Was not the object of his life attained2? Had he not accomplished3 the bold projects which lay so near his heart? Why did not calmness succeed the agitation4 in his ardent5 mind? Would not one suppose that, when he had accomplished this end, Hatteras would fall into a sort of dejection, and that his over-stretched nerves would seek repose6? After succeeding, it would seem natural that he should be seized with the feeling of sadness, which always follows satisfied desires.
But no. He was only more excited. It was not, however, the thought of returning which agitated7 him so. Did he wish to go farther? Was there no limit to his ambition, and did he find the world too small, because he had been around it? However this may have been, he could not sleep. And yet this first night spent at the pole of the world was pleasant and quiet. The island was absolutely uninhabited. There was not a bird in its fire-impregnated atmosphere, not an animal on the soil of cinders8, not a fish in its boiling waters. Only afar off the dull murmur9 of the mountain, from the summit of which arose puffs11 of hot smoke.
When Bell, Johnson, Altamont, and the doctor awoke, Hatteras was not to be seen near them. Being anxious, they left the cave, and saw the captain standing12 on a rock. His eyes were fixed13 on the top of the volcano. He held his instruments in his hands, having evidently been calculating the exact height of the mountain. The doctor went up to him and spoke14 to him several times before he could rouse him from his revery. At last the captain seemed to understand him.
"Forward!" said the doctor, who was examining him attentively,—"forward! let us explore our island; we are all ready for our last excursion."
"Our last," said Hatteras, with the intonation15 of people who are dreaming aloud; "yes, the last, indeed. But also," he continued with great animation16, "the most wonderful!"
He spoke in this way, rubbing his hands over his brow as if to allay17 its throbbing18. At that moment, Altamont, Johnson, and Bell joined him; Hatteras appeared to awaken19 from his revery.
"My friends," he said with emotion, "thanks for your courage, thanks for your perseverance20, thanks for your superhuman efforts, which have allowed us to set foot on this land!"
"Captain!" said Johnson, "we have only obeyed; all the honor is due to you alone!"
"No, no!" resumed Hatteras with emotion; "to you as much as to me! to Altamont as well as to all of us! as to the doctor himself— O, let my heart well over in your hands! It can no longer restrain its joy and gratitude21!"
Hatteras clasped the hands of his companions. He walked to and fro, no longer master of himself.
"We have only done our duty as Englishmen," said Bell.
"Our duty as friends," continued the doctor.
"Yes," said Hatteras, "but all have not performed this duty. Some have given way! Still, they must be pardoned, both who were treacherous22, and those who were led away to it! Poor men! I forgive them. You understand me, Doctor?"
"Yes," answered the doctor, who was very uneasy at Hatteras's excitement.
"So," went on the captain, "I don't want them to lose the money they came so far to seek. No, I shall not alter my plan; they shall be rich,—if they ever see England again!"
Few could have withstood the tenderness with which Hatteras spoke these last words.
"But, Captain," said Johnson, with an effort at pleasantry, "one would say you were making your will."
"Perhaps I am," answered Hatteras, seriously.
"Still you have before you a long and glorious life," continued the old sailor.
"Who can say?" said Hatteras.
A long silence followed these words. The doctor did not dare to try to interpret the last remark. But Hatteras soon expressed his meaning, for in a hasty, hardly restrained voice, he went on:—
"My friends, listen to me. We have done a good deal so far, and yet there is a good deal to do."
His companions gazed at him in astonishment23.
"Yes, we are on the land of the Pole, but we are not on the Pole itself!"
"How so?" asked Altamont.
"You don't mean it!" cried the doctor, anxiously.
"Yes!" resumed Hatteras, earnestly, "I said that an Englishman should set foot on the Pole; I said it, and an Englishman shall do it."
"What!" ejaculated the doctor.
"We are now forty-five seconds from the unknown point," Hatteras went on, with increasing animation; "where it is, I am going!"
"But that is the top of the volcano!" said the doctor.
"I'm going!"
"It's an inaccessible24 spot!"
"I'm going!"
"I'm going!"
The firmness with which Hatteras uttered these words cannot be given. His friends were stupefied; they gazed with horror at the volcano tipped with flame. Then the doctor began; he urged and besought27 Hatteras to give up his design; he said everything he could imagine, from entreaty28 to well-meant threats; but he obtained no concession29 from the nervous captain, who was possessed30 with a sort of madness which may be called polar madness. Only violent means could stop him, rushing to his ruin. But seeing that thereby31 they would produce serious results, the doctor wished to keep them for a last resource. He hoped, too, that some physical impossibility, some unsurmountable difficulty, would compel him to give up his plan.
"Since it is so," he said, "we shall follow you."
"Yes," answered the captain, "half-way up the mountain! No farther! Haven't you got to carry back to England the copy of the document which proves our discovery, in case—"
"Still—"
"It is settled," said Hatteras, in a tone of command; "and since my entreaties32 as a friend are not enough, I order it as captain."
