Chapter 38 Chapter 15 The Last Exploration

From this time on, the sun rises every day and rises higher and higher on the horizon.The night is only interrupted for a few hours each day.It was colder, as it often is in February, with the temperature gauge pointing at 1 degree Fahrenheit (minus 17 degrees Celsius).This is the lowest temperature marked this strange winter. "When will the sea water thaw?" a female traveler asked Lieutenant Hobson one day. "In a normal year, ma'am," Lieutenant Hobson replied, "the ice should thaw in early May, but this winter has been very warm. If there is no new cold snap, I think it will be thawed in early April."

"Does that mean we have to wait another two months?" asked Mrs Barnett. "Well, two months, ma'am," replied Jasper Hobson, "because it's better not to let our boat go down into the ice water too soon. I think if we can wait until the island is drifting We shall be saved as far as the narrowest part of the Bering Strait, which is not more than 100 miles wide." "What are you talking about, Mr. Jasper?" asked Mrs. Barnett again, surprised by what Lieutenant Hobson had said. "You forget that the Kamchatka Current, the northern current, brought us here, and if it thaws, wouldn't this current control us and carry us further away?"

"I don't think so, ma'am," replied Lieutenant Hobson, "I'm even sure it won't happen. The thaw is always from north to south, and that may be due to the backflow of the Kamchatka Current, or Because of the ice that freezes the Bering Sea current, maybe something else I don't know. But one thing that always remains constant is that the icebergs always drift to the Pacific Ocean and melt in the warmer waters there. You ask Ask Karuma, she is familiar with the region, and like me, she will tell you that the thaw is from north to south." Karuma's answer confirmed the lieutenant's statement.It seems that it is very likely that the small island will be brought south by the current like a huge ice block in early April, that is, to the narrowest place of Baihui Strait.In summer, it is frequented by fishermen and experienced navigators of New Arcangil.However, in view of possible delays and the time it takes for the island to drift southward, one cannot yet hope to land on land before May.In addition, although it is not so cold this year, Victoria Island must be frozen, and the ice at the bottom of the island must have thickened and it will take several months to melt.

These wintering people can only wait patiently, and have to wait patiently! The child's body recovered well. On February 20, he left his bedroom for the first time after being ill for 40 days.He was carried into the hall and thrown into the caress of everyone at once.His mother wanted to wean him when he was one, but Madge persuaded him to continue breastfeeding him.The child not only sucks the mother's milk, but also sometimes drinks the reindeer's milk, which makes him quickly grow strong.The soldiers made him hundreds of toys, and he was the happiest boy in the world. The last week of February was full of rain and snow.Then came the furious northwest wind.In just a few days, the temperature dropped significantly again, and the rainy and snowy weather turned into a heavy snowstorm.But the wind has not abated.From Bathurst Point and the pack ice came the great roar of the storm.The icebergs collided with each other, collapsed, and made a loud noise like rolling thunder.Ice packs from the north are pressing against the island's shores.It was so worrying that even Bathurst Point, which was really nothing more than an iceberg covered with dirt and sand, was going to collapse.Some huge ice blocks were squeezed near the fence of the bunker.Fortunately, the cape held up and still sheltered the houses of the trading station from being hit.

It is now known that Victoria Island is at the mouth of a narrow strait, towards which ice packs are constantly accumulating, making the island extremely dangerous.At any time, the island could be crushed by a lateral avalanche from an impacting iceberg, or it could be crushed by a group of icebergs before being caught in the ocean current.This is just one new addition to the many dangers that exist.Mrs. Barnett had seen with her own eyes the marvelous power of the sea and the irresistible effect of these icebergs, and knew the new threats to the island as the ice melted.She had told Lieutenant Hobson many times what she thought of it, and the lieutenant just shook his head in a masculine way and was speechless.

The storm stopped completely in early March, and it can be seen that the island has changed its appearance to a great extent.Those ice floes slid on the surface of the iceberg, and it seemed to be getting closer to Victoria Island.In some places the ice packs are within two miles of the island and are still moving like glaciers, except that the packs move and the glaciers only sink.Between the highlands and the coast, the land, or rather the ice sheet, has become unrecognizable, full of ice mounds, needle peaks, and overturned cones of ice, like a stormy sea that is suddenly frozen. same.It is also like the ruins of a huge city, a complete building that no longer exists.Only the tall ice floes still stand firmly there, revealing its strange figure in the sky. The peaks, cones, and balls are really full of wonders, forming a messy and unique wonderful picture of the Arctic region.

