The Polar Bear Explorers' Club Read online

  ‘Have you got any other prized possessions about your person you want to declare?’ Ethan enquired. ‘Any precious jewels or sacred icons you’d like me to take charge of?’

  ‘No,’ Beanie said. ‘There’s just Aubrey.’

  They slowly climbed down the ladder in single file as before, except this time they made Ethan go first since no one fancied having their head near his feet if the cabbage managed to get itself free from Ethan’s boot and needed to find something else to clamp its teeth into.

  As soon as they reached the bottom, the goose came flapping out of the tent towards them and honked at Stella until she picked her up. Stella stroked her head and felt the goose begin to settle.

  ‘Here,’ Ethan said, handing the narwhal back to Beanie. ‘Do us all a favour and put it somewhere safe, for goodness sake.’

  The wolves, too, were very pleased to see them, flocking around Shay and fidgeting, eager to be off once again. First, though, they had to deal with the cabbage. The top-hat box was fetched from the sled, and opened up in preparation. The cabbage was wedged in deep, and it took all four of the explorers to prise it off. It turned on them the moment it was free, snapping its awful teeth in an extremely menacing way, but they managed to wrestle it into the box without any further mishap. Unfortunately, though, it left a few rather large fangs embedded through Ethan’s boot and into his foot.

  ‘I knew I might get bitten by a snow shark when I came to the Icelands, but I never thought I’d be savaged by a cabbage!’ Ethan exclaimed. ‘I have all the bad luck.’

  ‘You have all the fun,’ Stella sighed.

  ‘If you really think so then why don’t you stick your hand in the box?’ Ethan said, offering it to her pointedly. ‘Better still, poke your head in there, and get a real thrill!’

  Stella shook her head. ‘It’s not the same if you get bitten on purpose,’ she said. ‘That’s just plain weird.’

  ‘So is wanting to be bitten by a cabbage in the first place!’

  It wasn’t that Stella wanted to be bitten by a cabbage really, it was just that it would have made such an interesting story to tell once she got home – the kind of interesting story that explorers were supposed to return from expeditions with. But poking about on the ship hadn’t been a total loss. She may not have been bitten by a cabbage but at least she’d been attacked by a vine and dangled from a ceiling for a little while.

  ‘Let’s not argue any more about who’s going to be savaged by a cabbage in a hat box,’ Shay said, rolling his eyes. ‘It’s ridiculous. The pair of you are ridiculous. We need to deal with this problem next.’ He pointed to the fangs still sticking out of Ethan’s foot.

  ‘They’ll have to come out,’ Beanie said. ‘The foot’ll get infected otherwise.’

  ‘I guess we’re just going to have to pull them out one by one,’ Stella sighed.

  There were three teeth left embedded and Shay, Beanie and Stella each gripped one – whilst Ethan gritted his teeth and grabbed onto the side of the sled. They had to pull the teeth out slowly and carefully, so as to avoid any of them snapping off and getting stuck like gigantic splinters. The teeth were much longer than they had imagined – several inches long from root to tip, glistening and needle sharp – so Stella really couldn’t blame Ethan for whimpering a bit as they were removed.

  ‘These will make excellent specimens for the club too,’ Stella said, examining them with satisfaction.

  ‘Goodness knows what kind of a mess it’s made of my foot,’ Ethan groaned. He unlaced his boot, yanked it off, and blood immediately poured out of it. His sock was dark and wet and sticky with it too.

  ‘Oh,’ Ethan said, dropping the boot in the snow. He’d instantly gone pale.

  ‘Oh dear, you’re not going to faint again, are you?’ Stella said, rushing forwards to support him.

  ‘Of course not.’ Ethan batted her away. Then he swayed on his feet and said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t … I really don’t like the sight of blood.’

  Stella wasn’t too keen on it herself. And the fact that it stained the snow pink made it worse somehow. Or perhaps it was simply that it brought back memories of her nightmare – the tiara, the blood on the snow, the burnt feet …

  ‘I don’t mind blood,’ Beanie said. ‘I’ve seen much worse at the hospital. I’ll sort it out for you, if you like.’

  ‘I’m going to sit down,’ Ethan said, before abruptly half-sitting, half-falling in the snow.

