Red Rooney: The Last of the Crew

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

  A TERRIBLE ENCOUNTER, DISASTROUS RESULTS, AND SINGULAR TERMINATION.

  Let us return now to the wizard and his captives.

  After travelling for several days at the utmost possible speed, theguilty man began to feel at ease as regarded pursuit, and commenced toadvance at a more reasonable rate, giving the poor dogs time forsufficient rest, and going out once or twice on the floes to procurefresh supplies of seal-flesh for himself and his party.

  The thaw which had by that time set steadily in had not broken up theold ice to the southward, so that no more thin ice or open water was metwith. But although he had thus begun to take things more easily, Ujarakdid not by any means waste time. The wretched man was very morose, evensavage, insomuch that he would scarcely reply to the questions whichwere timidly put to him at times by the women. It was evident that herepented of his hasty flight, and no doubt was rendered desperate by thereflection that the matter was by that time past remedy.

  One morning, on rounding one of those bluff precipitous capes which jutout from the western coast of Greenland into Baffin's Bay, they cameunexpectedly in sight of a band of Eskimos who were travellingnorthwards.

  Ujarak pulled up at once, and for some moments seemed uncertain what todo. He had not yet been observed, so that there was a possibility ofturning aside, if he were so disposed, and hiding among the ruggedmasses of ice which lined the bottom of the cliffs. Before he couldmake up his mind, however, on the subject, a loud shout from the Eskimosshowed that he had been observed.

  Turning sharply, and with a savage scowl, to the women, he said in a lowvoice--

  "If you say that I have run away with you, I will kill you and thechildren."

  A smile of contempt flickered on the face of Kabelaw at the moment.Observing it, the wizard added--

  "There will be no escape for _you_. Your death will be certain, foreven if these people were to kill me, and carry you back to the village,my torngak would follow you and kill you."

  He said no more, for he knew well that he had said enough.

  At first sight of the Eskimo band, Kabelaw's heart had leaped for joy,because she at once made up her mind to explain how matters stood, andclaim protection, which she had no doubt they would grant. But someEskimos, not less than many civilised people, are deeply imbued withsuperstition, and the bare idea of an invisible torngak pursuing her tothe death--in the possibility of which she and Nunaga more or lessbelieved--was too much for her. In fear and trembling she made up hermind to be silent, and submit to her fate. It need scarcely be added,so did her more timid companion.

  "Where do you come from?" asked the leader of the party when they met.

  "From the far-away _there_," replied the wily wizard, pointingnorthward. "I do not ask where _you_ come from."

  "Why not?" demanded the leader, in some surprise.

  "Because I know already," answered Ujarak, "that you come from thefar-away _there_," pointing southward; "and I know that, because I am anangekok. You have come from a spot near to the land where the Kablunetshave settled, and you are bringing iron and other things to exchangewith my kinsmen for horns of the narwhal and tusks of the walrus."

  Knowing as he did from rumour that Eskimos from the Moravian settlementswere in the habit of travelling northward for the purposes of barter,(though they had not up to that time travelled so far north as his owntribe), and observing bundles of hoop-iron on the sledges, it did notrequire much penetration on the part of a quick mind like that of Ujarakto guess whence the strangers had come, and what their object was.Nevertheless, the leader and most of the party who had circled round thewizard and his sledge, opened their eyes in amazement at this smartstatement of their affairs.

  "My brother must indeed be a great angekok, for he seems to know allthings. But we did not come from _near_ the land where the Kablunetshave built their huts. We have come _from_ it," said the matter-of-factleader.

  "Did I not say that?" returned Ujarak promptly.

  "No; you said near it--whereas we came from it, from inside of itself."

  "Inside of itself must be very near it, surely!" retorted the wizard,with a grave look of appeal to those around him.

  A laugh and nod of approval was the reply, for Eskimos appreciate eventhe small end of a joke, however poor, and often allow it to sway theirjudgment more powerfully than the best of reasoning--in whichcharacteristic do they not strongly resemble some people who ought toknow better? The matter-of-fact leader smiled grimly, and made nofurther objection to the wizard's claim to correct intelligence.

