At five o'clock the pilot resigned the charge of the ship to Richard Shandon, and sailed away in his boat, which soon disappeared from sight in the southwest.
Towards evening the brig doubled the Calf3 of Man, at the southern extremity4 of the island of that name. During the night the sea was very high; the Forward rode the waves very well, however, and leaving the Point of Ayr on the northwest, she ran towards the North Channel.
Johnson was right; once at sea the sailors readily adapted themselves instinctively5 to the situation. They saw the excellence6 of their vessel7 and forgot the strangeness of their situation. The ship's routine was soon regularly established.
The doctor inhaled8 with pleasure the sea-air; he paced up and down the deck in spite of the fresh wind, and showed that for a student he had very good sea-legs.
"The sea is a fine thing," he said to Johnson, as he went upon the bridge after breakfast; "I am a little late in making its acquaintance, but I shall make up for my delay."
"You are right, Dr. Clawbonny; I would give all the land in the world for a bit of ocean. People say that sailors soon get tired of their business; but I've been sailing for forty years, and I like it as well as I did the first day."
"What a pleasure it is to feel a stanch9 ship under one's feet! and, if I'm not mistaken, the Forward is a capital sea-boat."
"You are right, Doctor," answered Shandon, who had joined the two speakers; "she's a good ship, and I must say that there was never a ship so well equipped for a voyage in the polar regions. That reminds me that, thirty years ago, Captain James Ross, going to seek the Northwest Passage—"
"Commanded the Victory," said the doctor, quickly, "a brig of about the tonnage of this one, and also carrying machinery10."
"What! did you know that?"
"Say for yourself," retorted the doctor. "Steamers were then new inventions, and the machinery of the Victory was continually delaying him. Captain Ross, after in vain trying to patch up every piece, at last took it all out and left it at the first place he wintered at."
"The deuce!" said Shandon. "You know all about it, I see."
"More or less," answered the doctor. "In my reading I have come across the works of Parry, Ross, Franklin; the reports of MacClure, Kennedy, Kane, MacClintock; and some of it has stuck in my memory. I might add that MacClintock, on board of the Fox, a propeller11 like ours, succeeded in making his way more easily and more directly than all his successors."*
"That's perfectly12 true," answered Shandon; "that MacClintock is a good sailor; I have seen him at sea. You might also say that we shall be, like him, in Davis Strait in the month of April; and if we can get through the ice our voyage will be very much advanced."
"Unless," said the doctor, "we should be as unlucky as the Fox in 1857, and should be caught the first year by the ice in the north of Baffin's Bay, and we should have to winter among the icebergs14."
"We must hope to be luckier, Mr. Shandon," said Johnson; "and if, with a ship like the Forward, we can't go where we please, the attempt must be given up forever."
"Besides," continued the doctor, "if the captain is on board he will know better than we what is to be done, and so much the better because we are perfectly ignorant; for his singularly brief letter gives us no clew to the probable aim of the voyage."
"It's a great deal," answered Shandon, with some warmth, "to know what route we have to take; and now for a good month, I fancy, we shall be able to get along without his supernatural intervention15 and orders. Besides, you know what I think about him."
"Ha, ha!" laughed the doctor; "I used to think as you did, that he was going to leave the command of the ship in your hands, and that he would never come on board; but—"
"But what?" asked Shandon, with some ill-humor.
"But since the arrival of the second letter, I have altered my views somewhat."
"And why so, doctor?"
"Because, although this letter does tell you in which direction to go, it still does not inform you of the final aim of the voyage; and we have yet to know whither we are to go. I ask you how can a third letter reach us now that we are on the open sea. The postal16 service on the shore of Greenland is very defective17. You see, Shandon, I fancy that he is waiting for us at some Danish settlement up there,—at Holsteinborg or Upernavik. We shall find that he has been completing the supply of seal-skins, buying sledges18 and dogs,—in a word, providing all the equipment for a journey in the arctic seas. So I shall not be in the least surprised to see him coming out of his cabin some fine morning and taking command in the least supernatural way in the world."
"Possibly," answered Shandon, dryly; "but meanwhile the wind's freshening, and there's no use risking our topsails in such weather."
Shandon left the doctor, and ordered the topsails furled.
"He still clings to that idea," said the doctor to the boatswain.
