THE RING.--THE BURIAL.--A MAUSOLEUM OF ICE.
In the early dawn La Salle started from sleep, as he felt a chill touch
upon his forehead, and saw Regnar standing above him, booted and
equipped for travel. In one hand he held a cup of hot coffee, and in the
other the breast of a roast goose, which he offered to La Salle in
silence. Fearful of awaking their companions, nothing was said by
either, until, armed and equipped, they issued from the hut, and
hastened towards the scene of last night's strange adventure.
It was the nineteenth of the month, and the ninth day of their
involuntary voyage, and La Salle, as usual, gave a sweeping glance at
ice and sky, to determine as nearly as possible the direction of their
drift, and the probable state of the weather for the next twelve hours.
"We shall know all that at sunrise," said Regnar; and avoiding the
haunts of the seals, they hurried through the gray light along the
devious windings of the ice-foot, until they reached the murdered
sealer. The body lay as it had been landed on the edge of a pool, and
was that of a singularly handsome man, about forty-five years of age. No
beard, save a well-kept mustache, covered the sharply-moulded features;
and even the death-wound--the work of a small-sized bullet--had left but
a tiny livid discoloration on the marble forehead.
Turning the body over,--a work of some time and difficulty, for the wet
clothes had frozen,--an expression of surprise escaped the lips of
Regnar, for the rear of the skull, from which the missile had issued,
was almost blown into pieces.
"How could a bullet have done this?" asked the youth, gravely.
"There is but one kind of missile which produces such a terrible
wound--the percussion rifle-shell, perfected years ago by an army
officer in India, and since then introduced into every part of the
globe. Into the point of a cylindro-conical slug is inserted a thin
copper cartridge, loaded with powder, and primed with fulminate of
mercury. This bullet enters the flesh, but explodes when it strikes a
bone, and a huge mass of bone and muscle is usually driven out in front
of the issuing projectile. Such a bullet has destroyed this man."
A curious ring on the little finger of the right hand attracted the
notice of Regnar, who with a glad cry seized the stiffened hand and
tried to remove it, but the swollen flesh baffled his efforts.
"I must have that ring, La Salle," said he, ceasing his futile efforts.
"I cannot leave that with his body." And taking up his axe, he severed
the finger at the joint, and removed the circlet.
La Salle started back in horror at what he could but consider a
senseless and unwarranted profanation; but Orloff, drawing his knife,
made a close search of the clothing worn by the deceased, ripping open
every seam and fold which seemed capable of concealing the slightest
scrap of paper, while his companion, lost in astonishment and disgust,
scorned to question, and awaited an explanation of his conduct.
Beyond the ring, however, little was found, for the larger pockets of
the deceased were turned inside out, the vest had been opened, and a
sharp knife had evidently cut through the heavy under-garments of
knitted woolens. No mark of the knife was to be seen on the exposed
flesh; and Regnar, breaking the oppressive silence, said,--
"Why was this done, La Salle?"
"Perhaps he had a money-belt around his waist. Many people carry their
money and valuables thus," said La Salle, coldly.
Regnar continued the search, finding in a narrow pocket, like that used
by carpenters for their rules, but opening on the inside of the right
pantaloon pocket, a long, slender dagger, with double cutting edges.
The handle was curiously carved, of walrus ivory, and represented an
ancient Danish warrior, in his mail-shirt, and armed with battle-axe and
sword. The sheath, slender and flexible, was evidently of more modern
make, formed of rough shark-skin, with richly chased mountings of
silver.
"That is all," said Regnar. "Let us find him a grave."
"We must hide the body surely," said La Salle, "for if the vessel
returns to get her load, and it is found, we may be charged with
mutilating the body, and perhaps with murder. Let us consign it to the
sea."
"We have nothing with which to sink it, and the waters have already
given up their trust. There, if I mistake not, we shall find a tomb
worthy of a better man than this."
A ledge of the iceberg, some forty feet above the wave-worn base, had
received a tiny branch of the fresh-water stream, at some time long
previous, and its course could still be traced by the immense icicle
formation, which, in fantastical imagery of a lofty cascade, seemed
still to fall from base to summit. Between the ledge and the water were
formed huge irregular pillars and buttresses of opaline ice whose
semi-transparency seemed to indicate the presence of a cave beneath.
