CHAPTER XIX
A BLINDING SNOWSTORM
"Quick! Professor!" cried Mark. "Jack, Washington, everybody! Hurry up!"
"What's the matter?" asked the inventor, running to the conning tower.
In answer Mark pointed outside.
"A snow storm!" exclaimed the captain. "We must expect them up north.
But this is worse than I thought!"
He glanced ahead. Nothing could be seen but a wall of white. The wind increased until it blew with almost the force of a cyclone, and the ship swayed fearfully.
"Stop the engines!" cried the professor. "We had better drift than run the chances of hitting an iceberg if we should suddenly take a drop down to the ground."
Washington, awakened from his sleep, turned off the power. Then began a fight between the ship and the elements; a battle between the Monarch and the wind and snow. Which was to win?
The airship was, apparently, in the heart of the storm. It was tossed this way and that, now up and now down, though because of the quantity of gas in the bag the craft was buoyed up. The gas generating machine had not been stopped, only the machinery that moved the propeller.
How the wind howled! How the snow blew! It was a blinding storm, for from the windows of the conning tower and from those on either side of the cabin nothing could be discerned five feet away. Through the window in the bottom of the ship nothing showed but a sea of white flakes.
The cold was intense, seventy degrees below zero being marked on the thermometer. Even with the gasolene stoves going it was chilling inside the airship, for the cutting, biting wind found many cracks through which to enter.
But, if the propeller no longer urged the ship on, the force of the wind sent it ahead at a fearful pace. The gale careened the Monarch from side to side. Now the bow would be elevated, and, again, the stern. It was like a ship on a rough sea, and the occupants of the craft were tossed from side to side, receiving many bruises.
Old Andy was tied into his bunk, or he never could have stayed there, so violent was the motion.
"Where is Dirola?" asked Mr. Henderson suddenly.
"She was out on the stern a while ago," answered Bill. "She was saying something about it being too hot for her inside. That was before the storm came up."
"We must see to her," said the captain. "She must come inside. The motion of the ship may toss her off!"
Bill volunteered to go out and bring the Esquimaux woman in. It was all he could do to open the door, so strong was the pressure of wind on it.
When he did swing it back such a cloud of snow entered that it seemed as if some one had emptied a feather bed in the cabin.
"She don't want to come in," Bill reported when, after much exertion, he had made his way back again. "She is laughing at this storm, and says it's like what they have where she came from. She is braced against the cabin, and is wrapped up in furs. I guess she is all right."
"I suppose we must let her have her way," remarked Amos Henderson.
"After all she may be used to it."
In anxiousness and apprehension the voyagers waited for the storm to cease. But it showed no signs of abating. More and more violently rocked the Monarch.
"We must shut off the gasolene stoves!" exclaimed the inventor after a particularly heavy pitching and tossing motion, when the craft nearly turned over. "If we upset, the fluid will run from the tanks, come in contact with the flames, and we will burn in mid-air!"
Washington set to work turning off all the gasolene, and the larger tanks were lashed fast and securely stopped up.
"Better put our furs on," suggested the inventor. "It will be very cold in here soon."
The lack of heat quickly made itself felt, the ship becoming like an ice-box. Old Andy was warmly covered, for he was asleep in his bunk, having fallen into a slumber after being lashed in. The noise of the storm did not awaken him, since he was somewhat stupid from a fever into which his wound had thrown him.
All that could be done was to wait and hope. No human force could prevail over the storm. Bracing themselves against whatever offered, and clinging by their hands to projections, the adventurers in the cabin expected every moment to be their last. Washington, who had gone out to the engine room, came hurrying back.
"Look, here, Perfessor," he said, sticking his head in the dining cabin door, "de gas machine hab stopped circulatin'."
"Did you shut off the power?"
"No, sah! I ain't done gone and shut off no power!"
Making his way as best he could while the ship pitched and tossed, Amos Henderson reached the engine room. He looked at the gas generator. The power was turned on full, but the apparatus was not working.
"That is strange," he remarked. "I wonder—"
Then he hurried forward to the conning tower. As he did so the ship was whirled quickly around several times, and the sudden motion threw the old man down, his head striking on the edge of one of the bunks. He lay white and still.
"He's killed!" cried Washington.
"We are in a whirlwind!" yelled Bill at the same instant. "We'll be sucked up to the sky!"
The airship was swinging around and around as if in the grasp of some giant. The craft was really caught in the centre of a whirlwind, which spun it around like a top. Every one felt sick and dizzy from the queer motion.
"We must see to the professor!" said Jack. "Washington, get some of the remedy you used before. I think he has only fainted."
At this moment the old inventor opened his eyes.
"What happened?" he asked feebly. "Please give me some water. I am all right."
They brought him a drink, and he managed to sip a little of it. Then he attempted to sit up. But the effort was too much for him.
"What—what is the matter?" he asked. "I feel so strange. I am dizzy.
Has anything happened?"
"Somebody am a-playin' 'Ring around de Rosy' wid dis airship!" exclaimed
Washington, "My head am a-swimmin' so I can't stand."
"I must get to the conning tower!" muttered the old inventor. "I must get there."
"Let me go, you can never make it," said Jack. "What is it you want to see?"
"Look at the deflecting needle!" was the answer. "See how the needle points and come back and tell me! It may be we are at the north pole!"
Jack started forward, crawling on his hands and knees. Indeed, this was the only way he could advance. The professor watched him with anxious eyes. The ship spun around even faster. Old Andy had awakened and was gazing around with fear-stricken eyes.
Then, just as Jack reached the door of the conning tower, and started inside, the Monarch gave a violent motion. She seemed to stop for a moment, and then, with a great lurch, turned completely over, throwing the occupants to the ceiling. Then she plunged straight down to the earth, through the centre of the whirlwind, like an arrow falling!
CHAPTER XX
AT THE NORTH POLE?
For an instant the utmost confusion reigned. The adventurers fell in a heap on the ceiling that, for the time being, became the floor. Then, as the ship righted herself, they fell back again to the floor. The cords that bound Andy to his bunk broke, and he toppled with the rest.
"Repel the enemy!" yelled the old hunter, thinking in his delirium that the ship was again attacked.
"We are lost!" cried the professor, as he felt the Monarch plunging down.
