Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1934-02-22

tiderlps and undertows OF the sfoah
II they went too far, the reefs would
make short shift of their fimsy shells,
But Gollkof's directions bore cut
again. When they were two hundred
yards from the rocks-fve shiplengths
VI ooiikof's time-the paddlers began
70 reel a strong drift to the southwest.
= vas like a river running in the
ocean. Eric's reckoning as a naviga-
'or mad often been put to naught by the
mysterious currents around the Aleu-
nun islands, unexplained save by the
meeting OF the warm north Pacific
WIN Icy Boring sea, but he had never
ne' so distinct a stream as this. Pad
ing boldly. he ran before 1t.
Fully nine miles an hour they swept
aiohg the shoals. Soon the stream
"ldened and lost power, but even
"hen the tide turned, 1t continued to
pear them to the southwest. And now
eheehaquo grunted, and pointed with
his hand.
South by southwest they raised a
pale blue shadow on the sky line. 1t
was not fog, not a wisp OF cloud. not
a trick of the eyes, but surely land
fall-the furthest outpost of Mans lost
world.
"lgnak lslandi" Chechaquo NUT.
tered, deep In his throat.
Eric did not look at him, but he
Knew that his eyes glowed like black
pearls. j. Home. and all that 1t
meant to his child's heart. Sweet food
and strong drink from the trading
store. The greeting of his hunting
mates. His return to his old place by
the cooking fires. And he did
not dream that the strong young hunt
ers would now be patriarchs squatting
In the dark of the turf-huts-
that his irm-fieshed r~ound-armed
squaw had wasted to q stopped and
withered crone-that his own children
would not even remember his name.
The boats sped or Eric began to
watch for a natural arch OF stone.
Presently he picked 1t up, a great
dome looming among shoals, with the
sea running In its hollow, he turned
south straight across the current. And
just as Golikof had hade them, he and
lis mates padded for their lives.
II was an experience to raise even
C~heehaquo's coarse. straight hair. The
breakers roared, the reefs rushed to
attack, fangs barred and snarling, only
to sWerve aside and sweep i%mpotently
behind rocking, pitching, bounding up
like sword-fsh, the boats sped far
down the current toward the fatal
shoals below the pass. But when the
paddlers' breath was spent and their
loins ached, they saw the open sea
rolling beyond.
Eric cheered them on with a shout.
Their blades hacked and cleaned;
boldly they charged the last rank OF
the enemy, q long line OF wild, white
horses with flowing names. The
wicked chop Of the zeal began to
change to a long, gentle swell. Davy
Jones' shoal roared In thwarted rage
behind them.
Nothing but 8 sudden gale could
stop them now-and no cloud was In
sight. They ate their dried meat,
passing 1t from hand to hand, drank
from the water casks, and padded
YEARLY or. The bluffs of Ignak island
began to take form.
And now Eric OWNED that the great
adventure Of his life would soon pass.
Fate Is a master playwright and she
would provide a quick curtain for this
drama of the North. AS Ignak har-
Dor opened before him, he saw what
looked like three little black sticks
standing In the blue.
The trading ship was In.