t on his mouth.

Of course Koko didn't know his mother was trying to keep him still, so
he said again, "Why is it, mother?"

Koko's mother heard Koko's voice speaking just as plainly as ever
though she was sure she had her hand over his mouth! She was frightened.

"Magic! magic!" she screamed. "Bring the light! Koko is bewitched! I
have my hand over his mouth, yet you hear that he talks as plainly as
ever!"

Koko tried to say, "Your hand isn't over my mouth," and Menie tried to
say, "It's over mine!" but he could only say, "M-m-m," because she held
on so tight!

Koko's mother was making so much noise herself that she wouldn't have
heard what either one said anyway. The baby woke up and whimpered. Nip
and Tup woke up and barked like everything.

Kesshoo got the light from the tunnel as quickly as he could, and set
it on the bench. Then every one saw what was the matter! They all
laughed--all but Menie and the Angakok. The Angakok said to Koko's
father, "You'd better look after that boy. He is disrespectful to me.
That is a bad beginning!"

Koko's father was ashamed of him. He said, "Koko is so small!"

But the Angakok said, "Koko is six. He is old enough to know better."

V.

Everybody was so glad to see the light again that they all began to
talk at once.

Some one said to Kesshoo, "Tell us about the long journey to the south
you took once long ago."

Then everybody else listened, while Kesshoo told about how once he had
taken his dog sledge with a load of musk-ox and seal skins on it far
down the coast and how at last he had come to a little settlement where
the houses were all made of wood, if they would believe it!

He told them that in the bay before the village there was a boat as big
as the Big Rock itself. It had queer white wings, and the wind blew on
these wings and made the boat go!

Kesshoo had been out in a kyak to see it. He had even paddled all round
it. The men on the great boat had fair hair, and one of them, the chief
man of all, had bought some of Kesshoo's skins and one of his dogs. The
man was a great chief. His name was Nansen.

This great chief had told Kesshoo that he was going to take a sledge
and go straight into the inland country where the Giants live! He said
he was going to cross the great ice! No man had ever done that since
the world began.

Kesshoo thought probably the great chief had been eaten by the Giants,
but he did not know surely, because he had never been ba