CHAPTER XII
A MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE
"It's all up with us now!" shouted Andy. "I wish I had never come to the north pole!"
"How shall we escape?" yelled the professor.
Not knowing what to do, the whole party stood still. Behind them were the sea lions, roaring and snorting. In front of them, a hundred feet away were the bears, growling and howling.
"Turn to the right!" cried Jack. "There is a big hill of ice we can climb!"
The adventurers turned. As they did so Mark glanced back at the sea lions, and uttered a cry of surprise.
"The lions are running away!" he shouted.
Sure enough, the seals, though their progress could not be called "running" were retreating with their hitching, lumbering gait, away from the adventurers.
"But the bears are coming!" called Andy.
"They aren't after us! It's the sea lions they want!" exclaimed Jack. "I don't believe they will pay any attention to us!"
"The boy is right!" came from Andy. "The bears want fresh meat and are going to tackle the lions. We're safe, but we'd better not stay around here long!"
Jack's surmise was correct. The white bears did not follow the adventurers when the latter had run to the right. Instead, increasing their pace, the polar bears sprang into the midst of the sea lions and soon there was a fierce battle between the two animal forces.
It was a fearful sight and the adventurers gazed at it in wonder, mingled with terror. The bears would seek to enfold the lions in their strong fore-paws, while the lions would try to sink their long tusks into the vitals of the enemy.
Nearly a dozen had been killed on either side, but still the battle raged fiercely. The men and boys were so fascinated by the sight that they did not move, but stood staring from a small hummock of ice they had mounted.
"I think we had better go!" called Professor Henderson. "No telling when they will get tired of fighting each other and turn on us. Besides I am anxious about the ship." And off they started.
The ship rested in the same position it had settled in when the gas contracted. No harm had come to it as the fall had been so gradual.
"I'll have the gas machine in operation in about an hour," Professor Henderson said. "Meanwhile, Bill, you and Tom had better get some dinner for us. I'm hungry and I dare say the others are. Have some hot coffee, for it is growing colder."
"I was thinking I didn't feel quite so warm," observed Andy. "While there was a lot of excitement I didn't notice it, but now I am chilled through."
"No wonder," remarked the inventor. "It's forty degrees below zero!"
All were glad to go inside the ship which was warmed with gasolene stoves. Bill and Tom took off their heavy furs and began preparing a meal, which was soon smoking on the table. Everyone had a good appetite, and, just as the boys, with Andy and the two farmers were about to sit down, the professor came into the dining room.
"It's all right!" he exclaimed. "Washington and I have the machine fixed. The gas is generating and we will be able to rise and continue our journey in about an hour."
This was good news, and, during the dinner the adventures of the morning were talked over in detail.
"We certainly had excitement enough for one day," observed Jack.
Rising from the table and donning their furs Jack and Mark went out on the deck. They glanced up at the gas bag, and found it was filling out from the pressure of the vapor being pumped into it from the machine.
"I wonder if we'd have time to walk out on the ice a little?" asked Mark. "I haven't had a chance to look around, we've been so busy since we landed."
"We'll ask the captain," spoke Jack. "I'd like a little stroll myself."
The inventor had no objections.
"Don't go far away," he cautioned. "We'll start very soon now, and don't go near those animals."
The boys promised, and then, climbing over the rail, and down the ice hummocks they walked along a broad level expanse that stretched out for about a mile.
They had not gone far before Jack, who was in the lead, came to a halt.
"Look here!" he called to Mark, who came hurrying up.
"What is it?"
"There's a pile of bones frozen into the ice! Looks as if there had been a fight here between bears and sea lions, and this is all that was left. They ate each other up, all but the bones, which became covered with ice."
"Those aren't animal bones, Jack!"
"Why not?"
"See, there is the skull of a man! And another! There are a dozen skulls!" and Mark pointed to where they showed from underneath the crystal ice.
"You're right!" Jack shouted. "And see! Here is something that looks like a copper cylinder! Maybe it has something inside! We must tell Professor Henderson!"
Full of the importance of their discovery, the boys hastened back to the airship. The old inventor was much interested. Directing Washington to keep a careful eye on the gas machine, and taking an axe with him, the captain returned with the boys to where the bones were.
"They are certainly the remains of human beings," was the professor's opinion. "I don't know that it would be any service to dig them out, but that copper cylinder may be of value."
A few blows with the axe served to chop out the object. It was about two feet long and nearly three inches in diameter, and seemed to be securely sealed.
"We'll take it back to the ship and open it," said the inventor. "It is too cold to do it here."
Back to the Monarch they hurried. Then, with a file, the professor removed one end of the copper case. From within he drew out a roll of paper, a watch, a knife and a few trinkets such as a man would carry about him.
"Some white man did this!" exclaimed the old inventor, his hands trembling with eagerness as he unrolled the paper. "Let us see if he has left any word behind to tell of his death."
All crowded around while Amos Henderson glanced at the mysterious message that had so curiously come to them. Some of the writing was very faint, but by the aid of a magnifying glass it was deciphered. Then, amid a deep silence the professor read the paper.
"Whoever may find this, take warning and do not seek to find the north pole. Danger lurks there. My name is Andre Christiansen, and I am a Dane, educated in America, who set out to find the pole. I discovered it but was taken into captivity by the fierce people who dwell around it. They determined to get rid of me. With a party I was sent away. I was to be killed and buried in the ice. Before they could kill me we were all attacked by polar bears. All the other men were killed and I was wounded. As I write this I am dying. I write it with my blood and a piece of bone. Send word to Denmark of my death, kind friend whoever you may be that finds this. If you reach this far in your search for the pole, be warned and go no farther. This is all I can write. I am nearly dead. I put the message in this copper cylinder which I brought along. I hope it will be found. Good-bye."
For a few moments after the professor ceased reading the strange message no one spoke. They were all thinking of the terrible fate that had befallen Andre Christiansen; to die all alone in that icy land, yet who, in the agony of death had thought to warn some explorer who might come after him.
"Poor fellow," murmured Amos Henderson. "He must have died soon after putting the message in the cylinder."
"And then the bears finished up their work by eating him and the men who wanted to kill him," said Andy. "They left only the bones."