Axe in hand, Regnar led the way to the base of the berg, and carefully
examined every nook and cranny, evidently seeking a concealed opening.
A narrow aperture was at last found, some twenty feet above the
ice-pool; and at the call of his companion, La Salle ascended with the
coil of rope, one end of which he fastened firmly to a projection of the
berg.
"Come down here; there is no danger," said the lad; and descending, La
Salle found himself in a cave of large size and almost fairy-like
beauty.
Over their heads the ledge projected some twenty feet above a floor,
levelled by the earlier flow of the cascade, which, by some sudden
removal of obstructing ice or snow, had been projected beyond the little
pool, whose surface had frozen into a level floor of crystal. Over this,
as upon the roof and back of the cave, had gathered groups of those
beautiful congelations to be found only on newly-formed ice, and in
seasons of intense cold. Among them were to be noticed many minute
patterns of the most delicate star-crystals, and the surface of the
floor was nearly covered with congelations of the purest white,
resembling in shape, size, and beauty the leaf of the moss-rose. A
fantastic conglomeration of irregular, round, and convoluted pillars,
running into each other in indescribable ramifications, formed the outer
wall, whose semi-translucent crystal, like opal glass, allowed the rays
of the rising sun to shower a mild and silvery radiance upon the hidden
wonders of the spacious grotto.
"Here he will sleep, after a life of crime and treachery, in a tomb
such as few monarchs can boast of, until in some terrible gale, amid
tremendous and overwhelming seas, this vast fabric shall strew the ocean
with its ruins, and give his icy form to the monsters of the summer
seas."
"Let us then to our task, Regnar," said La Salle, "for our friends may
follow on our track, and I fear we shall have need of the closest
secrecy concerning the fate of this unhappy man, at least until we are
safely landed on civilized shores."
Carefully descending the slippery way which led up to the aperture, they
descended to the level ice, and seeking the floe, enveloped the body in
one of the many seal-skins surrounding them, swathing it closely, and
binding the hairy covering with strong lashings of raw hide, leaving
loops at each extremity. Gently drawing it to the ice below the
aperture, they ran the cord through the loops, knotting each firmly, so
that nearly half the rope projected from each end.
Taking one end, and setting the shrouded form upright against the smooth
slope, the companions ascended to the aperture, and with some difficulty
managed to haul up their unwonted burden.
"We can find no footing here," said Regnar, who no longer affected his
partial ignorance of English. "You, I think, had better descend again,
and take a turn of your end around that pinnacle. I will go down into
the grotto and guide its descent."
[Illustration: KNEELING BESIDE IT, THE LAD BOWED HIS HEAD AS IF IN
SILENT PRAYER. Page 269.]
By this means the closely-swathed body was gently lowered into its
last resting-place, and gathering up the axes and his rifle, La Salle
followed to assist in in the final rites of sepulture. Regnar pointed to
the centre of the floor.
"That will furnish a pedestal which would befit the sarcophagus of a
king."
Among the irregular mounds formed by the dripping of water from the roof
above, was an ice stalagmite, about five feet high, and seven feet in
length, broad at the base, but rapidly narrowing to a sharp point.
Attacking this with his axe, Regnar soon split off the point, and
commenced hewing the stalagmite down to a uniform height of about two
feet. La Salle assisted, and in the course of twenty minutes they had
formed a snowy pedestal, whose irregular outline bore no small
resemblance to that of the burden it was to sustain. Regnar cleared away
the ice-chips, hurling the larger shards to an obscure corner, and
carrying the smaller ones in his reversed fur cap.
At last the work was completed to his satisfaction; and motioning to La
Salle, he cast off the lashings, and raising the body, they placed it on
the pedestal of ice. Drawing the long, slender dagger from its sheath,
Regnar pierced several holes through the corners of the pedestal, and
with the tough cords of raw hide lashed the body firmly to its spotless
support; then kneeling beside it, the lad bowed his head as if in silent
prayer. La Salle followed his example.
For a moment or two he heard nothing but the ripple and plash of the
ice-brook descending the side of the berg fifty yards away; but with the
burial of his enemy, the lad's self-control had deserted him, and he
burst into a passionate outbreak of sobs and tears.
[Illustration]