The Pole (21 page)

“Good work, Danny!”

We started moving forward and I let go of the handles.The sledge surged up the slope and I scrambled to catch up. Maybe for a while I could be pulled along instead of pushing.The dogs were digging in— they were glad to be free as well.

I thought about Captain Bartlett. It was hard enough to get a sledge through this gap, but he had actually carved this passage using nothing more than a pick and an axe. It was amazing—but nothing that I wouldn't have expected from the Captain. I knew he'd get the ship up here and I knew he'd find, or make, or break a trail that would take Peary to the Pole. Funny, everybody knew that Commander Peary was in command of this expedition, but I thought everybody also knew who the real leader was—the Captain.

The sledge suddenly tilted forward—we were going down—we'd passed the peak. I could see the end of the ridge and beyond that flat, clear ice. We were as good as through!

I KNEW THAT
we couldn't move much farther that night. The sun was close to the horizon and was sinking fast.We had, at most, an hour of direct light and then perhaps another thirty minutes after the sun set when the light would still shine from beneath the horizon. We'd have to stop and make camp soon. Oatah and Matt could build us a shelter pretty fast. That was reassuring … and disturbing. I wanted to stop. I wanted to rest. I
needed
to sleep. I just didn't want to do that inside an igloo. If there was any chance I could have slept outside I would have, but the cold and wind made that impossible. I guess I had no choice but to sleep inside the igloo—or at least
try
to sleep. I didn't know if the fears in my heart would allow my eyes to close.

To make matters even worse, the ice was becoming less stable. We were following along the trail the Captain had marked, but three times we'd had to change our direction to get around open water or fresh leads … places that had been solid ice when the Captain had passed by not so long ago. We'd moved around those spots and then returned to the trail that the Captain had blazed. We were still on track, but those detours had delayed us. If not for those side trips we might have caught up to the Captain tonight, or tomorrow at worst, but that wasn't going to happen.

There was a rifle shot! I jerked my head up and scanned the horizon. A second shot! That could
mean only one thing—it had to be the Captain and George!

I jumped up onto the runners and looked ahead. There up on the ice, not far ahead of us, were two sledges, two teams, and two men, waving their arms in the air. I didn't have Eskimo eyes to know for sure that it was the Captain and George, but who else could it be? I was grateful to see them, to catch up, but there was no way we
should
have caught them. They should have been farther along the trail. Why were they here? I didn't know the answers, but I knew we'd find out soon enough.

Matt had picked up the pace and Oatah and his team had matched his speed. Even Commander Peary was moving faster, although the other two sledges were pulling away. I probably couldn't have kept up with them, but I could at least have passed the Commander—but I knew better. Instead of running I stayed on the runners. Since I couldn't rush I might as well rest.

The two sledges pulled away, farther and farther as we all got closer. I could now make out the outline of two igloos.They had slept here and prepared another for the arrival of the next group. Why had they stopped instead of travelling farther? The ice looked clear and open and … there was something different about the ice … it was the wrong colour … No, it was the right colour … for open water. Stretched
out for hundreds and hundreds of yards was open water, from one side of the horizon to the other. There wasn't any need to rush. I now knew why they'd stopped.They
couldn't
go any farther.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MARCH 10, 1909

I SLID OUT
through the tunnel, stood up, and brushed off the snow.That was the last box of supplies from the last load, all safely put away in the igloo. It was one of six igloos that had been constructed right here at the water's edge over the past five days.Three of them were now completely filled with supplies. Dr. Goodsell, Mr. Marvin, Mr. MacMillan, and a dozen different Eskimos had all brought out supplies, stayed the night, and then turned back around to get more. My job was to stay there, put those supplies away, and wait.Wait along with the Commander.We just stayed there, waiting for the ice to freeze over or drift together so we could cross.

