"What is it?" I whispered; "where are we, and what does this music
mean?"
Taking me by the arm, he said in a low voice:
"We are floating just above the masthead of a Norwegian bark. The men
are having a little frolic on board, and are playing and singing!"
He then went on to explain how he had overhauled the bark shortly after
I had gone below, and hearing the music had dropped a little and
slackened speed to enjoy it.
I looked over the rail and a weird sight it was. Just below, through
the turgid atmosphere, was the huge silhouette of the ship, magnified in
the fog. A few lights were visible along her deck, and near the center
was a reddish glow through which shadowy figures moved and danced. No
detail was visible. Nothing but the shifting shadows and the light, and
the great mass of the vessel. It was like a huge kinetoscope, with the
addition of music.
"The fellows are having a good time!" said Torrence; "sometimes in rifts
of the fog we can see them more distinctly. Far from home, and with a
good-natured skipper, there is nothing to prevent their enjoying
themselves!"
At one moment the shadows would form a circle, when one would step into
the glowing center and perform some fantastic evolutions to the music.
The whole scene was wild and weird in the extreme. A pink nebulosity
from out which dark mysterious figures were forever coming and going,
dancing, falling, and jumping.
We lingered quite awhile, looking and listening without their having a
suspicion of our proximity, and then Torrence, with a sudden burst of
enthusiasm over one of the performers, shouted "Hooray," at the top of
his voice. Instantly the music stopped, and every man, seized with
panic, looked aloft; but we were dark and silent, and gave no token.
Slowly we rose again in the air, and in another minute had left the
Norwegian bark far behind. It was a queer experience, and I have often
wondered how those people explained the mystery of the heavenward voice.
*XI.*
The morning was radiant; not a cloud in the sky, nor a hatful of wind.
It was Torry's turn to rest, while I kept watch, and that he needed it
was shown by the fact that he slept until noon. Meanwhile I got my own
breakfast, and set his aside; and then resumed the lookout above. From
my lofty perch I caught the occasional glint of a sail, or the dark
trail of smoke from a southerly steamer, but these were quickly dropped
astern, no matter what their course. Our rate of progress was
uninterrupted, and the fascination of flight grew with familiarity.
When Torrence came on deck he decided to increase our speed, wishing to
make the coast of Norway before night, on account of the intricacy of
the mountain channels to be encountered there.
"Once in sight of land," he said, "we can shape our course and elevation
accordingly."
I agreed with him, and the water was soon rushing beneath us at a
fearful rate. Both sailing ships and steamers were now passed like
stationary objects, but the wonder with which we inspired the passengers
unfortunately escaped our observation. The day was warm, and the speed
agreeable, allowing us to remain on deck in comfort.
While racing, we passed a fleet of schooners loaded with lumber. The
consternation caused on board was made apparent by the blast of half a
dozen trumpets, which reached our ears in a chorus, although we left the
boats so rapidly that the sound was only heard for a minute, and in a
quarter of an hour the fleet was out of sight.
At 4 o'clock we caught the first glimpse of the island peaks, off the
coast of Norway, and knowing that it would not be dark until after ten,
we slackened speed.
Nearing the land the sight was singularly beautiful. The dark blues and
greens against the black rocks of those mountain islands, made an
intensely vivid picture. Between these lofty heights were revealed
far-stretching vistas of bluest sea, bounded again by other islands and
other mountains.
Torrence said he should not venture in any of these channels, but
proposed running entirely outside the cordon of islands, keeping the
coast well in hand upon the right. Fortunately there would be but two
or three hours of darkness, or it might have been expedient to seek a
higher level to avoid the possibility of accident by collision; as it
was, a sharp lookout would be all that was necessary.
After sailing up the coast for a couple of hours, I went below to
prepare supper, which we decided to eat on deck, so as not to miss the
magnificent scenery. This we did, and later I was instructed in the art
of aerial navigation, and after changing our course a few points to
seaward for safety, Torrence went below to sleep, leaving me in charge.
During this watch our speed was materially lowered, as we did not deem
it wise to run rapidly along this dangerous coast, while I was alone on
deck.
