"Can't we build a small boat out of the timber of the _Porpoise_?"
"An American boat, you mean," answered Hatteras, scornfully, "and
commanded by this American!"
The doctor understood the captain's repugnance, and judged it best to
change the conversation.
"Now that we know what our supplies are," he went on, "we must build
some safe place for them, and a house for ourselves. We have plenty of
material, and we can settle ourselves very comfortably. I hope, Bell,"
he added, turning to the carpenter, "that you are going to distinguish
yourself; I may be able to help you too, I trust."
"I'm ready, Doctor," answered Bell; "if it were necessary I could
easily build a whole city with houses and streets out of these blocks
of ice--"
"We sha'n't need as much as that; let us follow the example of the
agents of the Hudson's Bay Company; they build forts which protect
them from the wild beasts and the Indians; that is all we need; let us
make it no larger than necessary; on one side the dwelling, on the
other the stores, with a sort of curtain, and two bastions. I'll try
to rub up what I know about fortification."
"Upon my word, Doctor," said Johnson, "I don't doubt that we shall
make something very fine under your direction."
"Well, my friends, we must first choose a site; a good engineer should
first study the lay of the land. Will you come with me, Hatteras?"
"I shall trust to you, Doctor," answered the captain. "You see about
that, while I explore the coast."
Altamont, who was still too feeble to get to work, was left on board
of his ship, and the two Englishmen set foot on the mainland. The
weather was thick and stormy; at noon the thermometer stood at -11
degrees, but, there being no wind, that temperature was comfortable.
Judging from the outline of the shore, a large sea, at that time
wholly frozen, stretched out farther than eye could reach in the west;
on the east it was limited by a rounded coast, cut into by numerous
estuaries, and rising suddenly about two hundred yards from the shore;
it formed a large bay, full of dangerous rocks, on which the
_Porpoise_ had been wrecked; far off on the land rose a mountain,
which the doctor conjectured to be about three thousand feet high.
Towards the north a promontory ran into the sea, after hiding a part
of the bay. An island of moderate size rose from the field of ice,
three miles from the mainland, so that it offered a safe anchorage to
any ship that could enter the bay. In a hollow cut of the shore was a
little inlet, easily reached by ships, if this part of the arctic seas
was ever open. Yet, according to the accounts of Beecher and Penny,
this whole sea was open in the summer months.
In the middle of the coast the doctor noticed a sort of plateau about
two hundred feet in diameter; on three sides it was open to the bay;
the fourth was enclosed by an elevation about a hundred and twenty
feet high; this could be ascended only by steps cut in the ice. This
seemed a proper place for a solid building, and it could be easily
fortified; nature had adapted it for the purpose; it was only
necessary to make use of the place. The doctor, Bell, and Johnson
reached this place by means of steps cut in the ice. As soon as the
doctor saw the excellence of the place, he determined to dig away the
ten feet of hardened snow which covered it; the buildings had to be
built on a solid foundation.
During Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, work went on without
relaxation; at last the ground appeared; it consisted of a hard, dense
granite, with the angles as sharp as glass; it contained, moreover,
garnets and large crystals of feldspar, against which the pickaxe
struck fire.
[Illustration]
The doctor then gave them the dimensions and plan of the snow-house;
it was to be forty feet long, twenty broad, and ten deep; it was
divided into three rooms, a sitting-room, a bedroom, and a kitchen;
more was not needed. To the left was the kitchen, to the right the
bedroom, in the middle the sitting-room. For five days they worked
busily. There was no lack of material; the ice walls were thick enough
to resist thawing, for they could not risk being wholly without
protection, even in summer. In proportion as the house rose, it became
agreeable to see; there were four front windows, two in the
sitting-room, one in the kitchen, another in the bedroom; for panes of
glass they substituted large sheets of ice, in the Esquimaux fashion,
which served as well as unpolished glass for the passage of light. In
front of the sitting-room, between two windows, there ran a long entry
like a tunnel, which gave admission to the house; a solid door,
brought from the _Porpoise_, closed it hermetically. When the house
was finished, the doctor was delighted with his handiwork; it would
have been impossible to say to what school of architecture the
building belonged, although the architect would have avowed his
preferences for the Saxon Gothic, so common in England; but the main
point was, that it should be solid; therefore the doctor placed on the
front short uprights; on top a sloping roof rested against the granite
wall. This served to support the stove-pipes, which carried the smoke
away. When the task was completed, they began to arrange the interior.
They carried into the bedroom the sleeping-accommodations from the
_Porpoise_; they were arranged in a circle about a large stove.
Benches, chairs, sofas, tables, wardrobes, were arranged in the
sitting-room, which was also used as a dining-room; the kitchen
received the cooking-stoves of the ship, and the various utensils.
Sails, stretched on the floor, formed the carpet, and also served as
hangings to the inner doors, which had no other way of closing. The
walls of the house averaged five feet in thickness, and the recesses
for the windows looked like embrasures in a fort. It was all built
with great solidity; what more was to be desired? Ah, if they had
listened to the doctor, there is no knowing what they would not have
made of this ice and snow, which can be so easily manipulated! He all
day long would ponder over plans which he never hoped to bring about,
but he thereby lightened the dull work of all by the ingenuity of his
suggestions. Besides, he had come across, in his wide reading, a
rather rare book by one Kraft, entitled "Detailed Description of the
Snow-Palace built at St. Petersburg, in January, 1740, and of all the
Objects it contained." The recollection of this book impressed him.
One evening he gave his companions a full account of the wonders of
that snow-palace.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
"Why couldn't we do here," he asked, "what they did at St. Petersburg?
What do we need? Nothing, not even imagination!"
"So it was very handsome?" said Johnson.
"It was fairy-like, my friend. The house, built by order of the
Empress Anna, and in which she had celebrated the marriage of one of
her buffoons in 1740, was nearly as large as ours; but in front stood
six cannons of ice; they were often fired without bursting; there were
also mortars to hold sixty-pound shells; so we could have some
formidable artillery; the bronze is handy, and falls even from heaven.
But the triumph of taste and art was on the front of the palace, which
was adorned with handsome statues; the steps were garnished with vases
of flowers of the same material; on the right stood an enormous
elephant, who played water through his trunk by day, and burning
naphtha by night. What a menagerie we might have if we only wanted
to!"
"As for animals," answered Johnson, "we sha'n't lack them, I fancy,
and they won't be any the less interesting for not being made of ice."
"Well," said the doctor, "we shall be able to defend ourselves against
their attacks; but to return to the palace, I should add that inside
there were mirrors, candelabra, beds, mattresses, pillows, curtains,
clocks, chairs, playing-cards, wardrobes well furnished, and all cut
out of ice; in fact, nothing was lacking."
"It was then a true palace?" said Bell.
"A splendid palace, worthy of a sovereign! Ice! It was kind of
Providence to invent it, since it lends itself to so many miracles and
accommodates so readily to the needs of castaways!"
It took them until March 31st to get the house ready; this was Easter
Sunday, and the day was set aside for rest; the whole day was spent in
the sitting-room, where divine service was read, and each was able to
judge of the excellent arrangements of the snow-house.
The next morning they set about building stores and a magazine; this
took them about a week, including the time employed for emptying the
_Porpoise_, which was not done without difficulty, for the low
temperature did not permit them to work very long. At last, April 8th,
provisions, food, and supplies were safely sheltered on land; the
stores were placed to the north, and the powder-house to the south,
about sixty feet from the end of the house; a sort of dog-kennel was
built near the stores; it was destined for the Greenland dogs, and the
doctor honored it with the title of "Dog-Palace." Duke partook of the
common quarters.
Then the doctor passed to the means of defence of the place. Under his
direction the plateau was surrounded by a real fortification of ice
which secured it against every invasion; its height made a natural
protection, and as there was no salient, it was equally strong on all
sides. The doctor's system of defence recalled strongly the method of
Sterne's Uncle Toby, whose gentleness and good-humor he also shared.
He was a pleasant sight when he was calculating the inclination of the
platform and the breadth of the causeway; but this task was so easy
with the snow, that he enjoyed it, and he was able to make the wall
seven feet thick; besides the plateau overlooking the bay, he had to
build neither counterscarp nor glacis; the parapet of snow, after
following the outlines of the plateau, joined the rock on the other
side. The work of fortification was finished April 15th. The fort was
completed, and the doctor seemed very proud of his work.
[Illustration: The fort was completed.]
In truth, this fortified enclosure could have withstood for a long
time against a tribe of Esquimaux, if such enemies were met under that
latitude; but there was no trace of human beings there; Hatteras, in
making out the outline of the bay, did not see any ruins of the huts
which are so commonly found in the places resorted to by Greenland
tribes; the castaways of the _Forward_ and the _Porpoise_ appeared to
be the first ever to set foot on this unknown shore. But if they need
not fear men, animals were to be dreaded, and the fort, thus defended,
would have to protect the little garrison against their attacks.
CHAPTER VII.
A DISCUSSION ABOUT CHARTS.
During these preparations for going into winter-quarters, Altamont had
entirely recovered his health and strength; he was even able to aid in
unloading the ship. His vigorous constitution at last carried the day,
and his pallor soon gave way before the vigor of his blood.
[Illustration]
They saw in him a sanguine, robust citizen of the United States, an
intelligent, energetic man with a resolute character, a bold, hardy
American ready for everything; he was originally from New York, and
had been a sailor from infancy, as he told his companions; his ship,
the _Porpoise_, had been equipped and sent out by a society of wealthy
American merchants, at the head of whom was the famous Mr. Grinnell.