For a hundred feet or more the ship shot earthward bow first, so that the adventurers all slid down to that end. It was well that everything, including the gasolene tanks, had been lashed fast, or there would have been a great jumble inside the craft.
Then, almost as suddenly as the ship had started to fall, it ceased, and rode on an even keel, righting and floating easily in the air. The wind no longer blew with the circular motion, the whirling having come to an end. But the blinding snow continued.
Jack staggered from the conning tower, where he had gone to look at the deflecting compass.
"What has happened?" he cried.
"No one knows," answered Professor Henderson. "We are in dire straits.
Did you look at the needle, Jack?"
"I did."
"What did it show?"
"The needle was straight up and down!"
"I knew it!" cried the old inventor. "I said we would reach the pole, and we have!"
"It ain't goin' to do us a heab sight ob good," said Washington. "I'd rather hab a good barber pole any day! No north poles fo' me!"
"Hush, Washington!" exclaimed Mr. Henderson. "This is no time to joke.
You are sure you made no mistake, Jack?"
"I am sure, sir."
"I thought we were at the pole when I saw that the gas engine had stopped," went on the professor. "The attraction of the earth-magnets at the pole exerted such a strong influence on the iron and steel that the gas machine could not work. At last I have reached the goal of my ambitions!"
The ship remained stationary for several minutes. Those aboard began to have hopes. The snow storm was still as fierce as ever, but that was all the manifestation of the elements.
"I want to take a look at the needle," said the professor. "I feel all right now; I was only a little faint from my fall. How are you, Andy?"
"I feel much better," replied the hunter, whose delirium had somewhat left him. "My arm is sore, that's all. But why have you all got your furs on?"
"We had to turn off the stoves," explained Amos Henderson. "You had better put your's on, too, Andy. You'll need them. We could only cover you over when you were in the bunk."
The hunter soon began to realize that it was chilly in the ship, and he donned his heavy garments. The professor started for the conning tower. He gave one glance at the needle of the deflecting compass, and a look of disappointment came over his face.
"It is not pointing down," he said to Jack, who had followed him.
"But I am sure it did when I noticed it," replied the boy.
"Then we have come past the pole," was Amos Henderson's opinion. "There is only a small spot that is exactly north, and we have passed over it during the storm. We must return. I want to descend exactly there and make some experiments. Tell Washington to start the engines. We will turn the ship around and go back!"
"We may run into the whirlwind again," objected Jack.
"That is so, I did not think of that. However, tell Washington to get everything in readiness."
It was no small task to get the engine room into shape after the upsetting it had been subjected to, but with the help of the boys and the two men Washington succeeded. In about an hour the Monarch was ready to be sent up or down, forward or back. Since she had ceased falling she had remain at a stationary height, about half a mile above the earth.
Meanwhile Professor Henderson was trying to make up his mind what to do. He wanted very much to get to the exact north pole, or the spot where the imaginary pole was supposed to be. But he hesitated about taking the airship back over the course, and run the chance of again encountering the whirlwind.
"The more I think of it," he said to Jack and Mark, who had joined him, "the more I think that the whirlwind is always there. It did not come to us, we ran into it. It may be caused by the magnetic currents at the pole eternally revolving. I am afraid to go back within their influence, for it might mean death."
"I have a plan," said Jack modestly.
"Let us hear it," came from the professor. "I am at a loss what to do."
"Supposing we let the ship down now," Jack continued, "and walk back until we come to the north pole, since it must be near here. We can take along the deflecting needle to tell when we reach it, and the whirlwind will not do much harm if we are on the ground and afoot."
"Good idea!" exclaimed the professor. "We'll do it. Washington, let the gas out and we'll descend!"
In a few minutes a hissing told that the gas was being let out of the silk bag. Soon the ship began to sink gently toward the earth, through the clouds of snow.
"Let us go outside," suggested Jack. "The wind doesn't blow now, and the snow will not hurt us. We will be warm enough in our furs."
Mark voted the suggestion a good one, and the two boys went out on the deck. Washington was busy in the engine room, and the professor was in the conning tower, so they did not go, but Tom and Bill said they would like to get a little fresh air, even if the temperature was far below zero, and they joined the lads.
The four stood and gazed in wonder at the strange scene. At first the terrible cold cut them as if it was a keen knife. But they soon grew used to it, and enjoyed what little of it reached them through the opening in their fur caps. The snowflakes covered everything and the airship looked more like a craft bedecked from stem to stern with cotton batting than anything else. Jack and Mark walked around to the stern. Suddenly Mark stumbled over something.
"What's this?" he cried.
Jack hurried to his side. As he did so the bundle gave a heave, and, breaking through the snow blanket, there was displayed the calm features of Dirola.
"Me sleep!" she announced with a smile.
And that was what she had been doing while the airship was being whirled around by the strange force! She had braced herself in a corner, pulled her furs about her face, and slumbered, even when the ship turned over. So well braced was she that she did not tumble off.
"Well! She's a cool one!" exclaimed Mark.
"I guess you'd be too, if you slept out of doors with the temperature about seventy below zero," remarked Jack. "But let's go in and tell the professor Dirola is here. He may be worried about her."
The boys started for the cabin. They had not taken five steps before, with a sudden lurch, the airship dived like a kite without its tail. Then the craft turned completely over!
Jack and Mark with the two helpers and Dirola were thrown from the deck, head first, toward the earth! Down and down they fell, uttering despairing cries!
CHAPTER XXI
LOST IN THE SNOW
Once more the wind blew with hurricane force. On board the Monarch
Washington and Professor Henderson were tossed to the ceiling again.
Then the ship righted herself.
"De boys! De boys!" cried Washington, suddenly thinking of them. "Dey hab falled off!"
"Great Scott! So they have!" exclaimed the inventor. "That is, unless they grabbed something as we went over!"
"An de Sesquitomexico woman, too!" cried the colored man, meaning
Dirola.
"I guess she went with the others," said the professor. "We must take a look as soon as it is safe."
Then came a strong gust of wind that hurled the ship forward. When it had subsided Washington and the old inventor ventured outside. The boys were nowhere to be seen.
"They are lost!" cried Andy, who had crawled to the bow of the ship after the captain and Washington.
