CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
DEPARTURE OF THE SUN--EFFECTS OF DARKNESS ON DOGS--WINTER ARRANGEMENTSIN THE INTERIOR OF THE DOLPHIN.
It is sad to part with an old friend, especially if he be one of theoldest and best friends we ever had. When the day of departure arrives,it is of no avail that he tells us kindly he will come back again. Thatassurance is indeed a comfort after he is gone, and a sweet star of hopethat shines brighter and brighter each day until he comes back; but itis poor consolation to us at the time of parting, when we are squeezinghis hand for the last time, and trying to crush back the drops that_will_ overflow.
The crew of the _Dolphin_ had, in the course of that winter, to partwith one of their best friends; one whom they regarded with the mostdevoted attachment; one who was not expected to return again till thefollowing spring, and one, therefore, whom some of them might perhaps,never see again.
Mivins became quite low-spirited about it, and said "as 'ow 'e'd 'ave a'eavy 'eart for hever and hever, hamen," after he was gone. O'Rileyremarked, in reference to his departure, that every man in the ship wasabout to lose a "_son_!" Yes, indeed he did; he perpetrated thatatrocious pun, and wasn't a bit ashamed of it. O'Riley had perpetratedmany a worse pun than that before; it's to be hoped that for the creditof his country he has perpetrated a few better ones since!
Yes, the period at length arrived when the great source of light andheat was about to withdraw his face from these Arctic navigators for along, long time, and leave them in unvarying night. It was a goodwhile, however, before he went away altogether, and for many weeks afterwinter set in in all its intensity, he paid them a daily visit whichgrew gradually shorter and shorter, until that sad evening in which hefinally bade them farewell.
About the middle of October the dark months overspread the Bay of Mercy,and the reign of perpetual night began. There was something terriblydepressing at first in this uninterrupted gloom, and for some time afterthe sun ceased to show his disc above the horizon the men of the_Dolphin_ used to come on deck at noon, and look out for the faintstreak of light that indicated the presence of the life-giving luminarywith all the earnestness and longing of Eastern fire-worshippers.
The dogs, too, became sensibly affected by the continued absence oflight, and seemed to draw more sympathetically than ever to their humancompanions in banishment. A curious and touching instance of thisfeeling was exhibited when the pack were sent to sleep on Store Island.A warm kennel had been erected for them there, partly in order that theship might be kept more thoroughly clean, and partly that the dogs mightact as a guard over the stores, in case bears or wolves should take afancy to examine them. But nothing would induce the poor animals tokeep away from the ship, and remain beyond the sound of human voices.They deserted their comfortable abode, with one consent, the first timethey were sent to it, preferring to spend the night by the side of theship upon the bare snow. Coaxing them was of no use. O'Riley tried itin vain.
"At, then," said he to Dumps with a wheedling air and expression ofintense affection that would have taken by storm the heart of anycivilised dog, "_won't_ ye come now an' lay in yar own kennel? Sureit's a beautiful wan, an' as warm as the heart of an iceberg. Doo comenow, avic, an' I'll show ye the way."
But Dumps's heart was marble. He wouldn't budge. By means of a pieceof walrus, however, he was at length induced to go with the Irishman tothe kennel, and was followed by the entire pack. Here O'Rileyendeavoured to make them comfortable, and prevailed on them to lie downand go to sleep, but whenever he attempted to leave them they were upand at his heels in a moment.
"Och, but ye're too fond o' me entirely! Doo lie down agin, and I'llsing ye a ditty!"
True to his word, O'Riley sat down by the dog-kennel, and gave vent to ahowl which his "owld grandmother," he said, "used to sing to the pig,"and whether it was the effects of this lullaby, or of the cold, it isimpossible to say, but O'Riley at length succeeded in slipping away andregaining the ship, unobserved by his canine friends. Half an hourlater he went on deck to take a mouthful of fresh air before supper, andon looking over the side he saw the whole pack of dogs lying in a circleclose to the ship, with Dumps comfortably asleep in the middle, andusing Poker's back for a pillow.
"Faix, but ye must be fond of the cowld, to lie there all night whenye've got a palace on Store Island."
"Fond of society, rather," observed Captain Guy, who came on deck at themoment, "the poor creatures cannot bear to be left alone. It is astrange quality in dogs which I have often observed before."
