Page:The white czar; a story of a polar bear (IA whiteczarstoryof00hawk).pdf/165

 crew. The ship had already listed badly, and in twenty minutes she had begun to sink rapidly. There seemed nothing to do but to trust to the motor boat. The sea was not very rough, but no one could tell what it would be like in a few hours. There was one thing however on which the captain pinned much hope. His boat "The Spray" was rigged with wireless and they at once sent out their S.O.S. cry for help, giving the latitude and longitude of the stricken ship as well as they could.

Little Oumauk was rather sleepy and did not at first appreciate what had happened. But when Eiseeyou went down the ladder to the motor boat with him, his suspicions were aroused.

"Where are we going?" he asked. "Are we leaving the ship?"

"Yes," replied Eiseeyou. "The ship is leaking. We are going to travel in the small boat for a while."

"Are we going to take Whitie with us?" asked Oumauk excitedly.

Eiseeyou had foreseen the question and had his answer ready.