Red Rooney: The Last of the Crew

by R. M. Ballantyne

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

  SHOWS A GLOOMY PROSPECT--STARVATION THREATENED, AND WONDERFULLY AVERTED.

  Angut was a true prophet. When Rooney awoke next morning, his ears toldhim that the rushing of ice-cold rivulets through ice-valleys, and theroar of ice-born cataracts had increased considerably during the hoursof darkness.

  The warmth which caused this did not, indeed, at first strike him, forthe air of the cavern and the character of his bed had chilled him somuch that he was shivering with cold. On glancing at his still sleepingcomrades in misfortune, he observed that these tough creatures sleptwith the peaceful aspect of infants, whom, being both fat and rotund,they resembled in nearly everything except size.

  Rising and going quietly out, he beat his arms vigorously across hischest until circulation was fully restored. Then he mounted aneighbouring ice-ledge, and saw at a glance that their case had becomedesperate.

  "Angut was right," he murmured bitterly, and then stood for a long timecontemplating the scene in silence.

  Considered apart from their circumstances, the scene was indeedglorious. Not only had the warmth of the air begun to swell therivulets which leaped and brawled down the pale-green slopes around him,but the pack had opened out, so as to completely change the aspect ofthe sea. Instead of being clothed with ice, showing only a lane ofwater here and there, it was now an open sea crowded with innumerableice-islets of every fantastic shape and size.

  It added something to the bitterness of the poor man's feelings thatthis state of things would, he knew, have been the very best for theirescape in kayaks and oomiaks, for a profound calm prevailed, and thesea, where clear of ice, glittered in the rising sun like a shield ofpolished gold.

  He was roused from his meditations by the sound of footsteps behind him.Turning quickly, he beheld Ippegoo holding his jaws with both hands andwith an expression of unutterable woe on his face.

  "Halo, Ippe, what's wrong with you?"

  A groan was the reply, and Rooney, although somewhat anxious, found itdifficult to restrain a laugh.

  "I've got--oh! oh! oh! oh!--a mad tooth," gasped the poor youth.

  "A mad tooth! Poor fellow!--we call that _toothache_ where I comefrom."

  "What care I whether you call it mad tooth or _tootik_?" cried Ippegoopetulantly. "It is horrible! dreadful! awful!--like fire and fury inthe heart."

  The sufferer used one or two more Eskimo expressions, suggestive ofexcruciating agony, which are not translatable into English.

  "If I only had a pair of pincers, but--look, Ippe, look," said Rooney,pointing to the sea, in the hope of distracting his mind from presentpain by referring to threatening danger; "look--our kayaks being lost,we have no hope of escaping, so we must starve."

  His little device, well-meant though it was, failed. A groan and glanceof indifference was the Eskimo's reply, for starvation and danger werefamiliar and prospective evils, whereas toothache was a present horror.

  We fear it must be told of Ippegoo that he was not celebrated forendurance of pain, and that, being fond of sympathy, he was apt to givefull vent to his feelings--the result, perhaps, of having anover-indulgent mother. Toothache--one of the diseases to whichGreenlanders are peculiarly liable--invariably drew forth Ippegoo'stenderest feelings for himself, accompanied by touching lamentations.

  "Come, Ippe, be more of a man. Even your mother would scold you forgroaning like that."

  "But it is so shriekingly bad!" returned the afflicted youth, withincreasing petulance.

  "Of course it is. I know that; poor fellow! But come, I will try tocure you," said Rooney, who, under the impression that violent physicalexertion coupled with distraction of mind would produce good effect, hadsuddenly conceived a simple ruse. "Do you see yon jutting ice-cliffthat runs down to a point near the edge of the berg?"

  "Yes, I see," whimpered Ippegoo.

  "Well, it will require you to run at your top speed to get there whileyou count fifteen twenties. Now, if you run there within that time--atyour very top speed, mind--" Rooney paused, and looked serious.

  "Yes; well?" said Ippegoo, whose curiosity had already begun to checkthe groans.

  "If you run there," continued the seaman, with a look and tone of deepsolemnity, "at the very toppest speed that you can do, and look roundthat ice-point, you will see--"

  "What?" gasped Ippegoo excitedly--for he was easily excited.

