Little was said. Pushing their way slowly through the cakes of ice, which had grown denser now; changing every little while from oars to boat-hook and back again, while Katy, protected from freezing by her double blanket and Jim's close hugging, kept the yawl's head due north; fighting fatigue, hunger, cold, and a great desire to sleep, these brave boys worked hour after hour for their lives and the lives in their care.
When they were beginning to think it almost morning they came squarely against a field of ice which stretched right and left into the darkness farther than it was possible to see. Whether this was the edge of a stationary field or only a large raft they couldn't tell; but they were too exhausted to go farther, and they decided to tie up and wait for daylight. Tug struck his hook into the ice until it held firmly, then lashed it to the bow. Aleck also stepped out and drove one of the short railway spikes into the ice near the stern, around which a rope was hitched. Then both the boys opened a second roll of bedding, and snuggled down as well as they could to get what rest they were able to while waiting for sunrise. Crowded together in the straw (though it was damp with snow), and covered with quilts and blankets, they could keep tolerably warm, and even caught little naps. The snow had stopped now, and the stars began to appear, first in the north, then overhead, then gradually everywhere. The wind still blew, but the boat rose and fell more and more slowly upon the rollers, until at last it stood perfectly still. This happened so suddenly, and was followed by so complete steadiness, that it aroused Tug's curiosity. Poking his head from under the covering, he said, "I think we are frozen in." Nobody answered him, for they were asleep, or too stupid to care; but the gray daylight which came at last showed that he was right. On their right hand was a great sheet of new, thin ice; on their left a mass of thick old ice, white with snow. Straight ahead, so well had Katy steered, towered the rocks and trees of a high, wooded shore, coming momently into greater and greater distinctness as the red streamers of the morning shot higher and higher into the eastern sky.
Tug was the first to catch this sight, and roused his fellows with a shout:
"Land!—land! Hurrah!"
Chapter XXI.
THE ESCAPE TO THE SHORE.
To rouse themselves, hastily gather a few eatables, and make their way ashore had been the work of a very short time, though done with great soreness and much hobbling, after their cramped-up night in the boat.