Chapter 40 Chapter 17 The Iceberg Collapses

These wintering people finally approached the ship-frequented area of ​​the Bering Sea.They no longer fear being taken north.What to do now is to always pay attention to the drifting trend of the island and estimate its drifting speed.Due to the influence of the ice barrier, its drifting speed is uneven.These were the things that Jasper Hobson had to pay close attention to, and he was constantly measuring the altitude of the sun and constellations to determine the orientation of the island.The next day was April 16. After observing, he calculated that if the drifting speed remained unchanged, Victoria Island could reach the Arctic Circle in early May, which is 4 degrees latitude away from the current location.

It was conceivable that the island would then have reached the narrowest point of the strait, and would stop there until the complete thaw.At this time, people can launch the boat and sail to the American continent. We know that people are ready to board and leave at any time. The islanders are now more patient and confident to wait.They knew very well that they, poor wretched souls, were soon to be saved, that they had coasts on either side, and that nothing could prevent them from landing on land on either side in a few days. Such a bright prospect makes everyone very excited.They regained the joyous mood that had been absent for a long time.During the meal, the food is rich, there are always new tricks, and the dinner table is full of laughter.Since then, the breath of spring has become more and more intense, and everyone can't help being intoxicated in the warm spring breeze.

In the next few days, they made several inspections to the island and the coast.Neither furs, ruminants, nor carnivores can now leave the island, because the ice sheet that imprisoned them on the island—the ice sheet off the coast of America, testifies to its drifting activity— They are no longer allowed to return to land. There was little change anywhere in the island, whether at Cape Eskimo, Cape Michel, or elsewhere on the coast.The interior of the island, neither the grove nor the edge of the lagoon, has changed.The great fissure that had opened in the storm near Cape Mitchell had been completely frozen over the winter, and no other fissures could be seen in the ground.

On several of their visits, several packs of wolves were seen roaming the island.Of all the predators on the island, wolves are the only ones that feel dangerous. They also saw the white bear that saved Kalyma several times.It was wandering listlessly on the wasteland, and when it saw patrolling people passing by, it stopped and watched them go by.Even several times, it has been following people to the vicinity of the fort, it seems that it knows that these brave people will not harm it, and it does not need to be afraid. On April 20, Lieutenant Hobson observed that the island was still drifting south.The icebergs in the southern part of the large ice floes are still drifting with the small island, but due to the lack of reference objects for observation, people can only determine the change of orientation by observing the sky.

Hobson had the soil observed at several points, especially below Bathurst Point and near the edge of the lagoon.He wants to know the thickness of the ice shell that supports the soil.They noticed that the thickness of the ice shell did not increase during this warm winter, and the overall height of the island above sea level did not seem to increase.They concluded that this land should not be left prematurely, and that the permafrost will only melt quickly when it encounters the warm current of the Pacific Ocean. About this time, April 25, the direction of the isle changed again.The entire ice sheet rotated 135 degrees from east to west.Bathurst Point now points northwest.The remaining ice packs obscured the entire northern horizon.This is sufficient evidence that the ice sheet is drifting freely towards the channel, but is not yet approaching any landmass.

The critical moment is coming.Day or night observations give people a good idea of ​​both the island and the ice sheet. On April 30, they floated together across Kotzebue Sound, a broad triangular bay deep into the coast of America.On the south side of the bay is the Cape Prince of Wales, a promontory which might well have held the island had it not happened to rest in the middle of the narrow strait. The weather is very sunny, and the pointer of the cold and heat watch often points to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees above zero Celsius).People for the winter had taken off their winter coats weeks ago.They were always ready to go anytime.The astronomer Thomas Blake had put his gear, his instruments and books on board.Some food and valuable fur goods were also loaded on the ship.

Another careful observation was made on May 2, and it was concluded that Victoria Island appeared to be drifting eastward, so that it would approach the American continent.This situation couldn't be better, because the Kamchatka Current runs along the coast of Asia, and now people don't have to worry about getting caught in this current.It seems that the good luck of these winter people is coming! "It seems to me, too, that bad luck has its slumbers, and won't haunt us, ma'am," said Sergeant Long to Mrs. Barnett. gone." "Well," replied Mrs. Barnett, "I see it as you do, Sergeant Long, and we were quite right in thinking of it now that we abandoned that crossing of the ice field. God made the ice field impassable." protecting us!"

