Chapter 25 where is chapter two

The unforeseen new situation before the people of the company required careful study, which was what Jasper Hobson, looking at the map, was anxious to do.But it would have to wait until the next day to determine the longitude of Victoria Island - which still retains the name - just as the latitude had just been determined.In order to calculate longitude, the two heights of the sun in the pre-afternoon and afternoon must be recorded, and the two time angles must be measured. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Lieutenant Hobson and Topas Black measured the height of the sun above the horizon from the sextant.The next day, at 10 o'clock in the morning, they were going to take the same measurement again, in order to deduce from the two altitudes the longitude occupied by the island in the Arctic Ocean.

But they did not go back to the fort at once, and the conversation went on a long way between Jasper Hobson, the astronomer, the sergeant, Lady Paulina Barnett, and March.March had no regard for herself, she was completely obedient to the will of Heaven.As for her mistress, her "Lady Paulina," she could not but look with emotion at the trials, perhaps disasters, which lay before her at Paulina March, ready to give her life for Paulina. , but could this sacrifice save the person she loved most in the world?In any case, she knew that Lady Polina Barnett was not to be pushed around.This heroic woman had considered her career without fear, but, it must be said, she had not yet had any reason to despair.

Indeed, there is no imminent danger to the inhabitants of Fort Hope at present, and everything is even inclined to be believed.Catastrophe may be averted.This is exactly what Jasper Hobson made clear to his companions. Only two dangers are threatening the island floating in the seas of the American continent: One is that it has been pushed to the high latitudes of the Arctic by the tide of the sea, and cannot return. The other is that the tide will carry it south, perhaps through the Bering Strait, to the Pacific Ocean. In the first case, the winter dwellers are trapped by ice and snow, blocked by impassable ice floes, impossible to have any contact with human beings, and will die of hunger and cold in the arctic desert.

In the second scenario, Victoria Island, swept up by the tide into the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, would slowly melt from the bottom and disappear beneath the feet of its inhabitants. In both scenarios, Jasper Hobson, all his companions, and the merchant station with painstaking efforts will inevitably suffer. But which of these two situations will occur?No, it's impossible to know. Indeed, the summer has passed quite a bit.In less than three months, the first cold of the North Pole will freeze the sea.Ice fields will appear all over the sea, and then, on a sled, one can reach the nearest land, if the island is to the east, to Russian America; if on the contrary, the island is pushed west, to the coast of Asia .

"Because," added Jasper Hobson, "mine has absolutely no grasp of this floating island. We cannot steer it, as we cannot hoist the sails as in a ship. Where will it take us?" , let's see." Lieutenant Hobson's argument was clear and unambiguous, and he was accepted by all.Certainly the winter rigors would freeze Victoria Island to the Great Ice-Field, and it was even foreseeable to float neither too far north nor too south.Moreover, walking hundreds of miles across the ice field would not be too difficult for these brave and determined men, accustomed to the arctic climate and excursions in polar regions.True, that would entail abandoning Fort Hope, which they had built so carefully, that is, losing the use of the finished work, but what could be done?A trading station on this fluid land was of no use to the Hudson's Bay Company.Besides, sooner or later, the collapse of the island will take it completely to the bottom of the sea.Therefore, once you have the condition, you have to give it up.

The only bad luck--and the lieutenant emphasized this especially--was that Victoria Island drifted too far north or too far south during the eight or nine weeks before the Arctic Ocean froze.Indeed, people have seen that in the stories of overwintering in the polar regions, there are many stories of drifting, all of which drift far away and cannot be controlled. Everything depends on the currents that develop at the mouth of the Bering Strait, and it is important to carefully note the direction of the currents on a map of the Arctic Ocean.Jasper Hobson had such a map, and asked Mrs Paulina Barnett, March, the Astronomer and the Sergeant to follow him back to his house; before leaving Bathurst Point, He once again warned everyone to keep the current situation absolutely confidential.

"The situation is not yet hopeless, far from it," he added, "and I see no need, therefore, to disturb our companions, who may not, as we do, consider luck as well as misfortune." "However," Lady Paulina Barnett drew attention, "wouldn't it be prudent for us to begin now to build a large ship, capable of carrying all the people, and traveling hundreds of miles across the sea? " "That's very well indeed," replied Lieutenant Hobson, "we can do it. I'll make some excuse and get to work right away. I've ordered the master carpenter to build a strong ship. But, for me, the return to the Continent The best way can only be a last resort. The important thing is to avoid being on the island when the ice and snow thaw, we should try to get back to the mainland, and we will leave as soon as the sea freezes."