For a little while longer the airship sailed along easily, the wind no more rushing with such force. Then, all at once the craft settled down until, with a jerk, it came to rest on a big snow bank.
"We's landed!" exclaimed Washington. "We's hit de ole north pole at last. Now I'll see what sort ob a stick it is!"
"We've landed sure enough," remarked the professor, "but I'm afraid we are not at the north pole. However, in view of all that has happened, I suppose we had better stop here for a while. Some of the machinery is wrecked by the overturning of the ship, but I guess we can fix it. I only wish I knew where the boys and the two men were."
"Don't forget Dirola," spoke up Andy. "We owe a good deal to her."
It stopped snowing about half an hour after the Monarch had found lodgement on the edge of a bank of ice. From the deck and windows of the craft nothing could be seen but a big expanse of white. It was a cold, lifeless world to which the ship had brought what remained of her crew and owner.
The engine room of the Monarch was once more a sorry sight, and Washington and the inventor worked like a dozen men in restoring order. They soon had things in ship-shape, but one of the motors would require considerable repairing before it would run again. However, it was not the most important one, and the craft could run without it, though only at half speed.
Suddenly, there came from without a chorus of shouts.
"What's that?" cried the professor.
"Sounded like some one calling," ventured Andy.
"It am de boys and Tom and Bill come back to overjoy us," said
Washington.
The shouts grew louder. Andy glanced from a cabin window.
"The Esquimaux! The Esquimaux!" he exclaimed. "Here they are after us again! They'll carry us back to the ice cave and eat us alive this time!"
"These are not the same ones!" cried the professor. "We are hundreds of miles from the ice cave."
"Then these are the ones the mysterious message was about," said Andy, "and we had better be on our guard!"
"Perhaps these are Dirola's friends," ventured Amos Henderson. "If they are I wish we had her here to intercede for us."
There came a rattling against the sides of the airship. It sounded like a storm of hail.
"They are firing arrows at us!" yelled Andy. "That doesn't look very friendly."
"Wait until I go out and speak to them," suggested the professor. "They will respect my gray, hairs."
He went outside. The ship was surrounded by hundreds of little men, all dressed in thick furs. At the sight of the ship's commander they gave a loud yell.
"I wisht I'd neber done come to de north pole!" groaned Washington. He
grabbed up a rifle and followed Andy outside. At the sight of them the
Esquimaux set up louder yells, and shot another shower of arrows.
Fortunately none of the missiles struck the white men.
"Stop firing!" said the professor, raising his hand. "We mean you no harm!"
His answer was a wilder burst of yells.
"Fire over their heads! Maybe that will teach them a little respect," spoke Andy.
He and Washington discharged their guns several times in rapid succession. With frightened yells the men in furs fell flat on their faces.
"We've scared them!" cried Andy.
But he reckoned without his host, for in an instant the Esquimaux had leaped to their feet and were rushing toward the ship.
"Here they come!" shouted the hunter. "Shoot to kill, Washington! Look out for yourself, Professor!"
"Don't kill them!" yelled Amos Henderson. "They are too many for us, and our only hope is to try peaceful means!"
But Washington aimed his rifle straight in the faces of the advancing men of the snow country and pulled the trigger rapidly. Half a dozen sharp reports rang out, and several Esquimaux fell on the ice, which became red with their blood. However, the negro's aim was not good, and the wounds were only in arms or legs of the natives.
This served to check their ardor for a while, and the advance was halted while the wounded were carried back. But the Esquimaux were only made more angry by the resistance. They came on again with wild cries and, though Andy, Washington and the professor fought with all their strength, clubbing their guns and cracking several of the savages over the head, they were finally overpowered.
From one who seemed to be a leader of the natives several sharp orders came. The others listened and then, lifting the three prisoners, who had been securely bound, they hurried with them from the deck of the ship.
"We's ketched agin!" cried Washington. "They'll eat us shuah dis time!
Land ob Goshen! How I does wish I'd neber come heah!"
There was little time for protest, reflection or anything else. Once the Esquimaux had secured their prisoners they lost no time in hastening away. The airship did not seem to interest them. Hoisting the three men on shoulders, the natives fairly ran along over the ice.
"I wish they'd bring up a sled," said Andy. "It would be easier than this style. The breath is 'most jolted out of me."
As if in answer to his desire, the party of Esquimaux soon came upon a little camp. There were several ice huts, and a number of sleds, while the yelping of scores of dogs could be heard on every side. In a few minutes, after a short talk among the natives, the captives were tossed, none too gently, all on one big sled, a dog team was hitched fast, and a driver started them off across the field of ice.
"Good-bye to de ole Monarch!" cried Washington. "No mo' good meals in yo'! Landy! Landy! I wisht I had some dynamite to blow dese heathen up!"
"Hush!" cried Andy. "I've got three revolvers in my pockets. I'll slip you one if I can get my arms free, but don't fire until I give the word. We'll have to save our shots."
"We seem to be having nothing but bad luck," said Professor Henderson. "I am afraid it is all up with us this time. Those poor boys, and Bill and Tom! I wish I knew what had become of them!"
"Same here!" remarked Andy.
Then the captives became silent, filled with their sad thoughts and worry over their predicament. On and on went the sledge over the ice, into the unknown. Mile after mile was covered. Then the driver of the prisoners, as well as the one in charge of three sleds that followed, halted the dogs. All the natives talked rapidly together, pointing this way and that.
"They've missed the path!" exclaimed Andy. "We are lost in this land of snow!"
CHAPTER XXII
MAGNETIC FIRE WORSHIPERS
Jack's only thought, when he felt himself falling from the deck of the airship to the earth, was that he would strike on a pinnacle of ice and be killed. Much the same were the feelings of the others, as they admitted later. Jack was half senseless from fright when, seemingly half an hour after he tumbled, though in reality it was but a few seconds, he stuck head first into a big drift of soft snow.
His mouth, ears, eyes and nose were filled with the fluffy flakes, and he nearly choked before he could struggle to an upright position and clear a breathing space.
To his astonishment he saw similar struggles going on in several places in the snow. First Mark stuck his head out of the drift. Then Bill's face appeared, to be followed by Tom's, and next Dirola bobbed up, smiling as though it was the biggest joke in the world, and as if falling from an airship was an every-day occurrence with her.
