Steve Young Part 32

"Matters look too serious now for petty troubles, eh?"

"It did not seem to be a petty trouble to me, sir," replied Steve quietly.

"No, no, of course not; but that's all over now. I'm afraid we are going to have a bad storm."

"Think so, sir?"

"Look at the captain. He does; or he would not be taking all these precautions. I suppose we can do nothing?"

"Only get out of the way," replied Steve. "Every one looks as if he wishes we would go below."

"Then every one will be disappointed," said the doctor shortly. "If I'm to be drowned, it shall be from the deck. I'm not going to be battened down under hatches, nor you neither, eh?"

"No, I shall stop on deck," said Steve stoutly. "How dark it's getting!"

"Yes, my lad. It looks very beautiful in the bright sunshine, with the ice and snow glittering; but Nature certainly seems to have drawn her line up here in the north, to show us that this part of the world was never meant for ordinary human habitation. If ever the North Pole is reached it will only be a scientific feat, and no valuable result can follow for enterprising man. Whew!" he added with a shiver; "did you feel that?"

For an icy puff of wind struck them suddenly and then pa.s.sed on, leaving the air as calm as it was before its coming.

"No one could help feeling it," said Steve, b.u.t.toning his mackintosh tightly.

"Part of the advance-guard of the storm, my lad. Yes, we're going to have it soon. Let's see, you thought one day that it was horribly hot down below, didn't you?"

Steve nodded.

"I'm thinking that we shall be glad to go down and visit the engine-room, and not be above turning stokers."

Another icy blast put an end to the doctor's remarks; and as it pa.s.sed on toward the south, after making the ship heel over and then race onward, the captain gave sharp orders for reducing the small amount of sail even more, Johannes giving one of his fellow-Nors.e.m.e.n a satisfied nod of the head, which Steve read to mean:

"All right; he knows his business."

And all the while the men were busy below, hurrying on the furnaces and adding to the darkness astern by making the low, wide funnel send out a great black cloud of smoke, which, instead of trailing astern like a plume, gathered together and followed the vessel, shutting off the view northward, save when one of the chilling blasts dispersed it, driving it onward and leaving all clear.

"Getting snug by degrees," said the captain, joining the two idlers for a few moments before hurrying off in a fresh direction. "If it will hold up another quarter of an hour, I think we shall be ready to say to it, 'Do your worst.'"

"Oh, it will last that time."

The captain did not answer, but went to where the men were furling a sail, and he had hardly reached them when a puff of wind seemed to dash down and seize the portion of the great fore-and-aft canvas unsecured, fill it out balloon-fashion, and swing round the heavy yard, which was about to be laid along the top, level with the boom below.

Two men went backwards on the deck.

"Two more hands here!" roared the captain. "Lay on to it, my lads;" and as two of the Norwegians sprang to help, and the two men who had been sent sprawling on the deck regained their feet, Steve shouted, "Come on, Mr Hands...o...b..!" and ran and climbed on to the swinging yard to help bear it down.

Five minutes' hard fight, and the sail was bound down with its yard firmly on to the great boom which lay horizontally level with the bulwarks, and a stout rope was pa.s.sed round and round and made fast before the next puff came. For these began to succeed each other more rapidly now, following the advance-guard of the boreal enemy like a band of skirmishers trying to make an easy way for the main army close upon their track.

The sail reduced, all but that which was absolutely necessary, and which, small as was its surface, was sufficient to make the _Hvalross_ race along during the time the blasts endured, the captain directed his attention to the hatches' battening down, spreading tarpaulins, and having them nailed over, till at last he turned to where the doctor and Steve stood gazing astern at the grim, black wall, which appeared to be following about a mile away.

"There," he said, "I think we are ready for the fight now. A pretty good lesson this in having everything shipshape, so as to be prepared for emergencies."

"I think it has been wonderful," said the doctor. "How well the men seconded you!"

"Yes; not forgetting the doctor and Steve. That was very brave of you, my lad. A sailor of twenty years' experience could not have done better."

"What, in getting astride of that yard to bear it down? Why, it seemed just the thing to do!"

"Exactly; but it was the doing it speedily, before it did any mischief."