"Have ye, Capting? Sure I thought it was all owin' to the bad mannerso' that baste Dumps, which is for iver leadin' the other dogs intomischief."
"Supper's ready, sir," said Mivins, coming up the hatchway and touchinghis cap.
"Look here, Mivins," said O'Riley, as the captain went below, "can yepoint out the mornin' star to me, lad?"
"The morning star?" said Mivins slowly, as he thrust his hands into thebreast of his jumper, and gazed upwards into the dark sky, where thestarry host blazed in Arctic majesty. "No, of course I can't. Why,don't you know that there hain't no _morning_ star when it's _night_ allround?"
"Faix ye're right. I niver thought o' that."
Mivins was evidently a little puffed up with a feeling of satisfactionat the clever way in which he had got out of the difficulty withoutdisplaying his ignorance of astronomy, and was even venturing, in thepride of his heart, to make some speculative and startling assertions inregard to the "'eavenly bodies" generally, when Buzzby put his head upthe hatchway.
"Hallo! messmates, wot's ado now? Here's the supper awaitin', and thetea bilin' like blazes!"
Mivins instantly dived down below, as the sailors express it; and we mayremark, in passing, that the expression, in this particular case, wasnot inappropriate, for Mivins, as we have elsewhere said, was remarkablyagile and supple, and gave beholders a sort of impression that he wenthead-foremost at everything. O'Riley followed at a more reasonablerate, and in a few minutes the crew of the _Dolphin_ were seated atsupper in the cabin, eating with as much zest, and laughing and chattingas blithely as if they were floating calmly on their ocean home intemperate climes. Sailors are proverbially lighthearted, and in theirmoments of comfort and social enjoyment they easily forget theirtroubles. The depression of spirits that followed the firstdisappearance of the sun soon wore off, and they went about theirvarious avocations cheerfully by the light of the Aurora Borealis andthe stars.
The cabin, in which they now all lived together, had undergoneconsiderable alterations. After the return of Fred Ellice and thehunting-party, whom we left on the ice-belt in the last chapter, thebulk-head, or partition, which separated the cabin from the hold, hadbeen taken down, and the whole was thrown into one large apartment, inorder to secure a freer circulation of air and warmth. All round thewalls inside of this apartment moss was piled to the depth of twelveinches to exclude the cold, and this object was further gained by thespreading of a layer of moss on the deck above. The cabin hatchway wasclosed, and the only entrance was at the farther end, through the hold,by means of a small doorway in the bulkhead, to which was attached asort of porch, with a curtain of deer-skins hung in front of it. In thecentre of the floor stood an iron cooking-stove, which served at oncethe purpose of preparing food and warming the cabin, which was lightedby several small oil-lamps. These were kept burning perpetually, forthere was no distinction between day and night in midwinter, either inthe cabin or out-of-doors.
In this snug-looking place the officers and men of the ship messed, anddwelt, and slept together; but, notwithstanding the _apparent_ snugness,it was with the greatest difficulty they could keep themselves in asufficient degree of warmth to maintain health and comfort. Wheneverthe fire was allowed to get low, the beams overhead became coated withhoar-frost; and even when the temperature was raised to the utmostpossible pitch it was cold enough, at the extreme ends of the apartment,to freeze a jug of water solid.
A large table occupied the
upper end of the cabin, between the stove andthe stern, and round this the officers and crew were seated, whenO'Riley entered and took his place among them. Each individual had hisappointed place at the mess-table, and with unvarying regularity theseplaces were filled at the appointed hours.
"The dogs seem to be disobedient," remarked Amos Parr, as his comradesat down; "they'd be the better of a taste o' Meetuck's cat I think."
"It's truth ye're sayin'," replied O'Riley, commencing a violent assaulton a walrus steak; "they don't obey orders at all, at all. An' Dumps,the blaggard, is as cross-grained as me grandmother's owld pig--"
A general laugh here interrupted the speaker, for O'Riley could seldominstitute a disparaging comparison without making emphatic allusion tothe pig that once shared with him the hospitalities of his grandmother'scabin.
"Why, everything you speak of seems to be like that wonderful pig,messmate," said Peter Grim.
