His first days aboard the Neptune had been miserable4 with the weather rough and his stomach turning flip-flops every time he tried to eat. But after leaving Plymouth and heading north for Bergen he had found the sub and its tricks to his liking5. Bob Smith, first officer of the Neptune, was not much older than Harry. Bob was a navy man, loaned to Gilbert Mathews especially for the Polar cruise, and he was thoroughly6 at home in the underwater craft.
From Bergen to King’s Bay, Spitzbergen, was a lonely voyage for there are few ships in the Arctic. An occasional gull7 wheeling overhead, stray bergs drifting by, and the eternal blue of the cold North Atlantic was all they saw day after day. Harry kept the radio humming with the press messages which the explorer sent back to his syndicate in New York. One method Mathews had used in spreading out the cost of the trip was the sale of exclusive stories of what went on aboard the Neptune to a newspaper syndicate. Morning and afternoon stories were required and Harry, who was adept8 at writing a readable story, was often pressed into service to write the daily dispatch.
Weather favored them all the way to King’s Bay, where they were to make their final stop for supplies, which had been sent on ahead by steamers.
Harry deserted9 his post and went up on deck when Bob called down to inform him that they were slipping into King’s Bay, scene of the start of many a famous Arctic flight. It was from here that Byrd and Floyd Bennett had made their dash to the North pole, to be followed a few days later by Nobile and Ellsworth in the Italian dirigible Norge. It was here that Wilkins and Eielson had landed after their long flight from Alaska across the barrens of the Arctic and it was from here that the ill-fated Norge had made a second expedition into the Arctic.
By the time the sleek10, black submarine had nosed its way up to the large coal dock, the entire population of King’s Bay was down to greet it. The crew and officers welcomed the opportunity to leave the Neptune and stretch their legs on land, but preparations for the trip into the Arctic were pushed with all possible haste. The weather was too favorable for any unnecessary delay and the crew worked steadily11 at the task of refilling fuel tanks and taking on fresh stores of food.
On the morning of the 20th of June they cast their lines off the coal dock, the big Diesels12 turned over smoothly13, and the Neptune backed away and turned its nose toward the open bay.
As many of the crew of 31 as could crowd onto the deck watched the changing scene, and listened to the wishes for good fortune shouted by the townspeople on the dock. There was a fresh breeze in the outer bay and they were forced below by the crisp wind which sent waves slapping over the deck in steady succession.
They were in the land of the midnight sun where in summer there is no night, only a dusk as the sun dips to the horizon. At dusk the mainland of Spitzbergen was to the rear and they were slipping past Amsterdam island, which lay to their right. Ahead of them was the uncharted mystery of the Arctic ocean.
Harry was surprised at the comparative mildness of the Arctic summer but the temperature of the Arctic sea was not such that a fall overboard was inviting14 and as a result the outer hull15 of the craft was ice-cold. Special electrical heating devices had been installed in the living quarters and the control room so it was fairly comfortable inside the sub.
As they pushed northward16, Gilbert Mathews and the two scientists with him kept busy in the forward torpedo17 room where they made soundings of the ocean depth and drew off samples from the bottom to determine the nature of the floor of the Arctic. Because of the scientific investigations18, the Neptune made slow progress and it was the fourth day out before they encountered much pack ice.
Conditions were favorable for the progress of the Neptune, for the ice fields were open with wide leads between them. Occasionally a small berg scraped the side of the submarine and on the fifth day, when they encountered a solid mass of ice, the diving order was given and the Neptune, its special electrical feelers projecting ahead, slipped under the wall of ice and into the open water on the other side. Such an operation was under the direct charge of Bob Smith, who demonstrated his ability in that one brief maneuver19.
The weather remained fair and on the 26th and 27th, the Neptune increased its speed for the ice was fairly open. They were following almost the same route taken by Byrd and Bennett in their successful dash by air to the North Pole. On the twenty-eighth the sky closed in on them. A cold Arctic fog obscured the sun and a wall of static shut them off from communication with the outside world. They were now well into the unknown regions of the Arctic, further north than any vessel20 had previously21 penetrated22, in the region which had been seen by man only from the air.
On the night of the twenty-eighth a bitter wind whipped down out of the northwest and the leads commenced to close under the pressure of the drifting ice. The Neptune scuttled23 from one open area to another seeking safety but the gravity of the situation increased every minute. With the ice pack closing in, it was possible that the submarine might be caught between the ice and crushed like an egg shell for despite its sturdy construction it could not withstand the enormous pressure which the ice would exert.
Bob was glued to the controls while Gilbert Mathews searched madly for an opening through which the Neptune might slip to safety. There was none and reluctantly the order was given to submerge.
