3 o8 



if you appear suddenly they simply close 



, their eyes, and the black nose tip looks like 



MawocA or a stray pebble> or a tiny bit of bark left by 



i^^^-^sJlX—^ the uneasy winds that sweep over the ice- 

 floes. As they grow larger and begin to fish 

 for themselves they gradually turn dark and 

 sleek, like their mothers, the better to slip 

 unseen through the dark waters in which 

 they hunt. 



Like all bears, Matwock had poor eyes, 

 and depended chiefly on his nose in scout- 

 ing. He would swim swiftly, mile after mile, 

 along the edges of the floes, raising his head 

 to sniff every breeze, trying to locate where 

 the young seals were hiding. But the little 

 ones give out almost no scent at such times, 

 besides being invisible, and Matwock rarely 

 dined on a nest of young seals. The only 

 way he could catch them was by a cunning 

 bit of bear strategy. He would swim far out 

 from the edge of the floes and drift about 

 among the floating ice, looking himself like 

 an ice cake ; or else he would crouch on an 

 ice-field and watch for hours till he saw a 

 big seal clamber out, and knew from her 



<»bC~-. .l-rtfr 





