Читать книгу Arctic Adventure - Skye Waters - Страница 6

Chapter 2

The wind dropped suddenly, depositing Ella on to a wooden sled. Gratefully she sank back, leaning against the driving bow. The worst was over. This was the fun part of her journey to the Arctic. Ella loved flying through the starlit sky on her magical dog sled pulled by Blue. Sensing her enjoyment, Blue gave a joyful bark. His ears were pricked forward and he carried his black tail with its cute white tip arched proudly over his back.

Magical starlight illuminated the sky and Ella threw out her arms and turned up her face, bathing in its twinkling glow. It was a wonderful feeling and it made her insides fizz. Ella couldn’t get enough of it and was disappointed when Blue suddenly dived, pulling the sled downwards until it was engulfed in a swirling array of green and purple lights. The lights twisted across the sky, like long silky maypole ribbons crossing over and under each other so fast that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Ella’s skin glowed green and her hair had a purple sheen, and so did Blue’s black and white coat. Whistling and crackling, the lights danced over Ella and Blue. Usually they gave a silent display and Ella eagerly listened to their song as they bathed her and Blue in their magical sparkling glow. Too soon it was over. The ground rushed closer and Ella closed her eyes, her brown hair streaming behind her as the wind tore through it. She braced herself, tightly holding the sides of the sled. There was a gentle bump as Blue landed, then the whoosh of snow as he ran the sled along the ground, decreasing his speed until he was finally able to stop. It took Ella several seconds to get her breath back. Blue stood patiently waiting for her to stop panting, his triangular ears pointing forward and his tail arched. Ella stared fondly at him. In the Arctic, Blue was still only a puppy, but a larger and older dog than he was at home.

As Ella climbed from the sled she was grateful that during her journey her boring green school uniform had been replaced with a bright red padded coat with a fur-lined hood, matching snow trousers, a thick pair of gloves and sturdy boats. She snuggled deeper into the coat, grateful for its warmth. She didn’t recognise where she was, but away to her left she heard a noise. Ella spun round and saw in the distance five husky dogs running towards her at speed. She stood by Blue, excitement welling inside her as the dogs drew closer. Acer reached her first and, stopping a paw’s length away, he bowed his head. He was a handsome dog with a glossy black coat, white legs and a white tummy, with a band of black fur across his chest, like a sash. His forehead was black and his face white, the black fur arching like eyebrows and joining in a point between his brown eyes. He was closely followed by his sister Honey, a pretty dog with orangey brown markings and soft brown eyes. Ambitious Bandit was next, but he refused to meet Ella’s eyes, staring past her. Ella caught her breath, but didn’t have time to dwell on Bandit’s continued unfriendliness, as Coda and Inca, arriving last, were clearly pleased to see her. Lovely faithful Coda had waited for Inca, and Ella felt a rush of affection for him. Blue twitched with pleasure, barely able to conceal his excitement at seeing his sister Inca again.

“Hello, Ella,” said Acer, pushing his nose into her hand. “I hope you had a good journey through the Northern Lights?”

“Yes, thank you,” said Ella. Acer had never mentioned the Northern Lights before, but before she could ask what they were Acer said, “Good, and now we need your help to move a large wooden crate that we found outside Port Nanuk.”

Ella was surprised. In the short time she’d spent in the Arctic, she’d not seen any litter at all. People were careful how they disposed of their rubbish because they didn’t want to attract polar bears, as they were dangerous animals, especially when they were hungry.

“Let’s go then,” she said eagerly.

Immediately the dogs took up their positions in the harness. Ella walked down the line checking that everything was fine. It made her feel good to see the dogs standing with their ears pricked forward with anticipation. All except for Blue, who Ella caught giving Inca a friendly lick on her muzzle. Ella pretended not to notice as she moved on to Coda and Bandit, who always went at the back. Satisfied everything was in order, Ella climbed on to the sled runners and picked up the gangline where it was resting over the curved handrail.

“Hike,” she said smartly.

