CHAPTER XXXII.

THE RETURN TO THE FORWARD.

Toward six o'clock in the morning the wind fell, and, shifting

suddenly to the north, it cleared the clouds from the sky; the

thermometer stood at -33 degrees. The first rays of the twilight

appeared on the horizon above which it would soon peer.

Hatteras approached his two dejected companions and said to them,

sadly and gently,--

"My friends, we are more than sixty miles from the point mentioned by

Sir Edward Belcher. We have only just enough food left to take us back

to the ship. To go farther would only expose us to certain death,

without our being of service to any one. We must return."

"That is a wise decision, Hatteras," answered the doctor; "I should

have followed you anywhere, but we are all growing weaker every day;

we can hardly set one foot before the other; I approve of returning."

"Is that your opinion, Bell?" asked Hatteras.

"Yes, Captain," answered the carpenter.

"Well," continued Hatteras, "we will take two days for rest. That's

not too much. The sledge needs a great many repairs. I think, too, we

ought to build a snow-house in which we can repose."

This being decided, the three men set to work energetically. Bell took

the necessary precautions to insure the solidity of the building, and

soon a satisfactory retreat arose at the bottom of the ravine where

they had last halted.

[Illustration]

It was doubtless after a hard struggle that Hatteras had decided to

discontinue his journey. So much effort and fatigue thrown away! A

useless trip, entailing the death of one of his men! To return without

a scrap of coal: what would the crew say? What might it not do under

the lead of Shandon? But Hatteras could not continue the struggle any

longer.

He gave all his attention to their preparations for returning; the

sledge was repaired; its load, too, had become much lighter, and only

weighed two hundred pounds. They mended their worn-out, torn clothes,

all soaked through and through by the snow; new moccasins and

snow-shoes replaced those which were no longer serviceable. This kept

them busy the whole of the 29th and the morning of the 30th; then they

all sought what rest they could get, and prepared for what was before

them.

During the thirty-six hours spent in or near the snow-house, the

doctor had been noticing Duke, whose singular behavior did not seem to

him to be natural; the dog kept going in circles which seemed to have

a common centre; there was a sort of elevation in the soil, produced

by accumulated layers of ice; Duke, as he ran around this place, kept

barking gently and wagging his tail impatiently, looking at his master

as if asking something.

The doctor, after reflecting a moment, ascribed this uneasiness to the

presence of Simpson's corpse, which his companions had not yet had

time to bury. Hence he resolved to proceed to this sad ceremony on

that very day; the next morning they were to start. Bell and the

doctor, picks in hand, went to the bottom of the ravine; the elevation

which Duke had noticed offered a suitable place for the grave, which

would have to be dug deep to escape the bears.

The doctor and Bell began by removing the soft snow, then they

attacked the solid ice; at the third blow of his pick the doctor

struck against some hard body; he picked up the pieces and found them

the fragments of a glass bottle. Bell brought to light a stiffened

bag, in which were a few crumbs of fresh biscuit.

"What's this?" said the doctor.

"What can it be?" asked Bell, stopping his work.

The doctor called to Hatteras, who came at once.

Duke barked violently, and with his paws tried to tear up the ice.

"Have we by any possibility come across a supply of provisions?" said

the doctor.

"It looks like it," answered Bell.

"Go on!" said Hatteras.

A few bits of food were found and a box quarter full of pemmican.

"If we have," said Hatteras, "the bears have visited it before we did.

See, these provisions have been touched already."

"It is to be feared," answered the doctor, "for--"

He did not finish his sentence; a cry from Bell interrupted him; he

had turned over a tolerably large piece of ice and showed a stiff,

frozen human leg in the ice.

"A corpse!" cried the doctor.

"It's a grave," said Hatteras.

It was the body of a sailor about thirty years old, in a perfect state

of preservation; he wore the usual dress of Arctic sailors; the doctor

could not say how long he had been dead.

After this, Bell found another corpse, that of a man of fifty,

exhibiting traces of the sufferings that had killed him.

[Illustration]

"They were never buried," cried the doctor; "these poor men were

surprised by death as we find them."

"You are right, Doctor," said Bell.

"Go on, go on!" said Hatteras.

Bell hardly dared. Who could say how many corpses lay hidden here?

"They were the victims of just such an accident as we nearly perished

by," said the doctor; "their snow-house fell in. Let us see if one may

not be breathing yet!"

The place was rapidly cleared away, and Bell brought up a third body,

that of a man of forty; he looked less like a corpse than the others;

the doctor bent over him and thought he saw some signs of life.

"He's alive!" he shouted.

Bell and he carried this body into the snow-house, while Hatteras

stood in silence, gazing at the sunken dwelling.

[Illustration]

The doctor stripped the body; it bore no signs of injury; with Bell's

aid he rubbed it vigorously with tow dipped in alcohol, and he saw

life gradually reviving within it; but the man was in a state of

complete prostration, and unable to speak; his tongue clove to his

palate as if it were frozen.

The doctor examined his patient's pockets; they were empty. No paper.

He let Bell continue rubbing, and went out to Hatteras.

He found him in the ruined snow-house, clearing away the floor; soon

he came out, bearing a half-burned piece of an envelope. A few words

could be deciphered:--

....tamont

...._orpoise_

....w York.

"Altamont!" shouted the doctor, "of the _Porpoise_! of New York!"

"An American!" said Hatteras.

"I shall save him," said the doctor; "I'll answer for it, and we shall

find out the explanation of this puzzle."

He returned to Altamont, while Hatteras remained pensive. The doctor

succeeded in recalling the unfortunate man to life, but not to

consciousness; he neither saw, heard, nor spoke, but at any rate he

was alive!

The next morning Hatteras said to the doctor,--

"We must start."

"All right, Hatteras! The sledge is not loaded; we shall carry this

poor fellow back to the ship with us.

"Very well," said Hatteras. "But first let us bury these corpses."

The two unknown sailors were placed beneath the ruins of the

snow-house; Simpson's body took the place of Altamont's.

The three travellers uttered a short prayer over their companion, and

at seven o'clock in the morning they set off again for the ship.

Two of the dogs were dead. Duke volunteered to drag the sledge, and he

worked as resolutely as a Greenland dog.

For twenty days, from January 31st to February 19th, the return was

very much like the first part of the journey. Save that it was in the

month of February, the coldest of the whole year, and the ice was

harder; the travellers suffered terribly from the cold, but not from

the wind or snow-storm.

The sun reappeared for the first time January 31st; every day it rose

higher above the horizon. Bell and the doctor were at the end of their

strength, almost blind and quite lame; the carpenter could not walk

without crutches. Altamont was alive, but continued insensible;

sometimes his life was despaired of, but unremitting care kept him

alive! And yet the doctor needed to take the greatest care of himself,

for his health was beginning to suffer.

Hatteras thought of the _Forward_! In what condition was he going to

find it? What had happened on board? Had Johnson been able to

withstand Shandon and his allies? The cold had been terrible! Had they

burned the ship? Had they spared her masts and keel?

While thinking of this, Hatteras walked on as if he had wished to get

an early view of the _Forward_.

February 24th, in the morning, he stopped suddenly. Three hundred

paces before him appeared a reddish glow, above which rose an immense

column of black smoke, which was lost in the gray clouds of the sky.

"See that smoke!" he shouted.

His heart beat as if it would burst.

"See that smoke!" he said to his companions. "My ship is on fire!"

"But we are more than three miles from it," said Bell. "It can't be

the _Forward_!"

"Yes, but it is," answered the doctor; "the mirage makes it seem

nearer."

"Let us run!" cried Hatteras.

They left the sledge in charge of Duke, and hastened after the

captain. An hour later they came in sight of the ship. A terrible

sight! The brig was burning in the midst of the ice, which was melting

about her; the flames were lapping her hull, and the southerly breeze

brought to Hatteras's ears unaccustomed sounds.

Five hundred feet from the ship stood a man raising his hands in

despair; he stood there, powerless, facing the fire which was

destroying the _Forward_.

The man was alone; it was Johnson.

Hatteras ran towards him.

"My ship! my ship!" he cried.

"You! Captain!" answered Johnson; "you! stop! not a step farther!"

"Well?" asked Hatteras with a terrible air.

"The wretches!" answered Johnson, "they've been gone forty-eight

hours, after firing the ship!"

"Curse them!" groaned Hatteras.

Then a terrible explosion was heard; the earth trembled; the icebergs

fell; a column of smoke rose to the clouds, and the _Forward_

disappeared in an abyss of fire.

[Illustration: "Then a terrible explosion was heard."]

At that moment the doctor and Bell came up to Hatteras. He roused

himself suddenly from his despair.

"My friends," he said energetically, "the cowards have taken flight!

The brave will succeed! Johnson, Bell, you are bold; Doctor, you are

wise; as for me, I have faith! There is the North Pole! Come, to

work!"

Hatteras's companions felt their hearts glow at these brave words.

And yet the situation was terrible for these four men and the dying

man, abandoned without supplies, alone at the eighty-fourth degree of

latitude, in the very heart of the polar regions.

END OF PART I.

PART II.

THE DESERT OF ICE.

THE DESERT OF ICE.

CHAPTER I.

THE DOCTOR'S INVENTORY.

