The Field of Ice Page 6

  THE SEAL AND THE BEAR.

  "You know, Doctor," said Hatteras, as they returned to the hut,"the polar bears subsist almost entirely on seals. They'll liein wait for them beside the crevasses for whole days, ready tostrangle them the moment their heads appear above the surface. It isnot likely, then, that a bear will be frightened of a seal."

  "I think I see what you are after, but it is dangerous."

  "Yes, but there is more chance of success than in trying any otherplan, so I mean to risk it. I am going to dress myself in theseal's skin, and creep along the ice. Come, don't let us losetime. Load the gun and give it me."

  The Doctor could not say anything, for he would have done the samehimself, so he followed Hatteras silently to the sledge, taking withhim a couple of hatchets for his own and Johnson's use.

  Hatteras soon made his toilette, and slipped into the skin, whichwas big enough to cover him almost entirely.

  "Now, then, give me the gun," he said, "and you be off toJohnson. I must try and steal a march on my adversary."

  "Courage, Hatteras!" said the Doctor, handing him the weapon,which he had carefully loaded meanwhile.

  "Never fear! but be sure you don't show yourselves till Ifire."

  The Doctor soon joined the old boatswain behind the hummock, andtold him what they had been doing. The bear was still there, butmoving restlessly about, as if he felt the approach of danger.

  In a quarter of an hour or so the seal made his appearance on theice. He had gone a good way round, so as to come on the bear bysurprise, and every movement was so perfect an imitation of a seal,that even the Doctor would have been deceived if he had not known itwas Hatteras.

  "It is capital!" said Johnson, in a low voice. The bear hadinstantly caught sight of the supposed seal, for he gathered himselfup, preparing to make a spring as the animal came nearer, apparentlyseeking to return to his native element, and unaware of theenemy's proximity. Bruin went to work with extreme prudence,though his eyes glared with greedy desire to clutch the covetedprey, for he had probably been fasting a month, if not two. Heallowed his victim to get within ten paces of him, and then sprangforward with a tremendous bound, but stopped short, stupefied andfrightened, within three steps of Hatteras, who started up thatmoment, and, throwing off his disguise, knelt on one knee, and aimedstraight at the bear's heart. He fired, and the huge monsterrolled back on the ice.

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  "Forward! Forward!" shouted the Doctor, hurrying towardsHatteras, for the bear had reared on his hind legs, and was strikingthe air with one paw and tearing up the snow to stanch his woundwith the other.

  Hatteras never moved, but waited, knife in hand. He had aimed well,and fired with a sure and steady aim. Before either of hiscompanions came up he had plunged the knife in the animal'sthroat, and made an end of him, for he fell down at once to rise nomore.

  "Hurrah! Bravo!" shouted Johnson and the Doctor, but Hatteraswas as cool and unexcited as possible, and stood with folded armsgazing at his prostrate foe.

  "It is my turn now," said Johnson. "It is a good thing thebear is killed, but if we leave him out here much longer, he willget as hard as a stone, and we shall be able to do nothing withhim."

  He began forthwith to strip the skin off, and a fine business itwas, for the enormous quadruped was almost as large as an ox. Itmeasured nearly nine feet long, and four round, and the great tusksin his jaws were three inches long.

  On cutting the carcase open, Johnson found nothing but water in thestomach. The beast had evidently had no food for a long time, yet itwas very fat, and weighed fifteen hundred pounds. The hunters wereso famished that they had hardly patience to carry home the flesh tobe cooked, and it needed all the Doctor's persuasion to preventthem eating it raw.

  On entering the hut, each man with a load on his back, Clawbonny wasstruck with the coldness that pervaded the atmosphere. On going upto the stove he found the fire black out. The exciting business ofthe morning had made Johnson neglect his accustomed duty ofreplenishing the stove.

  The Doctor tried to blow the embers into a flame, but finding hecould not even get a red spark, he went out to the sledge to fetchtinder, and get the steel from Johnson.

  The old sailor put his hand into his pocket, but was surprised tofind the steel missing. He felt in the other pockets, but it was notthere. Then he went into the hut again, and shook the blanket he hadslept in all night, but his search was still unsuccessful.

  He went back to his companions and said--

  "Are you sure, Doctor, you haven't the steel?"

  "Quite, Johnson."

  "And you haven't it either, captain?"

  "Not I!" replied Hatteras.

  "It has always been in your keeping," said the Doctor.

  "Well, I have not got it now!" exclaimed Johnson, turning pale.

  "Not got the steel!" repeated the Doctor, shudderinginvoluntarily at the bare idea of its loss, for it was all the meansthey had of procuring a fire.

  "Look again, Johnson," he said.

  The boatswain hurried to the only remaining place he could think of,the hummock where he had stood to watch the bear. But the missingtreasure was nowhere to be found, and the old sailor returned indespair.

  Hatteras looked at him, but no word of reproach escaped his lips. Heonly said--

  "This is a serious business, Doctor."

  "It is, indeed!" said Clawbonny.

  "We have not even an instrument, some glass that we might take thelens out of, and use like a burning glass."

  "No, and it is a great pity, for the sun's rays are quite strongenough just now to light our tinder."

  "Well," said Hatteras, "we must just appease our hunger withthe raw meat, and set off again as soon as we can, to try todiscover the ship."

