AND KAYAK 147 



of feet of icy water beneath him as he balanced 

 himself on his dangerous perch. But he got 

 his seal, and no doubt if you had asked him 

 why he had done so risky a thing he would 

 have stared at you with wondering eyes, and 

 would have said, " There was no skin canoe 

 for me to have, and I could not lose that seal : 

 it is the custom of the people to do so." 

 Perhaps he rather liked the spice of danger, 

 if he knew what danger was. But danger 

 there is, as we learnt not many days later, 

 when a sled drove in to Okak Bay with an 

 Eskimo boy sitting upon it. He sat strangely 

 still, and that was enough to make us think 

 that something was wrong, for an Eskimo 

 driver is nearly always trotting beside his 

 sled. The dogs turned hungrily towards their 

 accustomed door, but the boy took no notice 

 of them, but left them in their harness and 

 ran towards the Mission house. I watched 

 him pass, ashen faced, panting, stumbling ; 

 and a little later I heard his story. At first 

 incoherently, then with graphic gestures and 

 loud lamentations he told his tale ; and here it is. 

 His name was Rena, and he had started 

 at daybreak for the edge of the ice. His 

 brother, Jakko, was with him, and they were 

 after seals. They had a harpoon and a gun, 

 and they talked as they went of the splendid 



