an Arctic

THE EDUCATION OF PRAED

Daniel Webster cut from the seal a
morsel of meat eight inches long by two
inches square. He crowded out of sight as
much of the delicacy as his mouth and part
of his oesophagus would hold — about six
inches— and sliced ofif the visible two inches
with a blow of his knife.

" I never knew before," commented Praed,
"why the Eskimo nose was so snubby. I
now see it all. It is a beautiful example of
the law of survival. If you touch an Eskimo
anywhere, you draw blood. The long-nosed
men of the stone age slashed their skins at
meal-times and died of hemorrhage. Only
the short-nosed men could live. Even Daniel
carves perilously close to his lovely snub, —
and if Daniel's nose were a little shorter it
would be a cavity."

" Just so," I replied, indifferently. Praed's

-1

'r!

Xauobtcr of tbc Sphinx

jaunty talk jarred upon me, and his superior
tone toward the Eskimos displeased mc.
He was attached to the Relief Party as
botanist. I believe he was a professor of
natural history in some Western college.
He had climbed a mountain in the Canadian
Rockies, a minor peak, no difficult ascent.
But the mountain was a virgin peak and bore
a living glacier, and Praed wrote for the
papers about it and made a great achieve-
ment of his exploit. Upon the strength of
his reputation he assumed to direct the
policy of the Relief Expedition, and when
the leader refused to fall in with his views,
Praed grumbled and once or twice approached
open insubordination. The leader, a quiet,
modest fellow, took his unruly botanist
calmly, but several members of the party
told me the man worried him.

However, when it suited his purpose, Praed
could be humble enough. He discovered my
irritation at once and took his own method
of soothing it.

"Oh, come now, old fellow," he said,
"don't take your Eskimos too seriously. I
admire them as much as you do. Here,

IL.

linx

his superior
•leased me.
:f Party as
professor of
;rn college,
le Canadian
cult ascent,
ak and bore
ote for the
2at achieve-
strength of
direct the
and when
1 his views,
approached
ler, a quiet,
y botanist
the party

pose, Praed
covered my
•wn method

he said,
2riously. I
io. Here,

Z\)c fi^ucation of prae^

Daniel,— Dahlgren, how do you say ' I like
you,' in Husky-tongue?"

"3/ce peeyook amishwa',' answered I, in
the pidjin-Eskimo we had learned to use
during our year in the far north.

'' Iblce kumook amishva^' repeated Praed.
Daniel received the communication with that
heavy gravity which had won him his nick-
name ; his birth-name was Meeoo. Praed
shrugged his shoulders.

"I never shall learn the lingo," he sighed.
«Tell him I am going to give him this

knife."

'' Praed pilletay iblce savik" I translated.

Daniel received the knife without com-
ment. I caught a flash of pleasure in his
eye, but it escaped Praed.

" He doesn't seem very grateful," he said.
"I despair of the aborigine. He has no
sense of humor, no gratitude, apparently no
more affection than his dogs. He is pure
selfishness. He is homely, he is fearfully

unclean "

"Professor Praed," I interrupted, "you
arrived in Greenland three days ago. After
you have knocked about with these fellows

1 1

lauobtcr of tbc S^pbinjc

for a month you will change your opinion.
As for dirt, eight or nine months in every
year that bay is skimmed over with a little
matter of five or six feet of ice. Until your
party came, there was not a hatchet in the
tribe to cut baths. In winter all these small
streams that you see disappear. The Husky
has to melt ice for drinking water, and that
is no light affair for him. In summer, it's
true, he might bathe ; perhaps you would
like to try it."

" Those are all very well as excuses," re-
sponded Praed, " but they don't remove facts.
Your dear friends are disgustingly soiled.
And I am going to accept your invitation to
take a bath."

He did accept it. He said he was accus-
tomed to cold water every morning (imply-
ing in his tone that he feared I wasn't), that he
had been baptized in the Susquehanna River
through a hole in the ice, and that he guessed
he could stand a summer sea in Greenland.
He took off his clothes, swam out to a berg
grounded some forty feet off" the beach,
climbed hurriedly upon the ice, danced up
and down and shouted until we put off" in a

wmmmmm^ mi wiin

our opinion.
;hs in every
with a little

Until your
tchet in the
I these small
The Husky
tor, and that
iummer, it's

you would

xcuses," re-
emove facts,
ingly soiled,
invitation to

e was accus-

ning (imply-

sn't), that he

hanna River

t he guessed

Greenland.

Jt to a berg

the beach,

danced up

put off in a

TCbe B^ucation of prac^

boat and rescued him. For three days after-
ward he shivered under blankets and drank
up the little store of whiskey that remained
in our supplies.

1 was not sorry that this object lesson had
occurred. Our expedition had lived for nine-
teen months among the Eskimos. Two or
three of us, whose chief duty was hunting,
had learned to know the Innuit as one knows
brothers. In a savage land, you choose your
friends not because they can judge a picture
or say witty things about their neighbors,
but because they will go through any emer-
gency by your side. More than once Daniel
or one or another of our Eskimo comrades
had saved us from death; more than once
we had interposed between a Husky and the
Kokoia. It was not pleasant to hear the
cock-a-whoop members of the Relief Party,
with their amateur knowledge of Arctic con-
ditions, classifying our comrades among the
Greenland fauna.

But the Relief Party got on well with the
Eskimos. They had a cargo of knives,
hatchets, saws, needles, scissors, wooden
staves, and all things that represent wealth

Xaufibtcr of tbe Spbtnr

to the Innuit. These things they distributed
freely among the settlements; it was but
natural that they should win the hearts of
the Husky-folk, Praed reappeared after his
chill with a triumphant air, bearing bead
necklaces and mirrors — for trading, he said.
The Eskimos, however, shook their heads at
these gewgaws, and Praed had to fall back
upon useful articles. He obtained for him-
self the office of chief distributer, and waxed
popular in the tribe.

One day, a fortnight or so after the episode
of the bath, Daniel's wife, Megipsu, came
running up the beah.

"The man with gifts is at my tupik. He
desires something. I do not understand hi:...
Will you come ?"

I found Prand holding out the skirt of his
coat toward Megipsu's little daughter.

"Like this," he was repeating. "Make
me a coat. Scion of a savage race, if I had
you at home, I should chastise you. You are
stupid."

The child stared blankly at him.

" What is it, Professor Praed ?" I asked.

He blushed and hesitated.

linx

^ distributed
it was but
he hearts of
red after his
earing bead
ing, he said,
leir heads at
to fall back
ed for him-
, and waxed

■ the episode
gipsu, came

' tupik. He
erstand hiwi.

skirt of his
j^hter.

g. " Make
ice, if I had
lu. You are

I asked.

TTbe Bl>ucation of lPrllc^

"Well, you see," he said, "Your Green-
land climate is not what I expected. When
the wind is quiet, everything is warm. When
the gale comes up in the afternoon, it is cold.
Now the— the fur clothes ; their odor is as
the odor of abattoirs. At first I didn't compre-
hend the evident joy you have in them. But
on the whole you seem so comfortable in all
weathers that I thought I would try a suit
myself. You see, I don't like to be lumbered
with a leather jacket all the time."

" Hm !" reflected I. " Praed is learning his
Greenland." All I suggested, however, was
that if he minded the smell he might carry
his leather coat out with him and leave it
upon a rock until he should need it.

"And have it stolen," he said, with a

glance of pity.

I perceived that he had a great deal of
Greenland yet to learn. Eskimos do not
steal. I arranged with Megipsu for a seal-
skin suit, however, to cost two pairs of scis-
sors, a packet of sail-needles, a hunting-knife,
a cracker-box and Praed's wooden b':jnal-
whistle, which Megipsu fancied. In a week
the professor appeared in the silvery clothes.

Xaudbtcr of tbe Spbinx

He was highly enthusiastic. I listened pa-
tiently while he explained the garments.

"You see, when it is warm," he said, "I
can loosen the draw-string and throw back
the hood, and a draught comes in from
the bottom and goes out at the neck and
carries off the perspiration. When the wind
rises, snap ! I haul in the draw-string, cover
my head, and I am hermetically sealed. Not
an air can touch me."

" Precisely," I agreed. I had been wear-
ing Eskimo clothes for about a year and
two months. "I understand," I added,
" that you are going oogsook hunting with
Meeoo."

" Yes," he laughed, " I'm going to show
the untutored savage the superiority of the
rifle over the harpoon."

He learned more about Greenland on that
expedition. There was a floe, perhaps a mile
wide, anchored near the mouth of the bay
by half a dozen grounded bergs. To this floe
the Eskimo and the white man set forth in
kayaks. It was midnight when they left and
we were asleep, but the Huskies at the vil-
lage told us that the professor couldn't

:ened pa-
ents.

i said, "I
irow back

in from
neck and

the wind
ng, cover
lied. Not

een wear-
year and
I added,
ting with

r to show

ity of the

id on that
ips a mile
f the bay
o this floe
t forth in
y left and
at the vil-
couldn't

TTbe fi^ucation of f>rac&

manage his canoe and finally had to permit
Daniel to tow him.

Next night they returned with a seal. The
professor had many words of praise for a
country where the sun never sets and there
is no loss of working-time, but nothing to
say about the hunting. At last he confessed
that Daniel had killed the seal.

"ThQpkoca barbata is a wary animal," he
protested. " He v»rill not permit a white face
to approach. Two or three of the creatures
were taking sun baths upon the floe, but
before I could creep within shooting distance
they flopped into the water— a most ungrace-
ful gait. All Arctic animals seem to be
clumsy. I fired at one seal and I think I hit
him, but he too dived.

"At last I resigned the rifle to Daniel.
The savage squirmed over the ice like a
worm. When the seals lifted their heads,
Daniel lifted his. It is not surprising that
he deceived them. His black muzzle looks
precisely like that of a seal, and he wears a
seal's fur. But his methods would never do
in civilization. It took him half a day to
crawl across that ice-floe."

I,,

Xauobter of tbc Spbini

" But he shot the seal," someone put in.

"No," replied the professor. "That's
just the point. He wormed himself along
until he could almost reach the creature, and
then sprang upon it and clubbed it to death
with the butt."

I do not think Praed fully appreciated the
marvellous adroitness of the hunter, nor the
thoughtfulness of the man in saving a car-
tridge. He never seemed to comprehend
that a charge of powder and bullet is worth
more to an Eskimo than a diamond is worth
to a bride at home. However, after that he
began to treat the Huskies somewhat as if
they were human beings.

His complete enlightenment as to the
Eskimo character came all in a blaze at the
end of our stay in Greenland. Our work
there was done. Our explorations had been
successful, our scientific collections were al-
most completed. There were only a few
loose ends to be gathered up. The professor
had seen some desirable flowers in a valley
across the glacier. Near that same glacier,
in the preceding summer, I, who was acting
as mineralogist of the main party, had piled

put in.
"That's
lelf along
Lture, and

to death

;iated the
r, nor the
ig a car-
nprehend
is worth
I is worth
r that he
irhat as if

5 to the
ze at the
)ur work
had been

were al-
ly a few
professor

a valley
t glacier,
as acting
lad piled

Z\)c lEMication of lI^rac^

a few specimens in a cranny to be carried to
camp later, and I thought I might as well
have them. We started forth together.
Daniel and one or two other Huskies went
with us for comradeship.

At the edge of the glacier we halted. It
was a stupendous thing, crawling through a
gap in the hills down into the sea like a sec-
tion of the Midgard serpent. Half way up
the flank, I remember, there was a round
hole, and out of it spouted a waterfall, red
with basaltic mud. One of the Msir might
have made such a wound with his spear.
The back of the monster was rugged with
crevasses.

"You can't cross here," I counselled.
"You'd better try further up, where it's
smoother. I'll climb the cliff and take an
observation, while you wait hen; and eat
your luncheon. It doesn't do to hurry too
much in Greenland."

I was almost an hour making my way up
the crags to a point where I could take a
bird's-eye -view of the mass of ice. It was
not a wide glacier,— the cliffs opposite were
not more t'aan four miles away; but the

Xauobtcr of tbe Spbtni

great number of icebergs it threw off bore
witness to the rapidity of its motion.

Suddenly, almost below me, upon the blue-
white ice, appeared four or five black figures.
They en'crged out of a cleft near the edge
and marched steadily toward the centre of
glacier. The surface beyond them and upon
either hand was criss-crossed with bright
blue crevasses. Glints from the shining
icicles, hanging down their sides, darted up
to me as I stood a mile away. It was very
picturesque, but I had no heart for enjoy-
ment.

" The man is crazy !" I burst out and
scrambled down the rough stones to over-
take him.

In a quarter of an hour I had reached the
bottom of the gorge between the glacier and
the mountain, had crossed on a few pinnacles
of rock the furious torrent which roared
along the side of the ice, and had entered a
huge blue cleft, with a gradually rising floor,
which furnished easy ascent to the surface.

As soon as my head was clear of tht cleft

I sav/ one of the Eskimos running toward

me. I hastened to meet him.

T off bore
1.

the blue-
;k figures,
the edge
centre of
and upon
th bright
I shining
iarted up
was very
for enjoy-
out and
i to over-

iched ihe
lacier and
pinnacles
h roared
2ntered a
ing floor,
surface.
r tht cleft
g toward

TTbe Ctucation of |^rae^

" Pra' has fallen," cried the man. " The ice
has eaten him. He has gone to sleep forever."

"Damnation!" I shouted. "Run to the
ship. Tell all the white men to come and
bring a rope !"

He sped into the cleft and I moved on.
Surmounting a mound in the ice, I could scan
the whole surface. A quarter of a mile be-
yond me the dark figures of the party
crouched beside a long, narrow crevasse. As
I drew near, the tall figure of the professor
rose and faced me. He made no move to
meet me, and when I had approached within
a few feet of him I saw that his hands hung
limp at his sides and that he was sobbing.
He could not speak, but he pointed to the
crevasse. I threw myself upon my face and
peered over the brink,

A hundred feet below me, on the edge of
a block of ice that hung unsteadily upon a
mass of debris, lay Daniel. His head was
doubled unnaturally forward upon his chest.
The ice above him was stained with red. He
must have died in an instant.

I sprang to my feet and faced the pro-
fessor.

Xaugbter of tbc Spbini

•'How did that happen?" I exclaimed.
" Good God, man, speak ! Don't act like a
baby !"

Praed burst out sobbing afresh. It was a

moment before he could control his tongue.

When he spoke he clinched his hands and

gazed blankly up the glacier toward the sun.

"It was I," he said. "He saved me. I
fell "

"Well?" I demanded.

" Do you see that shoulder of ice on this
side of the crevasse, and the shelf jutting
out opposite ?"

I peered over the edge once more. The
ice hung slightly out at the top, and I had a
good view of everything beneath. The cleft
was not more than five feet wide, but, except
for the debris lodged below me, it sank away
into darkness. It may have been a thousand
feet deep.

Some twenty feet down the side a ledge,
perhaps twelve inches wide, started from the
wall. Upon the opposite wall, about six feet
higher, as far as 1 could estimate, allowing for
the foreshortening, there was another shelf
considerably broader. Upon it sprang up the

jxclaimed.
act like a

It was a
lis tongue,
lands and
d the sun.
ed me. I

ce on this
elf jutting

Dre. The
d I had a
The cleft
)ut, except
sank away
I thousand

e a ledge,
d from the
)ut six feet
llowing for
jther shelf
ang up the

ZTbe C^ucation of |^rae^

stumps of two or three heavy icicles that
had grown down from an ice bridge. Doubt-
less the debris caught below had been part
of this bridge, which in its fall had carried the
upper ends of the icicles with it. One end
of the shelf slanted up almost to the surface
of the glacier.

I took this in at a glance.

"Yes," I said, "go on."

"I must confess from the beginning," he
proceeded, in a curious monotone, as if his
body, not his mind, were talking, " I doubted
your judgment of the glacier. The access
to the summit was evidently so easy that I
thought some route across would surely open
out before us. I desired to surprise you ; I
knew you could easily overtake us. There-
fore I set forth. The Eskimos hung back,
but I promised them wood to follow.

" It was easy enough until we came to this
crevasse. I attempted to leap across, but I
slipped and fell. I do not know how it hap-
pened, but I struck several times and whirled
over and over, and felt a blow upon the back
of my head. It dazed me. When I came to
myself I was seated upon that shelf, with my

I:!

you

Xauobter of tbc Spbinr

back against the wall. It slants in a
see, and the outer edge of the shelf is raised,
so I was secure.

" But I had only half recovered my senses
and I began to cry out for help. I was so
much disturbed that I didn't know what was
going on until I saw someone opposite. Then
I think I shouted louder. Suddenly there
came another shock, and I should have fallen,
but someone held me up. It was Daniel.
He must have leaped across."

He paused and I looked down again. The
ledge, at its broadest barely a foot and a half
wide, fell away into the wall, not two feet
from the spot where Praed must have brought
up. It was a brave leap.

"Go on," I commanded.

" Daniel laughed at me," resumed the pro-
fesso *, in the manner of a child reading from a
book, " and waited till I got back some of my
self-possession. Then he made signs to me
to spring icro'-.s and catch the icicles with my
arms. I wa^ afraid. He laughed again and
made another sign that he would lift me
across. I let him take me by the knees and

lift me until my head and waist rose above

in as you
f is raised,

my senses
I was so
r what was
site. Then
enly there
lave fallen,
as Daniel.

gain. The
and a half
t two feet
vt brought

;d the pro-
ling from a
ome of my
igns to me
es with my
again and
lid lift me
knees and
-ose above

JLbc E^ucat(on of prac&

the shelf, and then I leaned forward and we
both toppled over. I caught the icicles, and
he hc:ld me firm, and perhaps, — I don't know,
if 1 had kept still "

I did not like the look of his eyes, and I
hastened to steady him.

"What did you do?" I asked. "Keep
cool."

"I struggled. I squirmed with my (<
in getting up and kicked him free. When t
was safe I tried to help him ; I meant to help
him. But the ledge was empty and he lay
there."

" Good God !" was all I could say.

We passed the succeeding three hours in
dead silence. Praed never moved, I think,
and never took his eyes from the sky above
the neve basin. The Eskimos sat quietly be-
side the grave of their friend. I sprang
across the crevasse where it narrowed, de-
scended the shelf to the icicles, and mused
upon the courage that had dared a leap to
the narrow footing below me.

At last the party from the ship arrived
with ropes. The leader of the Relief Party
hastened in advance. His pale face turned

1 i

Uauobtcr of tbc Spbini

red as he saw Pracd, and he sprang forward
with hand outstretched.

" Praed, old fellow !" he exclaimed. " By
by the Lord, I'm glad to see you alive. How
did you get out?"

Praed turned toward him. I couldn't see
his face, but the leader fell back.

"What's the matter?" he said. " What is
it?"

" It's an accident," I put in. " Daniel has
fallen and i: dead."

Then Praed showed the first sign of man-
liness that I had ever seen in him.

"It is my f/iult," he proclaimed. "I am
to blame for his death. I demand the right
to fetch up his bod","

In pity k r his c\ ident wretchedness, the
leader cons. . ; . ,ed. We lowered the professor
by a ropi; : the heap of blocks below. But
as his weight bore upon the block where the
bociy lay, the ice tilted and fell. Daniel fell
with it. The ringing of icicles on either wall
of the glacier lessened to a tinkling; the
tinkling merged into a sustained harmonic
like the final note of some violin sonata.
The tone died away. No final crash fol-

ig forward

led. " Ry
live. How

ouldn't see

" What is

Daniel has

jn of man-

d. "I am
1 the right

adness, the
e professor
ilow. But

where the
Daniel fell
either wall
ikling ; the
1 harmonic
lin sonata.

crash fol-

\ (

"WSmP^^M

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)

1.0

I.I

■ 50 '"""^

Hi
Wui.

2.5

122

1.8

L25 1111114 IIIIII.6

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Corpomtion

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%UkM^f '^^9si^mmmi?^sm^mmm^^sm^-

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.i^-£3v»nt!%.-!*

Zbe £^ucation of ii^rae^

lowed. The utmost depths were beyond
our hearing.

During most of the voyage home, Praed
behaved like a man in a dream. He rarely
spoke, and when we addressed him he
started before he replied. Only once did
he show any trace of his ancient aggressive
manner, and that was when someone said a
slighting word of an Eskimo.

"The Eskimos," retorted Praed, "are
heroes."

That was absurd. Perhaps there are
three or four left in the tribe who would
have done what Daniel did. The professor
was pitiful in his broken condition. We
deemed him a chastened man.

The other day, however, a member of our
old party came to see me. There is only
one topic of conversation among men who
have journeyed to the far North. In the
course of our Arctic gossip, I asked for news
of Praed.

" Haven't you heard ?" asked my friend.
" He is lecturing through the West. He has
won a great reputation for his courage in
descending into the crevasse."

lauobter of tbe Sphinx

" Hm !" I said, and both of us were silent.
We were thinking of a strain of ice-music
as unearthly as the Theme of the Grail, and
of a vast white tomb, now doubtless afloat
upon some Arctic sea. It bears what is left
of a better man than Praed.

,^Msi^li6at^

ttl

vere silent,
f ice-music
Grail, and
tless afloat
irhat is left

PSALM VII: 15

" WuNGA angekoky explained Kioapodu.

" Angekoky are you?" returned Latta.
" Well, so am I — a big one. If you don't
fetch me back that knife I shall say a charm,
and a devil will come, and you will be turned
into a brown-stone statue. Tell him that,
will you, Dahlgren ?"

Latta, who was a new-comer to Green-
land, knew just enough pidjin-Eskimo (which
is the diplomatic language north of Cape
York) lO be irritated because he didn't know
more of it. During my year of life in the
Smith Sound region I had picked up a good
many words — indeed, I was semi-official in-
terpreter to the expedition.

"Latta ookalukto savik ooma. Ooma
opdow angekoky I translated. I meant this
to mean, " Latta say knife his. He also medi-

Xauabtcr of tbc Spblnjt

cine.man ;" and Kio understood, for he
turned toward Latta and drew up to their
highest his sixty-five inches. The movement
flung his black mane away from his shoulders
and forehead. There was a fire in his eyes
like the glow of a star in a pool of black
water. '

" I, too, am angekoK he declaimed. " How
am I to know that he sees the spirits ?"

"Stunning-looking fellow, isn't he?" re-
marked Latta. " What does he say ?"

"He wants a test of your powers," I
laughed.

Latta shook his vigorous shoulders — a
habit I admired in him.

" Wants a test ?" he repeated. " Well, he
shall have it. Tell him that to-morrow I will
come to his hut, and bring a rifle. I will let
him shoot at me before all his people, and he
will not kill me. Tell him I will catch the
bullet in my hand."

For a moment I hesitated. The thought
of playing a trick upon the simple Huskies
jarred my nerves. But Kioapodu only of
the tribe had held himself hostile. We had
detected his influence against us in certain

li^

inx

•od, for he
up to their
e movement
lis shoulders
; in his eyes
ool of black

med. "How
)irits ?"
I't he?" re-
say?"
powers," I

shoulders — a

. "Well, he
norrow I will
le. I will let
eople, and he
i^ill catch the

The thought
iple Huskies
podu only of
;ile. We had
us in certain

pdalm IDII: 15

tradings for dogs. The idea of mystifying
him into submission was alluring.

Besides, at that time I was a little in awe
of Latta. He had joined the relay expedi-
tion with a great reputation as an African ex-
plorer, based particularly upon his success in
swaying unruly tribes without killing a man.

I translated his offer to Kio.

"Let it be so," replied the Eskimo. "If
he is an angekok I will restore the knife,
though I found it and it is mine."

He stalked majestically out of our Arctic
house and down the beach toward his tupik.
Latta drew from his pocket a pencil, slit away
one-half of the wood, and began to scrape the
lead into powder upon a sheet of paper.

" I shouldn't care so much for the knife,"
he said, "if it hadn't been— a gift."

I nodded, without making comment. Latta's
betrothal had been announced in newspapers
brought us by the relay party.

" How are you going to beguile the * gen-
tle salvage ?'" I asked.

"Easiest thing in the world. Draw the
bullet from a cartridge and make a mock
bullet out of the doctor's absorbent cotton,

9«

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spbini

darkened with this graphite. You load the
rifle in plain view of the Huskies. You'll
help, won't you ?"

" Ye-es," I faltered. I was flattered to be
chosen as confederate by so distinguished an
explorer. In those days I was a bit of a
hero-worshipper. j

Nevertheless, it was not without compunc-
tions that I followed Latta along the beach
the next morning to the green hill where the
iupiks stood. The Eskimos were astir. A
little group of men was collected near Kioa-
podu's tent. From inside came the tap, tap,
tapping of tambourine-music and the howls
of the angekok.

Latta looked a question at me.
" He's getting ready for you," I answered.
"He's communing with the spirits. Most
likely he's been at it all night."
Latta laughed.

"We must do this thing in proper form,"
he said. " Do you mind bearing a message
that the great white angekok awaits the test ?
Hello, who's that ?"

An Eskimo girl parted the flap of Kioa-
podu's tent, and paused before the opening.

5pbinx

You load the
uskies. You'll

s flattered to be

iistinguished an

was a bit of a

:; i:'

thout compunc-

ilong the beach

1 hill where the

were astir. A

:ted near Kioa-

le the tap, tap,

and the howls

ne.

1," I answered,
spirits. Most

proper form,"
ng a message
waits the test ?

■ flap of Kioa-
2 the opening.

s
I.

psalm D11: t5

Her dark hair, loosed from the ordinary
woman's knot, fell over each shoulder almost
to her boot-tops. She had forgotten or neg-
lected to put on her ndcha, and her round
figure with its budding breasts shone in the
morning sunlight.

" What a Htde beauty," murmured Latta.
" Bronze Psyche in boots and trousers. Who
is she?"

" Kio's daughter," I answered.

"What is her name ?" asked Latta.

" Ah-we-ung-(inah."

" Ah-we-ung-dnah, Ah-we-ung-6nah," re-
peated Latta.

She stood for a moment, erect, with the
tent-flap lifted in her hand. I suppose it is
because of what followed that I see so
clearly, even now, the scene of her first
meeting with Latta — the pale sunlight aslant
across the flat black ocean, casting long
shadows behind the white bergs, brightening
the green hill, softening the majestic gray
cliffs behind it, and, I remember, glowing
bright upon an old bit of red flannel that had
blown from headquarters to Kioapodu's tent ;
the group of Eskimos beside the tupik, with

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spbini

their white bearskin breeches and wild, dark
heads, and at the door the half-naked girl,
straight and slender, gazing down upon Latta
with haughty eyes.

Presently she turned abruptly and stooped
into the tupik. I heard Latta blow out his
breath, as if he had been holding it too long.

"Thick air this morning," he commented,
In his abrupt way. " Let's beat up the wiz-
ard's quarters. By the way, here's the car-
tridge."

He handed to me several paper shells
made to fit the old-fashioned carbines used
by the Federal cavalry in the Civil War. I
carried one of these awkward weapons by the
strap. We had brought along a stock of them
to make trade with the natives. Latta had
prepared his sham skilfully. Ten feet away
I could not have distinguished the cotton
from the leaden bullets that lay beside it in
my palm.

" Now we are ready, even as Moses for the
sorcerers of Egypt," said Latta. " And be-
hold, here comes our magician."

Kioapodu, in full cry, danced out of the
tent-door. He grasped the tambourine in

1 wild, dark
naked girl,
upon l.atta

.nd stooped
low out his
it too long.
:ommented,
up the wiz-
e's the car-

aper shells
rbines used
vilWar. I
.pons by the
ock of them

Latta had
n feet away

the cotton
beside it in

[oses for the
" And be-
out of the
nbourine in

pealm mti 15

his left hand ; with his right hand spasmodic-
ally jerking, he tapped it rhythmically. Upon
the crest of the hill he paused, flinging his
head from side to side, and casting his eyes
to the spirits above. The Eskimo men col-
lected in a half-circle about him. From
several of the tents ran women to join a
little group at a distance.

" Enter chorus," commented Latta, grimly.
" There seems to be a certain tenseness in
the atmosphere of this light opera. What's
he singing about ?"

"I can't understand the words," I replied.
" It has something to do with us, though ; for
see, the Eskimos are looking at us."

"Guess my cue has come," said Latta.
" Are you ready ?"

He strode forward, and I followed. I was
a little nervous, for I didn't know what Kioa-
podu might excite the tribe to do. As we
drew near to the medicine-man, his gestures
grew wilder and his howling rose louder.

" Dahlgren," murmured Latta, " the Husky
for 'look' is ' takoo,' isn't it?"

"Yes," I replied; "shall I interpret for
you ?"

95 ■ :■_ .-.'- ..-y- ■'

•m

! t

Xauobter of the Spbini

Latta made no answer, but marched on up
the hill. Within ten feet of the Eskimo he
halted. His left arm shot straight above his
head. The hand was half-closed, as if it
held a small object.

" TakooT he commanded.
Kioapodu's voice ceased. Across his eyes,
which were fixed upon the upraised palm,
fell a beam of sunlight, reflected from some
bright disc. His right hand hung, arrested,
above the tambourine. A litde murmur arose
from the crowd.

" Hypnotized himself," said Latta, coolly,
but without turning. " Come and stand here."
I stumbled hastily to his side.
" Move calmly," said Latta. " He's only
in the first stage— catalepsy. He was half-
hypnotized before— I knew the symptoms.
I've controlled African chiefs in a war-dance
with this little mirror. Now, listen," he con-
tinued, " I want you to tell me how to say
this : ' I am a great angekok. So are you.
We will do wonderful things. You will shoot
' me with a rifle, and I will catch your bullet
in my hand. Afterward, I will shoot at you.
We will see which is stronger.' Now, Dahl-

"--'■•■'*'-^1- ■. •

narched on up
lie Eskimo he
light above his
losed, as if it

icross his eyes,
upraised palm,
;ed from some
hung, arrested,
; murmur arose

I Latta, coolly,
,nd stand here."
ie.

L. "He's only

He was half-

the symptoms.

in a war-dance

listen," he con-

me how to say

k. So are you.

You will shoot

Ltch your bullet

ill shoot at you.

:r.' Now, Dahl-

pealm ;Df l : 15

gren, think of the words and say them over
slowly and distinctly so that I may repeat
them. Be sure and make no mistakes."

I turned the sentences over in my head.
Kioapodu began to breathe audibly.

" Make haste," said Latta. " He's coming
out of it."

I framed the order as well as I could, and
Latta repeated the words after me, two or
three at a time, in a curious, intense voice.
As he uttered the concluding sounds, Kio's
eyes began to blink and to wander from the
mirror.

"Now, we'll wake him up," said Latta.
' He'll remember what he is to do."

He lowered his arm, clapped his hands
sharply, and finally strode close to the Es-
kimo and made upward passes in the air, at
either side of the dusky face.

"Wake up! wake up!" he repeated in
English.

Kio's eyes blinked strangely; his body
straightened, he heaved one or two deep
sighs, a sort of half-intelligence came into
his eyes, and he turned his head and stared
sleepily around him.

!K®sa«SSIwSSa^SWBSiSSB..,i;

-.it ' >rDiiSltU£i»k,.i»\..;.V f

Xaudbter of tbe Spbini

" Good !" said Latta. " Now load the gun
as ostentatiously as you can with my cotton
bullet, give it to him and tell him to shoot
the great white angekoky

While I was biting off the end of the mock
cartridge, ramming it home with my finger
and closing the clumsy, old-fashioned breech,
Latta took his stand about ten yards away,
upon a rock that lifted its head three or four
feet from the sod. He faced us, and folded
his arms. The half-circle of Eskimos, whom
I had forgotten in the excitement, closed
around me, as I cocked the gun and placed
it in Kioapodu's hand.

" Ready, fire !" shouted Latta. As if he
understood the words, the Eskimo levelled
the gun, took slow aim and pulled the trig-
ger. The smoke flew in my eyes, and for a
second I lost thought of Latta. A murmur
from the Eskimos aroused me.

"iV«, na, na,na-ay r they whispered. The
explorer stood erect, with the bullet between
his fingers. For a moment he smiled, then
sprang from the rock and swung toward us.

" Now it's my turn," he exclaimed, gayly.
The Eskimos drew away from him, but Kio

■■■•MM

^''*~*™"'*-lnf iRi -OTri IT •

;^i^.a>-..v^^.-...-^» ., . , „ , ^ ^^^ ^ ^ ^

bad the gun
1 my cotton
lim to shoot

of the mock
h my finger
Dned breech,
yards away,
three or four
;, and folded
cimos, whom
ment, closed
n and placed

a. As if he
imo levelled
lied the trig-
;s, and for a
A murmur

ispered. The
illet between
smiled, then
r toward us.
aimed, gayly.
him, but Kio

pealm mi: 15

remained stupidly by my side. Latta seized
the gun from his hand, and pointed toward
the rock. Thither Kio staggered, as obedi-
ent as a child. He mounted to the summit,
turned with folded arms, and stood in pre-
cisely the posture that Latta had taken.

" What are you going to do, Mr. Latta .?"
I asked.

I thought the affair had better terminate.
The Eskimos behind me were shrinking
away even from me, whom they knew as
their friend, and I feared lest they might take
fright and decamp altogether. We could not
afford to lose their aid to the expedition.

" Don't look as if you saw his corpse," re-
turned Latta. " I'm going to cut off a lock
of his hair. Will you load the gun ?"

The man's personality was stronger than
mine. Somewhat awkwardly, I made shift to
prepare the cartridge, fouling my mouth with
powder, I remember, as I bit off the end.
The discomfort of this held my thoughts for
a moment. A shrill scream starried me into
looking about. Latta was standing with the
rifle at his shoulder and his finger upon the
trigger, but his head was turned toward the

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

group of women. A girl was speeding
toward the rock where Kioapodu stood mo-
tionless. She reached him with a bound,
pushed him to the grass beneath, confronted
us, and flung out her hand toward Latta.
The missing knife, with its belt trailing be-
hind, fell near his feet.

Latta lowered his rifle. For a moment
the little half-clad Eskimo girl and the tall
exploier gazed, as still as the rocks about
them. Then she leapt lightly to the ground
beside her father, seized his limp arm and
tried to raise him.

I glanced at Latta. His body was erect,
but his head hung oddly forward, as if drawn
by some magnetic force, and he glared upon
Ah-we-ung-dnah somewhat as I had seen him
glare upon a seal that he had marked for his
rifle. He was not a pleasant sight, but I
could not draw my eyes from his face. I sup-
pose the intensity of my look attracted his,
for in a moment his head suddenly turned
toward me and he shook his shoulders.

"The man is not dead," he said, hastily ;
"he's only asleep. Help me carry him to
his tent." - ,

lOO

•MMaMl^iiiwaai

linx

s speeding
u stood mo-
:h a bound,
I, confronted
>ward Latta.
trailing be-

r a moment
and the tall
rocks about
D the ground
up arm and

y was erect,
i, as if drawn

glared upon
had seen him
arked for his

sight, but I
i face. I sup-
attracted his,
idenly turned
oulders.
said, hastily ;
carry him to

pealm IDII : 15

With that he made forward toward the
rock. He passed the knife, and I picked it
up. As we approached her. the girl shrank
away. I do not think Latta glanced at her.
As he lifted Kioapodu by the shoulders and
turned to make a sign that I should raise the
Eskimo's feet. I noticed that his teeth were
firmly set. In silence we carried the medi-
cme-man to his tent and laid him upon the
sleeping-slab. Ah-we-ung-dnah followed and
stood in the door.

"Tell her he'll sleep until to-morrow, and
awake all right," commanded Latta. He
pushed the girl roughly aside and made off
toward the headquarters.