  "Now," continued Ujarak, for he felt the importance of at once takingand keeping the upper hand, "my tribe is not far from here; but they aregoing away on a hunting expedition, so you must lose no time, else theywill be gone before you arrive. They want iron very much. They havehorns and tusks in plenty. They will be glad to see you. My torngaktold me you were coming, so I came out a long way to meet you. Ibrought my wives and children with me, because I want to visit theKablunets, and inquire about their new religion."

  He paused for a moment or two, to let his tissue of lies have fulleffect, but the very matter-of-fact leader took advantage of the pauseto ask how it was that if he, Ujarak, had been told by his torngak ofthe coming of the trading party, he had failed to tell his tribe _not_to go on a hunting expedition, but to await their arrival.

  "Ha! ho!" exclaimed several of the Eskimos, turning a sharp gaze uponthe wizard, as much as to say, "There's a puzzler for you, angekok!"

  But Ujarak, although pulled up for a moment, was not to be overturnedeasily. "Torngaks," he said, "do not always reveal all they know atonce. If they did, angekoks would only have to listen to all they hadto tell on every subject, and there would be an end of it; they wouldhave no occasion to use their judgments at all. No; the torngaks tellwhat they choose by degrees. Mine told me to leave my tribe, and visitthe Kablunets. On the way he told me more, but not _all_."

  This explanation seemed quite satisfactory to some, but not to all ofthem. Seeing this, the wizard hastened to turn their minds from thesubject by asking how far it was to the land of the Kablunets.

  "Four suns' journey," replied the leader.

  "It is the same to the village of my kindred," exclaimed Ujarak, gettingquickly on his sledge. "I must hasten on, and so must you. Time mustnot be wasted."

  With a flourish of his whip, he started his team at full speed,scattering the Eskimos right and left, and scouring over the ice likethe wind.

  For a moment or two the leader of the band thought of pursuit, butseeing at a glance that none of his teams were equal to that of Ujarak,and feeling, perhaps, that it might be dangerous to pursue an angekok,he gave up the idea, and resumed his northward route.

  For two days more the wizard continued his journey, encamping each nightat sunset, eating his supper apart, making his bed of bearskins in thelee of a shrub or under the shelter of an overhanging cliff, and leavinghis captives to make themselves comfortable as best they could on thesledge. This they did without difficulty, all of them being wellaccustomed to rough it, and having plenty of bear and deerskins to keepthem warm. The dogs also contributed to this end by crowding round theparty, with deep humility of expression, as close as they were allowedto come.

  At the end of these two days an incident occurred which totally changedthe aspect of affairs.

  On the morning of the third day they started with the dawn, and drovesteadily southward for a couple of hours. They had just traversed asmall bay, and were close to the high cape which formed its southernextremity, when one of the bars of the sledge broke, rendering a haltnecessary. Breaking the gloomy silence which he had so long maintained,the wizard spoke:

  "Go," he said, "cook some food under the cliffs there. I will mend thesledge."

  The women replied, not by words, but by the more emphatic method of atonce obeying the order. Kabelaw seized and shouldered a large piece ofraw seal's flesh. Nunaga took up little Pussi with on
e hand, and thematerials for producing fire with the other, and followed her companion.Tumbler brought up the rear, staggering under the weight of thecooking-lamp.

  They had only a couple of hundred yards to go. In a few minutes Kabelawwas busy under the cliffs producing fire, in the usual Eskimo fashionwith two pieces of dry wood, while her friend set up the lamp and slicedthe meat. The children, inheriting as they did the sterling helpfulpropensities of their parents, went actively about, interfering witheverything, in their earnest endeavours to assist.

  "Isn't he strange?" remarked Kabelaw, glancing in the direction ofUjarak, as she diligently twirled the fire-stick between her palms; "sodifferent from what he was."

