Free Between Two Worlds by Katherine Kirkpatrick Page B

more.”
    “A taste for the
qallunaat
’s riches? A greed that is never satisfied? That’s no good.” The old woman’s eyes grew deep in thought. “Greed makes us confused, makes our minds like blizzards. Worse, greed separates us from each other. We are happiest when we give to others. All our people know this; you and Angulluk need to stay in the village so you can remember our ways.”
    “But our lives are already bound up with the
qallunaat
. Some are friends. It’s not so simple—”
    “It
is
simple! We have our lives and they have theirs!” She sucked in her wrinkled cheeks.
    I wished I’d held my tongue. “You speak many truths, Aana.” Still, could one who spent her days staring at the same landscape completely understand my life?
    I waited for her advice. But she was silent.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

    One moon passed without a visit from anyone on the
Windward
. Though I missed Duncan, I was busy. Even Angulluk knew there was no time for games. We needed to hunt and store away furs for Mitti Peary and Marie, and Angulluk and I needed new leggings, boots, and mittens. We hunted seals on the coast, and took trips to the nearby hills and valley to build traps for foxes and rabbits, and search for a herd of musk oxen. When at last Angulluk killed two seals, six rabbits, and a fox, I stayed in the village to cure their pelts and to soften them with my teeth. Two days later, I gave my aching jaws a rest and rejoined the hunt.
    One of our dogs had six puppies: five black-and-brown and a runt that was all reddish brown. It was a happy time. I even began to daydream that I was pregnant.
I’ll return to Itta with a baby in my arms. Won’t my sister and all the villagers be surprised?
I would show them I had not only a child but also a skillful husband who did his share of work.
    One morning a chilly wind blew through the sides ofour tent and we knew that winter had truly begun. “Go gather rocks, Eqariusaq,” Angulluk said. “We need to make our igloo.”
    Hours later, on the land near our tent, he laid rocks on top of one another in a circle, and soon the walls of the igloo rose to my waist. My lazy man was doing a very good job. Inside the wall we used more stones to build a circular platform. The house was sunk a little into the earth so the platform would be level with the ground outside.
I can’t wait to put down our furs and try out our new bed. Maybe it will be a lucky bed for us
.
    Angulluk grinned. He knew I was pleased. We rubbed noses. He playfully tugged a fistful of my hair. We were getting along like
nanoq
cubs in a den.
    When I was crouching to loosen a stone frozen to the ground, I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Boo!”
    “Marie!”
    She giggled. She looked silly in her layers of dresses, sweaters, and cloak. “My mother is talking to some of the men in the village. I wanted to come along.”
    What does Mitti Peary want from the hunters?
I wondered. Navarana said the
qallunaat
were greedy. But if Mitti Peary ever asked anything of my people, she always gave generous gifts in return.
    “Can I help you build your igloo?” Marie asked.
    I showed her how to scrape moss from boulders with one of Angulluk’s knives and where to add these stones toa pile. When Marie staggered forward with a rock, Angulluk quickly stepped over to lift it from her.
“Qujanaq,”
she thanked him. She could now speak our language without much effort.
    Angulluk laughed. “You’re welcome,” he said in English. We’d all changed from our time on the ship, and one of the most surprising changes was that Angulluk seemed to like Marie.
    He turned to me. “Why don’t you show Marie the puppies?”
    “Puppies!” Marie said.
    I explained that the mother dog and puppies were in the ruins of an abandoned igloo, in the area where most villagers kept their dogs.
    Marie begged, “Take me to see them!”
    At the igloo with the puppies, the mother dog turned with a growl.
    “Marie!” I pulled her away. “Don’t touch. There