Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven The Devil's Thumb

In the commander's absence, all sorts of work were done; to keep the ship safe from the pressure of the ice-fields, Penn, Clifton, Bourton, Gripper, Simpson were busy with this arduous work; The fireman and the two mechanics were also obliged to assist their companions, for as long as the engine did not require their presence, they became sailors again, so that they could be assigned to all the work of the ship. This was not without great dissatisfaction. "I said I'm sick of it," Payne said, "and if it doesn't thaw in three days, I swear in the name of God, I'm going to stand by!"

"Stand by," Gripper replied. "Better get your energy back on the return flight! Do you think we'd like to spend the winter here until next year?" "It's been a miserable winter mooring, in fact," continued Prover, "because the boat is exposed on all sides!" "Who knows," said Brenton, "whether next spring the sea will be clearer than it is now?" "It's not about next spring," Payne countered. "We're on a Thursday, and if the roads aren't clear by Sunday morning, we're going back south."

"Well said!" Clifton said. "Do you agree?" Payne asked. "We agree," replied his companions. "It makes sense," Warren added, "because, if we go on like this, arm tug the boat, I agree to pull the boat back." "We'll see on Sunday," Walson said. "Whatever order is given to me," went on Brenton, "my stove will light up in no time!" "Oh!" said Brenton, "we can order it ourselves." "If an officer," Penn replied, "is happy to spend the winter here, let him have his way, no one will disturb his peace, build himself an igloo, and live like a real Eskimo. Nothing difficult."

"That's not it, Penn," retorted Brenton, "we're not throwing anyone away, do you understand? The rest of you? I don't think it's difficult for the commander to make a decision. I think he's already quite worried. , just mention it to him a little bit..." "That is," Proffer went on, "Richard Sandon is a firm, sometimes stubborn man, and he should be tested with caution." "When I think about it," continued Bourdain, with a drooling sigh, "we'll be back in Liverpool in a month's time! We'll be crossing the southern ice line in no time! Crossing Dayton in early June." The Weiss Strait will be unimpeded! We'll just drift to the Atlantic!"

"Not to mention," replied the prudent Clifton, "that the Commander should go back with us, and act under his authority, and get our shares and our bonuses; but if we go back alone , we are not so sure about this matter.” "That's a good point," said Plover, "that guy Clifton talks like a bookkeeper! It's safer not to fall out with these gentlemen in the Admiralty, don't Leave no one behind." "But what if the officers refuse to listen to us?" Penn added, wanting his comrades to see through. It's a little difficult for you to answer a question that's so straightforwardly posed.

"We'll see, and if the time comes," Bourdain replied, "we're good enough to have Shandon on our side, and I don't think it's too difficult." "But there's someone else I'm going to stay here," Penn swore viciously, "if he bites my arm." "Oh, that dog," said Plover. "Yes, that dog, and I'll be taking care of him before long." "Especially," said Clifton, returning to his favorite subject, "this dog is the source of all our misery." "It's what determines our fate," Proffer said.

"That's what led us to the Great Ice Pack," Gripper replied. "It is in our course," retorted Watson, "that gathers the ice floes unprecedented at this hour." "It gave me eye problems," Brenton said. "It did away with the gin and brandy," Payne said. "It made everything!" cried everyone in unison, growing imaginatively. "That is," said Clifton, "it's the captain." "Okay, unlucky captain," Payne shouted, and the more he spoke, the more he felt a kind of unknown fire burning, "Since you want to come here, you can stay here!"

"But how to catch it?" said Proffer. "Oh! That's a good chance," Clifton replied. "The commander isn't on board, and the lieutenant is sleeping in his cabin. The fog is so thick that Johnson can't see us..." "But what about the dogs?" Payne called. "Captain Dog is sleeping by the coal bunker at the moment," Clifton replied, "if anyone wants to..." "I'll do it," Penn replied angrily. "Be careful, Penn, it has teeth that can break iron rods." "If it moves, I'll disembowel it," replied Penn, knife in hand.

He threw himself into the middle cabin, followed by Warren, trying to help him with this. The two of them soon returned, with the animal in their arms, the muzzle and paws fastened, and they caught him in his sleep, and the poor dog could not get free. "Penn's hot!" Provo shouted. "Now, what do you want to do?" Clifton asked. "Drown it and see if it can come up..." replied Perth with a contented, terrified smile. There is a seal cave 200 steps away from the ship, which is a circular gap made of the teeth of this amphibian, dug from the inside to the outside, through which the seals come to the ice to breathe, But he must be careful not to close the hole, because the structure of his jaws prevents him from re-burrowing from the outside in, and he cannot hide from his enemy in case of danger.

Payne and Warren walked towards the gap where, despite the dog's struggles, it was thrown into the sea without mercy, and then a huge ice pack was pushed against the opening, and the animal could not get out anyway. Here it is, sealed in the liquid prison like this. "Good voyage, Captain!" cried the rude sailor. Soon, Penn and Warren returned to the boat.Little did Johnson understand this, the fog thickened around the boat, and the snow fell heavily. An hour later, Richard Sandon, the doctor, and Gary were back on board the Forward. Shandon noticed a passage to the northeast, and he wanted to go that way.Then he gave his order, and the crew obeyed rather willingly, trying to make Sandon understand that it was impossible to go any further, but they could obey him for three days.

