Evening star., 1947-02-02


length and ten miles wide These monsters,
riding deep in the water, are governed by sea
currents in contrast to the wnd-driven pack
lce ship trapped between a northbound
barrier berg and the pack, which was driving
south today would be doomed
Reimer's chaser was now pounding further
east pursuing two remaining whales from the
school Johnny had taken toll Of Make sure
Reimer gets the message about possible big
ice in that fog" Johnny told Cummings "If
that's Barrier berg, it extends eastward,
paralleling the pack. Reimer might get caught
IN squeeze in that direction
The crew inflated the blue whale and left it
tagged, to be picked up later
Presently Cummings looked out of the
cabin. "Reimer says nuts to you: he doesn't
think there's any big ice in that fog
Johnny said evenly, We'll fish back west
ward, where we can get clear of that fog bank.
No use borrowing trouble"
Then the lookout sighted another blow 1t
was long, tedious chase, but after half an
hour Johnny bagged the quarry Another big
blue, another eighty y-barreler
fETE's chaser had vanished into the msts
eastward. The bank of fog was nearer now,
less than three miles to starboard. A mile in
the opposite direction was the polar pack
Then from the fog. dead abeam, titanic
shape took form. Slowly. majesticaly. sixty
foot wall of ice emerged. As the berg shoul-
dered clear of the mist, its face extended east
ward until it was lost in the fog. Valerie
breathed, How gorgeous - and terribler'
The helmsman gazed questioningly at
Johnny. BY turning tail they could easily
escape to open waters mile or two westward
Johnny ordered Cummings, ASK Remer if
he's getting the hell out of that trap he's in"
Cummings was working the key 1--WE already
been trying" he said tensely. But no answer
They seem to have gone dead. About five
minutes ago the operator on Reimer's chaser
said they were hung to big pull in drifting
ice, and that Reimer was refusin to cut loose
from it, Then something happened. There's
been nothing from the Noroal since"
Johnny turned back to the bridge THE
Norpal may be in trouble. Dead east, and full
ahead" They all looked at him. That berg
probably extends only few miles further
east" Johnny said. 1--WE can't see far in that
direction, because of the fog We've got an
hours time to make the run through before
the pack and the berg come together. at the
rate they're drifting" 1t was easy to say that.
but not easy to believe it. Not with that great
iceberg looming over them.
lHE OrcG drove fast through the chop. The
mighty wall of ice continued to extend end
lessly into the mist ahead They were pushing
into narrowing lane of water. A ship would be
crushed to pulp if caught when that berg, with
its millions of tons of weight, ploughed into
the polar pack Valerie stood beside Johnny on
the bridge. She was a little pale. He spoke
reassuringly: "If worst comes to worst, we can
take to the berg and be picked up later"
But -. what about your boat?''
''I'll save up and get another" he shrugged;
it had taken him ten years to get the Orca
An hour passed. All aboard now knew that
the Orca would never return over her back
route. The gap between the berg and the pack
had narrowed to less than mile. 1t would
close entirely in another twenty to thirty
minutes. Eastward was now the only hope
They were in thin fog now, with visibility
reduced to few hundred yards. Then a rocket