"Yes," was the answer, "and it's a pity; for you may very well be right, Dr. Clawbonny."
Towards the evening of Saturday the Forward rounded the Mull of Galloway, on which the light could be seen in the northeast. During the night they left the Mull of Cantire to the north, and on the east Fair Head, on the Irish coast. Towards three o'clock in the morning, the brig, passing Rathlin Island on its starboard quarter, came out from the North Channel into the ocean.
That was Sunday, April 8. The English, and especially sailors, are very observant of that day; hence the reading of the Bible, of which the doctor gladly took charge, occupied a good part of the morning.
he wind rose to a gale19, and threatened to drive the ship back upon the Irish coast. The waves ran very high; the vessel rolled a great deal. If the doctor was not sea-sick, it was because he was determined20 not to be, for nothing would have been easier. At midday Malin Head disappeared from their view in the south; it was the last sight these bold sailors were to have of Europe, and more than one gazed at it for a long time who was doubtless fated never to set eyes on it again.
By observation the latitude21 then was 55° 57', and the longitude22, according to the chronometer23, 7° 40'.*
The gale abated25 towards nine o'clock of the evening; the Forward, a good sailer, kept on its route to the northwest. That day gave them all a good opportunity to judge of her sea-going qualities; as good judges had already said at Liverpool, she was well adapted for carrying sail.
Dead puffin
During the following days, the Forward made very good progress; the wind veered26 to the south, and the sea ran high. The brig set every sail. A few petrels and puffins flew about the poop-deck; the doctor succeeded in shooting one of the latter, which fortunately fell on board.
"It's an ugly bird, Dr. Clawbonny," he said.
"But then it will make a good meal, my friend."
"What, are you going to eat it?"
"And you shall have a taste of it," said the doctor, laughing.
Simpson
"Never!" answered Simpson; "it's strong and oily, like all sea-birds."
"True," said the doctor; "but I have a way of dressing28 such game, and if you recognize it to be a sea-bird, I'll promise never to kill another in all my life."
"So you are a cook, too, Dr. Clawbonny?" asked Johnson.
"A learned man ought to know a little of everything."
"Then take care, Simpson," said the boatswain; "the doctor is a clever man, and he'll make us take this puffin for a delicious grouse29."
In fact, the doctor was in the right about this bird; he removed skilfully30 the fat which lies beneath the whole surface of the skin, principally on its thighs31, and with it disappeared all the rancid, fishy32 odor with which this bird can be justly charged. Thus prepared, the bird was called delicious, even by Simpson.
During the recent storm, Richard Shandon had made up his mind about the qualities of his crew; he had tested his men one by one, as every officer should do who wishes to be prepared for future dangers; he knew on whom he could rely.
James Wall, who was warmly attached to Richard, was intelligent and efficient, but he had very little originality33; as second officer he was exactly in his place.
Johnson, who was accustomed to the dangers of the sea, and an old sailor in arctic regions, lacked neither coolness nor courage.
Simpson, the harpooner, and Bell, the carpenter, were steady men, obedient and well disciplined. The ice-master, Foker, an experienced sailor, who had sailed in northern waters, promised to be of the greatest service.
Garry
Of the other men, Garry and Bolton seemed to be the best; Bolton was a jolly fellow, always laughing and joking; Garry, a man about thirty-five years old, had an energetic, but rather pale and sad face.
The three sailors, Clifton, Gripper, and Pen, seemed to be the least enthusiastic and determined; they were inclined to grumbling34. Gripper had even wished to break his engagement when the time came for sailing, and only a feeling of shame prevented him. If things went well, if they encountered no excessive dangers, and their toil35 was not too severe, these three men could be counted on; but they were hard to please with their food, for they were inclined to gluttony. In spite of their having been forewarned, they were by no means pleased with being teetotalers, and at their meals they used to miss their brandy or gin; but they made up for it with the tea and coffee which were distributed with a lavish36 hand.
As for the two engineers, Brunton and Plover37, and the stoker, Warren, they had been so far well satisfied with having nothing to do.
Shandon knew therefore what to expect from each man.
