However, the bad weather continued, and leaving Fort Providence, even for an hour, was out of the question. Day and night they were pent up in these glittering ice-walls, and time hung heavily on their hands, at least on all but the Doctor's, and he always managed to find some occupation for himself.
[Illustration: ]
"I declare," said Altamont, one evening; "life like this is not worth having. We might as well be some of those reptiles that sleep all the winter. But I suppose there is no help for it."
"I am afraid not," said the Doctor; "unfortunately we are too few in number to get up any amusement."
"Then you think if there were more of us, we should find more to do?"
"Of course: when whole ships' crews have wintered here, they have managed to while away the time famously."
"Well, I must say I should like to know how. It would need a vast amount of ingenuity to extract anything amusing out of our circumstances. I suppose they did not play at charades?"
"No, but they introduced the press and the theatre."
"What? They had a newspaper?" exclaimed the American.
"They acted a comedy?" said Bell.
"That they did," said the Doctor. "When Parry wintered at Melville Island, he started both amusements among his men, and they met with great success."
"Well, I must confess, I should like to have been there," returned Johnson; "for it must have been rather curious work."
"Curious and amusing too, my good Johnson. Lieutenant Beechey was the theatre manager, and Captain Sabina chief editor of the newspaper called 'The Winter Chronicle, or the Gazette of Northern Georgia.' "
"Good titles," said Altamont.
"The newspaper appeared daily from the 1st of November, 1819, to the 20th of March, 1820. It reported the different excursions, and hunting parties, and accidents, and adventures, and published amusing stories. No doubt the articles were not up to the 'Spectator' or the 'Daily Telegraph,' but the readers were neither critical norblasé, and found great pleasure in their perusal."
[Illustration: ]
"My word!" said Altamont. "I should like to read some of the articles."
"Would you? Well, you shall judge for yourself."
"What! can you repeat them from memory?"
"No; but you had Parry's Voyages on board thePorpoise, and I can read you his own narrative if you like."
This proposition was so eagerly welcomed that the Doctor fetched the book forthwith, and soon found the passage in question.
"Here is a letter," he said, "addressed to the editor."
" 'Your proposition to establish a journal has been received by us with the greatest satisfaction. I am convinced that, under your direction, it will be a great source of amusement, and go a long way to lighten our hundred days of darkness.
" 'The interest I take in the matter myself has led me to study the effect of your announcement on my comrades, and I can testify, to use reporter's language, that the thing has produced an immense sensation.
" 'The day after your prospectus appeared, there was an unusual and unprecedented demand for ink among us, and our green tablecloth was deluged with snippings and parings of quill-pens, to the injury of one of our servants, who got a piece driven right under his nail. I know for a fact that Sergeant Martin had no less than nine pen-knives to sharpen.
" 'It was quite a novel sight to see all the writing-desks brought out, which had not made their appearance for a couple of months, and judging by the reams of paper visible, more than one visit must have been made to the depths of the hold.
" 'I must not forget to tell you, that I believe attempts will be made to slip into your box sundry articles which are not altogether original, as they have been published already. I can declare that, no later than last night, I saw an author bending over his desk, holding a volume of the "Spectator" open with one hand, and thawing the frozen ink in his pen at the lamp with the other. I need not warn you to be on your guard against such tricks, for it would never do for us to have articles in our "Winter Chronicle" which our great-grandfathers read over their breakfast-tables a century ago.' "
"Well, well," said Altamont, "there is a good deal of clever humour in that writer. He must have been a sharp fellow."
"You're right. Here is an amusing catalogue of Arctic tribulations:-
" 'To go out in the morning for a walk, and the moment you put your foot outside the ship, find yourself immersed in the cook's water-hole.
" 'To go out hunting, and fall in with a splendid reindeer, take aim, and find your gun has gone off with a flash in the pan, owing to damp powder.
" 'To set out on a march with a good supply of soft new bread in your pocket, and discover, when you want to eat, that it has frozen so hard that you would break your teeth if you attempted to bite it through.
" 'To rush from the table when it is reported that a wolf is in sight, and on coming back to find the cat has eaten your dinner.
" 'To be returning quietly home from a walk, absorbed in profitable meditation, and suddenly find yourself in the embrace of a bear.'
"We might supplement this list ourselves," said the Doctor, "to almost any amount, for there is a sort of pleasure in enumerating troubles when one has got the better of them."
"I declare," said Altamont, "this 'Winter Journal' is an amusing affair. I wish we could subscribe to it."
"Suppose we start one," said Johnson.
"For us five!" exclaimed Clawbonny; "we might do for editors, but there would not be readers enough."
"No, nor spectators enough, if we tried to get up a comedy," added Altamont.
"Tell us some more about Captain Parry's theatre," said Johnson; "did they play new pieces?"
"Certainly. At first two volumes on board the 'Hecla' were gone through, but as there was a performance once a fortnight, thisrepertoirewas soon exhausted. Then they had to improvise fresh plays; Parry himself composed one which had immense success. It was called 'The North-West Passage, or the End of the Voyage.' "
"A famous title," said Altamont; "but I must confess, if I had chosen such a subject, I should have been at a loss for thedénouement."
"You are right," said Bell; "who can say what the end will be?"
"What does that matter?" replied Mr. Clawbonny. "Why should we trouble about the last act, while the first ones are going on well. Leave all that to Providence, friends; let us each play our ownrôleas perfectly as we can, and since thedénouementbelongs to the Great Author of all things, we will trust his skill. He will manage our affairs for us, never fear."
