below zero in a very clear atmosphere.
All at once, without warning of any kind, a vapour rose from the ground
in a complete state of congelation, reaching a height of about ninety
feet, and remaining stationary; they could not see a foot before them;
it clung to their clothing, and bristled it with ice. Our travellers,
surprised by the frost-rime, had all the same idea--that of getting
near one another. They called out, "Bell!" "Simpson!" "This way,
doctor!" "Where are you, captain?" But no answers were heard; the
vapour did not conduct sound. They all fired as a sign of rallying.
But if the sound of the voice appeared too weak, the detonation of
the firearms was too strong, for it was echoed in all directions,
and produced a confused rumble without appreciable direction. Each
acted then according to his instincts. Hatteras stopped, folded his
arms, and waited. Simpson contented himself with stopping his sledge.
Bell retraced his steps, feeling the traces with his hands. The doctor
ran hither and thither, bumping against the icebergs, falling down,
getting up, and losing himself more and more. At the end of five
minutes he said:
"I can't go on like this! What a queer climate! It changes too suddenly,
and the icicles are cutting my face. Captain! I say, captain!"
But he obtained no answer; he discharged his gun, and notwithstanding
his thick gloves, burnt his hand with the trigger. During this
operation he thought he saw a confused mass moving at a few steps
from him.
"At last!" said he. "Hatteras! Bell! Simpson! Is it you? Answer, do!"
A hollow growl was the only answer.
"Whatever is that?" thought the doctor. The mass approached, and its
outline was more distinctly seen. "Why, it's a bear!" thought the
terrified doctor. It was a bear, lost too in the frost-rime, passing
within a few steps of the men of whose existence it was ignorant.
The doctor saw its enormous paws beating the air, and did not like
the situation. He jumped back and the mass disappeared like a phantom.
The doctor felt the ground rising under his feet; climbing on
all-fours he got to the top of a block, then another, feeling the
end with his stick. "It's an iceberg!" he said to himself: "if I get
to the top I shall be saved." So saying he climbed to a height of
about eighty feet; his head was higher than the frozen fog, of which
he could clearly see the top. As he looked round he saw the heads
of his three companions emerging from the dense fluid.
"Hatteras!"
"Doctor!"
"Bell!"
"Simpson!"
The four names were all shouted at the same time; the sky, lightened
by a magnificent halo, threw pale rays which coloured the frost-rime
like clouds, and the summits of the icebergs seemed to emerge from
liquid silver. The travellers found themselves circumscribed by a
circle less than a hundred feet in diameter. Thanks to the purity
of the upper layers of air, they could hear each other distinctly,
and could talk from the top of their icebergs. After the first shots
they had all thought the best thing they could do was to climb.
"The sledge!" cried the captain.
"It's eighty feet below us," answered Simpson.
"In what condition?"
"In good condition."
"What about the bear?" asked the doctor.
"What bear?" asked Bell.
"The bear that nearly broke my head," answered the doctor.
"If there is a bear we must go down," said Hatteras.
"If we do we shall get lost again," said the doctor.
"And our dogs?" said Hatteras.
At this moment Dick's bark was heard through the fog.
"That's Dick," said Hatteras; "there's something up; I shall go down."
Growls and barks were heard in a fearful chorus. In the fog it sounded
like an immense humming in a wadded room. Some struggle was evidently
going on.
"Dick! Dick!" cried the captain, re-entering the frost-rime.
"Wait a minute, Hatteras; I believe the fog is clearing off," called
out the doctor. So it was, but lowering like the waters of a pond
that is being emptied; it seemed to enter the ground from whence it
sprang; the shining summits of the icebergs grew above it; others,
submerged till then, came out like new islands; by an optical illusion
the travellers seemed to be mounting with their icebergs above the
fog. Soon the top of the sledge appeared, then the dogs, then about
thirty other animals, then enormous moving masses, and Dick jumping
about in and out of the fog.
"Foxes!" cried Bell.
"Bears!" shouted the doctor. "Five!"
"Our dogs! Our provisions!" cried Simpson. A band of foxes and bears
had attacked the sledge, and were making havoc with the provisions.
