Summary

In Chapters 12 - 14, the ice closes around the Esther and forces Arnold Lovejoy and Edmund Thule to leave the ship and attempt the rest of their mission on foot. After days of difficult passage among floes, the crew sees that the northern route has begun to “cinch” shut, the northern and southern channels have fused, and the ship now floats in what feels like a shrinking lake with no clear way north or south (185). Lovejoy protests that this is not how he hoped they would go, but Thule insists that they must keep faith with their orders and walk, telling him that patience, endurance, clarity, and duty demand that they leave the Esther and cross the ice in search of Benjamin Leander (185). As the men prepare the sledge and watch their captain and Thule row away without looking back, the boys retreat to Old...