At this time, the ship has been completely built.The shape of this boat is slightly rough, but the bow is round, so it is not afraid of the impact of ice.Like those Dutch ships that ventured in the North Sea.The ship was fully rigged for sail, like a dhow, with mizzen-sail and jib, all rigged to a single mast.The tents of the trading posts were made into sails. This boat can easily hold all the people on Victoria Island.Obviously, if the island drifted toward the Bering Strait, as one might expect, the ship could sail from the island across the long distance to the coast of America without difficulty.Now, just wait for the sea to thaw.

Lieutenant Hobson wanted to take a closer look at the southeastern part of the island, to understand the situation of the tundra, to see if there were any signs of thawing, to observe the condition of the pack ice, and to see if the waterway leading to America was in the current situation. Still impassable.Unforeseen events may occur before the ice is thawed and passable, and it would be wise to get acquainted with the ice sheet. It has been decided to go out to explore, and the departure date is set for March 7.Those who went to investigate were Lieutenant Hobson, the female traveler, Karuma, Marbor and Sabine.It was agreed that if the road was passable, a road would be found among the ice floes, but in any case, Mrs. Barnett and the team's companions should return to the trading station within 48 hours.

The food has been prepared, and the squad has been fully armed to prevent accidents, and left Fort Hope on the morning of March 7 and walked towards Cape Michel. The temperature that day was 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius).The weather was a bit foggy, but there was no wind.The sun has drawn an arc on the horizon, and the sunshine has reached seven or eight hours a day.The sun's rays shone on the rugged ice fields. At 9:00 a.m., after a short rest, Lieutenant Hobson and his companions descended the slope at Cape Mitchell, heading southeast.Here, no pack ice is visible within 3 miles of the cape.

As you can imagine, their progress was slow.At any moment they encountered a deep puddle, or an impassable ice mound, which had to be circumvented frequently.No sled could have traversed such rough terrain.Here is a accumulation field of ice cubes of different sizes and shapes. Some ice cubes are upside down and stand in a dangerous place, but they do not fall down by accident.Others have just collapsed, with fractured sections and edges as sharp as knives.But in this world of ice and snow, there is no trace of any person or animal ever walking by!This is a lonely world, not even the birds have flown here!

