74 THE WHALE HUNTERS 



the rear with the spare musket he was able to approach 

 and kill the walrus with one shot. 



Jonathan ran to where the animal lay and together he 

 and Macy stood looking down at the curiously formed 

 body with its tusks in the upper jaw and its four flippers 

 that were neither quite feet nor fins. 



'Did you ever see a creature less able to make up its 

 mind whether to be a four-footed land animal or a fluke- 

 tailed whale?' chuckled Macy. 



'His tail flippers are not nearly so like the flukes of a 

 whale as those of seals,' remarked Jonathan examining 

 the dead animal very closely. 



Macy threw a quizzical look towards the boy. 'That is 

 very true, lad,' he said, 'and uncommonly observant of 

 you.' He would have been less surprised had he known 

 that Jonathan was in the habit of making careful 

 drawings in his diary of all the creatures he saw on the 

 voyage. 



'Look!' cried the man, 'there's another swimming 

 through the water. Listen to his puffing. Hand me a 

 musket, lad, for I do believe he intends to present himself 

 as a target.' 



The walrus clambered awkwardly on to the far side of 

 the floe and waddled across the ice. Macy's gun went off 

 and the animal fell dead. 



'Now men,' he said, 'set to work and flay these carcasses 

 for the hide will plait us some fine ropes and we'll fill a 

 barrel or two with his blubber.' 



The smell of flesh attracted more polar bears and as 

 soon as the walruses were stripped the expedition re- 

 treated to the boat and left the bears to devour the 

 remains. 



The Pilgrim was already under way when the boat 

 returned, for the ice had begun to close in around her. 

 On board the last of the casks were being sent down the 

 hatchway to the hold. Jonathan and Joseph joined in 



