Jean Cornbutte now directed the “Jeune–Hardie” towards Cape3 Brewster. They were already approaching the regions where the temperature is excessively cold, for the sun’s rays, owing to their obliquity4 when they reach them, are very feeble.
On the 3rd of August the brig confronted immoveable and united ice-masses. The passages were seldom more than a cable’s length in width, and the ship was forced to make many turnings, which sometimes placed her heading the wind.
Penellan watched over Marie with paternal5 care, and, despite the cold, prevailed upon her to spend two or three hours every day on deck, for exercise had become one of the indispensable conditions of health.
Marie’s courage did not falter6. She even comforted the sailors with her cheerful talk, and all of them became warmly attached to her. André Vasling showed himself more attentive7 than ever, and seized every occasion to be in her company; but the young girl, with a sort of presentiment8, accepted his services with some coldness. It may be easily conjectured9 that André‘s conversation referred more to the future than to the present, and that he did not conceal10 the slight probability there was of saving the castaways. He was convinced that they were lost, and the young girl ought thenceforth to confide11 her existence to some one else.
Marie had not as yet comprehended André‘s designs, for, to his great disgust, he could never find an opportunity to talk long with her alone. Penellan had always an excuse for interfering12, and destroying the effect of Andre’s words by the hopeful opinions he expressed.
Marie, meanwhile, did not remain idle. Acting13 on the helmsman’s advice, she set to work on her winter garments; for it was necessary that she should completely change her clothing. The cut of her dresses was not suitable for these cold latitudes14. She made, therefore, a sort of furred pantaloons, the ends of which were lined with seal-skin; and her narrow skirts came only to her knees, so as not to be in contact with the layers of snow with which the winter would cover the ice-fields. A fur mantle15, fitting closely to the figure and supplied with a hood16, protected the upper part of her body.
In the intervals17 of their work, the sailors, too, prepared clothing with which to shelter themselves from the cold. They made a quantity of high seal-skin boots, with which to cross the snow during their explorations. They worked thus all the time that the navigation in the straits lasted.
André Vasling, who was an excellent shot, several times brought down aquatic18 birds with his gun; innumerable flocks of these were always careering about the ship. A kind of eider-duck provided the crew with very palatable19 food, which relieved the monotony of the salt meat.
At last the brig, after many turnings, came in sight of Cape Brewster. A long-boat was put to sea. Jean Cornbutte and Penellan reached the coast, which was entirely deserted20.
The ship at once directed its course towards Liverpool Island, discovered in 1821 by Captain Scoresby, and the crew gave a hearty21 cheer when they saw the natives running along the shore. Communication was speedily established with them, thanks to Penellan’s knowledge of a few words of their language, and some phrases which we natives themselves had learnt of the whalers who frequented those parts.
These Greenlanders were small and squat22; they were not more than four feet ten inches high; they had red, round faces, and low foreheads; their hair, flat and black, fell over their shoulders; their teeth were decayed, and they seemed to be affected23 by the sort of leprosy which is peculiar24 to ichthyophagous tribes.
In exchange for pieces of iron and brass25, of which they are extremely covetous26, these poor creatures brought bear furs, the skins of sea-calves, sea-dogs, sea-wolves, and all the animals generally known as seals. Jean Cornbutte obtained these at a low price, and they were certain to become most useful.
The captain then made the natives understand that he was in search of a shipwrecked vessel27, and asked them if they had heard of it. One of them immediately drew something like a ship on the snow, and indicated that a vessel of that sort had been carried northward28 three months before: he also managed to make it understood that the thaw29 and breaking up of the ice-fields had prevented the Greenlanders from going in search of it; and, indeed, their very light canoes, which they managed with paddles, could not go to sea at that time.
This news, though meagre, restored hope to the hearts of the sailors, and Jean Cornbutte had no difficulty in persuading them to advance farther in the polar seas.
Before quitting Liverpool Island, the captain purchased a pack of six Esquimaux dogs, which were soon acclimatised on board. The ship weighed anchor on the morning of the 10th of August, and entered the northern straits under a brisk wind.
The longest days of the year had now arrived; that is, the sun, in these high latitudes, did not set, and reached the highest point of the spirals which it described above the horizon.
This total absence of night was not, however, very apparent, for the fog, rain, and snow sometimes enveloped30 the ship in real darkness.
Jean Cornbutte, who was resolved to advance as far as possible, began to take measures of health. The space between decks was securely enclosed, and every morning care was taken to ventilate it with fresh air. The stoves were installed, and the pipes so disposed as to yield as much heat as possible. The sailors were advised to wear only one woollen shirt over their cotton shirts, and to hermetically close their seal cloaks. The fires were not yet lighted, for it was important to reserve the wood and charcoal31 for the most intense cold.
Warm beverages32, such as coffee and tea, were regularly distributed to the sailors morning and evening; and as it was important to live on meat, they shot ducks and teal, which abounded33 in these parts.
Jean Cornbutte also placed at the summit of the mainmast a “crow’s nest,” a sort of cask staved in at one end, in which a look-out remained constantly, to observe the icefields.
Two days after the brig had lost sight of Liverpool Island the temperature became suddenly colder under the influence of a dry wind. Some indications of winter were perceived. The ship had not a moment to lose, for soon the way would be entirely closed to her. She advanced across the straits, among which lay ice-plains thirty feet thick.
On the morning of the 3rd of September the “Jeune–Hardie” reached the head of Ga?l-Hamkes Bay. Land was then thirty miles to the leeward34. It was the first time that the brig had stopped before a mass of ice which offered no outlet35, and which was at least a mile wide. The saws must now be used to cut the ice. Penellan, Aupic, Gradlin, and Turquiette were chosen to work the saws, which had been carried outside the ship. The direction of the cutting was so determined36 that the current might carry off the pieces detached from the mass. The whole crew worked at this task for nearly twenty hours. They found it very painful to remain on the ice, and were often obliged to plunge37 into the water up to their middle; their seal-skin garments protected them but imperfectly from the damp.
Moreover all excessive toil38 in those high latitudes is soon followed by an overwhelming weariness; for the breath soon fails, and the strongest are forced to rest at frequent intervals.
At last the navigation became free, and the brig was towed beyond the mass which had so long obstructed39 her course.
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1
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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3
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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4
obliquity
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| n.倾斜度 | |
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5
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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6
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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7
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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8
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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conjectured
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| 推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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11
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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12
interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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13
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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14
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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15
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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16
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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17
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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18
aquatic
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| adj.水生的，水栖的 | |
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19
palatable
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| adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的 | |
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20
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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21
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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22
squat
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| v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的 | |
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23
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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24
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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25
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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covetous
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| adj.贪婪的，贪心的 | |
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27
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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29
thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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30
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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32
beverages
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| n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 ) | |
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33
abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
leeward
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| adj.背风的；下风的 | |
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35
outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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36
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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37
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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38
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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39
obstructed
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| 阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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