Lost In The Barrens

The boys cook the duck over a fire and survey the area, finding it free of Inuit, but in the distance they see ravens. Awasin explains that the ravens mean deer, so the hunt can begin soon. The boys have different ideas about their next steps. Jamie wants to continue to the Great Stone House, and then to join the hunt at Deer Hill. Awasin is more reserved, preferring to return to the beach where Denikazi told them to wait. At last, they agree to reach the end of the lake but go no further.

However, a fierce wind propels the canoe down the lake and into a stream where the boys are captured by rapids. Jamie is flung from the canoe and knocked unconscious while Awasin escapes with cuts and bruises, leaping free as the canoe is shattered. Awasin pulls Jamie from the water, then returns and rescues the remains of the canoe. When both are safe, he passes out on the shore.

An illustration accompanies the chapter title, featuring Jamie falling from the canoe as Awasin attempts to steady it.