Blue Fire and Ice (32 page)

They breakfasted, struck the tent and cleaned the camp, leaving no trace they had been there. Miniver was harnessed once again to the sledge, they put their packs on their backs, and headed east into the rising sun.

Chapter 12

T
he day proved uneventful, but tiring. By mid-afternoon they had crossed the next peak. Although the sun continued to shine, the air was cold, and mittens, gloves, scarves and thick jackets were taken from their packs. A light coating of icy snow crunched underfoot.

From the eastern slope of the peak they could see the blue-tinged snowfield that lay on the other side of the next mountain. As they drew closer to the final mountain, they could also see that it was the most formidable they had yet encountered. Its snow-covered sides were steep, sheer rock that would be impossible to climb.

‘If we don’t find a pass through that peak and the one to the south, we’ll never get to the snowfield,’ said Grunge. ‘Even without the sledge it would be almost impossible.’ Of course, they were not experienced mountaineers and what appeared impossible to them would have been child’s play for true climbers. Nonetheless, they had as much heart and courage as the hardiest mountaineers and so they pressed on.

The travellers veered slightly south, aiming for the point between the two peaks. Despite travelling downhill, progress was becoming slower. The snow had deepened and Miniver strained to pull the sledge. Copper watched the tyres sink into the snow and called a halt.

Asking Grunge and Crimson to unhitch Miniver, Copper and Dot set about replacing the tyres with the runners that would glide on the surface of the snow. The Beadles and the Muddles watched with admiration as the ingenious Myrmidots went about their work. Within minutes, the wheeled sledge became a graceful sleigh.

Miniver approved of the change. The sledge easily skimmed over the surface of the icy snow. Miniver marvelled at how light it was, and she increased her stride, stretching her strong legs as she picked up speed. Her wide paws were like snow shoes, and she soon left her companions behind. The slope grew icier and more slippery but the sledge seemed to barely touch the surface. Faintly, she thought she heard someone call her name but it faded in the wind rushing past her ears and she continued to race downhill.

Copper watched Miniver speed down the icy slope. He and Dot exchanged a knowing look.

‘What were you trying to tell her?’ asked Crimson, feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

‘Oh, nothing much,’ said Copper, smiling. ‘Just that pulling the sledge is the easy part. It’s stopping it that gets tricky.’

Miniver was halfway down the long slope, the others far behind. ‘I’d better wait for them,’ she decided. And she braced her legs to stop.

She didn’t, of course. Her paws skimmed over the icy slope and Miniver continued sliding down. Determined to stop, she dug in her hind legs until she was sitting on the cold surface, trying to brake with the claws of her fore paws. She felt a jolt as she hit a small bump and her weight shifted, spinning her round, while the sledge swung in a beautiful curve behind her. She could see her friends in the distance as she continued to slide backwards on her bottom, the sledge now in the lead.

The travellers stood and watched her disappear down the hill. Gradually, the slope flattened then rose in a long arc up the side of the far mountain. Miniver, still facing them, slid into the dip and a short way up the opposite slope, then back down again, finally coming to rest at the bottom.

‘Well, that was quick,’ said Dot. She caught Aunt Mag’s eye. There was a gleam in that eye and she and Dot smiled at each other. Without a word to the others they ran a few paces down the slope then launched themselves on their stomachs, arms and legs splayed. Grunge, Crimson, Copper and Brian could hear their laughter echoing up the slope. With a yell of their own, they also threw themselves on their stomachs down the slope. All except Brian. The little Beadle hesitated, thinking it looked awfully undignified. But it did look fun. Brian gave a high-pitched yelp, then ran a few paces, ready to throw himself on his stomach and follow his friends. And slipped. His feet shot into the air in front of him and Brian landed flat on his back. Or rather, flat on his pack which, being large, made a very good sledge. Brian shot down the slope, arms and legs waving in the air, looking very much like a upside-down speeding turtle.