The feeling of power as I sat there with absolute control of the vessel
was exhilarating. I had never had such a sensation before. Like a
visitor from another planet I floated on above the sea, inspecting the
most exquisitely weird and beautiful scenery, made doubly entrancing by
the lingering twilight, which seemed as if it would never fade away.
The intensity of the coloring, the purity of the atmosphere, and the
marvelous shapes of these mountain islands, made impressions not easily
obliterated. There was an endless variety of fiords and water vistas
opening between them, and each vista and each island showed something
new.
Torrence slept soundly until 10:30 o'clock when, as the twilight had
deepened into gloom, I thought it best to call him, and went below to
sleep myself. The night was quickly passed, as there was little of it,
and in the watches we rounded the headlands of the Sogne, the Geiranger,
and the Romsdal fiords, and then steering a little more to the east with
the trend of the coast, made for the great bay of Trondhjem, which we
reached about the middle of the afternoon. Skirting the opening of the
fiord, Torrence asked if I thought it worth while to pay a visit to this
historic city of the Norwegians--Trondhjem being one of their most
important and beautiful towns. If we concluded to go, he said it would
be best, in order not to attract attention, to land upon one of the
lonely island hilltops near the town, and thence make our way by foot
and boat. We talked the matter over, but finally decided to let all
towns alone, it being possible that the authorities held orders for our
detention, as they had in Hull.
"We are quite safe where we are," said Torrence, "and when we stop, let
it be away from people."
Having decided to stick to the air ship, we went directly on past the
mouth of the bay without entering it. The town itself is a number of
miles further up the fiord.
We now headed straight for the North Cape, which we reached in about
five days from London. We passed the Lofoten isles, the Vest fiord,
Tromsoe, Hammerfest, and other points of beauty and interest along this
marvelous coast, without stopping at any of them, and landed upon the
northernmost point of Europe without accident. On this desolate
headland we decided to make our first landing, to overhaul the
machinery, stretch our legs, and have a general pow-wow on Mother Earth
before proceeding further.
An elevated plain, lopped off at one end by a wall of granite, hundreds
of feet high, and overlooking the sea, stood ready to receive us. No
human habitation is visible, but thousands of pigeons living in the
crannies of the cliff were frightened at our approach, and flew about
wildly in all directions. Above this plain we halted, and then slowly
began our descent.
At the water level on the east is a steamboat landing, where the Olaff
Kyrre stops once or twice during the summer for the benefit of tourists
who find their way to the top by a winding path cut in the face of the
wall. Thence to the northern cliff is a level walk of over a mile across
this plain, along which a wire is stretched to guide those who happen to
be caught in a fog, which at times is very dense and sudden.
This plain afforded the isolation we sought, and with a slow and steady
movement we descended upon it. We touched the ground so lightly that I
was not aware of our landing until Torrence threw out the ladder and
stepped over. I followed immediately, and then we sent up a shout of
triumph for the success that had so far attended our journey. We walked
around the air ship, admiring her from every point of view, and then
went away to see how she looked at a distance. She was perfect! The
grandest thing ever constructed; the most powerful engine for the
advance of man's material welfare ever executed. Torrence made a
careful examination of her working parts. Not a screw or bearing was
out of place; and not withstanding the way we had speeded her on
occasions, she was none the worse for it. She was carefully oiled, and
where necessary lubricated with graphite, and we had the satisfaction of
knowing that she was in quite as good condition as on leaving London.
"I am willing to trust my life in her across the frozen sea!" said
Torrence, observing her with intense admiration.
"Now is the time to decide if you're not," I answered; "though for my
part I believe she is safer than dry land!"
"That is exactly my idea," said he, "although, if you should feel
inclined to change your mind, there is another chance at Spitzbergen,
where we shall stop again before the final leap."
"I have not the slightest intention of doing so, old boy, in fact I am
quite as anxious to get to the pole as you are; and strange as it may
seem I feel safer in the air ship than standing here."
We were unanimous in our determination to go to the pole, and I will
guarantee that no expedition ever started for there with so good a
prospect of reaching it, or with greater comforts than we had.
We cooked our supper near the edge of the cliff overlooking the Arctic
Ocean, and we both felt that it was a solemn occasion, for we should
soon be placing an impassable gulf between ourselves and the land of
human habitations, and entering the great solitudes of the unexplored
North.