  "I think," said Nunaga, pouring oil into the lamp, "that he is sorry forwhat he has done."

  "No; him not sorry," said Tumbler, as he assisted Pussi to rise, for shehad tripped and fallen; "him not sorry--him sulky."

  Kabelaw took no notice of this juvenile observation, but, blowing thespark which she had at last evoked into a flame, expressed some doubt asto Ujarak's repentance, and said she had never seen him in a state ofsorry-tude before. Whereupon Tumbler pertly rejoined that _he_ hadoften seen him in a state of sulky-tude!

  The damage to the sledge was slight. It was soon repaired, and thewizard brought it round with him to the spot where breakfast was beinggot ready.

  This was the first time he had eaten with them since the flight began.His manner, however, was not much changed. He was still silent andgloomy, though once or twice he condescended to make a remark or twoabout the weather.

  When a man talks upon the weather, the ice is fairly broken--even inArctic regions--and from that well-nigh universal starting-point Ujarakwent on to make a few more remarks. He did so very sternly, however, asthough to protest against the idea that he was softening to the smallestextent.

  "Nunaga," he said, holding up a finger, "in two suns, or less, we shallarrive at the land where the Kablunets have built houses and settleddown."

  We may explain that the wizard here referred to the Moravians, who hadabout that time sent out their first mission to Greenland. Of course heknew nothing of the object those self-sacrificing men had in view inthus establishing themselves in Greenland, only vague rumours having atthat time reached his distant tribe. All he knew was that they wereKablunets, or foreigners, and that they had something mysterious to tellabout the God of the Kablunets.

  Nunaga received Ujarak's information in silence, and waited for more.

  "And now," he continued, "I want you to say when you arrive there thatyou are my wife."

  "But I am _not_ your wife," returned Nunaga gently, yet firmly.

  The wizard frowned, then he glared fiercely, then he looked sad, thenthere settled on his visage a sulky look which gradually faded away,leaving nothing but a simple blank behind. After that he opened hislips, and was about to speak, when Nunaga opened her pretty eyes totheir widest, also her pretty mouth, and gave vent to a tremendousshriek, which, reverberating among the cliffs, caused all the creaturesaround her, canine and human, to leap electrically to their feet.

  To account for this we must take the reader round to the other side ofthe cliff, at the foot of which the party sat enjoying their breakfast.

  There, all ignorant of the human beings so near at hand, sauntered anenormous Polar bear. It seated itself presently on its haunches, andswayed itself gently to and fro, with its head on one side, as ifadmiring the Arctic scenery. There was not much more than a space offive hundred yards between the parties, but owing to the greatpromontory which formed an effectual screen between them, and the factthat the light air blew from the land to the sea, neither bear nor dogshad scented each other.

  It seemed as if Bruin had only just got out of bed, for his little eyesblinked sleepily, his motions were exceedingly slow, and his yawns werefrequent as well as remonstrative in tone. Doubtless bears, like men,dislike early rising!

  Having gazed at the scenery long enough, and shaken off its lethargy tosome extent, the bear began probably to think of food. Then it arose,sauntered round the promontory, and presented itself to the more thanastonished gaze of Nunaga, who was the only one that chanced to sitfacing in its direction.

  The resulting shriek and its consequences seemed to have a petrifyingeffect on the animal, for it stood stock still for some moments, andsimply gazed. This condition of things was instantly changed by threeof the dogs breaking their traces, and rushing wildly at the animal.With two nimble pats of its great paws it sent two of the dogs into theair, almost killing them, while the third it dismissed, yellinghideously, with a bad tear in its flank.

  Quick as thought, Ujarak set the other dogs free, and the whole pack ranopen-mouthed at their natural foe, but another dog being promptly sentaway howling, the rest were cowed, and confined themselves to barkingfuriously round their powerful foe.

  Apparently this was an old bear, confident perhaps in its strength, andused, it might be, to dog-assaults, for it paid no further attention toits canine opponents, but advanced with a very threatening aspecttowards the sledge.

