Put ashore here, Massan, said Stanley, turning to the guide; I shall take an observation, if possible, and you can set the men to hunt for eggs. We shall want them, as the larder is rather low just now.
Massan muttered assent, and, shouting to the other canoe to put ashore, ran alongside the rocks.
Youd better hail the little canoe, said Stanley, as he landed. I shall want Mr Morton to assist me.
Massan stepped upon an elevated rock, and, shading his eyes with his hands, looked earnestly ahead where he observed the little canoe almost beyond vision, and just going to double a point of land. Transferring his hands to his mouth, he used them as a trumpet, and gave forth a shout the like of which had never startled the echoes of the place before.
Its no use, sir, said Massan; hes past hearin. Im afeerd that theyre off in the direction o the White Bear Hills, in hopes o gittin a shot.
Try again, Massan, urged Stanley; raise your pipe a little higher. Perhaps it will reach them.
Massan shook his head. Try it, Bryan, he said, turning to the Irishman, who was sitting on a rock leisurely filling his short, black pipe.
Is it to halloo ye want me? replied Bryan, rising. Shure the great gun of Athlone itself could niver hold a candle to ye, Massan, at yellin; but Ill try, anyhow; and putting his hands to his mouth he gave forth a roar compared to which Massans was nothing. There was a sort of crack in the tone of it, however, that was so irresistibly ridiculous that the whole party burst incontinently into a fit of laughter. Loud though it was, it failed to reach the ears of those in the little canoe, which in a few seconds doubled the point and disappeared.
Ah, bad luck to it! said Bryan, in disgust; the pipes damaged intirely. Small pace to ye, Bob Mahone; for shure it was howlin and screechin at your wake like a born scrandighowl that broke it.
Never mind, lad; what remains of it is not bad, said Stanley, laughing, as he proceeded to open the box containing his scientific instruments.
Meanwhile his wife and Edith wandered along the rocks picking up shells and pebbles; and the men dispersed, some to smoke and chat, others to search for eggs. Bryan and La Roche, who were both aspiring geniuses, and had formed a sort of rough attachment to each other, asked permission to take a walk to the point ahead, where they would wait for the canoes. Having obtained it, they set off at a good round pace, that would have been throublesome to kape up, as Bryan remarked, with payse in yer shoes!
Why you come for to jine de company? inquired La Roche, as they jogged along.
Why? bekase Id nothin else to do, as the ould song says. Ye see, Losh, (Bryan had invented a contraction for his friends name, which he said was convanient)ye see, Losh, there may be more nor wan raison for a gintleman lavin his native land in order to thravel in furrin parts. Its thrue I had nothin in the univarse to do, for I could niver git work nohow, an whin I got it I could niver kape it. I niver could onderstan why, but so it was. Nivertheless I managed to live well enough in the ould cabin wid the murphies
Vat is murphies? inquired La Roche.
Bliss yer innocent face, dont ye know its praties?
Tis vat?
Praties, boy, or pit-taties, if I must be particlar.
Ah! goot, goot, I understanpettitoes. Oui, oui, ye call him pomme de terre.
Hum! well, as I was sayin, I got on pretty well wid the pumdeterres an the pig, but the pig died wan daychoked hisself on a murphythat is, a pumbleterre; an more betoken, it was the last murphy in the house, a powerful big wan that my grandmother had put by for supper. After this ivery thin wint to smithereens. The rot came, and I thought I should have to list for a sodger. Well, Bob Mahone died o dhrink and starvation, an we had a beautiful wake; but there was a riglar shindy got up, an two or three o the county plice misbehaved themselves, so I jist floored them all, wan after the other, an bolted. Well, I wint straight to Dublin, an there I met wid an ould friend who was the skipper o a ship bound for New York. Says he, Bryan, will ye go? Says I, Av coorse; an shure enough I wint, an got over the say to Meriky. But I could niver settle down, so, wan way or another, I came at last to Montreal and jined the Company; an afther knockin about in the Columbia and Mackenzies River for some years, I was sint to Moose, an here I am, Losh, yer sarvant to command.
Goot, ver goot, mais peculiaire, said La Roche, whose intimacy with this son of Erin had enabled him to comprehend enough of his jargon to grasp the general scope of his discourse.
Av ye mane that lavin the ould country was goot, said Bryan, stooping to pick up a stone and skim it along the smooth surface of the sea, praps yere right; but theres wan thing I niver could make my mind aisy about, and the blacksmiths voice became deep and his face grave as he recalled these bygone days.
Vat were dat? inquired La Roche.