"Well, we'd better go and dream about it," said Johnson, "for it's getting late, and it is time we went to bed," said Johnson.
"You're in a great hurry, old fellow," replied the Doctor.
"Why would you sit up, Mr. Clawbonny? I am so comfortable in my bed, and then I always have such good dreams. I dream invariably of hot countries, so that I might almost say, half my life is spent in the tropics, and half at the North Pole."
"You're a happy man, Johnson," said Altamont, "to be blessed with such a fortunate organization."
"Indeed I am," replied Johnson.
"Well, come, after that it would be positive cruelty to keep our good friend pining here," said the Doctor, "his tropical sun awaits him, so let's all go to bed."
On the 26th of April during the night there was a sudden change in the weather. The thermometer fell several degrees, and the inmates of Doctor's House could hardly keep themselves warm even in their beds. Altamont had charge of the stove, and he found it needed careful replenishing to preserve the temperature at 50° above zero.
This increase of cold betokened the cessation of the stormy weather, and the Doctor hailed it gladly as the harbinger of his favourite hunting and exploring expeditions.
He rose early next morning, and climbed up to the top of the cone. The wind had shifted north, the air was clear, and the snow firm and smooth to the tread.
Before long the five companions had left Doctor's House, and were busily engaged in clearing the heavy masses of snow off the roof and sides, for the house was no longer distinguishable from the plateau, as the snow had drifted to a depth of full fifteen feet. It took two hours to remove the frozen snow, and restore the architectural form of the dwelling. At length the granite foundations appeared, and the storehouses and powder magazines were once more accessible.
[Illustration: ]
But as, in so uncertain a climate, a storm might cut off their supplies any day, they wisely resolved to provide for any such emergency by carrying over a good stock of provisions to the kitchen; and then Clawbonny, Altamont, and Bell started off with their guns in search of game, for the want of fresh food began to be urgently felt.
The three companions went across the east side of the cone, right down into the centre of the far-stretching, snow-covered plain beneath, but they did not need to go far, for numerous traces of animals appeared on all sides within a circle of two miles round Fort Providence.
After gazing attentively at these traces for some minutes, the hunters looked at each other silently, and then the Doctor exclaimed:-
"Well, these are plain enough, I think!"
"Ay, only too plain," added Bell, "bears have been here!"
"First rate game!" said Altamont. "There's only one fault about it."
"And what is that?" asked Bell.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this-there are distinct traces of five bears, and five bears are rather too much for five men."
"Are you sure there are five?" said Clawbonny.
"Look and see for yourself. Here is one footprint, and there is another quite different. These claws are far wider apart than those; and see here, again, that paw belongs to a much smaller bear. I tell you, if you look carefully, you will see the marks of all five different bears distinctly."
"You're right," said Bell, after a close inspection.
"If that's the case, then," said the Doctor, "we must take care what we're about, and not be foolhardy, for these animals are starving after the severe winter, and they might be extremely dangerous to encounter and, since we are sure of their number--"
"And of their intentions, too," put in Altamont.
"You think they have discovered our presence here?"
"No doubt of it, unless we have got into a bear-pass, but then, why should these footprints be in a circle round our fort? Look, these animals have come from the south-east, and stopped at this place, and commenced to reconnoitre the coast."
[Illustration: ]
"You're right," said the Doctor, "and, what's more, it is certain that they have been here last night."
"And other nights before that," replied Altamont.
"I don't think so," rejoined Clawbonny. "It is more likely that they waited till the cessation of the tempest, and were on their way down to the bay, intending to catch seals, when they scented us."
"Well, we can easily find out if they come tonight," said Altamont.
"How?"
"By effacing all the marks in a given place, and if to-morrow, we find fresh ones, it will be evident that Fort Providence is the goal for which the bears are bound."
[Illustration: ]
"Very good, at any rate we shall know, then, what we have to expect."
The three hunters set to work, and scraped the snow over till all the footprints were obliterated for a considerable distance.
"It is singular, though," said Bell, "that bears could scent us all that way off; we have not been burning anything fat which might have attracted them."
"Oh!" replied the Doctor, "bears are endowed with a wonderfully keen sense of smell, and a piercing sight; and, more than that, they are extremely intelligent, almost more so than any other animal. They have smelt something unusual; and, besides, who can tell whether they have not even found their way as far as our plateau during the tempest?"
"But then, why did they stop here last night?" asked Altamont.
"Well, that's a question I can't answer, but there is no doubt they will continue narrowing their circles, till they reach Fort Providence."
"We shall soon see," said Altamont.
"And, meantime, we had best go on," added the Doctor, "and keep a sharp look out."
But not a sign of anything living was visible, and after a time they returned to the snow-house.
Hatteras and Johnson were informed how matters stood, and it was resolved to maintain a vigilant watch. Night came, but nothing disturbed its calm splendour-nothing was heard to indicate approaching danger.
Next morning at early dawn, Hatteras and his companions, well armed, went out to reconnoitre the state of the snow. They found the same identical footmarks, but somewhat nearer. Evidently the enemy was bent on the siege of Fort Providence.
"But where can the bears be?" said Bell.
"Behind the icebergs watching us," replied the Doctor. "Don't let us expose ourselves imprudently."
"What about going hunting, then?" asked Altamont.
"We must put it off for a day or two, I think, and rub out the marks again, and see if they are renewed to-morrow."
The Doctor's advice was followed, and they entrenched themselves for the present in the fort. The lighthouse was taken down, as it was not of actual use meantime, and might help to attract the bears. Each took it in turn to keep watch on the upper plateau.
