M. M. Oblinger

“ Yet the supreme power that governed the capricious whims of the mighty ice cap seemed deaf to their supplications for a half hour after the igloo had been completed the temperature began to fall alarmingly. A wind sprang up out of the northeast, just a whisper at first, like the vast, mournful sigh of a melancholy spirit, then rapidly it grew louder, by gusts and fits, until a thirty mile an hour gale was sweeping the snow wastes with the fury of a stampeded lion. ”

“ Six igloos had been built in the shelter of a ridge, and two sledges loaded with frozen seal blubber lay under the watch of an Eskimo.
Mistak gruffly ordered Dick and Sandy into an igloo. As soon as the boys had reached the crude bedding inside the snow house, they gave over to the great weariness that possessed them. Lost to everything but the need of sleep, they fell into a deep unconsciousness regardless of the fact that they were in the hands of enemies from whom they might expect no mercy. ”

“ Dick was about to reply when Corporal McCarthy stopped the teams at the edge of an expanse of ice that had been swept clear of soft snow by water and wind.
The boys quickly saw that Mistak’s trail vanished here, as if it had gone up in smoke. The ice was as hard as flint, and sledge, dogs, and men had passed over it without leaving a mark.
“Toma, you stay with the dog team,” ordered Corporal McCarthy, “the rest of us will scatter out and circle this expanse of smooth ice. We can pick up Mistak’s trail where he strikes soft snow or brittle ice.” ”

“ Dick and Sandy were awed by the very immensity of the towering ice. The fact that they might find it necessary to brave those treacherous heights on the trail of the “white Eskimo” tested their courage to the utmost. But the boys were not the sort that back down when danger is close at hand. Truth to tell, they loved action and danger more than was good for their own safety.
“There comes the Corporal,” Dick called out presently, his sharp eyes having caught sight of a fur parka behind an ice hummock. ”

“ A hundred yards from the water they heard the loud bellow of a bull seal, a number of frightened barks, a blood-curdling growl, and then the sound of bodies striking the water.
“It’s the bear!” whispered Dick hoarsely. “He’s attacked the seals.”
A moment later an arresting scene met their eyes, as they reached level ice and saw open water a few yards away. A huge polar bear, his shaggy, grayish fur dripping wet, was struggling out of the sea, holding in his jaws a young seal which still was faintly crying. ”

“ The policemen soon had a sledge of supplies and one dog team ready for the trail. Waving farewell to the boys they started out, disappearing up the long slope that led to the glacier. In one way Dick and Sandy were glad to be free to command their own movements, yet again, with the experienced policemen gone, the vast frozen land presented an even more sinister appearance. A hundred forebodings surged up in the breasts of Dick and Sandy, but they manfully fought them down, preparing immediately to go seal hunting. ”

“ Adding to the danger of their situation, the sky was becoming overcast by a film of gray clouds and a freezing wind was springing up, heightening the waves and throwing icy cold spray across the floe.
“We’re in for a storm, Sandy,” Dick said, beating his arms against his body to keep warm. “It’s up to us to fix up some sort of wind break or else we can’t stand the cold. Think we can chop some cakes of ice out of this floe?” ”

“ AN INDIAN BEDTIME STORY
Several moments passed before Dick could recover his presence of mind, so great was the shock he had received upon discovering the savage marauders that were destroying their camp. A vision of Sandy’s mangled form sprang up in his mind, and he covered his eyes and groaned. But he was not one to let mere imagination long affect him when action was needed.
“Take the bear on the right, Toma,” his voice came clear and steady. “They’ll probably attack us as soon as we fire. Ready, aim, fire!” ”

“ Sipsa seemed excited at the proximity of the seal herd, and began jabbering to himself.
“What is he saying?” Dick asked Constable Sloan.
“He means that here is good hunting, and that he ought to tell his people about it. The Eskimos depend altogether for their food upon hunting, and when there’s game and good weather they consider it the same as sacrilege to procrastinate. They can’t figure out why a white man wastes his time doing anything else.” ”

“ But scarcely had they recovered from the nearly disastrous effects of the walrus’s first attack, when Sipsa shouted a warning from the stern.
“There he is again—coming at us from the front!” shouted Sandy, throwing up his rifle as Dick snatched up his own.
As Dick took aim at the rushing mass of fur, tusks, and flippers, he saw Corporal McCarthy level his rifle from the kayack. The three rifles boomed almost as one. The walrus, hit hard, swerved and rolled in his mad attack, and in a whirl of water sank out of sight, leaving a red blot in the water behind him. ”

