ANOTHER ISLAND DISCOVERED--THE ENGLISHMEN AND ESKIMOS ALIKE ARE
ASTONISHED IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE.
As Chingatok had predicted, on the sixth day from Home-in-sight Island
the party came to another island, where the great pack abruptly
terminated. It was not large, probably ten or twelve miles in length,
from the Eskimo account, but the ends of it could not be seen from the
spot where they landed. At that point it was only two miles wide, and
on the opposite side its shores were laved by an open sea, which was
quite free from ice, with the exception of a few scattered floes and
bergs--a sea whose waves fell in slow regular cadence on a pebbly beach,
and whose horizon was an unbroken line barely distinguishable from the
sky.
Close to it a few black rocks showed above the water, around which great
numbers of gulls, puffins, and other sea-birds disported themselves in
clamorous joy; sometimes flying to the shore as if to have a look at the
newcomers, and then sheering off with a scream--it might be a laugh--to
tell their comrades what they had seen.
"Here, then, at last, is the open Polar Sea," said Captain Vane, after
the first long silent gaze of joy and admiration. "I have no doubt of
it whatever. And now we shall proceed, I hope without interruption, to
the Pole!"
"Of course you do not intend that we should swim there, do you, uncle?"
said Leo.
"Of course not, my boy. In those big cases, which have cost us so much
labour to bring here, I have three large and stout india-rubber boats--"
"Ha! I guessed as much," exclaimed Alf.
"No doubt," returned the Captain, "but you did not guess all."
"I hope not," said Leo, "for to say truth I don't much relish the idea
of rowing over an unknown sea an unknown distance at the rate of three
or four miles an hour. I hope you have a patent steam-engine that will
drive us along somewhat faster."
"No, lad, no, I have no such steam-engine or any other miraculous
contrivance that sets the laws of nature at defiance, and appears only
in nursery tales. This expedition has been undertaken on no haphazard
or insane plan. It was all cut and dry before we left Old England, and
it is much simpler than you suppose."
"What, then, is to be your motive power, if not oars or sails--which
last would not work well, I fear, in an india-rubber boat?" asked Leo.
"Kites," replied the Captain.
"Kites!" repeated both Alf and Leo in surprise.
"Not paper ones, surely," said Benjy, in a tone of disappointment, not
unmingled with contempt.
"No, Ben, not paper ones," said the Captain, "but you shall see. Let
the boxes be unlashed and carried into yonder cave. I'll unpack them
presently. Meanwhile, Anders, I want you to interpret for me. Go, tell
Chingatok I wish to have a talk with him."
While the brothers went to obey their leader's order, and Benjy to
superintend the pitching of the camp, Captain Vane walked along the
shore with Anders and the giant.
"Are you sure, Chingatok, that there is no more ice in this sea?" asked
the Captain.
"No more great packs; only a little here and there, and a few
ice-mountains," answered the Eskimo.
"And no more islands?"
"No more islands till you come to the land where I and my people dwell.
There are more islands beyond that with people on them--people who are
not friendly to us."
"How far off, now, is your land from this island?" continued the
Captain, with a grave nod to Leo, who joined them at the moment.
"About three days with a kayak."
The Captain pondered for a few minutes.
"Leo," he said, "the observation which I took yesterday enables me to
place this island in latitude 86 degrees 40 minutes. I judge that a
kayak may travel at the rate of three miles an hour, which, making
allowance for sleep and rests, gives the distance of this island from
Chingatok's native land approximately at about 100 miles, so that the
home of this giant and his tribe is actually in the near neighbourhood
of the Pole itself. If this be so, we may consider that our success,
wind, weather, etcetera, permitting, is absolutely certain."
The Captain spoke in the deep earnest tones of one under the influence
of powerful but suppressed enthusiasm.
"Now then, Leo," he continued, "we will go and take formal possession of
this new discovery. What shall we call it? Good Hope is too familiar
as a cape."
"Why not Great Hope?" asked Leo.
"Good! That will do well."
So Captain Vane took possession of Great Hope Island; having fixed its
position in latitude 86 degrees 40 minutes north, and longitude 60
degrees west.
After that he proceeded to open the cases which had so long been objects
of interest to his own party, and objects of intense curiosity to the
Eskimos, who crowded round the entrance of the shallow cavern with eager
looks, while their leader went to work with hammer and chisel on the
copper fastenings.
"Wugh! Huk! hi! hosh! ho!" were something like the exclamations uttered
by the Eskimos when the lid of the first case flew up and revealed only
a mass of brown paper wrappings.
It was interesting to observe the utter self-oblivion of these children
of nature! Of course the eyes and mouths of all opened wider and wider
while the work went on. We can understand this, for it is
characteristic of the simple in all nations, but it was not so easy to
understand why shoulders should slowly rise and elbows be slightly bent,
and the ten fingers gradually expand like claws. Anxiety might account
for the way in which some of them softly lifted one foot and then the
other; but why did little Oblooria raise her left foot by imperceptible
degrees, and remain poised upon the other as if she were a bird, except
on the supposition that she was unconsciously imitating Tekkona, who was
doing the same thing?
It was interesting, also, to note the slight substratum of consciousness
that displayed itself in Oolichuk, who, while regarding the Captain in
glaring expectancy, put his arm, inadvertently as it were, round
Oblooria's waist--also the complete absence of consciousness in the
latter, who was so engrossed with the Captain, that she did not appear
to feel the touch of Oolichuk! These little peculiarities, however,
although extremely interesting, were not observed by any of the actors
on that occasion--except, perhaps, by Benjy, who, being sharp-witted,
had a knack of seeing round a corner at times!
When the contents of the case were turned out, they proved to consist of
several coils of rope, and a large square bundle. The uncording of the
latter intensified the expectation of the Eskimo to boiling point, and
when the brown paper was removed, and a roll of something with a
strange, not to say bad, smell was displayed, they boiled over in a
series of exclamations to which the former "huks" and "hos" were mere
child's play. But when the roll was unrolled, and assumed a flat shape
not unlike the skin of a huge walrus, they gave a shout. Then, when the
Captain, opening a smaller package, displayed a pair of bellows like a
concertina, they gave a gasp. When he applied these to a hole in the
flat object, and caused it slowly to swell, they uttered a roar, and
when, finally, they saw the flat thing transformed into a goodly-sized
boat, they absolutely squealed with delight, and began to caper about in
childlike joy.
In this manner, three cases were opened, and three boats produced. Then
the Magician, who went about his work in perfect silence, with a knowing
smile on his lips, opened several longish boxes, which Leo had guessed
to be filled with fishing-rods or spare rifles, but which, it turned
out, contained oars for the india-rubber boats. After that, the Captain
opened another large case, which roused the surprise of his white
followers as much as that of the natives.
"It looks like one of mother's silk dresses," remarked Benjy, as the new
wonder was dragged forth.
"Too voluminous for that," said Alf.
"A balloon!" exclaimed Leo.
"No, boys, it's only a kite," said the Captain, unfolding it. "I
confess it does not look very like one, but its appearance will change
by and by."
And its appearance did change remarkably as it was opened out and put
together.
The construction of this kite was peculiar. In the first place, it was
square in form, or, rather, diamond-shaped, and its size, when fully
distended, was eighteen feet by fourteen.
"The simplicity of it, you see," said the Captain, as he put it
together, "is its great recommendation."
He ceased to speak for a few moments, while engaged with a troublesome
joint, and Benjy took advantage of the pause to express a hope that
simplicity was not its _greatest_ recommendation, because he had never
heard of any one attempting to reach the Pole on the strength of
simplicity.