The English at the North Pole Read online

  CHAPTER IX

  NEWS

  The Polar circle was cleared at last. On the 30th of April, at midday,the _Forward_ passed abreast of Holsteinborg; picturesque mountainsrose up on the eastern horizon. The sea appeared almost free fromicebergs, and the few there were could easily be avoided. The windveered round to the south-east, and the brig, under her mizensail,brigantine, topsails, and her topgallant sail, sailed up Baffin'sSea. It had been a particularly calm day, and the crew were able totake a little rest. Numerous birds were swimming and fluttering aboutround the vessel; amongst others, the doctor observed some_alca-alla_, very much like the teal, with black neck, wings and back,and white breast; they plunged with vivacity, and their immersionoften lasted forty seconds.

  The day would not have been remarkable if the following fact, howeverextraordinary it may appear, had not occurred on board. At six o'clockin the morning Richard Shandon, re-entering his cabin after havingbeen relieved, found upon the table a letter with this address:

  "To the Commander,

  "RICHARD SHANDON,

  "On board the 'FORWARD,'

  "Baffin's Sea."

  Shandon could not believe his own eyes, and before reading such astrange epistle he caused the doctor, James Wall and Johnson to becalled, and showed them the letter.

  "That grows very strange," said Johnson.

  "It's delightful!" thought the doctor.

  "At last," cried Shandon, "we shall know the secret."

  With a quick hand he tore the envelope and read as follows:

  "COMMANDER,--The captain of the _Forward_ is pleased with thecoolness, skill, and courage that your men, your officers, andyourself have shown on the late occasions, and begs you to giveevidence of his gratitude to the crew.

  "Have the goodness to take a northerly direction towards MelvilleBay, and from thence try and penetrate into Smith's Straits.

  "THE CAPTAIN OF THE _Forward_,

  "K. Z.

  "Monday, April 30th,

  "Abreast of Cape Walsingham."

  "Is that all?" cried the doctor.

  "That's all," replied Shandon, and the letter fell from his hands.

  "Well," said Wall, "this chimerical captain doesn't even mentioncoming on board, so I conclude that he never will come."

  "But how did this letter get here?" said Johnson.

  Shandon was silent.

  "Mr. Wall is right," replied the doctor, after picking up the letterand turning it over in every direction; "the captain won't come onboard for an excellent reason----"

  "And what's that?" asked Shandon quickly.

  "Because he is here already," replied the doctor simply.

  "Already!" said Shandon. "What do you mean?"

  "How do you explain the arrival of this letter if such is not thecase?"

  Johnson nodded his head in sign of approbation.

  "It is not possible!" said Shandon energetically. "I know every manof the crew. We should have to believe, in that case, that the captainhas been with us ever since we set sail. It is not possible, I tellyou. There isn't one of them that I haven't seen for more than twoyears in Liverpool; doctor, your supposition is inadmissible."

  "Then what do you admit, Shandon?"

  "Everything but that! I admit that the captain, or one of his men,has profited by the darkness, the fog, or anything you like, in orderto slip on board; we are not very far from land; there are Esquimauxkayaks that pass unperceived between the icebergs; someone may havecome on board and left the letter; the fog was intense enough to favourtheir design."

  "And to hinder them from seeing the brig," replied the doctor; "ifwe were not able to perceive an intruder slip on board, how could_he_ have discovered the _Forward_ in the midst of a fog?"

  "That is evident," exclaimed Johnson.

  "I come back, then," said the doctor, "to my first hypothesis. Whatdo you think about it, Shandon?"

  "I think what you please," replied Shandon fiercely, "with theexception of supposing that this man is on board my vessel."

  "Perhaps," added Wall, "there may be amongst the crew a man of hiswho has received instructions from him."

  "That's very likely," added the doctor.

  "But which man?" asked Shandon. "I tell you I have known all my mena long time."

  "Anyhow," replied Johnson, "if this captain shows himself, let himbe man or devil, we'll receive him; but we have another piece ofinformation to draw from this letter."

  "What's that?" asked Shandon.

  "Why, that we are to direct our path not only towards Melville Bay,but again into Smith's Straits."

  "You are right," answered the doctor.

  "Smith's Straits?" echoed Shandon mechanically.

  "It is evident," replied Johnson, "that the destination of the_Forward_ is not to seek a North-West passage, as we shall leave toour left the only track that leads to it--that is to say, LancasterStraits; that's what forebodes us difficult navigation in unknownseas."

  "Yes, Smith's Straits," replied Shandon, "that's the route theAmerican Kane followed in 1853, and at the price of what dangers!For a long time he was thought to be lost in those dreadful latitudes!However, as we must go, go we must. But where? how far? To the Pole?"

  "And why not?" cried the doctor.

  The idea of such an insane attempt made the boatswain shrug hisshoulders.

  "After all," resumed James Wall, "to come back to the captain, ifhe exists, I see nowhere on the coast of Greenland except Disko orUppernawik where he can be waiting for us; in a few days we shallknow what we may depend upon."