The instinct of pillage made them agree; the dogs barked furiously,
but the herd took no notice, and the scene of destruction was
lamentable.
"Fire!" cried the captain, discharging his gun. His companions
imitated him. Upon hearing the quadruple detonation the bears raised
their heads, and with a comical growl gave the signal for departure;
they went faster than a horse could gallop, and, followed by the herd
of foxes, soon disappeared amongst the northern icebergs.
CHAPTER XXX
THE CAIRN
The frost-rime had lasted about three-quarters of an hour; quite long
enough for the bears and foxes to make away with a considerable
quantity of provisions which they attacked all the more greedily,
arriving, as they did, when the animals were perishing with hunger
from the long winter. They had torn open the covering of the sledge
with their enormous paws; the cases of pemmican were open, and
half-empty; the biscuit-bags pillaged, the provisions of tea spilt
over the snow, a barrel of spirits of wine broken up, and its precious
contents run out; the camping materials lying all about. The wild
animals had done their work.
"The devils have done for us!" said Bell.
"What shall we do now?" said Simpson.
"Let us first see how much we've lost," said the doctor; "we can talk
after."
Hatteras said nothing, but began picking up the scattered objects.
They picked up all the pemmican and biscuit that was still eatable.
The loss of so much spirits of wine was deplorable, as without it
it was impossible to get any hot drinks--no tea nor coffee.
The doctor made an inventory of the provisions that were left, and
found that the animals had eaten two hundred pounds of pemmican and
a hundred and fifty pounds of biscuit; if the travellers continued
their journey they would be obliged to put themselves on half-rations.
They deliberated about what was to be done under the circumstances.
Should they return to the brig and begin their expedition again? But
how could they resolve to lose the hundred and fifty miles already
cleared? and coming back without the fuel, how would they be received
by the crew? and which of them would begin the excursion again? It
was evident that the best thing to do was to go on, even at the price
of the worst privations. The doctor, Hatteras, and Bell were for going
on, but Simpson wanted to go back; his health had severely suffered
from the fatigues of the journey, and he grew visibly weaker; but
at last, seeing he was alone in his opinion, he took his place at
the head of the sledge, and the little caravan continued its route.
During the three following days, from the 15th to the 17th of January,
the monotonous incidents of the journey took place again. They went
on more slowly; the travellers were soon tired; their legs ached with
fatigue, and the dogs drew with difficulty. Their insufficient food
told upon them. The weather changed with its usual quickness, going
suddenly from intense cold to damp and penetrating fogs.
On the 18th of January the aspect of the ice-field changed all at
once. A great number of peaks, like pyramids, ending in a sharp point
at a great elevation, showed themselves on the horizon. The soil in
certain places was seen through the layer of snow; it seemed to consist
of schist and quartz, with some appearance of calcareous rock. At
last the travellers had reached -terra firma-, and, according to their
estimation, the continent must be New Cornwall. The doctor was
delighted to tread on solid ground once more; the travellers had only
a hundred more miles to go before reaching Belcher Cape; but the
trouble of walking increased on this rocky soil, full of inequalities,
crevices, and precipices; they were obliged to plunge into the
interior of the land and climb the high cliffs on the coast, across
narrow gorges, in which the snow was piled up to a height of thirty
or forty feet. The travellers soon had cause to regret the levels
they had left, on which the sledge rolled so easily. Now they were
obliged to drag it with all their strength. The dogs were worn out,
and had to be helped; the men harnessed themselves along with them,
and wore themselves out too. They were often obliged to unload the
provisions in order to get over a steep hill, whose frozen surface
gave no hold. Some passages ten feet long took hours to clear. During
the first day they only made about five miles on that land, so well
named Cornwall. The next day the sledge attained the upper part of
the cliffs; the travellers were too exhausted to construct their
snow-house, and were obliged to pass the night under the tent,
enveloped in their buffalo-skins, and drying their stockings by
placing them on their chests. The consequences of such a state of
things may be readily imagined; during the night the thermometer went
down to 44 degrees below zero, and the mercury froze.
