CHAPTER
I The Boat That Came Down from the Sea
II The Mystery and Bobby
III Skipper Ed and His Partner
IV Over a Cliff
V The Rescue
VI With Passing Years
VII The Wolf Pack
VIII The Battle
IX The Fishing Places
X A Foolhardy Shot
XI When the Iceberg Turned
XII Adrift on the Open Sea
XIII How the Good and Sure Brought Trouble
XIV Visions in Delirium
XV Marooned in an Arctic Blizzard
XVI A Snug Refuge
XVII Prisoner on a Barren Island
XVIII The Winter of Famine
XIX Off to the Sena
XX Jimmy’s Sacrifice
XXI Who Was the Hero?
XXII A Storm and a Catastrophe
XXIII It Was God’s Will
XXIV Under the Drifting Snow
XXV A Lonely Journey
XXVI Cast Away on the Ice
XXVII A Struggle for Existence
XXVIII The Ships That Came Down to the Ice
XXIX In Strange Lands
XXX The Mystery Cleared
ILLUSTRATIONS
It was plain that retreat was hopelessly cut off Frontispiece
“Hurry, Jimmy. I can’t hang here much longer. I’m getting all numb”
Quick as a flash Bobby raised his gun to his shoulder
They ran by the side of the komatik to keep warm
“I was hunting,” explained Bobby. “The ice broke loose and cut Jimmy, and me off from Skipper Ed”
Bobby of the Labrador
CHAPTER I
THE BOAT THAT CAME DOWN FROM THE SEA
Abel Zachariah was jigging cod. Cod were plentiful, and Abel Zachariah was happy. It still lacked two hours of mid-day, and already he had caught a skiffload of fish and had landed them on Itigailit Island, where his tent was pitched.
Now, as he jigged a little off shore, he could see Mrs. Abel Zachariah, the yellow sunshine spread all about her, splitting his morning catch on a rude table at the foot of the sloping rocks. Above her stood the little tent that was their summer home, and here and there the big sledge dogs, now idle and lazy and fat, sprawled blissfully upon the rocks enjoying the August morning, for this was their season of rest and plenty.
With a feeling of deep content Abel drew in his line, unhooked a flapping cod, returned the jigger to the water, and, as he resumed the monotonous tightening and slackening of line, turned his eyes again to the peaceful scene ashore.
Mrs. Abel in this brief interval had left the splitting table and had ascended the sloping rock a little way, where she now stood, shading her eyes with her right hand and gazing intently seaward. Suddenly she began gesticulating wildly, and shouting, and over the water to Abel came the words: