IMPRISONED IN THE ICE
When the throbbing of the motors ceased and the flying boat had
stopped rebounding on its wheels and tail, the party in the pilot
room stared at each other in a silence that was pregnant with
anxiety. Even Koku, who stood on guard, felt that the situation of
the _Winged Arrow_ was serious; yet Koku believed that the “magic” of
his Master Tom was equal to almost any emergency.
Tom as a usual thing had plenty of confidence in himself, and
especially in his ability to get out of scrapes. But this was one
event over which he seemed to have little control.
“What shall we do?” asked Ned.
“Got to find that out, I guess,” admitted the young inventor. “First
of all the boys will have to fix that pontoon. It’s a mess. And
without it in position the flying boat will be lopsided when I try to
raise her.”
“Great!” groaned Ned. “So we are marooned down here at the bottom of
this hole in the ice?”
Tom went aft to confer with his mechanicians. Ned and Kingston got
into their outer furs, lent an extra coat to Captain Karofsen, and
the trio opened the door and by the aid of a light steel ladder got
down upon the ice.
The gorge was not more than four hundred feet wide at this point, and
the walls of ice towered above their heads at least a thousand feet.
If they found it necessary to scale those heights afoot, it would be
a difficult and perilous venture.
Tom and the mechanicians came piling out after a bit, and a close
inspection was made of the airtight boat pendant from the right
wing. It could be repaired, of course; but it necessarily would take
considerable time.
“Go ahead,” said Tom. “We have food and heat in plenty. Do your best,
Brannigan. Meanwhile the rest of us will take a look through this
cañon. I wonder if firing our rifles would attract the attention of
Mr. Nestor and the others if they are near here.”
“I tell you what it might do,” said the wireless operator, Kingston.
“What’s that?”
“It might bring down an avalanche of ice on our heads. You know a
cracking stick has been known to start an avalanche.”
“Gee!” exclaimed Ned. “I wish you didn’t know so much. Why tell us
that? I’ll get a crick in my neck now, I know, watching out for the
ice to fall.”
But it was no joking matter. Kingston was right, as Tom well knew.
Yet the young inventor felt that they should try as quickly as
possible to find Mr. Damon and Mary’s father. If the two were still
on the giant iceberg it would be well if they were discovered soon.
Tom had no desire to remain marooned at the bottom of this gorge for
long.
Captain Karofsen was still cheerfully optimistic about finding his
seamen and passengers from the wrecked _Kalrye_. There were thousands
of places in the iceberg where they might conceal themselves. And
unless by chance they had seen the seaplane flying over the berg, the
castaways would never know that a searching party had come to look
for them.
The schooner captain, however, agreed that it would be unsafe to fire
the guns. At least, it must not be done down here in the maw of the
iceberg.
“We bane look for them—yes? If they haf been here they must leave
somet’ing behind. We see where they camp—yes?”
“Come on!” Tom sang out. “We would better keep together. No knowing
what there may be on this berg besides castaways.”
“Bears, for instance!” rejoined Ned Newton. “Come on, Koku. Maybe
that big spear of yours may be of some use yet.”
The giant grinned and marched ahead with the spear poised for quick
use. The party took up their march along the bottom of the gorge,
leaving Brannigan and his helpers to repair the flying boat.
From above, as the flying boat had hovered over the ice peaks, the
party had gained rather an unsatisfactory idea of what the gorge was
like. But, of course, had it not been for the accident to the pontoon
Tom would never have descended into the cañon between these towering,
icy walls with his invention.
Beyond the place where the _Winged Arrow_ had been forced to land
there seemed to be several miles of the gorge, and it was by no means
a straightaway cleft in the ice. It twisted and turned like the path
of a tortured snake.
“We’d have a fat chance following this cañon in that flying boat,”
remarked Ned. “Quick as they got one thing repaired, we’d crash into
a spur of this ice and crack something else. I tell you, Tom, just as
soon as we can, we want to get up out of this hole.”
“Reckon you are right,” agreed his chum. “Hi! See there! What is it
that Koku has found?”
The giant had suddenly increased his stride, thrusting his spear
forward and showing every evidence of excitement. He was several
rods in advance of the remainder of the party. Tom and the others
half expected to see somebody rise up to face the giant, but as they
rounded a spur of ice and joined Koku there seemed to be nobody else
in sight.
“What is it?” demanded Tom.
“Master see?” exclaimed the giant, and showed them what he had
speared.
“Great Scott! A bean can!” cried Tom.
Ned burst into laughter. “Civilization—a sure mark!” he chortled.
“Yankees have been here, you may be sure.”
Tom turned to Captain Karofsen.
“How about it, Captain? There is the label still sticking to it. Was
that a brand of beans included in the stores of the _Kalrye_?”
“That iss idt,” rejoined the schooner captain. “They been here—yes.
See that cave yonder, Misder Swift? Perhaps they have been there in
that cavern.”
Koku had already seen the opening of a considerable cavity in one
wall of the gorge. He advanced cautiously. The cavern appeared to be
very deep. It was dark beyond the entrance. As the party hesitated
before the opening they could distinctly feel a draught of air
blowing from the hole.
“It’s a tunnel, I bet,” said Ned. “What say? Think it goes clear
through this ice mountain to the plain beyond?”
“Why not?” demanded Tom. “These ice cliffs seem honeycombed with such
caves.”
Koku suddenly shouted and darted forward into the mouth of the cave.
There was a savage roar in reply—but it was no human voice that
answered the giant’s challenge.
“A bear!” exclaimed Tom, and he was first to follow the excited Koku
into the half darkened cavity.
Ned was close on the young inventor’s heels.
“Tom, do have a care!” he shouted.
“No time for care!” panted Tom. “Koku’s fearless! No telling what
he’ll do!”
The giant thrust mightily with his spear and the challenging roar of
the bear changed instantly to a scream of pain. With a crash of ice
and breaking spear-handle, the huge beast appeared in the entrance to
the cave.
Koku was overturned. He fell sprawling, with the broken handle still
clutched in his mighty grip. The bear reared, plucking at the staff
that impaled it. It stood taller than Captain Karofsen, or even Koku.
It was a drab-white polar bear of fierce aspect, and its rumbling
growls reverberated from the walls of ice, making a deafening clamor.
The schooner captain started forward, rifle raised, and in a moment
flame darted from the muzzle of his weapon. The bear was hit—indeed,
the captain could not have missed it—but it was not yet dead and fell
back into the darkness of the cave.
They all advanced, holding their guns ready for another attack. Even
Koku scrambled up and came on, brandishing his broken staff. It was
fortunate indeed that the three young fellows and their two gigantic
companions followed the wounded bear so closely.
Scarcely had the echoing explosion of Captain Karofsen’s rifle died
away when a mightier report sounded over their heads. Everybody
halted, appalled. The peril of the wounded bear was forgotten.
White-faced and motionless, they stared at one another. They all knew
that something of vastly greater menace had occurred.
The explosion above was the breaking away of some overhanging shelf
of ice. It came sliding and bursting down the face of the cliff and
in half a minute was dumped with a terrific shock directly in the
mouth of this cave which they had entered.
Powdered ice almost smothered the party for a few moments. Such light
as there had been outside the cave in the cañon was snuffed out. The
avalanche crowded the cave’s entrance and made the five explorers
prisoners with a suddenness that stunned them all.
While from ahead, in the pitch darkness, came again the challenge of
the wounded bear. It was by no means _hors-de-combat_. The wounded
brute was full of fight. And to fire again in hope of killing the
bear might bring the very roof of the ice cave down upon their heads!