Lady Polina Barnet wondered to herself how it would be impossible to imagine how they would be able to cross this difficult ice field if they went on in December.However, Lieutenant Hobson told her that at that time last year, the situation was not what it is now.At that time, the pack of ice floes had not yet squeezed over, and the surface of the ice sheet was relatively smoother than it is now.The only obstacle at that time was that the ice sheet was not frozen hard, not any other difficulties.The ice principle now is impassable because of its roughness, which was not the case when winter began. People came to a high ice barrier.Karuma was almost always at the head of the squad.This lively, lithe young girl walks the ice field with the confident stride of an Alpine chamois.It was a joy to watch her move forward without hesitation and precise beat.In this way, she instinctively found an excellent path for everyone between the maze-like icebergs and peaks.She sometimes advances, and sometimes returns to call everyone, while the people behind follow her with confidence. Near noon they reached the Great Ice Pack, and it took them more than three hours to cover the three miles. This ice barrier is simply frighteningly large, and some ice peaks are more than 400 feet above the ice sheet!The layers of ice that make up the ice barrier are clearly identifiable.The exquisitely carved and colorful rock walls are like rainbows and jasper, and they are as dizzying as they are decorated with dazzling Arabic-style murals.There is not a single precipice that does not appear strange and unparalleled, or vague, or transparent and shiny, all of which are light and dark, adding brilliance to the natural landscape! Be wary of these magical behemoths, however, as their reliability is questionable.There is often a loud cracking sound from the inside of the ice barrier.A terrible change is taking place there.The air bubbles inside the ice barrier are now showing their power, prompting its disintegration.This Qionglou Yuyu built by the severe cold is so fragile, and it follows the footsteps of the Arctic winter so closely, once it encounters the sun's rays, it will soon disappear without a trace. Lieutenant Hobson warned his companions to be aware of the danger of an avalanche from the iceberg at any time.It is obviously wise for the squad to keep a distance from the ice barrier at all times as they advance.At about two o'clock, when Mrs. Barnett and her companions were about to pass through the corner of the ravine, a huge ice slab weighing more than 100 tons suddenly rolled down from the top of the ice peak and hit the ice field, making an earth-shattering noise. a bang.A big hole was smashed into the ice sheet, and the water in the hole was thrown high.The bang was like a bomb going off, luckily no one was hurt. From two o'clock to five o'clock, we marched along a narrow and winding valley among the ice floes.Can you pass through the whole pack of ice floes after passing through this valley?Everyone has no way of knowing.However, the internal structure of the Great Ice Barrier can be seen at a glance.The arrangement of the internal structure of the ice barrier is much more symmetrical than that of its exterior.In several places they found trunks, not of polar but of tropical trees.It must have been the Gore current that brought these trees to the poles, where they got frozen in the glaciers, and then returned to the ocean.People also saw some floating objects in the sea, such as broken hulls and keels. Nearly 5 o'clock, the weather was quite dark, and everyone stopped advancing.About two miles had now been covered in a rough and difficult ravine of such a degree of twists and turns that it was practically difficult to estimate how much. Jasper Hobson ordered a break.Ma Fuer and Sabine dug a big hole in the iceberg with snow knives in only half an hour.They all got in, and after supper, everyone was exhausted, and soon fell asleep. At 8 o'clock the next morning, everyone woke up.Hobson followed the ravine for another mile to see if he could reach the end of the pack.According to the position of the sun, they determined their own direction. At first, they went to the northeast, but now they seem to turn to the southeast. At 11 o'clock, Lieutenant Hobson and his companions came out from the back of the large ice pack.In this way, everyone knows that there is a channel to pass through. The entire eastern and western parts of the ice sheet are much the same.Everywhere is the same jumble of ice, the same icebergs.Icebergs and mounds stretch as far as the eye can see, sometimes separated by some flat but narrow areas, and the edges of icebergs and ice mounds are sometimes cut off by puddles of water, and it can be seen that the edges are beginning to melt.Everywhere the same solitude, the same desolation and uninhabited.Not a single beast was seen, not a single bird was seen flying. Lady Polina Barnett climbed an ice mound and stayed there for an hour, admiring the infinitely melancholy polar scenery.She couldn't help thinking that she was going to leave the commercial station five months ago; she also thought of all the people in the commercial station, how these poor people were abandoned on the lonely ice field in this long night, In the midst of all kinds of difficulties and dangers, you are trying your best to return to the American continent! Lieutenant Hobson roused her from her dream. "Ma'am," he said to her, "we have been away from Baozi for more than twenty-four hours. We have known the width of the great ice pack. We have told our family that this trip will not exceed forty-eight hours. I think we Time to go back." Mrs Barnett heeded the advice.The purpose of coming out to investigate has been achieved.The ice floes are not too big, and it seems that it will melt very quickly. As long as the ice and snow melt, Mike Knapp's boat will find the passage quickly.It's time to go back, the weather may change, and once the whirlwind blows and the snow falls, it will be more difficult to cross the ravine. Everyone had lunch and set foot on the way home around 1:00.At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, everyone got into an ice cave to spend the night like yesterday, and the night was safe and sound.The next day, March 9, Lieutenant Hobson led everyone to set