portions seemed to have taken possession
of him. Rooney, having dropped the bear-skin, approached him, while
Angut stood beside the lamp looking on with a sort of serious smile.

"Now, Ippegoo," said the sailor, stooping and cutting his bonds, "I set
you free. It is to be hoped also that I have freed you from
superstition."

"But where is the bear-angekok?" asked the bewildered youth.

"I am the bear-angekok."

"Impossible!" cried Ippegoo.

To this Rooney replied by going back to his bear-skin, spreading it over
himself, getting on a stool so as to tower upwards, spreading out his
long arms, and saying in his deepest bass tones--

"Now, Ippegoo, do you believe me?"

A gleam of intelligence flashed on the youth's countenance, and at that
moment he became more of a wise man than he had ever before been in his
life, for he not only had his eyes opened as to the ease with which some
people can be deceived, but had his confidence in the infallibility of
his old tyrant completely shaken. He reasoned somewhat thus--

"If Ujarak's torngak was good and true, it would have told him of the
deceit about to be practised on him, and would not have allowed him to
submit to disgrace. If it did not care, it was a bad spirit. If it did
not know, it was no better than a man, and not worth having--so I don't
want to have one, and am very glad I have escaped so well."

The poor fellow shrank from adding, "Ujarak must be a deceiver;" but he
began to think that Red Rooney might not have been far wrong after all
when he called him a fool.

Ippegoo was now warned that he must keep carefully out of the wizard's
way, and tell no one of the deceit that had been practised. He promised
most faithfully to tell no one, and then went straight home and told his
mother all about it--for it never for a moment occurred to the poor
fellow to imagine that he was meant to conceal it from his mother!

Fortunately Kunelik was a wise little woman. She knew how to keep her
own counsel, and did not even by nod or look insinuate to any one that
she was in possession of a secret.

"Now, then, Angut, what is the next thing to be done?" asked Rooney,
after Ippegoo had left.

"Make Ujarak fight his duel," said Angut.

"What! the singing duel with Okiok?"

"Yes. The people have set their hearts on the thing, and Ujarak will
try to escape. He will perhaps say that his torngak has told him to go
hunting to-morrow. But our customs require him to