The day passed without a sign of the enemy's existence, and next morning, when they hurried eagerly out to examine the snow, judge their astonishment to find it wholly untouched!
"Capital!" exclaimed Altamont. "The bears are put off the scent; they have no perseverance, and have grown tired waiting for us. They are off, and a good riddance. Now let us start for a day's hunting."
"Softly, softly," said the Doctor; "I'm not so sure they have gone. I think we had better wait one day more. It is evident the bears have not been here last night, at least on this side; but still-"
"Well, let us go right round the plateau, and see how things stand," said the impatient Altamont.
"All right," said Clawbonny. "Come along."
Away they went, but it was impossible to scrutinize carefully a track of two miles, and no trace of the enemy was discoverable.
"Now, then, can't we go hunting?" said Altamont.
"Wait till to-morrow," urged the Doctor again.
His friend was very unwilling to delay, but yielded the point at last, and returned to the fort.
[Illustration: ]
As on the preceding night, each man took his hour's watch on the upper plateau. When it came to Altamont's turn, and he had gone out to relieve Bell, Hatteras called his old companions round him. The Doctor left his desk and Johnson his cooking, and hastened to their captain's side, supposing he wanted to talk over their perilous situation; but Hatteras never gave it a thought.
"My friends," he said, "let us take advantage of the American's absence to speak of business. There are things which cannot concern him, and with which I do not choose him to meddle."
Johnson and Clawbonny looked at each other, wondering what the captain was driving at.
"I wish," he continued, "to talk with you about our plans for the future."
"All right! talk away while we are alone," said the Doctor.
"In a month, or six weeks at the outside, the time for making distant excursions will come again. Have you thought of what we had better undertake in summer?"
"Have you, captain?" asked Johnson.
"Have I? I may say that not an hour of my life passes without revolving in my mind my one cherished purpose. I suppose not a man among you intends to retrace his steps?"
No one replied, and Hatteras went on to say-
"For my own part, even if I must go alone, I will push on to the North Pole. Never were men so near it before, for we are not more than 360 miles distant at most, and I will not lose such an opportunity without making every attempt to reach it, even though it be an impossibility. What are your views, Doctor?"
"Your own, Hatteras."
"And yours, Johnson?"
"Like the Doctor's."
"And yours, Bell?"
"Captain," replied the carpenter, "it is true we have neither wives nor children waiting us in England, but, after all, it is one's country- one's native land! Have you no thoughts of returning home?"
"We can return after we have discovered the Pole quite as well as before, and even better. Our difficulties will not increase, for as we near the Pole we get away from the point of greatest cold. We have fuel and provisions enough. There is nothing to stop us, and we should be culpable, in my opinion, if we allowed ourselves to abandon the project."
"Very well, captain, I'll go along with you."
"That's right; I never doubted you," said Hatteras. "We shall succeed, and England will have all the glory."
"But there is an American among us!" said Johnson.
Hatteras could not repress an impatient exclamation.
"I know it!" he said, in a stern voice.
"We cannot leave him behind," added the Doctor.
"No, we can't," repeated Hatteras, almost mechanically.
"And he will be sure to go too."
"Yes, he will go too; but who will command?"
"You, captain."
"And if you all obey my orders, will the Yankee refuse?"
"I shouldn't think so; but suppose he should, what can be done?"
"He and I must fight it out, then."
The three Englishmen looked at Hatteras, but said nothing. Then the Doctor asked how they were to go.
"By the coast, as far as possible," was the reply.
"But what if we find open water, as is likely enough?"
"Well, we'll go across it."
"But we have no boat."
Hatteras did not answer, and looked embarrassed.
"Perhaps," suggested Bell, "we might make a ship out of some of the planks of thePorpoise."
"Never!" exclaimed Hatteras, vehemently.
"Never!" said Johnson.
The Doctor shook his head. He understood the feeling of the captain.
"Never!" reiterated Hatteras. "A boat made out of an American ship would be an American!"
"But, captain--" began Johnson.
The Doctor made a sign to the old boatswain not to press the subject further, and resolved in his own mind to reserve the question for discussion at a more opportune moment. He managed to turn the conversation to other matters, till it abruptly terminated by the entrance of Altamont.
This ended the day, and the night passed quietly without the least disturbance. The bears had evidently disappeared.
The first business next day was to arrange for a hunt. It was settled that Altamont, Bell, and Hatteras should form the party, while Clawbonny should go and explore as far as Isle Johnson, and make some hydrographic notes and Johnson should remain behind to keep house.
The three hunters soon completed their preparations. They armed themselves each with a double barrelled revolver and a rifle, and took plenty of powder and shot. Each man also carried in his belt his indispensable snow knife and hatchet, and a small supply of pemmican in case night should surprise them before their return.
Thus equipped, they could go far, and might count on a good supply of game.
At eight o'clock they started, accompanied by Duk, who frisked and gambolled with delight. They went up the hill to the east, across the cone, and down into the plain below.
The Doctor next took his departure, after agreeing with Johnson on a signal of alarm in case of danger.
The old boatswain was left alone, but he had plenty to do. He began by unfastening the Greenland dogs, and letting them out for a run after their long, wearisome confinement. Then he attended to divers housekeeping matters. He had to replenish the stock of combustibles and provisions, to arrange the store-houses, to mend several broken utensils, to repair the rents in coverlets, and get new shoes ready for summer excursions. There was no lack of work, and the old sailor's nimble clever fingers could do anything.
[Illustration: ]
While his hands were busy, his mind was occupied with the conversation of the preceding evening. He thought with regret over the captain's obstinacy, and yet he felt that there was something grand and even heroic in his determination that neither an American nor an American ship should first touch the Pole.