The doctor was unwilling33 to urge him any further, and a few moments later the little band, equipped for a hard climb, and preceded by Duke, set out. The sky was perfectly34 clear. The thermometer stood at 52°. The air had all the brilliancy which is so marked at this high latitude35. It was eight o'clock in the morning. Hatteras went ahead with his dog, the others followed close behind.
"I'm anxious," said Johnson.
"No, no, there's nothing to fear," answered the doctor; "we are here."
It was a strange island, in appearance so new and singular! The volcano did not seem old, and geologists36 would have ascribed a recent date to its formation.
The rocks were heaped upon one another, and only kept in place by almost miraculous37 balancing. The mountain, in fact, was composed of nothing but stones that had fallen from above. There was no soil, no moss38, no lichen39, no trace of vegetation. The carbonic acid from the crater had not yet had time to unite with the hydrogen of the water; nor the ammonia of the clouds, to form under the action of the light, organized matter. This island had arisen from successive volcanic40 eruptions41, like many other mountains; what they have hurled42 forth43 has built them up. For instance, Etna has poured forth a volume of lava44 larger than itself; and the Monte Nuovo, near Naples, was formed by ashes in the short space of forty-eight hours. The heap of rocks composing Queen's Island had evidently come from the bowels45 of the earth. Formerly46 the sea covered it all; it had been formed long since by the condensation47 of the vapor48 on the cooling globe; but in proportion as the volcanoes of the Old and New World disappeared, they were replaced by new craters49.
In fact, the earth can be compared to a vast spheroidal boiler50. Under the influence of the central fire an immense quantity of vapor is generated, which is exposed to a pressure of thousands of atmospheres, and which would blow up the globe, were it not for the safety-valves opening on the outside.
These safety-valves are the volcanoes; when one closes, another opens; and at the poles, where, doubtless in consequence of the flattening51 of the earth's surface, the crust is thinner, it is not strange that a volcano should be suddenly formed by the upheaval52 of the bottom of the waves. The doctor noticed all this as he followed Hatteras; his foot sank into a volcanic tufa, and the deposits of ashes, volcanic stones, etc., like the syenite and granite53 of Iceland. But he attributed a comparatively recent origin to the island, on account of the fact that no sedimentary soil had yet formed upon it. Water, too, was lacking. If Queen's Island had existed for several years, there would have been springs upon it, as there are in the neighborhood of volcanoes. Now, not only was there no drop of water there, but the vapors54 which arose from the stream of lava seemed absolutely anhydrous.
This island, then, was of recent formation; and since it appeared in one day, it might disappear in another and sink beneath the ocean.
The ascent55 grew more difficult the higher they went; the sides of the mountain became nearly perpendicular56, and they had to be very careful to avoid accident. Often columns of cinders were blown about them and threatened to choke them, or torrents57 of lava barred their path. On some such places these streams were hard on top, but the molten stream flowed beneath. Each one had to test it first to escape sinking into the glowing mass. From time to time the crater vomited59 forth huge red-hot rocks amid burning gases; some of these bodies burst in the air like shells, and the fragments were hurled far off in all directions. The innumerable dangers of this ascent may be readily perceived, as well as the foolhardiness of the attempt.
Still, Hatteras climbed with wonderful agility60, and while spurning61 the use of his iron-tipped staff, he ascended62 the steepest slopes. He soon reached a circular rock, which formed a sort of plateau about ten feet broad; a glowing stream surrounded it, which was divided at the corner by a higher rock, and left only a narrow passage through which Hatteras slipped boldly. There he stopped, and his companions were able to join him. Then he seemed to estimate the distance yet remaining; horizontally there were only about six hundred feet of the crater remaining, that is to say, from the mathematical point of the Pole; but vertically63 they had fifteen hundred feet yet to climb. The ascent had already taken three hours; Hatteras did not seem tired; his companions were exhausted64.
The top of the volcano seemed inaccessible. The doctor wished at any risk to keep Hatteras from going higher. At first he tried gentle means, but the captain's excitement amounted to delirium65; on the way he had exhibited all the signs of growing madness, and whoever has known him in the different scenes of his life cannot be surprised. In proportion as Hatteras rose above the ocean his excitement increased; he lived no longer with men; he thought he was growing larger with the mountain itself.
"Hatteras," said the doctor, "this is far enough! we can't go any farther!"
"Stay where you are, then," answered the captain in a strange voice; "I shall go higher!"
"No! that's useless! you are at the Pole here!"
"No, no, higher!"
"My friend, it's I who am speaking to you, Dr. Clawbonny! Don't you know me?"
"Higher! higher!" repeated the madman.
"Well, no, we sha'n't let—"
The doctor had not finished the sentence before Hatteras, by a violent effort, sprang over the stream of lava and was out of their reach. They uttered a cry, thinking Hatteras was lost in the fiery abyss; but he had reached the other side, followed by Duke, who was unwilling to abandon him.