The health of Simpson became alarming; an obstinate cold, violent
rheumatism, and intolerable pain forced him to lie down on the sledge,
which he could no longer guide. Bell took his place; he was not well,
but was obliged not to give in. The doctor also felt the influence
of his terrible winter excursion, but he did not utter a complaint;
he marched on in front, leaning on his stick; he lighted the way;
he helped in everything. Hatteras, impassive, impenetrable,
insensible, in as good health as the first day, with his iron
constitution, followed the sledge in silence. On the 20th of January
the weather was so bad that the least effort caused immediate
prostration; but the difficulties of the ground became so great that
Hatteras and Bell harnessed themselves along with the dogs; the front
of the sledge was broken by an unexpected shock, and they were forced
to stop and mend it. Such delays occurred several times a day. The
travellers were journeying along a deep ravine up to their waists
in snow, and perspiring, notwithstanding the violent cold. No one
spoke. All at once Bell looked at the doctor in alarm, picked up a
handful of snow, and began to rub his companion's face with all his
might.
"What the deuce, Bell?" said the doctor, struggling.
But Bell went on rubbing.
"Are you mad? You've filled my eyes, nose, and mouth with snow. What
is it?"
"Why," answered Bell, "if you've got a nose left, you owe it to me."
"A nose?" said the doctor, putting his hand to his face.
"Yes, Mr. Clawbonny, you were quite frostbitten; your nose was quite
white when I looked at you, and without my bit of rubbing you would
be minus nose."
"Thanks, Bell," said the doctor; "I'll do the same for you in case
of need."
"I hope you will, Mr. Clawbonny, and I only wish we had nothing worse
to look forward to!"
"You mean Simpson! Poor fellow, he is suffering dreadfully!"
"Do you fear for him?" asked Hatteras quickly.
"Yes, captain," answered the doctor.
"What do you fear?"
"A violent attack of scurvy. His legs swell already, and his gums
are attacked; the poor fellow is lying under his blankets on the sledge,
and every shock increases his pain. I pity him, but I can't do anything
for him!"
"Poor Simpson!" said Bell.
"Perhaps we had better stop a day or two," said the doctor.
"Stop!" cried Hatteras, "when the lives of eighteen men depend upon
our return! You know we have only enough provisions left for twenty
days."
Neither the doctor nor Bell could answer that, and the sledge went
on its way. In the evening they stopped at the foot of an ice-hill,
out of which Bell soon cut a cavern; the travellers took refuge in
it, and the doctor passed the night in nursing Simpson; he was a prey
to the scurvy, and constant groans issued from his terrified lips.
"Ah, Mr. Clawbonny, I shall never get over it. I wish I was dead
already."
"Take courage, my poor fellow!" answered the doctor, with pity in
his tone, and he answered Simpson's complaints by incessant attention.
Though half-dead with fatigue, he employed a part of the night in
making the sick man a soothing draught, and rubbed him with lime-juice.
Unfortunately it had little effect, and did not prevent the terrible
malady spreading. The next day they were obliged to lift the poor
fellow on to the sledge, although he begged and prayed them to leave
him to die in peace, and begin their painful march again.
The freezing mists wet the three men to the skin; the snow and sleet
beat in their faces; they did the work of beasts of burden, and had
not even sufficient food. Dick ran hither and thither, discovering
by instinct the best route to follow. During the morning of the 23rd
of January, when it was nearly dark, for the new moon had not yet
made her appearance, Dick ran on first; he was lost to sight for
several hours. Hatteras became anxious, as there were many bear-marks
on the ground; he was considering what had better be done, when a
loud barking was heard in front. The little procession moved on
quicker, and soon came upon the faithful animal in the depth of a
ravine. Dick was set as if he had been petrified in front of a sort
of cairn, made of limestone, and covered with a cement of ice.
"This time," said the doctor, disengaging himself from the traces,
"it's really a cairn; we can't be mistaken."
"What does it matter to us?" said Hatteras.
"Why, if it is a cairn, it may inclose something that would be useful
to us--some provisions perhaps."