The hunters had been gone about an hour when Johnson suddenly heard the report of a gun.
"Capital!" he exclaimed. "They have found something, and pretty quickly too, for me to hear their guns so distinctly. The atmosphere must be very clear."
A second and a third shot followed.
"Bravo!" again exclaimed the boatswain; "they must have fallen in luck's way!"
[Illustration: Hatteras could only manage to keep off his pursuers by flinging down one article after another-P.120]
But when three more shots came in rapid succession, the old man turned pale, and a horrible thought crossed his mind, which made him rush out and climb hastily to the top of the cone. He shuddered at the sight which met his eyes. The three hunters, followed by Duk, were tearing home at full speed, followed by the five huge bears! Their six balls had evidently taken no effect, and the terrible monsters were close on their heels. Hatteras, who brought up the rear, could only manage to keep off his pursuers by flinging down one article after another-first his cap, then his hatchet, and, finally, his gun. He knew that the inquisitive bears would stop and examine every object, sniffing all round it, and this gave him a little time, otherwise he could not have escaped, for these animals outstrip the fleetest horse, and one monster was so near that Hatteras had to brandish his knife vigorously, to ward off a tremendous blow of his paw.
At last, though panting and out of breath, the three men reached Johnson safely, and slid down the rock with him into the snow-house. The bears stopped short on the upper plateau, and Hatteras and his companions lost no time in barring and barricading them out.
"Here we are at last!" exclaimed Hatteras; "we can defend ourselves better now. It is five against five."
"Four!" said Johnson in a frightened voice.
"How?"
"The Doctor!" replied Johnson, pointing to the empty sitting-room.
"Well, he is in Isle Johnson."
"A bad job for him," said Bell.
"But we can't leave him to his fate, in this fashion," said Altamont.
"No, let's be off to find him at once," replied Hatteras.
[Illustration: ]
He opened the door, but soon shut it, narrowly escaping a bear's hug.
"They are there!" he exclaimed.
"All?" asked Bell.
"The whole pack."
Altamont rushed to the windows, and began to fill up the deep embrasure with blocks of ice, which he broke off the walls of the house.
His companions followed his example silently. Not a sound was heard but the low, deep growl of Duk.
To tell the simple truth, however, it was not their own danger that occupied their thoughts, but their absent friend, the Doctor's. It was for him they trembled, not for themselves. Poor Clawbonny, so good and devoted as he had been to every member of the little colony! This was the first time they had been separated from him. Extreme peril, and most likely a frightful death awaited him, for he might return unsuspectingly to Fort Providence, and find himself in the power of these ferocious animals.
[Illustration: ]
"And yet," said Johnson, "unless I am much mistaken, he must be on guard. Your repeated shots cannot but have warned him. He must surely be aware that something unusual has happened."
"But suppose he was too far away to hear them," replied Altamont, "or has not understood the cause of them? It is ten chances to one but he'll come quickly back, never imagining the danger. The bears are screened from sight by the crag completely."
"We must get rid of them before he comes," said Hatteras.
"But how?" asked Bell.
[Illustration: ]
It was difficult to reply to this, for a sortie was out of the question. They had taken care to barricade the entrance passage, but the bears could easily find a way in if they chose. So it was thought advisable to keep a close watch on their movements outside, by listening attentively in each room, so as to be able to resist all attempts at invasion. They could hear them distinctly prowling about, growling and scraping the walls with their enormous paws.
However, some action must be taken speedily, for time was passing. Altamont resolved to try a port-hole through which he might fire on his assailants. He had soon scooped out a hole in the wall, but his gun was hardly pushed through, when it was seized with irresistible force, and wrested from his grasp before he could even fire.
"Confound it!" he exclaimed, "we're no match for them."
And he hastened to stop up the breach as fast as possible.
This state of things had lasted upwards of an hour, and there seemed no prospect of a termination. The question of asortiebegan now to be seriously discussed. There was little chance of success, as the bears could not be attacked separately, but Hatteras and his companions had grown so impatient, and it must be confessed were also so much ashamed of being kept in prison by beasts, that they would even have dared the risk if the captain had not suddenly thought of a new mode of defence.
He took Johnson's furnace-poker, and thrust it into the stove while he made an opening in the snow wall, or rather a partial opening, for he left a thin sheet of ice on the outer side. As soon as the poker was red hot, he said to his comrades who stood eagerly watching him, wondering what he was going to do-
"This red-hot bar will keep off the bears when they try to get hold of it, and we shall be able easily to fire across it without letting them snatch away our guns."
"A good idea," said Bell, posting himself beside Altamont.
Hatteras withdrew the poker, and instantly plunged it in the wall. The melting snow made a loud hissing noise, and two bears ran and made a snatch at the glowing bar; but they fell back with a terrible howl, and at the same moment four shots resounded, one after the other.
"Hit!" exclaimed Altamont.
"Hit!" echoed Bell.
"Let us repeat the dose," said Hatteras, carefully stopping up the opening meantime.
The poker was again thrust into the fire, and in a few minutes was ready for Hatteras to recommence operations.
Altamont and Bell reloaded their guns, and took their places; but this time the poker would not pass through.
"Confound the beasts!" exclaimed the impetuous American.
"What's the matter?" asked Johnson.
"What's the matter? Why, those plaguey animals are piling up block after block, intending to bury us alive!"
"Impossible!"
"Look for yourself; the poker can't get through. I declare it is getting absurd now."
