The Haunted Igloo (16 page)

Jean-Paul’s eyes widened
with fear. “Pa would skin me like a dead fox if I left you alone
here!”

Lise sighed. “You know
perfectly well that your father isn’t a monster. He’ll understand
when I explain what happened.” Her skin was shiny with sweat. “You
must go now. Sasha will run faster now that the sled’s empty and
she’s rested.”

“
No, Ma,” Jean-Paul whimpered. “I
promised Pa—”

It was the last straw. Lise
angrily tossed the parka on the floor beside her. “This baby’s life
may depend on whether or not you obey! Go
now
, Jean-Paul!” Then her voice
softened. She blew him a kiss as she lay down upon the robes,
covering herself with an extra one. “I
do
love you, you know.
Godspeed!”

After one last pleading
look at his mother, Jean-Paul went back outside. He was very
afraid. How could he leave her out here alone? He fought the urge
to cry again. But tears were not going to help at this point. He
sat on the side of the sled, thinking. He looked at the big igloo.
It no longer seemed scary now that his mother was inside it. Sasha
whined, and he got up and went to her. He stroked her thick,
silvery muzzle, telling her what a wonderful dog she was. Then,
suddenly it came to him what he must do. He removed Sasha’s harness
and led her to the entrance of the igloo. “
Stay!
” he commanded.

As he moved away, Sasha
bounded after him. This time he was very harsh. He took her back
and scolded her. “No! I want you to STAY! STAY with Ma, Sasha! STAY
until I come back!”

The pup sat and looked up at him, studying
him with her pale-blue eyes.

Jean-Paul then spoke again,
and this time his voice was softer. He took the animal’s beautiful,
gentle face in his hands. “I’ll be back soon. You have to stay with
Ma. You must stay with my mother, Sasha. And someday, when you have
your puppies, I’ll stay with you, okay? You can rest while I’m
gone.”

Jean-Paul did not know if
she understood or not. He turned and hurried to the trail as fast
as his limp would allow. How strange that he hadn’t thought of
aches or pains since they had left the cabin. He turned once more
to look back at his beloved pet. She stood up and barked. Her tail
was a bushy flag of fur waving over her back. But instead of
following, she turned and entered the igloo.

Without his husky,
Jean-Paul’s walk to the village was lonely and cold. With every
step, he wanted to stop and lie down in the snow. He didn’t think
he could make it. But he had to! As long as his mother was alone in
that igloo, he would keep walking. He moved as quickly as he could
with his crooked walk. He thought it might not be a bad idea to be
an
okalerk
at that
moment. Then he could hop fast all the way to Aklavik.

Soft flakes of snow drifted
earthward from a calm gray sky. There were already about two inches
of new snow over the packed trail. His boots sank in, leaving
strange footprints—one large one and a smaller one that was more a
toe-print. An Inuit following his trail might wonder what sort of
strange animal he tracked.

In the bottom of
Jean-Paul’s mind were thoughts trying to bubble to the surface. But
on reaching the front of his brain, they burst into a million
pieces and sank again.
What is it I’m
trying to remember?
He shook the unfinished
thoughts away and plodded on.

The exercise warmed him. He
tossed back his hood, let the falling snow turn his hair silver,
like Kiakshuk’s. He unfastened his parka, stopped to get his
breath. Now his legs did ache, the more he thought about it. It had
been a long time since he had walked so far. Certainly, he had
never walked all the way to Aklavik. He wondered if anyone would
even be awake at such an early hour.

His heart jumped as he thought suddenly of
his mother in the igloo, with no other help than that of a dog. He
tried to hurry. The closer he got to the village, the lighter the
snow fell. Then, it stopped snowing altogether. The early morning
sky rushed out to greet him with rays of pink, violet, and
rose.

The settlement lay yet
another mile or two away. Jean-Paul would reach the native
dwellings long before he reached Aklavik. Oh! Now he knew what he
had been trying to recall: Chinook’s igloo was not far away, and
Chinook had a big, strong husky—Amarok. He would ask Chinook to
take him to the village for Dr. Morgan.

The air cooled his head and chest. Jean-Paul
closed his parka again and adjusted the hood over his head. This
was no time to get chilled and sick.

