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diff --git a/old/50816-0.txt b/old/50816-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9815132..0000000 --- a/old/50816-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6374 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dick Kent with the Eskimos, by Milton Richards - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Dick Kent with the Eskimos - -Author: Milton Richards - -Release Date: January 1, 2016 [EBook #50816] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK KENT WITH THE ESKIMOS *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: In five minutes they dragged their young Indian friend -free of the lodged snow. (Page 169)] - - - - - Dick Kent - With the Eskimos - - - By MILTON RICHARDS - - - AUTHOR OF - “Dick Kent with the Mounted Police” - “Dick Kent in the Far North” - “Dick Kent, Fur Trader” - “Dick Kent and the Malemute Mail” - - [Illustration: Logo] - - - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - Akron, Ohio New York - - Copyright MCMXXVII - THE SAALFIELD PUBLISHING COMPANY - _Made in the United States of America_ - - - - - Contents - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I The Whalebone Spear 3 - II The Face in the Ice Window 14 - III Big Game 24 - IV The White Eskimo 34 - V At Sea in Kayacks 44 - VI Lost in an Arctic Fog 54 - VII On the Glacier 64 - VIII Sipsa Vanishes 76 - IX An Indian Bedtime Story 88 - X Adrift on a Floe 100 - XI The Camp of Frozen Men 111 - XII Trapped! 123 - XIII A Narwhal 135 - XIV The Floating Manuscript 145 - XV Musk Oxen 154 - XVI Buried in a Snow Slide 166 - XVII A Race with Death 177 - XVIII The Long Night 189 - XIX A Strange Trail 199 - XX Under an Arctic Moon 211 - XXI A Proposition 222 - - - - - DICK KENT WITH THE ESKIMOS - - - - - CHAPTER I - THE WHALEBONE SPEAR - - -Muffled from head to foot in hooded caribou shirts and bearskin -trousers, five persons slowly plodded across a vast tundra within the -Arctic Circle. Many days, by land and by boat from the Canadian coast, -had brought them to a point where they must go on with dogs only. And -now as they drove twelve big huskies to a long sledge filled with -supplies, all armed with rifles and two with revolvers, the fur-clad -figures presented a grim appearance upon the snowy bosom of that frozen -wasteland. - -A hood rimmed with blue fox fur almost completely hid the face of the -athletic figure breaking through the snow at the head of the dog team. -But one who knew him would have had little trouble in identifying that -graceful, swinging step as belonging to Dick Kent. He it was—again on -the adventure trail, his dark, clear eyes shining and eager behind the -smoked glasses he wore to protect his sight from the glare of the -snow-reflected sun, which, though it was midday, hung low on the -southern horizon, a ball of baleful red. - -Bringing up the rear were Sandy McClaren, Dick’s chum, and the Canadian -Indian boy, Toma, an inseparable of the two American lads since they -first had entered the north on a visit with Sandy’s Uncle Walter, a -Hudson’s Bay Company factor. The remaining two of the travelers were big -men, alert and vigorous, whose very appearance showed that they -represented the authority of law and justice. They were officers of the -Royal Northwest Mounted Police, and under their furs reposed important -orders bearing the King’s seal. - -“Hey, Dick!” Sandy McClaren’s shout sounded startlingly loud and high in -the icy air. - -“Better take a rest while I break trail,” called the young Scotchman. - -“I’m not tired,” declared Dick, but nevertheless he dropped back behind -the dog team, whose lolling, red tongues revealed how difficult was the -going. - -Sandy started forward to take Dick’s place, but before he could pass the -huge Eskimo dog in the lead, one of the policemen had overtaken him. - -“You young fellows have been doing too much of this trail breaking,” -sang out Corporal Lake McCarthy. - -Sandy was only too glad to give way to the big officer, and he quickly -dropped back with Dick, where the heavy sledge, loaded with supplies, -packed the snow and made snowshoeing comparatively easy. - -For a time the chums trudged on without speaking, then, while they were -passing a ridge of ice, which had been carved by wind and sun into queer -patterns, Dick gave voice to a conviction: - -“Sandy, this looks as if it was going to be a dull trip. Here we’ve been -mushing north for a month and we haven’t seen anything more dangerous -than caribou, ptarmigans and snowshoe rabbits.” - -“I wouldn’t be too sure just yet,” said Sandy. “Uncle Walter was half a -mind not to let us go on this trip. You know there was something -dangerous in the wind or he wouldn’t have felt that way about it. I -asked him why the policemen were being sent up here, but he just kind of -laughed and said, ‘Oh, nothing,’ like he meant it was a whole lot.” - -While they talked, the boys were bent over their snowshoes, and did not -instantly notice a shirring sound followed by the muffled plunk of an -object striking the packs on the sledge with considerable force. The -first either knew anything unusual had occurred was when Dick chanced to -glance up and caught sight of something protruding from the packs and -the rear of the sledge. - -“Stop the team!” cried Dick excitedly. - -Corporal McCarthy’s booming command was followed by a brief tangle of -snarling dogs, then the sledge came to a dead stop. All the members of -the party gathered about Dick Kent, who was pulling something from the -packs. - -What he at last succeeded in extracting was a short, barbed spear, the -head made of whalebone lashed to a smooth spruce handle with reindeer -sinews. The weapon evidently had been thrown from the top of the ice -ridge alongside which they had been sledging, and what was even clearer, -the spear arm of the hidden enemy had been exceedingly powerful and -well-trained. Instinctively, almost, all eyes were lifted to the brow of -the ridge, and the policemen drew their pistols. But nothing was to be -seen save the barren crest of the icy hill. - -“I’ll go up and take a look around,” Corporal McCarthy spoke briskly. -“Jim!” he turned to the other officer, “you stay here. It’s possible -this fellow was an Eskimo, but again it may be one of the renegade Taku -Indians that were reported as far north as this. I’ll be back pretty -quick.” - -With that the big policeman drew a 30.30 rifle from the sledge lashing -and started up the icy slope of the ridge. The others silently watched -him disappear over the summit. At any moment they expected to hear the -report of a rifle. But the minutes ticked by and all remained silent. At -first they were relieved, then their fears mounted. It was possible that -whoever had thrown the spear had other deadly weapons at his disposal. -If Corporal McCarthy were ambushed—— - -“Well, it looks like I might be right about what I said a while ago,” -Sandy finally turned and said to Dick. - -“That spear _did_ take the words out of my mouth,” admitted Dick, “but -we can’t be sure yet. Anyway, this is the first bit of excitement we’ve -had on this freezing trip.” He shivered a little as he looked at the -spear. “Whew! That thing didn’t miss me more than four feet!” he -exclaimed. “His aim must have been for you and me, Sandy.” - -“Looks like him Eskimo spear.” The low, throaty voice was that of Toma, -who had so faithfully stood by Dick and Sandy on their previous -adventures in the north. The boys turned to find the young Indian -examining the weapon carefully. - -“Eskimos!” The magic word leaped to the lips of Dick and Sandy almost -simultaneously. - -Dick called to the policeman, who was repairing a trace on the dog -harness. “Mr. Sloan, when are we going to see some Eskimos?” - -“Can’t be long, lad, but——” Constable Jim Sloan’s statement was cut off -by a loud shout from the top of the ridge. All eyes were turned upward, -and Dick and Sandy whistled. Bearing down upon them was Corporal -McCarthy accompanied by a strange figure. - -“It looks like you boys’ll see an Eskimo sooner than I thought,” resumed -Constable Sloan, as he watched the Corporal draw nearer with a small -man, swathed in furs, walking a little ahead at the point of the -officer’s rifle. It was apparent that a captive had been taken. - -“Got him easy,” called the Corporal as he came up. “He was hiding behind -a lump of ice and thought I’d pass him by. He’s an Innuit alright.” - -“A what?” Sandy turned to Dick. - -“Innuits is what the Eskimos call themselves,” replied Dick, eyeing the -captive curiously. “It means ‘the people.’ I read a lot about the -Eskimos in school. Look, he has another spear.” - -All now gathered about the policeman, listening to his story of how he -had captured the Eskimo. Dick and Sandy were principally interested in -the appearance of this native of the polar regions. They found him to be -about Sandy’s height, with light brown skin, and Chinese-like eyes. The -hood of his caribou shirt had been pushed back and a heavy thatch of -straight black hair was revealed. The Eskimo’s cheekbones were high like -an Indian’s and his skin was very oily looking. Constable Sloan, who had -been detailed on the expedition principally because of his special -knowledge of the Eskimos in their native haunts, was endeavoring to -carry on a conversation with the sullen fellow. - -“He won’t talk much,” the Constable turned to Corporal McCarthy. “Says -his name is Mukwa and that four families of Eskimos are about a day’s -march from here, on the shores of a bay somewhere near Cape Richards. -Swears he hasn’t seen any white men, and claims he’s an outcast of his -tribe. I don’t believe all he says. I believe he could speak English if -he wanted to.” - -“Well, we’ll have to hold him anyway,” declared the Corporal. “The -fellow seems to be hostile, and maybe he’ll talk after a while. If -everything’s ship-shape we’ll mush on before it gets too late.” - -Constable Sloan’s thirty-foot dog whip cracked out over the team and the -dogs set off, yelping eagerly. Corporal McCarthy took up the rear with -the Eskimo captive. There was little talking, since every member of the -expedition realized he must save his wind for the gruelling miles that -must be covered before they made camp. - -Though at that time of year there was no darkness at night, Dick and -Sandy felt that it was long past evening before Corporal McCarthy called -a halt. There was not enough vegetation for a campfire to be built, but -the policemen were forearmed with small oil stoves, for heat and -cooking. It was not long before the dogs were secured for the night, and -the boys were hovering in the doorway of their tent over a bubbling pot -of tea. - -“Tomorrow we ought to see an Eskimo village,” Dick said, trying to keep -his teeth from chattering. - -“It’ll be a great experience,” Sandy rejoined, “but the farther we go -the more I wonder just why we are up here. Uncle Walter tried to cover -up everything under that sham about him thinking we ought to see the -Eskimos, but they don’t send the King’s men up here for sight seeing.” - -Dick studied a moment, then replied: “I haven’t wanted to say anything -until I was sure, but I believe now that I have it figured out right. -You know Corporal Thalman was sent up here a year ago to bring in a -murderer. The fellow was reported to be part Eskimo. Fred Mistak by -name. I think the two officers with us are looking for Corporal Thalman -and Mistak. They intend to leave us in some winter camp with plenty of -meat and fuel, while they do the dangerous business.” - -Sandy sniffed. “I’d like to see them keep me out of the fun.” - -“I feel that way too,” agreed Dick, blowing on a cup of hot tea, “but we -mustn’t be stubborn about it. It’s best that we mind our own business.” - -Constable Sloan had finished preparing the evening meal of beans, -pemmican and biscuit, and the boys joined the rest of the party, -conversation giving way, for the time, to other exercises of the jaws. - -Immediately after the meal was over everyone retired in their sleeping -bags, except Toma, who was left to guard Mukwa, the Eskimo captive, for -the first part of the night. The wind had been steadily rising and now -was howling at terrific speed across the frail tents, carrying a burden -of fine snow along with it. - -Dick Kent dozed to the droning rattle of the icy particles upon the tent -walls. Sandy already was fast asleep. It was frightfully cold, and Dick -dared not peep out of his sleeping bag without something over his ears. -Uncovered, they would have been frozen in a few seconds. As he lay -thinking over the events of the day, he could hear faintly the voice of -Toma as he endeavored to quiet some whimpering dogs. Finally those -sounds, too, died away and nothing remained except the whistle of the -driving gale, which soon lulled Dick to sleep. - -It seemed to Dick he had been asleep only a moment when he awakened -suddenly, all senses alert, an unmistakable scream of anguish echoing in -his ears. Holding his breath, he listened, but the sound was not -repeated. He tried to recollect if he had been dreaming and was sure he -had not. No, from a sound slumber something had awakened him—something -whose peril he sensed subconsciously, and which set his heart pounding -faster. An instant longer he listened, then, drawing his hood about his -head, he wriggled part way out of his sleeping bag. - -The wind was blowing almost as hard as before he had gone to sleep, but -now and again it died down. During one of these lulls, Dick heard a -groan. With a start, he jumped up. He must find out that it was not -merely his imagination before he awakened the others. They needed sleep. -Cautiously, he grasped his rifle and crawled to the opening of the tent. -He drew back the tent flap and looked out. Toma’s tent was the point -that attracted his attention first. Everything plainly visible under the -midnight sun, Dick could see that the tent’s flap was closed. Then, out -of the corner of one eye he detected a movement. A dark blotch appeared -on the snow in front of Toma’s tent where the Eskimo captive had been -left, well tied with thongs. The dark blotch moved again. With a cry of -consternation, Dick suddenly galvanized into action and sprang forward. -He found Toma lying in the snow, a spear protruding from one of his -thighs, and a red stain in the snow under the young Indian’s head. - -“What’s wrong?” came Corporal McCarthy’s call, as he awakened and -hurried out upon hearing the sound of Dick’s voice. - -“Toma has been wounded!” cried Dick. - -“Is the Eskimo gone—the captive?” McCarthy answered his own question by -snatching back the flap of Toma’s tupik. Yes, Mukwa was gone! - -A little later, a cup of tea having completely revived him, Toma told -his anxious listeners what had happened. - -“I can hear nothing but wind,” he said in his quaint throaty dialect. “I -am sit in tent—Eskimo back inside. I think about my home, my mother. I -dream. Think no harm come out of storm. Then I jump to see face looking -at me. That fella throw spear. Hit me in leg. Somebody hit me on head -same time. All get black like night. Me think Mukwa’s friends come git -him.” - -A careful examination showed that the spear wound in Toma’s leg was -slight, the bearskin trousers having protected him, and aside from a -lump on his head, the hardy young aborigine would soon be well again. - -But there was no sleep after that. Dick and Sandy sat up with Toma, -drinking hot tea and listening to the mutter of voices from the -policemen’s tent. Evidently, action could not be long off, since a -council of war was underway. - - - - - CHAPTER II - THE FACE IN THE ICE WINDOW - - -It was four o’clock next morning when Constable McCarthy ordered the -tents struck, the sledges packed and the dogs harnessed. The wind, -during the sunlit night, had covered up all the tracks made by the men -who had freed the Eskimo captive, and little time was spent trying to -trace them. - -“Only Eskimos could have done anything in that blizzard,” Dick remarked -to Sandy, while he tightened sledge lashing. - -Sandy did not reply, for at the moment Constable McCarthy gave orders to -mush on, and across the icy drifts the dogs scampered northward. - -All day the dog team labored on, stopped only now and then to breathe. -Dick and Sandy were thankful for these short halts, for hardy as they -were, the slippery going was exhausting. Toma was not troubled, however. -The young Indian probably could have out-traveled even the veteran -northman, Jim Sloan, who had once trekked the ice floes of the frozen -Polar Sea, six hundred miles from the north pole. - -Toward evening the deep blue of the open sea could be seen far ahead, -marking the fiord or bay that was their destination. Sloan did a lot of -reconnoitering from various high hills, but they had reached the ragged -coastline before the Eskimo village was sighted. - -Constable Sloan, who was to act as interpreter, advised them to make a -halt while he went forward alone and talked with the heads of the -families. - -Dick and Sandy watched the big policeman make off toward the strange -dwellings upon the shore of the fiord. - -“Those snow houses must be igloos,” said Dick, pointing. “How queer they -are—just the shape of bee-hives, with the little round holes at the -bottom, too.” - -“I wonder where the people are,” Sandy spoke up, “and what is that queer -smell that seems to come from the igloos?” - -Dick could not answer the question. Corporal McCarthy laughed. “You’ll -smell worse smells than that before we get away from these Eskimos,” -said the officer. “But what you smell just now is probably fresh walrus -meat, or seal blubber. The natives have been hunting all day, I suppose, -and are almost all asleep now inside their houses.” - -A moment after Constable Sloan had stopped before one of the igloos, a -figure crawled out of the tiny entrance. There seemed no sign whatever -of hostility in the greetings exchanged by the policeman and the native. - -“That fellow doesn’t seem to have the spear-throwing habit,” observed -Sandy. - -“No, as a rule the Eskimos are a peaceful people,” said Corporal -McCarthy. - -Constable Sloan, at this moment, turned and signalled them to come on, -and when they reached the igloos, several other Eskimos had come out of -their houses to satisfy their native curiosity. There were women and -children among them. - -“Why, the older men and women look almost alike!” exclaimed Sandy. - -“I’ve heard there’s little difference in the appearance of Eskimo men -and women,” Dick replied, “but they say you can tell by the sizes of -their hoods—the women have extra big ones so they can carry their babies -in them during mild weather.” - -“Well, boys,” Constable Sloan turned to Dick and Sandy, “I guess we can -camp here for the night anyway. Sipsa, the man I’ve been talking to, -gives us a hearty welcome, especially after I told him we had some -shiny, new knives and hatchets in our packs.” - -“What I’d like to do first is look around inside one of those snow -houses,” said Dick. “Do you suppose Sandy and I might go into one?” - -“I think I can fix that alright,” agreed Constable Sloan, and turned to -Sipsa. Followed a few words in the Eskimo tongue. Sipsa seemed delighted -at the opportunity to show the boys the inside of his strange home, and -soon Dick and Sandy were on their hands and knees, crawling through the -door of a most unusual residence. - -They found the interior of the igloo to be much larger than it appeared -from an outside estimation, due to the fact that it was cut down several -feet into a solid snowdrift. A small, soapstone lamp, shaped like a clam -shell, was burning, having a wick of moss which absorbed the seal oil -fuel. The boys were surprised at the amount of heat the lamp radiated. -The furniture consisted of a long bench-like lounge, covered with -caribou and musk-ox hides. Here and there lay harpoons, knives, -whalebone dishes and spoons, and crude implements, the use of which the -boys did not know. There were two windows with panes made of opaque ice. -The atmosphere was heavy with the strong smell of fresh blubber, and -Dick and Sandy did not care to remain inside very long. - -“Phew!” snorted Dick, as he reached the open air. “I couldn’t stand to -live in a smell like that.” - -“Nor I,” agreed Sandy, “but just the same I think one of those snow -houses would be just the thing for us to live in while in this cold -country. The camp stoves would make plenty of heat, and we ought to be -cozy as anything in an igloo that was minus that awful stink.” - -“Unless a skunk happened to slip into bed with us,” added Dick drolly. - -“Like to see the skunk that was fool enough to migrate north of the -Arctic Circle,” laughed Sandy. - -“Well, I haven’t seen any that cared for icicles on their whiskers,” -admitted Dick, still grinning. - -“I don’t like to change such a sweet smelling subject,” Sandy rejoined, -“but what do you say we start building ourselves one of those igloos -before bedtime? I’ll go ask Corporal McCarthy for help.” - -The Corporal thought the idea a practical one, and had Constable Sloan -show them how it was done. - -At some distance from the Eskimo igloos, a huge, solid snowdrift was -located. A number of blocks were cut out of this, leaving a hollow hole, -perfectly round. The blocks that had been removed were then shaped and -fitted with knives and built up over the cavity in the drift, -formulating part of the walls and the roof. Spaces were left for a small -entrance and for two windows, whose panes were formed by pouring melted -snow water over the open spaces. In the intensely cold temperature the -water froze as it dripped, the icicles finally joining to make an opaque -windowpane, crude but serviceable. - -It was time to retire when Dick and Sandy finally moved into the igloo, -and, crawling into their warm sleeping bags, prepared to pass their -first night under the roof of one of the finest residences known to the -people of the great polar ice cap. - -But sleep was slow in coming to them in their unusual surroundings, and -presently they crawled out again and, to put in the time, tried broiling -musk-ox and walrus steaks over the oil heater. The musk-ox was quite -tasty, if a bit strong from improper handling, but they scarcely could -stomach the bitter, greasy walrus meat. Had the boys known what was in -store for them—that some day soon they would think walrus almost as -delicious as roast chicken, they might not have looked upon their future -adventures in the polar region with such eagerness. But, as the saying -goes, “What they did not know did not hurt them.” - -The two policemen, together with Toma, whose leg wound was troubling him -only a little, came in to inspect the finished igloo before they again -rolled into their sleeping bags and one and all pronounced it an ideal -abode for cold weather. Before the visitors went out again, they vowed -that the next time they camped for any length of time they should live -Eskimo style. - -Dick asked several pointed questions regarding what the policemen -intended doing now that they had reached the northern coast, but both -the Corporal and the Constable were evasive. Dick was not the sort of -lad who became meddlesome or troublesomely inquisitive, so he went no -further. When Sandy and he were again alone, they discussed the approach -of the polar winter, wondering how they would weather it and admiring -that heroic explorer of the past who had gone so far as to reach the -north pole, making the name of Robert Peary famous for all time. - -A little later, when they had turned out their stove, preparatory to -crawling into their sleeping bags, they became aware how difficult it -was to sleep with the yellow radiance of the sun still pervading the -inside of the igloo. The windows were not clear enough for the light to -be bright, but, nevertheless, the absence of darkness made them so -restless, they decided to get up and go outside. - -They found the sun hanging low over the horizon, a pale ball of yellow, -pouring its rays over the bleak and desolate northland. - -“How strange it seems!” cried Dick. “Just think—at Fort Good Faith it’s -nice and dark and maybe the moon is up. I wonder what the folks at home -would say if they knew we were at this very minute seeing the midnight -sun.” - -“It hardly seems possible we’re a thousand miles farther north than -we’ve ever been,” Sandy spoke awedly. - -But tired muscles and the intense cold soon made their eyes heavy, and -in spite of the sun they went back to their sleeping bags. - -Dick could not sleep, however. The sunlight, the excessive amount of -black tea he had drunk, and the exhaustive efforts of the day combined -to keep him awake. He tossed in his warm bag wishing he had the ability -to sleep as soundly and quickly as Sandy, whose snores he could plainly -hear. - -The oil stove had warmed the igloo quite thoroughly—enough so that Dick -felt slightly uncomfortable, though it was more than forty below zero -outside. He wriggled restlessly and looked out of his sleeping bag, -gazing up at the white dome of the igloo ceiling. He was about ready to -turn over and try harder to sleep, when he thought he heard something -brush against the igloo roof at a level with the snow outside. At first -he believed it was only a prowling dog, and was determined to ignore it, -when there came plainly to his ears the crunch of a footfall in the -snow. - -One of the ice windows was directly over the spot where Sandy was -sleeping, and toward this Dick’s attention was suddenly attracted as -through a sixth sense. A shadow had loomed up in the tiny square—the -shadow of a face peering in! - -Dick sat up with a start and grasped his rifle. Evidently, whoever was -looking in could see nothing, since it was darker inside the igloo than -outside. Taking advantage of the prowler’s inability to see, Dick picked -up his rifle and pushed back the huge cake of snow which plugged up the -small round door. Softly, then, he stole outside and commenced the crawl -around the igloo toward the window through which he had seen the face. -Yet he must have made more noise than he thought, for at the moment he -reached a point from which he could see the spying person, there sounded -a guttural outcry, and the crunch of running feet across the snow. - -“Halt!” cried Dick, leaping up and firing his rifle into the air. - -But the fleeing culprit had a good start and he proved not slow on his -feet. Dick watched the dark form vanish in the dim sunlight, while the -aroused camp scrambled out to see what was wrong. - -Corporal McCarthy listened intently to Dick’s story of what had -happened. The officer said little at the time, but presently he entered -the boys’ igloo, calling in the Constable and Toma. - -When they all were comfortably seated, Corporal McCarthy addressed the -boys: - -“What has just happened, on top of the capture we made yesterday, makes -me feel as if I ought to explain the real motive of this long trip. Your -Uncle Walter McClaren wanted me to keep you fellows out of trouble, -provided there was no real need of your services, but now that we seem -to be right in the territory of the fellow we are after, it looks like -I’ll have to enlist you in the service of the mounted.” - -Dick and Sandy exchanged glances and became all ears, as the Corporal -went on: - -“Corporal Thalman, an officer sent out ahead of us, has been either -killed or lost somewhere in this region, while trailing a half-breed -Eskimo murderer, called Fred Mistak. Sloan and I are after Corporal -Thalman, or what’s left of him, and of course we intend to get Mistak.” - -“What did I tell you?” Dick whispered aside to Sandy. - -“We will probably be up here for several months,” continued the -Corporal, “and about all I’ll expect of you fellows is to keep your eyes -open for a white Eskimo. Just a hunch of mine, and while you’re doing -that, Sloan and I will look around for traces of Thalman. We’ll all have -to hunt, more or less, in the meantime, because we haven’t enough meat -in our supplies to last. Ought to be plenty of musk-ox further inland. -For the present we’ll make this Eskimo village our headquarters. I guess -that’s about all.” - -“We understand,” said Dick, and Sandy nodded importantly. Toma’s -inscrutable face did not express the excitement he must have shared with -his two young white friends. - -When the policemen departed a few moments later, they left behind them -two sleepless boys, who could scarcely wait for the real beginning of -the man hunt. - - - - - CHAPTER III - BIG GAME - - -“Look! Polar bear tracks!” Dick’s exclamation brought Sandy to his side -in an instant and together they bent over a human-like footprint in the -snow, their rifles clutched tightly in mittened hands that already had -begun to perspire with the excitement of promised big game. - -It was three days since the boys had arrived at the Eskimo camp with the -policemen, and the present found them hunting musk-oxen several miles -from camp. Corporal McCarthy and Constable Sloan had gone to a -neighboring Eskimo village, seeking information regarding the lost -Corporal Thalman, and Toma had been left at headquarters to take care of -the dogs and keep a lookout for the “white Eskimo,” whose presence in -the vicinity had been suspected due to the incident of the whalebone -spear, and to the spy who had looked in at the igloo window. - -The policemen had not exercised bad judgment in leaving the boys alone. -Dick Kent and Sandy McClaren had proved to the mounted police how -capable they were of taking care of themselves in the savage northland, -and the self-control they evidenced upon sighting the polar bear tracks -was ample proof that the dangers they already had coped with had -strengthened them for even more daring deeds. - -“It can’t be very old,” Sandy commented, in a whisper, after inspecting -the bear tracks a few moments. - -“Not more than an hour, I’ll bet,” said Dick. - -Both boys looked up and scanned the surrounding vicinity. They were on a -long, ice-caked slope strewn with boulders, which led down to shore ice. -In the distance was open sea water, appearing almost black due to the -dim sunlight. There was no sign of life in evidence. - -“Let’s try to track him,” Dick suggested. - -“Do you think these rifles are of big enough caliber to kill a polar -bear?” Sandy asked, as they began searching for more tracks. - -“Yes, that .32 Special of yours and my 45.20 ought to do the trick -easily enough. Remember, try to hit him in the soft spot under his ears, -or right behind the shoulders.” - -The bear tracks were hard to follow since at times they led over hard -ice, or boulders, but now and again the huge animal had stepped in soft -snow or loose soil and left signs of his passage. - -For nearly a quarter of an hour they followed the trail along the slope. -It finally led them to shore ice, which had been heaped up in huge -mounds by the ocean waves during some Arctic storm. - -“We’ve got to go slow here,” cautioned Dick. “The bear may pop out from -behind any of these piles of ice. He’s probably hunting seals or fish -out at the edge of the water.” - -Scarcely had Dick spoken when there sounded a faint dog-like bark, and a -puppyish whine. - -“Did you hear that, Sandy!” exclaimed Dick. “Those sounds were made by -seals. There must be a small herd of them near here.” - -They moved on cautiously toward the open water, rifles held in readiness -for instant use. - -A hundred yards from the water they heard the loud bellow of a bull -seal, a number of frightened barks, a blood-curdling growl, and then the -sound of bodies striking the water. - -“It’s the bear!” whispered Dick hoarsely. “He’s attacked the seals.” - -A moment later an arresting scene met their eyes, as they reached level -ice and saw open water a few yards away. A huge polar bear, his shaggy, -grayish fur dripping wet, was struggling out of the sea, holding in his -jaws a young seal which still was faintly crying. Further out in the -water a dozen seals were swiftly swimming toward an ice floe. - -“Get back! He hasn’t seen us,” Dick said quickly, and the boys darted -behind a large ice cake. - -Together they peered cautiously around the edge of their barricade. The -ferocious animal was out of the water now, shaking the water from his -fur like a big dog. The young seal had ceased to struggle, and lay very -still at the bear’s feet. In comparison with the tiny animal the polar -bear seemed as large as a horse. Dick and Sandy quailed a little and -pressed more closely together. - -When the bear bent his head to nose over his kill, the boys quietly -placed their rifles to their shoulders and took aim. Then followed a -tense moment while they waited for a movement that would expose the -bear’s most vulnerable points. At seventy-five yards they could not -miss. - -Slowly the bear picked up the seal in his jaws and paused an instant, -seeming undecided as to what was the most comfortable place in which to -enjoy his meal. Then two rifles cracked almost as one, and the great -beast dropped to his belly, the seal falling from his jaws. Dick fired -again swiftly, but Sandy jerked ineffectually at the reloading lever of -his rifle. His gun had jammed in his haste. - -A rattling growl came from the throat of the stricken polar bear, and -with an angry lunge, the great brute started for the point from which -the bullets had come. Dick fired three more times in quick succession, -and a hundred feet from them the bear at last dropped and began to -struggle. - -“We got him!” whooped Sandy. - -Dick was about to echo his chum’s triumphant cry, when an ominous growl -from behind them froze the very blood in their veins with terror. As one -they whirled about. Down the slope to the shore ice charged another -polar bear, almost a replica of the one they had just shot. The beast -was roaring its rage and was headed straight for the two young hunters. - -“Run for your life!” cried Dick, “it’s the bear’s mate!” - -As fast as they could run Dick and Sandy set off along the shore ice, -exceeding all previous records. They could hear the rattle of the bear’s -claws on the ice as it came on in pursuit, and with each second the -angry growls sounded nearer. - -Presently, Sandy began to fall behind in the race. Frantically, Dick -urged him on, slackening his own pace to equal that of his slower chum, -and while he ran like a frightened deer, all Dick’s narrow escapes ran -through his mind in swift succession, for he believed that he and Sandy -were doomed at last. - -In a last desperate effort to save himself and Sandy, Dick determined to -make a stand with the last two cartridges in his rifle. It was a plan -born of despair, he knew, for two shots at a running target hardly could -stop a beast of such massive strength and vitality and in such a -ferocious mood. - -It was then that the boys noticed a change in the sounds of pursuit. The -bear seemed to have fallen behind, his growls gurgling strangely in his -throat. - -With renewed hope they ran on until a loud, familiar shout pierced the -icy air from a point behind them. They looked back over their shoulders -and came to a staggering halt. A hundred yards behind, the bear lay -struggling his last, the shaft of a harpoon protruding from its side, -while above on the slope stood an Eskimo beckoning to them. - -The gratitude of Dick and Sandy could not be expressed as they hurried -toward the Eskimo who had doubtless saved their lives. - -Coming closer to the native, they recognized him as Sipsa, who had -proved so exceptionally friendly at the village. He seemed to understand -when the boys tried to thank him, and conveyed by means of many signs -how he had been scouting for walrus and seal when he had discovered the -danger Dick and Sandy had fallen into. - -The boys followed Sipsa to the dead polar bear, and watched him draw out -the harpoon. So forcibly had the weapon been driven that it had passed -almost entirely through the bear’s thick body. Dick and Sandy shivered -as they examined the mighty jaws and terrible claws that but for Sipsa’s -timely intervention might have crushed and torn them to shreds. - -“Angekok, Angekok,” Sipsa began repeating, while pointing at the dead -bear. - -Sandy looked blankly at Dick, who was searching his mind for the meaning -of the word. At last he recalled it. - -“He means ‘devil.’ Angekok is the Eskimo word for ‘almighty devil.’ They -believe in evil spirits, and he’s trying to tell us there was a devil in -this bear.” - -“I guess he’s not far from right,” Sandy declared with genuine -sincerity. - -Presently the Eskimo managed to convey to the boys that they must return -to the village and get sledges with which to haul in the meat of the two -bears. - -Feeling they had had plenty of hunting for that day, the boys were glad -to consent to this, and all three started back toward camp, led by -Sipsa, who had gained the great respect of Dick and Sandy. - -Tired, hungry and cold, the chums at last reached the Eskimo village, -only to find all in a state of confusion and uproar. Toma met them with -an explanation of the excitement tumbling from his ordinarily reticent -lips. - -“Somebody steal um dog team an’ sledge,” said Toma. “I in igloo, get um -meat cooked for supper. All Eskimo down by big water, ketch um seal. -When I come out I see not so many dogs, an’ one sledge not there. I -hurry up, tell um Eskimos. They take dog team an’ go after this fella -who steal dog team.” - -“And you didn’t see the thief at all?” asked Dick, gravely concerned. - -Toma shook his head vigorously. “Him come an’ go like bad spirit. No -hear, no see. I no like that kind thief.” - -Dick was puzzled at first, then spoke: “Sandy, I have an idea this is -more of the white Eskimo’s work. He could have got away pretty quietly -if he was a good hand with dogs, as I suppose he is. I’m certain now -that Fred Mistak and the ‘white Eskimo’ are the same person. We’ll find -out.” - -“In the meantime, let’s eat,” said Sandy. - -Dick discovered that he had as keen an appetite as Sandy when in their -cozy igloo he found a tasty meal prepared by Toma. Both boys were too -tired to join the Eskimos, who in spite of the theft of the dog team, -set out to skin and cut up the polar bears, leaving the camp deserted -except for the three boys. Dick and Sandy were later to learn that not -even a funeral could stand between an Eskimo and his hunting. When there -was meat to be had the natives dropped everything until the last bit of -it was safely stored away. For wild meat was their only staple diet—all -that kept them from starving to death, and during the real winter they -could hunt but little. - -The boys had finished their supper and were relating to Toma, in detail, -their narrow escape from the mad polar bear, when the barking dogs and -the sound of familiar voices interrupted them. They tumbled out of the -igloo to find Corporal McCarthy and Constable Sloan. The policemen had -just returned from a long, fruitless trek eastward, and the Corporal had -frosted his feet. - -What the boys had to say about the stolen dog team was of especial -interest to the officers. - -“Without a doubt Fred Mistak is hiding near here,” commented Corporal -McCarthy, when comfortably seated in the boys’ igloo, with his bare feet -in a pan of snow to draw out the frost. “So far, I’ll have to admit -we’ve done little better than nothing, but we’ll hope for better luck -tomorrow——” Corporal McCarthy did not finish his sentence. - -A hoarse cry at the entrance of the igloo was the interruption, and into -their midst tumbled an Eskimo, gibbering in a frightful manner, and -groveling on the floor as if he had lost his mind. - -In the jumble of native words was audible the frequent ejaculation: -“Angekok! Angekok!” - -“Him one them three go after fella what steal dog team!” Toma suddenly -exclaimed. - -“What!” cried Corporal McCarthy. “Sloan,” he wheeled toward the -Constable, “go out and see if the other two have returned alright.” - -Constable Sloan was out and back in a few moments. “Not a sign of anyone -around—no dog team either,” the Constable reported quietly. - -McCarthy’s face took on a grave expression, and his jaws hardened. “Ask -the Eskimo what scared him?” he directed Constable Sloan. - -By this time the Eskimo had somewhat recovered his natural calm, yet he -frequently looked fearfully toward the igloo entrance, as if he feared -something was coming in to get him. - -The Constable’s questions were brief and the Eskimo’s answers prompt, -though his voice trembled from fright. - -“The Eskimo says it was the ‘white Eskimo’ that attacked them,” -Constable Sloan reported presently. “He says his two companions were -killed and the dogs taken.” - -A deep silence fell upon all who had heard Constable Sloan’s words. It -was several seconds before Corporal McCarthy spoke rapidly: - -“Get ready for the trail. We leave here just as soon as we get a few -hours’ sleep. I’m going to enlist Sipsa as a guide, and I’ll get my man -if I have to trail him clear to the North Pole!” - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE WHITE ESKIMO - - -It was thirty below zero the following morning when two teams of twelve -dogs, each drawing sledges, loaded with supplies, departed from the -little village of igloos. The warm breath from man and dog turned to -vapor in the freezing air, and all were enveloped in a cloud of steam as -they trekked eastward along the coastline. - -Corporal McCarthy had found Sipsa willing to lead the party and had also -enlisted the aid of two Eskimo dog drivers, Okewah and Ootanega. The -policeman had promised all of them large rewards in tools, rifles, and -tents, provided they served him faithfully in pursuit of the “white -Eskimo.” - -“I wonder how soon we’ll pick up the trail,” Sandy spoke from the depths -of his frost-rimmed parka. - -“No telling,” replied Dick through a cloud of steam, “we’re now -following the tracks made by the Eskimo who came in last half scared to -death. Corporal McCarthy believes these tracks will lead to the place -where the white Eskimo and his men attacked those three Eskimos who went -after the stolen dog team.” - -The boys said no more then for the fast pace at which they were -traveling took all their breath. For two hours they drove eastward -across the snowfields under a gray cloud filmed sky. At the end of this -time they came to a narrow defile between huge blocks of ice that had -been thrown up by the waves at high tide. They threaded their way among -the ice cakes for about a hundred yards when they came upon the scene of -a terrible tragedy. - -“It’s the two Eskimos that failed to come back last night!” Dick’s -horrified exclamation was echoed by Sandy while the two policemen and -the Eskimos bent over the two huddled forms in the snow. - -The Eskimos had been killed, and all about them were signs of a deadly -struggle. One sledge had been crushed, and its packing torn up and -rifled of supplies. Two dogs lay dead, and prowling foxes had torn them -to bits. - -“If this isn’t the work of Fred Mistak, then I don’t know my name!” -Corporal McCarthy cried, shaking his fist at the white silent hills. -“But we’ll get him, we’ll get him, and he’ll pay a big price!” - -Dick and Sandy thrilled at the words, and hastened to lend a hand to the -burial of the bodies. - -Two typical Eskimo graves were made by heaping small boulders upon the -dead natives in a cairn-like mound, which would keep away the foxes, -which had as yet scarcely harmed them, probably because the dogs had -satisfied them for the present. To agree with the superstitions of the -Eskimos the sledges, weapons and other paraphernalia of the deceased -were buried with the dead. - -“Now that sorry business is over,” Corporal McCarthy addressed the -somber company, “we’ll pick up Mistak’s trail and see how fast we can -mush. Every man of you keep watch for an ambush. This fellow is about as -desperate as they make them, and we’ve already had a taste of his -treachery. It’s our hide or his and let’s be careful it’s his. Mush on!” - -Once more the dogs buckled into the harness and the long Eskimo whips -lashed and crackled over many bobbing, white tails. - -But it was a weary, half-frozen company that camped late that night -without sighting the mysterious person they pursued. Dick and Sandy were -almost too tired to be hungry once they had thrown up their tupik, or -Eskimo tent made of sealskins. Not until they had drunk several cups of -hot tea, an indispensable drink in the far north, did they feel anywhere -near themselves, and could discuss the doings of the day while munching -hard biscuit and pemmican. - -“I wonder where this trail will end?” Sandy ventured dubiously. - -“Wish I knew,” rejoined Dick, “but I think the ‘white Eskimo’ will lead -us on a real old wild goose chase. He knows more about this country than -any of us, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the lay of the land -better than any of these Eskimo guides. Anyway the Eskimos can’t be of -much use in tracking that fellow because they believe the ‘white Eskimo’ -is an Angekok, or devil. They’re so superstitious that if we once got -very close to the fellow we’re chasing, they’d probably lead us astray -or run off and leave us alone.” - -“I guess they believe in ghosts alright,” agreed Sandy, pouring another -cup of tea. - -Dick was about to continue the discussion, when he chanced to look -through the opening of their tupik. - -“Look at that!” he grasped Sandy’s arm tensely. - -What Dick saw was their three Eskimo hands gathered before their tupik -in a private council of some secret purpose. The native drivers were -gesturing excitedly with their hands and heads, evidently arguing with -Sipsa, the guide. - -“The drivers seem to be ready to quit right now, the way they act,” -observed Sandy. - -“Well, we can’t go far without them, at least, without a guide. I ought -to tell Corporal McCarthy about this.” - -However, no more were the words out of Dick’s mouth than the police -Corporal approached the three Eskimos and scattered them to various -tasks. - -Presently the Corporal joined the boys in their tent and confirmed their -fears. “I’m afraid these Eskimos will desert us if we don’t keep close -watch of them,” said the policeman. “We’ll all have to take turns on -watch tonight, tired as we are. I think Sipsa still is loyal, but the -other two are doing their best to make him desert. The ‘white Eskimo’ -certainly has them scared.” - -It was twelve o’clock when Dick Kent’s turn came to stand watch, and it -was with some difficulty that he shook the sleep out of his eyes when -Constable Sloan spoke to him. - -“Don’t think we’ll have any trouble tonight after all,” the Constable -reassured him. “The Eskimos seem pretty quiet, but be ready for anything -and don’t hesitate to call McCarthy and me if anything unusual turns up. -Good night.” - -Dick shivered as he took his post at the entrance of the tupik with -rifle in his mittened hands. The dogs were quarreling among themselves -where they were leashed to the sledges, and from the Eskimos’ tupik came -the muffled sound of voices. They did not seem as quiet now as Constable -Sloan had reported them. They were speaking in their native tongue and -Dick could not understand what they were talking about. - -“I’ll just keep close watch of their tent,” he murmured to himself. “If -any of them try to sneak away I’ll call the policemen.” - -An hour passed, the Eskimos quieting down and apparently falling asleep. -The vast silence of the far north brooded over the little encampment, -when Dick detected, out of the corner of his eye, a movement beyond the -huddled dogs. It was like a small animal that had moved across the top -of a snowdrift. Dick’s heart skipped a beat as he strained his eyes to -catch sight of whatever had appeared. - -A dog growled, and Dick spoke quietly to the big huskies, getting up and -going to them. The leader of the team, a giant malemute, was sitting up, -his ears alert, and his nose wriggling as he sniffed the air uneasily. - -“What is it, old boy?” whispered Dick. “What do you see?” - -The malemute growled ominously in answer, his hair rising along his back -as he scented some sort of danger. - -Dick looked carefully about camp again, seeking the cause for the dog’s -uneasiness, but all seemed peaceful enough. Impulsively, he decided to -walk out to the drift where he had seen the suspicious movement, -thinking he would find there the tracks of some animal. - -The drift was only about fifty yards from the sledges where the dogs -were tied, and Dick soon reached it. About to go around the drift and -investigate, a weird, low call from behind him brought him to an abrupt -halt, the blood congealing in his veins at the strangeness of the sound. -He turned and looked back at camp. There came a soft swishing sound from -the snowdrift he had been about to inspect, and he whirled to see a dark -form bearing down upon him. His startled cry was cut off sharply as -something hard descended forcefully upon his head and he went down in -the snow, thousands of stars blazing before his eyes. - -But Dick had not been knocked entirely unconscious. He lay still a -moment until his senses came back to him, feeling the person who had -attacked him leap over him and toward camp. Then came the cries of the -aroused camp, mingled with the barking dogs, and above all the shriek of -a frightened Eskimo, followed by a wail of fear. - -Struggling to his feet, Dick saw Corporal McCarthy taking aim at two -fleeing figures, and heard his rifle crack. But the policeman was firing -into the air, merely to frighten the attackers. - -Sipsa was struggling in the strong arms of Constable Sloan, and from the -mouthings of the frightened native Dick could make out that Sipsa had -seen the “white Eskimo.” - -“Where are the drivers?” Dick shouted to Sandy who was standing as if -stunned, his rifle held in his hands. - -Sandy seemed to regain his wits at that and dived for the Eskimos’ tupik -along with Dick. They almost collided with Toma coming out of the tent. - -“Um gone,” said Toma, “Um run away when seen um ‘white Eskimo.’” - -The truth of Toma’s statement was soon revealed when a search of the -camp and the vicinity revealed no sign of the two drivers, other than -their tracks in the snow. - -“Well,” said Corporal McCarthy, “I guess the ‘white Eskimo’ knows how to -scare the wits out of the natives. I don’t suppose there’s any use for -us to chase our guides. They’d be of no further use anyway. I hope Sipsa -doesn’t take it into his head to follow them when he gets a chance to -break away.” - -“We’re lucky to have whole skins,” Constable Sloan remarked. - -“My head feels as if it was too big for my parka,” said Dick, manfully -fighting off a dizzy spell. - -“Hurry into your tent and I’ll get the medicine kit,” said Corporal -McCarthy. “I want to get going again in an hour anyway. We ought to -locate some more drivers tomorrow, and if possible, overtake Mistak, the -‘white Eskimo,’ before he gets another lead on us.” - -Dick’s head wound proved not serious. His heavy parka had protected his -scalp from the blow, which had probably been made with a spear butt. -There was, however, a large lump about the size of an egg over his left -temple, and it was rather sore. But the young northman would not think -of delaying the pursuit, and speedily forgot his slight wound as he -hustled about making tea, while Sandy and Toma lent willing hands with -the packs and dog harnesses. - -Within an hour dog and man had partaken of an early breakfast and were -mushing grimly along a fresh trail under the midnight sun. - -“This was a wise move on our part,” Dick told Sandy as they woddled -along on their snowshoes. “Mistak won’t expect us to start out so soon -and we’ve a good chance to overtake him.” - -“I get the creeps whenever I think of that Eskimo stealing into camp -that way,” rejoined Sandy. “Suppose he is a kind of a devil.” - -“Nonsense,” replied Dick, “just because these poor, superstitious -Eskimos are frightened is no sign you should be. I’ll admit he’s a -dangerous character, but he’s no more than a human being, and the -mounted will get him in the end.” - -Sandy was about to reply when an exclamation from one of the policemen -silenced him. - -They had come out on the rim of an ice-bound ridge and below them -stretched a vast valley bounded by the sea on the north and filled with -age-old ice formations. - -Directly below them were two dog teams, the drivers of which had -apparently not yet detected the mounted police. - -Dick and Sandy could not forbear a cheer as Corporal McCarthy called for -full speed ahead and they drove the dogs yelping down the slope toward -the fugitives from justice. At that moment it looked very much as if -Fred Mistak’s career of outlawry were doomed already, and the boys -prepared themselves for a battle. - - - - - CHAPTER V - AT SEA IN KAYACKS - - -When Dick and Sandy sighted the dog team of what they believed to be the -“white Eskimo,” it could not have been more than a half a mile away, -though distances in the north are deceptive. - -“We ought to catch up with them in twenty minutes,” Constable Sloan had -said. - -But they were not so fortunate. Either the “white Eskimo” had seen his -pursuers and was therefore driving faster, or his dogs were faster at a -normal pace of travel than the police dogs. At any rate, after thirty -minutes, fast driving they were bumping along over a rough ice floor, -the team ahead nowhere in sight. - -“It can’t be far to the sea shore now, can it?” panted Sandy. - -“No,” Dick replied, “we are probably traveling across a frozen bay now. -The ice may be hundreds of feet thick here, you know, and the sun never -gets warm enough to melt that much ice.” - -“It takes awfully cold weather to freeze salt water,” Sandy opined. - -“I should say it does!” agreed Dick emphatically, “but you know most of -the ice around here is from old glaciers, and is fresh water ice. The -glaciers slide down to the sea shore and break off, making ice-bergs and -huge ice floes.” - -“Hey! Look out!” Sandy’s cry of warning came too late. Dick had been so -interested in his explanation of the ice formations that he had not -noticed how close he was to a treacherous slope of glassy ice. He -slipped, and before he could catch himself he had whizzed down, flat on -his back, to come up with a bump in a hard snowdrift at the bottom of -the slope. - -“Are you hurt?” called Sandy anxiously, as Dick crawled out of the snow, -sat up and began shaking himself. - -“No, but I’ve got my parka full of snow,” Dick called back, “and it’s -not a very pleasant feeling with melted snow trickling down your chest.” - -The policemen had stopped upon seeing Dick’s accident, and they now -waited until he had climbed back up the slippery slope before they went -on. - -Dick was not much the worse for the spill in the snow, since the heat of -his body under the warm clothing soon dried up the snow that had seeped -in. He forgot the accident in anticipation of the excitement ahead, for -at any moment all hands expected to sight the dog team of Fred Mistak. - -A breeze had sprung up, blowing in their faces, and they all could feel -the nearness of the sea by the dampness in the air. Then, suddenly, they -rounded a huge heap of snow-covered ice to come upon a vast bay of open -water and a most discouraging sight. A mile out to sea, in native boats, -they could see their quarry vanishing toward a snow-capped, rocky -island. - -Even as they watched they saw one tiny figure raise up and wave a -defiant hand at them. - -“Well, he’s flown the coop this time,” said Corporal McCarthy through -his teeth, “but we’re not beaten yet—not by a long shot. Sloan, bring -Sipsa here.” - -Dick and Sandy followed the Constable and the Eskimo guide to Corporal -McCarthy’s side. - -“Tell Sipsa we must get Eskimo boats immediately,” was the policeman’s -command. “Enough boats to carry all of us along with our provisions, -dogs, and sledges.” - -When Sloan had explained this to Sipsa, the Eskimo shook his head at -first, but finally seemed to offer some encouragement. - -“He says he’s not sure he can find any Eskimos very near here,” Sloan -turned to Corporal McCarthy. “But he’ll try. He says we’ll have to take -a chance following the coast line.” - -“Alright, then, we’ll take the chance. We’ve got to have boats.” - -But luck was with them, for they had not gone on a mile when they came -upon a dozen igloos in a sheltered nook. The tribesmen were at sea, -hunting seals, and the women were scattered along the shore skinning and -cutting up the meat. - -“We are in luck in some ways,” called Constable Sloan, cheerfully, as -they drew up at the igloos. “Now if we can only trade these fellows out -of a few native boats, we’ll be luckier still. Here comes a couple of -men.” - -The two Eskimos approaching from the beach, were evidently not at all -afraid of the white men, for they came up smiling, perfectly unconscious -that they put forth a bad appearance with their clothing covered with -seal blubber, grease and blood. - -Sipsa immediately began talking with them, Sloan permitting him to do -the dickering for the boats. - -When the policemen had opened one of the packs and revealed some fine, -shiney knives, kettles, and axes, the Eskimos became greatly interested, -and one of them ran off to call the rest of the tribe. - -Presently they were all down at the sea shore looking over the native -boats, or kayacks. Corporal McCarthy picked out one serviceable looking -kayack, and two umiacks, or large boats, for the dogs and supplies. The -kayack was about twenty feet long and twenty inches wide, covered with -water proofed skins, and made to seat one person in a hole in the -center, over which was a flap that could be buttoned around the chin, -making the boat almost water tight, even though it were capsized. The -umiacks were, however, flat-bottomed, hollow, and were ordinarily used -in transporting women, children, and household goods by water. Corporal -McCarthy gave the Eskimo owners a large collection of knives, pots and -hatchets for the boats and they seemed very well pleased with the trade. - -“I’ll take the kayack,” instructed Corporal McCarthy. “Sloan, you and -the Indian lad take one of the umiacks and Dick, Sandy, and Sipsa the -other. If we get a move on we can get our equipment loaded before Mistak -gets too much of a start. He took his dogs so we’ll have to take ours.” - -Not more than a half hour later Dick and Sandy and the Eskimo guide put -to sea in their umiack, a crude sail of caribou hide stiffening in the -breeze, while they plied a paddle to add to their speed. Constable Sloan -and Toma followed immediately in the other umiack, while the Corporal -settled himself in the kayack, the last of the three. - -Corporal McCarthy soon passed the heavily loaded umiacks in his faster -and lighter boat and signaled them to follow him. - -“Watch out for the ice bergs and floes,” called the corporal. “If you -see a walrus, don’t shoot unless you’re attacked.” - -The three boats strung out in a line headed toward the glacial island -where they believed Mistak would land. In Dick and Sandy’s boat were -half the dogs and the two sledges, along with the stoves and liquid -fuel. It was a heavy load for the unwieldy umiack, and Dick was not long -in discovering that the dangers in arctic navigation were not to be -scoffed at. Though from a distance the water seemed free from ice, close -at hand the bergs could be seen rolling along, either submerged, or just -above the water. Sipsa took a position in the prow of the umiack, where, -with a long pole, he fended off the larger ice blocks. In the stern Dick -plied a paddle, while in the center Sandy took care of the dogs and saw -that the cargo did not slip to one side and capsize the craft. - -All went well until they reached rougher water a quarter mile from the -shore. Here an ocean current carried them eastward in spite of all they -could do. Sandy fashioned himself a paddle from a snow shoe covered with -a piece of seal skin, and did all he could to help Dick in the uneven -struggle, but they moved steadily eastward toward a low headland that -marked that boundary of the bay. The island that was their destination -now lay several miles northwest of them, and a floe separated the two -umiacks. Corporal McCarthy was having all he could do to manage his -kayack, which was being considerably buffeted about by the waves and -ice. - -“Maybe we’ll strike another current when we get close to that headland -east of us,” called Dick from the stern. - -“I hope so,” replied Sandy dubiously. “This sail isn’t doing us much -good now though. The wind seems to have gone down suddenly.” - -At that moment Sipsa, the Eskimo guide, rammed his pole at a submerged -ice berg, and the pole slipped down into the water, forcing Sipsa to -lose his balance. - -Dick’s cry of warning did no good. The Eskimo did the best he could to -keep his balance, then toppled head foremost into the chilly water. - -“Quick, help him in, Sandy!” cried Dick, “while I hold the boat as -steady as I can.” - -Sandy dropped his paddle and hurried to the prow where Sipsa was -struggling about in the water. The Eskimo still retained a tight grip on -his pole, which had been the cause of his fall, and Sandy got a grip on -this. Soon Sipsa crawled, gasping and gurgling, into the umiack. - -“Whew, close shave that!” exclaimed Sandy. - -“And maybe he’ll freeze to death from that wetting,” Dick added. “Sandy, -you’d better get one of the heaters started so he can dry off.” - -But Sipsa, hardy Eskimo that he was, made it known, by various signs, -that he needed no heater, and took up his former position as if nothing -had happened. While the ducking might have been fatal for Dick or Sandy, -it meant little to the guide since the season was what he called summer. - -Once off the headland the current swept them northward as they had -hoped, and also a breeze sprang up from the open sea. The sail filled -and they began to make time toward the island. The floe which had -separated the umiacks had passed on and Dick and Sandy could see Toma -and Constable Sloan coming along safely a quarter mile behind. Corporal -McCarthy was within speaking distance again and his voice boomed out -over the water. - -“Watch out for walrus! There’s a big bull in here somewhere. Steer clear -of him if you can.” - -The moment was a tense one for Dick and Sandy. Many a story they had -heard of these giant inhabitants of the Polar Sea, and to meet one in -his native haunts was something they feared, yet hoped to experience. - -Dick’s eyes were fixed upon the water near at hand when something dark -welled up out of the clear blue depths and shot past the boat. - -“There he is!” he cried. - -“Sure it was a walrus?” Sandy hazarded breathlessly. - -“It must have been. It had big flippers and I think I saw tusks like an -elephant’s.” - -“Maybe it was your imagination.” - -But what happened next assured Sandy that Dick had not been using his -imagination. A dark form heaved up out of the water almost under Sipsa’s -ice pole. The umiack rocked dangerously and nearly upset the Eskimo. The -boys got a clear look at the walrus this time for just a moment as the -huge creature reared out of the water and looked at them before it sunk -out of sight in a whirlpool of bubbles. - -Sandy snatched up his rifle, but Dick warned him to hold fire until it -was absolutely necessary. - -“Was that the walrus?” called Corporal McCarthy backing water with his -paddle. - -“You bet it was,” Dick shouted, “and if he’d been two feet nearer he’d -have turned us over—hey!” - -Dick said no more for at that instant the umiack, with its heavy load, -was hoisted upward out of the water from the impact of a powerful body -underneath. Sipsa tumbled backward from the prow, falling in among the -whimpering dogs. Sandy and Dick clung to their seats while the boat -dropped back to the water with a heave and splash. Fortunately, the -umiack settled to an even keel without taking in too much water. But -scarcely had they recovered from the nearly disastrous effects of the -walrus’s first attack, when Sipsa shouted a warning from the stern. - -“There he is again—coming at us from the front!” shouted Sandy, throwing -up his rifle as Dick snatched up his own. - -As Dick took aim at the rushing mass of fur, tusks, and flippers, he saw -Corporal McCarthy level his rifle from the kayack. The three rifles -boomed almost as one. The walrus, hit hard, swerved and rolled in his -mad attack, and in a whirl of water sank out of sight, leaving a red -blot in the water behind him. - -“He’s been wounded badly, if not killed,” said Sandy pointing at the -blood in the water. - -“I hope he’ll leave us alone anyway, but if he don’t——” Dick tightened -his grip on his rifle. - -For several minutes they watched, guns ready, for a renewal of the bull -walrus’s attack, but the water disclosed no angry monster. - -“I guess he’s had enough,” called Corporal McCarthy, “let’s get going. -Do you see what’s coming up from the east?” - -Dick and Sandy looked as the policeman directed, and their hearts jumped -as if a hundred walruses were bearing down upon them, for, not a mile -distant, a dense Arctic fog was floating swiftly toward them, like a -wall of gray smoke. - -“A fog!” cried Dick. “Get that paddle, Sandy! If we ever get caught in -that fog we’ll be lost sure!” - - - - - CHAPTER VI - LOST IN AN ARCTIC FOG - - -After they had first sighted the fog it did not seem more than five -minutes before they were enveloped in it. They could not see ten feet -ahead of them, and the only way they had of knowing they were near one -another was by shouting. The wind lulled almost immediately and the -umiack began to drift straight north. In a few moments all hands were -wet to the skin. All around them the icebergs and floes ground together -with growling, grating noises, like so many fierce animals. - -“Ahoy, there!” came the muffled bellow of Corporal McCarthy through the -heavy mist. - -“Here!” shouted Dick at the top of his lungs, the fog seeming to throw -the sound of his voice back into his face. - -“Keep paddling to the right—against the current,” came the Corporal’s -command. “Sing out every few minutes so we can keep track of each -other.” - -“Alright,” shouted Dick, and behind came the fainter sound of Constable -Sloan’s voice from the other umiack. - -Progress now became dangerous indeed. The boats seemed to have floated -into a patch of broken ice that threatened every minute to crush the -frail umiacks like so much match wood. Then, too, Corporal McCarthy’s -shouts were growing fainter at every repetition. - -“We’re losing ground,” called Dick to Sandy. “Work harder. Keep moving -to the right!” - -“That’s what I’m trying to do,” called back Sandy from the center of the -boat, “but there’s a big floe pushing us to the left. We can’t seem to -get around it. Sipsa is doing all he can to keep us from getting smashed -up from the left. Look out!” - -Sandy’s warning shout was accompanied by a violent jar that shook the -umiack from bow to stern. - -“We’ve hit solid ice on the left!” cried Sandy. “We’ll be smashed -between two floes.” - -Dick leaped up and, leaning over the side of the umiack, pushed on the -ice that was threatening to crush them against the floating ice on their -right. - -But his efforts were of no avail. The umiack shuddered as if about to -collapse under the pressure, then seemed to rise out of the water. - -“The ice has shoved under us!” cried Dick, much relieved. - -Dick was right. Luckily, the flat bottomed umiack had grounded on the -flat ice pushing against her starboard side, and the higher ice on the -lee was pushing her farther over. Presently they were almost entirely -out of the water, the umiack half on the ice floe and floating along -with it. - -“We can’t stay on this ice,” called Sandy. “It will carry us out to sea -and we’ll be lost.” - -Dick thought rapidly. It was a moment for quick decision and daring -action. - -“Sandy,” he cried, his mind made up, “stick by the boat. I’m going out -on this floe and shove us off as soon as we get to open water on one -side!” - -“You’ll be drowned!” wailed Sandy. - -“Got to take a chance,” was Dick’s exclamation as he leaped over the -gunwale of the umiack to the slippery surface of the fragment of floe -upon which they had been lifted. - -“Tell me as soon as you see open water on the left,” shouted Dick to -Sandy. “That’s the only way we can get off this floe. I can’t move the -umiack to the other side.” - -“Alright—wait,” Sandy replied tensely. - -There followed many moments of suspense when each heart beat seemed -painful. Little that Dick knew of the northern seas, it was enough to -make the truth clear to him. If the floe they had grounded upon joined -with the ice on the left, and the entire mass continued to move, they -would be carried out to sea and lost on an ocean where few ships had -ever navigated. It had been several minutes since they had heard the -voice of Corporal McCarthy, and Constable Sloan’s shouts were barely -audible behind and far to the east. Proof enough that the ice was -carrying them out beyond the headland that marked the end of the bay. -Tensely Dick waited, digging his boots into little chinks of ice, ready -to push off at a word from Sandy. - -“Watch out!” Sandy’s low exclamation steeled Dick’s muscles. “We’re -breaking loose from the other ice. The crack is getting wider. Wait a -minute! Alright, let her go!” - -Dick drew a deep breath and bent all his strength upon the heavy umiack. -There came a slight grating sound, a lurch and the umiack, with its -heavy load, slid from the floe into the sea, as Dick leaped into the -stern with a cry of relief. - -But his relief was short lived, for when he lifted his voice to shout to -the other boats, there was no reply. Again and again he shouted, until -his voice was hoarse, listening intently in the intervals. Not even -Sloan’s voice was audible now. - -“We must be way out of the course,” Sandy