Chapter 28 Chapter 5 runs from July 25th to August 20th

The first thing Jasper Hobson did on his return was to ask Thomas Black how the squad was doing. Nothing has changed in 24 hours.But, as subsequent observations showed, the floating island was one degree lower in latitude, that is, it had drifted southwestward.At this time, it is at the same latitude as the small headland ice cape in the West George area, and it is two thousand nautical miles from the American coastline.The current in this sea area seems to be not as fast as that in the eastern part of the Arctic Ocean, but the island is always drifting, and to Jasper Hobson's great concern, it is drifting towards the Bering Strait.It's only July 24th, just a bigger current, and in less than a month, the island will cross the Bering Strait and enter the warm current of the Pacific Ocean, where the station island will be like "a sugar cube in a water glass "The same melted away.

Mrs. Polina Barnett informed March of the results of her inspection of the island; she told her of the formations of the isthmus break, the ice sheet estimated at five feet underwater, the sergeant's adventure and his reluctance to bathing, and various reasons that will cause the ice to crack or become thinner at any time. But there is still a peaceful scene in the commercial station.These brave men never imagined that Fort Hope was floating on the abyss of the sea, and that its inhabitants lived in danger every minute.They are all in good health.The weather is fine and the climate is pleasant.Both men and women have a good mood and a strong physique.Little Michel was a joy; he was just learning to walk, walking up and down the walled yard of the fort, and Corporal Jollive loved him so much that he was already thinking of teaching him to handle a musket and be a soldier.what!If Madame Jolliff could have had such a son, what a soldier he would have made him!But the Jollif family is not very prosperous, until now, God still refuses to give them a child, even though they pray every day.

As for the soldiers, there was a lot of work.Carpenter Mike Knapp and his crew: Peterson, Belcher, Gary, Pound, Hope are actively building the boat, a long and difficult task that will take months to complete.However, this ship may not be used until next summer, and people have not neglected other projects in the trading station for this reason.Jasper Hobson let them do what they did, as if the fort would stand indefinitely.He insisted on keeping his subordinates from knowing the truth.This rather serious question has been discussed several times by the "Staff" at Fort Hope.On this point Lady Polina Barnet and March disagreed entirely with the Lieutenant.They feel that these brave and strong companions are not desperate people, and if the situation on the island becomes dangerous and has reached a level where it cannot be kept secret, the blow will definitely be even greater.But while there was truth in that statement, Jasper Hobson didn't want to change his mind.On this issue, Sergeant Long supported his view.Perhaps, the two of them had a point, they knew the situation and the people better.

Therefore, the strengthening and defense works of the fortress continued.New piles were added to the palisade wall, and it was heightened in many places, forming a well-defended blockade.Master Mike Knapp even implemented the plan he had always had in mind, and got the approval of his leadership.On two protruding corners of the lake two small sentinels had been erected, and Corporal Jollif longed for the time when he would send sentries up to stand guard.This makes the whole building show its military style. After strengthening the fence, Mike Knapp remembered the severe cold of last winter, so he built a new wood house on the right side of the main house.This way, they can go through an inner door into this enclosed woodshed without having to venture outside, and the fuel is always with the consumer.On the left side of the main house, Honjo built another large house for the soldiers, which made the common hall remove those luggage beds.From now on, this hall will only be used for eating, playing and working.This large new house was used by the soldiers and three families who lived in separate rooms.A fur storehouse was also built behind the main house, next to the powder magazine.The attic was thus left empty, riveted shut, and resistant to any kind of intrusion.

Mike and Knapp also wanted to build a chapel out of wood.This building was included in Lieutenant Hobson's original plans as part of the overall architecture of the trading station.However, construction has been delayed until next summer. With what care, with what passion, with what effort, had Lieutenant Hobson once poured himself into every detail of the building!How excited he would have been to see these houses, these storehouses and storehouses rising up around him, had they been built on solid ground!And his plan to build a blockhouse on top of Bathurst Point to defend Fort Hope was useless!Fort Hope!The name broke his heart at this moment!Bathurst Point has left America forever, and Fort Hope should be called Fort Hopeless!

These works took up the whole summer, and there was never a lack of work for the people.Shipbuilding is proceeding step by step.According to Mike Knapp's plan, the tonnage of the ship is about 30 tons, which is enough to accommodate 20 or so passengers and travel hundreds of nautical miles.The carpenter luckily found some bent timbers, built the ribs, and soon the bow and stern, fastened to the keel, stood on the site at the foot of Bathurst Point. While the carpenters were at work with axes and saws, hunters hunted game, and deer and arctic hares abounded near the trading post.The lieutenant asked Sabine and Marbor not to go far, on the grounds that he did not want to leave traces around before the project was completed, so as not to attract the enemy.In fact, Jasper Hobson didn't want to make them suspicious of the changes on the peninsula.