"Well, we're alive," remarked Jack, after getting his breath.
"We couldn't have fallen so very far after all," said Mark.
"It seemed like a mighty long ways when I was a-comin'," came from Bill.
"We went fast, an' we stopped pretty suddint!" was Tom's opinion. "Lucky we had a sort of feather bed under us. I'd hate to fall right on the ice."
"Come down soon!" exclaimed Dirola with a laugh, in which all joined, in spite of their sorry plight. It was still snowing and terribly cold. They pulled the hoods of their fur coats close about their faces and scrambled out on the ice.
"I guess the ship was closer to the earth when we fell than we thought," said Mark.
"I suppose we had better hunt around for the Monarch," observed Jack. "It can't be a great way off, for Professor Henderson was bringing it down and the propeller was not moving."
"Let's start right away," said Mark. "I'm hungry, and the sooner we find the ship the better off we'll be. But this snow is every bit as bad as a fog."
It was, indeed, and the boys and men could not distinguish each other ten feet distant. In spite of this, however, Jack started off in the direction he thought the ship might be.
"No go! No go!" called Dirola. "Git lost! Fall in hole! Die! Better stay here! Snow stop! Me show you!"
"She means we'll get lost if we wander off," said Jack. "I guess we'd better do as she says."
Dirola seemed in good spirits and not a bit discouraged by the storm. She walked slowly about, as if looking for something. Then, with a cry, she began digging at a certain spot.
"What in the world is she doing?" asked Mark.
"I don't know," said Jack.
"Maybe she's after a rabbit," observed Bill. "I'd like a good hot rabbit stew myself."
Dirola's hands, encased in heavy fur gloves, made the snow fly. In a little while she held up a, dark mass of what looked like seaweed.
"Eat! Um good!" she exclaimed.
"I guess it's some kind of moss that the people up north eat," remarked Tom. "I remember reading something about it once. I suppose we'd better tackle it, for we may not get a meal in some time."
Jack, who had been fumbling in the big pocket of his fur coat, gave a sudden cry.
"What's the matter; somethin' bit ye?" asked Bill.
"Look here!" cried the boy, and he held up a large tin can.
"What is it; soup?" inquired Mark.
"It's some of those capsule foods from the ship," said Jack, reading the label. "I remember I put it in my pocket when I thought the ship was going to be wrecked. I felt I might need it. Now it will come in handy."
"But what is it?" insisted Mark.
"It's a combination of chocolate, wheat, malt and preserved milk," replied Jack, looking at the label again, "and it says that one capsule, if chewed and swallowed, is as much as an ordinary meal. There are two hundred capsules in here, and that will last us for a few days at least."
"Not very hearty eatin', 'cordin' to my way of thinkin'," said Bill; "but I guess with that and the moss Dirola can dig up we'll get along."
The Esquimaux woman had finished her simple meal. She dug up quite a quantity of the moss and laid it on top of a big pile of ice, where she could find it again.
"Must build house now," she announced. "Make place for sleep. I show you!"
In a little while a large space was scooped out of the snow drift. Many hands soon enlarged the cave until it was large enough for all to move about inside with comfort.
"Now for dinner!" exclaimed Jack, as he opened the tin.
The meal, though simple, was satisfying, and soon the lost ones felt more comfortable.
"It's stopped snowing!" announced Mark, going to the entrance of the cave, "and it's much colder. I guess we'll stay here a while."
He returned to his companions. They all went as far to the rear of the cave as they could, for the wind came in the wide entrance.
"We must make a winding passage, and then the breeze can't find it's way in," suggested Jack. "I think—"
But what he thought he never told, for at that instant the floor of the snow cave gave way right under where they were all standing, and the whole five of them went slipping, sliding and tumbling down, they knew not to where.
For an instant all were so surprised and frightened that they could not even cry out. They were plunged into dense blackness.
"What has happened?" Jack cried.
Before any one could answer him, the blackness gave way to a glare of light, and the two boys, with Dirola and the men, brought up suddenly with a jolt on the floor of a big ice cavern.
It was several hundred feet long, and as many wide, with a roof fifty feet above their heads.
The sides were of pure ice, but, strangest of all, was the rosy, golden glow that filled the whole place. With wonder in their eyes the adventurers gazed at the source of the illumination.
At one end of the cavern was a rude altar. Behind it, and on both sides, there arose great streamers of fire, tongues of flame, red, green, blue, purple, yellow and glaring white.
Yet the fire did not burn, for there was ice on every side, and the ice did not melt. In wonder the crew of the Monarch gazed.
Presently from the other end of the cave there sounded a wild, weird song. It was like a chant. Then, before the adventurers could get to there feet, there filed into the cavern two score of men, all dressed in white fur. At the head of the procession marched two men who were veritable giants, compared to those about them. They bore between them, on a rude litter, a man, wearing only a fur cloth about his middle.
"What is it?" whispered Jack in awed accents.
"They are fire-worshipers!" exclaimed Mark. "If they see us they'll kill us!"
"They must be going to sacrifice that poor man on the altar," spoke
Jack. "Come, let's see if we can't crawl out of the way."
The head of the procession was now close to the altar, and had passed the adventurers, who were off to one side, in about the middle of the cavern. Up some ice steps the two giants in white went, bearing their victim. The poor fellow gave one loud shriek as he was brought nearer to the colored flames.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" screamed Dirola, sinking down on the floor of the cavern.
CHAPTER XXIII
A STRANGE SACRIFICE
The natives who had made Professor Henderson, Andy, and Washington prisoners seemed at a loss for some little time as to which direction to take. They talked among themselves, while the prisoners were much alarmed, for if the Esquimaux were lost, and without food, it would mean the death of all.
At last, however, the native in charge of the main sled prevailed on the others, and they proceeded, turning off to the left.
The sleds, including that on which the prisoners were, bumped along over the ice, the dogs pulling the rude vehicles along swiftly. It was about an hour later that another halt was made. This time it did not seem to be because the way was lost, for the natives showed no signs of alarm. Instead, they were laughing and talking. In a little while the small advance party was joined by a larger body of Esquimaux, who had been at the attack on the airship, but who had taken a different route.
