CHAPTER V.
A MID-OCEAN HUNTING TRIP.
"Well," remarked Jack after breakfast the next day, "old 'Frozen Face'seems to be on the job all right."
"Yes, but, mon, we should have baptized him wi' seal oil! I've justremembered that that was what the native told me to use."
"Seal oil, eh?" laughed Tom. "Well, there's a scarcity of that articleon board just now, so I'm afraid that Mister Totem will just have tojob along without any."
"Huh!" grunted Sandy, "then dinna depend on yon old gent to treat usright. I'll bet he's got it in for us richt noo."
The next day it appeared, indeed, as if Sandy's dire predictions wereabout to be verified. The _Northerner_ ran into a storm that buffetedher about sadly. Her speed had to be cut down till she made scarcelyany headway. It was a difficult matter to get about on deck owing tothe great seas that washed over the laboring vessel. By orders of Mr.Dacre the lads were kept below much to their disgust.
The gale finally blew itself out and the boys found that the old totemhad remained at his post through it all, although they had more thanhalf expected to find him washed overboard. But their faith in him asa mascot was sadly shaken.
From time to time, as they nosed northward, the ship encounteredfloating icebergs. None of them were so large as to cause alarm,however, and for the most part they were low and islandlike inappearance.
The boys were idly watching one of these as the ship approached it,when Tom made out several black objects on the floe. What thesespecks were did not become apparent till some time later when Jackproclaimed their nature.
"Seals!" cried he. "Don't I wish we had a harpoon! We'd have a sealhunt!"
Tom smiled and drew from his pocket his automatic revolver which hehad been cleaning.
"I guess this is as good as any harpoon that ever harpooned," he said,tapping its heavy stock.
"I wonder if we could get permission to go after them?" pondered Jack."I'm sick of being penned up on board here."
"I'll be the lad to go and ask," declared Sandy boldly. "If we cankill a seal it'll be a chance to baptize old 'Frozen Face' in thericht style. I'll point oot to Mr. Dacre that all the hurlyburly theother day came from shampooing him with kerosene instead of seal oil."
"I hope he puts the seal of approval on your plan," declared Jack.
"Don't repeat that offense, or in case we do get leave to go, you'llbe left behind," said Tom.
"I'll seal you later," cried Sandy, dashing off before a justlymerited punishment could be visited upon him.
He was back in a few minutes.
"It's a' richt, fellows!" he exclaimed. "We're to take the small boatand not delay longer than we have to. They won't give us more thanhalf an hour."
"Then we'll have to hustle. We'll be up to that floe before long,"cried Jack.
The boys darted to their cabins to get ready for the hunt. Their facesglowed with pleasure at this unexpected break in the monotony of thevoyage. When they returned on deck, they found Mr. Dacre awaiting themand the boat lowered alongside with the accommodation ladder danglingabove it.
"Boys," he exclaimed with some excitement, "we've been looking at thatfloe through the glasses. They're not seals that have taken passageon it, but walruses, a herd of them."
"Good!" cried Tom. "We'll get a fine lot of tusks to send home."
"Steady on, steady on," warned his uncle, "walrus hunting is a verydifferent matter from chasing seals. An old bull makes a formidableenemy."
"Are you coming along?" asked Tom, who saw that his uncle had hisrifle.
"Yes, I wouldn't care to let you lads go on such an expedition alone.Seals, as I said, are too tame to afford real sport. Walrus hunting isanother thing altogether."
While the steamer lay by, the adventurous little party clambered downinto the boat. From the bridge, Mr. Chillingworth, who had elected toremain on board, waved a farewell to them and shouted his wishes fortheir good luck.
Tom and Jack took the oars and rowed with strong, swift strokes towardthe drifting berg. As they neared it, it was seen that its sides werehigher than they had looked from the steamer's decks. It was no easytask to make a landing. Finally, however, Mr. Dacre scaled a four-footshelf and then pulled Tom up after him. Jack followed, and Sandy,who had not much fancied a closer view of the big-tusked,formidable-looking walruses, was not sorry to be told to stay behindand look after the boat, which there was no means of mooring to thesmooth, slippery floe.
When the hunters gained the top of the berg, they saw that had theyrowed around to the other side, a landing might have been effectedmuch more easily. A depression ran like a small valley down to thewater's edge, making an almost perfect landing place on the ice floe.Jack was ordered back to tell Sandy to row the boat around the floe tothis point and await the hunters there.
In the meantime, Mr. Dacre and Tom had crept cautiously forward,crouching behind every projection that afforded cover, for at theapproach of the boat the big walruses had flopped clumsily to theother side of the drifting berg.
As Jack made his way back from his errand to Sandy, he saw Mr. Dacresuddenly crouch low, and Tom, who was at his side, did the same. Theboy suspected that the game had been sighted and was within range. Hemade his way cautiously to the hunters' sides, and was rewarded withthe sight of about a dozen huge black masses lying along the outeredge of a ridge of ice that ran into the "valley" before mentioned.
Mr. Dacre put a warning hand on Jack's arm to prevent his making anyoutcry. He pointed to the highest point of the ice valley. There, withhis great, clumsy head erect, his hairy nostrils distended and hislong tusks gleaming white against his fat, shiny body, was a huge bullwalrus. The sentinel, perhaps the leader of the herd offormidable-looking creatures.
"We're on his wind," whispered Mr. Dacre, "we must creep along thisridge. Follow me and make no noise. He's scented us, but he hasn'tseen us yet."
With nerves athrill the two boys followed their elder, wrigglingcautiously over the ice.
Suddenly Mr. Dacre stiffened. His rifle was jerked to his shoulder.Taking careful sight, the hunter's weapon rang out echoingly above theice floe. Tom and Jack saw the great bull shake his head, roar angrilyand emit a hoarse, shrill bellow of pain and rage. He had been shot,but he stood his ground. All about him the herd gathered.
"You hit him!" shouted Tom, half wild with excitement. He was about torun forward exultingly, but his uncle jerked him backward.
"_You stay right here_," he said as he pulled the boy down besidehim.
The Bungalow Boys Along the Yukon Page 5