"Ye're wrong there intirely," retorted O'Riley. "I niver seed nothinglike it in all me thravels except yerself, and that only in regard toits muzzle, which was black and all kivered over with bristles, it wos.I'll throuble for another steak, messmate; that walrus is great livin'.We owe ye thanks for killin' it, Mister Ellice."
"You're fishing for compliments, but I'm afraid I have none to give you.Your first harpoon, you know, was a little wide of the mark, if Irecollect right, wasn't it?"
"Yis, it wos--about as wide as the first bullet. I misremember exactlywho fired it; wos it you, Meetuck?"
Meetuck, being deeply engaged with a junk of fat meat at that momentexpressed all he had to say in a convulsive gasp, without interruptinghis supper.
"Try a bit of the bear," said Fred to Tom Singleton; "it's better thanthe walrus to my taste."
"I'd rather not," answered Tom, with a dubious shake of the head.
"It's a most unconscionable thing to eat a beast o' that sort," remarkedSaunders gravely.
"Especially one who has been in the habit of living on raisins andsticking-plaster," said Bolton with a grin.
"I have been thinking about that," said Captain Guy, who had been forsome time listening in silence to the conversation, "and I cannot helpthinking that Esquimaux must have found a wreck somewhere in thisneighbourhood, and carried away her stores, which Bruin had managed tosteal from them."
"May they not have got some of the stores of the brig we saw nipped somemonths ago?" suggested Singleton.
"Possibly they may."
"I dinna think that's likely," said Saunders, shaking his head. "Yonbrig had been deserted long ago, and her stores must have been consumed,if they were taken out of her at all, before we thought o' comin' here."
For some time the party in the cabin ate in silence.
"We must wait patiently," resumed the captain, as if he were tired offollowing up a fruitless train of thought. "What of your theatricals,Fred? we must get them set a-going as soon as possible."
The captain spoke animatedly, for he felt that, with the prospect of along dark winter before them, it was of the greatest importance that thespirits of the men should be kept up.
"I find it difficult to beat up recruits," answered Fred, laughing;"Peter Grim has flatly refused to act, and O'Riley says he could no morelearn a part off by heart than--"
"His grandmother's pig could," interrupted David Mizzle, who, havingconcluded supper, now felt himself free to indulge in conversation.
"Och! ye spalpeen," whispered the Irishman.
"I have written out the half of a play which I hope to produce in a fewdays on the boards of our Arctic theatre with a talented company, but Imust have one or two more men--one to act the part of a lady. Will youtake that part, Buzzby?"
"Wot! _me_?" cried the individual referred to with a stare of amazement.
"Oh yes! _do_, Buzzby," cried several of the men with great delight."You're just cut out for it."
"Blue eyes," said one.
"Fair hair," cried another.
"And plump," said a third.
"Wid cheeks like the hide of a walrus," cried O'Riley; "but, sure, itwon't show wid a veil on."
"Come, now, you won't refuse."
But Buzzby did refuse; not, however, so determinedly but that he wasinduced at last to allow his name to be entered in Fred's note-book as asupernumerary.
"Hark!" cried the captain; "surely the dogs must have smelt a bear."
There was instantly a dead silence in the cabin, and a long, loud wailfrom the dogs was heard outside.
"It's not like their usual cry when game is near," said the second mate.
"Hand me my rifle, Mivins," said the captain, springing up and pullingforward the hood of his jumper, as he hurried on deck followed by thecrew.
It was a bright, still, frosty night, and the air felt intensely sharp,as if needles were pricking the skin, while the men's breath issued fromtheir lips in white clouds, and settled in hoar-frost on the edges oftheir hoods. The dogs were seen galloping about the ice hummocks as ifin agitation, darting off to a considerable distance at times, andreturning with low whines to the ship.
"It is very strange," remarked the captain. "Jump down on the ice,boys, and search for footprints. Extend as far as Store Island and seethat all is right there."
In a few seconds the men scattered themselves right and left, and werelost in the gloom, while the vessel was left in charge of Mivins andfour men. A strict search was made in all directions, but no traces ofanimals could be found; the stores on the island were found undisturbed,and gradually the dogs ceased their agitated gyrations and seemedinclined to resume their slumbers on the ice.
Seeing this, and supposing that they were merely restless, Captain Guyrecalled his men, and, not long after, every man in the cabin of the_Dolphin_ was buried in profound slumber.