Three of the large skin-houses had already been turned over to them by the natives.  These would provide ample shelter.  Two were at once arranged as bunk-houses and the third as cook-shack.

When this had been done, with two men on guard, they turned in and slept.

Next morning, at six o’clock, four hours before daylight, every man was called out and assigned duties.  It was the custom of the natives to depart for the hunting-ground at that hour.  They should follow the same custom.  Dividing themselves into two parties, one to watch camp, the other to hunt, they immediately set about their tasks.

The first day’s hunt was under the direction of Azazruk, the Eskimo.  The results were more than gratifying.  Two ringed seals, one oogrook, ten feet long, and one young polar bear were the bag for the day.

“A full week’s supply of meat,” smiled the Doctor, rubbing his hands in high glee.  In his interest in this new game, he had for the moment quite forgotten his great disappointment at the loss of the sub.

It was while they were smacking their lips over a hamburger, made of bear meat, that they were surprised by a young native, who rushed into their tent without the accustomed shouted salutation, seemingly quite beside himself with fear.

For some time nothing intelligible could be gathered from his excited chatter.  But finally Azazruk made out that only an hour before, as he watched the reindeer, a great hairy monster had dashed at the herd, scattering it far and wide, and carrying away a yearling buck as easily as if it had been a rabbit.

“Probably a white bear,” suggested Rainey.

“Not probable,” said the Doctor.  “A bear would eat his prey where it was slain.”

“A wolf?”

“Couldn’t do it.”

“Well, what then?”

All eyes were turned toward the Doctor.

“You will judge me insane if I tell you what I think it was,” he answered.  “But here you are; I think it was a tiger.”

“A tiger?”

“Tiger?”

Every man voiced his unbelief.

“A tiger in the Arctic?”

“Impossible!”

“That’s absurd.”

For answer the Doctor drew from his notebook a newspaper clipping, bidding Rainey read it aloud.  The article was entitled “The Russian tiger” and was an account of the slaying of a gigantic man-eater by an American officer when American troops were stationed at Vladivostok, in eastern Russia.

“At that point,” explained the Doctor, “they have about eight months of winter with a thermometer that drops far below zero.  It may well be considered a part of the Arctic.  Yet, as you see, they have tigers there; indeed, I am told they are not at all uncommon.  So why not up here?” No one had a ready answer, and at last the Doctor spoke again: 

“In the meantime, what are we going to do about it?  It would seem that the natives are appealing to us for aid.”