Corporal McCarthy soon passed the heavily loaded umiacks in his faster and lighter boat and signaled them to follow him.
“Watch out for the ice bergs and floes,” called the corporal. “If you see a walrus, don’t shoot unless you’re attacked.”
The three boats strung out in a line headed toward the glacial island where they believed Mistak would land. In Dick and Sandy’s boat were half the dogs and the two sledges, along with the stoves and liquid fuel. It was a heavy load for the unwieldy umiack, and Dick was not long in discovering that the dangers in arctic navigation were not to be scoffed at. Though from a distance the water seemed free from ice, close at hand the bergs could be seen rolling along, either submerged, or just above the water. Sipsa took a position in the prow of the umiack, where, with a long pole, he fended off the larger ice blocks. In the stern Dick plied a paddle, while in the center Sandy took care of the dogs and saw that the cargo did not slip to one side and capsize the craft.
All went well until they reached rougher water a quarter mile from the shore. Here an ocean current carried them eastward in spite of all they could do. Sandy fashioned himself a paddle from a snow shoe covered with a piece of seal skin, and did all he could to help Dick in the uneven struggle, but they moved steadily eastward toward a low headland that marked that boundary of the bay. The island that was their destination now lay several miles northwest of them, and a floe separated the two umiacks. Corporal McCarthy was having all he could do to manage his kayack, which was being considerably buffeted about by the waves and ice.
“Maybe we’ll strike another current when we get close to that headland east of us,” called Dick from the stern.
“I hope so,” replied Sandy dubiously. “This sail isn’t doing us much good now though. The wind seems to have gone down suddenly.”
At that moment Sipsa, the Eskimo guide, rammed his pole at a submerged ice berg, and the pole slipped down into the water, forcing Sipsa to lose his balance.
Dick’s cry of warning did no good. The Eskimo did the best he could to keep his balance, then toppled head foremost into the chilly water.
“Quick, help him in, Sandy!” cried Dick, “while I hold the boat as steady as I can.”
Sandy dropped his paddle and hurried to the prow where Sipsa was struggling about in the water. The Eskimo still retained a tight grip on his pole, which had been the cause of his fall, and Sandy got a grip on this. Soon Sipsa crawled, gasping and gurgling, into the umiack.