I shed tears on the journey but resolved to demonstrate an improved temperament upon arrival at the Turner house. Susannah Turner and her husband had been good to me and did not deserve the brunt of my ill temper. Besides, I told myself, it was only for six months more. I had latched on to the idea that Elisha’s expedition would take exactly a year and had refused to entertain the possibility of it extending any longer. Thus, in May 1854 I sent a package of letters to the Grinnells for Elisha, asking to have them forwarded to his first expected contact. Then I applied myself to my studies virtuously in the expectation that I would hear from Elisha by June and spent many hours imagining how we would celebrate his return. My patience chafed, however, as the weeks and then the months passed with no sign of Elisha’s vessel. I knew very well how short the Arctic summer was and how briefly the ice floes parted to create a passage for ships.
