"Be no manes. It wos to the pig she said it. Most of her conversation (and she had a power of it) wos wid the pig; and many's the word o' good advice she gave it, as it sat in its usual place beside the fire fore-nint her. But it wos all thrown away, it wos, for there wosn't another pig in all the length o' Ireland as had sich a will o' its own; and it had a screech, too, when it wosn't plaazed, as bate all the steam whistles in the world, it did. I've often moralated on that same, and I've noticed that, as it is wid pigs, so it is wid men and women--some of them at laste--the more advice ye give them, the less they take." "Down, Poker! quiet, good dog!" said West, as he endeavoured to restrain the ardour of the team, which, being fresh and full fed, could scarcely be held in by the united efforts of himself and Meetuck, while their companions lashed their provisions, etc., on the sledge. "Hold on, lads!" cried Fred, as he fastened the last lashing. "We'll be ready in a second. Now, then, jump on, two of you! Catch hold of the tail-line, Meetuck! All right!" "Hall right!" yelled the Esquimau, as he let go the dogs and sprang upon the sledge. The team struggled and strained violently for a few seconds in their efforts to overcome the _vis inertiæ_ of the sledge, and it seemed as if the traces would part; but they were made of tough walrus-hide, and held on bravely, while the heavy vehicle gradually fetched way, and at length flew over the floes at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour. Travelling, however, was not now quite so agreeable as it had been when they set out from the ship; for the floes were swept bare in some places by the gale, while in other places large drifts had collected, so that the sledge was either swaying to and fro on the smooth ice, and swinging the dogs almost off their feet, or it was plunging heavily through banks of soft snow. As the wind was still blowing fresh, and would have been dead against them had they attempted to return by a direct route to the ship, they made for the shore, intending to avail themselves of the shelter afforded by the ice-belt. Meanwhile the carcass of the walrus--at least as much of it as could not be packed on the sledge--was buried in the hut, and a spear planted above it to mark the spot. "Ha! an' it's cowld," said O'Riley, wrapping himself more closely in his fur jumper as they sped along. "I wish we wos out o' the wind, I do." "You'll have your wish soon, then," answered West, "for that row of icebergs we're coming to will shelter us nearly all the way to the land." "Surely you are taking us too much off to the right, Meetuck," said Fred; "we are getting farther away from the ship." "No fee. De win' too 'trong. We turn hup 'long shore very quick, soon--ha!"