One day late that fall Dr. Grenfell found Pomiuk lying helpless and naked upon the rocks near the tupek of the Eskimo who had taken him in.  The little lad was carried aboard the hospital ship.  He was washed and his diseased hip dressed, he was given clean warm clothing to wear, and altogether he was made more comfortable than he had been in many months.  Then, with Pomiuk as a patient on board, the ship steamed away.

Thus Pomiuk bade goodbye to his home, to the towering cliffs and rugged sturdy mountains that he loved so well, and to his people.  The dear days when he was so jolly and happy in health were only a memory, though he was to know much happiness again.  Perhaps, lying helpless upon the deck of the hospital ship, he shed a tear as he recalled the fine trips he used to have when his father took him to the post with dogs and komatik in winter, or he and his father went cruising in the boat along the coast in summer.  And now he would never see his dear father again, and could never be a great hunter like his father, as he had once dreamed he would be.

But the cruise was a pleasant one, with every moment something new to attract his attention.  Dr. Grenfell was as kind and considerate as a father.  Pomiuk had never known such care and attention.  His diseased hip was dressed regularly, and had not been so free from pain since it was injured.  Appetizing, wholesome meals were served him.  Everyone aboard ship did everything possible for his comfort and entertainment.

Pomiuk was taken to the Indian Harbor Hospital where he remained until the cold of winter settled, and the hospital was closed for the winter season.  Then he was removed to a comfortable home up the Bay.  Under careful surgical treatment his hip improved until he was able to get about well on crutches.

There was never a happier boy in the world than this little Eskimo cripple in his new surroundings and with his new friends.  He laughed and played about quite as though he had the use of his limbs, and had forgotten his affliction.  During the winter one of the good missionaries from the Moravian Mission at Hopedale visited him and baptized him “Gabriel”—­the angel of comfort.  He was a comfort indeed and a joy to those who had his care.

XVI

MAKING A HOME FOR THE ORPHANS

The next winter Pomiuk was taken to the hospital at Battle Harbor where he could receive more constant surgical treatment.  He was a joy to the doctors and nurses.  His face was always happy and smiling.  He never complained, and his amiable disposition endeared him not only to the doctors and nurses but to the other patients as well.

But Pomiuk was never to be well again.  The diseased hip was beyond control, and was wearing down his constitution and his strength.  One day he fell suddenly very ill.  For a week he lay in bed, at times unconscious, and then early one morning passed away.