As best I could I translated his words, but
I doubt whether Ah-we-ung-dnah compre-
hended. She answered, '* Ee, ee,'' but her
gaze followed the figure of Latta, lessening
away down the beach. When it disappeared
she dived under the tent-flap and left me
alone.

I was glad to find at the headquarters our
leader. Van Den Zee, returned from his ten
days' hunting trip. His sane presence cleared
away the uncanny impression of the mom-

toi

Xaufibtcr of tbc Spbinx

ing's adventure. Although I felt, somehow,
as if I were betraying Latta's confidence,
still, I held it to be my duty to include in
my report, as chief of headquarters in the
le?der's absence, a detailed account of the

matter.

Van Den Zee listened with his usual calm-
ness.

"Thank you, Dahlgren," was the only
comment he made. That afternoon, how-
ever, he detailed me to establish a depot of
provisions thirty miles to the northward, and
put Latta under my charge.

It was a three days' excursion, and during
the whole time Latta never spoke except in
reply to my questions. He seemed indiffer-
ent to the beauty of the cliffs that lifted their
snow-crowned crests four thousand feet sheer
out of the sea. He barely glanced at the
magnificent bergs among which our whale-
boats sailed. But the loads that he carried
from the shore to the ice-cap would have
broken any other man in our party. He in-
sisted upon keeping his oar throughout the
twenty-mile row back to camp, and he pulled
like a sailor. The thought occurred to me

102

"'"^r MUTIIMW III. I

)inx

It, somehow,
; confidence,
;o include in
irters in the
count of the

3 usual calm-
as the only
;rnoon, how-
1 a depot of
rthward, and

1, and during
ke except in
jmed indiffer-
lat lifted their
ind feet sheer
lanced at the
h our whale-
lat he carried
> would have
»arty. He in-
iroughout the
and he pulled
curred to me

p0alm IDII : \5

that he was eager to arrive at headquarters.
With the others I took my turn at rowing,
and by the time we had hauled the boat high
upon the beach I was tired, and I made
straight for my bunk. It was midnight and
everyone was asleep. My party was soon as
deep as the rest, but I noticed vaguely, as I
crawled between my blankets, that Latta's
bunk was empty.

A violent shaking woke me up from the
soundest of slumbers. Latta stood before
me. He was laughing.

" No cause for such a kinky face," he said.
" Did you keep the rifle we used — the — ah
— the other morning ?"

"Yes," I blundered out. " Don't do that
again, though, 'thout Van Den Zee's knowl-
edge."

" Nonsense !" laughed Latta. " Your ang-e-
kok has gone away. Gone, tent and all, and
taken his family with him. I only want the
gun as a souvenir."

" Gone, has he ?" drawled I. " I'm sorry

for that. We needed him, and the girl

could sew skins first-rate."

I routed the carbine out of a stack of arms
103

Iiii

Xaudbter of tbe Spbini

in the corner of my bunk. When I turned
about, Latta was staring out of the window
into the sunlit night. I was so sleepy that
I may have dreamed I heard him mur-
muring — ^

" Sorry she's gone ? By the gods I'm
not!" 1

In the morning he asked Van Den Zee
for an assignment with the party that was
going to complete the northern depot. They
rowed away with two Eskimos in the crew.
When they returned everyone had a word of
admiration for Latta.

"The man is a wonder," said our chief
hunter. " I never saw anyone pick up the
country as he does. And the Huskies ! His
little parlor-magic trick has made slaves of
them. He learned a lot of Husky, too ; you
will be surprised, Dahlgren ; he gets on with
their talk almost as well as you do. And ye
gods, how he can work ! He puts us up to
a lot of wrinkles about packing heavy loads ;
he got them from his carriers in Africa, he
said."

;l ' ;

104

)

bini

len I turned
f the window

sleepy that
i him mur-

lie gods I'm

'an Den Zee
irty that was
depot. They
in the crew,
lad a word of

aid our chief
pick up the
[uskies ! His
ide slaves of
iky, too ; you

1 gets on with
do. And ye
)uts us up to
heavy loads ;

in Africa, he

|>0alm iDli: 15
II.

As the season wore on, Latta's worth to
the expedition increased. As ethnologist he
was mvaluable. The natives confided in him
as children confide in their parents. He
drew from them not only the ordinary gos-
sip of the tribe, but also the folk-lore, the
legends, and superstitions— all the intimate
thoughts that an aboriginal people usually
refuse to strangers.

In our camp he was a good companion.
He had dark moods, to be sure, but he never
imposed them upon us. For hours at a time
he wandered along the beach, with no ap-
parent object except to walk off certain
heavy frowns. When he returned to the
headquarters he always wore a cheerful face.
As the hours of darkness encroached upon
those of light, curiously enough, his gloomy
periods lessened, and in mid-winter, the sea-
son of continuous lamplight, when most of
the men were beginning to fear the blue
devils, Latta's mind seemed fresh and strong.
If he, too, had his blue devils, he fought them
off in his bunk, where he spent a great

«05

»&Siii^m

ii'!;ii

laudbter of tbe Spbinx

deal of time. At meal-hours or at loafing-
hours he was always ready with stories of
his exploits in the hot African forests ; stories
that brightened wonderfully our monotonous
talk. He told them not too modestly, but
he made them thrilling. I remember that I
felt proud when he chose me as a listener.
In those days, however, as I have said, I was
a hero-worshipper.

Whether or no Van Den Zee liked him I
failed to discover. Van was always inscrut-
able. But he made free use of Latta. When
the snowfall put an end to our autumn work,
he gave him charge of the dogs. We had
collected a pack of two hundred half-tamed
brutes that tore each other to rags, devoured
— and digested — their traces if meat failed
them, and crouched before nothing under the
stars except a whip-lash. For white men the
whip is unwieldy. Most of us slashed our-
selves with it oftener than we cut the dogs,
but Latta learned to pick a bit of fur from
the ear of any given rebel as deftly as an
Eskimo. He was master of the pack ; his
voice was its law.

He had charge of the food, too. By

io6

or at loafing-
rith stories of
>rests; stories
r monotonous
modestly, but
lember that I
as a listener.
,ve said, I was

26 liked him I
ilways inscrut-
Latta. When
autumn work,
)gs. We had
ed half-tamed
•ags, devoured
if meat failed
liing under the
white men the
s slashed our-
: cut the dogs,
)it of fur from
s deftly as an
the pack ; his

►od, too. By

p0alm D11 : 13

the middle of February our supply seemed
likely to run short, and one day Van
Den Zee asked me if I should mind going
as Latta's assistant to fetch a new supply
from a settlement four days' journey to the
south.

"I can't very well put you in charge of
the party," said Van, " for it's Latta's depart-
ment. You won't object to going in second
place, will you ? I must have a steady man
with him. He is a good explorer, but you
know he has never taken a long sledge trip,
and he has never seen heavy weather in the
open. I don't think he had better go alone."

Looking back at this little talk in the light
of what followed, I wonder whether Van had
in mind something besides contingencies of
travel. It is possible that he saw deeper
than the rest of us into Latta's character.'
At the time, however, no suspicion entered
my head that Latta still dreamed of the Es-
kimo girl. Pleased that Van held me to be a
steady man, I easily agreed to go as assistant.
We set forth across the bay with an Es-
kimo, two sledges, and fourteen dogs, to
bring home the walrus-skin food. For the

107

i:..!;

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spbini

first night we camped in a snow-igloo built
by the Husky. It was a tiny affair, just big
enough to hold the cooking-lamp and us,
stretched out in our sleeping-bags. Latta
undertook to make the tea. It seemed to
me that his face looked haggard, but I set
that down to the pale light of the alcohol.

" Dahlgren," he said, presently, " what do
you suppose our friends at home would think
if they could see us now?"

"Very terrified, no doubt," I replied. I
knew he was thinking of the girl he was to
marry, and the thought naturally brought up
the image of Ae-we-ung-dnah.

"Latta," I blurted out, "do you know
where Kio went?"

The next moment the hut was dark. Latta
had upset the lamp. During the rest of
the evening he did not speak, and on the
march next day, too, he was silent. But at
night, when I was taking my turn at the
stove, he began, in his usual hearty tones :

"Dahlgren," he said, "you're a good fel-
low."

" • Praise from Sir Hubert,' you know," I

laughed.

,iaia«ES5©r<«'^««»«*'*'^**'***'**'**"****'''^

pbtni

low-igloo built
affair, just big
lamp and us,
g-bags. Latta
It seemed to
jard, but I set
the alcohol,
ntly, " what do
ne would think

' I replied. I
girl he was to
illy brought up

do you know

vas dark. Latta
ng the rest of
ik, and on the
silent. But at
ny turn at the
hearty tones :
I're a good fel-

t,' you know," I

Penlnx oil : is

"I'm serious," returned Latta, calmly. I
want to tell you fiomething."

"I beg your pardon, old chap," I said.
" Go ahead. I shall be glad to hear it."

He waited for several moments before he
began.

"I don't know why I'm saying anything
about it. It's not my way to make confi-
dences. I suppose it's this endless darkness
that gives a man's imagination neurosis. Be-
sides, when two civilized men find themselves
under a dog-house of a hut in the midst of a
million square miles of snow, they come very
near to one another. What pitiful things we
are ! " he burst out. " Fancy looking down
upon our hut in the midst of this stupendous
waste. A mound indistinguishable thirty
feet away, covering three black slugs crawl-
mg, crawling over an expanse so vast that
their minds cannot conceive its immensity.
What do you suppose the Arctic Spirits think
of us ?"

•'I've never seen any indication that they
think at all of us," I laughed. I had heard
this commonplace moralizing with that sense
of relief that comes when one's idols turn

friu'mmm

iii0

lUuabtcr of tbc Spblnx

out flesh and blood. After all, Latta wasn't
so far beyond the rest of us. I, myself,
knew well the state of mind he expressed.
It is but the beginning of the Arctic awe.

"What pitiful creatures we are !" repeated
Latta. " What difference do our little emo-
tions and conventions make in the midst of
such forces ! How the Arctic Spirits must
laugh at our — our marriage laws, for ex-
ample ! They teach their own people better
things. The Eskimos have no laws."

This personal phase also of Arctic emotion
I knew well. I knew, too, that it is transient,
and I contented myself with remarking :

" Wait until you have weathered a storm
in one of these huts. The drift cuts off the
top of your dome clean with the force of a
sand-blast. If you let the snow settle upon
you, you smother. But if you keep patiently
^ patching up the holes with reindeer skins,
you can outlast the wind. Your little slugs
are pitiful, perhaps, but in the end they are
the masters."

He made no reply, and I did not think he
was impressed with my argument. I had
not supposed that he would comprehend it;

Oblnx

I, Latta wasn't
IS. I, myself,

he expressed.
Arctic awe.
are !" repeated
our little emo-
ti the midst of
ic Spirits must

laws, for ex-
n people better

laws."
Arctic emotion

.t it is transient,
remarking :
thered a storm
rift cuts off the

1 the force of a
now settle upon
u keep patiently

reindeer skins,
''our little slugs
lie end they are

did not think he
gument. I had
. comprehend it ;

p0alm D11 : 15

only experience replaces awe of Arctic
powers with awe of man's prowess. Pres-
ently he crawled into his sleeping-bag. He
had left his confidence unfinished. Going
over his allusion to marriage laws, I won-
dered whether he had been thinking of Ah-
we ung-6nah, and was sorry because I had
not led him to say more, and because I had
not moralized, hinting that only by unwaver-
ing strength can Arctic forces be met. How-
ever, I doubt that any words of mine could
have helped him.

III.

When I awoke, he was heating tea for
breakfast. He greeted me pleasantly.

" Shouldn't wonder if we were going to
have a chance to fight your sand-blast," he
said. Looks stormy outside."

I shuffled off the deerskin envelope, hur-
ried on my furs, and crawled out of doors.
The twilight of noon was just beginning.
Above me the stars were dim, and in the
southwest they were hidden by a pile of
clouds. Even in the dusk I could see that
its edges were writhing. The wind moaned

lit

^•^'^^''--^'"■'^''■'fiiiWif-' ".■'■^"

Xauabter of tbc Spbtni

over the ice-caps, and occasional gusts swept
snow-wraiths across the bay. I hauled in
the draw-strings of koolatah and breeches.
In a temperature of fifteen below zero, when
the wind blows, a man is most comfortable
when his furs are snuggest about him. The
Eskimo kneeling by the dog-teams was dis-
entangling the knot into which the restless
creatures had interwoven their traces.

" Great- wind, Tung-wee f I asked.

" Ee" grunted the lad.

" Good to start ?"

The Eskimo rose to his feet, and scrutin-
ized the contour of the clififs that loomed
upon our left. His eyes rested for an in-
stant, evidently upon a landmark. Then he
cast a glance at the lowering horizon.

"^^," he said.

Nevertheless, I drank my tea and ate my
pemmican in all haste. Latta tried at some
light conversation, but I was in no mood for it.

The gusts were coming oftener by the
time we were ready to start. The half disk
of cloud covered a third of the sky at our
right, and the fleece above was blanketing
the stars. Tiie Eskimo, who drove the lead-

ita

al gusts swept

I hauled in

and breeches.

ow zero, when

5t comfortable

>ut him. The

:eams was dis-

:h the restless

traces.

asked.

t, and scrutin-
t that loomed
:ed for an in-
irk. Then he
orizon.

ea and ate my
tried at some
lo mood for it.
•ftener by the
The half disk
le sky at our
as blanketing
rove the lead-

f>0alm mil 15

ing sledge, cracked his whip furiously above"
his team.

I was riding with Latta upon the larger
sledge, and I noticed that instead of cutting
directly across the bay, Tung-wee had swung
to the left, along the shore. Presently Latta
noticed it, too.

" This not good ! " he shouted. " Where
going?"

Tung-wee pointed to a vast buttress that
hung out of the shadowy cliffs, almost above
us.

"Karnah." came his voice, down a wind-
gust.

Latta checked his team. I could see his

eyes gleaming in the fast-gathering darkness.

Hold on!" he exclaimed. "I won't go
to Karnah ! " *

VI ^°*'^^,'?o'nent I must have stared at him,
Ike a half-witted child. Then I understood.
1 glanced up at the sky. The clouds had
passed beyond the zenith, and even as I
looked rushed over star after star.

"I'm afraid there's no choice," I said, as
gently as I could. "We can't stay here.
Ihe quicker, too, the better."

. ■r.;siii '

auufibtcr of tbc Spbinx

I do not suppose he had appreciated the
danger, but my strained tones must have
warned him. He glanced uncertainly above
him. A furious blast of wind drove the drift
stinging into our faces. Latta shook his
shoulders, and his whip-lash whirled and
cracked. The dogs sprang forward. ^

Tung-wee's sledge, a quarter of a mile be-
fore us, was a dim^'point in the flying snow.
Presently the cloud swept over the great
buttress at our left, and darkness settled
upon the bay. The sledge, even the out-
lines of the cliffs, disappeared. We felt
rather than saw the masses of land.

My eyebrows, lashes, mustache, and the
edge of my hood were stiff with ice. My
feet were suspiciously comfortable, and I
grasped the upstanders and rose to stamp.
A star of lamplight twinkled for an instant,
and disappeared in a whirl of snow.

" To the left ! " I shouted. " We're almost

there." ,

Latta's whip-lash flew. The sledge swerved
aside, and bounded on. The dogs had seen
the light, too. The groaning of the wind
upon the ice-cap waxed to a growling just as

bini

predated the
;s must have
jrtainly above
Irove the drift
ta shook his

whirled and
■ward,
r of a mile be-
e flying snow,
ver the great
-kness settled
even the out-
ed. We felt

land.

tache, and the
with ice. My
)rtable, and I
ose to stamp,
for an instant,
snow.

We're almost

sledge swerved

dogs had seen

g of the wind

growling just as

pealm IDii : t5

we felt the lift of the beach. Two lights
rose before us, but a few feet away. Sud--
denly the growl above us deepened into a
roar.

"Don't turn for your life," I shouted.
"Face the lights!" and the next instant
the wind burst upon us like a solid force.
The dogs halted, the lights went out. I felt
for Latta, and hauling him down by main
force threw myself to my hands and knees
upon the ground. Pressed together, we
crouched for a long minute. When the vio-
lence of the first blast spent itself, guiding
Latta, with a hand upon his arm, I scrambled
up the slope. In a moment, I came upon a
hard mound, and a faint glow shone above
me. In another moment we had crawled
out of the smother into warmth and light.

The sleeping-slab at the rear of the igloo
was crowded with Eskimos, who stared at us
drowsily. My head was yet ringing with the
storm-noise, and I could not distinguish faces.
My nose was touched with frost. I tore off
my furs, and bade Latta do the like. Cer-
tain after a glance that my feet were sound,
I turned to inspect his. He had not taken

IIS

■ani

i ^

Xauabtcr of tbe Spbinjt

off his clothes ; he was gazing into the left
alcove of the little hut where Ah-we-ung-
(inah stood gazing back at him.

" Come, come, man !" I cried. " Off with
your boots. You have no time to moon !"

He started, cast a frown at me, and slowly
undressed. His left foot was white and
hard. I think I could have chipped pieces
from the heel with a stone.

IV.

I am bound to confess that without the
little Husky girl's aid, the foot would have
been doomed. But she worked over it un-
ceasingly, first pressing snow upon it for
hours, and afterward, when the frost had come
out and the heel had puffed up big and red
and Latta was writhing in agony, keeping it
cool with seal-oil. At the end of three days
the foot was going better.

Meanwhile the storm roared itself out and
I took a step which I have always regretted.
I left Latta in the igloo. It is possible that
if I had waited there he would have found,
in the presence of another man with civilized
standards, support against his passion. But,

Il6

y-immMUtl

""^

pbini

g into the left
re Ah-we-ung-
1.

ed, " Off with
le to moon !"
me, and slowly
vas white and
chipped pieces

lat without the
»ot would have
:ed over it un-
w upon it for
; frost had come
up big and red
jony, keeping it
d of three days

:d itself out and
ways regretted,
is possible that
>uld have found,
in with civilized
> passion. But,

p0alm ID11: t5

when Tung-wee and I harnessed our dogs,
Latta was still helpless with pain, and , I
thought I might safely leave him. I sent a
Husky to fetch the doctor at once from head-
quarters, and started the sledges toward the
south. We needed the dog-food, and I felt
bound to bring it.

On the way home ten days afterward I
stopped at Karnah. Latta was not there.

"Dokt came here only one sleep ago,"
said the natives. " He spoke loud words
about the foot. He carried Lat' to white
man's house on a sledge."

Alone with her until yesterday ! I thought.
I glanced about the igloo.

"Where are Kio and Ah-we-ung-6nah ?"
I asked, hastily.

" They went with the sledge to white man's
house," answered the Eskimos.

At headquarters I found Latta in his bunk.
He greeted me with a languid smile.

"Your.storm has done me up," he said.
" Doctor says I mustn't walk for a month."

During the three weeks thereafter he
never moved from his blankets. For our
part, though we were as kind as we knew how

■>^"

Xauabter of tbc Spbini

to be, we had little time to pay him small
attentions. Our main sledge-journey of
months was at hand. We were in a flurry
of preparations — testing new sledges and
snow-shoes, lugging provisions to the ice-
cap, completing our outfits of clothing. The
floor of the house was crowded with women,
sitting cross-legged, and stitching away at
koolatahs and kamiks ; and among them I
noticed Ah-we-ung-(5nah. She had taken a
place snug against the foot of Latta's bunk,
and while she was sewing she talked steadily.
I thought grimly that the sick man would
hardly miss us.

He did not miss us. A month afterward
nine of us — the supporting party — hurried
into the headquarters. We had bid good-
speed to Van Den Zee and four others upon
their brave journey of twelve hundred miles
across the snow-desert, and had returned to
carry out, if possible, minor explorations. Of
these explorations I was in charge. Two or
three of my party were staggering with
frost-bitten feet, and I hoped to find Latta fit
for work. My first question bore upon his
health.

J him small
■journey of

in a flurry
iledges and

to the ice-
ithing. The
vith women,
ng away at
ong them I
lad taken a
atta's bunk,
ced steadily.

man would

th afterward
rty — hurried
d bid good-
others upon
mdred miles
returned to
)rations. Of
re. Two or
gering with
ind Latta fit
re upon his

psalm ID11 : 15

"His foot is well enough," replied the
man who had been left to watch the house,
.<but "

" But what ?" I queried.

" But he isn't here just now. He doesn't
spend much time at the quarters. He is
studying the Eskimos, and I believe he is
experimenting with life in a snoyr-igloo.''

"Whose?" I asked, hastily.

" Kio's, I think," answered the man. His
eyes did not meet mine.

I restrained my frown, tried to say some-
thing about Latta's indefatigability, and
turned to other business. I noticed as I
passed Latta's bunk ihat, although his own
weapons were stacked in a corner, the car-
bine with which he had achieved his great
spectacular success had disappeared.

As soon as I could, I made time to visit
the angekok's iglooyah. Latta was there.
He lay half asleep upon the deerskins, and
bending over him, with such an expression of
face as only a new-made wife wears, sat Ah-
we-ung-dnah.

I must have uttered an exclamation, for
she turned her head. Perceiving who \\

119

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spbinr

was, she showed her white teeth in a slow

smile. Then she laid her hand upon Latta's

cheek.

"Lat'," she said; "Lat", de-ar !"

The English word sent the blood to my

heart.

"Lat', '.she continued in Eskimo, "wake
up ; Dahlg' has returned."

Latta scrambled to his knees and faced
me. His mouth was open. I do not like to
see a man open his mouth when he is
starded.

" How are you, Latta ?" I asked, as quickly
as I could.

" Oh, how are you, Dahlgren ? he mum-
bled. " Didn't know it was you."

I turned away so that unwatched he might
regain his self-possession.

"I'm glad to -^ee you fit again," I said.
" Chimo, Ah-we-ung-dnah !"

" Ckimo-o-o" answered the woman, with
a bright little laugh. She looked happy.

"You're hard at work, they tell mc." I
tried to keep my tone free from sarcasm.

"Ye-es," stammered Latta. "Yes, hard
at work. I've got enough for a book about

1 20

^lHtifeii'i'«ri;''i^>liiwai

fnjt

1 in a slow
ipon Latta's

lood to my

mo, "wake

I and faced

not like to

hen he is

, as quickly

? he mum-

■d he might

in," I said.

3man, with
happy,
ill mc." I
ircasm.
Yes, hard
30ok about

p0alm IDII: \5

Husky manners and customs. I'll tell you
what it is, Dahlgren," he went on, with evi-
dent effort to be enthusiastic, " the Eskimo
knows how to live in his own country. Our
ridiculous big houses, which have to be
warmed with stoves, are nothing to these
little huts, where the heat of the lamp and of
the people keep the thermometer to eighty
degrees."

"Yes, I've tried the huts," I broke in,
shortly. I had no wish to hear Latta's rhap-
sodies. " Do you think you could leave
your comfort for a month, and work with me
in Ellesmere Land ?"

Latta hesitated, and spoke rapidly to Ah-
we-ung-<Jnah. I could not catch what he
said.

" Yes," he answered presently. " My foot
still troubles me a little bit, but I guess I can
go.

"Be ready at sunrise to-morrow, then.
Good-by — Good-by, Ah- we-ung-6nah. "

" 'By," answered the woman. The smile
had left her face.

As I rose from the entrance of the little
den, Kio came up. He carried the carbine

Xau0btcr of tbc Sphinx

slung over his shoulder in good soldier
fashion.

When he joined us in the morning, Latta
was glum and listless. He shirked his share
of loading the whale boat upon the sledge.
When all was ready to start, I espied him
near Kio's igloo talking with Ah-we-ung-
dnah, and it was only after I had twice hailed
him that he broke away from her. She in-
stantly disappeared within the hut, and
Latta thought it necessary to explain, as he
hastened toward me, that he was giving
some directions about the making of a pair
of kamiks. I replied only with an " Ah." If
the girl had been an American, I should have
said that she was crying.

"Woof!" exclaimed Latta, as we crawled
under the boat for shelter, at the end of the
day's march. "Woof! I'm tired." He
threw himself at full length upon the snow.

His task during the day had been merely
keeping the dogs at work, whereas the rest
of us had been hauling at the sledge. The
men, out in the cold, were throwing up a

laa '

good soldier

norning, Latta
rked his share
an the sledge.
, I espied him
h Ah-we-ung-
id twice hailed
her. She in-
the hut, and
explain, as he
e was giving
king of a pair
^an"Ah." If
, I should have

as we crawled
the end of the
tired." He
)on the snow,
id been merely
lereas the rest
! sledge. The
throwing up a

p0nlm IDII : 13

wind-guard of snow around the boat, and I
was establishing a kitchen. I was fagged-
out and cross, and I answered impatiendy :

" You find taking ethnological observations
plcasanter?"

" I heard Latta turn over, and I knew he
was looking at me. Presently he sighed.

"Wish to Heaven I'd never frozen that
foot !" he exclaimed.

" I wish to Heaven you never had !"
He drew several heavy breaths in silence.
At last he said, " Dahlgren, I can't work any
more. I've tried. I believe I'm under a
spell. I'm getting superstitious. I'm be-
witched by some damned Arctic spirit."
" Is she so spiritual ?" I asked.
"Yes," he burst out; "she is. You
wouldn't believe it; she has ideas. She is
unwashed, if you like, and a savage, but she
has fascinating thoughts. I'm not altogether
a brute," he protested, in deprecatory tones.
"Latta," interrupted I, "it's not my busi-
ness ; but aren't you going to be sorry for
this when you get home ?"

"I'm not going home!" he flashed out.
" I've burned my bridges. I'm going to live

123

lauGbter of tbe Spbtni

here for the rest of my life. I couldn't go
home."

I tossed a handful of tea into the boiling
water, and lifted the kettle from the lamo.

"That, Mr. Latta," I said, "is a matter to
be settled between yourself and your sense
of honor. Will you call the men to tea ?"

At the end of the next day Latta com-
plained that his foot was on fire with pain,
and at noon of the succeeding day I gave
him some pemmican and sent him back to
headquarters — ostensibly with an order, for
I did not wish to disgrace him before the
men. Nevertheless, they had marked his
laziness, and when we returned — baffled
after six weeks of the toughest labor I ever
endured, dragging the boat over ice-hum-
mocks ten to fifteen feet high, only to lose
her in the crushing floes of the open strait —
when we lay about the house to recover our
forces, the party showed Latta little friend-
ship. The men were too courteous to snub
him, but there was no warmth in their polite-
ness. Latta discovered their contempt at
once, and enhanced it by his deprecating
manners. At last, however, he almost ceased

«24

Jim

couldn't go

the boiling
the lamo.

a matter to
your sense

1 to tea ?"
Latta com-

re with pain,

day I gave
him back to
m order, for
I before the

marked his
led — bafifled
abor I ever
/er ice-hum-
only to lose
»pen strait —
recover our
little friend-
ous to snub

their polite-
contempt at

deprecating
Imost ceased

IPaalm IDIfll : 15

to visit us. The Eskimos who louneed in
and out of headquarters told us that he
rarely came to see them. But evidently he
took up a good deal of their attention, for
his name frequently started out in their con-
versations among themselves.

One night — one of the last dark nights that
preceded the summer of continuous sunlight
— he came hurrying into headquarters. I
happened to be alone.

"Mr. Dahlgren," he asked, "will you give
me a saucer of alcohol and a handful of
salt?"

"Certainly," I answered. While I was
rattling among our stores for an alcohol-can,
he volunteered an explanation.

" You see, there is a discussion among the
Huskies as to whether I am really an ange-
kok or only a fraud, and I am — er — urged to
give them some new magic."

Familiarity breeds contempt, thought L

What I said was, however, " All right, old
man. Don't frighten them away from us."

The next afternoon there was a lively dis-
cussion among the Eskimos that came to
headquarters. Latta's name was tossed

I2S

Xaugbtcr of tbc Spbinr

about like a. shuttlecock, and at last we in-
quired what had happened.

" Is Lat' an angekok .?" replied a grave old
Husky. " If he is an angekok, why did he
let the cold-devils injure his foot? Why did
he not charm them away ? Why will he no
longer let us shoot at him ? Ah-we-ung-6nah
asked him to prove that his tornak has not
deserted him. To-night we are to hear his
charm-song."

Next day they stalked about silent and
solemn. Lat', they said, had called spirits
with fire to show men and women how they
would look when they were dead. For the
time being his prestige rose as high as ever.

When the summer sun drove the Eskimos
from their houses of stone and snow into the
sealskin tents, we saw still less of Latta, for
his tupik was pitched a couple of miles down
the beach. By the first day of August,
when the relief-ship arrived from New York,
he had almost ceased to be a part of our
environment.

Amid the heavy mail from home were a
dozen blue envelopes addressed to Latta in
the same large, firm handwriting. For two

ia6

last we in-

a grave old
why did he
? Why did
r will he no
ve-ung-6nah
nak has not
to hear his

t silent and
ailed spirits
en how they
d. For the
ligh as ever.
the Eskimos
now into the
Df Latta, for
■ miles down
of August,
New York,
part of our

Dme were a

to Latta in

y. For two

p0alm ID11: tS

or three days they lay upon the table. He
must have known that they had come, but
he never appeared at headquarters. At last,
fearing lest the relief party would suspect
something wrong, I locked the letters in my
drawer. I hadn't the courage to carry them
to him.

Upon the loth of August our brave young
leader and his party, safe and triumphant,
returned from their sledge-journey. In my
report to Van Den Zee I included a carefully
prepared account of Latta's behavior. Van
listened with a seriousness unusual even for
him.

" May I see the letters ?" he asked, when I
had finished. He studied the superscription
for some moments before he spoke.

"The man must go home at once. He
must go home and be married."

' Marrir: d !" I exclaimed.

" Yes. There is good in him yet. '. was
afraid of something like this. You know as
well as I that a savage land weakens a man
at his weakest point. Every one of us here
is somewhat touched with savagery, Latta's
takes the form of— of inconstancy. In civil-

Ap****.

lilMlifTyH' I ■" T'**^'***'^*^-

i i
' !

Xaufibtcr of tbc Spbinr

ization, with a strong woman to support him
— and the woman who wrote those letters is
strong — ^his judgment will come back."

" But the girl," I began.

" She will understand and forgive him if I
can pick up character from writing."

"Yes," I stammered. "I was thinking of
this girl — Ah-we-ung-dnah."

"Oh," said Van Den Zee. "Well, she is
an Eskimo. She'll forget."

He strode down the beach with the letters
in his pocket. Two hours later he returned.
His cheeks were lined, as I once saw them
after he had worked for three days without
food.

"It's all right," he said. "He's going
home. Hush the matter up among the
fellows."

That night Latta slept at headquarters.
Word was given out that he had completed
a fine series of ethnological observations,
and was in haste to go home and present
them to the scientific world. He worked
eagerly upon his preparations for departure,
and rarely spoke to any of us except Van
Den Zee, with whom he held long conversa-

laS

itijc

jupport him
se letters is
back."

^ive him if I

; thinking of

Well, she is

h the letters
he returned,
e saw them
iays without

He's going
among the

eadquarters.
d completed
)bservations,
and present

He worked
)r departure,

except Van
ig conversa-

psalm IDII: 15

tions. His eyes looked absently. His cheeks
were sunken and pale. The relief party were
enthusiastic over his energy, and what they
called his power of reserve.

I was going home, too, and as my bunk
was opposite his, I interchanged packing ser-
vices with him. He rendered them with pa-
thetic eagerness. Once in helping me to
strap tight a bundle of narwhal horns, his
grip slipped and a letter jerked out of the
pocket of his leather jacket. It was un-
opened.

The morning of our departure was warm
and sunny. The party which was to remain
for another winter, together with the Eski-
mos, gathered upon the beach to see us off.
As each boat-load left the shore, the white
men fired a salute and the Eskimos shouted.

Latta and I were to go in the last boat. It
was waiting for us at the water's edge. I
had thrust myself into the crowd of Eskimos
to bid farewell to many faithful friends. Pres-
ently I noticed Latta conversing seriously
with Ah-we-ung-dnah and Kio.

The girl was tricked out in strange finery.
Beads, scissors, a mirror, and a packet of

9 129

i^^ -. i^K-'-

Xaufibtcr of tbe Spbinr

needles hung by a thong from her neck.
Latta must have taught her to bedeck her-
self, for Eskimo women take little thought
of display. He tossed over her head an-
other thong fastened to something heavy (it
looked like a bullet) and said a word in her
ear. She repeated the word over and oyer
and over again, and laughed. I do not think
that she realized that she would never see
him again. Perhaps he had told her that he
would return. At last he kissed her in the
American fashion, turned and strode toward

the boat.

The Eskimos watched him.

" He is a great angekok" said someone

near me. ^ .

" Nakitowa," contradicted another ; " he is

a man who lies ! "

Ah-we-ung-dnah whirled around. Her
eyes were glowing disks, and her hands
opened and closed, but she spoke quietly.

" He is a great angekok. He is a great
angekokr she repeated. "You say he is
not. You shall see. What angekok of our
people dares to catch a flying bullet? Take

notice!"

130

iteitiiiiiiiiMiii

bini

m her neck,
bedeck her-
little thought
her head an-
ing heavy (it
1 word in her
Dver and over
[ do not think
jld never see
Id her that he
,ed her in the
strode toward

said someone

lother ; "he is

iround. Her
nd her hands
oke quietly.
He is a great
fou say he is
.ngekok of our
bullet? Take

•iWWaVWMaiiMlM

.lr-^,nM..f««iir.„.,.-„ --..-■.,.j.., ^,., ... , - . ,,,

p0alm IDll : ts

She snatched the carbine from Kio's hand.

"Laf," she called; "Lat'."

Latta paused and turned about.

" Lat'," she continued in English. " See-ee !
Kee-eepsa-ake ! " and with that she levelled
the rifle and shot him through the heart.

131

AN ARCTIC PROBLEM

"Women in the party? Two women, you
say?"

" Wife of the leader and wife of the doc-
tor," I explained.

Billy laid upon the table his ugly bulldog
pipe, rose from his chair, slouched over to
the window and stared out on Fifth Avenue.
Apparently the afternoon parade was not
satisfactory, for when he turned, his eyebrows
were pinched together and the corners of his
mouth were screwed down.

" Great Scott, man !" he exclaimed. " Stop
that laughing and tell me what creatures
like these, with rats, I'm told, in their hair
and swamps in their hats, want in Green-
land."

"Think of the effect on the Husky men,"
I suggested.

nilimiliiiMliii :-,

Xaudbter of tbe Spbtni

•*No — but, seriously, Dahlgren," expos
tulated Billy, " why on earth should women
want to go with an Arctic expedition ? Are
they after glory? They might jump from
the Brooklyn Bridge. Are they blue-stock-
ings? There are always nice little profes-
sors ready to do the courier of nature for
such in the suburban fields. How will
they amuse themselves in the north ? There
is no opera and no one to flirt with except
Eskimos."

"Indignation hath made thee eloquent,
Billy," jerred I. " As for flirting, there are
the members of the party. But if you
hadn't spent your life in the society of bugs
you would know that often young wives like
to follow their husbands."

Billy stared at me over his lighted match.

"Oh," he admitted, "is that it?"

"Well, he resumed, "even then I think
it's a mistake. They will shiver through
the winter and make every one uncomfort-
able."

"Stuff! They can wear fur clothes and
stay in headquarters. It will be warm enough
there."

'34

expos
d women
)n ? Are
imp from
lue-stock-
le profes-
lature for
-low will
I ? There
th except

eloquent,
there are
It if you
y of bugs
wives like

°d match.

n I think
• through
incomfort-

othes and
m enough

Bn Brctfc problem

" True, but if they don't take exercise in
the night they will go into hysterics. Four
months of darkness is bad enough for men,
let alone women."

" Not so sure," I pointed out. " Women
are used to controlling their nerves ; men
don't know how."

