There was plenty of floating ice in the open water running rapidly
northward; but the task of avoiding this was easy, for the engineer had
followed out the captain's instructions, and there was a sufficiency of
steam for navigating the vessel.
It was needed, too; for though they had escaped from the terrible trap
in which they had been caught, the peril was not far away. A few
minutes' observation showed that the great body of ice was closing in
upon the land, and that if before long the _Hvalross_ was not placed in
a safe anchorage she would certainly be crushed, the only difference
being that she would be crushed between ice-floe and rock, and not
between ice and ice, the doctor saying that they would have jumped out
of the frying-pan into the fire.
There was the danger still coming on as they steamed northward between
the moving ice and the perpendicular cliffs of the great headland on
their right. But the fires were humming and roaring away below, the
rattle of stoking implements and shovel was heard on the iron stoke-hole
floor; and as the engine worked and panted away, and the propeller shaft
made the after part of the vessel thrill, there were divers hissings and
snorts which told that there would soon be plenty of steam for the
captain's purpose, as he stood on the bridge with his binocular scanning
the opening on the right to see if it would give them the security he
sought.
"Up aloft again, Johannes!" he cried. "Take a glass and see if you can
con a way round and through those rocks."
Steve started, and took a step forward; but the captain shook his head.
"Not this time," he said.
The boy shrank back feeling disappointed, for this observing from the
crow's-nest seemed to have become partly his work; but he said nothing,
for he felt that he had not distinguished himself very highly aloft upon
two occasions, so he contented himself with watching the grand coast
they had reached. He gazed at the towering cliffs a couple of hundred
yards upon his right, streaked in every crevice with snow, which crossed
these streaks again, lying as it did upon every ledge, and forming a
gigantic network on the black rock. Higher up the streaking and netting
ceased, for the rocks were not so perpendicular; and here they were
coated with dazzling ice.
The sea-birds circled about the vessel by hundreds, while thousands must
have been seated in rows upon the ledges, from which, as they came and
went, throwing themselves off as if diving into the air, and taking a
flight before resettling, they disturbed the newly-fallen, powdery snow,
which fell in showers, glittering in the brilliant sunshine like diamond
dust, and at times forming tiny rainbows, which came and went as the
_Hvalross_ glided on.
"We shall not starve here, Steve, in spite of the cold," said the
doctor, who now joined him. "This must be nesting time, and the storm
has disturbed the birds and invaded their nests. How grand it all seems
now one can look around without feeling one's heart in one's mouth, and
thinking that the next minute may be our last!"
"Then you felt frightened, too?" said Steve.
"Frightened? Why, my good lad, do you think any one could face peril
like that we have gone through without feeling frightened?"
"I should have thought brave men would."
"I should like to see the man who could pass through what we did
unmoved. Perhaps I'm wrong, my boy, but I don't think he has been born
yet. There, don't let's talk about it. Come and watch the man heaving
the lead."
They went forward to where Andrew was standing in the forechains busy
with the lead, casting it from time to time, for there were rocks all
about the entrance of the inlet or fiord they were making for; but the
lead always went down and down into deep water, and was rapidly hauled
up again, for all that was wanted was to know whether there was
sufficient depth for the vessel to pass along in safety.
"We're getting a lesson in arctic navigation, Steve," said the doctor
quietly. "People who sit at home at ease, as the song says, little know
how difficult it is."
"Ah! they don't know, indeed," said Steve. "Any one would think that
all we had to do was to steam right on till we were opposite the fiord,
and then turn to the right and go in at once."
"Which does not sound very nautical, Master Steve, and would result most
likely in landing the vessel upon the rocks. Water cold, Andra?" to the
man, as he hauled in the lead.
"Ferry, sir, ferry cauld inteet. She feels as if she hadna got any
fingers left. But it's a coot chop to do when she tidna know her way."
"Keep heaving more quickly!" cried the captain; and he then signalled to
the engine-room for more speed, while the Norsemen in the bows went on
fending off the pieces of ice through which they were now passing, the
surface being quite white with fragments.
The next moment there was a horrible crashing noise from astern, and
fresh orders were sent down into the engine-room, the gong sounding
quite faintly now.
"Whatever is that?" whispered the doctor. "Are we on a rock?"
"No; the propeller is beating on the pieces of ice. We must go softly,
or one of the blades will be broken."
In fact, the speed was checked so that the propeller was kept barely in
motion, just sufficient to give the vessel steering way, and all the
time a glance to the left showed that the ice-floe was closing in upon
them fast, while they were some distance yet from the opening.
Meantime, Johannes hailed the deck from time to time, enabling the
captain to direct the man at the wheel, so as to avoid dangerous rocks,
invisible from the bridge, but quite plain from the commanding height
aloft.
And thus the position was growing to be one of extreme peril once more,
and it became evident to those who, as non-combatants in this fight with
the grand forces of Nature, could only look on, that, unless the captain
risked the breaking of the propeller, they would be crushed by the ice
against the rocks and rendered a hopeless wreck long before they could
round the southern point of the fiord. Even if they could reach the
inlet, it might prove to be so encumbered with rocks that they could not
enter; but it was their only hope now.
Fortunately the current ran swiftly, and as the ice neared more swiftly
still, and just when the position was growing most perilous, the surface
became clear of floating fragments, such as would injure the screw.