As there was no wood for fuel, we used an armful of our own kindling,
which we had brought for just such occasions, and while drinking hot
coffee we discussed the past, and the prospect of the future.
"I am absolutely certain of success," said Torrence; "nothing but an air
ship can reach the pole, and an air ship has never yet tried to get
there. What's the use of an old water-tank endeavoring to screw her way
through a continent of ice. She might as well run her nose against
Gibraltar, in the hope of coming out on the other side. The mystery to
me is why no one has ever tried this before."
"You're not there yet, old man," I answered; "don't crow before you're
out of the woods."
"Ah!" said Torrence, smiling, "I believe the worst wood we had to get
out of was London; and having shot the rapids at Gravesend, I think we
can go the rest of the way."
I was quite as enthusiastic as he, but being without his knowledge, had
not the same convictions.
"And so Spitzbergen will be our next stopping place?" I observed,
between mouthfuls of coffee.
"Yes, when we shoot off this cliff to the northward we'll set neither
eye nor foot on land for five hundred miles. So make the most of this
boggy sward while we have it. Five hundred miles to the north of this
is pretty far north--and then----"
"And then our real journey begins," I interrupted.
"You may say so," he answered, broiling a piece of bacon with a fork
over the coals. "Certainly the most interesting part begins after
leaving Spitzbergen. I flatter myself that the entire voyage from that
point will be one of unusual interest."
I had every confidence in our ability to reach the pole, for without the
difficulty of ice to encounter, I could see no good reason why we should
not. Moreover, the season of the year would insure pleasant weather in
high latitudes; there would probably be no detention, as in other
expeditions, and it seemed a reasonable presumption that we should reach
90 deg. north, while the summer was yet at its height.
Presently a dense fog came rolling in from the sea, and in a few minutes
the air ship was lost to view, although not more than forty or fifty
yards from where we were sitting. We continued eating our lunch like a
couple of specters on each side of the fire, until, finding that we were
getting wet, I got up to go after some oilskins. I thought I knew
exactly where the machine was, believing that I had sat down with my
back toward it, and at best did not suppose it possible to lose so large
an object so close at band. I walked until quite sure that I had
covered the distance separating me from it, and then continued to walk
on farther. Suddenly I stopped, convinced that I had mistaken the
direction. I started upon another course, and after another
unsuccessful tramp stopped again. Then I called for Torrence, and told
him that I was lost. His voice sounded much farther than I thought it
should, and I tried to get back to him by following it. Presently he
called out imperatively:
"Stop! don't try to find me. Stand perfectly still until it clears!"
"Why not? if you'll keep on talking I'm sure to find you."
Then he shouted vehemently.
"Stop! for God's sake, stop! You're risking your life with every step.
Have you forgotten that we're on the edge of a precipice?"
I had not forgotten it, but his words startled me into realizing the
danger of my position, and I stood perfectly still. Strangely enough I
had not thought of the possibility of tumbling over the cliff, believing
all the while that I was walking in the opposite direction; but now the
murmur of the sea on the rocks below convinced me that I was nearer than
I had supposed.
"If you move at all," shouted Torrence, "go only one step at a time. I
mean, look carefully at each step before you take it."
I could not imagine how I had come so far, for his voice sounded
strangely distant.
"Have you moved from where I left you?" I called.
"No," was the answer, "and don't intend to."
"That's right. I think I can find you if you keep talking."
"All right; go ahead; but watch the ground carefully at every step!"
The truth is I could not see much above a yard at a time, and a misstep
would have been fatal. Torrence continued to talk, and I slowly
advanced in the direction from which his voice seemed to come. Suddenly
my way was blocked by a solid wall and in another instant I saw that it
was the air ship. I now perceived why the voice had been so faint, for
I had wandered clear around the machine, which had intercepted it.
Feeling my way carefully to the ladder I called out that all was well.
"No matter about the skins," came the answer, "let us get off as soon as
possible. Go into the saloon and fetch a ball of twine from the locker;
tie one end to the step, then make your way slowly!"
I found the twine; groped forward with the ball in my hand, and reached
camp without accident. Then we commenced carrying our cook tools back
to the boat.
