Ilatsiak - 25

“Best we reach the shelter as soon as we can. Once you’re in your blankets, we can try and dry your clothes.” said David.
Mr Shanks didn’t need any proding. He was silent the rest of the way to the depot and in fact, was the first to reach the shelter. When David arrived a few minutes later, Shanks was already under his blankets and David could see he was shivering even in their warmth. When David asked for his own clothes back, Shanks just growled something and David decided to wait until the morning before asking again.
Managing to get the little stove going, David used the axe they had found in the stores to open one of the food cans. It turned out to be a beef and vegetable soup. He set the whole can on the little spirit stove and waited for it to heat up. It seemed to take forever, so while it was heating up, he climbed up on the pile of containers to survey their camp. Far to the east, out on the ice he saw nothing, but as he glanced away, he thought there were tiny dark spots scattered here and there on the ice. Still, staring directly at them seem to make them disappear. Towards the west, David could see the clouds had begun to thicken even more and even though the sun was still up, it had gone behind them and would remain behind as it swung through the northern sky. Tomorrow would bring poor weather for drying clothes David thought as he climbed back down to check on the soup.
The stove was doing its best but was hardly up to the job of heating a 9 pound tin of soup over a single flame. In the meantime, Shanks began to complain of being thirsty again and David ladled some of the soup liquid into a mug and gave it to him to drink. He spat it out immediately.
“It's cold, Mr Young!”
“Of course, Mr Shanks, the soup has yet to heat.” said David, “It will be hot in due course.”
David was slowly coming to the realization that Mr Shanks, a man who had shipped on the Terror, was not a person he had known well known. His fellow ship-mates from the Erebus, had gossiped about him as not being the easiest of companions to be alone with, although he was known for his strength and stamina. David began to picture what it was going to be like during the next couple of weeks. When the soup was at last hot, they both ate their fill and then some. David kept thinking all the while, that they would not be able to eat again like this if the food was to last until the sledging party returned for them.
After eating, David tried to get Shanks to hang up his wet clothes to allow them to dry, but he simply refused to exit his blankets.
“You’re the cabin boy, me lad. Would you be so kind as to deal with it? Or would you like to settle it with a domino game?” he said in a mocking fashion. David, not wishing to upset their fragile relationship any further, came back with, “As you wish, milord.” and attempted to lay the still soaking clothes out in places where he felt they might possibly be dried by the slight wind if not the sun. Dominoes was not David’s favourite game, but one that, like Lt Irving, Shanks seemed addicted to and while it was distasteful to play with him, David was prepared to do anything to raise his spirits and keep him from being miserable and hard to get along with.