The Thirty Mile River was wide open. Its wild water defied the frost,
and it was in the eddies only and in the quiet places that the ice held
at all. Six days of exhausting toil were required to cover those thirty
terrible miles. And terrible they were, for every foot of them was
accomplished at the risk of life to dog and man. A dozen times,
Perrault, nosing the way broke through the ice bridges, being saved by
the long pole he carried, which he so held that it fell each time
across the hole made by his body. But a cold snap was on, the
thermometer registering fifty below zero, and each time he broke
through he was compelled for very life to build a fire and dry his
garments.
Nothing daunted him. It was because nothing daunted him that he had
been chosen for government courier. He took all manner of risks,
resolutely thrusting his little weazened face into the frost and
struggling on from dim dawn to dark. He skirted the frowning shores on
rim ice that bent and crackled under foot and upon which they dared not
halt. Once, the sled broke through, with Dave and Buck, and they were
half-frozen and all but drowned by the time they were dragged out. The
usual fire was necessary to save them. They were coated solidly with
ice, and the two men kept them on the run around the fire, sweating and
thawing, so close that they were singed by the flames.
At another time Spitz went through, dragging the whole team after him
up to Buck, who strained backward with all his strength, his fore paws
on the slippery edge and the ice quivering and snapping all around. But
behind him was Dave, likewise straining backward, and behind the sled
was Francois, pulling till his tendons cracked.
Again, the rim ice broke away before and behind, and there was no
escape except up the cliff. Perrault scaled it by a miracle, while
Francois prayed for just that miracle; and with every thong and sled
lashing and the last bit of harness rove into a long rope, the dogs
were hoisted, one by one, to the cliff crest. Francois came up last,
after the sled and load. Then came the search for a place to descend,
which descent was ultimately made by the aid of the rope, and night
found them back on the river with a quarter of a mile to the day s
credit.
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