The design which Captain Hatteras had formed of exploring the North,

and of giving England the honor of discovering the Pole, was certainly

a bold one. This hardy sailor had just done all that human skill could

do. After struggling for nine months against contrary winds and seas,

after destroying icebergs and ice-fields, after enduring the severity

of an unprecedentedly cold winter, after going over all that his

predecessors had done, after carrying the _Forward_ beyond the seas

which were already known, in short, after completing half his task, he

saw his grand plans completely overthrown. The treachery, or rather

the demoralization of his wearied crew, the criminal folly of some of

the ringleaders, left him in a terrible situation; of the eighteen men

who had sailed in the brig, four were left, abandoned without

supplies, without a boat, more than twenty-five hundred miles from

home!

The explosion of the _Forward_, which had just blown up before their

eyes, took from them their last means of subsistence. Still,

Hatteras's courage did not abandon him at this terrible crisis. The

men who were left were the best of the crew; they were genuine heroes.

He made an appeal to the energy and wisdom of Dr. Clawbonny, to the

devotion of Johnson and Bell, to his own faith in the enterprise; even

in these desperate straits he ventured to speak of hope; his brave

companions listened to him, and their courage in the past warranted

confidence in their promises for the future.

The doctor, after listening to the captain's words, wanted to get an

exact idea of their situation; and, leaving the others about five

hundred feet from the ship, he made his way to the scene of the

catastrophe.

Of the _Forward_, which had been built with so much care, nothing was

left; pieces of ice, shapeless fragments all blackened and charred,

twisted pieces of iron, ends of ropes still burning like fuse, and

scattered here and there on the ice-field, testified to the force of

the explosion. The cannon had been hurled to some distance, and was

lying on a piece of ice that looked like a gun-carriage. The surface

of the ice, for a circle of six hundred feet in diameter, was covered

with fragments of all sorts; the brig's keel lay under a mass of ice;

the icebergs, which had been partly melted by the fire, had already

recovered their rock-like hardness.

The doctor then began to think of his ruined cabin, of his lost

collections, of his precious instruments destroyed, his books torn,

burned to ashes. So much that was valuable gone! He gazed with tearful

eyes at this vast disaster, thinking not of the future, but of the

irreparable misfortune which dealt him so severe a blow. He was

immediately joined by Johnson; the old sailor's face bore signs of his

recent sufferings; he had been obliged to struggle against his

revolted companions, defending the ship which had been intrusted to

his care. The doctor sadly pressed the boatswain's hand.

[Illustration]

"Well, my friend, what is going to become of us?" asked the doctor.

"Who can say?" answered Johnson.

"At any rate," continued the doctor, "don't let us give way to

despair; let us be men!"

"Yes, Doctor," answered the old sailor, "you are right; it's when

matters look worst that we most need courage; we are in a bad way; we

must see how we can best get out of it."

"Poor ship!" said the doctor, sighing; "I had become attached to it; I

had got to look on it as on my own home, and there's not left a piece

that can be recognized!"

"Who would think, Doctor, that this mass of dust and ashes could be so

dear to our heart?"

"And the launch," continued the doctor, gazing around, "was it

destroyed too?"

"No, Doctor; Shandon and the others, who left, took it with them."

"And the gig?"

"Was broken into a thousand pieces. See, those sheets of tin are all

that's left of her."

"Then we have nothing but the Halkett-boat?"[1]

[Footnote 1: Made of india-rubber, and capable of being inflated at

pleasure.]

"That is all, and it is because you insisted on our taking it, that we

have that."

"It's not of much use," said the doctor.

"They were a pack of miserable, cowardly traitors who ran away!" said

Johnson. "May they be punished as they deserve!"

"Johnson," answered the doctor, mildly, "we must remember that their

suffering had worn upon them very much. Only exceptional natures

remain stanch in adversity, which completely overthrows the weak. Let

us rather pity than curse them!"

After these words the doctor remained silent for a few minutes, and

gazed around uneasily.

"What is become of the sledge?" asked Johnson.

"We left it a mile back."

"In care of Simpson?"

"No, my friend; poor Simpson sank under the toil of the trip."

"Dead!" cried the boatswain.

"Dead!" answered the doctor.

"Poor fellow!" said Johnson; "but who knows whether we may not soon be

reduced to envying his fate?"

"But we have brought back a dying man in place of the one we lost,"

answered the doctor.

"A dying man?"

"Yes, Captain Altamont."

The doctor gave the boatswain in a few words an account of their

finding him.

"An American!" said Johnson, thoughtfully.

"Yes; everything seems to point that way. But what was this _Porpoise_

which had evidently been shipwrecked, and what was he doing in these

waters?"

"He came in order to be lost," answered Johnson; "he brought his crew

to death, like all those whose foolhardiness leads them here. But,

Doctor, did the expedition accomplish what it set out for?"

"Finding the coal?"

"Yes," answered Johnson.

The doctor shook his head sadly.

"None at all?" asked the old sailor.

"None; our supplies gave out, fatigue nearly conquered us. We did not

even reach the spot mentioned by Edward Belcher."

"So," continued Johnson, "you have no fuel?"

"No."

"Nor food?"

"No."

"And no boat with which to reach England?"

They were both silent; they needed all their courage to meet this

terrible situation.

"Well," resumed the boatswain, "there can be no doubts about our

condition! We know what we have to expect! But the first thing to do,

when the weather is so cold, is to build a snow-house."

"Yes," answered the doctor, "with Bell's aid that will be easy; then

we'll go after the sledge, we'll bring the American here, and then

we'll take counsel with Hatteras."

"Poor captain!" said Johnson, forgetting his own griefs; "he must

suffer terribly."

With these words they returned to their companions. Hatteras was

standing with folded arms, as usual, gazing silently into space. His

face wore its usual expression of firmness. Of what was this

remarkable man thinking? Of his desperate condition and shattered

hopes? Was he planning to return, since both men and the elements had

combined against his attempt?

No one could have read his thoughts, which his face in no way

expressed. His faithful Duke was with him, braving a temperature of

-32 degrees.

Bell lay motionless on the ice; his insensibility might cost him his

life; he was in danger of being frozen to death. Johnson shook him

violently, rubbed him with snow, and with some difficulty aroused him

from his torpor.

"Come, Bell, take courage!" he said; "don't lose heart; get up; we

have to talk matters over, and we need a shelter. Have you forgotten

how to make a snow-house? Come, help me, Bell! There's an iceberg we

can cut into! Come, to work! That will give us what we need, courage!"

Bell, aroused by these words, obeyed the old sailor.

"Meanwhile," Johnson went on, "the doctor will be good enough to go to

the sledge and bring it back with the dogs."

"I am ready," answered the doctor; "in an hour I shall be back."

"Shall you go too, Captain?" added Johnson, turning to Hatteras.

Although he was deep in thought, the captain heard the boatswain's

question, for he answered gently,--

"No, my friend, if the doctor is willing to go alone. We must form

some plan of action, and I want to be alone to think matters over. Go.

Do what you think right for the present. I will be thinking of the

future."

Johnson turned to the doctor.

"It's singular," he said; "the captain seems to have forgotten his

anger; his voice never was so gentle before."

"Well!" answered the doctor; "he has recovered his presence of mind.

Mark my words, Johnson, that man will be able to save us!"

Thereupon the doctor wrapped himself up as well as he could, and,

staff in hand, walked away towards the sledge in the midst of a fog

which the moonlight made almost bright. Johnson and Bell set to work

immediately; the old sailor encouraged the carpenter, who wrought on

in silence; they did not need to build, but to dig into the solid ice;

to be sure it was frozen very hard, and so rendered the task

difficult, but it was thereby additionally secure; soon Johnson and

Bell could work comfortably in the orifice, throwing outside all that

they took from the solid mass.

[Illustration]

From time to time Hatteras would walk fitfully, stopping suddenly

every now and then; evidently he did not wish to reach the spot where

his brig had been. As he had promised, the doctor was soon back; he

brought with him Altamont, lying on the sledge beneath all the

coverings; the Greenland dogs, thin, tired, and half starved, could

hardly drag the sledge, and were gnawing at their harness; it was high

time that men and beasts should take some rest.

While they were digging the house, the doctor happened to stumble upon

a small stove which had not been injured by the explosion, and with a

piece of chimney that could be easily repaired: the doctor carried it

away in triumph. At the end of three hours the house was inhabitable;

the stove was set in and filled with pieces of wood; it was soon

roaring and giving out a comfortable warmth.

The American was brought in and covered up carefully; the four

Englishmen sat about the fire. The last supplies of the sledge, a

little biscuit and some hot tea, gave them some comfort. Hatteras did

not speak; every one respected his silence. When the meal was finished

the doctor made a sign for Johnson to follow him outside.

"Now," he said, "we are going to make an inventory of what is left. We

must know exactly what things we have; they are scattered all about;

we must pick them up; it may snow at any moment, and then it would be

impossible to find a scrap."

"Don't let us lose any time, then," answered Johnson; "food and wood

is what we need at once."

"Well, let us each take a side," answered the doctor, "so as to cover

the whole ground; let us begin at the centre and go out to the

circumference."

They went at once to the bed of ice where the _Forward_ had lain; each

examined with care all the fragments of the ship beneath the dim light

of the moon. It was a genuine hunt; the doctor entered into this

occupation with all the zest, not to say the pleasure, of a sportsman,

and his heart beat high when he discovered a chest almost intact; but

most were empty, and their fragments were scattered everywhere.

The violence of the explosion had been considerable; many things were

but dust and ashes; the large pieces of the engine lay here and there,

twisted out of shape; the broken flanges of the screw were hurled

twenty fathoms from the ship and buried deeply in the hardened snow;

the bent cylinders had been torn from their pivots; the chimney, torn

nearly in two, and with chains still hanging to it, lay half hid under

a large cake of ice; the bolts, bars, the iron-work of the helm, the

sheathing, all the metal-work of the ship, lay about as if it had been

fired from a gun.