Why, ye see, Losh, I was so hard druve by the plice that I was forced to lave wid-out sayin good day to my ould mother, an they tould me it almost broke her heart; but Ive had wan or two screeds from the priest wid her cross at them since, and shes got over it, an lookin out for my returninbliss her sowl!an Ive sint her five pounds ivery year since I left: so ye see, Losh, Ive great hope o seein her yit, for although shes ould shes oncommon tough, an having come o a long-winded stock, Ive great hopes o her.
Poor Bryan! it never entered into his reckless brain to think that, considering the life of almost constant peril he led in the land of his pilgrimage, there was more hope of the longevity of his old mother than of himself. Like many of his countrymen, he was a man of strong, passionate, warm feelings, and remarkably unselfish.
Is your contry resemblance to dat? inquired La Roche, pointing, as he spoke, towards the sea, which was covered with fields and mountains of ice as far out as the eye could discern.
Be the nose o my great-grandmother (an that was be no manes a short wan), no! replied Bryan, with a laugh. The say that surrounds ould Ireland is niver covered with sich sugar-plums as these. But what have we here?
As he spoke they reached the point at which they were to await the coming up of the canoes, and the object which called forth Bryans remark was the little canoe, which lay empty on the beach just beyond the point. From the manner in which it lay it was evident that Frank and his Indians had placed it there; but there was no sign of their presence save one or two footprints on the sand. While La Roche was examining these, his companion walked towards a point of rock that jutted out from the cliffs and intercepted the view beyond. On turning round this, he became suddenly rooted to the spot with horror. And little wonder, for just two yards before him stood an enormous polar bear, whose career was suddenly arrested by Bryans unexpected appearance. It is difficult to say whether the man or the beast expressed most surprise at the rencounter. They both stood stock still, and opened their eyes to the utmost width. But the poor Irishman was evidently petrified by the apparition. He turned deadly pale, and his hands hung idly by his sides; while the bear, recovering from his surprise, rose on his hind legs and walked up to hima sure sign that he was quite undaunted, and had made up his mind to give battle. As for La Roche, the instant he cast his eyes on the ferocious-looking quadruped, he uttered a frightful yell, bounded towards a neighbouring tree, and ceased not to ascend until its topmost branches were bending beneath his weight. Meanwhile the bear walked up to Bryan, but not meeting with the anticipated grapple of an enemy, and feeling somewhat uneasy under the cataleptic stare of the poor mans eyesfor he still stood petrified with horrorit walked slowly round him, putting its cold nose on his cheek, as if to tempt him to move. But the five minutes of bewilderment that always preceded Bryans recovery from a sudden fright had not yet expired. He still remained perfectly motionless, so that the bear, disdaining, apparently, to attack an unresisting foe, dropped on his forelegs again. It is difficult to say whether there is any truth in the well-known opinion that the calm, steady gaze of a human eye can quell any animal. Doubtless there are many stories, more or less authentic, corroborative of the fact; but whether this be true or not, we are ready to vouch for the truth of this factnamely, that under the influence of the blacksmiths gaze, or his silence it may be, the bear was absolutely discomfited. It retreated a step or two, and walked slowly away, looking over its shoulder now and then as it went, as if it half anticipated an onslaught in the rear.
We have already said that Bryan was no craven, and that when his faculties were collected he usually displayed a good deal of reckless valour on occasions of danger. Accordingly, no sooner did he see his shaggy adversary in full retreat, than the truant blood returned to his face with a degree of violence that caused it to blaze with fiery red, and swelled the large veins of his neck and forehead almost to bursting. Uttering a truly Irish halloo, he bounded forward like a tiger, tore the cap off his head and flung it violently before him, drew the axe which always hung at his belt, and in another moment stood face to face with the white monster, which had instantly accepted the challenge, and rose on its hind legs to receive him. Raising the axe with both hands, the man aimed a blow at the bears head; but with a rapid movement of its paw it turned the weapon aside and dashed it into the air. Another such blow, and the reckless blacksmiths career would have been brought to an abrupt conclusion, when the crack of a rifle was heard. Its echo reverberated along the cliffs and floated over the calm water as the polar bear fell dead at Bryans feet.
Hurrah! shouted Frank Morton, as he sprang from the bushes, knife in hand, ready to finish the work which his rifle had so well begun. But it needed not. Frank had hit the exact spot behind the ear which renders a second ball unnecessarythe bear was already quite dead.
Chapter Nine.
A storm brewingIt bursts, and produces consequencesThe party take to the water per forceAll saved
Ah, Bryan! a friend in need is a friend indeed, said Frank, as he sat on a rock watching the blacksmith and his two Indians while they performed the operation of skinning the bear, whose timely destruction has been related in the last chapter. I must say I never saw a man stand his ground so well, with a brute like that stealing kisses from his cheek. Were they sweet, Bryan? Did they remind you of the fair maid of Derry, hey?