"As if Europeans had ever been here!" said Hatteras, shrugging his
shoulders.
"But if not Europeans, it may be that the Esquimaux have hidden some
product of their hunting here. They are accustomed to doing it, I
think."
"Well, look if you like, Clawbonny, but I don't think it is worth
your while."
Clawbonny and Bell, armed with their pickaxes made for the cairn.
Dick kept on barking furiously. The cairn was soon demolished, and
the doctor took out a damp paper. Hatteras took the document and read:
"Altam..., -Porpoise-, Dec... 13th, 1860,
12.. degrees long... 8.. degrees 35 minutes lat..."
"The -Porpoise-!" said the doctor.
"I don't know any ship of that name frequenting these seas," said
Hatteras.
"It is evident," continued the doctor, "that some sailors, or perhaps
some shipwrecked fellows, have passed here within the last two
months."
"That's certain," said Bell.
"What shall we do?" asked the doctor.
"Continue our route," said Hatteras coldly. "I don't know anything
about the -Porpoise-, but I do know that the -Forward- is waiting
for our return."
CHAPTER XXXI
THE DEATH OF SIMPSON
The travellers went on their weary way, each thinking of the discovery
they had just made. Hatteras frowned with uneasiness.
"What can the -Porpoise- be?" he asked himself. "Is it a ship? and
if so, what was it doing so near the Pole?"
At this thought he shivered, but not from the cold. The doctor and
Bell only thought of the result their discovery might have for others
or for themselves. But the difficulties and obstacles in their way
soon made them oblivious to everything but their own preservation.
Simpson's condition grew worse; the doctor saw that death was near.
He could do nothing, and was suffering cruelly on his own account
from a painful ophthalmia which might bring on blindness if neglected.
The twilight gave them enough light to hurt the eyes when reflected
by the snow; it was difficult to guard against the reflection, for
the spectacle-glasses got covered with a layer of opaque ice which
obstructed the view, and when so much care was necessary for the
dangers of the route, it was important to see clearly; however, the
doctor and Bell took it in turns to cover their eyes or to guide the
sledge. The soil was volcanic, and by its inequalities made it very
difficult to draw the sledge, the frame of which was getting worn
out. Another difficulty was the effect of the uniform brilliancy of
the snow; the ground seemed to fall beneath the feet of the travellers,
and they experienced the same sensation as that of the rolling of
a ship; they could not get accustomed to it, and it made them sleepy,
and they often walked on half in a dream. Then some unexpected shock,
fall, or obstacle would wake them up from their inertia, which
afterwards took possession of them again.
On the 25th of January they began to descend, and their dangers
increased. The least slip might send them down a precipice, and there
they would have been infallibly lost. Towards evening an extremely
violent tempest swept the snow-clad summits; they were obliged to
lie down on the ground, and the temperature was so low that they were
in danger of being frozen to death. Bell, with the help of Hatteras,
built a snow-house, in which the poor fellows took shelter; there
they partook of a little pemmican and warm tea; there were only a
few gallons of spirits of wine left, and they were obliged to use
them to quench their thirst, as they could not take snow in its natural
state; it must be melted. In temperate countries, where the
temperature scarcely falls below freezing point, it is not injurious;
but above the Polar circle it gets so cold that it cannot be touched
more than a red-hot iron; there is such a difference of temperature
that its absorption produces suffocation. The Esquimaux would rather
suffer the greatest torments than slake their thirst with snow.
The doctor took his turn to watch at three o'clock in the morning,
when the tempest was at its height; he was leaning in a corner of
the snow-house, when a lamentable groan from Simpson drew his
attention; he rose to go to him, and struck his head against the roof;
without thinking of the accident he began to rub Simpson's swollen
limbs; after about a quarter of an hour he got up again, and bumped
his head again, although he was kneeling then.
"That's very queer," he said to himself.
He lifted his hand above his head, and felt that the roof was lowering.
"Good God!" he cried; "Hatteras! Bell!"
His cries awoke his companions, who got up quickly, and bumped
themselves too; the darkness was thick.
