"OUR RUDDER'S GONE!" 99 



hard for a few minutes at a time in order not to overheat 

 and break the fragile blades. Just three hours elapsed 

 before the first slab came off and we pushed the slit 

 about one- third into another side by noon. 



Elting and a Chukchi hacked off this one and half of 

 a third during the afternoon. That night Kleinschmidt 

 and I finished this part of the work after it had required 

 practically twelve hours of steady sawing. 



By ten o'clock we had broken all the hack-saw 

 blades which were sharp enough to make an impression 

 on the hard material, and progress became so discourag- 

 ing that we evidently would not get through by morning 

 if we worked all night. As a last effort, therefore, I 

 went to the "Alaska" and said to the engineer, "I'll 

 give you a dollar for the use of another hack-saw blade." 

 Out it came and he would not take any money. 



The mate kept his bed all day, complaining of his 

 head, in which he felt a pain attributed to an old stab 

 wound. Larsson busied himself still making useless 

 chisels and running off now and then "to get something," 

 which he never obtained, but Born made up for his pre- 

 vious indifference by fitting much of the planking which 

 was to encase the metal plates of the rudder, and for 

 which we had turned out the bolts. His interest may 

 have been quickened by a desire to leave the scene of 

 impending disagreement with the authorities. The hand 

 of the law was, however, too swift for him. 



During the day's work an accident to Lovering 

 caused us a great deal of anxiety. It came after several 

 warnings. In chipping down the rudder stock pintle, 

 Collins held the chisel in tongs and Lovering swung a 

 heavy hanamer hard against the tool. Small bits of 

 metal flew off Hke bullets. One gashed Born's cheek, 