[Illustration: "The large pieces of the engine lay here and there,

twisted out of shape."]

But this iron, which would have made the fortune of a tribe of

Esquimaux, was of no use under the circumstances; before anything else

food had to be found, and the doctor did not discover a great deal.

"That's bad," he said to himself; "it is evident that the store-room,

which was near the magazine, was entirely destroyed by the explosion;

what wasn't burned was shattered to dust. It's serious; and if Johnson

is not luckier than I am, I don't see what's going to become of us."

Still, as he enlarged his circles, the doctor managed to collect a few

fragments of pemmican, about fifteen pounds, and four stone bottles,

which had been thrown out upon the snow and so had escaped

destruction; they held five or six pints of brandy.

Farther on he picked up two packets of grains of cochlearia, which

would well make up for the loss of their lime-juice, which is so

useful against the scurvy.

Two hours later the doctor and Johnson met. They told one another of

their discoveries; unfortunately they had found but little to eat:

some few pieces of salt pork, fifty pounds of pemmican, three sacks of

biscuit, a little chocolate, some brandy, and about two pounds of

coffee, picked up berry by berry on the ice.

No coverings, no hammocks, no clothing, were found; evidently the fire

had destroyed all. In short, the doctor and boatswain had found

supplies for three weeks at the outside, and with the strictest

economy; that was not much for them in their state of exhaustion. So,

in consequence of these disasters, Hatteras found himself not only

without any coal, but also short of provisions.

As to the fuel supplied by the fragments of the ship, the pieces of

the masts and the keel, they might hold out about three weeks; but

then the doctor, before using it to heat their new dwelling, asked

Johnson whether out of it they might not build a new ship, or at least

a launch.

"No, Doctor," answered the boatswain, "it's impossible; there's not a

piece of wood large enough; it's good for nothing except to keep us

warm for a few days and then--"

"Then?" asked the doctor.

"God alone knows," answered the sailor.

Having made out their list, the doctor and Johnson went after the

sledge; they harnessed the tired dogs, returned to the scene of the

explosion, packed up the few precious objects they had found, and

carried them to their new house; then, half frozen, they took their

place near their companions in misfortune.

[Illustration: "They harnessed the tired dogs."]

CHAPTER II.

ALTAMONT'S FIRST WORDS.

Towards eight o'clock in the evening the snow-clouds cleared away for

a few minutes; the constellations shone brilliantly in the clear air.

Hatteras made use of this change to get the altitude of some stars; he

went out without saying a word, carrying his instruments with him. He

wished to ascertain his position and see if the ice-field had not been

drifting again. After an absence of half an hour he came back, lay

down in a corner, and remained perfectly still, although not asleep.

The next day snow began to fall heavily; the doctor could not help

being glad that he had made his examination the day before, for a

white curtain soon covered the whole expanse, and every trace of the

explosion was hidden under three feet of snow.

On that day they could not set foot outside; fortunately their

quarters were comfortable, or at least seemed so to the exhausted

travellers. The little stove worked well, except occasionally when

violent gusts drove the smoke into the room; with its heat they could

make coffee and tea, which are both so serviceable beverages when the

temperature is low.

The castaways, for they deserve the name, found themselves more

comfortable than they had been for a long time; hence they only

thought of the present, of the agreeable warmth, of the brief rest,

forgetting, or even indifferent to the future, which threatened with

speedy death.

The American suffered less, and gradually returned to life; he opened

his eyes, but he did not say anything; his lips bore traces of the

scurvy, and could not utter a sound; he could hear, and was told where

he was and how he got there. He moved his head as a sign of gratitude;

he saw that he had been saved from burial beneath the snow; the doctor

forbore telling him how very short a time his death had been delayed,

for, in a fortnight or three weeks at the most, their supply of food

would be exhausted.

Towards midday Hatteras arose and went up to the doctor, Johnson, and

Bell.

"My friends," he said to them, "we are going to take a final

resolution as to the course we must follow. In the first place, I must

ask Johnson to tell me under what circumstances this act of treachery

came to pass."

"Why should we know?" said the doctor; "the fact is certain, we need

give it no more thought."

"I am thinking of it, all the same," answered Hatteras. "But after

I've heard what Johnson has to say, I shall not think of it again."

[Illustration: Johnson's Story.]

"This is the way it happened," went on the boatswain; "I did all I

could to prevent the crime--"

"I am sure of that, Johnson, and I will add that the leaders had been

plotting it for some time."

"So I thought," said the doctor.

"And I too," continued Johnson; "for very soon after your departure,

Captain, on the very next day, Shandon, who was angry with you and was

egged on by the others, took command of the ship; I tried to resist,

but in vain. After that, every one acted as he saw fit; Shandon did

not try to control them; he wanted to let the crew see that the time

of suffering and privation had gone by. Hence there was no economy; a

huge fire was lighted in the stove; they began to burn the brig. The

men had the provisions given them freely, and the spirits too, and you

can easily imagine the abuse they made of them after their long

abstinence. Things went on in this way from the 7th to the 15th of

January."

"So," said Hatteras, in a grave voice, "it was Shandon who incited the

men to revolt?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Say nothing more about him. Go on, Johnson."

"It was towards January 24th or 25th, that the plan of leaving the

ship was formed. They determined to reach the western coast of

Baffin's Bay; from there, in the launch, they could meet whalers, or,

perhaps, the settlements on the eastern side. Their supplies were

abundant; the sick grew better with the hope of reaching home. So they

made their plans for leaving; they built a sledge for the transport of

their food, fuel, and the launch; the men were to drag it themselves.

This occupied them until February 15th. I kept anxiously awaiting your

return, Captain, and yet I feared having you present; you would have

had no influence over the crew, who would rather have killed you than

have remained on board. They were wild with the hope of escape. I took

all my companions aside and spoke to them, I besought them to stay; I

pointed out all the dangers of such a journey, as well as the

cowardliness of abandoning you. I could get nothing, even from the

best. They chose February 22d for leaving. Shandon was impatient. They

heaped upon the sledge all the food and liquor it could hold; they

took a great deal of wood; the whole larboard side had been cut away

to the water-line. The last day they passed carousing; they ravaged

and stole everything, and it was during this drunkenness that Pen and

two or three others set fire to the ship. I resisted, and struggled

against them; they threw me down and struck me; at last, these

villains, with Shandon at their head, fled to the east, and

disappeared from my sight. I remained alone; what could I do against

this fire which was seizing the whole ship? The water-hole was frozen

over; I hadn't a drop of water. For two days the _Forward_ was wrapped

in flames, and you know the rest."

Having finished this account, a long silence prevailed in this

ice-house; the gloomy tale of the burning of the ship, the loss of

their precious brig, appeared so vividly before the minds of the

castaways; they found themselves before an impossibility, and that was

a return to England. They did not dare to look at one another, for

fear of seeing on each other's faces blank despair. There was nothing

to be heard save the hasty breathing of the American.

At last Hatteras spoke.

"Johnson," said he, "I thank you; you have done all you could to save

my ship. But you could not do anything alone. Again I thank you, and

now don't let us speak again of this misfortune. Let us unite our

efforts for the common safety. There are four of us here, four

friends, and the life of one is of no more worth than the life of

another. Let each one give his opinion on what should be done."

"Ask us, Hatteras," answered the doctor; "we are all devoted to you,

our answers shall be sincere. And, in the first place, have you any

plan?"

"I can't have any alone," said Hatteras, sadly. "My opinion might seem

interested; I want to hear your opinion first."

"Captain," said Johnson, "before speaking on such weighty matters, I

have an important question to ask you."

"What is it?"

"You ascertained our position yesterday; well, has the ice-field

drifted any more, or are we in just the same place?"

"It has not stirred," answered Hatteras. "The latitude before we left

was 80 degrees 15 minutes, and longitude 97 degrees 35 minutes."

"And," said Johnson, "how far are we from the nearest sea to the

west?"

"About six hundred miles," answered Hatteras.

"And this water is--"

"Smith's Sound."

"The same which we could not cross last April?"

"The same."

"Well, Captain, now we know where we are, and we can make up our minds

accordingly."

"Speak, then," said Hatteras, letting his head sink into his hands.

In that way he could hear his friends without looking at them.

"Well, Bell," said the doctor, "what do you think is the best course

to follow?"

"It isn't necessary to reflect a long time," answered the carpenter;

"we ought to return, without wasting a day or an hour, either to the

south or the west, and reach the nearest coast, even if it took us two

months!"

"We have supplies for only three weeks," answered Hatteras, without

raising his head.

"Well," continued Johnson, "we must make that distance in three weeks,

since it's our only chance of safety; if we have to crawl on our knees

at the end, we must leave, and arrive in twenty-five days."

"This part of the northern continent is not known," answered Hatteras.

"We may meet obstacles, such as mountains and glaciers, which will

completely bar our progress."

"I don't consider that," answered the doctor, "a sufficient reason for

not attempting the journey; evidently, we shall suffer a great deal;

we ought to reduce our daily supply to the minimum, unless luck in

hunting--"

"There's only half a pound of powder left," answered Hatteras.

"Come, Hatteras," resumed the doctor, "I know the weight of all your

objections, and I don't nourish any vain hopes. But I think I can read

your thoughts; have you any practicable plan?"

"No," answered the captain, after a few moments' hesitation.

