Part 32 (1/2)

”I no can tell you mooch 'bout dat whaler, _Betsey Andrews_,” he said, slowly. ”I not know for truf what happen to him. But I hear som't'ing las' year. Two Esquimaux men come to me an' da say dat de whaleboat he got stuck by de ice far up dare.” And Tom Fetjen waved his hand northward.

”Stuck in the ice?” queried Chet.

”Dat is what de Esquimaux men say. Da climb up de ice mountain an' see him s.h.i.+p stuck fast, but go--what you say him?--float, yes, float up dat way,” and again the trader pointed northward.

”Do you mean that the _Betsey Andrews_ got stuck in some floating ice, and was carried northward?” asked Chet.

”Yes, dat is eet. n.o.body hear more of de whaleboat.”

”Where did you hear this?”

”Hear him at Etah, las' summer.”

”How did the Esquimaux know it was the _Betsey Andrews_?” asked Andy.

”One Esquimau big chief, got gla.s.s to look. He see de cap'n who got de one arm. He try to git to s.h.i.+p, but tumble in water--'most drown heem.

Den snowstorm come big an' can't see de s.h.i.+p no more.”

This was all the trader could tell. He was of the opinion, however, that the whaler had been finally crushed in the ice, and all those aboard had been lost.

But Chet would not believe this. He shut his teeth hard and looked at his chum.

”I've got to have positive proof before I give up,” he said, in a voice that choked with sudden emotion.

Although the boys were not aware of it, Pep Loggermore and his crony did their best to follow them around Upernivik, hoping to place them in some position whereby it would be impossible to regain the s.h.i.+p. But, by mere chance, the boys kept out of the sailors' way, and when the coaling was at an end, and the _Ice King_ sailed, they were on the s.h.i.+p.

”Let us try it again at Etah,” said Loggermore to his crony.

”As you please, Pep,” answered the other. His hatred of the lads who had killed the geese had somewhat subsided. But Loggermore was as much against Andy and Chet as ever. He had it firmly fixed in his mind that if they were taken along, dire disaster would surely overtake the expedition.

The course of the _Ice King_ was now up Baffin Bay and past Cape York to the entrance to Smith Sound. Although it was midsummer, the weather seemed to grow colder hourly, and it was not long before the boys were glad enough to don additional clothing.

”As soon as we get to Etah you will get your first taste of polar exploration,” said Barwell Dawson. ”We'll go out on a hunt.”

”Is it much of a settlement?” asked Chet.

”Hardly any settlement at all. In the summer the Esquimaux have their skin tents pitched there, and in the winter they put up a few _igloos_, that is, ice huts, and that's all.”

That night came another scare. They almost ran into a tremendous iceberg that towered like a giant in the water. But the lookout saw the monster just in time--it was rather foggy, or he would have seen it sooner--and they sheered to windward.

”What a high iceberg!” exclaimed Chet, when the danger was past.

”Yes, and to think that it is much deeper in the water than out of it,”

added Andy.

They reached the inlet leading to Etah in a fog, and that afternoon experienced a snowstorm that lasted for over two hours. Then the weather cleared, and they made out a number of tents lining the coast. Here and there they saw some Esquimaux in their strange little boats, fis.h.i.+ng.

The natives set up a shout when the _Ice King_ came to anchor, and some lost no time in coming on board. They were strange-looking creatures, short of form and round of face, with straight black hair and mouths unusually large. But they were good-natured, and smiled and laughed as they talked to Barwell Dawson, Professor Jeffer, and Captain Williamson, all of whom could speak a little of the Esquimaux tongue.

The boys were allowed to go on a hunt the next day. Led by two of the Esquimaux, the party went off in one of the small boats to a point where it was said game might be found. They were out for six hours with Barwell Dawson, and came back loaded down with birds, and with a small polar bear. Chet and Andy had shot the bear between them, and were proud of their haul.