[Alaskan Quest 02] - Under the Northern Lights

by Tracie Peterson

  ‘‘I am the captain. A good captain stays with the ship until the bitter end,’’ Latimore said.

  ‘‘Well, I’m not the captain. With your permission, and even without it, I intend to see our evacuation begun.’’ Jacob got to his feet and looked at the poor man. ‘‘I’m sorry it’s come to this.’’

  Jayce waited for Jacob outside the door. ‘‘Well?’’

  ‘‘He’s given up. He no longer cares. I told him it was time to off-load as many supplies as we are able to handle. I suggested we pitch tents and get away from the ship in case she caves in and sinks. He’s oblivious to it all. Says he’s the captain and he’ll go down with the ship.’’

  Jayce shook his head. ‘‘The crew has gathered to eat. Shall we go and speak with them?’’

  ‘‘It’s mutiny.’’

  Jayce met Jacob’s eyes. ‘‘I don’t think we have any other choice.’’

  Chapter Thirty-three

  As the end of October approached, Leah waited anxiously in Last Chance for John to return with Helaina. In Nome the women had agreed that it was best for Leah to return home to her babies while Helaina waited for any information Stanley might be able to garner for her. John returned to Nome around the twentieth of October to bring Helaina back to Last Chance. Hopefully she would have some idea of how they could best help the men of the Regina.

  It was already dark when Leah heard a commotion in the village, signaling Helaina and John’s return. She had kept food warm on the stove every night for the last few evenings, thinking they would be back any day. Tonight’s meal would be pleasing to Helaina. Leah had fixed canned roast beef with potatoes and gravy. It was a far cry from the usual Inupiat fare.

  Checking quickly on the children, Leah made sure they were asleep before heading outside. Helaina met her at the door, her bags in hand. Leah reached out and took the larger one.

  ‘‘Come in. I have supper for you.’’

  ‘‘It turned kind of cold this evening,’’ Helaina said, a bit of shiver to her voice. ‘‘Otherwise we had a good time of it. We’re delayed because I was waiting for information from the coast guard; they seemed to be the ones who would have the most official word.’’

  ‘‘Come into the kitchen and tell me everything.’’

  Helaina pulled her parka off once inside the house. Her long blond hair fell from its once carefully arranged bun. She began pulling the rest of the pins and put them on the table while Leah went to get her food.

  ‘‘I hope you like this. It’s roast beef—not seal or walrus.’’

  ‘‘Sounds divine. I had John bring back more food supplies. I just can’t help but think it’s better to have too much than not enough.’’

  Leah put the plate on the table and Helaina gasped. ‘‘Those aren’t potatoes with gravy—are they?’’

  ‘‘Yes. I figured you should have something special. I’ve had some ready every night for the last three nights. When you failed to show up, I simply ate them myself.’’ Leah brought Helaina a hot, wet towel. ‘‘Here, I thought you might like this to wash up with.’’

  Helaina sighed. ‘‘This feels wonderful.’’ She began to wipe her hands and face. ‘‘Do you want the good news or the bad news first?’’

  Leah felt her heart skip a beat. ‘‘There’s bad news?’’ She drew a deep breath and steadied herself. ‘‘I’d rather have it first.’’

  Helaina put the towel aside and sat down at the table. Leah joined her. She could see that Helaina was quite tired, but there would be time for sleep later. Right now, Leah needed to know everything.

  ‘‘There is still very little information and nothing can be done until warmer weather. That’s the worst of it. Not knowing and not being able to do anything.

  ‘‘I’ve had communication with everyone possible, and no one can say for certain that they know anything more than we do. The coast guard, which now runs the revenue cutter service, does have an official report of the Regina being stuck in ice and moving westerly with the current. The confirmed word states that they were last seen on August fifteenth.’’

  ‘‘That’s over two months ago,’’ Leah said, shaking her head. ‘‘A lot could have happened between then and now.’’

  ‘‘Exactly. Especially since they were still moving with the ice.’’

  Helaina began to eat the roast, a smile touching her lips. ‘‘This is wonderful. I was already tired of dried salmon. I don’t know how I’ll ever adapt to the food here, but I will.’’

  ‘‘So what’s the good news?’’ Leah braved the question.

  Helaina sipped her coffee before answering. ‘‘The good news is that we have everyone from the president in Washington, D.C., to the governor of the Alaskan Territory involved. Stanley is leaving no stone unturned. He’s even managed to reach some of the men from the Karluk. He’s hoping with the help of that ship’s log, as well as that of another ship that was stranded just last year, they might put together a chart of currents and events that took place and help establish where the Regina might have drifted.’’

  ‘‘But we can’t help them at all until spring? That’s a long time.’’ Leah knew that the Arctic would be ruthless and that the lives of the men were in grave danger.

