 CHAPTER X We can readily imagine the reception given to Kalumaha by all at the fort. It seemed to them that the communication with the outer world was reopened. Mrs. McNabb, Mrs. Ray, and Mrs. Jolief overwhelmed her with caresses. But Kalumaha's first thought was for the little child. She got sight of him immediately, and running to him covered him with kisses. The young native was charmed and touched with the hospitality of her European hosts. A positive fit was held in her honour, and everyone was delighted that she would have to remain at the fort for the winter, the season being too far advanced for her to get back to the settlements of Russian America before the cold set in. But if all the settlers were agreeably surprised at the appearance of Kalumaha, what must Lieutenant Hobbson have thought when he saw her leaning on Mrs. Barnett's arm? A sudden hope flashed across his mind like lightning, and as quickly died away. Perhaps in spite of the evidence of his daily observations, Victoria Island had run aground somewhere on the Continent, unnoticed by any of them. Mrs. Barnett read the Lieutenant's thoughts in his face, and shook her head sadly. He saw that no change had taken place in their situation, and waited until Mrs. Barnett was able to explain Kalumaha's appearance. A few minutes later he was walking along the beach with the lady, listening with great interest to her account of Kalumaha's adventures. So he had been right in all his conjectures. The northeast hurricane had driven the island out of the current. The ice-field had approached within a mile at least of the American Continent. It had not been a fire on board a ship which they had seen, or the cry of a shipwreck mariner which they had heard. The mainland had been close at hand, and had the northeast wind blown hard for another hour, Victoria Island would have struck against the coast of Russian America. And then, at this crucial moment of fatal, a terrible wind had driven the island away from the mainland back to the open sea, and it was again in the grasp of the irresistible current, and was being carried along with a speed which nothing could check, the mighty southeast wind aiding its headlong course, to that terribly dangerous spot where it would be exposed to contrary attractions, either of which might lead to its destruction, and that of all the unfortunate people dragged along with it. For the hundredth time the lieutenant and Mrs. Barnett discussed all the bearings of the case, and then Hobson inquired if any important changes had taken place in the appearance of the districts between Cape Bathurst and Walrus Bay. Mrs. Barnett replied that in some places the level of the coast appeared to be lowered, and that the waves now covered tracts of sand which were formally out of their reach. She related what had happened at Cape Eskimo, and the important fracture which had taken place at that part of the coast. Nothing could have been less satisfactory. It was evident that the ice-field forming the foundation of the island was breaking up. What had happened at Cape Eskimo might at any moment be reproduced at Cape Bathurst. At any hour of the day or night the houses of the factory might be swallowed up by the deep, and the only thing which could save them was the winter, the bitter winter which was fortunately rapidly approaching. The next day, September 4th, when Hobson took his bearings, he found that the position of Victoria Island had not sensibly changed since the day before. It had remained motionless between the two contrary currents, which was on the whole of the very best thing that could have happened. If only the cold would fix us where we are, if the ice-wall would shut us in, and the sea become petrified around us, exclaimed Hobson, I should feel that our safety was assured. But we are two hundred miles from the coast at this moment, and by venturing across the frozen ice-fields we might perhaps reach either Russian America or Kamchatka. Winter, winter at any price, let the winter set in, no matter how rapidly. Meanwhile, according to the lieutenant's orders, the preparations for the winter were completed. Enough forage to last the dogs the whole of the polar night was stored up. They were all in good health, but getting rather fat with having nothing to do. They could not be taking too much care of, as they would have to work terribly hard in the journey across the ice after the abandonment of Fort Hope. It was most important to keep up their strength, and they were fed on raw reindeer venison, plenty of which was easily attainable. The tame reindeer also prospered, their stable was comfortable, and a good supply of moss was laid by for them in the magazines of the fort. The females provided Mrs. Jolif with plenty of milk for her daily culinary needs. The corporal and his little wife had also sown fresh seeds, encouraged by the success of the last in the warm season. The ground had been prepared beforehand for the planting of scurvy grass and labrador tea. It was important that there should be no lack of these valuable anti-scorbutics. The sheds were filled with wood up to the very roof. Winter might come as soon as it liked now, and freeze the mercury in the cistern of the thermometer. There was no fear that they would again be reduced to burn their furniture as they had the year before. McNabb and his men had become wise by experience, and the chips left from the boat-building added considerably to their stock of fuel. About this time a few animals were taken, which had already assumed their winter furs, such as martins, pole-cats, blue foxes, and ear-mines. Marlborough and Sabine had obtained leave from the lieutenant to set some traps outside the encant. He did not like to refuse them this permission, lest they should become discontented, as he had really no reason to assign for putting a stop to the collection of furs. Although he knew full well that the destination of these harmless creatures could do nobody any good, their flesh was, however, useful for feeding the dogs, and enabled them to economize the reindeer venison. All was now prepared for the winter, and the soldiers worked with an energy which they would certainly not have shown if they had been told the secret of their situation. In the next few days the bearings were taken, with the greatest care, but no change was noticeable in the situation of Victoria Island, and Hobson, finding that it was motionless, began to have fresh hope. Although there was as yet no symptoms of winter in inorganic nature, the temperature maintaining a mean height of forty-nine degrees Fahrenheit, some swans flying to the south in search of a warmer climate was a good omen. Other birds, capable of a long sustained flight, over vast tracks of the ocean, began to desert the island. They knew full well that the continent of America and Asia, with their less severe climates and their plentiful resources of every kind, were not far off, and that their wings were strong enough to carry them there. A good many of these birds were caught, and by Mrs. Barnett's advice the lieutenant tied round their necks a stiff cloth ticket, on which was inscribed the position of the wandering island, and the names of its inhabitants. The birds would then set free, and their captors watched them wing their way to the south with envious eyes. Of course none were in the secret of the sending forth of these messengers, except Mrs. Barnett, Maj, Kalumaha, Hobson, and Long. The poor quadrupeds were unable to seek their usual winter refuges in the south. Under ordinary circumstances the reindeer, polar hares, and even the wolves would have left early in September for the shores of the Great Bear and Slave Lakes, a good many degrees further south. But now the sea was an insurmountable barrier, and they, too, would have to wait until the winter should render it passable. And by instinct they had doubtless tried to leave the island, but, turned back by the water, the instinct of self-preservation had brought them to the neighbourhood of Fort Hope, to be near the men who were once their hunters, and most formidable enemies, but they were now, like themselves, rendered comparatively inoffensive by their imprisonment. The observations of the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th September revealed no alteration in the position of Victoria Island. The large eddy between the two currents kept it stationary another fifteen days, another three weeks of this state of things, and Hobson felt that they might be saved. But they were not yet out of danger, and many terrible, almost supernatural trials still awaited the inhabitants of Fort Hope. On the 10th of September observations showed a displacement of Victoria Island, only a slight displacement, but in a northerly direction. Hobson was in dismay. The island was finally in the grasp of the Kamchatka current, and was drifting towards the unknown latitudes where the large icebergs came into being. It was on its way to the vast solitudes of the Arctic Ocean, interdicted to the human race, from which there is no return. Hobson did not hide this new danger from those who were in the secret of the situation. Mrs. Barnett, Maj, Kalumaha, and Sergeant Long received this fresh blow with courage and resignation. "'Perhaps,' said Mrs. Barnett, the island may stop even yet. Perhaps it will move slowly. Let us hope on and wait. The winter is not far off, and we are going to meet it. In any case, God's will be done.' "'My friends,' said Hobson earnestly, do you not think I ought now to tell our comrades? You see in what a terrible position we are, and all that may await us. Is it not taking too great a responsibility to keep them in ignorance of the peril they are in?' "'I should wait a little longer,' replied Mrs. Barnett, without hesitation. I would not give them all over to despair until the last chance is gone.' "'That is my opinion also,' said Long. Hobson had thought the same, and was glad to find that his companions agreed with him in the matter. On the eleventh and twelfth September the motion towards the north was more noticeable. Victoria Island was drifting at a rate of from twelve to thirteen miles a day, so that each day took them the same distance further from the land and nearer to the north. They were in short following the decided course made by the Kamchukta current, and would quickly pass that seventeenth degree which once cut across the extremity of Cape Bathurst, and beyond which no land of any kind was to be met with in this part of the Arctic Ocean. Every day Hobson looked out their position on the map, and saw only too clearly to what awful solitudes the wandering island was drifting. The only hope left consisted, as Mrs. Barnett had said, in the fact that they were going to meet the winter, and thus drifting towards the north, they would soon encounter those ice-cold waters which would consolidate and strengthen the foundations of the island. But if the danger of being swallowed up by the waves was decreased, would not the unfortunate colonists have an immense distance to Travers to get back from these remote northern regions? Had the boat been finished, Lieutenant Hobson would not have hesitated to embark the whole party in it. But in spite of the zealous efforts of the carpenter it was not nearly ready, and indeed it taxed McNabb's powers to the uttermost to construct a vessel on which to trust the lives of twenty persons in such a dangerous sea. By the 16th September Victoria Island was between seventy-three and eighty miles north of the spot where its course had been arrested for a few days between the Bering and Kemptukta currents. There were now, however, many signs of the approach of winter. Snow fell frequently and in large flakes. The column of mercury fell gradually. The mean temperature was still forty-four degrees Fahrenheit during the day, but at night it fell to thirty-two degrees. The sun described an