82 HAPPY HUNTING-GROUNDS 



I was beside Campbell he had picked up the rifle, 

 wiped it, and placed it in its canvas cover, and the 

 swimmer had crossed the channel with a few vigorous 

 strokes, and climbed on to the rock beside his motion- 

 less seal. Not very far off dog-like heads emerged 

 from the water, looking back for the companion that 

 would never follow them again ; but they soon dis- 

 appeared, and the next time they emerged to take 

 breath they showed as mere specks upon the unruffled 

 surface of the channel, far on their way towards the 

 open sea. 



Inspection proved all to be satisfactory. The 

 wound just below the eye had neither injured the skin 

 nor shattered the bone of the skull. The beast was 

 a big one, and the pelt in perfect condition and hand- 

 somely marked. This was the hunter's report ; and 

 we were soon to be able to judge of its accuracy for 

 ourselves, as the rope had been fastened to the hind 

 flipper, and the swimmer soon stood up in the shallow 

 water on our side of the strait, hauling steadily at the 

 line, at the end of which the heavy shape progressed 

 slowly towards us, sometimes just above and sometimes 

 just below the surface. Its specific gravity was only 

 slightly denser than that of the water, but it would 

 certainly have sunk if the hitch had failed to hold. 

 Soon the end of the rope was handed to us to do the 

 rest of the hauling, while the successful sportsman 

 shook himself like a great Newfoundland dog all 

 the drying he could get until he reached home, a fire 

 and a change of clothes. 



The most arduous part of the whole perform- 

 ance had yet to come. Only those who have tried 

 it can realise how difficult it is to convey a beast 