There was a certain similarity between his disposition and that of
Hatteras, but their sympathies were different. This similarity did not
incline them to become friends; indeed, it had the opposite effect. A
close observer would have detected serious discordances between them;
and this, although they were very frank with one another. Altamont was
less so, however, than Hatteras; with greater ease of manner, he was
less loyal; his open character did not inspire as much confidence as
did the captain's gloomy temperament. Hatteras would say what he had
to say, and then he held his peace. The other would talk a great deal,
but say very little. Such was the doctor's reading of the American's
character, and he was right in his presentiment of a future
disagreement, if not hatred, between the captains of the _Porpoise_
and the _Forward_.
[Illustration]
And yet only one could command. To be sure, Hatteras had all the right
of commanding, by virtue of anterior right and superior force. But if
one was at the head of his own men, the other was on board of his own
ship. And that was generally felt. Either from policy or
instinctively, Altamont was at first attracted towards the doctor; it
was to him he owed his life, but it was sympathy rather than gratitude
which moved him. This was the invariable effect of Clawbonny's nature;
friends grew about him like wheat under the summer sun. Every one has
heard of people who rise at five o'clock in the morning to make
enemies; the doctor could have got up at four without doing it.
Nevertheless, he resolved to profit by Altamont's friendship to the
extent of learning the real reason of his presence in the polar seas.
But with all his wordiness the American answered without answering,
and kept repeating what he had to say about the Northwest Passage. The
doctor suspected that there was some other motive for the expedition,
the same, namely, that Hatteras suspected. Hence he resolved not to
let the two adversaries discuss the subject; but he did not always
succeed. The simplest conversations threatened to wander to that
point, and any word might kindle a blaze of controversy. It happened
soon. When the house was finished, the doctor resolved to celebrate
the fact by a splendid feast; this was a good idea of Clawbonny's, who
wanted to introduce in this continent the habits and pleasures of
European life. Bell had just shot some ptarmigans and a white rabbit,
the first harbinger of spring. This feast took place April 14, Low
Sunday, on a very pleasant day; the cold could not enter the house,
and if it had, the roaring stoves would have soon conquered it. The
dinner was good; the fresh meat made an agreeable variety after the
pemmican and salt meat; a wonderful pudding, made by the doctor's own
hand, was much admired; every one asked for another supply; the head
cook himself, with an apron about his waist and a knife hanging by his
side, would not have disgraced the kitchen of the Lord High Chancellor
of England. At dessert, liquors appeared; the American was not a
teetotaler; hence there was no reason for his depriving himself of a
glass of gin or brandy; the other guests, who were never in any way
intemperate, could permit themselves this infraction of their rule;
so, by the doctor's command, each one was able to drain a glass at the
end of the merry meal. When a toast was drunk to the United States,
Hatteras was simply silent. It was then that the doctor brought
forward an interesting subject.
"My friends," he said, "it is not enough that we have crossed the
waters and ice and have come so far; there is one thing left for us to
do. Hence I propose that we should give names to this hospitable land
where we have found safety and rest; that is the course pursued by all
navigators, and there is not one who has neglected it; therefore we
ought to carry back with us not only a map of the shores, but also the
names of the capes, bays, points, and promontories which we find. That
is absolutely necessary."
"Good!" cried Johnson; "besides, when one can give all these lands
their own names, it looks like genuine work, and we can't consider
ourselves as cast away on an unknown shore."
"Besides," added Bell, "that simplifies instructions and facilitates
the execution of orders; we may be compelled to separate during some
expedition or in hunting, and the best way for finding our way back is
to know the names of the places."
"Well," said the doctor, "since we are all agreed, let us try to
settle on some names without forgetting our country and friends."
"You are right, Doctor," answered the American, "and you give what you
say additional value by your warmth."
"Well," continued the doctor, "let us go on in order."
Hatteras had not taken part in the conversation; he was thinking.
Still the eyes of his companions were fastened on him; he rose and
said,--
"If you are all willing, and I don't think any one will dissent,"--at
those words Hatteras looked at Altamont,--"it seems to me proper to
name this house after its skilful architect, and to call it 'Doctor's
House.'"
"That's true," said Bell.
"Good!" shouted Johnson; "Doctor's House!"
"Couldn't be better," added Altamont. "Hurrah for Dr. Clawbonny!"
Three cheers were then given, to which Duke added an approving bark.
"So," resumed Hatteras, "let this house bear that name until some new
land is discovered to bear the name of our friend."
"Ah!" said Johnson, "if the earthly Paradise were to be named over
again, the name of Clawbonny would suit it to a miracle!"
The doctor, much moved, wanted to defend himself by modesty, but he
was unable. It was then formally agreed that the feast had been eaten
in the grand dining-hall of Doctor's House, after being cooked in the
kitchen of Doctor's House, and that they would go comfortably to bed
in the chamber of Doctor's House.
"Now," said the doctor, "let us take the more important points of our
discoveries."
"There is," said Hatteras, "this immense sea which surrounds us, and
in which no ship has ever floated."
"No ship!" interrupted Altamont; "it seems to me the _Porpoise_ should
not be forgotten, unless indeed it came by land," he added jestingly.
"One might think it had," retorted Hatteras, "to see the rocks on
which it is now resting."
"Indeed, Hatteras," answered Altamont with some vexation; "but, on the
whole, isn't even that better than blowing up as the _Forward_ did!"
Hatteras was about to make some angry reply, when the doctor
interrupted him.
"My friends," he said, "we are not talking about ships, but about the
new sea--"
"It is not new," interrupted Altamont. "It already bears a name on all
the charts of the Pole. It is the Arctic Ocean, and I don't see any
reason for changing its name; if we should find out in the future that
it is only a sound or gulf, we can see what is to be done."
"Very well," said Hatteras.
"Agreed," said the doctor, regretting that he had aroused a discussion
between rival nationalities.
"Let us come to the land which we are now in," resumed Hatteras. "I am
not aware that it bears any name on the most recent maps."
[Illustration: "I am not aware that it bears any name on the most
recent maps."]
At these words he turned to Altamont, who did not lower his eyes, but
answered,--
"You may be mistaken again, Hatteras."
"Mistaken! this unknown land, this new country--"
"Has a name already," answered the American, quietly.
Hatteras was silent. His lips trembled.
"And what is its name?" asked the doctor, a little surprised at the
American's statement.
"My dear Clawbonny," answered Altamont, "it is the custom, not to say
the habit, of every explorer to give a name to the continent which he
has discovered. It seems to me that on this occasion it was in my
power and that it was my duty to use this indisputable right--"
"Still--" said Johnson, whom Altamont's coolness annoyed.
"It seems to me hard to pretend," the American resumed, "that the
_Porpoise_ did not discover this coast, and even on the supposition
that it came by land," he added, glancing at Hatteras, "there can't be
any question."
"That is a claim I can't admit," answered Hatteras, gravely, forcibly
restraining himself. "To give a name, one should be the discoverer,
and that I fancy you were not. Without us, besides, where would you
be, sir, you who presume to impose conditions upon us? Twenty feet
under the snow!"
"And without me, sir," replied the American, "without my ship, where
would you be at this moment? Dead of cold and hunger?"
"My friends," said the doctor, intervening for the best, "come, a
little calm, it can all settle itself. Listen to me!"
"That gentleman," continued Altamont, pointing to the captain, "can
give a name to all the lands he discovers, if he discovers any; but
this continent belongs to me! I cannot admit of its bearing two names,
like Grinnell Land and Prince Albert's Land, because an Englishman and
American happened to find it at the same time. Here it's different. My
rights of precedence are beyond dispute! No ship has ever touched this
shore before mine. No human being before me has ever set foot upon it;
now, I have given it its name, and it shall keep it."
"And what is its name?" asked the doctor.
"New America," answered Altamont.
Hatteras clinched his fists on the table. But with a violent effort he
controlled himself.
"Can you prove to me," Altamont went on, "that any Englishman has ever
set foot on this soil before me?"
Johnson and Bell were silent, although they were no less angry than
the captain at the haughty coolness of their opponent. But there was
nothing to be said. The doctor began again after a few moments of
painful silence.
"My friends," he said, "the first law of humanity is justice; it
embraces all the rest. Let us then be just, and not give way to evil
feelings. Altamont's priority appears to me incontestable. There is no
question about it; we shall have our revenge later, and England will
have a good share in future discoveries. Let us leave to this land,
then, the name of New America. But Altamont, in giving it this name,
has not, I imagine, disposed of the bays, capes, points, and
promontories which it encloses, and I don't see anything to prevent
our calling it Victoria Bay."
"None at all," answered Altamont, "provided that the cape jutting into
the sea over there is named Cape Washington."
"You might have chosen, sir," cried Hatteras, beside himself, "a name
less offensive to an English ear."
"But none dearer to an American ear," answered Altamont, with much
pride.
"Come, come," continued the doctor, who found it hard to keep the
peace in this little world, "no discussion about that! Let an American
be proud of his great men! Let us honor genius wherever it is found,
and since Altamont has made his choice, let us now speak for ourselves
and our friends. Let our captain--"
"Doctor," answered Hatteras, "since this is an American land, I don't
care to have my name figure here."
"Is that opinion unchangeable?" asked the doctor.
"It is," answered Hatteras.
The doctor did not insist any further.
"Well, then, it's our turn," he said, addressing the old sailor and
the carpenter; "let us leave a trace of our passage here. I propose
that we call that island about three miles from here Johnson Island,
in honor of our boatswain."
"O," said the latter, a little embarrassed, "O doctor!"
"As to the mountain which we have seen in the west, we shall call it
Bell Mountain, if our carpenter is willing."
"It's too much honor for me," answered Bell.
"It's only fair," said the doctor.
"Nothing better," said Altamont.
"Then we have only to name our fort," resumed the doctor; "there need
be no discussion about that; it's neither to Her Royal Highness Queen
Victoria nor to Washington that we owe our protection in it at this
moment, but to God, who brought us together and saved us all. Let it
be called Fort Providence!"
"A capital plan!" answered Altamont.
