Part 13 (1/2)
”I hope so”
”After we shall have found William Guy and the sailors of the Jane!”
”Yes, after”
”And even if we do not find them?”
”Yes, even in that case I think I shall induce our captain I think he will not refuse--”
”No, he will not refuse to bring help to a ”
”And yet,” I said, ”if Willia, can we ad!” cried the half-breed ”By the great spirit offor me, my poor Pym! How joyful he will be when he clasps his old Dirk in his arms, and I--I, when I feel hie chest of theme inexpressibly affected by the revelation of the tenderness for his unfortunate coe
In the meantime I said but little to Captain Len Guy, whose whole heart and soul were set on the rescue of brother, of the possibility of our finding Arthur Gordon Pye enterprise of ours we succeeded in that object, to urge upon hith, on the 7th of January--according to Dirk Peters, who had fixed it only by the time that had expired --we arrived at the place where Nu Nu the savage breathed his last, lying in the bottoave 86A 33aE for the latitude, the longitude re the same between the and the forty-thirdthe half-breed, that the two fugitives were parted after the collision between the boat and the floating mass of ice But a question now arose Since theaway Dirk Peters had drifted towards the north, was this because it was subjected to the action of a countercurrent?
Yes, that must have been so, for oar schooner had not felt the influence of the current which had guided her on leaving the Falklands, for fully four days And yet, there was nothing surprising in that, for everything is variable in the austral seas Happily, the fresh breeze froress toward higher waters, thirteen degrees in advance upon Weddells shi+p and two degrees upon the fane As for the land--islands or continent--which Captain Len Guy was seeking on the surface of that vast ocean, it did not appear I ell aware that he was gradually losing confidence in our enterprise
As for me, I was possessed by the desire to rescue Arthur Pym as well as the survivors of the Jane And yet, how could he have survived! But then, the half-breed's fixed idea! Supposing our captain were to give the order to go back, ould Dirk Peters do? Throw himself into the sea rather than return northwards? This it hich made reater nue, and talking of putting the shi+p about, especially towards Hearne, as stealthily inciting his comrades of the Falklands to insubordination
It was absolutely necessary not to allow discipline to decline, or discourage the crew; so that, on the 7th of January, Captain Len Guy at my request asse words:-- ”Sailors of the Halbrane, since our departure frorees southwards, and I now inforned by Mr Jeorling, four thousand dollars--that is two thousand dollars for each degree--are due to you, and will be paid at the end of the voyage”
These words were greeted with some murmurs of satisfaction, but not with cheers, except those of Hurliguerly the boatswain, and Endicott the cook, which found no echo
On the 13th of January a conversation took place between the boatswain andthe temper of our crew
The men were at breakfast, with the exception of Drap and Stern The schooner was cutting the water under a stiff breeze I alking between the fore andabout the shi+p with deafening clangour, and the petrels occasionally perching on our yards No effort was made to catch or shoot them; it would have been useless cruelty, since their oily and stringy flesh is not eatable
At this uerly approached me, looked attentively at the birds, and said,-- ”I re”
”What is it, boatswain?”
”That these birds do not fly so directly south as they did up to the present So north”
”I have noticed the sa, that those who are below there will come back without delay”
”And you conclude from this?”
”I conclude that they feel the approach of winter”
”Of winter?”
”Undoubtedly”
”No, no, boatswain; the teet to less cold regions so pre”
”Yes, boatswain; do we not know that navigators have always been able to frequent the Antarctic waters until the month of March?”
”Not at such a latitude Besides, there are precocious winters as well as precocious summers The fine season this year was full two months in advance, and it is to ba feared the bad season may come sooner than usual”
”That is very likely,” I replied ”After all, it does not signity to us, since our can will certainly be over in three weeks”
”If so”
”And what obstacle?”
”For instance, a continent stretching to the south and barring our way”
”A continent, Hurliguerly!”
”I should not be at all surprised”
”And, in fact, there would be nothing surprising in it”
”As for the lands seen by Dirk Peters,” said the boatswain, ”where the ht have landed on one or another of them, I don't believe in them”
”Why?”
”Because William Guy, who can only have had a sot so far into these seas”
”I do not feel quite so sure of that” a Nevertheless, Mr Jeorling--”
”What would there be so surprising in Willia carried to land somewhere by the action of the currents? He did not reht months, I suppose His companions and he may have been able to land on an island, or even on a continent, and that is a sufficient motive for us to pursue our search”
”No doubt--but all are not of your opinion,” replied Hurliguerly, shaking his head
”I know,” said I, ”and that is what ?”
”I fear so, Mr Jeorling The satisfaction of having gained several hundreds of dollars is already lessened, and the prospect of gaining a few more hundreds does not put a stop to disputes And yet the prize is teht get there, is six degrees Now six degrees at two thousand dollars each makes twelve thousand dollars for thirty men, that is four hundred dollars a head A nice little sum to slip into one's pocket on the return of the Halbrane; but, notwithstanding, that fellow Hearne works so wickedly upon his comrades that I believe they are ready to 'bout shi+p in spite of anybody”
”I can believe that of the recruits, boatswain, but the old crew--”
”H-- to reflect, and they are not easy in their e”