Sometime later, Jean-Paul
arrived at Chinook’s igloo. He caught his breath, then shouted,
“Chinook! Chinook! Are you in there?” He looked around for Amarok,
and a rattling chain told him the great dog was staked behind the
igloo. But the husky did not bark, for he knew it was Jean-Paul.
“Chinook! It’s me, Jean-Paul!”

This time Chinook’s
friendly smile and laughing eyes appeared at the opening of the
igloo. “Jean-Paul Ardoin!” he exclaimed, rubbing his eyes. “I must
still be dreaming! What are you doing here on Saturday? Where are
your husky and sled?” Chinook peered out beyond Jean-Paul. “Did you
fly from your igloo to mine? Come in, come in!”

Chinook moved back through
the entrance of the tunnel so Jean-Paul could enter. Jean-Paul
pushed his hood back and quickly looked around. Chinook’s mother,
Arnayak, stooped over a kettle on the fire, stirring something
thick and delicious-smelling with a long-handled spoon.

“
Chinook!” Jean-Paul blurted, “I have
to go for Dr. Morgan! Ma’s in the haunted igloo having her baby! I
left Sasha with her—”

“
What?
”

“
We were going to the hospital on the
sled, but we had to stop because the baby wouldn’t
wait—”

“
The baby’s here already?”

“
No, not yet. Ma’s all alone out
there, Chinook. I left Sasha with her for protection.”

Chinook tipped his head and
studied Jean-Paul. “I don’t believe you walked all the way from
that igloo.”

Jean-Paul nodded. “Well,
it’s true, Chinook. I’m on my way to get Dr. Morgan.” He took a
deep breath. “I’m afraid, Chinook! Pa didn’t come back yet, and the
baby’s coming early. I need your help.” Jean-Paul felt suddenly
shy.

Chinook punched him gently
on the shoulder. “Hey, that’s what friends are for! And I’m your
friend, right?”

Chinook spoke rapidly to
his mother and Arnayak asked Chinook many questions. She removed
the pot from the fire, found a small pail, and scooped some of the
food into it. After snapping a cover on, she pulled on her high fur
boots, lacing them tightly past her ankles. As she came to
Jean-Paul, speaking in
Inuktitut
, she pulled on a parka of
orange-flowered material from the trading post. There was a twinkle
in her snapping black eyes. Jean-Paul smiled, too, but he didn’t
know what she wanted him to say. Lichen came to her mother, and
Arnayak turned from Jean-Paul long enough to speak to her child.
Lichen stared at Jean-Paul for a moment, then toddled over to
Kiakshuk, who had appeared from the shadows, half-dressed. Kiakshuk
had been elected babysitter.

Chinook tapped Jean-Paul on
the shoulder. “My mother says, ‘Let’s go!’ She knows all about
having babies. She can help. She’ll go to your mother while we go
for the doctor.”

A few minutes later,
Jean-Paul sat on Chinook’s sled while Chinook harnessed Amarok. He
watched Chinook’s mother as she walked swiftly up the trail toward
the haunted igloo. Her round body bumped from side to side over the
newly fallen snow, and Jean-Paul could hardly keep from giggling.
She carried the food pail in one hand. A small bundle hugged her
back. In her parka, she looked like an orange bear going
camping.

When Chinook finished with
Amarok, he said to Jean-Paul, “I’m all set!”

Jean-Paul looked up the
trail. Arnayak was now much smaller than before.

Chinook said, “Feet were
made before sleds. My mother will be at the igloo long before we
reach Aklavik.”

Chinook stepped behind the
sled and kicked off, yelling to Amarok in
Inuktitut
. With a yelp of excitement,
the big husky threw his broad chest into the harness. The sled
moved swiftly over the snow, leaving Arnayak far behind. Chinook’s
mother was now just a small orange speck in the
distance.

The trip to the village did
not take long. Past the Mission school and Hudson’s Bay post they
raced. When they neared the small hospital, Chinook slowed Amarok
to a walk. Finally, they came to a complete stop. The two boys left
the sled in the road and went up to the door. The building was dark
and deserted looking.