"You do not doubt our courage," continued the doctor; "we are willing

to follow you to the last, you know very well; but should we not now

abandon all hope of reaching the Pole? Mutiny has overthrown your

plans; you fought successfully against natural obstacles, but not

against the weakness and perfidy of men; you have done all that was

humanly possible, and I am sure you would have succeeded; but, in the

present condition of affairs, are you not compelled to give up your

project, and in order to take it up again, should you not try to reach

England without delay?"

"Well, Captain?" asked Johnson, when Hatteras had remained a long time

silent.

At last the captain raised his head, and said in a constrained tone,--

"Do you think you are sure of reaching the shore of the sound, tired

as you are, and almost without food?"

"No," answered the doctor; "but it's sure the shore won't come to us;

we must go to it. Perhaps we shall find to the south tribes of

Esquimaux who may aid us."

"Besides," added Johnson, "may we not find in the sound some ship that

has been forced to winter there."

"And if need be," continued the doctor, "when we've reached the sound,

may we not cross it, and reach the west coast of Greenland, and then,

either by Prudhoe's Land, or Cape York, get to some Danish settlement?

Nothing of that sort is to be found on the ice-field. The way to

England is down there to the south, and not here to the north!"

"Yes," said Bell, "Dr. Clawbonny is right; we must go, and go at once.

Hitherto we have forgotten home too much, and those who are dear to

us."

"Do you agree, Johnson?" Hatteras asked again.

"Yes, Captain."

"And you, Doctor?"

"Yes, Hatteras."

Hatteras still remained silent; in spite of all he could do, his face

expressed his agitation. His whole life depended on the decision he

should take; if he should return, it was all over with his bold plans;

he could not hope to make the attempt a fourth time.

The doctor, seeing the captain was silent, again spoke.

"I ought to add, Hatteras," he said, "that we ought not to lose an

instant; we ought to load the sledge with all our provisions, and take

as much wood as possible. A journey of six hundred miles under such

circumstances is long, I confess, but not insuperable; we can, or

rather we ought, to make twenty miles a day, which would bring us to

the coast in a month, that is to say, towards March 26th."

"But," said Hatteras, "can't we wait a few days?"

"What do you hope for?" answered Johnson.

"I don't know. Who can foretell the future? Only a few days yet! It's

hardly enough to rest your wearied bodies. We couldn't go two stages

without dropping from weariness, without any snow-house to shelter

us!"

"But a terrible death certainly awaits us here!" cried Bell.

"My friends," continued Hatteras in a tone almost of entreaty, "you

are despairing too soon! I should propose to seek safety to the north,

were it not that you would refuse to follow me. And yet are there not

Esquimaux near the Pole, as well as at Smith's Sound? That open sea,

of which the existence is uncertain, ought to surround a continent.

Nature is logical in everything it does. Well, we ought to believe

that vegetation appears when the greatest cold ceases. Is there not a

promised land awaiting us at the north, and which you want to fly from

without hope of return?"

Hatteras warmed as he spoke; his heated imagination called up

enchanting visions of these countries, whose existence was still so

problematical.

"One more day," he repeated, "a single hour!"

Dr. Clawbonny, with his adventurous character and his glowing

imagination, felt himself gradually aroused; he was about to yield;

but Johnson, wiser and colder, recalled him to reason and duty.

"Come, Bell," he said, "to the sledge!"

"Come along!" answered Bell.

The two sailors turned towards the door of the snow-house.

"O Johnson! you! you!" shouted Hatteras. "Well, go! I shall stay!"

"Captain!" said Johnson, stopping in spite of himself.

"I shall stay, I say! Go! leave me like the rest! Go!--Come, Duke, we

two shall stay!"

The brave dog joined his master, barking. Johnson looked at the

doctor. He did not know what to do; the best plan was to calm

Hatteras, and to sacrifice a day to his fancies. The doctor was about

making up his mind to this effect, when he felt some one touch his

arm.

He turned round. The American had just left the place where he had

been lying; he was crawling on the floor; at last he rose to his

knees, and from his swollen lips a few inarticulate sounds issued.

The doctor, astonished, almost frightened, gazed at him silently.

Hatteras approached the American, and examined him closely. He tried

to make out the words which the poor fellow could not pronounce. At

last, after trying for five minutes, he managed to utter this word:--

"_Porpoise_."

"The _Porpoise_?" asked the captain.

The American bowed affirmatively.

"In these seas?" asked Hatteras with beating heart.

The same sign from the sick man.

"To the north?"

"Yes."

"And you know where it lies?"

"Yes."

"Exactly?"

There was a moment's silence. The bystanders were all excited.

"Now, listen carefully," said Hatteras to the sick man; "we must know

where this ship lies. I am going to count the degrees aloud; you will

stop me by a sign."

The American bowed his head to show that he understood.

"Come," said Hatteras, "we'll begin with the longitude. One hundred

and five? No.--Hundred and six? Hundred and seven? Hundred and eight?

Far to the west?"

"Yes," said the American.

"Let us go on. Hundred and nine? Ten? Eleven? Twelve? Fourteen?

Sixteen? Eighteen? Nineteen? Twenty?"

"Yes," answered Altamont.

"Longitude one hundred and twenty?" said Hatteras. "And how many

minutes? I shall count."

Hatteras began at number one. At fifteen Altamont made a sign for him

to stop.

"All right!" said Hatteras. "Now for the latitude. You understand?

Eighty? Eighty-one? Eighty-two? Eighty-three?"

The American stopped him with a gesture.

"Well! And the minutes? Five? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty? Twenty-five?

Thirty? Thirty-five?"

Another sign from Altamont, who smiled slightly.

"So," continued Hatteras, in a deep voice, "the _Porpoise_ lies in

longitude 120 degrees 15 minutes, and 83 degrees 35 minutes latitude?"

"Yes!" said the American, as he fell fainting into the doctor's arms.

This exertion had exhausted him.

[Illustration: "'Yes!' said the American."]

"My friends," cried Hatteras, "you see that safety lies to the north,

always to the north! We shall be saved!"

But after these first words of joy, Hatteras seemed suddenly struck by

a terrible thought. His expression changed, and he felt himself stung

by the serpent of jealousy.

Some one else, an American, had got three degrees nearer the Pole! And

for what purpose?

CHAPTER III.

SEVENTEEN DAYS OF LAND JOURNEY.

This new incident, these first words which Altamont uttered, had

completely altered the situation of the castaways; but just now they

had been far from any possible aid, without a reasonable chance of

reaching Baffin's Bay, threatened with starvation on a journey too

long for their wearied bodies, and now, within four hundred miles from

their snow-house, there was a ship which offered them bounteous

supplies, and perhaps the means of continuing their bold course to the

Pole. Hatteras, the doctor, Johnson, and Bell, all began to take heart

after having been so near despair; they were nearly wild with joy.

But Altamont's account was still incomplete, and, after a few moments'

repose, the doctor resumed his talk with him; he framed his questions

in such a way that a simple sign of the head or a motion of the eyes

would suffice for an answer.

Soon he made out that the _Porpoise_ was an American bark from New

York, that it had been caught in the ice with a large supply of food

and fuel; and, although she lay on her beam-ends, she must have

withstood the ice, and it would be possible to save her cargo.

Two months before, Altamont and the crew had abandoned her, carrying

the launch upon a sledge; they wanted to get to Smith's Sound, find a

whaling-vessel, and be carried in her to America; but gradually

fatigue and disease had fallen upon them, and they fell aside on the

way. At last only the captain and two sailors were left of a crew of

thirty men, and Altamont's life was the result of what was really a

miracle.

Hatteras wanted to find out from the American what he was doing in

these high latitudes.

Altamont managed to make him understand that he had been caught in the

ice and carried by it without possibility of resisting it.

Hatteras asked him anxiously for what purpose he was sailing.

Altamont gave them to understand that he had been trying the Northwest

Passage.

Hatteras did not persist, and asked no other question of the sort.

The doctor then began to speak.

"Now," he said, "all our efforts should be directed to finding the

_Porpoise_; instead of struggling to Baffin's Bay, we may, by means of

a journey only two thirds as long, reach a ship which will offer us

all the resources necessary for wintering."

"There's nothing more to be done," said Bell.

"I should add," said the boatswain, "that we should not lose a moment;

we should calculate the length of our journey by the amount of our

supplies, instead of the other and usual way, and be off as soon as

possible."

"You are right, Johnson," said the doctor; "if we leave to-morrow,

Tuesday, February 26th, we ought to reach the _Porpoise_ March 15th,

at the risk of starving to death. What do you think of that,

Hatteras?"

"Let us make our preparations at once," said the captain, "and be off.

Perhaps we shall find the way longer than we suppose."

"Why so?" asked the doctor. "This man seemed certain of the situation

of his ship."

"But," answered Hatteras, "supposing the _Porpoise_ has been drifting

as the _Forward_ did?"

"True," said the doctor, "that's not unlikely."

Johnson and Bell had nothing to urge against the possibility of a

drift of which they had themselves been victims.

But Altamont, who was listening to the conversation, gave the doctor

to understand that he wished to speak. After an effort of about a

quarter of an hour, Clawbonny made out that the _Porpoise_ was lying

on a bed of rocks, and so could not have drifted away. This

information calmed the anxiety of the Englishmen; still it deprived

them of their hope of returning to Europe, unless Bell should be able

to build a small boat out of the timbers of the _Porpoise_. However

that might be, it was now of the utmost importance that they should

reach the wreck.

The doctor put one more question to the American, namely, whether he

had found an open sea at latitude 83 degrees.

"No," answered Altamont.

