CHAPTER XVIII
A FIGHT WITH MUSK OXEN
"Can I help you, Tom? What's to be done?" demanded Ned Newton, as herushed to where his chum was yanking on various levers and gearwheels.
"Wait a minute!" gasped the young inventor. "I want to throw on thestorage battery, and that will give us some light. Then we can seewhat we are doing." An instant later the whole ship was illuminated,and those aboard her felt calmer. Still the RED CLOUD continued tosink.
"Can't we do something?" yelled Ned. "Start the propellers, Tom!"
"No, I'll use the gas. I can't see where we're heading for, as thesearchlight is out of business. We may be in the midst of a lot ofbergs. We were flying too low. Just start the gas generatingmachine."
Ned hurried to obey this order. He saw Tom's object. With the bigbag full of gas the airship would settle gently to earth as easilyas though under the command of the propellers and wing planes.
In a few minutes the hissing of the machine told that the vapor wasbeing forced into the bag and a little later the downward motion ofthe ship was checked. She moved more and more slowly toward theearth, until, with a little jar, she settled down, and came to rest.But she was on such an uneven keel that the cabin was tilted at anunpleasant angle.
"Bless my salt-cellar!" cried Mr. Damon. "We are almost standing onour heads!"
"Better that than not standing at all," replied Tom, grimly. "Now tosee what the damage is."
He scrambled from the forward door of the cabin, no easy taskconsidering how it was tilted, and the others followed him. It wastoo dark to note just how much damage had been inflicted, but Tomwas relieved to see, as nearly as he could judge, that it wasconfined to the forward part of the front platform or deck of theship. The wooden planking was split, but the extent of the breakcould not be ascertained until daylight. The searchlight connectionshad been broken by the collision, and it could not be used.
"Now to take a look at the machinery," suggested the young inventor,when he had walked around his craft. "That is what I am worriedabout more than about the outside."
But, to their joy, they found only a small break in the motor. Thatwas what caused it to stop, and also put the dynamo out ofcommission.
"We can easily fix that," Tom declared.
"Bless my coffee-spoon!" cried Mr. Damon, who seemed to be runningto table accessories in his blessings. Perhaps it was because it wasso near supper time. "Bless my coffee-spoon! But how did it happen?"
"We were running too low," declared Tom. "I had forgotten that wewere likely to get among tall mountain peaks at any moment, and Iset the elevation rudder too low. It was my fault. I should havebeen on the lookout. We must have struck the mountain of ice aglancing blow, or the result would have been worse than it is. We'llcome out of it all right, as it is."
"We can't do anything to-night," observed Ned.
"Only eat," put in Mr. Damon, "and we'll have to take our coffeecups half full, for everything is so tilted that it's like topsy-turveyland. It makes me fairly dizzy!"
But he forgot this in the work of getting a meal, and, though it wasprepared under considerable difficulties, at last it was ready.
Bright and early the next morning Tom was up making anotherinspection of his ship. He found that even if the forward deck wasnot repaired they could go on, as soon as the motor was in shape,but, as they had some spare wood aboard, it was decided totemporarily repair the smashed platform.
It was cold work, even wearing their thick garments; but, afterlaboring until their fingers were stiff from the frost, Ned hit onthe idea of building a big fire of some evergreen trees near wherethe ship lay.
"Say, that's all right!" declared Tom, as the warmth of the blazemade itself felt. "We can work better, now!"
The RED CLOUD was tilted on some rough and uneven ground, in amongsome little hills. On either side arose big peaks, the one inparticular that they had hit towering nearly fifteen thousand feet.
Everything was covered with snow and ice, and, in fact, the ice wasso thick on the top of the mountains that the crags resembledicebergs rather than stony peaks. The crash of the airship hadbrought down a great section of this solid rock-ice.
"Do you think we are anywhere near the valley of gold?" asked Mr.Damon that afternoon, when the work was nearly finished.
"It's somewhere in this vicinity." declared Abe. "Me an' my partnerpassed through jest such a place as this on our way there. Iwouldn't wonder but what it wasn't more than a few hundred milesaway, now."
