Part 9 (1/2)
”His nose is sharper than your ears, then,” said the doctor ”He s Can it be the land?”
”No; we must be fifty or sixtybarked sharply
”What is it, Skeny?” cried Steve, stooping and patting the ani looked up at hiain, and ran forward to scra uneasily in the intervals
Two of the Norwegian sailors were forward keeping as sharp a look-out as was possible for thehe was sensible of a peculiar feeling of chill, as if an icy breath was blowing over hiain a perfect volley, and in an instant Steve felt his heart stand still, for there was a whirring rush, which rose into quite a roar, rew almost frantic
”What is it?” whispered Steve in awe-stricken tones
”Sea-birds,” said one of theby”
He had hardly spoken before there was a heavy thud against the shi+p's bows, another, and then a heavy thrusting blohich made her quiver from stem to stern and careen over, while above where they stood there was the glea five or six feet above the bulwarks, against which it kept scraping and rubbing and careening the vessel over more and more
The captain shouted an order to the man at the wheel, and he rammed down the rudder, but there was hardly a breath of air, and the shi+p had no way on Then running forward, Captain Marsha, to try and thrust off the vessel frorind slowly together, the shi+p yielding to the hty pressure of the floe; and as every one had now rushed on deck, it see would be to lower the boats and escape before the ice rode right over the _Hvalross_ and sank her in the icy depths
The men toiled and thrust, but their efforts were utterly without effect, for the two heavy floating bodies had an attraction one for the other, and the grinding noise continued, till it sounded to Steve as if the ice would soon work its way through the stout copper and planks; but a few minutes later three pieces of stout spar were lowered down between the vessel's hull and the ice to be rubbed into shreds, while the _Hvalross_, after yielding and careening over foot by foot to the treht herself till she floated upon an even keel
If anything the fog was nowit impossible to take any observations All they kneas that they were changing their position as they floated steadily along in a heavy current, and that the ice which see, till, fro pointed north-west, the _Hvalross'_ bowsprit was south-east
All this time, while the other sailors seeians were perfectly cal his opinion that they would not hurt now, but that the vessel would hug the great floe till the wind sprang up But Captain Marshaainst an ice rock whose extent, save that it was some twenty feet above the water, it was impossible to compute; and as soon as he had convinced hiiven orders which resulted in the rattling of iron doors and a dull roar frorew an to be pervaded by another and a blacker cloud, which poured out of the funnel and then spread itself around in the cale tree, of which the vessel's funnel was the ste ice a peculiarly weird look For the engineer and his two assistants were hard at work trying to get up stea and tedious task under the circumstances
Very little was said, very little heard but the roar of the furnace; but every now and then the pieces of spar creaked and groaned with the pressure upon the sound and a splash as a huge piece of the floe fell away, raising such a wave that the _Hvalross_ swayed over as she rose and fell
Captain Marsham paced the deck anxiously, and Steve had the doctor for companion, but they only spoke in whispers of the risk they ran
”What I fear is,” said the latter, ”that with this grinding together a great piece h enough,” said Steve decisively ”If a piece did break away, it could only give us a heavy push, and ood”
But, all the saood were not done, and contrived that in their walks about the deck they should be able to peer down into the engine-roo the fire to , as they did, that once they could get up steam a very few turns of the screould back them away from their icy enemy and make all safe
”The first taste of the perils of the arctic sea, Steve,” said the doctor quietly ”What would it have been if we had been going full speed and struck on thisfull speed,” replied Steve confidently,--”not in a fog; and I suppose we should have had soo”
”Little while ago!” said the doctor; ”it was hours!”
The intense excitement of the time had made it seem so short
And all the while the roar of the fire kept on, the great tree of smoke spread more and more over the cold oing to have real night once ht into which they had sailed But still the stea crash Captain Marshas of biscuit, tins of est boats; after which, as if froht, he ordered some blankets to be added