Another day,
however, and he was so driven to the extremes of hunger that he was
glad to take his share of the raw meat which to his astonishment he
found not only most palatable but delicious, for there is a time that
comes to every starving man when even the most vile and putrid refuse
can be eaten with a relish.
The dog meat was carefully divided into daily portions for each man.
Some of it, of course, had to go to the remaining animals, to keep
them alive to be butchered later, if need be, for this was the only
source of food the destitute men had.
Every day Bob and the Eskimos wandered over the ice, hoping against
hope that some means of escape might be found. Bob realized that
nothing but the hand of Providence, by some supernatural means, could
save him now. Again, he said,
"Th' Lard this time has sure been losin' track o' me. Maybe 'tis
because when He were showin' me a safe trail over th' hills I were not
willin' t' bide His time an' go that way, but were comin' by th' ice
after th' warnin' at Kangeva."
But he always ended his musings with the comfortable recollection of
his mother's prayers. Which had helped him so much before, and this
did more than anything else to keep him courageous and brave.
The days came and went, each as empty as its predecessor, and each
night brought less probability of escape than the night before.
Pages:
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239