Then the whole crowd started forward again. Half an hour's travel brought another halt, this time a final one, for when the professor and his companions glanced around them they found they were in the midst of a native village of ice huts.
"Golly! We's somewhere, anyhow," spoke Washington; "but I can't say I thinks much ob dis place. It's too lonesome."
"Better be here than out on the ice field," spoke up the professor. "The Esquimaux have little stone stoves in which they burn oil, and their huts are quite warm inside."
In a few minutes the captives had a chance to test this statement. They were unbound and carried from the sled to one of the larger huts. As is usual in the far northern regions, each hut was made of blocks of ice laid one on the other, forming a semicircular house, with a round dome.
The door or entrance was so small that the only way to get in was to crawl. There was no door to keep the cold out, but the passage was made a winding one, or there were two huts, one built over the other, so that the openings did not come opposite, and this served to keep out the wind.
Arriving at the doorway, the Esquimaux set their prisoners down in front of the house, and signed to them to crawl in. The professor went first, followed by Andy and Washington. Inside they found the place to be warm from the flame of a crude stove. This consisted of a hollowed out stone, filled with seal oil, the wick being made of moss. The stove, or lamp, for it served both purposes, smoked very much.
There were several natives squatting down inside the hut, but they did
not seem surprised when the three prisoners entered. Others of the
Esquimaux crowded into the ice house, until it was uncomfortably filled.
Then a native who seemed to be a leader began a long talk to the others.
Judging from his gestures he was telling about the fight at the airship and the capture of the captives. At times he would be interrupted by those who wanted to question him.
At length the recital was done. All the Esquimaux, save about half a dozen, crawled out of the hut. One of those who remained placed an earthen pot over the flame of the stove, and soon a delicious smell filled the air. Evidently something good was being cooked.
"It's chicken pot-pie," said Washington. "How I does love chicken!"
Presently one of the natives removed the pot from the stove and set it in front of the captives. The contents were steaming hot, and seemed to be some sort of meat stew, made with chunks of flesh, gravy and moss.
"How are we going to eat, without knives, forks or spoons?" asked Andy.
He soon found out. The natives who had remained in the hut drew up to the pot. They dipped their bare hands in, drew out pieces of meat and wads of the moss, and ate without ceremony.
"Fingers were made before forks," quoted the professor. "We'll have to eat as the old cave-dwellers did. Well, I'm hungry enough not to stand on politeness."
He reached in the vessel and got some meat. It was hot, but he did not mind that, and ate it with a relish. Andy and Washington followed his example, and soon the travelers from the Monarch and the Esquimaux were eating together as if they had been friends all their lives.
When the rude meal had ended, the prisoners felt much better. They were warm, their hunger was appeased, and, in spite of their many worries over the loss of the airship and their companions, they were so tired out that they felt very sleepy. Soon the professor's head nodded over, shortly Andy was snoring and in a little while Washington too slumbered.
They did not know how long they had slept, but they were suddenly and rudely awakened by being shaken. Opening their eyes, they saw the hut was filled with Esquimaux, all clothed in suits of spotless white fur.
"These must all be chiefs," remarked the professor.
With quick motions the natives bound their captives again, with stout thongs. Then, like so many logs of wood, they were pulled out of the hut on their backs, a native outside hauling on one end of the skin ropes.
There was no telling what hour it was, for the sun shone as brightly as it had been doing for days past. Once more the three men were tossed on sleds, and the dogs, driven by the Esquimaux, hauled them off. But it was not a far journey this time. In about fifteen minutes the sleds came to a stop, the prisoners were lifted off, and carried, as they could see, toward a large opening in a hill of ice and snow.
As soon as they had passed from the sunlight to darkness, the captives knew they were in a sort of cave. The blackness was intense, but in a short time there was a faint glow observed ahead, caused by a number of the stone lamps burning.
At that point were gathered several more of the Esquimaux, all attired in white furs. There was some excitement when the prisoners were brought in, and all crowded around to see them.
Then began what seemed a discussion among the natives. They talked loud and long. Finally from some other part of the cave two tall men, dressed as the others were, in white, came in. They seemed to be in authority, for when they had spoken all the others were silent.
While the captives waited in anxiety for what would happen next, the whole cave was illuminated with a wonderful light. It was rosy red at first, then changed to a golden hue, then to green, yellow, blue and purple. The captives could not see where the fire came from, but they gazed at the light in mingled fear and admiration.
"It is the northern light; the aurora borealis!" exclaimed the professor. "It is the most beautiful light in the world."
"What makes it?" asked Andy.
"Electricity, magnetism, the sun and the intense cold; no one knows exactly what produces it," replied Amos Henderson. "It is quite likely that there is some opening to this cave, and the sun shines in it, or the lights may be reflected from outside by reason, of the ice, which acts as a mirror."
"It's pretty," observed Andy, "but all the same I'd rather—"
He got no further for the two giant-sized natives advanced quickly toward them. One roughly seized Professor Henderson, and, with the help of his companion, began stripping off his clothes. Andy started forward to aid the captain, but the other natives held him back. Washington, too, was restrained by several hands.
In a few minutes the professor was stripped, except for a piece of fur about his middle. Then a rude litter was brought in. The two big natives, after pouring some oil over the old man, placed their victim on the stretcher, and then began a march up the cave. Washington and Andy were forced to walk directly behind the inventor, and were surrounded by natives on every side. The poor professor soon became half insensible from the cold.
"This is terrible!" groaned Andy.
"Dey is goin' to slaughter him!" wailed Washington. "He'll be sacrificed and burned up! See, de altar ob de sacrifice am just ahead. Oh! I wisht we wuz all dead!"
"We're likely to be, soon enough," muttered Andy. "But keep up your courage!"
At that instant the head of the procession was close to the ice altar. Behind it the mysterious lights played and flickered in streamers of red, green and gold. Up the steps went the two gigantic men, carrying the professor. They were about to sacrifice him in a horrible way!
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" screamed a woman's voice. At the sound of it Andy started.
"That was Dirola!" exclaimed the old hunter. "How did she get here?"