They would be safe down below for the time being but they would be unable to tell in what direction safety lay. They would have to feel their way almost blindly under the ice, hoping that they would eventually find an opening where they could rise to the surface.
Bob sent the Neptune down five fathoms24 and they slipped under the ice pack.
Hour after hour passed as the Neptune crept under the great mass of ice. At times it was necessary to go down to 10 and 12 fathoms but for the most part they were only five or six fathoms under the ice. The Neptune was a good underwater boat, steady and smooth-riding and the crew experienced little discomfort25. There was plenty of air for 40 hours under the ice and they felt no alarm, when, at the end of twenty hours, they had failed to find an opening.
They stopped and made a test with the ice drill which had been especially designed and installed for just such an emergency but the device jammed tight before they could get it working and that avenue of escape was cut off.
When another ten hours had elapsed and they were still groping blindly under the ice. Bob expressed his private opinion that they were in a tight situation. Harry agreed as he stood beside the first officer in the control room. Another three hours slipped away and the air was heavy. Harry’s head felt light and the blood raced through his veins26. Unless they found an opening soon it would be curtains for the Neptune and its crew. Gilbert Mathews relieved Bob at the main controls and the first officer walked back to the radio cubby with Harry.
“If we don’t get out of this,” he said, “no one will ever know what happened to us. They’ll have plenty of guesses and some of them will be right, but they’ll never really know. I wish you could get a message through.”
“So do I,” said Harry, “but that won’t be possible until we emerge.”
“I’m all in,” confessed Bob, “and I don’t suppose worrying will help us any. Wake me up in half an hour,” he added as he slumped27 down in the one comfortable canvas chair in the room.
Harry returned to the control room where a white-faced, worried crew stuck grimly to their stations.
The air was bad; lights dim. They were barely creeping forward. Several of the men dropped at their posts and were carried away by more fortunate companions. Others took their places. The chief engineer, a quiet Yankee, came in to tell the explorer that the power was going. The batteries wouldn’t last more than another hour.
There was nothing Harry could do in the control room and he returned to his own quarters. Bob was sound asleep in the chair. One dim light glowed over the now useless radio set. Harry sat down and picked up a message blank. He’d write a note to Andy and Bert. Someone might find the hulk of the submarine some day; a freak of the Arctic might cast it where it would again be viewed by man.
Harry had just started the note when he was startled by a sudden bumping and scraping. The Neptune tilted28 sharply. Were they headed for the bottom; crushed under the ice pack? The thought shot through Harry’s mind as he roused Bob.
There were cries from the control room. They were going up. They had found an opening in the ice pack.
Three minutes later the main hatch was thrown open and a wave of cool, fresh air swept down into the dank, stinking29 interior of the submarine.
They were in a small lead between the sheer walls of the ice pack. The Neptune had nosed into it blindly at a time when officers and crews had despaired of their own lives.
As soon as the batteries had been charged sufficiently30, Harry tried to send out a call but the wall of static still engulfed31 the Arctic and his efforts were futile32.
“I don’t think I got out more than a hundred miles,” he told Bob, “and there isn’t one chance in a thousand that anyone heard us.”
The Neptune remained securely in the sheltered lead all day on the 30th, crew and officers resting after the strenuous33 ordeal34 they had been through. Above them and over the ice pack a high wind raged and toward the close of day there were ominous35 crackings and rumblings in the ice.
With the exception of one man left in the conning37 tower, the crew of the Neptune was sound asleep at midnight. Two hours later they were awakened38 by the alarmed cries of the watch. An eerie39 rumbling36 and groaning40 filled the night. When they tumbled out on deck a terrifying sight greeted them. The walls of the ice pack were closing in. They were trapped in the lead!
The rapid movement of the ice was astounding41. Orders cracked from the lips of Gilbert Mathews and Bob Smith. The crew tumbled back into the submarine. The main hatch was slammed and battened down. A crash dive was in order. They were going under the ice again.
Harry dreaded42 the thought. The last time their margin43 of safety had been slim; too slim. This time they might not come up.
The tension inside the Neptune was terrific as Bob gave the orders for the dive. Valves were opened wide; water roared into the diving tanks. The Neptune settled swiftly. The conning tower was almost under when there was a terrific bump. Their downward motion stopped. The water continued to rush into the diving tanks but the depth indicated remained motionless.
“We’re caught on an ice shelf,” cried the explorer.
“Blow the tanks and we’ll get back to the surface,” commanded Bob. “We won’t have a chance if we’re caught by the ice under water.”
Compressed air whistled into the diving tanks and the needle of the depth gauge44 quivered and moved upward. With a rush they were back on the surface.
The walls of the ice had moved closer. There was the steady thunder of the pack as the pressure increased and miles of ice, driven by the biting gale45, moved forward, crushing all before it.
