Wild Adventures round the Pole
Page 19
You always gaveme comfort, even when I was a boy in the wilds of Spitzbergen. Youtaught me to splice, and reef, and steer. Bless you, Magnus! Icouldn't have sailed without you."
"But stay, my son, stay," continued this weird little man, holding up awarning finger; "those rushing winds--"
"Yes, Magnus?"
"They will bring danger on their wings."
"I'll welcome it, Magnus," laughed McBain.
"Those rushing winds will tear down on us, hurricane-high,tempest-strong. The great bergs, impelled by force of wind and might ofwave, will dash each other to atoms."
"All the better for us, Daddy Magnus," said the captain.
"Were your voice as loud as cannon's roar you will be as one dumb amidthe turmoil."
"Then I'll steer by signs," said McBain.
"Should our ship escape destruction, we will be enveloped by fogs,encircled by a darkness that will be felt."
"Then we'll heave-to and wait till they evaporate. But there, my goodMagnus, you see I'm not afraid of anything. I'd be unworthy of such asea-dad as you if I were; so no more tragic airs, please. Thou mindestme, old Magnus, of the scene between Lochiel and the Wizard.
"`Lochiel, Lochiel, beware of the day When the Lowlands shall meet you in battle array,'
"says the Wizard, and so on and so forth.
"`False wizard, avaunt!' replies Lochiel, and all the rest of it, youknow. But, beloved Magnus, I don't _say_ `avaunt!' to you. But justsee how the cold spray is dashing inboard. So, not to put too poetic apoint on it, I simply say, `Go down below, old man, and don't get wet,else your joints will ache in the morning with the rheumatiz.'"
The morning broke beautifully fine and clear, the reefs were shaken outof the topsails, topgallant-sails and royals were set, and, indeed, allthe square cloth she could carry, and away went the _Arrandoon_ beforethe wind, as happy, to all appearance, as the malleys and gulls thatseemed to play at hide-and-seek with her, behind the comb-crested seasof olive-green.
Ralph and Allan, arm-in-arm, were marching rapidly up and down one sideof the quarter-deck, Rory and McFlail on the other, and ever and anon amerry laugh from some one of them rang out bright and joyously on thefresh frosty air.
Towards noon stunsails were set, and the _Arrandoon_ looked more like asea-bird than ever; she even seemed to sing to herself--so thought Roryand so thought the doctor--as she went nodding and curtseying along overthe waves, with now a bend to starboard, and now a lean to port; nowlowering her bows till the seas ahead looked mountains high, and anongiving a dip waterwards till her waist was wet with the seething spray,and her lower stunsail-booms seemed to tickle the very breast of oldmother ocean.
The wind was increasing, and there were times when our boys had to pausein their walk and grapple the mizzen rigging, laughing at each other asthey did so.
"Wo ho, my beauty?" said McBain. "Mr Mitchell, I daresay we must takein sail."
"I'm afraid so, sir," replies Mitchell; "but--" and here he eyes thebellowing canvas--"it do seem a pity, sir, don't it?"
But here "my beauty" gives a vicious plunge forwards, elevating herselfaft like a kicking mare, and shipping tons of water over her bows.
"I don't want to be wicked," the ship seems to say, "and I don't want tolose a spar, though I _could_ kick one off as easy as a daddy-longlegsgets rid of a limb; but if you don't ease me a bit I'll--"
A bigger and more decided plunge into the sea, followed by a rising ofher jibboom zenithwards, and the water comes roaring aft in one greatbore, which seeks exit by the quarter-deck scupper-holes, and goestumbling down the companion ladder, to the indignation of Peter and thedisgust of Freezing Powders, who is standing on his head in an attitudeof contemplation, and ships a green sea down his nostrils. Our heroesleap in time on to the top of the skylight, and there sit grinningdelightedly as the waters go roaring past them, and floating thereonevidence enough that the men had been preparing dinner when Neptuneboarded them, for yonder float potatoes and turnips and cabbages, to saynothing of a leg of Highland mutton and a six-pound piece of bacon.
"Hands, shorten sail!"