CHAPTER XXIV
SAVED BY DIROLA
Instantly the ice cavern was a scene of great uproar and confusion. The procession broke up as soon as Dirola cried out and the intruders at the sacrifice were observed. All, save those carrying the victim and those guarding Andy and Washington, rushed with their long bone knives at Jack and Mark and the two helpers from the airship.
"There are the boys!" cried Andy, trying to break away from those who held him.
"An' Tom an' Bill is there likewise!" exclaimed Washington, who had caught a glimpse of the two helpers. "De heathen am goin' to kill 'um!"
"We're here, Jack!" sung out the hunter. "Make the best fight you can, for we are in terrible hands. The poor professor is done for, I guess, and we'll soon be, too!"
His voice rang out high above the shouts and yells of the natives, who were now in a dense circle about the two boys and their companions.
"We haven't anything to fight with!" called back Mark.
"Well, I have!" yelled Andy.
With a quick motion he snatched his arms from the encircling ones of his captors. His fists went back. There were two quick, sharp blows, and two of the Esquimaux who were guarding the old hunter toppled backward.
With suddenness that was startling Andy drew a brace of revolvers from his inner pockets. He leveled them at the mass of white figures in front of him, on whose fierce faces the colored lights gleamed and flickered.
Andy's fingers trembled on the triggers. He was about to fire.
"Lay low, boys!" he called to the Monarch's crew. "I'll get rid of a few of these savages before I go!"
"No shoot! No shoot!" screamed Dirola.
She darted from her place, broke through the circle of natives, and rushed up to where Andy stood with leveled weapons.
"No shoot! Me save!" she cried.
She was all but too late. Andy's fingers had crooked on the triggers, but Dirola pushed his arms upward, and when the two reports rang out the bullets struck the icy roof of the cavern.
In the confined space the shots sounded almost like thunder. A silence that was startling in its suddenness fell as the echoes of the reports died away. Dirola ran toward the altar. She grasped the arms of the two big Esquimaux, who had taken Professor Henderson from the litter with the intention of sacrificing the old inventor.
She cried out one word in a strange tongue.
The men stopped as though she had struck them. Then, with a dramatic gesture, she mounted to the top step of the altar.
A chorus of cries greeted her. She seemed to pay no heed. Silent and straight she stood there on the steps of ice, her figure in dark relief against the background of flickering lights.
The next instant Dirola, with a motion so quick the eye could scarcely follow, slipped off her suit of black fur, and stood revealed in dress of white fur, the exact counterpart of that worn by all the others in the cave.
A low murmur of astonishment ran around the vast cavern. Then, as if by common impulse, every one kneeled down, Dirola alone of all the Esquimaux remaining upright. The cave dwellers were bowing down to one they either feared or loved.
Then Dirola spoke. At first her words were slow. Gradually she talked faster, until she was speaking a very torrent of sounds. She pointed, first to the insensible body of the old inventor at her feet, next to the group of white men and boys, and then to Andy and Washington. She gave some command, evidently, for no sooner had she ceased than those who had attacked Mark, Jack and the two farmers drew back, and left them free.
At the same time, those surrounding Andy and the negro withdrew. Then some warm furs were thrown over the cold body of the professor and he was borne gently away.
Dirola glided to where Andy stood, not knowing what to make of it all.
"No be feared now," she said. "They take ole man way an' warm him an' feed him. He be all right. So you be all right, an' boys an' oder mans. No be feared now. Them do what I tell 'um!" and she motioned to the natives, who had risen to their feet as soon as she left the ice altar.
"How in the world did you do it?" asked the old hunter.
"Me chief one—what you call 'um—queen here. Long time go. Me be take prisoner when you found me. Me come back. Me glad. No let Ingliss mans an' boys be hurt, nor 'um black man too. Me save. Me be queen agin!"
"How does that strike you?" went on Andy, to Mark and Jack, who had joined him. "The luckiest thing we ever did was to pick up Dirola."
"To think we should land right among her own people, too!" spoke up
Jack. "It's just like a fairy story."
"But where in the world did you come from?" asked Andy. "We thought you were all killed by falling from the ship."
"Not a bit," replied Jack, and he told the old hunter what had happened to himself, Mark and the others. In turn Andy related his experiences.
"If only the poor professor comes around all right we'll be in pretty good shape," finished the old man. "But I'm afraid he's frozen. I wonder what they were going to do with him."
"Put him in big hole, where all ice," broke in Dirola. "That what we do when the lights shine. But we no hurt any you now. You all safe. Me save!"
"I guess that was their intention," muttered Andy. "They were going to sacrifice him to the Goddess of Ice, I suppose. Well, well, we certainly are having plenty of experiences."
Many of the natives had now left the cave. Dirola gave an order to one of the big Esquimaux who had remained, and he went off on the run.
"We eat now," the woman remarked. "Me plenty hungry too, Professor come back an' eat wid you."
In a few minutes Professor Henderson, warmly clad, was brought in, leaning on the shoulder of the big man who, a little while before, had been about to sacrifice him. The old inventor was weak, but had suffered no serious harm. His body had been coated with thick oil before the proposed sacrifice, as part of the ceremony, and this had served, in a large measure, to keep the cold out.
He was warmly greeted by his friends, and then they all squatted down on the ice, while in a few minutes a big earthen pot of hot stew was brought in. Dirola ate with them, dipping her fingers in with the others.
"It's the first time I ever ate with a queen," said Jack with a smile.
"Me sure queen," said the woman with a laugh. "Me tell you 'bout it."
Whereupon she related how she was of the royal house, and had, on the death of her father, ascended to the throne. Then came the visit of the white men, including Andre, whose strange message the adventurers had found. He was driven, with his companions, from the land. Then the Esquimaux of Dirola's tribe had been attacked by others living farther south. A great battle had been fought and the queen and others were taken prisoners. Dirola had been held captive until the advent of the Monarch.
She did not know how close she was to her own people and the big sacrificial cave, until she fell into it with the boys and farmers. Then the procession came in and Dirola recognized Professor Henderson as the victim. She at once resolved to declare herself, and did so, showing that beneath the black fur she wore the white robes that none but members of the royal household could don.
The woman also explained how the big cave was used for religious services by her people, who worshiped the northern lights, or magnetic fire that never burned, and she told how they sacrificed to it at times.
