belly
pressed against the ice.
With an eager grunt and a series of hisses, the bear's nose burrowed
under him, pushing up his hip. He twisted and was clamped --
A shriek with an agonizing muscular spasm ballooned through his
consciousness. His thigh, the bear's crushing jaws. With the squawling
vitality of any animal being devoured alive, the former Dr. West writhed,
striking the knife blade across the hard muzzle of the polar bear.
With a startled woof, the bear's jaws opened. Dr. West's body rolled away
slashing the air and screaming defiance like a cornered animal. Backing
away, gasping, he hacked the air with the knife while the shuffling sounds
of the bear softened.
He became aware of the throbbing of his thigh. Gummed eyelids torn open,
he faced blindly into the whiteness and listened through his own harsh
breathing for the silent bear, and remembered who he was.
Dr. West's fingers explored the slippery twitching remnants of his thigh
muscle. Hard-jawed, he tourniqueted his belt around his thigh against the
groin, and gasped.
"Edwardluk," he gurgled. "Edwardluk, Edwardluk!" he yelled.
There was no Edwardluk. "Edwardluk! Edwardluk!"
His voice thickened. His head seemed to sail away, and he muttered and
twisted, resisting. If he fell into shock, he thought, in this cold he
would be dead.
Dead, dead, irretrievably dead. All gone. Finished. Nothing.
From hissing wind emerged a scraping sound approaching, as if something
were dragging the sled back to him.
"Dogs turn away," Edwardluk's voice wheezed, "from water too late. Sled
float. Curlytail drown. Loafer drown." All Edwardluk could talk about
was the dogs. "Hump drown." Edwardluk's strong hands were turning him
over on his back on the sled. "Wind Runner drown."
Darkness and warmth slid down over Dr. West's head and shoulders, and he
realized Edwardluk was giving him his outer parka.
"White Eye drown." Edwardluk was prodding his coldly numbing leg,
wrapping his leg in something jellylike within wet fur. "Fished out
drowned dogs. Cut up. Eh-eh," Edwardluk laughed feebly, "much good dog
meat for everyone. This person cut open Wild Runner for the bear."
With crunching sounds, Edwardluk began breaking apart the sled. Edwardluk
murmured he was rebuilding it into a man-sled. Gently, Edwardluk's hands
tied Dr. West on a sled so small his heels dragged.
Blind, Dr. West knew they were microscopic specks moving across the enormity
of sea ice, icebergs, shore ice and distant ice-scraped islands.
"Ha!" As if encouraging the drowned dogs to pull, shouting Edwardluk
strained at the harness, and the jolting hours moved Dr. West through
chills and sleep and fever, becoming days of blind agony without end.
Edwardluk's soft voice tried to soothe. "Eat-eat." He was pressing chewed
dog meat into Dr. West's mouth.
Edwardluk would shout: "Ha! Forward, dogs!" and Edwardluk's stubby legs
would tramp forward, endlessly dragging the man-sled with its raving
burden, Dr. West.
"The bear," Dr. West would gasp. "Got to warn them." The Canadian Parliament
became twelve pairs of eyes surrealistically floating in a jury box.
"Please believe me." All our growing population pressure is forcing
nation against nation in amoebalike growing struggles of the population
masses of the world , his thought writhed. Believe me, these Eskimos
are multiplying so much faster. Like a Bomb! -- "These people cannot
be Eskimos! What are they?"
In his delirium, Marthalik's face rose smiling. He clung to her body. The
droning of the airplane transformed snowflakes into parachutes drifting
down with swaying food packages. As absurdly as Pop Art, these were
decorated in red calligraphy: FAMILY ALLOWANCES, and swaying back and
forth, massive jaws crunching.
"Too many Eskimos." For these happy people what does the bear symbolize? "Don't
pressed against the ice.
With an eager grunt and a series of hisses, the bear's nose burrowed
under him, pushing up his hip. He twisted and was clamped --
A shriek with an agonizing muscular spasm ballooned through his
consciousness. His thigh, the bear's crushing jaws. With the squawling
vitality of any animal being devoured alive, the former Dr. West writhed,
striking the knife blade across the hard muzzle of the polar bear.
With a startled woof, the bear's jaws opened. Dr. West's body rolled away
slashing the air and screaming defiance like a cornered animal. Backing
away, gasping, he hacked the air with the knife while the shuffling sounds
of the bear softened.
He became aware of the throbbing of his thigh. Gummed eyelids torn open,
he faced blindly into the whiteness and listened through his own harsh
breathing for the silent bear, and remembered who he was.
Dr. West's fingers explored the slippery twitching remnants of his thigh
muscle. Hard-jawed, he tourniqueted his belt around his thigh against the
groin, and gasped.
"Edwardluk," he gurgled. "Edwardluk, Edwardluk!" he yelled.
There was no Edwardluk. "Edwardluk! Edwardluk!"
His voice thickened. His head seemed to sail away, and he muttered and
twisted, resisting. If he fell into shock, he thought, in this cold he
would be dead.
Dead, dead, irretrievably dead. All gone. Finished. Nothing.
From hissing wind emerged a scraping sound approaching, as if something
were dragging the sled back to him.
"Dogs turn away," Edwardluk's voice wheezed, "from water too late. Sled
float. Curlytail drown. Loafer drown." All Edwardluk could talk about
was the dogs. "Hump drown." Edwardluk's strong hands were turning him
over on his back on the sled. "Wind Runner drown."
Darkness and warmth slid down over Dr. West's head and shoulders, and he
realized Edwardluk was giving him his outer parka.
"White Eye drown." Edwardluk was prodding his coldly numbing leg,
wrapping his leg in something jellylike within wet fur. "Fished out
drowned dogs. Cut up. Eh-eh," Edwardluk laughed feebly, "much good dog
meat for everyone. This person cut open Wild Runner for the bear."
With crunching sounds, Edwardluk began breaking apart the sled. Edwardluk
murmured he was rebuilding it into a man-sled. Gently, Edwardluk's hands
tied Dr. West on a sled so small his heels dragged.
Blind, Dr. West knew they were microscopic specks moving across the enormity
of sea ice, icebergs, shore ice and distant ice-scraped islands.
"Ha!" As if encouraging the drowned dogs to pull, shouting Edwardluk
strained at the harness, and the jolting hours moved Dr. West through
chills and sleep and fever, becoming days of blind agony without end.
Edwardluk's soft voice tried to soothe. "Eat-eat." He was pressing chewed
dog meat into Dr. West's mouth.
Edwardluk would shout: "Ha! Forward, dogs!" and Edwardluk's stubby legs
would tramp forward, endlessly dragging the man-sled with its raving
burden, Dr. West.
"The bear," Dr. West would gasp. "Got to warn them." The Canadian Parliament
became twelve pairs of eyes surrealistically floating in a jury box.
"Please believe me." All our growing population pressure is forcing
nation against nation in amoebalike growing struggles of the population
masses of the world , his thought writhed. Believe me, these Eskimos
are multiplying so much faster. Like a Bomb! -- "These people cannot
be Eskimos! What are they?"
In his delirium, Marthalik's face rose smiling. He clung to her body. The
droning of the airplane transformed snowflakes into parachutes drifting
down with swaying food packages. As absurdly as Pop Art, these were
decorated in red calligraphy: FAMILY ALLOWANCES, and swaying back and
forth, massive jaws crunching.
"Too many Eskimos." For these happy people what does the bear symbolize? "Don't
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