Under Gilbert Mathews’ direction, members of the crew made hasty soundings. To their dismay it was found that the tremendous pressure of the advancing ice had driven a shelf of it under them. There wasn’t a single hole large enough to allow them to dive through to the comparative safety of the depths.
In the next seconds a tremendous decision must be made: Should they stay with the Neptune or abandon the submarine and attempt to escape over the ice?
The walls of ice were moving forward relentlessly46, closing the gap foot by foot.
Gilbert Mathews, white-faced, grim, spoke47.
“Get out the emergency equipment,” he said. “We’ll abandon the Neptune.”
For the next ten minutes the crew worked desperately48. Food, tents, snowshoes, medical supplies, and the portable radio and stoves were rushed up from below. The Neptune was nosed over against the nearest wall of ice and the supplies tossed on the pack. Others of the crew, hurrying over the treacherous49 ice, carried the supplies back to a place of safety for the tremendous pressure which would be exerted when the walls of ice met might cause an explosion.
Harry took a final look at his beloved set before abandoning the Neptune. He tried one more desperate call but the static strangled his cry for help. They were alone in the desolate50 Arctic.
The Neptune abandoned to its fate, the crew retired51 from the edge of the ice pack. From a distance of half a mile they watched the walls of ice come together. Gilbert Mathews turned away when the first of the rumbling explosions shattered the air. Ice rose in great pyramids, shattering and flying in every direction. The pack on which they were standing52 quivered and moved dangerously. In several places wide gaps appeared but they were fortunate enough not to fall in.
When the pressure eased, they returned to the place where they had left the Neptune. Instead of a haven53 of open water they found great masses of ice, twisted and piled in grotesque54 fashion as though some giant of the north had been playing a game all his own.
“We’ve seen the last of the Neptune,” said Bob Smith sadly. “It was a good tub but not good enough to beat the Arctic.”
But Bob was wrong for on the far side of the twisted mass of ice they came upon the bow of the Neptune. From all appearances the shell of the submarine had withstood the terrific pressure and the undersea craft had been hurled55 out of the water and caught fast in the ice.
It would be impossible to use the Neptune as a means of travel but if the ice held its grip, they could live in the submarine until a rescue expedition could reach them.
Axes were brought from the supplies they had taken off the Neptune and the crew turned to the task of chopping a hole through the ice until they reached the main hatch. Working in shifts, it took them two hours to accomplish the task.
When the hatch was finally opened, Gilbert Mathews insisted that he be the first to enter for the danger of chlorine gas lurked56 inside the Neptune. If the batteries had upset, the deadly gas might have formed. Anxiously the crew awaited the return of their leader. They cheered wildly when he called that there was no sign of gas and they tumbled back inside for a thorough inspection57. Seams had been wrenched58 so severely59 that the Neptune would sink like a rock if it ever slid into the ocean but it was dry and comfortable inside and there was plenty of fuel oil in the tanks to keep them warm for months to come.
The first thing was to send word of their plight60 to the outside world.
The portable radio with its aerial was set up on the ice outside and Harry sat down to send out the first message and ask for relief. The static had cleared since his last attempt and he finally picked up an amateur station at Hopedale, Labrador, to which he communicated the events which had befallen the Neptune. As nearly as possible, Harry gave their position and asked that the officers of the Goliath at Bellevue, Ky., be notified at once.
The operator at Hopedale, after recovering from the astonishment61 of Harry’s message, promised to relay it at once.
The hours dragged by and there was no reply from the operator at Hopedale, except that he had relayed the message to Montreal for further transmission.
The tent which had been erected62 around Harry’s portable set was little protection from the bitter wind and he was numb63 from cold and miserable when the Hopedale operator finally came back at him. The message had reached Bellevue. The reply was on the way. It cracked through the ether.
“Goliath leaves at midnight. Estimate distance to you is 5,500 miles. Should make it in 60 hours after departure. Signed, Andy High, Assistant Pilot.”
Harry ran to the Neptune with the message and the news it contained cheered them greatly. With the wind rapidly whipping into a storm, they took refuge in the warmth of the Neptune and awaited the coming of the Goliath.
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1
Neptune
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| n.海王星 | |
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replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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gull
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| n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈 | |
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adept
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| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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diesels
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| 柴油( diesel的名词复数 )； 柴油机机车（或船等） | |
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smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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24
fathoms
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| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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slumped
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| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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stinking
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| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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engulfed
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| v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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conning
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| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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groaning
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| adj. 呜咽的, 呻吟的 动词groan的现在分词形式 | |
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astounding
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| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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42
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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45
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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46
relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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49
treacherous
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| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
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50
desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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61
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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62
ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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numb
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| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
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