Mother nature had heaved her waking sigh and gone about her brief business. Crickets sang of nights in the stilly cabins, and in the sunshine mosquitoes crept from out hollow logs and snug9 crevices10 among the rocks,—big, noisy, harmless fellows, that had procreated the year gone, lain frozen through the winter, and were now rejuvenated11 to buzz through swift senility to second death. All sorts of creeping, crawling, fluttering life came forth12 from the warming earth and hastened to mature, reproduce, and cease. Just a breath of balmy air, and then the long cold frost again—ah! they knew it well and lost no time. Sand martins were driving their ancient tunnels into the soft clay banks, and robins13 singing on the spruce-garbed islands. Overhead the woodpecker knocked insistently14, and in the forest depths the partridge boom-boomed and strutted15 in virile16 glory.
But in all this nervous haste the Yukon took no part. For many a thousand miles it lay cold, unsmiling, dead. Wild fowl17, driving up from the south in wind-jamming wedges, halted, looked vainly for open water, and quested dauntlessly on into the north. From bank to bank stretched the savage18 ice. Here and there the water burst through and flooded over, but in the chill nights froze solidly as ever. Tradition has it that of old time the Yukon lay unbroken through three long summers, and on the face of it there be traditions less easy of belief.
So summer waited for open water, and the tardy19 Yukon took to stretching of days and cracking its stiff joints20. Now an air-hole ate into the ice, and ate and ate; or a fissure21 formed, and grew, and failed to freeze again. Then the ice ripped from the shore and uprose bodily a yard. But still the river was loth to loose its grip. It was a slow travail22, and man, used to nursing nature with pigmy skill, able to burst waterspouts and harness waterfalls, could avail nothing against the billions of frigid23 tons which refused to run down the hill to Bering Sea.
On Split-up Island all were ready for the break-up. Waterways have ever been first highways, and the Yukon was the sole highway in all the land. So those bound up-river pitched their poling-boats and shod their poles with iron, and those bound down caulked24 their scows and barges25 and shaped spare sweeps with axe26 and drawing-knife. Jacob Welse loafed and joyed in the utter cessation from work, and Frona joyed with him in that it was good. But Baron27 Courbertin was in a fever at the delay. His hot blood grew riotous28 after the long hibernation29, and the warm sunshine dazzled him with warmer fancies.
"Oh! Oh! It will never break! Never!" And he stood gazing at the surly ice and raining politely phrased anathema30 upon it. "It is a conspiracy31, poor La Bijou, a conspiracy!" He caressed32 La Bijou like it were a horse, for so he had christened the glistening33 Peterborough canoe.
Frona and St. Vincent laughed and preached him the gospel of patience, which he proceeded to tuck away into the deepest abysses of perdition till interrupted by Jacob Welse.
"Yes; a dog."
"It moves too slowly for a dog. Frona, get the glasses."
Courbertin and St. Vincent sprang after them, but the latter knew their abiding-place and returned triumphant35. Jacob Welse put the binoculars36 to his eyes and gazed steadily37 across the river. It was a sheer mile from the island to the farther bank, and the sunglare on the ice was a sore task to the vision.
"It is a man." He passed the glasses to the Baron and strained absently with his naked eyes. "And something is up."
"He creeps!" the baron exclaimed. "The man creeps, he crawls, on hand and knee! Look! See!" He thrust the glasses tremblingly into Frona's hands.
Looking across the void of shimmering38 white, it was difficult to discern a dark object of such size when dimly outlined against an equally dark background of brush and earth. But Frona could make the man out with fair distinctness; and as she grew accustomed to the strain she could distinguish each movement, and especially so when he came to a wind-thrown pine. Sue watched painfully. Twice, after tortuous39 effort, squirming and twisting, he failed in breasting the big trunk, and on the third attempt, after infinite exertion40, he cleared it only to topple helplessly forward and fall on his face in the tangled41 undergrowth.
"It is a man." She turned the glasses over to St. Vincent. "And he is crawling feebly. He fell just then this side of the log."
"Does he move?" Jacob Welse asked, and, on a shake of St. Vincent's head, brought his rifle from the tent.