" Do you mean to say, Dahlgren, that you
want them to go?" He eyed me sharply,
and I was silent.

" Huh !" grunted Parsons, and we were
both silent.

"This is how it is, Billy," I explained at
last. " Whatever I may think of the plan, I
think more of the leader. If Van Den Zee is
going to make a mistake in taking along his
wife, I want to be there to help him out of it
— and so do you, you old fake. We've all
been through too much together to fall apart
now."

" Huh !" assented Billy. Men who have
weathered the Arctic winter together are
bound together by a bond that resists even
the wiles of women.

"Who are the other members?" asked
Billy presently.

. ^ m -'.'■'■

•iHmamm

Uaudbter of tbe Spbinx

"All new men ; twelve all told. Surgeon's
name is Tremont — Boston man."

"Bacteriologist," commented Parsons.
"I've heard of him."

" His wife's an artist. One of her reasons
for going north is the ice, which she means
to paint. I've never seen her, but they say
she is a woman of birth, culture and bril-
liancy."

" All those talents wasted on Greenland,"
growled Billy.

"Perhaps she'll diffuse them on us," I
answered. "Taxidermist and chief hunter
Bunker."

"Theophilus G. Bunker, of iV<?-braska,"
grinned Parsons. " Knew him in the north-
west. He's a good fellow."

" Meteorologist, a man named Devoe ;
Pierre Devoe, I think."

I paused, for Billy took his pipe from his
mouth and tugged his shaggy whiskers.
These were signs of agitation.

" Do you know him ?" I asked.

" Is he a little black man with a curly mus-
tache, like a barber's ?"

"Yes — in a general way." . * .

136 • ,

Surgeon's

Parsons.

ler reasons
she means
Lit they say
2 and bril-

rreenland,"

on us," I
lief hunter

ir<?-braska,"
the north-

d Devoe ;

3e from his
whiskers.

curly mus-

Bn Hrctic problem

"Effect of hair-oil and musk."

"A little, yes."

Billy knit his brows. "Yes," he said,
slowly, " I have seen him. How did he come
to be chosen ?"

" Request of the Academy of Science, I
believe. Van told me he knew nothing
about him. He isn't expected to work in
the field, only to look after the instruments
at headquarters."

" The man I "^aw was said to be the son of
an Indian woman," resumed Billy. " I don't
think he was particularly good stuff."

" He's coming here this afternoon," said I.
'• He wants to get some points about equip-
ment."

Presently he arrived. Billy's description,
I thought, had used him a little roughly. To
be sure his hair was shiny and his mustache
small and impertinent, but that was not his
fault. His trousers were neatly creased, and
to that, after a moment of consideration, I
attributed Billy's contempt. My friend spent
his life in out-of-the-way lands, among strange
peoples. To join the expedition he had hur-
ried away from a fascinating tributory of the

» SWMW < «m S8..

Xaugbter of tbe Spbinx

Amazon, where butterflies were as large as
sparrows and as resplendent as birds of
paradise, and where clothes were canvas.
Except Van and me, whom he held to be
anomalies, he rated as " fops " all men who
wore creased trousers.

When I introduced Devoe he said, " How
are you ?" in his big voice, unrolled a chart
and buried his face in it.

Devoe had a flat nose and a curious habit
of distending and contracting his nostrils in
his many moments of excitement. The
thought occurred to me that perhaps, in a
previous state of existence, he had been a
rabbit.

"Well," I began, "did you buy the snow-
glasses?"

"No," replied Devoe, airly, "I couldn't.
I heard that there were to be ladies with us,
and I hadn't the heart for sordid details. I
walked upon the avenue waiting for our ap-
pointment to come due, and now I am here
howling for tips. Who are the fair ones ?"

"They are both married," I answered,
soberly.

" That don't cut any ice," he began. " I

rmrmwmwif'mr'nffi'' --■ff"«a— ^•'— — ■--»

as large as
as birds of
ere canvas.
: held to be
ill men who

said, •' How
(lied a chart

:urious habit
s nostrils in
ment. The
)erhaps, in a
had been a

jy the snow-

"I couldn't,
dies with us,
id details. I
■ for our ap-
V I am here
fair ones ?"
I answered,

; began. " I

Bn Brctic problem

mean," he added, hastily, as I glanced up,
"er, you understand, of course, that I mean
I'm not looking for a spoon — for sentiment.
I only think it would be a corking good thing
to have ladies along — in case a fellow got
sick, you know."

"Very handy, no doubt," I said.

" Livingstone says one is a peach — a great
beauty — and that both of them are howling
swells."

"Very likely," I remarked, shortly, "I
have never seen either of them. What
about those smoked glasses? The shops
will be closed."

"Oh, they can wait till to-morrow," re-
turned Devoe. "But I must go. Got to
bid a long farewell to lots of despairing
creatures. S'long. See you aboard the
ship to-morrow."

Billy poured over the map until the me-
teorologist's dapper boots had tapped down
a flight of stairs. His hand nestled in his
whiskers. " Dahlgren," he said, " that man
has got to be watched. He tried to carry off
a half-breed girl on his horse, out in Dakota,
and had to leave town to save his neck."

139

laudbter of tbe Spbini

I stared at him until he nodded a confirma-
tion of this story.

"Think we'd better tell Van?" I asked.
Billy puffed a long time in silence.

" No," he said, at last. " Perhaps the fel-
low is trying to be decent. We don't want
to spoil his chance in life. We'll just keep
watch of him. It's a pity if two men that
stand six feet apiece and don't lack common
sense can't control a monkey like that. All
the same, I wish the Academy had chosen a
pleasanter meteorologist."

■ II. ■

Our friends came to see us off. The decks
of our ship, cramped at best and littered
with barrels of crackers, tanks of alcohol,
bundles of snow-shoes, piles of wood for the
house, were crowded with people chiefly clad
in fresh spring gowns, which they lifted
daintily above the layer of coal-dust that cov-
ered everything, for the lading of fuel was
not yet completed.

Little eddies swirled through the crowd.
The centre of each was a member of the

140

. a confirma-

1?" I asked,
e.

laps the fel-
don't want
11 just keep
^o men that
ack common
:e that. All
ad chosen a

f. The decks
and littered
i of alcohol,
wood for the
2 chiefly clad

they lifted
lust that cov-

of fuel was

li the crowd.
;mber of the

Bn Hrctic problem

party, repeating over and over again to fresh
influxes of guests :

" The hold of the ship is one mass of trans-
verse beams — to resist ice-pressure. The
bow is the strongest part. When we are
among the ice floes, you know, we break a
way through by ramming." . . . "Yes,
the shock knocks down people on deck some-
times." . . . "Oh, undoubtedly. Miss
Smith, it will be cold ; it is sometimes in the
Arctic regions ; but we don't expect to suf-
fer much." . . . "Heroes? Ah, that's
very good of you ; you'd go— you know you
would — if you were a man."

In an hour or so I wearied of this kind of
talk and exchanged lifts of the eyebrows,
over the hats, with Billy, who leaned solitary
against the rail. The thought came to me
that I would make him share my burden of
hospitality, and I pushed across the deck.

Beside him stood a little woman swaying
under a foliaginous hat. Her face I could
not see, for she was bending over the rail,
but her hair I noticed was thick and dark.

I saw Billy glancing furtively at her, and
knew that duties as host were weighing down

141

riirlWMlriWrililii

XauQbtcr of tbc Spbini

a spirit used to freedom. In a moment the
spirit burst away in a sigh, and Billy turned
to his companion :

"Er," he said, "can I ex')lain anything
about the ship to you, madam /"

"Thank you," returned a surprisingly
deep voice. " I shall be delighted to learn,
but there will be plenty of time. I am going,
too. I am Mrs. Tremont."

" Oh ! I beg your pardon," said Billy, and
returned to his wonted silence.

She threw him one or two coquettish
glances, and I had a glimpse of cheeks as
red as the roses upon her hat, and of eyes as
dark as her hair.

" I am waiting for my husband and some
friends," she said, " but I don't suppose they
will come any sooner if I stare at the wharf.
If you will talk with me I shall be much ob-
liged. Forgive me — you are Dr. Parsons,
aren't you ?"

Billy made one of those splendid bows
which many shy men have at their command.

" I have heard Mr. Van Den Zee describe
you," said the little woman, roguishly. " You
have the reputation of a silent man, who

L 'l .m-M i . 11 i mmtiin

noment the
Billy turned

in anything

surprisingly
:ed to learn,
I am going,

d Billy, and

» coquettish
>f cheeks as
id of eyes as

id and some
uppose they
It the wharf,
be much ob-
3r. Parsons,

tlendid bows
ir command.
Zee describe
lishly. "You
It man, who

Hn Brctic problem

considers women fit for nothing but wearing
clothes."

"They do it very gracefully," replied
Billy.

" Excellent," she retorted. " They didn't
tell me you were a courtier. I am embold-
ened at once to ask you — don't you think it
will be nice to have me with you in the
north?"

Her eyes laughed at his. "Look out,
Billy, old boy," was my thought. But Billy's
reply came gravely.

" I think you would be more comfortable at
home," he said.

A flash of anger drove the mischief out of
her eyes.

"I intend," she said, rather haughtily, "to
make the members of the party more com-
fortable than if I were at home. And I can
do it."

Billy's hand went to his whiskers. " I hope
you may, madam," he replied.

A touch upon my shoulder drew my atten-
tion from his dialogue.

"Oh, Mr. Dahlgren," whispered Devoe,
"that is Mrs. Tremont, isn't it? Looks like

•43

..^ikmiKKiM

^^j,;'^..-J>rfih£riiSfe^;i5

anSiifibii

Hum.

ifUMmmm^vii^ ntHiWrii

Xauabtct of tbe SpWni

a picture I used to see of the temptation of
St. Anthony. Introduce me, will you ?"

" I don't know her," I objected.

" Don't you ? Well, Parsons seems to be
ffte-er, as the French say. I'll get him to

turn me off."

He bustled up to Billy and whispered in
his ear. Amusement again took possession
of Mrs. Tremont's eyes.

"Certainly," blurted out Billy. "Mrs.
Tremont, Mr. Devoe, our meteorologist."

" Happy to know you," began Devoe, at
once. "It was a pleasant moment when I
heard that you were to go along."

I watched for the hauteur to dispossess
her sense of fun. But the " this-is-a-new
experience " expression still lighted up her

face.

"You believe that I shall not be a drag
upon the party," she laughed.

"When can woman be out of place?" re-
sponded the meteorologist, gallantly. " We
shall be delighted, one and all, to welcome
you as a sister explorer. I admire the new
woman."

Billy bowed himself away, seized my arm,
144

)tni

emptation of

11 you?"

seems to be

1 get him to

whispered in
)k possession

Jilly. "Mrs.
orologist."
ran Devoe, at
ment when I

to dispossess
" this-is-a-new
ghted up her

lot be a drag

)f place?" re-
llantly. "We
U, to welcome
Imire the new

eized my arm,

Hn Arctic problem

led me aft to the cabin, which had not been
opened to the crowd, and lighted his pipe.

"Our little friend cuts a shine in the
world," I suggested.

" He'd cut an admirable hole in the dock
water," growled Billy.

For half an hour in silence, we listened to
the trampling upon the quarter-deck above
us. Steps and voices in the companionway
broke off our reveries, and Van, with a party
of friends, hurried into the cabin. While
Billy and Van were gripping each other's
hands with the fervor of friends long sepa-
rated, I took note that the women were
gathered in a tear-stained group around a
slender creature, whose delicate face, lighted
up by great gray eyes, rose above the loftiest
hat. I felt that she must be my friend's wife,
and for once I doubted Van's judgment. It
was not that she would be a burden upon
us ; I could not fancy her adding to our dis-
comforts. But I did fancy her in the rough-
ness of Arctic quarters and the roar of an
Arctic storm, and I pitied her. Her golden
hair and smooth skin looked too fragile for
wild life.

!• 145

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spbini

"Dahlgren," interrupted Devoe, "Mrs.
Tremont wants to be introduced to you."

"Yes," added the deep voice at my side.
«« I've been reading your praises for a year in
the newspapers, and I feel as if I knew you
already. Come at once and look at my skis.
I am an expert ski-runner, you know. I
learned in Norway."

She led the way to her state-room.
"I am eager to have you men under-
stand," she went on, while she was undoing
a bundle of traps and scattering them about
the little cabin, " that we women are going to
be good comrades. I>Irs. Van Den Zee is
afraid you will find us in the way. I am not
going to be in the way— ever. I shall run
on snow-shoes, and shoot and drive dogs
with any of you. Damn this string!" she
added, looking up at me with a confidential

little laugh. ^

" Let me cast it off," I volunteered.
"Will you, please? Thank you. Now
here are my skis. Aren't they dainty. Should
you like to help me put them on ?"

A hail from Van excused me. The mo-
ment of farewells had come. Mine were

146

Jinx

evoe, " Mrs.
1 to you."
; at my side,
for a year in
f I knew you
»k at my skis,
^ou know. I

room,
men under-
was undoing
g them about
1 are going to
1 Den Zee is
ly. I am not
-. I shall run
id drive dogs
1 string!" she
a confidential

iteered.

ik you. Now

lainty. Should

an?"

me. The mo-

I. Mine were

Bn Hrctic proMem

soon over and I entertained myself in watch-
ing those of Dcvoe. He had spoken truth
about the despair of his friends. His gray
sombrero, amid half a dozen hats, looked
like a mushroom in a flower garden. The
faces beneath the flowers were wistful. Some
were red with tears ; the owners of others, I
suspected, did not dare to cry upon their
complexions. Devoe himself was not per-
turbed. He left his companions to talk with
a reporter, and to furnish his photograph for
publication. By the time he had finished, the
skipper had bundled his disconsolate party
down the gang-plank, and Devoe had to
wave his farewells from the shrouds. He
clung there, flourishing his hat toward the
fluttering handkerchiefs, until we were far
down the river.

HI.

Eight bells struck— midnight. A mist
lazed over Smith Sound. The great copper
disc of the sun hung low above a frozen
strait that stretched exasperatingly away into
the sky. Its rugged crests and the pinnacles
of icebergs prisoned in the field shone like

Xaugbter of tbe Spbinx

some half-translucent marble. The lofty,
terraced cliffs of Greenland glowed with
elusive greens and crimsons, and above them
shimmered a rosy haze. The snow-clad
mountains upon the American coast, dead
white in the shadow of a northern peak,
waited in mighty tranquillity.

The ship was steaming northward toward
the ice-fields through a breathless world.
Upon the flat sea new ice was forming dull
blotches ; nothing else marred the glossy
surface except a faint ripple when a seal
lifted his curious head in the distance. As
we neared the edge of the field, the propeller
paused, and suddenly the beating of our
hearts startled us.

Mrs. Van, seated beside us upon the fore-
castle deck, looked timidly at Billy.

Hers was one of the faces that seem to be
always wondering at the griefs of ages, and
at night, against the solemnity of the north,
it looked more than ordinarily childish and
pathetic.

" The Arctic Sphinx has wonderful moods,"
sympathized Billy.

" I am glad you said that," she murmured.
148

- '^^^^-'^^r-'in-m -' n r^ ' in

rhe lofty,
wed with
jove them
snow-clad
)ast, dead
em peak,

rd toward
:ss world,
•ming dull
he glossy
len a seal
ance. As
; propeller
ig of our

1 the fore-

ieem to be

ages, and

the north,

iildish and

ul moods,"

nurmured.

Bn Brctic problem

" I was afraid if I talked about It the men
would call me stMitimcntal. "

"Do you mean," I asked, "that you feel
as if the supernatural were always at hand
up here ?"

"Exactly," she said. "At the first glimpse
of the coast down south in the fog I was ab-
surdly concerned for Greenland It was so
desolate and rugged that I had s mehaw the
feeling that the spirits were negl^.cting it. It
is only since I have seen it at midnight that •
have begun to understand the ten^lerness .>{
their care. I was afraid of them until yester-
day, when we rowed into that tiny harbor,
with its cliffs so high that I felt as if vh'.y
must fall upon us, and saw that blue gl. .ciei
and the brave litde poppies nestling almost
against its flank. Then I felt that spirits
which could cherish anything so exquisite
must be kindly. You find me ridiculor.s, I
am afraid, with my spirits."

" Please don't mistake me," I said. " Men
have their moments of sentiment, too. I
understand, and I know Billy does, that the
gods live in Greenland. What I was object-
ing to was your feeling of trur.U aiess. They

149

XauGbter of tbc Spblni

glorify their cliffs with rosy sunlight if you
like, but for all that they batter them with
gales. They have shown us kindliness, but
upon that ridge to starboard is the grave of
Sontag, whom they froze ; and behind yonder
cape is the island where they starved seven-
teen men of Greely's party, and the ice with
which they crushed the Proteus and the
Polaris, and with which they would smash us
if we should venture too far. The spirits are
beautiful, but they are treacherous."

"They will never harm us, though," inter-
posed Billy, quickly. " Your husband is an
old acquaintance of theirs, and knows how
to humor them. We shall let you see only
their pleasant side."

"Thank you," she replied, gratefully.

While I was regretting my clumsy speech
and admiring Billy's unwonted thoughtful-
ness, a sailor, silent as even sailors are in the
Arctic stillnesses, shuffled forward, carrying
an ice-anchor. The ship glided with a slight
shock against the field, and was presently fast
to a hawser.

The shock broke the spell of our com-
munion. Mrs. Van rose, smiled a leave-

3»'

ght if you
them with
Uiness, but

2 grave of
ind yonder
ved seven-
he ice with
i and the
d smash us

spirits are
»»

gh," inter-
band is an
:nows how
u see only

:efully.
nsy speech
thoughtful-

3 are in the
d, carrying
nth a slight
esently fast

f our com-
;d a leave-

Bn Brctic problem

taking, and made her way aft. Billy watched
her gravely, and I watched Billy. When she
had disappeared, he turned, caught me smil-
ing, and, in spite of himself, smiled too.

"You are thinking, Dahl," he said, "that
I don't so much regret the presence of
women."

"Heavens!" I said, "what's coming next?
Our Billy with intuitions !"

"Well, you are right. Women dare to
talk about what you and I don't know how to
express. Besides, I must confess that I feel
rather puffed up at the thought of helping to
keep harm away from that child."

" Do you feel puffed up at the thought of
keeping it away from Mrs. Tremont?" I
asked. " If you do, now's your chance to
offer. She's coming ; I hear her voice."

"No, by Jove!" exclaimed Billy. "I've
got to oil my gun for walrus. You tend to
Mrs. Tremont."

" She doesn't need us," I observed. " She's
got Devoe ; also, she is wearing bloomers."

He hastened away, and I mounted the fore
shrouds to the cross-trees. When I was
comfortably established, I noticed that Mrs.

Xauobtct of the Spbtnr

Tremont was laboring after me. Devoe
climbed by her side with a protecting air.

I helped her to scramble upon the plat-
form, and she seated herself in triumph.

"There!" she exclaimed, "Who says a
woman is out of place at sea ? Isn't it fine?"
she rattled on. " I must do a water-color of
this. It reminds me of Mr. Carroll's poem.
Do you know it ?

" ' The sun was shining on the sea,

Shining with all his might ;
He did his very best to make

The billows smooth and bright j
And this was odd, because it was

The middle of the night." "

" Beautiful !" said Devoe, enthusiastically.

"It's the 'Walrus and the Carpenter,'"
she went on. " All children are brought up
on it. I think Mr. Carroll must have visited
Greenland, don't you, Mr. Dahlgren ? There
are walrus in the north, I'm told."

" Listen !" I said, with as much dramatic
manner as I could muster up at short notice.
Presently a hollow barking rang through the
stillness.

" Is it a dog ?" she asked.

"No," I answered; "it's a walrus. We
152

e. Devoe
ting air.
m the plat-
iumph.
Vho says a
n't it fine?"
Lter-color of
roll's poem.

busiastically.
Zarpenter,' "
; brought up
have visited
rren? There

ich dramatic

short notice.

through the

walrus. We

Bn Brctic iproblcm

have come up here expressly to hunt him for
dog-food."

"A hunt? I am going, too," she an-
nounced. " I have a gun,"

I hesitated, and then evaded the responsi-
bility.

" Volunteer to Mr. Van Den Zee," I sug-
gested.

"Of course," admitted Mrs. Tremont.
"But, Mr. Dahlgren," she added, rather
piteously, " will you help me to get down ?
Since I have been here I have been looking,
and it seems higher than I thought."

Devoe fixed her feet upon the ladder and
I supported her arm, and after ten minutes
of labor and exclamations we landed her safe
upon the deck. She thanked us graciously,
and hurried aft to Van, who was seeing the
boats overboard. I called together the party
of which, as second in command of the expe-
dition, I had charge — Billy and two sailors —
and jumped into the dinghy. Just as I had
ordered the men to give way, Mrs. Tremont
appeared at the rail.

" Oh, please wait," she called. " Mr. Van
Den Zee says I am to go with you."

Xaufibtcr of tbc SpWni

She passed down a tiny Winchester, with
a stock all silver filigee-work, kept us waiting
while a sailor let down the ladder, and de-
scended cautiously into the boat. Around
her waist was a cartridge-belt full of ammu-
nition that might have been effective against
Arctic hares. Billy grunted, and shifted to
the bow, so that she could sit beside me.

" Mrs. Van Den Zee is going, too," she
exclaimed, as soon as she was seated. " She's
going in her husband's boat. Do hurry,
please. I want to be first to shoot a walrus."

As we drew near the ice fioes upon which
the great brutes were sunning themselves,
Mrs. Tremont tightened her belt and threw
a cartridge out of her rifle to be sure that it
was properly loaded. "I'm an old sports-
woman," she explained. "I've shot deer
with this rifle in the Adirondacks. What
fine marks walrus are," she chattered ner-
vously on. "Not half as hard to shoot as
deer. Why, they lie right down like big
slugs and let you stalk them. I don't think
much of your walrus, Mr. Dahlgren. I ex-
pected to have a battle with them. There,
one has raised his head. How imperious

»54

■ -iw'MttlwihiitfitaM^ftiirtM

mtmimmttimtm

lester, with
us waiting
er, and de-
A round
of ammu-
ve against
shifted to
de me.
, too," she
ed. "She's
Do hurry,
a walrus."
ipon which
hemselves,
and threw
ure that it
old sports-
shot deer
ks. What
tered ner-
} shoot as
n like big
lon't think
en. I ex-
n. There,
imperious

vimmtMmmmiimiluiitiMim

Hit Hrcttc proDIcm

he looks, as if we were impertinent to hunt
him. Is it time to shoot ?"

" If you like," I said. " Let her run, men ;
we're near enough,"

The walrus all about us had begun to flop
from the floes into the water. Mrs. Tremont
and Billy fired at the same instant, and the
big bull that had been staring at us, fell upon
the ice. Mrs. Tremont screamed with de-
light. " I've killed one !" she cried out. " Do
let us get him. I'll have his head mounted
for my dining-room."

"Let's leave him there and get some
others first," I suggested. " Don't you want
to shoot some more ?"

She looked about dubiously. The floes
were bare. At the sound of the shots the
herd had disappeared. In the distance black
heads bobbed up to survey us, and from all
quarters came the hoarse barking of bulls
calling to arms. Billy jerked out his empty
shell, and loaded a fresh cartridge into the
chamber of his rifle.

"There seem to be none near enough to
shoot," said Mrs. Tremont. " I'm disgusted
with walrus ; they are cowards."

ISI

TLauobtcr of tbe Spblni

For reply I pointed to a spot on our star-
board side, where several heads together in-
dicated a gathering of the herd. The heads
rose, disappeared, rose again, nearer and
nearer, until the water, two hundred feet
away, was thick with them. Suddenly, ap-
parently by concerted arrangement, the wal-
rus threw themselves into a sort of rank,
lifted their heads high above the water, and
charged upon us. Many walrus hunts had I
seen, but in this, as in all fights with the
noble creatures, I lost sense of everything
except a confusion of foam, an oncoming
black mass, great glaring eyes, and long
gleaming tusks. I do not know how long
the fight lasted. I do know that in the face
of our three rifles the herd dashed within
oar's length of us, and I think it would have
reached the boat but for the bodies of its
leaders, which it pushed against her sides.
At last, however, the fire was too hot, and
with broken ranks the walrus turned and
fled.

When they had disappeared beneath the
water I became conscious that in the midst
of the tumult I had been hearing a succes-

156

■8M«

JimMfiriitmtiMiM

)n our star-
:ogether in-

The heads
nearer and
indred feet
ddenly, ap-
nt, the wal-
»rt of rank,
; water, and
liunts had I
,ts with the

everything
I oncoming
;, and long
V how long

in the face
shed within
would have
odies of its
t her sides.

00 hot, and
turned and

beneath the

1 the midst
ig a succes-

Hn Hrcttc ll^roWcm

sion of loud cries and orders, and the words,
" Take me away !" echoed in my ear. The
cries had ceased ; but moans came from the
bottom of the boat, where Mrs. Tremont was
crouched, with her face hidden in her hands.
At first my assurances that the danger was
over drew from her only an augmentation of
the moanings, and I had the boat put about
toward the ship. At the motion of the men,
Mrs. Tremont lifted her head and gazed
wildly over the gunwale. She remained so
long in this position that I assured her again
of her safety, and suggested that she would
be more comfortable in her seat.

"Take me to the ship, if you please, Mr.
Dahlgren," she replied, so haughtily that I
caught my breath. When we were within
sight of the deck, however, she picked up
her rifle and took her place by my side. At
the ladder she passed by my offered hand
and without aid scrambled to the deck.

During the rest of the hunt there was
little conversation in our boat. The walrus
suffered, however. When we returned to
the ship the sun was high. The other boats
hung at the davits, but except the man on

157

I'jiir'ff^-^iff ''"'•'"''""^'•"'-'-

Xaudbter of tbe Spbinjc

watch no one hailed us. The rest of the
party was asleep.

At the head of the ladder, however, stood
Mrs. Tremont. Her hair was stringy, and
beneath her eyes were dark shadows. She
stood looking out to sea until Billy and I had
reached the deck.

"I need hardly ask you," she said, in low
tones, "not to relate this experience to
the other members of the party."

Billy merely bowed and tramped away, but
I was sorry for her.

"Of course not," I said. "It was per-
fectly natural. You may count on Dr. Par-
sons and me, and I'll speak to the men."

"Thank you," she answered, coldly. "I
will speak to them myself."

I bowed myself away, and she waited,
while we hauled up the boat. When I went
to my bunk I saw her giving something to
the two sailors, who were scraping and
touching their caps.

IV. ^ :

" Damn a nail !" remarked Devoe, with
his thumb in his mouth.

158 '. :"V' -'

mtmimuifm

•^iiitiUmtiUK0itm

mmmk

HMHM

mlUtiitm

rest of the

ever, stood
tringy, and
lows. She
y and I had

said, in low
)erience to

d away, but

t was per-
Dn Dr. Par-
: men."
coldly. " I

he waited,
hen I went
mething to
aping and

>evoe, with

liiiaaiMliHAUiaiii

an Hrcttc problem

" Oh !" sympathized Mrs. Tremont. " Did
it hurt you ? Come right down and let me
tie it up."

She scrambled along a rafter of our half-
finished Arctic house and slowly descended
the ladder. Devoe glanced sullenly toward
the half-dozen of us amateur carpenters who
were roofing over the headquarters.

•' Better have it 'tended to," said Bunker.
" A smashed thumb is no joke."

Devoe's face brightened. " Guess I had,"
he said. " I'll be back in a minute."

" What do you coddle him for ?" asked one
of the fellows, when the two were well down
toward the beach. "Most of us have a
finger or two out of commission."

" Couldn't stand the chatter," replied the
hunter. " They talked faster 'n they worked.
'Sides look at this plank !"

The end was dented and splintered by
awkward blows.

" Why on airth she come at all, an' why on
airth, if she hed to come, she shud wear boys'
clothes and try to drive a nail is more'n I
know," said the wizened young hunter.
" Look at 'er swingin' down there with thet

159

fftmgai»[ii[iiiwiriniiim

lauabtcr of tbc Sphtnx

poor seed uv a half-breed. I'll bet my
stock o' tobaccy thet she won't do no
wrappin' up uv his sore finger. She'll jest
ax Mrs. Van Den Zee whar the liniment is,
an' Mrs. Van '11 dew the work. Now, thar's
a woman fer ye !"

"Yes," assented Livingston, a young
geologist fresh from a technical school. "She's
a charming women. But what's the use of a
woman here, anyway ? Look how haggard
the boss got when she was seasick on the
voyage up ! He has enough to 'tend to
without worrying over his wife. When the
time comes for the long sledge-trip, she'll
cry ; or, if she doesn't, she'll be brave and
he'll think of her the more and want to come
back to her all the while. As far as I can see
she is pure peril to us, and no use at all."

"All the same," returned the hunter, "I
notice thet you was glad to hev her sew up
the breeches you ripped, slidin' down the
backstay. An' I noticed thet in the walrus
hunt, when you emptied your gun an' the
walrus was still chargin' the boat, you wuz
tickled to find yer spare weppun loaded fur
ye. I ain't ashamed to confess thet I was

■^mmmMmmmmmmmmmi*''

11 bet my
I't do no
She'll jest
Iniment is,
*<Iow, thar's

a young
ool. "She's
he use of a
»w haggard
lick on the
;o 'tend to

When the
i-trip, she'll

brave and
int to come
as I can see
,e at all."

hunter, "I
her sew up
' down the
I the walrus
jun an' the
at, you wuz
I loaded fur

thet I was

Hn Hrctic Problem

relieved to have seventeen shot ready. I
don't want to come arter the North Pole an'
turn up my toes on th' way in any little walrus
fight."

"That's not the point," replied the geolo-
gist. "A man can sew and a man could
have loaded our guns. It didn't need a
woman to do it."

" It didn't, hay ?" roared Bunker. " Wa-al,
nbw, I wanter know what man would er done
It. A man would er wanted ter shoot. Be-
sides ther's a moral effect about a woman.
You fellers in the East don't val'e women
as yer ought. We know what a good woman
IS out West. I've seen a hull town er thieves
an' gamblers an' murderers tarned into law-
abidin' citizens by one gal oomin' ter the
place."

" Hello !" interrupted a cheerful voice from
below. "Is there anyone up there that needs
to be healed up? We're organizing a hos-
pital corps."

''Didn't I tell ye?" murmured Bunker,
"Thank ye, ma'am ; I've split my finger, an'
if you've got anythin' coolin' I'll have some
put on."

" I6i -

'it^Kiimmmmmimm

! '<■

< ■

-
I -

Xauflbtcr of tbc «pi)inr

Most of us had banjr'-d ourselves more or
less, and, say what you will about coddling,
most of us were inore comfortable after our
fingers had been dressed. Not a word of
sympathy did we get from Mrs. Van, only
bright smiles and bright words.

Mrs. Tremont did not climb again to. the
roof. Billy was detailed to work there, and
him she avoided even more carefully than
she avoided me. In our story of the walrus
hunt he had assigned the big bull to her gun

for indeed, we had found her ball beneath

the tough skin of the brute's neck. I think
she believed that he was enjoying a sarcasm
at her expense— though that was never in
Billy's mind. At all events, she kept away
from us, and was chiefly with Devoe, who
plumed himself visibly on her preference.

By the time the house was finished, how-
ever, she had regained all her usual self-
possession.

"I am chief decorator," she announced,
" and you are all under my orders. We are
going to have an Arctic palace. Now, Mr.
Van Den Zee, don't look glum. Your old ex-
plorations can wait a day until I have finished.

i6a '

Ives more or
)iit coddling,
ble after our
it a word of
rs. Van, only

again to. the
rk there, and
arefully than
Df the walrus
ill to her gun
• ball beneath
eck. I think
ng a sarcasm
was never in
le kept away
Devoe, who
)reference.
finished, bow-
er usual self-

e announced,
ers. We are
e. Now, Mr.
Your old ex-
have finished.

■'"" '' *-*^*"r"-

Hn Hrctic problem

I don't want to live, and you don't either, in
a room hung with red flannel. It may keep
out the cold, but it doesn't look pretty. Our
three rooms are going to blossom as the
rose."

" Very well," returned Van, " but if some
one doesn't go to shoot reindeer what will
you have to eat in winter ?"

" Oh, reindeer ! How I shall like to eat
reindeer !" she exclaimH. " Yes, hurry and
send some one away. Send my husband;
he is a good shot. But you must leave me
enough men to decorate properly."

" Very well," consented Van. " Dahl, will
you and Devoe and Bunker be ready to start
to-morrow.?"

"I can't have Mr. Devoe go," broke in
Mrs. Tremont. " His taste is so good ! I
need him here."

Van's lips drew out into a thin line. " I'm
afraid you'll have to get along without him,"
he said. " I'm sorry."

Nevertheless, after two hours of climbing
up the cliffs behind the house, Devoe com-
plained of his eyes. He had no snow glasses
and was afraid of going blind. Disgusted

163

■■■ ;> *

MiiiMiiili

.J*

! I

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

with his malingering, I sent him back to
headquarters. Before nightfall the doctor

joined us.

We hunted with success for three days,
and returned each laden with haunches of
venison. Billy met us half way up the hill and
lingered behind the others with me for a talk.

" All gone well ?" I asked.

Billy shrugged his big shoulders.

"We're living in a Turkish palace," he
said, "all carpets and cushions. You ought
fj see the Eskimos stare. They are not al-
lowed to enter, for obvious reasons, and I
feel as if I ought to drts^ for dinner. But it
isn't that I wanted to talk about. I'm afraid
that little Tremont woman is going to make

trouble."

"What's the matter?" I asked, hastily, for
Billy was dragging ac his whiskers.

"Well, in the first place, she's turning the
heads of the youngsters. The little Living-
ston and Devoe are not on speaking terms,
and yesterday Devoe struck one of the
Huskies and almost frightened the whole
settlement away."

" A Husky !" I exclaimed. " For goodness*

164

^L.

mmmi

. ^ 6i iA li ^( »imk

..■^v:;-JO>Attr^^-y>.^v;-t^

Inx

im back to
the doctor

three days,
haunches of
5 the hill and
rie for a talk.

:rs.

palace," he
You ought
' are not al-
isons, and I
iner. But it
I'm afraid
ing to make

1, hastily, for
ers.

5 turning the
little Living-
:aking terms,
one of the
d the whole

or sfoodness*

Hn Hrcttc iProWcm

sake leave your old billy-goat whiskers alone
and tell me a straight story."

"Well," began Billy, "when you friend
Devoe came back I saw him exchanging
looks with Mrs. Tremont. He said his eyes
had given out, but he wouldn't let the doctor
see them, and Mrs. Tremont mopped them
with witch-hazel — the first bit of actual work
I've seen her do. They got well soon enough
to let him unpack a big box for her, and out
came the carpets and mirrors and pictures.

" She climbed upon the old deal-table and
ordered the things brought in.

'"But, Mrs. Tremont,' said Van, 'you
don't want to put down that Axminster rug
on this floor, "it'll be soaked with seal-oil
and — the Eskimos '11 sit on it' /

"'Seal-oil!' she screamed. "You're not
going to have seal-oil in here. This is the
dining-room. Seal-oil in the men's quarters,
if you like, but none passes this door.'

" 'I'm afraid,' saii.' Van — you know that he
sets his lips when he is waked up — ' that we
shall have to use this room for all sorts of
things. Your carpet will certainly be a

mess.

|6S

umm

Mmm^sami^i&iimiSidi

rtlitftrBfMfci-

iik

lauabtcr of tbe Spfiini

"Her eyes blazed; she's got a temper,
that woman, as we know.

