Chapter 24 Chapter Eight: The Fatal Blow

Captain Lan Guy had given the order: "Get to it!" and every man threw himself into action that afternoon. Every hour counts.There is no one who does not understand that the question of time is a matter of life and death.As for provisions, there was still eighteen months' full rations on board the brig.So there is no threat of starvation.Thirst is not a big problem either.Although the fresh water tanks were broken in the impact, and the water stored in the tanks was lost along the cracks in the ship's planks, fortunately the casks containing gin, whiskey, beer and wine were located in the least damaged part of the cargo hold and were almost intact.From this point of view, we have not suffered any losses.Icebergs themselves can also provide us with fresh water.

It is well known that ice, whether formed of fresh water or sea water, contains no salt.Sodium chloride is completely eliminated when water transforms from a liquid to a solid state.So it doesn't seem to matter what kind of ice the drinking water is drawn from.However, ice detached from large cubes that are almost green in color and completely transparent should be given preference.This is rainwater solidified, far more drinkable than other ices. Our captain, a frequent visitor to the Antarctic seas, would have no trouble identifying such ice.But it cannot be found on our iceberg.Because the part that is floating on the water now is the part that was not in the water before the overturn.

In order to reduce the weight of the ship, Captain Lan Guy and Jem West decided to first unload all the items on board.The yard rigging and sail rigging were also dismantled and carried up to higher ground.Launching a ship is arduous and dangerous, and weight must be kept as low as possible, even ballast items must be removed.As long as the launching operation can be carried out smoothly, I would rather go a few days later.Then reship it again without great difficulty. Besides this decisive reason, there is another reason, no less important than the previous one. The "Halle Brena" is located on the slope of the iceberg, which is extremely unsafe.It was an unforgivable risk to leave provisions in the cabin.Wouldn't a jolt be enough to make the boat slide?If the large ice block supporting the hull moves, doesn't the ship also lose its fulcrum?At that time, the supplies that ensure our survival will also disappear with the ship!

On this day, everyone was busy unloading all kinds of boxes, including bacon, dried vegetables, flour, biscuits, tea and coffee.Ship a variety of casks of gin, whiskey, wine and beer from the pantry and hold.It was then safely placed on the uneven ice near the Halle Brena. Also, beware of any mishaps in the boat--and, I might add, the plots of Hearne and his gang.It is likely that they seized the skiff in order to return to the great ice pack. The skiff, with its oars, rudder, stays, four-claw anchors, yard rigging, and sails, was placed in a watch-hole about thirty feet to the port side of the brig.Don't worry about it during the day.At night, or rather when sleeping, the boatswain or other masters stood guard on the side of the cave.In this way—to be sure—the boat would be safe from accidents.

During the days of January 19, 20, and 21, two jobs were done, transporting the ship's cargo and dismantling the mast.First use the girder to make a boom to lift the lower mast.Jem West will try to replace the top and tomasts with something later on.However, top and topmasts are not essential, whether returning to the Falklands or to other winter ports of call. Needless to say, a temporary camp was established not far from the "Halbrena" on the high ground I have mentioned.Several tents were built by using the existing sail tarpaulin supported on the wooden frame of the mast and tightened with live truss cables, covering the cabins and the bedding of the crew rest cabin, providing a place of invisibility sufficient to keep out the cold.In this season of the year, cold snaps are quite frequent.The weather remained fine with temperatures rising to 46 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees 78 degrees Celsius) as the sea breeze from the northeast continued to blow.Endicott's kitchen was placed at the end of the plateau, near a high slope that led down the long slope to the top of the iceberg.

I should admit that in these three days of extremely heavy labor, Hearn's performance was beyond reproach.The fisherman knew that he had become the target of special surveillance, and he also knew that if he dared to provoke his companions to disobey the command, Captain Lan Guy would not let him go.It is unfortunate that his bad nature prompted him to play this role.His energy and quick wit would have made him a rare talent who would be useful in the current situation.Has his conscience discovered it? ...Did he understand that everyone's self-help depends on working together? ... I can't guess, but I don't believe him, and so does Heligly.

I don't need to say much about the dynamism shown by the mixed race in these hard jobs.He always suffers first and rests later.Work one to four, only sleep for a few hours, and only take a short break when hiding aside to eat.He had hardly spoken to me since the brig accident.What will he say to me? . . . All hope of continuing this ill-fated expedition should be abandoned.Don't I think so with him? ... Sometimes I see Martin Huot doing a tough job shoulder to shoulder with the half-breed.Our sail master never missed an opportunity to get close to Dirk Peters, who, for known reasons, always shunned him.Whenever I think of the secret he confided to me—that Parker was in fact Martin Hoult's own brother—and of the horrors aboard the Orca, I sink into a deep depression. In terror.I have no doubt that if this secret were revealed, mixed races would be objects of disgust.People would forget that he was the sailmaker's savior.And the sail master, if he knows his brother... Fortunately, only me and Dirk Peters know this secret.

