"What are we thinking of," exclaimed Raed, "with our guns and bayonets! Why, these little chaps look the very embodiment of good nature! Here they trust themselves among us without so much as a stick in their hands; while we've got out all our deadly weapons! Let's let the rest of them come up if they want to."
Kit and Wade stood back, and beckoned to the others: whereat they all came climbing up, save one, who stayed, apparently, to look out for the empty kayaks, which were floating about. They brought rather strong odors of smoke and greasy manginess; but more good-natured faces I never saw.
"My eye! but aren't they flabby fat!" exclaimed Hobbs.
"That comes of drinking seal and whale oil," said Bonney.
"Guess they don't sport combs much," said Donovan. "Look at those tousled heads! Bet you, they're lousy as hens!"
"Talk to 'em, Raed," said Kit. "Say something. Ask 'em if they want to chymo."
At the sound of this last word they turned their little sharp eyes brightly on Kit.
"Chymo?" said Raed interrogatively.
Instantly they began to crowd round him, a dozen jabbering all at once. Faster even than before they ran on, amid which we could now and then distinguish words which sounded like oomiaksook, hennelay, cob-loo-nak, yemeck. These words, as we had read, meant big ship, woman, Englishman, water, respectively. But it was utterly impossible to make out in what connection they were used. Despite our vocabulary, we were as much at a loss as ever.
"Confound it!" Kit exclaimed. "Let's make signs. No use trying to talk with them."