This was the first Peary expedition, and a compet.i.tion was opened for the position of surgeon with the party. Dr. Cook won in the contest, and thus took his first trip to the far north, in the ship, _Kite_, in 1891.

The north-western coast of Greenland was explored, the party reaching a north lat.i.tude of 82, and Dr. Cook received a splendid training for future work in that territory.

Returning home, he married again, and for a short time settled down to the practice of a physician. But the wish for hunting and for exploration was in his heart, and in 1893 he went north again, and took a third trip the year following. Then came a voyage on an ill-fated ship, the _Miranda_, and the explorer came close to going to the bottom of the ocean. The ship collided with an iceberg off the coast of Labrador, and also hit some reefs off the coast of south Greenland. A transfer was made to another vessel, and the _Miranda_ was left at sea, a hopeless derelict.

In 1897 Dr. Cook joined the _Belgica_ Arctic Expedition, as surgeon and anthropologist, and spent nearly two years in that service. Then he went north in another ship, the _Erie_, carrying supplies for the Peary party, then again in the polar regions.

After that a trip was made to Alaska, and the intrepid explorer tried the ascent of Mount McKinley, said to be 20,300 feet high--the tallest mountain in America. At first he failed, but another year he came back and made the grand ascent, a truly great achievement. He wrote a book on the subject, and also another volume relating his experiences while a surgeon and explorer in the frozen north.

Dr. Cook had a great friend in Mr. John R. Bradley, a man of means, who was a well-known traveler and hunter. The two talked the matter over, and decided to fit out a vessel and make a trip as far north as possible. In the main, the project was kept secret, and neither boasted of what they were about to attempt to do. At Gloucester, Ma.s.s., they found a ship that suited their purpose, and she was thoroughly overhauled and renamed the _John R. Bradley_. Suitable provisions for a long trip were taken on board, and the vessel left Gloucester harbor July 3, 1907. It did not look at all like a "North Pole" expedition, and its departure excited very little comment. It was thought that Mr.

Bradley and Dr. Cook had merely gone off on a hunting trip after bears and walrus.

It took until the end of August for the _Bradley_ to reach the upper end of Smith Sound, in Baffin Bay. Here was located the port of Etah, and not many miles away another port called Annootok. All of the provisions and other supplies were landed at the latter port, and then the vessel sailed back to the United States, leaving Dr. Cook and his party to hunt and explore to their hearts' content. The vessel's return created some surprise, and then the word gradually spread that it was possible Dr.

Cook would try to reach the North Pole. Mr. Bradley was at once besieged with questions, but gave no definite information.

At Annootok Dr. Cook found many Esquimaux a.s.sembled, all ready for a great bear hunt. As he could speak their language, he talked to them, and engaged a number of them, with their dogs and sledges, to serve him.

Work was at once begun to make Annootok a regular base of supplies. A small house was erected, and also a storehouse and a workshop. All the provisions brought along were packed away, and the explorer obtained from the native hunters large quant.i.ties of polar bear meat and other game.

And so he set off on his memorable trip northward, and what this brought forth we shall learn later.

CHAPTER XVI

A TRICK, AND WHAT FOLLOWED

"Day after tomorrow we shall set off on our trip to the frozen north."

It was Barwell Dawson who made the announcement to the boys and Professor Jeffer, after a long consultation with Captain Williamson.

"Good!" shouted Andy, swinging his cap in the air.

"Suits me," added Chet. "I've been on pins and needles to go for a month and more."

"You mustn't be impatient," replied Mr. Dawson, with a smile. "Even as it is, we'll be getting away nearly a month before I originally planned to go. But I am ready, and so is Captain Williamson, so there is no use in delaying."

"What about Mr. Wilson?" asked Andy, referring to a man who had signed for the trip.

"He is sick, and cannot go. But Dr. Slade will be on hand, and likewise Mr. Camdal. They sent me a telegram last night."

"I suppose all the crew are here?" questioned Professor Jeffer.

"To a man--and all as anxious as we are to start."

"Do they know we are going to try for the Pole?"

"Not exactly, but I've told them--and so has the captain--that we intended to stay in the polar regions for at least two years."

Winter had pa.s.sed, and now it was the middle of Spring. The weather was warm and pleasant, just the sort for a cruise, as Andy declared.

The boys had had but little to bother them outside of another meeting Andy had with his Uncle Si, who had followed him to Rathley. Josiah Graham had tried to "bulldoze" the youth, and had wanted Andy to give him ten dollars, but the boy had refused, and walked away, leaving his uncle in a more bitter frame of mind than ever.

"I don't know how he manages to live," Andy told Chet. "He doesn't seem to work."

"If he isn't willing to work, he ought to starve," answered Chet. He had no tender feelings for the man who had called him the son of a thief.

"I am sorry he came to Rathley. I don't understand how he found out we were here."

"Oh, he'd take more trouble to find you than to hunt up a job," answered Chet.

On the day previous to that set for the _Ice King_ to sail, Chet was walking down one of the docks, when he saw two men in earnest conversation. One man was pointing his long forefinger toward the vessel that was bound north, and drawing closer, Chet recognized Josiah Graham.

"Now what can he be up to?" the youth asked himself. "He seems to be quite excited."

The men were standing near a high board fence that separated one dock from another. Chet ran back through a warehouse, and scaled the fence, coming up quickly on the other side. Through a knothole he could see the two men, and hear all that was being said.

At first he could not catch the drift of the talk, but presently discovered that the stranger was some sort of officer of the law. The two were talking about Andy, and at last Josiah Graham said:

"I don't want him to run away from me. It's up to you to stop him, an' I want for you to do it."

"Are you his guardian?"

"O' course I be--I'm his only livin' relative. He's got property, but he'll go to the dogs if he ain't looked after. I want him brung ash.o.r.e when thet ship sails, an' I understand she's a-goin' to sail to-morrer."

"Well, I'll see what can be done," answered the stranger. "Will you come to the office and make some sort of a complaint?"

"Have I got to do that?" questioned Josiah Graham, anxiously.

"It would be best."

"All right then, I'll do it. It's fer his own good," answered the shiftless one. "We'll catch him when he leaves the hotel to go to the ship." Then the two men walked away towards the center of the town.

"The mean rascal--to try to keep Andy from going on this trip!" murmured Chet to himself. "I'll soon put a spoke in his wheel!"

He started on a hunt for Andy, who had gone uptown to make a small purchase. He looked into several stores, and at last located his chum in a barber shop.

"Last haircut for some time to come," announced Andy. "After this, I guess I'll let my hair grow--it will be warmer."

"I've got something to tell you," returned Chet. "Hurry up."

"Can't hurry, when I'm getting my hair cut, Chet."

Nevertheless, Andy told the barber not to waste time, and ten minutes later both boys were on the street. There Chet related what he had overheard, Andy listening in wonder.

"He certainly is the limit, Chet. Now, what do you suppose I had best do?"

"I don't know--tell Mr. Dawson, I suppose."