"Fort Providence," added Johnson, "that sounds well! So, then, in
returning from our excursions in the north, we shall start from Cape
Washington to reach Victoria Bay, and from there to Fort Providence,
where we shall find rest and plenty in Doctor's House."
"Then that's settled," answered the doctor; "later, as we make
discoveries, we shall have other names to give, which I hope will not
give rise to discussion; for, my friends, we ought to stand by one
another and love one another; we represent humanity on this distant
shore; let us not give ourselves up to the detestable passions which
infest society; let us rather remain unattackable by adversity. Who
can say what dangers Heaven has in store for us, what sufferings we
may not have to support before we return to our own country? Let us
five be like one man, and leave on one side the rivalry which is wrong
anywhere, and especially here. You understand me, Altamont? And you,
Hatteras?"
The two men made no reply, but the doctor did not seem to notice their
silence. Then they talked about other things; about hunting, so as to
get a supply of fresh meat; with the spring, hares, partridges, even
foxes, would return, as well as bears; they resolved accordingly not
to let a favorable day pass without exploring the land of New America.
CHAPTER VIII.
EXCURSION TO THE NORTH OF VICTORIA BAY.
The next morning, as soon as the sun appeared, Clawbonny ascended the
wall of rock which rose above Doctor's House; it terminated suddenly
in a sort of truncated cone; the doctor reached the summit with some
little difficulty, and from there his eye beheld a vast expanse of
territory which looked as if it were the result of some volcanic
convulsion; a huge white canopy covered land and sea, rendering them
undistinguishable the one from the other. The doctor, when he saw that
this rock overlooked all the surrounding plain, had an idea,--a fact
which will not astonish those who are acquainted with him. This idea
he turned over, pondered, and made himself master of by the time he
returned to the house, and then he communicated it to his companions.
[Illustration: "The doctor reached the summit with some little
difficulty."]
"It has occurred to me," he said to them, "to build a lighthouse at
the top of the cone up there."
"A lighthouse?" they cried.
"Yes, a lighthouse; it will be of use to show us our way back at night
when we are returning from distant excursions, and to light up the
neighborhood in the eight months of winter."
"Certainly," answered Altamont, "such an apparatus would be useful;
but how will you build it?"
"With one of the _Porpoise's_ lanterns."
"Very good; but with what will you feed the lamp? With seal-oil?"
"No; it doesn't give a bright enough light; it could hardly pierce the
fog."
"Do you think you can get hydrogen from our coal and make illuminating
gas?"
"Well, that light would not be bright enough, and it would be wrong to
use up any of our fuel."
"Then," said Altamont, "I don't see--"
"As for me," answered Johnson, "since the bullet of mercury, the ice
lens, the building of Fort Providence, I believe Dr. Clawbonny is
capable of anything."
"Well," resumed Altamont, "will you tell us what sort of a light you
are going to have?"
"It's very simple," answered the doctor; "an electric light."
"An electric light!"
"Certainly; didn't you have on board of the _Porpoise_ a Bunsen's pile
in an uninjured state?"
"Yes," answered the American.
"Evidently, when you took it, you intended to make some experiments,
for it is complete. You have the necessary acid, and the wires
isolated, hence it would be easy for us to get an electric light. It
will be more brilliant, and will cost nothing."
"That is perfect," answered the boatswain, "and the less time we
lose--"
"Well, the materials are there," answered the doctor, "and in an hour
we shall have a column ten feet high, which will be enough."
[Illustration]
The doctor went out; his companions followed him to the top of the
cone; the column was promptly built and was soon surmounted by one of
the _Porpoise's_ lanterns. Then the doctor arranged the conducting
wires which were connected with the pile; this was placed in the
parlor of the ice-house, and was preserved from the frost by the heat
of the stoves. From there the wires ran to the lantern. All this was
quickly done, and they waited till sunset to judge of the effect. At
night the two charcoal points, kept at a proper distance apart in the
lantern, were brought together, and flashes of brilliant light, which
the wind could neither make flicker nor extinguish, issued from the
lighthouse. It was a noteworthy sight, these sparkling rays, rivalling
the brilliancy of the plains, and defining sharply the outlines of the
surrounding objects. Johnson could not help clapping his hands.
"Dr. Clawbonny," he said, "has made another sun!"
"One ought to do a little of everything," answered the doctor,
modestly.
The cold put an end to the general admiration, and each man hastened
back to his coverings.
After this time life was regularly organized. During the following
days, from the 15th to the 20th of April, the weather was very
uncertain; the temperature fell suddenly twenty degrees, and the
atmosphere experienced severe changes, at times being full of snow and
squally, at other times cold and dry, so that no one could set foot
outside without precautions. However, on Saturday, the wind began to
fall; this circumstance made an expedition possible; they resolved
accordingly to devote a day to hunting, in order to renew their
provisions. In the morning, Altamont, the doctor, Bell, each one
taking a double-barrelled gun, a proper amount of food, a hatchet, a
snow-knife in case they should have to dig a shelter, set out under a
cloudy sky. During their absence Hatteras was to explore the coast and
take their bearings. The doctor took care to start the light; its rays
were very bright; in fact, the electric light, being equal to that of
three thousand candles or three hundred gas-jets, is the only one
which at all approximates to the solar light.
The cold was sharp, dry, and still. The hunters set out towards Cape
Washington, finding their way made easier over the hardened snow. In
about half an hour they had made the three miles which separated the
cape from Fort Providence. Duke was springing about them. The coast
inclined to the east, and the lofty summits of Victoria Bay tended to
grow lower toward the north. This made them believe that New America
was perhaps only an island; but they did not have then to concern
themselves with its shape. The hunters took the route by the sea and
went forward rapidly. There was no sign of life, no trace of any
building; they were walking over a virgin soil. They thus made about
fifteen miles in the first three hours, eating without stopping to
rest; but they seemed likely to find no sport. They saw very few
traces of hare, fox, or wolf. Still, a few snow-birds flew here and
there, announcing the return of spring and the arctic animals. The
three companions had been compelled to go inland to get around some
deep ravines and some pointed rocks which ran down from Bell Mountain;
but after a few delays they succeeded in regaining the shore; the ice
had not yet separated. Far from it. The sea remained fast; still a few
traces of seals announced the beginning of their visit, and that they
were already come to breathe at the surface of the ice-field. It was
evident from the large marks, the fresh breaking of the ice, that many
had very recently been on the land. These animals are very anxious for
the rays of the sun, and they like to bask on the shore in the sun's
heat. The doctor called his companions' attention to these facts.
[Illustration]
"Let us notice this place," he said. "It is very possible that in
summer we shall find hundreds of seals here; they can be approached
and caught without difficulty, if they are unfamiliar with men. But we
must take care not to frighten them, or they will disappear as if by
magic and never return; in that way, careless hunters, instead of
killing them one by one, have often attacked them in a crowd, with
noisy cries, and have thereby driven them away."
"Are they only killed for their skin and oil?" asked Bell.
"By Europeans, yes, but the Esquimaux eat them; they live on them, and
pieces of seal's flesh, which they mix with blood and fat, are not at
all unappetizing. After all, it depends on the way it's treated, and I
shall give you some delicate cutlets if you don't mind their dark
color."
"We shall see you at work," answered Bell; "I'll gladly eat it,
Doctor."
"My good Bell, as much as you please. But, however much you eat, you
will never equal a Greenlander, who eats ten or fifteen pounds of it a
day."
"Fifteen pounds!" said Bell. "What stomachs!"
"Real polar stomachs," answered the doctor; "prodigious stomachs which
can be dilated at will, and, I ought to add, can be contracted in the
same way, so that they support starving as well as gorging. At the
beginning of his dinner, the Esquimaux is thin; at the end, he is fat,
and not to be recognized! It is true that his dinner often lasts a
whole day."
"Evidently," said Altamont, "this voracity is peculiar to the
inhabitants of cold countries!"
"I think so," answered the doctor; "in the arctic regions one has to
eat a great deal; it is a condition not only of strength, but of
existence. Hence the Hudson's Bay Company gives each man eight pounds
of meat a day, or twelve pounds of fish, or two pounds of pemmican."
"That's a generous supply," said the carpenter.
"But not so much as you imagine, my friend; and an Indian crammed in
that way does no better work than an Englishman with his pound of beef
and his pint of beer a day."
"Then, Doctor, all is for the best."
"True, but still an Esquimaux meal may well astonish us. While
wintering at Boothia Land, Sir John Ross was always surprised at the
voracity of his guides; he says somewhere that two men--two, you
understand--ate in one morning a whole quarter of a musk-ox; they tear
the meat into long shreds, which they place in their mouths; then each
one, cutting off at his lips what his mouth cannot hold, passes it
over to his companion; or else the gluttons, letting the shreds hang
down to the ground, swallow them gradually, as a boa-constrictor
swallows an animal, and like it stretched out at full length on the
ground."
"Ugh!" said Bell, "the disgusting brutes!"
"Every one eats in his own way," answered the American,
philosophically.
"Fortunately!" replied the doctor.
"Well," said Altamont, "since the need of food is so great in these
latitudes, I'm no longer surprised that in accounts of arctic voyages
there is always so much space given to describing the meals."
"You are right," answered the doctor; "and it is a remark which I have
often made myself; it is not only that plenty of food is needed, but
also because it is often hard to get it. So one is always thinking of
it and consequently always talking of it!"
"Still," said Altamont, "if my memory serves me right, in Norway, in
the coldest countries, the peasants need no such enormous supply: a
little milk, eggs, birch-bark bread, sometimes salmon, never any meat;
and yet they are hardy men."
"It's a matter of organization," answered the doctor, "and one which I
can't explain. Still, I fancy that the second or third generation of
Norwegians, carried to Greenland, would end by feeding themselves in
the Greenland way. And we too, my friends, if we were to remain in
this lovely country, would get to live like the Esquimaux, not to say
like gluttons."
