“Yes, I have arranged to stop at Upernivik, for an extra supply of coal which a collier from the lower coast is to bring up for us.”
“How long do you suppose we’ll be at Upernivik?”
“Two or three days at least—perhaps a week.”
“And can Andy and I go ashore?”
“Certainly. But it is only a small settlement, and you won’t find much of interest.”
“I wanted to make inquiries about the Betsey Andrews.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I’ll help you, Chet. But don’t be too sanguine. You may not hear a word of the whaler.”
“I want to do all I can to hear from my father.”
“I don’t blame you. I’d be that way myself, if my father were missing.”
In a few hours the Ice King was out on the broad Atlantic. The long swells made the steamer roll a good deal, and soon the two boys felt this in their legs, and then in their stomachs. Each looked at the other in a woe-begone manner.