CHAPTER VI
MISSING
It is at such times that a person realizes his helplessness and utterdependence on the great Father of all. Too much are we prone to forgetsuch dependence, when all goes well, and too often the prayer for helpand guidance is put off until too late.
It was a commendable trait in all three of the parties whoseexperience I have set out to tell that they never forgot their duty inthis all-important matter. Rob and Fred were full of animal life andspirits, and the elder especially was inclined, from this very excessof health and strength, to overstep at times the bounds of propriety,but both remembered the lessons learned in infancy at the mother'sknee, and never failed to commend themselves to their heavenly parent,not only on waking in the glad morning, but on closing their eyes atnight.
Jack Cosgrove had one of those impressionable natures, tinged withinnocent superstition, which is often seen in those of his calling.His faith possessed the simplicity of a child, and, though many of hisdoings might not square with those of a Christian, yet at heart hedevoutly believed in the all-protecting care of his Maker, and wasnever ashamed, no matter what his surroundings, to call upon Him forhelp and guidance.
And so, as the three pressed closer together, adjusting themselves asbest they could to pass the long, dismal hours ere the sun would shineupon them again, they were silent, and all, at the same time, communedwith God, as fervently and trustfully as ever a dying Christian didwhen stretched upon his bed of mortal illness.
Had they possessed a blanket among them they could have spread it uponthe ice, lain down upon it, and, wrapping it as best they could,passed the night with a fair degree of comfort. That, however, was outof the question. They, therefore, seated themselves under the lee, asmay be said of the mass of ice, which protected them against the gale,their bodies pressed as closely together as well could be, and in thissitting posture prepared to go to sleep, if it should so prove thatthe blessing could be won.
One can become accustomed to almost anything. An abrupt change fromthe comfortable cabin of the "Nautilus" to the bleak situation on theiceberg would have filled them with a dread hardly less trying thandeath itself; but they had already been in the situation long enoughto grow used to it. The ponderous swaying of the frozen structure, thethunderous dash and roar of the waves against its base, the screamingof the gale and the darkness of the arctic night; all these weresounds and sensations which in a certain sense grew familiar to themand did not disturb them as the hours passed.
It cannot be said that an icy seat or rest forms the most comfortablesupport for the body, whose warmth is likely to melt the frozensurface, but the thick clothing of the party did much to avertunpleasant consequences. Had Jack or Rob or Fred been alone, thepenetrating cold most likely would have overcome him, but as has beenshown, the mutual warmth rendered their situation less trying thanwould be supposed.
When an hour had passed, with only an occasional word spoken, Jackaddressed each of the boys in turn by name. There was no response, andhe spoke in a louder tone with the same result.
"They're asleep," he said to himself, "and I'm glad of it, though thesleep that sometimes comes to a chap in these parts at such times isthe kind that doesn't know any waking in this world. I've no doubt,howsumever, that they're all right."
With a vague uneasiness, natural under the circumstances, he passedhis hands over their faces and pinched their arms, as if to assurehimself there was no mistake.
The boys were so muffled up in their thick coats and sealskin capsthat were drawn about their ears, behind which the collars of theircoats were raised, that only the ends of their noses and a slightportion of their cheeks could be felt. He removed his heavy mittenfrom one hand, and, reaching under the protecting covering about thecheeks and neck, found a healthy glow which told him all was well,and, for the time at least, he need feel no further anxiety, so far asthey were concerned.
"Which being the case," he added, drawing on his mitten again, andmaking sure their coverings were adjusted, "I'll take a little tripmyself into the land of nod."
But this trip was easier thought of than made. His rugged body, withits powerful vitality, would have soon succumbed to drowsiness, couldhis mind have been free of its distressing fear for the two youngfriends under his charge. But, though he had said little, he knew farmore than he dare tell them. He had shown his alarm on discovering theloss of the boat, but though some impatient expressions escaped him,he did not explain what was in his mind.
His belief was that before morning should come the "Nautilus" would bedriven so far from her course that she would be nowhere in sight, and,towering as was the iceberg in its height and proportions, it would beinvisible from the deck of the ship, or, if visible, could not beidentified among the others drifting through the icy ocean. Wellaware, too, he was of the terrific strength of the gale sweepingacross the deep, he trembled for the safety of the "Nautilus" andthose on board, hardly less than he did for himself and friends. Thehurricane was resistless in its power, and would drive the shipwhither it chose like a cockle-shell. Icebergs were moving hither andthither through the darkness, less affected by the wind and waves thanthe vessel, and a collision was among the possibilities, if not theprobabilities.
Inasmuch as the "Nautilus" was likely to go down under the fury of theelements, or, if she rode through it, was certain to be too farremoved to be of help to the three, the question to consider was whathope of escape remained to the latter.
Although vessels penetrate Baffin Bay and far into the Arctic Ocean,they are so few in number that days and weeks may pass without any twoof them gaining sight of each other. A shipwrecked sailor afloat inthe South Sea, on a spar, was as likely to be picked up by sometrading ship as were Jack and his companions, by any of the whalers orships in that high latitude.
And then, supposing they did catch sight of some stray vessel, who ofthe captain and crew would be looking for living persons on board aniceberg? Why would they give the latter any more attention than thescores of the mountainous masses afloat in their path and which it wastheir first care to avoid?
If a ship should pass so near to them that they could make theirsignals seen there would be hope; but the chances of anything of thatkind were too remote to be regarded.
Such being the outlook, where was there ground for hope? They werebeyond sight of the Greenland coast, and were doubtless driftingfarther away every hour. Nothing in the nature of succor was to behoped for from land, and the brave-hearted Jack was obliged to say tohimself that, so far as human eye could see, there was none from anysource. Cold, starvation, and death seemed among the certainties nearat hand.
And having reached this disheartening belief, he closed his eyes andjoined his young friends in the land of dreams.
Having sunk into slumber, the sailor was likely to remain so untilmorning, unless some unexpected circumstance should break in upon hisrest, and it did.
It was Rob Carrol, who, probably because of his cramped position,first regained consciousness. As his senses gradually came back tohim, and the thunder of the surges and the shrieking of the gale brokein upon his brain, he stretched his benumbed limbs and yawned in aneffort to make his situation more comfortable.
It struck him that there had been a change in their relative positionswhile asleep. Not wishing to awake his companions, he carefullyshifted his limbs and body, so as not to disturb them. While doing so,he extended his hand to touch them.
He groped along one figure, which he knew at once was Jack, but hefelt no other. With a vague fear he straightened up, leaned over, andhastily extended his arms about him, as far as he could reach. Thenext moment he roughly shook the shoulder of the sailor, and calledout in a husky voice:
"Jack! Jack! wake up! Fred is gone!"