extremely lengthened curve above the horizon, not rising more than a few degrees even at noon, and disappearing for eleven hours out of every twenty-four. At last on the night of the 16th September the first signs of ice appeared upon the sea in the shape of small isolated crystals like snow, which stained the clear surface of the water, as was noticed by the famous explorer Scoursby. These crystals immediately calmed the waves, like the oil which sailors pour upon the sea to produce a momentary cessation of its agitation. These crystals showed a tendency to weld themselves together, but they were broken and separated by the motion of the water as soon as they had combined to any extent. Hobbson watched the appearance of the young ice with extreme attention. He knew that twenty-four hours would suffice to make the ice-crust two or three inches thick, strong enough, in fact, to bear the weight of a man. He therefore expected that Victoria Island would shortly be arrested in its course to the north. But the day ended the work of the night, and if the speed of the island slackened during the darkness, in consequence of the obstacles in its path, they were removed in the next twelve hours, and the island was carried rapidly along again by the powerful current. The distance from the northern regions became daily less, and nothing could be done to lessen the evil. At the autumnal equinox of the twenty-first of September the day and night were of equal length, and from that date the night gradually became longer and longer. The winter was coming at last, but it did not set in rapidly or with any vigor. Victoria Island was now nearly a degree further north than the seventieth parallel, and on this, twenty-first September, a rotating motion was the first time noticed. A motion estimated by Hobson at about a quarter of the circumference. Imagine the anxiety of the unfortunate lieutenant. The secret he had so long carefully kept was now about to be betrayed by nature, to the least clear-sighted. Of course the rotation altered the cardinal points of the island. Kate Bathurst no longer pointed to the north, but to the east. The sun, moon, and stars rose and set on a different horizon, and it was impossible that men like McNabb, Ray, Marbra, and others, accustomed to note the signs of the heavens, could fail to be struck by the change, and understand its meaning. To Hobson's great satisfaction, however, the brave soldiers appeared to notice nothing. The displacement with regard to the cardinal points was not, it was true, very considerable, and it was often too foggy for the rising and setting of the heavenly bodies to be accurately observed. Unfortunately, the rotation appeared to be accompanied by an increase of speed. From that date, Victoria Island drifted at a rate of a mile an hour. It advanced further and further north, further and further away from all land. Hobson did not even yet despair, for it was not in his nature to do so. But he felt confused and astray, and longed for the winter with all his heart. At last the temperature began to fall still lower, snow fell plentifully on the twenty-third and twenty-fourth September, and increased the thickness of the coating of ice on the sea. Gradually the vast ice field was formed on every side. The island, in its advance, continually broke it up, but each day it became firmer and better able to resist. The sea succumbed to the petrifying hand of winter, and became frozen as far as the eye could reach, and on September twenty-seventh, when the bearings were taken, it was found that Victoria Island had not moved since the day before. It was imprisoned in a vast ice field. It was motionless in longitude one hundred and seventy-seven degrees, twenty-two minutes, and latitude seventy-seven degree, fifty-seven minutes, more than six hundred miles from any continent. CHAPTER X Communication from Lieutenant Hobson Such was the situation. To use Sergeant Long's expression, the island had cast anchor, and was as stationary as when the isthmeth connected it with the mainland. But six hundred miles now separated it from inhabited countries, six hundred miles which would have to be traversed in sledges across the solidified surface of the sea, amongst the icebergs which the cold would build up in the bitterest months of the Arctic winter. It would be a fearful undertaking, but hesitation was impossible. The winter for which Lieutenant Hobson had so ardently longed, had come at last, and arrested the fatal march of the island to the north. It would throw a bridge six hundred miles long from their desolate home to the continents on the south, and the new chances of safety must not be neglected. Every effort must be made to restore the colonists. So long lost in the hyperboreal regions to their friends. As Hobson explained to his companions, it would be madness to linger to the spring should again thaw the ice, which would be to abandon themselves once more to the capricious bearing currents. They must wait until the sea was quite firmly frozen over, which at the moment would be in another three or four weeks. Meanwhile the Lieutenant proposed, making frequent excursions on the ice field and circling the island, in order to ascertain its thickness, its suitability for the passage of sledges, and the best route to take across it so as to reach the shores of Asia or America. Of course, observed Hobson to Mrs. Barnett and Sergeant Long, we would all rather make for Russian America than Asia, if a choice is open to us. Columaha will be very useful to us, said Mrs. Barnett, for as a native she will be thoroughly acquainted with the whole of Alaska. Yes, indeed, replied Hobson, her arrival was most fortunate for us. Thanks to her we shall be easily able to get to the settlement of Fort Michael on Norton Sound, perhaps even to New Archangel, a good deal further south, where we can pass the rest of the winter. Your fort hope, exclaimed Mrs. Barnett, it goes to my heart to think of abandoning it on this island. It has been built at the cost of so much trouble and fatigue. Everything about it has been so admirably arranged by you, Lieutenant. I feel as if my heart would break when we leave it, finally. You will not suffer more than I shall, madam, replied Hobson, and perhaps not so much. It is the chief work of my life. I have devoted all my powers to the foundation of Fort Hope, so unfortunately named, and I shall never cease to regret having to leave it. And what will the company say, which confided this task to me? For after all, I am but its humble agent. It will say, cried Mrs. Barnett with enthusiasm, it will say that you have done your duty, that you are not responsible for the caprices of nature, which is ever more powerful than man. It will understand that you could not foresee what has happened, for it was beyond the penetration of the most farsighted man, and it will know that it owes the preservation of the whole party to your prudence and moral courage. Thank you, madam, replied the Lieutenant, pressing Mrs. Barnett's hand. Thank you for your warm-hearted words. But I have had some experience of men, and I know that success is always admired and failure condemned. But the will of heaven be done. Sergeant Long, anxious to turn the Lieutenant from his melancholy thoughts, now began to talk about the preparations for the approaching departure, and asked if it was not time to tell his comrades the truth. Let us wait a little longer, replied Hobson. We have saved the poor fellow's much anxiety and worry already. Let us keep silent until the day is fixed for the start, and then we will reveal the whole truth. This point being decided, the ordinary occupations of the factory went on for a few weeks longer. How different was the situation of the colonists a year ago, when they were all looking forward to the future in happy unconsciousness? A year ago the first symptoms of the cold season were appearing, even as they are now. The young ice was gradually forming along the coast. The lagoon, its waters being quieter than those of the sea, was the first to freeze over. The temperature remained about one or two degrees above freezing point in the day, and fell to three or four degrees below in the night. Hobson again made his men assume their winter garments, the linen vests and furs before described. The condensers were again set up inside the house. The air-vessel and air-pumps were cleaned, the traps were set around the palisades on different parts of Cape Bathurst, and Marbra and Sabine got plenty of game, and finally the last touches were given to the inner rooms of the principal house. Although Fort Hope was now about two degrees further north than at the same time the year before, there was no sensible difference in the state of the temperature. The fact is, the distance between the seventieth and seventy-second parallels is not great enough to affect the mean height of the thermometer. On the contrary, it really seemed to be less cold than at the beginning of the winter before. Perhaps, however, that was because the colonists were now, to a certain extent, acclimatized. Certainly the winter did not set in so abruptly as last time. The weather was very damp, and the atmosphere was always charged with vapor, which now fell as rain, now as snow. In Lieutenant Hobson's opinion, at least, it was not nearly cold enough. The sea froze all round the island, it is true, but not in a regular or continuous sheet of ice. Large blackish patches, here and there, showed that the icicles were not thoroughly cemented together. Cold resonant noises were constantly heard, produced by the breaking of the ice-field, when the rain melted the imperfectly welded edges of the blocks composing it. There was no rapid accumulation of lump upon lump, such as is generally seen in intense cold. Icebergs and humoks were few and scattered, and no ice-wall is yet shut in the horizon. This season would have been just the thing for the explorers of the North West Passage, or the seekers of the North Pole, repeated Sergeant Long again and again, but it is most unfavorable for us, and very much against our ever getting back to our own land. This went on throughout October, and Hobson announced that the mean temperature was no lower than thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, and it is well known that several days of cold, seven degrees or eight degrees below zero, are required for the sea to freeze hard. Had proof been needed that the ice-field was impossible, a fact noticed by Mrs. Barnett and Hobson would have sufficed. The animals imprisoned on the island, the furred animals, reindeers, wolves, etc., would have left the island had it been possible to cross the sea, but they continued to gather in large numbers round the factory, and to seek the vicinity of man. The wolves came, actually within musket range of the encant, to devour the martins and polar hares, which were their only food. The famished reindeer, having neither moss nor herbs on which to browse, roved about Kate Bathurst and Herds. A solitary bear, no doubt the one to which Mrs. Barnett and Kalumaha felt they owed a debt of gratitude, often passed to and fro amongst the trees of the woods, on the banks of the lagoon, and in the presence of all these animals, especially of the ruminants, which require an exclusively vegetable diet, proved that flight was impossible. We have said that the thermometer remained at freezing point, and Hobson found on consulting his journal, that at the same time the year before, it had already marked twenty degrees Fahrenheit below zero, proving how unequally cold is distributed in the capricious polar regions. The colonists, therefore, did not suffer much, and were not confined to the house at all. It was, however, very damp indeed. Rain mixed with snow fell constantly, and the falling of the barometer proved that the atmosphere was charged with vapor. Throughout October the Lieutenant and