Page:The white czar; a story of a polar bear (IA whiteczarstoryof00hawk).pdf/166

 "O no, we can't," he returned. "Our boat is too small. If the ship sinks, Whitie will float away in his cage all right. By and by he will reach the shore, and then he will strike off one of the planks and get out. Perhaps he will get back to Eskimo Land before we do."

"Do you think Whitie wants to go back to Eskimo Land?" asked Oumauk, diverted by this idea.

"Yes, I guess he does. He is all right, so don't bother."

Secretly, however, Eiseeyou felt certain that the white czar would sleep at the bottom of the ocean. If it had been day and Oumauk had been fully awake, he would probably have asked many more perplexing questions and might have gotten at the truth. But he was very tired and sleepy, and soon his head lay back against Eiseeyou's shoulder and he slept.

But Eiseeyou himself was far from sleepy. In his own mind he was much troubled. Like all the rest of his race he was very superstitious. Ever since the capture of the great bear he had brooded over