  "_Something_," returned Rooney mysteriously. "I cannot tell exactlywhat you will see, because I am not an angekok, and have no torngak totell me; but I am quite sure that you will see _something_! Only, thebenefit of seeing it will depend on your running as fast as you can.Now, are you ready?"

  "Yes, quite ready," exclaimed the youth, tightening his girdle ofsealskin eagerly.

  "Well then--_away_!" shouted Rooney.

  Off went Ippegoo at a pace which was obviously the best that he wascapable of putting forth. Rooney counted as he ran, and in a muchshorter time than had been specified he reached the point, for the leveltrack, or what we may style sea-shore, of the berg was not a badrace-course. Suddenly, however, he came to an abrupt halt, and threw uphis arms as if in amazement. Then he turned round and ran back at apace that was even greater than he had achieved on the outward run.Rooney was himself greatly surprised at this, for, as the youth drewnearer, the expression of his face showed that he had indeed seen"something" which had not been in the seaman's calculations. Hespluttered and gasped as he came near, in his effort to speak.

  "What is it?--take time, lad," said Rooney quietly.

  "A b-bear! a bear!" cried Ippegoo.

  "What! did it run at you?" asked Rooney, becoming slightly excited inhis turn, and keeping his eye on the ice-point.

  "N-no; no. It was sitting on--on its tail--l-looking at the--thes-sea."

  "And we've no weapon bigger than an Eskimo knife," exclaimed the sailor,with a frown of discontent--"not even a bit of stick to tie the knifeto. What a chance lost! He would have kept us in food for some weeks.Well, well, this _is_ bad luck. Come, Ippe, we'll go back to the cave,and consult about this."

  On returning to the cheerless retreat, they found the rest of the partyjust awakening. The men were yawning and rubbing their eyes, while thewomen, with characteristic activity and self-denial, were gatheringtogether the few scraps of food that remained from the previous night'ssupper.

  "There is a bear just round the point--so Ippe says--what's to be done?"asked Rooney on entering.

  Up jumped the four men and two boys as if they had been made ofindiarubber.

  "Attack it," cried Arbalik.

  "Kill it," exclaimed Norrak.

  "And eat it," said Ermigit.

  "What will you attack it with?" asked Simek in a slightly contemptuoustone--"with your fingernails? If so, you had better send Sigokow to dobattle, for she could beat the three of you."

  The youths stood abashed.

  "We have no spears," said Simek, "and knives are useless. Bad luckfollows us."

  "It is my opinion," said Okiok, "that whatever we do, or try to do, wehad better eat something before doing it. Bring the victuals, Nuna."

  "Okiok is right," said Angut; "and Arbalik had better go out and watchwhile we consult, so as to give us timely warning if the bear comes thisway."

  Without a word, Arbalik caught up a piece of blubber, and went out ofthe cave to enjoy his frugal breakfast while acting sentinel. Theothers, sitting down on their respective bearskins, ate and consultedhastily. The consultation was of little use, for they were utterlyhelpless, and the breakfast was not much more profitable, for there wasfar too little of it. Still, as Rooney truly remarked when the lastmorsel was consumed, it was better than nothing.

  "Well now, my friends," said Angut at last, "since our food is done, andall our talk has come to nothing, I propose that we go out in a body tosee this bear. As we cannot kill him, we must get rid of him by drivinghim away, for if we let him remain on the berg, he will come upon uswhen we are asleep, perhaps
, and kill us."

  "Yes, that is best," said Okiok. "If we separate, so as to distracthim, and then make a united rush from all points, shrieking, that willdrive him into the sea."

  "Let us put Ippe in front," suggested Simek, with a twinkling eye; "heyells better than any of us."

  "'Specially when he's got the toothache," added Rooney.

  The object of this touch of pleasantry smiled in a good-humouredlyimbecile manner. It was clear that his malady had been cured, at leastfor the time.

  "But we must be very cautious," remarked Rooney, becoming serious, asthey rose to proceed on their adventure. "It would not do to let any ofour party get hurt. To my thinking, the women should take to theice-cliffs before we begin, and get upon pinnacles, up which the bearcould not climb."

  While he was speaking, Arbalik came running in with the information thatthe bear was approaching.

  "Has it seen you?" asked Angut, as they all ran out.

  "I think not. From the way it walks, I think it has no suspicion of anyone being on the berg."

