about him.
‘Maybe we’re making a fuss about nothing,’ she ventured. ‘Ujurak has always come back before.’
‘That’s right.’ Lusa’s dark eyes sparkled. ‘He’s been a gull, and an eagle . . . and do you remember, Toklo, when he was a mule deer and led the wolves away from us? That was before you joined us,’ she added to Kallik.
‘Yes,’ Toklo snapped, still looking annoyed. ‘Wehad to wait forever for him to turn up again.’
‘But he
did
turn up,’ Lusa insisted. ‘And if he hadn’t changed, we would have been wolf-prey. He’ll remember this time, like he always has before.’
Toklo snorted. ‘I just wish he’d remember he’s supposed to be hunting for us.’
‘All right, suppose we creep up on him,’ Lusa suggested. ‘There are bushes and rocks we can use for cover.’
‘We can try,’ the young grizzly agreed.
He took the lead, treading softly from one clump of thornbushes to the next, as carefully as if he was stalking prey. Kallik and Lusa stayed hard on his paws. Eventually they reached the shelter of a dip in the ground where long grasses grew around a brackish pool. A stretch of open ground separated them from the flock.
Toklo dipped his snout into the pool for a quick drink. ‘This is where we have to show ourselves,’ he announced, shaking drops from his fur. ‘We’ll run among the geese and call Ujurak’s name. The rest of the flock will fly off, but if we’re lucky, Ujurak will stay behind.’
‘And if we’re not lucky?’ Lusa asked.
‘Then he can stay a goose for all I care!’ Toklo retorted.
Lusa exchanged a glance with Kallik. ‘He doesn’t mean it,’ she murmured.
Toklo snorted and burst out of the hollow, yelling, ‘Ujurak! Ujurak!’
‘Ujurak, it’s us!’ Kallik cried as she raced after the brown bear with Lusa at her side.
As Toklo had predicted, the geese took to the air again. The sky seemed full of wildly beating wings. Kallik’s heart slammed into her throat as she saw not a single white bird left on the seashore.
Then Lusa exclaimed, ‘Ujurak!’
She pointed with her snout, and Kallik made out a brown, humped shape lying in the surf; at first glance she’d taken it for a spit of sand. Now she realised it was a small brown bear, lying motionless on his side as the waves washed around him.
‘What happened to him?’ she panted as all three bears bounded towards him. ‘Did he fall? Did he forget how to fly?’
Toklo was the first to reach their friend, and nosed him carefully from snout to tail, while Kallik and Lusa looked on in horror. Ujurak hadn’t stirred asthey approached, hadn’t even lifted his head to look at them.
‘He’s not dead,’ Toklo pronounced at last. ‘I can feel him breathing, but I don’t know what’s the matter with him.’
Kallik bent down and sniffed Ujurak’s sodden fur. His eyes were closed, and she had to watch carefully to see the faint rise and fall of his body as he breathed. Blood trickled from his mouth, dark and glossy against the seawater.
Then she noticed something shiny coming out of Ujurak’s mouth along with the blood. She felt as cold as if an ice storm were blowing around her. ‘Look!’ she whispered.
‘What’s that?’ Lusa asked, stretching her neck to sniff the shiny stuff.
Toklo came up to see, and planted a paw on the shiny tendril. ‘He’s swallowed something,’ he said. ‘I’ll see if I can pull it out.’
‘No, don’t!’ Kallik flinched as Toklo swung round to face her, shock and worry flashing in his eyes. ‘Nisa told me about this stuff when we were together on the ice. It’s called . . . fishing line. Flat-faces use it to pull fish out of the sea. Nisa told me it’s really dangerous.’
Toklo poked the line with one paw. ‘How do you catch a fish with that?’
‘There’s a hook on the other end,’ Kallik explained, blinking as she pictured what was happening to Ujurak right now. ‘I think Ujurak has it stuck in his throat. That must be where
‘Maybe we’re making a fuss about nothing,’ she ventured. ‘Ujurak has always come back before.’
‘That’s right.’ Lusa’s dark eyes sparkled. ‘He’s been a gull, and an eagle . . . and do you remember, Toklo, when he was a mule deer and led the wolves away from us? That was before you joined us,’ she added to Kallik.
‘Yes,’ Toklo snapped, still looking annoyed. ‘Wehad to wait forever for him to turn up again.’
‘But he
did
turn up,’ Lusa insisted. ‘And if he hadn’t changed, we would have been wolf-prey. He’ll remember this time, like he always has before.’
Toklo snorted. ‘I just wish he’d remember he’s supposed to be hunting for us.’
‘All right, suppose we creep up on him,’ Lusa suggested. ‘There are bushes and rocks we can use for cover.’
‘We can try,’ the young grizzly agreed.
He took the lead, treading softly from one clump of thornbushes to the next, as carefully as if he was stalking prey. Kallik and Lusa stayed hard on his paws. Eventually they reached the shelter of a dip in the ground where long grasses grew around a brackish pool. A stretch of open ground separated them from the flock.
Toklo dipped his snout into the pool for a quick drink. ‘This is where we have to show ourselves,’ he announced, shaking drops from his fur. ‘We’ll run among the geese and call Ujurak’s name. The rest of the flock will fly off, but if we’re lucky, Ujurak will stay behind.’
‘And if we’re not lucky?’ Lusa asked.
‘Then he can stay a goose for all I care!’ Toklo retorted.
Lusa exchanged a glance with Kallik. ‘He doesn’t mean it,’ she murmured.
Toklo snorted and burst out of the hollow, yelling, ‘Ujurak! Ujurak!’
‘Ujurak, it’s us!’ Kallik cried as she raced after the brown bear with Lusa at her side.
As Toklo had predicted, the geese took to the air again. The sky seemed full of wildly beating wings. Kallik’s heart slammed into her throat as she saw not a single white bird left on the seashore.
Then Lusa exclaimed, ‘Ujurak!’
She pointed with her snout, and Kallik made out a brown, humped shape lying in the surf; at first glance she’d taken it for a spit of sand. Now she realised it was a small brown bear, lying motionless on his side as the waves washed around him.
‘What happened to him?’ she panted as all three bears bounded towards him. ‘Did he fall? Did he forget how to fly?’
Toklo was the first to reach their friend, and nosed him carefully from snout to tail, while Kallik and Lusa looked on in horror. Ujurak hadn’t stirred asthey approached, hadn’t even lifted his head to look at them.
‘He’s not dead,’ Toklo pronounced at last. ‘I can feel him breathing, but I don’t know what’s the matter with him.’
Kallik bent down and sniffed Ujurak’s sodden fur. His eyes were closed, and she had to watch carefully to see the faint rise and fall of his body as he breathed. Blood trickled from his mouth, dark and glossy against the seawater.
Then she noticed something shiny coming out of Ujurak’s mouth along with the blood. She felt as cold as if an ice storm were blowing around her. ‘Look!’ she whispered.
‘What’s that?’ Lusa asked, stretching her neck to sniff the shiny stuff.
Toklo came up to see, and planted a paw on the shiny tendril. ‘He’s swallowed something,’ he said. ‘I’ll see if I can pull it out.’
‘No, don’t!’ Kallik flinched as Toklo swung round to face her, shock and worry flashing in his eyes. ‘Nisa told me about this stuff when we were together on the ice. It’s called . . . fishing line. Flat-faces use it to pull fish out of the sea. Nisa told me it’s really dangerous.’
Toklo poked the line with one paw. ‘How do you catch a fish with that?’
‘There’s a hook on the other end,’ Kallik explained, blinking as she pictured what was happening to Ujurak right now. ‘I think Ujurak has it stuck in his throat. That must be where
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