Indeed, this is the best way.Because it takes at least three months to build a large ship of 30 to 35 tons, and then it cannot be used because the sea is frozen and cannot be navigated.However, it would be a happy ending if the lieutenant could lead the crew back across the ice sheet to the mainland, because it would be extremely dangerous to transport his crew by ship during the thaw.Jasper Hobson had reason, therefore, to regard the shipping plan as a last resort, and everyone agreed with him. Once again Lieutenant Hobson was assured of secrecy.In a few minutes they left Bathurst Point, and two women and three men were seated at a table in the Great Hall of Fort Hope, which was deserted at this moment, for people were working outside.

The lieutenant brought a perfect map of atmospheric circulation and ocean currents, and we made a careful study of the Arctic Ocean from Cape Bathurst to the Bering Strait. Two large tides bisect this treacherous sea between this little-known region of the Arctic Circle, known as the Northwest Passage since the intrepid Mark Klühl discovered it. "Yes,—at least, no other channels are marked on the hydrological observation data. The large tide is called the Kamchatka Current.Its source is on a peninsula of the same name, then it follows the Asian coastline, through the Bering Strait, past the eastern headland of the Chukchi Sea region.Its general course is north-south, but about 600 nautical miles out of the strait it turns abruptly and flows directly to the east, almost parallel to the Mark Klühl Passage, which is navigable during the warm months.

Another large tide, called the Bering Current, flows in the opposite direction.It flows from east to west along the American coast, a hundred nautical miles from the coastline, it meets the Kamchatka current at the opening of the strait, then goes south to the coast of Russian America, and finally crosses the Bering Strait in the Aleutian Islands. The circular reef shattered into spray. This map summarizes the latest nautical observations with complete accuracy and, therefore, is to be believed. Jasper Hobson studied the charts carefully before speaking.Then he wiped his forehead with his hand, as if trying to dispel some unfortunate premonition.

