6 The Mist of Time

Chapter 6 THE MIST OF TIME As Erikson rowed across the bay, the waves were rough. But his oar strokes were strong and steady. "So where do you live?" Jack asked, rocking from side to side. "Erik's Inlet." The boy nodded to a place between the steep hills where the sea flowed in. "Did people name it for your father?" said Annie. "No," said Erikson. "My father named it for himself." "Does he work at one of the research stations?" Jack asked. Erikson looked puzzled.

"I mean, is he a scientist?" asked Jack. The boy shook his head. "He is a sailor," he said. "Oh. Cool," said Jack. "I am a seafarer, too," said Erikson. "Soon I will sail away on my own." Annie laughed, as if she thought he was kidding. Jack didn't know what to think. He liked Erikson, but he couldn't figure him out. The boy's manner, his spear, and his outfit were really odd. And who says seafarer anymore? Jack wondered. Erikson rowed through the choppy waters and into Erik's Inlet. The hills on either side of the narrow water passage sparkled with ice and snow. As the boat moved along the inlet, clouds covered the sky. The air grew foggy. Soon it was hard to see where they were. Jack could hear seabirds cawing, but he couldn't see them. Icebergs drifted close to the rowboat.

They looked like ghost ships. "Spooky," said Jack. "Yeah," Annie whispered. "But we're doing what our rhyme says to do." On a day that seems endless, With no dark of night, Travel through fog. Travel through light. "Right, we are," said Jack. "But I still don't know what no dark of night means." Before Annie could answer, a bellowing noise came from up ahead. "What's that?" said Jack. The rowboat moved past a flat iceberg. Through the fog, a huge animal loomed into view. The creature was as big as a polar bear. It had two long tusks. "A walrus!" said Jack. The walrus had bushy whiskers, a broad head, and flippers. Its wrinkled skin was the

color of cinnamon. "Hi, mister!" said Annie with a laugh. "I didn't know walruses were so big!"

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Erikson rowed on. He steered the boat between sheets of floating ice. Two ringed seals rested on one sheet. Seagulls were perched on another. "Look, a reindeer!" said Annie. Through the fog, Jack saw a delicate-looking deer on the shore. Its antlers looked like tall tree branches. "You're beautiful!" called Annie. The reindeer dipped its head shyly. "She said thanks," said Annie. "Did you know reindeer are also called caribou?" "Cool," said Jack. "And their noses warm the cold air before it goes to their lungs," said Annie. "Like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," said Jack with a laugh. "Did you write a report on reindeer, too?" "No," said Annie. "I just really love learning stuff like that." Jack smiled. Annie knew more about