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The Yukon Belle
First the lake, then Thirty Mile River, and if they wanted tofreeze, they’d have to shoot White Horse Rapids as well He’d chosen not to mention that to his companions, however The as that most men who’d attempted to ride the rapids had died or at least half drowned and given up No need to frighten theot there
After all, as Jack had told theh water didn’t scare him
How bad could it be?
CHAPTER THREE
THE BELLE
FOUR DAYS TO BUILD, and the Yukon Belle was a good boat Jack saw that, and it reater test than Lake Lindeman yet to come And sometime soon, he would have to tell Merritt and Jies of their journey would be
They crossed the lake in good hu Two of theh plank seat, while the other member of their s into the boat Their feet were quickly awash, but constant bailing kept the water down to an acceptable level Jack had built several thick struts across the boat ise, and their equipment was propped on these, held up out of the water he’d known they would inevitably be taking on Though it was the first boat he had ever built, he was an experienced sailor, and he was confident that theirs was the best craft currently crossing the waters of Lake Linde the of food kept by the boatbuilders ca the lakeside Jack had been sorry to see the horses go They were strong beasts, and he had a feeling that their strength would be missed by the three men
The lake’s surface shih easily," Merritt said The ice barely whispered along the boat’s rough hull
"For now," Jack said He pulled at his oar, enjoying the rhythet, many others have already co well," Ji, his clothes soaked and his brow dripping sweat Jack thought he had never seen the schoolteacher so happy
"As I said," Jack said, "for now But there’s hard waters ahead, friends"
"Rapids," Merritt said "We heard about thee, then--"
"No," Jack said "It’ll take too long, and it’s too dangerous High cliffs, uncharted land You know the lay of the land ahead of us? You’ve studied it?"
The two ed
Jack sighed "The White Horse Rapids," he said "Very rough, very dangerous A lot of people have tried to shoot them Some disappear, some wash up dead Lots turn back"
"There’s no turning back here," Merritt said, and Jack was impressed by his confidence
"But you’ve built us a good boat?" Jim asked "You know the water?"
Jack examined the Yukon Belle Water lapped around his feet, and with Ji while they talked, the level was rising quickly The boas sharp, the stern square, but the draft was deeper than he would have liked The rough boards nailed and tied together to for as the tiood boat," he said And he rowed in silence for a while, silently thinking ahead to the dangers they faced
The thundering water for the base of the canyon It was round shook, the air was heavy with the roar, and spray cooled Jack’s skin like the touch of ghostly fingers He was thrilled to his primal core, and terrified as well, a blend of sensations that he had experienced before and would likely know again His soul cried in exultation at the adventure ahead One day, he knew, such yearning could be the death of him
There were other people on the riverbank, sorand and fearso here, men and women rooted to the spot by the terror of what lay before the frozen, slowly turning to stone as the waters crashed by without any consideration of the passage of tih to start abrading these statues of humanity, if the spray did not wear them away beforehand And here they stood now, testao forward and refused to turn back
Jack prepared the Yukon Belle before the observers He felt good He sensed their eyes upon him, and perhaps somewhere in their perception of him as a madave Merritt a paddle "You rafted in the Amazon, you told me"
"Yes, but--"
"Then you’ll be our lookout" Jack could see the older man’s dread, but to pause noould be to retreat forever "Ji from the boat to the water, not the other way around I’ll be at the stern, steering" He regarded the boat where it bobbed close to the bank "For now, let’s get all the stuff as low as it’ll go"