Mrs Barnett was right.Indeed, what difficulties and dangers would be encountered on such a road in winter!And how could it stand the 500-mile trek to land in the long arctic night? ! On May 5, Jasper Hobson announced to everyone that Victoria Island had just crossed the Arctic Circle.The island is at last back in that part of the earth where the sun is seen in its glory even in the season when it is most southwardly inclined.These brave people seem to have returned to the inhabited world. On this day, everyone drank and celebrated like a ship crossing the equator for the first time. From then on, people only need to wait for the ice sheet to disintegrate and half-melt to provide a passage for the ship, and everyone will board the ship together!

On the day of May 7, the direction of the island was turned 90 degrees again.Cape Bathurst now pointed north, and in front of it the former ice packs were seen again.It has almost returned to the direction marked on the map when it was connected to the American continent.The island rotates exactly one week, and the morning sun shines on every corner of the coast in sequence. Observations on May 8 showed that the island was staying almost in the middle of the channel, less than 40 miles from Cape Prince of Wales.In other words, the land is not far ahead, and everyone will definitely be saved.

In the evening, everyone had a delicious meal in the hall.During the dinner, people made a toast to Mrs. Barnett and Lieutenant Hobson. That night, the Lieutenant decided to go to the southern part of the ice field to see if there was any change, to see if there was a passable waterway there. Mrs Polina Barnett wanted to accompany Lieutenant Hobson, but he advised her to stay and rest, and he took Sergeant Long alone. Mrs. Barnet heeds Hobson's advice and returns to the house with March and Calluma.The soldiers and women also returned to their bedrooms. The night is beautiful.Although there is no moon, the stars are all shining with charming light.This brilliant brilliance illuminates the sky again under the reflection of the ice sheet, so that people can see farther places.

Lieutenant Hobson and Sergeant Long left the merchant station at 0900 and headed for the coastal area between Barnet Harbor and Point Mitchell. The two explorers walked two or three miles along the coast.What a grotesque and disorganized landscape of this ice-field!It is like a jagged crystal world, or like a vast expanse of waves that suddenly condenses and freezes under the blowing of a hurricane.However, there is still no free passage channel on the ice sheet, and ships are still unable to sail. Watching and talking, Lieutenant Hobson and Sergeant Long remained on the coast until midnight.Seeing that nothing had changed, they decided to return to Fort Hope, where they could still sleep for a few hours. When the two walked back a hundred meters and came to the dry beach of the Bolina River, they suddenly heard an unexpected loud noise.This is the rumbling and roaring sound from the northern part of the ice sheet.And the sound became louder and louder, giving people more and more terrifying feelings.Lieutenant Hobson felt the ground under his feet tremble, and immediately felt ominous in his heart. There must have been drastic changes in the sea area there. "It's coming from the ice pack!" said Sergeant Long. "What's going on there?" Jasper Hobson didn't answer. He became more disturbed, and he dragged Sergeant Long to the shore. "Go back to Baozi! Go back to Baozi!" Lieutenant Hobson yelled, "The ice may have broken, let's put the ship into the sea as soon as possible!" Out of breath, the two ran towards the direction of Baozi. They were in a state of confusion, what happened to make such strange noises?Do the people who have fallen asleep in the bunker know what happened?Yes, there is no doubt that this intensifying roar "wakes the dead," as the saying goes! In just 20 minutes, Lieutenant Hobson and Sergeant Long ran the two miles back to Fort Hope.However, before they reached the fenced yard, they saw the men and women in the castle fleeing from the house in panic and panic, and uttering desperate cries. Master carpenter Mike Knapp ran to Lieutenant Hobson with his child in his arms. "Look there! Mr. Hobson," he said, pulling the lieutenant up the hill not far behind the yard. Jasper Hobson looked ahead. The ice pack that had been two miles from the island before he set off was now pressing up on the island's shore.There is no longer Bathurst Point, where the old clods of sand and gravel, crushed by icebergs, covered the castle walls both inside and out.The main house and the row of houses to the north had been lost under the weight of the iceberg.With a terrible rumbling sound, people saw that huge ice blocks were still pressing up one by one, and everything they touched would be crushed to pieces. The boat they had built under the cape was crushed to pieces, and the last hope of survival for these unfortunate people was blocked! At this moment, the houses where the soldiers and women used to live sank into the ground under the pressure of a huge ice. Fortunately, they had already escaped in time.These unfortunate people sighed in despair facing the sky. "Where are the rest of the people! Where are some comrades?!..." The lieutenant couldn't help shouting. "There!" Mike Knapp replied, pointing to the pile of sand and ice under which the entire main house had been crushed. what!Mrs. Barnet, March, Calluma, and Thomas Blake were buried in this mass of ice in their sleep.