"How long ago do you suppose that was written?" asked Jack.
"There is no telling," replied the professor. "But it must have been several years. I have read of all recent polar expeditions, and within the last twenty years there has been no one of this name to venture toward the pole. Besides the copper cap on the cylinder has become rusted on, and that would indicate the passage of considerable time."
"I wonder if there are people at the pole?" came from Mark.
"We'll go and see!" exclaimed the professor.
"You don't mean to say you are going further north after what that message says?" asked Andy Sudds.
"Certainly; why not?"
"We may all be killed."
"We'll try not to have that happen," said the professor. "I am glad you boys found this. It is a valuable relic," and Amos Henderson put the message, the trinkets and the cylinder carefully away.
"I—I guess I won't go—" began Andy.
At that instant the airship gave a sudden tremble. Then the whole craft shivered. Next it began to rise in the air.
"Here we go!" cried the professor.
CHAPTER XIII
FORWARD ONCE MORE
The airship rose rapidly. Washington had continued to operate the gas machine until there was a sufficient quantity of vapor to overcome the contracting influence of the cold atmosphere.
"Forward once more!" cried the professor, hurrying to the engine room.
"This time we may reach the north pole!"
He and Washington soon started the motors, the dynamos and engines. The propeller revolved rapidly. The adventurers were under way again.
"Jack and Mark, go into the conning tower and steer!" called Mr. Henderson from the engine room. "Take her up about half a mile, and send her straight north by the compass. I have to adjust some of the machinery."
Delighted at the prospect of running the airship, the two boys hurried forward. Mark went to the steering wheel, which was similar to the kind used on automobiles. The Monarch was heading to the west, having no one to guide her, but Mark soon brought her around until her bow was poked directly for the north.
Under the guidance of the two boys, the airship rushed forward. They had become somewhat used to the queer feeling of being high up in the air, and now it did not seem wonderful to be sailing among the clouds, though two weeks before they would have laughed at the idea of such a thing. Andy and the two farmers had, likewise, become a little indifferent to the strange sensations, and, aside from being careful not to go too near the rail of the ship when it was sailing aloft, they took no more precautions than as if they were on the deck of a steamboat.
For several hours the ship was kept on her course. The boys remained in the conning tower, gazing ahead. Not a single thing could be observed but a monotonous expanse of whiteness. Now and then they would run into a bank of clouds which obscured their vision as if there was a heavy fog.
"Look at the clock!" exclaimed Mark suddenly, pointing to the time-piece.
"What's the matter with it?" asked Jack.
"Can it be right?" went on Mark. "Surely it isn't nine o'clock, and the sun shining as brightly as if it was noon."
"It's nine o'clock at night!" exclaimed the professor, entering the steering tower in time to hear Mark's words.
"But it can't be," argued the boy. "Look how the sun is shining."
"You must realize where you are," was the reply. "We are so far north, my boy, that we are in the land of the midnight sun. From now on we will have daylight all the while. We are nearing the pole, where it is light six months of the year, and dark the other six. We are having summer here, now."
"I guess it don't feel much like summer outside," said Mark. "The thermometer indicates fifty below zero!"
"So it does," said Amos Henderson, glancing at the instrument which, though it was outside, could be read through the glass in the tower. "Well, we may have struck a cold wave. Ordinarily we will not have much more than twenty below zero when the sun shines."
"That's cold enough for me," said Mark.
The professor announced that the airship's machinery was now in good shape. He said he expected to come to the end of the journey in about three days more, provided no accidents occurred, and there were no storms to delay the Monarch.
"I think we will divide the night into four watches," he said. "Washington, Jack, Mark and I will take them in turn. During the day we will all be on duty, but from six in the morning to six at night we will stand watch and watch."
It was arranged that Jack should take the first period, the professor the second, Mark the third and Washington the fourth. As the first watch had passed Jack was excused and the inventor said he would take charge of the ship. Then, as every one was tired from the happenings of the day, they all went to bed, excepting Amos Henderson, who entered the tower to steer the ship.
The engines, dynamos and motors ran without much attention save such as the pilot might give them occasionally, for he could leave the ship with the steering wheel fastened, a few minutes at a time, as there was no danger of collisions. So the Monarch continued to race toward the north.
It was almost time for Mark's tour of duty to begin. The two boys, who were sleeping together, were in a deep slumber, when Washington ran in and shouted at the top of his voice:
"Wake up everybody! De perfessor is killed dead!"
Andy, Mark, Jack and the two helpers sat up in their bunks, rubbing their sleepy eyes and wondering what had happened.
"What's the matter?" asked Jack.
"Mr. Henderson is dead! He's in the engine room!"
"What killed him?" inquired Andy.
"He must hab got a shock from de dynamo!"
Andy jumped from his bunk and hurried to the engine room. There, as the negro had described, Professor Henderson was lying white and senseless on the floor.
The old hunter stooped over the inventor and felt of his heart.
"He is alive!" he exclaimed. "His heart beats! We must carry him to a bunk!"
Aided by Washington, Andy carried the professor to the sleeping room, where he was made comfortable in one of the beds. The captain was so near death that he could not be seen to breathe, and only the faint flutter of his heart told that life existed.
"We're lost!" cried Washington. "If he dies we'll never get back home again. He is de only one dat knows how to mix de chemicals for de gas!"
This was alarming news. Without the mysterious vapor the ship would not keep afloat long, nor could it be worked back from the desolate land of ice and snow. How much of the gas was left no one knew.
"Did he ever get a shock like this before?" asked the hunter of
Washington.
"Once, but not so strong."
"What did you do for him? What medicine did he take?"
"Glory! Glory!" shouted the negro, jumping up and down in his excitement. "I remembers it now. Wait a second!"
He hurried to the engine room, and came back in a little while with a small bottle.
"Perfessor done say," he began, "dat if eber I seed him senselike, when he done gone and got a shock from de 'lectrisititeness, I was to gib him two spoons full ob dis."
Andy took the bottle, which contained a red liquid. Bill got a spoon from the locker where the dishes were kept. With hands that trembled the old hunter poured out some of the fluid. Then, with Jack's help he forced open the inventor's mouth and put the medicine in.
