The Giant of the North: Pokings Round the Pole

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER FOUR.

  A CATASTROPHE AND A BOLD DECISION.

  Two days after her arrival at the temporary residence of the northernEskimos, the steam yacht _Whitebear_, while close to the shore, wasbeset by ice, so that she could neither advance nor retreat.Everywhere, as far as the eye could reach, the sea was covered withhummocks and bergs and fields of ice, so closely packed that there wasnot a piece of open water to be seen, with the exception of one smallbasin a few yards ahead of the lead or lane of water in which the vesselhad been imprisoned.

  "No chance of escaping from this, I fear, for a long time," said AlfVandervell to his brother, as they stood near the wheel, looking at thedesolate prospect.

  "It seems quite hopeless," said Leo, with, however, a look of confidencethat ill accorded with his words.

  "I do believe we are frozen in for the winter," said Benjy Vane, comingup at the moment.

  "There speaks ignorance," said the Captain, whose head appeared at thecabin hatchway. "If any of you had been in these regions before, youwould have learned that nothing is so uncertain as the action of packice. At one time you may be hard and fast, so that you couldn't move aninch. A few hours after, the set of the currents may loosen the pack,and open up lanes of water through which you may easily make yourescape. Sometimes it opens up so as to leave almost a clear sea in afew hours."

  "But it is pretty tight packed just now, father, and looks wintry-like,doesn't it?" said Benjy in a desponding tone.

  "Looks! boy, ay, but things are not what they seem hereaway. You sawfour mock-suns round the real one yesterday, didn't you? and the daybefore you saw icebergs floating in the air, eh?"

  "True, father, but these appearances were deceptive, whereas this ice,which looks so tightly packed, is a reality."

  "That is so, lad, but it is not set fast for the winter, though it lookslike it. Well, doctor," added the Captain, turning towards a tallcadaverous man who came on deck just then with the air and tread of aninvalid, "how goes it with you? Better, I hope?"

  He asked this with kindly interest as he laid his strong hand on thesick man's shoulder; but the doctor shook his head and smiled sadly.

  "It is a great misfortune to an expedition, Captain, when the doctorhimself falls sick," he said, sitting down on the skylight with a sigh.

  "Come, come, cheer up, doctor," returned the Captain, heartily, "don'tbe cast down; we'll all turn doctors for the occasion, and nurse youwell in spite of yourself."

  "I'll keep up all heart, Captain, you may depend on't, as long as two ofmy bones will stick together, but--well, to change the subject; what areyou going to do now?"

  "Just all that can be done in the circumstances," replied the Captain."You see, we cannot advance over ice either with sail or steam, butthere's a basin just ahead which seems a little more secure than that inwhich we lie. I'll try to get into it. There is nothing but a neck ofice between us and it, which I think I could cut by charging in underfull steam, and there seems a faint gleam of something far ahead, whichencourages me. Tell the steward to fetch my glasses, Benjy."

  "Butterface!" shouted the boy.

  "Yis, massa."

  "Fetch the Captain's glasses, please."

  "Yis, massa."

  A pair of large binoculars were brought up by a huge negro, whose namewas pre-eminently unsuggestive of his appearance.

  After a long steady gaze at the horizon, the Captain shut up the glasswith an air of determination, and ordered the engineer to get up fullsteam, and the crew to be ready with the ice-poles.

  There was a large berg at the extremity of the lakelet of open waterinto which Captain Vane wished to break. It was necessary to keep wellout of the way of that berg. The Captain trusted chiefly to his screw,but got out the ice-poles in case they should be required.

  When all the men were stationed, the order was given to go ahead fullsteam. The gallant little yacht charged the neck of ice like a livingcreature, hit it fair, cut right through, and scattered the fragmentsright and left as she sailed majestically into the lakelet beyond. Theshock was severe, but no harm was done, everything on board having beenmade as strong as possible, and of the very best material, for a voyagein ice-laden seas.

