[Illustration]
The “Windward” was run alongside of the rocks and made fast, and every
one except a watchman intended to get a good night’s rest; the first in
more than a week, for the next morning coal and provisions must be
landed and this meant hard work for the men.
AH-NI-GHI´-TO and her mother too were glad go to bed. This they had not
been able to do while pounding through the ice, for the big floes might
crush the ship at any moment, and every one had to be ready to jump into
the boats and leave her.
Now they had a fine bath and told Percy she need not call them for
breakfast, as they wanted to sleep.
[Illustration:
“_Lay with one side on the Rocks_”
]
At five o’clock in the morning Captain Sam knocked on the cabin door and
called to AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother to get up and dress herself and
AH-NI-GHI´-TO as quickly as possible. A brisk wind which sprang up
towards morning had blown the ship in against the rocks, and here when
the tide went out she lay with one side on the rocks, with only a few
feet of water under her, and with the other side, where there were no
rocks, far down in the water. As no one knew how much lower the tide
would fall, Captain Sam thought it best to get every one and everything
of value ashore as quickly as possible, for fear the vessel would
capsize and sink.
AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother awoke her. By this time the cabin floor was
almost at right angles to what it should have been,—the slant so steep
that it was impossible to walk on it.
[Illustration:
“_This was the 30th day of August_”
]
AH-NI-GHI´-TO, still in her berth, was quickly dressed in her warmest
clothes, and after putting her own clothing on, AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother
gathered the important papers and as much warm clothing as possible into
a bag; AH-NI-GHI´-TO begging all the time not to leave her dolly and her
kitty. When this was done Percy took the bag, and Captain Sam and the
steward helped them on deck. This was not very easy, as some of you may
find out if you try to crawl up a board with one end on a barrel and the
other on the ground. Again and again one or the other slipped back, but
at last the deck was reached, and now all that could be done was to sit
down and slide over the side into a boat held there by the sailors, for
the water was on a level with this side of the deck, while the opposite
side looked as if it were right overhead.
Although this was the 30th day of August, the snow was falling so fast
that the shore, a few yards away, could hardly be seen. Thither the boat
was rowed, and there AH-NI-GHI´-TO with her mother and Percy landed.
AH-NI-GHI´-TO did not realize that the ship was in great danger, and so
her one thought was to have a good time. Together with the Eskimo girl
Achatinǵwah and Percy the maid, she snowballed and made snow forts,
which were shot at with cannon-balls made of snow; when tired of this
she went off to explore a little valley where Achatinǵwah told her there
was a lake.
They were gone about an hour, and when they returned AH-NI-GHI´-TO was
much excited and said she had seen footprints of an animal, which
Achatinǵwah told her were fox-tracks. She followed them for a short
distance, when they were crossed by hare-tracks. These she followed up
the side of the cliff, and all at once around the corner of a big
boulder peeped the hare himself. He was sitting on his hind legs, his
nose twitching as he sniffed her,—a fine, large fellow, snowy white all
over except the tips of his ears, which were black. AH-NI-GHI´-TO
thought he was tame like the little white bunnies at home, but as soon
as she came near him away he scampered much faster than the children
could follow.
At ten o’clock the good ship was once more afloat and out of danger but
not quite upright yet. As AH-NI-GHI´-TO was very hungry by this time,
all went on board. The steward had lighted a fire in the cabin stove and
swept the water out of the cabin, but everything was still wet.
Breakfast was prepared at once and soon every one was feeling better,
but very tired. Getting up at five o’clock in the morning and being put
out in a blinding snowstorm for five hours without anything to eat or
drink, and without even a place where one can sit down unless it is on
the snow-covered ground, is not at all pleasant.
[Illustration:
“_A large Field of Ice had been pushed across the Entrance to the
Harbour_”
]
The poor men who had been working waist-deep in the icy water were worn
out and could do no more work that day.
Two days later all needed supplies had been landed and the “Windward”
was ready to start north again. Captain Sam, who had been carefully
watching the ice drift past the harbour day and night, now told
AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother that a large field of ice had been pushed across
the entrance to the harbor and shut the door, so to speak, on the ship,
and nothing could be done.
If this field of ice should break up then the ship would be free to go
on her way; but unless the wind broke it up or blew it away from the
entrance, AH-NI-GHI´-TO and her mother with all on board would be
prisoners for the winter.
This was a dreadful thing to happen, for no one had taken clothing
enough to last so long a time. Thanks to AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father, there
was food enough for every one, such as it was. AH-NI-GHI´-TO had learned
to eat many things that she thought she could never eat, and also to do
without things that she had thought were necessary.
One morning AH-NI-GHI´-TO awoke and found it was September 12th. Then
there was great rejoicing all over the ship, for this was
AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S seventh birthday, and the fourth one spent in the
Snowland.
She jumped out of bed to see what kind friends had given the “Birthday
Man” to bring her, and was kept busy as a bee all day long. In her diary
she wrote the story of the day.
[Illustration]