Thence
he could continue his trip to New York, where the important meeting
had been adjourned several times in expectation of his coming.
But again he was doomed to disappointment. The Straits were found to
be packed from shore to shore with heavy floe ice and clogged with
icebergs. Before the _Strathcona_ could make her escape she was
surrounded by ice and frozen tight and fast into the floe.
[Illustration: "THE HOSPITAL SHIP. STRATHCONA"]
Grenfell was determined to reach New York and attend that meeting. It
was supremely important that he do so. Now there was but one way to
reach the mail boat, and that was to walk. The distance to the nearest
port of call was ninety miles.
Making up a pack of food, cooking utensils, bedding and a suit of
clothes that would permit him to present a civilized and respectable
appearance when he reached New York, he made ready for the long
overland journey. Shouldering his big pack, he bade goodbye to Mrs.
Grenfell, who was with him on the _Strathcona_, and to the crew, and
set out over the ice pack to the land.
Three days later Dr.
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