  It is pretty well-known that two Eskimo men of average strength andcourage are more than a snatch for the Polar bear, if armed with spears.The mode of attack is simple. The two men separate. The one whoarranges to be the slayer of the animal advances on its left side; theother on its right. Thus the victim's attention is distracted; itbecomes undecided which foe to attack first. The hunter on the rightsettles the question by running in, and giving him a prick with thespear. Turning in fury on this man, the bear exposes its left side tothe full force of a deadly thrust of the spear, which usually reachesthe heart, and finishes it. The chances, however, are very much infavour of the bear when the man is alone. Hence, single hunters are notfond of attacking a Polar bear, except when unusually strong andcourageous, as well as confident of their dexterity.

  Now it happened that Ujarak, although strong and courageous enough, wasnot over-confident of his dexterity. With a tried comrade, he wouldreadily have faced any bear in the Arctic regions, but on this occasionhe felt he had to depend entirely on himself.

  Seizing a spear quickly, he looked at the approaching animal, andglanced uneasily at Nunaga.

  "If I am killed," he said, "you will have to defend the children."

  There was a tone of pathos in the voice, which showed that no touch ofselfish fear influenced the man.

  Hitherto the women and children had stood absolutely horror-struck andhelpless, but the vigorous nature of Kabelaw came to her aid.

  "We will help you," she suddenly cried, catching up two spears, andthrusting one into the hands of Nunaga; "two women may perhaps be equalto one man."

  The wizard smiled grimly in spite of circumstances at this heroicaction, but there was no time for reply, as the bear was already closeto them.

  Poor, timid Nunaga, trembling from skin to marrow, had just courageenough to grasp her spear and follow Kabelaw. The latter understoodwell how to act. She had often seen her own kinsmen do the work thatwas required of her. As for the two little ones, they continuedthroughout to stand limp and motionless, with eyes and mouths wide-open.

  Of course Kabelaw ran to the right, and Ujarak to the left of the foe.Advancing, as in duty bound, a step or two ahead of her male friend, theformer proceeded to prick the bear; but when the monster rose on hishind legs, and towered to a height of eight feet, if not more, her heartfailed her. Nevertheless, she made a gallant thrust, which might haveat least incommoded the animal had not the spear received a blow whichnot only sent it spinning out of the woman's hand, but hurled poorKabelaw herself on the ice, a small lump of which cut open her temple,and rendered her for the moment insensible. At the same instant thewizard took prompt advantage of his opportunity, and delivered whatshould have been the death-wound. But the very energy of the man foiledhim, for the spear entered too near the shoulder, and stuck upon thebone.

  The fall of Kabelaw had the peculiar effect of producing a gush ofdesper
ation in the tender heart of Nunaga, which amounted, almost, tocourage. With a lively shriek she shut her eyes, rushed in on the bear,and gave it a dab in the side, which actually sent her weapon into theflesh about an inch deep, and there it stuck fast.

  Feeling this new sting, the bear turned on her with a gasp of rage. Shelooked up. The great paws were extended over her head. The dreadfuljaws were open. Letting go her weapon, Nunaga cast up her arms, shuther eyes again, and sank shuddering on the ice. Down came the bear, butat that critical moment an irresistible force effected what the unitedparty had failed to accomplish. The butt of Nunaga's spear chanced toenter a crack in the ice, where it stuck fast, and the weight of thedescending animal sent the point through flesh, ribs, and heart, and outat his backbone. The spear broke of course, but in breaking it turnedthe monster on one side, and saved the poor girl from being smothered.At the same moment Ujarak had made another desperate thrust, which,unlike the former, entered deep, but being misdirected, did not touch avital part. In the violence of his effort the man fell, and the dyingbear rolled upon him, rendering him also insensible.

  When poor little Nunaga, recovering from her state ofsemi-consciousness, opened her eyes, and sat up, her first impressionwas that the bear, the wizard, and Kabelaw lay around her dead.

