It will be remembered that the party of Englishmen arrived at Poloeland under oars, and although the india-rubber boats had been gazed at, and gently touched, with intense wonder by the natives, they had not yet seen the process of disinflation, or the expansion of the kites.

 

Of course, Chingatok and their other Eskimo fellow-travellers had given their friends graphic descriptions of everything, but this only served to whet the desire to see the wonderful oomiaks in action. Several times, during the first few days, the old chief had expressed a wish to see the Kablunets go through the water in their boats, but as the calm still prevailed, and the Captain knew his influence over the natives would depend very much on the effect with which his various proceedings were carried out, he put him off with the assurance that when the proper time for action came, he would let him know.

 

One night a gentle breeze sprang up and blew directly off shore. As it seemed likely to last, the Captain waited till the whole community was asleep, and then quietly roused his son.

 

“Lend a hand here, Ben,” he whispered, “and make no noise.”

 

Benjy arose and followed his father in a very sleepy frame of mind.

 

They went to the place where the india-rubber boats lay, close behind the Englishmen’s hut, and, unscrewing the brass heads that closed the air-holes, began to press out the air.

 

“That’s it, Ben, but don’t squeeze too hard, lest the hissing should rouse some of ’em.”

 

“What’r ’ee doin’ this for—ee—yaou?” asked Benjy, yawning.

 

“You’ll see that to-morrow, lad.”

 

“Hum! goin’ t’squeeze’m all?”

 

“Yes, all three, and put ’em in their boxes.”

 

The conversation flagged at this point, and the rest of the operation was performed in silence.

 

Next morning, after breakfast, seeing that the breeze still held, the Captain sent a formal message to Amalatok, that he was prepared to exhibit his oomiaks.

 

The news spread like wild-fire, and the entire community soon assembled—to the number of several hundreds—in front of the Englishmen’s hut, where the Captain was seen calmly seated on a packing-case, with a solemn expression on his face. The rest of his party had been warned to behave with dignity. Even Benjy’s round face was drawn into something of an oval, and Butterface made such superhuman attempts to appear grave, that the rest of the party almost broke down at the sight of him.

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