" ' All right ; let it, then,' she said. ' We're
going to have the rug,' and down it went.
She was very wroth, though; she followed
me out of doors, when I went to bring some
of the mirrors, and began to abuse Van for
not caring for the comfort of his men."

"The devil she did !" I grunted.

" ' But I'll have my way,' she said. 'You
saw how I had it about keeping Devoe. I
know how to manage your Mr. Van.' "

" Has the ship gone ?" I asked.

" Left two hours after you did. We can't
send her home. We shall just have to man-
age her. Now, listen ; that isn't all. She
made big eyes at Livingston till he trotted
around after her like a little dog. That riled
Devoe. The thing came to a climax when
she asked advice about placing a big mirror ;
should it be opposite the entrance or at one
side, where it reflected the men's room?
Livingston said on the wall side ; then, of
course, Devoe took the other view. How-
ever, she favored the youngster. Devoe
turned red and came outside for more stuff.

i66

■ia> >ia)i m *»

'iW*-|liitf')i»ffi?'feftt.^f't.iii;V

a temper,

lid. 'We're
vn it went,
le followed
bring some
ise Van for
men."
[.

aid. ' You
Devoe. I
an.

We can't
.ve to man-
t all. She
I he trotted
That riled
imax when
big mirror ;
: or at one
:n's room ?
2 ; then, of
ew. How-
r. Devoe
more stuff.

Hn Hrctic problem

Livingston came, too, and both of them
grabbed the same roll of tapestry at the same
time. I haven't a sense of humor, you tell
me, but I found this funny. Livingston said,
'This is my charge.' Devoe said, 'Fergit it
and take another' ; but Livingston wouldn't
let go and they began to struggle for it. I
put an end to that by taking the thing my-
self. They were ashanied, I think, for they
didn't fight any more. Meanwhile Van was
having a confab with Mrs. Van, and by and
by called Livington and went away in the
whale-boat, across to Netchiuloome."

" What did Mrs. Van do ?" I asked.

"Oh, she's been a brick all through.
Cooked us good grub and never said a word.
She helped with the decoration, too, and I
saw her smoothing out Devoe's temper after
the fight. And then "

" What about the Husky ?" I interrupted.

"I was coming to that," said Billy. "Van
came back from Netchiuloome this morning
with a boatload of Eskimos and their families.
Mrs. Tremont screamed with joy. Teleko-
teah — big Telekoteah, you know — was in the
crowd, and nothing would do but he must

167

*W'Wrai i it i M» ii H i WWW'rt» i IltT«. i Wlia<ii"ilMW

Uauobter of tbe Spbini

stand and lean on his harpoon while she
painted his picture. I heard her tell Devoe
that the Husky was the handsomest man she
ever saw, and he chafed and glowered at
Telekoteah more than he had glowered at
Livingston. She. went all over him, praising
his hands and his hair and his eyes ; and she
wanted him to take off his netcha, so that she
could get his shoulders. I had to interpret
for her, and I thought she'd be out of mis-
chief if she were out of headquarters, so I
promised Telekoteah a stick of wood if he
would pose for her, and she got out her easel
and went to work. That was all right for a
while. But pretty soon Devoe said he had
left his hammer down on the beach and went
to fetch it. I saw him pushing the Husky
around, and then I heard the whack a man's
fist makes against another man's cheek, and
there lay the Husky on the ground with
Devoe standing over him. I ran down the
beach and took hold of Devoe, and Teleko-
teah ran away. Mrs. Tremont was laughing
so that she could hardly speak.

'"It's all right, Mr. Parsons,' she said,
'let him go. He was trying to get the Es-

i63

while she
• tell Devoe
;st man she
flowered at
jlowered at
im, praising
is ; and she
, so that she
to interpret
out of mis-
arters, so I
wood if he
ut her easel
right for a
aid he had
h and went
the Husky
ick a man's
cheek, and
round with
I down the
nd Teleko-
as laughing

,' she said,
gGt the Es-

iMmiinn

Bn Brctic problem

kimo into the pose I wanted, and the man
resisted.' "

"Goon," I said, "I'm too much stunned
now to be surprised at anything. What did
Van do?"

Billy's hand went to his whiskers.

"I have never seen such a face on any
man as his was," replied Billy. "It was
white hot. But he didn't say anything before
us. He beckoned Devoe to follow him away
from the rest and talked to him, and the half-
breed went to pieces as if some one were
slashing him with a dog-whip. By and by
Van left him and walked over toward the
Huskies, \v'ho were packing up their tents.
When he came near them the women ran
away and the men collected in a bunch and
looked sullen. Van argued with them for
an hour, and then came marching up the
beach looking straight before him, and the
Huskies went on with their packing.

" Pretty soon I saw Mrs. Van walking
quietly toward them. She had her Winches-
ter rifle in her hand. The Huskies stared at
her 9 . if she were a ghost — they hadn't seen

her before, and her yellow hair was a new

169

Xaugbtcr of tbc Spbini

thing to them. She began to talk to the
women first, and in a minute or two had
them laughing. Van tells me she has been
practising Eskimo with him for the last six
months. Then she went to the men. I don't
know what she said, but she gave Telekoteah
the gun, and when she came away they be-
gan to put up their tents again. By Jupiter !
but I was glad to see that. The story would
have got about the whole tribe, and not a
Husky should we have had to help us.
Think of running your own errands and car-
rying home all your game. Van shook her
by the hand, and then we all shook her by
the hand, and the air would have been sick-
ening sweet if she hadn't laughed at us and
asked if we didn't want to help her get din-
ner. And we had a first-class repast, which
you missed."

"Well, I don't know that I'm sorry," I
said. "You must have been a party of
spooks."

" Not at all. We had all the joy of the
sinner that repenteth. The little fight had
glorified the atmosphere. We laughed like
children."

ini

talk to the
)r two had
le has been
the last six
len. I don't
Telekoteah
ay they be-
By Jupiter !
story would
, and not a

help us.
ids and car-

1 shook her
look her by
e been sick-
id at us and
her get din-
epast, which

m sorry," I
a party of

i joy of the
le fight had
laughed like

Bn Brctic problem

"You are a crowd of weathercocks," I
said. " Is the love-feast going to last ?"

"That's what I want to talk about. It's
got to last. I think Devoe is quelled for a
time, but the lady will bear watching."

"Behold the butterfly-hunter at his call-
ing !" I scoffed.

"Yes," returned Billy. "It's a poor law
that restricts the use of chloroform."

Nevertheless, at headquarters I found little
to bear out Billy in his fears. On the con-
trary, the outbreak seeme.d to have shocked
the nonsense out of every one. Devoe was
as meek and eager to please as a recently
corrected child.

Mrs. Tremont ate her dinner in silence,
and afterwards, when we were lounging over
our coffee in the luxurious, lamplit room, she
appeared, smiling brightly, with a box of
Turkish tobacco.

"Put this in your pipes," she laughed
triumphantly. "I'm going to smoke with
you."

It was excellent, even to Billy, whose hard-
ened lungs scorned anything milder than

plug-

171

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

She brought a guitar, too, and tinkled out
popular songs to order until everyone mar-
velled at her memory. At the end of the
evening we turned in, harmonious and de- '
lighted with her brilliancy. Mrs. Van's
exploits in the afternoon passed into the 1
shade.

Once in every twenty-four hours thereafter
we gathered in the dining-room to enjoy
some such entertainment. At first some of
the men grumbled at the sumptuousness of
carpets and tapestry. Billy growled that he
" never felt like going to meals without wash-
ing his hands." But at last the belief came
to be commonly accepted that the litde for-
malities of civilization kept up one's self-
respect.

"There's a big difference, Dahl, between
this sort of thing and our life on the other
expeditions," said Billy, one night. "Do
you remember how we used to argue ? No
man could set up a theory on any subject
without running the gaundet. 'Nowadays
you never hear a loud word ; the fellows are
afraid of shocking a lady."

«'Yas," drawled Bunker. "I've noticed
172

tinkled out
iryone mar-
end of the
us and de-
Mrs. Van's
3d into the

s thereafter
n to enjoy
rst some of
uousness of
rled that he
ithout wash-
belief came
le little for-
one's self-

ihl, between
on the other
light. " Do
I argue ? No
any subject
' Nowadays
; fellows are

I've noticed

fln Hrctic problem

that a man don't fight so easy w'en he's got
his hair combed. By the way, whar wuz
those fellers that ust ter kick at ladies comin'
ter th' Arctic regions ? I ain't heard nothin'
from 'em fur ever so long."

" Where are you that used to be wonder-
ing what a woman wanted to wear trousers
and smoke cigarettes for?" retorted Living-
ston. "You seem to be as fond of Mrs.
Tremont as any of us."

Bunker grinned sheepishly.

"Somehow she looks different in them
seal an' reindeer skins," he said. " I seen
her yesterday down at the Huskies' t£-/oo-
gahs. She was rigged out in full Husky
costume, an' the men was standin' round her
jest like civilized dudes. She looked awful
pretty."

" She is a very brilliant woman," said Liv-
ingston, sententiously.

"It's Mrs. Van that does the cooking,
though," I suggested.

"Yes, isn't she a corker?" put in De-
voe.

Since his misstep Devoe had made it a
point to agree with every last speaker. He

'73

MMM

HMM

7Uu0bter of tbc Spbinx

had not enough self-contr.'j to be silent, but
he never ventured to make heterodox opin-
ions, and we took him very lightly.

"I should have thought," said Livingston,
" that you found Mrs. Trcmont more of a —
more agreeable. You have enough of her
society."

As meteorologist, Devoe had but one
duty : to read his instruments every two
hours, at other times he was Mrs. Tremont's
guard of honor on the rather risky adven-
tures she liked to undertake. I thought she
was trying to re-establish her reputation for
bravery with Billy and me.

Of her husband &he never seemed to
think. He took her expeditions uninterest-
edly, as he took everything else, except his
study of Eskimo ailments — he had none to
study among our party.

"I suppose he is used to her," commented
Billy, one afternoon, late in the winter, as we
were cutting ice for drinking water from a
berg frozen in the bay, abreast of the head-
quarters, " but it seems to me that I shouldn't
like to have my wife climbing vertical cliffs
by moonlight with only a half-breed to help

174

^' illlWi

inx

i silent, but
rodox opin-

Livingston,
lore of a —
ugh of her

d but one
every two
Tremont's
sky adven-
:hought she
putation for

seemed to
uninterest-
except his

ad none to

commented
inter, as we
Iter from a
f the head-
I shouldn't
ertical cliffs
sed to help

an Brctic problem

her if she should slip. Why do you suppose
she does it?"

"Wants to be a man like ourselves, I
think," I said. "She would like to go north
upon the sledge journey. F overheard her
asking Van a day or two ago whether he
didn't think a woman could stand snow-shoe
trips as well as a man."

" So-o !" grunted Bill • Well, then, that
may explain why she has been making up to
Van so hard of late. I thought — what did
Van do?"

" Laughed and said that but for the short
rations perhaps she could. She understood,
and I don't believe she liked it. What a
couple of gossips we are, Billy ! But it's for
the good of the party, so I suppose we had
better talk matters over. What was it you
thought ?"

" I was afraid," answered Billy, " that she
was trying to make Mrs. Van uncomfortable."

" That idea entered my head," I agreed,
and for a moment we pondered it over.

"This is how it seems to me," I explained.
" Mrs. Tremont is the kind of woman who
runs her set by virtue of the astonishing

«7S

J&.

1^ i

lauobtcr of tbc Sphinx

things she has done. When you and I were
young and mixed in the great world, the
female who »i.d freak things for the sake of
describing them to an amazed circle of friends ■,
was just evolving in America. Within a few
years she has taken the lead — so I am told.
She likes to be the central figure, no matter
where she is, and there are so many of her
that each has to fight for place. She is used
to fighting; she gets to regarding it as a
necessity. i\'ow, here is this woman, who
has always been cock of her roost. She
bosses her husband, and I have no doubt
bosses her friends. She expected to boss
us. In that scrap with the Huskies Mrs.
Van took the wind out of her sails. Mrs.
Trtirr.ont has been laying herself out to
eclipse her, and now that she isn't succeed-
ing she is getting desperate and means to
make trouble. See ?"

"Yes," answered Billy, drily, "I see. Sup-
pose, however, that you come down to present
conditions. What are we going to do about
it?"

"Leave it to Providence and Mrs. Van,"
I suggested.

176

■Mi

fni:

I and I were
: world, the
the sake of
;le of friends
Vithin a few
io I am told.
i, no matter
nany of her
She is used
ling it as a
'oman, who
roost. She
e no doubt
ted to boss
iskies Mrs.
sails. Mrs.
self out to
I't succeed-
d means to

I see. Sup-
n to present
to do about

Mrs. Van,"

1^1

'iu

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-i.

♦v^

^■VMmmmhv ,>•

Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

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WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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Hn Arctic problem

" Providence, 1 surmise, doesn't govern
north of Upernavik. We might leave it to
Turng-nur-och-suah, or whatever his name is,
but I doubt whether he understands the ways
of civilized women. Why can't creatures of
light and luxury be as simple and straight-
forward as these poor savage females. They
seem to have all the virtues and none of the
vices of civilization."

" Huh !" I suggested. •' I'll bet that if we
could get at the inside workings of the tribe
we should find that every woman wants to
be the wife of a medicine-man."

We were passing the tide-gauge as I
spoke, and from behind the little mound of
snow that we had heaved up, in keeping the
ice clear, came a woman's voice. The woman
was Mrs. Tremont, and she was holdingr a
loud and passionate monologue.

"I tell you," she exclaimed, "that Van
Den Zee is no leader of men. I could man-
age an expedition better myself. The idea
of his mooning in his cabin with that color-
less wife of his, and making his men build
sledges. I would have had every sledge put
together at home and by this time I would
i> ,77

^:'a

lUuflbter of tbe Spbtnx

have travelled to the North Pole. Any man
in the party could do it better ; you would
be a far better leader yourself."

"You've made a bull's-eye there," said
the thin voice of Devoe. "It's all rot to
say that sledge- making keeps the men from
scrapping."

" Of course it is. I'd have kept them from
quarrelling— I have kept them from it. If I
hadn't been here they'd have turned Mr.
and Mrs. Van Den Zee out of doors before
this. That woman with her dovey manners
makes my "

Here Billy began to whistie a tune, and
the voice ceased. We made our way vigor-
ously to the house. While we were unload-
ing our ice into the melting apparatus, Billy
broke the silence.

" Dahl," he said, "we must warn Van."

" Peeook" I assented.

The dining-room was empty, but from the
chief's cabin came the crooning of a little
Eskimo charm-song. We had heard the
angekok call spirits with it over and again,
and always we had derided the musical ear

178 • ' •

Hn Hrctlc problem

^ny man
u would

e," said

1 rot to
len from

em from
it. If I
•ned Mr.
rs before
manners

une, and
ay vigor-

2 unload-
tus, Billy

Van."

from the
>f a little
eard the
nd again,
usical ear

of the Eskimo gods, but now both of us
stood listening until the strain ended.

" Great heavens, she can sing !" I ex-
claimed. " She can sing ten times as well
as the other one. Curious dramatic effect,
isn't it, that she should be so happy while
that cat is making enemies for her out in
the dark."

Billy made no answer, but strode to the
door and knocked. Mrs. Van opened it.
Her face had grown more fragile as the win-
ter night wore upon it, and when she saw
our serious faces it turned paler and frailer
still. She pressed her finger hastily to her
lip, glanced over her shoulder into the cabin,
came out and softly closed the door.

" There is some trouble," she murmured.
"Please don't tell my husband. He has
enough on his mind now."

Billy meditated, frowning.

"Listen," she said. "I wish you would
trust to me, and — and I am sure I can trust
you. Is there any bad feeling among the —
members of the party ?"

Billy heaved a long breath.
179

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

" You are a brave woman," he said. " \ es,
there is. It isn't serious yet, but we must be
ready for anything that may come up. You
had better sit here by the table."

She rested her forehead upon a slender
hand, while Billy told her plainly what we
had heard. Before he had finished, her face
was wet, but no sob interrupted Billy's story.
I knew at that moment why an explorer is
willing to give up his dreams of adding new
lands to the map for the sake of a woman.

When she looked up her eyes smiled
bravely through her tears.

" Please don't think I'm going to be afraid,"
she said. " I have known for some time that
Mrs. Tremont did not feel pleasantly toward
us. It is not sorrow that makes me cry, it is
relief at finding two strong friends. I have
felt rather lonely and distrustful. I suppose
it is the darkness. Now let us see what to
do. Do you think there is any chance that
she can make the men believe ill of us ?"

"She won't do much with Bunker," an-
swered Billy. "But the other fellows are
young men and there is no doubt she has
rather dazzled them."

i8o

. "Yes,
must be
p. You

slender
Arhat we
her face
''s story,
plorer is
ing new
iroman.
> smiled

3 afraid,"

time that

y toward

; cry, it is

I have

suppose

what to

ince that

us?"

ker," an-
llows are
t she has

Bn Brctic problem

" I suppose," said Mrs. Van, " that I ought
to have been more entertaining, but I thought
Mrs. Tremont was doing that part of the
work very well and that I had better devote
myself to the cooking-stove."

" Men get to taking ordinary comforts in
an ordinary way," philosophized Billy. " But
it's not too late."

" Your part is to keep on as you have be-
gun. Something will turn up to show the
men. Leave it to us. If we need you we
will call upon you."

" Very well," she answered. " I shall be
ready. My courage failed a little when I felt
lonely, but now that I have friends I am brave
again."

She gave a smile and a hand to each of us.
I think my grasp must have caused her pain,
but she made no sign of it. For a moment
we stood thus linked, she pondering and we
looking at her. Presently, at a move-
ment in the tiny stateroom she hurried away,
and we heard her crooning the magic song.
For a moment we listened, and then, with a
common impulse, we grasped each other by
the hand.

Xauabter of tbc Spbini
. V.

That evening Mrs. Tremont was first at
dinner. I thought her glances rested sus-
piciously upon me, but they flitted away
whenever I tried to catch them. Devoe,
however, openly watched us, and his nose
twitched harder than ever.

Mrs. Tremont's voice startled me as I was
taking note of his troubled looks.

"Mr. Dahlgren," it said, "will you pass
me the sugar?"

Now, by the carelessness of those aboard
the ship, part of our supply of sugar had not
been landed. Consequently in that one
article of diet Van had put us on rations.
Mrs. Tremont had used her share for the
dinner, and I had used mine. At a tiny nod
from Mrs. Van, however, I sent the almost
empty bowl to the doctor's wife. She took
it sharply, as if my compliance had displeased
her, hesitated a moment, and then pushed
the bowl away.

" No," she said, " I suppose one can't take
any more. Oh, how I should like to have all
the sugar I wanted, just once. I don't sup-

182

f' >"iirf-tirS

5 first at
;ted sus-
2d away
Devoe,
his nose

as I was

you pass

e aboard
r had not
that one
1 rations,
e for the
I tiny nod
le almost
She took
displeased
;n pushed

can't take
to have all
don't sup-

Bn Brctic problem

pose any one is to blame — but it is particu-
larly exasperating that sugar should be the
one thing short in our supplies. Just think
of the comfort we might have had in it. I
could have cooked you such beautiful cakes
— cake is the only thing I know how to
make," she added, hastily, "but mine are
held to be delicious. I wish some good
Arctic spirit would give me a birthday pres-
ent of a bowl of sugar — my birthday comes in a
fortnight from to-night, and I have lots of sur-
prises for you. But a cake you cannot have."

A curious reply came to her wish. Before
she had well finished speaking, some one
knocked upon the door. I opened it. Sev-
eral Eskimos clustered about the threshold.
Among them was a hunter from Cape York,
the most southerly settlement of the tribe.
He bore a letter gravely into the room and
laid it before Van.

A letter out of a region where there is no
written language is a startling affair. We
waited, silent, while Van tore it open. But
he read it with a twinkle in his eye, which
was equivalent with Van to a broad smile.

"It seems," he said, "that the ship got
l«9

1^.

TUuobtcr of tbe Spblni

caught. There is no danger. The captain
writes me that he met heavy ice in Melville
Bay and not daring to try the passage so
late in the season, returned to the north
water and put in at North Star Bay. He is
not heavily frozen up, and hopes to be afloat,
safe, before July. ' All well aboard thus far,' "
read Van, meditatively, and sat pondering
while we chatted over the news.
After dinner he called me aside.
"Dahl," he said, "men on shipboard in
the ice are more apt to develop scurvy than
men ashore. I shall send the doctor to look
over the crew, and, of course, he can't go
alone. Are you willing to try two weeks of
sledging? The sun will come back next
week ; it won't be night work."

" Night or day, old man, it's all the same
to me, if you wish it," I said. I am not given
to bursts of effusion, and this one seemed
to surprise Van a little. All he said, how-
ever, was:

" Thank you, Dahl ; I'm sure of it. By
the way," he added, and his eyes twinkled,
"you might bring back some sugar for Mrs.

Tremont."

184

capiain
Melville
sage so
e north
He is
e afloat,
us far,' "
)ndering

board in
rvy than
r to look
can't go
weeks of
Lck next

he same
lot given
3 seemed
aid, how-

»fit. By
twinkled,
• for Mrs.

Hn Hrcttc problem

Just a fortnight afterward, after an easy
trip, we arrived at the headquarters. The
conscientious doctor had dropped off at the
Eskimo iglooyas to visit a patient. I paused
in the outer passage to knock the snow out
of my clothes. The door of the men's room
was open, and I was aware that the party
was gathered there. I heard Devoe's snarl-
ing voice in what seemed to be a speech.
Bunker I could see. He was standing with
his hand upon the table ; the queer wrinkles
about his eyes were contracted and his mouth
and nose were screwed up sidewise. I drew
near the door.

" And so we have determined," concluded
Devoe, pompously, " to depose Van Den Zee
from the command of this expedition, and
we oiifer you the position of leader."

Bunker's glance wandered from one corner
of the ceiling to another.

" It don't seem to me," he drawled, " 's if
they was any call to change leaders. I do'
know 's I cud dew any better' n Mister Van
Den Zee."

" But you could," broke in Mrs. Tremont,
impetuously. "Listen. It is not fit that a

i8|

.lai^iiAMialliMilii

lauabter of tbc Spbini

married man should have charge of an Arctic
expedition. Sec what Mr. Van Den Zee has
done. Instead of working at the beginning,
he went away to visit Eskimos and left you
men to build the house. When you had
comfortable quarters, he set you to building
sledges, while he spent all his time shut up
in his state-room with his wife. Did he
build a single sledge ? Not one. He takes
no care of his men ; he thinks of nothing
except his wife. But for his carelessness
we should have had a comfortable winter; as
it is we lack an essential item in our supplies.
Now he has sent two men on a senseless
sledge-trip in the stormy season. The
chances are against their ever being seen
again. One of them is my husband, and I
feel bound to make a protest."

"Waal, I'm sorry you. feel thet way,"
drawled Bunker. "An' I'm obliged tew ye
all fur thinkin' o' me as leader, but I guess
I'll decline. I hain't no fault t' find 'th Van
Den Zee."

"Very well," said Mrs. Tremont, "there
are others who will be glad to accept. It
was against my advice that you were selected,

in Arctic
Zee has
iginning,
left you
you had
building
: shut up
Did he
-le takes
nothing
;lessness
inter; as
supplies,
senseless
n. The
ing seen
id, and I

et way,"

d tew ye

I guess

I 'th Van

t, "there

:cept. It

selected.

Bn Hrctic problem

anyway. We can find some one who will
provide us with proper food and not send
out men to their deaths in the winter."

I stepped inside the door.

"You look as if you were holding coun-
cil," I said. " Mrs. Tremont, this is your
birthday, isn't it? The Arctic spirits have
sent you a bag of sugar."

While I was speaking I glanced about the
room. Most of the younger men, the first-
year fellows, were sitting around the table.
One or two, with their chins upon their fists,
seemed to be undecided ; the others, appar-
ently, had been whispering, for they were
poised with their heads together looking at
me in surprise. Behind them stood Mrs.
Tremont.

Upon the table lay a sheet of foolscap
paper. I picked it up. Upon it was the
short arraignment of Van's incompetency
that Devoe had just been declaiming. The
blood tingled in my finger-tips.

"You are a nice crowd of fools !" I broke
out. " Listen while I tell you a few things.
Is there any one of you who fancies that he
can manage an expedition like this? You

187

i
W

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

have passed part of one year in the Arctic
regions ; not one of you can manage a team
of dogs. What would you do upon a sledge-
trip over the inland ice, where for two months
you would see nothing but blank desert ? Do
you think that because you have read Nan-
sen and Kane and Hayes you can manage
such a trip : Just try it. I have spent three
seasons here, and 1 don't consider myself
competent to lead the sledge-party, nor to
carry ten men through an Arctic winter in
comfort. Is there any of you that thinks he
can keep this crowd together even for the
next month— for I'll tell you that you'll not
get Billy or me to try it any more than you
have been able to persuade Bunker. You'll
be drawing pistols on each other in two days.
And, by the way, is there any one of you
that wants to tell Frank Van Den Zee that
he is displaced— a man who can crumple
up this miserable litde half-breed with ten

words."

"Who's a half-breed?" cried Devoe, and
levelled a revolver straight at my face.

Mrs. Tremont screamed, the men sprang
to their feet. Bunker leaned over and seized

i88

.^ii.

he Arctic
ge a team
I a sledge-
vo months
sert ? Do
read Nan-
in manage
pent three
ler myself
ty, nor to
winter in
thinks he
en for the
you'll not
e than you
jr. You'll
I two days,
me of you
;n Zee that
,n crumple
d with ten

Devoe, and
face.

len sprang
• and seized

Hn arctic problem

the pistol with one hand. With the other he
lifted Devoe by the collar over the back of
his chair. Two or three of the men closed
in to help him, and in a minute the meteor-
ologist, bound with a piece of sinnicksher,
lay helpless in his bunk.

"That settles it for me," gasped Living-
ston, who had been the first to lend a hand.
" I'll have no more to do with mutinies."
"I'm with you," said another man.
"Let me say one more word," said I.
"What would they say at home about Arctic
heroes that changed leaders because the first
one didn't give them sugar enough?"

Silence followed this speech, and those
men who seemed still hesitating stared un-
easily about.

Billy came in from out of doors, but at a
sign from me, stood quiet. I wanted to give
the men more time to be ashamed.

In the hush I began to be aware of Mrs.
Van's Eskimo charm-song in the dining-
room. It was more audible than usual ; I
suppose she had raised her voice to over-
come the tumult we had made. Her voice
was one of those contraltos that make men

189

lauGbtcr of tbc Spbini

clear their throats. The door was open, and
in the great mirror was reflected the table,
which was partly laid for our dinner. As
she sang she passed swiftly to and fro with
plates and napkins. I could but admire her
self-control; she must have known that a
crisis had come.

Billy turned to the men.

"That's what she has been doing," he
said, "looking out for your comfort while
you, I judge, have been making fools of
yourselves."

No one answered. Even Mrs. Tremont
was quiet. The doctor entered, looked sur-
prised, and stood for a moment by my side.
I must have dropped the arraignment of Van,
and the careful doctor must have picked it up,
for in a moment he held it out toward his wife.

"Lily," he exclaimed, sternly, "this is
your doing !"

There was a movement of surprise among

us.

"I will have no more of it," he went on.
" Go to your cabin and pack up your clothes.
You are going to the ship with me to-morrow

morning."

190

pen, and
he table,
ler. As
. fro with
mire her
n that a

>ing," he

Drt while

fools of

Tremont
)ked sur-

my side,
t of Van,
^ed it up,
i his wife.

" this is

5e among

went on.
ir clothes,
o-morrow

Hn Hrctic proDlem

Mrs. Tremont roused herself and faced him.

"What do you mean?" she exclaimed.
"Have you lost your senses? Go nurse
your sick Eskimos and don't meddle with
things you don't understand."

«' I understand," replied the doctor, quiedy.
" I am going to pay more attention to your
exploits after this."

"You have lost your wits," she repeated,
but there was a tremor in her voice. She
glanced appealingly about the room, but I
don't think any one looked at her.

" Shall I go with you ?" asked the doctor.
He advanced, as if to take her hand, but she
snatched it away, burst into tears, and sped
hastily out of the room. Her husband fol-
lowed to the dining-room and entered Van's
cabin. In a moment Van came in. He was
twisting the paper in his fingers, and as he
approached the table he tossed it carelessly
upon the floor.

His face was stern as he surveyed the
members of his party, most of whom were
as crestfallen as schoolboys caught in a lie.
He spoke lightly, however.

"You had better untie Mr. Devoe," he
Ml*.

■|

(BBBif^

Xauabtet of tbc Spbinx

said. "I want to consult you all upon a
question of policy."

Two or three of the men sprang eagerly
to obey the command.

With eyes downcast, Devoe took his seat.

"I am not going to say anything about
this matter," said Van. " I knew it was com-
ing, and I know it is over. I do not blame
you, understand that." He paused and
cleared his throat.

"We were damned fools," whispered little

Livingston.

"What I wanted to consult you about is
this," resumed Van. "Mrs. Tremont, the
doctor tells me, is going to the ship to-mor-
row. It is a little difficult for me to say this,
but Mrs. Van Den Zee is doubtful whether
any woman is not out of place in an Arctic
headquarters. She has begged me to ask
you frankly whether you would not do better
if she should go too." ^

" By thunder," put in Bunker, " ef she
goes, I'll resign an* go too."

"So will I," shouted Livingston. The
others replied only by a murmur. I don't think
many of them dared to trust their voices.

19a

his seat,
ig about
was com-
ot blame
ised and

2red little

I about is
nont, the
Ip to-mor-
D say this,
1 whether
an Arctic
tie to ask
: do better

, "ef she

ton. The
don't think
voices.

Bit Hrctic problem

"Let's communicate with the lady her-
self," suggested Bunker, with the true West-
erner's love of a scene. He left the room
and returned leading Mrs, Van by the hand.
She was trying to smile, but her face was
wet with terrs.

At sight of her every one sprang to his
feet.

" Hooray for Mrs. Van !" shouted Bunker,
and the cheers brought the Eskimos out of
their huts a quarter of a mile down the
beach. It must have been discord in Mrs.
Tremont's ears.

VI.

Six weeks afterward, of a bright morning,
five members of the expedition stood a few
hundred feet below the door of our head-
quarters. Each one of us was warm in new
furs and each carried an Eskimo dog-whip.
Our sledge, loaded with supplies, and our dog-
teams, under the charge of Eskimos, were
waiting for us fifteen miles away at the sum-
mit of the cliffs. In ten minutes we should
be off upon our sledge-journey across the
snow desert to the north of Greenland —

OLauobtcr of tbe Spbini

perhaps, if the conditions should be favor-
able, further yet ; who could say ?

We waited only for Van, who was bidding
his farewells in secret.

" Hope she'll come out, tew," said Bunker.
" I should like to have a glimpse o' them eyes
ter die with in case we don't come back."

She did come. She followed Van to the
door and waved her hand to us.

" The Pole ! " she cried. " Don't fail."
Van strode down the slope and passed us
without a word. His eyes were lifted toward
the snow-clad summits, where the desert
path that against hope we hoped to follow
began. There was no trace of doubt upon
his face, but such an illumination of resolve
as I have never seen in another countenance.
With one accord, as if we had been drawn
by some physical force, we closed in after
him.

be favor-

ras bidding

id Bunker.
' them eyes
; back."
Van to the

n't fail."
i passed us
fted toward
the desert
d to follow
doubt upon
1 of resolve
ountenance.
ijeen drawn
sed in after

TOM'S VINDICATION

Our entomologist joined us at St. John's.
At once we knew that he was no man for an
Arctic expedition. He had thin shoulders
and great blue eyes, bulging vacantly at you
behind gold-rimmed spectacles. His name
was Tom, but we soon began to call him
Sister, because he couldn't pull an oar for
five miles at a time — a very trifling distance
in a region where boat journeys of fifty, a
hundred, two hundred miles are matters of
course — and because he wouldn't hunt walrus.
He said he couldn't understand the exhilara-
tion we used to feel in the hand-to-tusk fights
with the brutes.

" What is the use of my shooting them ? "
he used to ask, in his mild voice. " There
are enough of you to kill all the specimens
we need. I would rather complete my own
collection of insects " — and, indeed, it was a
marvellous collection.

>9S

u^f„.>»»-:>» ti^1«AtT-**-— ♦- -"^

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbini

"The truth is, I fear, Sister," remarked our
best hunter— we called him Nimrod— "that
you are afraid of the walrus. You think they
would take you for a clam and eat you."

To this clumsy rudeness Tom responded
only with a mild " perhaps." He showed so
little spirit that even those of us who ought
to have known better shrugged our shoulders
over what came to be called Tom's " retiring

nature."

The funny incident that undeceived us as
to Tom's character, and won back for him the
name his parents had given, did not occur
until late in the life of the expedition. The
great leader and his single brave companion
had returned from their wonderful sledge
journey over thirteen hundred miles of track-
less snow desert to the furthest point north
upon the east coast of Greenland ever seen
by man. We in the ship had picked them
up at their headquarters, had completed our
scientific observations, and had left behind in
the north the beloved land of red cliffs, blue
icebergs, white snows, and our dear, brown
friends, the Eskimos. Our last observation
was taken, our last record was entered. We

>96

arked our
)d— "that
think they
you.

-esponded
showed so
vho ought
shoulders
; " retiring

ived us as
or him the

not occur
tion. The
companion
ful sledge
;s of track-
point north

ever seen
icked them
ipleted our
ft behind in
. cliffs, blue
[ear, brown
observation
tered. We

^om*0 iDinWcation

had nothing to do but loaf about the deck
and tell stories. It was a delightful, lazy life.
Perhaps the leader in his state-room was tor-
tured with anticipations of his approaching
fame, but as for us on deck, we were full of
the delights of the sea and of the night— now
descending upon us for the first time in two
months— and the moonlight, and I do not
think any of us would have protested against
sailing on in peacefulness and irresponsibility
forever.

Sometimes we stretched ourselves upon the
coils of rope lying about the forecastle deck,
and talked about home and good dinners;
again we climbed down the steep ladder into
the forecasrie to exchange songs and yarns
with the crew. There was an iron stove in
the forecastle ; the funnel lifted itself about
three feet above the deck, forward. The
stove was convenient for preparing foods
foraged surreptitiously out of the steward's
pantry. Among the left-over supplies was
plenty of chocolate, and the hogshead of
molasses in the dark forehold was but half
empty. The obvious thing to cook was
chocolate caramels.
-.... .... - . . . . 197 - ' ■■' ^

HMMWiMa

■liMiiAMHH

Xauabter of tbe Spbtnx

One night a dozen of us, members of the
expedition and members of the ship's com-
pany, were lounging on the chests, or stowed
in the bunks, enjoying the warmth of the fire
— by no means unpleasant in the cool Sep-
tember air. Upon the stove was set a kettle
containing half a gallon of molasses, con-
densed milk, sugar, and chocolate, certain to
candy into the best stuff ever supplied to an
Arctic expedition. Tom, the only member of
our party who was not lazy where petty
services were needed — as for important ser-
vices, such as saving your life, they are paid
from one member of an Arctic expedition to
another as a matter of course — Tom was per-
mitted to stir the candy. In reality it needed
little attention ; the old ship was rolling regu-
larly, starboard side up, port side up, star-
board up, port up, with a motion as easy as
that of a hammock ; just enough to keep the
brown liquid swashing about, but not enough
to spill the kettle from the stove.

