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Updated: June 28, 2025
Obedient, on the instant, the girl made a sharp stroke with the oar. "Steady so. Now, Oblooria, hold on tight for your life!" They were going straight at the whale. Leo did not dare to think of the result of his intended attack. He could not guess it. He hoped all would be well. He had no time to think of pros and cons. They were close to the victim.
He went over the last syllables several times, as if he doubted his senses, and feared it was too good news to be true. This formal introduction was greeted by the chief's followers with a series of wild shouts and other demonstrations of extreme joy. When the excitement had somewhat abated, Leo stepped to the side of Oblooria, and laying his hand on her shoulder said firmly, through Anders:
"Behold your wife, take her!" Koyatuk advanced. Leo placed Oblooria behind him, and, being unarmed, threw himself into a pugilistic posture of defence. The young Eskimo laid one of his strong hands on the Englishman's shoulder, intending to thrust him aside violently. Leo was naturally of a tender disposition.
"How long will they take to kill it?" asked Leo when he saw Grabantak thrust somewhere about the thirty-fifth spear into the victim. "All day," answered Oblooria. "All day!" repeated Leo in surprise. "If they could lance him far in," said the girl, "he would die soon, but his flesh is thick and his life is deep down." Leo relapsed into silence.
Besides being a fearless man, Grabantak was respected as a good leader in war. But Koyatuk had neither the energy of his father, nor his determination. He was vacillating and lazy, as well as selfish. Hence he was not a favourite, and when, after landing at Flatland, he endeavoured to renew his claim to Oblooria, neither his father nor the people encouraged him.
In less than ten minutes it was expanded, and although Leo was nearly pulled into the water before he got fair hold of the regulator, while Oblooria was thrown down by an eccentric whisk of the tail, they managed at last to get it fairly over their heads, and soon sent it shooting upwards into the stronger air current above.
Ere long it touched them, blowing gently, indeed, but steadily. A glance upwards showed that it was steadier and stronger in the upper regions, and blew towards the south-east, in which direction the chase was being prosecuted with unflagging activity. "If there was only enough," muttered Leo, "to take the kite up, I'd soon be alongside of the whale; come, I'll try. Lend a hand, Oblooria."
In the fall the lashings broke, and Oolichuk, with several of his kindred, including poor little Oblooria, went down in a shower of skins, packages, bags, and Eskimo cooking utensils. Fortunately, they dropped on a slope of ice which broke their fall, and, as it were, shunted them all safely, though violently, to the lower level of the pack.
Of course the uses of combs and scissors had he explained, and deep was the interest manifested during the explanation, and utter the forgetfulness of the whole party for the time being in regard to everything else in the world Oblooria included, who sat unnoticed on the rocks with her face still buried in her hands.
"No, no," said the latter, who was brave as well as pretty, "we need not fear. Our men will take care of us." "I wish that Chingatok was here!" whimpered poor little Oblooria, nestling closer to Tekkona and grasping her tail, "he fears nothing and nobody." "Ay," assented Tekkona with a peculiar smile, "and is brave enough to fight everything and everybody."
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