Chapter 44 Chapter 12 Prison of Ice and Snow

The next day, a hunt was to be organized, in which Hatteras, Altamon, and Carpenter were supposed to take part, and the worrying footprints did not reappear, the bears must have abandoned their plan of attack, or fear of an unfamiliar foe , or because there are no new signs to them that there is living life beneath the ice and snow cover. While the three hunters were away, the doctor was supposed to go to Johnson's Island, survey the state of the pack ice, and do some hydrographic surveys.The weather was very cold, but the wintering people tolerated it, their skin adapted to the unusual temperature.

The sailor was always at the doctor's house, in a word, housekeeper. Three hunters made their preparations for departure, each armed with a two-shot, rifled-barreled, tapered-shot rifle, and carrying a bit of dried meatloaf for use in the dark of night before the end of the journey , besides which they carried the inseparable snow knives, an indispensable tool in these regions, and a small hatchet stuck in the belt of their yellow buckskin coats. So equipped, clothed, and armed they can go a long way, and they are resourceful and brave, and they can expect a great hunt. They were ready at eight o'clock in the morning and set off.Duck skipped ahead, and they climbed the mountain to the east, skirted the cone of the lighthouse, and penetrated deep into the southern plains near Bell Mountain.

The doctor first negotiated with Johnson on the warning signs in case of danger, and then went down to the river bank to reach the icebergs standing in various poses in Victoria Bay. Alone in God's fortress the boatswain was not idle.He set free the restless Greenlanders in their kennels, and they were so happy they rolled around in the snow.Johnson then dealt with the intricate details of domestic chores, stockpiling fuel and food, tidying up warehouses, mending many broken utensils, mending tattered quilts, and making shoes for long summer journeys.There was no shortage of work, and the bosun did it with the dexterity of a sailor, and the various jobs were familiar to him.

As he worked, he thought of last night's conversation, and he thought of the captain, and especially his stubbornness, after all he was very heroic and respected by others, and he would not want an American, or even an American boat before him or at the same time. He went to the North Pole together. "I find it difficult," he thought to himself, "to cross the ocean without a ship. If we have an ocean in front of us, we must sail. We cannot swim 300 miles, even for the best Englishman in the world. Patriotism has a limit." Yes, anyhow, we'll see. We've still got time, Mr. Crowburne hasn't come to a conclusion on the matter; he's smart, and here's a man who can change the captain's mind. I bet he's going to get it from the other side of the island. Go, and take a look at the Pearle Boise, and know very well what she can be used for."

Johnson was lost in thought. An hour had passed since the hunters had left the fort when there was a strong and distinct explosion two or three miles to leeward. "Well!" said the old sailor to himself, "they've found something, and they haven't gone too far, because they can hear it very well. Besides, it's such a fine day!" There was a second explosion, followed by a third explosion. "Well," said Johnson again, "they're in a good place." Three more explosions came from closer. "Six!" said Johnson. "Their weapons are unloaded now, and there's something odd about that! Is it by chance? . . . "

He thought of something, his face paled, he left the snow house quickly, and climbed up the small hill in a while, until he climbed to the top of the cone. What he saw made him shudder. "Bear!" he yelled. Three hunters, followed by Duck, strode back, five monstrosities pursued them, six of their bullets failed them, the bear overtook them, Hatteras followed, to keep the beast from him Little by little he dropped his hat, his hatchet, and even his gun.The bears stopped, and, as is their custom, sniffing whatever aroused their curiosity, dropped a little distance, enough for them to overtake the fastest horse.

So Hatteras, Altamon, and Bell, running out of breath, came to Johnson, and they slid with him from the top of the slope to the igloo. The five bears nearly caught up with them, and the captain parried a paw that swooped at him with his knife. In the blink of an eye, Hatteras and his companions were hiding in the igloo.The beast stopped on the plateau formed by the broken edges of the ice cone. "Anyway," cried Hatteras, "we can defend more favorably, five against five!" "Four against five!" Johnson yelled in a voice of terror. "What?" said Hatteras.

"Doctor!" Johnson said, pointing to the empty living room. "Ouch!" "He's over there!" "Poor man!" cried Bell. "We cannot leave him alone!" said Altamon. "Run!" said Hatteras. He opened the door quickly, but he barely had time to close it when a bear almost scratched his head with one paw. "Here they are!" he yelled. "All?" Bell asked. "All!" Hatteras replied. Altamon hurried to the window, and he took ice from the wall of the igloo and threw it across the bay.His companion did as he did without saying a word, the silence broken only by Dak's cry.

But, it should be said, these people had only one thought: they forgot their own danger, and they were thinking of the doctor, of him, and not of themselves.Poor Crawford!So good, so loyal, is the soul of this territory, he is not here for the first time, extreme danger, terrible death may be waiting for him, because, when the journey is over, he will return peacefully to God's Fortress, it turned out, faced these beasts. But there is no way to notify him! "But," Johnson said, "unless I'm mistaken, he's on the alert. Your constant gunfire will remind him that he doesn't expect anything special to happen."