Long made many excursions to ascertain the state of the ice-field and the offing. One day they went to Kate Michael, another to the edge of the former Walrus's Bay, anxious to see if it would be possible to cross to the Continent of America or Asia, or if the start would have to be put off. But the surface of the ice-field was covered with puddles of water, and in some parts riddled with holes, which would certainly have been impassable for sledges. It seemed as if it would be scarcely safe for a single traveller to venture across the half-liquid, half-solid masses. It was easy to see that the cold had been neither severe nor equally maintained, for the ice consisted of an accumulation of sharp points, crystals, prisms, polyhedrons, and figures of every variety, like an aggregation of stalactites. It was more like a glacier than a field, and even if it had been practicable, walking on it would have been very tiring. Hobbson and Long managed with great difficulty to scramble over a mile or two towards the south, but at the expense of a vast amount of time, so that they were compelled to admit that they must wait some time yet, and they returned to Fort Hope, disappointed and disheartened. The first day of November came, and the temperature fell a little, but only a very few degrees, which was not nearly enough. Victoria Island was wrapped in damp fogs, and the lamps had to be lit during the day. It was necessary, however, to economize the oil as much as possible, as the supply was running short. No fresh stores had been brought by Captain Creventy's promised convoy, and there were no more walruses to be hunted. Should the dark winter be prolonged, the colonists would be compelled to have recourse to the fat of animals, perhaps even to the resin of the furs, to get a little light. The days were already very short, and the pale disc of the sun yielding no warmth and deprived of all its brightness, only appeared above the horizon for a few hours at a time. Yes, winter had come, with its mist, its rain and its snow, but without the long-desired cold. On the eleventh November something of a fet was held at Fort Hope. Mrs. Jolieve served up a few extras at dinner, for it was the anniversary of the birth of little Michael McNabb. He was now a year old, and was the delight of everybody. He had large blue eyes, and fair curly hair like his father, the head carpenter, who was very proud of the resemblance. At dessert the baby was solemnly weighed. It was worth something to see him struggling in the scales, and to hear his astonished cries. He actually weighed thirty-four pounds. The announcement of this wonderful weight was greeted with loud cheers, and Mrs. McNabb was congratulated by everybody on her fine boy. Why Corporal Jolieve felt that he ought to share the compliments, it is difficult to imagine, unless it was as a kind of foster-father or nurse to the baby. He had carried the child about, dandled and rocked him so often, that he felt he had something to do with his specific weight. The next day, November twelfth, the sun did not appear above the horizon. The long polar night was beginning nine days sooner than it had done the year before, in consequence of the difference in latitude of Victoria Island then and now. The disappearance of the sun did not, however, produce any change in the state of the atmosphere. The temperature was as changeable as ever. The thermometer fell one day, and rose the next. Rain and snow succeeded each other. The wind was soft, and did not settle in any quarter, but often veered round to every point of the compass in the course of a single day. The constant damp was very unhealthy, and likely to lead to scorbutic affections amongst the colonists. But fortunately, although the lime juice and lime lozenges were running short, and had no fresh stock to be obtained, the scurvy grass and sorrel had yielded a very good crop, and, by the advice of Lieutenant Hobson, a portion of them was eaten daily. Every effort must, however, be made to get away from Fort Hope. Under the circumstances, three months would scarcely be long enough for them all to get to the nearest continent. It was impossible to risk being overtaken by the thaw on the ice-field, and therefore, if they started at all, it must be at the end of November. The journey would have been difficult enough, even if the ice had been rendered solid everywhere by a severe winter, and in this uncertain weather it was a most serious matter. On the thirteenth November, Hobson, Mrs. Barnett, and the sergeant met to decide on the day of departure. The sergeant was of opinion that they ought to leave the island as soon as possible. For, he said, we must make allowances for all the possible delays during a march of six hundred miles. We ought to reach the continent before march, or we may be surprised by the thaw, and then we shall be in a worse predicament than we are on our island. But, said Mrs. Barnett, is the sea firm enough for us to cross it? I think it is, said Long, and the ice gets thicker every day. The barometer, too, is gradually rising, and by the time our preparations are completed, which will be in about another week, I think. I hope that the really cold weather will have set in. The winter has begun very badly, said Hobson. In fact, everything seems to combine against us. Strange seasons have often been experienced on these seas. I have heard of whalers being able to navigate in places where, even in the summer, at another time they would not have had an inch of water beneath their keels. In my opinion there is not a day to be lost, and I cannot sufficiently regret that the ordinary temperature of these regions does not assist us. It will later, said Mrs. Barnett, and we must be ready to take advantage of every chance in our favour. When do you propose starting, Lieutenant? At the end of November at the latest replied Hobson, but if in a week hence our preparations are finished, and the route appears practicable, we will start then. Very well, said Long, we will get ready without losing an instant. Then, said Mrs. Barnett, you will now tell our companions of the situation in which they are placed? Yes, madam. The moment to speak and the time for action have alike arrived. And when do you propose enlightening them? But once, Sergeant Long, he added, turning to his subordinate, who at once drew himself up in a military attitude, call all your men together in the large room to receive a communication. Sergeant Long touched his cap, and turning on his heels, left the room without a word. For some minutes Mrs. Barnett and Hobson were left alone, but neither of them spoke. The sergeant quickly returned, and told Hobson that his orders were executed. The lieutenant and the lady at once went into the large room. All the members of the colony, men and women, were assembled in the dimly-lighted room. Hobson came forward, and standing in the centre of the group, said very gravely, My friends, until to-day I have felt at my duty, in order to spare you useless anxiety, to conceal from you the situation of our fort. An earthquake separated us from the Continent. Kate Bathurst has broken away from the mainland. Our peninsula is but an island of ice, a wandering island. At this moment Marlborough stepped forward and said quietly, We knew it, sir. CHAPTER XII A chance to be tried. The brave fellows knew it, then, and that they might not add to the cares of their chief had pretended to know nothing, and had worked away at the preparations for the winter with the same zeal as the year before. Tears of emotion stood in Hobson's eyes, and he made no attempt to conceal them, but seizing Marlborough's outstretched hand he pressed it in his own. Yes, the soldiers all knew it, for Marlborough had guessed it long ago. The filling of the reindeer-trap with salt water, the non-arrival of the detachment from Fort Reliance, the observations of latitude and longitude taken every day, which would have been useless on firm ground, the precautions observed by Hobson to prevent anyone seeing him take the bearings. The fact of the animals remaining on the island after winter had set in, and the change in the position of the cardinal points during the last few days which they had noticed at once, had all been tokens easily interpreted by the inhabitants of Fort Hope. The arrival of Calumaha had puzzled them, but they had concluded that she had been thrown upon the island in the storm, and they were right as we are aware. Marlborough, upon whom the truth had first dawned, confided his suspicions to McNabb the carpenter and Ray the blacksmith. All three faced the situation calmly enough, and agreed that they ought to tell their comrades and wives, but decided to let the lieutenant think they knew nothing, and to obey him without question as before. "'You are indeed brave fellows, my friends,' exclaimed Mrs. Barnett, who was much touched by this delicate feeling, "'You are true soldiers.' "'Our lieutenant may depend on us,' said McNabb. He has done his duty, and we will do ours. "'I know you will, dear comrades,' said Hobson, and if only heaven will help, and not forsake us, we will help ourselves.' The lieutenant then related all that had happened since the time when the earthquake broke the isthmoth, and converted the district's round-caped bathurst into an island. He told how, when the sea became free from ice in the spring, the new island had been drifted more than two hundred miles away from the coast by an unknown current, how the hurricane had driven it back within sight of land, how it had again been carried away in the night of the thirty-first August, and lastly how Columaha had bravely risked her life to come to the aid of her European friends. Then he enumerated the changes the island had undergone, explaining how the warmer waters had worn it away, and his fear that it might be carried to the Pacific, or seized by the Kamchatka current, concluding his narrative by stating that the wandering island had fully stopped on the twenty-seventh of last September. The church of the Arctic Seas was then brought, and Hobson pointed out the position occupied by the island, six hundred miles from all land. He ended by saying that the situation was extremely dangerous, that the island would inevitably be crushed when the ice broke up, and that before having recourse to the boat, which could not be used until the next summer, they must try to get back to the American continent by crossing the ice-field. We shall have six hundred miles to go, in the cold and darkness of the polar night. It will be hard work, my friends, but you know as well as I do, that there can be no shrinking from the task. When you give the signal to start, Lieutenant, we will follow you," said McNabb. All being of one mind, the preparations for departure were from that date rapidly pushed forward. The men bravely faced the fact that they would have six hundred miles to travel under very trying circumstances. Sergeant Long, superintendent of the works, whilst Hobson, the two hunters and Mrs. Barnette, often went to test the firmness of the ice-field. Kalumaha frequently accompanied them, and her remarks, founded on experience, might possibly be of great use to the lieutenant. As they were prevented, they were to start on the twentieth November, and there was not a moment to lose. As Hobson had foreseen, the wind having risen, the temperature fell slightly, and the column of mercury marked twenty-four degrees Fahrenheit. Snow, which soon became hardened, replaced the rain of the preceding days. A few more days of such cold and sledges could be used. The little bay hollowed out of the cliffs of Cape Michael was partly filled with ice and snow, but it must not be forgotten that its calmer waters froze more quickly than those of the open sea, which were not yet in a satisfactory condition. The wind continued to blow almost incessantly, and with considerable violence, but the motion