I likes he myself."
"Well, Tom, be tellin' th' lass you'll take she over. She's been kept
wonderful close th' winter, an' the cruise'll be doin' she good,"
urged Mrs. Black.
"I wants t' go _so_ much," Bessie pleaded.
"Well, I'll ask Mr. MacDonald can he spare me th' day. I'm thinkin'
'twill be all right," he finally assented.
And it was all right. When the last hunter had disappeared the next
morning, the komatik was got ready. A box made for the purpose was
lashed on the back end of it, and warm reindeer skins spread upon the
bottom for Bessie to sit upon. Then the nine big dogs were called by
shouting "Ho! Ho! Ho!" to them, and were caught and harnessed, after
which Tom cracked a long walrus-hide whip over their heads, and made
them lie quiet until Bessie was tucked snugly in the box, and wrapped
well in deerskin robes.
When at last all was ready the father stepped aside with his whip, and
immediately the dogs were up jumping and straining in their harness
and giving short impatient howls, over eager to be away. Tom grasped
the front end of the komatik runners, pulled them sharply to one side
to break them loose from the snow to which they were frozen, and
instantly the dogs were off at a gallop running like mad over the ice
with the trailing komatik in imminent danger of turning over when it
struck the ice hummocks that the tide had scattered for some distance
out from the shore.
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