Two nights before, the old “Erik” had a narrow escape from being crushed between a heavy floe and the straight, hard walls of a glacier face, against which the ice had driven her.
August 29th, AH-NI-GHI´-TO and her mother said good-bye to “dear old dad” and to Charley, promising to come up on the ship next summer, and father in turn promised that he would return home with them.
The home voyage on the “Erik” was made in two weeks, landing AH-NI-GHI´-TO in Sydney the day after her eighth birthday, September 13th, in time to catch the only train of the day for home.
Two days later she was in the home of her grandmother, but as that dear one had been called to another home, AH-NI-GHI´-TO did not care to stay long, and the next day she and her mother went on to New York where uncle was waiting for them.
“Country of the Iceberg and the Midnight Sun”
With him they left for Grossy’s home in Washington, where they arrived late at night and found every one asleep. It did not take long to rouse the household, and there was great rejoicing, for they had not seen their “Snowbaby” for fifteen months, and she had so much to tell that it seemed as if no one would go to bed that night.
Every one felt very sorry that AH-NI-GHI´-TO did not bring her father home with her, but they were glad that she left him well, and that he had promised to come home next year.
AH-NI-GHI´-TO went to school at once and found to her delight that, because she had played at school with mother during the past winter, she was now able to take her place with her little classmates who had been going to school all the time she was in the Snowland.
When July came, AH-NI-GHI´-TO and her mother once more boarded the “Windward,” with good old Captain Sam in command, and sailed for the country of the iceberg and the midnight sun again.