"There is no place like home!" yelled Torrence, returning with the last
load. In another minute he had climbed over the side, and drawing a
breath of relief, added:
"It is fortunate we travel by air instead of land or water, because we
shan't have to wait for the fog!"
A few minutes more and the ladder was hauled in, the gangway closed, the
hatch to the upper deck shut down, and we were comfortably established
in our cosy cabin. Then Torrence going to his controlling board, pressed
a button, moved a lever, turned a screw, and we were swung gently up,
and resumed our journey north, 11 deg. west, headed for Spitzbergen,
which Torrence said we should reach within twenty-four hours.
I don't know why it was always such an indescribable pleasure to feel
clear of earth; and yet this was the fact. The first sensation of being
above the ground was a thrill of inexplicable delight. It seemed as if
we were lifted into a higher plane of being, morally as well as bodily,
involving a certain arrogant sympathy for those left behind. The poor
creatures knew so little about life, and it even amazed me to think that
I had been one of them for so many years without realizing the depravity
of my state. Life without an air ship was not worth the living; but
with it, I could answer Mr. Mallock's question without thought or
hesitation.
When the fog cleared we were many miles to seaward, and the rock-bound
coast of Europe showed only as a dark line against the horizon.
Torrence said there was nothing to prevent our going into the cuddy for
a sleep, which we needed, that in our present position there was no
danger; that collision was impossible, and falling equally so. That the
air ship was headed for Spitzbergen, and could take care of herself--in
short, that we should be just as safe as if sleeping in the Mustapha. I
suggested the possibility of icebergs but he explained that we were
above the altitude of the highest ever known in this quarter, and that,
moreover, it was improbable that any would be passed at this season and
this locality. And so, taking his word for it, we both turned in and
slept ten hours without waking. At the end of that time we felt like
new men, and climbed up on deck to look out.
A dull gray sea, bounded only by the sky-line, was rushing away beneath,
and so far as I could tell, our speed and elevation had remained
unchanged. Despite my brother's assurance, I could not help feeling
that we had taken an awful risk about the icebergs; but when he told me
that the ice masses formed off Spitzbergen were greatly inferior in size
to those coming down from Greenland, I was better satisfied. Indeed, it
was very rare, he said, that an iceberg in this part of the ocean was
more than one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height; they were
differently shaped, being flat on top, and covering considerable area,
but never high; while our own altitude was more than a thousand feet.
Torrence had made quite a study of the polar regions, and I had great
confidence in his judgment.
On we sped--I cannot say during the day, for there was no night,
although we kept a record of the time, and at regular intervals darkened
our sleeping apartments to delude ourselves into the belief that it was
night above. While on watch we sunk to a lower level, as being warmer,
although it was getting to be the time of year when the mercury seldom
falls below freezing even in this latitude. Occasional masses of ice
were now passed, though none of any considerable size, and I can
truthfully say that, except when above the clouds, we had not, so far,
suffered from cold.
About thirty hours after leaving the North Cape of Norway the irregular,
saw-shaped outline of Spitzbergen peeped above the horizon. Our passage
had been uneventful, and as we neared the barren shores of the west
island, there was nothing to invite us to linger. We decided, however,
to land for a short time before pursuing our journey northward.
Proceeding with care we entered the channel to the east of Prince
Charles Foreland, known as Foreland Bay. Moving up this passage to its
upper terminal, and then crossing King's Bay, we effected a landing
opposite Cape Mitra, on the eastern shore of Cross Bay. The whole
country was desolate beyond description, and we only halted for another
examination of our vessel before plunging into the great unknown beyond.
We touched earth on a shelly beach, and congratulated ourselves on
having reached this high latitude in safety.
Drift wood abounded, and we soon had a roaring fire, with the prospect
of a good meal ahead. We took care this time to guard against fog by
carrying a line from the air ship to our encampment.
Torrence wanted to shoot a reindeer, an ice fox, or a polar bear before
leaving, although neither of us cared to make a sporting tour for fear
of getting lost; moreover, the time was valuable. There were no
indications of life from our point of landing, although we knew the
islands abounded in Arctic game, and that the animals mentioned were
plentiful. Torrence seemed particularly anxious to run across a herd of
deer, and when I suggested that a white bear would be a finer sight, he
shrugged his shoulders and said:
"Perhaps; but I have special reasons for wanting a deer, which I will
explain later; meanwhile let us get dinner."
