wed the boats with remonstrative cries and astonished
looks.

"It's beast," shouted Anders, "not knows his name in Ingliss."

"Humph! a man with half an eye might see it is `beast,'" retorted the
Captain in an undertone.

As he spoke, the "beast" changed its course and bore down upon them. As
it drew near the Englishmen became excited, for the size of the creature
seemed beyond anything they had yet seen. Strange to say, the Eskimos
looked at it with their wonted gaze of calm indifference.

"It's the great sea-serpent at last," said Benjy, with something like
awe on his countenance.

"It does look uncommon like it," replied the Captain, with a perplexed
expression on his rugged visage. "Get out the rifles, lad! It's as
well to be ready. D'ye know what it is, Chingatok?"

Again the giant uttered the unpronounceable name, while Benjy got out
the fire-arms with eager haste.

"Load 'em all, Ben, load 'em all, an' cram the Winchester to the
muzzle," said the Captain. "There's no sayin' what we may have to
encounter; though I _have_ heard of a gigantic bit of seaweed bein'
mistaken for the great sea-serpent before now."

"That may be, father," said Benjy, with increasing excitement, "but
nobody ever saw a bit of seaweed swim with the activity of a gigantic
eel like _that_. Why, I have counted its coils as they rise and sink,
and I'm quite sure it's a hundred and fifty yards long if it's an inch."

Those in the other boats were following the Captain's example,--getting
out and charging the fire-arms,--and truly there seemed some ground for
their alarm, for the creature, which approached at a rapid rate,
appeared most formidable. Yet, strange to say, the Eskimos paid little
attention to it, and seemed more taken up with the excitement of the
white men.

When the creature had approached to within a quarter of a mile, it
diverged a little to the left, and passed the boats at the distance of a
few hundred yards. Then Captain Vane burst into a sudden laugh, and
shouted:--

"Grampuses!"

"What?" cried Leo.

"Grampuses!" repeated the Captain. "Why, it's only a shoal of grampuses
following each other in single file, that we've mistaken for one
creature!"

Never before was man or boy smitten with heavier disappointment than was
poor Benjy Vane on that trying occasion.

"Why, what's wrong with you, Benjy?" asked his father, as he looked at
his woeful countenance.

"To think," said the poor boy, slowly, "t