It was worse than absurd, it was alarming. Things grew worse. It was evident that the bears meant to stifle their prey, for the sagacious animals were heaping up huge masses, which would make escape impossible.
"It is too bad," said old Johnson, with a mortified look. "One might put up with men, but bears!"
[Illustration: ]
Two hours elapsed without bringing any relief to the prisoners; to go out was impossible, and the thick walls excluded all sound. Altamont walked impatiently up and down full of exasperation and excitement at finding himself worsted for once. Hatteras could think of nothing but the Doctor, and of the serious peril which threatened him.
[Illustration: ]
"Oh, if Mr. Clawbonny were only here!" said Johnson.
"What could he do?" asked Altamont.
"Oh, he'd manage to get us out somehow."
"How, pray?" said the American, crossly.
"If I knew that I should not need him. However, I know what his advice just now would be."
"What?"
"To take some food; that can't hurt us. What do you say, Mr. Altamont?"
"Oh, let's eat, by all means, if that will please you, though we're in a ridiculous, not to say humiliating, plight."
"I'll bet you we'll find a way out after dinner."
No one replied, but they seated themselves round the table.
[Illustration: ]
Johnson, trained in Clawbonny's school, tried to be brave and unconcerned about the danger, but he could scarcely manage it. His jokes stuck in his throat. Moreover, the whole party began to feel uncomfortable. The atmosphere was getting dense, for every opening was hermetically sealed. The stoves would hardly draw, and it was evident would soon go out altogether for want of oxygen.
Hatteras was the first to see their fresh danger, and he made no attempt to hide it from his companions.
"If that is the case," said Altamont, "we must get out at all risks."
"Yes," replied Hatteras; "but let us wait till night. We will make a hole in the roof, and let in a provision of air, and then one of us can fire out of it on the bears."
"It is the only thing we can do, I suppose," said Altamont.
So it was agreed; but waiting was hard work, and Altamont could not refrain from giving vent to his impatience by thundering maledictions on the bears, and abusing the ill fate which had placed them in such an awkward and humbling predicament. "It was beasts versus men," he said, "and certainly the men cut a pretty figure."
Night drew on, and the lamp in the sitting-room already began to burn dim for want of oxygen.
At eight o'clock the final arrangements were completed, and all that remained to do was to make an opening in the roof.
They had been working away at this for some minutes, and Bell was showing himself quite an adept in the business, when Johnson, who had been keeping watch in the sleeping room, came hurriedly in to his companions, pulling such a long face, that the captain asked immediately what was the matter?
"Nothing exactly," said the old sailor, "and yet-"
"Come, out with it!" exclaimed Altamont.
"Hush! don't you hear a peculiar noise?"
"Where?"
"Here, on this side, on the wall of the room."
Bell stopped working, and listened attentively like the rest. Johnson was right; a noise there certainly was on the side wall, as if some one were cutting the ice.
"Don't you hear it?" repeated Johnson.
"Hear it? Yes, plain enough," replied Altamont.
"Is it the bears?" asked Bell.
"Most assuredly."
"Well; they have changed their tactics," said old Johnson, "and given up the idea of suffocating us."
"Or may be they suppose we are suffocated by now," suggested the American, getting furious at his invisible enemies.
"They are going to attack us," said Bell.
"Well, what of it?" returned Hatteras.
"We shall have a hand-to-hand struggle, that's all."
"And so much the better," added Altamont; "that's far more to my taste; I have had enough of invisible foes-let me see my antagonist, and then I can fight him."
"Ay," said Johnson; "but not with guns. They would be useless here."
"With knife and hatchet then," returned the American.
The noise increased, and it was evident that the point of attack was the angle of the wall formed by its junction with the cliff.
"They are hardly six feet off now," said the boatswain.
"Right, Johnson!" replied Altamont; "but we have time enough to be ready for them."
And seizing a hatchet, he placed himself in fighting attitude, planting his right foot firmly forward and throwing himself back.
Hatteras and the others followed his example, and Johnson took care to load a gun in case of necessity.
Every minute the sound came nearer, till at last only a thin coating separated them from their assailants.
Presently this gave way with a loud crack, and a huge dark mass rolled over into the room.
Altamont had already swung his hatchet to strike, when he was arrested by a well-known voice, exclaiming-
"For Heaven's sake, stop!"
"The Doctor! the Doctor!" cried Johnson.
And the Doctor it actually was who had tumbled in among them in such undignified fashion.
"How do ye do, good friends?" he said, picking himself smartly up.
His companions stood stupefied for a moment, but joy soon loosened their tongues, and each rushed eagerly forward to welcome his old comrade with a loving embrace. Hatteras was for once fairly overcome with emotion, and positively hugged him like a child.
"And is it really you, Mr. Clawbonny?" said Johnson.
"Myself and nobody else, my old fellow. I assure you I have been far more uneasy about you than you could have been about me."
"But how did you know we had been attacked by a troop of bears?" asked Altamont. "What we were most afraid of was that you would come quickly back to Fort Providence, never dreaming of danger."
"Oh, I saw it all. Your repeated shots gave me the alarm. When you commenced firing I was beside the wreck of thePorpoise, but I climbed up a hummock, and discovered five bears close on your heels. Oh, how anxious I was for you! But when I saw you disappear down the cliff, while the bears stood hesitating on the edge, as if uncertain what to do, I felt sure that you had managed to get safely inside the house and barricade it. I crept cautiously nearer, sometimes going on all-fours, sometimes slipping between great blocks of ice, till I came at last quite close to our fort, and then I found the bears working away like beavers. They were prowling about the snow, and dragging enormous blocks of ice towards the house, piling them up like a wall, evidently intending to bury you alive. It is a lucky thing they did not take it into their heads to dash down the blocks from the summit of the cone, for you must have been crushed inevitably."