"Dr. Clawbonny," said Bell, "it makes me hungry to talk in this way."
"It doesn't make me," answered Altamont; "it disgusts me rather, and
makes me dislike seal's flesh. But I fancy we shall have an
opportunity to try the experiment. If I'm not mistaken, I see some
living body down there on the ice."
"It's a walrus," shouted the doctor; "forward silently!"
[Illustration]
Indeed, the animal was within two hundred feet of the hunters; he was
stretching and rolling at his ease in the pale rays of the sun. The
three men separated so as to surround him and cut off his retreat; and
they approached within a few fathoms' lengths of him, hiding behind
the hummocks, and then fired. The walrus rolled over, still full of
strength; he crushed the ice in his attempts to get away; but Altamont
attacked him with his hatchet, and succeeded in cutting his dorsal
fins. The walrus made a desperate resistance; new shots finished him,
and he remained stretched lifeless on the ice-field stained with his
blood. He was a good-sized animal, being nearly fifteen feet long from
his muzzle to the end of his tail, and he would certainly furnish many
barrels of oil. The doctor cut out the most savory parts of the flesh,
and he left the corpse to the mercies of a few crows, which, at this
season of the year, were floating through the air. The night began to
fall. They thought of returning to Fort Providence; the sky had become
perfectly clear, and while waiting for the moon to rise, the splendor
of the stars was magnificent.
"Come, push on," said the doctor, "it's growing late; to be sure,
we've had poor luck; but as long as we have enough for supper, there's
no need of complaining. Only let's take the shortest way and try not
to get lost; the stars will help us."
But yet in countries where the North Star shines directly above the
traveller's head, it is hard to walk by it; in fact, when the north is
directly in the zenith, it is hard to determine the other cardinal
points; fortunately the moon and great constellations aided the doctor
in determining the route. In order to shorten their way, he resolved
to avoid the sinuosities of the coast, and to go directly across the
land; it was more direct, but less certain; so, after walking for a
few hours, the little band had completely lost its way. They thought
of spending the night in an ice-house and waiting till the next day to
find out where they were, even if they should have to return along the
shore; but the doctor, fearing that Hatteras and Johnson might be
anxious, insisted on their going on.
"Duke is showing us the way," he said, "and he can't be wrong; he has
an instinct which is surer than needle or star. Let us follow him."
Duke went forward, and they all followed confidently. And they were
justified in so doing. Soon a distant light appeared on the horizon;
it was not to be confounded with a star in the low clouds.
"There's our light!" cried the doctor.
"Do you think so, Doctor!" asked the carpenter.
"I'm sure of it. Let us push on."
As they approached the light grew brighter, and soon they enjoyed its
full brilliancy; they advanced in full illumination, and their sharply
cut shadows ran out behind them over the snow. They hastened their
gait, and in about half an hour they were climbing up the steps of
Fort Providence.
[Illustration: "They advanced in full illumination, and their sharply
cut shadows ran out behind them over the snow."]
CHAPTER IX.
COLD AND HEAT.
Hatteras and Johnson had waited for the three hunters with some
uneasiness. When they returned they were delighted to find a warm and
comfortable shelter. That evening the temperature had decidedly
fallen, and the thermometer outside stood at -31 degrees. The three
were very much fatigued and almost frozen, so that they could hardly
drag one foot after the other; fortunately the stoves were drawing
well; the doctor became cook, and roasted a few walrus cutlets. At
nine o'clock they all five sat down before a nourishing supper.
"On my word," said Bell, "at the risk of passing for an Esquimaux, I
will say that food is an important thing in wintering; one ought to
take what one can get."
Each of them having his mouth full, it was impossible for any one to
answer the carpenter at once; but the doctor made a sign that he was
right. The walrus cutlets were declared excellent; or, if they made no
declarations about it, they ate it all up, which is much more to the
purpose. At dessert the doctor made the coffee, as was his custom; he
intrusted this task to no one else; he made it at the table, in an
alcohol machine, and served it boiling hot. He wanted it hot enough to
scald his throat, or else he did not think it worth drinking. That
evening he drank it so hot that his companions could not imitate him.
[Illustration]
"But you'll burn yourself, Doctor," said Altamont.
"O no!" was the answer.
"Is your throat lined with copper?" asked Johnson.
"No, my friends; I advise you to take counsel from me. There are some
persons, and I am of the number, who drink coffee at a temperature of
131 degrees."
"One hundred and thirty-one degrees!" cried Altamont; "but the hand
can't support that heat!"
"Evidently, Altamont, since the hand can't endure more than 122
degrees in the water; but the palate and tongue are not so tender as
the hand; they can endure much more."
"You surprise me," said Altamont.
"Well, I'm going to convince you."
And the doctor, bringing the thermometer from the parlor, plunged the
bulb into his cup of boiling coffee; he waited until it stood at a 131
degrees, and then he drank it with evident joy. Bell tried to do the
same thing, but he burned himself and shouted aloud.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
"You are not used to it," said the doctor.
"Clawbonny," asked Altamont, "can you tell me the highest temperature
the human body can support?"
"Easily," answered the doctor; "various experiments have been made and
curious facts have been found out. I remember one or two, and they
serve to show that one can get accustomed to anything, even to not
cooking where a beefsteak would cook. So, the story goes that some
girls employed at the public bakery of the city of La Rochefoucauld,
in France, could remain ten minutes in the oven in a temperature of
300 degrees, that is to say, 89 degrees hotter than boiling water,
while potatoes and meat were cooking around them."
"What girls!" said Altamont.
"Here is another indisputable example. Nine of our fellow-countrymen
in 1778, Fordyce, Banks, Solander, Blagden, Home, North, Lord
Seaforth, and Captain Phillips, endured a temperature of 295 degrees,
while eggs and roast beef were cooking near them."
"And they were Englishmen!" said Bell, with an accent of pride.
"Yes, Bell," answered the doctor.
"O, Americans could have done better!" said Altamont.
"They would have roasted," said the doctor, laughing.
"And why not?" answered the American.
"At any rate, they have not tried; still, I stand up for my
countrymen. There's one thing I must not forget; it is incredible if
one can doubt of the accuracy of the witnesses. The Duke of Ragusa and
Dr. Jung, a Frenchman and an Austrian, saw a Turk dive into a bath
which stood at 170 degrees."
"But it seems to me," said Johnson, that that is not equal to other
people you mentioned."
"I beg your pardon," answered the doctor; there is a great difference
between entering warm air and entering warm water; warm air induces
perspiration, and that protects the skin, while in such hot water
there is no perspiration and the skin is burned. Hence a bath is
seldom hotter than 107 degrees. This Turk must have been an
extraordinary man to have been able to endure so great heat."
"Dr. Clawbonny," asked Johnson, "what is the usual temperature of
living beings?"
"It varies very much," answered the doctor; "birds are the warmest
blooded, and of these the duck and hen are the most remarkable; their
temperature is above 110 degrees, while that of the owl is not more
than 104 degrees; then come the mammalia, men; the temperature of
Englishmen is generally 101 degrees."
"I'm sure Mr. Altamont is going to claim something more for the
Americans," said Johnson.
"Well," said Altamont, "there are some very warm; but as I've never
placed a thermometer into their thorax or under their tongue, I can't
be sure about it."
"The difference of temperature," resumed the doctor, "between men of
different races is quite imperceptible when they are placed in the
same circumstances, whatever be the nature of their bringing-up; I
should add, that the temperature varies but little between men at the
equator and at the pole."
"So," said Altamont, "our temperature is about the same here as in
England?"
"About the same," answered the doctor; "as to the other mammalia,
their temperature is a trifle higher than that of man. The horse is
about the same, as well as the hare, the elephant, the porpoise, the
tiger; but the cat, the squirrel, the rat, panther, sheep, ox, dog,
monkey, goat, reach 103 degrees; and the warmest of all, the pig, goes
above 104 degrees."
"That is humiliating for us," said Altamont.
"Then come amphibious animals and fish, whose temperature varies very
much according to that of the water. The serpent does not go above 86
degrees, the frog 70 degrees, and the shark the same in a medium a
degree and a half cooler; insects appear to have the temperature of
the water and the air."
"That is all very well," said Hatteras, who had not yet spoken, "and
I'm much obliged to the doctor for his information; but we are talking
as if we had to endure torrid heats. Would it not be wiser to talk
about the cold, to know to what we are exposed, and what is the lowest
temperature that has ever been observed?"
"True," added Johnson.
"There's nothing easier," continued the doctor, "and I may be able to
give you some information."
"I dare say," said Johnson; "you know everything."
"My friends, I only know what others have taught me, and when I've
finished you'll know exactly as much. This is what I know about cold
and the lowest temperatures observed in Europe. A great many
noteworthy winters have been known, and it seems as if the severest
has a periodic return about every forty-one years,--a period which
nearly corresponds with the greater appearance of spots on the sun. I
can mention the winter of 1364, when the Rhone was frozen as far as
Arles; that of 1408, when the Danube was frozen its whole length, and
when wolves ran over to Jutland without wetting their feet; that of
1509, during which the Mediterranean at Cette and Marseilles and the
Adriatic at Venice were frozen, and the Baltic as late as April 10;
that of 1608, which killed all the cattle in England; that of 1789,
when the Thames was frozen--as far as Gravesend, six leagues--below
London; that of 1813, of which the French retain such a terrible
memory; and that of 1829, the earliest and longest winter of this
century. So much for Europe."
"But what temperature has been reached above the Arctic Circle?" asked
Altamont.
"Really," said the doctor, "I believe we have experienced the greatest
cold that has ever been observed, since our spirit thermometer
indicated one day -72 degrees; and if I remember aright, the lowest
temperatures ever observed before were only -61 degrees at Melville
Island, -65 degrees at Port Felix, and -70 degrees at Fort Reliance."