And so we set to work upon the best our larder afforded, feeling that it
would probably be our last meal on land for a very indefinite time.
Indeed when I thought of the future and the unexplored regions ahead,
and the mysteries of the unknown awaiting us, I confess to some nervous
apprehension.
The realm we were about to penetrate had been from all time screened
from the eyes of man; was it not sacrilege to force the hand of
Providence and expose it now?
* * * * *
*XII.*
We were in the midst of dinner when down the beach came a great, white,
swaggering bear, sniffing the air from side to side, for the fumes of
bacon, sausage, and fried potatoes which happened just then to be in the
pan. The suddenness of the apparition froze every drop of sporting blood
in my veins; but this perhaps, is not so much to be marveled at, when it
is remembered that we had left our arms and ammunition in the air ship,
full fifty yards away, though fortunately in the other direction.
Dropping the remains of dinner on the ground, we ran with one accord and
mortifying speed to the big machine, tumbled in over the side, and
hauled up the ladder with a dexterity never before equalled. Here we
armed ourselves with a couple of Winchester rifles, and then crawled up
on deck to watch the enemy. It was a painful sight to see our excellent
repast scattered right and left, nosed, pawed, and devoured before our
very eyes; but it was satisfactory to observe that the beast burned his
mouth and paws in his greediness. When he got through licking his chops
and sucking his fingers he had time to look around, and catching sight
of the air ship, was surprised. Evidently he was familiar with that
part of the coast and had never seen such a thing before. We decided to
wait until curiosity had brought him nearer, which it was not long in
doing. Still sniffing, now probably for danger, the monster slowly
approached, and when two-thirds of the distance had been covered, he
stopped suddenly, overcome with astonishment. It was our time to fire,
and crack went the rifles, almost at the same instant. It had been
previously agreed that I was to aim for the head, while Torrence was to
shoot immediately behind the shoulder. The animal started up with a
snort, surprised and wounded. He showed his teeth and snapped as he
caught sight of us, and then turned and began licking his wound. I was
surprised that he had not keeled over stone dead, for as the blood
trickled down over his long, dirty, white hair it looked to me as if it
issued from a vital point, but it was difficult to tell. Presently the
sound of our voices renewed his anger, and he came at us, on a gallop.
We waited until he touched the vessel, when, just as we were about to
fire again, the bear raised himself upon his hind legs as if trying to
get a foothold to board us, and rolled over dead without a struggle. We
discharged our rifles into the animal's skull as he lay there, and then
after a few minutes went to work upon him. It was a great find, as he
was large and fat. We soon had him bled, and cut up into convenient
sizes. We left the skin for other explorers, not caring to bother with
it, but the principal part of the meat was carefully stowed on board.
After this adventure we went back and finished our dinner, or rather we
cooked another; this time being careful to carry the rifles with us.
As we sat smoking our pipes around the camp fire, after finishing our
repast, I asked Torrence why he had been so anxious to kill a reindeer.
"For marks!" he said, blowing a volume of smoke into the air.
"Marks!" I exclaimed in astonishment; "what marks? What are you talking
about?"
"Ear marks," he answered, still puffing away at his pipe.
"And why are the ear marks of a Spitzbergen reindeer especially
interesting?" I inquired.
Torrence looked at me thoughtfully as he answered:
"Because they have been made by the hand of man!"
"And why shouldn't they be?"
"For a very simple reason. Because man does not inhabit these islands!"
"Then how is your theory supported?"
"By an enormous array of accumulated evidence that there are vast
continents to the north of us, which are inhabited both by man,
reindeer, and other animals!"
"You mean _continent_, not _continents_," I suggested.
"On the contrary; I believe there are continents fully equaling in size
Europe, Asia, Africa and the two Americas!"
Had the fellow lost his mind? I looked carefully to see if he were
serious, and observing no indications of a joke, answered:
"Your theory might be all right if there was room enough around the pole
for all the land you speak of; but as there isn't, I am afraid you'll
have to be contented with one very moderate-sized continent, which I
will admit it is barely possible may exist. As for its being inhabited,
I don't believe it."