  An unforeseen event followed, however, which ended in a series of mostterrible catastrophes. The neck of ice through which they had brokenhad acted as a check on the pressure of the great body of the floe, andit was no sooner removed than the heavy mass began to close in with slowbut irresistible power, compelling the little vessel to steam close upto the iceberg--so close that some of the upper parts actually overhungthe deck.

  They were slowly forced into this dangerous position. With breathlessanxiety the Captain and crew watched the apparently gentle, but reallytremendous grinding of the ice against the vessel's side. Even theyoungest on board could realise the danger. No one moved, for nothingwhatever could be done.

  "Everything depends, under God, on the ice easing off before we arecrushed," said the Captain.

  As he spoke, the timbers of the yacht seemed to groan under thepressure; then there was a succession of loud cracks, and the vessel wasthrust bodily up the sloping sides of the berg. While in this position,with the bow high and dry, a mass of ice was forced against thestern-post, and the screw-propeller was snapped off as if it had beenmade of glass.

  Poor Captain Vane's heart sank as if he had received his death-blow, forhe knew that the yacht was now, even in the event of escaping, reducedto an ordinary vessel dependent on its sails. The shock seemed to haveshaken the berg itself, for at that moment a crashing sound was heardoverhead. The terror-stricken crew looked up, and for one moment apinnacle like a church spire was seen to flash through the air rightabove them. It fell with an indescribable roar close alongside,deluging the decks with water. There was a momentary sigh of relief,which, however, was chased away by a succession of falling masses,varying from a pound to a ton in weight, which came down on the decklike cannon-shots, breaking the topmasts, and cutting to pieces much ofthe rigging. Strange to say, none of the men were seriously injured,though many received bruises more or less severe.

  During this brief but thrilling period, the brothers Vandervell andBenjy Vane crouched close together beside the port bulwarks, partiallyscreened from the falling ice by the mizzen shrouds. The Captain stoodon the quarter-deck, quite exposed, and apparently unconscious ofdanger, the picture of despair.

  "It can't last long," sighed poor Benjy, looking solemnly up at the vastmass of the bluish-white berg, which hung above them as if ready tofall.

  Presently the pressure ceased, then the ice eased off, and in a fewminutes the _Whitebear_ slid back into the sea, a pitiable wreck! Nowhad come the time for action.

  "Out poles, my lads, and shove her off the berg!" was the sharp order.

  Every one strained as if for life at the ice-poles, and slowly forcedthe yacht away from the dreaded berg. It mattered not that they wereforcing her towards a rocky shore. Any fate would be better than beingcrushed under a mountain of ice.

  But the danger was not yet past. No sooner had they cleared the berg,and escaped from that form of destruction, than the ice began again toclose in, and this time the vessel was "nipped" with such severity, thatsome of her principal timbers gave way. Finally, her back was broken,and the bottom forced in.

  "So," exclaimed the Captain, with a look of profound grief, "our voyagein the _Whitebear_, lads, has come to an end. All that we can do now isto get the boats and provisions, and as much of the cargo as we can,safe on the ice. And sharp's the word, for when the floes ease off, thepoor little yacht will certainly go to the bottom."

  "No, massa," said the negro steward, stepping on deck at that moment,"we can't go to de bottom, cause we's dare a-ready!"

  "What d'ye mean, Butterface?"

  "Jus' what me say," replied the steward, with a look of calmresignation. "I's bin b'low, an' seed de rocks stickin' troo de bottom.Der's one de size ob a jolly-boat's bow comed right troo my pant
ry, an'knock all de crockery to smash, an' de best teapot, he's so flat hewouldn't know hisself in a lookin'-glass."

  It turned out to be as Butterface said. The pack had actually thrustthe little vessel on a shoal, which extended out from the headland offwhich the catastrophe occurred, and there was therefore no fear of hersinking.

  "Well, we've reason to be thankful for that, at all events," said theCaptain, with an attempt to look cheerful; "come, lads, let's to work.Whatever our future course is to be, our first business is to get theboats and cargo out of danger."

  With tremendous energy--because action brought relief to theiroverstrained feelings--the crew of the ill-fated yacht set to work tohaul the boats upon the grounded ice. The tide was falling, so that agreat part of the most valuable part of the cargo was placed in securitybefore the rising tide interrupted the work.