off again. The weather is fine, the sun has risen high, the sun shines on the ice floes, and the valley is also illuminated by a few rays of sunlight.Hobson and his companions walked westward against the sun, but they were still a little dazzled by the sunlight shining on the ice wall. Mrs. Barnet and Karuma walked a little later, talking and observing, while advancing along the narrow passage pointed out by Sabine and Marbor. They hoped to pass through the ice floes by noon, and then one, At two o'clock the three miles from the ice pack to Victoria Island.In this way, they could return to the castle at sunset.This will be a few hours late and won't upset the family too much. However, things backfired and something happened, which could not be foreseen by human insight. At about 10 o'clock, Marbor and Sabine, who were walking ahead, stopped suddenly, as if they were arguing about something.The lieutenant, Mrs. Barnett, and Karuma stepped forward, and saw Sabine holding a compass and pointing to his companions with a surprised expression. "How queer!" he cried, addressing Lieutenant Hobson. "Lieutenant, tell me, in what direction is our island located in the ice pack? Is it east or west?" "West," replied Hobson, surprised at the question, "that you know very well, Marbor." "I know very well... I know very well!" replied Marbor, shaking his head. "However, if the island is on the west side, we have gone the wrong way, and we are getting farther and farther away from the island!" "Why! It's getting farther and farther away from the island!" said the lieutenant, surprised at the hunter's answer with such certainty. "Certainly, Lieutenant," replied Marbor, "if you don't believe me, look at the compass, and if it doesn't point us east instead of west, I'll have no surname!" "That's impossible!" said the traveler. "Come and see, madam." Sabine replied. Indeed, the magnetic needle pointed north in exactly the opposite direction as they thought it would.Hobson thought for a while, but didn't answer. "It seems we took the wrong way out of the igloo this morning," Sabine said. "We should have gone left, not right." "No!" said Mrs. Barnett. "That's impossible! We're on the right track!" "But..." said Marbor. "But," replied Mrs. Barnet, "look at the sun! Doesn't the sun rise in the east now? We have been walking with our backs to the sun this morning, and we are still walking with our backs, so it is obvious that We're heading west now. The island is to the west, so we'll find it if we go across the ravine to the west of the ice pack." Dumbfounded by this argument, Marbor could not speak, but stood there with folded arms. "Even so," Sabine said, "how come the compass and the sun are so contradictory?!" "Yes, at least at this time," began Hobson, "only because, in the high polar latitudes and near the magnetic poles, compasses sometimes fail, and the needle points in the wrong direction." "Well," said Marbor, "so we just have to walk with our backs to the sun, don't we?" "Undoubtedly," replied Lieutenant Hobson, "it seems that we need not hesitate between the compass and the sun. The sun is infallible!" We started on the road again, with our backs to the sun.Obviously, there is no rebuttal to Hobson's conclusions based on the position of the sun. The team continued to move forward in the ravine, and the walking time was longer than expected.Hobson had expected to cross the ice pack before noon, but it was two o'clock in the afternoon when they emerged from the narrow passage. This strange delay in the beginning did not disturb the people, but when they stepped on the ice field at the foot of the ice pack, they could not see Victoria Island, which should have been in front of them. One can imagine how everyone was surprised. stay there! The island is gone!The tree-covered side of Cape Michel is easily recognizable, but the island is missing!There is now an endless ice field, and the oblique sunlight shines on the ice field from above the ice floes. Lieutenant Hobson, Mrs. Barnett, Karuma and the two hunters looked at the scene in front of them and at each other, not knowing what to say. "The island should be there!" Sabine said loudly. "But it's gone!" continued Marbor. "Oh, what's the matter! Lieutenant, what's the matter?" Mrs Barnet was so astonished that she did not know what to say.Jasper Hobson was also silent. At this moment, Karuma went up to the lieutenant, touched his arm and said to him: "Just now we went the wrong way in the valley. Instead of going down the valley, we went up. After crossing the ice floes for the first time, we returned to the place we stayed yesterday. Please come here!" Lieutenant Hobson, Mrs. Barnett, Marbor, and Sabine could only follow the Eskimo girl instinctively and mechanically, and then walked back to the narrow passage in the ravine.But from the surface, what Kaluma said is wrong if judged from the position of the sun! However, Karuma did not explain, but whispered while walking: "Hurry up! Hurry up!" The lieutenant, the female traveler, and their companions were all panting and exhausted, and followed Kaluma with heavy steps.Finally, three hours later, when night fell, they reached the other side of the ice pack.The darkness prevented them from seeing whether the island was there, but it didn't take long for them to see. In fact, on the ice field a few hundred steps away, there were lights lit by Akiko pine in many places, and several gunshots pierced the tranquility of the night sky from time to time, and someone was calling for them. The small team answered the call from the opposite side, and they soon saw Sergeant Long, Thomas Blake, and more people running. These people who stayed on the island were worried about their friends, and they were afraid They will get lost.They were, in fact, very much worried, for it had occurred to them--and it happened--that Lieutenant Hobson and his companions had lost their way trying to get back to the island. These people staying in Fort Hope, why do they have such thoughts?Why had it ever occurred to them that the lieutenant and his gang might get lost on the way back? This is because in the past 24 hours, the vast ice sheet has rotated half a circle with the small island.Because of this movement, the drifting islands can be found not on the west side of the ice pack, but on the east side!