"The roof is falling in!" cried the doctor.
They all rushed out, dragging Simpson with them; they had no sooner
left their dangerous retreat, than it fell in with a great noise.
The poor fellows were obliged to take refuge under the tent covering,
which was soon covered with a thick layer of snow, which, as a bad
conductor, prevented the travellers being frozen alive. The tempest
continued all through the night. When Bell harnessed the dogs the
next morning he found that some of them had begun to eat their leather
harness, and that two of them were very ill, and could not go much
further. However, the caravan set out again; there only remained sixty
miles to go. On the 26th, Bell, who went on in front, called out
suddenly to his companions. They ran up to him, and he pointed to
a gun leaning against an iceberg.
"A gun!" cried the doctor.
Hatteras took it; it was loaded and in good condition.
"The men from the -Porpoise- can't be far off," said the doctor.
Hatteras remarked that the gun was of American manufacture, and his
hands crisped the frozen barrel. He gave orders to continue the march,
and they kept on down the mountain slope. Simpson seemed deprived
of all feeling; he had no longer the strength to complain. The tempest
kept on, and the sledge proceeded more and more slowly; they scarcely
made a few miles in twenty-four hours, and in spite of the strictest
economy, the provisions rapidly diminished; but as long as they had
enough for the return journey, Hatteras kept on.
On the 27th they found a sextant half-buried in the snow, then a
leather bottle; the latter contained brandy, or rather a lump of ice,
with a ball of snow in the middle, which represented the spirit; it
could not be used. It was evident that they were following in the
steps of some poor shipwrecked fellows who, like them, had taken the
only practicable route. The doctor looked carefully round for other
cairns, but in vain. Sad thoughts came into his mind; he could not
help thinking that it would be a good thing not to meet with their
predecessors; what could he and his companions do for them? They
wanted help themselves; their clothes were in rags, and they had not
enough to eat. If their predecessors were numerous they would all
die of hunger. Hatteras seemed to wish to avoid them, and could he
be blamed? But these men might be their fellow-countrymen, and,
however slight might be the chance of saving them, ought they not
to try it? He asked Bell what he thought about it, but the poor fellow's
heart was hardened by his own suffering, and he did not answer.
Clawbonny dared not question Hatteras, so he left it to Providence.
In the evening of the 27th, Simpson appeared to be at the last
extremity; his limbs were already stiff and frozen; his difficult
breathing formed a sort of mist round his head, and convulsive
movements announced that his last hour was come. The expression of
his face was terrible, desperate, and he threw looks of powerless
anger towards the captain. He accused him silently, and Hatteras
avoided him and became more taciturn and wrapped up in himself than
ever. The following night was frightful; the tempest redoubled in
violence; the tent was thrown down three times, and the snowdrifts
buried the poor fellows, blinded them, froze them, and wounded them
with the sharp icicles struck off the surrounding icebergs. The dogs
howled lamentably. Simpson lay exposed to the cruel atmosphere. Bell
succeeded in getting up the tent again, which, though it did not
protect them from the cold, kept out the snow. But a more violent
gust blew it down a fourth time, and dragged it along in its fury.
"Oh, we can't bear it any longer!" cried Bell.
"Courage, man, courage!" answered the doctor, clinging to him in order
to prevent themselves rolling down a ravine. Simpson's death-rattle
was heard. All at once, with a last effort, he raised himself up and
shook his fist at Hatteras, who was looking at him fixedly, then gave
a fearful cry, and fell back dead in the midst of his unfinished
threat.
"He is dead!" cried the doctor.
"Dead!" repeated Bell.
Hatteras advanced towards the corpse, but was driven back by a gust
of wind.
Poor Simpson was the first victim to the murderous climate, the first
to pay with his life the unreasonable obstinacy of the captain. The
dead man had called Hatteras an assassin, but he did not bend beneath
the accusation. A single tear escaped from his eyes and froze on his
pale cheek. The doctor and Bell looked at him with a sort of terror.
Leaning on his stick, he looked like the genius of the North, upright
in the midst of the whirlwind, and frightful in his immobility.