The mate was paying one of his rare visits
to the forecastle. We always rejoiced when
he joined us, for he was the best yarn-spinner
on board. He seated as much of himself as

rs of the
ip's com-
r stowed
if the fire
:ool Sep-
: a kettle
ies, con-
ertain to
ed to an
ember of
re petty
•tant ser-
are paid
idition to
was per-
it needed
ing regu-
up, star-
> easy as
keep the
t enough

are visits
:ed when
i-spinner
imself as

trom'0 lDin^icatlon

the narrow board would hold upon a step
of the steep forecastle ladder, regarded the
assemblage through his pipe smoke, and

grinned.

" Hain't seen s' many folks in here," he
drawled, "sense away larst Feb'uary. ^ 'N
then," he added, " they didn't stay long."

The fireman from his bunk roared out a
great " Haw ! haw ! " but abashed, cut it off
short. Our ears pricked up.

"Why not, Mr. Moffat?" inquired Nimrod,
eagerly. " Tell us why they didn't stay long."

"Guess 'twas 'cause they were skeered.
Tain't many folks that w'u'dn't 'a' be'n, with
Winchest'r bullets a-flyin' 'bout ther ears.
An' they desarved et tew," added the old

sea-dog, grimly.

He beat the bowl of his pipe with a hollow
sound against his palm until the ashes were
all fallen out, whereupon he felt for his to-
bacco and knife. Perceiving that he would
stay long enough to tell the story, we arranged
ourselves comfortably. N imrod and our most
agile member, nicknamed the "Monkey,"
supported each other back to back, seated
upon a sea-chest. In the recesses of the

199

I '

TUuobter of tbc Sphinx

bunk I had appropriated I found a sailor's
jacket, which I doubled over the edge of the
bunk as a pillow.

"Ye needn't git reddy t' go t' sleep,"
drawled the mate. " 'Tain't a long story.
Et's only 'bout our larst sealin' trip in the
spring. Ye see, this ship in the spring she
duz some real work— not like takin' you
fellers on yer skylarkin trips a'ter the no'th
pole. In Feb'uary she starts on her sealin'
v'y'ge. The seals, ye know, comes t' th' ice-
fields off Labrador to hev ther young. They
lies over th' ice-field ez thick ez th' fingers
on yer hand, an' we knocks 'em on th' heads
'th sticks, an' skins 'em, an' hauls the skins
aboard. It takes a big crew. We had a
hundred extra men on this little vessel larst
year, an' we got ten thousan' skins.

" The extra ban's was a set er toughs from
Labrador. We warn't five days out o' St.
John's afore they owned th' hull ship. They
was a hard gang, take 'em all together, an'
they was most of 'em crazy. They had one
or two fights about gittin' the best places t'
swing ther hammocks down b'low in th' hold,
an' at larst some on 'em made a rush on th*

200

I sailor's
^c of the

t' sleep,"
ig story,
ip in the
ariiig she
ikin' you
the no'th
ler sealin*
t' th' ice-
ig. They
;h' fingers
th' heads
the skins
le had a
issel larst

ughs from
out o' St.
ip. They
ether, an'
y had one
t places t*
n th' hold,
ush on th*

Com'0 IDinMcation

fo'k'slc, an' routed out the r ,i,r'hir crew an'
tuk thur bunks. All except nic. I wiu sleep-
in' for'ard that trip, an' they didn't dar' t'
clear me out. I hod that, bunk yonder that
you've got, y'ungster."

I nodded sympathetically. Moffat puffed
out several little cones of smoke in silence,
and his eyes began to twinkle.

" Ther wuz a gre't big feller 'th a bald he'd
that wuz a sort uv ringleader tew th' gang,"
he resumed, presently. "He 'n' anuther
man hed th' bunk opp'site, an' he crowded
th' other in 'gainst th' sides uv her, an' tuk
th' outside himself. Ther wuzn't room fr
all uv him ; sometimes his boots stuck out,
but mostly 'twas *is he'd thet hung inter th'
fo'k'sle, with th' bald forud shinin' like a egg.
Waal, he ust t' be allers pushin' th' men on
t* fight, an' they was mosdy ready, so fr a
while the fo'k'sle wuzn't no place f 'r sleepin'.
" Fin'lly, one night I come down, beat out
'th workin' short-handed in a no' theast storm

'cause these fellers didn't do no work about

th' ship; they wuz hired to kill seals. I
turned in, an' jest ez I wuz havin' a wink o'
sleep ther come the biggest row— hoUerin'

aoi

Xaufibtcr of tbe Spbini

an' wran^'-lin'. I turned over, an' ther wuz
this old feller eggin' two kids on t' rastle on
th' chests. I wuz mad.

" Shet up, will ye ! I hollered, but the feller
didn't take no notice, so I gropes aroun' till
I found a ca'tridge, an' I wrenched out the
bullet, an* loads th' Winchester, an' shewts
acrost the fo'k'sle with th' wad."

For all the excitement in the mate's voice
he might have been telling a duck-shooting
story. We measured with our eyes the ten
feet or so from bunk to bunk, and some one
said:

•• Gee whittaker ! "

"Tuk him 'th th' wad squar on th' forud,"
went on the mate, "an' he thought he wuz
kilt. Cats, how he did roar, an' flopped out
uv th' bunk an' on deck, with th* rest arter
'im ! They wuz skairt tew.

" I never seen what happened on deck,
'cause I tarned over an' went t' sleep ; but I
hear tell as he wuz ravin' w'en he found he
warn't dead. He went an' told th' old man
I wuz tryin' t* murder 'im ; but he didn't git
no satisfaction out er th' old man. So by-an'-
by he 'n' th' hull gang come tumblin' back,

202

i' ther wuz
t' rastle on

ut the feller
5 aroun' till
ed out the
an' shewts

late's voice
ck-shooting
:yes the ten
d some one

1 th' forud,"
lorht he wuz
flopped out
* rest arter

d on deck,
sleep ; but I
le found he
th' old man
e didn't git
So by-an'-
mblin' back,

^Corn's IDinMcation

wakin' me up, an' I see I hadn't dun no good,
an' I'd hev t' take starn measures."

He was a bit of a poser, the mate, and no
one better knew the dramatic value of a
pause. His pipe had a habit of needing a
light just before the crisis of a story was to
come. He scratched a match on the ladder,
drew the yellow flame half a dozen times
down into the clay bowl, and surrounded his
head with a mist. His audience was breath-
less ; even Tom held the spoon poised over
the candy he forgot to stir.

"What did you do, Mr. Moffat?" asked
the Monkey, in a voice husky with excite-
ment.

"I got a hull box o' loaded Winchester
ca'tridges," said Moffat, deliberately, "an' I
dropped 'em from th' deck down thet funnel
into th' stove. Not thet stove ; another one.
Ther warn't much left o' that one."

He rose slowly, ascended the ladder, and
disappeared in the midst of a chorus of " By
Joves ! " and "Whews ! "

" Great Scott, fellows,' said some one pres-
ently, "just think, that happened in the nine-
teenth century, and not in Africa or even out

203

r*^'"^

tl !

lauobtcr of tbe Spbini

West, but among people who live in o. law-
abiding community! Isn't that gorgeous
picturesqueness for you ? Just think ; twenty
Winchester .40-82 bullets flying about this
hen-coop ! "

"They wuzn't no one kilt," came the deep
voice of the fireman. " Th' stove wuz putty
considerabul busted up, but it stopped most
o' the bullets. But ther warn't no more
trubbul with thet gang." And the voice
chuckled away into silence.
In a moment Nimrod spoke.
" Of course no one was touched. A Win-
chester bullet would be spent after breaking
open a stove, even if the bullet flew at all. I
don't think it would fly. I think the lead
would lie on the coals and send the shell
away. There was nothing to be afraid of."
This statement drew forth hoots from occu-
pants of bunks and chests. The Monkey
rose suddenly, removing Nimrod's support,
and causing the hunter to sprawl upon his

back.

" You don't, you old braggart !" jeered the
Monkey. " Go up ! You know mighty well
you would be the first man to skip out of such

204

in a law-
gorgeous
c ; twenty
bout this

the deep
vuz putty
iped most
no more
the voice

AWin-

• breaking
r at all. I
the lead
the shell
afraid of."
from occu-
; Monkey
s support,
[ upon his

jeered the
lighty well
»ut of such

c:om'0 ^Din^icatlon

a situation," and eluding Nimrod's clutch at
his ankles, he sprang to the deck.

"Now, Nim, honestly, what do you thmk
you would do in a mess like that?" asked
some one. Nimrod picked himself up and
established himself in his seat.

" Do? " he growled, " I'd do just what I'm
doing now. I'd sit on this chest and smoke.
Gee ! how good that candy smells ! Isn't it
almost done, Tommy ? "

Sometimes Nim's habit of carrying every-
thing off with bravado was exasperating. I
saw several pairs of shoulders jerked up
scornfully, but no one replied. For some
moments the only sound to be heard was the
swishing of the waves outside and an occa-
sional rasp, as Tom cleared the sides of the
kettie from the stiffening candy.

Puff!

A loud report thudded out of the stove.
A spurt of fire leaped from the open grate.
A great volume of smoke poured into the
air. Every one started up.

Puff! puff! puff!

Fierce red flashes darted through the cloud.
Immediately the air was opaque. I could

imttuiii

mmi

mtmimtmlt

Uauabter of tbe Spbtnr

hear the fellows clattering over the chests,
but nothing could I see except wreaths and
balls and sprays of white oily-looking smoke.
For myself, as soon as the three reports
went off, I made myself as small as I could
behind the partition of the bunk. For stop-
ping a bullet it would have been about as
effective as a sheet of paper, but it seemed
like a refuge. I crouched in the corner dur-
ing what seemed perhaps a long two minutes,
waiting for more explosions, but none came.
Presently the smoke whirled in at the en-
trance of my little box, and made me gasp.
On deck there was a confusion of voices and
tramping, dominated at last by a passionate
protest from the Monkey.

" I tell you they were all blanks ! "
At this I started forth out of the smother.
In the forecastle the smoke was pretty well
cleared away ; at least the chests and bunks
were visible. They were quite unoccupied,
either by seaman or explorer. But beside
the stove, quietly stirring the candy, stood
Tom. He had never once dropped the

spoon.

"It did get a little smoky," he confessed,
206

the chests,
reaths and
ing smoke,
ee reports

as I could

For stop-
n about as

it seemed
corner dur-
vo minutes,
none came.

at the en-
e me gasp.

voices and
, passionate

lie smother,
pretty well
and bunks
unoccupied,
But beside
andy, stood
ropped the

Cornea iDinbication

" and if any more puffs had come I think I
should have left the candy to burn. But as
for the bullets, I knew no one on board would
do such a dreadful thing as to drop loaded
cartridges into this party, so I just staid
where I was. The candy is ready. Where
is your pan ? "

If any one else had taken the matter so
quietly, I should have set it down to affec-
tation. But Tom, never ; he was as simple
as an Eskimo. And although throughout the
rest of the trip he was perpetually congratu-
lated as a fire-eater, and held up as an ex-
ample to Nimrod, who had been discovered
behind the ship's funnel, he remained always
simple, self-sacrificing, conscientious, and
absent-minded.

e confessed,

|8|'

■«Mmi ilrtii

AN ESKIMO WHIP

The strangers with white faces declare that
Anador saved them from unhappiness, per-
haps from ruin. This appears preposterous
to Anador, because, as she argues, at their
great feast the white people had begun to
save themselves from unhappiness, and, more-
over, great wizards could never come to ruin.

That argument puts Eskimos to silence,
for Eskimos know that the white race has
magic powers ; but it only causes white men
to tousle Anador's hair, murmuring mean-
while pushee mikysungwa, which means " tiny
seal." Anador is content with this nickname,
because she is devoted to the strangers—
though she does not understand them. No
Eskimo understands them, or why they came
to Innuit land. Merely to find out how cold
the air is, and to make a perilous sledge jour-
ney into the snow-covered interior where
Eskimos never go, and where there is noth-

•4 '^^it'- '

;;; \

;.**^^

.*u

mitm

rffT

Uauflbter of tbe SpWni

ing to eat-surely these were not proper
isons for leaving a country so P'e'''^^' /"f
so rich as the Mehica they were aW' ^e^
scrLg. Some riches from Mehica they had •
broueht with them. Among other things
th^y td store of wood, with which they bu.U
a house-so great that, uU - *ey ^e «

thev could stand erect mside, »"<! ^^«" ""
fheLrmswithoutstrikingtherooC Amador

father's stone house was as lofty as most
EfJmo W yet the slab overhead was
alwavs shiny, where the father s hair had
S it. In the vastnesses of the wooden
room Anador's breath came slow and deep
as sometimes it did when she entered a gorge
tn the mountains behind the settlement.
When she tried to express this the wh,te

men nodded politely, saying m the.r funny
Smo, •■Yes, much big!" but afterwarf

they exchanged glances and l»"£ed^ Once
BroW, the-white-man-who-scraped-his-tace
^Xa^knife (his name was not exacdyBrow
but that was as near as Eskimos could get to
^he*tlandish sound), had told h«*a.n

his country : " House b.g-much L.ke th.s .

No."

aio

not proper
•leasant and
; always de-
ica they had
>ther things
ch they built
they were,
ind even lift
of. Anador's
)fty as most
verhead was
:r's hair had
f the wooden
ow and deep,
tered a gorge
; settlement,
his the white
n their funny
but afterward
ughed. Once
raped -his-face-
exactly Brow',
OS could get to
)ld her that in
ich Like this ?

Bn C9liimo Mbip

He lifted a harpoon and prodded the roof.
Anador, who was used to signs, understood
that in Mehica there was a house so high that
you could not touch the roof with a harpoon.

"All of wood, Brow' ? " asked Anador, half
doubtful, though she knew white men never
lied.

" Yes," replied Brow', " Mehica wood same
as grass. Big like this "—he raised his hand
from the floor, slowly and regularly, till it
pointed almost as high as the tallest iceberg

in the bay.

"Hi-i-igh!" he exclaimed. "Wood same
as grass. Tree," he added, in Mehica lan-
guage.

"Tee! tee!" repeated Anador, surprised,
for she had supposed that wood came from
the sea. It was upon the beach or in the
waves that Eskimos found most of their few
precious fragments.

"By and by," continued Brow', "you see
tree. Tree there " — ^he pointed out of the
window to one of the wooden affairs that held
the goods of the white people. White men
called them " boxy." This boxy was as long
as the wooden igloo beside which it lay.

ail

Xauflbter of tbc Spbtni

Thereafter whenever Anador visited Brow'
she paur.ed before the boxy to wonder what
the tee looked like and when it would be
visible. Brow' said ic'iow, ichowy ichow^ which
meant by and by, and she contented herself
to wait, for she had confidence in Brow', Her
own people said he was the greatest of wiz-
ards, for it was to him that the iron charms
with white faces talked, telling him how cold
it was and whether a storm was coming, a^^d
he said, how hard the wind spirit was breath-
ing.

But Anador was not afraid, for she knew
white men never used their powers for evil.
She and her little brother Kywingwa were
constant visitors at white mai 's igloo, and re-
ceived nothing but kindness.

Brow' and the very tall white man, called
for his bigness Kabluna-suah, liked to have
the children as guides in their shorter excur-
sions. It was upon one of these excursions,
out upon the treacherous ice in the bay after
a wounded seal, that Brow* fell into the water.
Weighed down with his furs he would have
drowned but for Kabluna-suah.

The tall white man was half a harpoon cast

213

:ed Brow'
ider what
would be
ow, which
2d herself
ow'. Her
;st of wiz-
m charms
how cold
ning, a^?d
IS breath-
she knew
s for evil,
gwa were
><?, and re-
in, called
I to have
ter excur-
ccursions,
bay after
the water.
)uld have

poon cast

Hn C0f{imo Mbip

away, across a pool of water. He seized
Kywingwa's dog-whip, flung the long lash
within Brow's reach, hauled him across the
pool and lifted him out.

Instead of running home, all dripping and
shivering as he was, Brow' grasped Kabluna-
suah's hand in the odd fashion of white people,
and for a moment the two men stood looking
at each other.

After that they were the closest of com-
rades. As the autumn came on and the sun,
which for many sleeps had not set, began to
dip beneath the mountains, remaining hidden
each day longer than the day before, and as
frequent snows covered the brown cliffs with
a delicate tracery of white and the bay froze
solid, and the birds and animals fled to the
South, the friendship of the two men became
so close that even their companions made a
joke of it. During all the waking times, they
were not a harpoon cast apart. Even when
the snow was dry like sand with the cold, and
Eskimos themselves preferred to remain in-
doors, if Kabluna-suah practised sledging
with the dog team Brow' was at hand to
watch the nose of his friend, lest it should

213

Xauobtcr of tbc ©pbiiu

freeze after the ridiculous manner of wliitc
noses.

Brow' never learned to drive the team and
that was what made his eager desire for
Kywingwa's whip seem so astonishing. He
offered the most valuable things for the whip ;
a knife, even a piece of wood large enough
for several harpoon shafts. No other whip
would do, said Brow*.

But Kywingwa had no sealskin line to
make another lash and the sledging season
was at hand. The boy was driving his first
dog team ; to expect him to sell the whip was
preposterous.

The sun ceased to show himself. At first,
for a few moments in every waking time, his
rays illumined the distant snowpeaks with a
rosy glow, but finally this ceased, and time
was divided into lengthening darknesses and
shortening twilights.

A heavy snowstorm covered the bay shore,
the ice and the mountains. The white men
banked over the great igloo with warm snow,
just as the Eskimos banked over their litde
stone houses, and inside they lived snug,
with their vast lamp that burned black stones.

214

• of white

team tincl
desire for
ling. He

the whip ;
re enough
3ther whip

in line to
ing season
ig his first
i whip was

At first,
g time, his
;aks with a
, and time
nesses and

bay shore,
white men
irarm snow,

their little
lived snug,
ack stones.

Bn eentmo Mbip

During v very twilight they c ime forth to
run about or to tumble in the snow ; it kept
them healthy, they said. Indoors they were
always busy. Some built sledges for the silly
trip over the inland snow-desert in the spring.
Kabluna-suah was one of these, and beside
him sat Brow', making upon the thin white
substance marks that talked.

When he was not making the talking marks
he held the children, one upon either knee ;
and they in turn held for Kabluna-suah the
tools he was not using, and meanwhile they
taught Brow' the Eskimo words for things ;
and all four chattered and laughed and were

happy.

But the twilights dimmed and shortened.
It was a hard winter, even for Eskimos ; there
was much wind. Quiet cold is endurable,
but woe to the white man, or, for that matter,
to the Eskimo, who is caught out in a winter
gale. The strangers unable to take their
exercise turned sad. Brow' held the children
upon his knee, but no longer joked or inter-
ested himself in Eskimo words ; he sat brood-
ing. By the middle of winter, when the dim
twilights hardly interrupted the darkness,

','','^vr~\iiimtAK&0

Xauabtcr of tbe Spbini

the white men were worse than solemn ; they
were cross. Anador thought they tried to
be gentle, but something inside them was
vexing. The whole white settlement was at
odds. And at last came the worst. For no
apparent reason Brow' and Kabluna-suah
snapped angry words at each other, while
their comrades and the Eskimos listened in
awe.

There followed sad times for the children.
No longer did they sit upon Brow's knees ;
Brow' kept his knees under the table and ab-
sorbed himself in his talking marks. Kabluna-
suah transferred his sledge across the igloo.
The two men never spoke to each other ;
Kabluna-suah rarely spoke to any one.

"What bad spirit has entered Kabluna-
suah ?" asked Ky wingwa as the children were
plodding their snowy way to make one of
their calls, now, alas, rare, upon the white
men.

"He does not let me carve harpoon-heads
with his knife. Mine is not good. I asked
him and he pushed me away."

" I don't know," sighed Anador. Brow',
too, had a spirit. But a little while ago,

ai6

*■

ini

)lemn ; they
ey tried to
: them was
lent was at
St. For no
abluna-suah
Dther, while
i Hstened in

;he children,
ow's knees ;
able and ab-
:s. Kabluna-
ss the igloo.
each other ;
ly one.
id Kabluna-
hildren were
nake one of
n the white

.rpoon-heads
od. I asked

dor. Brow',
; while ago,

Hn C0ltimo Mbip

Kywingwa, I met him with his lamp, looking
at the wind instrument, and he laughed and
shivered and said ' much cold ! br-r-r-r-rh !'
just as he always did before the darkness
came."

'' Peeook! I was going to tell you," chimed
in Kywingwa. " I think the others are kinder.
They are going to do something strange. I
heard two of them singing, and they told me
'after two sleeps much laugh.' "

" Father says," mused Anador half aloud,
** that all white men are like this. Many suns
ago, before we were born, other white men
came, and in winter they quarrelled. Father
says it is a disease the white tribe has— just
as our dogs go mad in hot weather."

This was too subtle for Kywingwa, who
was a boy and practical.

"Anador," he said, flicking the tip off a
snow drift with his whip, " is it in your mind
that, if I should give this to Brow' he would
give me a knife ? I do not need the whip
now. Before next sledging season I could
make another."

At this point the children reached the igloo
and forgot the whip. For the snow-drift

■•,■"•'■' 217 ^ '■':'■'- .

• ••rinriiwriiliiillil

Xauflbter of tbc Spbini

under which the tee had lain was a little
valley and the tee was gone.

Inside the igloo the white people were
making changes. Around the great room
they were hanging a long rope of green stuff
that was neither grass nor moss, but some-
what like both. The air was rich with a
pungency that made Anador draw deep
breaths.

At the windows (filled in with the clear ice
that never melted) hung circles of the same
green. Upon one wall was fixed a vertical
piece of green crossed by a shorter horizontal
piece.

The white men were hanging across a
corner of the room a great square of that
kind of soft skin whirh they used indoors for
clothing.

What had come over them ? They were in
their old spirits ; they were talking and laugh-
ing merrily. Seeing the children they beck-
oned. Brow' tumbled Anador's hair and
laughed and the children laughed in wonder-
ing delight.

Presently Kywingwa, the practical, took
advantage of his chance.

218

eople were
jreat room
green stuff
, but some-
rich with a
draw deep

he clear ice
)f the same
d a vertical
r horizontal

g across a
are of that
indoors for

tiey were in
;• and laugh-

they beck-
i hair and

in wonder-

:tical, took

Bn C0f{imo VSlbip

" Kabluna-suah, " he called, " will you
lend me your knife — Ai-o ! Where is
Kabluna-suah ? " he asked in bewilder-
ment.

The laughter died away. Brow' glanced
toward the shelves where the white men
slept. Before the shelf of the great white man
a soft skin was drawn. Kabluna-suah had
shut himself in.

" Come," said Brow' hastily, "children, see
charm snow? "

He fumbled in his own shelf and returned
with a little iron net. Something in the net
rattled over the meshes. Brow* lifted the
top from the great iron lamp and showed the
stones burned red hot.

Over them he shook the net, and a won-
derful thing happened. Above that fire, hot
enough to melt a small glacier, the net began
to fill with snow. The great flakes darted
about to a loud, snapping noise, like the
echoes of a rifle among many icebergs. When
the net was full Brow' emptied the snow into
a white shiny pot. This he held forth to the
children, but such magic had terrified even
Anador.

Xauobtcr of tbe Spbini

" See," said Brow', "not hurt. Good. You

take."

He caught Anador by a reluctant wrist,
turned her palm uppermost and filled it with
snow. The snow was slightly warm.

"Eat! Good food!" commanded Brow'.
The snow crunched pleasantly between Ana-
dor's teeth, and she smiled vaguely around
the circle of white men. This caused a new
laugh; apparently the magic had put her
friends in good humor.

Presently all but Brow' returned to the
mysterious corner, and Anador watched the
production of more snow — a great heap that
drifted over the pot.

"Brow," whispered Anador, struck by a
sudden thought, "you are a great angekok.
Cannot you charm the madness away from
Kabluna-suah ? "

Brow's face saddened. Again he glanced
at the drawn skin. Then he laid a hand
upon the shoulder of each child.

"See, children!" he said. "White men
much work. Children go. Tell all Eskimos
after one sleep come visit white man's igloo.
Much laugh. Children go. Tell Eskimos,"

220

ini

Good. You

ctant wrist,
filled it with
irm.

ided Brow*,
tween Ana-
lely around
lused a new
ad put her

rned to the
jvatched the
It heap that

struck by a

;at angekok.

away from

I he glanced
laid a hand

'White men
all Eskimos
man's igloo.

II Eskimos,"

Bn £0fiimo Mbip

and he gently pushed them through the
passage.

All through the waking time, above the
white men's igloo, the stars were dimmed
with smoke from the great lamp. The chil-
dren watched it as they plodded from igloo
to igloo with their message. Sometimes they
heard shouts of merriment echoing up with
the smoke.

Their father received the invitation with

signs of pleasure.

" It is good," the children heard him say
when all the family were composed for sleep
upon their fur-covered shelf, " if they can
keep out the bad spirits for a few sleeps
more it will be well. The sun begins to re-
turn then, and with his return the madness
disappears. But if Kabluna-suah remains
ugly no one knows what may happen."

It was with eagerness that, as the next
faint twilight was fading, the children and
their parents betook themselves to the great
igloo. Brow' met them, stretching his arms.

"I much eat," he laughed. "Take off
koolatahs. Sit here."

He led them to places in the front row of

231

OLauabtct of tbc Spbtni

a crowd of white men and Eskimos inter-
mingled seated upon the floor at one end of
the room. Presently Kabluna-suah seated
himself beside Kywingwa. With her father's
comment in mind, Anador regarded him ap-
prehensively. He was not ill-tempered, but
seemed rather weary.

"Good?" he inquired languidly, waving
his hand toward the great square skin in the
corner.

The room was unusually dark ; none of the
lamps was burning. But the centre of the
skin and the roof above the corner were
illumined with soft light.

'' Na-na-na-na-ay ! '' murmured Anador.
She looked about for Brow' to sympathize
with her, but Brow' had disappeared. The
Eskimo faces behind her, touched with the
faint radiance were themselves alight with
smiles. The Eskimos were chattering and
admiring, but the white people were quiet, as
if waiting for something to happen.

A white man hissed for silence, and out of
the distance came a faint tinkling like the
sound of little water-drops falling from an
ice-floe in the sunlight.

222

- -HiJin t*ar - "-I f tf itipi' >•

:imos inter-
one end of
iuah seated
I her father's
ded him ap-
Tipered, but

idly, waving
e skin in the

none of the
:entre of the
:orner were

red Anador.
I sympathize
leared. The
hed with the
5 alight with
attering and
vere quiet, as
)en.

:e, and out of
:Ung like the
ling from an

Bit E0liimo Mbip

The tinkling increased, drew nearer,turned
harsher. The door burst open, and into the
room, driving before him a dog-team whose
traces jangled with bits of metal, strode a
stout, fur-clad man. His hood was thrown
back, and his hair, which was white as snow,
hung down upon his shoulders.

" Hurrah," shouted all the white men.

" JVa-na-na-na-ay / " exclaimed the Eski-
mos. Never before had they seen hair like

that.

" Hurrah ! " responded the newcomer. He
drove his dogs into a corner, cast down the
traces, and presented to the company a great
flaming face and a snow-drift of a beard.

"Hurrah!" he shouted. Waving a stafif
and striding up and down he said many
things in the white man's tongue. At times
his voice rose loud, whereupon the white men
struck their palms together, making a sharp
noise ; and when at last after a violent pas-
sage he paused, they cheered.

The stranger flourished his pole and dashed
the great square skin to the floor.

Had the sky fallen into the corner? For
an instant Anador thought so. There were

- i

Xaudbter of tbe Spbinx

the bright stars and the dark depths ! there
were the bands of many hued radiances, tiny
imitations of the lights that gleam in the
Southeast for the dead hunters when they
play football with walrus skulls. And when,
after a moment of bewilderment, Anador per-
ceived that they did not change and shimmer
as the spirit-lights and that the dark spaces
were solid and green and that the stars were
flames like the igni of the white people, but
of many colors, each swaying upon a spray
of the green stuff — even when she knew it
was not the sky, Anador still felt her breath
coming in gasps. For Kabluna-suah, notic-
ing her surprise, had whispered :

" See, Anador. Wood ! tree ! "

"Na-na-na-na-a-a-ay /" she whispered.
This, then, was wood, growing like grass.
And it was from a land where such things
were that the white men came to her cold,
desolate country.

"Kabluna-suah," she asked impulsively,
•' why do you come here ? "

The white man eyed her keenly for a
moment and she saw that he understood.
The first smile that she had seen upon his

234

inx

ipths! there

liances, tiny

earn in the

when they

And when,

Anador per-

nd shimmer

dark spaces

e stars were

people, but

pon a spray

she knew it

t her breath

•suah, notic-

whispered.

■ like grass.

such things

to her cold,

impulsively,

eenly for a
understood,
en upon his

Bn £0liimo Hdbip

face for many sleeps glimmered about his
eyes.

" Innuit land very beautiful ! " he said, but
Anador has never known what he meant.

Now occurred a new marvel. The red-
faced stranger drew from the mass of the tee
objects wrapped in the thin white substance
that held talking marks.

These objects he distributed among the
white men. Each received several gifts. Nor
were they indifferent. The dignity natural
with the white race vanished ; one and all,
the Kabluna tore away the wrappers and ex-
hibited the contents and laughed, shouted and
chattered, as childish in their glee as ever
was an Eskimo of the tribe.

The use of the things was quite out of
Anador's knowledge, but the white men were
besides themselves with delight. Only Kab-
luna-suah, Anador noticed, acknowledged his
gifts with a cold jerk of the head, and opened
them slowly and sadly.

Suddenly she was aware of the white-whis-
kered man holding forth an object to her.
She screamed and shrank back. Kabluna-
suah received the gift for her and tore away

1} 225

aBJ**-**^

l I i

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbinx

the wrapper. Then she screamed again tljis
time with pleasure. Inside was one of the
criss-cross instruments used by the white
people to cut skins, and, delight of delights,
beside it needles, needles, needles ! Needles
of all sizes in a shining row ; enough to last
the lives of herself and her children ; enough
to make her a rich woman.

An exclamation from Kywingwa startled
her- he was holding a knife, like Kabluna-
suah's. Behind her the tribe was well-nigh
pehbloktoo. Every one was receiving gifts.
No such store of wealth had ever before been
seen in Eskimoland. Nothing was to be
heard but " na-na-na-na-a-a-ay" and '' pee-
you-yoo-ookr The white people had forgot-
ten their own pleasure in watching the delight

of the Innuit.

Kabluna-suah only, still sad, bent over an
odd gift of his own. It was a limp, soft thing,
as pink as a sunset cloud. Kabluna-suah
lifted it to his lips and drew a long breath.
Perceiving Anador wistful he smiled faintly
and held it almost against her face. Anador
inhaled a sweet, dreamy smell, like nothing
she had ever known. Again and again she
- 226

I\.V

[ again, this
one of the
the white
of dehghts,
s ! Needles
)ugh to last
en ; enough

rwa startled
:e Kabluna-
as well-nigh
eiving gifts.
• before been
; was to be
' and ''pee-
i had forgot-
jg the delight

bent over an
up, soft thing,
Kabluna-suah
I long breath,
smiled faintly
ace. Anador
1, like nothing
and again she

Bn £0ftimo Mbip

drew it in, and smiled her pleasure at Kab-
luna-suah. But Kabluna-suah's eyes were
misty and did not meet hers.

The white-haired man still stamped to and
fro with his gifts. Even to the dogs he cast
presents ; huge slices of walrus meat. They
received it, in the usual manner of Eskimo
dogs, with a scrimmage. Pau, the king dog,
stole his wife's share and carried it apart to
eat. The white-haired man stooped to snatch
it away, and hair, beard, and face fell upon
the floor.

" Kywingwa, it's Brow' ! " exclaimed Ana-
dor. " Kymngy/a., he is peeoo^ / Give him
your v/hip ! "

Hand in hand the children crossed the
t'^/oo to where Brow', laughing, was trying to
readjust his red face. Timidly, for she was
in awe of the face, Anador held the whip
toward the white man. He took it and
smiled reassuringly, but Anador turned to
retreat.

"Anador," said Brow'.

He had dropped the face and was examin-
ing the whip. Presently he looked across
the t^loo to where Kabluna-suah was still

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbini

bcntUnj,' thoughtfully over his sweet-smelling
gift.

For some moments Brow' mused, glancing
alternately from the whip to the great white
man.

" Come," he said at last.

He led the way to his shelf, made talking
marks, and placed them, with the whip, in
Anador's hands.

" Give Kabluna-suah I " he directed.

Obediently Anador bore the talking words
and the whip and laid them beneath Kabluna-
suah's down-cast eyes.

Kabluna-suah sprang to his feet, with a
noise. The chatter ceased. For a moment,
amid dead silence the two white men gazed
into each other's eyes, as they had gazed once
before upon the ice floe. Then they strode
together and clasped hands. And the cheer
that burst from all the white men set a-quiver
all the lights upon the tee.

Anador's father was right. No harm came
to the white people. As by degrees the
twilights lengthened, the strangers recovered
their spirits. By full springtide they were
ready to make their long sledge journey, and

aa8

bini

wcet-smelling

ised, glancing
le great white

made talking
I the whip, in

irected.
talking words
eath Kabluna-

3 feet, with a
'or a moment,
te men gazed
ad gazed once
3n diey strode
\nd the cheer
!n set a-quiver

No harm came
r degrees the
jers recovered
ide they were
e journey, and

Bn £0himo Mbip

when summer was almost over they returned
safe and triumphant.

Meanwhile, although Anador pondered
much over the matter, she never quite under-
stood it. Why did the white people bestow
gifts? Why did the whip and the talking
words make friends of Brow' and Kabluna-
suah ?

She had picked up the talking words and
she cherished them all through that happy
winter and summer ; nay, she has them still,
and will show them to you. They will say
to you, if you can understand talking words:
" A Happy Christmas, old chap ! "

229

iniwiw Mirnf

THE GLACIER IMPLEMENT

For a boy of twelve Kywingwa knew
many things. He could pick out the like-
liest situations for fox-traps. He knew how
to stalk an Arctic hare, and to shoot her
with his bow and arrow. He could point to
the spot in the water where a seal which
had dived would probably rise. With the
whip he was, for a mickanniny, really ex-
pert; for not only had he ceased now to
slash himself in the back of the neck, when
he whirled the thirty-foot lash, but also he
was beginning to direct his strokes with ac-
curacy. And in one exercise he was pre-
eminent above all other boys in Greenland.
That exercise was throwing the harpoon.
Even the older Eskimos were accustomed to
gather when with his comrades he practised
harpooning, and to praise the accuracy of
his aim and the power of his delivery.

In other than physical things, also, was Ky-

■^.•^-^<'£Vyer7^41i

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbinx

wingwa versed. Eskimo emotions are com-
paratively simple, and the lad had learned to
guess pretty accurately the motives for the
actions of his friends. But he was utterly
bewildered by the conduct of a party of
seemingly crazy people with white faces, who
had come from across the sea, and had built
a wonderful house on the shores of the bay
upon which Kywingwa lived. The house
was as big as many Eskimo igloos together,
and it was constructed not of sealskins,
nor even of stones, but of wood. Kywingwa
had never before seen a piece of wood larger
than a harpoon-shaft. The Eskimos treas-
ured with the greatest care even small splin-
ters of the precious substance. Kywingwa
himself had rather a large piece, with more-
over a sharp spike of iron in its end, which
made it more valuable. This instrument,
used to prevent a seal from escaping after
you had once fastened to him with your har-
poon, had been handed down to Kywingwa
from his great-grandfather. It was called a
pusheemut Kywingwa iiad been very proud
of owning a pusheemut. But when he saw
the great quantities of wood possessed by

233

inx

ns are com-
i learned to
ives for the
was utterly

a party of
e faces, who
id had built
s of the bay

The house
>os together,
if sealskins,
Kywingwa
wood larger
kimos treas-

small splin-

Kywingwa

, with more-

s end, which

instrument,
icaping after
th your har-

Kywingwa
was called a

1 very proud
^hen he saw
)osse5sed by

Zbc (Blacier Implement

the white people his pride fell. They had
not only enough long, broad pieces to build
the great t£^loo, but also a vast number of
smaller sticks left over. Curiously enough,
they did not seem to value them very highly ;
they would give one to you almost always if
you would help them with the queer things
that they were constantly doing.