He fired six shots skyward in rapid succession. "He moves!" The correspondent followed him closely. "He is crawling to the bank. Ah! . . . No; one moment . . . Yes! He lies on the ground and raises his hat, or something, on a stick. He is waving it." (Jacob Welse fired six more shots.) "He waves again. Now he has dropped it and lies quite still."
All three looked inquiringly to Jacob Welse.
Indian; starvation most likely, or else he is injured."
"But he may be dying," Frona pleaded, as though her father, who had done most things, could do all things.
"We can do nothing."
"Ah! Terrible! terrible!" The baron wrung43 his hands. "Before our very eyes, and we can do nothing! No!" he exclaimed, with swift resolution, "it shall not be! I will cross the ice!"
He would have started precipitately44 down the bank had not Jacob Welse caught his arm.
"Not such a rush, baron. Keep your head."
"But—"
"But nothing. Does the man want food, or medicine, or what? Wait a moment. We will try it together."
While she made up a bundle of food in the tent, the men provided and rigged themselves with sixty or seventy feet of light rope. Jacob Welse and St. Vincent made themselves fast to it at either end, and the baron in the middle. He claimed the food as his portion, and strapped46 it to his broad shoulders. Frona watched their progress from the bank. The first hundred yards were easy going, but she noticed at once the change when they had passed the limit of the fairly solid shore-ice. Her father led sturdily, feeling ahead and to the side with his staff and changing direction continually.
St. Vincent, at the rear of the extended line, was the first to go through, but he fell with the pole thrust deftly47 across the opening and resting on the ice. His head did not go under, though the current sucked powerfully, and the two men dragged him out after a sharp pull. Frona saw them consult together for a minute, with much pointing and gesticulating on the part of the baron, and then St. Vincent detach himself and turn shoreward.
"Br-r-r-r," he shivered, coming up the bank to her. "It's impossible."
"But why didn't they come in?" she asked, a slight note of displeasure manifest in her voice.
"Said they were going to make one more try, first. That Courbertin is hot-headed, you know."
"And my father just as bull-headed," she smiled. "But hadn't you better change? There are spare things in the tent."
"Oh, no." He threw himself down beside her. "It's warm in the sun."
For an hour they watched the two men, who had become mere48 specks49 of black in the distance; for they had managed to gain the middle of the river and at the same time had worked nearly a mile up-stream. Frona followed them closely with the glasses, though often they were lost to sight behind the ice-ridges.
"It was unfair of them," she heard St. Vincent complain, "to say they were only going to have one more try. Otherwise I should not have turned back. Yet they can't make it—absolutely impossible."
"Yes . . . No . . . Yes! They're turning back," she announced. "But listen! What is that?"
She sprang to her feet. "Gregory, the river can't be breaking!"
"No, no; surely not. See, it is gone." The noise which had come from above had died away downstream.
"But there! There!"
Another rumble, hoarser52 and more ominous53 than before, lifted itself and hushed the robins and the squirrels. When abreast54 of them, it sounded like a railroad train on a distant trestle. A third rumble, which approached a roar and was of greater duration, began from above and passed by.
"Oh, why don't they hurry!"
The two specks had stopped, evidently in conversation. She ran the glasses hastily up and down the river. Though another roar had risen, she could make out no commotion55. The ice lay still and motionless. The robins resumed their singing, and the squirrels were chattering56 with spiteful glee.
"Don't fear, Frona." St. Vincent put his arm about her protectingly. "If there is any danger, they know it better than we, and they are taking their time."
"I never saw a big river break up," she confessed, and resigned herself to the waiting.
The roars rose and fell sporadically57, but there were no other signs of disruption, and gradually the two men, with frequent duckings, worked inshore. The water was streaming from them and they were shivering severely58 as they came up the bank.
"At last!" Frona had both her father's hands in hers. "I thought you would never come back."
"There, there. Run and get dinner," Jacob Welse laughed. "There was no danger."
"But what was it?"
"Stewart River's broken and sending its ice down under the Yukon ice.
We could hear the grinding plainly out there."
"Ah! And it was terrible! terrible!" cried the baron. "And that poor, poor man, we cannot save him!"