of the waves interfered with the regular formation and consolidation of the ice. Large pools of water occurred here and there between the pieces of ice, and it was impossible to attempt to cross it. The weather is certainly getting colder, observed Mrs. Barnett, to Lieutenant Hobson, as they were exploring the south of the island, together on the tenth November. The temperature is becoming lower and lower, and these liquid spaces will soon freeze over. I think you are right, madam," replied Hobson, but the way in which they will freeze over will not be very favourable to our plans. The pieces of ice are small, and their jagged edges will stick up all over the surface, making it very rough, and if our sledges get over it at all, it will only be with very great difficulty. But resumed Mrs. Barnett, if I am not mistaken, a heavy fall of snow, lasting a few days or even a few hours, would suffice to level the entire surface. Yes, yes," replied Hobson, but if a snow should fall it will be because the temperature had risen, and if it rises the ice-field will break up again, so that either contingency will be against us. It really would be a strange freak of fortune if we should experience a temperate instead of an arctic winter in the midst of the polar sea, observed Mrs. Barnett. It has happened before, madam. It has happened before. Let me remind you of the great severity of last cold season. Now it has been noticed that two long, bitter winters seldom succeed each other, and the whalers of the northern seas know it well. A bitter winter, when we should have been glad of a mild one, and a mild one, when we so sorely need the reverse. It must be owned, we have been strangely unfortunate thus far, and one I think of six hundred miles to cross, with women and a child. And Hobson pointed to the vast white plain, with strange irregular markings like Guipierre work, stretching away into the infinite distance. Sad and desolate enough it looked, the imperfectly frozen surface cracking every now and then with an ominous sound. A pale moon, its light half quenched in the damp mists, rose but a few degrees above the gloomy horizon, and shot a few faint beams upon the melancholy scene. The half-darkness and the refraction combined doubled the size of every object. Icebergs of moderate height assumed gigantic proportions, and were in some cases distorted into the forms of fabulous monsters. Birds passed overhead, with loud flapping of wings, and in consequence of this optical illusion the smallest of them appeared as large as a condor or a vulture. In the midst of the icebergs yawned apparently huge black tunnels into which the boldest man would scarcely dare to venture. And now and then sudden convulsions took place, as the icebergs, worn away at the base, healed over with a crash. The sonorous echoes, taking up the sounds and carrying them along. The rapid changes resembled the transformation scenes of fairyland, and terrible indeed must all those phenomenon have appeared to the luckless colonists who were about to venture across the ice-field. In spite of her moral and physical courage Mrs. Barnette could not control, and involuntary shudder. Soul and body alike shrunk from the awful prospect, and she was tempted to shut her eyes and stop her ears that she might see and hear no more. When the moon was for a moment veiled behind a heavy cloud the gloom of the polar landscape became still more awe-inspiring. And before her mind's eye rose a vision of the caravan of men and women struggling across these vast solitudes in the midst of hurricanes, snowstorms, avalanches, and in the thick darkness of the arctic night. Mrs. Barnette, however, forced herself to look. She wished to accustom her eyes to these scenes, and to teach herself not to shrink from facing their terrors. But as she gazed a cry suddenly burst from her lips, and seizing Hobbson's hand she pointed to a huge object of ill-defined dimensions moving about in the uncertain light, scarcely a hundred paces from where they stood. It was a white monster of immense size, more than a hundred feet high. It was pacing slowly along over the broken ice, bounding from one piece to another, and beating the air with its huge feet, between which it could have held ten large dogs at least. It too seemed to be seeking a practicable path across the ice. It too seemed anxious to fly from the doomed island. The ice gave way beneath its weight, and it had often considerable difficulty in regaining its feet. The monster made its way thus for about a quarter of a mile across the ice, and then its further progress being barred, it turned round and advanced towards the spot where Mrs. Barnette and the lieutenant stood. Hobbson seized the gun, which was slung over his shoulder and presented it at the animal, but almost immediately lowering the weapon he said to Mrs. Barnette. A bear, madam, only a bear, the size of which has been greatly magnified by refraction. It was, in fact, a polar bear, and Mrs. Barnette drew a long breath of relief as she understood the optical illusion of which she had been the victim. Then an idea struck her. It is my bear, she exclaimed, the bear with the devotion of a Newfoundland dog. Probably the only one still on the island. But what is he doing here? He is trying to get away, replied Hobbson, shaking his head. He is trying to escape from this doomed island, and he cannot do so. He is proving to us that we cannot pass where he has had to turn back. The reason was right. The imprisoned animal had tried to leave the island, and to get to the continent, and having failed it was returning to the coast, shaking its head and growling. It passed some twenty paces from the two watchers, and either not seeing them or disdaining to take any notice of them, it walked heavily on towards Kate Michael, and soon disappeared behind the rising ground. And Hobbson and Mrs. Barnette returned sadly and silently to the fort. The preparations for departure went on as rapidly, however, as if it were possible to leave the island. Nothing was neglected to promote the success of the undertaking. Every possible danger had to be foreseen, and not only had the ordinary difficulties and dangers of a journey across the ice to be allowed for, but also the sudden changes of weather peculiar to the polar regions which so obstinately resist every attempt to explore them. The teams of dogs required special attention. They were allowed to run about near the fort that they might regain the activity of which too long a rest had, to some extent deprive them, and they were soon in a condition to make a long march. The sludges were carefully examined and repaired. The rough surface of the icefield would give them many violent shocks, and they were therefore thoroughly overhauled by McNabb and his men, the inner framework and the curved fronts being carefully repaired and strengthened. Two large wagon sludges were built, one for the transport of provisions, the other for the peltries. These were to be drawn by the tame reindeer which had been well trained for the service. The peltries or furs were articles of luxury with which it was not perhaps quite prudent to burden the travellers, but Hobson was anxious to consider the interests of the company as much as possible, although he was resolved to abandon them en route if they harassed or impeded his march. No fresh risk was run of injury of the furs, for of course they would have been lost if left at the factory. It was of course quite another matter with the provisions of which a good and plentiful supply was absolutely necessary. It was of no use to count on the product of the chase this time. As soon as the passage of the icefield became practicable, all the edible game would get on ahead and reach the mainland before the caravan. One wagon sledge was therefore packed with salt meat, corned beef, hair pâtés, dried fish, biscuits, the stock of which was unfortunately getting low, and an ample reserve of sorrel, scurvy grass, rum, spirits of wine, for making warm drinks, etc., etc. Hobson would have been glad to take some fuel with him, as he would not meet with a tree, a shrub, or a bit of moss throughout the march of six hundred miles, nor could he hope for pieces of rack or timber cast up by the sea, but he did not dare to overload his sledges with wood. Fortunately there was no lack of warm, comfortable garments, and in case of need they could draw upon the reserve of the peltries in the wagon. Thomas Black, who since his misfortune had altogether retired from the world, shunning his companions, taking part in none of the consultations, and remaining shut up in his own room, reappeared as soon as the day of departure was definitely fixed. But even then he attended to nothing but the sledge which was to carry his person, his instruments, and his registers. Always very silent it was now impossible to get a word out of him. He had forgotten everything, even that he was a scientific man, and since he had been deceived about the eclipse. Since the solution of the problem of the red prominences of the moon had escaped him, he had taken no notice of any of the peculiar phenomenon of the high latitudes, such as the aurora borealis, halos, perihelia, etc. During the last few days everyone worked so hard that all was ready for the start on the morning of the 18th November. Put alas, the ice-field was still impassable. Although the thermometer had fallen slightly, the cold had not been severe enough to freeze the surface of the sea with any uniformity, and the snow which fell was fine and intermittent. Hobbson, Marbra and Sabine, went along the coast every day from Cape Michael to what was once the corner of the Old Walruses Bay. They even ventured out about a mile and a half upon the ice-field, but were compelled to admit that it was broken by rents, crevices and fissures in every direction. Not only would it be impossible for sledges to cross it, it was dangerous for unencumbered pedestrians. Hobbson and his two men underwent the greatest fatigue in these short excursions, and more than once they ran a risk of being unable to get back to Victoria Island across the ever-changing, ever-moving blocks of ice. Really, all nature seemed to be in league against the luckless colonists. On the 18th and 19th November the thermometer rose whilst the barometer fell. Saddle results were to be feared from this change in the state of the atmosphere. Whilst the cold decreased, the sky became covered with clouds, which presently resolved themselves into heavy rain instead of the sadly needed snow. The column of mercury was standing at thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit. These showers of comparatively warm water melted the snow and ice in many places, and the result can easily be imagined. It really seemed as if a thaw were setting in, and they were symptoms of a general breaking-up of the ice-field. In spite of the dreadful weather, however, Hobbson went to the south of the island every day, and every day returned, more disheartened than before. On the 20th a tempest resembling in violence that of the month before broke upon the gloomy arctic solitudes, compelling the colonists to give up going out, and to remain shut up in Fort Hope for two days. At last, on the twenty-second of November, the weather moderated. In a few hours the storm suddenly ceased. The wind veered round to the north, and the thermometer fell several degrees. A few birds capable of a long sustained flight took wing and disappeared. There really seemed to be a likelihood that the temperature was at last going to become what it ought to be at this time of the year in such an elevated latitude. The colonists might well regret that it was not now what it had been during the last cold season when the column of mercury fell to seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit below zero. Hobbson determined no longer to delay leaving Victoria Island, and