When Marbor asked one day whether he should go to Walrus Cove and hunt some more walruses for their oil for fuel, Jasper Hobson promptly replied: "No, there is no need, Marbor!" Lieutenant Hobson knew perfectly well that Walrus Bay had been left two hundred miles to the south, and that Walrus would never patronize the shores of the island now! It should be noted that Jasper Hobson is not to be pessimistic about the situation.He is far from hopeless.He had said this many times to Mrs. Paulina Barnett or to the sergeant.He firmly believed that the island would hold out until the moment when the severe cold would freeze the ice and keep it from drifting.

Indeed, after traveling around the island, Jasper Hobson had accurately measured the circumference of his new domain.The circumference of the island is , and its area is at least 140 square miles.For comparison, Victoria Island is slightly larger than St. Helena, and its circumference is as large as Paris within the Battery Line.Even if the island is divided into pieces, it should be large enough for a person to live on it for a while. Polina Barnett was amazed at the size of the ice, to which Lieutenant Hobson replied with observations from Arctic navigators.This was not uncommon; Parry, Penney, and Franklin all encountered ice sheets as they crossed the Arctic Ocean, a hundred miles long and fifty miles wide.Captain Gloria even abandoned ship and landed on a block of ice no less than 300 square miles in size.What is Victoria Island in comparison?

However, the size of the small island should be able to persist until the onset of the severe winter, without the base being melted by the warm current.Jasper Hobson had no doubts of this, and, it should be said, despaired of seeing so much work, so much toil, so many plans, all of his imminent realization Will go with the wave.As you can imagine, he has no interest in the current project.He let everyone do it, that's all! Lady Polina Barnett forced a smile.She encouraged her companions to do it, and she did it herself, as if she had a bright future.Therefore, seeing Mrs. Jolliff tending the sown seeds with interest, she also helped and gave advice every day.The sorrel and horseradish were all in good condition, thanks to the corporal who guarded the vegetable patch like a scarecrow from a thousand birds.

Deer farming is very successful.Several does gave birth, and little Michele had deer's milk to drink.The herd had increased to about thirty.The deer are brought to the meadows at Bathurst Point to graze, and the grass on the slopes is dried for winter fodder.The deer herd are friendly to the people in the fort, and they are easy to raise. They generally stay close to the trading post, and some of them can already pull sleds to transport logs. In addition, some deer wandering about the trading post fell into traps dug between the fort and Barnet Harbour.do you remember?Last year, the trap also caught a large bear.And in this season, it's usually the deer that fall in.The venison was cured, dried and preserved.At least two dozen deer have been caught, and winter will soon lead them to lower latitudes.