"It's a pity, Gurthrie, for you'll have to believe a great deal more
than that before you get through with this journey. But speaking of the
reindeer, do you know that immense herds of them roam over these
islands; and that the enormous numbers which have been killed in former
years--amounting to several thousand sometimes, in a single
season--tends to support the theory that they have migrated from another
land? But that is not all; for these creatures carry with them stronger
evidences of a habitable region to the north--for they cannot have
migrated from the south."
"And what is that evidence?" I asked.
"The ear marks we were speaking of," continued Torrence, "thousands of
these reindeer are marked; that is, they have their ears cut in a way to
indicate that it was done by the hand of man. It is the opinion of many
hunters in this region that these animals have emigrated from an unknown
country to the north; and that is my belief also!"
"But you spoke of _continents_!" I urged.
"And I still speak of continents. But wait; I do not wish to startle
you, or shake your faith in my sanity. What I know, I know; and what I
know, you shall soon see for yourself. But mind, we are going into a
warmer climate, and we shall find all that I have intimated. But a
little at a time; do not strain your mind with thoughts you have never
yet learned to assimilate."
I admitted that if it were a fact about the ear marks it was certainly a
curious one; whereupon Torrence declared that it was only one out of
many reasons for the theory, which he would explain later. Altogether
there was a conviction in his manner which was very impressive. I
listened to him talk for more than an hour, and must confess that he
produced an array of alleged facts that were startling. He ended by
declaring that our discoveries would vastly exceed those of Columbus in
their magnitude, and that we should go down to history as the greatest
of all explorers!
When Torrence stopped talking, our pipes had gone out, and the fire was
reduced to a few glowing coals. We got up to make preparations for a
final departure into the great unknown, and I confess, with a good deal
more awe than I had previously thought possible. If Torrence was
oppressed by the contemplation of what we were about to undertake, he
only showed it by a more earnest and serious demeanor than he had yet
exhibited. For my part, I dreaded to leave the island, overcome with
the thought of what might be awaiting us. Beyond this, I was seriously
puzzled by my brother's remark about continents, and their size, but
could not bring myself to insist on an explanation, which he seemed, for
the present, disinclined to give. We had started together, and we must
pull together for the rest of the journey, come what might.
We now made a thorough and exhaustive examination of the machine, and
were gratified to find that everything was still in perfect order, as we
did not wish to land upon an unknown continent without the means of
returning. The vessel had been so thoroughly built, regardless of cost,
that she seemed as staunch as when she first came out of the hands of
the contractors at London. We took aboard several casks of fresh water
for drinking, besides our bear meat; put everything to rights, and then
shutting ourselves inside, concluded to take a long sleep before
resuming our journey northward. Nothing disturbed us; not even a polar
bear discovered our position, and when we arose at the end of twenty
hours' rest, we partook of another hearty meal, and were ready to move.
Taking our places on deck, Torrence touched the controllers, and in a
minute we were suspended a couple of hundred feet above the beach. Then
slowly we commenced navigating the tortuous coast, first bearing
eastwardly across the bay, and then following up the shore line as far
as the Norwegian isles, a reef of rocky keys off the northwest coast.
Here we took careful bearings; made allowances for the rather singular
behavior of the compass, and then heading the ship due north, bore away
upon our course.
I felt as if I were about to sail over the face of an unknown planet,
and in a great measure, it was just this that we were destined to
accomplish. I was fully alive to the terrors of that mysterious,
strangely isolated quarter of our globe, where it seemed as if the
Almighty had set his ban against man's advance, by encircling it with an
impenetrable barrier, to cross which, every effort, of which history
holds any record, was fruitless.
When the granite cliffs of Spitzbergen were fading from our view,
Torrence turned to me, and said with emphasis:
"Mark my word! We are going to find a better climate ahead than we have
left behind. We are going to find land, and a race of men who are
unknown to the world. We are going to find many other things; but put
that much down as a record if you will;" and so I have entered it.
We were alone, and with a loneliness never felt before. The last
saw-like edge of Spitzbergen had sunk below the water line to the south.
