The Querulous Effect (12 page)

A hundred and fifty miles from the settlement where Jay, Tim and Ella were now fast asleep, the icebreaker, ‘M.V. Boundless' was battling through heavy seas in the Denmark Strait. On board, the radio officer had just received an urgent call from the Greenland Coastguard Service. He carefully wrote down all the details and then took a note to his captain on the ship's bridge.

Captain Nielson read the note carefully. He put it in his pocket, thought for a moment and then turned to the helmsman and the First Mate.

“Hold her steady on course but cut speed to four knots until I return,” he ordered. “We may be changing course but I need to talk to our passengers first.”

With that, the captain left the bridge and made his way first to his cabin to pick up a chart, then to the saloon where his passengers were just finishing supper. He waited until the ship's cook, Jamal, had cleared the table then he spread out the chart which showed the coast of East Greenland.

“Colleagues,” he said, addressing the small group seated round the table, “I have just received a request from the Greenland Coastguard Service. There is a trawler holding off the coast a few miles out from this inlet here.” He stabbed his finger at a point on the chart and continued. “A large iceberg passed nearby earlier in the day and there is still a lot of ice floating freely around the area and collecting in the bay itself. The trawler is acting as a supply vessel for a group currently trapped in the bay. This group were due to be picked up by the trawler for the return journey to Iceland. It would be a risky business for a vessel of that size to make its own way through the ice and so the coastguard has asked whether we would be prepared to link up with the trawler and clear the way for it into the bay.”

Captain Nielson pointed at the chart again. “We are roughly here at the moment. If we sail at our best speed, say, fourteen knots, we could be with the trawler by morning. If we clear a passage for it into the bay and lead it out again into clear water once it has discharged its cargo and picked up the passengers, that could be another day. It's not an absolute emergency and this could delay you by up to two days. So, I suppose I could drop you off at your research station further up the coast before going back to help. But I thought you might be interested to know that two of the men the trawler is to pick up are research scientists like yourselves; a Professor Theobald Ricardo and Dr. Cosmo Querulous. It's not entirely clear to me what they are doing there but I understand it's something to do with the collapse of the Blusterton factory some months ago and the threat to local wildlife.”

The six passengers, research scientists from the Arctic Ecosystem Research Unit at Gammelhavn University in Denmark had listened intently to Captain Nielsen. When he had finished, the team leader, Dr. Lars Bering, looked around the table at his colleagues and then replied to the captain.

“I think I can speak for us all when I say that we are most intrigued by what you report. We would be very interested to know what those two scientists have been up to. Professor Ricardo's work is well known to me. I am aware that he worked for some time both at Göttingen and Cambridge Universities. He may have been elsewhere as well. His twin specialities were botany and entomology – plants and insects. A brilliant, if eccentric, man but I thought he'd retired many years ago.”

“I came across Querulous when I did my doctorate at Cambridge University,” chipped in another colleague. “He was a pretty odd character too. Very argumentative if I remember correctly but undoubtedly bright.”

“And since we have, in any case, always been very concerned about the activities of Blusterton International,” continued Dr. Bering, “what they are doing in the Arctic right now may be relevant to our own research on sub-glacial algae growth. So I think we would have no objection at all to you rescuing their little expedition straight away, Captain, if that's your decision.”

All Dr. Bering's colleagues nodded in agreement. Captain Nielsen rolled up the chart and, tucking it under his arm, made his way back to the ship's bridge. He relayed his plans via the radio operator to the coastguard service and then gave orders to the helmsman and the engine room. Within ten minutes the ‘Boundless' had adjusted course and was making full speed ahead to assist the trawler, ‘Grampus.'

Eight hours later, as the mist was rising from a much calmer sea, the lookout on the ‘Boundless' reported that he could make out land ahead. A few minutes later, having checked through his binoculars, he reported that he had spotted the ‘Grampus' heaving-to just off shore. It was something of an irony that the lookout on duty was Aksel Rasmussen; the very same Aksel Rasmussen who, many weeks earlier, having taken up a mug of coffee, had just missed spotting two strangely coloured polar bears glowing eerily on the distant horizon. This morning, however, cheered by one of Jamal's special breakfasts and by a brighter and calmer morning, Aksel, was in good form.

