Toma and Dick followed the plain trail left by the bears clear up the ridge to the east of the camp. But they did not catch sight of their quarry until they were some distance out on the flank of the glacier on the other side of the ridge.
The young Indian then called Dick’s attention to a movement ahead of them. They saw one of the bears climbing to the top of a heap of ice, and crouched in hiding until the great beast had passed out of sight. Though they waited several minutes, a second bear did not appear, and so they thought it safe to go on.
Not far from where they had sighted the one bear they discovered why the other had not appeared. He lay stone dead in a little hollow in the ice. An examination showed that two of their bullets had pierced the animal’s lungs. Only an animal of iron stamina could have traveled so far with such serious wounds.
Cutting a huge haunch of steak from the bear’s hindquarters, the young hunters started back, their mouths already watering in anticipation of fresh bear steak.
It was nearly eight o’clock by Dick’s watch when they reached the igloos once more, to find that Sandy had been busy in their absence and had repaired much of the damage done by the polar bears.
Two hours later, snug in a warm igloo, Sandy requested Toma to tell them a bedtime story from his stock of Indian lore. Toma acquiesced willingly, and began in his broken, yet simple expressive English:
“Long, long time ago, young Indian brave, by name Swift Foot, live by big water, by name Great Slave Lake. He very handsome brave. Him mother love him very much. His father great hunter. He have all food he can eat, warm wigwam in winter. No have to work. Him play all day, and when him tired he sleep. But him no happy. He look at stars and want know why the stars twinkle; him look at sun, want know why sun warm; him look at moon, want know why cannot reach it; him look at rainbow, want know why cannot catch him no matter how fast he run.
“Swift Foot ask mother questions. She say, ‘Big Eagle, your father, great hunter and very wise. He tell you, my son.’ Swift Foot ask father questions. Father say, ‘Your grandfather old and wise, maybe he can tell you.’ Swift Foot ask his grandfather questions, but old man say he not know these things.
“Bye an’ bye Swift Foot visit all old men in tribe, but none knew why stars twinkle, why sun shine, why he no can catch rainbow.
“Swift Foot, him get very unhappy. Him no eat, no sleep. His mother think him going die. One day she tell him, ‘Swift Foot, you follow big water north till you come to great river. There you find old, old medicine man. He tell you why stars twinkle, why sun shine, why no catch rainbow.’