Sailors
On the 14th of April, the Forward crossed the Gulf38 Stream, which, after following the eastern coast of America as far as Newfoundland, turns to the northeast and moves towards the shore of Norway. They were then in latitude 51° 37', and longitude 22° 37',* two hundred miles from the end of Greenland. The weather grew colder; the thermometer fell to 32°, the freezing-point.
The doctor, without yet putting on his arctic winter dress, was wearing a suit of sea-clothes, like all the officers and sailors; he was an amusing sight in his high boots, in which he could not bend his legs, his huge tarpaulin39 hat, his trousers and coat of the same material; in heavy rain, or when the brig was shipping40 seas, the doctor used to look like a sort of sea-monster, a comparison which always flattered him.
The doctor
For two days the sea was very rough; the wind veered to the northwest, and delayed the Forward. From the 14th to the 16th of April there was still a high sea running; but on Monday there fell a heavy shower which almost immediately had the effect of calming the sea. Shandon called the doctor's attention to it.
"Well," said the doctor, "that confirms the curious observations of the whaler Scoresby, who was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of which I have the honor to be a corresponding member. You see that while the rain is falling the waves are hardly to be noticed, even when the wind is strong. On the other hand, in dry weather the sea would be rougher even with a gentler wind."
"But what is the explanation of it, Doctor?"
"It's very simple; there is no explanation."
At that moment the ice-master, who was on watch in the topmast cross-trees, cried out that there was a floating mass on the starboard quarter, about fifteen miles to windward.
Shandon turned his glass in that direction, and corroborated42 the lookout's words.
"That's strange," said the doctor.
"Are you surprised?" asked the commander, laughing. "What! are we lucky enough to find anything that will surprise you?"
"I am surprised without being surprised," answered the doctor, smiling, "since the brig Ann Poole, of Greenspond, was caught in the ice in the year 1813, in the forty-fourth degree of north latitude, and Dayement, her captain, saw hundreds of icebergs."
"Good," said Shandon; "you can still teach us a great deal about them."
"O, not so very much!" answered Clawbonny, modestly, "except that ice has been seen in very much lower latitudes."
"That I know, my dear Doctor, for when I was a cabin-boy on the sloop-of-war, Fly—"
"In 1818," continued the doctor, "at the end of March, or it might have been the beginning of April, you passed between two large fields of floating ice, in latitude forty-two."
"That is too much!" exclaimed Shandon.
"But it's true; so I have no need to be surprised, now that we are two degrees farther north, at our sighting an iceberg."*
"You are bottled full of information, Doctor," answered the commander; "one needs only draw the cork43."
"Very well, I shall be exhausted44 sooner than you think; and now, Shandon, if we can get a nearer view of this phenomenon, I should be the gladdest of doctors."
"Exactly, Johnson," said Shandon, summoning the boatswain; "I think the wind is freshening."
"Yes, Commander," answered Johnson, "we are making very little headway, and soon we shall feel the currents from Davis Strait."
"You are right, Johnson, and if we mean to make Cape45 Farewell by the 20th of April, we must go under steam, or we shall be cast on the coast of Labrador.—Mr. Wall, give the order to light the fires."
The mate's orders were obeyed; an hour later the engines were in motion; the sails were furled; and the screw, turning through the waves, was driving the Forward rapidly in the teeth of the northwest wind.
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1
plies
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| v.使用（工具）( ply的第三人称单数 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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calf
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| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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7
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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propeller
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| n.螺旋桨，推进器 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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iceberg
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| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
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icebergs
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| n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 ) | |
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15
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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postal
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| adj.邮政的，邮局的 | |
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defective
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| adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的 | |
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18
sledges
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| n.雪橇，雪车( sledge的名词复数 )v.乘雪橇( sledge的第三人称单数 )；用雪橇运载 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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longitude
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| n.经线，经度 | |
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chronometer
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| n.精密的计时器 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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abated
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| 减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼） | |
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veered
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| v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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27
harpooner
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28
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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grouse
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| n.松鸡；v.牢骚，诉苦 | |
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skilfully
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| adv. (美skillfully)熟练地 | |
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31
thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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plover
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| n.珩，珩科鸟，千鸟 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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39
tarpaulin
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| n.涂油防水布，防水衣，防水帽 | |
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40
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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41
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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42
corroborated
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| v.证实，支持（某种说法、信仰、理论等）( corroborate的过去式 ) | |
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43
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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44
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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45
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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