“ It did not take Sandy long to see that Dick was right. Alone, with a dead seal, upon a large ice floe, each second increased their peril as they floated farther away from shore. Death by freezing might be their lot, for without shelter they could not hope to weather a polar storm. Even if they were fortunate in experiencing mild weather, they would eventually starve. ”

“ Dick felt a chill that was not from the frosty air creep up his spine. He did not doubt that the distant men were Mistak and several of his gang.
“Sandy, they’re after us,” Dick called down in a tense voice.
Sandy got excitedly to his feet and urged Dick to hurry on with him. But the elder lad had something else in mind as he climbed down from the hill.
“Sandy, there are expert snowshoers in that bunch following us,” Dick said coolly. “We don’t stand a show of keeping the lead we have.”
“Well, we can’t stand them off without rifles. All we have left is our hunting knives.” ”

“ Not long after they had gone the searching parties straggled in, discouraged and half frozen from the blizzard which they, too, had been caught in.
Alone among the Eskimos, the three boys treated their frost bites with snow and alcohol rubs, fed themselves on musk-ox steaks, and when again fairly comfortable, became impatient at inaction. It was far worse to sit in idleness than to get out and do something.
“Let’s go hunting,” suggested Dick.
“That’s better than sitting here in this igloo waiting for something to happen,” Sandy rejoined. ”

“ Sandy clutched Dick by the arm and said hoarsely, fearfully: “That man in front is Moonshine Sam—sure enough.”
“And you can bet the fellow on snowshoes is Mistak,” came back Dick confidently.
“They’re going to fight!” exclaimed Sandy. “What if someone’s killed?”
“We can’t help it, Sandy. It’s their fight. We’re risking our lives if we try to stop it, without killing one of them ourselves, and you know we couldn’t kill in cold blood. ”

“ It was Toma whose sharp ears first sensed that they were not alone. He spoke a few guttural words to Dick and Sandy in an undertone, and all three reached for their rifles. When they turned to face the ravine up which they had climbed just before sighting the musk-oxen, they could hear the crunch of snowshoes. Prepared for the worst, they brought their rifles to their hips and cocked them. ”

“ With not even the stars to light their way, the four travelers stumbled blindly along, until Corporal McCarthy ordered them to halt.
“We can’t keep on like this,” said the Corporal grimly. “We’ll get so far off the back trail that we’ll never find our way back. The only thing we can do is build an igloo and wait for the moon to come out again. Let’s hope a storm don’t come up.”
After blundering about in the darkness, which was so thick they could cut it with a knife, they finally located a drift which was solid enough and large enough for the cutting of snow blocks for an igloo. ”

“ Tired, hungry and cold, the chums at last reached the Eskimo village, only to find all in a state of confusion and uproar. Toma met them with an explanation of the excitement tumbling from his ordinarily reticent lips.
“Somebody steal um dog team an’ sledge,” said Toma. “I in igloo, get um meat cooked for supper. All Eskimo down by big water, ketch um seal. When I come out I see not so many dogs, an’ one sledge not there. I hurry up, tell um Eskimos. They take dog team an’ go after this fella who steal dog team.” ”

“ An ineffectual struggle of dog and man to avoid slipping into an abyss which they sensed. Then the crash of the sledge and bodies at the foot of the bank. One man had died immediately, crushed by the fall and the sledge. The other had lived to crawl away and lean up against the rock wall which he had never quitted. It was one of the countless tragedies of the north, one of the secrets of the mysterious disappearance of men who had braved the Arctic and never returned.
Dick inspected every foot of ground near the sledge and found the remains of their dogs. ”

“ Certain, now, through the chance discoveries of Dick and Sandy, that Corporal Thalman was alive somewhere in the frozen land, the policemen hastened to prepare for another venture into Mistak’s outlaw fastnesses. The nearness of the polar winter, or period of complete darkness, also served to hasten them in their work, for without the sun to light the trail and under the terrible cold that accompanied the long night, they could not hope to accomplish anything. ”