  "Yes!" replied Clawbonny, speaking to himself, absorbed in hisown reflections. "Yes, that might do at a pinch! Why not? We mighttry."

  "What are you dreaming about?" asked Hatteras.

  "An idea has just occurred to me."

  "An idea come into your head, Doctor," exclaimed Johnson;"then we are saved!"

  "Will it succeed? that's the question."

  "What's your project?" said Hatteras.

  "We want a lens; well, let us make one."

  "How?" asked Johnson.

  "With a piece of ice."

  "What? Do you think that would do?"

  "Why not? All that is needed is to collect the sun's rays intoone common focus, and ice will serve that purpose as well as thefinest crystal."

  "Is it possible?" said Johnson.

  "Yes, only I should like fresh water ice, it is harder and moretransparent than the other."

  "There it is to your hand, if I am not much mistaken," saidJohnson, pointing to a hummock close by.

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  "I fancy that is fresh water, from the dark look of it, and thegreen tinge."

  "You are right. Bring your hatchet, Johnson."

  A good-sized piece was soon cut off, about a foot in diameter, andthe Doctor set to work. He began by chopping it into rough shapewith the hatchet; then he operated upon it more carefully with hisknife, making as smooth a surface as possible, and finished thepolishing process with his fingers, rubbing away until he hadobtained as transparent a lens as if it had been made of magnificentcrystal.

  The sun was shining brilliantly enough for the Doctor'sexperiment. The tinder was fetched, and held beneath the lens so asto catch the rays in full power. In a few seconds it took fire, toJohnson's rapturous delight.

  He danced about like an idiot, almost beside himself with joy, andshouted, "Hurrah! hurrah!" while Clawbonny hurried back into thehut and rekindled the fire. The stove was soon roaring, and it wasnot many minutes before the savoury odour of broiled bear-steaksroused Bell from his torpor.

  What a feast this meal was to the poor starving men may be imagined.The Doctor, however, counselled moderation in eating, and set theexample himself.

  "This is a glad day for us," he said, "and we have no fear ofwanting food all
the rest of our journey. Still we must not forgetwe have further to go yet, and I think the sooner we start thebetter."

  "We cannot be far off now," said Altamont, who could almostarticulate perfectly again; "we must be within forty-eighthours' march of the Porpoise."

  "I hope we'll find something there to make a fire with," saidthe Doctor, smiling. "My lens does well enough at present; but itneeds the sun, and there are plenty of days when he does not makehis appearance here, within less than four degrees of the pole."

  "Less than four degrees!" repeated Altamont, with a sigh;"yes, my ship went further than any other has ever ventured."

  "It is time we started," said Hatteras, abruptly.

  "Yes," replied the Doctor, glancing uneasily at the two captains.

  The dogs were speedily harnessed to the sledge, and the marchresumed. ]

  As they went along, the Doctor tried to get out of Altamont the realmotive that had brought him so far north. But the American made onlyevasive replies, and Clawbonny whispered in old Johnson's ear--

  "Two men we've got that need looking after."

  "You are right," said Johnson.

  "Hatteras never says a word to this American, and I must say theman has not shown himself very grateful. I am here, fortunately."

  "Mr. Clawbonny," said Johnson, "now this Yankee has come backto life again, I must confess I don't much like the expression ofhis face."

  "I am much mistaken if he does not suspect the projects ofHatteras."

  "Do you think his own were similar?"

  "Who knows? These Americans, Johnson, are bold, daring fellows. Itis likely enough an American would try to do as much as anEnglishman."

  "Then you think that Altamont--"

  "I think nothing about it, but his ship is certainly on the roadto the North Pole."

  "But didn't Altamont say that he had been caught among the ice,and dragged there irresistibly?"

  "He said so, but I fancied there was a peculiar smile on his lipswhile he spoke."

  "Hang it! It would be a bad job, Mr. Clawbonny, if any feeling ofrivalry came between two men of their stamp."

  "Heaven forfend! for it might involve the most seriousconsequences, Johnson."

  "I hope Altamont will remember he owes his life to us?"

  "But do we not owe ours to him now? I grant, without us, he wouldnot be alive at this moment, but without him and his ship, whatwould become of us?"

  "Well, Mr. Clawbonny, you are here to keep things straight anyhow,and that is a blessing."

  "I hope I may manage it, Johnson."

  The journey proceeded without any fresh incident, but on theSaturday morning the travellers found themselves in a region ofquite an altered character. Instead of the wide smooth plain of icethat had hitherto stretched before them, overturned icebergs andbroken hummocks covered the horizon; while the frequent blocks offresh-water ice showed that some coast was near.

  Next day, after a hearty breakfast off the bear's paws, the littleparty continued their route; but the road became toilsome andfatiguing. Altamont lay watching the horizon with feverishanxiety--an anxiety shared by all his companions, for, according tothe last reckoning made by Hatteras, they were now exactly inlatitude 83 deg. 35" and longitude 120 deg. 15", and the question oflife or death would be decided before the day was over.

  At last, about two o'clock in the afternoon, Altamont started upwith a shout that arrested the whole party, and pointing to a whitemass that no eye but his could have distinguished from thesurrounding icebergs, exclaimed in a loud, ringing voice, "ThePorpoise."

  CHAPTER VI.