Trapped in Ice (8 page)

“It's no bother, honestly! I love hearing the music!”

“Ya do? Interestin'. Music is a wondrous thing. No matter where I go I always bring my music with me. I have over two hundred recordin's right here with me. I don't figure ya ever saw a gramophone like this one,” said Captain Bartlett, pointing at the machine on the table beside him.

“I've seen gramophones before, but nothing like yours.”

“This here is the fanciest they make. Got it down in New York. It'll play for almost an hour each time I give it a wind. But ... before I go on any more ... ya didn't come in here to ask me about my music, did ya?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what can I do for ya, missy?”

“Well ... it's just I want to know about some things.”

“Things? What sort of things do ya want ta know?”

“I was just ... I don't know ... I don't know how to ask it,” I answered.

“Just spit it out. Ask away.”

“Are we going to sink?” I blurted out.

“Not tonight,” he chuckled and then stopped. I think he could see how worried I was. “What makes ya think we might be goin' under?”

“It's just that the ice is getting thicker and thicker. And I remember you saying the ship wasn't very strong. And you're having them bring all the supplies up on the deck and onto the ice. And …” I felt my lower lip start to quiver and I knew I was close to tears.

“But don't ya go worryin'. Things are all being taken care of,” he said reassuringly.

“Then we're not going to sink?”

“I didn't say that.”

I couldn't stop the tears any more and they ran down my cheeks.

“Now, now, Helen.” Captain Bartlett took Figaro in his hands, stood up and gently placed the cat on the chair. He came over to my side and took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I said, taking it from him and dabbing away the tears while I fought hard to stop more from coming.

“We'll stay afloat ... at least for a while.”

“Long enough for Mr. Stefansson to return?” I asked hopefully. Somehow being on the ice with him seemed so much safer. I just knew he'd never let anything bad happen to any of us.

The Captain walked to the far side of the cabin and sat down on a chair framed by two large bookshelves.

“He's due back in a few days. Will we last that long?” I asked.

“Helen, there's no tellin' how long things will stay tagether. The ship may stand up ta the ice for hours, or days, or weeks or even months. Maybe we can even stay frozen in till spring. Who knows?”

“Spring? You mean we might be frozen in all winter?” I exclaimed.

“We're not goin' any other place till the ice leaves. Could be next May or even later, 'pending on the weather.”

“But Mr. Stefansson will come back and get us and help us get to Herschel Island even if the ship is frozen in. Right?”
He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again without saying anything. He took a hand and started rubbing it against his thick beard, but he still didn't speak. As he sat there Figaro crossed the floor and jumped back onto his lap and snuggled in again. His silence made me feel more uncertain. My stomach started churning and I was afraid of what he was going to say when he finally spoke.

“Helen,” he said quietly, looking me squarely in the face. “The plate of ice that has us has been driftin' since that first day we got grabbed. Thirty, sometimes forty or more miles every day. It just came inta shore fer a few days ... when Mr. Stefansson got off ... an' now we're drifting away again. There's water, open water, 'tween us and the shore.”

“That's a lie! Mr. Stefansson wouldn't just leave us here! He's coming back to get us!” I practically shouted. “He's going to save us!”

“Nobody's goin' ta save us, save those that is with us.” “But ... but ... ” I stammered, feeling confused and scared and, most of all, alone. I stood up and ran out the door, along the short strip of corridor, flung open the door of my cabin and threw myself onto my bed sobbing.

“Helen, what's wrong?”

I turned and saw Mother, sitting on the edge of her bunk. I hadn't noticed her as I ran into the cabin. Quickly she crossed the distance between our two bunks and placed both her arms around me. I tried to speak but instead I felt my whole body convulse with the power of the sobs. I threw my arms around her and buried my face into her chest. She started stroking my head with one hand, still holding me tight with the other arm, and made
soft cooing sounds that I didn't understand but somehow were calming and soothing. She hadn't held me like this for so long. I tightened my grip. I didn't want to let her go.

As the tears started to subside, I pulled away and looked up into Mother's eyes.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

I nodded. Her holding me had made things better.

“Now tell me ... what happened?”

I felt another swell of tears just below the surface, and bit my lip to keep them in check. “It's Mr. Stefansson ... ” I started to say and my voice broke.

“We'll do just fine without him, dear.”

I pulled slightly back. “Without him? How did you know—”

“He wasn't coming back?” she interrupted, reading my mind and completing my sentence. I nodded. “I thought as much from the day he left. Why would he take so many supplies with him?”

“I didn't even know you'd seen everything,” I said.

“I was taking a break and saw the goings-on from up there by the rail.”

“But what will happen to us? What will we do if the ship sinks? I'm so afraid that we'll—”

Mother brought a hand up to my face and pushed a finger against my lips to silence me. “Captain Bartlett will take care of things,” she said quietly.

“Captain Bartlett! I don't want him to take care of things! He hardly talks to us and he's so mean!”

“Helen, don't mistake hard for mean. A man has to be hard to survive in this land, and he's survived time and time again.”

“But he didn't even want us to come along on the trip, and—”

Once again my mother interrupted me. “And I should have listened to him. This is no place for children, and if I had listened my children would be safe!”

“But you couldn't have just left us!” I objected.

“I could have, and I should have. I was so desperate to get the money to secure the future for you and your brother that I forgot about the present! I should never have allowed my children to be placed in such danger! I should have found somebody to take care of you.”

“No, you shouldn't have. We have to be with you. You can't ever leave us. Ever!”

As she started to answer, there was a knock on the door. Before either of us could rise, it opened slowly, and Captain Bartlett peered into the room.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he said apologetically. “I was just wantin' ta make sure Helen was okay.” He paused. “An' now that I see she's with her mama, I knows ya won't be needin' me, so I'll just be goin'.” He started to close the door.

