" We'll never get round the world at this pace." said Joe. it's not a race." I said.

" I know that, but do we have to take so many deviations." said Joe. You've not worried before." I said.

Joe leaned on the rail and looked across the river as we slowly plowed up stream.

"I ask you" said Joe. " Look ...................... warehouses, docks, oil refineries, houses. Where are all those beautiful desert islands in the sun, with bronzed maidens swimming out to the boat... "

"You've been thinking of them as well have you." I said.

" Only thing that keeps me going." said Joe.

" Why are we going up here anyway." I said.

" Mr Pepperday wants some Lasky penguins." said Joe.

Lasky Penguins were not in fact penguins at all simply a rather odd group of Common Eider whose black and white markings made them look more like penguins than the normal Common Eider. One Norman Lasky a trapper who reported seeing penguins in the eighteen nineties never lived it down and neither did the ducks.

" We're too far south." I said.

" We're not at the top of the river yet." said Joe.

" Long one." I said.

" Captain said it goes all the way to the arctic circle." said Joe.

" Can't all he warehouses and docks." I said.

" Hello you two." said Elaine coming out from the cabin with a tray. " I've brought you a warm drink."

" That's welcome." I said. " And say you've got a new dress on."

" Mrs Jabody helped me make it." said Elaine.

" It looks nice." I said

" Looks familiar." said Joe.

" OK don't get fussy." said Elaine. " And don't expect a table cloth at dinner."

The oil refineries did not last for long and the river started winding through hills and forests. We all spent a great deal of time on deck, even Mr Pepperday couldn't stay below and miss the beautiful sunsets.

Soon the river widened out into lake Tara, where, if the ranger had got his message through, we were to pick up a local Indian guide. I don't know quite what I had expected, but it hadn't been a full blooded red Indian with feathers, war paint and beads. He canoed out from the small settlement and climbed on board. We put his canoe or deck and set again for the frozen north.

Despite his appearance our Indian spoke very good English and he said we were to call him Toucan.

It's hard to know what to say to a fully feathered red Indian, so over lunch conversation was a little hit thin.

" Err... tribal dress." said Elaine breaking the silence and talking to Toucan.

" Yes." said Toucan.

" Wear it all the time." I said.

" Hell no." said Toucan. " It itches under the arms." He looked around at us all. " O sucks ... I'm as embarrassed as you lot are." he said. " I only wear it for the tourists." he gave a big smile.

" All I get is this message to guide a boat up the lake and well I thought you were another tourist cruse."

" Heavens no." said Mr Pepperday. " We 're after Lasky penguins."

" Well in that case." said Toucan. " I'll go and change into some jeans and shirt I've got in my canoe. I think we'll all feel more comfortable."

Toucan turned out to be one great guy and kept us entertained each evening with stories about the troubles tourists got themselves into when trying to be Davy Crockett out. in the wild frontier.

As went further north it began to get colder and there was a. fight on board over who was to make the supreme sacrifice of a blanket, so that Mrs Jabody could make Elaine some warm trousers. I won, and the thought that my blanket would he covering those beautiful legs gave me much comfort during the long nights ......... it had to .......... because from then on I was bloody cold.

The Eskimo village consisted of wooden huts and tin shacks each with several television aerials pointing in all directions.

We found out it was hard bargaining with the modern Eskimo. The brave young chaps who volunteered for our penguin collection trip wanted a Yamaha motorbike and a television for their services.

While waiting for the two young Eskimos to return with the penguins we were entertained by the villagers. They didn't get many visitors so made the most of us while we were there. Elaine made friends with some young girls who showed her how to make a traditional Eskimo dress. I was shown how to make a kayak, which I finally launched just before we left. It sank.

Joe tried his hand at fishing down holes in the ice. As he said later all he managed to get was a cold bum.

Elaine finished her dress and ask me to escort her to the local dance that evening.

In her Eskimo dress Elaine looked young and very happy. Her eyes were as blue as the sea and her words as soft as the breeze. We danced and danced, we danced all night untill the music faded and morning called, the frost flickering over the ground.

An arctic morning is a beautiful thing and we both watched it rise as we walked arm in arm through the village and back to the boat. We stood on deck at the front of the Beagle pup looking across the water where the sun was beginning to rise, its brilliant silver disc sending a shaft of light skimming across the calm water. I held Elaine in my arms and we looked at each other. Then we kissed. It was a long long kiss and for two people that morning Lasky penguins didn't exist.

It was two in the afternoon when the young lads returned with the penguins. There was a great commotion at the far end of the village and a lot of noise. Through the mist marched penguins, dozens of them.

Mr Pepperday looked at the scene in amazement as penguins wandered all around the village.

" What an earth." said Mr Pepperday to the two lads.

The two lads came into the village at the back of the herd.

" I only wanted four." shouted Mr Pepperday over the noise.

" We know." they shouted hack. " Two male and female. "

" That's right." shouted Mr Pepperday. " So what's this lot."

" Well." they said. " We can't tell which are male and which female."

