Chapter 46 Chapter 14 Spring at the North Pole

The prisoners were liberated, and they were ecstatic to express their heartfelt thanks to the doctor.Old Johnson was a little sorry for those bear skins, which had been burned so badly that they could no longer be used, but this regret did not affect his happy mood. The whole day was spent repairing the igloo damaged by the explosion.The stones which the beast had piled up around the house were cleared away, and the walls were filled up again.Under the command of the boatswain, the work went on very quickly, and the boatswain's singing was very melodious. The next day, the temperature changed significantly.A sudden change in wind direction raises the temperature.People and everything felt this obvious change, and the slight southerly wind brought the first breath of polar spring.

The warm weather lasted for several days.The thermometer sometimes reached -3°C in sheltered areas, and signs of thawing had already appeared. The ice was cracking, and sea water gushed out here and there, like a fountain in an English park.A few days later, it began to rain heavily. Thick fog rises from the sea of ​​snow, which is a good sign.These huge blocks of ice are about to melt.The bleak sun showed some color, drawing longer spiral lines on the sky.There are only three hours at night. There was one more obvious sign of spring: some arctic geese, plovers, and grouse had returned in flocks.The air gradually filled with their deafening calls, which were still fresh in the memory of last year's voyagers.Hares, which are easy to hunt, also occur on the coast; and arctic mice, whose small burrows form regular systems of burrows.

The doctor told his companions that the animals were beginning to shed their winter white fur and grow back their summer plumage; their "springization" was evident, and nature had allowed the earth to grow moss, poppies, saxifrage and short grasses , provided food for these animals.One can feel a new life surging beneath the melting snow. But with these harmless animals come their vicious enemies.Foxes and wolves tracked their prey, their somber howls echoing through the short night. The wolves of this region are close relatives of dogs, and they bark like dogs, often able to fool the most sensitive ears, such as those of canines.Some even say the wolves use this trick to lure dogs and then eat them.It has been discovered in the Hudson Bay area, and doctors have seen it in the New World.Johnson doesn't let his dogs run off on their own, fearing they'll be duped.

Duck is well-informed, and his cleverness prevents him from falling into the mouth of wolves. During these fifteen days, we hunted a lot of prey.Fresh meat is plentiful.The prey that was killed were partridges and snow buntings, which were delicious food.The hunters did not stay away from the Citadel of God. It can be said that these prey were all actively hitting the muzzle of the gun.The appearance of prey makes the quiet beach lively, and Victoria Bay presents a pleasing scene. The fifteen days following the bear incident were spent in these activities.Thawing is faster than before.The thermometer went up to -2°C.Streams began to rush in the ravines, and thousands of waterfalls appeared on the hillsides.

The doctor cleared out a mile of land, and in it he sowed the seeds of watercress, sour buns, and horseradish, which have a strong resistance to scurvy.When the cold swept over his kingdom again with lightning speed, the doctor had seen green shoots bursting out of the ground. A night of strong north winds dropped the temperature by dozens of degrees, and everything froze again. Birds, quadrupeds, and amphibians disappeared like magic.The Seal Cave was also closed, the crevasse disappeared, and the ice layer became as hard as a rock again. The waterfall was frozen in mid-air, like a long crystal column.

The scenery has completely changed.All this happened during the night of May 11th and 12th.When Bear put his nose outside in the morning to touch the horrific ice and snow, he nearly froze his nose. "Alas! Polar Pole!" said the doctor disappointedly. "This is your trick! Forget it! I just lost some seedlings." Hatteras was less calm about the matter, for he was anxious to carry on his research, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Are these temperatures going to last for a long time?" Johnson asked. "No, my friend, it will not," replied Croubney. "This is the last blow of the cold! You know this is his home, and you cannot drive him away if he resists."

"He's good at defending himself," Bell said, rubbing his face. "Yes! I should have waited," said the doctor, "and not have sacrificed my seeds like a fool. I could have planted them by the kitchen stove." "What!" said Altamon, "you should have expected this great cooling?" "Of course, and without witchcraft! I should have my seed directly under the patronage of the saints of Mamer, Pancras, and Servan, whose feast falls on the eleventh of this month , the twelfth, and the thirteenth." "Doctor," said Altamon, "what effect do these three saints have on the temperature?"

"Big influence, and if we are to believe the horticulturists, they call these three saints the 'Three Saints of Ice and Snow.'" "Please tell me why?" "Because there is usually a short cold snap in May. This big drop in temperature occurred from the 11th to the 13th of this month. This is a fact, and here is the reason." "This is really strange, how is it explained?" asked the American. "There are two explanations: one is that at this time of year, there is the greatest number of meteors between the earth and the sun; the other is that the melting of snow must absorb a lot of heat. Both reasons make sense .Should it be fully accepted? I don't know. But I can't be sure of the value of this explanation. But I firmly believe in the truth of the facts, and I can't forget this and stop wasting my seeds."