"Then we'll soon be there," said Tom. "I'll start in the morning. Icould go to-night, but there are a few adjustments I want to make tothe motor, and, besides, I think it will be safer, now that we areamong these peaks, to navigate in daylight, or at least with thesearchlight going. I should have thought of that before."
"Then, if you're not going to start away at once," spoke Mr. Parker,"I think I will walk around a bit, and make some observations. Ithink we are now in the region where we may expect a movement of theice. I want to test it, and see if it is traveling in a southerlydirection. If it is not now, it will soon be doing that, and thecoating of ice may reach even as far as New York."
"Pleasant prospect," murmured Tom. Then he said aloud: "Well if youare going, Mr. Parker, we'll be with you. I'll be glad of the chanceto stretch my legs, and what more remains to be done, can befinished in the morning."
Mr. Damon declared that he did not relish a tramp over the ice andsnow, and would stay in the warm cabin, but Tom and Ned, with Abeand Mr. Parker started off. The scientist pointed out what heclaimed were evidences of the impending movement of the ice, whileAbe explained to the lads how the Alaskan Indians of thatneighborhood hunted and fished, and how they made huts of blocks ofice.
"We are nearing th' Arctic circle," the old miner said, "and we'llsoon be among th' most savage of the Eskimo tribes."
"Is there any hunting around here?" asked Ned.
"Yes, plenty of musk ox," answered Abe.
"I wish I'd brought my gun along and could see one of the big beastsnow," went on Ned. He looked anxiously around, but no game was insight. After a little farther tramp over the icy expanse they alldeclared that they had seen enough of the dreary landscape, andvoted to return to the ship.
As they neared their craft Tom saw several large, shaggy blackobjects standing in a line on the path the adventurers had come overa little while before. The objects were between the gold-seekers andthe RED CLOUD.
"What in the world are those?" asked the young inventor.
"Look to me like black stones," spoke Ned.
"Stones?" cried Abe. "Look out, boys, those are musk oxen; and bigones, too! There's a lot of 'em! Make for the ship! If they attackus we're goners!"
The boys and Mr. Parker needed no second warning. Turning so as torush past the shaggy creatures, the four headed toward the ship.
But if our friends expected to reach it unmolested they weredisappointed. No sooner had they increased their pace than the oxen,with snorts of rage, darted forward. The animals may have imaginedthey were about to be attacked, and determined to make the firstmove.
"Here they come!" yelled Ned.
"Sprint for it!" cried Tom.
"Oh, if I only had my gun!" groaned Abe.
It was hard work running over the ice and snow, hampered as theywere with their heavy fur garments. They soon realized this, and thepace was telling on them. They were now near to the ship, but thesavage creatures still were between them and the craft.
"Try around the other way!" directed Tom, They changed theirdirection, but the oxen also shifted their ground, and with loudbellows of rage came on, shaking their shaggy heads and big horns,while the hair, hanging down from their sides and flanks, dragged inthe snow.
"Right at 'em! Run and yell!" advised the young inventor. "Maybe wecan scare 'em!"
They followed his advice. Yelling like Indians the four rushedstraight for the animals. For a moment only the creatures halted.Then, bellowing louder than ever they rushe
d straight at Tom and theothers.
The largest of the oxen, with a sudden swerve, made for Mr. Parker,who was slightly in the lead off to one side. In an instant thescientist was tossed high in the air, falling in a snow bank.
"Mr. Damon! Mr. Damon!" yelled Tom, frantically. "Get a gun andshoot these beasts!"
The young inventor and his two companions had come to a halt. Theoxen also stopped momentarily. Suddenly Mr. Damon appeared on thedeck of the airship. He held two rifles. Laying one down he aimedthe other at the ox which was rushing at the prostrate Mr. Parker.The eccentric man fired. He hit the beast on the flank, and, with abellow of rage it turned.
"Now's our time!" yelled Tom. "Head for the ship, I'll get myelectric gun!"
"We can't leave Mr. Parker!" yelled Abe.
But the scientist had arisen, and was running toward the RED CLOUD.He did not seem to be much hurt. Mr. Damon fired again, hittinganother beast, but not mortally.
Once more the herd of shaggy creatures came on, but the adventurerswere now almost at the ship, on the deck of which stood Mr. Damon,firing as fast as he could work the lever and pull the trigger.