"Well, I hope they don't sacrifice any of us," said the professor. "I was as near death as I ever care to go. I wonder what has become of my airship. If we—"
"What's that?" cried Jack, starting up.
"Listen!" came from another.
Far off in the cave sounded a strange, wild, weird chant. Then came the tramp of many feet. A little later a great concourse of people came rushing into the cave, led by a score of the white-robed men.
"They're coming back after us!" cried Andy. "Here, take a revolver,
Professor, and defend yourself!"
CHAPTER XXV
ADRIFT ON THE ICE
"No shoot! Me save!" exclaimed Dirola, springing in front of Andy. "You trust me!"
On came the crowd, plainly visible because of the magnetic fire. It came to a halt a short distance in front of the adventurers, while from the ranks of the white-robed ones stepped forth a native. He spoke rapidly to Dirola, who answered him in fierce tones.
For several minutes the conversation was kept up. At length Dirola appeared to gain her point, for the crowd withdrew and once more the captives were alone with their Esquimaux friend.
"What did they want?" asked Andy.
"Some people no believe me queen," explained the newly-discovered ruler. "They come in an' be mad. Then some no satisfy. They want have sacrifice. I tell 'um no sacrifice of 'um white men what save my life. I save 'um for they bring me back. People no like, but must do. Me queen!" and she drew herself up proudly. "Them must do what Dirola say!"
"They may this time," muttered Andy, "but the next time they may not. I think this isn't a very healthy place for us, Professor."
"I would only be too glad to get away, and back to my ship," said the inventor. "I am satisfied I have reached and passed the north pole. I would be glad to go back home again."
"Me take care you," spoke Dirola. "Wait few days. See! You come, me hide you."
She looked carefully around. There was no one in sight save the party from the Monarch. Then, proceeding with caution, Dirola led the way up to and behind the big altar of ice. The mysterious fires behind it had died out somewhat, and once in the rear of the steps the captives could see a long icy shaft, leading down deep into the earth. There was also an opening in the roof of the cavern, down which the sunlight and magnetic currents came.
"Go easy so no fall," cautioned Dirola. "If fall down hole never git up!"
The prisoners needed no bidding to warn them to be wary of the cruel looking shaft, and they gave it a wide berth. Dirola led the way past it to a small chamber or room, hewn out of the ice to the left and rear of the altar.
"You stay here," she said. "They no find you here. This great place—what you call holy place. Here all white robes stay," and she showed where were piled many of the garments of white fur. The place was evidently a storehouse for the ceremonial robes.
"Me go now an' come back," spoke Dirola. "Me try find ship. You keep quiet!"
She glided away, almost like a ghost in the semi-darkness, through which her white furs showed plainly. Left to themselves, the captives were in no easy frame of mind. They did not know what would happen next, whether they could depend on Dirola or whether the mob would come after them to offer all of them up as sacrifices to the Goddess of Ice.
"What puzzles me," said Andy, "is how we both happened to fetch up in the same cave. You boys, with Bill, Tom and Dirola, land in one place on the ice and fall into this cave. We in the ship continue on for some distance, are brought a good ways on sleds and yet here we are with you."
"The ship might have been blown backward instead of forward after the boys fell off," suggested the professor. "That would explain it. The Esquimaux were traveling to this cave with us, and simply brought us from where the ship had been blown, up to where the boys landed."
"I guess that must be it," admitted Andy; "but listen! some one is coming."
Footsteps were heard approaching. In a few seconds Dirola entered the ice chamber.
"I fix it!" she exclaimed. "You must all go 'way quick. The people want kill you, but me save. Listen. You climb up the slide me an' boys come down. Me bring sharp bones," and she brought out from under her jacket several sharp bone picks. "Make um steps in ice; climb up. Go in little cave, where boys know. There man wait for you wid sled an' dogs. He take you to airship. But hurry, hurry! People be after you soon when find you gone. Me keep 'um back long what I can, but not for very long, so you go fast."
"We must lose no time," said the professor. "This may be our last chance. How can we thank you, Dirola?"
"Never mind talk, go!" exclaimed the Esquimaux queen. "Must hurry!"
The captives were anxious enough to escape. Led by Dirola they went out into the main cavern. It was quite dark, as the sun had moved around so it no longer shone in the opening, and the mysterious lights had died away. They were soon at the bottom of the slope by means of which the boys and the helpers had fallen into the ice cave.
"Now climb up!" Dirola commanded. "Me give people big feast 'cause I back again. They eat an' no think of you for long time, but they chase when they find out. Hurry! Hurry!"
It was no easy task for the prisoners to make their way up the icy slope. Each one was given a pair of short sharp-pointed heavy bones. With these in their hands, using them much as a seal does his tusks, they managed to scramble up the slippery incline. Soon they found themselves able to enter the cave the boys, Bill, Tom and Dirola had made, through the opening from which they had tumbled.
"Good-bye," called Dirola to them, as they passed out of her sight.
"Good-bye," all called back softly, from the roof of the cavern. It was the last they were to see of their kind friend.
Outside of the little cave they found a native waiting with a large sled, to which twenty dogs were hitched. The Esquimaux seemed to be watching for them, for he made a sign that they were to get on a sled. No time was lost. Dirola had evidently made her plans well and in haste. The dog driver looked to see that his charges were safe, and then cracked his long whip.
Off went the sled at a swift pace, the animals tugging at their harness. Not a native was in sight save the one driving the sled. They were all probably at the feast Dirola had prepared in celebration of her home-coming.
"This is the first sled ride we've had when we were not tied on like so much cordwood," observed Andy. "Now we have a chance to observe the scenery."
Faster and faster went the sled. It was a calm clear cold day—or it might have been night as far as time went, but the sun shone from a blue sky. It was very cold, and the heavy furs made the adventurers none too warm.
Suddenly, as the party sped on, there came a loud explosion. It was like a great cannon being fired.
"What was that?" exclaimed Andy, starting in alarm.
With a cry of fear the dog driver pointed behind him.
Looking over their shoulders, the escaping ones saw a great crack in the ice field. In it showed the black waters of the ocean. Ahead appeared an ever-widening black line, and on either side it was the same.
A large part of the ice field had become detached and was floating out to sea. Though they did not know it, the adventurers had driven over the water and away from the land.