on the morning of the twenty-second the whole of the little colony was ready to leave the island, which was now firmly welded to the ice-field, and by its means connected with the American continent six hundred miles away. At half-past eleven a.m. Hobbson gave the signal of departure. The sky was grey but clear, and lighted up from the horizon to the zenith by a magnificent aurora borealis. The dogs were harnessed to the sledges, and three couple of reindeer to the wagon sledges. Silently they wended their way towards Cape Michael, where they would quit the island, properly so-called, for the ice-field. The caravan at first skirted along the wooded hill on the east of Lake Barnette, but as they were rounding the corner all paused to look round for the last time at Cape Bathurst, which they were leaving never to return. A few snow-encrusted rafters stood out in the light of the aurora borealis. A few white lines marked the boundaries of the incant of the factory. A white mass, here and there, a few blue reeds of smoke from the expiring fire, never to be rekindled. This was all that could be seen of fort hope, now useless and deserted, but erected at the cost of so much labour and so much anxiety. Farewell, farewell, to our poor Arctic home! exclaimed Mrs. Barnette, waving her hand for the last time, and all sadly and silently resumed their journey. At one o'clock the detachment arrived at Cape Michael, after having rounded the gulf which the cold had imperfectly frozen over. Thus far the difficulties of the journey had not been very great, for the ground of the island was smooth compared to the ice-field, which was strewn with icebergs, humocks and packs, between which practical bull passes had to be found at the cost of an immense amount of fatigue. Towards the evening of the same day the party had advanced several miles on the ice-field, and a halt for the night was ordered. The encampment was to be formed by hollowing out snow-houses in the Eskimo style. The work was quickly accomplished with the ice-chisels, and at eight o'clock, after a salt-meat supper, every one had crept into the holes, which are much warmer than anybody would imagine. Before retiring, however, Mrs. Barnette asked the lieutenant how far he thought they had come. "'Not more than ten miles, I think,' replied Hobson. "'Ten, from six hundred,' exclaimed Mrs. Barnette, at this rate it will take us three months to get to the American Continent.' "'Perhaps more, madam,' replied Hobson, for we shall not be able to get on faster than this. We are not travelling, as we were last year, over the frozen plains between Fort Reliance and Cape Bathurst, but on a distorted ice-field, crushed by the pressure of the icebergs, across which there is no easy route. I expect to meet with almost insurmountable difficulties on the way. May we be able to conquer them. It is not of so much importance, however, to march quickly as to preserve our health, and I shall indeed think myself fortunate if all my comrades answer to their names in the roll-call on our arrival at Fort Reliance. Heaven grant, we may have all landed at some point, no matter where, of the American Continent in three months' time. If so, we shall never be able to return thanks enough.' The night passed without incident, but during the long vigil which he kept, Hobson fancied he noticed certain ill-oamened tremblings on the spot he had chosen for his encampment, and could not but fear that the fast ice-field was insufficiently cemented, and that there would be numerous rents in the surface which would greatly impede his progress and render communication with firm ground very uncertain. Moreover, before he started, he had observed that none of the animals had left the vicinity of the fort, and they would certainly have sought a warmer climate had not their instinct warned them of obstacles in their way. Yet the lieutenant felt that he had only done his duty in making this attempt to restore his little colony to an inhabited land before the setting in of the thaw, and whether he succeeded or had to turn back he would have no reason to reproach himself. The next day, November twenty-third, the detachment could not even advance ten miles towards the east, so great were the difficulties met with. The ice-field was fearfully distorted, and here and there many layers of ice were piled one upon another, doubtless driven along by the irresistible force of the ice-wall into the vast funnel of the Arctic Ocean. Hence a confusion of masses of ice, which looked as if they had been suddenly dropped by a hand incapable of holding them, and strewn about in every direction. It was clear that a caravan of sledges drawn by dogs and reindeer could not possibly get over these blocks, and it was equally clear that a path could not be cut through them with the hatchet or ice-chisel. Some of the icebergs assumed extraordinary forms, and there were groups which looked like towns falling into ruins. Some towered three or four hundred feet above the level of the ice-field, and were capped with tottering masses of debris, which the slightest shake or shock or gust of wind would bring down in avalanches. The greatest precautions were, therefore, necessary in rounding these ice-mountains, and orders were given not to speak above a whisper, and not to excite the dogs by cracking the whips in these dangerous passes. But an immense amount of time was lost in looking for practicable passages, and the travellers worn out with fatigue, often going ten miles round before they could advance one in the direction towards east. The only comfort was that the ground still remained firm beneath their feet. On the twenty-fourth November, however, fresh obstacles arose which Hobson really feared, with considerable reason would be insurmountable. After getting over one wall of ice, which rose some twenty miles from Victoria Island, the party found themselves on a much less undulating ice-field, the different portions of which had evidently not been subjected to any great pressure. It was clear that in consequence of the direction of the currents, the influence of the masses of permanent ice in the north had not here been felt, and Hobson and his comrades soon found that this ice-field was intersected with wide and deep crevices not yet frozen over. The temperature here was comparatively warm, and the thermometer maintained a mean height of more than thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit. Salt water, as is well known, does not freeze so readily as fresh, but requires several degrees of cold below freezing-point before it becomes solidified, and the sea was therefore still liquid. All the icebergs and flows here had come from latitudes further north, and, if we may so express it, lived upon the cold they had brought with them. The whole of the southern portion of the Arctic Ocean was most imperfectly frozen, and a warm rain was falling which hastened the dissolution of what ice there was. On the twenty-fourth November the advance of the travellers was absolutely arrested by a crevice full of rough water strewn with small icicles. A crevice, not more than a hundred feet wide it is true, but probably many miles long. For two whole hours the party skirted along the western edge of this gap, in the hope of coming to the end of it, and getting to the other side, so as to resume their march to the east. But it was all in vain. They were obliged to give it up, and encamp on the wrong side. Hobbson and Long, however, proceeded for another quarter of a mile along the interminable crevice, mentally cursing the mildness of the winter which had brought them into such a strait. We must pass somehow, said Long, for we can't stay where we are. Yes, yes, replied the Lieutenant, and we shall pass it, either by going up to the north or down to the south. It must end somewhere. But after we have got round this we shall come to others, and so it will go on, perhaps for hundreds of miles, as long as this uncertain and most unfortunate weather continues. While, Lieutenant, we must ascertain the truth once for all, before we resume our journey, said the Sergeant. We must indeed, Sergeant, replied Hobbson firmly, or we shall run a risk of not having crossed half the distance between us and America, after travelling five or six hundred miles out of our way. Yes, before going further I must make quite sure of the state of the ice-field, and that is what I am about to do. And without another word, Hobbson stripped himself, plunged into the half frozen water, and being a powerful swimmer, a few strokes soon brought him to the other side of the crevice, when he disappeared amongst the icebergs. A few hours later the Lieutenant reached the encampment, to which Long had already returned, in an exhausted condition. He took Mrs. Barnett and the Sergeant aside, and told them that the ice-field was impracticable, adding, perhaps one man on foot without a sledge or any encumbrances might get across. But for a caravan it is impossible. The crevices increased towards the east, and a boat would really be of more use than a sledge if we wished to reach the American coast. Well, said Long, if one man could cross, ought not one of us to attempt it, and go and seek assistance for the rest? I thought of trying it myself, replied Hobbson. You, Lieutenant? You, sir! cried Mrs. Barnett and Long in one breath. These two exclamations showed Hobbson how unexpected and inopportune his proposal appeared. How could he, the chief of the expedition, think of deserting those confided to him, even although it was in their interests and at a great risk to himself? It was quite impossible, and the Lieutenant did not insist upon it. Yes, he said, I understand how it appears to you, my friends, and I will not abandon you. It would, indeed, be quite useless for any one to attempt the passage. He would not succeed, he would fall by the way, and find a watery grave when the thaw sets in. And even supposed he reached New Archangel, how could he come to our rescue? Would he charter a vessel to seek for us? Suppose he did. It could not start until after the thaw, and who could tell where the currents will then have taken Victoria Island, either further north or to the Bering Sea? Yes, Lieutenant, you are right, replied Long. Let us remain together, and if we are to be saved in a boat, there is McNabs on Victoria Island, and for it at least we shall not have to wait. Mrs. Barnett had listened, without saying a word, but she understood that the ice-field being impossible. They had now nothing to depend on but the carpenter's boat, and that they would have to wait bravely for the thaw. What are you going to do, then? she inquired at last. Return to Victoria Island. Let us return, then, and God be with us. The rest of the travellers had now gathered round the Lieutenant, and he laid his plans before them. At first all were disposed to rebel. The poor creatures had been counting on getting back to their homes, and felt absolutely crushed at the disappointment, but they soon recovered their dejection, and declared themselves ready to obey. Hobbson then told them the results of the examination he had just made. They learned that the obstacles in their way on the east were so numerous that it would be absolutely impossible to pass with the sledges and their contents, and as the journey would last several months the provisions, etc., could not be dispensed with. We are now, added the Lieutenant, cut off from all communication with the mainland, and by going further towards the east we run a risk, after enduring great fatigues, of finding it impossible to get back to the island, now our only refuge. If the thaw should overtake us on the ice-field we are lost. I have not disguised nor have I exaggerated the truth, and I know, my friends, that I am speaking to men who have found that I am not a man to turn back from difficulties, but I repeat, the task we have set ourselves