Commander Peary was standing at the edge of the ice. He'd been standing there for the last hour, not moving, just staring out at the water—or more likely the ice on the other side of the water, or that imaginary
point, the Pole, beyond that. It was as if he was trying to
will
the ice to come closer, commanding the water to freeze. He had spent a lot of time like that. Standing, staring, silent, not talking. And, other than the people dropping off supplies, we had been alone for the better part of two days. That was when the Captain and George, tired of waiting for the ice to freeze, had gone off in one direction along the open water and Matt and Oatah had gone the other way. Since neither group had come back, I could only assume that neither had found a way around the open lead and that it had to go on for at least twenty miles in both directions.

Slowly I walked over to join the Commander.The wind was strong, coming directly from the north, straight into my face. I stopped a few steps back and waited. I didn't want to disturb him. A minute passed, and then another. I didn't want to bother him but I didn't want to wait forever, either. The wind was strong and cold and bitter. I cleared my throat and he turned around.

“The supplies are all stowed, sir.”

“Good, boy.You must think I'm half crazy, standing here looking out over the water.”

“No, sir,” I said quickly, hoping he hadn't been reading my thoughts.

“It is very difficult,” he said, “standing here, watching the dream of a lifetime vanish before my eyes. Do you know how painful that is, Danny?”

“No, sir … but I know it must be hard.”

“Harder than you could even imagine. This is something that I have dreamed of for most of my adult life. Other times that I have failed I could always hold out faith that there would still be another time, another chance … but this time …” He let the sentence trail off.There was no need to finish.

“But all is not lost yet,” he said after a while. “Do you feel that breeze?”

I nodded. It would have been hard to miss.

“The pans of ice are coming together. The gap is closing.”

I looked out at the water. The gap was narrower than it had been at any time since we'd first arrived, but it was still at least fifty yards across.

“At the present rate, the way it is closing, the two pans of ice could come together in a matter of hours. And the instant it closes we move forward.You and me, Danny.”

“Us?”

“If no one else is here we will strike out together.

We can't wait and risk the gap opening again.”

“But … but … what if it opens again after we pass?”

“If it closed once it will close again and the Captain will follow us, assuming he hasn't already found a way around it. We need to get two sledges loaded with enough supplies for two men and twenty dogs,
to last for as many days as we can load.You'd better get the sledges ready.”

I couldn't believe my ears.Why hadn't he told me this two hours ago before I unloaded the two sledges that had been left? I almost said something. Instead I spun around on my heel to follow orders. I walked away, muttering under my breath.Wasn't he going to at least help me? He was the Commander and all, but if he really wanted them loaded fast he could help load …

I heard a scream and a crash.

I spun around. Where was the Commander? He was gone! No, there he was—his arms and head were above the water—he'd crashed through the ice! For a split second, I froze in place, unable to understand what I was seeing, or what I should do.Then I came to and I started running toward him and—

“Get back, Danny!” he yelled. “Don't come any closer!”

I skidded to a stop.

“The ice won't hold you!” he called out. “Get a rope … get something to pull me out!”

I ran back for the rope that was on my sledge. Every sledge had rope as part of its survival pack. I threw off the canvas … where was the rope? I grabbed a canvas bag and tossed it out of the way.The rope was underneath. I took the rope and ran back toward Commander Peary.

He was in the water, his arms on the ice, scrambling, clawing, grabbing, trying to get a finger hold to pull himself up.The ice kept breaking and crumbling beneath his weight.There was nothing he could do to pull himself out. The weight of his clothing was pulling him down even as he tried to lift himself up. I ran as close as I could get, and then, holding onto one end of the rope, I tossed it to him!

The wind caught the rope and blew it back toward me, causing it to land well short of his reach. I pulled it back in and threw it again. It missed by even more. I had to get closer. I took one step and then another and my foot crashed through the ice! I stumbled, crashing forward, landing with a thud—but thank goodness
on
the ice, not
through
the ice! I started to pull myself up and then remembered what I'd been told. I stayed on my belly to distribute my weight evenly and scrambled like a crab, away from the opening. I retreated to solid ice—what I hoped was solid ice—and hesitantly got to my knees. It held. I stood up.