He disappeared behind a puff10 of smoke, and his voice was heard growing fainter and fainter in the distance.
"To the north!" he was shouting, "to the top of Mount Hatteras! Do you remember Mount Hatteras?"
They could not think of getting up to him; there were twenty chances to one against their being able to cross the stream he had leaped over with the skill and luck of madmen. Nor could they get around it. Altamont in vain tried to pass; he was nearly lost in trying to cross the stream of lava; his companions were obliged to hold him by force.
"Hatteras, Hatteras!" shouted the doctor.
But the captain did not answer; Duke's barking alone was heard upon the mountain.
Still, Hatteras could be seen at intervals66 through the column of smoke and the showers of cinders. Sometimes his arm or head would emerge from the whirlwind. Then he would disappear and be seen again higher up in the rocks. His height diminished with the fantastic swiftness of objects rising in the air. Half an hour later he seemed but a fraction of his usual size.
The air was filled with the dull noises of the volcano; the mountain was roaring like a boiler, its sides were quivering. Hatteras kept on, and Duke followed. From time to time some enormous rock would give way beneath them and go crashing down to the sea. But Hatteras did not look back. He had made use of his staff as a pole on which to fasten the English flag. His companions observed every one of his movements. His dimensions became gradually smaller, and Duke seemed no larger than a rat. One moment the wind seemed to drive down upon them a great wave of flame. The doctor uttered a cry of anguish67, but Hatteras reappeared, standing and brandishing68 the flag.
This sight lasted for more than an hour,—an hour of struggle with the trembling rocks, with the beds of ashes into which this madman would sink up to the waist. Now he would be climbing on his knees and making use of every inequality in the mountain, and now he would hang by his hands at some sharp corner, swinging in the wind like a dry leaf.
At last he reached the top, the yawning mouth of the crater. The doctor then hoped that the wretched man, having attained his object, would perhaps return and have only those dangers before him.
He gave a last shout.
"Hatteras, Hatteras!"
The doctor's cry moved the American's heart so that he cried out,—
"I will save him!"
Then with one leap crossing the fiery torrent58 at the risk of falling in, he disappeared among the rocks. Clawbonny did not have time to stop him. Still, Hatteras, having reached the top, was climbing on top of a rock which overhung the abyss. The stones were raining about him. Duke was still following him. The poor beast seemed already dizzy at the sight beneath him. Hatteras was whirling about his head the flag, which was lighted with the brilliant reflection, and the red bunting could be seen above the crater. With one hand Hatteras was holding it; with the other he was pointing to the zenith, the celestial69 pole. Still he seemed to hesitate. He was seeking the mathematical point where all the meridians70 meet, and on which in his sublime71 obstinacy72 he wanted to set his foot.
Suddenly the rock gave way beneath him. He disappeared. A terrible cry from his companions rose even to the summit of the mountain. A second—a century—passed! Clawbonny considered his friend lost and buried forever in the depths of the volcano. But Altamont was there, and Duke too. The man and the dog had seized him just when he was disappearing in the abyss. Hatteras was saved, saved in spite of himself, and half an hour later the captain of the Forward lay unconscious in the arms of his despairing friends.
When he came to himself, the doctor gave him a questioning glance in mute agony. But his vague look, like that of a blind man, made no reply.
"Heavens!" said Johnson, "he is blind!"
"No," answered Clawbonny,—"no! My poor friends, we have saved Hatteras's body! His mind is at the top of the volcano! He has lost his reason!"
"Mad!" answered the doctor.
And he wept bitterly.
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1
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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7
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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8
cinders
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| n.煤渣( cinder的名词复数 )；炭渣；煤渣路；煤渣跑道 | |
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9
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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10
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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11
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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12
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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13
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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14
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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15
intonation
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| n.语调，声调；发声 | |
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16
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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allay
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| v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等) | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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22
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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23
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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25
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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26
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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27
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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28
entreaty
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| n.恳求，哀求 | |
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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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30
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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32
entreaties
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| n.恳求，乞求( entreaty的名词复数 ) | |
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unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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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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35
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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geologists
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| 地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 ) | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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40
volcanic
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| adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的 | |
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eruptions
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| n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 ) | |
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42
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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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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45
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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condensation
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| n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠 | |
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vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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49
craters
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| n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等 | |
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50
boiler
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| n.锅炉；煮器(壶，锅等) | |
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51
flattening
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| n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词 | |
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52
upheaval
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| n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱 | |
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53
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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54
vapors
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| n.水汽，水蒸气，无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 )；自夸者；幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁（症）v.自夸，（使）蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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55
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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56
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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torrents
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| n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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59
vomited
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agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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spurning
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| v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的现在分词 ) | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vertically
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| adv.垂直地 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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66
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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67
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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68
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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69
celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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70
meridians
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| n.子午圈( meridian的名词复数 )；子午线；顶点；（权力，成就等的）全盛时期 | |
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71
sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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72
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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73
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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