Part 7 (2/2)

”Bad luck to them dogs,” exclaimed David Mizzle, stroking his chin as he surveyed the bone. ”If I could only find out, now, which of ye it was, I'd have ye slaughtered right off, and cooked for the mess, I would.”

”It was Dumps as did it, I'll bet you a month's pay,” said Peter Grim, as he sat on the end of the windla.s.s refilling his pipe, which he had just smoked out.

”Not a bit of it,” remarked Amos Parr, who was squatted on the deck busily engaged in constructing a rope mat, while several of the men sat round him engaged in mending sails, or st.i.tching canvas slippers, etc.--”not a bit of it, Grim; Dumps is too honest by half to do sich a thing. 'Twas Poker as did it, I can see by the roll of his eye below the skin. The blackguard's only shammin' sleep.”

On hearing his name mentioned, Poker gently opened his right eye, but did not move. Dumps, on the contrary, lay as if he heard not the base aspersion on his character.

”What'll ye bet it was Dumps as did it?” cried Davie Summers, who pa.s.sed at the moment with a dish of some sort of edible towards the galley or cooking-house on deck.

”I'll _bet_ you over the 'ead, I will, if you don't mind your business,”

said Mivins.

”You'd _better_ not,” retorted Davie with a grin. ”It's as much as your situation's worth to lay a finger on me.”

”That's it, youngster, give it 'im,” cried several of the men, while the boy confronted his superior, taking good care, however, to keep the fore-mast between them.

”What do you mean, you young rascal?” cried Mivins with a frown.

”Mean!” said Davie, ”why, I mean that if you touch me I'll resign office; and if I do that, you'll have to go out, for every one knows you can't get on without me.”

”I say, Mivins,” cried Tom Green, the carpenter's mate, ”if you were asked to say, '_H_old on _h_ard to this _h_andspike _h_ere, my _h_earties,' how would ye go about it?”

”He'd 'it you a pretty 'ard crack _h_over the 'ead with it, 'e would,”

remarked one of the men, throwing a ball of yarn at Davie, who stood listening to the conversation with a broad grin.

In stepping back to avoid the blow, the lad trod on Dumps's paw, and instantly there came from the throat of that excellent dog a roar of anguish that caused Poker to leap, as the cook expressed it, nearly out of his own skin. Dogs are by nature extremely sympathetic and remarkably inquisitive; and no sooner was Dumps's yell heard than it was vigorously responded to by every dog in the s.h.i.+p, as the whole pack rushed each from his respective sleeping-place and looked round in amazement.

”Hallo! what's wrong there for'ard?” inquired Saunders, who had been pacing the quarter-deck with slow giant strides, arguing mentally with himself in default of a better adversary.

”Only trod on Dumps's paw, sir,” said Mivins, as he hurried aft; ”the men are sky-larking.”

”Sky-larking, are you?” said Saunders, going forward. ”Weel, lads, you've had a lot o' hard work of late, ye may go' and take a run on the ice.”

Instantly the men, like boys set free from school, sprang up, tumbled over the side, and were scampering over the ice like madmen.

”Pitch over the ball--the football!” they cried. In a second the ball was tossed over the s.h.i.+p's side, and a vigorous game was begun.

For two days past the _Dolphin_ had been sailing with difficulty through large fields of ice, sometimes driving against narrow necks and tongues that interrupted her pa.s.sage from one lead or ca.n.a.l to another; at other times boring with difficulty through compact ma.s.ses of sludge; or occasionally, when unable to advance farther, making fast to a large berg or a field. They were compelled to proceed north, however, in consequence of the pack having become fixed towards, the south, and thus rendering retreat impossible in that direction until the ice should be again set in motion. Captain Guy, however, saw, by the steady advance of the larger bergs, that the current of the ocean in that place flowed southward, and trusted that in a short time the ice which had been forced into the strait by the late gales would be released, and open up a pa.s.sage. Meanwhile he pushed along the coast, examining every bay and inlet in the hope of discovering some trace of the _Pole Star_ or her crew.

On the day about which we are writing, the s.h.i.+p was beset by large fields, the snow-white surfaces of which extended north and south to the horizon, while on the east the cliffs rose in dark, frowning precipices from the midst of the glaciers that enc.u.mber them all the year round.

It was a lovely Arctic day. The sun shone with unclouded splendour, and the bright air, which trembled with that liquidity of appearance that one occasionally sees in very hot weather under peculiar circ.u.mstances, was vocal with the wild music of thousands of gulls, and auks, and other sea-birds, which cl.u.s.tered on the neighbouring cliffs and flew overhead in clouds. All round the pure surfaces of the ice-fields were broken by the shadows which the hummocks and bergs cast over them, and by the pools of clear water which shone like crystals in their hollows, while the beautiful beryl blue of the larger bergs gave a delicate colouring to the dazzling scene. Words cannot describe the intense _glitter_ that characterized everything. Every point seemed a diamond, every edge sent forth a gleam of light, and many of the ma.s.ses reflected the rich prismatic colours of the rainbow. It seemed as if the sun himself had been multiplied in order to add to the excessive brilliancy, for he was surrounded by _parhelia_, or _sun-dogs,_ as the men called them. This peculiarity in the sun's appearance was very striking. The great orb of day was about ten degrees above the horizon, and a horizontal line of white pa.s.sed completely through it, extending to a considerable distance on either hand, while around it were two distinct halos, or circles of light. On the inner halo were situated the mock-suns, which were four in number--one above and one below the sun, and one on each side of him.

Not a breath of wind stirred the little flag that drooped from the mizzen-peak, and the clamorous, ceaseless-cries of sea-birds, added to the merry shouts and laughter of the men as they followed the restless football, rendered the whole a scene of life, as it was emphatically one of beauty.

”Ain't it glorious?” panted Davie Summers vehemently as he stopped exhausted in a headlong race beside one of his comrades, while the ball was kicked hopelessly beyond his reach by a comparatively fresh member of the party.

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