  This was fortunate, for, when the water reached a certain point the icebegan to move, and the poor little vessel was so twisted about that theydared not venture on board of her.

  That night--if we may call it night in a region where the sun neverquite went down--the party encamped on the north-western coast ofGreenland, in the lee of a huge cliff just beyond which the tongue of amighty glacier dipped into the sea. For convenience the party dividedinto two, with a blazing fire for each, round which the castawayscircled, conversing in subdued, sad tones while supper was beingprepared.

  It was a solemn occasion, and a scene of indescribable grandeur, withthe almost eternal glacier of Greenland--the great Humboldt glacier--shedding its bergs into the dark blue sea, the waters of which had bythat time been partially cleared to the northward. On the left was theweird pack and its thousand grotesque forms, with the wreck in its irongrasp; on the right the perpendicular cliffs, and the bright sky overall, with the smoke of the campfires rising into it from the foreground.

  "Now, my friends," said Captain Vane to the crew when assembled aftersupper, "I am no longer your commander, for my vessel is a wreck, but asI suppose you still regard me as your leader, I assemble you here forthe purpose of considering our position, and deciding on what is best tobe done."

  Here the Captain said, among other things, it was his opinion that the_Whitebear_ was damaged beyond the possibility of repair, that theironly chance of escape lay in the boats, and that the distance betweenthe place on which they stood and Upernavik, although great, was notbeyond the reach of resolute men.

  "Before going further, or expressing a decided opinion," he added, "Iwould hear what the officers have to say on this subject. Let the firstmate speak."

  "It's my opinion," said the mate, "that there's only one thing to bedone, namely, to start for home as soon and as fast as we can. We havegood boats, plenty of provisions, and are all stout and healthy,excepting our doctor, whom we will take good care of, and expect to dono rough work."

  "Thanks, mate," said the doctor with a laugh, "I think that, at allevents, I shall keep well enough to physic you if you get ill."

  "Are you willing to take charge of the party in the event of my decidingto remain here?" asked the Captain of the mate.

  "Certainly, sir," he replied, with a look of slight surprise. "You knowI am quite able to do so. The second mate, too, is as able as I am.For that matter, most of the men, I think, would find little difficultyin navigating a boat to Upernavik."

  "That is well," returned the Captain, "because I do not intend to returnwith you."

  "Not return!" exclaimed the doctor; "surely you don't mean to winterhere."

  "No, not here, but further north," replied the Captain, with a smilewhich most of the party returned, for they thought he was jesting.

  Benjy Vane, however, did not think so. A gleeful look of triumph causedhis face, as it were, to sparkle, and he said, eagerly--

  "We'll winter at the North Pole, father, eh?"

  This was greeted with a general laugh.

  "But seriously, uncle, what do you mean to do?" asked LeonardVandervell, who, with his brother, was not unhopeful that the Captainmeditated something desperate.

  "Benjy is not far off the mark. I intend to winter at the Pole, or asnear to it as I can manage to get."

  "My dear Captain Vane," said the doctor, with an anxious look, "youcannot really mean what you say. You must be jesting, or mad."

  "Well, as to madness," returned the Captain with a peculiar smile, "youought to know best, for it's a perquisite of your cloth to pronouncepeople mad or sane, though some of yourselves are as mad as the worst ofus; but in regard to jesting, nothing, I assure you, is further from mymind. Listen!"

  He rose from the box which had formed his seat, and looked earnestlyround on his men. As he stood there, erect, tall, square, powerful,with legs firmly planted, and apart, as if to guard against a lurch ofhis ship, with his bronzed face flushed, and his dark eye flashing, theyall understood that their leader's mind was made up, and that what hehad resolved upon, he would certainly attempt to carry out.