"Yes," said Hatteras; "we were delayed, and unfortunately too, by a
very severe winter!"
"You were delayed?" exclaimed Altamont, staring at the captain.
"In our journey westward," interposed the doctor, hastily.
"So," said Altamont, continuing the conversation, "the maximum and
minimum temperatures endured by men vary about two hundred degrees?"
"Yes," answered the doctor; "a thermometer exposed to the open air and
sheltered from reflection has never risen above 135 degrees, and in
the greatest colds it never falls below -72 degrees. So, my friends,
you see we can take our ease."
"But still," said Johnson, "if the sun were to be extinguished
suddenly, would not the earth endure greater cold?"
"The sun won't be extinguished," answered the doctor; "but even if it
should be, the temperature would not fall any lower, probably, than
what I have mentioned."
"That's strange."
"O, I know it used to be said that in the space outside of the
atmosphere the temperature was thousands of degrees below zero! but
since the experiments of the Frenchman Fourrier, this has been
disproved; he has shown that if the earth were placed in a medium void
of all heat, that the temperature at the pole would be much greater,
and that there would be very great differences between night and day;
so, my friends, it is no colder a few millions of miles from the earth
than it is here."
"Tell me, Doctor," said Altamont, "is not the temperature of America
lower than that of other countries of the world?"
"Without doubt; but don't be proud of it," answered the doctor with a
laugh.
"And what is the reason?"
"No very satisfactory explanation has ever been given; so it occurred
to Hadley that a comet had come into collision with the earth and had
altered the position of its axis of rotation, that is to say, of its
poles; according to him, the North Pole, which used to be situated at
Hudson's Bay, found itself carried farther east, and the land at the
old Pole preserved a greater cold, which long centuries of the sun
have not yet heated."
"And you do not admit this hypothesis?"
"Not for a moment; for what is true of the eastern coast of America is
not true of the western coast, which has a higher temperature. No! we
can prove that the isothermal lines differ from the terrestrial
parallels, and that is all."
"Do you know, Doctor," said Johnson, "that it is pleasant to talk
about cold in our present circumstances?"
"Exactly, Johnson; we can call practice to the aid of theory. These
countries are a vast laboratory where curious experiments on low
temperatures can be made. Only, be always careful; if any part of your
body is frozen, rub it at once with snow to restore the circulation of
the blood; and if you come near the fire, be careful, for you may burn
your hands or feet without noticing it; then amputation would be
necessary, and we should try to leave nothing of ourselves in these
lands. And now I think it would be well for us to seek a few hours of
sleep."
"Willingly," answered the doctor's companions.
"Who keeps watch over the stove?"
"I do," answered Bell.
"Well, my friend, take care the fire does not fall out, for it's most
abominably cold this evening."
"Don't be uneasy, Doctor; it's very sharp, but see, the sky is all
ablaze!"
"Yes," answered the doctor, going up to the window, "it's a
magnificent aurora. What a glorious sight! I should never get tired of
looking at it!"
[Illustration]
In fact, the doctor admired all these cosmic phenomena, to which his
companions paid but little attention; he had noticed, besides, that
their appearance always preceded disturbances of the magnetic needle,
and he was preparing some observations on the subject which he
intended for Admiral Fitz-Roy's "Weather Book."
Soon, while Bell was on watch near the stove, all the rest, stretched
on their beds, slept quietly.
CHAPTER X.
THE PLEASURES OF WINTER-QUARTERS.
There is a gloomy monotony about life at the Pole. Man is wholly the
sport of the changes of the weather, which alternates between intense
cold and severe storms with savage relentlessness. The greater part of
the time it is impossible to set foot out of doors; one is imprisoned
in the hut of ice. Long months pass in this way, so that men lead the
life of moles.
The next day the thermometer was several degrees lower, and the air
was full of clouds of snow, which absorbed all the light of day. The
doctor saw himself kept within doors, and he folded his arms; there
was nothing to be done, except every hour to clear away the
entrance-hall and to repolish the ice-walls which the heat within made
damp; but the snow-house was very finely built, and the snow added to
its resistance by augmenting the thickness of its walls.
The stores were equally secure. All the objects taken from the ship
had been arranged in order in these "Docks of Merchandise," as the
doctor called them. Now, although these stores were at a distance of
only sixty feet from the house, it was yet on some days almost
impossible to get to them; hence a certain quantity of provisions had
always to be kept in the kitchen for daily needs.
They had been wise in unloading the _Porpoise_. The ship was exposed
to a gentle, but persistent pressure, which was gradually crushing it;
it was evident that nothing could be done with its fragments; still
the doctor kept hoping to be able to build a launch out of them to
return to England in, but the time for building it had not yet come.
So for the most part the five men remained in complete idleness.
Hatteras was pensive and always lying on the bed; Altamont was
drinking or sleeping, and the doctor took good care not to rouse him
from his slumbers, for he was always afraid of some distressing
quarrel. These two men seldom spoke to one another.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
So during meal-time the prudent Clawbonny always took care to guide
the conversation and to direct it in such a way as not to offend the
susceptibilities of either; but he had a great deal to do. He did his
best to instruct, distract, and interest his companions; when he was
not arranging his notes about the expedition, he read aloud some
history, geography, or work on meteorology, which had reference to
their condition; he presented things pleasantly and philosophically,
deriving wholesome instruction from the slightest incidents; his
inexhaustible memory never played him false; he applied his doctrines
to the persons who were with him, reminding them of such or such a
thing which happened under such or such circumstances; and he filled
out his theories by the force of personal arguments.
[Illustration: "He did his best to instruct and interest his
companions."]
This worthy man may be called the soul of this little world, a soul
glowing with frankness and justice. His companions had perfect
confidence in him; he even improved Captain Hatteras, who, besides,
was very fond of him; he made his words, manners, and custom so
agreeable, that the life of these five men within six degrees of the
Pole seemed perfectly natural; when he was speaking, any one would
have imagined he was in his office in Liverpool. And yet this
situation was unlike that of castaways on the islands of the Pacific
Ocean, those Robinsons whose touching history always aroused the envy
of their readers. There, the natural richness offers a thousand
different resources; a little imagination and effort suffice to secure
material happiness; nature aids man; hunting and fishing supply all
his wants; the trees grow to aid him, caverns shelter him, brooks
slake his thirst, dense thickets hide him from the sun, and severe
cold never comes upon him in the winter; a grain tossed into the earth
brings forth a bounteous return a few months later. There, outside of
society, everything is found to make man happy. And then these happy
isles lie in the path of ships; the castaway can hope to be picked up,
and he can wait in patience.
But here on the coast of New America how great is the difference! This
comparison would continually occur to the doctor, but he never
mentioned it to the others, and he struggled against the enforced
idleness.
He yearned ardently for the spring, in order to resume his excursions;
and yet he was anxious about it, for he foresaw difficulties between
Hatteras and Altamont. If they pushed on to the Pole, there would
necessarily be rivalry between the two men. Hence he had to prepare
for the worst, and still, as far as he could, to try to pacify these
rivals; but to reconcile an American and an Englishman, two men
hostile to one another from their birth, one endowed with real insular
prejudice, the other with the adventurous, irreverent spirit of his
country, was no easy task. When the doctor thought of their eager
rivalry, which in fact was one of nationalities, he could not help,
not shrugging his shoulders, but lamenting human weakness. He would
often talk to Johnson on this subject; he and the old sailor agreed in
the matter; they were uncertain what view to take, and they foresaw
complications in the future.
Still, the bad weather continued; they could not leave Fort Providence
even for an hour. Night and day they had to remain in the snow-house.
They all found it tedious, except the doctor, who found diversion for
himself.
"Isn't there any way we can amuse ourselves?" said Altamont one
evening. "This isn't really living, lying here like sluggish reptiles
all winter."
"It's a pity," said the doctor, "that we are too few to organize any
system of distractions."
"Do you mean it would be easier for us to combat idleness if there
were more of us?" asked the American.
"Yes; when whole crews have wintered in boreal regions, they have
found out the way to avoid idleness."
"To tell the truth," said Altamont, "I should like to know how they
did; they must have been very ingenious to get any fun out of these
surroundings. They didn't ask one another riddles, I suppose?"
"No," answered the doctor, "but they introduced into these lands two
great means of amusement, the press and the theatre."
"What! did they have a newspaper?" asked the American.
"Did they act plays?" asked Bell.
"Yes, and with much amusement. While he was wintering at Melville
Island, Captain Parry offered his crews these two entertainments, and
they enjoyed them very much."
"Well," said Johnson, "I should have liked to be there; it must have
been funny enough."
"Funny indeed; Lieutenant Beecher was manager of the theatre, and
Captain Sabine editor of the 'Winter Chronicle, or Gazette of North
Georgia.'"
"Good names," said Altamont.
"The paper appeared every Monday morning, from November 1, 1819, to
March 20, 1820. It contained an account of everything that happened,
the hunts, accidents, incidents, and of the weather; there were
stories written for it; to be sure, it lacked the humor of Sterne, and
the delightful articles of the 'Daily Telegraph'; but they got
amusement from it; its readers were not over-critical, and I fancy no
journalists ever enjoyed their occupation more."
"Well," said Altamont, "I should like to hear some extracts from this
paper, my dear Doctor; its articles must all have been frozen solid."
"No, no," answered the doctor; "at any rate, what would have seemed
simple enough to the Liverpool Philosophical Society, or the London
Literary Institution, was perfectly satisfactory to the crews beneath
the snow. Do you want a sample?"
"What! Do you remember--"
"No, but you had 'Parry's Voyages' on board the _Porpoise_, and I can
read you his own account."
"Do!" shouted the doctor's companions.
"There's nothing easier."
The doctor got the book from the shelves, and soon found the passage.