He remained standing thus till the first dawn of twilight, bold,
tenacious, indomitable, and seemed to defy the tempest that roared
round him.
CHAPTER XXXII
THE RETURN
The wind went down about six in the morning, and turning suddenly
north cleared the clouds from the sky; the thermometer marked 33
degrees below zero. The first rays of the sun reached the horizon
which they would gild a few days later. Hatteras came up to his two
dejected companions, and said to them, in a low, sad voice:
"We are still more than sixty miles from the spot indicated by Sir
Edward Belcher. We have just enough provisions to allow us to get
back to the brig. If we go on any further we shall meet with certain
death, and that will do good to no one. We had better retrace our
steps."
"That is a sensible resolution, Hatteras," answered the doctor; "I
would have followed you as far as you led us, but our health gets
daily weaker; we can scarcely put one foot before the other; we ought
to go back."
"Is that your opinion too, Bell?" asked Hatteras.
"Yes, captain," answered the carpenter.
"Very well," said Hatteras; "we will take two days' rest. We want
it. The sledge wants mending. I think we had better build ourselves
a snow-house, and try to regain a little strength."
After this was settled, our three men set to work with vigour. Bell
took the necessary precautions to assure the solidity of the
construction, and they soon had a good shelter at the bottom of the
ravine where the last halt had taken place. It had cost Hatteras a
great effort to interrupt his journey. All their trouble and pain
lost! A useless excursion, which one man had paid for with his life.
What would become of the crew now that all hope of coal was over?
What would Shandon think? Notwithstanding all these painful thoughts,
he felt it impossible to go on any further. They began their
preparations for the return journey at once. The sledge was mended;
it had now only two hundred pounds weight to carry. They mended their
clothes, worn-out, torn, soaked with snow, and hardened by the frost;
new moccasins and snow-shoes replaced those that were worn out. This
work took the whole day of the 29th and the morning of the 30th; the
three travellers rested and comforted themselves as well as they
could.
During the thirty-six hours passed in the snow-house and on the
icebergs of the ravine, the doctor had noticed that Dick's conduct
was very strange; he crept smelling about a sort of rising in the
ground made by several layers of ice; he kept wagging his tail with
impatience, and trying to draw the attention of his master to the
spot. The doctor thought that the dog's uneasiness might be caused
by the presence of Simpson's body, which he and his companions had
not yet had time to bury. He resolved to put it off no longer,
especially as they intended starting early the next morning. Bell
and the doctor took their pickaxes and directed their steps towards
the lowest part of the ravine; the mound indicated by Dick seemed
to be a good spot to place the corpse in; they were obliged to bury
it deep to keep it from the bears. They began by removing the layer
of soft snow, and then attacked the ice. At the third blow of his
pickaxe the doctor broke some hard obstacle; he took out the pieces
and saw that it was a glass bottle; Bell discovered a small
biscuit-sack with a few crumbs at the bottom.
"Whatever does this mean?" said the doctor.
"I can't think," answered Bell, suspending his work.
They called Hatteras, who came immediately. Dick barked loudly, and
began scratching at the ice.
"Perhaps we have found a provision-store," said the doctor.
"It is possible," said Bell.
"Go on," said Hatteras.
Some remains of food were drawn out, and a case a quarter full of
pemmican.
"If it is a hiding-place," said Hatteras, "the bears have been before
us. See, the provisions are not intact."
"I am afraid so," answered the doctor; "for----"
He was interrupted by a cry from Bell, who had come upon a man's leg,
stiffened and frozen.
"A corpse," cried the doctor.
"It is a tomb," answered Hatteras.
When the corpse was disinterred it turned out to be that of a sailor,
about thirty years old, perfectly preserved. He wore the clothes of
an Arctic navigator. The doctor could not tell how long he had been
dead. But after this corpse, Bell discovered a second, that of a man
of fifty, bearing the mark of the suffering that had killed him on
his face.
"These are not buried bodies," cried the doctor, "the poor fellows
were surprised by death just as we find them."
"You are right, Mr. Clawbonny," answered Bell.