  "Listen," he repeated; "it was my purpose on leaving England, as you allknow, to sail north as far as the ice would let me; to winter where weshould stick fast, and organise an over-ice, or overland journey to thePole with all the appliances of recent scientific discovery, and all theadvantages of knowledge acquired by former explorers. It has pleasedGod to destroy my ship, but my life and my hopes are spared. So are mystores and scientific instruments. I intend, therefore, to carry out myoriginal purpose. I believe that former explorers have erred in somepoints of their procedure. These errors I shall steer clear of. Formertravellers have ignored some facts, and despised some appliances. Thesefacts I will recognise; these appliances I will utilise. With a steamyacht, you, my friends, who have shown so much enthusiasm and courage upto this point, would have been of the utmost service to me. As a partyin boats, or on foot, you would only hamper my movements. I mean toprosecute this enterprise almost alone. I shall join myself to theEskimos."

  He paused at this point as if in meditation. Benjy, whose eyes andmouth had been gradually opening to their widest, almost gasped withastonishment as he glanced at his cousins, whose expressive countenanceswere somewhat similarly affected.

  "I have had some long talks," continued the Captain, "with that bigEskimo Chingatok, through our interpreter, and from what he says Ibelieve my chances of success are considerable. I am all the moreconfirmed in this resolution because of the readiness and ability of myfirst mate to guide you out of the Arctic regions, and your willingnessto trust him. Anders has agreed to go with me as interpreter, and now,all I want is one other man, because--"

  "Put me down, father," cried Benjy, in a burst of excitement--"_I'm_your man."

  "Hush, lad," said the Captain with a little smile, "of course I shalltake you with me and also your two cousins, but I want one other man tocomplete the party--but he must be a heartily willing man. Who willvolunteer?"

  There was silence for a few moments. It was broken by the doctor.

  "I for one won't volunteer," he said, "for I'm too much shaken by thistroublesome illness to think of such an expedition. If I were well itmight be otherwise, but perhaps some of the others will offer."

  "You can't expect me to do so," said the mate, "for I've got to guideour party home, as agreed on; besides, under any circumstances, I wouldnot join you, for it is simple madness. You'll forgive me, Captain. Imean no disrespect, but I have sailed many years to these seas, and Iknow from experience that what you propose is beyond the power of man toaccomplish."

  "Experience!" repeated the Captain, quickly. "Has your experienceextended further north than this point?"

  "No, sir, I have not been further north than this--nobody has. It isbeyond the utmost limit yet reached, so far as I know."

  "Well, then, you cannot speak from _experience_ about what I propose,"said the Captain, turning away. "Come, lads, I have no wish toconstrain you, I merely give one of you the chance."

  Still no one came forward. Every man of the crew of the _Whitebear_ hadhad
more or less personal acquaintance with arctic travel and danger.They would have followed Captain Vane anywhere in the yacht, butevidently they had no taste for what he was about to undertake.

  At last one stepped to the front. It was Butterface, the steward. Thisintensely black negro was a bulky, powerful man, with a modest spiritand a strange disbelief in his own capacities, though, in truth, thesewere very considerable. He came forward, stooping slightly, and rubbinghis hands in a deprecating manner.

  "'Scuse me, massa Capting. P'r'aps it bery presumsheeous in dis yerchile for to speak afore his betters, but as no oder man 'pears to wantto volunteer, I's willin' to go in an' win. Ob course I ain't a man--on'y a nigger, but I's a willin' nigger, an' kin do a few small tings--cook de grub, wash up de cups an' sarsers, pull a oar, clean yer boots,fight de Eskimos if you wants me to, an' ginrally to scrimmage arounda'most anything. Moreover, I eats no more dan a babby--'sep wen I'shungry--an' I'll foller you, massa, troo tick and tin--to de Nort Pole,or de Sout Pole, or de East Pole, or de West Pole--or any oder polewotsomediver--all de same to Butterface, s'long's you'll let 'im stickby you."

  The crew could not help giving the negro a cheer as he finished thisloyal speech, and the Captain, although he would have preferred one ofthe other men, gladly accepted his services.

  A few days later the boats were ready and provisioned; adieus were said,hats and handkerchiefs waved, and soon after Captain Vane and his sonand two nephews, with Anders and Butterface, were left to fight theirbattles alone, on the margin of an unexplored, mysterious Polar sea.