The Field of Ice Read online

  AN ARCTIC SPRING.

  The prisoners were free, and their joy found vent in the noisiestdemonstrations. They employed the rest of the day in repairing thehouse, which had suffered greatly by the explosion. They clearedaway the blocks piled up by the animals, and filled up the rents inthe walls, working with might and main, enlivened by the many songsof old Johnson.

  Next morning there was a singular rise in the temperature, thethermometer going up to 15 deg. above zero.

  This comparative heat lasted several days. In sheltered spots theglass rose as high as 31 deg., and symptoms of a thaw appeared.

  The ice began to crack here and there, and jets of salt water werethrown up, like fountains in an English park. A few days later, therain fell in torrents.

  Thick vapour rose from the snow, giving promise of the speedydisappearance of these immense masses. The sun's pale disc becamedeeper in colour, and remained longer above the horizon. The nightwas scarcely longer than three hours.

  ]

  Other tokens of spring's approach were manifest of equalsignificance, the birds were returning in flocks, and the airresounded with their deafening cries. Hares were seen on the shoresof the bay, and mice in such abundance that their burrows completelyhoneycombed the ground.

  ]

  The Doctor drew the attention of his companions to the fact, thatalmost all these animals were beginning to lose their white winterdress, and would soon put on summer attire, while nature was alreadyproviding mosses, and poppies, and saxifragas, and short grass fortheir sustenance. A new world lay beneath that melting snow.

  But with these inoffensive animals came back their natural enemies.Foxes and wolves arrived in search of their prey, and dismal howlsbroke the silence of the short night.

  Arctic wolves closely resemble dogs, and their barking would deceivethe most practised ears; even the canine race themselves have beendeceived by it. Indeed, it seems as if the wily animals employedthis ruse to attract the dogs, and make them their prey. Severalnavigators have mentioned the fact, and the Doctor's ownexperience confirmed it. Johnson took care not to let hisGreenlanders loose; of Duk there was little fear; nothing could takehim in.

  For about a fortnight hunting was the principal occupation. Therewas an abundant supply of fresh meat to be had. They shotpartridges, ptarmigans, and snow ortolans, which are deliciouseating. The hunters never went far from Fort Providence, for gamewas so plentiful that it seemed waiting their guns, and the wholebay presented an animated appearance.

  The thaw, meanwhile, was making rapid progress. The thermometerstood steadily at 32 deg. above zero, and the water ran down themountain sides in cataracts, and dashed in torrents through theravines.

  The Doctor lost no time in clearing about an acre of ground, inwhich he sowed the seeds of anti-scorbutic plants. He just had thepleasure of seeing tiny little green leaves begin to sprout, whenthe cold returned in full force.

  In a single night, the thermometer lost nearly 40 deg.; it went down to8 deg. below zero. Everything was frozen--birds, quadrupeds, amphibiadisappeared as if by magic; seal-holes reclosed, and the ice oncemore became hard as granite.

  The change was most striking; it occurred on the 18th of May, duringthe night. The Doctor was rather disappointed at having all his workto do again, but Hatteras bore the grievance most unphilosophically,as it interfered with all his plans of speedy departure.

  ]

  "Do you think we shall have a long spell of this weather, Mr.Clawbonny?" asked Johnson.

  "No, my friend, I don't; it is a last blow from the cold. Yousee these are his dominions, and he won't be driven out withoutmaking some resistance."

  "He can defend himself pretty well," said Bell, rubbing his face.

  "Yes; but I ought to have waited, and not have wasted my seed likean ignoramus; and all the more as I could, if necessary, have madethem sprout by the kitchen stoves."

  "But do you mean to say," asked Altamont, "that you might haveanticipated the sudden change?"

  "Of course, and without being a wizard. I ought to have put myseed under the protection of Saint Paucratius and the other twosaints, whose fete days fall this month."

  "Absurd! Pray tell me what they have to do with it? What influencecan they possibly have on the temperature?"

  "An immense one, if we are to believe horticulturists, who callthem the patron saints of the frost."

  "And for what reason?"

  "Because generally there is a periodical frost in the month ofMay, and it is coldest from the 11th to the 13th. That is thefact."

  "And how is it explained?"

  "In two ways. Some say that a larger number of asteroids comebetween the earth and the sun at this time of year, and others thatthe mere melting of the snow necessarily absorbs a large amount ofheat, and accounts for the low temperature. Both theories areplausible enough, but the fact remains whichever we accept, and Iought to have remembered it."

  The Doctor was right, for the cold lasted till the end of the month,and put an end to all their hunting expeditions. The old monotonouslife in-doors recommenced, and was unmarked by any incident except aserious illness which suddenly attacked Bell. This was violentquinsy, but, under the Doctor's skilful treatment, it was sooncured. Ice was the only remedy he employed, administered in smallpieces, and in twenty-four hours Bell was himself again.