"Perhaps we shall ride on before the storm now, and not be much affected by it," said the doctor tentatively; but the captain shook his head.

"We shall have it directly. Look how the water is beginning to foam away yonder! What I fear is that it may not keep on from the north, but veer about and change. We want more sea room."

"But we have come miles away from the ice already."

"Yes; but I should like to be another fifty. Hark!" The command was not needed, for those he addressed listened awe-stricken to a deep, crashing roar which now came from astern.

"Thunder?" asked Steve.

"Wind, and breaking up of the ice," said the captain quietly. "If we had stopped in one of the bays of Spitzbergen, we should have had shelter, found the way open after the gale is over, and been able to get round the north of the great island."

"Here it comes!" cried Steve, as there was another of the fierce rushes of wind, this time so heavy that the air smote him in the face, and he had to turn away, panting, to breathe.

"Yes, we have it now!" cried the captain. "Stand fast there, you two by the wheel!"

"Ay, ay, sir!" came in a deep growl from Johannes, as he and Andrew grasped the spokes side by side.

"And now," said the captain to his companions in a low voice, "you two had better go below."

"No!" cried the doctor and Steve at one and the same moment.

"Very well. Get under shelter of the bulwarks, then. The fight has begun."

He was right, for the storm was upon them with a wild, shrieking, hissing, deafening roar that nearly took Steve off his legs, and sent the doctor staggering forward to clutch at the nearest object that would offer a hold. In an instant the deck was white with a fine, powdery dust that bit and stung and filled the hair, penetrating to the skin.

Voices were inaudible, but there was a weird chorus from the ropes and stays, and then a loud report as one of the storm sails burst into ribbons and was torn piecemeal out of the bolt ropes.

Steve turned to see what effect this had upon the captain, and to learn whether it meant danger; but the blinding snow hid him from sight, as well as the men at the wheel; and all he knew was that no one stirred save the doctor, who had crawled to the shelter of the bulwark, and crouched down by his side, to grasp his arm, and place his lips close to his ear and shout:

"What do you think of this?"

Steve made no answer, for the noise, the rush of the snow, the swaying motion of the ship, and the darkness combined to stun his senses. All he could do was to struggle for his breath, gasping, glad to get his hands over his mouth and nostrils as he realised how easily any one might be suffocated in such a storm.

The _Hvalross_ was almost on her beam ends for a few minutes; then she righted and tore through the water, which was nearly smooth, the hurricane cutting off the tops of the waves, to mingle with the snow-dust in a spray which froze instantly, and beat against everything it encountered with painful violence, or covered the masts, sails, and ropes with a thick coating of ice.

Then all was darkness and confusion, deafening, bewildering, and strange. The captain made his way to the wheel, and the rest cl.u.s.tered forward, sheltering themselves in front of the galley, for nothing could be done then. The only men who could do anything for their safety were those at the wheel, and the engineer and fireman, who, sheltered in the warmth below, worked on to get up a head of steam ready against it was wanted; but that did not seem probable for some time to come, the vessel racing on under almost bare poles into a continuation of the semi-darkness which surrounded them.

And now Steve thoroughly realised how helpless man, with all his ingenuity, became in the midst of such a storm. Absolutely nothing could be done but trust themselves to the hands of G.o.d, and wait patiently for the end.

As soon as the lad could collect his thoughts, he began to wonder what the consequences would be if they overtook some other unfortunate vessel. Again, how far it was to the Siberian coast, toward which they were being driven; and whether Captain Marsham would be able to tell in the midst of that deafening clamour and blinding darkness of the elements how far they might go before being able to turn ship and try to hold his own by the help of the steam in the teeth of the gale. Then, suffering an intensity of cold such as was perfectly new to him, he crouched there, stunned, bewildered, and unable to move.

He was conscious, after a s.p.a.ce of what must have been hours, that some change had taken place, for the vessel appeared to be struck again by the storm, but from the other quarter, and just then the wind seemed to pluck and drag at him, as if to tear him from where he crouched, while a short time after the _Hvalross_ heeled over again to such an extent that she seemed as if she would never recover herself.