However, one day, due to structural changes in the land, the trap became unusable. On August 5, the hunter Marbor approached Jasper Hobson after returning from inspection, and said to him in a strange tone: "I just checked the trap, Lieutenant." "Well, Marbor," answered Jasper Hobson, "I hope you're going as far away as you were yesterday, and there's a couple of deer in the trap, aren't you?" "No, lieutenant...no..." Marbor said a little unnaturally. "What! Didn't you catch prey in your trap as usual?" "No. But if an animal did fall in the hole, it must have drowned." "Drowned!" cried the lieutenant, looking anxiously at the hunter. "Yes, Lieutenant," replied Marbor, looking earnestly at his leader, "the hole is filled with water." "Well," Jasper Hobson replied in a tone of indifference, "you know, this trap is partly dug in the ice, and the ice wall may have been melted by the sun, so... ..." "Excuse me for interrupting you, Lieutenant," replied Marbor, "this water is not caused by melting ice." "Why, Marbor?" "Because, if it is water from melting ice, the water should be fresh, as you have said before, but on the contrary, the water in the cave is salty!" For all his control, Jasper Hobson turned a little pale and said nothing. "Besides," added the hunter, "I wanted to test the depth of the water, but surprisingly I didn't get to the bottom." "Well, what do you think, Marbor?" said Jasper Hobson at once. "There is nothing surprising about it. It may be that a crack in the ground connects the trap with the sea, which sometimes happens. This kind of thing... even on the hardest ground, brave hunter, give up using traps for a while, and set a few traps near the fortress." With a salute, Marbor turned away from the lieutenant, but gave him a curious look. Jasper Hobson thought for a moment.What the hunter Marbor had just told him was a serious situation.Obviously, the bottom of the cave was melted, thinned, and pierced by the warm current, and now the bottom of the trap is the level of sea water. Jasper Hobson went to the sergeant and informed him of the accident.The two came quietly to the shore below Bathurst Point, and reached the place where they had marked. They check. Since the last observation, the level of the floating island has dropped another six fingers! "We're sinking slowly!" murmured the sergeant. "The ice sheet is melting from below." "Oh! Winter! Winter!" cried Jasper Hobson, stamping the accursed earth. But there is no sign of winter yet.On the thermometer, the average temperature remained at 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius), and the mercury dropped only three to four degrees during the night hours. Preparations for the winter are still underway.People lack nothing.Indeed, although Captain Claventi's detachment failed to deliver supplies to Fort Hope, the long polar night was passed safely.Just save ammo.As for drinks, people don't drink much, and there are still a lot of irreplaceable biscuits in stock.However, fresh game meat and cured meat in stock are constantly increasing.This rich and nutritious food, combined with anti-scurvy plants, will ensure the health of all members of the squad. In the Jolin on the eastern shore of Lake Barnet, many trees have been felled.Many birch, pine, and fir trees fell to Mike Knapp's axe, and the timber was carried into the woodshed by reindeer.The carpenter didn't even spare the grove.He must be thinking that there is no shortage of trees on the island.He thought it was still a peninsula.Indeed, the vicinity of Cape Michel is rich in resources of all kinds. Master Mike Knapp, therefore, was often pleased about it, and congratulated the Lieutenant on discovering such a blessed place where the merchant station could only prosper.Timber, game, and fur animals have filled the company's warehouses!There is a lagoon for fishing with a wide variety of fish!There is no shortage of grass for the animals, and "you can get double wages," Corporal Jolliff would surely add!Is not this Bathurst Point a privileged place, an unrivaled place on the Arctic Continent?what!Of course, Lieutenant Hobson was well chosen.Thank God, because this place is unique in the world! Unique in the world!Honest Mike Knapp!He didn't know how he made the Lieutenant's heart hurt when he talked like this! In this small settlement, the making of winter clothes cannot be ignored.Mrs. Polina Barnett and March, Mrs. Ray and Mrs. Mac Knapp, and Mrs. Jolliffe, who was able to leave the stove for a while, were all hard at work.The woman traveler knew that leaving the fort and returning to the American continent would require a long trek on the ice in winter, and she wanted everyone to dress warmly.The frightful cold to be faced during the polar night would have to endure a long ordeal if Victoria Island were positioned far from the coast!To travel hundreds of miles in these conditions, neither clothing nor shoes can be ignored.Both Lady Paulina Barnett and March were therefore extremely attentive.As one would imagine, the fur seemed irretrievable, and clothing was made entirely of fur.The inside of the garment is lined so that it is soft inside and out.No doubt, when winter came, these wives and soldiers, like their officers, wore the most expensive furs, the envy of even the richest ladies or the most luxurious Russian princesses.Mrs. Ray, Mike, Mrs. Knapp, and Mrs. Jolliffe were somewhat surprised to see such use of company property.But the lieutenant's order was clear.In addition, mink, mink, muskrat, beaver, and fox breed very quickly here, and the fur that is used up can be easily replaced, as long as people want to, they only need to shoot with a gun or catch with a sack.Mrs. Mac Knapp, especially, couldn't be happier when she saw March dress her baby in beautiful ermine. The days passed like this until late August.The weather is always fine.There was a mist in the sky at times, but the sun dispelled it as soon as it came out. Every day, Lieutenant Hobson went to take the bearings. He always left the fort carefully, lest he arouse the suspicion of his companions.He also inspected various places on the island. Fortunately, there were no major changes. On August 16, Victoria Island was located on the longitude line of 167 degrees 20 minutes and the parallel line of 70 degrees 49 minutes.For some time, the island has drifted southward, but it is not close to the coast. It is still more than 200 nautical miles away from the southeast coastline. The island has traveled an estimated 1,100 to 1,200 nautical miles westward since the isthmus broke, or the ice melted. But compared to the vast sea, what is this distance?Haven't you seen some ships drift thousands of nautical miles with the current?For example, the British warship "Resolution", the American three-masted ships "Advance" and "Fox", drifted on the surface of the ocean at several latitudes, with their great ice fields, until winter came and froze their wanderings!

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