  Beanie knelt beside him and peeled Ethan’s sock from his foot. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘It looks worse than it is.’

  He held his hand out and healing magic shimmered from his fingers. They all went quiet, and watched in fascination. Afterwards, Beanie washed the blood off with snow, and took the packet of plasters out of his bag. He was about to stick the first one on Ethan’s foot, but the magician waved it away. ‘I don’t want a unicorn plaster!’ he said indignantly. ‘Unicorns are for girls.’

  ‘What do you want then?’ Beanie replied. ‘I’ve got polar bears, penguins, yaks and—’

  ‘I want a penguin one.’

  After Beanie had patched up Ethan’s foot, Stella and Shay clapped, and even Ethan looked impressed. Beanie blushed and tried to wave their praise away, but Stella could tell he was pleased.

  They decided to have lunch before continuing. They’d spent longer than they’d thought inside the ship and although they were eager to be on their way and discover whatever might lie ahead, they were also very hungry. Unfortunately, they had to make do with some Spam and mint cake since Dora – as Stella had decided to name the goose – hadn’t yet laid any more eggs for them. Stella was starting to regret not snatching up two of the geese when she had had the chance.

  Beanie suggested naming the carnivorous cabbage Pepé and feeding it little scraps of Spam – a notion that was quietly ignored by the others, who thought it best to pretend he had never spoken at all – although Ethan did come fairly close to taking off his glove and slapping Beanie with it.

  After a quick consultation of the map and Stella’s compass, which she’d set to the Cold heading, they were ready to continue on towards the coldest part of the Icelands. Stella and Beanie piled into the sled, Shay hopped on the back, and Ethan rode Glacier the unicorn. Stella didn’t think she’d ever get tired of the magical feeling of not knowing what might be in front of them. It was a bit disappointing, therefore, when they travelled all afternoon without making a single interesting find, or a single scientific discovery. She told herself she was being greedy – after all, they had discovered the cabbage just that morning.

  After a few hours, they decided they ought to start looking for a place to spend the night. They still only had the one tent, and all of the landscape they’d passed so far had been flat and white and filled with snow. They paused to consult the compass, set it in the direction of Shelter, and then changed course in the hopes of finding somewhere to make camp.

  Thankfully, Stella’s compass didn’t let them down, and just as it was getting dark, they emerged from a heavy snowfall to find a mountain looming up before them. Cut into the side of the rock were some caves that would at least provide shelter from the ice and wind. They piled into the largest one – a gigantic circular space with impressive stalactites reaching down from the ceiling.

  After hours spent travelling in the sled it was a relief to stretch their legs, and everyone helped to get settled in for the night. Shay saw to the animals whilst Ethan got the baby volcano hot and molten in the centre, and Beanie and Stella set out the dinner.

  ‘What about Pepé?’ Beanie asked. ‘Shouldn’t we feed him, too?’

  ‘Please don’t call the cabbage Pepé,’ Stella groaned. ‘And anyway, it’s not a “he,” it’s an “it”.’

  ‘You’ve named the goose,’ Beanie said. ‘How is this any different?’

  ‘It just is, Beanie.’

  He didn’t argue with her, but Stella noticed him slipping a couple of pieces of Spam into the hat box when he
thought she wasn’t looking.

  Dora had only laid two speckled eggs since that morning so they would have to share, but they put out some Spam and mint cake to bulk out the meal. Stella decided they might as well do it properly, so she got out the china plates stamped with the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club crest, set the gramophone going with a scratchy jazz record, and got out the champagne. Ethan knew a spell to turn it into ginger beer (which, miraculously, really did turn it into actual ginger beer rather than swamp slime, or some such) and, finally, they all stood around the fiery heat of the bubbling volcano and raised their glasses in a toast.

  ‘What shall we drink to, gang?’ Shay asked.

  ‘The discovery of the cabbage?’ Stella suggested. ‘If an angry cabbage with teeth isn’t a curiosity worthy of taking back home then I don’t know what is.’

  ‘To the cabbage!’ Ethan said, only half sarcastically, as he raised his glass.

  The others did the same and they all took a sip of the ginger beer – which tasted a little too gingery and burned the back of their throats as it went down – but no one said anything so as not to hurt Ethan’s feelings.