  In a few seconds they reached the point of the promontory or cliff inwhich their cave lay, and each member of the party peeped round withexcessive caution, and there, sure enough, they beheld a white Polarbear of truly formidable size. But it had changed its course afterArbalik saw it, for by that time it had turned up one of the ice-valleysbefore-mentioned and begun to ascend into the interior of the berg. Theslow, heavy gait of the unwieldy animal suggested to Rooney the ideathat an active man could easily get out of its way, but the cat-likeactivity with which it bounded over one or two rivulets that came in itsway quickly dissipated that idea.

  "The farther he goes up that valley," whispered Simek, "the more troublewe shall have in driving him into the sea."

  "He does not seem to know his own mind," remarked Okiok, as the bearagain changed his course, and entered one of the small gorges thatopened into the larger valley.

  "He knows it well enough," said Ermigit. "Don't you see he is makingfor the ice-top, where these gulls are sitting? The fool expects tocatch them asleep."

  Ermigit seemed to have guessed rightly, for after clambering up theice-gorge referred to until he gained a high ledge or plateau, he beganregularly to stalk the birds with the sly patience of a cat.

  There was much in the bear's favour, for the recent fall of a pinnaclehad covered the ledge with shattered blocks of all shapes and sizes, inthe shelter of which it could creep towards its prey. Our Eskimoswatched the proceeding open-mouthed, with profound interest. To withintwenty yards or so of its game did that white-robed Arctic hunterapproach. Then it crouched for a rush at the unconscious birds, for noother lump of ice lay between them and their foe.

  The charge was vigorously made, almost too vigorously, for when thebirds flew lightly off the ledge, and descended to a narrower one alittle farther down, it was all the bear could do to check itself on thevery edge of the precipice. If it had gone over, the consequences wouldhave been dire, for the precipice was, not sheer, but still a very steepslope of ice, several hundred feet deep, which terminated in thoserugged masses on the berg-shore that had fallen from the cliffs above.There was only one break in the vast slope, namely, the narrow ledgehalf-way down on which the birds had taken refuge.

  Going to the extreme edge of the precipice, the bear sat down on hishaunches, and hungrily contemplated the birds, which were now beyond hisreach, twittering noisily as if to tantalise him.

  "I would that I had a spear," growled Okiok.

  "I would venture at him even with a big stick," said Simek.

  "My friends," said Rooney, with sudden animation, "listen to me. If youwill promise me to keep very quiet, and not to follow me whatever mayhappen, I will show you how Kablunets overcome difficulties."

  Of course the Eskimos were ready to make any promises that might berequired of them, and looked at their friend with surprise as he threwoff his sealskin coat and tightened the belt round his waist. But theywere still more surprised, when, without another word, he set off, inonly shirt and trousers, to climb the valley of ice, and make for thespot where the bear sat in melancholy meditation.

  While ascending, Rooney took care to avail himself of the rugged natureof the ice, so as to conceal himself entirely from the bear--though thiswas scarcely needful, for the animal's back was turned towards theKablunet, and his whole attention was concentrated on the gulls. AsRooney wore Eskimo boots--the soles of which are soft,--he made littleor no noise in walking, and thus managed to gain the platformunperceived by the bear, though visible all the time to the Eskimos, towhom he looked little bigger than a crow on the height. Their delight,however, began to be tempered with anxiety when they saw the recklessman creep to within twenty yards of the monster, making use of theice-blocks as it had done before him.

  The intentions of the Kablunet were incomprehensible to his friends.Could it be that, ignorant of the strength of the beast and its tenacityof life, the foolish man hoped to stab it to death with a small knife?Impossible! And yet he was evidently preparing for action of some sort.

  But Red Rooney was not quite so foolish as they supposed him to be.Having gained the nearest possible point to his victim, he made a suddenand tremendous rush at it. He knew that life and death were in thebalance at any rate; but he also knew that to remain inactive on thaticeberg would remove life out of the balance altogether. He thereforethrew all his energy of soul and body into that rush, and launchedhimself against the broad back of the bear. It was an awful shock.Rooney was swift as well as heavy, so that his weight, multiplied intohis velocity, sufficed to dislodge the wonder-stricken animal. One wildspasmodic effort it made to recover itself, and in doing so gave Rooneywhat may be called a backhander on the head, that sent him reeling onthe ice.