Once his observation had been reported to the captain, radio contact was established with Captain Claythorne on the ‘Grampus' and, via the coastguard, with Kakrayok's radio receiver on shore. By the time the Prof, Jay, Tim and Ella had been woken with the good news and got dressed, the ‘Boundless' had passed alongside the ‘Grampus' and was clearing a passage through the drifting ice into the bay. What a magnificent and welcome sight it was for everyone to see the two vessels making their way steadily into the deeper waters of the bay.

With both vessels safely moored, Captain Nielsen and Captain Barry Claythorne, with his father, Tom, came ashore in their ships' boats. The boats were hauled up onto the pebble shore and they met up with the welcoming group. There were handshakes all round and then Kakrayok led them to his house where, with Atka, Cosmo, the Prof and the children, they planned the next move. The result of a brief discussion was that shortly afterwards a flotilla of small boats emerged from the settlement to join the ships' boats in ferrying ashore the Prof's supplies from the ‘Grampus.' In addition to the Zodiac boats, the Inuit also launched two umiaks for this task. These were boats constructed with sealskin hulls like kayaks but much larger. They could carry several people or, in this case, a great deal of cargo.

By noon all the cargo was safely ashore and the scientific equipment had been hauled on sleds up to Cosmo's laboratory. The Danish research team had stayed on board the ‘Boundless' whilst the unloading exercise was taking place in order not to interfere with or hold up the process. However, once everything was safely stowed away in the laboratory, Captain Nielson brought them ashore and introductions were made to everyone there, not forgetting Chip, who had especially enjoyed all the morning's activity. Soon the Danish research team were in deep discussion with Cosmo and the Prof and when they all made their way up the hill so that Cosmo could give them a tour of his laboratory, the children decided to give that tour a miss and enjoy the rest of their last day in the settlement with their young Inuit friends.

As they went down to the beach to collect more pebbles, they met up with several members of the two crews from the ‘Grampus' and the ‘Boundless' who had come ashore to bring gifts of food supplies as a ‘thank you' to the Inuit for all their help in unloading the cargo. When this food was delivered to Kakrayok's house to distribute to the villagers, he took both ships' captains aside for a quiet discussion. After a few minutes of conversation, Kakrayok called out to Jay to run up the hill to Cosmo's hut and ask Dr. Bering and the Prof to come down for a short conference. Jay was much quicker running up the hill than the two older academics were coming down but once the Prof and Dr. Nielson had arrived, they were soon seen to nod vigorously in agreement with the suggestion being outlined to them.

The decision Kakrayok and the captains announced, first to Jay, Tim, Ella and the Inuit children, then to the villagers and the ships' crews, was that a farewell party would be held that evening in the village community hall. The research team would continue their discussions with the Prof and Cosmo for the rest of the afternoon, then, after the evening's party and a night's rest, the ‘Boundless' and the ‘Grampus' would depart together early the next morning on the first tide.

Once the party had been announced, the ships' boats made two further journeys to bring more food and drink ashore. After the trials of the past week, everyone was determined to make it a memorable farewell celebration.

Jay and Tim were very curious to know what supplies had arrived from the ships for the party. Jay remarked that as long as it was not seal or whale meat he did not mind too much; he had had rather too much of those in the past few days. They discussed the possibilities, feeling hungrier with each speculation. They felt it unlikely that hardened sailors would have stores of jelly and crisps like the parties at home but also considered that, in this day and age, rations would not be limited to rum and ship's biscuits.

There was one way to find out. Two of the packing cases with the supplies were still waiting on sleds to be pulled up to the community hall and the opportunity to take a quick peek inside was very tempting. They were leaning over the larger of the two cases and trying to lift the corner of the lid when a gruff voice behind them made them stand up straight and spin round rather guiltily to see the speaker.

