Chapter 1, Snare Summary

At noon, Harry Carpenter, Pete Johnson, and Claude Jobert finish digging the hole for the final explosive that will be used to break off a piece of the polar icecap. Claude is relieved, having been complaining all day about the cold. Harry has never known Claude to complain before, so he puts this attitude down to the fact that this is Claude's last trip to the ice and he is still grieving the death of his wife. Pete points out that it has begun to snow. They know a bad storm is expected that night, so Harry hopes that this snow is only a localized squall. Harry watches Pete lower the bomb into the prepared hole, thinking it is lucky that they have him with them. Pete was a college football player and could have gone to the NFL, but he...