"Go on! go on!" said Hatteras.
Bell obeyed tremblingly; for who knew how many human bodies the mound
contained?
"These men have been the victims of the same accident that almost
happened to us," said the doctor. "Their snow-house tumbled in. Let
us see if any one of them is still alive."
The place was soon cleared, and Bell dug out a third body, that of
a man of forty, who had not the cadaverous look of the others. The
doctor examined him and thought he recognised some symptoms of
existence.
"He is alive!" he cried.
Bell and he carried the body into the snow-house whilst Hatteras,
unmoved, contemplated their late habitation. The doctor stripped the
resuscitated man and found no trace of a wound on him. He and Bell
rubbed him vigorously with oakum steeped in spirits of wine, and they
saw signs of returning consciousness; but the unfortunate man was
in a state of complete prostration, and could not speak a word. His
tongue stuck to his palate as if frozen. The doctor searched his
pockets, but they were empty. He left Bell to continue the friction,
and rejoined Hatteras. The captain had been down into the depths of
the snow-house, and had searched about carefully. He came up holding
a half-burnt fragment of a letter. These words were on it:
... tamont
... orpoise
... w York.
"Altamont!" cried the doctor, of the ship -Porpoise-, of New York."
"An American," said Hatteras.
"I'll save him," said the doctor, "and then we shall know all about
it."
He went back to Altamont whilst Hatteras remained pensive. Thanks
to his attentions, the doctor succeeded in recalling the unfortunate
man to life, but not to feeling; he neither saw, heard, nor spoke,
but he lived. The next day Hatteras said to the doctor:
"We must start at once."
"Yes. The sledge is not loaded; we'll put the poor fellow on it and
take him to the brig."
"Very well; but we must bury these bodies first."
The two unknown sailors were placed under the ruins of the snow-house
again, and Simpson's corpse took Altamont's place. The three
travellers buried their companion, and at seven o'clock in the morning
they set out again. Two of the Greenland dogs were dead, and Dick
offered himself in their place. He pulled with energy.
During the next twenty days the travellers experienced the same
incidents as before. But as it was in the month of February they did
not meet with the same difficulty from the ice. It was horribly cold,
but there was not much wind. The sun reappeared for the first time
on the 31st of January, and every day he stopped longer above the
horizon. Bell and the doctor were almost blinded and half-lame; the
carpenter was obliged to walk upon crutches. Altamont still lived,
but he was in a state of complete insensibility. The doctor took great
care of him, although he wanted attention himself; he was getting
ill with fatigue. Hatteras thought of nothing but his ship. What state
should he find it in?
On the 24th of February he stopped all of a sudden. A red light appeared
about 300 paces in front, and a column of black smoke went up to the
sky.
"Look at that smoke! my ship is burning," said he with a beating heart.
"We are three miles off yet," said Bell; "it can't be the -Forward-."
"Yes it is," said the doctor; "the mirage makes it seem nearer."
The three men, leaving the sledge to the care of Dick, ran on, and
in an hour's time were in sight of the ship. She was burning in the
midst of the ice, which melted around her. A hundred steps farther
a man met them, wringing his hands before the -Forward- in flames.
It was Johnson. Hatteras ran to him.
"My ship! My ship!" cried he.
"Is that you, captain? Oh, don't come any nearer," said Johnson.
"What is it?" said Hatteras.
"The wretches left forty-eight hours ago, after setting fire to the
ship."
"Curse them!" cried Hatteras.
A loud explosion was then heard; the ground trembled; the icebergs
fell upon the ice-field; a column of smoke went up into the clouds,
and the -Forward- blew up. The doctor and Bell reached Hatteras, who
out of the depths of despair cried:
"The cowards have fled! The strong will succeed! Johnson and Bell,
you are courageous. Doctor, you have science. I have faith. To the
North Pole! To the North Pole!"
His companions heard these energetic words, and they did them good;
but it was a terrible situation for these four men, alone, under the
80th degree of latitude, in the midst of the Polar Regions!
END OF PART I OF THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN HATTERAS
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719