196 Chapter V. 



themselves round with incredible celerity, and came 

 waddling with lifted heads and hollow bellowings to the 

 edge of the ice where we lay. It was undeniably an 

 imposing sight ; but I laid my gun to my shoulder and 

 fired at one of the biggest heads. The animal staggered, 

 and then fell head foremost into the water. Now a ball 

 into another head ; this creature fell too, but was able to 

 fling itself into the sea. And now the whole flock 

 dashed in, and we as well as they were hidden in spray. 

 It had all happened in a few seconds. But up they 

 came again immediately round the boat, the one head 

 bigger and uglier than the other their young ones close 

 beside them. They stood up in the water, bellowed 

 and roared till the air trembled, threw themselves for- 

 ward towards us, then rose up again, and new bellowings 

 filled the air. Then they rolled over and disappeared 

 with a splash, then bobbed up again. The water foamed 

 and boiled for yards around the ice- world that had 

 been so still before seemed in a moment to have been 

 transformed into a raging Bedlam. Any moment we 

 might expect to have a walrus tusk or two through the 

 boat, or to be heaved up and capsized. Something of 

 this kind was the very least that could happen after 

 such a terrible commotion. But the hurly-burly went on 

 and nothing came of it. I again picked out my victims. 

 They went on bellowing and grunting like the others, 

 but with blood streaming from their mouths and noses. 

 Another ball, and one tumbled over and floated on the 



