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Updated: June 5, 2025
At first he thought of going alone and unarmed, with Anders as interpreter, to the land of Grabantak to dissuade that savage potentate from attacking the Poloes, but the Eskimos pointed out that the danger of this plan was so great that he might as well kill himself at once.
"What! would you not have me defend the Flatland name?" demanded Grabantak, fiercely. "No, I would have you defend only the Flatland property," replied the blunt minister. "And is not Puiroe my property?" growled Grabantak, referring to the barren rock which was the cause of war. "So is that your property," said Teyma, picking up a stone, "and yet I treat it thus!"
"Pardon me, Grabantak, this girl is not the wife of Koyatuk; she is my sister!" The chief frowned, clenched his teeth, and grasped a spear "When did Kablunet men begin to have Eskimo sisters?" "When they took all distressed women under their protection," returned Leo promptly. "Every woman who needs my help is my sister," he added with a look of self-sufficiency which he was far from feeling.
"Of course not," said the other with a gesture of impatience. "Grabantak, you had a father." "Yes," said the chief, with solemn respect. "And he had a father." "True." "And he, too, had a father." "Well, I suppose he had." "Of course he had. All fathers have had fathers back and back into the mysterious Longtime. If not, where did our tales and stories come from?
What! shall Flatlanders become slaves? no never, never, never!" cried Grabantak, furiously, though unconsciously quoting the chorus of a well-known song. "No, never," re-echoed Teyma with an emphatic nod, "yet there are many steps between fighting for a useless rock, and being made slaves."
The speech was something to the following effect: "I am one of a small band of white men who have come here to search out the land. We do not want the land. We only want to see it. We have plenty of land of our own in the far south. We have been staying with the great chief Amalatok in Poloeland." At the mention of his enemy's name the countenance of Grabantak darkened.
"If you come up again I will tell Grabantak, who will have you all speared and turned into whale-buoys." The boys did not appear to care much for the threat. They were obviously buoyed up with hope. "Oh! do, do let us peep! just once!" entreated several of them in subdued but eager tones. The sentinel shook his obdurate head and raised his deadly spear.
Of course the men of Flatland kept their eyes fixed in wide amazement on Leo, as they paddled along, and this sudden laugh of his impressed them deeply, being apparently without a cause, coupled as it was with an air of absolute indifference to his probable fate, and to the presence of so many foes. Even the ruthless land-hungerer, Grabantak, was solemnised.
About this time the threatened war with the northern Eskimos had unfortunately commenced. The insatiable Grabantak had made a descent on one of Amalatok's smaller islands, killed the warriors, and carried off the women and children, with everything else he could lay hands on.
"It is destroyed!" exclaimed Grabantak, sadly, when he saw the boat unrolled, flat and empty, on the sand. We shall not describe the scene in detail. It is sufficient to say that Leo did not disappoint the general expectation. He did indeed "act wonderfully," filling the unsophisticated savages with unbounded surprise and admiration, while he filled the boat with air and launched it.
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