" O.. " said Mr Pepperday.

Mr Pepperday sorted them out and took two pair onto the boat.

" Don't worry about the ones you don't want." said the Eskimos. " We'll eat them."

Now I know it's natural and that it's been going on for hundreds of years, but none of us could take the idea of the little fellows being eaten.

Captain Brooks thought we were all mad as we cast off from the village. We had eighty seven penguins on hoard. We waved to our friends and sailed back over the lake. When we were out of sight of the village we opened the pen holding the penguins. They wandered about on the deck and then one by one went into the water through the open side. We watched them as they swam off. In fact we were so busy watching them that we didn't notice that half the bunch had decided it would he a good idea to look round the boat.

It wasn't untill we thought that they had all gone that they started turning up in odd corners. The galley was the favourite place with six, the bridge had two, there were four in the dinning room and one found its way into Mrs Jabodys cabin.

All in all it had been a bit of a day and by evening I was ready for bed. Joe however must have been even more tired than I was, he was fast asleep under the blankets on my bunk. I banged about getting into my pyjamas but he didn't wake up so I got into his bunk and went to sleep.

I don't know what Joe was dreaming about but he was tossing and turning for quite some time.

Suddenly the cabin door opened and the light went on.

"What are you doing in my bunk." said Joe just coming in.

I looked up at him. " You're in mine." I said.

" I'm not." said Joe.

" Then who's that." I said pointing to the lump under my blanket.

There wasn't much reason for Joe to answer, it was obvious, it just had to be and it was, a Lasky penguin.

Bonggggggggggggggggggggg.................

" That was that." said Joe sitting up in his bunk.

" I don't know " I said.

"Sounded as if we hit something." said Joe.

We put on our dressing gowns and went up to the bridge. It appeared that everyone else had done the same, it was pretty crowded.

" I don't know." said captain Brooks. " We did hit something, but we were in mid stream and there's no damage."

" It wasn't another boat was it." said Mr Pepperday peering out of the window into the darkness.

" Now come on." said Captain Brooks." Go back to bed all of you, it was only a log or something like that."

I didn't feel like sleeping so went to the galley to make a cup of cocoa. I made two and took one up to the Captain on the bridge. We stood in the dark drinking our cocoa.

" You look worried captain." I said.

" Yea.." said Captain Brooks.

" What is it, the thing we hit." I said.

" Partly." said the Captain.

" Don't you think it was a log then," I said.

" I'm certain it was a log." he said.

" What's the worry then." I said.

" Logs." said the Captain. " More logs. If some one is using the river to float logs down stream we could be in trouble."

" Didn't you know about the logs." I said.

" Yes, it's all charted." said the Captain. " I also states that the river should he clear to navigation for another three weeks."

" Well we're 0 K then." I said.

" Unless some burks jumped the gun." said the Captain.

"You think that's possible." I said.

"When you've been up here all winter you're pretty anxious to get home." said the Captain.

In the morning it was clear that some burk had jumped the gun and let a load of logs into the river. We took it in turns to stand at the front end of the ship and shout to the captain on the bridge as we approached any logs. We were doing quite well, me and Joe were at the front when Joe shouted excitedly.

" Stop engines there's thousands of them."

I looked up. There ahead of us was an enormous heap of logs completely blocking the river.

The captain slowly edged bow of the Beagle Pup up to the logs and pushed. There was no movement. We came broadside on upto the heap of logs. The captain and Mr Thornby put a ladder over the side and climbed down. Me and Joe followed. We all stood on the down stream edge of the logs.

" Whet the hell are we going to do." said the Captain.

" Don't they have men who come and sort these things out." I said.

" Not for three weeks." said Captain Brooks.

" I suppose we could start lifting them out the way." said Joe grabbing one " My god it's heavy." he said not budging it an inch.

We went back to the ship to report to everyone else.

" We can't sit here for three weeks." said Mr Pepperday.

" We'll have to." said the Captain.

" Can't we radio the ranger." said Sandy.

" We'll have to do that anyway." said the Captain. " But I still think it will be three weeks before a properly equipped teem would be able to get up here."

" I suppose we'll have to make the best of it." said Mrs Jabody.

" We'll go up stream a bit and put into the shore." said the captain.

Just as he finished speaking there was a loud thud, then. a second and a third.

" What an earth's happening." said Joe.

" The logs are breaking up." said Mr Thornby.

We all raced up on deck.

" O no..." said the Captain.

" That's great." said Joe.

Far from breaking up a second load of logs had drifted down and trapped us against the first lot.

" What do we do now." said Mr Thornby.

She won't take this kind of treatment." said the Captain learning over the side. " We've got to get out and soon."

More logs were drifting down the river and building up behind us.

"Start the engines." shouted the Captain.

Mr Thornby was already half way to the engine room.

The engine throbbed into life. As we stood on deck we could hear the propeller churning the water below us. The whole boat started to vibrate. As the engine built up power the back end started to go down in the water and the vibration started to get allot worse. Then it all stopped.