Ah! thrue for ye, replied the blacksmith, as he stepped to a rock for the purpose of whetting his knife; yer honour was just in time to save me a power o throuble. Bad skran to the baste! it would have taken three or four rounds at laste to have finished him nately off, for theres no end o fat on his ribs that would have kep the knife from goin far in.
Frank laughed at this free-and-easy way of looking at it. So you think you would have killed him, do you, if I had not saved you the trouble?
Av coorse I do. Shure a man is better than a baste any day; and besides, had I not a frind at my back ridy to help me? Bryan cast a comical leer at La Roche as he said this, and the poor Frenchman blushed, for he felt that his conduct in the affair had not been very praiseworthy. It is due to La Roche to say, however, that no sooner had he found himself at the top of the tree, and had a moment to reflect, than he slid rapidly to the bottom again, and ran to the assistance of his friend, not, however, in time to render such assistance available, as he came up just at the moment the bear fell.
In half an hour afterwards the two large canoes came up, and Bryan and his little friend had to undergo a rapid fire of witticism from their surprised and highly-amused comrades. Even Moses was stirred up to say that Bryan, him do pratty well; he most good nuff to make an Eskimo!
Having embarked the skin of the bear, the canoes once more resumed their usual order and continued on their way. The carcass of the bear being useless for food, was left for the wolves; and the claws, which were nearly as large as a mans finger, were given by Frank to the blacksmith, that he might make them into a necklace, as the Indians do, and keep it in remembrance of his rencounter.
But the weather was now beginning to change. Dick Prince, whose black eye was ever roving about observantly, told Massan that a storm was brewing, and that the sooner he put ashore in a convenient spot the better. But Stanley was anxious to get on, having a long journey before him, at the termination of which there would be little enough time to erect a sufficient protection against the winter of the north; so he continued to advance along shore until they came to a point beyond which there was a very deep bay that would take them many hours to coast. By making a traverse, however, in a direct line to the next point, they might cross it in a much shorter time.
How say you, Prince? shall we cross? asked Stanley, as they rested on their paddles and cast furtive glances up at the dark clouds and across the still quiet bay.
Prince shook his head. I fear we wont have time to cross. The clouds are driving too fast and growin black.
Well, then, we had better encamp, said Stanley.Is there a proper place, Massan, hereabouts?
No, sir, replied the guide. The stones on the beach are the only pillows within six mile o us.
Ho! then, forward, boys, make a bold push for it, cried Stanley; if it does begin to blow before were over, we can run back again at all events.
In another moment the canoes swept out to sea, and made for the point far ahead like race-horses. Although the clouds continued to gather, the wind did not rise, and it seemed as though they would get over easily, when a sudden gust came off the shorea direction whence, from the appearance of the clouds, it had not been expected. Ruffling the surface of the water for a few seconds, it passed away.
Give way, boys, give way, cried Massan, using his large steering paddle with a degree of energy that sent the canoe plunging forward. We cant go back, an if the storm bursts off the shore
A loud peal of thunder drowned the remainder of the sentence, and in a few seconds the wind that had been dreaded came whistling violently off the shore and covered the sea with foam. The waves soon began to rise, and ere long the frail barks, which were ill calculated to weather a storm, were careering over them and shipping water at every plunge.
It now became a matter of life and death with them that they should gain the point, for, deeply loaded as they were, it was impossible that they could float long in such a sea. It is true that a wind off the shore does not usually raise what sailors would consider much of a sea; but it must be remembered that, although it was off shore, the bay which they were crossing extended far inland, so that the gale had a wide sweep of water to act upon before it reached them. Besides this, as has already been explained, canoes are not like boats. Their timbers are weak, the bark of which they are made is thin, the gum which makes their seams tight is easily knocked off in cold water, and, in short, they cannot face a sea on which a boat might ride like a sea-gull.
For a considerable time the men strained every nerve to gain the wished-for point of land, but with so little success that it became evident they would never reach it. The men began to show signs of flagging, and cast uneasy glances towards Stanley, as if they had lost all hope of accomplishing their object, and waited for him to suggest what they should do. Poor Mrs Stanley sat holding on to the gunwale with one hand and clasping Edith round the waist with the other, as she gazed wistfully towards the cape ahead, which was now almost lost to view under the shadow of a dark cloud that rolled towards them like a black pall laden with destruction.
God help us! murmured Stanley, in an undertone, as he scanned the seaward horizon, which was covered with leaden clouds and streaks of lurid light, beneath which the foaming sea leaped furiously.
Call upon Me in the time of trouble, and I will deliver thee, said Mrs Stanley, who overheard the exclamation.