"I hope it works!" murmured Andy.
He poured out a second spoonful. This was administered to the unconscious man. In a few seconds his face that had been pale showed a little color. His chest expanded as he drew a long breath. Then the old inventor opened his eyes and asked faintly:
"What happened? Where am I?"
"You are all right now," spoke Andy in a gentle voice. "You are out of danger I hope, and safe on the Monarch."
"Is the airship all right?" asked the captain eagerly.
"Yes, and sailing along like a bird," was the answer. In fact every one had forgotten that the craft was forging ahead, and that all the machinery was working.
A look of relief crossed Professor Henderson's face, and he sat up.
"I remember now," he said. "I was adjusting the dynamo, and I touched a live wire. The current was very strong. It is a wonder I was not killed. But how did you bring me around again?"
"Washington happened to remember some medicine you had told him to use in emergencies."
"Oh, yes: I'm glad I had some on board. It is a remedy for those shocked with electricity. But I must see to the machinery."
"No, you must not," said Andy firmly. "You are too weak to get up yet, and you have a bad burn on your hand."
"All right," agreed Amos Henderson, for he felt weak and sick from the shock. "Some one had better see to the steering now," he added, and then he leaned back in the bunk and closed his eyes.
Jack ran to the conning tower. He found that the ship, under the influence of a strong wind, was going due west, instead of to the north. He shifted the steering wheel and brought the Monarch on her course again, pointing to the north pole. Then he called for Mark, and the two boys arranged that between them they would run the ship until Professor Henderson recovered.
Andy and Washington, who were watching beside the professor's bunk, where he reclined, seemingly in a deep slumber, were startled as he suddenly sat upright.
"Hark!" the old man exclaimed. "Listen! Do you hear it?"
"Hear what?" asked the hunter, in a soothing tone, wishing to humor the sick man.
"Do you not hear a terrible rushing, roaring wind? The ship! The ship is in danger!"
The thrilling words sent a chill to the hearts of the watchers. There was no sign of a storm. In fact it was strangely quiet outside, the only noise heard being that of the engines of the ship.
"His mind wanders," said Andy.
He had no sooner spoken than a cry from Jack, who with Mark was in the steering tower, startled them. His voice ran out through the cabins as he cried:
"A whirlwind! A whirlwind! We are running straight into a whirlwind!"
CHAPTER XIV
TOSSED BY A TORNADO
"Shut down de engines!" cried Washington.
"Lower the ship!" exclaimed Mark, who had run back from the tower.
"Close to the earth we may escape the wind!"
"Is it headed toward us?" asked Andy.
"Straight," answered Mark. Jack tried to steer to one side, but the currents of air sucked the ship right back into the path again!
"The captain knew more than we gave him credit for," muttered the hunter. "He heard the storm coming."
The air, that had been so strangely quiet, now vibrated with a curious humming. It seemed to make the whole ship tremble. Then, just as the craft began to settle down, the upward pulling force of the gas being lessened under Washington's manipulations, there came a terrible roaring. The wind howled like a thousand demons seeking to tear the Monarch to pieces.
"It's a regular tornado!" cried Andy.
Then the storm picked the downward-falling ship up as if it had been a feather and tossed the craft into the air. The adventurers were in a sad plight.
There was nothing to be done. The forces of nature were ten times stronger than those of man. To start the engines and try to run the ship out of the grasp of the wind would only mean to strain the craft to a dangerous point. There was but one thing to do, to run before the tornado, as ships on the sea scud before the gale. In this way the airship might be saved, if it was not dashed down to earth.
As soon as this plan manifested itself to be the best one, Washington stopped drawing gas from the bag. He wanted to keep the ship as high as he could. Jack still held his place in the conning tower, but he could do nothing to guide the craft, and it would have been folly to attempt it, so fearful was the force of the wind.
"Which way are we headed?" asked Mark, making his way back to the tower where Jack was.
"Almost due west," was the reply. "About two points to the south, too."
"Then we are being driven away from the north pole," said Mark.
"We're as helpless as kittens tied up in a sack," said Andy. "If only I could do something I'd feel better. But I've got to sit here and take what comes."
The sick man stirred uneasily. Then he muttered in his delirium something about the tornado that was tossing him from side to side of the bunk.
Strangely enough there was nothing to the storm but wind. There was no rain or snow, and the air was remarkably clear, excepting for the darkness of the clouds. Aside from the way in which the ship was blown along there was nothing to indicate that the breeze was rushing along at tempest speed. There were no trees bent to the earth, and no clouds of dust. The sky clouds kept pace with the airship.
"I wonder where we are?" asked Jack, who with Mark had come back from the tower.
"We'll have to guess at it," replied Andy. "It would be as much as a man's life is worth to go outside and take an observation."
"Don't hab to do dat," broke in Washington. "See here!"
He stooped over and pulled on an iron ring that was fastened in the floor of the dining-room cabin. A section of a board came up.
"Look!" exclaimed the negro pointing down. All leaned forward and saw that a heavy plate glass had been set over a hole cut through the floor of the ship. By means of this strange window one could look directly down toward the earth. Jack kneeled and peered through the glass. He rose to his feet with a cry of fear.
"What's the matter?" asked Andy.
"We are right over the ocean!" exclaimed the boy. "I can see immense waves not three hundred feet below! The airship must be falling and we'll be dashed into the sea!"
At these words Washington ran to the engine room. He looked at the height indicator.
"We's four hundred feet in de air, an' a—we's agoin' down!" he muttered.
Jack, who had followed him, saw by the instrument what the dreadful truth was. Blown from her course, the Monarch was now over an open polar sea, into which she might be dashed at any moment. The tornado still howled and roared outside, making it impossible to inflate the gas bag, so strong was the pressure of wind on it. And without a fresh supply of gas, the ship must fall.
There was no abatement to the tornado. The ship was tossed more violently than ever. Jack peered through the floor-window again.
"We are nearer the water!" he exclaimed as he arose. "The sea is covered with icebergs. They are crashing together in the big waves. If we fall the ship will be ground to pieces in the floes!"
