Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome

Author:Arthur Ransome
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781446483107
Publisher: Random House UK
Published: 2011-06-30T04:00:00+00:00

“Fram : Igloo :: 10,000 : I.”

This meant, of course, that the houseboat was ten thousand times better than the igloo; and Nancy had bounced in her bed and hugged herself at the thought of what must be going on there. She was bursting to join the others, and there never was a patient Who was in such a hurry to be cured. Every time the doctor came to Holly Howe to look at jaws, he brought good news of her to the explorers, who were anxiously calculating how long the frost must last if Captain Nancy was to join them on the ice. They heard that her face was rather less like a pumpkin than it had been. Then they heard of her getting up in the mornings, and even being allowed to go downstairs. “She’ll be out and about before we know where we are,” said the doctor.

They made no more attempts to see her by coming to Beckfoot.

Mrs Blackett had told them to keep to their own side of the lake, and they only once came north of Rio Bay. That was when all the Eskimos were talking of the lake being frozen from end to end, and it was more than anybody could bear not to have a look at the northern part beyond the islands. All seven explorers, with both sledges, and a quarantine flag carried by Titty (the D.’s had left theirs at the farm), set out from the Fram one morning, and skated close along the shores of Long Island, across the mouth of Rio Bay, until they could see that tremendous sheet of ice stretching before them into the hills.

“There’s no doubt about the Arctic now,” said Peggy. “It’s good enough for anybody.”

“If only it doesn’t thaw,” said Roger.

“If only Nancy was ready,” said John.

Both telescopes were trained on the Beckfoot promontory, as if some miracle might happen, and Captain Nancy come skating down the lake to meet them.

“Let’s just go to the farthest island,” said Titty.

“We might do that,” said John.

It was not very far, and presently the yellow quarantine flag was waving on the top of a little pile of rocks and stones that stuck up out of the ice.

“We won’t go another yard,” said John, “until the day. Much better keep it as unexplored as possible.”

“This is our farthest north,” said Dick, “not counting when we went to Beckfoot.”

“Let’s make a cache,” said Titty.

“We will,” said John, looking about him. “Good. Some untidy Eskimo’s left a ginger-beer bottle. We couldn’t have anything better.”

“Cork in it, too,” said Roger.

Dorothea wondered what they wanted it for, but was soon tearing a leaf out of the note-book, in which her romance was still stuck at the beginning of chapter one. John borrowed a pencil as well.

“What about Cache Island?” he said, “or has it got a name already?”

“We’ve never given it one,” said Peggy.

John wrote:

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