  ]

  During this compulsory leisure, Clawbonny determined to have a talkwith the captain on an important subject--the building of a sloopout of the planks of the Porpoise.

  The Doctor hardly knew how to begin, as Hatteras had declared sovehemently that he would never consent to use a morsel of Americanwood; yet it was high time he were brought to reason, as June was athand, the only season for distant expeditions, and they could notstart without a ship.

  He thought over it a long while, and at last drew the captain aside,and said in the kindest, gentlest way--

  "Hatteras, do you believe I'm your friend?"

  "Most certainly I do," replied the captain, earnestly; "mybest, indeed my only friend."

  "And if I give you a piece of advice without your asking, will youconsider my motive is perfectly disinterested?"

  "Yes, for I know you have never been actuated by self-interest.But what are you driving at?"

  "Wait, Hatteras, I have one thing more to ask. Do you look on meas a true-hearted Englishman like yourself, anxious for hiscountry's glory?"

  Hatteras looked surprised, but simply said--

  "I do."

  "You desire to reach the North Pole," the Doctor went on; "andI understand and share your ambition, but to achieve your object youmust employ the right means."

  "Well, and have I not sacrificed everything for it?"

  "No, Hatteras, you have not sacrificed your personal antipathies.Even at this very moment I know you are in the mood to refuse theindispensable conditions of reaching the pole."

  "Ah! it is the boat you want to talk about, and that man----"

  "Hatteras, let us discuss the question calmly, and examine thecase on all sides. The coast on which we find ourselves at presentmay terminate abruptly; we have no proof that it stretches rightaway to the pole; indeed, if your present information prove correct,we ought to come to an open sea during the summer months. Well,supposing we reach this Arctic Ocean and find it free from ice andeasy to navigate, what shall we do if we have no ship?"

  Hatteras made no reply.

  "Tell me, now, would you like to find yourself only a few milesfrom the pole and not be able to get to it?"

  Hatteras still said nothing, but buried his head in his hands.

  "Besides," continued the Doctor, "look at the question in itsmoral aspect. Here is an Englishman who sacrifices his fortune, andeven his life, to win fresh glory for his country, but because theboat which bears him across an unknown ocean, or touches the newshore, happens to be made of the planks of an American vessel--acast-away wreck of no use to anyone--will that lessen the honour ofthe discovery? If you yourself had found
the hull of some wreckedvessel lying deserted on the shore, would you have hesitated to makeuse of it; and must not a sloop built by four Englishmen and mannedby four Englishmen be English from keel to gunwale?"

  Hatteras was still silent.

  "No," continued Clawbonny; "the real truth is, it is not thesloop you care about: it is the man."

  "Yes, Doctor, yes," replied the captain. "It is this AmericanI detest; I hate him with a thorough English hatred. Fate has thrownhim in my path."

  "To save you!"

  "To ruin me. He seems to defy me, and speaks as if he were lordand master. He thinks he has my destiny in his hands, and knows allmy projects. Didn't we see the man in his true colours when wewere giving names to the different coasts? Has he ever avowed hisobject in coming so far north? You will never get out of my headthat this man is not the leader of some expedition sent out by theAmerican government."

  "Well, Hatteras, suppose it is so, does it follow that thisexpedition is to search for the North Pole? May it not be to findthe North-West Passage? But anyway, Altamont is in completeignorance of our object, for neither Johnson, nor Bell, nor myself,have ever breathed a word to him about it, and I am sure you havenot."

  "Well, let him always remain so."

  "He must be told in the end, for we can't leave him herealone."

  "Why not? Can't he stay here in Fort Providence?"

  "He would never consent to that, Hatteras; and, moreover, to leavea man in that way, and not know whether we might find him safe whenwe came back, would be worse than imprudent: it would be inhuman.Altamont will come with us; he must come. But we need not discloseour projects; let us tell him nothing, but simply build a sloop forthe ostensible purpose of making a survey of the coast."

  Hatteras could not bring himself to consent, but said--

  "And suppose the man won't allow his ship to be cut up?"

  "In that case, you must take the law in your own hands, and builda vessel in spite of him."

  "I wish to goodness he would refuse, then!"

  "He must be asked before he can refuse. I'll undertake theasking," said Clawbonny.

  He kept his word, for that very same night, at supper, he managed toturn the conversation towards the subject of making excursionsduring summer for hydrographical purposes.

  "You will join us, I suppose, Altamont," he said.

  "Of course," replied the American. "We must know how far NewAmerica extends."

  Hatteras looked fixedly at his rival, but said nothing.

  "And for that purpose," continued Altamont, "we had betterbuild a little ship out of the remains of the Porpoise. It is thebest possible use we can make of her."

  "You hear, Bell," said the Doctor, eagerly. "We'll all setto work to-morrow morning."

  The carpenter began his task immediately.--P.154]

  CHAPTER XV.