Finally Dan’s philosophy quieted Paul to some extent. Black darkness settled upon the sea. The fog, if possible, grew denser. It obscured the stars—everything, even the lapping waves which were steadily but surely eating away the edges of the ice pan.
CHAPTER VI
THE CASTAWAYS ABANDONED
“Glad to see you! Glad to see you! What luck?” greeted Captain Bluntt as the boat with the returned caribou hunters pulled alongside the North Star, shortly after two o’clock.
“Hello, Captain!” Remington and Ainsworth called out in unison. “Got three,” said Remington in response to the Captain’s question. “What do you think of those heads?” straightening up three pairs of antlers for inspection.
“Fine! Fine! Where’d you get ’em? Have to go far? Get ’em far up country?”
“No, tramped over a lot of country but never got a shot till this morning, half a mile in,” explained Remington, mounting the ladder to the deck. “Came on a bunch of four just above here, and got three of them.”
“Good! Good! And you brought all the meat! Great treat! Caribou meat’s fine venison.”
“Yes, we had plenty of time to pack it down before the boat came. Where’s Paul?”