  Bad as the state of matters was, however, it was not quite so bad asthat. The poor girl's first act was to burst into a hysterical fit oflaughter--so wonderfully constituted are some female minds--and shefollowed that up with an equally hysterical fit of weeping. But to doher justice, the fits did not last above half a minute. Then shesuddenly stopped, dried her eyes, jumped up, and, pursing her lips andknitting her brows, ran to her friend, whom she found just returning toa state of consciousness.

  "What has happened?" asked Kabelaw, in a dazed manner, as she looked atthe blood which flowed from her wound.

  Nunaga did not answer, but ran to the bear, which was quite dead, andbegan to drag it off Ujarak. With great difficulty, and by firsthauling at its neck and then at its tail, she managed to move it justenough to set the man's head and chest free. The wizard, thus partiallyrelieved, soon began to show signs of returning life. In a few minuteshe was able to sit up and drag his right leg from under the bear, but hewas much exhausted, and only got it free after great exertion.

  "Are you hurt?" asked Nunaga, in a tone of commiseration.

  "Not much, I think. I--I am not sure. I feel as if I had been muchshaken, and my leg is painful. I hope," he added, feeling the limb withboth hands, "that it is not--"

  He finished the sentence with a deep groan. But it was not a groan ofpain so much as of despair, for his leg, he found, was broken just abovethe ankle.

  It may perhaps require a little thought on the part of those who dwellin civilised lands to understand fully all that this implied to theEskimo. If it did not absolutely mean death by exposure and starvation,it at all events meant life under extremely uncomfortable conditions ofhelplessness and pain; it meant being completely at the mercy of twowomen whom he had grievously wronged; and it meant that, at the best, hecould not avoid ultimately falling into the hands of his angry andoutraged kinsmen. All this the wizard perceived at a glance--hence hisgroan.

  Now it may not be out of place to remark here that the qualities ofmercy, pity, forgiveness, etcetera, are not by any means confined to thepeople of Christian lands. We believe that, as our Saviour "died forthe sins of the whole world," so the Spirit of Jesus is to be foundworking righteousness among individuals of even the worst and mostsavage nations of the earth. The extreme helplessness and pain to whichher enemy was reduced, instead of gratifying revenge in Nunaga, arousedin her gentle breast feelings of the tenderest pity; and she not onlyshowed her sympathy in her looks and tones, but by her actions, for sheat once set to work to bind up the broken limb to the best of herability.

  In this operation she was gleefully assisted by little Tumbler andPussi, who, having recovered from their horror when the bear fell dead,seemed to think that all succeeding acts were part of a play got up fortheir special amusement.

  When the surgical work was done, Nunaga again turned her attention toKabelaw. She had indeed felt a little surprised that her friend seemedto take no interest in the work in which she was engaged, and was stillmore surprised when, on going up to her, she found her sitting in thesame position in which she had left her, and wearing the same stupidhalf-stunned look on her face. A few words sufficed to reveal thetruth, and, to Nunaga's consternation, she found that her friend wassuffering from what is known among the civilised as concussion of thebrain.

  When the full significance of her condition at last forced itself uponthe poor girl, when she came to see clearly that she was, as it were,cast away in the Arctic wilderness, with the whole care of a helplessman and woman and two equally helpless children, besides a sledge andteam of dogs, devolving on her she proved herself to be a true heroineby rising nobly to the occasion.

  Her first act was to return, with characteristic humility, and askUjarak what she must do.

  "You must take the dogs and sledge and the children," he answered in alow voice, "and save yourselves."

  "What! and leave you here?"

  "Yes; I am bad. It is well that I should die."

  "But Kabelaw?" said the girl, with a glance at her friend. "She has gotthe head-sickness and cannot help herself."

  "Leave her to die also," said the wizard carelessly; "she is not worthmuch."

  "Never!" cried Nunaga, with emphasis. "I will save her, I will save youall. Did you not tell me that the village of the Kablunets is only twosuns from here?"

  "That is so, Nunaga."

