These might reveal something; for the feet of the Indians and Esquimaux, as well as their boots, are totally different from each other.
But what chiefly struck Lieutenant Hobson was the strange arrangement of these impressions. They were evidently made by a human foot, a shod foot; but, strange to say, the ball alone appeared to have touched the ground! The marks were very numerous, close together, often crossing one another, but confined to a very small circle.
Jaspar Hobson called the attention of the rest of the party to this singular circumstance.
"These were not made by a person walking," he said.
"Nor by a person jumping," added Mrs Barnett; "for there is no mark of a heel."
"No," said Mrs Joliffe; "these footprints were left by a dancer."
She was right, as further examination proved. They were the marks left by a dancer, and a dancer engaged in some light and graceful exercise, for they were neither clumsy nor deep.
But who could the light-hearted individual be who had been impelled to dance in this sprightly fashion some degrees above the Arctic Circle?
"It was certainly not an Esquimaux," said the Lieutenant.
"Nor an Indian," cried Corporal Joliffe.