"Try the gas machine again!" urged Andy. "Maybe the wind has lessened."
Washington started the machine. He kept one eye on the needle of the indicator that told the gas pressure in the bag, and the other on the height register. The black pointer of the latter went lower and lower. It was now at one hundred, and kept on going down slowly, until it stood at seventy-five. Soon only sixty-five feet stood between the airship and her passengers, and the angry, swirling water beneath, where the icebergs crashed and ground together.
Then Washington, who was ready to faint with fear and despair, gave a cry of joy. He had noticed that the height indicator stopped. At the same time the gas register showed that the vapor from the machine was entering the bag.
"Glory! Glory!" cried the negro. "We's saved now. De ship is goin' up, and the gas is workin' in. De wind must be goin' down!"
Then, while all save Professor Henderson, who was still unconscious, crowded into the engine room, they saw that what Washington said was true. The pressure of the wind had lessened, permitting the bag to fill with the gas. This served to lift the ship, and the pointer on the height indicator began to move upward. Higher and higher went the craft, until in a few minutes the register showed six hundred feet. They had been saved from death in the sea.
"Hurrah!" cried Jack. "I believe the tornado has left us!"
Indeed the roaring of the wind was less now. The ship was no longer violently tossed. In a few minutes the wind died away almost completely, and, aside from the rising motion, and a slight swaying, the Monarch rode on an even keel. The danger was over.
"Is the ship safe?" called Professor Henderson from his bunk.
"All safe!" exclaimed the hunter cheerfully. "We had a little blow, but it is all over, and the Monarch behaved like the King she is—or, perhaps I ought to say Queen, seeing that all ships are ladies. But how do you feel, professor?"
"I am much better," was the answer, showing that the medicine had done its work. "I feel hungry," he went on. "What time is it?"
"Six o'clock," answered Jack, looking at the dial.
"Night or morning?"
"Morning, I guess."
"Then we'll have breakfast," said the professor with a smile.
He stepped from the bunk. As he did so there was a sudden lurch to the ship. Then it began to sink suddenly.
"We are going down!" cried the captain. "What has happened?"
"The gas bag is leaking again!" shouted Washington from the engine room.
CHAPTER XV
PRISONERS OF THE ESQUIMAUX
The hearts of all were filled with new terror. They had just come safely through one danger only to fall into another.
The professor limped to the engine room. A glance confirmed his fears.
The gas was escaping from the bag in large quantities.
"I am afraid the patch we put on has come loose," he said. "The tornado must have unfastened it. Are we over land or sea?" he asked anxiously.
Jack hurried to where the sheet of thick glass was set into the floor of the cabin. He peered down toward the ground.
"We are over land, or, at least, a big ice field," he said, looking up." We must have crossed some arm of the sea, or, perhaps, a bay." Then, as he looked down through the window again, he gave a frightened start. "There are people below us!" he cried. "I can see hundreds of them! They are waiting for us to land!"
The ship was fast settling, and, because of that fact, and for the reason that the propeller was sending it ahead, the Monarch was approaching the ice at a sharp angle.
"Stop the engines!" commanded the professor. "Our only hope is in coming down easily. If we strike the ice hard we are lost!"
Lower and lower sank the Monarch, like a bird with a broken wing. In a few minutes there came a sudden jar that told the ship had struck the ice. Then, with a swish and rustle the silk bag, emptied of gas fell on the roof of the cabins. The Monarch had come down between two big hummocks of ice, and rested almost in a level position.
The adventurers peered from the windows. At first they could see nothing but a vast expanse of frozen whiteness. Then the ship, in an instant, seemed to be surrounded by men, women and children, all dressed in furs, only their faces showing.
"Here they come!" cried Andy.
The Esquimaux showed no fear of the airship nor the strange beings that inhabited it. They advanced boldly, many of them bearing rude weapons, spears, stone axes, and bows and arrows of bone. They were a fierce looking crowd.
"I can't have them come inside the ship," spoke the professor, "they will tear the machinery apart."
"Shall I fire on them?" asked Andy, getting his rifle ready.
"Not for the world!" cried the captain. "They are ten to our one, and probably this is but a small part of the tribe. Our only safety lies in peaceful means. Come, we must put on our fur garments and go outside. That may induce them to let the ship alone."
"They may take us prisoners," objected Jack.
"Better be prisoners with the airship safe than with it all broken so we can never use it," said the old inventor. "If we lose the ship then we are lost indeed. If we go out to them, they may be afraid to venture in alone. Come, we must hurry!"
Obeying the captain's advice, they all donned their fur garments, and each took a revolver and several rounds of ammunition. These small weapons could be concealed about them without much trouble.
Then the whole party emerged from the cabins out on the forward deck of the Monarch. It was high time, for several of the Esquimaux, with their big stone axes, were advancing to batter in the doors. At the sight of the adventurers, who had only been dimly observed through the windows, there arose a great shout among the savages.
Rapidly the air-travelers climbed over the ship's rail, down on to the ice, and walked boldly among the Esquimaux.
"Show a brave front!" exclaimed the captain, in a low voice. "Perhaps they mean no harm after all."
But this idea was soon dismissed. With a shout the foremost of the natives rushed on the party of whites, surrounded them, and, before any one had a chance to draw his revolver, had he desired to do so, each member of the Monarch's crew was seized and bound with strong thongs of walrus hide.
"Well, they've got us," groaned old Andy. "I wish I'd taken a few shots at them first!"
The old inventor watched narrowly every move the Esquimaux made. At first several of the natives showed a desire to penetrate the interior of the Monarch. But the commands of one big man, evidently the chief, who was clad entirely in white furs, deterred them. Scores crawled up the ice hummock and looked the strange craft over with wondering eyes, but none molested it.
Suddenly the man in the white furs uttered a loud cry. It was answered from a dozen throats, and then great activity was manifested. Big sledges, made of bone for a framework, with laced thongs for a body, were brought up, and dogs were harnessed to the vehicles. While some natives were attending to this, others scattered in different directions, returning presently with large supplies of dead fish, seals, and a large polar bear.
"This is evidently a hunting party," said Mr. Henderson. "They have been away from their main town or camp for several days, and were on their way back when they saw our airship. I wonder what they will do with us."