"But what danger you were in, Mr. Clawbonny," said Bell. "Any moment they might have turned round and attacked you."
"They never thought of it even. Johnson's Greenland dogs came in sight several times, but they did not take the trouble to go after them. No, they imagined themselves sure of a more savoury supper!"
"Thanks for the compliment!" said Altamont, laughing.
"Oh, there is nothing to be proud of. When I saw what the bears were up to, I determined to get back to you by some means or other. I waited till night, but as soon as it got dark I glided noiselessly along towards the powder-magazine. I had my reasons for choosing that point from which to work my way hither, and I speedily commenced operations with my snow-knife. A famous tool it is. For three mortal hours I have been hacking and heaving away, but here I am at last tired enough and starving, but still safe here."
"To share our fate!" said Altamont.
"No, to save you all; but, for any sake, give me a biscuit and a bit of meat, for I feel sinking for want of food."
A substantial meal was soon before him, but the vivacious little man could talk all the while he was eating, and was quite ready to answer any questions.
"Did you sayto save us?" asked Bell.
"Most assuredly!" was the reply.
"Well, certainly, if you found your way in, we can find our way out by the same road."
"A likely story, and leave the field clear for the whole pack to come in and find out our stores. Pretty havoc they would make!"
"No, we must stay here," said Hatteras.
"Of course we must," replied Clawbonny, "but we'll get rid of the bears for all that."
"I told you so," said Johnson, rubbing his hands. "I knew nothing was hopeless if Mr. Clawbonny was here; he has always some expedient in his wise head."
"My poor head is very empty, I fear, but by dint of rummaging perhaps I--"
"Doctor," interrupted Altamont, "I suppose there is no fear of the bears getting in by the passage you have made?"
"No, I took care to stop up the opening thoroughly, and now we can reach the powder-magazine without letting them see us."
"All right; and now will you let us have your plan of getting rid of these comical assailants?"
[Illustration: ]
"My plan is quite simple, and part of the work is done already."
"What do you mean?"
"You shall see. But I am forgetting that I brought a companion with me."
"What do you say?" said Johnson.
"I have a companion to introduce to you," replied the Doctor, going out again into the passage, and bringing back a dead fox, newly killed.
"I shot it this morning," he continued, "and never did fox come more opportunely."
"What on earth do you mean?" asked Altamont.
"I mean to blow up the bearsen massewith 100 lbs of powder."
"But where is the powder?" exclaimed his friend.
"In the magazine. This passage will lead to it. I made it purposely."
"And where is the mine to be?" inquired Altamont.
"At the furthest point from the house and stores."
"And how will you manage to entice the bears there, all to one spot?"
"I'll undertake that business; but we have talked enough, let us set to work. We have a hundred feet more to add to our passage to-night, and that is no easy matter, but as there are five of us, we can take turns at it. Bell will begin, and we will lie down and sleep meantime."
"Well, really," said Johnson, "the more I think of it, the more feasible seems the Doctor's plan."
"It is a sure one, anyway," said Clawbonny.
"So sure that I can feel the bear's fur already on my shoulder. Well, come, let's begin then."
Away he went into the gloomy passage, followed by Bell, and in a few moments they had reached the powder-magazine, and stood among the well- arranged barrels. The Doctor pointed out to his companion the exact spot where he began excavating, and then left him to his task, at which he laboured diligently for about an hour, when Altamont came to relieve him. All the snow he had dug out was taken to the kitchen and melted, to prevent its taking up room.
The captain succeeded Altamont, and was followed by Johnson. In ten hours-that is to say, about eight in the morning-the gallery was entirely open.
[Illustration: ]
With the first streak of day, the Doctor was up to reconnoitre the position of the enemy. The patient animals were still occupying their old position, prowling up and down and growling. The house had already almost disappeared beneath the piled-up blocks of ice, but even while he gazed a council of war seemed being held, which evidently resulted in the determination to alter the plan of action, for suddenly all the five bears began vigorously to pull down these same heaped-up blocks.
"What are they about?" asked Hatteras, who was standing beside him.
"Well, they look to me to be bent on demolishing their own work, and getting right down to us as fast as possible; but wait a bit, my gentlemen, we'll demolish you first. However, we have not a minute to lose."
Hastening away to the mine, he had the chamber where the powder was to be lodged enlarged the whole breadth and height of the sloping rock against which the wall leaned, till the upper part was about a foot thick, and had to be propped up to prevent its falling in. A strong stake was fixed firmly on the granite foundation, on the top of which the dead fox was fastened. A rope was attached to the lower part of the stake, sufficiently long to reach the powder stores.
"This is the bait," he said, pointing to the dead fox, "and here is the mine," he added, rolling in a keg of powder containing about 100 lbs.
"But, Doctor," said Hatteras, "won't that blow us up too, as well as the bears?"
"No, we shall be too far from the scene of explosion. Besides, our house is solid, and we can soon repair the walls even if they should get a bit shaken."
"And how do you propose to manage?" asked Altamont.
"See! By hauling in this rope we lower the post which props up the roof, and make it give way, and bring up the dead fox to light, and I think you will agree with me that the bears are so famished with their long fasting, that they won't lose much time in rushing towards their unexpected meal. Well, just at that very moment, I shall set fire to the mine, and blow up both the guests and the meal."
"Capital! Capital!" shouted Johnson, who had been listening with intense interest.
