s, and rolled spitefully along the ground. We stood with our
guns to our shoulders, and our fingers on the triggers. But the beast
didn't show himself.

"Possibly it killed him," said Kit.

Raed picked up some rough pebbles, and pitched one over between the
rocks. Instantly there was a scramble, and our black-furred friend
leaped out and ran.

_Crack-k-k-k!_--a running fire. Guard rushed after him. The creature
fell at the reports, but scrambled up as the dog charged upon him, and
tried to defend himself. But the bullets had riddled him. In an
instant, Guard had him by the throat: he was dead. There were five
shot-holes in the carcass: one of them, at least, must have been
received when we fired at him from the boat.

It was a very strong, muscular creature, with short stout legs and
broad feet, with claws not so sharp and retractile as a lynx's;
seemingly intermediate between a cat's claws and a dog's nails. The
tail was quite long and bushy: indeed, the creature was rather shaggy,
than otherwise. The head and mouth were not large for the body. The
teeth seemed to me much like those of a lynx. I have no doubt that it
was a glutton (_Gulo luscus_), or wolverine, as they are indifferently
called; though none of us had at that time previously seen one of
these creatures. Donovan and Weymouth undertook to skin it; and,
while they were thus employed, the rest of us, with Palmleaf and
Guard, went off to shoot a dozen kittiwakes. We had gone nearly half a
mile, I presume, and secured five birds, when Wade called out to us to
see a large eagle, or hawk, which was wheeling slowly about a high
crag off to the left.

"It's a white-headed eagle, isn't it?" said he.

Kit thought it might be. But Raed and I both thought not. It seemed
scarcely so large; and, so far as we could see, the head was not
white. It occurred to me that it might be the famous gerfalcon, or
Icelandic eagle; and, on mentioning this supposition, Raed and Kit
both agreed with me that it seemed likely. Wishing, if possible, to
secure it, I crept along under the crag, and, watching my chance as it
came circling over, fired. 'Twas a very long shot. I had little
expectation of hitting: yet my bullet must have struck it; for it
flapped over, and came toppling down till within a hundred feet of the
top of the crag, when it recovered itself, mounted a little, but
gradually settled in the air till lost from sight behind the crag.
Thinking it barely possible that