  ‘We should toast Dora, too,’ Beanie said, indicating the goose, who had settled herself close to the warmth of the volcano and was fluffing her feathers contentedly. ‘She’s a good discovery. And she provided the dinner tonight.’

  ‘To Dora, the goose,’ Stella said, raising her glass.

  They drank to the goose and were about to sit down to eat when Ethan said, ‘Hang on. I’ve thought of one more.’

  ‘We haven’t discovered anything else, have we?’ Stella asked.

  ‘Just one other thing,’ Ethan said. He raised the glass, hesitated for a moment, then said, ‘Beanie, you mentioned earlier that you only have one friend in the world. Well, I just wanted to tell you that’s not true.’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ Beanie replied. He glanced at Stella and said, ‘You’re still my friend, aren’t you? I haven’t done anything to spoil it, have I?’

  ‘Beanie, you could never do anything to spoil it,’ Stella said. ‘We’ll always be friends.’

  ‘No, no, that’s not what I meant!’ Ethan said. ‘I meant that you don’t just have one friend any more.’ He tapped himself on the chest. ‘You’ve got two.’

  ‘Make that three,’ Shay added.

  Beanie flushed right down to the roots of his hair. ‘Three?’ he finally said. ‘Does that mean … will you come to my birthday party?’

  ‘Naturally,’ Ethan replied. ‘Magicians always go to their friends’ birthday parties.’

  ‘Wouldn’t miss it,’ Shay agreed.

  ‘So that’s the last discovery I think we should toast,’ Ethan said. He raised his glass. ‘To friendship.’

  The other explorers raised their glasses, grinning. ‘To friendship,’ they echoed.

  They sat down around the volcano and ate until they were full. The top hat from the box served as a useful holder for the bottle of ginger beer, especially after they filled it up with snow.

  ‘Can you pull a rabbit out of a hat?’ Stella asked Ethan, nudging the hat with her boot.

  ‘Pulled a mongoose out of a hat, once,’ he replied.

  Beanie frowned. ‘What’s a mongoose?’

  ‘Not something you want to be pulling out of a hat,’ Ethan said. ‘Dratted thing almost took my eye out. After I gave it life and magicked it into existence from nothing. That’s gratitude for you.’

  ‘I used to know a mongoose whisperer once,’ Shay said. ‘He was a bit odd. Twitchy.’

  ‘I don’t think I’d care to be a mongoose whisperer,’ Stella said. ‘It must be much nicer being a wolf whisperer.’

  ‘Speaking of which,’ Shay said, standing up, ‘I think I’ll go and spend some time with them. They’re probably feeling a bit neglected.’

  He wandered off to go and chat to the wolves. Beanie pulled his father’s travel journal out of his bag and settled down to re-read it for the hundredth time. Dora made herself comfortable in Stella’s lap, draping her long neck around her arm.

  ‘She’s taken quite a fancy to you, hasn’t she?’ Ethan said.

  He reached over to stroke the goose’s feathers but she immediately pecked his hand and hissed at him.

  ‘Why am I always getting bitten by things?’ the magician complained, snatching his hand back. Without looking up, Beanie threw him over another plaster (a polar bear one) and Ethan stuck it onto his hand with bad grace. ‘First a frosty, then a cabbage, and now a goose. I suppose I’ll be savaged by a penguin next. It’s practically inevitable.’

  ‘Oh dear, the penguins!’ Stella exclaimed. In all the excitement of the expedition, and running away from various things, she had forgotten about her Polar Pets. Although Felix had said they didn’t need feeding, she still felt guilty for not at least checking on them, and quickly rummaged around in her bag.

  ‘You haven’t really got penguins in there, have you?’ Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘They were a birthday present from Felix,’ Stella said.

  Her hand finally closed around the cold little igloo; she drew it out and peered through the door. The family of penguins were all tucked up in tiny beds, wearing nightcaps with little tassels on the end. It looked rather cosy in there, actually. There was even a tiny igloo nightlight on a bedside table next to one of them, which emitted a soft, golden glow.

  ‘Can I see it?’ Ethan asked.

  Stella handed it over to him, and the magician examined it carefully. ‘Fascinating,’ he said. ‘Julian loved penguins.’

