Part 2 (1/2)

”Why, it's Smith!” exclaimed the doctor.

”Water--food!” gasped the poor wretch, lying prostrate on his side.

These were given him, and the doctor added some spirit, with the effect that the poor fellow began to revive, and at last sat up on the deck.

”And how did you get here?” I said.

”Got on board at night!” he gasped. ”Crept into the cask--meant to get out--but packed in!”

”Did I not refuse you permission to come, sir?” cried the doctor, shaking his fist.

”Yes, uncle!” gasped the stowaway; ”but f.a.n.n.y said, if I didn't come and take care of you, she--she would never--speak to me--any more! Oh, dear! please stop the s.h.i.+p! I feel so poorly!”

”It's a wonder you were not starved to death,” said the doctor.

”Or smothered,” I said.

”Ye-yes,” stammered the poor fellow. ”I was all right till they packed things all round me, and then I couldn't get out!”

”Shall we put the ghost specimen in the spirit cask, doctor?” I said.

”Well, no,” he replied. ”I think we'll let him go down to the cabin.

But you'd no business to come, Alfred, for you'll only be in the way.”

”Oh, no, uncle,” he said, rapidly getting better, between the qualms produced by the rolling of the steamer; ”I shall be a great help to you, uncle. I've brought my Alpenstock, a two-jointed one like a fis.h.i.+ng-rod; and--and my ice-boots that I wore in Switzerland.”

”Bah!” said the doctor.

”And a climbing-rope.”

”Pis.h.!.+” exclaimed the doctor again.

”And--a pair of snow-shoes.”

”Did you bring your skates, sir?”

”No, uncle; f.a.n.n.y wanted me to, because she said I skated so beautifully; but I knew you had come on business, so I left them behind.”

The doctor gave me a fat smile, and I turned round to check Scudds, for fear he should laugh outright; and lucky I did, for he was just getting ready for a tremendous roar, while Abram Bostock held his hands over his mouth.

”Well, get below,” said the doctor; ”and the sooner you find your sea-legs the better.”

So our new member of the exploring expedition crawled below, and we set to and trimmed sails, for the weather was changing, steam being reserved till we wanted it to go through the ice.

We did not get along very fast, for the doctor was always stopping the vessel for something, and the men soon fell in with his whims, and began to enjoy helping him. One day, they would be busy bucketing up water, for him to fill bottles with specimens of whales' food; another time, we tried after a whale with a small gun and a harpoon fired from it, to the great delight of the men. Then we came in sight of the first iceberg, slowly sailing south, like a fairy castle on a fairy rock, that had broken away from its land in the North, and taken to the sea. The sun was s.h.i.+ning upon it, and it was like one grand ma.s.s of turrets and spires, glistening with silver, gold, and gems of every colour. Here and there, it was split into great openings, with arches over them like bridges; and near the sea were more archways, leading like into caves, and all these places were of the most deep sapphire blue. All was so beautiful, that even the old salts like Abram and Scudds said they had never seen anything like it up North.

Of course, the doctor couldn't pa.s.s it without landing; and as there were some seals and a few birds sitting on the farther side, I ran the steamer close in, till, in the still water on the lee, we were able to bring her close alongside of what was just like a natural wharf of ice; when Scudds and four more got on the berg, a couple of ice-anchors were pa.s.sed over to them, and soon after we were made fast, and the doctor took a gun, his nephew followed, and we had a good climb along the wonderful sides of the iceberg.

”If we could only get on the top I wouldn't mind,” said the doctor, after making half a dozen tries; but every one was a failure, for it was for all the world like climbing the side of a slippery board.