Steve's heart was sinking again, for the great ice wall was getting very
close, and he had given many looks at the huge cliff to see whether it
would be possible to climb up, when once more the sinking spirits rose
with a bound, for, in the nick of time, Johannes shouted, "All clear
ahead!" the gong sent forth its notes to order full speed, and the water
was churned into a foam as the propeller began to spin round.
"Stand away with that lead!" shouted the captain; and Andrew coiled up
the wet line with a sigh of relief.
"He's going to risk the rocks now," whispered Steve.
"Yes; I suppose it's our only chance," replied the doctor; and they both
went as far forward as they could get to join the Norsemen who were on
the look-out for danger.
They had about a quarter of a mile still to go, but now their speed was
greater than that of the closing-in ice, and the men at last burst into
a cheer as, in obedience to a motion of the captain's hand, the spokes
were spun round, and the _Hvalross_ glided along in a sharp curve right
in between two towering walls of rocks facing each other at a distance
of some sixty yards. Then the engine was slowed down, and they passed
more quietly along a rugged channel which went straight in for a short
distance, and then bore sharply round to the left.
They were none too soon, for, long before they reached this curve, the
ice-floe touched the headland they had passed, and there arose a
crashing roar mingled with thunderous sounds that were deafening. It
was as if the huge fields of ice were about to be swept right over the
land, and the perpendicular rocks, as they bore the brunt, echoed the
terrible volleying noise. The sight was awful in its majesty: one floe
ploughed up another, and vast fragments fell over and over, to fall with
a crash upon others, or into the waters of the inlet, churning them up
as if in some furious tempest, driving billows up against the rocks on
either side, and making the _Hvalross_ rock and roll as she sped slowly
on. And all the while, driven by the almost irresistible force behind,
the ice-floes came on and on, filling up the inlet, and roaring with
fury as the vessel they seemed to be pursuing kept still beyond their
reach.
The lead was out again and rapidly heaved, but the water kept of a great
depth, and the channel was clear of scattered rocks, so that the opening
where it bore off to the left was reached with ease, and the _Hvalross_
bore round in answer to her helm, and began once more to make for the
north.
Ten minutes later the whole of the inlet that ran so nearly straight in
was jammed right up with mountainous masses of ice, which ran right
across the angle where they had turned off to the north, and then the
ice came on, mounting over that which was below, grinding, crackling,
and pressing it solid, deafening the ears of those who listened for a
few minutes, and then dying off into a more and more distant sound.
This soon grew fainter, heard as it seemed to be from the other side of
the cliffs on their left, while the water in the fiord, which had been
tremendously agitated, rushing on past the _Hvalross_ and leaving her
rolling and the crow's-nest in which Johannes stood describing a long
arc in the air, began to subside, the billows ceased to leap up the
cliffs, the loose fragments of ice to eddy and rush together, and the
vessel floated upon an even keel.
The peril was at an end, for the floes, after completely choking up the
entrance to the fiord to the height of at least fifty feet, were now
grinding and crushing their way onward outside, and the vessel lay in
perfect safety. But, unless there was a way out at the other end of the
fiord, they were completely sealed in by ice that, from all appearances,
as it towered up from side to side, seemed as if it would take years to
melt, while as likely as not it would go on consolidating and increasing
in bulk till time should be no more.
No one spoke, though a strange silence gathered round them, the roar of
the ice-floes upon the cliffs of this unknown land sounding hushed and
strange. Every eye was fixed upon the dazzling white wall which, with
its thousands of tons of ice, had been built in a few minutes right
across the opening by which they had entered the now fast calming fiord.
For that piled-up mass was indescribably grand as it glistened in the
sunshine, every crack and depression being of the most lovely blue, from
the palest sapphire to the deepest amethyst. It was magnificent, it was
grand; and all started at something which was terribly incongruous; for
a great flock of the northern gulls suddenly came sweeping down over the
ice into the narrow fiord, shrieking, crying, and uttering sounds which
were like mocking laughter, to break the solemnity of the scene.
Worse still, his duties having been interfered with in no way, and too
busy to take any note of the fresh peril, the cook suddenly appeared
from the galley, whose fire had been roaring away for the past two
hours, and, walking under the bridge, he looked up to the captain and
said loudly:
"Capital haunch of venison, roasted to a turn, sir. If you are at
liberty, you can have the dinner in now."
The grandeur, the solemnity, the thoughts of this fresh miraculous
escape, all passed away on the instant. The men made a movement toward
the forecastle, looking inquiringly at the mate, for they knew that
their meal would be ready too, and Steve turned to the doctor so
comically perplexed a face that the latter smiled.
"Hungry, Steve?" he said.
"I--I didn't know it before, sir," he replied; "but I suppose I am."
"Well, _il faut manger_, as the French say. Come along."
He led the way to the bridge, where the cook was still waiting, for the
captain had not spoken.
"Can you come down, Marsham?" said the doctor. "It is many hours since
we have broken our fast."
"Eh?" came back. "Yes. Ahoy, there, Johannes! that will do. Come
down, Handscombe?" said the captain thoughtfully. "Yes, we may as well
have something to eat, for we shall have plenty of time."
He pointed to the huge rampart of ice right across the inlet, and said
quietly:
"A man needs to be well educated in the ways of nature in the north to
navigate his ship. Our only hope now is--"
"Let's talk of that when we have studied nature's daily wants," said the
doctor, smiling. "We are safe, are we not?"
"Oh yes," said the captain bitterly, "we are quite safe now."