"Yes, we can. We'll have a try with the dogs after dinner. Hurry,
Frona."
But the dogs were a failure. Jacob Welse picked out the leaders as the more intelligent, and with grub-packs on them drove them out from the bank. They could not grasp what was demanded of them. Whenever they tried to return they were driven back with sticks and clods and imprecations. This only bewildered them, and they retreated out of range, whence they raised their wet, cold paws and whined59 pitifully to the shore.
"If they could only make it once, they would understand, and then it would go like clock-work. Ah! Would you? Go on! Chook, Miriam! Chook! The thing is to get the first one across."
Jacob Welse finally succeeded in getting Miriam, lead-dog to Frona's team, to take the trail left by him and the baron. The dog went on bravely, scrambling60 over, floundering through, and sometimes swimming; but when she had gained the farthest point reached by them, she sat down helplessly. Later on, she cut back to the shore at a tangent, landing on the deserted61 island above; and an hour afterwards trotted62 into camp minus the grub-pack. Then the two dogs, hovering63 just out of range, compromised matters by devouring64 each other's burdens; after which the attempt was given over and they were called in.
During the afternoon the noise increased in frequency, and by nightfall was continuous, but by morning it had ceased utterly65. The river had risen eight feet, and in many places was running over its crust. Much crackling and splitting were going on, and fissures66 leaping into life and multiplying in all directions.
"The under-tow ice has jammed below among the islands," Jacob Welse explained. "That's what caused the rise. Then, again, it has jammed at the mouth of the Stewart and is backing up. When that breaks through, it will go down underneath67 and stick on the lower jam."
"La Bijou will swim again."
As the light grew stronger, they searched for the man across the river.
He had not moved, but in response to their rifle-shots waved feebly.
"Nothing for it till the river breaks, baron, and then a dash with La
Bijou. St. Vincent, you had better bring your blankets up and sleep
here to-night. We'll need three paddles, and I think we can get
McPherson."
"No need," the correspondent hastened to reply. "The back-channel is like adamant69, and I'll be up by daybreak."
"But I? Why not?" Baron Courbertin demanded. Frona laughed.
"Remember, we haven't given you your first lessons yet."
"And there'll hardly be time to-morrow," Jacob Welse added. "When she goes, she goes with a rush. St. Vincent, McPherson, and I will have to make the crew, I'm afraid. Sorry, baron. Stay with us another year and you'll be fit."
But Baron Courbertin was inconsolable, and sulked for a full half-hour.
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1
smiting
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 ) | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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spate
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| n.泛滥，洪水，突然的一阵 | |
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mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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crevices
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| n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 ) | |
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rejuvenated
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| 更生的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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robins
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| n.知更鸟，鸫( robin的名词复数 )；（签名者不分先后，以避免受责的）圆形签名抗议书（或请愿书） | |
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insistently
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| ad.坚持地 | |
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strutted
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| 趾高气扬地走，高视阔步( strut的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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fowl
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| n.家禽，鸡，禽肉 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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tardy
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| adj.缓慢的，迟缓的 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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travail
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| n.阵痛；努力 | |
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frigid
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| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
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24
caulked
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| v.堵（船的）缝( caulk的过去式和过去分词 )；泥…的缝；填塞；使不漏水 | |
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barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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riotous
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| adj.骚乱的；狂欢的 | |
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hibernation
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| n.冬眠 | |
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anathema
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| n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物) | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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32
caressed
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| 爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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34
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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35
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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36
binoculars
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| n.双筒望远镜 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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38
shimmering
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| v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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39
tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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41
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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42
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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43
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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44
precipitately
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| adv.猛进地 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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46
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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47
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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48
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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49
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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50
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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51
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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52
hoarser
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| （指声音）粗哑的，嘶哑的( hoarse的比较级 ) | |
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53
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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54
abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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55
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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56
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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57
sporadically
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| adv.偶发地，零星地 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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59
whined
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| v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨 | |
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60
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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61
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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62
trotted
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| 小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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63
hovering
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| 鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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64
devouring
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| 吞没( devour的现在分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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65
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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66
fissures
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| n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 )；裂伤；分歧；分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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67
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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68
exulted
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| 狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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adamant
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| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
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