32 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



thickened under that terrific cold, breakin 

 in order to readjust itself to the new pressur 

 There was a moment of strange muttering an 

 grinding. Then, again, the stillness. 



Yet, even here on the roof of the worl< 

 which seemed as if all the winds of eternit 

 had swept it bare, there was life, life thi 

 clutched and clung savagely. Away to tf 

 right of the Little Hills, something move< 

 prowling slowly among the long ridges of t\ 

 ice. It was a gaunt, white, slouching, startlir 

 shape, some seven or eight feet in length, an 

 nearly four in height, with heavy shoulder 

 and a narrow, flat-browed head that hung lo 

 and swayed menacingly from side to side ; 

 it went. Had the light been anything mo] 

 than the wide glimmer of stars, it would ha> 

 shown that this lonely, prowling shape < 

 white had a black-tipped muzzle, black edg< 

 to the long slit of its jaws, and little, cru 

 eyes with lids outlined in black. From tin 

 to time the prowler raised his head, sniffe 

 with dilating nostrils, and questioned wi1 

 strained ears the deathly silence. It was 

 polar bear, an old male, too restless ar 

 morose to content himself with sleeping aw 

 the terrible polar winter in a snow-blanket* 

 hole. 



From somewhere far off to seaward can 



