stopped for a few breaks to rest the dogs.
Eventually the steep cliffs rising out of the ice looked closer and then Stay saw a battered green box come into view on a rocky hillside ahead. Windy looked back and pointed.
Baldy waved to show he’d seen it. ‘There’s Rumdoodle!’ he said to Stay. ‘Best place for a jolly in the whole of Mawson.’
It wasn’t long before they pulled up near the hut. It looked just like one of the shipping containers that the Aurora Australis had carried down full of cargo, except there were windows cut out of it and a door on one side, with a little porch. Stay saw it was bolted to the rocks beneath and held in place with heavy steel cables. She supposed that was to keep it anchored during a blizzard, and was pleased with herself for working it out. She was starting to get the hang of Antarctica.
Baldy unharnessed the dogs one at a time and ran them to a tether line near the hut. Each dog was secured to its own holding spot, out of reach of the other dogs. By the time he’d finished, Windy had unlashed the pack on the sledge that held the dogs’ food, and in a matter of minutes he had a block of Antarctic dog food, called pemmican, in front of each dog. Neither Baldy nor Windy had stopped to eat or drink, Stay noticed. The dogs came first.
She was glad, for the dogs were so busy eating that they’d forgotten about her for a while. Windy lifted her down onto the snow, and she waited while they unpacked the sledge and carried boxes and bags inside. Although the sun didn’t set, it was low on the horizon and the temperature had dropped. The breeze was picking up, and Stay could feel how cold it was getting. She wondered how the huskies kept warm.
At last the unloading was done and Baldy came around and picked her up. ‘Coming in? Windy’s got the heater going and dinner’s on the way.’
That sounds great, Stay thought. She looked across at the huskies. Each one was curled up in the snow. They were all staring at her silently, except for Blackie.
He snarled in her direction. A real dog, eh? No real dog goes inside. No real dog rides on the sledge. The real dogs are out here. We’ll be waiting for you, tomorrow. Don’t forget it.
Stay’s heart sank. Her chances of making friends with the huskies were more remote than ever.
Chapter 24
That night a blizzard blew in and the wind roared around the hut, making it rock. When Stay looked out the window, all she could see was white.
Baldy, Windy and Stay remained inside all the next day. The gas heater made it warm and cosy, and the men read books, played cards and Scrabble and cooked up delicious-smelling meals and mugs of hot chocolate on the tiny stove. They spent hours unpacking the stores they’d carried with them and restocking the food supplies of the hut for future visitors. Windy, who was bored with being stuck inside when he wanted to go exploring, rearranged the cans and packets of food and blocks of chocolate, making patterns.
‘Check out this one!’ he said, waving a block of chocolate in the air. ‘The use-by date is nearly ten years ago!’
‘That’s nothing,’ Baldy replied. ‘We found a depot with old ANARE ration packs in it a few years back. The jam was over twenty years old. It was the station favourite for months.’
Windy opened the chocolate, broke off a row and stuffed it in his mouth. ‘Tastes fantastic.’
‘Chuck it over,’ Baldy said.
Windy threw him the chocolate. ‘I guess we’d better take all the pemmican back to the station,’ he said sadly. ‘Won’t be any more dog trips out here.’
‘Is it time for the sched yet?’ Baldy asked.
‘Yep. I’ll get it started.’
Stay pricked up her ears. Morning and night they made a ‘sched’, a scheduled radio call back to the station to report they were all right and check on the weather. When Baldy switched on the radio, they sometimes heard other field parties making their scheds and chatting to each other as well as to Mawson
Eventually the steep cliffs rising out of the ice looked closer and then Stay saw a battered green box come into view on a rocky hillside ahead. Windy looked back and pointed.
Baldy waved to show he’d seen it. ‘There’s Rumdoodle!’ he said to Stay. ‘Best place for a jolly in the whole of Mawson.’
It wasn’t long before they pulled up near the hut. It looked just like one of the shipping containers that the Aurora Australis had carried down full of cargo, except there were windows cut out of it and a door on one side, with a little porch. Stay saw it was bolted to the rocks beneath and held in place with heavy steel cables. She supposed that was to keep it anchored during a blizzard, and was pleased with herself for working it out. She was starting to get the hang of Antarctica.
Baldy unharnessed the dogs one at a time and ran them to a tether line near the hut. Each dog was secured to its own holding spot, out of reach of the other dogs. By the time he’d finished, Windy had unlashed the pack on the sledge that held the dogs’ food, and in a matter of minutes he had a block of Antarctic dog food, called pemmican, in front of each dog. Neither Baldy nor Windy had stopped to eat or drink, Stay noticed. The dogs came first.
She was glad, for the dogs were so busy eating that they’d forgotten about her for a while. Windy lifted her down onto the snow, and she waited while they unpacked the sledge and carried boxes and bags inside. Although the sun didn’t set, it was low on the horizon and the temperature had dropped. The breeze was picking up, and Stay could feel how cold it was getting. She wondered how the huskies kept warm.
At last the unloading was done and Baldy came around and picked her up. ‘Coming in? Windy’s got the heater going and dinner’s on the way.’
That sounds great, Stay thought. She looked across at the huskies. Each one was curled up in the snow. They were all staring at her silently, except for Blackie.
He snarled in her direction. A real dog, eh? No real dog goes inside. No real dog rides on the sledge. The real dogs are out here. We’ll be waiting for you, tomorrow. Don’t forget it.
Stay’s heart sank. Her chances of making friends with the huskies were more remote than ever.
Chapter 24
That night a blizzard blew in and the wind roared around the hut, making it rock. When Stay looked out the window, all she could see was white.
Baldy, Windy and Stay remained inside all the next day. The gas heater made it warm and cosy, and the men read books, played cards and Scrabble and cooked up delicious-smelling meals and mugs of hot chocolate on the tiny stove. They spent hours unpacking the stores they’d carried with them and restocking the food supplies of the hut for future visitors. Windy, who was bored with being stuck inside when he wanted to go exploring, rearranged the cans and packets of food and blocks of chocolate, making patterns.
‘Check out this one!’ he said, waving a block of chocolate in the air. ‘The use-by date is nearly ten years ago!’
‘That’s nothing,’ Baldy replied. ‘We found a depot with old ANARE ration packs in it a few years back. The jam was over twenty years old. It was the station favourite for months.’
Windy opened the chocolate, broke off a row and stuffed it in his mouth. ‘Tastes fantastic.’
‘Chuck it over,’ Baldy said.
Windy threw him the chocolate. ‘I guess we’d better take all the pemmican back to the station,’ he said sadly. ‘Won’t be any more dog trips out here.’
‘Is it time for the sched yet?’ Baldy asked.
‘Yep. I’ll get it started.’
Stay pricked up her ears. Morning and night they made a ‘sched’, a scheduled radio call back to the station to report they were all right and check on the weather. When Baldy switched on the radio, they sometimes heard other field parties making their scheds and chatting to each other as well as to Mawson
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