rex wagged his tail mournfully, and looked at the strange scene, whining as if he understood it all, but was at his wits' end how to act.
"afloat?" tug repeated, after a minute. "there are cracks on each side of us, and a narrow one part way behind, between us and that high hummock over there to the southward, which, in my opinion, hides the low, flat land, for i think it is only four or five miles to the shore. but it might as well have been four or five hundred while that snow lasted. let's watch, and see if the crack gets wider."
"do you feel quite sure, tug, that aleck and jim are on one of those big cakes of ice?" the tone of katy's voice was very anxious.
"yes, i do, katy. they certainly have not jumped off and drowned themselves on purpose."
this made katy smile, in spite of her anxiety.
"they surely are not very far off; but, the most alarming part of the business is, how they are to get to us if that big crack increases to the size of a river. can you make up your mind whether it is really growing wider?"
in the course of half an hour it became very plain that the crack was getting wider rapidly, and their icy foundation, which they had thought so fixed, had now become a big raft, slowly drifting down the lake under the pushing of the steady west wind—moving a little faster than its companion rafts in the wide waste, because its high hummock served as a sort of sail. all the cakes our watchers could see were much smaller than this one. occasionally these pieces would crash together, and crumble, or one would slide under the other. sometimes their own "floe," as dr. kane would have called so large a piece, collided with others, but always came off victorious. they came to the conclusion that its having the thick hummock, like a great, solid back-bone, rendered it far stronger than the rest, as well as a better sailer.
beside them another floe, also bearing a hummock (a section of their own), was pressing its way on, to the ruin of smaller ones. it was separated from their floe by an open canal, perhaps five hundred yards wide, and floated along about even with them, sometimes swinging nearer, sometimes receding. this great cake, an acre or more in extent, lay in the direction whither the absent ones had gone, and it was hoped that they were upon it. this would be the next best thing to having them safely back, but the chance was a small one, at best.
talking over these loopholes of escape, katy and tug tried to forget their discomforts and dangers, and to show each other cheerful and reliant faces. nevertheless it was dreary work.
the weary day wore on—the day they thought would perhaps be their last—until night, with its starless gloom, was surrounding the desolate picture of grinding ice and of black, rolling waves, dimly seen. chilled to the bone, for neither could bear to stay within the hut, they had grown silent and almost despairing, when rex suddenly started to his feet, and, pricking up his ears, looked intently towards the great floe beside them, which had now approached much nearer. then, after listening a moment, he uttered a loud bark, and bounded off. the two castaways followed to the edge of the ice, and there, having silenced rex, could presently hear a faint halloo—her brother's voice!
"halloo! halloo-o!" they shrieked back.
"let us get the boat, and go after them!" cried katy, nearly wild with joy and excitement.
"can't do it," said tug, in a discouraged tone. "all four of us couldn't budge that boat and sledge before morning. it is frozen in, and has got to be chopped out and dried up. must do something besides get the boat."
"that floe is nearer than it has been before, tug. maybe it'll come quite close."
"yes, mebbe it will. i 'low that's our only hope. we can do nothing, katy, but watch, and—and pray, katy. let us go back to the fire. it is cold here, and we can do no good. once in a while i'll come down and scream across to cheer 'em up."
reluctantly, therefore, they returned to the igloo, warmed their feet, and picked up something to eat, but did not go to bed. tug and rex would frequently run out and shout across to aleck, reporting at each return that the water-space (as well as could be guessed in the darkness) seemed to be surely narrowing. towards morning katy was persuaded to lie down, consenting to do so only when promised that she should be roused as soon as daylight appeared. tug himself fell asleep, but both awoke with the first light of dawn, and hastened together to the edge of the floe, where the water lay calm and smooth, gray as iron and cold as death, between the divided friends.
"oh, i can see them!" cried the girl, and sent a cheery call across the "lead," which had now narrowed to a few rods. "poor little jim! see how he has to lean against aleck."
"we're safe," came back the shout, "but almost worn-out. can you move the boat?"
"no."