  "Can you creep to the sledge?" asked the girl quickly.

  "I think I can."

  "Try, then."

  The wizard tried, and found that he could creep on his hands and oneknee, dragging the wounded limb on the ice. It gave him excruciatingpain, but he was too much of a man to mind that. In a few minutes hewas lying at full length on the sledge.

  "Now, Tumbler and Pussi," said Nunaga, "cover him well up with skins,while I go and fetch Kabelaw, but _don't touch his leg_."

  She found that Kabelaw could walk slowly, with support, and after muchexertion succeeded in getting her also laid out upon the sledgealongside of the wizard. Then Nunaga tied them both firmly down withlong walrus-lines. She also attached the children to the sledge withlines round their waists, to prevent their being jolted off. Havingthus made things secure, and having cut off some choice portions of thebear for food, she harnessed the dogs, grasped the whip, mounted to thedriver's place, brought the heavy lash down with wonderful effect on thebacks of the whole team, and set off at full gallop towards the landwhere Kablunets were said to dwell.

  Fortunately, the ice was smooth most of the way, for jolting was notonly injurious to poor Kabelaw, but gave the wizard great additionalpain. It also had the effect of bumping Tumbler and Pussi against eachother, and sometimes strained their lashings almost to the breakingpoint.

  At night Nunaga selected as comfortable a spot as she could find underthe shelter of the Greenland cliffs, and there--after detaching thechildren, re-dressing Ujarak's leg, arranging the couch of thesemi-conscious Kabelaw, and feeding the hungry dogs--she set up herlamp, and cooked savoury seal and bear cutlets for the whole party.And, not withstanding the prejudices with which fastidious people mayreceive the information, it is an unquestionable fact that the frying ofseal and bear cutlets sends a most delicious influence up the nose,though perhaps it may require intense hunger and an Eskimo's digestionto enable one to appreciate to the full the value of such food.

  These labours ended, Nunaga put the little ones to bed, made the wizardand Kabelaw as comfortable as possible for the night, fastened up thedogs, and, spreading her own couch in the most convenient spot besidethem, commenced her well-earned night's repose. The first night her bedwas a flat rock; the second, a patch of sand; but on both occasions thecheery little woman softened the place with
a thick bear-skin, and,curling up, covered herself with the soft skin of a reindeer.

  And what were the thoughts of the wicked Ujarak as he lay there,helpless and suffering, silently watching Nunaga? We can tell, for heafterwards made a partial confession of them.

  "She is very pretty," he thought, "and very kind. I always knew that,but now I see that she is much more. She is forgiving. I took her fromher home by force, and would have made her my wife against her will--yetshe is good to me. I have been harsh, unkind, cruel, sulky to her eversince we left home--yet she is good to me. I have torn her from allthose whom she loves, with the intention that she should never see themagain--yet she is good to me. She might have left me to die, and mighteasily have gone home by herself, and it would have served me right,but--but she is good to me. I am not a man. I am a beast--a bear--afox--a walrus--"

  As the wizard thought thus, a couple of tears overflowed theirboundaries, and rolled down the hitherto untried channel of his cheeks.

  Do you think, reader, that this line of thought and emotion, even in asavage, was unnatural? Is not the same principle set forth in Scripturein reference to far higher things? Need we remind you that it is "the_goodness_ of God which leadeth thee, (or any one else), to repentance?"

  As it is in the spiritual world, so is it in the natural. At the timeof which we write the same grand principle was powerfully at work inNature. "Thick-ribbed ice," which the united forces of humanity couldnot have disrupted, was being silently yet rapidly dissolved by thegenial influence of the sun, insomuch that on the evening of the dayafter Nunaga had been compelled by circumstances to assume command ofthe expedition, several sheets of open water appeared where ice had beenexpected, and the anxious charioteer was more than once obliged to riskthe lives of the whole party by driving out to sea on the floes--thatbeing better than the alternative of remaining where they were, to dieof starvation.

  But by that time they were not far distant from the Kablunetsettlements.