There the conversation stopped. They began at once to prepare for

departure; Bell and Johnson first began to see about the sledge, which

needed complete repairing. Since they had plenty of wood, they made

the uprights stronger, availing themselves of the experience of their

southern trip. They had learned the dangers of this mode of transport,

and since they expected to find plenty of deep snow, the runners were

made higher.

On the inside Bell made a sort of bed, covered with the canvas of the

tent, for the American; the provisions, which were unfortunately

scanty, would not materially augment the weight of the sledge, but

still they made up for that by loading it with all the wood it could

carry.

The doctor, as he packed all the provisions, made out a very careful

list of their amount; he calculated that each man could have three

quarters of a ration for a journey of three weeks. A whole ration was

set aside for the four dogs which should draw it. If Duke aided them,

he was to have a whole ration.

[Illustration]

These preparations were interrupted by the need of sleep and rest,

which they felt at seven o'clock in the evening; but before going to

bed they gathered around the stove, which was well filled with fuel,

and these poor men luxuriated in more warmth than they had enjoyed for

a long time; some pemmican, a few biscuits, and several cups of coffee

soon put them in good-humor, especially when their hopes had been so

unexpectedly lighted up. At seven in the morning they resumed work,

and finished it at three in the afternoon. It was already growing

dark. Since January 31st the sun had appeared above the horizon, but

it gave only a pale and brief light; fortunately the moon would rise

at half past six, and with this clear sky it would make their path

plain. The temperature, which had been growing lower for several days,

fell at last to -33 degrees.

The time for leaving came. Altamont received the order with joy,

although the jolting of the sledge would increase his sufferings; he

told the doctor that medicine against the scurvy would be found on

board of the _Porpoise_. He was carried to the sledge and placed there

as comfortably as possible; the dogs, including Duke, were harnessed

in; the travellers cast one last glance at the spot where the

_Forward_ had lain. A glow of rage passed over Hatteras's face, but he

controlled it at once, and the little band set out with the air very

dry at first, although soon a mist came over them.

[Illustration]

Each one took his accustomed place, Bell ahead pointing out the way,

the doctor and Johnson by the sides of the sledge, watching and

lending their aid when it was necessary, and Hatteras behind,

correcting the line of march.

They went along tolerably quickly; now that the temperature was so

low, the ice was hard and smooth for travel; the five dogs easily drew

the sledge, which weighed hardly more than nine hundred pounds. Still,

men and beasts panted heavily, and often they had to stop to take

breath.

Towards seven o'clock in the evening, the moon peered through mist on

the horizon. Its rays threw out a light which was reflected from the

ice; towards the northwest the ice-field looked like a perfectly

smooth plain; not a hummock was to be seen. This part of the sea

seemed to have frozen smooth like a lake.

It was an immense, monotonous desert.

Such was the impression that this spectacle made on the doctor's mind,

and he spoke of it to his companion.

"You are right, Doctor," answered Johnson; "it is a desert, but we

need not fear dying of thirst."

"A decided advantage," continued the doctor; "still, this immensity

proves one thing to me, and that is that we are far distant from any

land; in general, the proximity of land is indicated by a number of

icebergs, and not one is to be seen near us."

"We can't see very far for the fog," said Johnson.

"Without doubt; but since we started we have crossed a smooth field of

which we cannot see the end."

"Do you know, Doctor, it's a dangerous walk we are taking! We get used

to it and don't think of it, but we are walking over fathomless

depths."

"You are right, my friend, but we need not fear being swallowed; with

such cold as this the ice is very strong. Besides, it has a constant

tendency to get thicker, for snow falls nine days out of ten, even in

April, May, and June, and I fancy it must be something like thirty or

forty feet thick."

"That is a comfort," said Johnson.

"In fact, we are very much better off than those who skate on the

Serpentine, and who are in constant dread of falling through; we have

no such fear."

"Has the resistance of ice been calculated?" asked the old sailor, who

was always seeking information from the doctor.

"Yes," the latter answered: "everything almost that can be measured is

now known, except human ambition! and is it not that which is carrying

us towards the North Pole? But to return to your question, my answer

is this. Ice two inches thick will bear a man; three and a half inches

thick, a horse and rider; five inches thick, an eight-pound cannon;

eight inches, a fully harnessed artillery-piece; and ten inches, an

army, any number of men! Where we are now, the Liverpool Custom House

or the Halls of Parliament in London could be built."

"One can hardly imagine such strength," said Johnson; "but just now,

Doctor, you spoke of snow falling nine days out of ten; that is true,

but where does all the snow come from? The sea is all frozen, and I

don't see how the vapor can rise to form the clouds."

"A very keen observation, Johnson; but, in my opinion, the greatest

part of the snow or rain which we receive in the polar regions is

formed from the water of the seas in the temperate zones. One flake

arose into the air under the form of vapor from some river in Europe,

it helped make a cloud, and finally came here to be condensed; it is

not impossible that we who drink it may be quenching our thirst at the

rivers of our own country."

"That is true," answered Johnson.

At that moment Hatteras's voice was heard directing their steps and

interrupting their conversation. The fog was growing thicker, and

making a straight line hard to follow.

Finally the little band halted at about eight o'clock in the evening,

after walking nearly fifteen miles; the weather was dry; the tent was

raised, the fire lighted, supper cooked, and all rested peacefully.

Hatteras and his companions were really favored by the weather. The

following days brought no new difficulties, although the cold became

extremely severe and the mercury remained frozen in the thermometer.

If the wind had risen, no one could have withstood the temperature.

The doctor was able to corroborate Parry's observations, which he made

during his journey to Melville Island; he said that a man comfortably

dressed could walk safely in the open air exposed to great cold, if

the air were only calm; but as soon as the slightest wind arose, a

sharp pain was felt in the face, and an extreme headache which is soon

followed by death. The doctor was very anxious, for a slight wind

would have frozen the marrow in their bones.

March 5th he observed a phenomenon peculiar to these latitudes: the

sky was clear and thick with stars, and thick snow began to fall

without any cloud being visible; the constellations shone through the

flakes which fell regularly on the ice-field. This went on for about

two hours, and stopped before the doctor had found a satisfactory

explanation of its fall.

The last quarter of the moon had then disappeared; total darkness

reigned for seventeen hours out of the twenty-four; the travellers had

to tie themselves together by a long cord, to avoid being separated;

it was almost impossible for them to go in a straight line.

Still, these bold men, although animated by an iron will, began to

grow weary; their halts were more frequent, and yet they ought not to

lose an hour, for their supplies were rapidly diminishing. Hatteras

would often ascertain their position by observation of the moon and

stars. As he saw the days pass by and the destination appear as remote

as before, he would ask himself sometimes if the _Porpoise_ really

existed, whether the American's brain might not have been deranged by

his sufferings, or whether, through hate of the English, and seeing

himself without resources, he did not wish to drag them with him to

certain death.

He expressed his fears to the doctor, who discouraged them greatly,

but he readily understood the lamentable rivalry which existed between

the American and English captains.

"They are two men whom it will be hard to make agree," he said to

himself.

March 14th, after journeying for sixteen days, they had only reached

latitude 82 degrees; their strength was exhausted, and they were still

a hundred miles from the ship; to add to their sufferings, they had to

bring the men down to a quarter-ration, in order to give the dogs

their full supply.

They could not depend on their shooting for food, for they had left

only seven charges of powder and six balls; they had in vain fired at

some white hares and foxes, which besides were very rare. None had

been hit.

Nevertheless, on the 18th, the doctor was fortunate enough to find a

seal lying on the ice; he wounded him with several balls; the animal,

not being able to escape through his hole in the ice, was soon slain.

He was of very good size. Johnson cut him up skilfully, but he was so

very thin that he was of but little use to the men, who could not make

up their minds to drink his oil, like the Esquimaux. Still the doctor

boldly tried to drink the slimy fluid, but he could not do it. He

preserved the skin of the animal, for no special reason, by a sort of

hunter's instinct, and placed it on the sledge.

[Illustration: "The doctor was fortunate enough to find a seal."]

The next day, the 16th, they saw a few icebergs on the horizon. Was it

a sign of a neighboring shore, or simply a disturbance of the ice? It

was hard to say.

When they had reached one of these hummocks, they dug in it with a

snow-knife a more comfortable retreat than that afforded by the tent,

and after three hours of exertion they were able to rest about their

glowing stove.

CHAPTER IV.

THE LAST CHARGE OF POWDER.

Johnson had admitted the tired dogs into the snow-house; when the snow

is falling heavily it serves as a covering to the animals, preserving

their natural heat. But in the open air, with a temperature of -40

degrees, they would soon have frozen to death.

Johnson, who made an excellent dog-driver, tried feeding the dogs with

the dark flesh of the seals which the travellers could not swallow,

and to his great surprise they made a rich feast out of it; the old

sailor in his delight told the doctor. He, however, was not in the

least surprised; he knew that in the north of America the horses make

fish their main article of food, and what a herbivorous horse could

content himself with would certainly satisfy an omnivorous dog.

Before going to rest, although sleep became an imperious necessity for

men who had walked fifteen miles on the ice, the doctor wished to have

a few serious words with his companions about the dangers of their

situation.

"We are only at latitude 82 degrees," he said, "and our supplies are

already running short."

"A reason for losing no time," answered Hatteras; "we must push on;

the strong can draw the feeble."

"Shall we find a ship when we get there?" asked Bell, who was much

depressed by the fatigue of the journey.

"Why doubt it?" said Johnson; "the American's safety depends on ours."