said, discouraged. - -Dick’s spirits fell also, then when he was about to give up shouting, he -caught the sound of a voice again. - -“There—that’s Constable Sloan,” Dick said tensely. - -“But it’s funny—he seems to be on the left of us,” Sandy came back. - -They listened again, often shouting together. This time they were amazed -to hear the faint call from slightly to the right and ahead. - -“That must be Corporal McCarthy,” Dick hazarded. - -“No, I think it sounded like Constable Sloan,” Sandy disagreed. “But how -could he get over on the right so soon?” - -“It’s the fog, I guess,” Dick returned. “The sounds are deceiving. -Anyway, we’re certain this floe on our right is between us and the -island. We’ll have to keep on working ahead until we can get around it.” - -“You know what I think, Dick?” Sandy’s voice was exceedingly sober. - -“Well, what do you think? I’m at my wit’s end myself.” - -“This floe has caught on a larger block of ice somewhere on the other -side and it has been turning slowly. Dick, we don’t know where we’re at -now.” - -“I hope you’re wrong,” Dick hastily rejoined, renewing his efforts at -the paddle. - -The boys now proceeded to bury their misgivings in hard work on the -paddles. Sipsa continued his work at the prow of the craft, his expert -handling of the pole avoiding many a dangerous ice jam. Yet as the -minutes passed and they failed again and again to raise even a faint -shout from the balance of the company, they became certain that they -were floating out to sea. - -“Oh, if this fog would only lift!” Dick prayed. - -They worked on for what seemed to them an hour longer, but which -actually could not have been more than fifteen minutes, when it seemed -that Dick’s prayer was about to be answered. - -“It’s getting lighter, isn’t it?” Sandy said hoarsely, almost afraid to -believe his eyes. - -“I believe you’re right,” Dick answered, cheering up. - -Slowly the fog thinned until they could see almost a hundred feet around -them, then, as swiftly as it had enveloped them, the fog bank passed -over, leaving them half blinded by the sudden glare of sunlight. Dick -and Sandy cried out with joy, and rose up in the umiack to look about. - -“Thank heaven!” Dick ejaculated as he feasted his eyes on a welcome -scene. - -Sandy had been right. The floe which they had been following had touched -upon some solider object. It had been the island! - -There was but a few yards of open water between them and the barren, -snow-piled shore, and the floe on their right made a strong bridge to -land. Half a mile out to sea was the umiack of Constable Sloan and Toma, -making good time toward land. Corporal McCarthy was waving his paddle to -them a quarter mile to the left, and, now that the fog no longer -deadened sound, his shout was borne to the ears of the happy boys. - -Dick and Sandy immediately bent to the paddles and worked the umiack -into the beach, where they pulled it upon dry land and commenced -unloading it. - -A half hour later the company was reunited, and Corporal McCarthy gave -orders to make camp, and to stow the native boats high and dry on the -shore for future use. - -“We’ll have to take a rest after that hard pull across the bay,” the -policeman explained. “But while you fellows fix something to eat, I’ll -take a run along the shore and see if I can’t find where Mistak landed. -I’d like to know more about this island we’ve landed on, too.” - -When Corporal McCarthy was gone, Dick, Sandy and Toma set to work with -alacrity to help Constable Sloan make camp. They were so hungry that -their mouths watered when they fed the ravenous dogs their allotment of -frozen fish. - -“I could eat whalebone and like it,” Dick said to Sandy as he watched -Constable Sloan pouring beans into the melted snow water, and listened -to the simmering of the tea pot. - -“That’s nothing,” Sandy retorted. “I know now why a goat can eat tin -cans.” - -Constable Sloan did not wait for Corporal McCarthy’s return before he -called all hands to the food he had prepared. Perhaps he sympathized -with the boys, but it was true he ate as hungrily as they did, all the -while telling them stories of his experiences in the land of the long -day and the long night. - -“It hardly seems possible we’re actually seeing the midnight sun,” Dick -said, when the edge was off his appetite. - -“The way my eyes feel, I sure feel it’s a fact. Do your eyes feel -strained and tired, Dick?” - -“You bet they do. But how would it feel if we had as strong sunlight as -they do in the south?” - -“We’d probably go blind,” Sandy opined. - -“There’s hardly a doubt about that,” said Constable Sloan. “But wait -till you experience the long night, and see the moon go around and -around in the sky, for day after day, not seeing anything but the stars, -and then only when the sky is clear.” - -“Do you think we’ll be up here that long?” asked Dick. - -“Well, you never can tell,” Constable Sloan replied evasively, as if he -had said more than he intended. - -After the meal the boys immediately crawled into their sleeping bags and -fell into a sound slumber. They did not awaken when Corporal McCarthy -returned, several hours later, and did not know he had returned until -they were awakened to find the dogs harnessed to the sledges and -breakfast awaiting them. - -“Why didn’t you wake us up so we could help get ready to start?” Dick -asked the policemen. - -“We’ve got a long hard trip ahead of us,” returned the Corporal, “and -you fellows needed your rest. I found Mistak’s trail two miles east of -here. He’s started inland and not only that, but it looks like he’s -crossed a glacier which seems to cover part of the interior of the -island.” - -“Did you hear that?” Dick turned to Sandy. “We may have to cross a -glacier.” - -“That suits me better than floating around among these icebergs in a -caribou hide boat,” Sandy replied with spirit. “I like to have my feet -under me, and dry land under my feet.” - -“In other words you’re a land lubber,” laughed Dick. - -“I guess I am,” admitted Sandy, strapping on his snowshoes. - -A little later the little company pulled out of camp, and set off at a -good pace, Corporal McCarthy in the lead. After following the seashore a -little way they cut inland at an angle, and after about an hour’s -sledging struck the trail made by a dog team and three men. - -At this point they made a halt while Corporal McCarthy went ahead to -look over the land before they advanced. The reason for this move was -quickly evident, for towering over them, at a distance of less than half -a mile, was a mass of ice that marked the beginning of a glacier, -probably miles and miles in extent. - -Dick and Sandy were awed by the very immensity of the towering ice. The -fact that they might find it necessary to brave those treacherous -heights on the trail of the “white Eskimo” tested their courage to the -utmost. But the boys were not the sort that back down when danger is -close at hand. Truth to tell, they loved action and danger more than was -good for their own safety. - -“There comes the Corporal,” Dick called out presently, his sharp eyes -having caught sight of a fur parka behind an ice hummock. - -Presently the policeman came fully into view and waved for them to come -on. - -“The trail leads over the glacier,” called the Corporal when they were -within hearing distance. - -Dick and Sandy hurried forward after the dogs, their hearts hammering at -the promise of the excitement ahead. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - ON THE GLACIER - - -Immediately upon approaching the foot of the glacier Dick and Sandy -could see what a dangerous struggle was to be theirs in attempting to -scale the mountain of ice. For hundreds of years the ice had frozen -there, layer upon layer, filled with great holes and cracks, its own -great weight forcing it to move toward sea level. - -“I don’t see how we’re ever going to climb it,” Sandy gasped. - -“Well, I don’t either,” admitted Dick, “but Mistak must have got to the -top, and anything he can do, the King’s policemen can do.” - -“Heap big mountain ice,” commented Toma. “Ketchum sore head if slide -down to bottom.” - -“You’re right,” Dick could not help but laugh at Toma’s remark in spite -of the seriousness of the task ahead of them. - -“Well, boys,” Constable Sloan came forward, interrupting them, “we’ll -have to use man power now. Here’s a good chance for you fellows to test -your biceps. There are six of us, so that leaves three to a sled. Sipsa, -Toma and myself will take the first sledge—that leaves you boys and the -Corporal for the second. It won’t take much head work, but lots of -backbone. Let’s go!” - -Dick and Sandy watched, with interest, the starting of the first sledge -up the steep incline, men and dogs straining with every ounce of -strength in them. When at last they disappeared around a huge knob of -ice and snow, they sent a lusty cheer after them, and set to work -themselves to push their sledge up. - -It took a half hour of pushing and hauling before they reached a point -that was level enough for them to rest comfortably. - -“Much more of this and I’ll turn to water,” panted Sandy, throwing back -his parka and revealing the perspiration standing out in huge drops that -froze almost as soon as they came in contact with the air. - -“Better keep that parka over your head,” cautioned Corporal McCarthy. “A -little too much of this air when you’re overheated will frost your -lungs, and you know what that means.” - -Sandy remembered that frost bitten lungs often brought on more serious -ailments, and hurriedly bundled up his face. - -An hour more of strenuous climbing brought them to a point half way up -the wall of the glacier. They could see the first sledge going up far -above them, like a caterpillar tank, the dogs and men pushing and -pulling it appearing like so many ants hauling a gram of wheat to their -home hill. - -Dick took a deep breath and looked down, grasping Sandy’s arm to call -his attention to the vast scene that lay below them. Far away they could -see the mainland which they had left the day before. The open water -glittered like diamonds where the floating ice lay, and the beach of the -island seemed more like a ribbon than a piece of land. - -“It makes me dizzy,” said Sandy. - -“Yes, but there’s something inspiring about it,” returned Dick. “It’s -desolate and frozen and lonely, but just the same it’s beautiful because -it’s so clean and white and still.” - -“I guess you just about hit the nail on the head that time,” spoke up -Corporal McCarthy, who was standing just behind them. “But there’s death -in that beauty. I hope you boys never have to see all of what I mean. -Now let’s get to work on this sledge.” - -Refreshed by their rest, the boys buckled down to the job with a will, -and for considerable distance all went well as before. Then, when they -were just reaching a point where they might breathe again, the rope -which the policeman was pulling on broke loose from the sledge, and with -the shock of the freed weight, Dick slipped, the sledge sliding back -upon Sandy who was pushing from behind. For an instant the sturdy Scotch -lad held the full weight of the heavy sledge, then with a faint cry of -dismay, he started down, the sledge on top of him. - -“Oh, Sandy!” Dick gave a shout of anguish, as, slipping and sliding, he -held on to the rope he had been pulling on. - -Corporal McCarthy leaped down to Dick’s aid, but the sledge had gained -momentum and, white faced, they could only hang on hoping the sledge -would catch on the rough ice before it began to turn over. - -Faster and faster the sledge began to slide, pushing Sandy before it, -his shirt pinched under the runners, and dragging the frantically -struggling two after it. - -“We’ve got to stop it before it reaches the edge of that shelf!” cried -Corporal McCarthy. “If it ever goes over the edge, Sandy is gone!” - -But they had started a miniature avalanche of ice and snow by their -struggles and this rolling along underfoot made firm footing impossible -to find. - -One last heave they gave backward on the remaining rope as the sledge -struck the edge of the ice shelf. They heard a heavy crash, then -silence. - -Dick looked up from where he clung to the steep incline, the sledge rope -clutched in his hands. Stunned by fear for what had happened to Sandy, -who had disappeared, he watched Corporal McCarthy pick his way -cautiously down to the sledge. The rear end of the runners had stuck in -a fissure, bringing the sledge to a stop not more than a foot from the -edge of the shelf below which they knew not how far the drop was. - -As if it were all a bad dream, Dick watched the policeman look over the -sledge, under it, and all about, then lie down on his stomach and peer -over the shelf. The significance of that move and what it might mean in -regard to Sandy’s fate, brought Dick to his feet, and in two agile leaps -he was at the policeman’s side. - -The drop under the shelf was only about twenty feet, provided an object -falling from it caught on a second projection of ice and snow. Beyond -that there was a frightful depth to a small plateau. - -“Sandy! Sandy!” Dick called at the top of his voice. - -Corporal McCarthy’s somber expression showed that he thought there was -little use in shouting, but he presently uttered an exclamation of -astonishment. - -The snow on the lower shelf directly below the point where the sledge -had lodged, had moved! - -“Look!” cried Dick, in a glad shout. - -From the snow on the shelf protruded one arm, then another, and a moment -later the snow plastered figure of Sandy rose up, hip deep in soft snow. - -“Hold on while I get a rope!” shouted the Corporal. - -“We’ll haul you back up,” seconded Dick. “Are you hurt much?” - -“I’m alright,” came Sandy’s shout, a bit faint, but welcomely spirited. -“Got a few bruises is all.” - -Then Corporal McCarthy was back with a rope, and was paying it out over -the shelf. Sandy quickly got hold of his end and fastened it about his -waist. In a moment the combined strength of the two on the ledge had -hauled Sandy to the safety of the shelf where the sledge had lodged. - -“Gee, I was never so glad to see anybody in my life!” exclaimed Dick, -banging his chum on the back with a lusty hand. - -“Hey, watch out where you are hitting me,” complained Sandy. “That -sledge made me sore all over when it shoved me down that bank. And, say, -I thought I was gone when I rolled over that shelf.” - -“Lad, you’re one of the luckiest fellows that ever lived,” Corporal -McCarthy put in, “but now let’s tie into this sledge again and not let -those fellows ahead of us beat us to the top too far.” - -An hour more of back-bending toil and they joined Constable Sloan and -the others, who already had reached the top of the glacier. - -While they all rested, Dick and Sandy looked curiously about them. Level -ice, covered with snow, stretched for considerable distance on either -hand. Long, zigzag cracks, or fissures, formed curious designs on the -glacier’s summit; while now and again they could hear a deep rumble, -like distant thunder, which, Constable Sloan said, was due to new cracks -forming in the ice, and sometimes caused by a fragment of the glacier -breaking off and falling into a fissure or into the sea far away across -the island. - -Corporal McCarthy was not long in locating the trail made by Fred -Mistak’s dog team. They had taken virtually the same path up the wall of -the glacier that the fugitive had taken, and so were not far off the -trail. - -Soon they were hurrying onward, carefully avoiding the deep, dangerous -chasms in the ice whenever possible, and when necessary, bridging the -narrow cracks with their sledges. - -“I’d hate to fall into one of those cracks,” Dick said in a low voice to -Sandy. - -“Me, too,” Sandy agreed. “I wonder what’s at the bottom of them.” - -“I’ve heard there are rivers of running water under these glaciers,” -replied Dick, “and that scientists have found the fossils of ancient -animals in the huge caves which the water forms.” - -“Gee, just think! The land under this glacier must be just like it was a -hundred years ago. Makes me feel creepy to think of those giant reptiles -that used to wander around right under where we’re walking.” - -Dick was about to reply when Corporal McCarthy stopped the teams at the -edge of an expanse of ice that had been swept clear of soft snow by -water and wind. - -The boys quickly saw that Mistak’s trail vanished here, as if it had -gone up in smoke. The ice was as hard as flint, and sledge, dogs, and -men had passed over it without leaving a mark. - -“Toma, you stay with the dog team,” ordered Corporal McCarthy, “the rest -of us will scatter out and circle this expanse of smooth ice. We can -pick up Mistak’s trail where he strikes soft snow or brittle ice.” - -The plan was carried out but after an hour’s fruitless search the -Corporal called them all back to the sledge. - -“It looks as if we’ve lost Mistak’s trail for the present. He must have -made directly for this spot knowing he could throw off the scent.” - -“The hard ice ends up in a lot of fissures and ice caverns,” spoke up -Constable Sloan. “It’s possible the Eskimo may be hiding out in one of -the caves, waiting for us to go on.” - -“Well, if he is we’ll fix that. I’ll go on a little way with you and -when we get in among the ice hummocks on the other side of this level -stretch, I’ll drop out and watch for him to come out. The rest of you go -on across the glacier, and make camp at some convenient spot. If I have -any luck, I’ll overtake you and let you know.” - -After Corporal McCarthy had left them Dick and Sandy found themselves -following the sledge along a ridge of snow covered stones and gravel -which ran along the ice cap farther than they could see. Following this, -they found the ice sloping steadily downward, while the ridge, or -moraine, rose steadily higher. Presently they could see on the distant -horizon the blackish blue of the open sea, broken by the massive crests -of floating bergs. - -The sky had become overcast in the last hour and the temperature had -fallen considerably. - -“We’re in for a bad storm,” Constable Sloan announced, his voice -betraying some anxiety. “As soon as we get down to the seashore we’ll -build some tight igloos. Tents won’t stand the wind that’s coming.” - -A little later they eased the sledge down a last steep incline and found -easier going at the foot of the long ridge of glacial drift that had now -grown to massive proportions. The glacier proper was now behind and on -their left, beyond the ridge. They had crossed only a fragment of it in -reaching what they believed to be the northern shore of a large island. - -“Look, Sandy, over there on that big floe to the northeast!” exclaimed -Dick, pointing. - -Sandy’s eyes followed Dick’s directing finger and widened at what he -saw. A large herd of seals dotted the ice and adjacent water. Now and -again the animals dived into the water, throwing up a shower of spray. -Faintly, as they drew nearer, they could hear the grunting barks of the -adult seals. - -Sipsa seemed excited at the proximity of the seal herd, and began -jabbering to himself. - -“What is he saying?” Dick asked Constable Sloan. - -“He means that here is good hunting, and that he ought to tell his -people about it. The Eskimos depend altogether for their food upon -hunting, and when there’s game and good weather they consider it the -same as sacrilege to procrastinate. They can’t figure out why a white -man wastes his time doing anything else.” - -The first signs of the coming storm interrupted Constable Sloan. A fine -hard sleet came sifting down out of the leaden sky, cutting their faces -like hundreds of tiny knives. - -Reaching a large drift that appeared ideal for making igloo blocks, -Constable Sloan called a halt, and everyone set to work cutting snow -blocks with the long knives brought along for that purpose. - -By the time they had completed two igloos, a wind had sprung up and the -sleet had thickened. Though the huge glacial ridge shielded them from -the full force of the wind, still it shipped and whirled with such force -that they had to seek the shelter of their lately built snow houses. - -“I hope McCarthy doesn’t get caught out in this blizzard,” said -Constable Sloan when they were squatted about a camp stove, crowded into -one igloo for added warmth. “He ought to be coming in any time now.” - -They were in considerable suspense for several minutes, until, outside, -above the howling of the wind, they heard Corporal McCarthy’s booming -shout. Constable Sloan hurried out and helped into the igloo an almost -unrecognizable figure. The Corporal was covered with clinging ice from -head to foot and resembled some gigantic snow man. - -“Well, Mistak didn’t show himself if he really was in hiding on the -glacier,” reported the Corporal. “The storm drove me in or I’d have -waited longer. Tomorrow, if the storm lulls, we’ll look again. The -trouble is all traces of his sledge will be covered up by this storm.” - -“We’d better establish a base of supplies here,” advised Constable -Sloan. “The boys can do some hunting to help out on the meat problem, -while we comb the island for Mistak.” - -Sandy’s face took on a disappointed expression at this announcement, and -he looked at Dick as if he wanted him to do something. But Dick shook -his head, and presently whispered mysteriously: - -“I have a hunch we’re not going to lose out on the man hunt.” - -Sandy had to be satisfied with that until he got Dick alone and pumped -him for details. - -That night the boys slept the sleep of utter weariness, while the storm -beat and buffeted futilely at the dome of their warm igloo. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - SIPSA VANISHES - - -It was two days before the blizzard died down and the little snowbound -company were permitted to leave their Eskimo houses for any length of -time. Dick and Sandy found almost a new world awaiting them when they -burrowed like two badgers out of their snug retreat into the polar -sunlight. - -“Where are the sledges and dogs?” Sandy wanted to know. - -“Can’t you see everything has been buried?” Dick retorted. “We’ve got -some tall snow shoveling to do before we can get at our supplies.” - -Constable Sloan soon found the dogs. Each of the faithful creatures was -deep in a nest of snow, with only a tiny hole to breathe through. The -beasts were gaunt with hunger, and whined and slavered at the mouth -while the policeman began digging out the supplies. - -It took several hours of hard work to dig out the camp, and when -everything was in good shape, Corporal McCarthy drew the boys aside: - -“Constable Sloan and myself are going back on the glacier with ten days’ -supplies to see if we can’t pick up Mistak’s trail again. We’ll leave -you with Sipsa to take care of the camp and do some hunting. Sipsa will -show you how to kill and cut up seals and walruses, which we’ll need for -dog meat if we don’t have to eat them ourselves before we finish our job -up here. Don’t overlook the musk-oxen. We saw signs of them on the -island and they’re about the best eating a white man can find up here.” - -“Suppose we see Mistak. What do you want us to do?” - -“Lay low and keep out of trouble,” cautioned the policeman. “We’ll be -back in ten days at least and whatever you’ve discovered about Mistak’s -whereabouts we’ll put to good use.” - -The policemen soon had a sledge of supplies and one dog team ready for -the trail. Waving farewell to the boys they started out, disappearing up -the long slope that led to the glacier. In one way Dick and Sandy were -glad to be free to command their own movements, yet again, with the -experienced policemen gone, the vast frozen land presented an even more -sinister appearance. A hundred forebodings surged up in the breasts of -Dick and Sandy, but they manfully fought them down, preparing -immediately to go seal hunting. - -Sipsa had brought along several harpoons, and he began working on these -diligently. He made the boys understand by signs that he was not yet -ready to go seal hunting, and they left him alone after growing tired of -watching the Eskimo’s deft fingers manipulating a whetting stone. - -Dick suggested that they go down to the sea shore, and all three of the -boys set off in that direction. They found the tide rising, and for half -an hour amused themselves by skipping stones across the shallow water, -and throwing at the small ice cakes floating farther out. Dick and Toma -were about tied at hitting their mark, but Sandy was far the more expert -at skipping stones. The Scotch lad could skip a choice flat stone as far -again as he could throw it, and though Dick and Toma tried again and -again to equal Sandy’s prowess, they finally were forced to give up, so -tired were their arms. - -“Let’s walk along the shore a ways,” said Dick. “We may find something -interesting.” - -A hundred yards farther on they passed out of sight of the camp, and ran -into a flock of eider ducks who took to the water upon their approach -with the prettiest nose dives they had ever seen. Toma’s sharp eyes -located some nests on the shore, and they procured a few fresh eggs and -a good many old ones. - -“Leave the old eggs where they are,” Dick said, as Sandy was about to -see how far he could throw one. “We don’t want to destroy what will be -little eider ducks some day.” - -“You’re right, Dick,” Sandy agreed. “I just didn’t think.” - -“Him nice an’ soft—make um warm nest,” Toma spoke up, running his -fingers around in one of the duck nests. - -Dick picked up some of the fine, white feathers with which the nest was -lined. “Yes, these are about as soft feathers as are known. The Eskimos -gather and trade them to the white men for tools and things. In the -United States we call it eiderdown.” - -They wandered on down the shore to the point where the great glacial -ridge west of their camp extended into the sea. The ridge sloped off -into the water in a long slope at the foot of which the waves rumbled -and thundered, dashing the huge icebergs this way and that as if they -were toys. Occasionally they could hear the distant noises of the -glacier as fragments of it fell into the sea, or when its slow movements -caused huge cracks to form in its depths. - -Dick led the way a short distance up the slope toward a dark knob that -was sticking up through the snow and ice. - -“I wonder if that isn’t one of the meteors they say are in the polar -regions,” he said. “Robert Peary, the great explorer, brought back some -fine specimens to American museums. This does look like it might be a -very small one.” - -They stopped at the protuberance and inspected it curiously. - -“It looks like melted iron to me,” Sandy declared. “Is that what meteors -are made of?” - -“Yes, a form of iron,” Dick replied. “It’s called meteoric iron. -Scientists claim it is about the hardest iron which has been found in a -natural state. In the sky it is heated to a liquid state by the friction -of falling through the air, then when it strikes the earth’s atmosphere -it cools suddenly and explodes with a loud report, lighting up the -country for miles and miles.” - -“Why do more meteors fall in the polar regions than in the other zones?” -inquired Sandy, meditatively fingering the meteoric rock. - -“I don’t remember having read the exact reason, and I’m not sure that -more do fall up here, but if there are more it must be because the -atmosphere is so much colder. The meteors explode much higher in the -sky, then lose their velocity and so fall to the earth’s surface near -the pole.” - -“Well, the glacier seems to have pushed this meteor up here,” said -Sandy, “so there’s no telling where it actually fell.” - -“That’s true,” replied Dick, “but say, this big stone gives me an idea. -Let’s gather some big rocks and build a monument here, leaving some kind -of record inside of it. That’s the way all the Arctic explorers did. -They called them cairns.” - -Sandy and Toma quickly showed how enthusiastic they were by starting to -gather stones of a good size. These they built up in a solid circle near -the meteor until they had an erection about a foot high. - -“Now for the record,” said Dick, and drew from his pocket a small -calendar with which he had been keeping track of the days. Sandy dug -down in the ample pockets of his caribou hide shirt and found a -soft-nosed rifle cartridge. With a hunting knife they trimmed this to a -point, improvising a crude lead pencil. Then on the back of the card -board that had supported the calendar leaves, Dick wrote under the day -and year: - - “We are on an uncharted island, a few hundred miles west of Greenland, - near the Arctic Circle. This is the farthest north we have ever been - in the service of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, or the Hudson’s - Bay Company. If something happens and we never return, anyone who - reads this will know just about where we were when we disappeared.” - -Under this, all three of the boys proudly signed their names, Toma -painfully inscribing his to the accompaniment of a twisting tongue, -which he chewed industriously at every move of the pencil. - -When the record was finished Dick folded it carefully and stowed it in -the center of the cairn, placing a heavy stone upon it. Then they -gathered more stones and built up the cairn to a height of about five -feet, rounding it off nicely at the top, forming a receptacle for the -record that would stand for years and years. - -“It’s about time we were getting back to camp the way my stomach feels,” -Dick said when they had finished, and were standing off at a distance -appraising their handiwork. - -Sandy’s and Toma’s stomachs seemed to agree perfectly with Dick’s and so -they started off on the back trail, glancing over their shoulders every -now and then at the cairn. - -By the time they reached camp their appetites had grown immensely, and -they voiced the hope that Sipsa would have something prepared to eat. -But there was no smell of hot tea or frying meat. In fact, as they -approached they could see no sign whatever of the Eskimo guide. - -“He must be in one of the igloos,” Dick hazarded. - -But a search of the igloos disclosed no Sipsa. The boys shouted his -name, but only a faint echo from the wall of the ridge answered them. - -“Here are the harpoons he was working on when we left,” Sandy announced -presently, after they had looked more carefully about the camp. - -“Yes, he must not be far away, but still——” Dick’s mind turned to the -trouble they had had with Okewah and Ootanega. “I wonder if he found -some sign of the white Eskimo and was frightened away like the others.” - -“But Sipsa didn’t seem so superstitious as those two,” Sandy contended. - -“I thought so, too, until now. Anyway, we’ll not worry about it until we -get something under our belts to worry on.” - -Sandy volunteered to act as cook and with the addition of the fresh -eider duck eggs he had gathered, a very satisfying meal was prepared. - -Sipsa had not yet put in an appearance when the boys finished the last -scrap of food, and Dick suggested they search farther for him. - -“Maybe um white Eskimo git him,” Toma suggested gruesomely. - -“You might be right,” Dick replied. “It would be just like that villain -to ambush our guide. But I believe Sipsa was pretty well able to take -care of himself. He seemed much smarter than the average native, and I -believe he’s more civilized.” - -Sandy chose to stay behind when Dick announced that someone must watch -the camp while they sought the whereabouts of Sipsa, and Dick and Toma -started off with their rifles. At first they circled the entire camp, -looking for the prints of Eskimo sealskin boots or his snowshoes. They -found no signs, however, and came to a halt on the sledge trail made by -the policemen hours before. - -“Maybe Sipsa followed the sledge path,” Dick said, as Toma and he stood -there contemplating the next move. “You’re good at trailing, Toma; see -if you can’t find out whether three instead of two pairs of snowshoes -followed this sledge.” - -Toma bent over, his keen eyes glancing hither and thither along the -packed snow. Only a moment he studied, then he straightened up. “Three -pair snowshoes go long here,” he declared positively. - -Dick had perfect confidence in Toma’s judgment, and was sure they had -found just the direction taken by Sipsa when he left the camp. As the -policemen had departed over the same path over which they had crossed -the island, Dick believed it possible that Sipsa might have taken it -into his head to return to his people. - -“We’ll follow his tracks for a ways,” he voiced his decision at last. “I -want to make sure that Sipsa stuck to the back trail. If he hasn’t -turned off half way up the glacier, then I’m pretty certain he’s decided -to go back to his people. In that case he has such a start on us that -about all we can do is let him go.” - -With this purpose in mind Dick and Toma started out along the sledge -trail. An hour’s steady travel without mishap failed to discover any -deviation in Sipsa’s progress. - -“He may run into the policemen,” Dick finally spoke. “If he does, -they’ll send him back in a hurry.” - -“I think him go home alright,” was Toma’s brief reply. “Mebbe him no -like work for white man.” - -“Well, that was a good one, Toma,” Dick grinned. “I suppose you’ll be -quitting us next.” - -The young Indian turned a pair of black inscrutable eyes upon the white -lad, for whom he had risked his life so often. Dick could feel that he -was rebuked without hearing Toma say a word. He stretched out his hand -and placed it on the Indian boy’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean it, Toma, -honest I didn’t. I was only joking. I know you’d never desert Sandy and -me.” - -The ghost of a smile traced the young Indian’s dark face and Dick knew -that Toma had forgiven. - -“I don’t think there’s much use going any further,” Dick resumed after -an interval of silence. “I don’t want to leave Sandy alone too long.” - -They were just about to turn back when something attracted Toma’s keen -eyes. - -“Stop heap quick!” ejaculated Toma under his breath. - -“What is it?” - -“Think um fox. Him watch us from top big rock up there.” - -“Oh, I see him now,” Dick replied eagerly. “He’s only about a hundred -yards off, too. We need that pelt. Let’s both get a bead on him.” - -Quietly the two knelt on their snowshoes and leveled their rifles. -Crack! Crack! the rifle shots echoed in the hills. - -The fox leaped high in the air, and ran like a streak toward the top of -the slope where he had been sighted. - -“Let him have it again!” cried Dick, firing rapidly. - -Toma’s reloading lever was working as fast as Dick’s and a veritable -hail of lead was kicking up the snow about the fleeing fox. - -Just when the young hunters felt they had failed to bring down the fox, -the animal whirled and began to bite himself, as if something had stung -him. - -“We got um,” grunted Toma. - -Sure enough, the fox dropped to his side and after kicking spasmodically -for a few seconds remained still. One or more of their bullets had -reached the mark and together the boys hastened up the slope to examine -their kill. - -They found the animal to be a fine specimen of the northern blue fox, -with whose skin the Eskimos trimmed many of their warmest fur garments. - -Toma drew his hunting knife from its sheath and began methodically to -skin the fox, while Dick stood by admiring the beauty of the fur. - -“I wish I could take that pelt home to mother,” he said half to himself. - -Toma looked up and sniffed. “Huh, why you take um blue fox for your -mother? Wait till you ketch um seal. Him worth heap more. I give my -sister black fox skin robe one time. She use um for wipe feet on by -door. She like um red wool blanket best.” - -Dick had a hearty laugh at Toma’s expense, but the young Indian could -not see anything funny in what he had said. - -However, the lads started back to camp on the best of terms, carrying -the blue fox pelt with them. - -When they came in sight of the igloos they were wholly unprepared for -what met their eyes. Speechless and terror stricken they stood and -stared. - -Two huge polar bears were mauling and crushing the igloos and camp -paraphernalia, and Sandy was nowhere to be seen! - -Even the dogs had run away before the attack of the ferocious brutes, -now apparently enjoying their game of destruction. