spot,
somewhat more than a mile distant, which they knew to be open water.
There, if there were any, the walrus would be found. As they were
marching, a very faint crackling noise vibrated through the ice under
their feet. They ceased singing. Four of the party paused and would
have turned back. Ootah urged them onward. They paced off half a
mile. The wind increased in volume and whined dolefully. Their steps
lagged. Suddenly they heard the harsh nasal bellow they knew so well.
The hearts of all expanded with the joy of the hunt.

The dogs howled hungrily and, with tails swishing savagely, tore ahead.
As they approached the edge of the sea ice they passed great lakes of
open water. The twilight still continued to thicken, the wind came in
increasingly furious blasts. Nearer and nearer came the low call of
walrus bulls.

In a lake of lapping black water, about five hundred feet from the open
sea, a small herd rose to the surface intermittently for breath. In
the deep gloom the hunters saw fountains of spray ascending as they
breathed. Hitching their dogs to harpoon stakes driven in the ice,
they separated and quietly took positions about the open water.

"Wu-r-r!" The low walrus call rose over the ice. Ootah leaned over
the edge of the ice and imitated the animal cry. "Woor-r," Maisanguaq,
near him, replied. The water seethed, and two glistening white tusks
appeared. Ootah raised his harpoon--it hissingly cut the air. A
terrific bellow followed. The little lake seethed. A dozen fiery
eyes, of a phosphorescent green, appeared above the water. Maisanguaq
struck, so did Arnaluk. They let out their harpoon lines--the savage
beasts dove downward, then rose for breath. In their frantic struggle
their heads beat against the ice about the edge of the space of open
water. The natives fled backward--the ice broke into thousands of
fragments. Each time the animals came up the hunters delivered more
harpoons so as to pinion securely and at the same time despatch the
prey. In the gathering gloom they had to aim by instinct. For an hour
the struggle between the alert men and the enraged beasts continued.
Several times Ootah and Arnaluk fired their guns as the green eyes
appeared so as to finish the task of killing.

Meanwhile the grey reflection of the descending sun entirely faded
along the horizon; a bluish gloom blotted out the landscape. The wind
swept over the ice with fiendish hisses. With a quic