[Illustration]
"See here," he said, "here are some extracts from the newspaper. It is
a letter addressed to the editor:--
"'It is with genuine satisfaction that your plan for the establishment
of a newspaper has been received. I am convinced that under your
charge it will furnish us with a great deal of amusement, and will
serve to lighten materially the gloom of our hundred days of darkness.
"'The interest which I, for my part, take in it has caused me to
examine the effect of your announcement upon the members of our
society, and I can assure you, to use the consecrated phrase of the
London press, that it has produced a profound impression upon the
public.
"'The day after the appearance of your prospectus, there was on board
an unusual and unprecedented demand for ink. The green cloth of our
tables was suddenly covered with a deluge of quill-pens, to the great
injury of one of our servants, who, in trying to remove them, got one
under his nail.
"'Finally, I know that Sergeant Martin has had no less than nine
pocket-knives to sharpen.
"'Our tables are groaning beneath the unaccustomed weight of
inkstands, which had not seen the light for two months; and it is even
whispered that the depths of the hold have been often opened to secure
many reams of paper, which did not expect to issue so soon from their
place of repose.
"'I shall not forget to say to you that I have some suspicions that an
effort will be made to slip into your box some articles, which,
lacking complete originality, and not being wholly unpublished, may
not suit your plan. I can affirm that no later than last evening an
author was seen bending over his desk, holding in one hand an open
volume of the "Spectator," while with the other he was thawing his ink
by the flame of the lamp. It is useless to recommend you to keep a
lookout against such devices; we must not see reappearing in the
"Winter Chronicle" what our ancestors used to read at breakfast more
than a century ago.'"
"Well, well," said Altamont, when the doctor had finished reading,
"there is really good humor in that, and the writer must have been a
bright fellow."
"Bright is the word," answered the doctor. "Stop a moment, here is an
amusing advertisement:--
"'Wanted. A middle-aged, respectable woman to help dress the ladies of
the troupe of the "Theatre Royal of North Georgia." Suitable salary
given, tea and beer free. Address the Committee of the theatre.--N. B.
A widow preferred.'"
"They were not disgusted, at any rate," said Johnson.
"And did they get the widow?" asked Bell.
"Probably," answered the doctor, "for here is an answer addressed to
the committee:--
"'Gentlemen: I am a widow, twenty-six years old, and I can produce
warm testimonials as to my morals and talents. But before taking
charge of the dresses of the actresses of your theatre, I am anxious
to know if they intend to keep their trousers on, and whether I can
have the aid of some strong sailors to lace their corsets properly.
This being arranged, gentlemen, you may count upon your servant.
"'A. B.
"'P. S. Can you not substitute brandy for beer?'"
"Bravo!" shouted Altamont. "I suppose they had ladies'-maids to lace
you by the capstan. Well, they were jolly fellows!"
"Like all who do what they set out to do," remarked Hatteras.
Hatteras uttered these words, and then he relapsed into his usual
silence. The doctor, unwilling to dwell on that subject, hastened to
resume his reading.
"See here," he said, "here is a picture of arctic sufferings; it may
be varied infinitely; but a few of the observations are wise enough;
for instance:--
"'To go out in the morning to take the air, and on setting foot off
the ship, to take a cold bath in the cook's trough.
"'To go on a hunting-party, get near a fine reindeer, take aim, try to
fire, and miss the shot on account of a damp cap.
"'To start out with a piece of fresh bread in the pocket, and when one
gets hungry to find it frozen hard enough to break one's teeth.
"'To leave the table suddenly on hearing a wolf is in sight of the
ship, and to come back and find one's dinner eaten by the cat.
"'To return from a walk rapt in thought, and to be awakened suddenly
by the embrace of a bear.'
"You see, my friends," said the doctor, "we should not find it hard to
imagine other polar troubles; but from the moment it becomes necessary
to endure these miseries, it would be a pleasure to narrate them."
"Upon my word," said Altamont, "that's an amusing paper, and it's a
pity we can't subscribe to it."
"Suppose we should start one," suggested Johnson.
"We five!" answered Clawbonny; "we should all be editors, and there
would be no readers."
"Nor audience either, if we should act a play," said Altamont.
"Tell us, Doctor," said Johnson, "something about Captain Parry's
theatre; did they act new plays there?"
"Of course; at first they made use of two volumes which were put on
board of the _Hector_, and they had plays every fortnight; but soon
they had acted all; then they resorted to original authors, and Parry
himself wrote a suitable play for the Christmas holidays; it was very
successful, and was called 'The Northwest Passage, or the End of the
Voyage.'"
"A capital title," answered Altamont; "but I confess, if I had to
write on that subject, I should be puzzled about the end."
"You are right," said Bell; "who can say how it will end?"
"True," answered the doctor; "but why bother about the end, since the
beginning is so favorable? Let us trust in Providence, my friends; let
us act our part well, and since the end depends on the Author of all
things, let us have confidence in him; he will know what to do with
us."
"Let us sleep on it," answered Johnson; "it is late, and since bedtime
has come, let us turn in."
"You are in a great hurry, my old friend," said the doctor.
"Naturally enough, Doctor, I am so comfortable in bed! And then my
dreams are pleasant. I dream of warm countries; or that, to tell the
truth, half of my life is spent at the equator and half at the Pole!"
"The deuce," said Altamont, "you have a happy temperament."
"True," answered the boatswain.
"Well, it would be cruel to detain Johnson any longer. His tropical
sun is waiting for him. Let us go to bed."
CHAPTER XI.
DISQUIETING TRACES.
In the night of April 26-27, the weather changed; the thermometer fell
many degrees, and the inhabitants of Doctor's House perceived it from
the cold which made its way beneath their coverings; Altamont, who was
watching the stove, took care not to let the fire get low, and he was
kept busy putting on enough coal to keep the temperature at 50
degrees. This cold weather announced the end of the storm, and the
doctor was glad of it, for now they could resume their usual
occupations, their hunting, excursions, and explorations; this would
put an end to the apathy of their loneliness, which in time sours even
the finest characters.
[Illustration]
The next morning the doctor rose early, and made his way over the
drifts to the lighthouse. The wind was from the north; the air was
clear, the snow was hard under his feet. Soon his five companions had
left Doctor's House; their first care was to dig away the drifted
snow, which now disguised the plateau; it would have been impossible
to discover any traces of life upon it, for the tempest had buried all
inequalities beneath fifteen feet of snow.
After the snow was cleared away from the house, it was necessary to
restore its architectural outline. This was very easy, and after the
ice was removed a few blows with the snow-knife gave it its normal
thickness. After two hours' work the granite appeared, and access to
the stores and the powder-house was free. But since, in these
uncertain climates, such things can happen every day, a new supply of
food was carried to the kitchen. They were all wearied of salt food
and yearned for fresh meat, and so the hunters were charged with
changing the bill of fare, and they prepared to set out.
[Illustration]
Still the end of April did not bring with it the polar spring, which
was yet six weeks off; the sun's rays were still too feeble to melt
the snow or to nourish the few plants of these regions. They feared
lest animals should be scarce, both birds and quadrupeds. But a hare,
a few ptarmigans, even a young fox, would have been welcome to the
table of Doctor's House, and the hunters resolved to shoot whatever
should come within range.
The doctor, Altamont, and Bell determined to explore the country.
Altamont, they felt sure from his habits, was a bold and skilful
hunter, and, with all his bragging, a capital shot. So he went with
the hunters, as did Duke, who was equally skilful and less prone to
boasting.
The three companions ascended the east cone and set out towards the
large white plains; but they had gone no farther than two or three
miles before they saw numerous tracks; from that point, they ran down
to the shore of Victoria Bay, and appeared to surround Fort Providence
with a series of concentric circles.
[Illustration]
After they had followed these footprints for a short time, the doctor
said,--
"Well, that is clear enough."
"Too clear," said Bell; "they are bear tracks."
"Good game," continued Altamont, "and there is only one fault in it
to-day."
"What's that?" asked the doctor.
"The abundance," answered the American.
"What do you mean?" asked Bell.
"I mean that there are distinct tracks of five bears; and five bears
are a good many for five men."
"Are you sure of what you say?" asked the doctor.
"Judge for yourself; this mark is different from any other; the claws
on this one are farther apart than those. Here is the print of a
smaller bear. If you compare them together, you'll find traces of five
animals."
"You are right," said Bell, after a careful examination.
"Then," said the doctor, "there is no need of useless bravado, but
rather of caution; these animals are famished at the end of a severe
winter, and they may be very dangerous; and since there is no doubt of
their number--"
"Nor of their intentions," interrupted the American.
"Do you suppose," he asked, "that they have discovered our presence
here?"
"Without a doubt, unless we've fallen on a whole band of bears; but in
that case, why do their prints go about in a circle, instead of
running out of sight? See, they came from the southwest and stopped
here, and began to explore the country."
"You are right," said the doctor, "and it's certain they came last
night."
"And the other nights too," answered Altamont; "only the snow has
covered their tracks."
"No," said the doctor; "it's more likely that they waited for the end
of the storm; they went to the bay to catch some seals, and then they
scented us."
"True," said Altamont; "so it is easy to know whether they will return
to-night."
"How so?" asked Bell.
"By rubbing out some of their tracks; and if we find new ones
to-morrow, we can be sure that they are trying to get into Fort
Providence."
"Well," said the doctor, "we shall at least know what to expect."
The three then set to work, and soon effaced all the tracks over a
space of about six hundred feet.
"It's strange, however," said Bell, "that they could scent us at so
great a distance; we didn't burn anything greasy which could attract
them."
"O," answered the doctor, "they have very fine sight, and delicate
sense of smell! Besides, they are very intelligent, perhaps the most
intelligent of animals, and they have found out something strange
here."
"Perhaps," continued Bell, "during the storm, they came up as far as
the plateau."
"Then," said the American, "why should they have stopped there?"