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - AN INDIAN BEDTIME STORY - - -Several moments passed before Dick could recover his presence of mind, -so great was the shock he had received upon discovering the savage -marauders that were destroying their camp. A vision of Sandy’s mangled -form sprang up in his mind, and he covered his eyes and groaned. But he -was not one to let mere imagination long affect him when action was -needed. - -“Take the bear on the right, Toma,” his voice came clear and steady. -“They’ll probably attack us as soon as we fire. Ready, aim, fire!” - -The report of the rifles and the sting of the well placed bullets -brought the polar bears back on their haunches, and they whirled to face -whatever enemy had attacked them. But Dick and Toma had fallen on their -stomachs in the snow immediately after firing, and the bears could not -see them. The great beasts turned and renewed their wrecking of the camp -dunnage, whereupon Dick gave the order to fire again. - -Now badly wounded, and puzzled because they could not see where the -burning missiles came from, the bears began lumbering around in a -circle, growling savagely. - -Dick and Toma fired once more from their prone and hidden position and -the bears decided the territory was too hot for them. Leaving a trail of -blood drops behind them, they trotted off up the slope of the glacial -ridge, disappearing among the numerous boulders strewn upon the slope. - -No more were the bears gone than Dick and Toma rushed to the torn up -camp, calling Sandy’s name. At first there was no reply and in the -death-like stillness Dick felt an icy chill of horror steal over him as -once more he imagined what had befallen Sandy. Then, very faintly, there -came an answering shout, seeming to come out of the snow-smothered earth -itself. - -“Sandy, where are you!” Dick cried gladly, looking everywhere but -failing to see any sign of his chum. - -“Just a minute, and I’ll be with you,” came the voice again, -unmistakably Sandy’s but for some reason half-choked and indistinct. - -Then, out of a big snowdrift a hundred yards from camp, popped Sandy, -covered from head to foot with snow. Dick and Toma ran to meet him, -overjoyed at his safety. - -“I thought those bears had finished you sure,” Dick said, much relieved. - -“Well, they weren’t far from doing just that,” Sandy retorted drily. “I -was looking through the packs for a tin of tea, a little while ago, when -I felt that something was behind me. I looked around and there were -those two bears looking at me as if they were hungry. They weren’t more -than thirty feet from me, and I’d left my rifle in the igloo. You can -bet I didn’t stand in that spot very long. I made a flying start right -straight ahead, and when I reached those holes in the snow where the -dogs have been sleeping, I dived head first right into a big one, and -dug myself further in. Maybe I wasn’t scared. I expected every minute to -hear those bears digging in after me. About when I was pretty near -smothered in the snow I heard you start shooting. Say, you came just in -time. I’d have suffocated in that burrow in about two minutes more. And -I believe I’d have passed out right there rather than show myself to -those bears.” - -“Don’t forget to keep your rifle close to you after this,” Dick -cautioned, though now that the danger was over he was amused at Sandy’s -excited relating of his unique escape from the bears. - -“Bear meat heap good eat,” Toma spoke up. “Maybe one them bear die -somewhere in rocks. We go see, huh?” - -“Not on your life,” Sandy declared emphatically. “I’ve seen all the -bears I want to for to-day. I’ll be dreaming about bears chewing on me -for a month.” - -Dick laughed. “I don’t blame you, Sandy, but I think Toma’s idea about -following the bears is a good one. We need meat, you know, and you can -see by the blood on the snow around here that one of them at least might -have been wounded bad enough so that he’ll die later.” - -“All right, you fellows go ahead. I think I’ve had about all the trouble -I’m going to have today, so you needn’t worry about me.” - -“I guess you have, alright,” Dick called over his shoulder as he set out -after the bears. “We won’t be gone long.” - -Toma and Dick followed the plain trail left by the bears clear up the -ridge to the east of the camp. But they did not catch sight of their -quarry until they were some distance out on the flank of the glacier on -the other side of the ridge. - -The young Indian then called Dick’s attention to a movement ahead of -them. They saw one of the bears climbing to the top of a heap of ice, -and crouched in hiding until the great beast had passed out of sight. -Though they waited several minutes, a second bear did not appear, and so -they thought it safe to go on. - -Not far from where they had sighted the one bear they discovered why the -other had not appeared. He lay stone dead in a little hollow in the ice. -An examination showed that two of their bullets had pierced the animal’s -lungs. Only an animal of iron stamina could have traveled so far with -such serious wounds. - -Cutting a huge haunch of steak from the bear’s hindquarters, the young -hunters started back, their mouths already watering in anticipation of -fresh bear steak. - -It was nearly eight o’clock by Dick’s watch when they reached the igloos -once more, to find that Sandy had been busy in their absence and had -repaired much of the damage done by the polar bears. - -Two hours later, snug in a warm igloo, Sandy requested Toma to tell them -a bedtime story from his stock of Indian lore. Toma acquiesced -willingly, and began in his broken, yet simple expressive English: - -“Long, long time ago, young Indian brave, by name Swift Foot, live by -big water, by name Great Slave Lake. He very handsome brave. Him mother -love him very much. His father great hunter. He have all food he can -eat, warm wigwam in winter. No have to work. Him play all day, and when -him tired he sleep. But him no happy. He look at stars and want know why -the stars twinkle; him look at sun, want know why sun warm; him look at -moon, want know why cannot reach it; him look at rainbow, want know why -cannot catch him no matter how fast he run. - -“Swift Foot ask mother questions. She say, ‘Big Eagle, your father, -great hunter and very wise. He tell you, my son.’ Swift Foot ask father -questions. Father say, ‘Your grandfather old and wise, maybe he can tell -you.’ Swift Foot ask his grandfather questions, but old man say he not -know these things. - -“Bye an’ bye Swift Foot visit all old men in tribe, but none knew why -stars twinkle, why sun shine, why he no can catch rainbow. - -“Swift Foot, him get very unhappy. Him no eat, no sleep. His mother -think him going die. One day she tell him, ‘Swift Foot, you follow big -water north till you come to great river. There you find old, old -medicine man. He tell you why stars twinkle, why sun shine, why no catch -rainbow.’ - -“Swift Foot him very glad then. Him jump in birch canoe an’ paddle fast. -Many days him paddle along lake shore till he come to great river. When -he come to shore old, old man, all dried up, waiting there to meet him. - -“When Indian boy ask old medicine man what he want know, old man ask him -what he give to know all things. Swift Foot, he say he give everything -he have. Medicine man ask him if he sure. Swift Foot say yes, he give -everything to know, for he no want live longer if he can no catch -rainbow. - -“Then medicine man build big fire and boil something in pot, while he -dance round and round Swift Foot. After while Swift Foot feel strange. -He feel like he getting smaller; he cannot see far with his eyes; him -hands shake like leaves. - -“Pretty soon fire make big smoke—puff, puff. Smoke disappear, and old -man, he gone. Swift Foot all alone on shore of big water, and he know -all things. He know why stars twinkle, why sun shines, why he can no -catch rainbow. He know so much he much afraid. He jump up, try to run to -canoe. But he fall down hard. He get up, try to run again, but he no can -run—he have to walk very slow. - -“When he get down to big water it is like mirror. He bend over and look -down. Old, old man look back at him from water, oldest an’ ugliest man -he ever see. He know then him give youth for great wisdom. No more him -run an’ jump, no more him eat deer meat, for he have no teeth. He begin -weep, an’ say he no want know all things, him want be young again. All -day, all night he cry, but he not grow young again. - -“Then he paddle his canoe back to his mother, but she not know him. She -laugh when he say he Swift Foot, her son. ‘My son beautiful young boy, -you ugly, old man,’ she say. ‘Go ’way.’ - -“Swift Foot leave village then. Him go far away in forest where no man -see him. One moon he no eat anything, but pray much to Great Spirit. -Then him fall asleep. When wake up him feel strong again. He go down to -pool of water and look in. Him jump up and make big, glad noise with -mouth. Great Spirit answer prayer. Him young again. But he not remember -why stars twinkle, why sun shines, why no can catch rainbow. - -“Swift Foot go back to his mother. She very glad to see him. He say to -his mother he very happy now; him no want know why stars twinkle, why -sun shines, why no can catch rainbow. He say he love them just the same. -Many years him live happy. Make big hunter like him father, but him -never wish for what he no can get.” - -“Gee, that was a great story!” Dick exclaimed. “Who told you that one?” - -“My mother,” Toma replied briefly, and for an instant the boys thought -they detected the sparkle of tears in the dark eyes of the stoical young -Indian. - -“That story had a moral to it just like one of Aesop’s Fables,” Dick -said sleepily, as he crawled into his sleeping bag. “Guess we can’t have -our cake and eat it too. Right, Sandy?” - -But a long, tuneful snore was the only reply Dick heard from Sandy. - -The boys slept soundly for nearly ten hours, and when they awakened they -felt equal to any task that might present itself. First, they visited -the bear Dick and Toma had killed the day before, and brought back all -the meat they could carry on their backs. Since this left them well -supplied with meat for themselves, Dick decided they had better make an -effort to procure some seal or walrus meat for the dogs. - -Toma once more was elected to remain behind while Dick and Sandy went -hunting. The boys found that the seal herd had moved a considerable -distance eastward along the coast since they first had seen it. It took -them an hour of climbing over rough shore ice before they reached a -point opposite the seal herd. Even then, to their disappointment, they -found that several large ice floes, jammed together, separated them from -the seals. - -After some minutes of deliberation, they decided to venture out upon the -ice, and get nearer the seals by jumping from one cake of ice to -another. Thus they began a dangerous adventure, destined from the -beginning to end in ill fortune, for they had not gone a hundred yards -across the treacherous ice before both Dick and Sandy had slipped and -narrowly saved themselves from a bad ducking, if not drowning, by -clutching the edge of the floe which had been their objective when they -leaped the open water. - -Resting on a large, secure floe, they noticed that the tide was going -out and that frequently, from the outer edge of the ice-jam, a large -fragment detached itself and floated out to sea. - -“I think we ought to go back,” Dick said once, but they did not want to -turn back empty handed after having gone so far, so they kept on until -they were within fifty feet of the nearest seals. - -“How tame they are!” exclaimed Sandy. - -“They seem just like dogs,” Dick added. “Probably no one has killed any -of this herd for a long time. It seems a shame to shoot such innocent -looking creatures.” - -“Well, you know we have to have food for the dogs,” Sandy argued with -his tender heart. “In this country it’s eat or be eaten, and we need the -dogs and not the seals.” - -“All right, then, suppose you shoot the first one,” Dick said a little -sarcastically. - -Sandy tightened his lips, raised his rifle and took aim at the head of a -fine young seal. Just then a baby seal flopped away from its mother’s -side, directly on a line with Sandy’s sights. The baby seal stood up on -its flippers and looked at the boys as cute as could be. - -Sandy expelled his breath in a disgusted gasp, and let his rifle fall to -his hip. - -“Brave boy,” taunted Dick in fun. “If I wanted turkey for Thanksgiving I -wouldn’t send you out to chop off its head.” - -“I can’t help it,” admitted Sandy. “I’ve felt this way before, but not -so much as now. I don’t see how anyone can slaughter these animals by -the hundreds even if their skins are so valuable.” - -Just then a big bull seal crawled up on the ice out of the water, making -an angry noise in his throat. This old fellow was quite fierce looking -and did not apparently take kindly to the presence of the boys. He -reared up and fixed baleful eyes upon them, opening his huge, whiskered -mouth to show his tusks. - -Neither of the boys felt the same sympathy for this new and hostile -arrival, and Dick quickly raised his rifle and brought down the bull -with one shot. - -At the sound of the rifle almost all of the seals took to the water -hastily, swimming about and watching the man creatures from a distance. -But the old bull did not move from where he had fallen. - -“The next problem is how are we going to get this big brute ashore.” - -“Gee, I never thought of that. I wonder how much he weighs,” said Sandy, -going forward and trying to lift the dead animal. - -But the combined strength of both Dick and Sandy was only sufficient to -drag the heavy body slowly across the ice. - -“He must weigh several hundred pounds,” Dick eyed their kill -appraisingly. “I don’t think we’ll ever get him ashore, unless we cut -him up and carry him in pieces.” - -So intent were the boys on the problem at hand that they had for several -minutes lost all thought of their rather dangerous situation. It was -Sandy who first discovered something wrong. It seemed to him the ice on -which they stood was moving. - -“Dick, quick!” his voice was hoarse with fear. “This floe has broken -away from the shore ice. What shall we do!” - -Dick wheeled toward the shore, taking in their predicament at a glance. -“Run for it, Sandy. We may reach the gap before it’s too wide to jump!” - - - - - CHAPTER X - ADRIFT ON A FLOE - - -When Dick and Sandy ran for the edge of the moving floe which was -nearest the shore, they realized what might happen to them should they -fail to jump the widening stretch of water between them and safety. With -the tide going out, they would be carried out into a sea where no ships -sailed, and where they could expect no help from any friendly, inhabited -shores. - -The floe which was carrying them off was fully three hundred yards -across, and since they had been tardy in discovering their peril, they -found fate against them. Coming to a sudden stop at the edge of the -floe, they saw, with sinking hearts, that more than a hundred yards of -icy salt water separated them from the floes that still were clinging to -the shore. - -“Can’t we swim it?” cried Sandy desperately. - -“Never!” Dick returned grimly. “Not with these heavy clothes on. We’d -drown or freeze before we’d gone a third of the distance. Sandy, we’re -trapped!” - -It did not take Sandy long to see that Dick was right. Alone, with a -dead seal, upon a large ice floe, each second increased their peril as -they floated farther away from shore. Death by freezing might be their -lot, for without shelter they could not hope to weather a polar storm. -Even if they were fortunate in experiencing mild weather, they would -eventually starve. - -In a dejected mood the two boys stood watching the bleak shore line that -now seemed so warm and friendly since they had been cut off from it. - -“Do you notice the current is carrying us westward as well as north?” -Dick spoke up presently. - -“No, but I can see you’re right,” rejoined Sandy. “But what’s the -difference?” - -“If we keep drifting at this angle, we’ll sight our camp and maybe we -can signal Toma.” - -Sandy’s face brightened for an instant, then he gave in again to his -former forebodings. “Toma can’t do anything for us,” he said. - -“Maybe not right away. At least he’ll know what has happened to us, and -can notify the policemen when they return.” - -Sandy realized the wisdom in Dick’s words, and sat down to watch for the -first sign of their camp. - -The floe slowly turned as it was carried along with the ocean current, -and the boys were forced to change their position frequently in order to -stay on the side nearest the shore. And since their huge raft was -floating out to sea as well as westward past the camp site, it became a -problem as to whether they would not be too far away to signal Toma when -that moment came. - -Tensely they waited. For twenty minutes the floe forged along with its -human cargo before Dick suddenly gave a glad shout. At a distance of -about half a mile, the igloos of their camp appeared, surrounded by the -tiny dark dots which represented the sledges and other dunnage. But -there was no sign of life. - -Dick and Sandy pointed their rifles into the air and emptied the -magazines. But the shots brought no figure tumbling out of one of the -far away igloos. - -“He’s inside and can’t hear us. If he does he’ll probably think we’re -shooting seals.” - -“Let’s fire more shots,” Sandy suggested. - -They reloaded and repeated their first salvo, with no better results. -Slowly the igloos grew smaller and smaller as they floated farther out -to sea, and at last they sat down and gave up. - -“Well, Toma couldn’t have helped us anyway,” Dick said, trying to make -the best of their misfortune. - -“No, but it would make me feel a lot better if I knew someone knew what -had happened to us.” - -Dick agreed and fell silent, wracking his brain for a way out. But the -more he thought it over, the more certain he became that they were in -the hands of fate. Nothing but a miracle could save them. - -They had not been at sea an hour until a new peril presented itself. The -ice floe upon which they had been marooned was breaking up. Large -segments began cracking away from the main body and floating off by -themselves. - -“We must stay together, Sandy,” Dick said, “Suppose one of those cracks -came between us.” - -Sandy shivered at the thought and eyed the ice under his feet. Holding -hands, the boys walked to the center of the floe where the ice seemed -the thickest. - -The shore was now only a dim line to the south, while around rose and -fell the icy waves of the desolate polar sea. Here and there a berg -wallowed along and occasionally they collided with a slower moving body -of ice. Dick thought of jumping off the floe to one of the bergs, but -changed his mind since the faster moving floe might possibly run into -land while the loggy iceberg would float in almost the same place for -days. - -Adding to the danger of their situation, the sky was becoming overcast -by a film of gray clouds and a freezing wind was springing up, -heightening the waves and throwing icy cold spray across the floe. - -“We’re in for a storm, Sandy,” Dick said, beating his arms against his -body to keep warm. “It’s up to us to fix up some sort of wind break or -else we can’t stand the cold. Think we can chop some cakes of ice out of -this floe?” - -“We sure can try,” responded Sandy, drawing out his sheath knife with -alacrity. - -Both boys then set to work industriously and after considerable hard -labor, succeeded in chipping out some good sized chunks of ice. These -they built up in a half circle, rounded against the wind. Against the -wall they flung water with their mittens. The water quickly froze, -cementing the blocks together and forming an effective wind break. -Behind this they hovered while the wind increased in velocity and a -heavy snow began to fall. - -They dared not sleep for fear they would freeze before they awoke, and -though the dread drowsiness that is the first symptom of freezing stole -over them again and again, they fought it off grimly. Once both fell -asleep at the same time in spite of all they could do, but the fast -moving floe struck a large berg with a grinding, rending crash and -startled them to the temporary safety of wakefulness. Had it not been -for the wind break they had erected they would undoubtedly have frozen -to death. As it was, they were forced to watch each other, to prevent -sleep coming to both at the same time. Sometimes Dick pounded Sandy -until his eyes opened, and again Sandy beat and shouted at Dick above -the roar of the storm, and the crashing and grinding of ice. - -Neither had the least idea where they were being driven to, they had -even lost all sense of direction, every effort bent on keeping a spark -of life burning in their numb bodies. - -It seemed to the boys that the battle with the cold would never end, -that they had floated in the storm for hours, when suddenly the floe -came to a jarring stop, and a deluge of ice water rolled across it, -almost washing Dick and Sandy from their position under the wind break. - -“I wonder what we’ve hit!” Dick shouted hoarsely. - -“It must be a berg,” Sandy cried in reply. - -“But we aren’t moving at all,” Dick shouted back. - -Believing they might have been washed ashore on some island, the boys -braved the full force of the storm and staggered out of their wind break -to investigate. The snow and spray almost blinded them, but at last they -made out a huge mass of ice upon which the floe had lodged. It rose up -for nearly fifty feet and withstood every charge of the gigantic waves -that crashed against it. - -Yet, in the brief period when the wind cleared the air of flying snow, -they could see the swell of waves beyond the ice which was holding them. - -“It’s a grounded berg!” Dick shouted at last, and Sandy and he fought -their way back to the welcome shelter of their wind break. - -“We must be pretty close to land,” Sandy opined. - -“Yes, but there’s no telling how deep the water is here. The berg we’ve -lodged on may extend down into the water for a hundred feet. There’s -always more of a berg under water than there is above. We’ve got to -stick it out until this storm blows over.” - -And so they renewed their struggle to fight off the gnawing cold, -cheered somewhat by the probabilities that when the storm blew over they -would see land. - -It was two hours later when the wind slackened perceptibly and the snow -ceased to fall. With shouts of joy the boys then saw, about a mile away, -across the dashing waves, a line of black cliffs, streaked with snow. - -“Now if we could only find some way to float in on those breakers. But I -don’t see how we could take a chance on a cake of ice. We couldn’t stick -to it a second before we got washed off into the sea.” - -“We’ll have to wait till the waves die down,” Sandy said. “If I wasn’t -so weak, maybe we could paddle a chunk of ice then.” - -Dick shook his head. “That might do in a story book, but even if we -weren’t just about ready to drop, we couldn’t do that.” - -Glumly, they began the wait for the waves to go down, tightening their -belts upon flat and gnawing stomachs. With the ceasing of the storm -their hunger became three times as noticeable. Had the dead seal, which -had first accompanied them on the floe, still been with them, they might -have tackled raw blubber, but the waves had washed the seal into the sea -long before. - -Though the wind had fallen, the boys found themselves little more -comfortable, for the temperature began to fall alarmingly. With the -passing of every hour the still air grew colder while the waves quieted -under the iron hand of Jack Frost. - -The boys chewed ice to cool their thirsting mouths and partially allay -the great hunger that was swiftly weakening them. They could not judge -the passage of time rationally now, and when Dick awakened from a stupor -that had come upon him in spite of all he could do, he found the water -around them almost as smooth as glass. - -Staggering to his feet Dick pulled Sandy to his feet and together they -gazed on a phenomenon of the north that was like a miracle in their -eyes. - -The open water, or lead, between the land and the berg on which they had -lodged, was frozen over, and a level walk of thin ice bridged a way to -safety. - -“Can we walk on it?” Sandy asked in a hoarse, thick voice. - -“I don’t know,” Dick replied through blue lips. “I’ll test it.” - -Guiding his weakened legs by force of will alone, Dick cautiously -approached the edge of the floe and placed one foot down on the ice. He -bore his weight, by degrees, on the one foot. The ice cracked a little -and gave downward, then as he placed the last of his weight upon the -ice, it broke through. Dick saved himself from a cold bath that might, -at that time, have meant the finish of him, by falling face downward on -the floe and drawing himself back to safety. He would have given up -then, had not a heart-rending groan from Sandy aroused in him a new -determination. For he could not bear to see his chum lying there, slowly -freezing, when there was an ounce of strength left in him. - -Into Dick’s numb senses crept an idea. The snowshoes strapped upon their -backs! If the ice would not hold weight upon the narrow surface of a -boot sole, might it not support them if their weight were distributed -upon the broad rim of snowshoes? - -In frantic haste Dick aroused Sandy and shouted his plan into his dazed -chum’s ears. Fumbling fingers then began the slow process of attaching -snowshoes to tingling feet. At last the task was accomplished, and the -boys began shuffling toward the thin ice. - -Dick went first, skating as lightly as possible out on the ice. His -heart was in his mouth. Would the ice hold? - -The ice sprang downward slightly and tiny cracks spread out all around -Dick, but the ice held. - -“Don’t follow my track,” he cried to Sandy, about to leave the floe. -“Start somewhere where the ice hasn’t been strained. We’ve got to hurry. -This salt water may melt at any moment.” - -Sandy did as he was told and there began a more perilous half mile of -snowshoeing than the boys ever before had experienced or ever hoped to -experience again. - -Faster and faster they skated over the rubbery ice, praying they would -strike no weaker spot, every nerve strained to the utmost in their -fear-driven flight. - -Under any other circumstances the boys would surely have fallen -completely exhausted before they finished that terrible half mile of -snowshoeing. But it was life or death, and all the reserve energy in -their strong, young bodies came to the front to carry them through. - -One last spurt of speed and they tumbled onto the heaps of solid ice -marking the beach and solid land. Scarcely had they landed when the -water broke through the rapidly melting ice. - -Sandy could not raise himself and Dick had just enough strength left to -drag himself to a standing position. His roving eyes fell upon a flock -of eider ducks a little distance away. His stomach crying out for food, -Dick reeled toward the wild fowl, scattering them to right and left. He -found quickly what he was looking for. Eggs! - -Pawing into a nest he rolled out three eggs, and without testing them to -see whether they were fresh or not, he cracked the shells and drank down -the life-giving nourishment. Hastily picking up two more eggs, he -stumbled back to Sandy and forced him to suck the raw whites. - -Both boys revived by the duck eggs, they waited for the ducks to settle -back to their nests, and shot two of them. - -Dick and Sandy ordinarily would have been repelled at the idea of eating -raw flesh, but now nothing seemed sweeter than the warm white meat of -the eider ducks. They ate their fill, like young savages, and found -warmth and strength returning to their half-frozen bodies. - -Spirits rising through the effect of the food and their recent -deliverance from the drifting ice floe, the boys were about to start -further inland, when Sandy pointed to a boulder only a hundred feet -away. - -“I thought I saw something move over there,” he whispered. - -Dick opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. From behind the -boulder arose the head and upper body of an Eskimo—and yet, was it an -Eskimo? - -“His skin is white!” Sandy exclaimed. - -“It’s the white Eskimo!” Dick echoed. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE CAMP OF FROZEN MEN - - -So amazed were Dick and Sandy by this sudden and inexplicable -reappearance of the white Eskimo that they could not move from their -tracks for fully a minute. The half-breed did not move. He stared at -them as if he, too, had been surprised, then one of his arms raised in a -sort of signal. - -Dick and Sandy aroused to their danger too late. From a dozen hiding -places as many uncouth brown figures appeared, with spears and rifles -leveled at them. Hemmed in and outnumbered, there was but one thing for -them to do—surrender. - -Sandy’s rifle clattered to the ice, and Dick’s followed quickly, while -both raised their hands. The white Eskimo then came forward and picked -up their rifles. He addressed them in broken English, which had a French -accent mingled with the Eskimo tang: - -“I ees pleased ver’ much, boys. While zee poleece chase zee wild goose, -I git zere little helpers. Zat not so?” - -“You may have the drop on us now,” retorted Dick with more spirit than -was really in his half-famished, half-frozen body, “but we have friends -nearby and you will wish you never had troubled us.” - -The white Eskimo laughed scoffingly. “You think you make zee fool of me. -Ha! Zose mounted police long way from here. They look, look everywhere -for Fred Mistak, but Mistak like the ghost. He disappear like -nossing—quick!” - -Dick remained silent at this, thinking it best not to arouse the -ill-humor of their savage captor. He was interested, if disappointed to -learn that their friends, the policemen, were so far away. He had -half-hoped the storm had thrown them back upon land somewhere near the -other members of the expedition. - -Mistak seemed to have no desire to loiter in the vicinity of the capture -and speedily forced the boys to fall in line and start off inland. Tired -as they were, the two prisoners assumed a calmness they did not feel as -they began the long climb up a steep trail that led to the summit of the -cliffs which formed that portion of the coast. - -Dick studied the evil faces of his captors and saw that only few of them -were Eskimos. The greater number of the gang included renegade Indians, -half-breeds, and one who seemed a full blooded white man. Dick did not -doubt that every man of them either carried a price on his head or was -at least a fugitive from the courts of justice. The white man and two of -the Indians had rifles, and Mistak wore a revolver on a belt about his -waist. - -The sinister company climbed to the top of the cliffs, forcing the boys -along at the point of spears, and marched on for about a mile across the -snow and ice to what seemed to be a temporary encampment. Six igloos had -been built in the shelter of a ridge, and two sledges loaded with frozen -seal blubber lay under the watch of an Eskimo. - -Mistak gruffly ordered Dick and Sandy into an igloo. As soon as the boys -had reached the crude bedding inside the snow house, they gave over to -the great weariness that possessed them. Lost to everything but the need -of sleep, they fell into a deep unconsciousness regardless of the fact -that they were in the hands of enemies from whom they might expect no -mercy. - -Dick knew not how long he had slept when he aroused to hear someone at -the entrance of the igloo. One of the Eskimos crawled half way in with -two chunks of seal blubber in his arms. These he tossed at the two -recumbent forms with a few guttural and unintelligible words in his -native tongue, and crawled out again. - -Dick was terribly hungry, and though the seal blubber did not exactly -appeal to his appetite, he found, upon tasting the greasy meat, that it -was better than nothing. He awakened Sandy, and together they made their -first meal upon raw seal blubber, finding that the more they ate of it -the better it tasted. - -“It’s not bad when a fellow’s half starved,” Sandy remarked as they -finished the last of the blubber. - -Dick was about to answer when the sound of voices outside interrupted -him. He signaled Sandy to remain quiet and together they listened. But -they could not distinguish the words through the thick walls of the -igloo, though they recognized the voice of Fred Mistak. - -Hoping to learn something of what Mistak intended to do with Sandy and -him, Dick motioned to his chum to remain where he was and crawled in the -hole that served as the entrance of the igloo. A huge cake of snow had -been carelessly pushed up against the outside of the hole and placing -one ear against this, Dick could hear Mistak’s voice quite plainly. He -seemed to be speaking to the white man in the outfit. - -“I tell you zat we cannot bozzer wis zee two young ones. It ees best we -put them where zay cannot talk. You see?” Mistak was saying. - -The other man swore, then replied loudly: “You know we got enough blood -on our hands now, Mistak, to send us over the road for life. It’ll be -hangin’ for you an’ me if we put these yonkers out of the way right -under the noses of the mounted.” - -“Well, zen, what you say we put zem wiz Thalman?” - -Thalman! That was the name of the lost corporal! Dick electrified with -eagerness to hear more, but the two walked off a little way out of -earshot. He crawled back to Sandy, confiding what he had heard. - -“According to that, Corporal Thalman must be alive alright,” Sandy -observed. - -“Yes, but the question is, do we want to go where he is as Mistak -hinted. It looks like Thalman is in a pretty tight prison or he’d have -gotten out by this time. And we can help him more on the outside than on -the inside. Besides I don’t trust this Mistak a little bit. He’d cut our -throats in a minute if the white man agreed. We’d better see if we can’t -escape.” - -“If there was any darkness to do it in, we might get away,” Sandy -retorted, “but in this never-ending daylight, I don’t see how we can do -it.” - -“Listen—I’ve a plan,” Dick drew closer to his chum, and began in a -whisper. “When we came up I could see that this igloo was built on a -long snowdrift that stretches clear to a ravine on the right. We still -have our knives and with these we can dig a tunnel under the snow.” - -“But suppose they come in while we’re working?” - -“I thought of that. We’ll work one at a time, while one keeps watch at -the entrance of the igloo. At first we can jump up out of the tunnel, -which we’ll start in the floor, and lie down over it with our bedding. -If they come clear inside they’ll think we’re sleeping.” - -“What about the loose snow?” Sandy asked. - -“That we can scatter over the floor and pack it down with our boots. The -hardest job will be coming out of the drift at the right place. What we -must do is tunnel under the igloo and through the drift to the side -hidden from the camp.” - -Sandy became enthusiastic over Dick’s daring scheme and without delay -they commenced the difficult task. Dick started the digging while Sandy -watched. The snow was hard, but by keeping at it he soon was far enough -down so that he could change the direction of his digging toward the -outside of the snowdrift, which was to furnish the cover for their -escape. - -They had changed places twice and Sandy was again on watch when the -crunch of footfalls sounded approaching the igloo. - -“Quick. Someone’s coming!” Sandy whispered down the tunnel. - -Dick was only a few seconds backing out of the hole and dropping prone -over it, the bedding drawn about him. Sandy also feigned sleep nearby -and with bated breath they awaited whoever was coming. - -But the Indian who looked in at the igloo entrance did not come in. He -seemed satisfied that the two prisoners were asleep and departed to -other business. - -However, the narrow escape from detection put a scare into them that set -them to devising some other means of covering up their work when visited -by one of the gang. With chunks of snow from the tunnel they fashioned a -form to resemble a body and wrapping this in bedding they placed it in -as life-like a sleeping position as possible near the tunnel. If they -were visited again the one on watch could lie down over the entrance to -the tunnel, while the other could lie still under the snow without -leaving the tunnel. - -After this ruse was ready for use they felt more confident of success -and redoubled their efforts. - -It was Dick who first poked a hole through the snow to the light of the -outside world. His heart leaping at the thought that they had succeeded, -he looked out of the hole, only to receive one of the greatest shocks of -his life. Not ten feet away sat an Eskimo, one of Mistak’s band, chewing -on a chunk of seal blubber! As Dick watched with terror-widened eyes, -the Eskimo looked directly at him, and paused in his eating. Dick could -not force himself to move. Every moment he expected some sign from the -Eskimo that he had discovered the attempt to escape, yet the native -finally resumed his eating without any alarming actions. - -Breathing a sigh of relief Dick plugged up the hole and lay on his -stomach in the snow tunnel, wondering if there had been some mistake in -their calculations which had brought them out on the wrong side of the -snowdrift. But no, they were on the right side of the drift. Nothing -could have so confused them as to cause any such disastrous error. The -Eskimo must have been there by chance. Dick decided that the native had -been hiding from the rest of his band, probably because he had stolen -more rations of food than was his allotment. - -After waiting a reasonable length of time, Dick cleared the peep hole -and looked out. The Eskimo was gone. - -Hastily Dick wriggled back through the tunnel and reported to Sandy the -welcome news that they had reached the surface of the drift and could -now leave the igloo. - -Hoping they might delay the discovery of their escape until they had a -good start, they fashioned a second dummy from rolled bedding and Sandy, -the last one into the snow tunnel, drew this over the hole after him. - -A few minutes later they had cautiously broken out of the snowdrift and -were crawling along the snow bank away from the encampment. - -Once in the ravine, into which the drift led, they strapped on their -snowshoes, which Mistak had not thought it necessary to take from them, -and made good time away from their captors. - -“Just give us as much as an hour’s start and I’ll bet they’ll never -catch us,” Dick cried exultantly. - -“No, you bet they’ll never catch me,” Sandy repeated emphatically. “I -think too much of my skin to have it punched full of holes by that gun -in Mistak’s belt.” - -Settling into a long, swinging, crab-like stride, the boys covered -almost four miles on their snowshoes before they felt it necessary to -call a halt. - -Sandy was about winded, and fell back against a boulder completely -relaxed, but Dick still felt fairly spry so he crawled to the top of a -nearby hill and looked over the back trail. He was about to call down to -Sandy that all was well when, from a narrow defile through which he -remembered they had passed, he saw five figures coming fast on -snowshoes. Dick felt a chill that was not from the frosty air creep up -his spine. He did not doubt that the distant men were Mistak and several -of his gang. - -“Sandy, they’re after us,” Dick called down in a tense voice. - -Sandy got excitedly to his feet and urged Dick to hurry on with him. But -the elder lad had something else in mind as he climbed down from the -hill. - -“Sandy, there are expert snowshoers in that bunch following us,” Dick -said coolly. “We don’t stand a show of keeping the lead we have.” - -“Well, we can’t stand them off without rifles. All we have left is our -hunting knives.” - -“But we can still throw them off our track if we use our heads,” said -Dick quickly. “Did you notice that long stretch of hard ice and barren -rock that we’ve been following for more than half a mile?” - -“Yes,” Sandy began to be interested. - -“Well, we can go on along the snow until we angle into the ice and rock -under that high barren hill in front of us. They’ll think we climbed the -hill, and will go on to pick up our tracks in the next patch of snow. -There’s where we’ll fool them. We’ll double on our trail where we can’t -leave any footprints, and hide somewhere until they give up hunting for -us.” - -“Sounds pretty good to me,” replied Sandy. “Let’s mush!” - -Quickly, then, the boys carried their plan into execution. They ran on -to the point where the snow gave way to barren rock and ice, swept clean -by high winds. Here they removed their snowshoes and turned almost -squarely about. Running lightly across the stones and ice, they covered -about a quarter of a mile on the back trail leaving no tracks to show -where they had gone. Then they began looking for a hiding place. - -It was Dick who spied a hole under the shelf of a cut bank, which led -back under ground. There were no signs that the cavern had been -inhabited recently by any wild animals, and after calling Sandy to his -side, Dick got on hands and knees and crawled into the dark passage. - -The hole grew larger as the boys traversed it, and finally they were -able to run along at a crouch. - -Presently Dick stopped Sandy. “We’d better not go too far,” he -cautioned. “Why not go back to a point where the hole is smaller and -block it up with stones and ice? Then if they happen to discover the -entrance to this cave they’ll run into where we’ve plugged it up and -they’ll think that is the end of the cave.” - -Sandy agreed that this was an excellent idea and they hurried back to -carry it out. Ten minutes later, feeling much more secure with the -barrier thrown up in the small end of the passage, the boys decided to -follow the underground corridor to its end or to a point where it -branched off into a larger cave. - -As they advanced, the passage rapidly grew lighter, until finally they -came out into broad daylight. Looking around, they saw they had reached -a sort of amphitheater formed by walls of ice-covered stone about fifty -feet in height. The floor of the place was about a hundred feet in -diameter, but what set the hearts of the boys to pounding frantically, -was the fact that a man sat with his back to the wall not fifteen yards -away, and a little further on, lying with his face against the side of a -broken dog sledge, was another man. - -Were they friend or foe? The boys did not know. Something in the very -stillness of the two figures boded no good. But they were between two -fires, and they must take a chance. - -“Hello, there,” called Dick, boldly. - -There was no answer. Again Dick called out, without getting any reply. -His face paled a little at the strange silence of the men and summoning -all his courage he stepped up and grasped the one sitting against the -wall by the shoulder. With a cry of horror he staggered back. The body -was immovable as stone to the touch, and from the depths of the parka -stared a pair of glassy, sightless eyes. - -Dick and Sandy turned and looked at each other, swallowing lumps in -their throats, and experiencing unpleasant goose-flesh. - -For what they had stumbled upon, in that secluded nook, was a camp of -frozen men! - - - - - CHAPTER XII - TRAPPED! - - -At the moment Dick and Sandy discovered themselves in the company of men -from whom life had long since fled, they would have gladly chosen to -face Mistak and his men rather than remain in the strange, canyon-like -pit a second longer. But time and the real peril awaiting them, if they -were discovered by Mistak, steadied their nerves. - -“It’s silly of us to act like a couple of babies when we see two dead -men,” Dick found his tongue again. - -“Maybe it is,” Sandy rejoined in a shaky voice, “but it was worse than -finding a skeleton in a dark clothes closet.” - -Dick silently agreed with Sandy, but thought it better not to admit it -aloud. Instead, he assumed a calmness he did not feel in order to -disperse Sandy’s fears. - -“What we must do now,” said Dick, “is try to find out who these men -were. They may have been of some importance in the south—engineers, -explorers, or scientists.” - -“Go ahead if you want to,” Sandy shook his head as he eyed their -gruesome find. “I’ll go back into the cave where I can hear any one that -may come in on the other side of the barricade.” - -Left alone with the dead men, Dick set immediately about what he thought -was his duty. Upon closer inspection he found that the men had not -really frozen to death as he had at first supposed, but that one, or -both, of them had died from injuries received from a bad fall. - -The body near the sledge was partially wedged under one of the runners. -The sledge itself was crushed and splintered in front beyond repair. -Dick gazed up at the edge of the walls forming the amphitheater, -picturing in his mind what he thought had happened. This is what he -imagined: - -Two men, sledging over an uncharted land in the teeth of a blinding -blizzard. An ineffectual struggle of dog and man to avoid slipping into -an abyss which they sensed. Then the crash of the sledge and bodies at -the foot of the bank. One man had died immediately, crushed by the fall -and the sledge. The other had lived to crawl away and lean up against -the rock wall which he had never quitted. It was one of the countless -tragedies of the north, one of the secrets of the mysterious -disappearance of men who had braved the Arctic and never returned. - -Dick inspected every foot of ground near the sledge and found the -remains of their dogs. But nowhere could he find any record or memoranda -as to who the men were and what had been their mission. - -He was about to examine the ice-crusted dunnage in the wrecked sledge -when Sandy came running in calling to him. - -“Someone’s in the cave! I believe Mistak has trailed us after all!” - -Dick hastily quitted his work at the sledge and ran back into the cave -after Sandy. When they reached the point where they had plugged up the -passage, their worst fears were realized. Someone was trying to break -in, and the mumble of voices came faintly to their ears. The boys had -underestimated the trail-craft of the white Eskimo and his men. - -“Mistak has discovered our hiding place in spite of all the pains we -took to cover our tracks,” Dick spoke disappointedly. “All we can do now -is keep them out by adding to this barricade. We can rebuild it faster -than they can break it down, because on the other side only one can work -at a time. Let’s get to work, Sandy.” - -All the loose boulders and fragments of ice the boys could find they -brought to the barricade and piled there as fast as possible. But they -soon found that their enemies were gaining on them. This was not -noticeable until the boys had used up all the boulders near them and -were required to run all the way to the amphitheater for more material. -Also, as Mistak’s men worked their way further in, the cave became -larger and the outlaws could work more freely. Added to this, Dick’s and -Sandy’s job of filling the passage became bigger and bigger the further -back they retreated. - -“We’ll never keep them out!” Sandy panted at last. “I guess this is our -last adventure, Dick.” - -“Don’t give up yet, Sandy,” Dick strove to encourage his chum. - -Grimly, they stuck to the losing fight, determined not to give up until -they had carried the last available stone into the passage to impede the -progress of Fred Mistak, whose voice they could now plainly hear urging -his men on to greater efforts. Like rats excavated by a clawing dog, -Dick and Sandy were determined to sell their lives dearly. - -Yet, Providence intervened. Suddenly, the work of Mistak’s men ceased, -and the echo of running feet sounded in the icy corridor, accompanied by -hoarse shouts of anger and dismay. - -“What’s happened?” Sandy turned to Dick, hardly able to believe the good -fortune that seemed to be coming to them. - -Dick did not answer, but stood very still, listening intently. Finally, -the last sounds of retreating footsteps died away. - -“We’ll wait a little longer, then open up the passage and find out what -or who frightened Mistak away,” said Dick. - -For what seemed to the boys about a quarter of an hour, they waited in -the dark passage. At the end of this time they began cautiously removing -the boulders that blocked the passage. A few minutes later they crawled -one at a time from the tiny entrance, finding the vicinity deserted. - -“Funny,” Dick looked about puzzledly. “What do you suppose frightened -them away?” - -Sandy was as much at loss as his chum to account for Mistak’s departure, -but presently a distant hail electrified them with attention, and the -mystery of their rescue was solved. - -About three hundred yards across the snow appeared a dog team and two -men, the identity of whom the boys were not long in correctly guessing. - -“Hurrah! The police! The police!” shouted Dick, leaping down the rocky -slope joyously, Sandy close on his heels. - -It was not long before Dick and Sandy were eagerly gripping the huge, -mittened hands of Corporal McCarthy and Constable Sloan. The story of -their adventures since the officers had left the base, bubbled from -their lips by fits and starts, the policemen hardly succeeding in -getting a word in edgewise. - -“Mistak pulled up stakes and mushed on when we made it too hot for him -on the glacier,” Corporal McCarthy finally managed to explain. “We -picked up his trail again three days ago and have been traveling fast -ever since.” - -“Well, his camp can’t be more than five miles from here,” Dick hastened -to say. “But Mistak won’t stay there now, Corporal. He’s a mighty clever -criminal, and now he knows you’re this close he’ll work a trick to get -you off the trail.” - -“Well, we can’t let him get away if there’s half a chance nabbing him,” -Corporal McCarthy replied determinedly. “But Sloan and I need a few -hours’ rest, and we might as well look over those bodies you boys say -you found.” - -The dogs were unharnessed outside the cavern entrance, and left in -charge of Constable Sloan, while Corporal McCarthy crawled into the cave -after Dick and Sandy. The officer was as amazed as the boys had been -when he first laid eyes upon the frozen figures. His opinion was that of -Dick—that the men had slid or stepped over the precipitous wall of the -amphitheater while blinded by a snow storm. Though the policeman -searched fully an hour for something by which to identify the bodies, he -had no luck, and at last gave up after making a brief entry in a small -notebook he carried. - -“The best we can do is give them an Eskimo burial,” the Corporal -concluded his inspection. “If you fellows will help me gather a few -stones we’ll soon have the sad business over with.” - -A few minutes later, as gently as possible, they deposited the bodies in -their last resting place, and built over each a substantial cairn of -stones. - -From the wrecked sledge, Corporal McCarthy then tore some strips of -wood, and lashing two together with leather thongs, he fashioned a cross -for each. On the horizontal cross-pieces he carved this inscription: - - “Found Sept. 19, 1925. - Identity Unknown. - Corporal Lake McCarthy, R.N.W.M.P.” - -As soon as the crosses were planted and they had bowed their heads in -silent prayer for the unknown victims of the north, they quitted the -cavern and rejoined Constable Sloan. - -A temporary camp was made, tea boiled, and bedding spread out, and while -the boys thirstily gulped the hot beverage, the policemen discussed -plans for the apprehension of Fred Mistak. - -Among many other things the boys learned that they were upward of forty -miles from the base of supplies Toma had been left alone to guard. The -island upon which they thought they had landed when they left the -mainland, seemed to stretch endlessly to the northeast, widening -constantly until it disappeared under a solid ice cap. - -Fuel oil for the special camp stoves was very low, and the policemen had -only about three days’ provisions left, which was largely fresh musk-ox -which Constable Sloan had shot during the man hunt. Also several of the -dogs had died from piblockto, a sort of madness peculiar to the polar -regions. - -“According to what the policemen say,” Dick confided to Sandy, “we’ll -have to make quick work of Mistak. With the supplies as low as they say -they are, we’ll have to start for our base mighty soon or the north will -do for us what it did for those two fellows at the end of the cave.” - -“We can’t get back any too soon to suit me,” said Sandy earnestly. - -The policemen rested the dogs and themselves for nearly two hours, when -they harnessed up and once more set out upon the trail of Fred Mistak. -Half a mile from the white Eskimo’s rendezvous the snowshoe tracks led -on steadily, then there were signs of a delay in the trampled snow. One -man had gone on from there, obviously to warn whoever had been left at -the igloos of the proximity of the police. Beside the undeviating -snowshoe prints leading toward Mistak’s igloos, there was a bewildering -maze of tracks leading in all directions. - -“They’ve scattered out, every man for himself,” was Constable Sloan’s -opinion. “But if we hurry on to the camp we might catch a few of them.” - -Corporal McCarthy thought this good counsel, and they set out -immediately for the encampment from which Dick and Sandy had so recently -escaped. But they found the igloos deserted, their round, white domes -crushed and destroyed. - -Constable Sloan explained to the boys that the igloos had been broken -down by the superstitious Eskimos in Mistak’s band, who believed that if -they left the igloos intact, evil spirits would come and live in them. - -The policemen were considerably disappointed to find that Mistak’s band -had once more given them the slip. The scattering of the band had made -it impossible to tell just which trail was Mistak’s, and there was -nothing more to do but return to the base of operations for more dogs -and supplies. - -After a scanty meal at Mistak’s deserted camp, they set out upon the -forty-mile dash to the home camp, praying for fair weather, and hoping -no more of the dogs would contract the dreaded piblockto. - -Five days of fair weather and the half-famished company came in sight of -their base to find considerable changes in evidence. In place of the -three igloos they had built, there were ten of the neat snow houses. A -host of dogs hung about the little village, and out at sea they could -see two kayacks bobbing about, manned by as many Eskimos. - -“What is this!” exclaimed Corporal McCarthy. “Visitors, eh!” - -“I’ll bet I know how they came here!” Dick exclaimed. - -“I think I know, too,” Sandy added. - -“Well, what do you think accounts for all these uninvited guests?” asked -Constable Sloan. - -“Sipsa brought them,” Dick replied. “Remember, I told you how he left us -and that his trail led over the back trail? Well, just as Sandy and I -had it figured out, he went after some of his people on account of the -good seal hunting here.” - -Just then the appearance of Toma changed the subject, and the boys -hastened forward to greet their young Indian friend. Though Toma must -have been filled with great joy upon seeing Dick and Sandy safe and -sound, he did not express it except with a broad grin and an added -brightness in his black eyes. - -Shortly, proof appeared that Dick had been right in his surmise as to -the reason for the coming of the Eskimos. It was in the form of Sipsa’s -moon face, split by a huge smile. The guide showed himself while Toma -and the policemen were unharnessing the dogs and unpacking the sledge. -Constable Sloan spoke to the native, reprimanding him for deserting the -boys, but Sipsa did not quite understand that his offense had been so -serious. - -“Sipsa says the hunting was good here, and he could not resist carrying -the news to his people,” Constable Sloan interpreted. “He adds that he -had trouble in convincing them that the glacier was not haunted by bad -spirits. The drivers who deserted us carried the news back to the -village that the ‘white Eskimo’ had changed all of us to ice.” - -“It wouldn’t take an evil spirit to do that in this country,” Dick -remarked to Sandy, recalling the frozen bodies they had found so -recently. - -Having eaten their fill and had a few hours’ nap, Dick and Sandy crawled -out of their igloo and commenced a detailed inspection of their native -visitors. While most of the men and women were out hunting, a few old -women and children had remained behind. - -The old women were making boots and shirts of sealskin and caribou hide, -using an ivory needle and thread of caribou sinews. They did not seem to -mind having Dick and Sandy watch them, and so the boys satisfied their -curiosity to the utmost. - -At one of the igloos a woman was cleaning a fur rug or robe by an -interesting method. She poured melted snow water upon the fur, and shook -it in the cold air until the tiny drops of moisture clinging to the -hairs froze into globules of ice. It seemed that the particles of dirt -in the fur were imprisoned in the little balls of ice. When the fur -seemed well covered with the ice crust, the women lay it fur-side down -in clean snow and beat it for a long time. This done, she hung up the -robe and beat the fur side, the ice particles flying to right and left. -When the last of the ice balls had disappeared from the fur, the robe -seemed as dry and glossy as if it still was on the animal that first had -borne it. - -The boys were called away from the Eskimos by Corporal McCarthy who -wished them to explain to him again just what they had heard regarding -Corporal Thalman, the lost officer, while they were prisoners at -Mistak’s rendezvous. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - A NARWHAL - - -Certain, now, through the chance discoveries of Dick and Sandy, that -Corporal Thalman was alive somewhere in the frozen land, the policemen -hastened to prepare for another venture into Mistak’s outlaw fastnesses. -The nearness of the polar winter, or period of complete darkness, also -served to hasten them in their work, for without the sun to light the -trail and under the terrible cold that accompanied the long night, they -could not hope to accomplish anything. - -Two days after pulling into their base of supplies from their first long -and unsuccessful man hunt, the policemen once more set out in the -direction they had lost Mistak, leaving Dick and Sandy with plenty of -good advice and many precautions for them to avoid the dangers which -they had fallen into when first left to take care of themselves. - -Dick and Sandy put in the first twelve hours following the departure of -the officers, in cleaning and oiling extra rifles from the supplies, to -replace those taken by Mistak, and in practicing with a harpoon. Sipsa -proved a willing teacher in the art of handling this death dealing -weapon effectively, and while the boys could not begin to equal the -accuracy of the life-time trained natives, they were attentive students -and soon became fair marksmen. - -After nearly a week of practice with the harpoon the boys decided to -commandeer a kayack each and try their luck at sea, along with the -Eskimo hunters. Sipsa had begun to pick up some English words, and the -boys had managed to master a little Eskimo, so that when the day came -for their first try at hunting with a harpoon, there was more of an -understanding between them and their Eskimo friend than there had been -formerly. - -A narwhal had been sighted several times in the vicinity of the seal -herd, Sipsa said, and the boys took added interest in the hunt with the -promise of such big game as a whale to lead them on. - -“I’ll bet I get my harpoon into that narwhal before you do,” sang out -Sandy, as they put off shore in the waterproofed kayacks. - -“Well, if you do, it may be my lucky day,” Dick came back. “Those -narwhals are mean fellows and if you don’t get them in a vital spot they -can smash your kayack with their tail or long spear tusk and drown you.” - -“I’ll take a chance on that,” Sandy replied, not quite so -enthusiastically as he deftly guided his craft toward the hunters at -work in the seal herd. - -But the boys did not join in the seal hunt. For a time they amused -themselves by running races in the kayacks which handled a good deal -like canoes. Gradually they drifted further out to sea and away from the -Eskimos, busily dodging icebergs and casting and recasting their -harpoons into the water to accustom themselves to throwing from a -rocking kayack. - -About a quarter of a mile from the seal herd Dick paused to rest and to -permit Sandy, whom he had outdistanced, to overtake him. The sea seemed -to him particularly clear of floating ice at this point, he having -noticed but one small fragment of ice about twenty feet ahead of him. - -For probably a minute Dick watched Sandy paddling forward, and then he -faced the front again only to receive a distinct shock. The low-lying -berg had moved by some power other than the ocean current. Eyes widened, -Dick watched what he had thought to be an inanimate piece of ice. His -heart hammered against his breast. Again the ice moved, and this time it -surged upward, the water seething and foaming about it. One glimpse Dick -got of a white belly, a long pointed snout, and a huge slashing tail, -and then the whole vision vanished in a whirl of waves that rocked his -frail craft crazily. - -Dick knew now that what he had thought to be a fragment of mottled ice, -was the narwhal Sipsa had told them was haunting the vicinity. His hand -tightened on his harpoon as he turned to shout the news of his discovery -to Sandy. - -“The narwhal! The narwhal!” cried Dick. - -Sandy redoubled his efforts at the thrilling words, but Dick suddenly -had other business to attract his attention. For the narwhal had again -come to the surface near his canoe. - -Holding his breath until the great mammal turned broadside to him, Dick -waited heedless of Sandy’s repeated cries for him to wait until he had -joined him. The right moment came as the huge, grayish body rolled with -the waves. Dick cast with all the strength of his right arm. The harpoon -darted across the water with a hiss, the coil of thong attaching it -securely to the kayack paying out after it. The cast had not missed. Not -far back of the head the heavy harpoon imbedded itself in the narwhal -and with a swiftness surprising in so cumbersome an animal, the great -body went into action. - -The harpoon line had been tied securely to the kayack and as the narwhal -lunged forward, the stout thong tightened with a snap. Dick and the -kayack shot completely out of the water, and when the boat landed it was -traveling at the rate of about thirty miles an hour. - -Grim and white-faced, Dick hung on. He could have severed the harpoon -line with a stroke of his keen hunting knife, yet this he did not intend -to do while the kayack still remained afloat. - -Spray flying in all directions, the narwhal headed due northeast, toward -the open sea. Had it not been for the submarine-like build of the kayack -and the waterproofed jacket enclosing its passenger, the craft might -have sunk in the first hundred yards of that swift dash. As it was, Dick -experienced a sensation much like that felt by a bather riding a -surfboard which is being towed by a gasoline speed-boat. - -Every minute during the breath-taking ride behind the harpooned narwhal, -Dick hoped the monster might either weaken from his wound, or change his -course and swim to a point where Sandy or the Eskimo hunters might lend -a hand in finishing the battle with their harpoons. If the narwhal took -a notion to dive, Dick knew all was lost, and his only means of saving -himself that of quickly severing the harpoon line. - -Dick had almost lost hope and was about ready to cut the line, when the -narwhal changed his course suddenly. The line slackened as the huge gray -and black body propelling the kayack swerved in a shower of spray, and -doubled on its course. The kayack shot on by its own momentum, until -with a powerful jerk the line hauled it about. The sudden turn tipped -the kayack over as if it had been a feather, then the same force righted -it again, while Dick blew the water out of his mouth and nose. - -Maddened by his wound, the narwhal seemed not to know or care where it -went. Like a mighty propeller his fan-like tail lashed the water to a -frenzy, as it headed straight toward Sandy’s bobbing kayack. - -“Let him have your harpoon as he goes by,” Dick screamed to Sandy -through a cupped palm. - -Sandy shook his harpoon in the air in reply, and Dick could see him -settle for a cast as he rushed on. - -At first the narwhal seemed to be headed at an angle that would bring -him past Sandy’s kayack across the prow at a distance of about ten -yards, close enough for a good cast with the harpoon. But, less than a -hundred yards from Sandy’s kayack, the big mammal changed course -slightly, and with a hoarse shout of dismay, Dick saw that if the -narwhal kept on he would ram Sandy’s kayack squarely in the middle. - -“Get out of the way!” shouted Dick frantically. - -But Sandy was already making all haste with his paddle, and so well did -he handle his kayack that the rushing sea-giant failed to run him down -by several inches. As the big body whizzed by, Sandy made a quick throw -with his harpoon, but missed, his line dropping over Dick’s taut one, -narrowly escaping entanglement as Dick’s kayack collided with it. - -“Hang on, Dick!” Sandy shouted as his chum shot past him. “You’re headed -straight toward Sipsa and the other hunters.” - -Dick had already foreseen this and his hopes were rising when, without -any warning whatsoever, the narwhal dived. Had he gone far down Dick -would, no doubt, have been dragged under water and drowned before he -could slash free the harpoon line. As it was, the narwhal dived up and -down alternately, drawing the prow of the kayack under water with a rush -and bringing it up again with giddy speed. - -Choking and gasping as the icy water trickled into his parka above the -waterproof covering on the kayack, Dick had almost given up hope while -blindly slashing at the harpoon line, when the narwhal ceased diving and -began darting this way and that over the surface of the water. Desisting -in his attempts to sever the line, Dick saw that the Eskimo hunters were -paddling fast toward him and that they would soon reach a point where -their harpoons could finish the narwhal. - -Completely maddened by the pain of his wound, and the constant drag of -the kayack, the narwhal seemed to have lost all fear of man, for when -his short-sighted eyes caught sight of the Eskimo hunters he made -straight toward them, his great mouth wide open and revealing a -frightful toothless cavern under the long sword-like tusk. - -But the hunters did not give way save to give the narwhal room to pass -between them. Seven harpoons impaled the narwhal as he dashed in among -the kayacks, and his speed was lessened by half. Soon the monster was -floundering about in a welter of blood, growing weaker and weaker. - -As soon as the Eskimos had the situation well in hand, Dick cut away his -harpoon line and made all haste to paddle to shore. The icy water that -had splashed into his shirt through his hood was already numbing him -with cold. Before he got to shore his nose lost all sense of feeling, -then suffered a burning sensation as if it had come in contact with a -hot iron. Dick knew then that he had frozen his nose. Beaching the -kayack, he grabbed up his mittens full of snow and buried his face in -this frost absorbing application as he ran for the igloo and an oil -stove. - -A half hour later Sandy burst through the round door of their igloo to -find his chum nursing a badly frosted face. Dick’s nose and cheeks were -as white as tallow and he was writhing with pain as the blood commenced -to circulate again in the frozen tissues. - -“Gee, you got it bad, didn’t you,” Sandy sympathized. “But, say, when -you see that big narwhal laid out on the shore, you’ll think it was -worth it. It was sure game of you to hang on to that fellow when you -could as easily as not cut loose your line.” Dick smiled bravely through -his burning pains. “I don’t know as I deserve all that flattery, Sandy. -When that whale started to dive, I’d have slashed the rope if I could -have located it. But the water blinded me.” - -The following day Dick’s face was well enough for him to go out into the -outside air, so long as he kept bundled up to his eyes. He walked down -to the beach with Sandy where the narwhal had been towed in. - -Though not nearly so large as the common species of whale inhabiting the -seas further south, the narwhal was fully sixteen feet long, not -including the six-foot tusk of twisted ivory that extended from his -blunt nose, and must have weighed several thousand pounds. The Eskimos -had already begun to cut up the enormous masses of blubber and to -extract the whalebone from the jaws. Dick procured a small piece of the -bone as a keep-sake, though for the present his frosted nose was enough -to keep the episode in his memory for several weeks to come. - -Dick felt that his face was in no condition for him to stay out long -that day, and so after the mid-day meal Sandy ventured out alone with -his rifle to see if he could not knock down a few eider ducks and gather -more of their eggs. - -Sandy wandered along the sea shore in the direction of the cairn they -had erected near the meteorite. He shot two eider ducks and located a -dozen fresh eggs in the nests, which he collected in a leather bag. This -done, he walked down to the shore ice and sat down upon a lump, his feet -hanging over the lapping water. - -He had sat there idly gazing to sea for about five minutes when he -noticed a queer object bobbing about in the water about twenty feet from -shore. It was dark and round, attracting Sandy’s curiosity immediately. -After considerable maneuvering he managed to fish it out with the muzzle -of his rifle. - -What Sandy picked up in his hands was a large canteen or thermos bottle, -used on expeditions in the polar regions. It was covered with sodden -leather and evidently had been afloat for a long period of time. - -Slowly turning the bottle over in his hands, Sandy found carved in the -leather this inscription: - - “Look Inside - C. T. - R.N.W.M.P.” - -An ejaculation of amazement and of triumph burst from Sandy’s lips, and -forgetting all about his ducks and eggs, he set out at a run for the -camp, the canteen hugged tightly under one arm. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - THE FLOATING MANUSCRIPT - - -When Sandy burst into the igloo with his precious find clutched to his -breast he found Dick asleep. He shook his chum out of the sleeping bag -in a hurry. - -“What’s all the excitement about?” Dick mumbled rubbing the sleep out of -his eyes. - -“Something from Corporal Thalman,” Sandy cried, thrusting the canteen -under Dick’s eyes. - -Dick started forward as he read the words carved in the leather, and -uttered a cry of astonishment. - -“Where’s an axe? Let’s break the bottle open and see what’s inside! -Won’t Corporal McCarthy open his eyes when he sees this!” Dick was even -more excited than Sandy. - -A moment later they had split the bottle as carefully as they could and -from the inside extracted a tightly rolled strip of leather, about the -width of an ordinary sheet of writing paper. - -The leather apparently had been cut from an old shirt. Unrolled, it -presented a mass of words and a crude map, carved in the leather by -something in the nature of a sharp stone. - -“It’s a message from Corporal Thalman!” exclaimed Dick, deciphering the -initials, “C. T.” and the abbreviation for “Royal Northwest Mounted -Police.” - -“And that map shows where he is!” Sandy cried. - -“Right now it looks the same as Greek to me,” Dick admitted, frowning -over the wandering lines, crosses and data. “Let’s read the script and -see if that will help.” - -The following is what the boys read from the strange manuscript: - - “If Fate is kind and this bottle and message fall into friendly hands, - I desire the nearest post of the R.N.W. M.P. be notified that the - undersigned is now being unlawfully held a prisoner on a glacial - island several miles off the northern coast of Grant Land, about half - way between Cape Columbia and Cape Richards. - - “Detailed to apprehend a half-breed Eskimo murderer, I picked up his - trail on the barrens and followed him to this island where a band of - outlaws, led by Mistak, surprised and captured me. - - “I calculate I have been imprisoned about six months in an ice-sealed - pit at the bottom of a glacier, which seems to have been formed by an - eruption ages ago. The pit has an outlet above my head into one of the - large fissures in the top strata of the glacier, which I have tried to - locate by means of the accompanying map. One side of the pit is formed - of ice many feet thick. By weeks of work I cut my way through this - into a series of grottoes or caverns lined with crystallized ice. - However, I have so far been unable to find any outlet to the surface - of the glacier and the caverns are so cold that I cannot spend much - time in them. - - “The pit is warmer due to what I believe to be hot springs miles - beneath me. A small underground stream of tepid, fresh water, tasting - slightly of sulphur, runs across the floor of the pit, out of one wall - into another, and upon this I shall set this canteen afloat, hoping by - some miracle of good fortune that it will reach the sea and there be - discovered. - - “Mistak furnishes me every so often with a supply of seal blubber - which he drops down from the top of the pit. I do not know why he - keeps me alive, except out of fiendish desire to see me suffer. - - “Anyone attempting to locate me may do so in two ways—by means of the - fissure into which this pit opens, or from the crystal grottoes. Since - I have been unable to find an outlet to the grottoes, that method of - reaching the pit seems impractical, and I have directed all my efforts - on this map toward guiding a rescuing party to the fissure. - - “Provided Mistak does not neglect bringing me food for too long a - period, I shall be alive when this is read, though I notice some - symptoms of scurvy. - - “I now set this canteen adrift with its message, trusting in - Providence to guide it into the hands of those who will understand the - suffering and peril of my plight, and act accordingly. - “Corporal James E. Thalman, - “R.N.W.M.P. - “August 15 (?) 1925.” - -Dick and Sandy finished reading the message at about the same time, yet -they did not draw from it quite the same conclusions. - -“Then I found the canteen after it had been floating and drifting for -nearly two months,” Sandy spoke, still awed by the importance of his -discovery. - -“Yes, as Corporal Thalman hoped, his message found its way to the sea -from some underground stream,” Dick rejoined. - -Upon re-examining the map they satisfied themselves that the glacial -island drawn there was the one they were now camping upon. They traced -the trail by which they had come along the east side of the ridge, and -rejoiced to find that the meteor stone indicated by the cross must be -identical with the one they had found. Estimating on a basis of the -scale of miles drawn by Corporal Thalman, they found they were encamped -not more than five miles from the point at which the Corporal had been -captured eight months before, and hardly thirty miles, allowing for -detours, from the actual prison pit. - -“Oh, boy! This is more thrilling than looking for lost mines!” Sandy -cried exuberantly. - -“It’s even more risky,” Dick returned, “and in this case it’s just as -difficult. There must be a lot of inaccuracies in this map. The location -here may be pretty near ten miles off. I wish the policemen were here to -help. This is really too big a job for us.” - -“Wouldn’t it be a feather in our caps if we found Corporal Thalman all -by ourselves!” Sandy puffed out his chest. - -Dick admitted that it would, though he reprimanded Sandy for his -exaggeration of their capabilities. - -“Before we get ready to hunt for the Corporal we must draw a copy of -this map and leave it for Corporal McCarthy,” Dick directed. “If they -don’t return before we leave on a search for the fissure, the copy will -give them all the information they need to work on their own accord.” - -An hour later the boys had completed a copy of the map and message, -detail by detail, and prepared for a few hours rest before they started -for the glacier. - - [Illustration: Map] - -The boys awakened after nearly eight hours sleep, to find that the -policemen had not yet returned. They immediately set about harnessing a -dog team and loading a sledge with a few days’ supplies. They intended -to hunt musk-oxen also on their trip inland, and in that way kill two -birds with one stone. Provided they failed to locate Corporal Thalman’s -prison, they could at least bring back a sledge load of musk-ox meat. - -Since Sipsa and his Eskimos could be depended upon to take care of the -camp, Dick decided that Toma should go with them if he liked, and found -the Indian boy overjoyed at the opportunity to escape the dullness of -life at the supply base. - -After bidding the grinning, moon-faced Sipsa good-bye, the boys started -out, driving their dog team at a gallop. It was not long before they -reached a point below the head of the glacial ridge from which they -could see the meteor stone near which they had built the cairn. - -From there they began to count their strides—approximately 1,760 to a -mile, and three miles to the spot where Corporal Thalman had been -attacked and captured by Mistak and his band. Dick and Sandy both -counted their steps so they might check against each other when the -required distance was covered. - -At last they reached a mass of boulders sticking up out of the snow -which was within a quarter mile of the distance on the map. - -“This looks like a likely place for a man to be surprised and captured,” -said Dick, signaling them to halt. He referred to the map. “According to -the route laid out here, Mistak bore slightly to the left when he went -on with his captive.” - -With this in mind they passed the boulders and came out on a broad, -snow-covered tundra stretching for several miles inland from the sea and -ending abruptly some miles south in towering walls of ice that marked -the position of the glacier. - -Driving southwest, the three boys began the long trek across the tundra, -hoping they might soon sight the abandoned igloos indicated on the map -as the next landmark. - -But two hours of steady mushing failed to raise anything resembling a -habitation. The tundra still stretched monotonously ahead of them, the -countless acres of snow glaring in their eyes as it reflected the sun’s -rays. - -Dick called a halt and the three boys gathered about the sledge, -permitting the dogs to lie down and rest their tired legs. - -“We’ll have to use our heads now,” said Dick. “Corporal Thalman has -either underestimated the distance from the point of his capture to the -igloos, or else we’re traveling in the wrong direction.” - -“Well, I’d say,” put in Sandy, “that no Eskimo would build an igloo out -on this level plain where it would catch the full force of all the -storms that blew down from the pole.” - -“You’re right, Sandy,” announced Dick. “Those igloos must have been -built where there was some sort of wind break. Suppose we swing around -due south until we get into the rough country on the outskirts of the -glacier.” - -“That seems to be about the best plan,” Sandy rejoined. “It’s a cinch -there’s nothing north of us as far as the sea.” - -“Me no savvy,” Toma muttered, and Dick promised to explain the map more -thoroughly when they pitched camp. - -The distance to the glacier was deceiving. It was fully an hour after -they changed their course before they struck the first break in the -tundra and began to climb upward along the ravine down the trough of -which the glacier had flung out a finger centuries before. - -When they had climbed to a height nearly a hundred feet above the tundra -they paused to reconnoiter. Approximating their position on Corporal -Thalman’s map, they judged themselves to be in a big bend in the -formation of the glacier. Far ahead, over the various hills and ridges, -they could see where the vast mass of ice broadened and began its slide -to the sea. - -“You know what I think,” Dick broke a long silence, “those igloos are -right under the walls of the glacier where it flows down to the sea.” - -“I wouldn’t wonder but what you’re right,” Sandy replied dubiously, “but -why not go on pretty slow so we can examine all the territory between us -and where the glacier turns?” - -“Better yet,” Dick sanctioned. “We can’t be too thorough. For all we -know, every mistake we make in reading this map may be just like -pounding another nail in Corporal Thalman’s coffin.” - -“Ugh!” Sandy shivered at the thought, as they started out again. - -With an interval of some hundred yards between them, the boys proceeded, -Toma in the center driving the dog team. Almost any of the sheltered -spots in the vicinity of the glacier might hide half a dozen igloos, and -they were not going to pass up any likely places if they could help it. - -The boys were growing weary, indeed, when Sandy, considerably in the -lead, stopped dead still upon a mound of ice, and let out a cheer like -an Indian war whoop. - -“There they are! There they are!” his shout was faintly borne to the -ears of Dick and Toma. - -The two forced their tired legs into a staggering run, which soon -brought them up with Sandy. - -Below them, snug on the southern slope of a pyramid of glacial drift, -were the abandoned igloos. - -They had located the second landmark on the trail to Corporal Thalman’s -prison! - - - - - CHAPTER XV - MUSK OXEN - - -After locating the six abandoned igloos, the boys were too tired to go -on without a rest, and they immediately unharnessed the dogs and pitched -their tupiks or tents. They soon were gathered about a tiny camp stove -listening to the musical murmurings of a pot of tea. - -“Well, so far so good,” said Dick, stretching his legs and lying back -comfortably. “If we have no more trouble than this tracing Corporal -Thalman’s route the rest of the way, we can pat ourselves on the back.” - -“Yes, and we’d better make quick work of it,” Sandy rejoined. “Do you -notice how low the sun is getting these days? Pretty soon we’ll begin to -have twilight, and that means winter is about with us.” - -“You mean the long night,” said Dick. “Well, in a way I hope we get our -business done up here before winter sets in, and in a way I don’t.” - -“Why?” Sandy asked, puzzled. - -“It must be a wonderful experience,” Dick returned, “to live four months -without seeing the sun, nothing but the stars and once in a while the -moon to give any light. And not even the stars when it’s cloudy. They -say it gets so dark during the long night up here that you can pretty -near reach out of your igloos and bring in a handful of darkness.” - -“That must be awful,” Sandy wagged his head ruefully. “I can’t see what -you want to endure all that for. Think of the thermometer going down to -60 degrees below zero, and what if we ran out of food?” - -“I guess we could winter up here alright if we had to do it,” Dick -returned. “The Eskimos are laying up tons of walrus and seal blubber. -Besides, there’s that narwhal, and we’re going to bag a few musk-oxen -pretty soon.” - -“Me no like um blubber,” Toma spoke up vehemently. “No eat um blubber -all winter.” - -“Me too,” Sandy agreed emphatically. - -“I guess you fellows would think blubber was pretty good if there wasn’t -anything else to chew on except sealskin boots.” - -The conversation had grown unpleasant in this vein, so the boys changed -the subject to the map, which Dick spread out in the snow and explained -to Toma, as he had promised. But their eyes soon grew heavy with sleep, -and after finishing their scanty rations of frozen bear meat, they -retired, Dick standing the first watch. - -When each of them had had about five hours’ rest, they ate more bear -meat, drank a pot of tea and were ready for the trail. The problem now -ahead of them was the scaling of the glacier, towering in a low range of -mountains about two miles from the abandoned igloos. The map indicated -no exact route to the top of the glacier, except that from the abandoned -igloos there was a change of course somewhat to the southwest. - -They had been on the trail only half an hour when Toma’s keen eyes -detected signs of musk-oxen. The Indian boy showed Dick and Sandy the -marks of the hoofs in the snow. - -“We’d better see if we can’t shoot a few of the fellows that made these -tracks,” Dick advised. “We can leave the meat cached in ice and covered -with stones. Then when we return we can pick it up on an empty sledge.” - -Sandy was eager for the hunt and so the boys swung off the course they -had been following, and began trailing the musk-oxen. The tracks were -quite fresh and they all looked at their rifles to see that they were -ready for quick shooting. Since they never before had hunted musk-oxen, -they did not know just what to expect. - -They had trailed the musk-oxen about half a mile when, climbing out of a -ravine, they came suddenly upon them. There were five of the strange -creatures huddled in a circle, tail to tail, save for one, who stood out -from the rest facing the young hunters. For several minutes the boys -stood still before the shaggy beasts, who seemed not to fear them in the -least. Dick was first to shake off his attack of “buck fever.” Raising -his rifle, he took careful aim at the animal nearest them. He chose a -vulnerable spot, and at the crack of his rifle, the musk-ox sank to his -knees, tried ineffectually to rise, and at last rolled over and expired. - -Dick’s shot awakened Sandy and Toma from the trance into which the first -sight of the creatures had thrown them, and each of them picked an -animal from the band, bringing them down with a shot each. All fired -again, and though the last of the five made an awkward attempt to run -away, they brought it down together. - -“It’s a shame to shoot such quiet, peaceful brutes,” said Sandy as they -hurried up to the brownish forms in the snow. - -“That meat means life for us,” replied Dick, “and maybe God put them -here for just that purpose.” - -Sandy’s feeling of remorse over the shooting of the musk-oxen soon -disappeared after they reached the fallen herd. As zoological specimens -the musk-oxen were food for thought, and when the boys had finished -examining the huge gnarled horns and the broad, rounded backs, there was -the cutting up of the meat to be performed. So intent did they become -upon the latter task that for a time they forgot entirely their -surroundings. - -It was Toma whose sharp ears first sensed that they were not alone. He -spoke a few guttural words to Dick and Sandy in an undertone, and all -three reached for their rifles. When they turned to face the ravine up -which they had climbed just before sighting the musk-oxen, they could -hear the crunch of snowshoes. Prepared for the worst, they brought their -rifles to their hips and cocked them. - -A scowling, fur-bordered face appeared over the edge of the ravine, -paused a moment, then finished the climb followed by two more -unprepossessing individuals clad in worn, soiled furs. The three paused -on the brow of the ravine, silently inspecting the boys. - -Dick recognized the one who was in advance of the others as the white -man he had seen in Mistak’s band. He was certain the other two were -likewise outlaws. - -“What do you want?” called Dick. - -“Nothin’ pertic’lar, yonker,” replied the white man. “It just happens -we’ve been a-huntin’ these here musk-ox you’se has shot.” - -“It happens we saw them before you did,” returned Dick suspiciously. - -“Wal, I guess you wuz luckier than we’ns, but that’s no call f’r us to -hold a grudge against each other,” said the man, starting forward. - -“That’s far enough!” Dick’s clear voice rang out in the icy air, as the -rifle came to his shoulder. He was sure the three outlaws meant no good, -and made sure he had some advantage if it came to open hostilities. - -The white man paused and scowled. “Think y’r pretty sly, eh! I guess I -oughta agreed with Mistak ’bout puttin’ you yonkers out of business -while we had the chance.” - -“It happens I overheard you talking to Mistak about that when you -thought Sandy and I were asleep in the igloo. You suggested we be put -with Corporal Thalman,” Dick replied sternly. - -The white man started visibly. “Thalman!” his voice came hoarsely from -his bearded lips. “What do you yonkers know ’bout Thalman?” There was -plain menace in the man’s attitude now. - -Dick was almost on the point of blurting out some valuable information, -when he caught himself. - -“Nothing,” he answered reservedly, “only the Mounted Police are looking -for—er—his body.” - -“I reckon that’s all they’ll find, an’ it’s pretty doubtful if they find -that,” sneered Mistak’s man, seeming relieved that the boys apparently -had no specific knowledge of Corporal Thalman’s fate. - -Had the man dreamed of the manuscript that had floated into Sandy’s -hands, of the map now reposing in Dick’s pocket, he probably would have -signaled his companions to attack then and there. But he did not. - -“You fellers ain’t goin’ to let us go away empty handed,” the outlaw -resumed, wheedlingly, looking hungrily at the five dead musk-oxen. - -“Shall we let them have some meat?” Dick asked Sandy, without taking his -eyes from the outlaws, who were also covered by the rifles of Sandy and -Toma. - -“Yes,” Sandy replied. “Let them have one of the musk-oxen. They’ll go -away and leave us alone then.” - -Toma’s sanction to the gift was given by a mere grunt. - -“We’ve decided to let you have one of the musk-oxen since you’re -hungry,” Dick told the spokesman of the three. “But it’s not because we -fear you or think we owe it to you.” - -The white man turned to the half-breed Indians and muttered a few words -in a foreign tongue. The boys indicated the musk-oxen farthest away from -them as the one the men should take, and, keeping their rifles ready for -any trickery that might be enacted, they watched the outlaws hasten -forward and attack the meat with their knives. - -Soon the men had the animal quartered and had slung the fresh meat to -their backs. The two half-breeds turned and climbed back into the ravine -with their load, but the white outlaw tarried for a parting word. - -“This country ain’t healthy f’r you fellers,” he leered at them. “I’m -givin’ y’r a tip on the strength o’ this meat. I ain’t sayin’ I’m in -love with Mistak, but I reckon I hate the Mounted more. My moniker is -Moonshine Sam, if you fellers want ter know, an’ it’s the Mounted that’s -chased me into this God-f’rsaken land. They ain’t goin’ to git me here. -Git that? Not afore I git me two more policemen!” - -Dick’s rifle came up quickly at the grim threat in the outlaw’s words, -but Moonshine Sam turned abruptly and followed his companions down into -the ravine. - -When the three were out of sight the boys breathed sighs of relief. It -had been a trying ordeal, and they felt themselves fortunate in coming -through it without blood-shed. - -“I wish we could have captured them,” Sandy expressed something that had -been in Dick’s mind also. - -“But it was too risky,” Dick replied. “You must remember they were grown -men, and among the most desperate characters the Mounted has to deal -with. If we’d tried to capture them they’d have finished us before we -reached the home camp.” - -Sandy saw the logic in Dick’s reasoning and said no more about it, while -they set to work completing the skinning and quartering of the remaining -four musk-oxen. - -“I think we’d better haul the meat away from here before we cache it,” -Dick advised, when they were about finished. “Those fellows will -probably come back here as soon as we leave, and search for a cache.” - -“Maybe it would be a good idea to follow them for a ways to see where -they are going. They might lead us right to Corporal Thalman’s prison,” -was Sandy’s suggestion. - -“That’s possible and it’s a good idea,” said Dick. “But supposing they -strike off in some other direction, and lead us right into the rest of -Mistak’s band?” - -“Well, I don’t know,” Sandy considered. - -“Take um meat ’long for way,” Toma spoke up gravely. “When find out bad -fella not mean to come back here, cache meat.” - -“That’s just the thing to do!” exclaimed Dick. “We won’t lose any time -that way and we’ll be pretty sure the meat will not be stolen when we -come back after it.” - -In a few minutes the fresh meat was loaded onto the long sledge and they -were once more on the way. - -The outlaws had had time to travel about half a mile before the boys set -out on their trail, and even Toma’s keen eyes saw no sign of them as -they wound down the ravine. Dick hoped, as Sandy had, that the outlaws -might lead them to the vicinity of Corporal Thalman’s prison. Yet, when -two miles on the trail, the snowshoe tracks they were following swung -toward the sea, Dick knew no such good fortune was destined to be -theirs. Half hoping the outlaws might turn toward the glacier again, the -boys kept on following them for a short time, but soon gave up, deciding -to depend entirely upon the map to guide them. - -Tracing the back trail until they reached the point where they had -turned north after the outlaws, the boys halted to cache their meat, -since they were now reasonably certain that Mistak’s men did not intend -to come back looking for it. - -They first buried all the meat, except enough for four days’ rations, in -a deep snow bank. Then, from a nearby patch of boulder strewn slope they -carried a great many stones, erecting a sort of monument over the cache -to prevent its being torn up by foxes. Over this cairn, they threw snow -until it resembled, from a distance, the rest of the snowdrift. About a -hundred feet north of the cache a small pile of stones was placed, as a -landmark provided a storm came and obliterated all other signs of the -cache. - -The job of stowing the meat completed, the boys once more set out for -the glacier. Driving fast, they reached the towering walls of ice and -snow in about an hour. Calling a halt they surveyed with sinking hearts -the tremendous task that lay before them. - -“I wonder if this is the place where Mistak climbed the glacier with his -prisoner,” Dick speculated. - -“Looks to me like a mountain goat would have a hard time getting to the -top from this point,” said Sandy. - -“Heap big job get um sledge up ice from here. Look ’long wall. Maybe -find easy place,” suggested Toma. - -“I think that’s what we’d better do,” Sandy agreed with the young -Indian. - -Dick also thought it best they should look for an easier place to climb, -and so they turned to the right under the walls of the glacier and drove -the dog team slowly along, their necks craned upward. - -The grumbling noises in the bowels of the glacier gave cause for grave -concern in the minds of the boys and they fell silent, dreading more and -more the peril of ascending that mountain of ice. - -Not far from the place where they had first approached the glacier, they -found the walls split as by a giant’s axe and a great gorge led upward -at a slant which promised fairly easy climbing. Turning into this they -started upward. - -A quarter mile of steady climbing, covered by helping the dogs with the -supply sledge, and they found themselves about a hundred feet above the -tundra. Here, they paused for a much needed rest. Probably five minutes -they had sat in the snow, gathering strength for the next lap of the -climb, when a low rumble fell upon their ears which seemed nearer than -any other noises they had heard from the glacier. - -With faces paling, the boys listened intently, while the rumble -increased to a roar, growing steadily nearer. - -Dick leaped up and looked up the gorge, a sudden suspicion leaping in -his mind that froze him with consternation. - -He was about to speak when the unmistakable sound of crashing, moving -ice was borne to his ears. Around a bend in the gorge appeared a -gigantic mass of snow, ice and stones which struck the opposite wall of -the gorge with a shock that made the earth tremble under foot and sent a -shower of fine ice and snow high into the air. - -“Run for your lives!” cried Dick hoarsely. “It’s an avalanche, and we’re -right in its path!” - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - BURIED IN A SNOW SLIDE - - -Fear lent wings to the three boys as they saw the awful wall of snow and -ice bounding down the gorge upon them. With one accord they rushed -toward the steep slope on their left, scrambling up it in frantic -efforts to gain a height out of reach of the avalanche, before it -descended and crushed them under its ponderous plunging weight. - -The dog team sensed its peril instinctively and struggled after the -boys, dragging the heavy sledge behind them. Toma, slightly in the rear, -grasped the sledge and began helping the dogs in their unequal fight for -safety. - -“Leave the sledge go!” shouted Dick to the young Indian. “Save -yourself.” - -But the courageous Toma did not heed. Stubbornly, he stayed by the -sledge, falling far behind his companions. - -Then, with a roar that shook the walls of the gorge as if an earthquake -had occurred, the avalanche plunged past on its way to the tundra far -below. - -Dick and Sandy barely escaped the flying ice and stones and with a cry -of despair they saw Toma with the sledge and dog team vanish in a swirl -of flying snow. - -The avalanche thundered on, sight and sound of it dying away down the -gorge as quickly as it had come. Dick and Sandy were left high on the -wall of the desolate gorge, gazing with sad eyes at the point where Toma -and the dog team had disappeared. - -“It happened so suddenly I can hardly realize it,” Sandy spoke in a low -voice. “Poor Toma.” - -“I won’t give up hope yet,” Dick declared grimly. “Toma was not caught -by the full force of the avalanche. You must remember he and the dogs -were almost out of the way when they were hit. Let’s look along the -slope.” - -Sandy followed Dick to the bottom of the gorge, and the two began -picking their way along the path of the avalanche. Every now and then -huge masses of snow, left adhering to the walls of the gorge, loosened -and fell, starting miniature snow slides in their wake, but Dick and -Sandy kept their eyes open and managed to avoid these dangers by a wide -margin. - -They had retraced their upward trail about two hundred yards when there -was borne to their ears the faint but unmistakable bark of a dog. - -“Listen!” Dick grasped Sandy’s arm, as they stopped dead still. - -Again there echoed in the canyon the sharp bark of an excited dog. - -“It sounds like one of our Eskimo dogs,” Sandy spoke in a subdued voice, -scarcely able to believe his ears. “But for the life of me I can’t tell -where it comes from.” - -“Let’s walk on a little further,” Dick suggested. - -They continued on their way for a few steps, then stopped again. The dog -had barked again, and now the sound seemed to come from above and behind -them. - -“Why not shout Toma’s name?” said Sandy. “If he’s alive he’ll hear us.” - -Dick thought this an excellent idea and in unison they raised their -voices. - -“Toma! Toma!” they shouted at the tops of their lungs, and paused to -listen intently. - -A second of silence, then the faraway crags of the glacier threw back -their cries like mocking laughter. - -Drawing deep breaths for another shout, they hesitated. Several dogs had -commenced to bark, and were making a veritable bedlam of racket, what -with the echoes that were flying about. - -“It’s our dogs!” ejaculated the amazed boys. - -“Come on. Toma may be alive,” Dick sang out, charging up the slope of -the gorge, with Sandy close at his heels. - -Half way up the side of the gorge they came suddenly upon the dogs in a -snow filled ledge. There were ten of the twelve dogs alive and well, the -other two had been crushed to death under a huge boulder deposited there -by the avalanche. The sledge of supplies, badly twisted and smashed, lay -overturned, half-buried in the snow, but still hitched to the tangled -dogs. Eagerly the boys searched the wreckage, but at first there was no -sign of Toma. Then one of the dogs, whining plaintively, began pawing -into a heap of packed snow. The boys rushed to the dog and found he had -uncovered a boot. Silently, the boys attacked the packed snow with -mittens and boots, and in five minutes they dragged their young Indian -friend free of the lodged snow. - -“Pray he’s alive!” Dick implored, as they lay the quiet form upon some -sledge packing. - -Toma’s dark face was darker still, as if he had smothered, yet as the -boys chafed his hands and listened for heart beats, a flicker of eye -lashes showed a sign of life. Redoubling their efforts to bring the boy -back, they were finally rewarded by a deep sigh from the dusky lips, and -presently Toma’s dark eyes were open. - -“Humph!” Toma grunted as he sat up uncertainly, and vigorously shook -himself like a big dog. “No can breathe under snow. Think um see Happy -Hunting Grounds.” - -“It’s a miracle you didn’t!” exclaimed Dick fervently. - -“Tell us how it all happened,” Sandy urged. - -“Not know much,” Toma blinked, “come too quick. Something hit me. I see -many stars, an’ whirl, whirl in snow. Feel like fly like bird, then big -bump. All still. I can no breathe. All get like night, then I see you -fellas.” - -Overjoyed at the recovery of Toma, the boys could do little but discuss -the narrow escape for some time. Finally they set to work untangling the -dogs, and when that was done they started to repair the sledge. - -It took more than three hours to fix the sledge so it was worthy of the -trail, but they at last had the worst breaks spliced and lashed with -leather thongs. By this time they were all so tired that they decided to -pitch camp and fix something to eat. This they did as soon as they were -on the floor of the gorge. - -“We don’t need to be afraid of any more snow slides for some time to -come,” Dick relieved their fears in that direction. “All the loose ice -and stones was cleared out by that big avalanche.” - -After an appetizing meal of broiled musk-ox, the boys slept for several -hours. When they awakened they noticed for the first time a change in -the sunlight, and were concerned at the approach of winter which this -signaled. - -“Seems strange to see evening come again,” remarked Sandy. “Wonder how -it would feel to go to bed in honest-to-goodness darkness again?” - -“If we don’t get a move on we’ll get more darkness than we want,” said -Dick, referring to the approach of the Arctic’s long night. - -But when the boys started up the gorge again it was no darker. So far, -all the night they were to experience for a few weeks was to be several -hours of twilight. - -Not far up the gorge, beyond the point where the avalanche had narrowly -missed destroying them, Dick called the