"I hope, my friends," said he, "that misfortune will not carry us into those distant seas, and the island from which we are drifting is in danger of being lost." "Why, Mr. Hobson?" asked Mrs. Pocona Barnet hastily. "Why do you ask, ma'am?" replied the lieutenant. "Look at this part of the Arctic Ocean, and you will understand at once. Here two currents, both dangerous to us, flow against each other. Where they meet, the island must be anchored, and the Any landmass is far away. It is at this point that the island will pass the winter, and when the thaw comes, the island will either be carried by the Kamchatka Current to the remote regions of the North-West, or by the Bering The impact of the ocean currents melts into the bottom of the Pacific Ocean." "It's not going to happen, Mr. Lieutenant," March said sincerely, "God won't allow it." "However," continued Lady Paulina Barnett, "I cannot conceive where we are drifting in the Arctic Ocean, for, from Bathurst Point, all that is visible in the sea is the dangerous Plus the current goes straight to the northwest. Don't worry about it taking us into the current and making us go to the North Coast?" "I don't think so," said Jasper Hobson, after a moment's thought. "Why not?" "Because the current is fast, ma'am, for three months, if we had been going along with it, we should have seen some shore—and we haven't." "Then where do you suppose we should be?" asked the traveler. "I'm afraid," answered Jasper Hobson, "between the Kamchatka Current and the Primorsky Sea, most likely in some great eddy near the shore." "It won't be so, Mr. Hobson," said Lady Paulina Barnett at once. "Isn't that so?" repeated the lieutenant. "What reason, ma'am?" "Because if Victoria Island is in the vortex, its direction will not be fixed, and it will rotate with the vortex. Then, since the direction of the small island has not changed for three months, it will not be in the vortex." "You are right, ma'am," replied Jasper Hobson, "you see the stuff perfectly, and I have nothing to say about it,—however, there may be some Indeed, such uncertainty is dreadful. I'd rather be on the island when it's clear." "That day will come," March replied. Just wait.People spread out.Everyone went about their usual business.Sergeant Long informed his companions that the scheduled departure for Reliancesburg the next day had been cancelled.His reason is that, after consideration, he thinks that the season is a bit late, and it is difficult to reach the commercial station before winter comes. Astronomers also decided to endure another winter in order to complete their meteorological observations. Not when it's time to make up, and so on,--these brave souls don't care much about such things. Lieutenant Hobson specifically instructed the hunters to let go of fur animals and hunt edible game in order to replenish the stock at the trading station.He also forbade them to move more than two miles from the fort, lest Marbor, Sabine, or any other hunter should accidentally face the sea, which, just a few months ago, was the isthmus that connected the Victoria Peninsula to the American continent.And the disappearance of the isthmus will indeed reveal the real situation. The day seemed extremely long to Lieutenant Hobson.Several times he returned to the top of Bathurst Point, alone or with Lady Paulina Barnet.This tried and tested female traveler is not intimidated at all, she does not feel that the future is daunting.She even joked with Jasper Hobson that this drifting island carrying them might just be a good vehicle for the North Pole!Why not go down the stream and reach the inaccessible poles of the earth? Lieutenant Hobson listened to his female companion explaining this theory, and nodded, but his eyes never left the horizon, looking for whether there were known or unknown lands appearing in the distance.But the sky and the water merged in a circle, and nothing else could be seen clearly—this further confirmed Jasper Hobson's idea that Victoria Island should be drifting westward, not in other directions. "Mr. Hobson," asked Lady Polina Barnett, "you have no intention of making a round of the island, and the sooner the better?" "I do, ma'am," replied Lieutenant Hobson. "Once I have determined its position, I intend to know its shape and extent. This is necessary to estimate its future changes, but it does appear to be broken at the isthmus, because , the entire peninsula has become an island." "We have had a strange encounter, Mr. Hobson!" repeated Lady Paulina Barnett. "Other people come back from expeditions and always add some new area to the geographical map! We, on the contrary, have reduced the geographic map and crossed this so-called Victoria Peninsula off the map!" , at ten o'clock in the morning, the sky was clear, and Jasper Hobson measured the altitude of the sun.He then calculated this result and the results of the previous day's observations to determine the longitude of the place. Astronomers were not present at the time of the measurement.He stayed in his room and pissed off,--like a big boy, and, besides, abandoned his scientific activities. The island was then located at longitude 157 degrees 37 minutes west of the Greenwich meridian. The point was noted on the map, and Mrs Pauline Barnett and Sergeant Long were present. This is really a very depressing moment, which is the result of marking. Presently the drifting islands were moving westward, as Lieutenant Hobson expected, but an uncharted current, unknown to hydrologists, was apparently carrying it into the Bering Strait.All the dangers that Jasper Hobson had foreseen were frightening indeed, if Victoria Island did not come ashore before winter. "Then what is the exact distance we are from the American continent?" asked the female traveler. "That's the concern at the moment." Jasper Hobson took a compass and carefully measured the narrowest part of the sea between the coastline and the 73rd parallel on the map. "We are now more than 250 nautical miles from the northern tip of Cape Barrow in Russian America," he replied. "Should we know how many nautical miles the island has drifted from the former Bathurst Point?" Sergeant Long asked. "At least 700 nautical miles," said Jasper Hobson, checking the map again. "About when did it start drifting?" "I am afraid it was the end of April." Lieutenant Hobson replied: "At that time, the ice sheet disintegrated, and the large ice block that the sun had not melted was pushed northward. It can be concluded that Victoria Island was affected by this current parallel to the coast. It's been drifting westward for three months, about an average of nine to ten nautical miles per day." "Isn't that fast?" asked Lady Paulina Barnett. "Soon indeed," answered Jasper Hobson, "you judge where we are taken, for these two months of summer this part of the Arctic Ocean remains clear!" There was a moment of silence between the Lieutenant, Mrs Pauline Barnett and Sergeant Long.None of them could take their eyes off the map of the Arctic region, which so obstinately prevented human investigation, and where they were now being led helplessly! "So, in this case, there is nothing we can do, nothing to try?" asked the traveler. "Nothing, ma'am," replied Lieutenant Hobson, "must wait and look forward to the arctic winter, so commonly dreaded by navigators, and the only season which may save us. Winter, It is ice and snow, ma'am, and ice and snow are our anchor of salvation, our anchor of mercy, the only way to stop the progress of the wandering island."

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