"True, there is no answer to that," answered the doctor; "and we ought
to believe that they are shortening the circle about Fort Providence."
"We shall see," answered Altamont.
"Now, let us go on," said the doctor; "but we'll keep our eyes open."
They kept careful watch, through fear lest some bear should be hidden
behind the masses of ice; often they took the blocks for animals, from
their shape and whiteness, but soon they discovered their mistake.
They returned at last to the shore beneath the cone, and from there
their eyes swept in vain from Cape Washington to Johnson Island. They
saw nothing; everything was white and motionless; not a sound was to
be heard. They entered the snow-house.
Hatteras and Johnson were informed of the condition of affairs, and
they resolved to keep a strict watch. Night came; nothing occurred to
alarm them, or to mar its beauty. At dawn the next morning, Hatteras
and his companions, fully armed, went out to examine the condition of
the snow; they found the same tracks as on the previous day, only
nearer. Evidently the enemy was preparing to lay siege to Fort
Providence.
"They have opened their second parallel," said the doctor.
"They have made a point in advance," answered Altamont; "see those
footprints coming nearer the plateau; they are those of some strong
animal."
"Yes, they are gaining ground gradually," said Johnson; "it is evident
that they are going to attack us."
"There's no doubt of that," said the doctor; "let us avoid showing
ourselves. We are not strong enough to fight successfully."
"But where do these devilish bears come from?" asked Bell.
"From behind those pieces of ice to the east, where they are spying
us; don't let us get too near them."
"And our hunt?" asked Altamont.
"Let us put it off for a few days," answered the doctor; "let us again
rub out these nearest marks, and to-morrow we shall see if they are
renewed. In this way we can see the manoeuvres of our enemies."
The doctor's advice was taken, and they returned to the fort; the
presence of these terrible beasts forbade any excursion. Strict watch
was kept over the neighborhood of Victoria Bay. The lighthouse was
dismantled; it was of no real use, and might attract the attention of
the animals; the lantern and the electric threads were carried to the
house; then they took turns in watching the upper plateau.
Again they had to endure the monotony of loneliness, but what else was
to be done? They dared not risk a contest at so fearful odds; no one's
life could be risked imprudently. Perhaps the bears, if they caught
sight of nothing, might be thrown off the track; or, if they were met
singly, they might be attacked successfully. However, this inaction
was relieved by a new interest; they had to keep watch, and no one
regretted it.
April 28th passed by without any sign of the existence of the enemy.
The next morning their curiosity as to the existence of new tracks was
succeeded by astonishment. Not a trace was to be seen; the snow was
intact.
"Good," shouted Altamont, "the bears are thrown off the track! They
have no perseverance! They are tired of waiting, and have gone! Good
by, and now off to the hunt!"
"Eh!" answered the doctor, "who can say? For greater safety, my
friends, I beg one more day of watching; it is certain the enemy did
not approach last night, at least from this side--"
"Let us make a circuit of the plateau," said Altamont, "and then we
shall make sure."
"Willingly," said the doctor.
But with all their care in exploration, not the slightest trace could
be found.
"Well, shall we start on our hunt?" asked Altamont, impatiently.
"Let us wait till to-morrow," urged the doctor.
"All right," answered Altamont, who had some reluctance, however,
about conceding.
[Illustration]
They returned to the fort. Each one had to watch for an hour, as on
the previous evening. When Altamont's turn came, he went to relieve
Bell. As soon as he was gone, Hatteras called his companions together.
The doctor left his notes, and Johnson his furnaces. It might have
been supposed that Hatteras was going to discuss the dangers of the
situation; he did not even think of them.
"My friends," he said, "let us take advantage of the absence of this
American, to talk over our affairs; some things don't concern him at
all, and I don't care to have him meddling with them."
The others looked at one another, uncertain of his meaning.
"I want to speak with you," he said, "about our future plans."
"Well," answered the doctor, "let us talk now we are alone."
"In a month, or six weeks at the latest," Hatteras began, "we shall be
able to make distant excursions. Had you thought of what might be done
in the summer?"
"Had you, Captain?" asked Johnson.
"I? I can say that not an hour passes without my mind's recurring to
my plan. I suppose no one of you has any thought of returning--"
There was no immediate answer to this insinuation.
"As for me," continued Hatteras, "if I have to go alone, I shall go to
the North Pole; we are only three hundred and sixty miles from it at
the outside. No men have ever been so near it, and I shall not let
such a chance go by without the attempt, even if it be impossible.
What are your views in the matter?"
"Your own," answered the doctor.
"And yours, Johnson?"
"The same as the doctor's," answered the boatswain.
"It is your turn to speak, Bell," said Hatteras.
"Captain," answered the carpenter, "it is true we have no family
awaiting us in England, but our country is our country: don't you
think of going back?"
"We shall go back easily as soon as we shall have discovered the Pole.
In fact, more easily. The difficulties will not increase, for, on our
way thither, we leave behind us the coldest spots on the globe. We
have supplies of all sorts for a long time. There is nothing to hinder
us, and we should be to blame if we did not push on to the end."
"Well," answered Bell, "we are all of your opinion, Captain."
"Good!" replied Hatteras. "I have never doubted of you. We shall
succeed, my friends, and England shall have all the glory of our
success."
"But there is an American with us," said Johnson.
Hatteras could not restrain a wrathful gesture at this remark.
"I know it," he said in a deep voice.
"We can't leave him here," continued the doctor.
"No, we cannot," answered Hatteras, coldly.
"And he will certainly come."
"Yes, he will come, but who will command?"
"You, Captain."
"And if you obey me, will this Yankee refuse to obey?"
"I don't think so," answered Johnson; "but if he is unwilling to obey
your orders--"
"It would have to be settled between him and me."
The three Englishmen looked at Hatteras without a word. The doctor
broke the silence.
"How shall we travel?" he asked.
"By keeping along the coast as much as possible," answered Hatteras.
"But if we find the sea open, as is likely?"
"Well, we shall cross it."
"How? We have no boat."
Hatteras did not answer; he was evidently embarrassed.
"Perhaps," suggested Bell, "we might build a launch out of the timbers
of the _Porpoise_."
"Never!" shouted Hatteras, warmly.
"Never?" exclaimed Johnson.
The doctor shook his head; he understood the captain's unwillingness.
"Never!" the latter answered. "A launch made out of the wood of an
American ship would be an American launch--"
"But, Captain--" interposed Johnson.
The doctor made a sign to the old boatswain to keep silent. A more
suitable time was required for that question. The doctor, although he
understood Hatteras's repugnance, did not sympathize with it, and he
determined to make his friend abandon this hasty decision. Hence he
spoke of something else, of the possibility of going along the coast
to the north, and that unknown point, the North Pole. In a word, he
avoided all dangerous subjects of conversation up to the moment when
it was suddenly ended by the entrance of Altamont. He had nothing new
to report. The day ended in this way, and the night was quiet. The
bears had evidently disappeared.
CHAPTER XII.
THE ICE PRISON.
The next day they determined to arrange the hunt, in which Hatteras,
Altamont, and the carpenter were to take part; no more tracks were to
be seen; the bears had decidedly given up their plan of attack, either
from fear of their unknown enemies, or because there had been no sign
of living beings beneath the mass of snow. During the absence of the
three hunters, the doctor was to push on to Johnson Island to examine
the condition of the ice, and to make some hydrographic
investigations. The cold was sharp, but they supported it well, having
become accustomed to it by this time. The boatswain was to remain at
Doctor's House; in a word, to guard the house.
The three hunters made their preparations; each one took a
double-barrelled rifled gun, with conical balls; they carried a small
quantity of pemmican, in case night should fall before their return;
they also were provided with the snow-knife, which is so indispensable
in these regions, and a hatchet which they wore in their belts. Thus
armed and equipped they could go far; and since they were both skilled
and bold, they could count on bringing back a good supply.
At eight in the morning they set out. Duke sprang about ahead of them;
they ascended the hill to the east, went about the lighthouse, and
disappeared in the plains to the south, which were bounded by Mount
Bell. The doctor, having agreed on a danger-signal with Johnson,
descended towards the shore so as to reach the ice in Victoria Bay.
[Illustration]
The boatswain remained at Fort Providence alone, but not idle. He
first set free the Greenland dogs, which were playing about the Dog
Palace; they in their joy rolled about in the snow. Johnson then gave
his attentions to the cares of housekeeping. He had to renew the fuel
and provisions, to set the stores in order, to mend many broken
utensils, to patch the coverings, to work over the shoes for the long
excursions of the summer. There was no lack of things to do, but the
boatswain worked with the ease of a sailor, who has generally a
smattering of all trades. While thus employed he began to think of the
talk of the evening before; he thought of the captain, and especially
of his obstinacy, which, after all, had something very heroic and very
honorable about it, in his unwillingness that any American man or boat
should reach the Pole before him, or even with him.
"Still, it seems to me," he said to himself, "no easy task to cross
the ocean without a boat; and if we have the open sea before us, we
should need one. The strongest Englishman in the world couldn't swim
three hundred miles. Patriotism has its limits. Well, we shall see. We
have still time before us; Dr. Clawbonny has not yet said his last
word in the matter; he is wise, and he may persuade the captain to
change his mind. I'll bet that in going towards the island he'll
glance at the fragments of the _Porpoise_, and will know exactly what
can be made out of them."
Johnson had reached this point in his reflections, and the hunters had
been gone an hour, when a loud report was heard two or three miles to
windward.
"Good!" said the sailor; "they have come across something, and without
going very far, for I heard them distinctly. After all, the air is so
clear."
A second and then a third report was heard.
"Hulloa!" continued Johnson, "they've got into a good place."
Three other reports, in quicker succession, were heard.