“Hurry, Danny, hurry!”

I needed to hurry, but hurry and do what? I had to think. I had to get closer to get the rope to him, but how could I get closer without falling through? I had an idea.

I ran back to the dogs. I grabbed Lightning's lead and ripped it from the stake holding him in place. I
took the rope and tried to tie it to his lead. My fingers didn't want to work right.The rope was thick and stiff and my hands were numb. I fumbled around, threading the rope through, tightening it. It had to be tight, the knot had to hold. It had to.

“Come on, boy!” I yelled and Lightning ran with me back toward the open water.

“I'm coming, Commander!” I called out. “Down!” I yelled, and Lightning sank to the ice.

I took a few more steps and could feel the ice sinking and crunching under my feet. I stopped and fell to my knees. I wrapped the rope around my wrist and then, on my belly, head first, I scurried forward. From my viewpoint, just barely above the ice, I could see the Commander's head and shoulders and arms, clinging to the ice, but I couldn't see the open water. I was grateful I couldn't see the water.

“Careful, Danny, careful,” he said as I closed in. His voice was shaky and soft. I knew the ice was sucking away his warmth and his life with it. He couldn't hold on much longer. I moved as close as I could. I needed to hand him the rope. Maybe I even needed to tie the rope onto his arm. Just a few more feet … a few more inches and I'd be able to—I crashed through the ice and my whole body slipped into the freezing-cold water!

It felt as if my whole body had been slapped, shocked by the explosion of cold against my skin! I struggled to get my head above water, clawing my way
up, and broke the surface! I tried to gain a grip against the ice but I couldn't! I pulled at the rope, pulling in the slack until it became taut. Lightning stayed down, anchoring the other end. I pulled up, hand over hand, slowly moving myself out of the water and onto the ice, inch by inch, until I was finally out!

I was completely out of breath and gasped for air. I was out, but I needed to get farther away to solid ice so I didn't fall through again and … I couldn't. The Commander was still in the water. I needed to get him out. I untied the rope from my wrist and carefully slid toward him, thinking that the ice was going to give under me again. I was so close. I could see the Commander, see his eyes, still bright, pleading with me to help, his outstretched hand just a few inches away. I reached forward, straining to get those inches. He grabbed the rope!

“Tie it around you,” I said.

I spun around on my belly and scuttled away, sliding toward Lightning. He stayed down on the ice. I got to my knees and tried to rise to my feet but stumbled over. My clothes were heavy and wet and they were starting to freeze solid. I got back to my feet.

“Up!” I yelled, and Lightning jumped up.

I grabbed his lead and started to pull him away.The slack in the rope got played out and then we staggered to a stop. All the slack was gone. Now we had to work.

“Is the rope tied on?” I screamed.

“Yes.” His voice was faint. He was fading, the cold was taking him.

“Pull!” I screamed at Lightning, and at the same time I grabbed the lead and pulled as hard as I could. Lightning's claws dug into the ice, scratching forward, pulling and pulling. We were hardly moving … a few inches … a few feet. I turned around. He was out of the water!

“Pull! Pull!” I called and the two of us hauled him farther away from the water, dragging him across the ice. It was much easier to move him now. He was well clear of the open lead.

“Sit!” I said, and Lightning dropped down.

I stumbled back down along the rope to where the Commander lay on the ice. He was out of the water, but he wasn't moving!

“Commander! Commander!”

He lifted up his head and tried to rise, pushing himself up on one arm. His arm collapsed and he slumped back down. I grabbed him.

“You have to get up!”

“I need … I need to get my breath,” he gasped. “I need to rest.”

“You need to get up!” I screamed. I knew that lying there was the worst thing he could do.

I pulled him up and he struggled to rise. He leaned against me. He was heavy, and for an instant I thought
we were both going to topple over. He stood up straight. His arm was around my shoulders, but at least we were up.