Read Online Ice Drift (9780547540610) by Theodore Taylor - Free Book Online
Authors: Theodore Taylor
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hard.
Reaching the first crevasse, he hooked the gaff and pulled himself up. Anything Papa had made could be trusted. And Alika still had the strength to climb. They'd eaten the last piece of raw seal the night before.
He could hear Sulu shouting from below, "Keep going!" And even Jamka howled. Alika was afraid to turn his head to look at them, so instead he pressed his body against the ice, ready to ascend another five feet.
He worked the gaff out of the berg's grasp and hooked it again, another five feet higher, then rested a moment. He kept thinking that if the berg was close to the shore on the other side, it would act as a bridge, even if they had to wade a little. He didn't know how far south the floe had traveled, but being anywhere onshore would be better than continuing to ride it.
Alika took several deep breaths and once more pulled himself up. Sulu shouted, "Don't fall!" Alika decided to go over to the next crevasse, which was wider and sloped more deeply inward.
Five feet at a time, resting after each pull, it took Alika almost half an hour to reach the fortresslike top of the berg. When he looked down the other side, he tried not to weep, but failed. The shore was at least two hundred feet away, an impossible distance to wade. Even if he succeeded, he'd be soaked, and there'd be no way to dry off.
As he stood on top of the berg, the wind dried his tears. He realized it was a useless mission. Any plan for hauling Sulu and Jamka up the icy wall would not have worked. He didn't have even enough strength left to climb it again himself.
He looked around. To the west was endless tundra, no sign of human life; to the east, across the strait, the white mountains of Greenland were outlined in the moonlight.
He stayed atop the berg for a few minutes, then used the gaff to help himself slide down. Finally feeling the floe with his boots, he heard Sulu ask, "Can we go ashore?"
Alika shook his head. "There's too much water on the other side. We're stuck here, Little One."
"I was afraid of that," Sulu said.
"I've got to kill a seal right away," Alika said. The day before he'd seen that Sulu trembled as he walked, from lack of food.
Moonlight was now their only hope.
Â
The next two days, a light wind blew from the northwest, good for hunting, chasing the clouds. The moon was again shining down, and a most beautiful halo encircled it, as bright as Tatkret himself. Horizontal and vertical rays extended from it to form a perfect cross.
Alika had instructed Sulu to stay in the
iglu
and conserve his energy. Meanwhile, Alika spent hours at two different seal holes that Jamka had chosen. At last, on the third nightâwhen Alika had to crawl, because of weakness, to the hole selected by Jamkaâa seal rose to the surface for a quick breath, and Alika used the last of his strength to drive the harpoon into its thin skull. Then he found new energy to widen the hole and pull the animal out onto the snow, where it died.
Alika and Jamka teamed to drag the carcass to the snowhouse, Alika shouting, "Sulu, come out here and look at what we have!"
Sulu soon appeared, grinning widely. "I knew you'd do it, big brother."
This time Alika had no freshwater with which to anoint the lips of the seal, and he prayed to the animal's fleeing spirit to allow him this error. He promised he'd never do it again.
Inside the
iglu,
away from any bear's snooping nostrils, he began to use the woman's knife to butcher the seal, saving every drop of warm blood that he could for Sulu, Jamka, and himself. They needed it badly and drank it greedily. In the faint shaft of the moon's light through the ice pane, provided at a lucky angle, Alika skillfully cut the seal, first saving every ounce of the blubber so that he could light the
qulliq.
Later he would boil the meat as needed. But now they ate it raw, slicing the delicious liver into three pieces.
After filling their stomachs, which soon ached from being so stuffed, they went to sleep,
Reaching the first crevasse, he hooked the gaff and pulled himself up. Anything Papa had made could be trusted. And Alika still had the strength to climb. They'd eaten the last piece of raw seal the night before.
He could hear Sulu shouting from below, "Keep going!" And even Jamka howled. Alika was afraid to turn his head to look at them, so instead he pressed his body against the ice, ready to ascend another five feet.
He worked the gaff out of the berg's grasp and hooked it again, another five feet higher, then rested a moment. He kept thinking that if the berg was close to the shore on the other side, it would act as a bridge, even if they had to wade a little. He didn't know how far south the floe had traveled, but being anywhere onshore would be better than continuing to ride it.
Alika took several deep breaths and once more pulled himself up. Sulu shouted, "Don't fall!" Alika decided to go over to the next crevasse, which was wider and sloped more deeply inward.
Five feet at a time, resting after each pull, it took Alika almost half an hour to reach the fortresslike top of the berg. When he looked down the other side, he tried not to weep, but failed. The shore was at least two hundred feet away, an impossible distance to wade. Even if he succeeded, he'd be soaked, and there'd be no way to dry off.
As he stood on top of the berg, the wind dried his tears. He realized it was a useless mission. Any plan for hauling Sulu and Jamka up the icy wall would not have worked. He didn't have even enough strength left to climb it again himself.
He looked around. To the west was endless tundra, no sign of human life; to the east, across the strait, the white mountains of Greenland were outlined in the moonlight.
He stayed atop the berg for a few minutes, then used the gaff to help himself slide down. Finally feeling the floe with his boots, he heard Sulu ask, "Can we go ashore?"
Alika shook his head. "There's too much water on the other side. We're stuck here, Little One."
"I was afraid of that," Sulu said.
"I've got to kill a seal right away," Alika said. The day before he'd seen that Sulu trembled as he walked, from lack of food.
Moonlight was now their only hope.
Â
The next two days, a light wind blew from the northwest, good for hunting, chasing the clouds. The moon was again shining down, and a most beautiful halo encircled it, as bright as Tatkret himself. Horizontal and vertical rays extended from it to form a perfect cross.
Alika had instructed Sulu to stay in the
iglu
and conserve his energy. Meanwhile, Alika spent hours at two different seal holes that Jamka had chosen. At last, on the third nightâwhen Alika had to crawl, because of weakness, to the hole selected by Jamkaâa seal rose to the surface for a quick breath, and Alika used the last of his strength to drive the harpoon into its thin skull. Then he found new energy to widen the hole and pull the animal out onto the snow, where it died.
Alika and Jamka teamed to drag the carcass to the snowhouse, Alika shouting, "Sulu, come out here and look at what we have!"
Sulu soon appeared, grinning widely. "I knew you'd do it, big brother."
This time Alika had no freshwater with which to anoint the lips of the seal, and he prayed to the animal's fleeing spirit to allow him this error. He promised he'd never do it again.
Inside the
iglu,
away from any bear's snooping nostrils, he began to use the woman's knife to butcher the seal, saving every drop of warm blood that he could for Sulu, Jamka, and himself. They needed it badly and drank it greedily. In the faint shaft of the moon's light through the ice pane, provided at a lucky angle, Alika skillfully cut the seal, first saving every ounce of the blubber so that he could light the
qulliq.
Later he would boil the meat as needed. But now they ate it raw, slicing the delicious liver into three pieces.
After filling their stomachs, which soon ached from being so stuffed, they went to sleep,
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