They had passed several singular formations in the snow and ice during
their tramp, and more than once Will supposed he had discovered another
hut.
Investigation, however, proved the masses to be of ice or snow, and
they abandoned this line of exploration until, as they came near the
camp, Will made the discovery noted at the end of the last chapter.
From several blocks of ice there protruded an object which made old
Jack stare blankly.
“Why, it’s a piece of wood!” he cried.
There was no doubt of this fact, as was proven by a brief
investigation. It seemed to be a part of the boarding of a boat, and
had evidently been placed where it was, not carelessly, but for a
purpose.
“It’s a landmark,” said Jack.
“Of what?” inquired Will.
“Of the same party, probably, that built the hut we found. You see
those blocks of ice, lad?”
“Yes, Jack.”
“They were dragged, not thrown here.”
“For what purpose?”
“To protect a cache.”
“What is that, Jack?”
“It’s a hiding-place for food or the like. For instance, the men who
were here, probably castaways like ourselves, abandoned their hut to
seek some native settlement or find a ship. They could not carry all
their stores, and wanted to secure them from animals, so they buried
them in the snow, piled the ice over it, and then put up this board as
a marking signal of the spot. Should they return, it would be a supply
station for them.”
“I understand, Jack; and you think we shall find something under those
blocks of ice?”
“Undoubtedly, lad.”
“Let us go to work, then.”
“All right,” and Jack and his companion united their strength to remove
the solid ice blocks.
They found it no easy task, and when they were displaced came to a
foundation of solidly packed snow.
The hatchet was used to loosen this. Some feet below the surface they
found a package encased in the hard, dried skin of some animal and tied
securely with pieces of rope.
There were a dozen or more of these packages of various sizes, and
at the bottom of the cache several large planks of wood laid there
to protect the packages in case of a thaw, when the mass would sink
uniformly and not become scattered.
“Run to the hut, Will,” said Jack, after they had lifted out all the
contents of the cache.
“For Hugo and the boys?”
“Yes. We have uncovered this stuff now, and we must remove it.”
When Will and his excited companions rejoined Jack they found that he
had constructed a rough drag-sled out of the pieces of wood. Upon this
they piled the packages, and then, attaching a rope, started with their
treasures for the hut.
By dark they had all the packages inside the hut, and were housed for
the night.
Their new shelter proved to be a most comfortable one, for the house
had been carefully built, and the lamp and blubber they found imparted
both light and heat.
“How cozy and home-like,” remarked Will, as Jack set about examining
the various packages.
They contained a score of delightful surprises, and indicated clearly
that their original possessors were members of some ship’s crew and
castaways like themselves.
There were several packages of canned meats, jellies and biscuits;
there was a variety of clothing, some books, tools and cooking utensils.
“A glorious find,” remarked Hugo, enthusiastically; “we can defy the
arctic cold now.”
But among all they found there was not an indication as to the name of
the ship whence these articles had come originally.
They discovered no clew in this direction until, in looking over one of
the books, Will came to a roughly written line.
It had been scrawled on a blank page by a piece of burned cinder and
left unfinished.
It read:
“This day abandoned the ship and started on an exploring tour down
Barnell’s Point.”
Old Jack looked up from tying one of the packages quite excitedly.
“What’s that, lad?”
“A line written in this book.”
“Read it again.”
Will did so.
“You are sure it says Barnell’s Point?”
“Yes; it is plainly written here. Why, Jack?”
There was a peculiar look in the old mariner’s eye.
“Because, lad, if this is Barnell’s Point we’ve made a great discovery
for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“That Barnell’s Point is the place where the Albatross was crushed to
pieces in the ice.”