is impossible. The men trusted their chief implicitly. They knew his courage and energy, and felt, as they listened to his words, that it was indeed impossible to cross the ice. It was decided to start on the return journey to Fort Hope the next day, and it was accomplished under most distressing circumstances. The weather was dreadful. Squalls swept down upon the ice-field, and rain fell in torrents. The difficulty of finding the way in the darkness through the labyrinth of icebergs can well be imagined. It took no less than four days and four nights to get back to the island. Several teams of dogs with their sledges fell into the crevices, but thanks to Hobson's skill, prudence, and devotion, he lost not one of his party. But what terrible dangers and fatigues they had to go through, and how awful was the prospect of another winter on the wandering island to the unfortunate colonists. CHAPTER XIV. The winter months. The party did not arrive at Fort Hope until the twenty-eighth, after a most arduous journey. They had now nothing to depend on but the boat, and that they could not use until the sea was open, which would not be for six months. Preparations for another winter were therefore made. The sledges were unloaded, the provisions put back in the pantry, and the clothes, arms, furs, etc., in the magazines. The dogs returned to their dog-house and the reindeer to their stable. Great was the despair of Thomas Black at this return to seclusion. The poor astronomer carried his instruments, his books, and his manuscripts back to his room, and more angry than ever with the evil fate which pursued him. He held himself aloof from everything which went on in the factory. All were again settled at the usual winter avocations the day after their arrival, and the monotonous winter life once more commenced. Needlework mending the clothes, taking care of the furs, some of which might yet be saved. The observation of the weather, the examination of the ice-field, and reading aloud were the daily occupations. Mrs. Barnett was, as before, the leader in everything, and her influence was everywhere felt. If, as sometimes happened, now that all were uneasy about the future, a slight disagreement occurred between any of the soldiers. A few words from Mrs. Barnett soon set matters straight, for she had acquired wonderful power over the little world in which she moved, and she always used it for the good of the community. Kalumaha had become a great favorite with everybody, for she was always pleasant and obliging. Mrs. Barnett had undertaken her education, and she got on quickly, for she was both intelligent and eager to learn. She improved her English speaking and also taught her to read and write in that language. There were, however, twelve masters for Kalumaha, all eager to assist in this branch of her education, as the soldiers had all been taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, either in England or in English colonies. The building of the boat proceeded rapidly, and it was to be planked and decked before the end of the month. McNabb and some of his men worked hard in the darkness outside, with no light but the flames of burning resin. Walt's others were busy making the rigging in the magazines of the factory. Although the season was now far advanced, the weather still remained very undecided. The cold was sometimes intense, but owing to the prevalence of west winds it never lasted long. Thus passed the whole of December. Rain and intermittent falls of snow succeeded each other, the temperature meanwhile varying from twenty-six to thirty-four degrees Fahrenheit. The consumption of fuel was moderate, although there was no need to economize it. The reserves being considerable. It was otherwise with the oil, upon which they depended for light, for the stock was getting so low that the lieutenant could at last only allow the lamps to be lit for a few hours every day. He tried using reindeer fat for lighting the house, but the smell of it was so unbearable that everyone preferred being in the dark. All work had, of course, to be given up for the time, and very tedious did the long dark hours appear. Some aurora borealis and two or three lunar halos appeared at full moon, and Thomas Black might now have minutely observed all these phenomenon, and have made precise calculations on their intensity, their coloration, connection with the electric state of the atmosphere, and their influence upon the magnetic needle, etc., but the astronomer did not even leave his room. His spirit was completely crushed. On the thirtieth December the light of the moon revealed a long circular line of icebergs shutting in the horizon on the north and east of Victoria Island. This was the ice wall, the frozen masses of which were piled up to a height of some three or four hundred feet. Two-thirds of the island were hemmed in by this mighty barrier, and it seemed probable that the blockade would become yet more complete. The sky was clear for the first week of January. The new year, 1861, opened with very cold weather, and the column of mercury fell to eight degrees Fahrenheit. It was the lowest temperature that had been experienced in this singular winter, although it was anything but low for such a high latitude. The lieutenant felt at his duty once more to take the latitude and longitude of the island by means of stellar observations, and found that its position had not changed at all. About this time, in spite of all the economy, the oil seemed likely to fail altogether. The sun would not appear above the horizon before early in February, so that there was a month to wait, during which there was a danger of the colonists having to remain in complete darkness. Thanks to the young Eskimo, however, a fresh supply of oil for the lamps was obtained. On the third January, Kalumaha walked to Cape Bathurst to examine the state of the ice. All along the south of the island the icefield was very compact, the icicles of which it was composed more firmly welded together. There were no liquid spaces between them, and the surface of the flow, though rough, was perfectly firm everywhere. This was no doubt caused by the pressure of the chain of icebergs on the horizon, which drove the ice towards the north, and squeezed it against the island. Although she saw no crevices or rents, the young native noticed many circular holes neatly cut in the ice, the use of which she knew perfectly well. They were the holes kept open by seals imprisoned beneath the solid crust of ice, and by which they came to the surface to breathe and look for mosses under the snow on the coast. Kalumaha knew that in the winter bears will crouch patiently near these holes, and watching for the moment when the seal comes out of the water they rush upon it, hug it to death in their paws and carry it off. She knew too that the Eskimo, not less patient than the bear, also watches for the appearance of these animals and throwing a running noose over their heads when they push them up, drag them to the surface. What bears and Eskimo could do might certainly also be done by skillful hunters, and Kalumaha hastened back to the fort to tell the lieutenant of what she had seen, feeling sure that where these holes were seals were not far off. Hobbs and cents for the hunters, and the young native described to them the way in which the Eskimo captured these animals in the winter, and begged them to try. She had not finished speaking before Sabine had a strong rope with a running noose ready in his hand, and accompanied by Hobbs and Mrs. Barnett, Kalumaha and two or three soldiers. The hunters returned to Cape Bathurst, and whilst the women remained on the beach the men made their way to the holes pointed out by Kalumaha. Each one was provided with a rope, and stationed himself at a different hole. A long time of waiting ensued, no sign of the seals, but at last the water in the hole Marbra had chosen began to bubble, and a head with long tusks appeared. It was that of a walrus. Marbra flung his running noose skillfully over its neck, and pulled it tightly. His comrades rushed to his assistance, and with some difficulty the huge beast was dragged upon the ice, and dispatched with hatchets. It was a great success, and the colonists were delighted with this novel fishing. Other walruses were taken in the same way, and furnished plenty of oil, which, though not strictly of the right sort, did very well for the lamps, and there was no longer any lack of light in any of the rooms of Fort Hope. The cold was even now not very severe, and had the colonists been on the American mainland they could only have rejoiced in the mildness of the winter. They were sheltered by the chain of icebergs from the north and west winds, and the month of January passed on with the thermometer never many degrees below freezing point, so that the sea round Victoria Island was never frozen hard. Fishers of more or less extent broke the regularity of the surface in the offing, as was proved by the continued presence of the ruminants and furred animals near the factory, all of which had become strangely tame, forming in fact part of the menagerie of the colony. According to Hobson's orders all these creatures were unmolested. It would have been useless to kill them, and a ranger was only occasionally slaughtered to obtain a fresh supply of venison. Some of the furred animals even ventured into the incant, and they were not driven away. The marchins and foxes were in all the splendor of their winter clothing, and under ordinary circumstances would have been of immense value. These rodents found plenty of moss under the snow, thanks to the mildness of the season, and did not therefore live upon the reserves of the factory. It was with some apprehensions for the future that the end of the winter was awaited, but Mrs. Barnett did all in her power to brighten the monotonous existence of her companions in exile. Only one incident occurred in the month of January, and that one was distressing enough. On the seventh Michael McNabb was taken ill. Severe headache, great thirst, and alterations of shivering and fever soon reduced the poor fellow to a sad state. His mother and father, and indeed all his friends, were in great trouble. No one knew what to do, as it was impossible to say what his illness was. But Maj, who retained her senses about her, advised cooling drinks and poultices. Calumaha was indefatigable, remaining day and night by her favorite's bedside, and refusing to take any rest. About the third day there was no longer any doubt as to the nature of the malady. A rash came out all over the child's body, and it was evident that he had malignant scarlet tina, which would certainly produce internal inflammation. Children of a year old are rarely attacked with this terrible disease, but cases do occasionally occur. The medicine chest of the factory was necessarily insufficiently stocked. But Maj, who had nursed several patients through scarlet fever, remembered that tincture of belladonna was recommended, and administered one or two drops to the little invalid every day. The greatest care was taken lest he should catch cold. He was at once removed to his parents' room, and the rash soon came out freely. Tiny red points appeared on his tongue, his lips, and even the globes of his eyes. Two days later his skin assumed a violet hue. Then it became white and fell off in scales. It was now that double care was required to combat the great internal inflammation, which proved the severity of the attack. Nothing was neglected. The boy was, in fact, admirably nursed, and on the 20th January, twelve days after he was taken ill, he was pronounced out of danger. Great was the joy in the factory. The baby was the child of the forge, of the regiment. He was born in the terrible northern latitudes in the colony itself. He had been named Michael Hope, and he had come to be regarded as a kind of talisman in the dangers