"We are adrift on the ice!" cried Andy. "We only escaped from one danger to fall into another!"
CHAPTER XXVI
FIGHTING WILD DOGS
For a moment the realization of their horrible position struck all dumb. Adrift on the great polar sea, they might freeze to death before they again got near to the main land. The dogs continued to run on, approaching nearer the ever-widening crack in front. The driver seemed to suddenly awaken to the danger.
With a series of sharp commands he brought the team to a halt. Then, signing to the adventurers to get off the sled, he turned it over on the side.
Next he unhitched the dogs, and fastened them by their thongs to his whip handle, which he stuck in a crack in the ice. The beasts were thus secured at some distance from the sled.
This done, the Esquimaux took the fur robes that had been on the sleigh, and, spreading them over the frame of the vehicle, made a low but fairly large and comfortable tent. He motioned for the men and boys to crawl inside, which they were glad enough to do, to escape the bitter wind. Then the native sat down in the low doorway of the shelter and seemed willing to wait for whatever turned up.
"It doesn't seem to worry him much," observed Andy.
"He certainly has made us comfortable," said Jack. "I wonder what we are going to do?"
"Wait and see what turns up," advised the professor. "We are on a large ice floe. It may float for many days, and, after a while, strike the main ice again. When it does we will escape."
"Yes, an' what am we goin' to eat in dat time?" demanded Washington.
With a triumphant gesture Jack pulled from his pocket a tin can. It contained the patent condensed food capsules.
"Hurrah!" cried the professor on seeing it. "This will keep us from starving for many days!"
"Lucky I didn't lose this after all I've been through," said Jack.
The meagre rations were distributed, the Esquimaux driver coming in for his share. The patent food, though a small quantity sufficed for a meal, was fairly satisfying, and soon all felt better. It was quite warm under the little tent, and the adventurers stretched out for a rest.
They had been dozing several hours when a series of wild yelps and barks outside roused them. With an exclamation the driver jumped to his feet and rushed toward where he had tied the dogs.
The professor and the others crawled from the tent to see what the trouble was. They saw that which filled them with fear.
The Esquimaux dogs, never any too tame, had gone half mad and wild from fear at seeing the water all around them, and from lack of food. They were fighting among themselves, snarling, biting and barking viciously.
Just before the driver reached them they broke loose from the thongs that held them, and started for the tent. The Esquimaux tried to stop them, but two of the savage brutes sprang at him and soon had him down on the ice. The other dogs rushed on toward the group of adventurers, who stood still, awaiting the onslaught, and not knowing what to do.
"We must defend ourselves!" cried Andy. "Those beasts will tear us apart! They are as savage as wolves! Oh, for my rifle!"
"Haven't you a revolver?" cried Jack.
"Of course! I forgot," said Andy, bringing out his two weapons.
"Washington has one, too! Hurry up with it, Washington!"
"I'll give mine to Jack!" yelled the negro, handing the boy the weapon, and then, taking to his heels, ran away from the on-coming brutes.
The animals were now fifty feet off and advancing rapidly. Their eyes flashed with the mad rage of hunger and fear, while foam dripped from their jaws.
Taking careful aim, Andy fired both revolvers at the pack of animals. They were so close together he could not help hitting some. Two fell, killed or badly wounded.
Jack also fired and dropped one dog. But the others came on, never halting.
"Fire as fast as you can!" cried Andy. "It is our only chance! We must stop them!"
The old hunter and Jack pulled the triggers of their weapons rapidly. Spurts of flame and small clouds of smoke issued from the muzzles, and several more of the dogs were killed.
There were at least a dozen dogs left when the revolver chambers were empty, and with wild bounds they leaped upon the adventurers. The yelping and barking sounded loud above the hoarse shouts of the men and boys, who, with their fists, prepared to fight the wild dogs.
"Hit 'em with chunks of ice!" called Andy.
His advice came just in time. Each one grabbed up a chunk of the frozen water. It was as hard as a stone. One big brute leaped for the professor's throat. In his weakened condition, caused by his exposure in the ice chamber, it seemed as if the old inventor would be killed.
Suddenly a white object flew through the air. It struck the dog on the head, and the brute, with a howl, fell back. Jack had launched his chunk of ice just in time.
"Good shot!" cried Andy.
He hit another of the brutes over the skull with some of the frozen stuff, and Washington, whose courage had returned, did likewise. Tom and Bill disabled the two dogs nearest them.
Mark aimed at once fierce beast, but missed his shot, and, slipping on the ice, fell right in the animal's path. In an instant the brute was upon him.
"Lie on your back and cover your head with your arms!" shouted Andy, as he ran toward the animal. Mark did as he was told. The dog endeavored to bite him, but the stout furs on his back prevented much damage being done. Then, having secured a large chunk of ice, Andy ran up behind the beast and stretched it out with a well-directed blow. Mark was saved, and scrambled to his feet uninjured.
Suddenly there sounded a series of sharp reports as if a rifle was being discharged. The refugees looked up, expecting to see some armed force coming to their aid. Instead, they beheld the Esquimaux driver approaching on the run. He was swinging his long-lashed whip, which he had secured from the crack in the ice where he had stuck it, and was snapping it vigorously.
At the same time he called in his native language to the dogs to lie down. The brutes heard the cracking of the cruel thong, whose force they knew but too well, and they recognized their master's voice. On came the Esquimaux, until, reaching the pack of dogs, he laid about among them with good will, the blows of the whip bringing blood.
Sticking their tails between their legs, the remaining dogs ran away with frightened yelps. The driver had come in the nick of time.
"That was quite a fright!" panted Andy, when the excitement was at an end. "My, but those were fierce brutes!"
While the dogs that were left alive among the pack, including several wounded ones, withdrew to a far end of the ice floe, the adventurers crawled back under the tent for a much-needed rest. The Esquimaux, with a silence worthy of an American Indian, took up his position in the small doorway.
It was growing much colder, and the big chunk of ice that served the refugees as a raft was moving quite rapidly over a choppy sea.
It was several hours later that the Esquimaux with a loud cry attracted all the others to the tent opening. He pointed ahead.
"I believe we're drifting back to shore!" shouted Andy.