During part of the night and the next day, with the crew working the saws and tugs at full steam, the Advance made two nautical miles to the north. On the 18th, it saw land, at a distance of five or six chains from a cliff, which was called "the devil's thumb" because of its peculiar shape. It was in this same place that the "Prince Albert" in 1851 and the "Advance" led by Kane in 1853 were held firmly by ice floes for many weeks. The strange shape of the Devil's Thumb, the desolate and remote surroundings, the wide cirques of several icebergs more than three hundred feet high, and the terrible echoes of the colliding ice floes, all made the situation of the "Forward" look very sad.Shandon understood that the boat should be towed out and sailed to a farther place. Twenty-four hours later, he reckoned, he was about two nautical miles from the perilous shore.But it's not all.Shanjiao was gripped by terror, feeling drained by his unfavorable circumstances, and in order to obey his orders and move forward, he had thrown his ship into rather dangerous situations, the tug had exhausted the crew , it takes more than three hours to drive a 20-foot-long passage through an iceberg that is usually four or five feet thick, and the health of the crew has deteriorated.Shandon was mystified by the silence of his men and their unusual devotion, but feared that the calm might herald the storm to come. One can imagine surprise, disappointment, despair occupying his mind.For he saw that by an imperceptible motion of the ice the Forward lost all that he had labored for from the night of the 18th to the 19th, and on Saturday morning he faced the devil, always dangerous. Thumb, and the situation is more critical, the icebergs have multiplied, walking through the fog like ghosts. Shandon was utterly discouraged, or rather fear swept over the hearts of the brave man and his men.Shandon had heard that the dog had disappeared, but he dared not punish the perpetrator for fear of causing a riot. The weather was bad that day, and the snowflakes, whirling in great masses, wrapped around the ship like an impenetrable net.Sometimes, by the action of a hurricane, the mist parted, and terrified eyes from the edge of the land saw the devil's thumb flashing like a phantom. The "Advance" was anchored on a huge ice floe, nothing could be done, nothing could be done, the sky was getting darker, and the man at the helm could not see James Wall on watch ahead. Shandon returned to his cabin, unable to restrain his worries.The doctor sorted out his travel diary, and half the crew stayed on deck and half in the common room. As the hurricane whips up, the Devil's Thumb appears to stand in the blown mist. "God!" Simpson cried out in horror as he stepped back. "What's this?" Foucault said. Soon there were shouts from all directions. "It's going to crush us!" "We can't do it!" 1 "Mr. Wall! Mr. Wall!" "This is coming for us!" "Commander! Commander!" These shouts were made simultaneously by those on duty. Wall rushed to the forecastle behind, and the doctor followed Shandon to the deck and looked up. In the parting mist, the Devil's Finger seemed about to crash into the ship, growing as if by magic, with an inverted cone spinning at its apex at its apex, its huge heap with handles There was a danger of the boat crushing, it was shaking and there was a risk of falling at any moment.The sight was horrific, and everyone backed away unconsciously, and many of the sailors jumped onto the ice floe and left the ship. "No one is busy!" The commander ordered sternly, "Everyone, take your place!" "Oh, my friends, there is nothing to fear," said the Doctor. "There is no danger! Look, Commander, look, Mr. Wall, it is the work of a mirage and nothing else!" "You are right, Mr. Crawburn," replied Mr. Johnson, "these ignorant people are frightened by a shadow." When the doctor had finished speaking, most of the sailors drew nearer, from horror to admiration at the strange sight, which was not long in passing. "They call it a mirage!" said Clifton. "The devil's out there, trust me." "Indeed," Gripper replied. But when the mist cleared a little, the commander saw a wide and clear road which he had no doubts about, leading him away from the coast, and he resolved to seize this opportunity without delay.Crews were placed on each side of the channel, and they pulled up the big ropes and began towing the ship north. For hours, all labored hard, though no one spoke; Sandon had fires kindled, and made use of the channel so fortunately found. "It is providence," he said to Johnson, "that if we can go a few more miles, our misery may be at an end! Mr. Brenton, let the fire burn hotter, and if the pressure is enough, you will let people Inform me. In the meantime, our men must be more courageous, and have more to do. They are anxious to get out of the devil's thumb! Well, well! We are indebted to their talents." Suddenly, the boat stopped suddenly. "What's the matter?" Sandon asked. "Wal, is our towline broken?" "No, Commander," Wall replied, leaning over the bulwarks. "Alas! the men are turning back; they have boarded the ship, and they look terribly frightened!" "What's the matter?" cried Shandon, rushing forward of the ship. "Aboard! Aboard!" cried the sailors, with unnatural fear in their voices. Shan Dun looked northward, feeling horrified. A strange animal, very frightening in its movements, with a smoking tongue protruding from a large mouth, jumped a chain away from the boat, it seemed to be more than twenty feet high, its hair was bristling, and it chased At the sailors, hold them back, its huge 10-foot-long tail sweeps the snow and lifts it up in thick clumps.The sight of such a monster sends shivers down the spine of the bravest. "It's a bear!" said one. "It's Govodan's animal!" "It's the lion of the Apocalypse!" Shandon ran to the cabin to fetch a loaded gun, and the doctor ran to his weapon to shoot at the animal, whose gigantic size recalled the quadrupeds of Noah's day before the Flood. It came closer, leaping wildly, and Sandon and the doctor fired at the same time, and suddenly their guns went off, shaking the atmosphere with unexpected effects. The doctor looked at it carefully and couldn't help laughing. "Refraction!" he said. "Refraction!" Shandon cried. But a terrible roar from the crew interrupted them. "Dog!" Clifton said. "Captain Dog!" repeated his companion. "It's it!" cried Payne. "It's always it!" In fact, it broke free from the rope and came to the ice through another gap.At this time, due to the refraction of light common to this latitude, its body appeared abnormally large, but the vibration of the air restored it to its original shape.But the psychological effect of this nasty result was not diminished on the sailors, who had difficulty accepting a purely physical cause.The adventures of the devil's thumb, the dog's reappearance in magical circumstances, bewildered them, and whispers came from all directions.