"then unroll the ball of twine, and tie one end of it to the clothes-line, and to the other end of the clothes-line knot all the drag-ropes put together. then fasten the loose end of the twine to rex's collar, and make the dog bring it to me. understand?"
"yes."
but tug didn't quite understand. he was off too soon, in his haste to get the twine and clothes-line and ropes. aleck hadn't finished his directions.
"tell tug," he shouted again to katy, "to bring the sled, and fasten that to the drag-ropes. when i have hauled the ropes across, and got hold of the sled, i'll send rex back, and you can pull in the twine, and catch the ropes, and tow us across. hurry up, if you want us alive! this ice may drift apart again."
in five minutes tug came running back, with all his preparations made. now everything depended upon rex. the twine was slipped through his collar, and securely knotted, katy kneeling the while with her arms about his shaggy head, whispering to him what he was to do. then, in a stern voice, tug commanded:
"go, rex—go to aleck!" at the same time pushing him into the water, while the captain coaxed from the other side, and even jim roused himself at this joyful prospect of deliverance.
at first the dog, brave as he was, turned back, whining pitifully at the freezing water. but they fought him away, and finally poor rex struck out and swam across to where aleck was anxiously waiting to lift him out. taking hold of the twine the dog had brought, the captain reeled it in as rapidly as his stiffened fingers would let him, until the clothes-line began to come, and after it the heavier drag-ropes.
but both clothes-line and drag-ropes together proved too short to reach quite across, and the floes seemed to have stopped their approach to each other, so that waiting would be useless, if not dangerous.
"there is about ten feet lacking," aleck shouted. "you must find some more rope."
"can't do it, unless i cut it off the mainsail."
"cut it off, then, and make haste."
tug went off on a run, and another five minutes passed by before he got back. already the canal had begun to widen, so that fifteen feet instead of ten would be required.
tossing the rope into the sled-box, tug screamed, "all right!" and the captain began drawing the sled to his side as quickly as possible, so that the two parties were again disconnected, and wholly reliant upon the nervous and frightened dog, which jim was holding firmly, and coaxing into quiet. swiftly splicing the rope with the new piece, the dog was let go. this time he leaped eagerly into the water for his return trip, apparently feeling perfectly the responsibility laid upon him, though perhaps he was only frightened, and eager to get back to what seemed home.
positions were now reversed. aleck and jim had the sled—tug and katy the twine. drawing this in, all waited with feverish anxiety to see if there would be length of rope enough. there was; but so rapidly had the floes drifted apart that tug held the very end of the taut line in his outstretched hand, and had not a bit to spare. one minute more, and the lines would not have reached across.
then they saw aleck snatch off his overcoat, his undercoat, and his boots, and put them into the box of the sled, which was floating unsteadily at the margin of the ice. they saw him half lift the exhausted jim, helping him to get into the box, and then heard him call out in quick words:
"don't try to pull at all hard until you can catch the big rope. i am going to swim and push a little ways, but i expect i shall be too chilled to do more than a little. when i stop pushing, and you get hold of the drag-ropes, haul us both ashore as fast as you can. here goes!"
with these words he slid into the water, swimming with his right hand, while with his left he pushed along the box and sled, which was half sunken, and in which jimmy crouched, shaking with cold, but afraid to stir.
"keep it up a little longer!" tug sung out, as he knelt on the edge of the ice, and carefully gathered in the clothes-line until he could almost clutch the end of the stronger rope. "i've almost got it! about two strokes more! all right! now hold on with both arms, and we'll soon have you." whereupon katy seized the rope with him, and both together pulled as hard and as fast as they knew how.
the strange little ferry-boat and its passengers seemed to approach very slowly, but finally it came so near that tug stopped hauling on the line, and knelt down in order to lean out and grasp the box after katy should have pulled it a few inches closer. jim, seeing this motion, forgot how delicate was the balance, and rose up, when in an instant the unsteady craft tipped, and the boy went backward into and under the blue lake. at any rate, so it seemed to the spectators; but the little fellow, making a despairing clutch as he went over, had gripped a runner of the sled, and a second later his face appeared close by the ice, where the fond sister, pale as he, seized his arm and helped him scramble out.