While the "Halle Brena" was unloading, Captain Lan Guy and the first mate were studying the problem of launching the ship-a problem that must be difficult.What is to be solved here is how to remedy the height problem of about a hundred feet between the grounding of the brig and the sea level.The method is to excavate an ice trough obliquely on the west side of the iceberg, with a total length of at least 200 to 300 dewaz.Thus, while the first party under the bosun was unloading the ship, the second, under Jem West, began to cut the slide in the rising ice on this side of the floating iceberg.

floating? ...I don't know why the word is used, the iceberg is not floating now.It was as motionless as an island, and there was nothing to believe that it would ever be adrift.A number of other icebergs sailed across the sea, drifting southeast.And our iceberg, in the words of Dirk Peters, is still "faulty."Will its bottom be separated from the seabed when it erodes to a certain extent? ... Or is it a heavy and huge ice cube that floated over and collided with it, and it slid again under the impact? ...All of this is unpredictable, and we can only pin our hope of finally leaving this sea area on the "Halle Brena".

We worked on all kinds of work until January 24th.The weather was calm and the temperature did not drop.The mercury column on the thermometer even rose two or three degrees from zero.Therefore, the number of icebergs drifting from the northwest has increased, and there are already more than a hundred icebergs. Collisions will cause extremely serious consequences. Hardy, the caulking master, first started to repair the hull, replacing the wooden nails, replacing the damaged ship boards, and repairing the cracks.There is no shortage of materials required for the assignment and we are confident that the assignment will proceed smoothly.On this desolate and silent ice field, the sound of the hammer hammering nails into the plank of the ship and the sound of the long-handled mallet picking out the waste hemp in the crevices echoed.Seagulls, muscovy ducks, albatrosses, and petrels circled on the top of the iceberg, making deafening calls.All these sounds merged into one.

