The Frozen Crew Of The Ice-Bound Ship; Or, Terrors Of The Arctic Region — page 74: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

64 THE FROZEN CREW AND ICE-BOUND SHIP. ‘¢Why, Hal Harpoon,” cried Black Bill, “ you ain’t a going to say as how you're frightened.” “Not exactly,” answered the addressed ; “only I fancy we shall make a bad voyage of it—if——’’ ‘‘ Belay, belay !” interrupted Black Bill, “ don’t be a milksop ; there ain’t no danger.” ‘‘ Perhaps not; only somehow or other I think we'd had better leave this job alone. ‘“T’ye been your messmate,” continued Black Bill, ‘for many a year, and [ love you; but lash me to the gratings if you haven’t as many humours asa monkey.”’ ‘If you say so,” cried Hal Harpoon sulkily, stand by sheets and stays, and get under way. “‘T shan’t desert the ship, come what may,” he added, “ and if I play a trick, scuttle my sconce, as if it were an old calabash.”’ With these words, the boat broke the ice, entered a narrow channel, and the pirates came up with the walrus, who seemed quite prepared to receive them. She appeared, as Hal Harpoon had observed, a solitary female, but with such fury in her eye, that those who meditated an attack found it also necessary to anticipate a defence. Resorting to various stratagems, the pirates, after a time, succeeded in harpooning the animal. She died with a shriek that disconcerted for a moment even those stern hearts that had slain her. Shortly after the smoke of the harpoon gun had cleared away, a sound resembling the grunt of a pig and bark of a dog was heard. It proceeded from a baby walrus, who suddenly made its appearance. The animal that was killed had been fastened to the stern of the boat, to tow her to the ship. It was now found that the cub was clinging to her, and that the poor thing was clinging to its dead mother. On the discovery, the pirates hauled the dead mother on board, leaving the cub to float along- side. Black Bill managed, after a few minutes, to catch him round the neck with the bight of a rope. ** What are you going to do with that warmint?” asked De’il Rob, as Black Bill drew the young wal- rus out of the water. ‘‘Keep him asa curiosity,” the latter replied. “ You don’t often take the likes of this: they skip out of danger quicker than an any christian animal I knows on. ‘‘Hadn’t you better kill him?’’ suggested Hal Harpoon. “They say the morse is very sensible, and has been known before now to take revenge on the boats sent against him.” “Tell that to the marines, the sailors won't be- lieve it,’ said Black Bill. ‘“‘ Why, hang meif the little critter ain’t got tears in his eyes! weeping for his mammy, no doubt; there’s little danger in a craft whose ballast is made up of love and affec- tion.” “Go to leeward if you will,’”’ replied Hal Har- poon, ‘‘ only remember I’ve warned you.” The pet, for so we must call the captured walrus, appeared to have only recently been born, and it was Owing to such a cause that it had been left by the herd with the mother.’’ Destitute of food, instinct next taught the off- spring to draw itself to the teats on the hide of the defunct parent. For some time it lay on the maternal remains, but, as if conscious of sorrow, refused to suck. The forlorn beast next snuffed about as if wonder- ing where he was. His observers watched in silence his actions, He <ame up further and further into the boat, and, finding the road clear, wandered about it to and fro. The first thing he did was to sniff at the petti- coat trousers the seamen wore; he had probably never seen such garments before. He next examined the features of the crew with the same sort of curiosity with which they were examining their strange companion. Suddenly, and unexpectedly, he made direct for the open stream. Pulling himself up to the edge of the boat, first with his chin; then with his flippers. He ducked his head under water with such eager- ness that a two months’ absence from a bath would be likely to produce in an individual attached to frequent ablution. After along dive, up came the intelligent head of the little walrus to the surface once more, and he gave a hurried glance around. Before the spectators could recover their surprise, he had cut his way through the ice by main sheer force. Five times did the animal charge against the barriers, and five times succeed in crashing a pas- sage through them. At last he plunged under the edge of a floe, and did not reappear. é “‘T won’t lose the young lubber,’” cried Black Bill. ‘ Follow, my hearties; he’s too exhausted to rise, So we must give him assistance. With the words the pirate jumped out of the boat, his example being followed by the rest of his comrades. They succeeded in coming -up with the walrus, and getting him out of the water. He appeared weak, and suffering from the effects of his lengthened immersion. After awhile he stole up to the men, and wiped his nose on the legs of their trousers. They supplied him with a swab. The animal seemed quite to understand the use for which it was intended. He knew the voice of his friend, Black Bill, slightly raised his head, and gave a low grunt of recognition. It was now that the pirates were apprised of a new danger that presented itself to them. In following up their chase, they had followed too far on drifting ice. The blocks threatening to impound them, either in a fearful prison, or urge them to the rapids which descended over the steep precipices adjacent. A perilous passage over the ice at length brought the adventurous party to the spot where they had left their boat. To their dismay and horror it was gone. Black Bill was the first to exercise the power of speech, of which the alarming casuality had deprived each spectator. “ Jt’s no use hauling down the colours, messmate,’’ he exclaimed, “I shall nail them to the mast, and fight while there’s breath in my body. ‘‘ We shall perish,” he continued, “if all hands are piped to confidence; some of the crew are prowl- ing about these quarters like ourselves, and will answer the signal of danger when they see it. With the words, the buccaneer lost no time in striking a light by the assistance of one of his pistols. , Some dry dulse supplied him with fuel. These means enabled him to raise the required beacon. To the delight of one and all, in a few moments it was answered by a second, that. shot forth from the opposite shore. The water thus illuminated, revealed the boat that had so mysteriously disappeared, books=com