"Six shots!" said Johnson; "now they've fired off everything. It was a
hot time! Is it possible--"
At the thought, Johnson grew pale; he quickly left the snow-house, and
in a few moments he had run up to the top of the cone. He saw a sight
that made him tremble.
"The bears!" he shouted.
The three hunters, followed by Duke, were running rapidly, followed by
five enormous animals; their six bullets had not disabled them; the
bears were gaining on them; Hatteras, behind the others, could only
keep his distance from the animals by throwing away his cap, hatchet,
and even his gun. The bears stopped, according to their habit, to
sniff at the different objects, and lost a little on this ground on
which they would have outstripped the swiftest horse. It was thus that
Hatteras, Altamont, and Bell, all out of breath, came up to Johnson,
and they all slid down the slope to the snow-house. The five bears
were close behind, and the captain was obliged to ward off the blow of
a paw with his knife. In a moment Hatteras and his companions were
locked in the house. The animals stopped on the upper plateau of the
truncated cone.
[Illustration: "Hatteras could only keep his distance from the animals
by throwing away his cap, hatchet, and even his gun."]
"Well," said Hatteras, "we can now defend ourselves better, five to
five!"
"Four to five!" shouted Johnson in a terrified voice.
"What?" asked Hatteras.
"The doctor!" answered Johnson, pointing to the empty room.
"Well?"
"He is on the shore of the island!"
"Poor man!" cried Bell.
"We can't abandon him in this way," said Altamont.
"Let us run!" said Hatteras.
He opened the door quickly, but he had hardly time to shut it; a bear
nearly crushed his skull with his claw.
"They are there," he cried.
"All?" asked Bell.
"All!" answered Hatteras.
Altamont hastened to the windows, heaping up the bays with pieces of
ice torn from the walls of the house. His companions did the same
without speaking. Duke's dull snarls alone broke the silence.
[Illustration]
But it must be said these men had only a single thought; they forgot
their own danger, and only considered the doctor. Poor Clawbonny! so
kind, so devoted! the soul of the little colony! for the first time he
was missing; extreme peril, a terrible death, awaited him; for when
his excursion was over he would return quietly to Fort Providence, and
would find these ferocious animals. And there was no way of warning
him.
"If I'm not mistaken, he will be on his guard; your shots must have
warned him, and he must know something has happened."
"But if he were far off," answered Altamont, "and did not understand?
There are eight chances out of ten that he'll come back without
suspicion of danger! The bears are hiding behind the scarp of the
fort, and he can't see them."
"We shall have to get rid of these dangerous beasts before his
return," answered Hatteras.
"But how?" asked Bell.
To answer this question was not easy. A sortie seemed impossible. They
took the precaution to barricade the entrance, but the bears could
easily have overcome the obstacles if the idea had occurred to them;
they knew the number and strength of their adversaries, and they could
easily have reached them. The prisoners were posted in each one of the
chambers of Doctor's House to watch for every attempt at entrance;
when they listened, they heard the bears coming and going, growling,
and tearing at the walls with their huge paws. But some action was
necessary; time was pressing. Altamont resolved to make a loop-hole to
shoot the assailants; in a few minutes he had made a little hole in
the ice-wall; he pushed his gun through it; but it had scarcely
reached the other side before it was torn from his hands with
irresistible force before he could fire.
[Illustration]
"The devil!" he cried, "we are too weak."
And he hastened to close the loop-hole. Thus matters went for an hour,
without any end appearing probable. The chances of a sortie were
discussed; they seemed slight, for the bears could not be fought
singly. Nevertheless, Hatteras and his companions, being anxious to
finish it, and, it must be said, very much confused at being thus
imprisoned by the beasts, were about to try a direct attack, when the
captain thought of a new means of defence.
He took the poker and plunged it into the stove; then he made an
opening in the wall, but so as to keep a thin coating of ice outside.
His companions watched him. When the poker was white hot, Hatteras
said,--
"This bar will drive away the bears, for they won't be able to seize
it, and through the loop-hole we will be able to fire at them, without
their taking our guns away from us."
"A good idea!" cried Bell, going towards Altamont.
Then Hatteras, withdrawing the poker from the stove, pushed it through
the wall. The snow, steaming at its touch, hissed sharply. Two bears
ran to seize the bar, but they roared fearfully when four shots were
fired at once.
"Hit!" shouted the American.
"Hit!" repeated Bell.
"Let us try again," said Hatteras, closing the opening for a moment.
The poker was put again into the fire; in a few minutes it was red
hot.
Altamont and Bell returned to their place after loading their guns;
Hatteras again pushed the poker through the loop-hole. But this time
an impenetrable substance stopped it.
[Illustration]
"Curse it!" cried the American.
"What's the matter?" asked Johnson.
"The matter! These cursed animals are heaping up the ice and snow so
as to bury us alive!"
"Impossible!"
"See, the poker can't go through! Really, this is absurd!"
It was more than absurd, it was alarming. Matters looked worse. The
bears, which are very intelligent beasts, employed this method of
suffocating their prey. They heaped the ice in such a way as to render
flight impossible.
[Illustration: "The bears heaped the ice in such a way as to render
flight impossible."]
"This is hard," said Johnson, with a very mortified air. "It's well
enough to have men treat you in this way, but bears!"
After this reflection two hours passed by without any material change
in their situation; a sortie became impossible; the thickened walls
deadened all sound without. Altamont walked to and fro like a bold man
in face of a danger greater than his courage. Hatteras thought
anxiously of the doctor, and of the great danger awaiting him when he
should return.
"Ah," shouted Johnson, "if Dr. Clawbonny were only here!"
"Well, what would he do?" asked Altamont.
"O, he would be able to help us!"
"How?" asked the American, with some asperity.
"If I knew," answered Johnson, "I shouldn't want him here. Still, I
can think of a piece of advice he would give us at this moment."
"What is that?"
"To take some food. It can't hurt us. What do you think, Mr.
Altamont?"
"Let us eat if you care to," was the answer; "although our condition
is stupid, not to say disgraceful."
"I'll bet," said Johnson, "that we'll find some way of driving them
off after dinner."
[Illustration]
They made no reply, but sat down to dinner. Johnson, as a pupil of the
doctor, tried to be a philosopher in the face of danger, but he
succeeded ill; his jokes stuck in his throat. Besides, they began to
feel uncomfortable; the air was growing bad in this hermetically
sealed prison; the stove-pipe drew insufficiently, and it was easy to
see that in a short time the fire would go out; the oxygen, consumed
by their lungs and the fire, would be replaced by carbonic acid, which
would be fatal to them, as they all knew. Hatteras was the first to
detect this new danger; he was unwilling to hide it from the others.
"So, at any risk we must get out!" said Altamont.
"Yes," answered Hatteras; "but let us wait till night; we will make a
hole in the snow that we may get fresh air; then one shall take his
place here and fire at the bears."
"It's the only thing we can do," said the American.
[Illustration]
Having agreed on this, they waited for the time of action; and during
the following hours, Altamont did not spare imprecations against a
state of things in which, as he put it, "there being men and bears
concerned, the men were getting the worst of it."
CHAPTER XIII.
THE MINE.
Night came, and the lamp began to burn dimly in the close air of the
room. At eight o'clock they made their final preparations. The guns
were carefully loaded, and an opening was begun in the roof of the
snow-house. Bell worked cleverly at this for a few minutes, when
Johnson, who had left the bedroom, where he was on guard, for a few
minutes, returned rapidly to his companions. He seemed disturbed.
"What is the matter?" the captain asked.
"The matter? nothing!" answered the old sailor, hesitatingly, "yet--"
"What is it?" asked Altamont.
"Hush! Don't you hear a strange sound?"
"On which side?"
"There! There is something happening to the wall of that room."
Bell stopped his work; each one listened. A distant noise could be
heard, apparently in the side wall; some one was evidently making a
passage-way through the ice.
"It's a tearing sound!" said Johnson.
"Without a doubt," answered Altamont.
"The bears?" asked Bell.
"Yes, the bears," said Altamont.
"They have changed their plan," continued the sailor; "they've given
up trying to suffocate us."
"Or else they think they've done it," added the American, who was
getting very angry.
"We shall be attacked," said Bell.
"Well," remarked Hatteras, "we shall fight against them."
"Confound it!" shouted Altamont; "I prefer that decidedly! I've had
enough working in the dark! Now we shall see one another and fight!"
"Yes," answered Johnson; "but with our guns it is impossible in so
small a space."
"Well, with a hatchet or a knife!"
The noise increased; the scratching of claws could be heard; the bears
had attacked the wall at the angle where it joined the snow fastened
to the rock."
"Evidently," said Johnson, "the animal is within six feet of us."
"You are right, Johnson," answered the American, "but we have time to
prepare ourselves to receive it!"
The American took the axe in one hand, his knife in the other; resting
on his right foot, his body thrown back, he stood ready to attack.
Hatteras and Bell did the same. Johnson prepared his gun in case
fire-arms should be necessary. The noise grew louder and louder; the
ice kept cracking beneath the repeated blows. At last only a thin
crust separated the adversaries; suddenly this crust tore asunder like
paper through which a clown leaps, and an enormous black body appeared
in the gloom of the room. Altamont raised his hand to strike it.
[Illustration: "An enormous black body appeared in the gloom of the
room. Altamont raised his hand to strike it."]
"Stop! for heaven's sake, stop!" said a well-known voice.
"The doctor, the doctor!" shouted Johnson.
It was indeed the doctor, who, carried by the impetus, rolled into the
room.
"Good evening, my friends," he said, springing to his feet.
His companions remained stupefied; but joy succeeded their
stupefaction; each one wished to embrace the worthy man; Hatteras, who
was much moved, clasped him for a long time to his breast. The doctor
answered by a warm clasp of the hand.
"What! you, Dr. Clawbonny!" said the boatswain.
"Why, Johnson, I was much more anxious about your fate than you about
mine."