the fire, shot forth in a sheet of flame, and
buried itself to the feather in the brain, passing through the thin
walls of the top of the skull.

At the unwonted sound, reverberated again and again from the cliff, even
the forlorn hope retreated a little; but not so with the second seal.
Throwing back his head until his yawning jaws almost hid the rest of his
body, he came straight at the destroyer of his mate, roaring with
redoubled fury. The heavy gun again poured forth its contents, but to
the horror of the advancing friends of the Micmac, the huge animal,
vomiting torrents of blood, was seen, amid the smoke, to strike down the
Indian, who was at once lost to view under the ponderous animal, which
instantly rolled over dead.

In a second La Salle and Orloff were on the spot, but their aid was
needless. Bruised and sore with the fall and compression, but not
otherwise injured, Peter sprang to his feet, and placing his gun between
his knees, proceeded to reload.

"_H_old seal die hard. Spose me miss 'em at first. Arrow hit all light.
Me plenty wet blood though."

He was, in truth, a fearful spectacle, being covered with gore; but a
glance at the dead beast revealed the cause. The arrow had passed into
the mouth, transfixing the large arteries and the base of the brain, and
the blood was still deluging the ice in a crimson tide, from which the
hot vapors and sickening odor rose, maddening the remaining "hoods" to
another charge.

Quite a number of the smaller seals on the flanks had got by, and as the
pressure lessened, the array of the centre partook more of the "open
order" of advance. To a party as well armed as the four friends, this
change assured a bloodless victory. Each missile, fired point-blank, did
its work, and the huge monsters, unable to seize the agile hunters, as
they eluded their ponderous charge, received the fatal shot at such
close range that the fur around the wound was often scorched by the
burning powder.

Every barrel had been discharged, nine hooded seals had fallen, and the
survivors had already reached the open water; but frightened by the
unwonted sights and sounds, many of the smaller seals still remained at
the upper end of the valley, or with awkward speed were climbing the
sloping ice-hills which sheltered it. Drawing an axe from his belt,
Regnar started forward in pursuit. Peter and Waring, with clubs of hard
wood, followed, and La Salle, reloading his ponderous weapon, brought up