Chapter XVII.
THE BREAKING UP OF THE ICE.
Breakfast was late the next morning, for Katy proposed to vary theirfare by frying some snow-birds with bacon, and Jim was called upon tohelp pluck and prepare them--work which did not please that younggentleman very much.
"I suppose now we shall have nothing but snow-birds, snow-birds," hegrowled.
"Do try and be a little more cheerful, Jim," said Katy. "You arealways grumbling about something."
"What else do you want?" asked Tug. "You have got beef, though it'sdried, and bacon and poultry."
"Flesh, fowl, and good red herring," quoted Aleck, from an oldproverb.
"All but the herring," grunted The Youngster, crossly. "Now if only wehad some fish--"
"Fish!" Tug shouted, leaping to his feet. "Never thought of it, as I'ma Dutchman! Why shouldn't we? We have only got to cut a hole in theice, and 'drop 'em a line,' as the man told his wife to do when hewent off to Californy."
"Strange we never thought of that," said Katy.
"Strange? I'm the biggest dolt in three counties. Why, I'll catch yousome be-'utiful muskallonge for dinner. Come on, Captain. Let's cut ahole while the boy is cleaning those twopenny tomtits."
"Hold on!" cried the disgusted Jim; "I'm coming too."
"No, no, my dear child" (Tug's voice was that of a pitying mother)."Remember Captain's order. You're to be a nice boy, and help in thekitchen. Maybe we'll let you cut the heads off our fishes, if you dowell with the birds. Ca-a-reful!" and the tormentor dodged a clubhurled by the angry lad, who wished (and said so) that he was only alittle bigger.
Jim and Katy both felt it was hard indeed that he should be deprivedof this particular fun, in which he took so much interest, and itseemed as though the big fellows might have waited. The cook wouldwillingly have let her scullion depart, but an order was an order, andhe had to stay, plucking savagely at the pretty feathers of theinnocent buntings, and declining to come back to good-humor, until thelads returned with the report that they had cut two holes in the thinice that formed over the "lead," which, the reader will remember, wascrossed just a few rods back, and now were ready to set their lines.
Here was a chance of revenge. Jim's own line was the most importantone in their small stock. He was tempted to refuse to let them use it;but he was not a bad fellow, and a better heart prevailed.
"You'll find my line and pickerel spoon in that little box of thingsin our chest," he said.
Tug walked up to him and offered his hand.
"Jeems, I'll accept your apology for throwing sticks of wood at youruncle, and call it square. Agreed?"
"Yes!" said Jim, with a laugh, and peace was restored.
Doubtless you expect an entertaining chapter out of the fishing, butit can't be given if we are to stick to the facts of this cruise. No:the big muskallonge they hoped to catch was somewhere under the ice,but whether it was because he didn't see their bait, or was nottempted, or knew better than to bite, certain is it that none of thesegiants of winter fishing were caught. With the toothsome pickerel theyhad better luck, and several were taken on this first and on followingdays, so that Jim did not lose all the fun by his unlucky engagementin the kitchen. The greatest adventures of the trip were not so muchin fishing and hunting as in being fished and hunted _after_; andthese were to begin without much delay.
The day the log was found and the first snow-birds were captured ithad turned cold again, and it remained so for a whole week; but ourheroes were kept busy in watching the traps, which caught them moresnow-birds than they could eat; in attending to the fishing; and ingetting wood. The snow did not melt at all, for the weather was verycold indeed, and sometimes the wind blew frightfully, but always insuch a way that the hummock sheltered the tenthouse pretty well, sothat, with the help of a big fire, they could keep warm enough. Foramusement, they marked out a checker-board, and played checkers andother games. They tried their hands--or, rather, their heads--atspinning yarns also; they examined each other in geography or grammar,and held spelling competitions, choosing words out of Dr. Dasent'sbook, which they came to learn almost by heart. At all these studiousentertainments Katy was likely to be ahead. But when the subject wasturned to arithmetic, Aleck became teacher, for that was his favoritestudy.
Thus the week had passed, and its close completed the fifteenth daysince they had left home, which seemed very far away now. They had noanxiety so long as the weather held cold; or, if any one felt worried,he did not talk about it.
At the end of this week, however, the wind changed in the night to thesouthward, so that on the eighth morning of their stay in the igloothey found the air almost as balmy as spring, with a gentle breezefrom the south. The sun was shining, also, and no birds came near thehouse all day. This was compensated for, however, by their taking thelargest pickerel yet. Towards noon it clouded up, and began to rain,melting the snow with such rapidity that the whole region was coveredwith slush. The shapeless tent-roof let streams of water pour in atthe sides, and, altogether, affairs were very disagreeable.
No one felt disposed to grumble, however, since, when the snow hadbeen washed away, or cold weather came again to freeze solid the slushand surface-water, they could go ahead on their journey--something allwere extremely anxious to do.
The wind continued to blow from the south all night, and when Aleckwent out next morning he hurried back with an alarmed face to reportthat distant open water could be seen in that direction.
"The snow has almost gone. I must take a scout after breakfast, andsee what the prospect is."
As soon as the coffee and fried pickerel had been disposed of,therefore, Aleck set out, taking Jim with him.
When two hours had passed, and the scouts did not return, Tug and Katybecame alarmed, and went to the crest of the ridge. It had grown sofoggy, however, that nothing could be seen.
"Hadn't we better make a big smoke," Katy suggested, "as a signal? Thefog might lift for a minute, and give them a chance to catch sight ofit. They must be lost."
"It's a good idea, as are most of your notions, Katy. I'll get some ofthat wet root-wood, and make a fire on top of the hummock."
It was done, and another hour passed. Chilly with the fog and the rawwind, they had gone down into the hut to get warm, and were justattending to the "kitchen" fire, when their ears were startled by aloud, sharp noise, like the report of a distant cannon, only muchsharper; then another, still louder; then a third, somewhat nearer;and, after a minute's interval, a fourth tremendous crash, close bythe house, which trembled under their feet and over their heads asthough an earthquake had shaken it.
"The ice is cracking!" Tug cried, seizing Katy's hand, and draggingher to the boat, into which both jumped in terror.
An instant later Tug recovered himself. "This is no use," he said."Our ice is firm just here, and I don't hear her bursting any more.Let's go outside."
"Don't you think we'd better put some of the food-boxes and thingsinto the boat, so that they won't be lost if the ice here should breakto pieces suddenly?"
"Yes, we might do that. Let's hurry."
Five minutes was enough for this work, and then both went out andclimbed upon the hummock. They found the whole appearance of thingschanged towards the south and east. Where, yesterday, had lain onebroad white field of solid ice, as far as the eye could reach, nowwere spread before them (for the fog had lifted a little, so that theycould see better) the long, slow waves of a lake of blue water, filledwith cakes and wide sheets of floating ice.
"Oh! oh!" Katy cried, wringing her little hands at the thought, "Aleckand Jim are drowned."
"No, I guess not," said Tug, encouragingly. "They are probably safe onsome of those big pieces of ice."
"But how will they ever get back?"
"I don't know," her companion answered, slowly. "If only this terriblefog would go away, so that we could see something, perhaps we mighthelp them. I don't know what we can do now but to keep up our smoke."
"I wonder if _we_ are
afloat?" Katy asked, trying to steady her voice,for she saw how useless it was to weep when so much might be requiredof her any minute. "Ah, Rex, good dog, what shall we do now? Can't youfind your master?"