Some of them wandered along the beach
and picked up shells, and they liked to have
you bring them all the unusual shells that
you could find. Others gathered different
kin.' '. of flowers, and were much pleased if
yu ; c ;vered for them a variety that they
hat ' t come across. One of them had a
net not unlike the net the Eskimos were ac-
customed to use in catching little auks, only
of much finer mesh, and made of a soft
material that was not sealskin string. With
it the white man pursued, not birds, but
insects : butterflies, and bumblebees, and spi-
ders, and all the other kinds of small creatures
that abound in Greenland during the warm
summer. He was a very enthusiastic white
man, and the Eskimos named him after
his favorite prey, Arhiveh, the spider.

,-y}^-^t»«:.a?^.^-UitjJ*ittJftf '■

Xaudbtcr of tbe Spbinx

Whenever Kywingwa was not psleep he
was sure to be either at the white man's
igloo, or else away upon some excursion
with the butterfly-hunter, whom he liked best
of all. In return, the white man showed a
warm affection for Kywingwa. He taught
him to catch butterflies, and made for him
a litde net. And when they went forth to-
gether he once or twice even let the boy bear
the glacier implement, which Kywingwa held
to be the most beautiful of all created things.

It was a wonderful implement: a long,
springy, wooden shaft, with a head made of
a substance as hard as iron, but so shiny that
you could see your face in it, just as in a
pool of water. One side of the head was a
blade with which to chop ice ; the other side
was a long, sharp spike.

"What a fine thing for seal-hunting !" ex-
claimed all the Eskimos when they saw it.
Kywingwa more than the others admired it.
He was wont to stand before it as it hung in
the great wooden igloo and gaze at it, and
touch the keen edge of the blade sofdy with
his fingers. Once or twice Arhiveh saw him
caressing it» and laughed.

234

binx

ot ?sleep he
white man's
le excursion
he liked best
an showed a
He taught
lade for him
irent forth to-
: the boy bear
^rwingwa held
■eated things,
ent: a long,
lead made of
so shiny that
just as in a
e head was a
:he other side

lunting !" ex-
they saw it.
rs admired it.
as it hung in
ize at it, and
de softly with
liveh saw him

Zhc (Blacier Implement

"Good?" he inc lired in his broken Es-
kimo.
; ' ' Pee-you -yook - ami-i-ishua ! ' ' Ky wingwa

cried.

He admired it humbly, however, and with-
out hope of possessing it. It was not for
Eskimos to aspire to perfect things; they
were for white people only.

But the most noteworthy event in Kywing-
wa's life occurred and changed his point of
view. Entering the wooden i^/oo upon a
certain waking-time, he saw Arhiveh bending
over a tiny brown butterfly in his palm. The
white man appeared to be disturbed.
" A^at, Kywingwa !" he said.
Obediently approaching, the lad perceived
that the insect lacked one wing.

" Takoo, Kywingwa," said Arhiveh, " you
capture butterfly, good butterfly. Not like
this—" he stood erect, with one arm behind
him, and moved the other arm vigorously up
and down. " Like this—" both arms going
hard. Kywingwa laughed with glee and

nodded.

"Peook/" continued Arhiveh, "you catch

butterfly, I give you — "

23s

lUuabtcr of tbc Spbinx

He paused, and the boy was seiztid with
an impulse he could not control.

"Oona!" he cried, and pointed to the
glacier implement.

The butterfly-hunter seemed a good deal
surprised. Kywingwa was breathless.

At last Arhiveh laughed.

''Peook /" he said, " you catch good butter-
fly. I give you — yes, I give you thaty

What Kywingwa did next he does not re-
member. Arhiveh has told him that he stood
as if dazed for a moment, and then rushed
out. The first memory that comes to him is
of seeking for his net amo l^ the harpoons,
and pieces of ivory, and sealskin water-
buckets in his father's tent, and of repeating
over and over :

" A tiny brown butterfly with tivo wings ! "

At last he found his net, and after a mo-
ment's thought he took his pusheemut The
white people usually carried their glacier im-
plements on important excursions. Kywing-
wa was going upon an excursion that he
deemed very important, and the pusheemut
was the best substitute for a glacier imple-
ment that he had. Recently, Arhiveh had

236

«5HI*W»IJf«>«aS.-BSS«»»<*-

seized with

ted to the

good deal
iless.

ood butter-
thaty

ioes not re-
lat he stood
then rushed
es to him is
e harpoons,
skin water-
f repeating

wo wings ! "
after a mo-
'emut The
r glacier im-
3. Kywing-
ion that he
; pusheemut
icier imple-
^rhiveh had

tCbe (5ladcr Implement

sharpened the spike, and the pusheemut was
much more efficient than of old. A piece
of seal-flipper also he picked up, and started
forth, repeating to himself: "A tiny brown
butterfly."

The valley where butterflies lived was a
long distance up toward the head of the bay.
Ky wingwa had been there several times with
Arhiveh, but always in a woman's boat with
four men to propel it. To walk there would
take a long time and would probably tire
him, but he was too much excited to dwell
upon that thought, and he set out briskly.

But after a long time he did grow very
weary. The walking was exceedingly bad ;
there was no path but the beach between the
sea and the vast cliffs, and it was covered
with sharp stones which huit I.Is feet, for he
had forgotten to stuff grass between the
soles of his boots and his dogskin stock-
ings. '

The sun completed more than half its cir-
cular course in the sky, dipped till its edge
touched the mountains across the bay to the
north, and then began to rise once more.
Kywingwa had never been so long away from

237

fjp.^,....^ : -„.....-^.._jir^.r^ Kill-

Xauabtcr of tbe Spblni

home alone before, but whenever discourage-
ment threatened, he thought of the glacier
implement and plodded on. And at last,
just as the sun reached his highest point, the
lad rounded a promontory and came into the
valley of butterflies. He found a small
stream, and threw himself down beside it to
rest, eat his seal-meat, and survey his terri-
tory.

Between little smooth hills small brooks
ran ; and along these brooks grew vividly
green grass and bright flowers. It was
among the flowers that the butterflies lived.

The seal-flipper was good ; he ate it all,
drank of the pure, cold water that flowed
from the melting snow on the plateau, and
started forth. Up and down the little streams
he wandered, following one back as far as
the cliffs, then crossing to the next one and
tracing it down to its mouth. He saw plenty
of bumblebees, plenty of flies, even plenty
of brown butterflies, dancing in the hot sun-
light, but none like that Arhiveh had shown
him.

"What shall I do?" he asked himself.

He decided to try the next valley.

V.,,*3?<>;. 1.

discourage-
the glacier
.nd at last,
It point, the
me into the
id a small
beside it to
:y his terri-

nall brooks
rew vividly
rs. It was
irflies lived.
2 ate it all,
that flowed
)lateau, and
ttle streams
k as far as
;xt one and
; saw plenty
;ven plenty
he hot sun-
had shown

liimself.
ley.

tTbc (Blactcr Implement

The next valley was filled by a great white
glacier. Evidently there were no butterflies
there. But Kywingwa discerned, across the
front of the glacier, a third valley that
looked promising. Grown Eskimos rarely
crossed glaciers, and he was but a mickan-
niny. But he was still borne onward by the
thought of the glacier implement.

It was a noisy glacier. Out toward the
centre huge masses were splitting off with
tremendous crashes and plunging into the sea.
The body of the glacier creaked, the torrent at
the side roared. Not to be daunted by noise,
Kywingwa passed into the gorge along the
side of the glacier, where the cliffs on his right
hand dropped stones a thousand feet down at
him, and the chill of the ice at his left hand
entered into his bones. At length he found
a place where he could cross the torrent, on
some stones, to a part of the glacier which
sloped away, so that he could mount to the
surface. He turned toward the valley oppo-
site. Presently he came to rougher ice ;
from the surface of the glacier rose in all
directions sharp peaks. Yawning cracks ap-
peared and then chasms so wide that he had

a39

:|M

Xauabter of tbc Spbini

to make long detours around them, or to
cross by dangerous snow-bridges.

Upon one of these bridges a misfortune
happened to Kywingwa. The snow appeared
perfectly solid ; nevertheless an impulse led
the lad to test it. With the handle of his
butterfly-net he prodded, and the handle
passed through. Kywingwa lost his balance
and fell. Down crashed the snow-bridge
into the crevasse. Kywingwa' s head and
right arm hung over the abyss. It was some
minutes before he recovered from the shock,
and then he found that his butterfly-net had
fallen into the chasm. Remembering, how-
ever, that he had caught many butterflies in
his hand before the net had been his, he
determined to proceed to the other side of
glacier. Fortune, he hoped, would send him
the butterfly.

In his path lay a stream altogether too
broad to be jumped, and, though rather shal-
low, too swift to be waded. It had worn a
deep bed in the hard ice — a bed as blue as
the sky, and so smooth, so exquisitely smooth,
that the water hardly rippled as it rushed
along. Not the length of a harpoon-line

il_

».«**aSK¥3^-<«(«5;<«««^*»M»*'»W*»"*

ibini

. them, or to
es.

a misfortune
now appeared
n impulse led
handle of his
i the handle
)st his balance
; snow-bridge
a's head and
It was some
om the shock,
tterfly-net had
mbering, how-
^ butterflies in

been his, he
: other side of
rould send him

altogether too
gh rather shal-
It had worn a
led as blue as
lisitely smooth,
i as it rushed
1 harpoon-line

JLbc (Blacier Implement

away from the spot where Kywingwa stood
it plunged into a deep crevasse, whence rose
a heavy rumbling.

Patiently Kywingwa followed up the
stream till he came to an ice-bridge. He
crossed it, meeting with no further obstruc-
tions, and presently stood upon the edge of
the glacier, and looked up and down the
gorge at its side.

Far down by the bay, toward the end
of the great white mass, the cliffs receded,
the land was low, the sun shone ; it seemed
just the place for butterflies. Kywing^wa
found a slope where he could descend into
the gorge, and turned toward the fertile
spot.

As he emerged from the shadow of the
cliff, he came out into full sunlight, and found
himself surrounded by rivulets, by flowers,
and by insects. And before he could well
note these things, lo ! from under his feet
rose and settled again the very object of his
search — the little brown butterfly !

Kywingwa stole toward it, came within his
own length of it, leaped with open hands
upon it. In vain ! The little creature darted

aiitm

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbini

from his grasp. Always keeping it in view,
Kywingwa scrambled to his feet and gave
chase. Down nearly to the beach it led him ;
then it doubled, dodged him, and made off
up the hill toward the cliff. Kywingwa tried to
follow, but to no purpose ; it alic^hted far away
and out of sight. Bitterly disappointed, the boy
shuffled through the grass, hoping to scare
up the insect once more ; but his efforts were
futile. And presently he was aware that the
sun had gone behind the hills, and that not
only his butterfly, but also all the other in-
sects, had disappeared.

Kywingwa was far from home — almost two
sleeps away. He was footsore. He was
without food. These things troubled him
but little ; he had been hungry, lame, and
astray many times before. But he was ut-
terly cast down because the butterfly had
escaped. His journey was useless ; he had
lost his net ; he had failed to win the glacier
implement.

" Piungitoo wunga amishua! I am good for
nothing, good for nothing !" he cried, and
threw himself upon the ground. In a mo-
ment he was sound asleep.

343

it in view,
: and gave
it led him ;
i made off
jwa tried to
cd far away
ted, the boy
ig to scare
ifforts were
ire that the
tid that not
le other in-

-almost two
. He was
3ubled him
, lame, and
he was ut-
.itterfly had
:ss ; he had
{ the glacier

am good for

; cried, and

In a mo-

Zbc (Blactcr implement

Awaking, he perceived that the sun was
shining brightly once more, and that the in-
sects were playing briskly. He must have
slept a very long while. He was ravenously
hungry.

" I will try to hit a little auk with a stone,"
he said, and trudged back to certain rock*^
near the glacier, whence came the chatter o^
the small birds.

But just as he arrived at the foot of the
ice, he heard a shrill sound. He knew at
once what produced it ; it came from one of
those curious little wooden instruments which
shrieked when you blew into them. Look-
ing up, he beheld Arhiveh, with butterfly-net
in one hand, and glacier implement in the
other, standing firmly, in his boots shod with
sharp spikes, upon the very edge of the ice-
wall. Kywingwa felt a pang of disappoint-
ment at sight of the glacier implement ; but
he forgot it in his surprise because Arhiveh
was alone. White men did not usually ven-
ture upon glaciers by themselves ; something
extraordinary must have occurred.

The little Eskimo hastened to the stepr ir^-
stones, crossed the torrent, and in a moment
\- 243 '

Xaufibtcr of tftc Spbinr

was by Arhiveh's side. The white man's
voice was gruff, as he accosted the boy.

"Not dead, Kywingwa?" he inquired.
"Mother say you lost. Say you food all
gone. She go like this — " he rubbed his
eyes with his hand, in imitation of a weeping
woman. " White men all go look. I come
woman's boat. Woman's boat there," he
added, pointing to the opposite corner of the
glacier. " Come on !"

" I tried to catch the butterfly," explained
Kywingwa, as they started. "I wanted to
win the glacier implement. But my net
dropped into the crevasse. I saw a butter-
fly, but I could not capture him."

" You very much no good ! You lost,
mother afraid," was the ungracious reply.

Kywingwa felt that he was in disgrace. He
took thankfully some seal-meat that Arhiveh
had brought him, and ate it silently, being
very miserable. Presently Arhiveh reached
the stream, and turned to the left to find the
ice-bridge. A tiny brown something fluttered
before Kywingwa's eyes. The boy paused,
stared, rubbed his eyes, looked again, and
then shouted at the top of his voice. ■

«44

hite man's
e boy.
: inquired.
3U food all
rubbed his

a weeping
L I come

there," he
>rner of the

' explained

wanted to

ut my net

IV a butter-

You lost,
LIS reply,
igrace. He
lat Arhiveh
ently, being
^eh reached
t to find the
ng fluttered
boy paused,

again, and
ice. ■

(Tbe (Blader Implement

"Arhiveh, Arhiveh!" he cried; '* takoo
iblee! takoo ! Tachidigia!''

The white man seized his net and dashed
after the tiny creature. Kywingwa watched
him eagerly. The butterfly fluttered aim-
lessly about for a moment, and then crossed
the stream. Arhiveh sprang recklessly after
it, missed his footing, and fell into the water.

Kywingwa burst ou^ into laughter, and
waited gleefully to greet his companion,
scrambling, soaked with ice-cold water, from
the stream. But no head appeared above
the bank, and Kywingwa ran to see what
was the matter.

The white man had not risen. He was
lying in the water, with his head downstream.
He was struggling violently. He was float-
ing rapidly down. The cataract was close at
hand.

At once the meaning of the situation burst
upon Kywingwa's mind. Arhiveh could not
rise — the bottom of the stream was too slip-
pery. He was trying to use the spikes in
his shoes, but to no purpose, for his feet
were upstream. Faster and faster he was
swept helplessly along.

Xaufibtcr of tbe Spbini

Instantly Kywingwa saw what he must
do. He sprang upon a mound of ice that
almost overhung the water. Balanced as a
harpoon in his hand was his newly sharpened
pusheemut.

Down came the helpless Arhiveh, now
floating rapidly ; in another instant he would
be opposite the Eskimo's position. Then,
with all his force, Kywingwa hurled his
pusheemut. Its point entered the hard ice-
bed of the current, and the weapon stood
upright. The white man was borne against
it ; instinctively he clutched it. It held for
an instant, then the ice about it chipped and
it gave way. But that instant was enough.
Arhiveh had swung around, his feet were
downstream, his course was checked. Before
the powerful little brook could take hold of
him again, he had driven his shoe-spikes into
the ice, and, using the pusheemut as a rest,
had risen to his feet. He stood as if dazed,
while Kywingwa brought the glacier imple-
ment, and lying flat, reached it down to him.
Then he cut notches for himself and as-
cended out of the bed of the brook. The
pusheemut floated away.

246

; he must

of ice that

inced as a

sharpened

liiveh, now
it he would
on. Then,
hurled his
le hard ice-
apon stood
»rne against
It held for
:hipped and
^as enough,
i feet were
:ed. Before
take hold of
2-spikes into
d as a rest,
as if dazed,
;lacier imple-
lown to him.
self and as-
brook. The

^bc (5lactcr implement

Kywingwa was ready to laugh with him
over his escape. But white people always
acted so oddly ! When he was once more
safe on the surface of the glacier, Arhiveh
stood and simply looked about him. He
gazed across the white expanse of ice to the
cliffs, tinted with red lichen and green grass.
He looked out over the bay to the blue sea.
He looked at the sun, which, as all Eskimos
know, is a bad thing to do : it ruins the eyes.
Finally, he walked to the crevasse, and
peered into the dark depths.

Kywingwa looked cautiously down, too,
and wondered where his pusheemut was.
Presently, the white man turned toward him.

''Pusheemut?'' asked Kywingwa, shyly.
" Did you see my pusheemut ? Has the
water eaten it ?"

Pusheemut r exclaimed Arhiveh, vehe-
mently. "See, Kywingwa, I not talk Es-
kimo. But you very good ! You go white
man's house — I give you plenty pusheemuts.
Here, Kywingwa, I give you this."

He held forth h^ 3 hand, and* in it was the
glacier implement. „

247

IN ARCTIC MOONLIGHT

From the rim of the moon, gliding north-
ward along the cliff-summits of Ellesmere
Land, there fell across the frozen sound a
long, silvery shimmer. It began in a point
at the hither edge of the distant mountain-
shadows, broadened regularly over the level
ice, and vanished under the feet of the
sledge party. Neither Kywingwa nor Tele-
koteah, his father, would have glanced at it a
second time if the white man had not behaved
so oddly. In all the cold he stood motion-
less, with eyes uplifted towards the shining
mountain-crests. Kywingwa thought he
might be frozen.

"What is he doing?" whispered Ky-
wingwa.

His father looked up from the broken
sledge-runner which he was binding together
with a thong of walrus hide.

249

'lauobtcr of tbc Spbinr

«' Be silent," he replied. " I do not know.
No one knows the ways of the white men.
The whole white tribe is a little crazy."

"Yes," assented Kywingwa. That was
well known among the Eskimos.

"Yes," repeated his father. "Ting-mi-
huk-suah, the great spirit, made them first,
and they turned out bad, like your first
harpoon. Therefore, Ting-mi-huk-suah sent
the whole tribe Away to sea in one of his old
shoes and made us. We are the perfect
tribe. There," concluded Telekoteah, with
a final tug at the knot. " Now we are ready
to go on again. What is it you see, Kab
luna-suah ? Is it the bear ?"

The white man, turning half about to lay
one hand upon Telekoteah's arm, pointed
with the other hand to the sky above the
horizon. The moon-rim had disappeared
behind a peak. Above this dark crest and
around it the air was liquid light. The stars,
rayless yellow balls, floated at different
depths in the fluid, as phosphorescence floats
in the translucent Arctic Ocean.

" Telekoteah," asked the white man, whose
face was working with the effort to express a

not know,
white men.
crazy."
That was

"Ting-mi-
"them first,

your first
k-suah sent
e of his old
the perfect
oteah, with
e are ready
I see, Kab

ibout to lay
rm, pointed
r above the
disappeared
k crest and
The stars,
at different
icence floats

man, whose
to express a

In Brctic (lloonUabt

subtle idea in his broken Eskimo, " Teleko-
teah, do your wise men tell you ? Does
Ting-mi-huk-suah drink moonlight? Eh?
Great spirit dnnk moonlight ? Eh ?"

"Ugh," responded Telekoteah shortly.
«' I was afraid it was the bear. No, I never
heard such a story. Come, let's start. The
sledge is ready."

" Tatingwar exclaimed the white man.
"I am not good! We must hurry. We
load seal. You head, I tail. Now ! Good !"
he concluded, as the seal fell snugly into
place. " Good ! Now rifle ! Things that say
booh all gone ! Rifle no good ! Bear come !
We have no rifle, two dogs only. Two
dogs ; you spear ; I knife. Can we kill bear ?
Eh? No! Eh?"

He pictured his questions with gestures,
laugh! :ig meanwhile at his own mistakes.
Kywingwa, who had been looking at the
moon, could not help laughing, too; but
Telekoteah responded only with a grunt.
He moved away to where his whip lay in the
snow. Kywingwa crept to the white man's
side. - •

" Kabluna-suah," he murmured, "I have

- m^'' - ■

Xauflbtcr of tbc Sphinx

been looking. It would be good for the
spirits to drink."

The white man said nothing, but in a
moment he held out his hand. Kywingwa
placed his own in it, after the manner he had
learned from the white people, and both man
and boy turned once more to the illuminated
east. Telekoteah returned with his whip.

" Ready !" he called gruffly. " Unless you
want your friends to starve, Kabluna-suah,
start the sledge."

"Ready!" exclaimed the white man. "Good.
Must hurry. I forgot. How much farther?"

He set his powerful shoulder to the up-
standers and the sledge moved. Teleko-
teah's eighteen-foot whip-lash cracked about
the ears of the dogs. The two half-tamed
creatures sprang erratically forward.

''Huk! hukr urged the Eskimo. "Go
on, Kashoo, you lazy brute ! About a sleep
farther," he replied to the white man. "It
is a pity we had to dodge the bear ; it lost
us half a sleep's distance. It is quite a sleep
further, if we can pass the open water. If the
tide is running we shall have to wait still
longer. Huk! Huk! Kashoo !"

Z%2

■fl

i for the

but in a
Cywingwa
ler he had
both man
luminated
s whip.
Jnless you
Uina-suah,

a. "Good.

farther?"
the up-
Teleko-
ked about
balf-tamed
d.

[HO. "Go
lut a sleep
nan. " It
ir ; it lost
ite a sleep
ter. If the

wait still

In Brcttc nDoonli0bt

"J fid'/ Ilukr echoed the white man.
" Must go fast. I same as dog. See !"

He hitched a spare trace to the runner
and plodded onward, pulling with the team.
On the other side Kywingwa took another
trace. The boy's hand was yet glowing with
Kabluna-suah's grasp, and in his heart was a
still warmer glow.

" He took my hand," thought Kywingwa.
" He never did 'hat with any other Eskimo.
He likes me. I would give my life for him."

" Come, come, Kywingwa," exclaimed the
gruff Telekoteah, "you are letting your
trace hang loose. Pull !"

Kywingwa felt the blood surging in his
cheeks. He glanced at Kabluna-suah timidly,
but the white man was smiling ; Kywingwa
saw his white teeth flash in the moonlight.
The boy straightened his trace so sharply
that it twanged.

"Perhaps a relief party has come from
the great-wooden-hut-at- the -south," sug-
gested Telekoteah.

"No," responded the white man. "We
not come to the wooden igloo yesterday.
Therefore, relief party started yesterday.

253

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spblni

Great leader promised. From the wooden
igloo to camp is a journey jf three sleeps.
Great leader at camp two sleeps after now.
Camp will be all frozen. Friends sleep for-
ever. No fire, no food. We bring fire, food.

Toihoi!"

The sledge moved but slowly, however.
In the intense cold the snow lost its slipperi-
ness, and turned dry and shifty, like sand.
The dogs scrambled and labored and shirked.
Whenever the sledge ran against a mound
they sat down, refusing to pull until the load
had been started and Telekoteah's redoubt-
able whip-lash was hurtling about their ears.

On they prodded, in the midst of a silence
so nearly absolute that the scrunching of their
footsteps re-echoed, as it seemed, from the
cliffs half a sleep's journey behind them.
Their long, dim shadows, at first stretching
away and away before them, gradually moved
till they lay to the right. By and by the
moon in full circle emerged from behind the
lofty promontory that marked the northern
end of the sound. The whole expanse of
ice was alight.

Dividing it down the middle ran a band

2S4

.ne wooden
irec sleeps.
1 after now.
Is sleep for-
[g fire, food.

y, however.

its slipperi-
', like sand,
and shirked.
St a mound
ntil the load
h's redoubt-
It their ears.

of a silence
:hing of their
2d, from the
ehind them,
St stretching
lually moved

and by the
n behind the
the northern
; expanse of

ra:n a

m Hrctic nDoonliobt

considerably darker than the white fields.
Extending straight away to the north it
tapered to a point beneath the moon at the

horizon.

"There is the channel," said Telekoteah,
" and the tide is just full. We shall not cross
before the ebb begins. Angoshiiee ta-ay ! I
think I hear it now."

The ice-field beneath them was shudder-
ing. The vibration increased till it became
a rumble; the rumble grew to be a roar.
The dark band began perceptibly to move
towards the south. The midst of its shadow
sparkled with short flashes, some dim, some
bright. As the party drew nearer to it the
noise resolved into two sounds — a succession
of crashes so violent that the solid ice-field
shook and heaved and cracked ; and beneath
the crashes an undertone of clatter ever be-
ginning near at hand and rattling away into
the distance. The sound was so tremendous
that it had the effect of a physical force ; to
advance toward it was difficult, like marching
in the teeth of a wind.

The narrow passage between the solid
fields was choked with loose ice. Only here

■ »

Xaufibtcr of tbe Spftini

and there parallelograms and triangles ot
black water gleamed momentarily ; the width
and length of the strait was crammed with
fragments of icebergs, pans of flat bay ice,
masses of rubble, whirling round and
round, heaving into piles, turning end over
end, darkening the channel with their
shadows, flashing out gleams of moonlight
from their tacets, steadily grinding and crush-
ing their resistless way towards the south.
The ocean, cwenty sleeps away, was sucking
through the sound the upper fourteen feet of
water from all the basins, channels, and bays
between itself and the great frozen sea north
of all ' nown things. Whatever impeded
the rush of the tide must burst.

The ice-floes beat against the firm side
walls and against each other ; jammed across
the channel, and received pile after pile of
trash overlaid upon them by the heaped-up
waters. No jam lasted while you could
count your fingers and toes ; always the ice
in the centre burst up into the air and was
instantly hurried away.

The party halted near the brink. Teleko-
teah hauled in the strings that drew the furs

256

)\nx

In Brctic flUoonliabt

triangles ot
y ; the width
ammed with
flat bay ice,
round and
ig end over
with their
)f moonlight
g and crush-
s the south,
was sucking
irteen feet of
2ls, i^nd bays
en sea north
^er impeded

he firm side
mmed across
after pile of
le heaped-up
; you could
ways the ice
air and was

nk. Teleko-
Irew the furs

close about him, found a comfortable seat
upon the seal, and was evidently prepared
to be patient until the peaceful time of low
water. But the white man advanced to the
edge of the channel, and Kywingwa, with
his hands pressed hard over his ears, fol-
lowed.

Conversation was out of the question.
The boy alternately watched the resistless
forces displayed before him, wondering what
spirit was causing such a terrible confusion,
and scanned the face of the white man.
Presently a large floe, rebounding from the
containing wall, crushed its way through the
rubble almost to the opposite side of the
strait. Kabluna-suah's eyes turned fierce.
The floe worked its way to the other
edge. The white man returned to the
sledge, seized the upstanders, and pushed
sledge, Telekoteah, seal, dogs, and all to the
very brink.

" He is crazy," thought Kywingwa. " He
means to cross."

Telekoteah also understood, for he threw
out his arms in protest, and at last planted
himself astride the sledge with his heels and

Xauabtcr of tbe Spbini

his spear dug into the ice. But Kywingwa
knew how useless his father's strength
would be against that of Kabluna-suah, who
could throw in a wrestle any two Eskimos ,
together. If Kabluna-suah had gone crazy,
they must try to cross. He gazed north,
hoping that no suitable floe would approach.
Alas ! several large ones were grinding along
the edge of the strait.

Away to the left, far from the channel,
something was moving. Kywingwa sprang
upon a block of ice to see better. The thing
passed through the shadow of a berg and,
changing its course, drew rapidly near.

The boy ran to where his father and the
white man were arguing with lips, making
sounds unheard.

"The bear, the bear!" cried Kywingwa.
His voice, too, was lost, but the motion of
his lips told the news. Telekoteah sprang
from the sledge and, raising himself on tip-
toe, scanned the fields.

A broad floe, immovable in conflicting
pressures, rested against the edge of the
channel. Kywingwa saw the white man
bend his shoulder to the sledge. Another

258

inx

; Kywingwa
s strength
a-suah, who
NO Eskimos
gone crazy,
azed north,
d approach,
nding along

the channel,
gwa sprang
The thing
a berg and,
^ near,
ther and the
lips, making

. Kywingwa.
e motion of
3teah sprang
mself on tip-

n conflicting
edge of the
: white man
re. Another

In Brctic moonlidbt

moment and it was rocking upon the un-
stable ice-pan. Kabluna-suah seized the
cringing dogs and tossed them after the
sledge. Grasping Telekoteah by the shoulder
with one hand, he motioned to Kywingwa
with the other to leap upon the floe. The
boy gasped, but obeyed. He was aware that
somehow his father and the white man ^'/^d
followed, and that the floe, swung away from
the brink, was borne in the full fury of the
tide. Round and round it whirled, to the
right, and to the left. Sick with the rocking
and jolting, Kywingwa lost all sense of direc-
tion. Hurled against a large floe, the pan
crumpled up almost to his feet. Borne
against a jam, it tilted, and sledge, dogs, and
men slid in a mass to the edge. The jam
burst and the floe righted. Amid the flying
blocks of ice Kywingwa saw his father fall
into a patch of black water and saw Kab-
luna-suah stoop to oeize him by the hood.
At that moment the floe rested against the
field and Kywingwa sprang upon solid ice.

For a moment, lying in a heap, he forgot
the bear, his companions, even the noise, in
the sweet sense of his safety. A blow upon

--dt^ u'f'g .i. -vr . i^aii^-t

"-" ~'"

■ -''■■'• «>;

jijJs.A

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbini

the foot startled him. The sledge, drawn by
two terrified dogs, was slewing past him.
The boy looked for his father and Kabluna-
suah. The white man, with Telekoteah in '
his arms, was in the act of leaping to the
firm ice. He thrust the Eskimo safe across
the slush and water and dropped him heavily,
but, missing his own footing, he fell with his
legs in the water. Before Kywingwa could
reach him, however, the white man had
swarmed upon the surface and lay panting.

Kywingwa hastened to raise his father.
The old Eskimo's head and arms hung limp ;
his heart beat but feebly. Evidently the
evil spirits had entered into him.

" Angoshuee ta-ay ! " mourned Kywingwa.
' ' What shall we do ? In this noise the spirits
will never hear a charm-song."

Nevertheless, he lifted Telekoteah's head
upon his knee— a matter of some difficulty,
for the Eskimo's wet clothing had frozen
stiff— and began to sway his own body to
and fro, and sing an exorcism to the evil

ones :

" Ai-yi-i-ai-i-ya I
Ai-yi-i-ai-i-yah f '

260

:, drawn by
past him.
d Kabhina-
ekoteah in
)ing to the
safe across
lim heavily,
ell with his
ngwa could
man had
y panting,
his father,
hung limp ;
idently the

. Kywingwa.

se the spirits

)teah's head
\e difficulty,

had frozen
iwn body to

to the evil

in arctic moonliebt

he sang. He could not hear his own voice ;
certainly the spirits would not be frightened.
Moreover, in spite of his reindeer-skin coat
and his bird-skin shirt, he was beginning to
be cold. Still there was nothing to do but

sing

" Ai-yi-e-yi-e-yah !
Ai-yi-e-yi

A shadow fell across his lap. Kabluna-suah
stood beside him — upon one foot. The other
foot hung from his waist by a piece of har-
poon line and the white man supported him-
self on Telekoteah's lance. Bending over,
he held Telekoteah for a moment by the

wrist.

Kywingwa pointed interrogatively to the
suspended foot, but Kabluna-suah, without
replying, signed to him to rise, and, still rest-
ing his weight upon the spear, grasped Tele-
koteah's shoulder and dragged him forward
a pace. Something dropped from the up-
lifted foot and lay, a little dark, frozen sphere,
in the white snow.

''Tatingwaf" said the boy. 'His foot is
crushed. And he camp half a sleep away."

The white man impatiently beckoned for
261

TUuobter of tbc Spblnr

assistance, and together man and boy dragged
the injured Eskimo to the sledge, which had
stopped against a mound. They wrapped
him in heavy riding furs and lashed him down
upon the seal. Kabluna-suah pointed to the
traces and Kywingwa mechanically disen-
tangled them and looked about for the whip.
It lay twisted about in the saow, near the
channel. The boy ran to pick it up.

In the passage the piles and pinnacles were
ever marching south. An unusually high
floeberg moving from before him left revealed
the opposite sicls of the strait. There, rest-
ing her forepaws upon the block of ice, toss-
ing her black nose up and down, stood the
bear.

"Na na na na-ay ! " Kywingwa felt that he
was saying it. "CAimo, old lady! You fol-
lowed us, but you dare not cross. But then,"
he added, " we must have crossed."

He faced the shore. From the moon, at
her highest, the light slanted along the edge
of a line of cliffs. Their towering fagades,
almost bared of snow by the furious Arctic
winds, showed rugged and brown against the
gei/eral v/hiteness. Just opposite, the wall

362

ged

yd rag
which had

wrapped

him down

ted to the

lly disen-

the whip.

near the

P-

acles were

jally high
ft revealed
here, rest-
f ice, toss-
stood the

felt that he

You fol-

But then,"

moon, at
y the edge
g fagades,
ous Arctic
igainst the
:, the wall

In Hrcttc flDoonliobt

advanced in a bold promontory. To the
south the monstrous black shadow of this
bluff obliterated the cliffs and the ice for what
seemed like a sleep's distance ; but far above
the shadow, among the stars themselves,
gleamed faindy the silvery interior snow-
cap.

It was towards this promontory that the
party had been laying its course. There a
white man and two Eskimos awaited food
from a white man's cac/te across the sound.
It was to sustain them in a journey of three
sleeps to the settlement and plenty. If it
failed to come they would die.

" If they would come to meet us," thought
Kywingwa. " I believe we shall never reach
them. My father perhaps frozen and Kab-
luna-suah hurt — " and here the recollection
burst upon Kywingwa that while Kabluna-
suah had come to harm, he Kywingwa, had
run away.

" I deserted him," thought the boy. " I said

I would give my lif'^- for him, and I ran away.

Kabluna-suah hates cowards. I am a coward.

I am worthless." '

But presently, with the energy of his race,

96$

Ai'^ '

Xauabter of tbc Spbtni

he set about thinking of ways to me.nd the
situation.

"lam no coward," he resolved. " I will
show Kabluna-suah. I will — yes, I know
what ; I will go to the camp and fetch Dokt."

Rejoicing in this bright plan he hastened
to the sledge.

Kabluna-suah had bound up his injured
foot with furs, and, seated upon the sledge-
runner, pressed both hands to his head. As
Kywingwa's shadow fell near him the white
man looked up, smiled feebly, and rose upon
his sound foot. He braced against the up-
standers to push, and signed to Kywingwa
to crack the whip.

" Kabluna-suah," protested the boy, illus-
trating his speech with gestures and shout-
ing with all his force, " I will go to the camp
and bring Dokt."

The words were lost in the clatter, but
Kabluna-suah seemed to understand. He
shook his head, however, and with his right
hand imitated the flourish of a whip-stock.

