Bob's eyes bulged and his pleasure was manifest.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I'll not be losin' th' letters."

It was the first repeating rifle--the first rifle, in fact, of any
kind--that he had ever seen, and as Mr. MacPherson explained and
illustrated to him its manipulation, he thought it the most marvellous
piece of mechanism in the world.

"Now be careful how you handle it," cautioned the factor after the arm
had been thoroughly described. "You see that when you throw a
cartridge into the barrel by the lever action it cocks the gun, and if
you're not going to discharge it again immediately you must let the
hammer down. It shoots a good many times farther, too, than your old
gun, so be sure there are no Eskimos within half a mile of its muzzle
or you'll be killing some of them, and I don't want that to happen,
for I need them all to hunt. Besides, if you killed one of them his
friends would be putting you out of the way so you'd kill no more, and
then my packet of letters wouldn't be delivered. Now look out."

"I'll be rare careful of un, sir."

"Very well, see that you are. Be ready to start, now, at daylight,
Monday."

"I'll be ready, sir."

Bob's delight was little short of ecstatic as he strode out of the
office with his rifle.

The next day (Saturday) "Secretary Bayard," with voluminous comments
and cautions in reference to the undertaking, the Eskimos and things
in general, helped him and the two Eskimos that were to accompany him
put in readiness his supplies, which consisted of hardtack, jerked
venison, fat pork--the only provisions they had which would not
freeze--tea, two kettles, sulphur matches, ammunition, and a reindeer
skin sleeping bag. The Eskimos possessed sleeping bags of their own.
Blubber and white whale meat, frozen very hard, were packed for dog
food.

An axe, a small jack plane and two snow knives were the only tools to
be carried. This knife had a blade about two feet in length and
resembled a small, broad-bladed sword. It was to be used in the
construction of snow igloos. The jack plane was needed to keep the
komatik runners smooth.

Instead of the runners being shod with whale-bone, as in many places
in the North, the Eskimos of Ungava apply a turf--which is stored for
the purpose in the short summer season--and mixed with water to the
consistency of mud. This is moulded on the runners with the hands in a
thick, broad, semicircular shape, and freezes as hard as glass. Then