The savages were now six or eight rods behind; but the dogs were at his heels, and were only kept off him by the sudden facings and savage growls of Guard, who valiantly stemmed the canine avalanche.

We met him about fifty yards from the boat, and raised a loud hurrah.
"Into the boat with you!" Raed sang out to him.
The dogs howled and snarled viciously at us.

Donovan cut at them with his oar right and left; while Raed, Kit, and Wade levelled their muskets at the horde of rushing, breathless savages, who seemed not to have seen us at all till that moment, so intent had they been after the negro.

Discovering us, the front ones tried to pull up; and, those behind running up, they were all crowded together, shouting and screaming, and punching each other with their harpoons.
"Avast there!" shouted Donovan, flourishing his oar.
"Halt!" ordered Wade.
While Kit, remembering a word of Esquimaux, bade them "_Twau-ve_" ("Begone") at the top of his voice.
I must say that they were a wicked-looking lot,--the front ones, at least,--comprising some of the largest Esquimaux we had yet seen.
There must have been thirty or forty in the front groups; and others were momentarily rushing in from behind.

The dogs, too, fifty or sixty at least calculation,--great, gaunt, wolfish, yellow curs,--looked almost as dangerous as their masters.
"We must get out of this!" exclaimed Raed; for they were beginning to brandish their harpoons menacingly, and shout and howl still louder.
"If we turn, they'll set upon us before we can get into the boat!" muttered Kit.
"Fire over their heads, to gain time!" shouted Wade.