one
in the afternoon, on foot past the cliff, but when we had gone a short
distance Mollie stopped to call back to the house. Some native boys were
cutting wood at the north door, and she motioned one to come to her.
When he came, she spoke to him in Eskimo, and he, assenting to what she
said, ran back again.

"I tell Muky to come with dog-team, bring us home, you get tired by and
by," she said thoughtfully, as we trudged on again over and through the
snow. The woman wore a reindeer parkie, short skirt, and muckluks, and
carried a gun on her shoulder. The snow was quite a foot deep, with a
crust on top which we broke at almost every step, and which made it hard
walking. On we "mushed," past the cliff, the boats, and out upon the
ice. The traps had been set by Mollie a week before on the northeast
shore of the bay among a few low bushes, and this was our objective
point. When we reached the first trap, which was buried in snow, but
found by a certain shrub which Mollie had in some way marked and now
recognized, I threw myself upon the snow to rest and watch her
movements.

Around us we saw plenty of ptarmigan tracks, but no signs of foxes. A
foot below the snow's surface, Mollie found her trap, and proceeded to
reset it. Carefully covering the trap with a very little light snow and
smoothing it nicely over, she chipped off bits of reindeer meat from a
scrap she had brought with her, scattering them invitingly around.

The scene about us was a very quiet one and wintry in the extreme. Long,
low hills stretched out on every side of the bay, and the whole earth
was a great snow heap. The sky and cloud effects were charming, fading
sunshine on the hilltops making them softly pink, and very lovely; but
with deep reddish purple tints over all as the sun-ball disappeared.

One after another, four fox traps in different places were reset by
Mollie, while I mushed on behind her.

At last we saw the dog-team and Muky coming on the bay. Five dogs he had
hitched to his sled, and each wore a tiny bell at its throat, making a
pretty din as they trotted. When the woman had finished her trapping, we
both climbed into the sled, the native running and calling to the dogs,
and they started for home. It was not a long ride, probably not more
than a mile and a half as we went, but while tramping through the snow
crust to the traps it seemed much longer.

I now thoroughly enjoyed the novel ride. In the dusky twilight the dogs
trotted