CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
FIRST GLEAM OF LIGHT--TRIP TO WELCOME THE SUN--BEARS AND STRANGEDISCOVERIES--O'RILEY IS RECKLESS--FIRST VIEW OF THE SUN.
The wisest of men has told us that, "it is a pleasant thing for the eyesto behold the sun," but only those who spend a winter in the Arcticregions can fully appreciate the import of that inspired saying.
It is absolutely essential to existence that the bright beams of thegreat luminary should fall on animal as well as plant. Most of the poordogs died for want of this blessed light, and had it been much longerwithheld, doubtless our navigators would have sunk also.
About the 20th of January a faint gleam of light on the horizon told ofthe coming day. It was hailed with rapture, and, long before the brightsun himself appeared on the southern horizon, the most of the men madedaily excursions to the neighbouring hill-tops to catch sight of as muchas possible of his faint rays. Day by day those rays expanded, and atlast a sort of _dawn_ enlightened a distant portion of their earth,which, faint though it was at first, had much the appearance in theireyes of a bright day. But time wore on, and _real_ day appeared! Thered sun rose in all its glory, showed a rim of its glowing disc abovethe frozen sea, and then sank, leaving a long gladsome smile of twilightbehind. This great event happened on the 19th of February, and wouldhave occurred sooner but for the high cliffs to the southward, whichintervened between the ship and the horizon.
On the day referred to a large party was formed to go to the top of thecliffs at Red Snow Valley to welcome back the sun.
"There's scarce a man left behind," remarked Captain Guy, as theystarted on this truly joyous expedition.
"Only Mizzle, sir," said Buzzby, slapping his hands together, for thecold was intense; "he said as how he'd stop and have dinner ready aginour return."
There was a general laugh from the men, who knew that the worthy cookhad other reasons for not going--namely, his shortness of wind and hisinveterate dislike to ascend hills.
"Come, Fred," cried Captain Ellice, who had completely recovered fromhis accident, "I shall be quite jealous of your friend Singleton if youbestow so much of your company on him. Walk with me, sirrah, I commandyou, as I wish to have a chat."
"You are unjust to me," replied Fred, taking his father's arm, andfalling with him a little to the rear of the party; "Tom complains thatI have quite given him up of late."
"Och! isn't it a purty sight," remarked O'Riley to Mivins, "to see usall goin' out like good little childers to see the sun rise of abeautiful mornin' like this?"
"So it _h_is," answered Mivins, "but I wish it wasn't quite so cold."
It was indeed cold--so cold that the men had to beat their handstogether, and stamp their feet, and rush about like real children, inorder to keep their bodies warm. This month of February was the coldestthey had yet experienced. Several times the thermometer fell to theunexampled temperature of 75 degrees below zero, or 107 degrees belowthe freezing-point of water. When we remind our young readers that thethermometer in England seldom falls so low as zero, except in what weterm weather of the utmost severity, they may imagine--or, rather, theymay try to imagine--what 75 degrees _below_ zero must have been.
It was not quite so cold as that upon this occasion, otherwise the mencould not have shown face to it.
"Let's have leap-frog," shouted Davie; "we can jump along as well aswalk along. Hooray! _hup_!"
The "hup" was rather an exclamation of necessity than of delightinasmuch as that it was caused by Davie coming suddenly down flat on theice in the act of vainly attempting to go leap-frog over Mivins's head.
"That's your sort," cried Amos Parr; "down with you, Buzzby."
Buzzby obeyed, and Amos, being heavy and past the agile time of life,leaped upon, instead of over, his back, and there stuck.
"Not so high, lads," cried Captain Guy. "Come, Mr Saunders, give us aback."
"Faix, he'd better go on his hands an' knees."
"That's it! over you go; hurrah, lads!"
In five minutes nearly the whole crew were panting from their violentexertions, and those who did not, or could not, join, panted as muchfrom laughter. The desired result, however, was speedily gained. Theywere all soon in a glow of heat, and bade defiance to the frost.
An hour's sharp climb brought the party almost to the brow of the hill,from which they hoped to see the sun rise for the first time for nearlyfive months. Just as they were about to pass over a ridge in thecliffs, Captain Guy, who had pushed on in advance with Tom Singleton,was observed to pause abruptly and make signals for the men to advancewith caution. He evidently saw something unusual, for he crouchedbehind a rock and peeped over it. Hastening up as silently as possible,they discovered that a group of Polar bears were amusing themselves onthe other side of the cliffs, within long gunshot. Unfortunately notone of the party had brought firearms. Intent only on catching a sightof the sun, they had hurried off, unmindful of the possibility of theircatching sight of anything else. They had not even a spear, and the fewoak cudgels that some carried, however effectual they might have provedat Donnybrook, were utterly worthless there.
There were four large bears and a young one, and the gambols theyperformed were of the most startling as well as amusing kind. But thatwhich interested and surprised the crew most was the fact that thesebears were playing with barrels, and casks, and tent-poles, and sails!They were engaged in a regular frolic with these articles, tossing themup in the air, pawing them about, and leaping over them like kittens.In these movements they displayed their enormous strength several times.Their leaps, although performed with the utmost ease, were so great asto prove the iron nature of their muscles. They tossed the heavy casks,too, high in the air like tennis-balls; and in two instances, while thecrew were watching them, dashed a cask in pieces with a slight blow oftheir paws. The tough canvas yielded before them like sheets of paper,and the havoc they committed was wonderful to behold.
