The Giant of the North | Page 7

on which our Eskimos were grouped. The ice was cracked right across, leaving a lane of open water about ten feet wide between its inner edge and the shore ice. The Eskimos stood on the land side of this crack, a hundred yards or so from it. On nearing the floe the strange vessel checked her speed.
"It moves its wings!" exclaimed Eemerk.
"And turns its side to us," said Akeetolik.
"And wags its tail no more," cried Oolichuk.
"Oh! do, do let us run away," gasped Oblooria.
"No, no, we will not run," said Tekkona.
At that moment a white cloud burst from the side of the yacht.
"Hi! hee! huk!" shouted the whole tribe in amazement.
A crash followed which not only rattled like thunder among the surrounding cliffs, but went like electric fire to the central marrow of each Eskimo. With a united yell of terror, they leaped three feet into the air--more or less--turned about, and fled. Tekkona, who was active as a young deer, herself took the lead; and Oblooria, whose limbs trembled so that she could hardly run, held on to Oolichuk, who gallantly dragged her along. The terror was increased by a prolonged screech from the steam-whistle. It was a wild scramble in sudden panic. The Eskimos reached their sledges, harnessed their teams, left their spears on the ice, cracked their whips, which caused the dogs to join in the yelling chorus, and made for the land at a furious gallop.
But their fear began to evaporate in a few minutes, and Oolichuk was the first to check his pace.
"Ho! stop," he cried.
Eemerk looked back, saw that they were not pursued, and pulled up. The others followed suit, and soon the fugitives were seen by those on board the yacht grouped together and gazing intently at them from the top of another ice-hummock.
The effect of the cannon-shot on board the yacht itself was somewhat startling. The gun had been loaded on the other side of the promontory for the purpose of being fired if Eskimos were not visible on the coast beyond, in order to attract them from the interior, if they should chance to be there. When, however, the natives were discovered on the ice, the gun was, of course, unnecessary, and had been forgotten. It therefore burst upon the crew with a shock of surprise, and caused the Captain, who was in the cabin at the moment, to shoot up from the hatchway like a Jack-in-the-box.
"Who did that?" he demanded, looking round sternly.
The crew, who had been gazing intently at the natives, did not know.
"I really cannot tell, sir," said the chief mate, touching his cap.
Two strapping youths--one about sixteen, the other eighteen--leaned over the side and paid no regard to the question; but it was obvious, from the heaving motion of their shoulders, that they were not so much absorbed in contemplation as they pretended to be.
"Come, Leo, Alf, you know something about this."
The Captain was a large powerful man of about forty, with bushy iron-grey curls, a huge beard, and an aquiline nose. The two youths turned to him at once, and Leo, the eldest, said respectfully, "We did not see it done, uncle, but--but we think--"
"Well, what do you think?"
At that moment a delicate-looking, slender lad, about twelve years of age, with fair curly hair, and flashing blue eyes, stepped out from behind the funnel, which had hitherto concealed him, and said boldly, though blushingly--
"I did it, father."
"Ha! just like you; why did you do it? eh!"
"I can hardly tell, father," said the boy, endeavouring to choke a laugh, "but the Eskimos looked so funny, and I--I had a box of matches in my pocket, and--and--I thought a shot would make them look so very much funnier, and--and--I was right!"
"Well, Benjamin, you may go below, and remain there till further orders."
When Captain Vane called his son "Benjamin," he was seriously displeased. At other times he called him Benjy.
"Yes, father," replied the boy, with a very bad grace, and down he went in a state of rebellious despair, for he was wildly anxious to witness all that went on.
His despair was abated, however, when, in the course of a few minutes, the yacht swung round so as to present her stern to the shore, and remained in that position, enabling him to observe proceedings from the cabin windows almost as well as if he had been on deck. He was not aware that his father, knowing his son's nature, and wishing to temper discipline with mercy, had placed the vessel in that position for his special benefit!
The difficulty now was, how to attract the natives, and inspire them with confidence in the good intentions of their visitors. In any case this would have been a difficult matter, but the firing of that unlucky gun had increased the difficulty