But next day--so changeable is a sailor's life--the wind had all gotbottled up again or gone back to its cave; the sea was smooth as glass,and steam was up, but the sky was still clear, and the sun undimmed bythe slightest haze.
Just before lunch came the first signs that ice was not far ahead. The_Arrandoon_ encountered a great "stream," as it is called, of deep,snowy slush--I do not know what else to call it. It stretched awayeastwards to westwards, as far as the eye from the crow's-nest couldreach, and it was probably nine or ten miles wide. It lessened the goodship's way considerably, you may be sure. Her bows clove through itwith a brushing sound; her screw revolved in it with a noise like deadleaves stirred by autumn winds.
"Losh!" cried Sandy, the surgeon, looking curiously overboard, "what'sthis noo? Wonders will never cease!"
"Och, sure!" replied Rory, mischievously, "you know well enough what itis; it's only speaking for speaking's sake you are."
"The ne'er a bone o' ma knows, I do assure ye," said Sandy.
"Well, doctor dear," said Rory, "it is simply the belt, or zone, thatgeographers call the `Arctic circle.'"
But Sandy looked at him with a pitying smile. "Man--Rory?" he said,"I'm no' so sea-green as you tak me to be. I've a right good mind topu' your lugs. Young men, sir, dinna enter Aberdeen University stirksand come out cuddies?"
"Mon!" cried Rory, imitating Sandy's brogue, "if ye want to pu' my lugsyou'll hae to catch me first;" and off he went round the deck, with thedoctor after him. But Ralph caught him, if Sandy couldn't, and handedhim over to justice.
"Now," cried the surgeon, catching him by the ear, "whistle, and I'lllet you free."
It is no easy matter to whistle when you want to laugh, but when Rory atlong last did manage to emit a labial note that passed muster as awhistle, the doctor was as good as his word, and Rory was free.
Luncheon was barely finished, when down from the crow's-nest rang thewelcome hail, "Ice ahead!"
Our heroes rushed on deck, McBain was there before them, and when theystepped on to the "lid" of the ship, as Sandy once called the deck, theyfound the captain half-way up to the nest.
There wasn't a bit of ice to be seen from the deck.
"Hurrah for the foretop?" cried Rory, laying hold of a stay. "Who'scoming?"
"I will!" cried Allan.
"I'm going below to finish lunch," said Ralph.
"I'll be safer on deck, I think," said the canny doctor.
But when Rory on the foretop struck an attitude of wonderment, andpointing away ahead, exclaimed, in rapture, "Oh, boys, what a scene ishere!" the doctor thought he would give anything for a peep, so hesummoned up his courage and began to ascend the rigging, slowly, andwith about as much grace in his actions as a mud turtle would exhibitunder the like circumstances.
Allan roared, "Good doctor! good! Bravo, old man! Heave round like abrick! Don't look down."
Rory was in a fit of merriment, and trying to stifle himself with hishandkerchief. Suddenly down dropped that handkerchief; and this wasjust the signal four active lads were waiting for. Up they sprang likemonkeys behind the surgeon, who had hardly reached the lubber-hole.Alas! the good medico didn't reach it that day, for before you couldhave said "cutlass" he was seized, hand and foot, and lashed to therigging, Saint Andrew's-cross fashion.
The surgeon of the _Arrandoon_ was spread-eagled, and Rory, the wickedboy! had his revenge.
"My conscience!" cried Sandy; "what next, I wonder?"
"It's a vera judeecious arrangement," sung Rory from the top.
But the men were not hard on the worthy doctor, and the promise ofseveral ounces of nigger-head procured him his freedom, and he soonregained the deck, a sadder and a wiser man.
They were quickly among the ice--not bergs, mind you, only a stream ofbits and pieces, of every shape and form, some like sheep and some likeswans, and some like great white oxen. H
ere was a piece like amilking-pail; here was a lump like a hay-cock; yonder a gondola; yondera boat; and yonder a couch on which the Naiades might recline and float,or Ino slumber.
It was Rory who made the last remark.
"And by this and by that!" he exclaimed, "there is a Naiad on it now! orit's Ino herself, by all that's amusing!"
"Away, second whaler!"--this from McBain. "Get your rifle, boy Rory,and jump on board and fetch that seal!"
Down rattled the boat