CHAPTER XXIII
THE ALBATROSS
They had passed several singular formations in the snow and ice during their tramp, and more than once Will supposed he had discovered another hut.
Investigation, however, proved the masses to be of ice or snow, and they abandoned this line of exploration until, as they came near the camp, Will made the discovery noted at the end of the last chapter.
From several blocks of ice, there protruded an object that made old Jack stare blankly.
“Why, it’s a piece of wood!” he cried.
There was no doubt of this fact, as was proven by a brief investigation. It seemed to be a part of the boarding of a boat and had evidently been placed where it was, not carelessly, but for a purpose.
“It’s a landmark,” said Jack.
“Of what?” inquired Will.
“Of the same party, probably, that built the hut we found. You see those blocks of ice, lad?”
“Yes, Jack.”
“They were dragged, not thrown here.”
“For what purpose?”
“To protect a cache.”
“What is that, Jack?”
“It’s a hiding place for food or the like. For instance, the men who were here, probably castaways like ourselves, abandoned their hut to seek some native settlement or find a ship. They could not carry all their stores and wanted to secure them from animals, so they buried them in the snow, piled the ice over it, and then put up this board as a marking signal of the spot. Should they return, it would be a supply station for them.”
“I understand, Jack; and you think we shall find something under those blocks of ice?”
“Undoubtedly, lad.”
“Let us go to work, then.”
“All right,” and Jack and his companion united their strength to remove the solid ice blocks.
They found it no easy task, and when they were displaced came to a foundation of solidly packed snow.
The hatchet was used to loosen this. Some feet below the surface they found a package encased in the hard, dried skin of some animal and tied securely with pieces of rope.
There were a dozen or more of these packages of various sizes, and at the bottom of the cache, several large planks of wood laid there to protect the packages in case of a thaw, when the mass would sink uniformly and not become scattered.
“Run to the hut, Will,” said Jack, after they had lifted out all the contents of the cache.
“For Hugo and the boys?”
“Yes. We have uncovered this stuff now, and we must remove it.”
When Will and his excited companions rejoined Jack they found that he had constructed a rough drag-sled out of the pieces of wood. Upon this, they piled the packages, and then, attaching a rope, started with their treasures for the hut.
By dark, they had all the packages inside the hut and were housed for the night.
Their new shelter proved to be a most comfortable one, for the house had been carefully built, and the lamp and blubber they found imparted both light and heat.
“How cozy and home-like,” remarked Will, as Jack set about examining the various packages.
They contained a score of delightful surprises and indicated clearly that their original possessors were members of some ship’s crew and castaways like themselves.
There were several packages of canned meats, jellies, and biscuits; there was a variety of clothing, some books, tools, and cooking utensils.
“A glorious find,” remarked Hugo, enthusiastically; “we can defy the arctic cold now.”
But among all they found there was not an indication as to the name of the ship whence these articles had come originally.
They discovered no clue in this direction until, in looking over one of the books, Will came to a roughly written line.
It had been scrawled on a blank page by a piece of burned cinder and left unfinished.
It read:
“This day abandoned the ship and started on an exploring tour down Barnell’s Point.”
Old Jack looked up from tying one of the packages quite excitedly.
“What’s that, lad?”
“A line written in this book.”
“Read it again.”
Will did so.
“You are sure it says Barnell’s Point?”
“Yes; it is plainly written here. Why, Jack?”
There was a peculiar look in the old mariner’s eye.
“Because, lad, if this is Barnell’s Point we’ve made a great discovery for you.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?”
“That Barnell’s Point is the place where the Albatross was crushed to pieces in the ice.”
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