and difficulties around, and all felt sure that God would not take him from them. Poor Kalumaha would certainly not have survived him, had he died, but he gradually recovered, and Fresh Hope seemed to come back when he was restored to the little circle. The 23rd of January was now reached. After all these distressing alternations of hope and fear, the situation of Victoria Island had not changed in the least, and it was still wrapped in the gloom of the apparently interminable polar night. Snow fell abundantly for some days, and was piled on the ground to the height of two feet. On the 27th a somewhat alarming visit was received at the fort. The soldiers Belche and Pond, when on guard in front of the encant in the morning, saw a huge bear quietly advancing towards the fort. They hurried into the large room, and told Mrs. Barnette of the approach of the formidable carnivorous beast. Perhaps it is our bear again, observed Mrs. Barnette to Hobson, and accompanied by him, and followed by the sergeant, Sabine, and some soldiers provided with guns, he fearlessly walked to the postern. The bear was now about two hundred paces off, and was walking along without hesitation, as if he had some subtle plan in view. I know him, cried Mrs. Barnette. It is your bear, Calumaha, your preserver. Oh, don't kill my bear, exclaimed the young Eskimo. He shall not be killed, said the lieutenant. Don't injure him, my good fellows, he added to the men. He will probably return as he came. But suppose he intends coming into the encant, said Long, who had his doubts as to the friendly propensities of polar bears. Let him come, sergeant, said Mrs. Barnette. He is a prisoner like ourselves, and you know prisoners. Don't eat each other, added Hobson. True, but only when they belong to the same species. For your sake, however, we will spare this fellow sufferer, and only defend ourselves if he attacks us. I think, however, it will be prudent to go back to the house. We must not put too strong a temptation in the way of our carnivorous friend. This was certainly good advice, and all returned to the large room. The windows were closed, but not the shutters. Through the pains the movements of the visitor were watched. The bear, finding the posture unfastened, quietly pushed open the door, looked in, carefully examined the premises, and finally entered the encant. Having reached the centre, he examined the buildings round him, and went towards the reindeer-stable and dog-house, listened for a moment to the howlings of the dogs, and the uneasy noises made by the reindeer, then continued his walk round the palisade, and at last came and lent his great head against one of the windows of the large room. To own the truth everybody started back. Several of the soldiers seized their guns, and Sergeant Long began to fear he had let the joke go too far. But Kalumaha came forward, and looked through the thin partition with her sweet eyes. The bear seemed to recognise her, at least so she thought, and doubtless satisfied with his inspection he gave a hearty growl, and turning away left the encant, as Hobson had prophesied, as he entered it. This was the bear's first and last visit to the fort, and on his departure everything went on as quietly as before. The little boy's recovery progressed favourably, and at the end of the month he was as rosy and as bright as ever. At noon on the third of February the northern horizon was touched with a faint glimmer of light, which did not fade away for an hour, and the yellow disc of the sun appeared for an instant for the first time since the commencement of the long polar night. From this date, February 3rd, the sun rose each day higher above the horizon. The nights were, however, still very long, and, as is often the case in February, the cold increased, the thermometer marking only one degree Fahrenheit, the lowest temperature experienced, throughout this extraordinary winter. When does the thaw commence in these northern seas? inquired Mrs. Barnett of the Lieutenant. In ordinary seasons, replied Hobson, the ice does not break up until early in May. But the winter has been so mild that unless a very hard frost should now set in the thaw may commence at the beginning of April, at least that is my opinion. We shall still have two months to wait, then? Yes, two months, for it would not be prudent to launch our boat too soon amongst the floating ice. I think our best plan will be to wait until our island, as reach the narrowest part of Bering Strait, which is not more than two hundred miles wide. What do you mean? exclaimed Mrs. Barnett, considerably surprised at the Lieutenant's reply. Have you forgotten that it was the Kamchukta current which brought us where we are now, and which may seize us again when the saw sets in, and carry us yet further north? I do not think it will, madam. Indeed, I feel quite sure that it will not happen. The thaw always takes place in from north to south. And although the Kamchukta current runs the other way, the ice will go down the Bering current. Other reasons there are, for my opinion, which I cannot now enumerate. But the icebergs invariably drift towards the Pacific, and are there melted by its warmer waters. Ask Kalumaha if I am not right. She knows these latitudes well, and will tell you that the thaw always proceeds from the north to the south. Kalumaha, when questioned, confirmed all that the Lieutenant had said, so that it appeared probable that the island would be drifted to the south, like a huge ice-flow, that is to say, to the narrowest part of Bering Strait, which is much more frequented in the summer by the fishermen of New Archangel, who are the most experienced mariners of those waters, making allowance for all delays they might then hope to set foot on the continent before May. And although the cold had not been very intense, there was every reason to believe that the foundations of Victoria Island had been thickened and strengthened by a fresh accumulation of ice at the base, and that it would hold together for several months to come. There was nothing for the colonists to do, but to wait patiently, still to wait. The convalescence of little Michael continued to progress favorably. On the twentieth of February he went out for the first time, forty days after he was taken ill. By this we mean that he went from his bedroom into the large room, where he was petted and made much of. His mother, acting by Madge's advice, put off weaning him for some little time, and he soon got back his strength. The soldiers had made many little toys for him during his illness, and he was now as happy as any child in the wide world. The last week of February was very wet, rain and snow falling alternately. A strong wind blew from the northwest, and the temperature was low enough for large quantities of snow to fall. The gale, however, increased in violence, and on the side of Cape Bathurst and the chain of icebergs the noise of the tempest was deafening. The huge ice masses were flung against each other, and fell with a roar like that of thunder. The ice on the north was compressed and piled up on the shores of the island. There really seemed to be a danger that the Cape itself, which was but a kind of iceberg, capped with earth and sand, would be flung down. Some large pieces of ice, in spite of their weight, were driven to the very foot of the palisade in Kent, but fortunately for the factory the Cape retained its position. Had it given way all the buildings must inevitably have been crushed beneath it. It will be easily understood that the position of Victoria Island at the opening of a narrow strait about which the ice accumulated in large quantities was extremely perilous, for it might at any time be swept by a horizontal avalanche, or crushed beneath the huge blocks of ice driven inland from the offing, and so become engulfed before the thaw. This was a new danger to be added to all the others already threatening the little band. Mrs. Barnett, seeing the awful power of the pressure in the offing, and the violence with which the moving masses of ice crushed upon each other, realized the full magnitude of the peril they would all be in when the thaw commenced. She often mentioned her fears to the lieutenant, and he shook his head like a man who had no reply to make. Early in March the squall ceased, and the full extent of the transformation of the ice field was revealed. It seemed as if by a kind of glissade the chain of icebergs had drawn nearer to the island. In some parts it was not two miles distant, and it advanced like a glacier on the move, with the difference that the latter has a descending and the ice wall a horizontal motion. Between the lofty chain of ice mountains the ice field was fearfully distorted, strewn with humocks, broken obliques, shattered blocks, overturned pyramids. It resembled a tempest off sea, or a ruined town, in which not a building or a monument had remained standing. And above it all the mighty icebergs reared their snowy crests, standing out against the sky with their pointed peaks, their rugged cones, and solid buttresses, forming a fitting frame for the weird fantastic landscape at their feet. At this date the little vessel was quite finished. This boat was rather heavy in shape, as might be expected, but she did credit to McNab, and shaped as she was, like a barge at the bows. She ought the better to withstand the shocks of the floating ice. She might have been taken for one of those Dutch boats which ventured upon the northern waters. Her rig, which was completed, consisted, like that of a cutter, of a mainsail and a jib, carried on a single mast. The tent canvas of the factory had been made use of for sail-cloth. This boat would carry the whole colony, and if, as the lieutenant toped, the island were drifted to bearing straight, the vessel would easily make her way to land, even from the widest part of the passage. There was then nothing to be done, but wait for the thaw. Hobson now decided to make a long excursion to the south, to ascertain the state of the ice-field, to see whether there were any signs of it breaking up, to examine the chain of icebergs by which it was hemmed in, to make sure, in short, whether it would be really useless to attempt to cross to the American continent. Many incidents might occur, many fresh dangers might arise before the thaw, and it would therefore be but prudent to make a reconnaissance on the ice-field. The expedition was organized, and the start fixed for March 7. Hobson, Mrs. Barnette, Columaha, Marbra, and Sabine were to go, and if the route should be practicable, they would try and find a passage across the chain of icebergs. In any case, however, they were not to be absent for more than forty-eight hours. A good stock of provisions was prepared, and, well provided for every contingency, the little party left Fort Hope on the morning of the 7th March, and turned towards Cape Michael. The thermometer then marked thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit, the atmosphere was misty, but the weather was perfectly calm. The sun was now above the horizon for seven or eight hours a day, and its oblique rays afforded plenty of light. At nine o'clock, after a short halt, the party descended the slope of Cape Michael, and made their way across the ice-fields in a south-easterly direction. On this side the ice wall rose not three miles from the Cape. The march was, of course, very slow. Every minute a crevice had to be turned, or a humuck too high to be climbed. It was evident that a sledge could not have got over the rough, distorted surface, which consisted of an accumulation of blocks of ice of every shape and size, some of which really seemed to retain the equilibrium by a miracle. Others had been but recently overturned, as could be seen from the clearly cut fractures and sharp corners. Not a sign was to be seen of any living creature. No footprints told of the passage