ience and understanding? Who
knows?"

None the less, his success continued, and the less skilful hunters were
often kept busy hauling in his meat. And in the division of it he was
just. As his father had done before him, he saw to it that the least old
woman and the last old man received a fair portion, keeping no more for
himself than his needs required. And because of this, and of his merit
as a hunter, he was looked upon with respect, and even awe; and there was
talk of making him chief after old Klosh-Kwan. Because of the things he
had done, they looked for him to appear again in the council, but he
never came, and they were ashamed to ask.

"I am minded to build me an _igloo_," he said one day to Klosh-Kwan and a
number of the hunters. "It shall be a large _igloo_, wherein Ikeega and
I can dwell in comfort."

"Ay," they nodded gravely.

"But I have no time. My business is hunting, and it takes all my time.
So it is but just that the men and women of the village who eat my meat
should build me my _igloo_."

And the _igloo_ was built accordingly, on a generous scale which exceeded
even the dwelling of Klosh-Kwan. Keesh and his mother moved into it, and
it was the first prosperity she had enjoyed since the death of Bok. Nor
was material prosperity alone hers, for, because of her wonderful son and
the position he had given her, she came to be looked upon as the first
woman in all the village; and the women were given to visiting her, to
asking her advice, and to quoting her wisdom when arguments arose among
themselves or with the men.

But it was the mystery of Keesh's marvellous hunting that took chief
place in all their minds. And one day Ugh-Gluk taxed him with witchcraft
to his face.

"It is charged," Ugh-Gluk said ominously, "that thou dealest with evil
spirits, wherefore thy hunting is rewarded."

"Is not the meat good?" Keesh made answer. "Has one in the village yet
to fall sick from the eating of it? How dost thou know that witchcraft
be concerned? Or dost thou guess, in the dark, merely because of the
envy that consumes thee?"

And Ugh-Gluk withdrew discomfited, the women laughing at him as he walked
away. But in the council one night, after long deliberation, it was
determined to put spies on his track when he went forth to hunt, so that
his methods might be learned. So, on his next trip, Bim and Bawn, two
young men, and of hunters the craftiest, followed after him, taking care
not