  Helaina stopped eating. ‘‘I know. I’ve wrestled with this myself. It’s so hard to imagine that nothing can be done, but as everyone, even my brother, pointed out—where would we start? Even if you managed to put together a team of natives and dogs with plenty of supplies, where would we even begin to search?’’

  Leah slumped back against her chair. ‘‘I know. That’s already gone through my mind—because believe me, I did have all kinds of plans in the works.’’

  ‘‘They could be clear over on the Siberian coast by now.’’

  ‘‘I just don’t understand why this happened,’’ Leah said, shaking her head. ‘‘I keep trying to reason it out, but it makes no sense.’’

  ‘‘Well, the word I was given was that the temperature dropped sooner than expected. Everyone figured to have at least until September before things turned truly bad, but the ice came early and cold weather set in so as to drive everyone south. Even the revenue cutters and whalers returned well ahead of schedule. You probably saw that for yourself. Apparently Latimore didn’t realize how dangerous the situation had become.’’

  ‘‘Or he didn’t care,’’ Leah replied. ‘‘I know he was grieving his wife’s passing. He should never have led this expedition.’’

  ‘‘No, that’s for certain.’’

  Helaina continued to eat while Leah thought on the problem at hand. ‘‘I know Jacob and Jayce will be able to take care of themselves and anyone else. But even that will depend on supplies. I don’t know how well situated they were for Arctic survival. Lati-more probably gave it no real consideration.’’

  ‘‘But Jacob would have,’’ Helaina said. Her voice revealed that she had no doubt of this fact. ‘‘Jacob wouldn’t go off without making sure that they had adequate supplies and gear.’’

  Leah nodded. ‘‘That’s true. And Jayce would have insisted on no less. Between the two of them, Latimore would have had to listen. At least we know they have that much.’’

  ‘‘What do you mean we don’t have any ammunition for the 30-30?’’ Jacob asked. He’d had the men taking a meticulous inventory of what goods were still available on the ship.

  ‘‘All I can find is just under a thousand rounds for the shotgun,’’ a young man they called Bristol announced. ‘‘I know the captain has a revolver, but I couldn’t say what kind of extra rounds he keeps.’’

  ‘‘There’s got to be ammunition for the 30-30. We’ll never be able to take down large animals with the shotgun.’’ Jacob looked at the list of equipment and inventory that they should have had. ‘‘Do you suppose the Canadian team took more ammo than belonged to them?’’

  Jayce shrugged. ‘‘It’s always possible, but I say we keep looking. It’s easy to miss something on a ship this size. It could have been
stashed somewhere just to get it out of the way.’’

  ‘‘We need to find it, then. If things get bad and we have to abandon ship, we’ll need those rounds.’’

  Jayce nodded. ‘‘I’ll make it my job to find them.’’

  Jacob looked to Elmer Warrick, the first officer. The tall, skinny twenty-four-year-old had also served with Latimore on the Homestead. ‘‘What can you tell me about the food supplies?’’

  ‘‘It’s a little more encouraging,’’ Warrick reported. ‘‘We have ten cases of smoked or dried salmon, five cases of tomcod, and one hundred fifty cases of sea biscuits.’’ He looked up and grinned. ‘‘Hardtack, as you landlubbers call ’em.’’

  Jacob smiled. ‘‘Go on.’’

  Warrick nodded. ‘‘There’s nearly a dozen cases of canned peaches, thanks to the captain’s love of ’em. There’s ten casks of beef, six cases of dried eggs, twelve barrels of molasses, enough coffee and tea to float us home, and an odd assortment of canned goods, flour, pemmican, and seal oil. I can get you exact counts on those things later.’’

  ‘‘All right. Be sure that you do.’’ He turned to Jayce. ‘‘What did you find regarding some of the other equipment?’’

  ‘‘Well, we have the obvious bedding supplies we’ve each been using. There are also another two dozen blankets in storage, along with two wood stoves, two coal stoves, two sleds for which we have no dogs, thirty cases of gasoline, a case of matches, and three hundred sacks of coal.’’ Jayce looked down to the list he’d made. ‘‘We have a good collection of tools—axes, hammers, shovels, a couple of saws—all of which I figure could serve us well in ice fishing and even making ice houses.’’

  ‘‘If we can find some solid land instead of ice floes,’’ Bristol interjected.

  ‘‘All of this gear will help us in some manner to stay alive,’’ Jacob said. ‘‘We have to remember that nothing goes to waste. When the time comes that the ship is destroyed, we will need every bit of it. Even wood from the ship itself.’’

  ‘‘What about water?’’ one of the other crewmen asked. ‘‘We can’t live without water.’’

  ‘‘Very true,’’ Jacob said. ‘‘The natives taught me a most valuable lesson. The old ice floes can be used for drinking water. Something happens from their long exposure to the sun—somehow the salt is drawn from it. We will melt ice from the older floes and keep our water source until we manage to find land.’’