Chinook rapped on the door,
but there was no sound from inside. They waited and waited. Then
Jean-Paul banged loudly several times. He looked with alarm at
Chinook.

“
Nobody’s in there!” he cried. “What
kind of hospital is this?”

Chinook shrugged. “It’s
just a small hospital as you can see. And I guess no one’s sick
enough to be here.”

“
But what am I going to do now?”
Jean-Paul cried. “My mother needs the doctor! And Pa will skin my
hide for leaving her alone! I didn’t want to, Chinook, but she made
me come for help ... and ... there isn’t any help!”

Chinook laughed. “It sounds
like Jean-Paul’s more worried about what Jean-Paul’s father will do
to
him
, than what
happens to his mother.”

“
That’s not true, Chinook! I
am
worried about Ma! I
don’t care what happens to me, but—”

Chinook put his arm around
his friend and found he was shaking. “Come on now, Jean-Paul
Okalerk
. Maybe the doctor
had to see someone else. Maybe another mother is having a baby.
Maybe the doctor is sick. Doctors get sick, too, you know. There
are a lot of reasons for Dr. Morgan not being at the
hospital.”

“
But there’s no reason to
close
a hospital!” wailed
Jean-Paul. Tears ran freely down his cheeks. It was a childish
thing to do in front of his friend, but he just couldn’t help it.
For a long time, he couldn’t even speak, the pain was so
great.

But Chinook said brightly,
“Who needs a doctor anyway? Mothers have been having babies for
millions of years, right?” Jean-Paul nodded, and Chinook went on,
“So, who helped them when they didn’t have doctors? Other old
ladies, that’s who.”

Jean-Paul knew Chinook was
only trying to cheer him, but he felt he would never be happy
again. He had really messed things up good this time. If he hadn’t
stopped for Chinook, he might have gotten to the doctor before he
left ... or died or whatever.

“
Have you ever seen a baby being born,
Chinook?” he asked suddenly, wiping his runny nose on his sleeve.
He brushed the salty tears from his lips.

Chinook laughed. “No, I
haven’t seen
that
!
They always send me outdoors when a
baby’s being born. I only know about dogs. I’ve seen lots of dogs
having pups, so I guess there’s not much difference.”

Jean-Paul couldn’t tell
Chinook he had never even seen puppies born. His father had planned
to let him watch when Lishta had her pups, but she had surprised
everyone by having them in the middle of the night. Yet, he
couldn’t tell his best friend
that
. He would just let Chinook think
there were
some
things he knew.

Chinook led Jean-Paul back
to the waiting sled and pushed him into it. “I guess we have to go
to the igloo and see what’s happening. But at least Arnayak will be
there. I told you she will help.”

Jean-Paul leaned back and
moaned as Amarok began pulling the sled again. “I wish Pa was home,
Chinook. He’ll kill me when he finds out I couldn’t help
her.”

Chinook chuckled. “You wish
your pa was home so he can kill you?”

“
That’s not what I meant, Chinook! You
quit making fun of me.”

“
You worry too much!” Chinook called
from behind the sled. “I never knew a boy who worries like you do.
You’ve got to keep happy, Jean-Paul!”

“
That’s easy for you to say!”
Jean-Paul retorted. “Your mother isn’t about to have a baby in an
igloo!”

Chinook’s laughter rang out
in the cold morning air. “Oh, Jean-Paul! My mother had all her
babies in an igloo!”

Jean-Paul shrank back
against the sled. He had said the wrong thing again. When would he
learn to keep his big mouth shut! He clamped his lips together
tightly, refusing to say another word to Chinook, who would
probably tell all the other kids how stupid Jean-Paul Ardoin
was.

Chinook swung Amarok around
in a wide circle to head back the way they had come.

Chapter 11

A
marok ran swiftly westward after leaving Aklavik. A few
minutes later he raced past Chinook’s igloo and left the tree area
for open country. The huge furry dog streaked on over the trail,
which had but a small dusting of new snow. From somewhere up ahead
came the howl of a wolf. Amarok answered his distant cousin in the
same manner. Jean-Paul shuddered, recalling the eyes he had seen in
the haunted igloo, the things he had imagined hearing. For now he
knew it had only been his imagination. Was his mother seeing and
hearing things like that?