of man or beast, and the very birds had deserted these awful solitudes. Mrs. Barnette was astonished at the scene before her, and asked the lieutenant how they could possibly have crossed the ice-fields if they had started in December, and he replied by reminding her that it was then in a very different condition. The enormous pressure of the advancing icebergs had not then commenced. The surface of the sea was comparatively even, and the only danger was from its insufficient solidification. The irregularities which now barred their passage did not exist early in the winter. They managed, however, to advance towards the mighty ice-wall, Calumaha generally leading the way. Like a chamois on the alpine rocks the girl firmly treaded the ice-masses with a swiftness afoot and an absence of hesitation which was really marvellous. She knew by instinct the best way through the labyrinths of icebergs, and was an unerring guide to her companions. About noon the base of the ice-wall was reached, but it had taken three hours to get over three miles. The icy barrier presented a truly imposing appearance, rising as it did more than four hundred feet above the ice-field. The various strata of which it was formed were clearly defined, and the glistening surface was tinged with many a delicately shaded hue. Jasper, like ribbons of green and blue, alternated with streaks and dashes of all the colors of the rainbow, strewn with enameled arabesques, sparkling crystals, and delicate ice-flowers. No cliff, however strangely distorted, could give any idea of this marvellous, half-opaque, half-transparent ice-wall, and no description could do justice to the wonderful effects of Chiaro Ascuro produced upon it. It would not do, however, to approach too near to these beatling cliffs, the solidity of which was very doubtful. Internal fractures and rents were already commencing. The work of destruction and decomposition was proceeding rapidly, aided by the imprisoned air-bubbles, and the fragility of the huge structure built up by the cold was manifest to every eye. It could not survive the Arctic winter. It was doomed to melt beneath the sunbeams, and it contained, materially enough, to feed large rivers. Lieutenant Hobson had warned his companions of the danger of the avalanches which constantly fall from the summits of the icebergs, and they did not therefore go far along their base. That this prudence was necessary was proved by the falling of a huge block at two o'clock at the entrance to a kind of valley which they were about to cross. It must have weighed more than a hundred tons, and it was dashed upon the ice-field with a fearful crash, bursting like a bombshell. Fortunately no one was hurt by the splinters. From two to five o'clock the explorers followed a narrow, winding path leading down amongst the icebergs. They were anxious to know if it led right through them, but could not at once ascertain. In this valley, as it might be called, they were able to examine the internal structure of the icy barrier. The blocks of which it was built up were here arranged with greater symmetry than outside. In some places trunks of trees were seen embedded in the ice, all, however, of tropical, not polar species which had evidently been brought to Arctic regions by the Gulf Stream, and would be taken back to the ocean when the thaw should have converted into water the ice which now held them in its chill embrace. At five o'clock it became too dark to go any further. The travelers had not gone more than about two miles in the valley, but it was so sinuous that it was impossible to estimate exactly the distance traversed. The signal to halt was given by the lieutenant, and Marbra and Sabine quickly dug out a grotto in the ice with their chisels into which the whole party crept, and after a good supper all were soon asleep. Everyone was up at eight o'clock the next morning, and Hobbson decided to follow the valley for another mile in the hope of finding out whether it went right through the ice-wall. The direction of the pass judging from the position of the sun had now changed from north to southeast, and as early as eleven o'clock the party came out on the opposite side of the chain of icebergs. The passage was therefore proved to run completely through the barrier. The aspect of the ice-field on the eastern side was exactly similar to that on the west. The same confusion of ice masses, the same accumulation of humox and icebergs, as far as the eye could reach, with occasional alternations of smooth surfaces of small extent intersected by numerous crevices, the edges of which were already melting fast, the same complete solitude, the same desertion, not a bird, not an animal to be seen. Mrs. Barnett climbed to the top of the humock, and there remained for an hour gazing upon the sad and desolate polar landscape before her. Her thoughts involuntarily flew back to the miserable attempt to escape that had been made five months before. Once more she saw the men and women of the hapless caravan encamped in the darkness of these frozen solitudes or struggling against the insurmountable difficulties to reach the main land. At last the lieutenant broke in upon her reverie and said, Madam, it is more than twenty-four hours since we left the fort. We know the thickness of the ice-wall, and as we promise not to be away longer than forty-eight hours I think it is time to retrace our steps. Mrs. Barnett saw the justice of the lieutenant's remark. They had ascertained the barrier of ice was of moderate thickness, that it would melt away quickly enough to allow of the passage of McNabb's boat after the thaw, and it would therefore be well to hasten back lest a snowstorm or change in the weather of any kind should render return through the winding valley difficult. The party breakfasted and set out on the return journey about one o'clock p.m. The night was passed as before in an ice-cavern, and the route resumed at eight o'clock the next morning March 9th. The travellers now turned their backs upon the sun as they were making for the west, but the weather was fine, and the orb of day already high in the heavens flung some of its rays across the valley and lit up the glittering ice-walls on either side. Mrs. Barnett and Kalumaha were a little behind the rest of the party chatting together and looking about them as they wound through the narrow passages pointed out by Marlborough and Sabine. They expected to get out of the valley quickly and be back at the fort before sunset, as they had only two or three miles of the island to cross after leaving the ice. This would be a few hours after the time fixed, but not long enough to cause any serious anxiety to their friends at home. They made their calculation without allowing for an incident which no human, perspicacity, could possibly have foreseen. It was about ten o'clock when Marlborough and Sabine, who were some twenty paces in advance of the rest, suddenly stopped and appeared to be debating some point. When the others came up Sabine was holding out his compass to Marlborough, who was staring at it with an expression of the utmost astonishment. What an extraordinary thing, he exclaimed, and added turning to the lieutenant. Will you tell me, sir, the position of the island with regard to the ice-wall? Is it on the east or west? On the west replied Hobson, not a little surprised at the question. You know that well enough, Marlborough. I know it well enough. I know it well enough. Repeated Marlborough shaking his head. And if it is on the west, we are going wrong, away from the island. What? Away from the island? exclaimed the lieutenant, struck with the hunter's air of conviction. We are indeed, sir, said Marlborough. Look at the compass. My name is not Marlborough, if it does not show that we are walking towards the east, not the west. Impossible! exclaimed Mrs. Barnett. Look, madam, said Sabine. It was true, the needle pointed in exactly the opposite direction, to that expected. Hobson looked thoughtful and said nothing. We must have made a mistake when we left the ice-cavern this morning. Observe, Sabine. We ought to have turned to the left, instead of to the right. No, no, said Mrs. Barnett. I am sure we did not make a mistake. But, said Marlborough. But, interrupted Mrs. Barnett, look at the sun. Does it no longer rise in the east? Now, as we turned our backs on it this morning, and it is still behind us, we must be walking towards the west, so that when we get out of the valley, on the western side of the chain of icebergs, we must come to the island we left there. Marlborough, struck dumb by this irrefutable argument, crossed his arms and said no more. Then if so, said Sabine, the sun and the compass are in complete contradiction of each other. At this moment they are, said Hobson, and the reason is simple enough. In these hide northern latitudes, and in latitudes in the neighbourhood of the magnetic pole, the compasses are sometimes disturbed, and the deviation of their needle is so great as to entirely mislead travellers. All right, then, said Marlborough, we have only to go on keeping our backs to the sun. Certainly, replied Lieutenant Hobson, there can be no hesitation which to choose, the sun or our compass, nothing disturbs the sun. The march was resumed, the sun was still behind them, and there was really no objection to be made to Hobson's theory, founded as it was, upon the position then occupied by the radiant orb of day. The little troop marched on, but they did not get out of the valley as soon as they expected. Hobson had counted on leaving the ice-wall before noon, and it was past two when they reached the opening of the narrow pass. Strange as was this delay, it had not made anyone uneasy, and the astonishment of all can readily be imagined when, on stepping onto the ice-field at the base of the chain of icebergs, no sign was to be seen of Victoria Island, which ought to have been opposite to them. Yes, the island which on this side had been such a conspicuous object owing to the height of Kate Michael, crowned with trees, had disappeared, in its place stretched a vast ice-field, lit up by the sun-beams. All looked around them, and then at each other in amazement. The island ought to be there, cried Sabine. But it is not there, said Marbra. Oh, sir, Lieutenant, where is it? What has become of it? But Hobson had not a word to say in reply, and Mrs. Barnett was equally dumbfounded. Kalumaha now approached Lieutenant Hobson, and touching his arm, she said. We went wrong in the valley. We went up it, instead of down it. We shall only get back to where we were yesterday, by crossing the chain of icebergs. Come, come. Hobson and the others mechanically followed Kalumaha, and trusting in the young native's sagacity, retraced their steps. Appearances were, however, certainly against her, for they were now walking towards the sun in an easterly direction. Kalumaha did not explain her motives, but muttered as she went along, let us make haste. All were quite exhausted, and could scarcely get along, when they found themselves on the other side of the ice-wall, after a walk of three hours. The night had now fallen, and it was too dark to see if the island was there. But they were not long left in doubt. At about a hundred paces off, burning torches were moving about, whilst reports of guns and shouts were heard. The explorers replied, and were soon joined by Sergeant Long and others, amongst them Thomas Black, whose anxiety as to the fate of his friends, had at last roused him from his topper. The poor fellows left on the island had been in a terrible state of uneasiness, thinking that Hobson and his party had lost their way. They were right, but what was it that had made them think so? Twenty-four hours before, the immense ice-field and the island had turned half round, and in consequence of this displacement they were no longer on the west, but on the east side of the ice-wall.