“Here is Qasiagssaq has made a catch,” cried his fellow-villagers. And when he came in, they saw that he had a great black seal in tow, with deep black markings all over the body. And the tow-line was thick with trappings of the finest narwhal tusk.
“Where did you get that tow-line?” they asked.
“I have had it a long time,” he answered, “but have never used it before to-day.”
After they had hauled the seal to land, his wife cut out the belly part, and when that was done, she shared out so much blubber and meat to the others that there was hardly anything left for themselves. And then she set about cooking a meal, with a shoulder-blade for a lamp, and another for a pot. And every time a kayak came in, they told the newcomer that Qasiagssaq had got a big black seal.
At last there was but one kayak still out, and when that one came in, they told him the same thing: “Qasiagssaq has actually got a big seal.”
But this last man said when they told him:
“I got a big black seal to-day, and hauled it up on an island. But when I went back to fetch it, it was gone.”
The others said again:
“The tow-line which Qasiagssaq was using to-day was furnished with toggles of pure narwhal tusk.”
Later in the evening, Qasiagssaq heard a voice calling in at the window: