THE WOMAN MAGICIAN 



were half-grown. She waved it again, saying, 

 " Be full-grown instantly; " and they were. 



They harnessed the dogs at once, and in order 

 to deceive their enemies they left everything in 

 the huts and even left their lights burning, so that 

 when the men arose in the morning they would 

 think that they, too, had arisen and were dress- 

 ing. 



When it had come full daylight next morning 

 the men of Exaluq wondered why the young man 

 did not come back to them, and presently they 

 went to find out. They peeked into the spy-hole 

 of the window and saw the lamps burning, but no 

 people inside the hut. They discovered the body 

 of the dead man, and then when they looked they 

 saw the tracks of sledges. 



They wondered very much how the women 

 could have gone away on sledges, since they had 

 no dogs, and they feared some other people had 

 helped them to get off. They hastily harnessed 

 their own dogs and started in pursuit of the fugi- 

 tives. 



The women whipped their dogs and journeyed 

 rapidly, but the pursuers had older and tougher 

 animals and were likely to overtake them soon. 



beating, " one for each year and one to grow on " a survival 

 of this ancient superstition? 



21 