Yes, even that terribly Northern foothold must now be looked upon as a
southern home, when compared with our present resting place. Should we
ever look forward to reaching it, as a tropical paradise--the bourne of
all our hopes and expectations? For Spitzbergen had known men; it was a
part of our own world, and as I watched it fade and sink away it seemed
close to all I had ever known and loved in my dear old earth, where
nothing could ever be so solemnly, so awfully foreign as where we were,
and where we were going.
Suddenly it became cold, and looking down we saw that the ocean had
grown strangely quiet, the sparkle and motion of the waves having left
it. Descending to a lower level we saw that we were passing over a
field of pack ice, solid and impenetrable; and we slackened speed, and
sunk still lower to examine it.
As we slipped along close above its hummocky surface, at the rate of ten
or twelve miles an hour, we could appreciate some of the difficulties
with which Arctic explorers have had to contend. What a herculean task
to forge ahead through such an obstacle, whether with ship or sled! And
yet with what absolute ease we seemed about to solve the puzzle of the
ages. However, we were still a long way from the pole, and there was no
telling what might happen before reaching it. At times I would be
seized with a superstitious dread of some awful impending calamity, or
of some horrible condition of the earth's surface or atmosphere, which
would make it impossible for man to live where we were going. But
Torrence was firm and resolute, and if such thoughts ever troubled him,
he did not speak of them. I could scarcely believe that we should
continue to the end as easily as we had begun, and advance without
hindrance into the forbidden mysteries beyond.
It grew colder, although I can truly say, so well were we provided
against the weather, that neither of us had suffered, and we continued
to sit on deck in our top coats without inconvenience. Torrence made
half a turn in the screw controlling our elevation, and we rose slightly
higher, as there were dangerous looking inequalities in the ice ahead.
We also moderately increased our speed, keeping, however, low enough,
and running with just such headway as would enable us to see to the best
advantage the formations below and around us.
Presently it began to snow, and the ice field became covered with a
tattered sheet, the uneven protuberances sticking through in dirty
patches. But it was only a summer shower, which we ran out of in a
dozen or twenty miles, leaving the sea of frozen waves and hummocks bare
again. Then we came to floes, or extended areas of ice that had not
packed, wind-driven into the solid masses behind, but were still
shifting about with the current, undecided as to their future course.
The crunching and roaring of these masses was horrible. Detached areas,
miles in extent, would rush at each other with Titanic power, and
meeting, rend the air with deafening crashes like the wrecking of a
thousand trains.
Next came the piling up into strange, fantastic shapes. Pyramids,
towers, and grim fortifications would threaten each other for a minute,
and then slowly advancing, meet with a report like thunder, splitting
the air from earth to heaven, and melt into each other, to be again
squeezed and piled into new designs. It was an awful, yet fascinating
sight. But the worst had not come. Onward we swept over this crunching
and grinding world, roaring in agony to free itself from the embrace of
the demon Cold, which was slowly but surely stiffening it into immovable
forms. And as we advanced, the thundering of the under world grew less,
for there was no more movement. The forts, the towers, and the pyramids
had become fixed and silent, and a city of weird architecture followed.
A city of frozen monuments, deserted streets, of isolated villas,
cathedrals, parks, and gardens, lakes of dazzling whiteness, turreted
battlements with mounted guns commanding open spaces, and distant rivers
threading the land beyond. But a deathlike silence reigned. It was a
marvelous change, but a greater still was coming. Looking far to the
north we observed that these singular ice forms were growing in size and
splendor, so that it seemed advisable to rise a little higher to avoid a
collision. But they grew. The forts became lofty houses; the houses
cathedrals, and the cathedrals great ragged mountains of ice, with
pinnacles reaching skyward.
* * * * *
"This," said Torrence, turning toward me with great solemnity, "is the
Palaeocrystic Sea--the sea of ancient ice--the sea which man has never
crossed. We have passed the limits of the known; beyond lies the
mystery of the undiscovered world. A world which you will soon admit is
greater, and of far more importance than our own!"
Although I could not gather his meaning, there was an import in his
words that appalled me.
* * * * *
And now the scene grew more terrible with each mile of advance. Ages of
freezing and thawing, accumulations of snow and ice, had produced a
spectacle more awful than words can picture. A sea of mountains and
valleys; of canons black in eternal night. A sea of silence. A sea of
death.
