NOW had fallen thickly during the night, and a cold north wind blew keenly in the faces of Harold and Walter Moore, who, well wrapped in great coats and comforters, were carrying a large basket down the lane that lay between their home and the cottage where a sailor, who was an old friend of theirs, lived.
They had gone on for some time without a word, but as they set down their basket for a short rest, Walter said, “I say, Harold, won't Uncle Davis have a real good time to-morrow? Mother said she wanted to send him over some things if we would run down the lane with them, so I went out to the wood-shed to look for you. Father was there, and when I told him where we were going he said we might take the poor old man as much wood as we could carry.
“I asked Mary to let us have her large basket, and we were soon off”
“I think Uncle Davis has lots of good times," Harold answered in a thoughtful manner. "He seems so happy, and I think he must know nearly all there is in the Bible, for he never seems to get tired of reading it. I like his stories too, all about ships and sailors. Shall we ask him to tell us that one you like so much, about the time when the ship he was in got among the icebergs, and they were obliged to spend a whole winter on the ice?”
“First rate; and Uncle Davis could not tell it at a better time. The snow is now so deep that he will almost think he is there again. But we had better take up our basket and be off”
When they reached the cottage, the old sailor, who was called Uncle by everybody who knew him, was, as Harold expected, reading his well-worn Bible. A stick of wood from the basket soon made his small fire give out a cheerful light and warmth. He thanked his young friends warmly for their kindness, then said, "When you came in I was just reading a verse in the blessed book, and thinking how true I have found it. Here it is, ‘They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.'" (Psa. 107:23, 24.)
“Tell us about the time when you were obliged to winter on the ice, please do, Uncle Davis," Walter, who always enjoyed reading or hearing of adventures by sea or on land, said, getting close to the old sailor as he spoke.
“That I will, my lad. It is a story I never get tired of telling. More than fifty years have passed since I first sailed over the Polar seas. Ships are built larger now-a-days than they were when I was a young man, and more is done for the comfort of the crews. Still our ship, ‘The Lady Alice,' was a tight, trim little craft, and our captain a kind, God-fearing man, and never a better sailor trod a ship's deck.
“We had a pretty good season in the whale fisheries, but being under orders to sail as far north as we could, lost sight of all the other whalers, and were just about to set sail for home when we caught sight of an iceberg coming down upon us. It was like a mountain of ice, and we noticed that our captain looked very grave and shook his head.
“The first iceberg was quickly followed by others, and though, for a few days, we tried to run the ship clear of the icebergs, so as to get into the open water beyond, we had to give it up and steer for a small inlet on the coast. We were often in danger of having ‘The Lady Alice' crushed by an iceberg, and very glad and thankful we were when she was at anchor.
“Very soon the cold became so severe that we were obliged to leave the ship and build snow huts on the land. We were not very badly off for food, and were able to get water for drinking by melting the snow in an iron pot over the fire. Sometimes a party of us would go for some distance along the shore to pick up drift wood.
“White bears and foxes we saw in plenty, and once a party of Eskimos came to visit us in their strange-looking sledges drawn by dogs. We could not understand a word they said, but we bought some dried reindeer from them, for which we paid in knives, beads, &c.
“I think the most trying part of the time was when the long night of an Arctic winter set in, and for many weeks together we never saw the sun, though even then the sky was often crimson with a beautiful light called the Aurora.
“We were often very sad when we thought of our loved ones at home, and remembered how much sorrow our long absence must give them; and I need hardly tell you it was a happy day for us when, through the mercy of God, we were able to leave our winter quarters and get out to sea."
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