Air Wonder Stories, May 1930 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

“Get up,” he bawled, “and load some: more grub and some hooch on the old slide wagon and get the sail-ready.” He dropped into a bunk without even removing his mittens or boots, and in a moment was. fast asleep. Half an hour later his two volunteer helpers came trudging wearily. in. With his great strides, the mate had far outstripped them on the homeward journey, leaving them far in the rear. We. ate a hasty breakfast, and under the Captain’s orders started to load the rest of the. equipment on the boat; all except two sledge loads, which were to be transported separately. Before the job was near completion, the mate was up and lending his great strength to the work in hand. "I am giving you half the gasoline,” said the Captain. ‘“T think that is all you ought to try to carry.” “That’s plenty,” said the mate. “Anyway, we will throw in-one of those 14-inch planks, I will make an oar that will bring us into Boston Harbor.” Every one was cheerful as the last preparations for depar- ture were made, The wind was fresh and from the right direc- tion; the sky was clear. When all was ready, the captain and one man took stations in the boat to handle the sail, and we attempted to push off. But the iron runners were frozen to the ice and would not budge. Bars were quickly brought and the runners pried loose. To everybody's relief the boat started'to slide over the ice, the sail filled, and with a great shout from the men: we were off At first the craft didn’t seem very difficult to push. In fact, where the ice was hard and smooth the sail gave almost suffi- cient motive power. For two hotrs all went: well; nearly half the distance to the open rift had been covered, when we struck rougher going and our troubles began. The narrow runners bit more deeply into the snow and ice; only by main strength could we make any progress. As time passed and-we labored: on mile after mile, our .strength hegan to fail; but we dared not stop for fear that the wind would die down or that the weather ‘would suddenly turn colder and close up the lane of open water. To Open Water! HE tireless mate was in the lead, with a rope attached to the bow of the boat. With this he guided the course of the craft, to avoid the rougher places and patches of deep sriow. Occasionally we would encounter an especially deep hole, or some unavoidable obstacle, and come to a dead stop from which we were unable to budge. Then the leader would drop the rope and- _— back to help us push, “Now all together,” he would say. And putting his great shoulder to the load he would give a prodigious ‘heave, and the boat would move forward. Once we encountered a wide crevasse that was bridged’ over with a thin covering of ice -and snow. One of the runners broke through and nearly capsized the boat. Here we.had to unload everything that could be unloaded and pry the runner up to get it again on firm footing. Then, as we were within'a mile of the open water, we came to & great pressure-ridge of broken ice. As we drew near, it loomed across- our path, a vast white harrier. . The now. exhausted men were dismayed and disheartened at the sight, but the mate hastened to reassure them. “Keep your tails up,” he roared, “I will kick it over when we get there!” ‘We had two axes with us; one a huge blade with an extra long handle. \ Snatching up the big axe the mate attacked the ice barrier with demonic frenzy that sent huge chunks of ice flying in all THE ARCTIC RESCUE directions and cheered us on, Someone grabbed the other axe, and with bars and harpoons we all fell to. After an hour's hard work, when much ice had been clenrat away, the huge man halted and mopped the sweat from his forehead. "We will chaps ‘away the worst of if,” he said, “and then use a ‘dead man’ and the harpoon winch to pull us over the - rest.” He detailed a couple of men to dig a deep hole in. the level ice beyond the barrier. and place the one plank for: an anchor, The boat’s erigine was tuned up, and the harpoon cable strung out to lend mechanical aid. As the crew broke through. the crest of the ridge the sight of water in-the distance heartened them and they worked with renewed energy. When the worst of the ice was cleared away we prepared for the great effort. = Everything movable having been again removed from the boat, the harpoon cable-was made fast to the “dead man” and the winch operated till the cable came taut. E took our places and began to push, With a roar the engine went into high speed, and in a wild scramble and rush we started up the incline. We were almost at the crest when the engine gave a cough and - died, “You gtys jump on the rope and I will push her over,” shouted the mate, We tan to the bow, and leaping into the air, caught the taut cablé-and teetered up and down on it in mnison: Indomitable as his Viking ancestors; the Norseman bent his: back to the load fora supreme effort. The boat lurched forward and slid tobogganwise down the hill. The more than twenty hours of grueling toil weresnow for- gotten, as we pulled and toted to bring the unloaded imipedi- menfa and reload the boat, As we set the sail and pressed on, we found the gomg good and were soon at the water’s edge, where we halted and re- moved the sleigh rimners in preparation’ for embarkation, It was then that-it dawned on me that the-entire crew had elected to go, and that only the Captain, Willard and myself were to remain! - ~ CHAPTER IV An Owl! HEN the boat was finally in the water, and I saw all the men goifg aboard, I must admit that I felt like giving over my resolution and going along. But the boat was already heavily loaded}. besides, was I to have less stamina than my assistant, and refuse to stick to our prize? So the boat pulled out and left us, a forlorn, shivering little trio, standing on the ice gazing after it, We saw the mate standing in the bow. He waved farewell with one of<those enormous hands, and his great jovial voice came back over the waves. We don't know wheré we're going, but we’re on our way,” he called. We.gave an answering shout and turned wearily back toward the ship. The prospect of a long march in the face of a biting wind was very disheartening; but we-bent our bodies forward and trudged on, mile after milé, silently and painfully; each of us busy with his own thoughts, At last we-gained the ship, and the rest of which we were in such desperate need. We:-had nothing to. do but settle-down to wait: hoping that the little boat in some miraculous manner might survive the perils of the great ocean and eventually reach port, and report our predicament to those who might be able to aid us, Then too we still had hope that some time this part of the