“ Dick remarked to Sandy, while he tightened sledge lashing.
Sandy did not reply, for at the moment Constable McCarthy gave orders to mush on, and across the icy drifts the dogs scampered northward.
All day the dog team labored on, stopped only now and then to breathe. Dick and Sandy were thankful for these short halts, for hardy as they were, the slippery going was exhausting. Toma was not troubled, however. The young Indian probably could have out-traveled even the veteran northman, Jim Sloan, who had once trekked the ice floes of the frozen Polar Sea, six hundred miles from the north pole. ”

“ At the moment Dick and Sandy discovered themselves in the company of men from whom life had long since fled, they would have gladly chosen to face Mistak and his men rather than remain in the strange, canyon-like pit a second longer. ”

“ Constable Sloan came forward, interrupting them, “we’ll have to use man power now. Here’s a good chance for you fellows to test your biceps. There are six of us, so that leaves three to a sled. Sipsa, Toma and myself will take the first sledge—that leaves you boys and the Corporal for the second. It won’t take much head work, but lots of backbone. Let’s go!”
Dick and Sandy watched, with interest, the starting of the first sledge up the steep incline, men and dogs straining with every ounce of strength in them. ”

“ The warm breath from man and dog turned to vapor in the freezing air, and all were enveloped in a cloud of steam as they trekked eastward along the coastline.
Corporal McCarthy had found Sipsa willing to lead the party and had also enlisted the aid of two Eskimo dog drivers, Okewah and Ootanega. The policeman had promised all of them large rewards in tools, rifles, and tents, provided they served him faithfully in pursuit of the “white Eskimo.”
“I wonder how soon we’ll pick up the trail,” Sandy spoke from the depths of his frost-rimmed parka. ”

“ Dick told Sandy as they woddled along on their snowshoes. “Mistak won’t expect us to start out so soon and we’ve a good chance to overtake him.”
“I get the creeps whenever I think of that Eskimo stealing into camp that way,” rejoined Sandy. “Suppose he is a kind of a devil.”
“Nonsense,” replied Dick, “just because these poor, superstitious Eskimos are frightened is no sign you should be. I’ll admit he’s a dangerous character, but he’s no more than a human being, and the mounted will get him in the end.” ”

“ It was Sandy who first discovered something wrong. It seemed to him the ice on which they stood was moving.
“Dick, quick!” his voice was hoarse with fear. “This floe has broken away from the shore ice. What shall we do!”
Dick wheeled toward the shore, taking in their predicament at a glance. “Run for it, Sandy. We may reach the gap before it’s too wide to jump!” ”

“ Having eaten their fill and had a few hours’ nap, Dick and Sandy crawled out of their igloo and commenced a detailed inspection of their native visitors. While most of the men and women were out hunting, a few old women and children had remained behind.
The old women were making boots and shirts of sealskin and caribou hide, using an ivory needle and thread of caribou sinews. They did not seem to mind having Dick and Sandy watch them, and so the boys satisfied their curiosity to the utmost. ”

“ After some minutes of deliberation, they decided to venture out upon the ice, and get nearer the seals by jumping from one cake of ice to another. Thus they began a dangerous adventure, destined from the beginning to end in ill fortune, for they had not gone a hundred yards across the treacherous ice before both Dick and Sandy had slipped and narrowly saved themselves from a bad ducking, if not drowning, by clutching the edge of the floe which had been their objective when they leaped the open water. ”

“ Dick laughed. “I don’t blame you, Sandy, but I think Toma’s idea about following the bears is a good one. We need meat, you know, and you can see by the blood on the snow around here that one of them at least might have been wounded bad enough so that he’ll die later.” ”

“ They had followed the fresher tracks for about half a mile, when to their surprise another trail, made by snowshoes, joined and followed the first.
“I wonder who that could be,” Sandy spoke.
“Well, it’s only one man, so it can’t be the policemen, unless they’ve divided up. I hardly think they’d do that.”
“Maybe it’s Mistak or some of his men,” was Sandy’s conjecture. “Don’t you think we’d better go back?”
“Not on your life we’re not going back!” Dick said determinedly. “We’ve been lucky enough to strike a hot trail, and believe me, we’re going to stick to it. ”

“ Sandy began to be interested.
“Well, we can go on along the snow until we angle into the ice and rock under that high barren hill in front of us. They’ll think we climbed the hill, and will go on to pick up our tracks in the next patch of snow. There’s where we’ll fool them. We’ll double on our trail where we can’t leave any footprints, and hide somewhere until they give up hunting for us.” ”