“Wait!” Mother called out, and he stopped. “Please, Captain, could you step in for a minute.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered and came into the room. He took his hat off and held it in front of him. She motioned for him to take a seat at the table and he followed her directions. Mother released me and as she stood up she straightened her dress.

“Captain, if I am to understand correctly, it appears Mr. Stefansson will not be rejoining our expedition. Is that right, sir?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“If it was possible to leave the ship and make for land at that time, why didn't the entire party abandon ship, Captain?” Mother asked.

“Mr. Stefansson wouldn't have known for certain he would make land. An' even then it wouldn't have been possible for all of us ta travel. Not enough dogs or sleds ta make such a trip.”

“I see. Could I beg to ask one more question, Captain?”

“I'll answer all the questions ya have, ma'am.” “Thank you, Captain. Am I to understand from the preparations we are making, you believe we may have to leave the ship ... that it may not survive the ice. Is that also correct?”

He nodded.

“Is there anything more I should know at this time, Captain?”

He thought for a few seconds before answering. “No, ma'am, I think that's pretty well the whole kettle of fish.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Mother replied.

He rose to his feet, and crossed to the still-open door. He started to pull the door closed and then paused. He turned back to face us.

“There is one more thing ya should know. Nothin' bad will be happenin' ta your children. I'll be gettin' 'em, an' everybody else off this ship, alive an' well. Ya have my word on that, ma'am.”

 

 

Chapter Ten

I 
TRIED MY BEST TO FALL ASLEEP
but I couldn't shut off the sounds of the ice. Popping, groaning, banging, grinding and smashing. Sometimes it sounded like voices calling out, or a baby crying or animals growling. We were fro-zen solid, but there was nothing solid about the water underneath the ice. The currents continued to flow and swirl and move and the ice was fractured into blocks that rubbed and crashed against each other. The noises could be separated by a few seconds, or a few minutes or even half an hour. They had been almost constant for the past three weeks, and tonight, they were louder and more frequent. They seemed to come just close enough together to stop me from dropping off to sleep. I closed my eyes tighter and tried to snuggle down lower inside my sleeping sack, as if somehow it could block out the sounds
...
and the danger those sounds meant.

There was a deep groan and I felt the whole ship shudder. I opened my eyes, but I couldn't see anything except the darkness of the cabin. I sat up. Something was wrong.

“Mother!” I whispered in alarm.

“Go to sleep, Helen, it's the middle of the night,” her voice came back softly through the darkness.

“But something's wrong!”

“Nothing's wrong ... it's just the ice ... everything is all right ... ”

“I think she's right, Mother,” Michael chimed in. “Isn't anybody asleep?” she asked and sighed deeply.

“All right, let's get up and talk for a while. I'll light the lamp.”

I heard her move her bed clothing. Then there was a crash, as if she had bumped into something.

“Oh, my goodness!” Mother called out.

“Mother!” I said in panic. I quickly pulled my legs out of the sack, scrambled out of my bunk and fell to the floor.

“It's all right, Helen.”

I felt a hand at my side, helping me. I was unsteady on my feet and had to hold on to the side of my bunk.

“Stand still and I'll light the lamp,” she said.

I watched the dim grey outline of her body move away and then heard the sound of a match being struck. I saw a small patch of light illuminate her hand and arm and then move on to the lamp. The glow grew quickly until the entire room was bathed in a soft yellow light.

What the light revealed was frightening! The floor was tilted and the room was on a terrible angle. During the night the ice had shifted, causing one side of the ship to rise up.

“Mother, what does this mean?” Michael asked.

“I don't know, but I want you both to put on your parkas, quickly. We must get onto the deck.”

Michael tried to leap from his bunk but his feet were still tangled in his sleeping sack and he crashed to the floor. Mother lurched over and helped him up. Quickly
we pulled on our parkas, mukluks and gloves. It was reassuring to put them on. They were soft and warm and were like a second skin. Michael and I were warned, over and over again, not to go out, especially onto the ice, without being covered.

It was difficult to move around the cabin. We stumbled and bumped into things, and finally got through the door into the corridor. I placed one hand against the wall to support me as we made our way towards the deck. Mother led the way carrying the lamp. Coming up to the hatch she passed the lamp back to me and put both hands against the door. At first it didn't budge. She put her shoulder against it and it popped open. I pulled up my hood to shield myself from the wave of cold air rushing in through the doorway.

The deck, of course, was on the same angle as the rest of the ship, but somehow it seemed even more shocking. I heard voices and turned. Standing against the railing, on the side of the ship aimed downward towards the ice, were most of the members of the expedition.

The air was cold and still. There was no wind to blow away the cloud of steam that came each time I exhaled. On unsteady feet we joined the party of men.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” Mother began.

They all mumbled back greetings to us.

“Could someone please tell me what is happening here?” she asked.

“It's what's happening out there,” Mr. Hadley said, pointing out onto the dim ice.

“Out where?”

His voice was drowned out by a surge of sound, followed almost immediately by a rush of air.

“What is that?” asked Mother as the din faded.

“Ice ... crashing down. Two big pans are coming to-gether, rafting up and then crashing down,” Mr. Hadley explained.

“Where is Captain Bartlett?”

“He's on the ice, ma'am,” Jonnie answered. “Went out ta try ta see what was what.”

Mother asked, “Are we in any danger?”

“We're frozen in the ice, in the Arctic, coming into winter with no escape, Mrs. Kiruk. How can we not be in danger?” replied Dr. Mackay.

“I meant tonight. Are we in danger tonight?”

“It all depends on which direction the rift moves. It's like a meat grinder, eating up ice ... and anything else that's on the ice. It's still far away ... but it's coming closer all the time.”