CHAPTER XIX.
HARD ASHORE.
It was at this juncture that Tom came aft with a rope trailing in hishand. It was the original rope. He had drawn it aboard when hediscovered it dangling from the mooring bitts into the water.
"Look at this rope," he cried excitedly. "It was no accident that wewent adrift."
"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Dacre.
"That it was cut."
"Cut?"
"Yes."
"How do you know that?"
"All the rope is not here. If it had slipped from the anchor we castashore among the rushes, or if the anchor had slipped, it would be."
"Perhaps some animal chewed it."
"We'll soon see that. Who's got a match?"
Tom struck a lucifer. As it flared up, Mr. Dacre took the end of therope in his hand. A single glance sufficed. The rope had been severedso cleanly that there was no question that it had been done by a sharpknife. No animal's teeth could have made that neat, clean incision.
"Well, what do you think of that?" demanded Tom.
"Who could hae done it?" wondered Sandy.
"I know." Jack interjected the remark with confidence.
"Who?"
"Those natives. That bunch that raided our pantry."
"By Jove, boy, I believe you are right," declared Mr. Chillingworth."It would be just like one of their tricks."
"Well, here we are, stuck hard and fast," said Mr. Dacre. "I supposethose natives would feel highly gratified if they could see ourpredicament."
"I guess we ought to be glad that they didn't set the boat on fire,"commented Jack indignantly. "I'd like to have a brief interview withthem."
As an examination showed that the _Yukon Rover_ was in no particulardanger, it was decided to wait till daylight before trying to get heroff the bar. In the meantime, Sandy went below and began getting upsteam, for he had banked his fires during the sleeping period. Theothers discussed the situation.
It was plain that they had drifted some distance, though how far theyhad, of course, no means of estimating. Although no actual harm hadbeen done, they naturally felt incensed against the natives, who theywere certain had played the scurvy trick on them. Had the wily oldchief and his followers happened along just then, they would have metwith a warm reception. Perhaps it was just as well that they did not.
After hot coffee had been served out, all hands went to work with awill to release the steamer from her sandy bed. But this proved to beno easy task. It had been hoped that she could be got off under herown power by dint of utilizing the stern wheel. But the blades of thewheel were stuck in the sand, and to have tried to work them mighthave crippled the ship permanently.
Another plan, therefore, was adopted. The boys got out the small boatand taking the anchor on board carried it some distance up the stream.Then they returned to the ship and began heaving with might and mainon the cable, using the small capstan to do this. A cheer went upwhen, after about half an hour of back-breaking work, they felt the_Yukon Rover_ give a quiver and move about an inch.
"Hurrah, boys! Keep it up! We'll soon be afloat!" cried Tomcheerfully.
Sure enough, as they worked they got the vessel further and furtheroff the sand-bank and at last had the satisfaction of feeling herfloating free. As soon as this happened, the engine was started andthe steamer began bucking the current once more. The anchor washoisted as the _Yukon Rover_ came "up on it" and the voyage, which hadbeen so mischievously interrupted, was resumed with greatcheerfulness. About ten miles up the river they came to the spot wherethey had anchored the night before. The steamer was stopped and theboys went ashore to investigate. On the banks were the tell-tale marksof the keels of the bidarkas and numerous footmarks around them. Theanchor was found undisturbed, with about ten feet of rope attached toit, and was brought back on board.
The resumption of the journey found them still traversing much thesame kind of country as that they had hitherto steamed through. Lowbanks, thickly grown with alders and other water-loving trees,islands covered with willows, sand-bars and sluggish, outbranchingsloughs innumerable.
These willow islands formed troublesome obstructions to navigation.But the outcropping willows at least served one useful purpose. Theyindicated the presence of sand-bars which, in some instances, layseveral feet beneath the surface of water at the high stage of theriver. It was not till some days later, during which time they hadsteadily bucked the current, only tying up for sleep, that thecharacter of the scenery began to change and the boys felt that theywere really getting into a wild country at last.
The flat banks and occasional small towns with remnants of Russianforts and occupancy about them, had been left behind. Now the banksshot up steeply above the swift current, and the _Yukon Rover_ wascalled upon to test her power against the full strength of the stream.
One night,--of course, it was not dark, but "rest time,"--thetravelers tied up on the north bank of the stream under aparticularly precipitous mass of cliff. It towered above them like theside wall of a skyscraper. Mr. Dacre, who examined it, declared thatit had once been a glacier, and there were still traces of glacialaction visible upon it. The ground thereabouts was also rich infossils and the boys obtained permission to go ashore and collect afew of these last.
They set off in high spirits, landing by the long gangplank which the_Yukon Rover_ carried for such purposes. Shouting and laughing theymade their way up through the woods till they had clambered to quite aheight. All their pockets were bulging with specimens of rockformation, many of them very curious.
"Let's go over to the edge of that glacier," said Sandy, "and hae alook doon on the river. It must be a grand sight."
Nothing loath, they struck off over the rough ground under the larchand pine trees, and soon found themselves at the edge of the sharpacclivity, which had been ground almost to the smoothness of a boardby a mighty glacier centuries before. They had not climbed so farabove the river as they had imagined from the laboriousness of theascent. In fact, they were surprised to find that far from being atthe top of the glacier, hundreds of feet of its extent still toweredabove them.
Below lay the _Yukon Rover_ tied to the bank, with the smoke wispinglazily from her funnel. Mr. Dacre and his partner sat out on deckreading. It was a peaceful scene, the silence broken only by the voiceof the river as its mighty current hastened down to the sea. All atonce though, the calm of the scene was rudely scattered by a loud yellfrom Sandy.
The Scotch lad had been amusing himself by throwing rocks down thesmooth incline of the glacier, which sloped right down into the river,and watching them vanish in the current.
In the course of this amusement he had climbed up on the edge of thetreacherously smooth rock chute, which was practically what it was.
"Look out there, Sandy!" warned Tom, knowing the boy's remarkablefaculty for getting into trouble.
"Hoot toot! Dinna fash yersel' aboot me," returned Sandy easily, andset another rock rolling and bounding down the glacier.
As if in bravado, he clambered right up on the smooth cliff before hiscompanions could check him. But at that instant his foot caught on arock and he stumbled and fell.
Tom jumped forward to save him, but the lad's clothes tore from hisgrasp, as Sandy shot downward at a terrific speed, at the same timeemitting a wild shriek of terror.
At the same instant his cry was echoed by Jack, for Tom, who had invain sought to save his chum, now shared Sandy's misfortune and wentchuting downward to the river on the smooth rock chute at lightningspeed.
"Help!" cried Jack, as if human aid could accomplish anything, "help!They'll both be killed."
"Ki-i-i-i-i-l-l-e-d!" flung back the mocking echoes from the cliffs.
The Bungalow Boys Along the Yukon Page 19