They all ended in a jumble of arms, legs and packs at the bottom of the slope in front of Miniver, who was doing her best to look as if nothing had happened.

Laughing, they dusted the snow from their clothes and went on. They aimed for the gap between the two peaks, hoping to find a way through. If they didn’t find a way, they would have to keep moving south.

They travelled on. Their legs, unused to walking in snow, grew tired. Occasionally, one would slip and stumble. Sooner than they would have liked, they needed to stop for a short rest. All but Dot slumped in the snow. The young apprentice disappeared into the woods.

Dot’s companions were beginning to get worried when she emerged from the trees carrying a bundle of long, stout poles.

‘These might help,’ she said, handing half to Copper. ‘We can pull with our arms as well.’ She took out her knife. ‘If we sharpen the ends, they’ll work better, I think.’

Copper gave Dot a look of admiration. He took out his own knife and in a few minutes everyone was carrying a pair of strong walking poles.

The sun set early, masked by the peaks behind them. They were between the two peaks and, as the sun paled, they searched for a suitable place to camp for the night. The ground was hard and rocky and the freezing east wind blew through the gap between the mountains. When it was almost too dark to see, they still hadn’t found a suitable place to camp.

‘We’ll have to camp here,’ said Crimson. ‘There’s a ledge over to the left. That will provide some cover for us.’

The ledge jutted some dozen paces from the mountain. Underneath, the rock face was slightly concave, forming a small pocket where they were out of the wind. It would be cramped but that would help them stay warm. Copper secured the sledge to a small bush at the mouth of the hollow while the others searched for some wood to make a fire.

That night, they huddled together, warmed only by the hot coffee they brewed on the fire. In the light of a lantern, they ate a cold meal washed down by the hot coffee.

‘There’s not enough wood to keep the fire going for the night,’ said Grunge. ‘Put the sleeping bags close together for warmth.’

The sleeping bags were laid in a row on the rocky ground. Copper and Grunge gallantly took position at the two ends of the row, while Miniver stretched out at their feet. While the fire slowly flickered and died, the travellers snuggled deep in their sleeping bags and tried to sleep.

Crimson lay awake. Since her resolve at the river, the voices calling had ceased and the heavy weight on her chest had evaporated. What remained, though, was the feeling that she was being pulled towards something. She could feel a connection to … something. Crimson pulled the sleeping bag around her as snugly as she could. Despite the cold, hard ground beneath her, sleep finally came.

The first rays of the sun filled the little hollow. One by one, they woke and made ready for the day. They decided to leave the sledge where it was, and split into two parties to search for a way between the two mountains. For two hours they scouted in vain. They returned to the camp despondent. It appeared they had little choice but to keep heading south in the hope of finding a way through.

While Miniver was being put in her harness, Grunge decided to climb onto the ledge. It was an easy climb, the craggy rock providing plenty of footholds. He hauled himself up and surveyed the land around him. The early-morning sun flooded the valley between the two peaks and the valley beyond. A short distance to the north-east was the snowfield. He couldn’t see around the mountain to get a glimpse of the peak with the blue ice, but it was heartening to see the snowfield so close. The only trouble is, he thought, we can’t get to it.

Grunge walked to the far end of the ledge, where it came to an abrupt end at a high rock wall. He stood at the foot of the wall and his eyes travelled up the rock face towering above him. It would be impossible to get the sledge up there, let alone Miniver. He turned to go back to his companions and stared. The ledge seemed to … His heart beating faster, Grunge walked into the mountain.

More than twenty minutes had passed since Crimson finished putting the harness on Miniver and Grunge had not come down from the ledge. Brian fretted. He imagined that Grunge had fallen off the mountain or was stuck in a crevice or had been plucked from the ledge by a giant eagle that even now was feeding the Muddle to its young … For a sensible Factotum, Brian had a very active imagination at times.

The soles of Grunge’s boots appeared above their heads, and then his face beamed down at them.