"But if he's far away," replied Altamon, "if he doesn't understand? Anyway, nine times out of ten he will come back without realizing any danger!" "These dangerous beasts must be shaken off before he returns," Hatteras replied. "But how?" Bell said. Answering this question is very difficult.Going out doesn't seem feasible.They carefully fortified the corridors, but the bears easily overcame these obstacles, if they were aware of it, knowing the number and strength of their opponents, and it took them no effort to spring upon them. Prisoners stood sentry in every room of the doctor's house, watching for every act of aggression, and they pricked up their ears to hear the bears walking up and down, howling dully, scratching the snowy walls with their huge claws.

But time is ticking to act.Altamon decided to goug the hole and shoot the intruder, and within a few minutes he had dug a hole in the ice wall into which he had placed the gun, but, before it could get outside, was struck by an irresistible The power was out of his hands, and he hadn't fired yet. "Damn it!" he cried, "we're not strong enough." He quickly blocked the hole of the gun. This situation lasted for an hour, and it was not known how it would end, and the possibility of going out was still being discussed; the possibility was very small, because the bear alone could not be defeated.However, as Hatteras and his companions were eager to put an end to the situation, it must be said, they were in a difficult position thus surrounded by wild beasts, and wished to make a direct attack, the captain devised a new method of defence. He took Johnson's poking iron and stretched it over the coals of the stove, and he made a hole in the wall of ice, but didn't drive it all the way outside, so as to leave a thin layer on the outside. ice. His companions watched him do it.When the bars were red to whitish, Hatteras spoke: "This red-hot iron bar is used to drive the bears back. They can't grab it. It's easy to focus on them through the holes. They can't take our weapons." "Good idea!" cried Bell, who was standing beside Altamon. So Hatteras drew the iron bar from the coals, and quickly placed it in the hole in the wall.The snow turned to steam as soon as it touched it, making a dull hissing sound.Two bears came running, clutching at the red-hot bars, and howling terribly, when four shots were fired in quick succession. "Hit!" the American shouted. "Hit!" Bell replied. "Start again," said Hatteras, and he closed the hole again. The iron bar was inserted into the furnace, and after a few minutes, it turned red. Altamon and Bell returned to their original positions and pushed the cartridge into the chamber. Hatteras opened the hole again and reinserted the red-hot iron bar. But this time a puzzling scene gave him pause. "Damn it!" cried the American. "What's the matter?" Johnson asked. "That's right! These damned beasts piled up ice, surrounded us in our house, and tried to bury us alive!" "impossible!" "Look, the bars won't go through! It's ridiculous after all!" Not only is it ridiculous, it's disturbing, and it gets worse.Bears are very clever animals and use this method to trap their prey.They piled up the ice, cutting off any possibility of escape. "That's cruel!" said old Johnson, with an air of insult. "It's all right if people treat you like that, but a bear!" After this thought, two hours passed, and the situation of the prisoners had not changed. The plan to go out could not be realized, and the thick ice wall blocked all sounds from outside.Altamon walked about anxiously with the exasperated look of a brave man who finds danger outweighing courage.Hatteras thought horribly of the doctor, of threatening his death upon his return. "Ah!" said Johnson, "if Mr. Croubney were here!" "So what! What will he do?" Altamon answered. "Oh! He'll find a way to get us out of it!" "What should I do?" the American asked unhappily. "If I'd known," said Johnson, "I wouldn't need him. But I guess what advice he'd have for us at this moment!" "What advice?" "Eat something! It won't do us any harm. Quite the contrary. What do you think, Monsieur Altamont?" "We will eat if it pleases you," replied the latter, "despite the embarrassment, if not the humiliation, of the circumstances." "I bet," Johnson said, "we'll find a way out after dinner." No one answered the bosun, but they sat down to the table. Johnson, under the influence of the doctor, tries unsuccessfully to be sanctimonious in the midst of the danger, his joke stuck in his throat.In addition, the prisoners began to feel less comfortable; the air was thickening in the mysteriously closed building, and the atmosphere could not be recirculated through the ducts of the poorly vented furnace. , the fire would be extinguished, and the oxygen taken up by the lungs and furnace would soon be replaced by carbonic acid, with fatal consequences known to all. Hatteras was the first to realize this new danger, and he had no intention of concealing it from his companions. "Then, one should go out at any cost!" Altamon replied. "Yes!" continued Hatteras, "but at night, we'll make a hole in the vault so we can breathe, and then one of us will take this post and shoot the bear from here. gun." "That's the only way," said the American. After talking it over, they bided their time to take the risk, and in the hours that followed, Altamon cursed the situation, saying, "The bear and the man are set, and the latter doesn't play a good role."