To make sure, the doctor was anxious to question Altamont again. He

could speak easily, although his voice was weak; he confirmed all the

statements he had already made; he repeated that the ship was aground

on some granite rocks, where it could not stir, and that it lay in

longitude 120 degrees 15 minutes, and latitude 83 degrees 35 minutes.

"We can't doubt this statement," resumed the doctor; "the difficulty

is not whether the _Porpoise_ is there, but the way of getting to

her."

"How much food have we left?" asked Hatteras.

"Enough for three days at the outside," answered the doctor.

"Well, we must get to her in three days," said the captain, firmly.

"We must indeed," continued the doctor, "and if we succeed we shall

have no need to complain, for we shall have been favored by faultless

weather; the snow has given us a fortnight's respite, and the sledge

has glided easily on the hardened ice! Ah, if it only carried two

hundred pounds of food! Our dogs could have managed it easily enough.

But still we can't help it!"

"With luck and skill," said Johnson, "we might put to some use the few

charges of powder which are left us. If we should kill a bear we

should be supplied for all the rest of the journey."

"Without doubt," answered the doctor, "but these animals are rare and

shy; and then, when one thinks of the importance of a shot, his hand

will shake and his aim be lost."

"But you are a good shot," answered Bell.

"Yes, when four men's dinners do not depend on my hitting; still, I

will do my best if I get a chance. Meanwhile let us try to satisfy

ourselves with this thin soup of scraps of pemmican, then go to sleep,

and to-morrow early we'll start forth again."

A few moments later excessive fatigue outweighed every other feeling,

and they all sank into a heavy sleep. Early on Saturday Johnson awoke

his companions; the dogs were harnessed to the sledge, and they took

up again their journey northward.

The heavens were magnificent, the air was very clear, the temperature

very low; when the sun appeared above the horizon it appeared like an

elongated ellipse; its horizontal diameter appeared, in consequence of

refraction, to be double its vertical diameter. It sent forth its

clear, cold rays over the vast icy plain. This return to light, if not

to heat, rejoiced them all.

[Illustration]

The doctor, gun in hand, walked off for a mile or two, braving the

cold and solitude; before going he measured the supply carefully; only

four charges of powder were left, and three balls; that was a small

supply when one remembers that a strong animal like the polar bear

often falls only after receiving ten or twelve shots. Hence the doctor

did not go in search of so fierce game; a few hares or two or three

foxes would have satisfied him and given him plenty of provisions. But

during that day, if he saw one, or could not approach one, or if he

were deceived by refraction, he would lose his shot; and this day, as

it was, cost him a charge of powder and a ball. His companions, who

trembled with hope at the report of his gun, saw him returning with

downcast looks; they did not say anything; that evening they went to

sleep as usual, after putting aside two quarter-rations reserved for

the two following days. The next day their journey seemed more

laborious; they hardly walked, they rather dragged along; the dogs had

eaten even the entrails of the seal, and they were beginning to gnaw

their harness.

A few foxes passed at some distance from the sledge, and the doctor,

having missed another shot as he chased them, did not dare to risk his

last ball and his last charge save one of powder.

That evening they halted early, unable to set one foot before the

other, and, although their way was lighted by a brilliant aurora, they

could not go on. This last meal, eaten Sunday evening under their icy

tent, was very melancholy. If Heaven did not come to their aid, they

were lost. Hatteras did not speak, Bell did not even think, Johnson

reflected in silence, but the doctor did not yet despair.

Johnson thought of setting some traps that night; but since he had no

bait, he had very little hope of success, and in the morning he found,

as he expected, that, although a great many foxes had left their marks

around, yet not one had been caught. He was returning much

disappointed, when he saw an enormous bear sniffing the air at about

thirty yards from the sledge. The old sailor thought Providence had

sent this animal to him to be slain; without awakening his companions

he seized the doctor's gun and made his way towards the bear.

Having got quite near he took aim, but just as he was about to pull

the trigger he felt his arm trembling; his large fur gloves were in

his way; he took them off quickly, and seized his gun with a firmer

hand. Suddenly, a cry of pain escaped him; the skin of his fingers,

burned by the cold of the gun-barrel, remained clinging to it, while

the gun fell to the ground, and went off from the shock, sending the

last ball off into space. At the sound of the report the doctor ran;

he understood everything at a glance; he saw the animal trot quickly

away; Johnson was in despair, and thought no more of the pain.

[Illustration]

"I'm as tender as a baby," he cried, "not to be able to endure that

pain! And an old man like me!"

"Come back, Johnson," the doctor said to him, "you'll get frozen; see,

your hands are white already; come back, come!"

"I don't deserve your attentions, Doctor," answered the boatswain;

"leave me!"

"Come along, you obstinate fellow! Come along! It will soon be too

late!"

And the doctor, dragging the old sailor under the tent, made him

plunge his hands into a bowl of water, which the heat of the stove had

kept liquid, although it was not much above the freezing-point; but

Johnson's hands had no sooner touched it than it froze at once.

"You see," said the doctor, "it was time to come back, otherwise I

should have had to amputate your hands."

Thanks to his cares, all danger was gone in an hour; but it was no

easy task, and constant friction was necessary to recall the

circulation into the old sailor's fingers. The doctor urged him to

keep his hands away from the stove, the heat of which might produce

serious results.

That morning they had to go without breakfast; of the pemmican and the

salt meat nothing was left. There was not a crumb of biscuit, and only

half a pound of coffee. They had to content themselves with drinking

this hot, and then they set out.

"There's nothing more!" said Bell to Johnson, in a despairing accent.

"Let us trust in God," said the old sailor; "he is able to preserve

us!"

"This Captain Hatteras!" continued Bell; "he was able to return from

his first expeditions, but he'll never get back from this one, and we

shall never see home again!"

"Courage, Bell! I confess that the captain is almost foolhardy, but

there is with him a very ingenious man."

"Dr. Clawbonny?" said Bell.

"Yes," answered Johnson.

"What can he do in such circumstances?" retorted Bell, shrugging his

shoulders. "Can he change these pieces of ice into pieces of meat? Is

he a god, who can work by miracles?"

"Who can say?" the boatswain answered his companion's doubts; "I trust

in him."

Bell shook his head, and fell into a silent apathy, in which he even

ceased to think.

That day they made hardly three miles; at evening they had nothing to

eat; the dogs threatened to devour one another; the men suffered

extremely from hunger. Not a single animal was to be seen. If there

had been one, of what use would it have been? They could not go

hunting with a knife. Only Johnson thought he recognized a mile to

leeward the large bear, who was following the ill-fated little party.

"It is spying us!" he said to himself; "it sees a certain prey in us!"

But Johnson said no word to his companions; that evening they made

their accustomed halt, and their supper consisted only of coffee. They

felt their eyes growing haggard, their brain growing confused, and,

tortured by hunger, they could not get an hour's sleep; strange and

painful dreams took possession of their minds.

At a latitude in which the body imperiously demands refreshment, these

poor men had not eaten solid food for thirty-six hours, when Tuesday

morning came. Nevertheless, inspired by superhuman energy, they

resumed their journey, pushing on the sledge which the dogs were

unable to draw. At the end of two hours they fell, exhausted. Hatteras

wanted to push on. He, still strong, besought his companions to rise,

but they were absolutely unable. Then, with Johnson's assistance, he

built a resting-place in an iceberg. It seemed as if they were digging

their own graves.

[Illustration: "At the end of two hours they fell, exhausted."]

"I am willing to die of hunger," said Hatteras, "but not of cold."

After much weariness the house was ready, and they all entered it.

[Illustration]

So that day passed. In that evening, while his companions lay inert,

Johnson had a sort of hallucination; he dreamed of an immense bear.

That word, which he kept repeating, attracted the doctor's attention,

so that he shook himself free from his stupor, and asked the old

sailor why he kept talking about a bear, and what bear he meant.

"The bear which is following us," answered Johnson.

"The bear which is following us?" repeated the doctor.

"Yes, the last two days."

"The last two days! Have you seen him?"

"Yes, he's a mile to leeward."

"And you didn't tell us, Johnson?"

"What was the use?"

"True," said the doctor; "we have no ball to fire at him."

"Not a slug, a bit of iron, nor a bolt!" said the old sailor.

The doctor was silent, and began to think intently. Soon he said to

the boatswain,--

"You are sure the bear is following us?"

"Yes, Doctor, he's lying in wait to eat us. He knows we can't escape

him!"

"Johnson!" said the doctor, touched by the despairing accent of his

companion.

"His food is sure," continued the poor man, who was beginning to be

delirious; "he must be half famished, and I don't see why we need keep

him waiting any longer!"

"Be quiet, Johnson!"

"No, Doctor; if we've got to come to it, why should we prolong the

animal's sufferings? He's hungry as we are; he has no seal to eat!

Heaven sends him us men; well, so much the better for him!"

Thereupon Johnson went out of his mind; he wanted to leave the

snow-house. The doctor had hard work to prevent him, and he only

succeeded by saying, as if he meant it,--

"To-morrow I shall kill that bear!"

"To-morrow!" said Johnson, as if he had awakened from a bad dream.

"Yes, to-morrow."

"You have no ball!"

"I shall make one."

"You have no lead!"

"No, but I have some quicksilver."

Thereupon the doctor took the thermometer; it marked +50 degrees. He

went outside, placed the instrument on the ice, and soon returned. The

outside temperature was -50 degrees. Then he said to the old sailor,--

"Now go to sleep, and wait till to-morrow."

That night they endured the horrors of hunger; only the doctor and the

boatswain were able to temper them with a little hope. The next

morning, at dawn, the doctor rushed out, followed by Johnson, and ran

to the thermometer; all the mercury had sunk into the bulb, in the

form of a compact cylinder. The doctor broke the instrument, and

seized in his gloved fingers a piece of very hard metal. It was a real

bullet.