He was not long left in doubt. The chief of the Esquimaux approached the adventurers, who, bound with thongs, were sitting on the ice. He addressed Washington in a strange language, but Washington, with a motion of his head nodded toward Captain Henderson, to indicate that he was the commander of the party. To the old inventor, therefore, did the native in the white furs speak next.
He made a motion of a person reclining on a sledge and indicated that the captives were to be taken away in that fashion. Then the chief motioned to his mouth and pretended to chew.
"He seems to want us to take a sleigh ride and get something to eat," said Mr. Henderson. "I suppose we might as well go along."
He nodded an assent to the Esquimaux chief, thinking the sign for that would be understood. It was, evidently, for the chief nodded back and smiled.
The rude sleds were brought close to the party from the Monarch. Then the captives were bundled on the vehicles like so many logs of wood, and bound to the runners with hide thongs. Next a fur robe was thrown over each one, a hole being left for them to breathe, and a dog driver took his position at the front of each sled.
With cracks of the whips and wild shouts the natives started off at a rapid speed. Then it was the prisoners appreciated the extra fur coverings, for when the vehicles were in motion the keen wind cut like a knife on the little portion of the face left exposed.
A sharp pang of regret struck the professor's heart as he realized that he was being carried away from his beloved airship, which was left in the hands of the enemy. They might wreck it he realized, to get the valuable wood and metal in the different parts. If they did, it would mean that the adventurers would be doomed to remain in the land of perpetual ice and snow forever.
For several hours the journey was continued. The dogs drawing the sleds never seemed to slacken their speed, but, urged by voice and whip, sped on over ice and snow.
Suddenly a loud cry sounded. The sleds, as if in obedience to a command, came to a halt. The captives raised their heads and saw that the whole party had come to a stop. Several of the Esquimaux began opening bundles and took out pieces of frozen fat meat. With this they went from team to team among the dogs, and fed the brutes that seemed ravenous from hunger.
The animals provided with a meal, the Esquimaux fed themselves. It was a primitive feast. The men simply bit off chunks of fat and blubber and swallowed them almost whole.
"I'm pretty hungry, but I don't believe I could eat that," observed
Jack.
"Wait until you get a chance," advised Mark. "Maybe they are not going to offer us any. As for me, I am starved enough to tackle most anything."
Presently the Esquimaux chief approached the captives, who had been drawn close together on their sleds. The leader of the natives had in his hands some queer looking stuff. At a sign from him several of the other Esquimaux loosened the bonds that bound the prisoners.
"Um!" grunted the chief. "Um! Um!" At least his words sounded like that.
"I guess he wants us to eat," said the professor.
He took some of the food the Esquimaux chief held out. The stuff did not look very inviting, about as much like cold fat as anything. The professor bit into it.
"It's good!" he exclaimed. "It's chopped up meat and suet, and it's cooked! Eat it!"
They all did, for they were very hungry and cold. Then the captives were bound again, the dogs were harnessed, and the journey was resumed. The sun still shone, though it was getting late, but the prisoners were all sleepy, for, by the run of hours, it was now night.
On and on went the sleds. Jack had dozed off, when he was aroused by a shout. He raised his head to look about him, and was filled with terror at what he saw.
The sled he was on, as well as all the others, was coasting down a great hill of ice at fearful speed! The dogs were gone, and the fleet of sleighs, under their own weight, were dashing down the Mountainous side of a great glacier!
CHAPTER XVI
THE STRANGE WOMAN AIDS
"Professor! Professor!" cried Jack. He saw the sled on which the old inventor was lashed close to him.
"Eh! Yes! What is it?" asked the old man, sticking his head out from under the fur robe.
"They have set us adrift down the mountain and we'll be killed!"
The boy struggled to free himself from his bonds. The professor, raising his head and realizing the danger, did likewise.
But the tough walrus hide was too tightly drawn. The captives, if they went to their deaths, would go bound and unable to help themselves. In terror Jack glanced on either side of him. To his surprise he noticed that not only were the sleds of himself and his comrades going down the hill, but the vehicles of all the Esquimaux as well.
"Can an accident have happened?" he asked himself. "Or have they all gone crazy? This beats me."
Faster and faster went the sleighs. Showers of ice splinters flew up on either side of the bone runners. The wind whistled past Jack's face. Then, as a sled of one of the natives shot near to Jack's, the boy noticed that the Esquimaux's face was calm, and he was smiling a bit.
"This doesn't look as if he was going to be killed," reasoned the boy. But the speed of the sleds never slackened and Jack was much afraid, as were the other prisoners.
But at length, with a swish and a whizz, the sleighs shot around a curve, and slid out on a broad expanse of smooth ice. Off jumped the natives, laughing and chatting. Then Jack realized the truth.
The Esquimaux, instead of trusting to their dogs to draw them down the steep hill, had simply coasted, just as Jack had done many a time at home.
In a little while the dogs, that had been led by a number of the natives down an easier path than that which the steep hill offered, came up, barking and yelping. They were again harnessed to the sledges, and the journey commenced once more.
This time it did not last more than an hour. It was along a level stretch of ice, and soon they were in the midst of an Esquimaux village.
Huts of ice, with rounded tops, were on every side, with here and there a tent made of seal skins stretched over poles. There were several hundred inhabitants, who mingled with the members of the hunting party, that included men, women and children, for, when the Esquimaux go for a several days' stay after fish they take their families along.
"We seem to have struck camp at last," remarked the professor to Andy.
"I wonder what they are going to do with us now."
"The least they could do would be to untie us and give us a good meal," growled the old hunter, who was stiff from being bound so long on the sled.
"Who said dinner?" broke in Washington from his sled. "I jest wish I had a chicken pot-pie!"
"I'd willingly go without a meal if I was sure the airship was safe," sighed the professor.
At this mention of their craft all the adventurers became silent and a feeling of sadness came over them. But they had little time to indulge in gloomy thoughts.
As soon as the inhabitants of the camp had greeted the fishing party the captives were surrounded by a group of curious ones, who followed the chief, in his white furs, to where the prisoners' sleds had been drawn up. The white men, who must have seemed strange beings to the Esquimaux, were still fastened to the vehicles. At a word from the leader the bonds were cut.