  ‘‘But how will we survive, Jacob?’’ Bristol asked. ‘‘The captain’s gone mad and we can’t even find half the supplies we should have. We have no dogs to take us by sled, and the lifeboats are useless to us without open water, which we probably aren’t going to see again until June.’’

  ‘‘We will survive by trusting first in the Lord and then in the wisdom we each have. All of us know things that can help in our survival. I’ve lived in the frozen north since my teen years. I’m not about to let this stop me. I hope you won’t let it stop you either.’’ The men around him nodded. ‘‘We will have to work together— to trust each other and to be trustworthy. There can be no thievery. No hoarding. We must share and share alike. Do I have your word on this?’’

  The men nodded again, and Jacob could see that they were desperate to have hope. He smiled. ‘‘Physically, we are good, strong, healthy men, but I’ve seen such men defeated because their spirits were not also strong.’’ Jacob dropped to his knees. ‘‘I, for one, will not be weak spiritually.’’

  The crew joined him on their knees. Not a single man protested as Jacob began to pray. ‘‘Father, we seek your guidance and wisdom. We ask for direction and knowledge as we deal with the days to come. Watch over us. Keep us in your care. Let our minds be clear and our bodies strong. Renew our spirits and our hearts, that we might be generous with each other, practicing kindness and mercy. Lord, the way looks so very difficult, but we know that you are a God of infinite power. We trust you now for all that we need. In Jesus’ name, amen.’’

  Jacob heard the men murmur in agreement. Opening his eyes, he looked overhead and saw the aurora dancing in a brilliant display of color. Some might consider it a bad omen, but Jacob felt as if God were answering him, reassuring him that all was not lost.

  ‘‘Leah’s out there . . . somewhere under the northern lights,’’ Jayce said as he and Jacob walked to the ship’s rail. ‘‘She’s worried about us and probably mounting up an army to come find us.’’

  ‘‘If I know my sister, she’ll be trying to lead the whole bunch.’’

  Jayce sighed. ‘‘If I know my wife, she’ll not rest until we’re both back safe and sound.’’

  Leah stood under the northern lights, watching the show as if it were the finest entertainment in the world. Helaina soon joined her, awestruck by the display.

  ‘‘They’re truly beautiful,’’ she told Leah. ‘‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’’

  Leah thought of all the times she’d seen the aurora before. She never tired of it, but tonight they left her feeling rather sad. ‘‘The natives have a legend about the lights. They say they are caused from the torches of spirits who are looking for the souls of the dead. The people believe there is a narrow path to follow over to a land of plenty. It’s their heaven—where there is no sickness or hunger. They believe the noise made by the aurora is because the spirits are whistling to them. Some of the people believe they can send messages to the dead through these spirits.’’ She sighed and wrapped her arms to her body. ‘‘But always they think of those who’ve just died. This is their light home.’’

  Helaina put her arm around Leah. ‘‘But it isn’t Jacob’s light home, nor Jayce’s. They aren’t dead—I know they aren’t.’’

  Leah looked to Helaina and nodded. ‘‘I know it, too, but I don’t know anything else. I don’t know if they can hang on—or if they have the things they need to live. I don’t know if they are sick or if . . .’’ She let the words fade away.

  ‘‘You taught me, Leah, that faith is believing even when it’s hard to see anything to believe in. We both know that God is with us—just as He’s with Jayce and Jacob. God must have a purpose, even in this.’’

  ‘‘You sound so wise,’’ Leah said with a smile. ‘‘Almost as if you’d spent a lifetime believing in God.’’

  ‘‘I have. For I didn’t really live until I found Him.’’

  Leah embraced her friend. ‘‘Thank you for coming. I think I might lose my mind if not for you.’’

  ‘‘We will keep each other strong,’’ Helaina said. ‘‘We look to the only light that matters—the true light.’’

  Leah looked back to the skies. ‘‘They’re out there . . . somewhere . . . under the northern lights. And they’re thinking of us—hoping to see us again, just as we hope for them to come home.’’

  ‘‘And we won’t give up hope,’’ Helaina whispered. ‘‘Because they won’t give up.’’

  Leah thought of her babies and of the comfort they had already offered her. God had a way of loving His children through other people. He had sent her Helaina, a woman Leah had once considered her enemy. A woman she now called friend.

  ‘‘Nothing happens by chance,’’ she murmured. ‘‘Not even this.’’

  ‘‘Especially not this,’’ Helaina replied, looking to the brilliant display of lights. ‘‘I think the aurora is God’s way of reminding us that He’s still in control—that we aren’t forgotten. That they . . . aren’t forgotten.’’

  Leah felt strength anew. ‘‘I think you’re right.’’ She smiled and warmth spread throughout her body. ‘‘No . . . I know you’re right.’’

  TRACIE PETERSON is a popular speaker and bestselling author who has written more than seventy books, both historical and contemporary fiction. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.

 

 

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