With his hopes of retrieving Kabluna-
suah's good opinion gone, unhappy and dis-
couraged, Kywingwa started the team. Pro-

264

me.nd the

d. " I will
s, I know
:tch Dokt."
e hastened

hiis injured
:he sledge-
head. As
the white
rose upon
St the up-
Kywingwa

boy, illus-
md shout-
) the camp

latter, but
tand. He
1 his right
p-stock.

Kabluna-
y and dis-
2am. Pro-

^^Ei^Siji:

nr.

In Hrctic nOoonUgbt

gress was not rapid. Kabluna-suah, hopping
upon his sound foot, pushed against the up-
standers. Kywingwa, with a trace in his
left hand and the whip in his right, both
hauled at the load and directed the dogs.
Thus they marched with the constancy of
desperation for — Kywingwa never knew how
long. The deafening noise of the tide-borne
ice lessened away in the distance. Presently
Kywingwa could hear his own shouts to the
dogs. The shadow of the promontory was
at hand. The cliff hung above them.

The sledge ran against a hummock. The
dogs ceased to pull, seated themselves, and
lolled out their tongues. Kywingwa, ex-
hausted and discouraged, would have liked
to rest. He looked questioningly back at
Kabluna suah. The white man was strain-
ing to start the sledge.

" Hurry, Kywingwa," he gasped brokenly.
" Go on ; must go on. Hasten !"

He lurched forward and fell upon the
sledge. Kywingwa ran to his aid.

"Let me go to the camp and bring Dokt,"
he begged. " It is a short journey. Except
for the shadow we should see the snow-huts."

265

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbin\

"No," gasped the white man. " No ! Bear
will come. Cross at low tide. Low tide now.
Bear come — eat provisions — kill us — friends
wiU starve."

In the act of staggering to his place be-
hind the upstanders he swung his wounded
foot against the runner and collapsed on the
snow. Kywingwa perceived that the demons
had entered into him, too.

" Kabluna-suah ! Kabluna-suah !" he called.
He chafed with his rough mittens as much of
the white man's face as was left uncovered
by the hood, shook the heavy shoulders, and
called again and again. But the white man's
neck ref\ised to stiffen. Kywingwa lifted the
broad shoulders to rest against the sledge, and
prepared, not confidently, to sing a charm.

The silence was broken by a short, dull
noise. Was it a splitting iceberg or a rifle
shot? Kywingwa listened as well as he
could ./ith his heart pumping the blood
against his ear-drums till they seemed ready
to burst.

The sound rang out again. Kywingwa
drew his knife, slashed off the traces, and

gave cry to the dogs.

266

" No ! Bear
ow tide now.
1 us — friends

liis place be-
his wounded
apsed on the
t the demons

ti !" he called,
is as much of
ft uncovered
boulders, and
; white man's
arwa lifted the
16 sledge, and
g a charm,
a short, dull
erg or a rifle
i well as he
g the blood
leemed ready

. Kywingwa
e traces, and

In arctic fDoonligbt

"Get away, Kashoo, get away. Huk f
Huk! Getaway!"

He sent the long whip-lash at the ear of
the leader. A tuft of hair flew up and the
dog yelped. A third shot came in reply.
Kashoo gave call with his nose in the air, and
scampered into the shadow. The ot^-^r dog
followed. Kywingwa ran to the wl iian.

" Kabluna-suah ! Kabluna-suah ! " he
shouted. " Dokt is coming. They are com-
ing."

The white man's eyes unclosed.

"Good," exulted Kywingwa. "The evil
spirits fear Dokt. They have gone."

Kabluna-suah's lips moved. Kywingwa
bent his ear.

"The bear," whispered the white man.
"The bear."

" Dokt is coming, Kabluna-suah." repeated
Kywingwa. " Dokt is almost here."

" The bear," feebly insisted the white man.
" I hear him — bear "

"There is no bear," said Kywingwa.

Nevertheless, impressed with the fainting
man's earnestness, he scanned the white
wastes.

S^s^^^t-'-^S!?*-

^»4gafe»iii^isgfc.;iga^i>iataiafaa!^ ag i tf.

XauQbtcr of tbc Spbinx

The shadow in the sledge-track traced a
faint trail out into tlh distance. It ended in
something that moved. Kywingwa ran for-
ward a few paces. Though he could not
make out the creature's outlines, he knew
that there was only one living thing abroad
on the ice.

" Dokt ! oh, Dokt ! Come ! Come I "

The echoes of his cry returned to Ky-
win[ va from the liffs. No other sound
broke the silence. The bear, in plain sight,
ceased to nose along the trail and broke into
a gallop.

" Dokt i Do-o-okt ! " Surely he heard a
reply — was it an echo? The bear was al-
most >t haju 1 ; he could see the black tip of
hei J.I je.

"Dokt!" he cried once more, and then,
being but a boy, he burst into tears and
turned to run.

He ran almost into the arms of Kabluna-
suah. The white man was standing, as Ky-
wingwa noticed even in his surprise, firmly
on both feet. He had abandoned the lance,
but holding the rifle by the barrel he brand-
ished it over his shoulder. Kywingwa's panic

268

■MiMm^i&m

rack traced a
. It ended in
ngwa ran for-
he could not
ines, he knew
thing abroad

Come ! "
urned to Ky-

other sound
in plain sight,
ind broke into

ly he heard a

bear was al-

le black tip of

Dre, and then,
nto tears and

s of Kabluna-
nding, as Ky-
urprise, firmly
ned the lance,
irrel he brand-
vingwa's panic

^■"..>«.„jmMJ-jM^^;m^m^m^.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

I.I

1^ 1^ 12.2
t 1^ 12.0

1.8

11-25 III 1.4 IIIIII.6

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Sciences

Corporation

23 WEST MAIN STREET

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iigj-.^igiggwiaaaM^s aEsa jerjeBjt

it.

Ua
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Series.

CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

> I

Lll

In Hrctic HDoonUdbt

was partially stilled. He picked up the spear
and ranged himself by the white man's side.

As the bear drew near she slackened her
gallop into a trot ; then paused. For a mo-
ment, snarling suspiciously, she glared at her
opponents. Kywingwa brandished thfi spear
and she took a step forward. The white
man, already tottering, swung his weapon
uselessly and fell with the force of his own
blow. The bear charged upon him. Ky-
wingwa sprang to the right, levelled his
lance, and sobbing out his rage and despera-
tion in a fierce " A-a-a-a-ah ! " he thrust his
weapon into the brute's shoulder.

The bear turned from Kabluna-suah, splin-
tered the spear with a blow of her paw, and
rushed toward her latest enemy.

With hunched-up shoulders and head
down, certain that in a moment he should
feel the claws on his back, the boy sped
away. He heard behind him the shuffling of
the bear's feet in the snow ; the animal's
snarls filled the air. Kywingwa's breath
began to come in hot gasps ; his feet had
turned to iron-stone. The snarling drew
nearer — his knees were giving way — the

269

Tlauobter of tbe Spbinx

noise was deafening. Kywingwa had never
before heard a bear bark, yet this otie was
barking.

The boy's legs refused to carry him another
step, and he fell to his hands and knees. He
was aware that the snarling suddenly ceased ;
the bear must be ready to strike. Kywingwa
covered his face with his hands.

Something dashed by him, blowing his
long hair away from his hands with the wind
of its rapid passage. He uncovered his face.
A shadow was fleeting by ; another followed,
and another.

The gloom of the great cliff fell across
the snow not twenty paces away. Behind
the edge the darkness intensified in one
spot, the spot moved towards him, detached
itself from the mass, swept across the light
space and passed over him, as a wave surges
over a reef in the bay.

It was a pack of dogs. Grimly silent ex-
cept for their panting and the rush of their
feet, with wolfish heads low and furred
tails straight, they leaped across the snow to
where the bear, brought to bay by the
leaders, stood reared upon her haunches.

370

had never
s oue was

im another
knees. He
ily ceased ;
Kywingwa

lowing his
h the wind
id his face,
r followed,

fell across
/. Behind
id in one
1, detached
s the light
ave surges

silent ex-
sh of their
nd furred
he snow to
ly by the

haunches.

In Brctic nDoonliabt

At her feet the pack burst. A wild horde
sprang hither and thither, darting at the
bear's hind quarters and springing away,
galloping round the quarry in a confusing
circle. Every dog of them was giving
tongue at the utmost pitch of his voice, and
the air vibrated with the noise.

Even then Kywingwa, stupefied with his
exertions, but half comprehended the scene.
But presently more shadows arrived ; the
shadows of men. Kywingwa's brother,
afterwards Dokt, and with him a very lofty
figure, the great Captain of all the white men
from the wooden-z^/o^-at-the-south. The
relief party had come after all.

The white men ran to the sledge. Ky-
wingwa's brother raised the lad from the
snow and helped him to make a slow way
after them. Before they reached the party
some one fired a rifle and the bear fell among
a heap of dogs.

Kabluna-suah, supported by the leader,
was drinking Dokt's charm-medicine out of
the round box made of ice that did not melt.
Presently Kywingwa heard his voice ; the
tones were low and the white men bent their

271

MMM

HNMI

s ;

TUuobtcr of tl)C Spbini

heads to catch the words. Kywingwa could
not understand them.

In a moment Dokt straightened up and
called his name loudly.

"Kywingwa," he cried. "Where is Ky-
wingwa?" His voice sounded strained and
Kywingwa was frightened.

" Here," he answered feebly. " I couldn't
help running away, I "

But Dokt seized him by the shoulders and
knees, tossed him into the air, caught him on
the way down, and squeezed his breath
almost away. Kywingwa noticed frozen
drops on the white man's cheeks. He must
have been running fast if his eyes watered.

The boy understood dimly from the ways
of the white people that he was not in dis-
grace. But he was surprised when they
began to give him things — priceless pieces
of wood, knives, hatchets, and even a rifle.
Why these gifts should be lavished upon him
Kywingwa could not ascertain ; at last he
contented himself with the recollection that
the white man is an amiable creature, but
odd, very odd.

27s

gwa could

id up and

ere is Ky-
rained and

"I couldn't

mlders and
ght him on
his breath
;ed frozen
He must
s watered,
m the ways
not in dis-
when they
sless pieces
ven a rifle,
d upon him
at last he
lection that
•eature, but

THE DOLOROUS EXPERIENCE
OF KUKU

TooKAMiNGWA visitcd in the village where
Kuku lived, and Kuku fell in love with her.
Her cheeks were plump and brown, her dark
eyes glowed as glow peat fires when the
wind blows, and her teeth were the daintiest
and whitest in Greenland. Kuku, himself,
was not homely for an Eskimo, but he was
not proud of that. He exulted because he
was a skilful maker of harpoons and of
sledges, and because he was the most dis-
tinguished hunter among the younger men
in the tribe. Recently he had performed the
surprising feat of killing a reindeer with his
bow and arrow, and he gave some of the
reindeer tallow to Tookamingwa, and fancied
that she looked upon him with favor.

To be sure she talked a good deal about
the people with white faces who lived in their
great t£-/oo three sleeps to the northward.

i8 373

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spbini

<'They are rich," said the maiden. "The
i^loo is built of wood! and they have
enough iron tools to fit out all the Eskimos
in the world ! They are kind, too. They
give you valuable things. See! This is
what Kabluna-suah gave me. When we
go back to pitch our tupiks for the summer
near the white people, he will give more."

She exhibited a curious pot made of a
shiny substance.

"It held red stuff that was not seals
blood, yet the white people ate it. They
named it tomat." said Tookamingwa. "It
was not good food. The pot is good, though ;
better than soapstone. It will not break.

See !"

She cast it upon a hard piece of ice. The
surface was dented but not cracked.

"y^i-t?/" exclaimed Kuku, and his heart
sank. Why should this person with the name
that meant "great big white man" make
precious gifts to an Eskimo girl ?

When the time came for Eskimos to choose
their summer homes he had an interview
with Tooky's parents. It was satisfactory,,
for the girl being twelve suns old, was ready

274

en. "The
they have
,e Eskimos
too. They
! This is
When we
lie summer
e more."
made of a

i not seal's
e it. They
ngwa. " It
lod, though ;
not break.

)f ice. The

:ed.

id his heart

ith the name

nan " make

los to choose
an interview
satisfactory,,
d, was ready

^be Dolorous Experience of l^uftu

for marriage, and her father was glad to turn
over to another hunter the task of killing
seals for her food. He promised that Tooka-
mingwa should be Kuku's wife, and the lover
was therefore not disheartened when, upon
her departure to white man's t£-/oo, his sweet-
heart refused to sniff noses with him in
secret.

But, when Tookamingwa, her parents, the
sledge and the team of dogs were combined
in a tiny black spot far away upon the white
ice, Kuku's spirits fell. His beloved was
going to be not only away from him but also
in the company of Kabluna-suah. The white
man must be in love with Tooky ; who could
see her and not be ? He was rich ; suppose
he should offer her mother a pair of scissors
and her father a knife ! Kuku was aware
that, tempted with such presents, not for an
instant would his prospective parents-in-law
remember their promise to an Eskimo who
had only a poor knife of his own, not to
speak of a bright new one to give away.

By sunset the lad was miserable. His
spirits were not lightened by the conversa-
tion of a family that passed the night in his

275

Xauabtcr ot tbc Spblni

father's igloo. They had lived near the
white people ever since the sun had come
back after its winter's absence. They would
talk of nothing but the strangers. If Kuku s
father asked who in the northern villages had
caught the most walrus, they burst out into
the story of a single hunt when the white
men had taken ten walrus with fire-weapons
that made a great noise. If Kuku's mother
asked whether Itoo-sak-suee's baby had been
born, they explained that a white man, Kab-
luna-suah, had held beneath Itoo-sak-suee s
nostrils a little pot, made of something that
looked like ice, and had driven the pain-
spirits away.

" Their ways are not the ways of Innuit,
said the aged father of the family. " Kab-
luna-suah made a charm-dish of hot water,
and placed the new-born baby in it, and the
baby is strong. It is well for the Innuit that
Kabluna-suah has come here. It will be well
for Tookamingwa, to whom he has given
gifts, if he shall take her to M<=hica, where
he lives, in the great woman's boat that sends

up smoke."

Kuku crawled hastily through the long

near the
had come
liey would
If Kuku's
llages had
t out into
the white
e-weapons
I's mother
y had been
man, Kab-
-sak-suee's
ething that
I the pain-

of Innuit,"
ly. " Kab-
hot water,
it, and the
; Innuit that
will be well
: has given
:hica, where
It that sends

Th the long

hole that led out of the ia^loo. Although he
had dreaded vaguely lest Kabluna-suah
might be a rival, he was uni)repared to have
his fears confirmed. He stood upon a hill
overlooking the bay, and despair came upon
him.

In the gray twilight which answered at
that season of the year for night, the great
white mountains and the infinite expanse of
white ice-fields, unrelieved by a touch of
black, nay, by the lightest shadow, were op-
pressively desolate. Only in the southeast
was there a bit of color ; there a faint tinge
of pink in the clouds betokened the approach
of dawn. The sun had shone long that day ;
on the morrow he would shine longer still,
and presendy the time would come when he
would not set at all, but would swing around
and around die sky. Then the weadier
would be warm, and the snow on the sea-
shore and in the valleys would melt, and the
flowers and grass would grow, and the birds
would come back and bumblebees and but-
terflies would play, and life would be joyous
in the land. But the ice-fields would break
up and float away, and there would be no

277

i^l

|!'

J ■?

•nauoMet of tbe SpWni

„aveUi„g for Eskimos, and Kukn w^^d be

shut off from Tookammgwa unt.l in i

t ice shouid form thick ^^'^^^J'^^J,

--.s^::rj;:^Hrer:;;

Tuk^ hattd to his siedge. packed upon
U his weapons, ^^J^^:^.
sent the long 1 ^^^^,^ ^^;,„_

the house of wood, ^ven thoug

been told of its greatness """^X^^i was

and a little awe-stncken the mou

** 278

M would be
I in the fall
1 to bear a
their great
[ go at will.
s in earnest ;
ookamingwa

packed upon
It, some furs
his five dogs,
g about their
lan's igloo.
day, he came
der which lay
ough he had
vas surprised,
e mound was
[. The tallest
as not a third

his dogs and
)f the passage

snow into the
laving tethered
[itrance. Barely
^at the passage

Z\)c 2)olorou0 Experience of "Rul^u

was so high that you could stand erect in it,
he hurried through the darkness till he came,
thump, against a hard wall. While he was
yet dazed from the shock, part of the wall
seemed to fall away, a radiance burst upon
him, and he staggered into a bewildering

scene.

The place was vast, but light as day. In
it were many, many people, talking and
laughing, evidently undisturbed by the acci-
dent to the wall. Most of them were Eski-
mos, but in a moment from the crowd came
a being with a white face, clad in strange,
soft garb; another followed him, and then
another, and afterward others ; Kuku could
not say how many, for they came and went,
and each one looked to him exactly like the
others. They took hold of his hand in an
extraordinary way, and spoke to him kindly
in bad Eskimo.

Contrary to their custom the Eskimos also
came to bid him welcome, but among them
was not Tookamingwa. He became con-
scious of this after a while, and wondered
where she was. Presently the crowd fell away
from him and he saw her. She was sitting at

«79

Xauabter of tbc Spbini

the other side of the igloo, upon an odd thing,
somewhat like the stools used by Eskimos in
watching at holes in the ice for seals, and she
was chattering to a white man. He was very
tall. Even as he sat his head was nearly upon
a level with that of Kuku, who was standing.
His hair did not hang over his shoulders, but
was cut short. Kuku wondered how he pro-
tected his face in winter when the winds
blew. He wore bearskin breeches and Eski-
mo boots, but instead of a netcha he had a
soft garment not made of skins. He was
talking merrily with Tooky. Evidently he
understood what she said, but could not ex-
press himself easily, for he used signs.

" Kabluna-suah ! " called some one from
across the igloo. "Kabluna-suah, agai!
Takoo oona / "

The white man looked up, said a word to
Tookamingwa and went away. Kuku ap-
proached the maiden.
"Tooky," he said softly.
She appeared not to hear ; she was watch-
ing the lofty figure of the white man, con-
spicuous in the throng of Eskimos.
" Tooky," repeated Kuku.

odd thing,
Lskiinos in
is, and she
: was very
early upon
J standing,
ulders, but
3W he pro-
the winds
, and Eski-
; he had a
He was
/idently he
uld not ex-
igns.

one from
lah, agai !

I a word to
Kuku ap-

was watch-
; man, con-
os.

•MM

c:bc Dolorous Cipcrtcnce ot Kuhu

Tookamingwa turned her head slowly and
looked at him. Then without a sign of
recognition, she rose from the stool and
went away. "Tooky," murmured Kuku,
piteously, but she made no answer. Dum-
founded, he took a seat upon the floor
in a corner and pulled his hood over his

head.

His gloom was broken through by a loud

hail.

" Hi, Kuku. Why do you sit alone ? Come
and play the pulling game."

The voice was that of Koolatingwa, the
foolish, and Kuku was displeased.

" Go away !" he said.

" Tatingwa! What spirit is in you?" re-
sponded Koolatingwa. " Come out of that
corner and pull with Kabluna-suah."

His voice was loud. Kuku felt that the
attention of everyone had been called to
him. In the presence of Tookamingwa it
would never do to refuse the challenge, and
he arose and took his place in the open space
at the centre of the room. But once there
he gained confidence. At the pulling game
he was an expert. Suppose he should van-

281

JKi

Xaufibtcr of tbc Spbini

quish Kabluna-suah ; then, he thought, Tooky
would perhaps look at him.

The white man, coming forward, smiled,
and Kuku saw that his eyes were not brown,
like Eskimo eyes, but blue, and looked kindly.
The contestants stretched forth their right
arms, with wrists bent at right angles, locked
wrists, bracing themselves firmly, and at a
signal from Koolatingwa began to pull.
Kuku had taken an excellent position with
his body thrown well back, and his arm
crooked at the elbow, so that the interlocked
wrists were a little nearer to him than they
were to Kabluna-suah. The white man, on
the contrary, held himself nearly upright,
apparently careless about advantage of pos-
ture. But when the word came, Kuku found
himself drawn forward irresistibly ; his strug-
gles were of no avail ; he pitched toward
Kabluna-suah with so great momentum that
he almost lost his balance.

The other Eskimos laughed, but the white
man grasped Kuku's hand, after the strange
manner of white men, led him away from the
crowd and talked to him.

"You strong. You pull good," he said.
282

MWMl

rht, Tooky

•d, smiled,
[lot brown,
ced kindly,
their right
;les, locked
, and at a
I to pull,
sition with
d his arm
nterlocked
than they
ite man, on
ly upright,
Lge of pos-
Cuku found
; his strug-
led toward
lentum that

t the white
the strange
ay from the

I," he said.

Zbc Dolorous Eiperlencc of *uftu

"You pull very good. They no good,"
he added, smiling and pointing to the
laughing Eskimos. And he went on to ask
Kuku about his dogs, and the Eskimo partly
forgot his unhappiness in describing his king-
dog, and in admiring the knife which Kab-
luna-suah gave him.

By-and-by the Eskimos went out and
Kuku saw that he was expected to follow.
It was only after he had left the ig^/oo that he
realized how little he had hated the white
man.

"I do not wonder that Tooky likes him,"
he murmured to himself. " He is pe-oo-ook /"

Just outside the passage he was startled.
Tookamingwa stood there looking out over
the dreary ice-fields. Could she be waiting
for him? He approached her timidly and
pronounced her name. The maiden turned
upon him vehemently, and her eyes glowed
more than ever.

"Why did you not pull him over?" she
exclaimed. " You are good for nothing ! I
despise you. I will not speak to you !" And
she ran to her father's i^/oo, leaving Kuku
once more overwhelmed with despair.

283

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbini

Thereafter, for many sleeps, Kuku suffered.
In Tookamingwa's presence he was wretched,
because she never took the slightest notice
of him ; but even that he preferred to the
uncertainty and jealousy he felt when she
was out of his sight. So he followed her
about and became more and more listless.
He was derided by most of the Eskimos,
but much pitied by some. He told the whole
story, after a long time, to the aged Miktou-
sha, who had asked him why he no longer
hunted reindeer.

-Youth is foolish," commented Miktousha,
when the story was ended. "You are ?
hunter, but you do not know when you have
trapped your fox. The maiden is yours. She
is struggling in the trap. Leave her free,
and she will come where you can seize her."
"She will go to Mehica with Kabluna-
suah," said Kuku.

The old hunter shook his head.
" Na r he replied. " The white men are
wise. They have white women. They will
not need the Innuit maidens in their own
land. Takoor he went on. " Hunt again.
Kill a reindeer, and give the skin to another

384

Inx

;u suffered,
i wretched,
test notice
red to the

when she
Uowed her
)re listless.
e Eskimos,
d the whole
ed Miktou-

no longer

Miktousha,
You are ?
m you have
; yours. She
^e her free,
I seize her."
:h Kabluna-

lite men are
u They will
in their own
Hunt again,
in to another

Z\)c Doloroue fijcpcricncc of 'ftuhu

maiden. Give it to Padlungwa. Tooka-
mingwa will be enraged, but she will come
the sooner to your iglooy

Kuku sallied forth into a gap in the hills.
Reindeer were shy in the neighborhood of
white man's igloo, because so many of their
comrades had been killed. It was with great
difficulty that Kuku succeeded in shooting
one ; and for that reason he was doubly tri-
umphant as he bore his prey into the settle-
ment and was hailed with applause. Pad-
lungwa was among the rest of the Eskimos,
and showed her white teeth, but Kuku's in-
tention of giving her the skin had vanished.
With success his confidence had returned.
He watched for two or three sleeps till he
saw an opportunity to address Tookamingwa
by herself and then offered her the soft, rare
fur. Tooky's eyes brightened, and she put
forth her hand, but at that moment Koola-
tingwa appeared near by and laughed. Took-
amingwa' s hand fell to her side, her face be-
came expressionless, and she turned away.

"Tooky, Tooky," said Kuku, "have pity.
I am unhappy. You are dear to me, Tooky ;
you are dear to me, but you are not kind."

Xauobtcr of tbc Spbtni

She paused ; she did not turn around, but
her head drooped. Koolatingwa stopped
laughing and gazed, open-mouthed,

"Tooky," continued Kuku, softly. "I
give you the fur. See, I leave it behind you
on the stone."

She was trembling. Kuku's heart was
warm with delight. With shrieks and whoops
of malignant glee Koolatingwa bounded
towards white man's igloo. The interview
came to an end. Tookamingwa drew her-
self up, marched haughtily away and disap-
peared within her father's house.

"She will come to my igloo^' exulted
Kuku, left alone. " I am sure of it. The
skin shall lie where it is ; she will come and

get it."

And when, after sleeping, he passed the
spot again, the rock was bare, he knew
she only would have taken the fur, for Es-
kimos do not steal. Therefore Kuku was
consoled, though his sweetheart still con-
tinued to pass him without notice, and though,
moreover, he had to submit to the chaff of
the other Eskimos, to whom Koolatingwa

286

around, but
wa stopped
ed.

softly. " I
; behind you

5 heart was
and whoops
/a bounded
lie interview
a drew her-
y and disap-

•

00," exulted

of it. The

ill come and

; passed the
e, he knew

fur, for Es-
e Kuku was
irt still con-
, and though,

the chaff of
Koolatingwa

Zbc 2)olorou0 experience of "Ruhu

had explained the situation in that vivid
descriptive way which was his.

The sun rose above the horizon, not to
set again for many sleeps. The weather
grew hot ; the Eskimos pitched their skin
tents, laid aside their thick fox and rabbit
skins and donned garments of seal. Lanes
of black water opened out at the end of the
bay toward the sea, and upon the edges
of these lanes slept seal. The Eskimos
went hunting. At length a lane appeared
in the bay itself and the Eskimos launched
their kayaks and paddled to and from the
hunting grounds. Kuku sold his dogs to
the white men for wood enough for the
framework of a kayak, killed adroitly ten
seals, tanned their skins and built one of the
little boats, the first he had ever owned.
When it was finished and lay drying in the
sunlight, Tookamingwa sauntered near it.
Kuku, perceiving her from afar, was de-
lighted. Recently he had seen but little of
Tooky because of the hunting.

" She will come to my tg/oo !" he said to
himself. " She comes to look at my kayak.

287

Xauobter of tbc Spbinr

Its first service shall be for her. I vnll kill a
harbor seal and she shall have a fine pair of
trousers out of the skin."

" Kuku," said a taunting voice behind him.

" Kuku, have you talked with Tooky lately ?"

Kuku turned. " Koolatingwa," he said,

" if you do not let me alone, I will drive my

lance through you."

Koolatingwa drew back in amazement and
fright. Such a threat from an Eskimo was
unheard of.

" I meant no harm," he stammered. " But
I warn you that Kabluna-suah is saying that
soon a great woman's boat will come from
Mehica and that Tooky is going away in it."
" SAa£-/oo id/ee /" hurst forth Kuku, "you
lie ! you lie ! you lie !" He caught up a
stone, but Koolatingwa fled incontinently.

"SAag/oo na-meT he called back, when
he was well out of range. " Look yonder."
Kuku looked. Beside Tookamingwa stood
Kabluna-suah. He talked to Tooky and she
raised her eyes trustfully to his and laughed.
Kuku dashed down the beach, burst between
the two figures and seized the kayak.

«'It is mine!" he cried, fiercely. "It is
288

I v/ill kill a
L fine pair of

: behind him.
3oky lately?"
a," he said,
n\\ drive my

lazement and
Eskimo was

lered. " But
s saying that
II come from
r away in it."
Kuku, "you
caught up a
ontinently.
1 back, when
ook yonder."
mingwa stood
'ooky and she
, and laughed,
burst between
kayak.
rcely. "It is

Z^be Dolorous fiipcricncc of 1(ufiu

mine ! You need not look at it, Kabluna-
suah ! You cannot take it with Tookamingwa
in the woman's boat !"

He pushed his litde boat down to the ice,
slid it out to the water, launched it and
squeezed himself into the cockpit. He heard
Kabluna-suah calling his name ; to that he
paid not the slightest attention, but paddled
furiously and never looked behind him.
Down the long lane of black water he pro-
ceeded, passing the white man's wooden
boat, which was just coming in, passing Es-
kimos in their canoes, at last passing out of
the bay altogether, far out into the open sea,
dotted with white ice-floes. Where he went
he cared not, but the kayak determined his
course. He was not accustomed to paddling,
and one of his strokes upon the right side
was too vigorous. Immediately the canoe
began to describe a circle to the left. In
vain he tried to correct the movement by
strokes upon the inner side of the circle ; the
self-willed little craft refused to be coerced,
and he was forced to sink the right blade of
his paddle into the water, and to hold hard
till she stopped. Before him was an ice-floe,
19 389

UauoDtcr of tbc Spbini

upon which he had narrowly escaped being
wrecked.

A huge yellow mass moved upon the ice-
floe. It came lumbering down to the edge
of the water and stood, tossing a head and
neck up and down, sniffing in the air with
a black muzzle, and staring curiously with
small, black eyes at the strange being that
had come into its kingdom. From behind its
legs came a copy of itself in miniature, and
stood in front and imitated its mother in
gestures.

No Eskimo in his senses dreams of attack-
ing a bear without dogs, but Kuku was not
in his senses.

"Welcome!" he exclaimed. "You have
come to your death. I will kill you, nannook,
and your skin shall go to Tookamingwa. I
will give her something better than any gift
of the white man."

He tore his harpoon out of the fastenings
and tied to the end of the line a drag ; a
square bone frame with tanned sealskin
stretched tighdy across it. "Bears are
cowards till they are forced to fight," he re-
flected. " I will fasten to the old one with

290

scaped being

upon the ice-
\ to the edge
a head and
the air with
iiriously with
;e being that
om behind its
liniature, and
ts mother in

ims of attack-
luku was not

"You have

you, nannook,

kaniingwa. I

than any gift

the fastenings
ne a drag ; a
nned sealskin
"Bears are
a fight," he re-
e old one with

^be Dolorouo experience of Ituhu

the harpoon ; at the pain she will takf the
cub and run. She will try to swim to the
shore ice, but she will not be able to pull the
drag, and I can paddle near her and kill her
with the lance."

It was a perilous plan, but it might have
succeeded if the cub had not been brim-
ming over with curiosity. Just as Kuku de-
livered his harpoon, the little beast rose
on his hind legs, to see better, received the
weapon full in the throat and fell with a howl.
Instantly Kuku, knowing his peril, took to
flight. The mother nosed about her baby,
whined piteously and licked the wound. Then
raising her enormous head, she glared for a
minute at the fleeing Eskimo, and, snarling,
plunged into the water. Kuku paddled with
the strength of fear, and he might have es-
caped had not a small piece of ice, alongside
of which he ran, forced him to lose two
strokes on the left. Instantly the kayak
began to describe a circle and the bear cut
across and was upon him. An ice-floe was
at hand. Instinctively Kuku threw away his
paddle, lifted himself out of the little cock-
pit, drew his feet under him and grasped his

291

Xauobtcr of tbe Spbini

lance. A huge paw came out of the water
and fell upon the stern of the kayak. Down
it went, and up rose the bow. Kuku sprang
for his life, alighted on the side of a little
hillock upon the ice-floe, and fell with a
crash.

He felt a thrill of pain in his left leg, and
when he tried to rise, found he was dis-
abled. Fortunately the bear occupied herself
for a few moments in demolishing the kayak.
Meanwhile, in spite of his pain, Kuku was
able to draw himself back from the edge of
the ice. He hoped to find a hiding place over
behind a large mound in the centre of the
pan, but just before he reached the summit
his strength gave out.

The world became unreal. A visionary
monster seemed to be plunging about in the
water. Kuku watched it, half unbelieving,
as he had sometimes watched the spirits that
appear to Eskimos when the angekok sings
charm-songs. Even when the brute left the
ruins of the kayak and began to clamber
upon the ice, Kuku had no dread of it. He
felt that he ought to rise and fight, and he
made one attempt to drag himself up, but

292

■|L

of the water
kayak. Down

Kuku sprang
iide of a little
d fell with a

lis left leg, and
i he was dis-
ccupied herself
ling the kayak.
ain, Kuku was
m the edge of
ding place over
centre of the
led the summit

. A visionary
ig about in the
ilf unbelieving,
the spirits that
; angekok sings
e brute left the
ran to clamber
ead of it. He
d fight, and he
himself up, but

aSe(S?B^'i"»-rV. ■i^'^t^JJavtiJu'.i;.

Z\ic Dolorous fiipcrlcncc of *uftu

agony in his leg took away his breath, and
he sank back. The bear pulled herself upon
the floe. Kuku watched her calmly and won-
dered whether it was really a dream. After
a long time he was aware that she had
paused and seemed to be snarling at some-
thing beyond him. Kuku heard strange
noises— two or three sharp whisdes m the
air above his head, and several little thuddmg
sounds that seemed to come from the bear
herself. She behaved oddly. She rose upon
her hind legs, made a few aimless clutches
with her forepaws, fell and lay strugghng.
A red stain spread wider and wider over the
ice While Kuku was trying to understand
this, out of the ice beside him rose a dark
figure, and then the vision turned to the face
of Kabluna-suah close to his own.
Kuku felt himself saying :
"Little bear— yonder— I killed it— give
Tookamingwa," and then someone seized his
leg, and at the pain the face and the world

vanished.

When he awoke he was very weak, but in
possession of his senses. He found himself
lying in white man's igloo, on something soft,

493

Xauabtct of tbc Spbini

in one of those places where the white
people slept. His right leg felt stiff and
queer, and he could not move it. He felt
it, and found that it was tied to something
that seemed to be wood.

From somewhere out in the igloo came
Kabluna-suah and looked at him.

" Good, Kuku ?" inquired the white man,

gently. _ ,

"Good," assented Kuku, feebly. "Tooka-

mingwa ?"

At this Kabluna-suah went away, and Kuku
fell to wondering hazily whether the oomiah-
suah had come yet, and when it would go
back to Mehica and take Tooky away from
him. Footsteps approached and he turned
his head. Kabluna-suah came in, and by
the hand he led Tookamingwa. He left her
at Kuku's side and disappeared, and all
Kuku could see was his sweetheart's bright
eyes shining through the dusk of the igloo.
Nearer and nearer they came— she was
bending over him.

" Kuku," she murmured.
Kuku's soul swelled in his enfeebled body,

394

'"t„_

the white
;lt stiff and
It. He felt
1 something

igloo came

white man,

[y. " Tooka-

ly, and Kuku
the oomiah-
it would go
y away from
id he turned
: in, and by
He left her
.red, and all
leart's bright
of the igloo.
le — she was

She was bending aver him.

feebled body,

-juJXS^'iiatiicSXai- ai£»!

and he burst forth into tears, fit for white
men only. For he saw that forever and
ever, even among the stars, Tookamingwa
would sniff noses with him in happiness.

295

[j iJl.UW "^

A TALE OF DARKNESS AND OF
THE COLD

Kalutanah, strongest Eskimo in North
Greenland, ate some white man's food and
was seized by a pain-spirit. He pressed
both hands upon the spirit without effect,
and sent his wife to fetch an angekok. The
wise man arrived with his little oval tam-
bourine, made of walrus membrane stretched
upon a reindeer-rib frame, took his stand
beside Kalutanah and began to twist his
body from side to side and, to sing a charm-
song. In his left hand he grasped the tam-
bourine ; in his right the ivory wand ; and,
beating triple taps upon the resounding
frame, he lifted his voice mournfully.

" At, yi-i, yi-i, yak I ■ ,, ;

Ai, yi-i, yi-i, yah I"

he chanted. But the devils in Kalutanah' s
inside never budged. v

297

laufibtcr of the Spbtni

Louder and louder rose the song, faster
and faster twisted the angekoks body. His
long black hair slashed across his face, his
eyes rolled up ind looked like white moons.
Kalutanah groaned. The angekok went
into a frenzy and his wail waxed to a howl
and sounded beyond the stone hut, down the
hill, and out over the shimmering ice-fields
to the ship where the white men lived.