‘The ledge!’ he cried to his friends, squatting down. ‘It goes into the mountain and to a track beyond!’ He stood, excited. And promptly fell off the ledge. Fortunately, this was not an unfamiliar occurrence for Grunge and as the ledge was no higher than the pole in Home’s firehouse, he landed without injury – or dignity.

Grunge brushed himself down, and the others crowded around as he explained. The ledge went into a gap formed by fallen boulders and came out a few feet on the other side. From there, it wound up and around the mountain. Grunge had followed it for several minutes before coming back to tell his friends.

‘It’s quite wide, more than enough for the sledge, and it winds right up the mountain. It must lead to that ridge between the peak above the snowfield,’ he said, with great excitement.

Copper was sceptical. ‘You only followed it for a few minutes, Grunge. We can’t be sure that it does run all the way to the ridge. What if we get half way and can’t go any further or turn the sledge round? What if the ledge narrows?’

‘You’re right, Copper. There’s all those “ifs”. But there’s one more “if”. What if we don’t find a trail further south?’ Grunge had considered of all the things the engineer said but he felt sure that the ledge was the way. Without knowing why, he was even sure it was the path that Girth had taken hundreds of years ago. ‘Of course, it is rather slippery. There’s a bit of ice and snow,’ he added.

‘I think we should try,’ said Crimson. ‘But there is one other problem. How do we get the sledge and Miniver up on the ledge?’

‘We can take the tank off and haul it up with the ropes,’ figured Copper. ‘Miniver will be more difficult. She’s a big bear. She must weigh close to 180 kilos.’

Miniver gave Copper a warning growl.

‘I have an idea,’ said Dot, giving Miniver a reassuring pat. ‘Copper, let’s start getting the tank off.’

A little while later, Miniver felt the rope jerk and the harness tighten around her waist. ‘I’m not sure this is such a good idea,’ the bear thought as the space between her feet and the ground increased. She could feel herself swinging gently as she inched higher. Craning her neck, she could see her companions hauling on the rope that raised her to the ledge.

Copper had agreed to Dot’s idea. With the wheels of the sledge, they had constructed a crude block and tackle attached to an even cruder three-legged frame on the ledge. Using just one pulley, they had halved the weight they had to lift and, with five of them pulling on the rope, they had little difficulty raising Miniver. As her head came level with the ledge, Miniver saw Aunt Mag’s legs. She inched higher and the rest of Aunt Mag gradually appeared.

‘Hello, Miniver,’ said Aunt Mag. ‘Nice day to be up and about!’ And she gave a hearty laugh.

‘Just get me on the ledge, if you don’t mind,’ growled Miniver. Aunt Mag grabbed the sling and pulled the bear until she was over the ledge. ‘OK!’ she called down to the others. ‘You can let her down! Gently, now!’ An admonition which Miniver heartily reinforced.

Her feet on solid ground, Miniver sat and grizzled. In a few moments, Dot scrambled up onto the ledge.

‘Well, Miniver, that wasn’t too bad, was it? It looked rather fun!’ said the apprentice, giving the bear a little kiss on the snout. Miniver gave a dismissive snort and shook her head, though she did have to admit to herself that it had been rather fun.

Before long, the frame had been dismantled and the sledge and tank reunited. Miniver shuffled backwards to the sledge and waited while Crimson hitched her to the shafts.

A long time ago, perhaps thousands of years, the mountain had shuddered or sneezed and shook loose an avalanche of rocks. One, as large as a house, had crashed down the mountainside until it hit the face of an adjacent cliff. There, it had wedged itself between the two cliffs, straddling the track and creating a short tunnel. Through this ancient rock bower the companions made their way. In the light ahead, they could see the track, white with snow and ice, wind its way up the mountain until it disappeared around the curve of the great peak.

The sledge crunched over the small rocks that littered the track. The larger ones were kicked or thrown aside by those leading the way, lest they shatter the runners. Dot walked beside the sledge, ready to put the brake on should Miniver or the sledge slip. Brian brought up the rear, muttering to himself.