When I was alone with Captain Lan Guy and Jem West, the subject of our conversation was always, as might be expected, the present situation, the means of escape, and the possibilities.The first officer was full of hope, as long as there were no accidents in the future, he was sure of the success of the launch.Captain Lan Guy was more cautious.The thought of finally giving up all hope of finding the survivors of the "Jenny" made him feel like a knife... Indeed, once the "Halle Brenale" was ready to return to sea, when Jem West asked him for directions, would he dare to answer "due south"? ……No!If you answer that way, this time, not only the new crew members will not follow him, but even most of the old crew members will not follow him.To continue searching in this direction, to go far beyond the Pole, and not to be sure that if you don't reach the Atlantic Ocean, you will reach the Indian Ocean, this is a bold move that no navigator would dare to do.If there is a continent blocking the sea route in this direction, the brig is in a desperate situation surrounded by a large number of icebergs, and cannot escape before the Antarctic winter comes... Under such circumstances, if the captain agrees to continue the expedition, isn't it obvious that he will be rejected?This cannot be mentioned.At this time, it is imperative to turn around and return to the north. In this piece of Antarctic sea, it is impossible to stay for a day.I have made up my mind not to speak of the matter to Captain Lan Guy.If the opportunity arises, one might as well test the bosun's opinion on the subject. Heligly used to come to see me after work.We talked and recounted our journey. One day we sat on top of an iceberg and gazed at a disappointing horizon.He said aloud: "Mr. Georin, who would have thought that the Halle Brenale would be hanging on the side of an iceberg at this latitude six and a half months later when it left the Keregrons?" "It is a great pity," I replied, "that, had it not been for this accident, we might have attained our purpose and were on our way home." "I don't disagree with you," retorted the bosun, "but what you say may have served the purpose...meaning that we may have found our fellow man? . . . " "Perhaps so, bosun." "Mr. Georin, I do not quite believe it, although this is the main, if not the only, object of our voyage across the Antarctic Ocean..." "The only goal... yes... at first," I hinted, "but since the half-breed came up with a clue about Arthur Pym..." "Ah! . . . Mr. Georin, you've been thinking about it . . . like brave Dirk Peters? . . . " "Yes, I've been thinking, Heligley. To my surprise, this accident, a tragic and unbelievable accident, has left us stranded in the harbor..." "Mr. Georin, since you think you are stranded in the port, you can only keep your imagination..." "Why not?..." "Well! Anyway, it's a rare stranding!" said the bosun solemnly. "Not on the bottom of the sea, but in the air..." "So I have a right to say that this is an unfortunate situation, Heligly..." "Unfortunately, of course! In my opinion, shouldn't we have some kind of inspiration from this? . . . " "What revelation?..." "That is to say, it is not permissible to explore so far in this region. In my opinion, the Creator forbids his creation to reach the top of the earth!" "But now the top of the pole is only about sixty miles from us..." "Yes, Mr. Georin. Sixty miles is like a thousand miles when there is no way to cross it... If If the brig cannot be successfully launched, we will have to spend the winter in a place where the polar bears will not come!" I shook my head as an answer, and Heligly would not have misunderstood me. "Mr. Jeolyn, do you know what I miss a lot? . . . " he asked me. "What do you miss, bosun? . . . " "I miss the Kerguelen Islands, we seldom go that way! Of course, it gets really cold there in the cold...these are no different from the islands on the edge of the Antarctic Sea...but a short distance from Cape Town Nearly, if you want to go to Cape Town to warm your legs, there will be no ice floes to stand in your way!... But here, surrounded by snow and ice, the devil can set sail on this iceberg, and who knows if a way out will be found?... ..." "Bosun, let me tell you again, if it hadn't been for this accident, everything would have ended in one way or another, and we still have more than six weeks to get out of this Antarctic sea. In short, as we It's so rare for a brig like this to go so smoothly at first, and then to be so unlucky, it's a pure disappointment..." "Oh, smooth sailing, that's all in the past! Mr. Geollin," said Heligly loudly, "I'm worried..." "What, you are worried too, bosun... I know you are such a confident person, even you..." "Confidence, Mr. Georin, it will fray like a crotch! . . . What can be done! . . . When he compares it, when I think of the Blue Heron, the lobby downstairs, drinking whiskey and gin with friends at the little table, the fire roaring and crackling, louder than the weathervane on the roof He's still older... Well, in this comparison, we are really not as good as him... In my opinion, maybe Uncle Atkins understands life better than us..." "Eh! Bosun, you'll see him again, the good Atkins, and the Blue Heron and the Kerguelen Islands! For God's sake, don't be discouraged! . . . if A reasonable and decisive man like you is hopeless..." "Er! Mr. Georin, if it's just me, it's not too bad!" "Could it be that the entire crew..." "Yes...no..." Heligley argued, "I know some people are very dissatisfied." "Harne, is he whining again and instigating his companions?  …" "Not openly, at least, Mr. Georin. I haven't seen or heard anything since I've watched him. He knows what's in store for him if he makes a move. So—I don't believe I did." Mistake—the cunning fellow has seen the wind. Hearn doesn't surprise me. I wonder the sailmaster Martin Hoot..." "Bosun, what do you mean? . . . " "The relationship between the two of them seems to be very close!...Please pay attention to observe them. Hearn always chases after Mardin Holt and often talks to him, and Martin Holt is not too indifferent to him." "I don't think Martin Hoult is the kind of person to listen to Hearne's advice," I replied, "If Hearne tries to incite the crew to rebel, Mardin Hoult will not go with him..." "Of course not, Mr. Georin... I'm very upset to see them mingling... This Hearne is a particularly dangerous character, and he has no conscience. Mardin Holt may not be sufficiently wary of him!  … " "Then he was mistaken, bosun." "Listen...one day I heard scraps of their conversation, do you know what they were talking about..." "I'll never know if you don't tell me, Heligly." "Well, they were chatting on the deck of the Halle Brena, and I heard them mention Dirk Peters. Hearn said: 'Master Holt, half-breeds never want to get close to you, and don't accept you. Thank you, and you don't blame him.... He is a rough man, but he is very brave. He risked his life to save you from danger, and he has proved it.... Besides, you will not forget that he was "rebel The crew of the Orca. Your brother Ned was also on board, if I remember correctly...'" "Bosun, did he say that? . . . " I called out, "did he name the Orca? . . . " "Yes...the Orca." "Speaking of Ned Holt? . . . " "Exactly, Mr. Georin!" "How did Mardin Hoth answer him? . . . " "He replied: 'My poor brother, I don't even know the circumstances under which he died! . . . Did he die in a ship's riot? Was he murdered?...'" "Has Hearne stressed the matter, bosun..." "Yes...he said again: 'Master Holt, this is very sad for you!...I heard that the captain of the "Orca" and two or three of his men were killed Abandoned on a small boat... I don't know if there is your brother with him?...'" "and after?……" "Then, Mr. Georin, he said: 'Didn't it occur to you to ask Dirk Peters? . . .'" "'Inquired once,' said Martin Hoult, 'and I asked the half-breed about it, and I never saw a man so distraught as he was. He said, "I don't know... I don't know..." The voice was so low that I could barely understand it. After he finished speaking, he put his head in his hands and ran away...'” "Did you hear that all of their conversation, Bosun? . . . " "Mr. Georin, that's all. I think this is very strange, so I want to tell you." "So, what conclusion do you draw from this?" "Nothing. But the Fisherman is the worst kind of villain I can think of, and he's got a lot of sleuthing to do, and he wants Lamartin Hoot in his gang!" "Yeah! What does this new move by Hearne mean? ... Why is he seeking out one of our most distinguished sailors, Mardin Hotra? ... Why does it remind him of the 'Orca Whale' What happened to the '?... Does Hearn know more about Dirk Peters and Ned Holt than anyone else?——this secret, the half-breed and I thought only we two knew it! ..." This incident naturally caused me serious uneasiness.However, I didn't say a word to Dirk Peters.If he suspects that Hearne is talking about what happened on the Orca, if he learns that this wretch—Herigly called him that, not for nothing—keeps talking to Martin Hoot His brother Ned, I can't tell what's going to happen! All in all, whatever Hearne's plans, it's a pity that our sail-man, on whom the Captain could have relied, has hooked up with Hearne.There must be a reason why fishermen and hunters do this—what reason?I can't guess.So, while the crew seemed to have given up any thought of rioting, close surveillance was necessary, especially for Hearne. And, for now, that's coming to an end—at least for the brig. Two days later, the project was over.Hull repairs have been completed, as has the excavation of the launch channel to the bottom of the iceberg. During this period, the surface of the ice softened slightly, and the trenches were dug with little effort at all with the pickaxe.The ice chute runs obliquely around the western side of the iceberg so as not to present any steep slopes.With the boat properly tethered to the cable, it slides down and probably won't cause any damage.I'm more concerned about rising temperatures that will make it difficult for the boat to slide in the ice chute. It goes without saying that the ship's cargo, girder rigging, anchors, chains, etc., were not taken aboard.The hull itself is already heavy enough to be difficult to control, and the weight should be reduced as much as possible.Once the brig is back in the water, refitting is a matter of days. On the afternoon of the 28th, final preparations were made.In several places where the ice melt has intensified, the ice trough has to be supported laterally by props.Thereafter, from four o'clock in the afternoon, let the whole crew rest.Captain Lan Guy ordered a double serving of wine.Everyone has worked so hard for a week and deserves an extra whiskey and gin. I repeat, since Hearne ceased to stir up his companions, every source of disorganization and indiscipline seemed to have vanished.It can be said that all the minds of the crew are on the huge project of launching the ship. When the "Halle Brena" returns to the surface, it means departure... that is, it is on its way home! ...seriously, for Dirk Peters and me, it means giving up Arthur Pym altogether! ... This night, the temperature is the highest so far.The thermometer read 53 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees 67 minutes Celsius).So, although the sun has begun to approach the horizon, the ice is still melting and there are winding creeks here and there. I am one of the early risers who wake up at four in the morning.I hardly slept at night--I think Dirk Peters, with the pain in his heart at the thought of returning home, might not have been able to sleep either! ... Launching of the vessel is scheduled to begin at 10:00 am.In view of the need for thorough and meticulous precautions, Captain Lan Guy clocked in the possible delays, expecting the whole operation to be completed before dark.No one doubted that the brig could at least reach the bottom of the iceberg by night. It goes without saying that this difficult operation requires each of us to participate.Each person was assigned a post to which he must stick—some held log rollers, and when they needed help, they would help the ship slide down;Ropes and large cables are prepared for this to hold the hull. Have breakfast in the tent at nine o'clock.The crew members were full of confidence and couldn't help but toast to the success of the launch.They cheered and we echoed, which was a bit premature.However, Captain Lan Guy and the mate took all the precautions carefully, and the launch was carried out with the greatest certainty of success. We were about to leave the camp and go to our respective posts—several sailors were already waiting there—when there was a terrified cry... What a scene!Although the time is short, what an indelible impression of terror has been left in our hearts!Huge chunks of ice formed the ramp on which the ship ran aground.One of them lost its balance due to the melting of the foundation, fell, jumped and rolled down from other ice blocks... After a while, the brig couldn't hold on anymore, and began to shake on the slope... At this time there were two people on the bow deck, Rogers and Grethian... These two unfortunate people tried to jump from the bulwark, but it was too late, and the ship was swept away by this terrible fall... yes!I have seen it all! …I saw the brig overturned, first it slid down the left side quickly, crushing a new crew member who was unable to dodge beside it; then it jumped from one big ice block to another, and finally flew down in the air... A second later, the "Halle Brena" was covered in bruises, torn apart, the hull fell apart, and the keel was broken. At the foot of the iceberg, a huge wave splashed and sank into the sea! ... the "Hallebrena" sank into the sea! ...