"I guess they want us to get up," said Jack.
He rose from his sleigh, and his example was followed by the others. The Esquimaux closed around them. Then, before any of the prisoners could raise a hand in their defense, they were seized by a score of the dark natives and hurried off across the snow.
"Draw your revolvers and shoot!" cried Andy. "They are going to kill us!"
"No! No!" shouted the old inventor. "To resist now would be folly. Have patience a little longer!"
His voice was so earnest that all obeyed him. So, unresisting, the captives were borne away. Then a strange thing happened.
The sun, which had been shining in the sky from which it would not disappear for six months, suddenly seemed to darken. The captives started in surprise.
"What's the matter?" asked the old inventor, struggling to escape from the arms which held him. "Is it night?"
"I guess dey done gone and blindfolded us!" exclaimed Washington.
Indeed it was as black as if the prisoners had been plunged into a gloomy pit. Then, as they looked up while being half led, half dragged along they saw that they had left the outer air and were being conducted into some sort of a cave.
"It's an ice-cavern!" groaned the old hunter, "They are going to torture us as the Indians do!"
"Hush!" cautioned the inventor. "Do not think of such things. All is not yet lost!"
In a little while the darkness, caused by the captives being suddenly taken from the bright sunlight into the cave, was somewhat dispelled. It grew gradually brighter, thought they were conducted farther and farther into the recesses of the cavern. Then, as they were led around the turn of a passage, they saw what made the light.
Scores of rude lamps, made from hollowed out stones, with twisted moss for wicks, and burning seal oil, gave a smoky illumination, that lit up the cave with a red glare. The lamps were set in niches in the icy walls of the cavern, while some were placed upon the floor and others seemed to be arranged about a sort of altar at the farther end of the big ice chamber.
From the icy crystal walls the glare of the moss wicks was reflected back in a thousand points of light, and amid the glow the captives beheld a score or more of old men seated in a circle about a big centre lamp, that shone with a flame five times as bright as any of the others.
"It looks as if we were being brought before the head men of the tribe," muttered the old hunter.
A short distance away from the circle of old men, the native in the white furs, who seemed to have lost some of his authority on entering the ice chamber, motioned the captives to be seated. They sat down, crossed legs, and waited.
They were aware that the interior of the cave was much warmer than the air outside, and soon were forced to lay aside some of their heavy garments. In a little while several women approached bearing huge platters on which rested smoked chunks of hot meat.
It did not look very inviting. There were no knives, no forks, no napkins and no plates. None of the somewhat limited comforts of the airship were to be had. But the captives were too hungry to mind such things. Using their fingers, they ate ravenously, and found the meat very good, though they did not know what it was.
"I feel much better," said Jack. "If I only had some place to wash my hands now, I'd be quite satisfied."
"You ought to be thankful you got something to eat," returned Mark. "I was almost starved."
"Dat was as good as roast beef, chicken, pork-chops, cranberry sauce, celery an' potatoes," observed Washington with a sigh of satisfaction.
Since the native women had brought them food no one in the cave had taken the slightest notice of the prisoners. The men in the centre about the big stone lamp sat like so many dark and graven images, saying not a word.
"I wonder what is next on the program?" asked Andy.
In a few minutes an old woman, bearing a stone basin full of some liquid, and a horn cup, approached them, and, filling the smaller vessel, offered the old professor something to drink. As she neared him she caught sight of his white face and long whitish beard and hair, and gave such a start that she nearly dropped the basin she was carrying. She peered down into the old man's face and muttered something that sounded like:
"Ingliss!"
"What has she got and what is she saying?" asked the hunter.
"I don't know what she said," replied Amos Henderson, "but she has given me some good milk."
Then, going from one to the other, the old woman, who seemed strangely agitated as she saw so many white faces, poured out the reindeers' milk, which made a welcome drink.
"They are treating us better than I thought they would," remarked Andy.
"Maybe we will not be so badly off as I feared."
Suddenly, from the midst of the circle of natives, a voice arose. The captives glanced quickly over in the direction, and saw that the man in the white furs, who had superintended their capture, was addressing the council.
His words were strange to the prisoners, but they could tell by his gestures he was describing how he had found the white men, who had come in the wonderful airship. At times the narrator would point in the direction of the captives. Again he would show by gestures how the airship had settled down on the ice. He was interrupted by many questions and, at the end of his tale, a silence fell over the crowd of natives.
Then, as if by some signal, all the lights save the large central lamp were extinguished. By the glow from that the prisoners could see their captors, one by one, filing from the cave.
"They are leaving us all alone," said the inventor. "At any rate they have done us no harm, and perhaps may not. If we could only get back to the ship; that would be all I'd ask," and he sighed as he thought of his beloved craft.
For a long while the captives sat in silence, brooding over their fate. Worn out by the trials of the day, the two farmers at last fell asleep. Washington, too, was soon snoring, and the two boys felt drowsy. The regular breathing of the professor told that he, also, had forgotten his troubles in dreamland, and Andy was about to drop off nodding, when he was startled by a soft foot-fall. He sat up on the icy floor of the cave where he had stretched himself out.
"Who's there?" he asked sharply.
"Sh! Ingliss!" exclaimed a soft voice. "No spik! Me like Ingliss! Me
Dirola!"
"Who are you?" asked the old hunter again, but in a whisper.
"Me like Ingliss!" was the reply. "They kill! Me save! You come! All
Ingliss!"
Then, into the glare of the big lamp, glided the strange woman who had brought the milk.
CHAPTER XVII
FIGHTING FOR THE SHIP
"Professor Henderson! Wake up!" called Andy. "Hey, boys, Bill, Tom,
Washington! This may mean something!"
In an instant the prisoners were sitting up, and blinking in the direction of the big lamp.
"What is it all about?" asked Amos Henderson.
"As near as I can make out this lady is going to save us," replied the hunter. "She says the natives want to kill us, and that she likes the English, though how she can talk United States is more than I can understand."
Dirola, as the Esquimaux woman had called herself, approached the old inventor, and, kneeling down in front of him, spoke rapidly in her broken tongue.
