CAMPING AGAINST AN ICE WALL.
"Now what?" asked Tug, holding his head very high to prevent the snow
going down the back of his neck. "Now what?"
"Now," Aleck answered, in a tone of command, "get the boat up there
under the lee of that hummock. Everybody take hold."
The ropes were seized with a will, but the heavy boat could not be
dragged in the snow until it had been lightened; then by great
exertion it was taken over the fifty yards that lay between the water
and the hummock. At that spot the ice had been thrust up like a smooth
wall about fifteen feet high, which overhung slightly, so as to form a
cosey shelter from the storm. The bow of the boat was swung close
against its foot, while the stern was slanted away until there
remained a space of about eight feet between it and the smooth face of
the hummock at that end. Tug and Jim went back after the sled and what
baggage had been left behind at the "lead," while Aleck and Katy began
to contrive a shelter.
To manage this they cleared out the movable things in the boat,
arranging all the cargo (except the mess chest), as fast as it was
removed, in the shape of a wall extending across from the stern of the
boat to the hummock. In this way, with the help of thwarts, two oars,
and some blocks of ice, a rough wall was raised, about four feet high,
enclosing a three-cornered space eight feet in width, having the
hummock and starboard side of the boat for its sides, and the cargo
wall (through which a hole had been left as a doorway) for its end or
"base."
Next, a roof must be contrived. The mast and two oars were set in a
leaning position from the outer gunwale of the boat, where they rested
firmly upon the thwart-cleats, up against the hummock, to which they
were securely wedged.
It had now become dark, and Katy lighted the lantern. Tug and Jim,
covered with snow, brought their last sled-load and added it to the
wall, throwing all their little stock of firewood, which amounted to
about three bushels, into the hut. Then all hands set to work in the
wind, which blew in sharp gusts now and then over the crest of the
hummock, to stretch the sails upon the rafters formed by the mast and
oars and thus form an awning-roof.
The handling of the heavy mainsail proved an extremely difficult
matter. Once it blew quite away from their grasp, and went off in the
darkness, but Jim and the dog gave chase, and soon caught it, Rex
grabbing it with his teeth, and so holding on to it till the others
came to the rescue. At the next attempt they succeeded in fastening
one end, after which the task grew easier.
The mainsail fairly in place, the jib was next hoisted across the end,
and here its leg-of-mutton shape was a great advantage, for when the
broad lower part was hung against the hummock wall the narrowing peak
just fitted between the sloping roof and the top of the wall.
When the two sails had been fastened, the party found themselves
covered rudely but pretty tightly, and the spare canvas remained to
serve as a carpet, which was greatly needed. Plenty of snow and cold
were "lying round loose" yet, but to be inside was far better than to
be out of doors. That this safety and warmth were possible to their
frail structure was owing, of course, to the fact that it stood under
the lee of the tall ice wall, which acted as a shield against the
force of the gale.
"Really, the wind does us more good than harm now," Aleck remarked,
"for it drifts the snow under the boatsledge and against the wall,
and, if it keeps on, will soon stop up all the holes, and leave us
boxed into a tighter house than our old snow-chinked cabin back at the
river."
"Mebbe it'll bury us," said Jim, in an awful whisper.
"Guess not. Anyhow, we can have a fire first--there are holes
enough left yet to let the smoke out. Tug, just shovel the drifted
snow out of the house, or pack it between the bobs under the boat,
while I whittle some kindling. There won't any more blow in--the
drift's too high now."
[Illustration: CAMPING AGAINST AN ICE WALL.]
"Shall I boil tea or coffee?" asked Katy.
"Coffee, I guess; and give us some fried bacon and crackers--but lots
of coffee."
"Why couldn't we use our oil stove now?"
"We don't really need to. We have some wood, and can build a fire well
enough inside here, and the oil is easier carried than the wood for a
greater need. Ready, Tug?"
"Ay, ay, sir."
"All right. Here are our kindlings. Katy, open your lantern, and let
me set these shavings afire. Matches are too precious to be wasted or
even risked."
A minute later a brisk little fire was burning, snow was turning to
water, and cold water to hot, while coffee was thinking that presently
it would be in the pot, and slices of bacon were saying good-bye to
their fellows, as one by one they dropped into the frying-pan.
It was a strange scene, but the actors in it were too tired and hungry
to notice how they looked, as they watched with eager interest the
progress of supper-getting. They were not cold, and wraps were all
thrown aside, for the wind was cut off, and the fire, small as it was,
made a great deal of heat in the confined space. The atmosphere of an
Eskimo house of ice, though there may be no better fire than a little
pool of train-oil in a soapstone saucer, where a wick of moss is
smoking and flaring, will become so warm that the people remove not
only their furs, but a large part of their under-clothing, and this
when the temperature outside is fifty degrees or so below
freezing-point.
"It is just about big enough for a play-house," Katy remarked, as she
jostled one and another in moving about.
"I'm glad the snow blows over, and doesn't settle on the roof. If it
did, I'm afraid the canvas would sag down awfully, or the oars break."
"How will we sleep to-night?" asked Jim.
"Well," said Aleck, "I think we must all sleep in the boat somehow.
Katy and you can lie on the straw in the stern-sheets, as usual, and
Tug and I will bunk in somewhere for'ard. If we had plenty of wood to
keep the fire going, it would be comfortable out here, but we must
economize. If this snow keeps on, I don't know when--"
"Supper!" called Katy, and Aleck didn't finish what he was saying; but
they all felt a little more serious about their situation. Though Jim
objected, Aleck ordered him to put out every bit of the fire, and
perched up in the boat they ate their supper by the light of the
lantern.
"It's precious lucky we found this straw in the cabin," said Tug, as
he sat upon it, with a tin cup of coffee in one hand, and in the other
a sandwich made of two pieces of cold johnny-cake and a slice of
bacon.
"That's cool! The _luck_ is that Kate had the good sense to make us
bring it. I know two young fellows who objected."
"I know _three_," Katy spoke up. "Fair play. You sneered at me at
first, Mr. Captain, as much as anybody. You needn't play goody-goody
over the rest of them."
"Go in, Katy!" they both cried. "Give it to him! He was going to leave
every bit behind--and the rushes too."
"Well, well," pleaded Aleck, "I know now it was a good idea, and I'm
not always so--"
"--big a fool as you look, eh?" exclaimed Tug, giving them all a laugh
at the face made by the tall fellow, who was thus cheated out of his
smooth apology.
"Never you mind; I'll get even with you before long."
Then the Captain took out his watch and wound it. Holding it in his
hand he said: "Now it's _my_ turn. I'll give you merry jesters just
four minutes to finish your supper and make your beds. Then I blow out
the lantern. Oil is precious."