  ‘Was he older than you?’ Stella asked.

  Ethan nodded. ‘Four years older. He was sixteen when we went on that expedition last year. He’d been on several with Dad before but it was my first one.’

  ‘What happened?’ Stella asked quietly.

  She wasn’t sure whether she should have asked or not, but Ethan just shrugged and said, ‘Dad wanted to hunt a screeching red devil squid. It’s one of the most dangerous monsters in the Poison Tentacle Sea so he thought it would make a fantastic trophy to bring back to the Ocean Squid Explorers’ Club. Julian tried to talk him out of it. He said it was too dangerous, that it was too big a monster for us to chase after on my first expedition. He said I wasn’t experienced enough.’ He sighed and handed Stella back the igloo. ‘I wanted to prove him wrong. So when the squid attacked the ship I didn’t go below deck like he told me to. I picked up the harpoon gun and ran to the starboard netting and tried to shoot it myself. The tentacle came up out of nowhere – a huge, monstrous thing. It curled around me and dragged me right off the ship.’

  Stella shivered at the thought of suddenly being in the cold ocean with a huge squid. Beanie also flinched, momentarily distracted from his father’s travel journal.

  ‘Julian jumped in after me,’ Ethan went on, shaking his head. ‘He just jumped straight in with no hesitation at all. He must have known he’d probably die trying to save me, but he did it anyway.’

  Stella thought of Felix, and knew that she would definitely risk her life if he was in danger and needed saving, even though she knew he’d be very angry with her if she were to put herself in harm’s way. She glanced towards the mouth of the cave, the frozen landscape stretching beyond it, and hoped that Felix was okay out there.

  ‘That’s what family does,’ she said.

  Ethan glanced at her and said, ‘It’s not what all family does. Julian jumped in, but Dad didn’t. When Julian sliced off the squid’s tentacle, it floated up to the surface and Dad dragged it onto the deck. It was still wrapped around me so I came up with it, but part of me always wonders whether it was the tentacle he was after, or me.’

  Stella was shocked to hear him speak in such a way about his own father. ‘I’m sure it was you,’ she said. ‘No one could care more about a trophy than about their own son!’

  ‘Well, then he should have been trying to help Julian,’ Ethan said. ‘I know he’s upset that he died – that’s why we came on a p
olar expedition rather than going back to sea – but he never talks about him. And he didn’t come into the water after us. He didn’t try to help. Maybe things would have been different if he had. But instead, the squid got away. It went down to the bottom of the ocean, and it took Julian with it. Mum says she’ll never forgive Dad for what happened. They argue all the time whenever Dad’s home now. It’s horrible. She didn’t even want me to come on this expedition but luckily Dad insisted. She’ll be even more angry with him now, I expect.’

  Stella thought of Felix again and it struck her how lucky she had been that it was he who had found her in the snow that day. She could have been discovered by anyone, or no one at all, but she’d been found by the kindest man she knew. Someone who loved her and had taught her what it meant to be part of a family.

  ‘Felix says it’s always better to give people the benefit of the doubt,’ Stella said. ‘Maybe your father doesn’t talk about Julian because he finds it too painful.’

  ‘Who knows?’ Ethan replied. Then he looked at her and said, ‘Felix isn’t your real father, is he?’

  ‘He is my real father,’ Stella said. ‘But not my biological one, if that’s what you mean. Felix found me one day on an expedition. I’m a snow orphan. I don’t know where I came from.’ Stella thought of Felix, and Gruff, and Magic, and Buster, and all the other pygmy dinosaurs at home in the orangery, and said, ‘But it doesn’t matter, because I found a family anyway.’

  Ethan nodded and said, ‘I think that anyone who won’t let you down, who’ll be there for you no matter what, counts as family.’

  ‘I think you’re right.’

  Stella gazed around at their little expedition and the thought occurred to her that the four of them had become rather like a family since they had set out together. She looked at Ethan, who was staring thoughtfully into the flames of the volcano, and wondered whether he was thinking the same thing. She was about to ask him when the magician glanced over at Beanie and said, ‘What are you reading there?’

  Beanie looked up. ‘This? It’s my dad’s journal. They found it at his abandoned camp on the Black Ice Bridge.’