About this story
Kept ashore for school while Mrs. Bright and Isobel wait with you, you spend the years learning navigation, and at eighteen win a berth on the Dolphin, a search vessel crewed with the young surgeon Tom Singleton. As pack ice tightens around a narrow lead, the captain must decide, this hour, whether to enter it, hold outside, or turn south before the ice closes it.
How it opens
At fifteen, you watched the Pole Star prepare for whaling while John Buzzby criticized her bow.
John BuzzbyShe is trim, Master Fred, but ice asks thicker timber than a fair-weather sea.
Your father had chosen northern waters after recovering from the loss that changed the family.
Captain ElliceSchool remains your duty; this voyage is not the cure you imagine for waiting.
Choose
Ask Father to write from every reachable northern port.
Request the intended search grounds so later silence can be investigated.