36 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



get sealed up and leave them to drown help- 

 lessly under the leagues of solid ice-field. 

 These breathing-spells in the upper air, out 

 here on the world's roof, were their moments 

 of greatest peril. Close to the edge of the 

 hole they sprawled ; and always one or an- 

 other kept anxious watch, scanning with 

 mild, bright eyes the menacing solitude, 

 wherein they seemed the only things alive. 

 About this time, from one of a group of 

 tiny, snow-covered mounds huddled along 

 the base of the Little Hills, emerged a man. 

 He crawled forth on all fours from the tunnel 

 of his doorway, and stood up and peered about 

 him. His squat figure was clothed and 

 hooded in furs. His little, twinkling eyes, 

 after clearing themselves from the smoke and 

 smart of the thick air within the igloo, could 

 see further through the gloom than even the 

 eyes of the bear. He noted the fall of the 

 wind, the savage intensity of the cold, and his 

 eyes brightened with hope. He had no fear 

 of the cold, but he feared the hunger which 

 was threatening the lonely village. During 

 the long rage of the wind, the supply of food 

 in his igloo had run low. He welcomed a cold 

 which would close up most of the seals' 

 breathing-holes, and force more numerous 

 visitors to the few holes that they could keep 