The white man with red whiskers can.t to
ask the cause.

"Much noise," he said in his imperfect
Eskimo. "Why?"

Kalutanah was too weak to answer, and
the angekok lay prostrated with the spasm.
Padlungwa had to break through her shy-
ness.

" Kalutanah has an ah-ah;' she said. "He
ate some of your red food from the round
boxy that gleams. You say tomat ? White
man's food is not good for Eskimos. My
husband has an ah-ah."

The white man pressed his palm upon
Kalutanah's forehead.

" Hm !" he commented, " you fetch clothes."
Together they slipped winter furs upon
298

ong. faster
)ody. His
s face, his
lite moons.
ekok went
to a howl
t, down the
g ice-fields
ived.
5rs camt to

5 imperfect

nswer, and
the spasm.
;h her shy-
said. " He
the round
at ? White
cimos. My

palm upon

tch clothes."
r furs upon

Kalutanah, and the white man dragged him
through the long, cramped tunnel out of the
igloo, and bore him over the moonlit ice-
fields to the ship. There, lying beside one
of the great iron lamps that burn black
stones, Kalutanah drank some nasty stuff,
whereupon the devils flew away and left him
to sleep.

When he awoke the white man and Pad-
lungwa were watching. Padlungwa cooed
over him, in her soft voice, but in the time
of his illness she had changed.

Her pretty timidity was gone. She had
ceased to fear the white men. She asked
them questions ; she even ventured to make
jokes with the red beard. When Kalutanah,
recovered after a few sleeps, beckoned his
wife to go home he found her pettish.

" It is good to be here," she remonstrated.
"Why should we go to live in the igloo ; it
is so small."

" It is too small for us and the white man,"
muttered Kalutanah. " Come."

Padlungwa followed him. But as the
winter waned and the sunlight began again
to illumine the white world she was often

299

lauflbtcr of tbc Spbini

absent from the i/rloo. She brought home
precious gifts from the white men— pieces of
wood and needles, and once a knife. She
had bright stories, too, about the strangers ;
how funny and green they looked, after the
long winter night; how they came from a
wonderful land where the sun always rose
and set once every sleep, as it does in Es-
kimo land during the spring and fall, and
how they meant to go home as soon as the
ice should break up.

" And they say," ventured Padlungwa, one
late spring day, " that they will take you and
me with them."

Kalutanah harnessed his dogs to the
sledge, packed his harpoon, lance, knife and
riding furs, together with twelve sleeps' sup-
ply of seal-meat.

"Padlungwa," he called. "Come with
me. "We will bring my walrus from the
cache at Netchiuloomee."

Before the twelve sleeps had passed the
ice out at sea, yielding to the power of sun
and tide, had broken up. Kalutanah re-
turned from Netchiuloomee alone. Pad-
lungwa, he said, had fallen into a crack and

300

■^

jht home
-pieces of
life. She
trangers ;
after the
e from a
vays rose
es in Es-
1 fall, and
on as the

ngwa, one
e you and

s to the

knife and

eeps' sup-

ome with
from the

)assed the
ver of sun
itanah re-
ine. Pad-
crack and

Kokoia, the ea-devil, had choked her. He
was haggard and his eyes roved wildly.

The white men, still ice-bound in the bay,
stroked his shoulders and slapped his back,
just as if he had been one of their own com-
pany come to grief. But the Eskimos in the
setdement upon the hill lost the red from
their cheeks as they heard Kalutanah's story.
«' Why did he take her among the broken
sea-ice ?" they gossiped. " The bays are still
frozen. He could have reached Netchiu-
loomee without crossing dangerous cracks."
" His father's father was one of the tattooed
tribe," ventured a woman.

The Eskimos exchanged rapid glances.
Once or twice, in the youth of the old men,
there had come across the frozen sea to the
westward, bands of tall Eskimos with cheeks
and lips tattooed. They had killed men,
ravished women and stolen the food of the
setdements. Kalutanah's father, it was said,
had been tall and valiant like these men.
Kalutanah, himself, was greater by a whole
head than anyone in his tribe.

Among die gende Greenland people a
murder— nay, a quarrel — was unknown. But

301

Xauobter of tbc Spbini

if Kalutanah had the fierce blood of the tat-
tooed men from the western land, who could
say what he might do ?

The Eskimos discussed these things in
groups, casting over their shoulders glances
at Kalutanah. In his presence they were
uneasy. No one sought him out, and it
came gradually to pass that if he joined a
group of his old-time friends — and blood
relatives, for this isolated tribe of two hun-
dred and fifty persons is a great family — one
and another withdrew to sharpen a harpoon
or to look after the tanning of a sealskin.
At last, in the midst of the lively settlement,
Kalutanah found himself solitary.

Solitude among the Arctic solitudes is
blank desolation. There is nothing to re-
lieve it. For the lofty cliffs and pure snows,
for the blue waves, dancing in the sunlight,
for the sprays flashing against a thousand
shining icebergs, the Eskimo has no con-
scious love. His happiness is in hunting
and gathering with his people to gossip, or
to thrill before some angekok holding com-
munion with the spirits. He needs his fellow-
men. Kalutanah particularly needed them.

302

'-—^

bini

)d of the tat-
id, who could

:se things in
ilders glances
ce they were

out, and it
f he joined a
> — and blood
2 of two hun-
t family — one
en a harpoon
of a sealskin.
:ly settlement,
ry.

: solitudes is
lothing to re-
d pure snows,

the sunlight,
st a thousand

has no con-
is in hunting
; to gossip, or

holding com-
seds his fellow-
needed them.

B Ttalc of Darkness an^ of tbc (Iol^

He was arrogant in his strength. He loved
the admiration it brought him. When the
admiration failed he had no resource left.
At first, upheld by pride, he feigned to scoff
at his people. He hunted, and joyed m
sledging home greater loads than the best
of his neighbors. But that pleasure failed
when he could not hear the comments of his

audience.

Once or twice he sought solace among the
white men, whom he hated. But here again
his pride had a fall. For although the
strangers made much of him, still, even in
their presence, his own people grouped them-
selves apart. At last his spirit broke. His
fare lost the Eskimo plumpness. His haughty
manner softened. He tried to win friends
with presents, but the very attempt made
matters worse. For. hearing that Megipsu's
husband had been killed by a walrus, and
that the widow was near starvation, he went
out to the hunting grounds with his dogs and
brought home to her a bear and such a load
of seal as no three hunters in the tribe had
ever killed in a single trip.

•« No man alone could have done it," whis-
303

XawQbtcv of tbe Spbini

pered the Eskimos. " Evil spirits aid him to
kill. He has magic powers. He could charm
us to death i"

Megipsu left the food untouched. The
children of the settlement lingered wistfully
near it, when their parents were apart, and
picked choice bits ; but if Kalutanah came
near with ivory toys, which he was ready to
lavish upon them, they ran away. Their
panic struck into the hearts of the parents.
Kalutanah's haggard presence in the settle-
ment cast a shadow upon the light hearts of
the tribe.

There came a storm, Down from the in-
terior snow desert swept the wind. It whirled
the light snow up the cliff corners in clouds
and columns, broke up the ice-fields in the
bay, drove heavy floes crashing together and
smashed the ship of the white men as if it
had been a soapstone pot. Barely time had
the strangers to throw a boat upon the ice
before the floes parted and the fragments of
the vessel went down to the Kokoia.

'* Kalutanah has done it!" whispered the
Eskimos. '

But the white men laughed at this and
9m

s aid him to
:ould charm

ched. The
ed wistfully
i apart, and
tanah came
as ready to
vay. Their
;he parents.
1 the settle-
tit hearts of

rom the in-
It whirled
rs in clouds
ields in the
ogether and
Tien as if it
:ly time had
pon the ice
ragments of
:oia.
lispered the

at this and

B ^ale of Barlinese anb of tbe Colb

hired Kalutanah with his dogs, for a rifle that
shot many times without reloading, to help
them in their boat-journey to open water in
the south.

When they had won the southern cape of
Eskimo land the white men invited Kalu-
tanah to try his fortune in their country.
But the Eskimo feared the sickness of the
open sea. They landed him and his dogs
near a village, said "goo' by," bent to their
oars and tossed away over the waves.

Kalutanah gazed after them until the red
beard was a far glint of fire.

'' Angoskueeta-ay ! '' he murmured. "They
stole my wife, yet they are my brothers. The
strangers are my own people. Yet here, so
far away, I may find friends. No word
against me can have come hither. Who b".t
myself and the white men could dare to
journey so far across the broken ice of sum-
mer?"

He made his way up the foot-hill toward
the peaked oudines of tents, dimly relieved
against the brown cliffs behind. Half way
to the crest he was aware of a young girl
poised upon a rock. She had seen him ;
•• 30s

■ !

Xauabtcr of tbc Spbinx

apparently she was waiting for him. When
he drew near she smiled, and her little white
teeth flashed in the sunlight.
" Chimo, Kalutanah !" she said.
A greeting in his own tongue was a
pleasure of which Kalutanah had been long
bereft. He paused and stared at the maiden.
She was tall and slender. She was still laugh-
ing and her teeth still shone.

" My name is not in your memory," she
asserted. " I am Tung-wing-wa."

"Tung-wing-wa!" he repeated. "The
child of Komenavik."

"I am a woman," she retorted, with an
emphatic little nod. " Many suns have set
sine you saw me. I have become tall. I
knew you because you are so great. I re-
member when, alone and without dogs, you
killed the bear."

"You were a child," mused Kalutanah.
"I carved a little bear for you, from the

tooth."

Tung-wing-wa held up the thong that sup-
ported her breasts. The fastening was an
ivory bear.

"That is it," she said. "My father is
306

in.ri,ii<7--fi"-^ "■*'*' ■**'-**#«*'■

him. When
;r little white

igue was a
,d been long
it the maiden,
as still laugh-

lemory," she

1."

Lted. "The

rted, with an
uns have set
2come tall. I
great. I re-
3ut dogs, you

:d Kalutanah.
'ou, from the

long that sup-
ening was an

•My father is

B Zn\c of DarItne0d an^ of tbc (^ol^

yonder, by his tent. He will make a feast
for you. Will you come to meet him ?"

Komenavik did indeed welcome his guest
in the warmest Eskimo fashion, with a suc-
culent narwhal flipper. Other Eskimos
joined the feast, and before the sun had
fallen to its lowest, Kalutanah found himself
laughing. Not before since Padlungwa's
death had he laughed.

Within five sleeps he was established in a
tent of his own. He hunted with his usual
success, gave food and skins to whomsoever
lacked, and won the hearts of the villagers.

" Kalutanah is not as he was," said the
old man. " Many suns ago he had the heart
of a walrus, and we feared him. Now he
has the spirit of a bear and the heart of a
woman."

The finest pelts of the harbor seal fell to
Tung-wing-wa. The maiden's supple figure
showed charming in the most beautiful trous-
ers in the land. Kalutanah watched her rapid
needle as it pierced neatly together the skins
which she tanned softer than those of other

women.

She was unlike Padlungwa.
307

She

was

€"

1 i

Xauobter of tbc Spbini

not timid. She was readiest of all the Es-
kimos with her tongue. She made jokes
even with Kalutanah, of whose dignity most
persons stood in awe. Her little teeth were
apt to flash out smiles; yet, when it was
right, not Kalutanah himself wore a finer
gravity.

Her sewing was celebrated. She made
for Kalutanah a koolatah and a pair of boots
that were perfectly waterproof. On the day
when he first tried them he went hunting out
upon the ice with Komenavik.

At first he lagged, unwontedly silent.
Presently he made up to his companion :

"Who is betrothed to Tung-wing- wa ?" he

asked.

The aged hunter turned surprised eyes

upon him.

" No one," he replied. " At her birth she
was chosen to be the wife of Sipsu, of Kar-
nah, then a boy ; but when he came to take
her to his tent she fled up the mountain.
Until Sipsu went home she lived there —
catching little auks in snares made of her
hair. Her mind is not open to me. She
said that Sipsu had but one eye. That is

308

inx

all the Es-
made jokes
lignity most
J teeth were
^hen it was
rore a finer

She made

)air of boots

On the day

hunting out

tedly silent,
npanion :
ring-wa?" he

rprised eyes

her birth she
ipsu, of Kar-
:ame to take
he mountain,
ived there —
made of her
to me. She
eye. That is

H ZtAc Of ®arlinc00 an^ of tbc Col^

not a reason for refusing to be the wife of a
good hunter."

For a few steps they plodded on in si-
lence.

"What has my mighty son in his mind?"
resumed Komenavik, "Does he want her
for himself? Padlungwa is asleep forever,
you say ?"

For the first time in his life Kalutanah
hesitated.

" I — I have lived many suns," he faltered.

** A younger husband "

•' Many suns have taught you to be wise,"
answered Komenavik, gravely. "You are
a great hunter. I have seen many more
suns than you. I may never see another. I
could go among the stars knowing that she
would never need to strangle her baby to
keep it from starving."

The subject was never resumed. A seal
showed his black body at the water's edge
and Komenavik stalked it and struck it.
With the harpoon-head in its side it dived.
A bight of the line, caught about his ankle,
dragged the old hunter deep into the water.
Kalutanah sprang to his aid and by his might

iim

iaaiia»<^ >»!'■■ Jbt* g*"

Xauobter of tbc Spbini

hauled line, seal and hunter upon the ice.
But the Kokoia had taken Komenavik.

Kalutanah carried the body home upon his
sledge. At the landing-place, where the
grass-covered hill rose from the bay-ice, he
found several men of the settlement, waiting
for news of the catch. They lifted Kome-
navik tenderly and bore him to the vil-
lage.

Tung-wing-wa stood beside her tent. An
aged Eskimo hobbled on before the others
and spoke to her a few words. Her head
twitched back, as if under a blow upon the
brow, but she advanced slowly toward the
sledge. Beside it she swayed and stretched
forth a hand for support.

Kalutanah caught the hand. The little
fingers closed tightly about his, and held
them until Komenavik lay beside his door.
For a long time after Tung-wing-wa had dis-
appeared within the tent the hunter felt the
clinging fingers upon his own.

Several sleeps passed before he saw her
again. The Eskimos buried their dead
neighbor and went about their business.
Death is too familiar to everyone in that

310

.UJJI, lUIL"

inx

lon the ice.

navik.

Tie upon his

where the

bay-ice, he

ent, waiting

fted Kome-
to the vil-

:r tent. An
: the others
Her head
>w upon the
toward the
nd stretched

The little
is, and held
de his door,
r-wa had dis-
inter felt the

he saw her
their dead

sir business.

|rone in that

desolate land to make a lasting impression
when it comes in ordinary fashion.

Komenavik's widow wailed in the presence
of her friends for a season and presently
forgot her grief in the tent of a widower of
her own age. Tung-wing-wa kept her sor-
row to herself behind the sealskin door-flap.
One night Kalutanah came down the
mountain, late, from a reindeer hunt. His
course led him near the pile of stones under
which, with his weapons beside him, Kome-
navik lay asleep forever. Tung-wing-wa
with a hand upon the stones, stood and gazed
out over the misty sea and the icebergs,
gleaming cold in the light of the low sun.

Kalutanah stole toward her. As he drew
near she looked up with wide eyes, but at
once smiled faintly.

" Kalutanah ?" she said.
He made no reply but gently took her
hand, lifted her to her feet, and led her down
the hill. She looked wonderingly, but ven-
tured no protest. Among the tents when
he chose the way to his own instead of hers
she caught her breath and drooped her head
low, but still suffered him, unresisting.

■ 1111 1 11 1 1

'IF!

Xaitabtcr of tbc Spbinr

Next day the news ran through the settle-
ment. Everyone was pleased.

"Good," gossiped the villagers. "She is
a strange girl. It is well that her man
should be strong and silent. She will fear
him as a woman should fear her husband.
And she will never need food."

But the cold came early that season. It
drove the walrus rapidly before it to the
never freezing sea in the far south. Kalu-
tanah killed but one out of the passing herd.
Barely had the sun begun to dip below the
horizon for a little time in every sleep, be-
fore the frozen ocean, likt a flat, black rock,
stretched out and out and out until it met
the sky. Even the seals seemed to be chilled
away from the land. Their breathing holes
were few and far. Kalutanah, with his dogs,
skimmed away and away until the world
about them was a circle, with nothing but the
icebergs to break the flatness and nothing
but nicks in the sky to show where the
mountains lifted their lofty crests. Often he
returned with an empty sledge.

But these were the happiest times of his
life. Tung-wing-wa bewildered him. Women

1 the settle-

s. " She is
t her man
he will fear
:r husband.

season. It

2 it to the
Jth. Kalu-
issing herd.
> below the
/ sleep, be-
blaclc rock,
ntil it met

3 be chilled
thing holes
:h his dogs,

the world
ling but the
nd nothing

where the
Often he

imes of his
11. Women

H Znk of Barftneee an^ of tbc Col^

were good for chewing skins until they were
soft enough to make clothes ; for seeing that
the winter lamp was filled with oil ; for bear-
ing hunters who could keep the tribe from
starving. All these functions, except the
last, Tung-wing- wa filled better than any
other woman Kalutanah had known, and he
hoped the child she would give him in the
summer might be a man-child.

But apart from these things Tung-wing-wa
was not as other women. When men gath-
ered in his stone house to talk over the
hunting, Tung-wing-wa not only listened
while she sewed, but also threw into the talk
little opinions, so apt that the old men turned
to look at her and to grunt approval. The
aged angekok admitted that she saw the
spirits. Once, when frost demons entered
Kalutanah' s foot she not only warmed it with
snow, after the fashion of white men, but
also, instead of calling the angekok, herself
sang a charm-song, and so the devils van-
ished. Again, she suggested a likely bay
for seal holes, and Kalutanah found two seals
there. In spite of her winsome caresses and
her swift obedience, she was more than any
- 3»3

ifir

llllTinT" ■ Ti T '■ilTWi'iir I ~

Xauobtcr of tbc ^bini

other women. Kalutanah held her in awe as
well as in affection ; that was strange for an
Eskimo husband. It gave him an unknown
happiness.

But the time came when even Kalutanah's
skill and Tung-wing-wa's intuition failed to
provide more seal. A snow-storm whitened
over the gloomy ice and covered the breath-
ing holes. There was no more hunting.
The sun ceased to peep above the southern
mountains. The great hosts of the stars
swept ceaselessly across the sky in review
before the one star in the zenith that never
moved. The moon rolled a silver rim above
the white plains to the eastward, and dived,
like a white whale, to rise higher and higher
night after night. At last she ceased to set,
and swung in wide circles above Eskimo land
as a snowy owl circles above a traveller.
Grotesque black shadow-shapes lurked be-
hind the bergs, but the tips of ice sparkled
with warm blue and silver fires.

Men, too, and dogs and sledges cast un-
couth black images far across the whiteness.
But men and dogs and sledges rarely went
forth. The cold was abroad ; the silent spirit

lgH5B5«B-9ii

bini

her in awe as

tiange for an

an unknown

1 Kalutanah's
tion failed to
Drm whitened
5d the breath-
lore hunting,
the southern
of the stars
iky in review
ith that never
ver rim above
rd, and dived,
ler and higher
ceased to set,
e Eskimo land
e a traveller.
)es lurked be-
f ice sparkled

:dges cast un-
the whiteness,
es rarely went
the silent spirit

B ZMc Of Darl^nc00 an^ of tbc Col^

that worked its spell through furs and skin
and stilled one's blood, without warning.
The Eskimos slept and slept in their warm
stone tj^/oos and issued forth only to bring in
meat from the frozen heaps near their doors,
to cut ice for drinking water, and to call upon
their neighbors.

The heaps of meat were small that season.
One by one they sank away, and their owners
had to dare the cold with sledge journeys to
the north, where, during previous hunting
seasons, they had stored seals and walruses
beneath stones. At last Kalutanah's heap
was lower than his dog-hut, and then the
hunter did the bravest deed of his life. He
harnessed his dogs to the sledge, called his
wife, and set forth to his ancient home.

When they arrived at the northern set-
tlement it was sleeping-time, and no one
was stirring. The stone i^/oo where Kalu-
tanah had lived with Padlungwa was disman-
tled. The hunter propped up the sleeping
slab, laid the riding furs upon it and sum-
moned Tung-wing-wa inside.

" The food is gone," he said. " I am going
to bring more. My nearest store is half-a-
ll*

fir^'

Xauol5tcr of tbc Spbini

sleep's journey away. Lie here until I re-
turn."

"What spirit is in you, Kalutanah.-" re-
monstrated the woman. " You are silent ;
you do not eat. There is meat left for one
sleep. Wait until you have eaten and rested.
If you start forth without food the cold demon

will take you."

"Tatingwar burst forth the hunter.
'« Obey me at once. I go to bring food."

Never before had he spoken harshly to
her. She shrank away and stretched forth
her hand as if to ward off a blow. He too
started back, stared blankly for a moment,
and crept hastily out through the passage.

He returned to the village with a heavy
load of frozen meat. The moon, hovering
above for her second period of the winter,
shone full upon the hill. Kalutanah paused
and drew a hoarse breath. Beside his igloo
was gathered a dark mass of people. They
were clattering vehemently; their voices
sounded through the Arctic stillnesses to
him, far out upon the ice.

Kalutanah set grim teeth and urged on
his dogs. As he drew near the land the

316

here until I re-

Kalutanah?" re-
You are silent;
leat left for one
aten and rested.
1 the cold demon

■th the hunter.
) bring food."
oken harshly to
i stretched forth
a blow. He too
yr for a moment,
rh the passage,
ige with a heavy
; moon, hovering
od of the winter,
Calutanah paused
Beside his igloo
of people. They
tly ; their voices
otic stillnesses to

eth and urged on
lear the land the

chatter ceased for an instant, then began,
wilder than before.

" They have seen me," he muttered. " My
guardian spirit is asleep."
'^ The dark mass wavered to and fro for a
moment and moved toward him. A single
figure ran in advance of the others. It was

his wife. , , , • i

When she had almost reached him she

faltered. Kalutanah halted. The crowd

paused. For a moment the worid waited

in suspense.

" Kalutanah !" cried Tung-wing-wa. " Kalu-
tanah! They say you killed her! It is a
lie ! It is a lie, is it not, Kalutanah ?"

Kalutanah drew in his breath.

" It is a lie ! Kalutanah ! Did you kill

Kalutanah cleared his throat. When he
spoke his voice was husky and unsteady.
» Yes," he answered. " I killed her. She

But a cry from the crowd cut off his speech.
A woman turned and ran up the hill. The
others swayed, broke, and, uttering shrill
exclamations, scattered to their igloos. Tung-

3>7

■\

lauobtcr of tbe Spbini

wing-wa fled with them. Her shrieks rang

loudest of all.

Kalutanah stood motionless. The moon
dipped behind the cliffs and left the valley in
gloom. 'Ihe dogs puzzled about until they
found the meat, tore open the covering,
wrangled over the prey, surfeited themselves,
lay down and lolled out their tongues. The
king-dog came and rubbed powerfully against
Kalutanah' s legs.

With a sudden movement the Eskimo bent
over to caress the long, furred ears.

''Awuk!" he murmured. "Strong king
of my pack ! • Good friend. You at least
are faithful. You do not fear my seal-
meat. Come," he resolved, once more erect,
" come, Awuk, we will go to the south. We
will find the white men. They are not afraid.
We will live in their beautiful land, which
they never cease to praise. I will kill seal
for them ; they shall never starve."

He gazed vaguely over the limitless wastes
toward the south.

"It will be a long journey," he reflected.
" I must have food, plenty of food. In the

318

shrieks rang

s. The moon
t the valley in
)Out until they
the covering,
ed themselves,
tongues. The
^erfuUy against

le Eskimo bent

i ears.
"Strong king
You at least
fear my seal-

nce more erect,

the south. We

y are not afraid.

iful land, which
I will kill seal

tarve."

; limitless wastes

yr," he reflected.
3f food. In the

next bay I have a walrus. It will last two
moons ; surely that is enough."

Without a parting glance at the village he
turned his dog-team westward toward the
sea. The dogs plodded lazily, and paused
to quarrel, after the instinct of their race.
Kalutanah shot his whip-lash at them mechan-
ically; mechanically staggered after the

sledge.

"To the south!" he muttered. "To the

south!"

They reached the mouth of the bay, and
still he lurched blindly forward. The food
he needed lay behind him, but he had for-
got, -n it. Out beyond the firm bay they
p'r J out upon the rougher surface of the
se^. i'he ice around them groaned and
cracked with the pressure of a heavy tide
below. Once and again fissures yawned be-
fore the sledge. Vast floes, driven together,
crumpled into fragments and heaved up walls
in the path of the party ; but Kalutanah
drove his team at the mounds and lifted the
sledge after them. Ordinarily it would have
passed his strength, but he worked in a

3'9 '

^..a»tw:-'.o.aSMSt*.w>»a,^a &i« i a«»T-r -- ''' - -'''»r^

Xauobter of tbe Spbini

frenzy. The dogs ceased to sliirk and
tugged their load with backs level and heads
down.

But their forces gradually waned, and at
last the time came when they could not pull
another pace. Even the terrible whip-lash
failed to sting them forward. They crouched
to their master's feet and lay, panting.

Kalutanah seized his rifle and pushed on
alone. He swayed from side to side, lost
his balance now and again, recovered him-
self, and hurried forward.

"To the south!" he repeated, "To the
south !" He stumbled headlong into an ice-
wall, and fell, in a stupor.

He waked with a consciousness of some-
thing unusual, and tried to rise. The cold
spirit's hand was upon him. His fingers
were numb and his feet were uncertain.
Some moments elapsed before he could prop
himself against an upturned floe and look
about him.

The moon had risen. The ice-fields shim-
mered away to the dark cliffs. The tide was
dead low. The ice had ceased to groan.
Except for the snapping and crashing, here

320

.Vft'&a&S^ -

sliirk and
and heads

led, and at
d not pull

whip-lash
y crouched
ting,
pushed on

side, lost
vered him-

, "To the
into an ice-

5 of some-
The cold

lis fingers
uncertain.

could prop
and look

lelds shim-

le tide was

to groan.

shing, here

'll III - ■- ■ -^- ■

_-.^gl^. ■-■;,■ . j-^-,v-tf^M^;-t ^^g^^i^3fe^'

icaaEfe.-^

and there, of tips nipped from bergs by the
terrible fingers of the cold, the universe held
heavy stillness.

Out of the silences sounded the tone of a
human voice. Kalutanah's blood spurted
through every vein. He sprang to his feet
and peeped over the mound.

Figures were moving across the sea ; fig-
ures of men and dogs and sledges. One
after another they rose over a wall of ice
and descended toward the astonished Es-
kimo.

"From the westward!" exclaimed Kalu-
tanah. "They cannot be our own people.
Can they be white men ?"

He crept into a little shadowed cave be-
tween the blocks, and waited.

The line trailed on until it reached the
foot of his mound. The leaders halted, not
ten paces from his nook. Kalutanah settled
himself closer in the darkness. They were
not white men. Yet they were taller than
Eskhnos.

The main party rested at the foot of the
mound, apparently waiting for the rear to
come up. One man mounted to the summit

ai 321

Xaugbter of tbe Spbini

of the ice and stood gazing toward the east-
ern shore. The moonlight fell squarely upon
his face. It was dark, like the faces of Kalu-
tanah's people, but the cheeks and chin were
traced with unnatural lines.

" The tattooed Eskimos !" gasped Kalu-
tanah.

The figure faced about toward its com-
rades. The last of the line was moving over
the further wall. The leader shouted in
guttural Eskimo, barely intelligible to Kalu-
tanah.

" No creature is in sight," he said. "The
lazy men of the eastern land sleep. They
fear the cold. We shall wake them. It is
but a short journey and smooth ice. For-
ward !"

The band swept over the mound. Chilled
as he was with fright, Kalutanah murmured
low words of admiration at the alertness of
their movements. White men themselves
could not more easily have lifted sledges
over the high-piled blocks.

They were all men — in number more
than Kalutanah could tell off upon fingers
and toes. They carried lances arid bows,

rd the east-
uarely upon
:es of Kalu-
d chin were

rd its com-

loving over
shouted in

)le to Kalu-

aid. "The

eep. They
hem. It is

1 ice. For-

id. Chilled

murmured

alertness of

themselves

;ed sledges

J ■' '

Tiber more

pon fingers
arid bows,

HHIH

B ^ale of 2)arltne0d an^ of tbe CoI^

but no harpoons; certainly they were not
hunting.

Supporting one hand upon a long lance of
narwhal ivory, the leader stood erect until
the last of the party were laboring down the
eastern side of the hummock. He called
another man to stand beside him and pointed
towards the bay.

"There, in the shadow, you and the
sledges must wait. We shall go forward
quietly to surprise them. They will not fight ;
they are cowards. The men will flee. We
will bring the food and the women to you."

They descended the slope and lost them-
selves in the mass of their party, now well
together, and speeding fast away.

"Women!" gasped Kalutanah. "They
will take the women ! They will carry away
Tung-wing-wa !"

He rose to his feet and gazed after the
retreating party until it was a black shadow
in the distance, like the shadow of a rapid
cloud. The ice began to groan with the
rising tide. Kalutanah's rifle, jarred from
its rest, fell against the hunter's knee. He
seized it and stole out of his hiding place.

3*3

Xauflbtcr of tbc Spblni

Descending to the level ice, he lost sight
of the band, but their sledge tracks were
plain. Presently he came to the spot where
his own sledge had been. The sledge and
dogs were gone, but at hand lay a few pieces
of his seal-meat. He devoured them eagerly,
and the cold spirit went out of him.

An enormous iceberg from one of the
mighty glaciers above, caught in its summer
passage south by the cold, lay fixed just out-
side the mouth of the bay. As Kalutanah
drew near the land, by making a slight cir-
cuit he was able to cover his advance with
this berg. Suddenly above the groaning of
the floes there rose a sound of wild scream-
ing and shouting. The hunter stood motion-
less. Again and again came the sound;
voices of women in terror and men in anger.
Kalutanah rushed forward to skirt the tower-
ing berg. Near its end the soft waves had
worn through the mass an arched passage.
It had been half submerged and the sea had
frozen in it like a floor. Into this arch Kalu-
tanah entered and paused at the shoreward
edge to reconnoitre.

The cries had ceased. The moon had

: lost sight
acks were
;pot where
iledge and
few pieces
m eagerly,
n.

)ne of the
ts summer
;d just out-
Kalutanah
L slight cir-
vance with
groaning of
ild scream-
)od motion-
the sound ;
;n in anger,
t the tower-
; waves had
ed passage,
the sea had
} arch Kalu-
; shoreward

moon

had

H ZnXc of Darhnc00 anb of tbc Cclb

almost set. Hidden in the dusk of the cliffs
the bay lay silent. Kalutanah listened
vainly. No sound told him what the dark-
ness covered.

" Ugh !'• he shuddered. " It is cold."

He made a few paces into the open. A
form took shape in the darkness. An arrow
whistled by Kalutanah's head and rebound-
ed from the ice. Kalutanah sprang to
his shelter. A laugh of derision followed
him.

" Go back to your hole !" shouted a gut-
tural voice. "You may save yourself, like
the other cowards of your people."

Kalutanah levelled his rifle. But a word
of command rang out of the gloom and the
figure disappeared. Sounds of many voices
followed and the trampling of feet upon the
crisp snow crust of the shore. Into the dim
moonlight advanced the band of strangers.
They marched, not in regular column, as
before, but in a careless mass, laughing and
shouting. Behind them trailed the sledges,
high with plunder. Last of all, guarded by
a few of the tattooed tribe, emerged the Es-
kimos of the village. They were chiefly

335

■ »"P '

lauflbtct of tbc Spbini

women, but here and there appeared the
white bearskin trousers of a man.

Turning southward to pass tlie iceberg, the
company approached within a harpoon's cast
of Kakitanah's hiding place. The leader,
whirling a long whip-lash, strode beside the
prisoners.

"Get on!" he shouted. "You can run
when you fear to fight. Get on !"

He sent his lash cracking into the crowd.
A woman screamed.

"A — A — Ah!" roared Kalutanah.
He sprang from his cave with rifle un-
lifted. The captors halted and faced him.

" It's that coward who hid in the iceberg !"
shouted a voice. " His fate is in this."

A bow twanged. An arrow buried its
head in Kalutanah's thigh. The hunter stag-
gered and clutched at the berg for support.
"Kalutanah! Kalutanah! Save me!"
A little figure broke from the group of
prisoners and sped toward him. With a
fierce exclamation the leader started in

chase.

The pain of Kalutanah's wound vanished.
The hunter stood erect, levelled his rifle and

326

)ini

ppeared the

; iceberg, the

irpoon's cast

The leader,

e beside the

ifou can run
!"
to the crowd.

inah.

vith rifle un-
faced him.
the iceberg !"
n this."
w buried its
2 hunter stag-
T for support,
ive me !"
the group of
lim. With a
r started in

und vanished,
d his rifle and

pulled the trigger. The leader stretched
forth his arm^, made a few headlong paces,
fell in a heap, turned over once or twice, and
lay still.

Kalutanah sprang forward.

"Coward do you call me?" he shouted.
"Cowards yourselves! You fight women
and children and harmless men ! Dare in
to stand before one who fears you not ! Get
back whence you came, you cowards !'*

He threw his rifle to his shoulder and fired
once, twice, and again. The crowd fell apart.
The strangers rushed thither and thither in
confusion.

"The white man's magic! The white
man's death !" rose the cry.

Helter-skelter sped the terrified maraud-
ers, some north, some east, some south, and
lost themselves one by one, amid the ice-
hills.

Kalutanah staggered toward the groups

of his people.

" Tung-wing-wa !" he exclaimed. " I have
saved you. Where are you? Tune-wing-
wa!

But a new cry arose.

Xauobter of tbe Spbini

" Do not touch him ! Do not touch him !
He is the Kokoia !"

Panic seized them. Huddling together,
with unnatural shouts and cries, they turned
their backs and fled.

" Tung-wing-wa ! Do not leave me,"

cried Kalutanah. He dropped his rifle and

made a few paces in chase of his people.

His wounded leg failed, and he fell beside the

dead leader of the strangers.

« « « «

In the next summer another ship, full of
white men, came to what had been the north-
ern village of Eskimo land. At the mouth
of the bay, still stranded, lay the great ice-
berg. Upon the shore side, the floes, un-
broken, bound it to the beach.

Black objects lay upon the floe and the
white men landed to inspect them.

"They are dead men!" exclaimed the
white man with the red beard. " Shot ! Who
would have thought of Huskies fighting!
Ah, by Jove, this accounts for it. They are
tattooed Eskimos from across Smith Sound !
There has been a raid and I guess the raiders
were thrashed.

328

i _ ii rtiww-ii ii Vft ' i"ii i i'T « a'

ot touch him !

ling together,
;s, they turned

: leave me,"

d his rifle and

of his people.

fell beside the

er ship, full of

)een the north-

At the mouth

the great ice-

the floes, un-

e floe and the
hem.

exclaimed the
. "Shot! Who
skies fighting!
• it. They are
Smith Sound !
aess the raiders

" Here's one not tattooed," called another
white man. " He's got an arrow in the leg,
and a Winchester beside him."

"Greenlander most likely," responded the
first. " Savior of his country. Let's see if
I know him. By the gods, its Kalutanah !"

"What's the matter with you, Dutton?"
asked a white man "You're pale as a
sheet. Is Kalu — what's-his-name, a friend?"

The white man with the red beard gazed
toward the hill, where the outlines of wrecked
igloos broke the round crest.

" Yes," he said at last. " I knew him."

THE END

3«9