[Illustration]
At a place where they thought there might be seals, Papik and his
father stopped. They turned the sled upside down and pushed the points
of the runners and the antlers deep into the snow. The sled had to
be an anchor to hold the dogs while the Eskimos hunted. Now Papik
unhitched the lead dog and held tight to his harness strap. The dog ran
ahead, sniffing the snow. He was looking for a seal hole.
[Illustration]
Although seals lived in the water, they weren't like fish. They had
to come up for air. When the ocean froze, they gnawed many breathing
holes through the ice. They could get plenty of air through the holes,
even when a blanket of snow covered the ice.
[Illustration: ~The harpoon handle came loose from the barb.