* * * * *
But I will not dwell upon the horrors that separate the known from the
unknown. The Palaeocrystic is simply an unexplored belt of ice
surrounding the poles. Indeed it is not known to be unbroken, or to be
of equal severity throughout. It might be termed a ribbon of ice
mountains, which has been ages in forming, and which probably will not
average more than fifty miles in breadth, and at some points, doubtless
much narrower. Beyond it we came upon free ice again, and further
reached the open polar sea.
Here was a marked change in the temperature, and as the air currents
were from the north, the frozen area had little effect. Our thermometer
showed a few degrees above freezing, and a tendency to rise still
higher.
We now felt that we were fairly launched into an unknown world. A
placid ocean stretched beneath to an unexplored horizon.
"Now!" exclaimed Torrence with enthusiasm; "if there are any discoveries
to be made, we ought soon to make them."
Taking out a pair of field glasses we searched the skyline from the
upper deck.
"No land in sight!" said Torrence; "but if I am not mistaken, yonder is
a flock of wild geese, leading our course, and not more than half a mile
ahead.
"They might be petrels!" I suggested.
"Whatever they are, I propose to give them a chase. A bird or two for
dinner wouldn't be a bad idea!"
Although I had never hunted wild geese in an air ship, I agreed that it
ought to be good sport.
*XIII.*
Steering directly after the geese on an ascending plane, we put on a
tremendous spurt and soon had the whole gang squawking and floundering
before us. There were hundreds, and when pressed, set the pace at a
rate that made the air whizz by like a hurricane. It was intensely
exciting. But the air ship was too swift to afford the slightest chance
of their escape. In a few minutes we had overtaken them, broken their
columns, and flown directly into the flock. Our shotguns were ready,
but, strange as it may seem, we did not use them, because more than a
dozen of the birds fell dead upon our deck from sheer fright, and we let
the others escape. It was a strange experience; a method of hunting
probably never indulged in before; and it was not at all surprising that
the birds should have been frightened to death. The geese proved to be
fat and a great delicacy.
We then dropped to our former level and speed, and resumed the lookout
for land. Ice floes were still occasionally met, though steadily
diminishing in size and apparent solidity. A few hours later we passed
the last of them, and then met only an occasional chunk, or hummock,
which seemed to be floating northward. We determined the direction by
descending close to the surface of the water, and making a careful
examination. There could be no doubt about it; the currents which
carried these ice masses were trending northward. It seemed to imply
some mystery, as yet unconsidered, although Torrence thought it possible
that they might be vortex in character, returning again to their
starting point.
At the usual hour we went below to partake of our midday meal, having
first reduced our speed to a rate not exceeding ten miles an hour, not
wishing to run upon anything startling during the stay below. It was
fortunate we had done so, for upon coming on deck again, we saw a small
blue line to starboard, apparently not more than a dozen or fifteen
miles away.
"Land!" We both shouted in a breath.
Immediately we changed our course in the direction of this island, as it
appeared; and while drifting toward it, considered whether we should
call it Attlebridge Land or Torrence Island. Suddenly Torrence,
clapping his hand to his head, exclaimed:
"If it's what I now believe it to be, we have not the right to name it!"
"And what do you believe it to be?" I asked.
"An island," said he.
"And why have we not the right to name it?"
"Because I believe it has been already discovered. Because I believe it
is inhabited!"
"Inhabited!" I shouted; "and by whom?"
"By a man."
"By a man, or by men? Which did you say?"
"I said by a man--by one man--I believe that island has a _single
inhabitant_, but we shall see!"
Again I looked at my brother with curiosity, half-wondering if he were
demented.
"I understood you to say that the Palaeocrystic Sea was the dividing
line between the known and the unknown world.
"And you understood me correctly," he replied,
"There is but one man in the world who knows anything about this island;
in fact he is the only man living who has a right to name it."
"I should imagine that the inhabitant you speak of would have an equal
right," I observed.
"That is just where you make your mistake," said Torrence with a knowing
look. "Were he an ordinary man he might have; but under the
circumstances--hardly!"
"And what are the circumstances? Why should he not name it?" I
insisted.
"Because he is an idiot!" said Torrence.