attention of his chum to three -tiny figures walking along the rim of the gorge above them. - -“I wonder if those men could be Moonshine Sam and his two companions,” -said Dick. “They’ve had just about time to come this far if they had -headed this way shortly after we stopped trailing them.” - -“Well, I hope they won’t try any monkeyshines like starting another -avalanche,” Sandy shivered. “When I die I don’t want to get that kind of -a sendoff for the Happy Hunting Grounds. What do you say, Toma?” - -The young Indian grunted his emphatic sanction of Sandy’s preferences, -while all three watched the men on the cliff. The men they thought might -be Moonshine Sam and the two half-breeds from Mistak’s band, kept -abreast of the boys for nearly a half hour, then as the gorge began to -grow shallower upon nearing the plateau down from which it led, they -disappeared. - -“If they ever get wind of the fact that we know Corporal Thalman is -still alive, our lives won’t be worth a cent,” Dick expressed his -thoughts aloud. “They’ll put an end to Corporal Thalman right away, too, -if they think for a minute we have a chance to rescue him—if they -haven’t done that already.” - -The boys hurried on, and soon came out of the gorge upon what they were -quite sure was the top of the glacier. An icy wind, that cut to the very -marrow of their bones, blew across the vast, white field of ice. But -they struck out bravely across the lonely forbidding desert of the -north, hoping soon to locate the first of the three main fissures marked -on the map. - -They were now traveling southwest with the sun in their eyes, and for -the first time since they saw genuine “sun-dogs.” The phenomenon was -intensely interesting and for a time attracted almost all their -attention. The sun-dogs were in the form of four miniature suns situated -one above, one below, and one on either side of the big disc of light -that was the source of them. They were not really suns, however, but -reflections of the sun upon the countless particles of frost in the air. -One of the “dogs” was somewhat like the rainbow, for it seemed to hang -just a few feet ahead of the dog team, dancing just out of reach, like a -will-o’-the-wisp, as they plodded along. - -Then they came upon a deep fissure in the glacier which temporarily -crowded the sun-dogs out of their minds. The crack was not an -exceptionally large one in comparison to other glacial fissures they had -seen, being only about four feet across at the widest points. Several -smaller fissures were indicated on the map as preceding the first main -fissure, so the boys crossed the gap by jumping, improvising a bridge -with the sledge for those dogs to cross over which were too stubborn to -make the leap. - -“We may be misled after all by these fissures,” Dick spoke when they had -resumed their journey “New cracks form pretty often, and it’s possible -the main fissures Corporal Thalman observed while Mistak was taking him -to the prison pit are not the main ones any longer.” - -“Well, I don’t know about that,” Sandy replied. “A lot of small fissures -might show up in eight months’ time, but these big fissures are very old -and they wouldn’t change much.” - -By this time they had reached another small fissure, about the size of -the first one, but much longer. As far as they could see on either side -of them the crooked crack stretched away like a huge, black snake, -wriggling across the snow-bound glacier roof. - -Keeping a rough account of the miles they had traversed since reaching -the top of the glacier, they believed the first main fissure could not -be far away according to the map. An hour after crossing the first small -fissure, they reached what they were almost certain was the first main -fissure. In places it yawned to an unestimable depth, and at many points -was more than twenty feet in width. After sledging along the rim of it -for a half mile they located a natural bridge of ice over which they -crossed without mishap. - -Excited by their success so far, they increased their pace, again -crossing numerous small chasms in the glacier before arriving at the rim -of the second main fissure. This they finally contrived to bridge at a -point where a jutting ice ledge partly spanned the seemingly bottomless -void. - -From there on, the top of the glacier ceased to be level. Great holes -yawned everywhere amidst heaps of shattered ice many feet in height. -Apparently, at some time years ago, two divisions of the glacier had met -there in their slow progress, crumbling their giant fronts upon one -another. - -In the midst of the veritable “bad lands” of ice they came upon what -they were reasonably certain was the third main fissure, somewhere at -the bottom of which was the pit in which Corporal Thalman had been -imprisoned. But the immensity of the task still ahead of them awed the -boys. For, though they had reached the fissure, it was miles long and -they had no way of judging any nearer than five or ten miles just where -the prison pit was located. - -“There’s nothing to do but look for a way of climbing down to the bottom -of the fissure,” Dick finally spoke. “Mistak must know a way to get down -there, and if we look long enough, we can find it.” - -“Maybe we ought to wait until the policemen get here,” Sandy expressed -his doubts, while gazing down into the black chasm that was the main -fissure. - -“No, it’s best we keep on trying since we’ve come this far without any -fatal accidents. Corporal McCarthy can trail us wherever we go, so -there’s no need waiting for him and the Constable.” - -The boys set out along the glacier looking for a place that offered -possibilities of descent into the fissure. It was slow going over the -heaps of shattered ice, and before they had gone a mile they were worn -out. They halted to rest in a shallow pit which protected them from the -cold wind. As they sat there, Dick noticed that a small fissure about -three feet wide and as high as a man’s head opened out of a bulwark of -ice in front of them. The crack seemed to lead downward at a sharp -slant. - -“That hole looks like it might lead down to the bottom of the fissure,” -Dick said to Sandy and Toma. “Let’s go into it and investigate.” - -After resting a few more minutes, they got up and walked into the -passage. Advancing cautiously, they reached an underground chamber, -about twenty feet long, ten feet wide, and somewhat higher than their -heads. The sunlight reached the chamber through its entrance and the dim -rays lighted up a very beautiful scene. The walls and roof of the -natural cavity were formed of crystallized moisture, shaped in many -grotesque and fantastic figures. - -“I believe this is part of the crystal grottoes Corporal Thalman -mentioned in his message!” Dick exclaimed examining the glittering -walls. - -“Maybe we just found the outlet that the Corporal failed to find,” Sandy -brightened. - -But upon investigating further they were disappointed. The first chamber -led into a second and smaller chamber which had no outlet, and seemed -the end of the cavern. - -After sounding the walls to make certain they could not break into a -larger cavity, the boys made their way back to the narrow passage -leading up to the outer air. - -Dick went first, and as he stopped into the sunlight a premonition of -danger seized him. But before he could act to defend himself, a shadow -was flung across his path and a heavy weight descended upon his head and -shoulders. Dick went to the ice, stunned and half-blinded. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - A RACE WITH DEATH - - -Dick was stunned only a moment, but when his head cleared he found -himself pinioned by a powerful man, who had just lashed his hands behind -him with thongs. Nearby, Sandy and Toma struggled in the clutches of -four men. At a little distance away stood Mistak, the half-breed Eskimo, -leering with malevolent triumph upon his captives. - -When the boys were completely subdued and their arms tied behind them, -Mistak came forward and searched them. He found nothing in Sandy’s and -Toma’s clothing which seemed to interest him, but Dick’s shirt pocket -disclosed the map, and filling the air with French and Eskimo curses, -the outlaw saw the handiwork of the imprisoned policeman. - -“So you sink to save him!” Mistak glared at Dick. “I get you in time, -yes? Ha! By gar, you nevair meddle wiz Fred Mistak’s business more.” - -Mistak’s evil intentions were only too evident, and Dick was about to -give up hope, when Toma cocked his head to one side in a listening -attitude. Dick knew the Indian youth had far keener hearing than the -average person, and felt his hopes once more rising. Whatever Toma -heard, it was of some favorable significance, for he looked squarely at -Dick and solemnly winked one eye. - -“How you like find zee lost policeman?” Mistak taunted, stepping -squarely in front of Dick. “I take you zere—what you say? Ver’ fine, -eh?” - -“I have nothing to say to that,” Dick replied as sternly as possible, -“but I do know we have friends near and that you will suffer for any -harm that comes to us.” - -“Ha! Ha!” Mistak laughed coarsely, turning to his companion. “Hear what -zee puppy say? They have frien’ in Mistak’ country. Not ver’ near, eh? -Ha! Ha!” - -It was at the instant of Mistak’s triumph that a rifle shot rang out and -one of Mistak’s men threw up his hands and fell silently to the ice. The -half-breed Eskimo staggered back, his face paling, and his mouth twisted -in a hideous smile. - -Again the hidden rifle cracked, accompanied by another, whereupon -Mistak’s men ducked and ran under the deadly bullets raining about them, -leaving the boys where they had been captured. - -“To zee pit!” the boys heard Mistak shriek to his men. “Kill zee -policeman before zey come!” - -Mistak and his men disappeared, and almost upon their heels leaped the -two fur-clad forms of Corporal McCarthy and Constable Sloan. - -In a trice they had slashed the bonds of the boys and had set them free. - -“After Mistak all of you!” cried Corporal McCarthy, plunging on across -the ice after the fleeing outlaws. - -Dick kept pace with the Corporal and shouted into his ear: “Mistak is -going to kill Corporal Thalman. He’s making for the pit now. You were -just in time!” - -“We came as fast as we could get here as soon as we got back to camp and -found the map and instructions,” panted the policeman. “Good work you -fellows have done!” - -Just then the fleeing outlaws vanished into the yawning mouth of a -cavern that led downward at a steep angle. Slipping and sliding most of -the way, the policemen and the boys tumbled after them. - -“Halt! Halt!” bellowed Corporal McCarthy when they had reached a more -level incline. But Mistak’s men did not heed. Instead, the report of a -rifle sounded like a thunder clap in the underground chamber and a -bullet richochetted with a rattling noise along the walls of the cave. - -“They’re shooting back at us!” cried Sandy. - -In spite of the danger the policemen led the way on at a reckless run. -Down, down, they went through the dimly lighted corridors of a -subterranean vault. When it seemed to them they had gone down for nearly -five hundred feet, the cavern swiftly became level and lighter. - -“We’re going to run into the bottom of the fissure now!” panted Dick -hoarsely. - -Dick was right. The light grew stronger swiftly and a moment later they -saw Mistak and his three men silhouetted in an opening as they ran out -of the cavern. - -Presently they burst out upon the frozen floor of a narrow canyon-like -passage that was apparently the bottom of the fissure. Far above the sky -showed like a tiny, pale ribbon. They could hear the sound of the -running outlaws’ boots on the hard surface of the bottom of the fissure -and followed them to the right. The passage was crooked and they could -see nothing ahead of them further than ten yards, but at length they -came upon the scene of Mistak’s contemplated perfidy. - -Two half-breeds were at work over a hole some ten feet in diameter. With -their spears they were straining frantically to pry loose a huge lump of -ice and send it hurtling into the hole. - -“They are going to crush the Corporal with that cake of ice!” cried -Dick. “We’ve reached the pit!” - -The rifles of the policemen came swiftly to their shoulders, and the -great fissure reverberated with two shots. One of the half-breeds -staggered and sank upon his side, lying still. The other grasped his -shoulder with one hand, as if he had been wounded, turned and ran around -a bend in the walls of the fissure. - -“Don’t follow them!” was Corporal McCarthy’s command. “Let ’em go this -time. We must get Thalman out.” - -Soon they were crowded about the dark round opening of the prison pit, -and were shouting down into the darkness. In the silence that followed -their shouts down into the hole, they could hear their own hearts -beating. Was Corporal Thalman alive? - -At last, as from another world, there was wafted up out of the dark -hole, a faint voice: - -“Here—I—am—friends. Pretty—weak—but—still—kicking.” - -“It’s Thalman!” whispered Constable Sloan hoarsely. “I can hardly -believe it.” - -“We’ve got to get a rope!” Corporal McCarthy bellowed down to the -prisoner. “Hold on, and we’ll soon get you out.” - -A wild laugh echoed up from the depths in answer, as if the prisoner was -about to lose his mind. - -Constable Sloan was already on the run for the rope. He came back in -about twenty minutes, having lost no time in finding his way up the -cavern to the surface of the glacier where the sledges were. - -Hastily they began lowering the long coil down into the hole. After -nearly fifty feet had been payed out, Corporal Thalman jerked on the -rope to signal he had it in his hands, then they all waited tensely -while he tied it securely under his shoulders. At last came the call -from the pit that all was ready. All hands grasped the rope then, and -began to heave it upward, hand over hand. - -It was a strange caricature of a man that at last appeared dangling in -the loop. He was pale as a ghost from his long sojourn underground, and -a long beard covered the lower part of his face and chest. So thin was -he that his bones seemed on the point of bursting through his skin. The -prisoner’s clothing was in tatters and immediately upon striking the -upper air he began to shiver from the cold. - -“We must get him to the sledges quick!” ordered Corporal McCarthy. -“There’s blankets up there, and we’ll make some hot tea for him. Just -our luck to have him pass in his checks just after we’ve saved him.” - -It was a hard struggle to climb out of the cavern with the almost -helpless man, but they finally accomplished the task. - -Once Corporal Thalman had been wrapped in blankets and furs and treated -to a few cups of piping hot tea, he showed signs of returning strength. -However, the policemen were in favor of returning with him immediately -to the base of supplies where everything necessary for his complete -recovery could be obtained. - -“I guess you boys are elected for the job of hauling Corporal Thalman to -the main camp,” Corporal McCarthy told them. “Sloan and I will stay here -for another try at trapping that sly fox, Mistak.” - -“But with only one sledge, and that loaded with Corporal Thalman, we -can’t haul in the cache of meat on the back trail,” Dick explained. - -“That’s alright,” retorted the policeman. “Come back after it when you -have Thalman safe in a warm igloo with plenty of hot tea and food -nearby.” - -It was with much regret that the boys bade good-bye to the policemen -once more and started out on the back trail, Corporal Thalman snugly -tucked in on the sledge. - -Two days later, having traveled slow, for the comfort of their -passenger, the boys reached the base of supplies. Sipsa and the other -natives seemed overjoyed to see their young white friends again, and -they held a feast in honor of the occasion, since hunting had been so -good and they had more meat than they needed for the winter. - -The day after the home-coming, Sandy was left to care for Corporal -Thalman, while Dick and Toma returned to haul in the cache of musk-ox -meat. They found the meat unmolested, and in fine condition, however, -the signs in the snow about the cache showed that numerous foxes had -made a vain effort to scratch away the stones and get at the meat. - -A high wind was blowing upon their backs when Dick and Toma pulled in at -the supply base with their precious load of meat. Two hours later the -wind had risen to cyclonic velocity, sweeping tons and tons of snow -through the air until the sun was blotted out and the igloos trembled to -their strong foundations. - -The storm was warning of winter and Dick and Sandy were much concerned -over the safety of the policemen. Under warm shelter the men might -weather the blizzard for days, provided they did not run out of food and -fuel oil. If they did— Dick and Sandy shuddered to think of what such -privations would mean for Corporal McCarthy and the Constable. - -Three days the wind howled and shrieked and tore at the tiny knot of -igloos under the high ridge, while the tormented sea roared and pounded -on the beach, heaving great projectiles of ice far up on the land with -deafening crashes. - -The third day the wind laid, and several hours afterward, two half -frozen men staggered into the camp. Dick had just looked out of an igloo -upon the new world of white, when he saw the two figures. - -“Sandy! A rifle quick!” cried Dick. “It’s two of Mistak’s men.” - -But no weapon was needed. The men were about dead on their feet and were -unarmed. - -The foremost man gave a hoarse shout upon seeing Dick and flung up an -arm to cover his eyes as if he had seen a ghost. - -“It’s Moonshine Sam!” Dick exclaimed to Sandy, who had joined him at the -igloo door. - -Moonshine Sam it was who staggered up to the boys and threw himself upon -his face in the snow, his companion dropping to his side. - -“I’m givin’ up,” moaned Moonshine Sam to the boys as they bent over him. -“I’d rather let the law do its worst than stay in this hell-hole any -longer.” - -Dick and Sandy dragged the two outlaws into their igloo, one by one, -putting on some tea for them. They could not bear to see even those -hardened criminals suffer. - -Inside, they found both the half-breed’s hands frozen as hard as stones. -Moonshine Sam’s left foot was frozen just as bad, and both men’s faces -were black. The hot tea and warmth of the igloo made the men delirious, -and Moonshine Sam especially, babbled ceaselessly. - -“It’ll git ye! It’ll git ye!” he repeated many times, writhing with -pain. - -“What?” Dick asked the outlaw solemnly. - -“Har! Har!” the man laughed madly. “Out there, fool!” he cried. “The -white things! Mistak an’ the north!” - -Both Dick and Sandy did their best to quiet the raving outlaw, but to no -avail. One moment he was cursing everything alive, and swearing to kill -all the mounted police in Canada; the next moment he became as fearful -as a child. - -“Ye’ll save me from him,” he clutched at Dick with clawing fingers. “Ye -won’t let the ‘white Eskimo’ git me,” he mumbled. - -By fragments the story of Moonshine Sam’s experience in the blizzard -came out. There had been a division in the band, Mistak and Moonshine -Sam quarreling and going their separate ways. Only one half-breed had -had the courage to mutiny against Fred Mistak, and follow the white man. -The two had been caught out in the storm with no food, dogs, or sleeping -bags. Only by chance had they reached the igloos of the policemen’s -encampment. - -It was hours before Moonshine Sam finally fell into a troubled sleep, -and the boys could seek rest themselves. - -When they awakened, Toma was bending over them. - -“Police come back. They in igloo. Want you come to them,” said the young -Indian. - -Outside, on the way to the policemen’s igloo, the boys found dusk upon -the desolate land. Only a rim of the sun shed its fiery radiance upon an -overhang of dull, gray clouds. Winter was overtaking them. - -The boys found two gaunt and grim men when they crawled into the snow -house of the two officers. Constable Sloan had been wounded in an ambush -perpetrated by Mistak, shortly after the boys had started back to camp -with Thalman. Mistak had bested them for the present, Corporal McCarthy -was forced to admit, but the question was, should they give up and go -south before winter, leaving Mistak free in his fastnesses. - -“That’s up to you, Corporal McCarthy,” Dick and Sandy replied as one. -“You’re the commander of this expedition.” - -“Well, then, I’m for staying here,” went on the officer. “I’ll get -Mistak if I die in the attempt, and I mean what I say. Sloan swears -he’ll stick by me, but that’s no reason why the rest of you should. If -you start tomorrow you can go by sledge to the nearest seaport and book -passage back to Canada before you get caught in the long night, and -travel is made unsafe. What do you say?” - -“We won’t quit,” Dick returned, pale but determined. “Sandy and I want -to see this to a finish and Corporal Thalman swore only yesterday that -he’d never let us take him back until Mistak went with him, or was left -behind for the foxes.” - -“Shake,” Corporal McCarthy extended a hard hand, and Dick and Sandy -grasped it in turn. - -“For a couple of kids you’re the nerviest he-men I ever met with,” Sloan -spoke up, a courageous grin on his pain drawn face. - -“I’ll second that,” hastened Corporal McCarthy. - -When Dick and Sandy left the igloo, they walked very straight, and they -were silent. The dreaded long night of the northland was close at hand -and they must stand up under hardships more terrible than they had -either ever endured, for, had Constable Sloan not called them “the -nerviest he-men I ever met with?” - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - THE LONG NIGHT - - -The last of the sun was seen October 18th. Corporal McCarthy had been -forced to take charge of the camp until Constable Sloan recovered from -his wounds, and so the long-thwarted capture of Mistak, the white -Eskimo, was due for another long delay under the pitchy blackness of the -Arctic night. - -Moonshine Sam recovered, and was kept constantly under guard, though he -repeated again and again his promises to keep the peace if he were put -on parole. The half-breed, who had staggered into camp with the white -outlaw, died from exposure, and was buried, under a cairn of stones a -few miles from camp. - -Corporal Thalman’s iron constitution soon rebuilt itself, now that he -was among friends, and had almost all he could eat. And so the little -garrison was stronger by one more man. - -Under the smothering darkness that now had descended upon the land, time -passed as if the hours were days, the weeks months, and a month a year. -The men and boys contrived games of all kinds to play indoors, yet they -had to economize on their fuel oil, and whenever they could, they slept -away the hours. - -It was with great joy that they greeted the coming of the moon that -first month of uninterrupted darkness. Fortunately fair weather came -along with the bright disc in the Heavens, and everyone sallied forth to -hunt and play in the open air. - -The policemen went some distance inland during the period, but due to -the liability of the weather to change for the worst at any hour, they -dared not go on any protracted search for Mistak. They did, however, -bring in three musk-oxen and a polar bear. - -Dick, Sandy, and Toma all became proficient, during the moonlight -period, in a game of throw and catch which the Eskimos played. It was -great fun and required no little skill. A long stick, perforated with -small holes was employed, together with a walrus tusk, sharpened to a -point. The stick was thrown into the air and caught in one of the holes -upon the ivory point. - -There were also foot races and snowshoe races in which the mounted -police joined, along with the Eskimos and the boys. Weight lifting, -wrestling, and other tests of strength were also favorite pastimes of -the Eskimos and were invaluable in counteracting the depressing effects -of the moonlight and the eternal darkness. - -Constable Sloan told them that the moon would remain in the sky from -eight to ten days. A storm fell upon them, however, after seven days and -nights of moonlight, and they were all forced to hibernate in their -igloos to escape the bitter cold and heavy darkness. - -During the second period of utter darkness, the thermometers all froze -and burst, except those especially designed for use in the Arctic. Sandy -fell sick with a bad cold that threatened to develop into pneumonia, and -lay abed two weeks before Dick’s continuous nursing brought his chum -through safely. - -Bundled in furs hour after hour, in their sleeping bags and out, all -suffered immeasurably from the close and stifling air of the igloos. The -Eskimos rubbed themselves with oil in order to soften their skins and -file their pores, but it was some time before the boys could bring -themselves to apply the messy stuff in place of their old friend soap -and water. But as soon as they did, they felt much better. For their -clothing no longer chaffed them and the bite of the low temperature was -considerably lessened. - -Moonshine Sam became a greater trial with the passing of every hour. He -lapsed into strange spells that seemed to be brought on by the -oppressive darkness and the terrible hardships he had weathered while -with Mistak. - -“I’ll git him, er he’ll git me,” he would mumble, starting up out of a -stupid trance. Then he would clench and unclench his red hands, and -gnash his yellow teeth in a frightful rage. - -He finally grew so violent that the policemen no longer would permit the -boys to take their turns watching him, doing it all among the three of -them. - -I’d hate to see him and Mistak come to blows, Corporal Thalman -shuddered, after coming off of a two-hour watch in Moonshine Sam’s -igloo. “One or both of them would pass in his checks before the fight -was over. I guess the white Eskimo is pretty hard on the men that desert -him.” - -The second period of moonlight came at an inopportune time. A dense film -of clouds obscured it for four days and the ghostly white snow fields -were almost as dark as when there was no moon. But it finally cleared -off, only to reveal more trouble. The dogs were dying from attacks of -madness. Dick and Sandy counted twenty-two dead in the snow, some their -own, some belonging to the Eskimos. - -After several hours of observation they discovered a dog in the throes -of the polar sickness. The animal began to whine, then suddenly snarled, -and frothed at the mouth. After biting himself several times, he ran -madly in and out among the igloos, finally circling far out over the -snow. When the diseased dog finally rushed panting and red-eyed back to -camp, all the other dogs had hidden from him. Dick shot the dog then to -prevent its suffering any longer. That was the last case of the madness -among the dogs during that phase of the moon. - -“It’s what the Eskimos call Piblockto,” Constable Sloan explained. “The -Eskimos get it themselves sometimes, especially the women, though it’s -not so fatal among human beings as among dogs. So if you fellows hear -some unearthly screeching you’ll know what it is. Don’t bother anyone -who gets it The natives leave them alone unless they start running away -where they’re apt to freeze to death. The fits only last about half an -hour.” - -The boys did not have to wait long before they saw an actual case of -what Constable Sloan had described. - -It happened to an Eskimo woman whose month old infant had died of -exposure, which was a rare occurrence. Grief stricken, the poor woman -was wandering around among the igloos in the moonlight, wailing softly -to herself, when the boys chanced to pass her on their way to the -policemen’s igloo. - -Their hair raised under their parkas as suddenly the woman let out a -most blood-curdling scream, leaped into the air several times, and -finally commenced to tear her clothes off, piece by piece. Dick and -Sandy ran behind an igloo and watched from hiding. Several Eskimos -appeared from various igloos, and the boys could hear them babbling -about piblockto and the angekok. They gathered that the Eskimos believed -the woman was temporarily possessed by one of the bad spirits that -haunted the northland. - -The Eskimos did not attempt to do anything for the poor woman until she -had torn away so much of her warm clothing that she stood in danger of -freezing to death. Then three men came out and dragged her, shrieking -into an igloo. Presently her screams died away and all was quiet. - -Dick and Sandy hurried on their way, their flesh still creeping from the -scene they had witnessed. But before the moon had once more dropped down -under the horizon, they saw several of these attacks of piblockto and -became somewhat accustomed to them. - -It was in January, during the dark of the moon, that some mysterious -enemy began his depredations. First, two dogs were stumbled upon in the -dark, their heads crushed in by an axe, and part of their haunches cut -away. Next, an Eskimo youth, out to bring in some snow for melting, -crawled back to his igloo, hours later, wounded by a spear. Several -other Eskimos were pursued by some animal the nature of which they could -not detect in the pitchy blackness. Sandy swore that once, when he was -about to venture out of the igloo to see how the weather was, that he -had touched a cold face with one hand, and that a darker blot in the -darkness had melted out of sight, without making any sound in the snow. - -Finally, no one but the policemen dared to venture often into the dark, -and they only with a weapon handy. - -“I’ve got my own ideas as to what this ghost is,” Dick told Sandy. “The -policemen think the same as I do, too. It’s as simple as anything.” - -“What is it, then?” Sandy wanted to know, as he cut a new wick for a -seal oil lamp. - -“Why, Mistak, of course.” - -“Then, how is it that he can see in the dark?” - -“He can’t, any more than we can,” Dick replied. “He just prowls around, -and when he runs into someone he takes the chance to put a scare into -all of us.” - -“Sounds reasonable,” admitted Sandy. “But, gee, I don’t like the idea of -him hanging around. Suppose he should take a notion to attack us. We’d -be just about helpless in these igloos.” - -Dick realized Sandy was right and he spoke to Corporal McCarthy about it -as soon as he came in off a watch at Moonshine Sam’s igloo. - -“I don’t think Mistak has the nerve to attack us,” Corporal McCarthy -replied. “The fellow is sly as a fox, but he’s afraid of the police, -don’t you believe he isn’t?” - -The following interminable night seemed to prove Corporal McCarthy right -in his opinion that Mistak lacked the daring to perpetrate an open -attack. Yet that did not prevent the outlaw from continuing his strike -and run tactics. No one could feel safe with these skulking enemies -waiting in the pitchy blackness of the Arctic night to kill, maim or -steal. - -Then, thirty-six hours before they anticipated the return of the moon, -Sandy disappeared. He had gone to Moonshine Sam’s igloo with meat for -Constable Sloan then on watch, and had neither returned to his igloo nor -reported to his destination. A blundering search of the vicinity in the -darkness proved futile, and he could not be located in any of the Eskimo -igloos. - -Alive to the danger which would threaten Sandy if he were lost in the -vast land of darkness, Dick appealed to Corporal McCarthy. - -“I know how you feel, and I wish we could do something, but it’s useless -to hunt blindly for him,” the Corporal replied regretfully. “We must -hope he turns up by himself or that some of the Eskimos happen to run -onto him.” - -“Do you suppose Mistak or some of the other outlaws might have attacked -him?” Dick asked falteringly. - -“I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t possible. I don’t like to think the -worst any more than you do. Anyhow, we know Sandy McClaren is pretty -well able to take care of himself. There’s no danger of him laying down -and dying while he’s an ounce of strength left to find his way back to -us.” - -Dick was forced to accept this as his only comfort for the present. But -as the hours passed and Sandy did not show up, the suspense became -unbearable. A host of questions thronged and tormented his worried mind. -Could Sandy, if lost, hold out until the moon came up to light the way -for him and a searching party? Had Mistak captured him and imprisoned -him? Or had the outlaws brutally murdered him? - -But one thing Dick was thankful for—the weather remained fair, with no -wind, and a temperature as high as fifteen degrees below zero, warm for -the Arctic winter. - -As the time drew near for the reappearance of the moon, Dick did not -sleep at all, but paced up and down on the packed snow in front of his -igloo. He was there when the first pale, cold, faint light stole over -the snow, and with a cry of gladness, he turned to the bleak horizon, -where the edge of a yellow disc had just appeared as the moon rose. - -Corporal McCarthy was quickly at Dick’s side. “We can start a search -right away now,” said the officer sympathetically. “I’ll have two -parties of Eskimos start on in different directions, one led by Sipsa, -and one by Constable Sloan. Corporal Thalman can take charge of -Moonshine Sam while we’re gone.” - -The searching parties were hastily organized, and started off. Corporal -McCarthy, Dick and Toma formed a third party. They started out at the -beaten path between Dick’s igloo and Moonshine Sam’s. It was from there -they were quite certain Sandy had vanished. But the vicinity of the path -and the village of igloos was so criss-crossed with tracks that they -could make no headway. So, striking out blindly, they headed southward, -while the other divisions of the searchers took the remaining three -directions. - -Outside the vicinity of the encampment where the snow was unbroken, they -began walking back and forth, examining every foot of snow for signs of -Sandy’s feet. - -But the snow was covered by a crust several inches thick, and an -ordinary weight made no impression. Despairingly, they kept on, until at -last Dick spied something glittering in the rays of the moon. Quickly he -ran to the object and picked it up. Renewed hope was expressed in his -loud summons of Toma and Corporal McCarthy. - -What Dick held in his hand when his two companions arrived, was a -hunting knife, in the bone handle of which had been carved two tell-tale -initials—“S.M.”! - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - A STRANGE TRAIL - - -Eagerly, the policeman and Toma examined the knife that Dick had found, -which had, without a doubt, once reposed in Sandy McClaren’s sheath. -Yet, after the first flush of excitement had worn off, they all realized -that the clue was a very inadequate one. In itself it could not lead to -Sandy. Only it served as an added incentive for them to search more -diligently for some more definite trace of the lost boy. - -As they circled slowly, getting farther and farther from camp, the snow -continued to present a hard crust which had registered no record of the -feet that had passed over it under the impenetrable shroud of the polar -darkness. - -But their patience was rewarded when Toma found a bit of bearskin with -the long hair adhering to it. Upon examining the fur closely, they saw -that it had been slashed from a larger piece of fur with a knife. - -“It might have been cut from Sandy’s trousers,” ventured Dick. - -“That’s possible,” rejoined Corporal McCarthy, “but we just found what -seemed to be Sandy’s knife. What did he cut the fur with?” - -Neither Dick nor Toma could answer that question, and at the time it did -not seem important enough to worry about. Close to a hundred feet from -where they had spied the first bit of bearskin, they found another -fragment of the same kind of fur. It, too, had been obviously cut with a -knife. - -“Now I know Sandy has cut off these bits of fur to mark the way he -went,” Dick cried excitedly. “Let’s hurry on and see where the next one -is.” - -After progressing nearly a quarter mile across the crusted snow, they -had picked up nearly twenty bits of fur similar to the first one Toma -had found, and were certain something more tangible would soon turn up. - -Then the trail of fur fragments disappeared and was replaced by the -imprint of several snowshoes, as they at last reached soft snow. - -All three bent to examine the tracks. There were three pair of snow-shoe -tracks and one pair of small boot tracks. - -“The boot tracks are Sandy’s, I’m pretty sure,” was Corporal McCarthy’s -confident statement. “The snow-shoe tracks must have been made by those -who captured him, unless someone picked up his trail after the moon came -up.” - -Hastening onward, they followed an unbroken trail for nearly a half -hour, when they again were discouraged upon reaching more crusted snow -upon which the trail vanished. But not long were they at loss. Running -ahead a short distance, Dick stooped and picked up something which he -waved triumphantly to Toma and the Corporal. It was another bit of -bearskin. - -“Sandy’s started marking his trail again!” Dick called. - -“I’m getting so I’m not so sure just who has been leaving these -markers,” Corporal McCarthy said. “That knife we found back there makes -me wonder if it’s really Sandy who has dropped those pieces of fur.” - -“Why, who could it be then?” Dick asked incredulously. - -“We’ll see, we’ll see,” was the policeman’s enigmatic reply. “But in the -meantime you two fellows be ready to obey orders.” - -Wondering what the Corporal was hinting at, Dick started out to find -more of the trail markers. About every fifty or a hundred feet they -found them, so that there was no doubt as to the fact that they were -going right. - -Corporal McCarthy cautioned them to keep their eyes open now, for they -had reached the end of the level snow and were among some large -snowdrifts formed by huge boulders that had lodged the snow. Directly -over their heads loomed the long upward slant of the high moraine which -had so long served them as a landmark. However, they were in a part of -the country unfamiliar to them, and so did not know what to expect. -Added to this the moonlight deceived the eyes, and made it difficult for -them to tell a boulder from a living body. - -“Be prepared for an ambush,” the Corporal instructed Dick and Toma. -“Mistak hasn’t taken Sandy all this distance for nothing. He knew we -would follow.” - -But minute after minute passed and there was no sign of Mistak or his -band, nor of Sandy, with the exception of the clear prints of the -snowshoes leading in and out and around the drifts and boulders. Like so -many ghosts the three trailers hurried on in the pale moonlight, their -snowshoes making scarcely no sound at all in the feathery drifts. - -Suddenly, there broke upon the icy air a mocking laugh. The three -stopped dead in their tracks, mouths agape. - -“What was that?” whispered Dick. - -“Him sounded like bad spirit,” Toma’s voice was subdued from sudden -fright. - -Corporal McCarthy said nothing, but his hands tightened on his rifle -while he searched every black shadow with probing eyes. - -Shaken by the eerie sound, they prepared to go on again, when once more -the mad laugh pealed out, vindictive, vengeful and subtlely mocking. - -“It must be a mad man,” quavered Dick. - -“Nonsense,” grated the policeman. “It’s some of that devilish Mistak’s -work. Anyway the sound came from ahead of us. Unlimber your rifles, -lads, we’re going to see some action, I think. If I’m lucky enough to -get a bead on Mistak, I’ll never get him to Canada alive, mark my word.” - -Crouching, so as to make use of every bit of shelter, they now moved -slowly forward, holding their breaths for a repetition of the cackle of -laughter. The very boulders themselves now seemed to be moved in the -deceptive moonlight under their imaginative eyes. - -And again they heard the laugh—ahead of them yet. On and on they crept, -a dew of perspiration standing out on their foreheads, and freezing -there in tiny drops. But not a sign of any person or thing did they -actually see. Only the frequent peals of wild laughter urged them -fearfully on, like a will-o’-the-wisp in some frozen swamp. - -The boulder strewn snow presently gave way to treacherous gashes in the -ground made by the erosion of some age-old glacier. Clambering and -sliding in and out of these precipitous gullies, they kept on after the -elusive laughter. - -Long since they had given up following the snowshoe tracks. The laughter -of a man—even a mad man was much more tangible than footprints. But had -it not been for the grim, fearless policeman, Dick and Toma would have -turned back. - -An end to their reckless advance came in a very unexpected manner. -Clambering out of a steep gully, they found themselves at the edge of a -trackless expanse of soft white snow, apparently as level as a floor and -just as solid footing. The laughter had not been repeated for some time -before they negotiated the last glacier gash, and they were beginning to -wonder if their ghostly guide had deserted them. - -It was Toma who saw it first—the form of a human being sitting erect -against a snow bank across the white level of snow. - -“Look. Somebody there!” Toma whispered. - -“It—it must be a dead man,” faltered Dick. - -“Not on your life,” gritted Corporal McCarthy. “See him move. That -fellow’s tied and that fellow is Sandy McClaren!” - -Dick’s eyes suddenly testified as to the accuracy of the policeman’s -statement. “Sandy!” he almost shrieked, starting to run toward him. - -But the iron hand of Corporal McCarthy dragged him back as if he had -been merely a pillowful of feathers. - -“Look out there!” cried the Corporal. “This is a trap you can bet and -we’ll go slow.” - -Sandy apparently was gagged, for though he had begun to wriggle, he made -no sound with his mouth except an almost inaudible gurgle. - -Corporal McCarthy was pawing in the snow for something. Dick finally saw -what he was after—a stone. The policeman finally found one that was -quite heavy. He raised this above his head and to Dick and Toma’s -amazement, threw it out upon the snow between them and Sandy. - -The boys expected the stone to bound and roll a little way, but to their -horror, as the stone struck it disappeared and, following it, more than -twenty square feet of snow caved downward with a rustling hiss and -disappeared into a fathomless black void. - -Dick’s gasp of dismay was followed by a piercing voice from the shadows -of the boulders behind them. It was the voice that had done the -laughing, but this time it did not laugh but cried out in an expression -of rage and disappointment. - -Corporal McCarthy’s rifle was at his shoulder when the sound reached his -ears, but there was nothing to shoot at—only the ghastly moonlight of -the polar night, and the inky shadows. The policeman raised his rifle -and shook it. - -“Beat you that time—you half-breed devil!” his big voice pealed out -across the desolate wastes. “And I’m praying you’ll come down here and -fight it out where I can get a bead on you.” - -But there was no answer, and a moment later the Corporal turned back to -the boys. - -“Clever trap,” he explained in an undertone. “But I had my suspicions, -and as soon as I saw Sandy out there in plain sight, I knew there was a -nigger in the fence. That was a snow bridge we came pretty near busting -through. Wind built it up across this gorge. Now we’ve got to get at the -boy.” - -Calling across the chasm, they explained to Sandy that they must find -some other place to cross over to him. Hurriedly making their way to the -left along the treacherous brink, which for many yards was bridged by -the frail snow drift, they finally came to a narrow place and one by one -leaped over with their snowshoes in their hands. It took them but a few -moments to strap on their snowshoes again and run to Sandy. In a trice -they had slashed his bonds and yanked the gag from his mouth. - -With a joy they could not express, Dick and Sandy embraced, whereupon -Sandy’s story came tumbling from his lips by fits and starts. - -Briefly, it was this: About half way to Moonshine Sam’s igloo, following -the beaten path, he had heard stealthy footsteps coming toward him. In -the gloom he could see nothing, and so he had stopped, waiting for some -sign that the person was a friend or an enemy. Then, without warning, a -smothering fur robe had been thrown over him and he was lifted up in -strong arms and carried away. At a distance from the igloos far enough -so that his cries for help would not bring his friends, Sandy’s captors -had put him on his feet, and taken off the robe. They then had taken his -knife away from him and had thrown it away. Sandy had then been -compelled to accompany the men on foot. When his eyes had grown -accustomed to the dimly starlit night, he had managed to recognize -Mistak among the three, and had found out that they were leaving bits of -fur behind them to mark their trail. Sandy had not been able to fathom -their purpose in leaving such a plain trail, nor had he been fully aware -of the nature of the cunning trap laid by Mistak when the outlaw had -left him bound and gagged against a snowdrift, after a long roundabout -journey among a network of deep gorges. - -“I didn’t know what it was all about till I saw you three stop out there -in front of me, and throw that stone,” Sandy concluded. “I guess I made -a pretty good bait for that trap.” - -“I pretty near went right on after you, too,” shivered Dick, recalling -their narrow escape, “but Corporal McCarthy was wise enough to see -through it.” - -“Well, let’s be getting back to camp,” the policeman interrupted them. -“We’re a lot farther from home than we ought to be. If a storm catches -us before we get in there’s no telling whether we’ll ever get back.” - -“I’m sure beginning to wish it really was home we were going back to,” -groaned Sandy. “In two days I’ve only had one chunk of walrus meat to -eat.” - -“Buck up, Sandy,” Dick replied cheerfully, as they set out on the back -trail. “We’ll be back at camp before you know it.” - -But Dick was wrong. Before they were on the trail an hour, a bank of -clouds that had been hovering in the north, spread out fan-like across -the stars and presently the moon was blotted out as if some giant hand -had taken it from the sky. - -With not even the stars to light their way, the four travelers stumbled -blindly along, until Corporal McCarthy ordered them to halt. - -“We can’t keep on like this,” said the Corporal grimly. “We’ll get so -far off the back trail that we’ll never find our way back. The only -thing we can do is build an igloo and wait for the moon to come out -again. Let’s hope a storm don’t come up.” - -After blundering about in the darkness, which was so thick they could -cut it with a knife, they finally located a drift which was solid enough -and large enough for the cutting of snow blocks for an igloo. It was a -poor snow house they erected largely by their sense of touch, but it -served the purpose. Hovering inside their makeshift shelter they waited -silently for the clouds to disperse, praying for fair weather to -continue. - -Yet the supreme power that governed the capricious whims of the mighty -ice cap seemed deaf to their supplications for a half hour after the -igloo had been completed the temperature began to fall alarmingly. A -wind sprang up out of the northeast, just a whisper at first, like the -vast, mournful sigh of a melancholy spirit, then rapidly it grew louder, -by gusts and fits, until a thirty mile an hour gale was sweeping the -snow wastes with the fury of a stampeded lion. The wind sought out every -niche and cranny in the hastily erected igloo, and through the heavy -garments of the shivering refugees it cut like so many tiny knives. -Futilely, they tried to stop up the holes where the wind seeped in while -the gale laughed and howled and whistled, as if in mad glee at the -discomfiture it was causing the shivering mortals. - -In the grip of the terrible cold, the four kept from falling into that -dreadful drowsiness which signals death by freezing, by beating -themselves and each other with their numbed arms. The fur rims of their -parkas became heavy with icicles formed by moisture from their mouth. -Their eyelashes froze together from the watering of their eyes. With -each breath it seemed red hot irons had been thrust down their throats -and liquid fire loosed in their lungs. For extreme cold has much the -same sensation of extreme heat. - -Two hours they fought a losing fight, then the capricious gods of the -north changed their minds and the wind began to lay. Almost -imperceptibly at first, each gust a little weaker than the last, until -finally, they all crept out of the igloo to find a vast silence -pervading the ghostly land. Cold and pale, the Arctic moon now lighted -their way, for the clouds had been herded southward by the passing polar -wind. - -The temperature had risen a little when all four set out on the return -trail, now almost blotted out save where the wind had struck it squarely -and had blown the loose snow away around the packed snowshoe tracks. - -In his weakened condition Sandy had almost succumbed to the cold, and -part of the way they had to carry the gritty young Scotchman. - -Thus they stumbled into the village of igloos hours later, lungs burning -from the frost, bodies numb and prickling in a dozen places. - -No more had they arrived than they found their troubles were not over. - -Corporal Thalman met them with disturbing news, as soon as they had -stumbled into an igloo and lighted an oil heater. - -Moonshine Sam had escaped during the storm! - - - - - CHAPTER XX - UNDER AN ARCTIC MOON - - -“I couldn’t stay awake,” Corporal Thalman said bitterly, in explanation -of Moonshine Sam’s escape. “I was the only one to stand the watches, -because I couldn’t trust any of the Eskimos to stick to their post. It’s -a wonder he didn’t kill me while I was helpless.” - -“But I thought he wanted to stay with us for protection from the -vengeance of Mistak,” Corporal McCarthy said impatiently. “How was he -acting up to the time you fell asleep?” - -“He seemed to change his mind,” replied the other officer. “I recall him -mumbling about the gallows, and about knowing he’d be hung if he was -taken back by the police. I think he intends either to try to rejoin -Mistak, or make his way south alone.” - -“Well,” Corporal McCarthy’s voice was expressive of an inward, -suppressed rage, “we’ll have to bring him back! If we don’t Mistak will -kill him.” - -Quickly, the Corporal gave his instructions. He and Corporal Thalman -were to set out after Moonshine Sam as soon as they had eaten. Dick, -Sandy and Toma were to remain in camp, and as soon as Constable Sloan -and Sipsa came in with the searching parties, the boys were to report to -them the escape of the outlaw and pass on orders for their aid in -retaking the prisoner. - -A half hour later, the two Corporals departed from the village of igloos -with a day’s provisions, and a camp stove, packed on their backs. Not -long after they had gone the searching parties straggled in, discouraged -and half frozen from the blizzard which they, too, had been caught in. - -Alone among the Eskimos, the three boys treated their frost bites with -snow and alcohol rubs, fed themselves on musk-ox steaks, and when again -fairly comfortable, became impatient at inaction. It was far worse to -sit in idleness than to get out and do something. - -“Let’s go hunting,” suggested Dick. - -“That’s better than sitting here in this igloo waiting for something to -happen,” Sandy rejoined. “I believe I’d go crazy in this awful silence -if I had to sit around and wiggle my thumbs.” - -Toma seemed willing enough to stay behind and take care of things in the -absence of the boys, and so Dick and Sandy started out without him, -carrying only their rifles and hunting knives, for they dared not go far -away from camp. They knew that, while they had weathered one brief -blizzard, they could not expect to be so fortunate next time. - -Looking for musk-oxen, the boys climbed the high moraine east of the -base camp and followed the top of the ridge southward until they reached -an arm of the glacier on the other side. - -They had gone upward of two miles when they came suddenly upon the print -of a sealskin Arctic boot in the snow. The boys stopped and studied the -track. - -“This can’t be made by any of the policemen, or Sipsa either,” said Dick -with bated breath. “They all had snowshoes.” - -“And it can’t be Mistak either,” Sandy observed. “He’d be traveling on -snowshoes too.” - -The boys looked at each other significantly. - -“Then it’s just about got to be Moonshine Sam,” Dick spoke slowly. - -Again they bent over the boot track. - -“You can see it was made before or during the blizzard,” Dick said. -“It’s partly drifted full of snow. Let’s look for other tracks.” - -Several feet away from the first, on the other side of a long, low, -snowdrift they found the next track. It was raised up out of the snow, -the wind having sucked away the loose flakes all around it. Another and -another they found, as the trail grew hotter, but the tracks seemed to -have been made by a person wandering aimlessly here and there. - -“I’m certain it’s Moonshine Sam now,” Dick breathed. “His tracks show -how crazily he was going, blinded by the storm.” - -Hastening on, the boys presently came to fresher footprints, made, -obviously, after the wind had laid. The tracks were now sunken in deep -snow, revealing how, from lack of snowshoes, the man had floundered -along. - -They had followed the fresher tracks for about half a mile, when to -their surprise another trail, made by snowshoes, joined and followed the -first. - -“I wonder who that could be,” Sandy spoke. - -“Well, it’s only one man, so it can’t be the policemen, unless they’ve -divided up. I hardly think they’d do that.” - -“Maybe it’s Mistak or some of his men,” was Sandy’s conjecture. “Don’t -you think we’d better go back?” - -“Not on your life we’re not going back!” Dick said determinedly. “We’ve -been lucky enough to strike a hot trail, and believe me, we’re going to -stick to it. But I do wish we could get in touch with the policemen. -Look around, Sandy, and see if you can’t see someone.” - -But a careful scanning of the bleak snowfields failed to disclose any -sign of life. - -“We’ll have to keep on alone I guess,” Dick said finally. - -Once more they started out on the double trail, their senses on the -alert for a sight or sound of those they followed. - -Fresher and fresher became the trail, for the man on snowshoes was -rapidly overtaking whoever he pursued, provided that was what he had -been doing, and according to signs the man in boots had increased his -pace to a floundering run as if he wanted to get away from someone. - -The boys came to the brow of a long incline, slanting to a level tundra, -and down the slope saw two men, surprisingly close. - -“Sit down, Sandy,” Dick whispered. “Don’t let either of them see us.” - -Dropping down in the snow, the boys watched an interesting chase. The -man on snowshoes was rapidly overtaking another who plunged along -hampered by sinking at every step. - -Sandy clutched Dick by the arm and said hoarsely, fearfully: “That man -in front is Moonshine Sam—sure enough.” - -“And you can bet the fellow on snowshoes is Mistak,” came back Dick -confidently. - -“They’re going to fight!” exclaimed Sandy. “What if someone’s killed?” - -“We can’t help it, Sandy. It’s their fight. We’re risking our lives if -we try to stop it, without killing one of them ourselves, and you know -we couldn’t kill in cold blood. Oh, if the policemen were only here!” - -Tensely the boys watched the two draw nearer together. When a hundred -yards separated them, Moonshine Sam turned, shook his fists over his -head, and let out a loud yell. Then he started back. The man was going -to fight now that he was in a corner. - -Mistak carried only a spear as a long distance weapon. The boys divined -that he and his band had long since run out of ammunition for the few -firearms they possessed. - -Dick and Sandy held their breath as they saw the white Eskimo draw back -his arm and pose for a throw. An instant Mistak bent backward, still as -a statue, then his body and arm snapped forward simultaneously, like a -catapult. The spear shot forward in a low arc toward Moonshine Sam, half -as swift as an arrow. - -Moonshine Sam fell flat in the snow none too soon, and the whizzing -weapon buried itself in the snow a few feet beyond him. Like a flash -Moonshine Sam leaped to his feet, wheeled and ran for the spear, pawing -frantically in the snow, he at last found the buried spear. - -Mistak was making for the other outlaw at a spraddling run, as Moonshine -Sam aimed the spear to throw it back. But he had a running target that -was purposely bobbing up and down and zig-zagging. - -Then the spear flashed through the moonlight, a streak of potent death, -but the white outlaw was not an expert spear thrower. The weapon missed -Mistak by several feet. - -“They’re going to close in,” Dick whispered, burying his fingers into -Sandy’s arm in his excitement. - -Both outlaws obviously had drawn knives now. Moonshine Sam must have -stolen one before he escaped from the igloo. They circled warily. First -one then the other advanced, Mistak moving more swiftly on his -snowshoes, though his footwork was ponderous enough. - -Moonshine Sam finally ceased trying to outmaneuver his opponent, and -stood stolidly, knee deep in the snow—waiting. - -Then Mistak struck, like a flash. But Moonshine Sam was not so inexpert -with a knife as he was with a spear. The white outlaw parried Mistak’s -swift thrust and sent him reeling backward, almost falling when one -snowshoe caught on its mate. But the white Eskimo quickly regained his -feet, and began to circle again for an opening. - -For several minutes Mistak kept Moonshine Sam turning about, then he -rushed in again. The knives clashed and held. It was strength against -strength now as each outlaw strove to bring his knife downward for a -fatal thrust. Weaving and straining, sometimes locked together as still -as statues, the outlaws struggled, while the perspiration came out and -froze on the faces of the hidden boys. - -At last the two men broke away from each other for a brief second, but -this time Moonshine Sam didn’t wait for Mistak to attack. He lunged -forward out of the snow and caught the white Eskimo by his knife, arm -and waist. Three times the attacking outlaw’s knife flashed up and down -in the moonlight, and the boys knew Mistak had been wounded. Then the -clenched two rolled to the snow, struggling like fiends. Minute after -minute they fought, Mistak now handicapped by his snowshoes instead of -aided by them. At last the white Eskimo was pinned upon his back and -Moonshine Sam’s knife began slowly to descend against the strength of -the outlaw leader’s left hand clutching the knife wrist. - -With the end almost in sight, the boys heard a distant shout, and -looking north of them, saw four men bearing down the slope. - -“The police! The police!” cried Dick, as he got to his feet and began -shouting and waving to them. - -Two of the four men ran toward the struggling outlaws, but they were too -late to stop the impending tragedy. Moonshine Sam’s knife found its -mark, and he arose, shaking the snow from his clothes, leaving a still -form in the snow. - -It was not until then that the victorious outlaw discovered the two -policemen descending upon him. With a startled shout, he started to run -away, then aware that he could never get away alive, he shook his fists -defiantly at his pursuers, and with a hoarse yell, plunged his knife -into his own breast. - -“He’s beaten the law!” exclaimed Dick, horrified by this grim justice of -the frozen north. “Come on, Sandy, let’s go down and join the -policemen.” - -They found Corporals McCarthy and Thalman inspecting the two silent -forms on the tundra when they arrived on the scene of the battle. Both -outlaws were dead beyond a shadow of doubt. - -“Well,” Corporal McCarthy looked up from the silent face of Mistak, “the -game is over, and for once, the mounted got licked—but it took death to -do it,” he concluded grimly, briefly ordering that two graves should be -hollowed out in the snow, and the bodies interred. - -Dick and Sandy found a little later, that the two who had accompanied -the Corporals were the last of Mistak’s band, an Indian and an -Eskimo—both with their hands tied behind them. The corporals explained -that they had run across them starving in an igloo, after they had -deserted Mistak. The outlaws had given up without a struggle, morosely -accepting a fate they considered less terrible than that which the awful -northland might have dealt out to them. - -Though the shadow of the recent tragedy darkened their spirits, it was -an infinitely relieved party that set out on the trail back to the -supply base. With every step that carried them further from those still -forms in their snow graves, their hearts grew lighter. - -On the way back they sighted Constable Sloan and Sipsa, and hailed them -with the tragic news. The two joined them on the return journey, and -already the talk was of the trip back to God’s country in the spring. - -“Lordy, how glad I am it’s all over,” Sandy grew steadily more cheerful. -“My, what I can tell Uncle Walter when I see him again!” - -“About all I’m going to be interested in,” Dick broke in, “for a few -days, after we get back to your uncle’s post, is going to be good, roast -turkey, with sage dressing—pumpkin pie—apple sauce—nice brown pan -gravy—stewed cranberries—coffee with sugar and cow’s cream—chocolate -pudd——” - -“Stop!” Sandy’s exclamation expressed how his stomach rebelled against -such fruitless tantalization. “If you say another word about food, I’m -going to die right here of starvation.” - -Dick slapped Sandy on the back and laughed, then arm in arm they went on -together. - - * * * * * * * * - -The last of the long night passed slowly but steadily away, and the -spring came to gladden the hearts of Dick and Sandy. - -March 4th they saw the sun again, and never did they greet the rising of -that great orb with such heartfelt joy. - -A day later they started southward, Sipsa and the other Eskimos -accompanying them to the mainland, which they reached safely in kayacks. -Leaving all camp paraphernalia that they did not need, with the Eskimos, -they left the children of the north happy and sorry to see their white -friends go. Dick and Sandy, too, felt a pang in their hearts as Sipsa’s -smiling face vanished out of their ken, probably never to be seen again. -But as they left the Arctic behind them, under the spring sun, all -feelings of regret at parting were replaced by one great and growing -joy—they were going home! - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - A PROPOSITION - - -It was a gala day at the trading post of Walter McClaren, Hudson’s Bay -Factor; a day for feasting and story-telling. For Dick Kent and Sandy -McClaren had come back from the far north. - -In the big dining room the factor’s old Indian housekeeper and cook -hovered about a long table loaded with the best products of her culinary -art. Her stoic face could scarcely conceal the pleasure she derived from -witnessing the seemingly insatiable appetites of her master’s nephew and -his chum. - -Walter McClaren, a big florid Scotchman, sat at the head of the table -beaming upon the boys and recalling his own boyhood days. He believed -boys should have plenty of excitement and outdoor experience, and as he -listened to the ceaseless recounting of their recent adventures with the -Eskimos, his smile grew broader and broader, while the roast turkey and -dressing vanished along with sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, stewed -cranberries, and chocolate pudding. - -“We just caught the boat going south,” Dick said between bites. “If we’d -been a day later we’d have been held up more than a month before another -boat came.” - -“I think you fellows have been pretty lucky,” rejoined Sandy’s uncle. -“If I’d known for a minute what I was sending you into, I’d never let -you go.” - -“But I’m glad we went,” returned Sandy. “I wouldn’t go through it again -for anything, but just the same after it’s all over, I wouldn’t trade -the experience for—for a commission in the mounted police.” - -“That just reminds me that from what Inspector Dunbar says, you fellows -are slated for some kind of a special medal or something for your -services in the Arctic.” - -“Medals!” Dick was alive in an instant, his half-eaten turkey drum stick -forgotten for the moment. “You don’t mean that, Uncle Sandy!” - -“Well, it must be a fact, if Inspector Dunbar said so,” replied the -factor. “But that’s not just exactly what I want to discuss with you -fellows,” continued the old Scotchman, knocking out his pipe on a leg of -his chair and refilling it. “I have a proposition for you.” - -“A proposition!” exclaimed Dick. “What is it now. A lost mine? Buried -treasure? Outlaws? Missing men?” - -“Hurry up. Tell us what it really is,” Sandy exclaimed, alive with -interest. - -“Well, you’ll have to give me a chance to talk then,” Mr. McClaren came -back patiently. “And Dick hasn’t guessed what the proposition is. It’s -not as profitable as lost mines or buried treasure, nor as dangerous as -hunting outlaws, but more entertaining than hunting missing men. There’s -money in it, some excitement and a chance to make good with one of the -greatest organizations in the world.” - -Dick and Sandy were begging now, for their interest certainly had been -intrigued. So engrossed had they become in what the proposition was -going to be that they even forgot to eat, sitting there with their -mouths open and loaded fork half suspended. - -“The proposition is this,” the factor stated. “I’m thinking of starting -a branch fur-trading post near Great Slave Lake and I need some -enterprising ambitious men to help out. There’s some bad competition—a -free trader in that region, but I think he’ll be some careful what he -does to any of the Hudson’s Bay Company men.” - -“Gee, do you want us to be fur-traders?” Sandy interrogated. - -“That’s about the size of it, boys,” Sandy’s uncle replied. “I’m sending -one man up who is an expert on furs, and there’ll be a mounted police -post established there. You boys can help with the trading, and can hunt -and fish and trap all you like. It will be a real vacation from the hard -job you had in the Arctic.” - -“It’s beginning to look good to me already,” Dick spoke eagerly. “What -do you say, Sandy?” - -“I’m for it if you are,” replied Dick’s chum, “and we can take Toma -along.” - -The young Indian who had remained impassive during the conversation, -brightened at Sandy’s words and his dusky face was split by a huge grin. -He had been afraid of being left out of the plans and was now much -relieved. - -The factor signaled the old Indian housekeeper. “Pour us all some more -coffee,” he directed. “I’m going to propose a toast.” - -Dick and Sandy exchanged glances. What was the toast going to be, they -wondered. - -When the coffee cups were all filled and creamed and sugared, the old -factor stood up and the boys did likewise. Lifting his cup high over his -head, Mr. McClaren said: - -“Here’s to the health of Dick Kent, fur trader, and may he never buy a -pelt that sheds or trade a rifle for a black cat’s hide thinking it’s a -black fox skin.” - -The boys burst out laughing, but touched cups with Sandy’s uncle and -drank the toast. - -“Now let me give a toast,” Dick spoke up. - -“Go ahead,” Mr. McClaren agreed. - -Assuming a gallant pose, Dick upraised his cup and said solemnly: - -“Here’s to Factor McClaren the best sport in the world and the jolliest -bachelor.” - -It was Walter McClaren’s turn to laugh, and his big voice shook the very -log beams of the dining room. - -Sandy was about to propose another toast, when there came a knock at the -door. - -The factor motioned the housekeeper to open the door. All eyes turned to -see the visitor. Into the living room of the cabin stamped a tall man, -resplendent in the scarlet coat of the mounted. - -“Hello there, Corporal McCarthy,” shouted the boys, recognizing the -leader of their recent expedition. - -The Corporal paused in the doorway leading into the dining room. He -returned the boys’ greetings in kind, then drew himself up to attention, -proudly displaying the medals on his chest, and saluted: - -“Inspector Dunbar requests the presence of Dick Kent and Sandy -McClaren,” announced the Corporal solemnly and impressively, “for -presentation of special decorations in reward for their Arctic services -with the Royal Northwest Mounted Police!” - -Dick whistled, Sandy gasped, and both blushed, then Corporal McCarthy -came around and shook their hands, slapping them on the back heartily, -while Sandy’s uncle added his sincere congratulations. - -“But what about Toma?” Dick asked the Corporal, when he had recovered -from his embarrassment. “Is he left out?” - -“S-s-h. The Inspector has a surprise for him,” whispered the Corporal. -“A brand new 22 High Power rifle.” - -So did the King’s policemen make happy hearts of their loyal and daring -young servants. - - - THE END - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---Added a Table of Contents based on chapter headings. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Dick Kent with the Eskimos, by Milton Richards - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DICK KENT WITH THE ESKIMOS *** - -***** This file should be named 50816-0.txt or 50816-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/1/50816/ - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan -and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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