  "But," asked the doctor of Shandon, "aren't you going to make knownthe contents of that letter to the crew?"

  "With the commander's permission," replied Johnson, "I should donothing of the kind."

  "And why so?" asked Shandon.

  "Because all that mystery tends to discourage the men: they arealready very anxious about the fate of our expedition, and if thesupernatural side of it is increased it may produce very seriousresults, and in a critical moment we could not rely upon them. Whatdo you say about it, commander?"

  "And you, doctor--what do you think?" asked Shandon.

  "I think Johnson's reasoning is just."

  "And you, Wall?"

  "Unless there's better advice forthcoming, I shall stick to theopinion of these gentlemen."

  Shandon reflected seriously during a few minutes, and read the letterover again carefully.

  "Gentlemen," said he, "your opinion on this subject is certainlyexcellent, but I cannot adopt it."

  "Why not, Shandon?" asked the doctor.

  "Because the instructions of this letter are formal: they commandme to give the captain's congratulations to the crew, and up tillto-day I have always blindly obeyed his orders in whatever mannerthey have been transmitted to me, and I cannot----"

  "But----" said Johnson, who rightly dreaded the effect of such acommunication upon the minds of the sailors.

  "My dear Johnson," answered Shandon, "your reasons are excellent,but read--'he begs you to give evidence of his gratitude to the crew.'"

  "Act as you think best," replied Johnson, who was besides a very strictobserver of discipline. "Are we to muster the crew on deck?"

  "Do so," replied Shandon.

  The news of a communication having been received from the captainspread like wildfire on deck; the sailors quickly arrived at theirpost, and the commander read out the contents of the mysterious letter.The reading of it was received in a dead silence; the crew dispersed,a prey to a thousand suppositions. Clifton had heard enough to givehimself up to all the wanderings of his superstitious imagination;he attributed a considerable share in this incident to the dog-captain,and when by chance he met him in his passage he never failed to salutehim. "I told you the animal could write," he used to say to the sailors.No one said anything in answer to this observation, and ev
en Bell,the carpenter himself, would not have known what to answer.

  Nevertheless it was certain to all that, in default of the captain,his spirit or his shadow watched on board; and henceforward the wisestof the crew abstained from exchanging their opinions about him.

  On the 1st of May, at noon, they were in 68 degrees latitude and 56degrees 32 minutes longitude. The temperature was higher and thethermometer marked twenty-five degrees above zero. The doctor wasamusing himself with watching the antics of a white bear and two cubson the brink of a pack that lengthened out the land. Accompanied byWall and Simpson, he tried to give chase to them by means of the canoe;but the animal, of a rather warlike disposition, rapidly led awayits offspring, and consequently the doctor was compelled to renouncefollowing them up.

  Chilly Cape was doubled during the night under the influence of afavourable wind, and soon the high mountains of Disko rose in thehorizon. Godhavn Bay, the residence of the Governor-General of theDanish Settlements, was left to the right. Shandon did not considerit worth while to stop, and soon outran the Esquimaux pirogues whowere endeavouring to reach his ship.

  The Island of Disko is also called Whale Island. It was from thispoint that on the 12th of July, 1845, Sir John Franklin wrote to theAdmiralty for the last time. It was also on that island on the 27thof August, 1859, that Captain McClintock set foot on his return,bringing back, alas! proofs too complete of the loss of the expedition.The coincidence of these two facts were noted by the doctor; thatmelancholy conjunction was prolific in memories, but soon the heightsof Disko disappeared from his view.

  There were, at that time, numerous icebergs on the coasts, some ofthose which the strongest thaws are unable to detach; the continualseries of ridges showed themselves under the strangest forms.

  The next day, towards three o'clock, they were bearing on to SandersonHope to the north-east. Land was left on the starboard at a distanceof about fifteen miles; the mountains seemed tinged with ared-coloured bistre. During the evening, several whales of thefinners species, which have fins on their backs, came playing aboutin the midst of the ice-trails, throwing out air and water from theirblow-holes. It was during the night between the 3rd and 4th of Maythat the doctor saw for the first time the sun graze the horizonwithout dipping his luminous disc into it. Since the 31st of Januarythe days had been getting longer and longer till the sun went downno more. To strangers not accustomed to the persistence of thisperpetual light it was a constant subject of astonishment, and evenof fatigue; it is almost impossible to understand to what extentobscurity is requisite for the well-being of our eyes. The doctorexperienced real pain in getting accustomed to this light, renderedstill more acute by the reflection of the sun's rays upon the plainsof ice.

  On May 5th the _Forward_ headed the seventy-second parallel; twomonths later they would have met with numerous whalers under thesehigh latitudes, but at present the straits were not sufficiently opento allow them to penetrate into Baffin's Bay. The following day thebrig, after having headed Woman's Island, came in sight of Uppernawik,the most northerly settlement that Denmark possesses on these coasts.