"Me save you!" she repeated. "Me Dirola! Me from way, way off," and she pointed to the north. "Me been prisoner here long time. Me see white Ingliss man once. He come my country. He go way. My people want kill him, no like. He be take away. His name Andre!"
"Great Scott!" exclaimed the professor. "I believe this woman was acquainted with the poor fellow whose bones we found! Can it be possible!"
"You come; me save!" went on the strange woman. "Me no like it here; want go to my people. Me learn spik Ingliss from Andre. Me young girl then!"
"Well, of all the strange happenings!" exclaimed the inventor. "I believe she is telling the truth. Probably poor Andre Christiansen got among her people and she learned a little English from him."
"You come?" questioned Dirola. "Me show you where ship hid."
"I wonder if it's safe to trust her," said the old hunter. "According to the message we found, the people Andre fell among were not very kind."
The woman seemed to understand that some objection was being raised. She spoke rapidly and earnestly.
"My people no harm," she said. "Me tell 'um you save me, they no kill you. You come. Much hurry now. You be killed here!"
"I think we might as well chance it," was Professor Henderson's opinion. "Perhaps she does know where the ship is from hearing talk among members of the fishing party that captured us. What do you say? Shall we go?"
Every one agreed that it would be better than to stay in the cave and face an unknown danger. So, wrapping their furs closely about them, the captives rose silently and prepared to follow the woman, who seemed pleased that they were going. She did not lead them out the way they had been brought in, but by a smaller entrance.
"Go easy!" she cautioned. "No want bad mans to hear! They kill Dirola!"
Walking like cats in their soft boots of fur, the prisoners followed the strange woman who had so opportunely come to their rescue. Though they were very apprehensive, they met with no one. Leaving the glare of the big lamp behind, they were soon in semi-darkness, but in a little while they emerged into the bright sunlight.
"They all sleep!" muttered Dirola, motioning toward the camp of Esquimaux which she indicated was behind the ice cavern they had just left. "We walk; den we git dogs an' sleds. Den we ride so no can catch!"
At a sign from Dirola the seven prisoners stepped out briskly. It seemed queer to see the sun shining after having been in the dark cave, where it looked like night, and to get used to the appearance of Old Sol shining steadily all night long, was something the adventurers had not quite accomplished. They walked perhaps a mile before they came to where the dog teams were, behind a hill of ice.
There were two big sleds, with room enough for all, and ten dogs to each vehicle. The animals, which were securely tied to pinnacles of ice, were snapping and snarling among themselves.
"Quick, git on!" commanded Dirola. "Maybe they chase us!"
The captives needed no second bidding. They piled on the sledges, the professor, Andy and Washington on one and the two boys and the two helpers on the other. Dirola took her seat in front of Professor Henderson.
"Who's going to drive our dogs?" asked Jack.
"No drive. They follow me," said the woman, and then Jack saw that the foremost animal of his team was tied by a long thong to the rear of the first sleigh.
The Esquimaux woman snapped her whip, having first untied the dogs, and away the teams went over the snow at a great pace.
The spirits of all arose as they went on, making mile after mile on their journey, away from the ice cave and back to the Monarch. Dirola seemed to know just where she was going, and never hesitated. With voice and whip she guided the dog teams on, urging them to top speed, for she was escaping as well as the adventurers.
For several hours the captives rode, becoming thoroughly chilled, for a cold, cutting wind sprang up and blew in their faces.
"We most there," said the woman at length.
"I'm glad to hear it," remarked Andy. "I will be glad to get back to a civilized place, even if it is an airship."
Suddenly Dirola turned her head and glanced behind. As she did so she uttered an exclamation and called shrilly to the dogs, at the same time snapping her long whip viciously.
"What's the matter?" asked Andy.
"They come after us."
Looking back, Andy was startled to see, about a mile in the rear, more than a score of sleds, laden with fur-robed Esquimaux, in full pursuit.
"Now we're in for it!" he cried. "It will be a race to see who gets to the ship first! Get out your revolvers! I'm not going to be captured again!"
Each one of the adventurers brought out his weapon. The pursuing Esquimaux seemed aware that their former captives had observed them, and urged their dog teams to greater speed. It was indeed a race.
Dirola's animals had been urged almost to their limit, and were now lagging. Voice and whip no longer served to send them forward. Several of the beasts were limping.
"There ship!" cried the woman suddenly. The crew and owner of the Monarch glanced ahead. They saw, about a quarter of a mile in advance, their airship, resting on an icy ledge.
"If we can only get there first!" cried the professor.
"You forget the leak in the gas bag," spoke up Andy. "That will have to be mended before we can escape."
"With quick work we can do it!" exclaimed the inventor. "Hurry on,
Dirola!"
Dirola needed no urging. With fierce words she hurried on the dogs, her whip sounding like a revolver as it snapped and cracked.
But fast as the escaping ones went, the pursuers seemed to come faster. Now they were so close that they could be seen brandishing their spears, bows and arrows. Their shouts, too, were borne forward on the cold wind.
At last the adventurers were at the side of the airship. Hastily they dismounted from their sleds turning the dogs loose. The Esquimaux in pursuit were about half a mile to the rear and would soon be upon them.
"Quick, Dirola! Into the ship with you!" called Andy. "We'll take you with us if we go at all!"
"We must mend the tear first!" exclaimed the professor, scrambling up the icy slope toward the cabin of the Monarch in a fashion that would have done credit to a much younger man. "Andy, you and the boys, with Tom and Bill, hold the enemy at bay until Washington and I get the ship in readiness for a start!"
"All right!" cried Andy, now in his element. "I'll make those Esquimaux wish they had let us alone!"
Dirola had disappeared inside the cabin. In a few minutes the professor and Washington were hard at work setting the machinery in motion.
First, after having seen that none of the apparatus was disarranged, Amos Henderson started the gas generating machine. Next, leaving Washington in charge of this and the engine room, the inventor prepared a big patch with some cement on it. This he gave to Mark, who quickly found the place where the old patch had come off the silk bag, and covered the opening. Already the bag was beginning to swell with the gas.
