en one of the fellers got
hurt, when his oar struck a chunk of ice, 'n' we went ashore again. I
reckon we'd been at it nigh four hours, then."

"I suppose you hadn't any trouble finding a volunteer?" the boy said.

"We could ha' got nigh every man on the beach. But we took one o' the
fishermen who had gone out on his own hook afore. If we was goin' to do
any savin' it was on'y fair he should have a share o' the credit. An'
then, any chap who was willin' to resk his life in a bit of a yawl in
that weather was worth puttin' in a boat.

"So we'd had to make three starts afore we really got away an' clear o'
the ice. I never see no such gale in all my days. It was an hour an'
more, steady pullin' with every pound o' muscle in the crew, before we
got in reach o' the tug. An' then, when we was right up on her, there
wa'n't one man aboard who come out to catch a line. We found out why,
arterwards. The gale took us by her like we was racin', 'n' the boys had
to work like Sam Patch to get back. I guess it took nigh half 'n hour to
creep up to wind'ard of her again.

"One o' my crew, a young fellow from Maine, as lively a little grig as
ever I see, volunteered to board her. We ran under her bow, an' somehow
or other he clumb up on board, I swear I don't see how he ever done it,
an' snaked a line round her funnel. I went aboard an' one other o' the
crew, a man we used to call Ginger.

"Then we found out why the men aboard the steamer hadn't come out to
pick up our line. The door o' the pilot-house was smothered in ice,
more'n an inch thick. Every window was friz in. We was sure up against
it. We couldn't stand on the glassy deck, 'n' there was no way to get
the men out. The surf-boat was a-ridin' twenty fathom behind, we'd let
her out on a long line, an' there was another cold wait while we hauled
her up an' got an ax out of her. We lashed ourselves fast or we'd ha'
gone over the side, sure.

"When Ginger, who was an old lumber-jack, gits the ax, he slides along
to the pilot-house, an' starts to chop. He'd been choppin' jest about a
minute when along comes a sea, smashes one o' the ventilators an' hurls
it along the deck. The cussed thing hits Ginger jest as he's swingin'
the ax, 'n' sweeps him overboard.

"The crew in the surf-boat see him go an' they cast off the line an'
picked him up. But, with two men shy, it was a full hour afore the boat
worked back to place to catch our line. They must ha' pulled like fiends
to git