The doctor is telling the truth.Whatever the reason, the rest of May was unseasonably cold.Hunting had to stop, not only because of the cold, but also because the game was completely invisible.Fortunately the stock of fresh meat was not exhausted. These winter people have nothing to do again.During the fifteen days from May 11th to the 25th, their monotonous life encountered only one incident: the carpenter suddenly fell ill with diphtheria.His tonsils were so swollen and covered with a pseudomembrane that doctors quickly identified them.For a doctor this is his profession, and the disease, unforeseen, was quickly brought under control.The treatment Bell received was simple, and the pharmacy was not far away. The doctor just put a few small ice cubes in the patient's mouth. After a few hours, the redness and swelling began to subside, and the pseudomembrane disappeared.Twenty-four hours later, Bell was able to walk on the ground.

Everyone was full of praise for the doctor's medical skills, and the doctor replied: "This place is a diphtheria-prone area, so the medicine for treatment should be near the disease to be cured." "Medicine is important, but doctors are more important," said Johnson, who has a growing image of doctors. During these spare days the doctor decided to have a serious talk with the captain: he wanted to persuade Hatteras to change his mind and go north again, and to take a skiff or boat across the channel and bay.The opinionated captain had officially declared his objection to building a small boat from what was left of the American ship.

The doctor didn't know how to talk about it.But this matter must be decided as soon as possible, because June will be the peak tourist season.He thought for a long time, and finally one day he took Hatteras aside and asked him gently: "Hatteras, do you consider me a friend?" "Of course," answered the captain loudly, "best friends, and even only friends." "If I made you a suggestion," continued the doctor, "that you did not ask of me, would you think that I was acting in public?" "Yes, because I know you don't listen to self-interest. But what advice would you like to offer?" "Wait a minute, Hatteras. I have one more question to ask you. Do you think I am as good an Englishman as you are, a man bent on honoring our country?" Hatteras looked at the doctor in amazement. "Yes." He replied, and at the same time asked the purpose of his question with his eyes. "You want to reach the North Pole," continued the doctor. "I understand your ambitions, and I share them. But to achieve this, we must do something necessary." "Haven't I sacrificed everything so far to be successful?" "No, Hatteras, you did not sacrifice your personal vendetta. Now I see that you are prepared to refuse the means necessary to your end." "Oh!" replied Hatteras, "you mean the boat, and the man--" "Hatteras, please speak and consider all sides of this matter calmly and without emotion. This coast on which we winter is likely to be interrupted, and nothing proves to us that it will extend northward. If you have so far If the information we get is correct, we will encounter a large area of ​​​​ice-free seas during this summer month. Facing the ice-free and navigable Arctic Ocean, what should we do if we lack the means of crossing?" Hatteras was speechless. "Would you rather be a few nautical miles from the North Pole without being able to get there?" Hatteras put his head in his hands. "Now," said the doctor again, "we come to the moral side of the matter. I understand that an Englishman sacrifices his property and his life to do England's honor! But because of an American ship, a useless wreck Will your little boat, which will reach new shores and cross new oceans, lessen the value of the new discovery? If you yourself found an old ship on this coast, would you hesitate to make use of it? Does the benefit of success go only to the leader of the expedition? Is it not, I ask you, that this ship, built by four Englishmen, is English from start to finish?" Hatteras remained silent. "No," said Croubney, "frankly, it's not the boat you're concerned about, it's the man." "Yes, doctor, that's exactly it," said the captain, "this American, whom I hate so much, that fate threw him into my path..." "To save you!" "To destroy me! I feel he despises me, he speaks here as master, he thinks he holds my fate, guesses my plans. When it comes to naming these newly discovered lands, his wolfish ambition is not Has he been exposed? Has he admitted what he came to these areas to do? There is one thought that torments me all the time, and you can't get me to let go of it: this man is the head of an expedition sent by the United States government." "Then wait and see, Hatteras, who proves that this expedition is to reach the North Pole? Can't America try to take the North-West Passage like England? In any case, Altamon knows nothing of your plans, Because Johnson, Bell, you, and I haven't uttered a word to him." "Then he's been kept in the dark all along!" "He'll know eventually because we can't leave him here alone." "Why?" said the captain slightly angrily. "Can't he stay alone in the Citadel?" "He won't agree, Hatteras. It would be imprudent and inhuman to leave this man here alone, with no certainty of finding him when we return. Altamon will come, He must come! For there is no need for him to know the truth now, so don't tell him anything. Hurry up and build a ship for the new coast." Hatteras could not decide whether to accept his friend's suggestion, and his friend waited for his answer, which he did not answer. "What if the man doesn't agree to have his ship broken?" asked the captain at last. "If that happens, you'll be justified. You can build the boat against his objections, and he'll have nothing to lose." "God let him refuse!" said Hatteras. "Before you refuse," said the doctor, "you should ask, and I will do it." At dinner that same day, Crowburni talked about the activities planned for the summer months, which were hydrographic surveys of the coastline. "I suppose," he asked Altamon, "that you will go with us?" "Of course," replied the American, "it is necessary to know how far the New World goes." Hatteras stared at him closely as he answered. "To do this," Altamon said, "it was necessary to make good use of what was left of the Perle Boise to build a robust ship that would take us great distances." "Did you hear that, Bell?" said the doctor loudly. "We'll start tomorrow."