"Then," said Aleck, decisively, "we must take to the boat and get off this cake, for the wind is blowing us right back into the open lake, and we couldn't live out there. I think I saw land just north of us, and we must try to reach it, or, at any rate, to get upon the big ice-field in front. It's our only hope."
He and Tug were buttoning their overcoats and tying tippets about their heads and necks, but talking at the same time.
"Now for our orders, Captain."
"Well, then, listen. Katy and Jim must not step out of the boat unless I say so. They must light the lantern, ship the rudder, roll up the bedding and stow it under the thwarts, and fix everything as snug as they can. Jim's place will be forward; Katy will stay by the tiller; and remember, whatever happens, that the compass direction is due north. Now, Tug," he continued, "you and I will throw this kitchen stuff aboard, and let The Youngster pack it away the best he can. Then, down with the oars and mast and canvas. We must hurry."
So saying, he snatched the kettle, ham and all, from the fire, and tossed it into the boat, where it lit on Jim's foot, and was greeted with an angry howl. The other goods and the spare canvas followed. Then they began to tear down the roof, and in five minutes this had been piled in a stiff, frozen heap on the bow of the boat, for they thought there would be no time to bend and fold it into shape. It was all the united efforts of the four could do to hoist it over the low gunwale.
All these preparations took perhaps fifteen minutes—a quarter of an hour of terror, for now the great cake was plainly rocking under their feet. Then calling Jim out of the boat to help them, the three put their heads through the collars of the drag-ropes, and tried their best to move the boat, but it wouldn't budge an inch.
"We must throw off that icy canvas. I should think it weighs a hundred pounds," Tug remarked.
"Yes, off with it!" ordered Captain Aleck.
This done, they tried again, and slowly and laboriously worked the boat twenty or thirty paces towards the edge of the ice, when it became clogged with the fast-falling snow, and could be pushed no farther.