" It's no good." said the Captain coming down from the bridge. " We can't break free under our own power."

" We're stuck." said Mr Pepperday.

" We're stuck." said the Captain unless we can move some of those logs."

" We'd need dynamite to move them." I said.

" And we haven't got any of that." said Mr Thornby.

" We'll have to try and use the winch." said the Captain.

" Just a minute." said Joe. " We've got that vegetable soon."

We all looked at him in amazement, then it dawned on us what he was talking about.

" Do you suppose it could work." said Mr Thornby.

" No.. but it's worth a try." said the Captain.

We gingerly brought the tin of vegetable soup powder up on deck and opened it. It looked just the same as it had before. Elaine brought a collection of jam jars and spread them out on the deck. I put a spoonful of powder in the first jar. Who's going to do the honours." I said.

" Me." said Joe picking up the jar

He threw it as hard as he could toward the far edge of the logs. The jar hit them smashing to peace's.

Nothing happened.

" Perhaps it's gone off." said Mr Thornby.

" Didn't hit the water directly." said Sandy. " Let 's try again." He put some powder in another jar and threw it in the other direction into open water. It sank, then the water bubbled and then shot into the air.

" Well it still works." said Captain Brooks.

" But how do we get it under the logs." said Mr Thornby.

" I think." said Sandy. " We're going to have to he a bit more scientific about it." he picked up one of the jars. " Right." he said at length. " some brown paper, string and some heavy weights to sink the jars."

We scattered all over the ship looking for the things. Mr Thornby found a large box of nuts and bolts. Mrs Jabody found the string and Elaine found the brown paper.

We all watched as Sandy knelt on the deck and began work. He put some powder in the jar followed by a large nut and bolt, he then tied some brown paper over the top and left a long piece of string to dangle the whole thing from.

" Well." said Sandy. " The idea is to push the jar into the water between some logs and hang it there just below the surface, the brown paper will get wet and collapse, water will rush in mix with the soup and boom......"

We all looked at him in silence.

" You should have enough time to get away before the brown paper gives way." he said.

" Should have enough time." said Mr Pepperday.

" All right don't worry. I'm going to do it." said Sandy picking up the jar and going for the ladder.

" No." said the Captain. " You can't."

" Why not." said Sandy.

" If it goes up with you on the logs you wouldn't stand a chance." said the Captain.

" I agree." said Mr Pepperday.

" And if I don't." said Sandy

" We stand a chance." said the Captain.

" Of what." said Sandy. " The ship can't take this treatment you know that."

" The ship, no but we'd all get. off alive." said Captain Brooks.

" Look if it hadn't been for you lot I would still be swimming around in the Atlantic." said Sandy, and with that he went over the side onto the logs.

His years on yachts served him well for being nimble footed, he skipped across the logs and was soon at the far edge. He looked for a likely spot and dropped the jar between the logs. He quickly tied the end of the string to a log before running back to the ship. He had just grabbed the end of the ladder when it went off.

It wasn't very spectacular. Just a dull thud and a small spray of water. It was enough however to dislodge twenty or thirty logs, these broke free and went floating down the river.

" Well that's the way to do it." said Sandy.

We started filling more jars with the deadly vegetable soup. It took about twenty jars with varying degrees of success before the blockage began to break up.

" Quick start the engine Mr Thornby." Shouted the Captain running up to the bridge as the boat started to move.

The boat started to sway as the upstream logs pushed against the hull. The back end swung as we pivoted in the moving log jam. Suddenly the whole jam broke up, the captain put on full power so he could push us up stream and away from the thickest part of the log pile. There were several logs jammed at the bows, one stood almost on end as the pressure built up. It crashed down onto the water breaking up the others. Deep down there was a dull thud....

" We're making water." shouted Mr Thornby from below.

As we cleared into open water we could see over the side that we had a large log embedded on one of the steel plates just below the water level.

" This ant going to he easy." said the Captain looking over the side to assess the damage.

" The pumps are holding at the moment." said Mr Thornby. " But when we null the log out it will flood in." Can't we leave it there." said Joe.

It's being held there because we re going up stream." said the Captain. " As soon as we turn round it will come out."

Everyone mustered on deck as the captain explained what we had got to do.

It seamed that Mr Thornby would go over the side on a boatswains chair, a steel plate would he lowered over the side and then the boat would he turned round for the log to drift out. Mr Thornby would slide the steel plate over the hole and bolt it in position over the hole. " Easy isn't it." said the Captain.

None of us said a word, it didn't sound very easy at all. As there were no questions Captain Brooks directed us to our position.

Mr Pepperday did the steering on the bridge. Mr Thornby went over the side and me, Joe and Sandy pulled, pushed and heaved on ropes as directed by Captain Brooks.

Considering it was us lot that was doing it, it all went very smoothly.

" We're still shipping water." said the Captain when we had finished. " But it should hold till we can get to the docks down river."

I'm glad to say that it did.

I had been wondering where the steel plate to cover the hole had come from, that is until last thing that night when I tried to close our cabin door... It wasn't there.