"Most extraordinary!" exclaimed Captain Guy, after watching them forsome time in silence. "I cannot imagine where these creatures can havegot hold of such things. Were not the goods at Store Island all rightthis morning, Mr Bolton?"
"Yes, sir, they were."
"Nothing missing from the ship!"
"No, sir, nothing."
"It's most unaccountable."
"Captain Guy," said O'Riley, addressing his commander with a solemnface, "haven't ye more nor wance towld me the queer thing in the desertsthey calls the _mirage_?"
"I have," answered the captain with a puzzled look.
"An' didn't ye say there was something like it in the Polar seas, thatmade ye see flags, an' ships, an' things o' that sort when there was nosich things there at all?"
"True, O'Riley, I did."
"Faix, then, it's my opinion that yon bears is a mirage, an' the soonerwe git out o' their way the better."
A smothered laugh greeted this solution of the difficulty.
"I think I can give a better explanation--begging your pardon, O'Riley,"said Captain Ellice, who had hitherto looked on with a sly smile. "Morethan a year ago, when I was driven past this place to the northward, Itook advantage of a calm to land a supply of food, and a few stores andmedicines, to be a stand-by in case my ship should be wrecked to thenorthward. Ever since the wreck actually took place I have lookedforward to this _cache_ of provisions as a point of refuge on my waysouth. As I have already told you, I have never been able to commencethe southward journey, and now I don't require these things, which islucky, for the bears seem to have appropriated them entirely."
"Had I known of them sooner, Captain," said Captain Guy, "the bearsshould not have had a chance."
"That accounts for the supply of tobacco and sticking-plaster we foundin the bear's stomach," remarked Fred, laughing.
"True, boy, yet it surprises me that they succeeded in breaking into my_cache_, for it was made of heavy masses of stone, many of whichrequired two and three men to lift them, even with the aid ofhandspikes."
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nbsp; "What's wrong with O'Riley?" said Fred, pointing to that eccentricindividual, who was gazing intently at the bears, muttering between histeeth, and clenching his cudgel nervously.
"Shure, it's a cryin' shame," he soliloquised in an undertone, quiteunconscious that he was observed, "that ye should escape, ye villains;av' I only had a musket now--but I han't. Arrah, av' it was only aspear! Be the mortial! I think I could crack the skull o' the smallwan! Faix, then; I'll try!"
At the last word, before anyone was aware of his intentions, this son ofErin, whose blood was now up, sprang down the cliffs towards the bears,flourishing his stick, and shouting wildly as he went. The bearsinstantly paused in their game, but showed no disposition to retreat.
"Come back, you madman!" shouted the captain; but the captain shouted invain.
"Stop! halt! come back!" chorused the crew.
But O'Riley was deaf; he had advanced to within a few yards of thebears, and was rushing forward to make a vigorous attack on the littleone.
"He'll be killed!" exclaimed Fred in dismay.
"Follow me, men," shouted the captain, as he leaped the ridge; "make allthe noise you can."
In a moment the surrounding cliffs were reverberating with the loudhalloos and frantic yells of the men, as they burst suddenly over theridge, and poured down upon the bears like a torrent of maniacs!
Bold though they were they couldn't stand this. They turned tail andfled, followed by the disappointed howls of O'Riley, and also by hiscudgel, which he hurled violently after them as he pulled up.
Having thus triumphantly put the enemy to flight the party continuedtheir ascent of the hill and soon gained the summit.
"There it is!" shouted Fred, who, in company with Mivins, first crossedthe ridge and tossed his arms in the air.
The men cheered loudly as they hurried up, and one by one emerged into ared glow of sunshine. It could not be termed _warm_, for it had nopower in that frosty atmosphere, and only a small portion of the sun'sdisc was visible. But his _light_ was on every crag and peak around;and as the men sat down in groups, and, as it were, bathed in thesunshine, winking at the bright gleam of light with half-closed eyes,they declared that it _felt_ warm, and wouldn't hear anything to thecontrary, although Saunders, true to his nature, endeavoured to prove tothem that the infinitely small degree of heat imparted by such feeblerays could not by any possibility be _felt_ except in imagination. ButSaunders was outvoted. Indeed, under the circumstances, he had not achance of proving his point; for the more warm the dispute became thegreater was the amount of animal heat that was created, to be placed,falsely, to the credit of the sun.
Patience, however, is a virtue which is sure to meet with a reward. Thepoint which Saunders failed to prove by argument was pretty well provedto everyone (though not admitted) by the agency of John Frost. Thatremarkably bitter individual nestled round the men as they sat sunningthemselves, and soon compelled them to leap up and apply to othersources for heat. They danced about vigorously, and again took toleap-frog. Then they tried their powers at the old familiar games ofhome. Hop-step-and-jump raised the animal thermometer considerably; andthe standing leap, running leap, and high leap sent it up many degrees.But a general race brought them almost to a summer temperature, and atthe same time, most unexpectedly, secured to them a hare. This littlecreature, of which very few had yet been procured, darted in an evilhour out from behind a rock right in front of the men, who having begunthe race for sport now continued it energetically for profit. A dozensticks were hurled at the luckless hare, and one of these felled it tothe ground.
After this they returned home in triumph, keeping up all the way ananimated dispute as to the amount of heat shed upon them by the sun, andupon that knotty question:
"Who killed the hare?"
Neither point was settled when they reached the _Dolphin_, and, we mayadd, for the sake of the curious reader, neither point is settled yet.