“Aha, two keen volunteers. Let me introduce myself. I'm Banjo West, cook from the ‘Grampus.' This gentleman next to me,” indicating a companion half his size, who beamed broadly at them, “is Jamal, distinguished cook from the ‘Boundless.' It's our pleasant duty to prepare our food for tonight's party but we need some help. So, if you're as interested in food as you appear to be, gather together as many of your chums as you can and meet us up at the community hall.”

“We'll certainly do that,” said Jay.

Tim nodded in agreement but then followed up with a question. “Excuse me asking but what on earth does the name of your trawler ‘Grampus' mean? It's puzzled me since I first heard it and I couldn't find it in any of the books I've got with me here.”

“Ah!” responded Banjo, smiling. “Any old sea-dog like me or Jamal who have sailed in Arctic waters knows that. It's the old sea-faring name for the Killer Whale or Orca. The Claythorne's ancestors were a whaling family and although they are now fishermen, there has always been a ship of that name in their fleet. Now off you go and we'll see you later up at the hall.”

When Jay, Tim, Chulyin, Minik and several other friends, arrived at the community hall, preparations had started. Ella was already there with her friend, Naja, helping Kakraykok's wife, Tarra. They were shredding herbs to be added to some exotic looking fish dishes and, as Jay noted, also to a pot already bubbling away with a seal and whale meat stew. Banjo and Jamal were unpacking blocks of meat and fish but also biscuits, cake and chocolate. Tim could only agree with Jay when he observed on seeing these last items, “Thank goodness for something unhealthy!”

Whilst the party preparations were underway, Cosmo and the Prof continued their discussions with the Danish team in Cosmo's laboratory. Cosmo made it clear that he would not return next day on the ‘Grampus.' Now that he had good stocks of the Prof's supplies, he could monitor and deal with any further problems that might arise as a result of the factory collapse. He also needed more time for his own experiments on food production from algae, moss and lichen. In any case, as he stressed, he had become very fond of the villagers generally and had made good friends with Atka and Kakrayok in particular. He accepted that once the winter came he would probably have to return to England but meanwhile he wished to help his Inuit friends as best as he could. He reminded the Prof that they had first met at Göttingen University whose motto was, ‘For the good of all.' After the mistakes he had made at the factory, he felt this was a real opportunity to live up to that motto.

As it turned out, Cosmo's decision to stay on was of benefit to him too. Dr. Bering was impressed by Cosmo's dedication and considered his work of potentially great importance. He appointed him a member of the Gammelhavn University, Arctic Ecosystem Research Unit. One of the research team joined him, there and then, to help in his research and over following months his laboratory was transformed from a corrugated iron hut to a proper research station with brand new equipment, dropped off each time the ‘Boundless' passed by.

But all that was for the future. That evening, as Cosmo, the Prof and the research team left the laboratory to make their way to the community hall, all they had in mind was to enjoy themselves at the farewell party. And that is just what they did. Everyone was in high spirits. The ships' crews were glad to be ashore after many days at sea and their Inuit hosts entertained them royally. Any earlier reserve held by Kakrayok, Atka and the villagers had dissolved entirely. They knew that all these visitors were now Cosmo's friends, all working to sort out any residual problems from the Blusterton factory and doing all they could for the settlement and the local wildlife on which it depended.

Atka and Kakrayock were both experts on the local one-sided drum and as everyone gathered together in the community hall, Atka started proceedings by singing a traditional song to the beat of the drum. Chulyin whispered to Jay that it told of a local legend about Atka's ancestor who had saved the settlement from a giant polar bear and then sailed away on the back of a whale and was never seen again. Chulyin said he personally thought it was only a story even though Atka had told him that the drum skin was made from part of that very polar bear. Jay agreed it all seemed rather doubtful but as all the adults listened to Atka very seriously, Jay thought there might be some truth in the story after all. Fortunately he did not have to think about it too hard because as Atka finished, the food was brought in.