"Ah, Doctor," shouted the old sailor, "that's a real miracle! You are

a wonderful man!"

"No, my friend," answered the doctor, "I am only a man with a good

memory, who has read a good deal."

"Why, what do you mean?"

"I happened to remember something Captain Ross related in the account

of his voyage: he said he shot through an inch plank with a bullet of

frozen mercury; if I had any oil it would amount to nearly the same

thing, for he speaks of a ball of sweet almond, which was fired

against a post and fell back to the ground unbroken."

"That is hardly credible!"

"But it is true, Johnson; this piece of metal may save our lives; let

us leave it here in the air before we take it, and go and see whether

the bear is still following us."

At that moment Hatteras came out of the hut; the doctor showed him the

bullet, and told him what he thought of doing; the captain pressed his

hand, and the three went off to inspect. The air was very clear.

Hatteras, who was ahead of his companions, discovered the bear about a

half-mile off. The animal, seated on his hind quarters, was busily

moving his head about, sniffing towards these new arrivals.

"There he is!" shouted the captain.

"Silence!" said the doctor.

But the huge beast did not stir when he saw the hunters. He gazed at

them without fear or anger. Still, it would be found hard to approach

him.

[Illustration]

"My friends," said Hatteras, "we have not come out for sport, but to

save our lives. Let us act cautiously."

"Yes," answered the doctor; "we can only have one shot, and we must

not miss; if he were to run away, he would be lost, for he can run

faster than a hare."

"Well, we must go straight for him," said Johnson; "it is dangerous,

but what does it matter? I am willing to risk my life."

"No, let me go!" cried the doctor.

"No, I shall go," answered Hatteras, quietly.

"But," said Johnson, "are not you of more use to the others than I

should be?"

"No, Johnson," answered the captain, "let me go; I shall run no

needless risk; perhaps, too, I shall call on you to help me."

"Hatteras," asked the doctor, "are you going to walk straight towards

the bear?"

"If I were sure of hitting him, I would do so, even at the risk of

having my head torn open, but he would flee at my approach. He is very

crafty; we must try to be even craftier."

"What do you intend to do?"

"To get within ten feet of him without his suspecting it."

"How are you going to do it?"

"By a simple but dangerous method. You kept, did you not, the skin of

the seal you shot?"

"Yes, it is on the sledge."

"Well, let us go back to the snow-house, while Johnson stays here on

watch."

The boatswain crept behind a hummock which hid him entirely from the

sight of the bear, who stayed in the same place, continually sniffing

the air.

CHAPTER V.

THE SEAL AND THE BEAR.

Hatteras and the doctor went back to the house.

"You know," said the captain, "that the polar bears chase seals, which

are their principal food. They watch for days at their

breathing-holes, and seize them the moment they come upon the ice. So

a bear will not be afraid of a seal; far from it."

"I understand your plan," said the doctor, "but it's dangerous."

"But there is a chance of success," answered the captain, "and we must

try it. I am going to put on the sealskin and crawl over the ice. Let

us lose no time. Load the gun and give it to me."

The doctor had nothing to say; he would himself have done what his

companion was about to try; he left the house, carrying two axes, one

for Johnson, the other for himself; then, accompanied by Hatteras, he

went to the sledge.

There Hatteras put on the sealskin, which very nearly covered him.

Meanwhile, Hatteras loaded the gun with the last charge of powder, and

dropped in it the quicksilver bullet, which was as hard as steel and

as heavy as lead. Then he handed Hatteras the gun, which he hid

beneath the sealskin. Then he said to the doctor,--

"You go and join Johnson; I shall wait a few moments to puzzle the

enemy."

"Courage, Hatteras!" said the doctor.

"Don't be uneasy, and above all don't show yourselves before you hear

my gun."

The doctor soon reached the hummock which concealed Johnson.

"Well?" the latter asked.

"Well, we must wait. Hatteras is doing all this to save us."

The doctor was agitated; he looked at the bear, which had grown

excited, as if he had become conscious of the danger which threatened

him. A quarter of an hour later the seal was crawling over the ice; he

made a circuit of a quarter of a mile to baffle the bear; then he

found himself within three hundred feet of him. The bear then saw him,

and settled down as if he were trying to hide. Hatteras imitated

skilfully the movements of a seal, and if he had not known, the doctor

would certainly have taken him for one.

"That's true!" whispered Johnson.

The seal, as he approached the bear, did not appear to see him; he

seemed to be seeking some hole through which to reach the water. The

bear advanced towards him over the ice with the utmost caution; his

eager eyes betrayed his excitement; for one or perhaps two months he

had been fasting, and fortune was now throwing a sure prey before him.

The seal had come within ten feet of his enemy; the bear hastened

towards him, made a long leap, and stood stupefied three paces from

Hatteras, who, casting aside the sealskin, with one knee resting on

the ground, was aiming at the bear's heart.

The report was sounded, and the bear rolled over on the ice.

"Forward!" shouted the doctor. And, followed by Johnson, he hastened

to the scene of combat. The huge beast rose, and beat the air with one

paw while with the other he tore up a handful of snow to stanch the

wound. Hatteras did not stir, but waited, knife in hand. But his aim

had been accurate, and his bullet had hit its mark; before the arrival

of his friends he had plunged his knife into the beast's throat, and

it fell, never to rise.

[Illustration: "He plunged his knife into the beast's throat."]

"Victory!" shouted Johnson.

"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!" cried the doctor.

Hatteras, with folded arms, was gazing calmly at the corpse of his

foe.

"It's now my turn," said Johnson; "it's very well to have killed it,

but there is no need of waiting till it's frozen as hard as a stone,

when teeth and knife will be useless for attacking it."

Johnson began by skinning the bear, which was nearly as large as an

ox; it was nine feet long and six feet in circumference; two huge

tusks, three inches long, issued from his mouth. On opening him,

nothing was found in his stomach but water; the bear had evidently

eaten nothing for a long time; nevertheless, he was very fat, and he

weighed more than fifteen hundred pounds; he was divided into four

quarters, each one of which gave two hundred pounds of meat, and the

hunters carried this flesh back to the snow-house, without forgetting

the animal's heart, which went on beating for three hours.

The others wanted to eat the meat raw, but the doctor bade them wait

until it should be roasted. On entering the house he was struck by the

great cold within it; he went up to the stove and found the fire out;

the occupations as well as the excitement of the morning had made

Johnson forget his customary duty. The doctor tried to rekindle the

fire, but there was not even a spark lingering amid the cold ashes.

"Well, we must have patience!" he said to himself. He then went to the

sledge to get some tinder, and asked Johnson for his steel, telling

him that the fire had gone out. Johnson answered that it was his

fault, and he put his hand in his pocket, where he usually kept it; he

was surprised not to find it there. He felt in his other pockets with

the same success; he went into the snow-house and examined carefully

the covering under which he had slept in the previous night, but he

could not find it.

"Well?" shouted the doctor.

Johnson came back, and stared at his companions.

"And haven't you got the steel, Dr. Clawbonny?" he asked.

"No, Johnson."

"Nor you, Captain?"

"No," answered Hatteras.

"You have always carried it," said the doctor.

"Well, I haven't got it now--" murmured the old sailor, growing pale.

"Not got it!" shouted the doctor, who could not help trembling. There

was no other steel, and the loss of this might bring with it terrible

consequences.

"Hunt again!" said the doctor.

Johnson ran to the piece of ice behind which he had watched the bear,

then to the place of combat, where he had cut him up; but he could not

find anything. He returned in despair. Hatteras looked at him without

a word of reproach.

"This is serious," he said to the doctor.

"Yes," the latter answered.

"We have not even an instrument, a glass from which we might take the

lens to get fire by means of it!"

"I know it," answered the doctor; "and that is a great pity, because

the rays of the sun are strong enough to kindle tinder."

"Well," answered Hatteras, "we must satisfy our hunger with this raw

meat; then we shall resume our march and we shall try to reach the

ship."

"Yes," said the doctor, buried in reflection; "yes, we could do that

if we had to. Why not? We might try--"

"What are you thinking of?" asked Hatteras.

"An idea which has just occurred to me--"

"An idea," said Johnson; "one of your ideas! Then we are saved!"

"It's a question," answered the doctor, "whether it will succeed."

"What is your plan?" said Hatteras.

"We have no lens; well, we will make one."

"How?" asked Johnson.

"With a piece of ice which we shall cut out."

"Why, do you think--"

"Why not? We want to make the sun's rays converge to a common focus,

and ice will do as much good as crystal."

"Is it possible?" asked Johnson.

"Yes, only I should prefer fresh to salt water; it is more

transparent, and harder."

"But, if I am not mistaken," said Johnson, pointing to a hummock a

hundred paces distant, "that dark green block shows--"

"You are right; come, my friends; bring your hatchet, Johnson."

The three men went towards the block which, as they supposed, was

formed of fresh water.

The doctor had a piece, a foot in diameter, cut through, and he began

to smooth it with the hatchet; then he equalized the surface still

further with his knife; then he polished it with his hand, and he

obtained soon a lens as transparent as if it had been made of the most

magnificent crystal. Then he returned to the snow-house, where he took

a piece of tinder and began his experiment. The sun was shining

brightly; the doctor held the lens so that the rays should be focused

on the tinder, which took fire in a few seconds.

[Illustration]

"Hurrah! hurrah!" cried Johnson, who could hardly trust his eyes. "O

Doctor, Doctor!"