But now with loud yells the Esquimaux came rushing up. Leaping off their sleds, they began throwing their spears and shooting their arrows.
CHAPTER XVIII
NORTHWARD ONCE MORE
"Repel boarders!" sung out Andy. "Where are the guns?"
"Here!" shouted Tom, handing out the rifles fully loaded.
The old hunter seized a weapon, as did Bill, Jack, and Mark. Tom also leveled his gun at the savages.
Bang! Crack! Bang! went the guns. It was like a skirmish in battle. As
Andy directed, each one fired low.
So heavy a fusillade as the adventurers were able to fire had its effect. Many of the Esquimaux fell, none badly hurt, but disabled so they could not attack. Still the main body advanced up the slope with angry cries, determined to capture the airship and regain their captives.
The ship now began to quiver through its whole length. Larger and larger distended the gas bag. Then, with a motion as of a great bird arising from where it had been fastened to the earth, the Monarch arose slowly in the air. A cry of astonishment burst from the Esquimaux. Some who had hold of the rail retained their grip until they felt themselves lifted up. Then they let go suddenly and dropped to the ice.
"We're off!" cried Andy. He aimed a blow at a native who was still clinging to the ship and endeavoring to spear the old hunter. Andy missed his blow, just as the native let fly his spear, which pierced the hunter in the arm.
With a yell of rage, the native let go and fell. Andy sank back on the deck of the ship sorely wounded. The ship soared aloft. The next instant the propeller started revolving and the Monarch passed off over the heads of the savages.
"Is any one hurt?" asked the professor, coming from the engine room.
"Andy was struck by a spear!" exclaimed Jack.
At the inventor's suggestion they carried the old hunter into the cabin, and laid him on one of the bunks.
"You take the steering wheel," said Amos Henderson to Jack. "Washington will run the engines for a while and Mark and I will see to Andy. Bill and Tom, you can get something to eat; and turn on the heating stoves; it is cold here."
Soon everyone on board was busily engaged. The professor bandaged Andy's arm, which contained a severe though not fatal wound. In a little while the hunter awoke from the stupor into which the pain had thrown him.
"Fire!" he cried.
"There is no need," said the professor soothingly. "We are safe now."
Then Andy grew quiet. In the meanwhile Bill and Tom had started the gasolene and electric stoves, and a meal, made from the capsule food, was soon ready. That it tasted good goes without saying.
On and on rushed the ship, for Washington had speeded up all the engines in order to sooner escape from the natives who had held him and his friends captives.
As soon as the professor could leave Andy in charge of Mark, he went to the engine room. There he found everything in good shape. Next he went to the conning tower, where Jack was steering.
"How is she heading?" asked the old man.
"Straight for the north!" replied the boy.
"Good! Keep her so. Let me see; we are about a mile high now. I guess that will do," and he turned off the gas generator. "Moving about twenty miles an hour," he added. "That is fast enough. I wonder how cold it is?"
He consulted the dial that was connected to a thermometer outside.
"Whew!" he whistled. "Fifty below! I'm glad we are here!"
Jack was too. The old inventor glanced at the direction compass and then at the deflecting one that indicated how near the north pole they were. As he did so he uttered a cry.
"What is it?" cried the boy.
For answer Mr. Henderson pointed to the needle. It was almost straight up and down.
"Well?" asked Jack, who did not understand much about scientific things.
"That means we are almost at the north pole!" cried the professor. "At the exact north the needle points straight down, because the pole is a magnet, and being directly underneath pulls the end of the needle down. See, it is almost down now. I believe we shall really get to the pole, and my ambition will be realized."
Aside from the wound Andy had received, none of the party was any the worse for their adventures as prisoners. Now that they were safe back on the ship they were inclined to laugh at the fears they had felt.
For several hours the Monarch was held to her course at a fairly good speed. Then, at the professor's order, the engines were turned on at full power, since the air was still, and there was no sign of a storm. Straight to the north the craft shot, every one on board now anxious, as they became aware that they were near to their destination.
The former life was resumed, and the hours of watch were marked out as they had been. The sun still shone, never setting, but by this time the adventurers were used to perpetual day. Dirola kept to herself, not saying a word to anybody.
"I think I'll drop the ship down a bit and see what sort of a country is beneath us," announced Mr. Henderson about four o'clock, though whether it was four o'clock in the morning or the afternoon, no one knew. However, it did not matter much. "If there is an open sea around the north pole, as some believe," he went on, "we ought to see some signs of it now."
He let some gas out of the bag, and the Monarch slowly settled toward the earth. The inventor opened the trap door that covered the plate glass in the floor of the cabin, and peered down. When within five hundred feet of the ground he signaled to stop the descent of the ship.
"Nothing but ice, ice, ice!" he announced. "Big hills and mountains of it. There is no sign of open water. Well, we are not quite at the pole yet."
Jack's turn at the wheel came to a close, and Mark relieved him. Washington, who had been on duty pretty steadily in the engine room, gave his place up to the inventor, and stretched out to sleep. Bill and Tom were snoring in their bunks, and Andy was resting easily, the pain from his wound being relieved by some ointment the professor put on.
The boy in the conning tower kept his eye on the two compasses, the one telling the direction, the other the nearness to the north pole. The latter gradually kept inclining more and more toward the earth.
"If we can only make it," thought Mark. "It will be something no one has ever done before. My! What a story the papers would make of it if they knew!"
"How is she running?" asked the captain, coming into the tower.
"Very well, indeed, sir."
"You might send her up a little," suggested the professor. "Keep her about half a mile high, and I'll be with you again before long."
The professor went to his bunk, and Mark was pleased enough to be left alone in charge of the ship. He held the wheel firmly, and did not deviate half a point from the northern course.
He had been steering for half an hour when he was suddenly aware of a dense gloom that settled down all about him. Then there came a great roaring sound. The air craft rocked violently. The wind whistled shrilly through the cordage and careened the Monarch to one side.
Then the whole atmosphere grew from a dense black to a strange opaque whiteness: a whiteness that shut out the view from every side, and enveloped the ship as if it had fallen into a feather bed. Mark started back in fright and let go his hold on the steering wheel.