As the feasting and drinking began, Jay saw, at last, why Kakrayok was called ‘cheerful.' To much applause, Kakrayok stepped forward and with a broad grin on his face sang a song about the visitors, which none of the visitors could understand but which made the Inuit roar with laughter. It all seemed in good spirit and, whatever the words of the song may have been, no-one took offence. Then the visitors were invited to join in the musical entertainment. Up stepped Banjo West. At his appearance, he was immediately cheered along with Jamal and Tarra for their preparations. The cheering grew louder when, true to his nickname, he produced a banjo and started to play. He accompanied sea shanties sung by the trawlermen, with Captain Claythorne joining in with his deep bass voice, and this was followed by some traditional Danish folk songs from the crew of the ‘Boundless.'

Tim, Jay and Ella joined in one or two of the sea songs that they knew from school but otherwise were content just to tuck in to all the food on offer, particularly the ‘unhealthy' items Tim had identified earlier in the day. When they had eaten their fill they felt very tired. As it was already late, they agreed with the Prof when he suggested that, in view of the early start the next day, they should turn in for the night. As they left the community hall, games of strength and face-pulling were starting and the last view Jay had, as he looked back through the door, was of the mighty Aksel attempting to lift two laughing Inuit men, one under each arm.

Walking back to Cosmo's hut in the cold night air it seemed strange that they might never see this place or the villagers again. The sound of laughter kept erupting from the community hall but otherwise all was still and, apart from the lapping of the waves in the bay, eerily silent. Out in the deepest part of the bay they could see the outline of the two ships with misty haloes around the orange deck lights. Tomorrow they would be on board and sailing for home. Jay reflected how much he had longed over the recent uncertain days to be making that journey but now it was an imminent reality, he realised how much he would miss his new Inuit friends and the wide, haunting Arctic landscapes.

Tim and Ella seemed reflective too but as soon as they opened the door to Cosmo's hut and Chip, who had not been invited to the party, charged out to welcome them, they thought how good it would be to see everyone back home again. Chip, for his part, would definitely be glad to be at home. It was his fault he had stowed away in the first place but that was out of loyalty to Ella rather than naughtiness. Sniffing all those old familiar smells around the garden and the barns again would be just grand.

Whatever thoughts may have been going through their minds, after such an eventful day and enormous meal, once in bed, nothing would keep the children awake. All three slept soundly until Jay, who was dreaming about a polar bear, playing a triangle in the school orchestra, realised the alarm clock was ringing and it was time to get up.

In order to get an early start and catch the tide it had been agreed that they would have breakfast on board the trawler, so there was just some final packing before farewells and final thanks were said to all their Inuit friends assembled on the shore to see them off. Small boats ferried them with their luggage to the waiting vessels and the children and the Prof clambered up the ship's ladder to board the ‘Grampus.' When both crews and their passengers were safely on board both vessels, the ‘Boundless' hooted its own farewell. The propellers of the ice breaker churned up the water as the engines gathered power and it eased forward to lead the ‘Grampus' out of the bay.

On the deck of the ‘Grampus' the children waved vigorous goodbyes to everyone on the shore and to some of their friends paddling energetically around the side of the ‘Grampus' in their kayaks. Soon the kayaks were left behind and the figures on the shore became smaller and smaller as the trawler made its way out of the bay. Finally, even the tall, thin figure of Cosmo, who was the last one they could see still waving, disappeared from view.

They stayed on deck watching the coastline of Greenland gradually disappearing into the mist until Tom Claythorne came up to say that his son, Captain Barry, would be pleased if they would join him for one of Banjo West's special breakfasts. By the time they got back on deck, full of eggs, sausage, bacon and some of Cosmo's special breakfast treat, ‘spinalg', the coast had disappeared over the horizon and they were in open sea. There was no danger of ice at that stage and the ‘Boundless,' which had led them safely to this point, gave three long blasts on its hooter and changed course to complete its own journey to the research station in Northern Greenland.

As the ‘Boundless' became a speck in the distance then vanished from sight over the horizon, the trawler, ‘Grampus,' with Captain Barry Claythorne at the helm, pressed on steadily through the waves.

Next stop, Reykjavik, Iceland!