HIGHT AND LEFT SHOT. 207 



and by taking advantage of a sort of screen of 

 ice, we got within six yards of the |;«r^i6 

 came without their perceiving ns ; they lay 

 very favourably for us, two being close toge- 

 ther to the right, and the other two about five 

 yards to the left. I silently motioned to Chris- 

 tian to take the right hand ones, and like 

 lightning he darted one harpoon and thrust the 

 other. At the sound of the harpoons my two 

 particular friends to the left raised themselves 

 on the ice to see what was going on, and the 

 instant they did so, I took them quickly right 

 and left on the sides of their heads, and 

 they tumbled lifeless on the ice ; one falling 

 across the body of the other. " Hurrah ! " 

 thought I, " here is luck at last ; four of the 

 biggest bulls in Spitzbergen all secured at one 

 stalk." Nothing could have been more com- 

 plete and more beautiful than it looked. My 

 exultation was, however, a little premature, 

 for one of the harpooned walruses was selfish 

 enough to spoil this very pretty thing by 

 breaking loose and escaping. As we afterwards 

 found, this had happened through the line 

 having got twisted round the animal's body 

 and cutting itself against the edge of the har- 

 poon. I then finished off the remaining 