[Illustration: ]
Hatteras said nothing, for he had such absolute confidence in his friend that he wanted no further explanation. But Altamont must know the why and wherefore of everything.
"But Doctor," he said, "can you reckon on your match so exactly that you can be quite sure it will fire the mine at the right moment?"
"I don't need to reckon at all; that's a difficulty easily got over."
"Then you have a match a hundred feet long?"
"No."
"You are simply going to lay a train of powder."
"No, that might miss fire."
"Well, there is no way then but for one of us to devote his life to the others, and go and light the powder himself."
"I'm ready," said Johnson, eagerly, "ready and willing."
"Quite useless my brave fellow," replied the Doctor, holding out his hand. "All our lives are precious, and they will be all spared, thank God!"
"Well, I give it up!" said the American. "I'll make no more guesses."
"I should like to know what is the good of learning physics," said the Doctor, smiling, "if they can't help a man at a pinch like this. Haven't we an electric battery, and long enough lines attached to it to serve our purpose? We can fire our mine whenever we please in an instant, and without the slightest danger."
"Hurrah!" exclaimed Johnson.
"Hurrah!" echoed the others, without heeding whether the enemy heard them or not.
The Doctor's idea was immediately carried out, and the connecting lines uncoiled and laid down from the house to the chamber of the mine, one end of each remaining attached to the electric pile, and the other inserted into the keg of powder.
By nine o'clock everything was ready. It was high time, for the bears were furiously engaged in the work of demolition. Johnson was stationed in the powder-magazine, in charge of the cord which held the bait.
"Now," said Clawbonny to his companions, "load your guns, in case our assailants are not killed. Stand beside Johnson, and the moment the explosion is over rush out."
[Illustration: ]
"All right," said Altamont.
"And now we have done all we can to help ourselves. So may Heaven help us!"
Hatteras, Altamont, and Bell repaired to the powder-magazine, while the Doctor remained alone beside the pile.
Soon he heard Johnson's voice in the distance calling out "Ready."
"All right," was the reply.
Johnson pulled his rope vigorously, and then rushed to the loop-hole to see the effect. The thin shell of ice had given way, and the body of the fox lay among the ruins. The bears were somewhat scared at first, but the next minute had eagerly rushed to seize the booty.
"Fire!" called out Johnson, and at once the electric spark was sent along the lines right into the keg of powder. A formidable explosion ensued; the house was shaken as if by an earthquake, and the walls cracked asunder. Hatteras, Altamont, and Bell hurried out with the guns, but they might spare their shot, for four of the bears lay dead, and the fifth, half roasted, though alive, was scampering away in terror as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Hurrah! Three cheers for Clawbonny," they shouted and overwhelmed the Doctor with plaudits and thanks.
The prisoners were free, and their joy found vent in the noisiest demonstrations. They employed the rest of the day in repairing the house, which had suffered greatly by the explosion. They cleared away the blocks piled up by the animals, and filled up the rents in the walls, working with might and main, enlivened by the many songs of old Johnson.
Next morning there was a singular rise in the temperature, the thermometer going up to 15° above zero.
This comparative heat lasted several days. In sheltered spots the glass rose as high as 31°, and symptoms of a thaw appeared.
The ice began to crack here and there, and jets of salt water were thrown up, like fountains in an English park. A few days later, the rain fell in torrents.
Thick vapour rose from the snow, giving promise of the speedy disappearance of these immense masses. The sun's pale disc became deeper in colour, and remained longer above the horizon. The night was scarcely longer than three hours.
[Illustration: ]
Other tokens of spring's approach were manifest of equal significance, the birds were returning in flocks, and the air resounded with their deafening cries. Hares were seen on the shores of the bay, and mice in such abundance that their burrows completely honeycombed the ground.
[Illustration: ]
The Doctor drew the attention of his companions to the fact, that almost all these animals were beginning to lose their white winter dress, and would soon put on summer attire, while nature was already providing mosses, and poppies, and saxifragas, and short grass for their 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 howls broke the silence of the short night.
Arctic wolves closely resemble dogs, and their barking would deceive the most practised ears; even the canine race themselves have been deceived by it. Indeed, it seems as if the wily animals employed this ruse to attract the dogs, and make them their prey. Several navigators have mentioned the fact, and the Doctor's own experience confirmed it. Johnson took care not to let his Greenlanders loose; of Duk there was little fear; nothing could take him in.
For about a fortnight hunting was the principal occupation. There was an abundant supply of fresh meat to be had. They shot partridges, ptarmigans, and snow ortolans, which are delicious eating. The hunters never went far from Fort Providence, for game was so plentiful that it seemed waiting their guns, and the whole bay presented an animated appearance.
The thaw, meanwhile, was making rapid progress. The thermometer stood steadily at 32° above zero, and the water ran down the mountain sides in cataracts, and dashed in torrents through the ravines.
The Doctor lost no time in clearing about an acre of ground, in which he sowed the seeds of anti-scorbutic plants. He just had the pleasure of seeing tiny little green leaves begin to sprout, when the cold returned in full force.
In a single night, the thermometer lost nearly 40°; it went down to 8° below zero. Everything was frozen-birds, quadrupeds, amphibia disappeared as if by magic; seal-holes reclosed, and the ice once more became hard as granite.
The change was most striking; it occurred on the 18th of May, during the night. The Doctor was rather disappointed at having all his work to do again, but Hatteras bore the grievance most unphilosophically, as it interfered with all his plans of speedy departure.
[Illustration: ]
"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. You see these are his dominions, and he won't be driven out without making 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 like an ignoramus; and all the more as I could, if necessary, have made them sprout by the kitchen stoves."
"But do you mean to say," asked Altamont, "that you might have anticipated the sudden change?"
"Of course, and without being a wizard. I ought to have put my seed under the protection of Saint Paucratius and the other two saints, whose fête days fall this month."
"Absurd! Pray tell me what they have to do with it? What influence can they possibly have on the temperature?"
"An immense one, if we are to believe horticulturists, who call them the patron saints of the frost."
"And for what reason?"
"Because generally there is a periodical frost in the month of May, and it is coldest from the 11th to the 13th. That is the fact."
"And how is it explained?"
"In two ways. Some say that a larger number of asteroids come between the earth and the sun at this time of year, and others that the mere melting of the snow necessarily absorbs a large amount of heat, and accounts for the low temperature. Both theories are plausible enough, but the fact remains whichever we accept, and I ought 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 monotonous life in-doors recommenced, and was unmarked by any incident except a serious illness which suddenly attacked Bell. This was violent quinsy, but, under the Doctor's skilful treatment, it was soon cured. Ice was the only remedy he employed, administered in small pieces, and in twenty- four hours Bell was himself again.
[Illustration: ]
During this compulsory leisure, Clawbonny determined to have a talk with the captain on an important subject-the building of a sloop out of the planks of thePorpoise.
The Doctor hardly knew how to begin, as Hatteras had declared so vehemently that he would never consent to use a morsel of American wood; yet it was high time he were brought to reason, as June was at hand, the only season for distant expeditions, and they could not start 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; "my best, indeed my only friend."
"And if I give you a piece of advice without your asking, will you consider 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 me as a true-hearted Englishman like yourself, anxious for his country's glory?"
Hatteras looked surprised, but simply said-
"I do."
"You desire to reach the North Pole," the Doctor went on; "and I understand and share your ambition, but to achieve your object you must 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 the indispensable 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 the case on all sides. The coast on which we find ourselves at present may terminate abruptly; we have no proof that it stretches right away 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 and easy 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 miles from 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 its moral aspect. Here is an Englishman who sacrifices his fortune, and even his life, to win fresh glory for his country, but because the boat which bears him across an unknown ocean, or touches the new shore, happens to be made of the planks of an American vessel-a cast-away wreck of no use to anyone-will that lessen the honour of the discovery? If you yourself had found the hull of some wrecked vessel lying deserted on the shore, would you have hesitated to make use of it; and must not a sloop built by four Englishmen and manned by four Englishmen be English from keel to gunwale?"
Hatteras was still silent.
"No," continued Clawbonny; "the real truth is, it is not the sloop you care about: it is the man."
"Yes, Doctor, yes," replied the captain. "It is this American I detest; I hate him with a thorough English hatred. Fate has thrown him in my path."
"To save you!"
"To ruin me. He seems to defy me, and speaks as if he were lord and master. He thinks he has my destiny in his hands, and knows all my projects. Didn't we see the man in his true colours when we were giving names to the different coasts? Has he ever avowed his object in coming so far north? You will never get out of my head that this man is not the leader of some expedition sent out by the American government."
"Well, Hatteras, suppose it is so, does it follow that this expedition is to search for the North Pole? May it not be to find the North-West Passage? But anyway, Altamont is in complete ignorance of our object, for neither Johnson, nor Bell, nor myself, have ever breathed a word to him about it, and I am sure you have not."
"Well, let him always remain so."
"He must be told in the end, for we can't leave him here alone."
"Why not? Can't he stay here in Fort Providence?"
"He would never consent to that, Hatteras; and, moreover, to leave a man in that way, and not know whether we might find him safe when we came back, would be worse than imprudent: it would be inhuman. Altamont will come with us; he must come. But we need not disclose our projects; let us tell him nothing, but simply build a sloop for the 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 build a vessel in spite of him."
"I wish to goodness he would refuse, then!"
"He must be asked before he can refuse. I'll undertake the asking," said Clawbonny.
He kept his word, for that very same night, at supper, he managed to turn the conversation towards the subject of making excursions during summer for hydrographical purposes.
"You will join us, I suppose, Altamont," he said.
"Of course," replied the American. "We must know how far New America extends."
Hatteras looked fixedly at his rival, but said nothing.
"And for that purpose," continued Altamont, "we had better build a little ship out of the remains of thePorpoise. It is the best possible use we can make of her."
"You hear, Bell," said the Doctor, eagerly. "We'll all set to work to-morrow morning."
[Illustration: The carpenter began his task immediately.-P.154]
Next morning, Altamont Bell and the Doctor repaired to thePorpoise. There was no lack of wood, for, shattered as the old "three-master" had been by the icebergs, she could still supply the principal parts of a new ship, and the carpenter began his task immediately.
In the end of May, the temperature again rose, and spring returned for good and all. Rain fell copiously, and before long the melting snow was running down every little slope in falls and cascades.
Hatteras could not contain his delight at these signs of a general thaw among the ice-fields, for an open sea would bring him liberty. At last he might hope to ascertain for himself whether his predecessors were correct in their assertions about a polar basin.
This was a frequent topic of thought and conversation with him, and one evening when he was going over all the old familiar arguments in support of his theory, Altamont took up the subject, and declared his opinion that the polar basin extended west as well as east. But it was impossible for the American and Englishman, to talk long about anything without coming to words, so intensely national were both. Dr. Kane was the first bone of contention on this occasion, for the jealous Englishman was unwilling to grant his rival the glory of being a discoverer, alleging his belief that though the brave adventurer had gone far north, it was by mere chance he had made a discovery.