Immediately the dogs took off, running with their ears pricked forward and their tails arched over their backs. It began to snow and soon the craggy mountains, away to Ella’s left, vanished in a whirl of whiteness. Something ran across the front of the sledge. Ella leant forward straining to see and just made out an arctic hare, its browny grey coat heavily flecked with white winter fur. Automatically Ella stiffened, worried that Blue might try and chase it. But she’d underestimated him. Here in the Arctic, Blue was a working dog and once the sled was moving he wasn’t easily distracted.

The sled sped on, dipping up and down as it rode the bumps in the landscape. Ella hung on to the driving bow until a long while later she saw buildings in the distance. It looked like Port Nanuk, although Ella wasn’t sure as she’d not approached it from this direction before. There were no roads leading to the town, just miles of open snow stretching away like a blank painter’s canvas. Then Ella noticed a large object ahead looking very out of place in the bare white landscape.

“Whoa,” she called, pulling on the gangline.

Obediently the dogs slowed, stopping a short step from the object, a large wooden crate. Looping the gangline over the driving bow, Ella hopped from the sled and went to investigate. The crate was sealed with nails and had no markings on it. It was very heavy and barely moved when Ella pushed it. Ella had discovered that here in the Arctic she had magical powers, and one of those powers was strength. She put both hands on the side of the box and cleared her mind. Believing you could do something played a large part in making the magic work. Ella concentrated on the box, convincing herself that she could push it, when suddenly she had a better idea.

“Acer, can you bring the sled closer? It’ll be easier if I can lift the crate straight on to it.”

Acer barked a command and the dogs stepped forward. Ella put her arms round the crate. It was too wide for her to get a proper grip, but telling herself she could lift it, she took a deep breath and with a straight back bent her knees.

“Think strong,” said Acer encouragingly.

Ella concentrated on lifting the box. She knew she had the strength to do it. Then, as her arms began to tingle with magical energy, she lifted it off the snowy ground. It was a struggle at first, but Ella trusted the magic to help her. Her arm muscles tightened like knotty old rope and they prickled like mad, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. Grunting loudly Ella carefully transferred the box to the sled.

“Go on,” barked Acer.

Ella lowered the box on to the seat. She was red in the face with exertion and her breath huffed out in a noisy sigh. But she’d done it!

“Well done,” said Acer approvingly.

Ella flushed with pleasure, then standing back she studied the box. Now what? She couldn’t return it to its owners as there was no way of identifying where it had come from. Maybe she should take it to her new friend Saskia, who lived in Port Nanuk? Saskia would know what to do with the crate. But asking Saskia straight away, without trying to deal with the problem herself, felt like cheating. Ella wanted to have a go on her own. Glancing at the ground she suddenly realised there were tracks in the snow. They weren’t very clear as the falling snow was filling them in, but if she hurried she could follow them. Ella noticed that the tracks were much wider than the ones made by her own sled and interestingly they led away from the town.

“If we follow the tracks they might lead us to the owner of this crate,” she said to Acer.

Acer seemed pleased with the suggestion. With a surge of excitement Ella climbed back on the runners and picked up the gangline.

“Hike,” she said, leaning forward as she urged the dogs on.

As Ella journeyed away from Port Nanuk it stopped snowing. Ella loved the snow, but was pleased it had stopped, as it meant she still had a trail to follow. Keeping her eyes to the ground she concentrated on following the wide tracks. Sometimes they disappeared completely, then Ella would stop and glance around until she picked the trail up again. Ella hoped she was following the right trail, but didn’t think there would be too many people travelling out here. Soon she heard a whispering noise that grew steadily louder. Ella kept going until the whispering revealed itself as a wide river. The water was semi-frozen and chunks of ice clanked against the banks. Ella and her dog team followed alongside the river for ages until the tracks snaked one way and the river flowed in the opposite direction. The dogs pulled Ella up a hill, then effortlessly slid down the other side. The landscape here was bleak with a few distinctive-looking trees dotted about. There were three that looked like people gossiping and one with a dramatic Y-shaped trunk. Ella urged the dogs on until far in the distance she saw a thick forest of coniferous trees.

“Look!” she cried, excitedly pointing at a curl of smoke rising from them.

“A camp fire in the forest.”