The old sailor could not restrain his joy; he was coming and going

like a madman. The doctor had returned to the house; a few minutes

later the stove was roaring, and soon a delicious odor of cooking

aroused Bell from his torpor. It may be easily imagined how the feast

was enjoyed; still the doctor advised his friends to partake in

moderation; he set an example, and while eating he again began to

talk.

"To-day is a lucky day," he said; "we have food enough for our

journey. But we mustn't fall asleep in the delights of Capua, and we'd

better start out again."

"We can't be more than forty-eight hours from the _Porpoise_," said

Altamont, who could now begin to speak once more.

"I hope," said the doctor, smiling, "that we shall find material for a

fire there."

"Yes," said the American.

"For, if my ice lens is good," continued the doctor, "there would

still be something desired on cloudy days, and there are many of them

less than four degrees from the Pole."

"True!" said Altamont with a sigh, "less than four degrees! My ship

has gone nearer than any yet has been!"

"Forward!" said Hatteras, quickly.

"Forward!" repeated the doctor, gazing uneasily at the two captains.

The strength of the travellers soon returned; the dogs had eaten

freely of the bear's flesh, and they continued their journey

northward. During their walk the doctor tried to draw from Altamont

the object of his expedition, but the American gave only evasive

answers.

"There are two men to be watched," he whispered to the boatswain.

"Yes," answered Johnson.

"Hatteras never says a word to the American, and the American seems to

show very little gratitude. Fortunately I am here."

"Dr. Clawbonny," answered Johnson, "since this Yankee has returned to

life, I don't like his face much."

"Either I'm mistaken," answered the doctor, "or he suspects Hatteras's

plans."

"Do you think that the stranger has the same plans?"

"Who can tell? The Americans are bold; an American may well try what

an Englishman tries!"

"You think that Altamont--"

"I don't think anything about it," answered the doctor; "but the

situation of this ship on the way to the Pole gives one material for

thought."

"But Altamont said he had drifted there."

"He said so! Yes, but he was smiling in a very strange way."

"The devil, Dr. Clawbonny; it would be unfortunate if there should be

any rivalry between two such men."

"Heaven grant that I may be mistaken, Johnson, for this misfortune

might produce serious complications, if not some catastrophe."

"I hope Altamont will not forget that we saved his life."

"But isn't he going to save us? I confess that without us he would not

be alive; but what would become of us without him, without his ship,

without its resources?"

"Well, Doctor, you are here, and I hope with your aid all will go

well."

"I hope so, Johnson."

The voyage went on without incident; there was no lack of bear's

flesh, and they made copious meals of it; there was a certain

good-humor in the little band, thanks to the jests of the doctor and

his pleasant philosophy; this worthy man always had some scrap of

information to give to his companions. His health continued good; he

had not grown very thin, in spite of his fatigues and privations; his

friends at Liverpool would have recognized him without difficulty;

especially would they have recognized his unaltered good-humor.

[Illustration]

During the morning of Saturday the appearance of the plain of ice

changed materially; the perturbed fragments, the frequent packs, the

hummocks, showed that the ice-field was enduring some severe pressure;

evidently some unknown continent, some new island, might have caused

this by narrowing the passes. Blocks of fresh water, more frequent and

larger, indicated the coast to be near. Hence, there was near them a

new land, and the doctor yearned with a desire to add to the charts of

the northern regions. Great is the pleasure of ascertaining the line

of these unknown coasts, and of tracing it with a pencil; that was the

doctor's aim, while that of Hatteras was merely to place his foot upon

the Pole, and he took pleasure in advance in thinking of the names he

was going to give to the seas, straits, bays, and slightest

promontories in these new continents; certainly he would not forget

the names of his companions, his friends, nor her Gracious Majesty,

nor the royal family; and he foresaw a certain "Cape Clawbonny" with

great satisfaction.

These thoughts kept him busy all day; that evening they encamped as

usual, and each one took his turn at watching near these unknown

lands. The next day, Sunday, after a heavy breakfast of bear's paws,

which were very good, the travellers pushed on to the north, inclining

a little to the west; the road grew difficult, but yet they advanced

rapidly. Altamont, from the top of the sledge, scanned the horizon

with feverish attention; his companions were the victims of

involuntary uneasiness. The last solar observations gave them latitude

83 degrees 35 minutes, and longitude 120 degrees 15 minutes; that was

the place where the American ship was said to be lying; the question

of life and death was to be solved that day. At last, at about half

past two in the afternoon, Altamont stood straight, stopped the little

band by a loud cry, and, pointing with his hand to a white mass, which

all the rest had taken for an iceberg, he cried with a loud voice,--

"The _Porpoise_!"

CHAPTER VI.

THE PORPOISE.

March 24th was Palm Sunday,--that day when the streets of the towns

and villages of Europe are filled with flowers and leaves; bells are

ringing, and the air is filled with rich perfumes. But here, in this

desolate country, what sadness and silence! The wind was keen and

bitter; not a leaf of foliage was to be seen! But still, this Sunday

was a day of rejoicing for our travellers, for at last they were about

to find supplies which would save them from certain death. They

hastened their steps; the dogs drew the sledge briskly, Duke barked

joyously, and they all soon reached the American ship. The _Porpoise_

was wholly buried beneath the snow; there was no sign of mast, yard,

or rigging; all had been lost at the time of the shipwreck; the ship

lay on a bed of rocks now completely hidden. The _Porpoise_ was

careened to one side by the violence of the shock, her bottom was torn

open, so that the ship seemed uninhabitable. This was soon seen by the

captain, the doctor, and Johnson, after they had entered the vessel;

they had to cut away fifteen feet of ice to get to the hatchway; but

to their great joy they saw that the animals, many traces of which

were to be seen, had spared the supplies.

"If we have here," said Johnson, "plenty of food and fuel, this hull

does not seem inhabitable."

"Well, we must build a snow-house," answered Hatteras, "and make

ourselves as comfortable as possible on the mainland."

"Without doubt," continued the doctor; "but don't let us hurry; let us

do things carefully; if need be we can fit out some quarters in the

ship; meanwhile we can build a strong house, capable of protecting us

against the cold and wild beasts. I am willing to be the architect,

and you'll see what I can do."

"I don't doubt your skill, Doctor," answered Johnson; "we'll make

ourselves as comfortable as possible here, and we'll make an inventory

of all that the ship contains; unfortunately, I don't see any launch,

or boat, and these ruins are in too bad a state to permit of our

making a small boat."

"Who can say?" answered the doctor. "With time and thought a great

deal can be done; now we have not to trouble ourselves about

navigation, but about a house to live in; I propose not to form any

other plans, and to let everything have its turn."

"That is wise," answered Hatteras; "let us begin with the beginning."

The three companions left the ship, returned to the sledge, and

announced their determination to Bell and the American; Bell said he

was ready to work; the American shook his head, on learning that

nothing could be done with his ship; but since all discussion would

have been idle, they determined at first to take refuge in the

_Porpoise_, and to build a large building on the shore.

At four o'clock in the afternoon the five travellers were installed as

comfortably as possible between decks; by means of spars and fragments

of masts, Bell had made a nearly level floor; there they placed

coverings stiffened by the frost, which the heat of the stove soon

brought back to their natural state; Altamont, leaning on the doctor,

was able to make his way to the corner which had been set aside for

him; on setting foot on his ship, he had sighed with a feeling of

relief, which did not encourage the boatswain.

"He feels at home," the old sailor thought, "and one would say that he

had invited us here."

The rest of the day was devoted to repose; the weather threatened to

change under the influence of the westerly winds; the thermometer

outside stood at -26 degrees. In fact, the _Porpoise_ lay beyond the

pole of cold, at a latitude relatively less severe, though farther to

the north. On that day they finished the bear, with some biscuits they

found on the ship, and a few cups of tea; then fatigue overcame them,

and each one sank into a sound sleep.

The next morning they all awoke rather late; they soon recalled the

difference in their situation; they were no longer perplexed with

uncertainty about the morrow; they only thought of establishing

themselves comfortably. These castaways looked at themselves as

colonists who had reached their destination, and, forgetting the

sufferings of their long march, they had no other thought than that of

securing a comfortable future.

[Illustration: "These castaways looked at themselves as colonists who

had reached their destination."]

"Well," said the doctor, stretching his arms, "it's something not to

have to wonder where one will sleep to-night and what one will have to

eat to-morrow."

"Let us first make an inventory of the ship," answered Johnson.

The _Porpoise_ had been carefully equipped for a long voyage.

The inventory, when complete, indicated the following supplies:--

6,150 lbs. of flour, fat and raisins for puddings;

2,000 " " beef and salt pork;

1,500 " " pemmican;

700 " " sugar;

700 " " chocolate;

500 " " rice;

1-1/2 chests of tea, weighing 87 lbs;

many barrels of canned fruits and vegetables, lime-juice in abundance,

cochlearia, sorrel and water-cresses, and three hundred gallons of rum

and brandy; in the hold there was a large supply of ammunition; there

was plenty of coal and wood. The doctor collected carefully the

nautical instruments, and he also found a Bunsen's Pile, which had

been carried for electrical tests and experiments. In short, they had

supplies enough to keep five men on whole rations for two years; all

fear of starving or freezing to death was hence wholly removed.

"Our means of living are certain," said the doctor to the captain,

"and there is nothing to prevent our reaching the Pole."

"The Pole!" answered Hatteras, trembling with excitement.

"Certainly," continued the doctor; "what's to prevent our pushing on

during the summer across the land?"