Page:A Wild-Goose Chase - Balmer - 1915.djvu/278

264 "We can only guess; but perhaps the spear handle will tell us."

The Eskimo, pleased with the white man's interest in his work, looked up and then continued his cutting.

"You see, Otto," said Hedon, continuing with Koehler a discussion they had begun before, "counting this man, there are at least three people in this tribe with eyes and hair lighter than any true Eskimo can have. Stefansson met and described a number of such types in tribes to the south of here. He was positive that the blond Eskimo he met had not come in contact with recent explorers; and if we didn't know that these people had no memory of meeting white men, the age of these three light-eyed people would tell that they got their European characteristics far back. One of them is this man's mother."

"European characteristics?" Geoff repeated.

"Watch him," Eric warned quietly.

The Eskimo, having finished the shaping of his spear handle, turned it under his stone knife, and carefully, slowly and with precision carved upon it a few strange lines. When he