  Curiously enough, it was this that saved the daring man, for if he hadnot received that blow, the impetus of his attack would have certainlysent himself as well as the bear over the cliff.

  As it was, the monster went over headlong, with a sort of compoundshriek and howl that made the very ice-cliffs ring. Then, down hewent--not head or feet first, or sideways, or any way, but every way byturns, and no way long. Indeed, he spun and, as it were, spurted downthat mighty face of ice. Each instant intensified the velocity; eachwhirl increased the complex nature of the force. The ledge half-waydown, from which the affrighted gulls fled shrieking, did not even checkthe descent, but with bursting violence shunted the victim out intospace, through which he hurled till re-met by the terrific slope fartherdown, which let him glissade like a shooting star into indescribableruin!

  Enough of that bear was left, however, to render it worth while pickingup the fragments. Shouting with laughter and yelling with glee, theEskimos made for the spot where the mangled carcass lay. Soon afterthey were joined by the hero of the day.

  "Food enough now for a moon, or more," said Rooney, as he came up.

  "Yes; and no need to beat the meat to make it tender," responded Okiok,lifting and letting fall one of the limp legs of the creature, whoseevery bone seemed to have been smashed to pieces in the tremendousdescent.

  It was no doubt a considerable reduction of their satisfaction at supperthat evening that they had to eat their bear-chops raw, not having themeans of making fire; but they were not disposed to find fault withtheir good-fortune on that account. If they had only possessed twosmall pieces of wood with which to create the necessary friction, theycould easily have made a lamp out of one of the bear's shoulder-blades,and found oil enough in his own fat, while a tag of sealskin, or someother portion of clothing might have supplied a wick; but not a scrap ofwood was to be obtained on that verdureless island. Okiok did indeedsuggest that Norrak and Ippegoo, being both possessed of hard andprominent noses, might rub these organs together till they caught fire;but Norrak turned up his nose at the suggestion, and Ippegoo shook hishead doubtfully.

  In the circumstances, therefore, they obtained light at least for thepurposes of vision by commencing supper
long before sunset, and most ofthem continued it long after dark. Thus the second night was passed onthe berg.

  On the third day, the weather being still warm and calm, Angut, Simek,Okiok, and Rooney ascended, after their bear-breakfast, to thebreak-neck height from which that breakfast had been precipitated, forthe purpose of taking a meteorological observation.

  "It is quite plain to me," said Rooney--who, being in some sort at sea,was, as it were, more at home than his companions--"it is quite plain tome that we have got fairly into the great Polar current, and aretravelling in a sou'-sou'-west direction down Davis Straits."

  No doubt Rooney gave "sou'-sou'-west" in some sort of Eskimo jargon withwhich we are not acquainted. His lingual powers were indeed marvellous,and when simple words failed him he took refuge in compound phraseology.

  "But," asked Okiok, "how can you tell that we are going south? The mistis thick; we cannot see land."

  "Do you not see the small pieces of ice?" replied Rooney, pointing tothe sea.

  "Yes," said the Eskimo; "they are going north faster than we are; thatis all."

  "Why do they go north faster than we do?" asked Rooney.

  "That I know not."

  "I will tell you, Okiok. It is because there is a surface current hereflowing northward, and the small pieces of ice go with it because theyare not deep. But this berg is very deep. There is far more of itbelow water than what we see above. Its bottom goes deep down into theunder-current which flows south, and so it is being carried south--notnorth at all,--_against_ the variable surface-currents, and it would goeven against the wind if there was any. Do you understand?"

  "Huk!" exclaimed the Eskimo, though he still looked perplexed.

  "I have seen these bergs breaking from the great land-ice since I was alittle boy," said Angut, with earnest gravity, "and I have seen themfloat away and away till they vanished in the far-off. Can Ridrooneetell where they go to?"

  "Truly I can. They are carried by currents out into the great sea--wecall it the Atlantic,--and there they melt and disappear."

  "Then shall we disappear with this berg, if we don't escape from it?"said Okiok, with a look so serious that it was almost humorous.

  "That is the pleasant prospect in store for us, as you say," returnedRooney; "but cheer up, lad. We intend to escape from it; so don't letyour heart sink, else your body won't be able to swim."

  On the strength of this consolatory remark, the four men returned to thecave to recruit their energies and hopes on a fresh supply of the rawbear.