Victoria Island was now floating in the widest part of Behring Sea, six hundred miles from the nearest of the Aleutian Islands, and two hundred miles from the nearest land, which was on the east. Supposing no accident happened, it would be three weeks at least before this southern boundary of Behring Sea could be reached.
Could the island last so long? Might it not burst open at any moment, subject as it was even now to the constant action of tepid1 water, the mean temperature of which was more than 50° Fahrenheit2?
Lieutenant3 Hobson pressed on the construction of the raft as rapidly as possible, and the lower framework was already floating on the lagoon4. Mac-Nab wished to make it as strong as possible, for it would have a considerable distance to go to reach the Aleutian Islands, unless they were fortunate enough to meet with a whaler.
No important alteration5 had lately taken place in the general configuration6 of the island. Reconaissances were taken everyday, but great caution was necessary, as a fracture of the ground might at any moment cut off the explorers from the rest of the party.
The wide gulf7 near Cape8 Michael, which the winter had closed, had reopened gradually, and now ran a mile inland, as far as the dried-up bed of the little river. It was probable that it was soon to extend to the bed itself, which was of course of little thickness, having been hollowed out by the stream. Should it do so, the whole district between Cape Michael and Port Barnett, bounded on the west by the river bed, would disappear — that is to say, the colonists9 would lose a good many square miles of their domain10. On this account Hobson warned every one not to wander far, as a rough sea would be enough to bring about the dreaded11 catastrophe12.
Soundings were, however, taken, in several places with a view to ascertaining13 where the ice was thickest, and it was found that, near Cape Bathurst, not only was the layer of earth and sand of greater extent — which was of little importance — but the crust of ice was thicker than anywhere else. This was a most fortunate circumstance, and the holes made in sounding were kept open, so that the amount of diminution14 in the base of the island could be estimated every day. This diminution was slow but sure, and, making allowance for the unfortunate fact that the island was drifting into warmer waters, it was decided15 that it was impossible for it to last another three weeks.
The next week, from the 19th to the 25th May, the weather was very bad. A fearful storm broke over the island, accompanied by flash after flash of lightning and peals16 of thunder. The sea rose high, lashed17 by a powerful north-west wind, and its waves broke over the doomed18 island, making it tremble ominously19. The little colony were on the watch, ready on an emergency to embark20 in the raft, the scaffolding of which was nearly finished, and some provisions and fresh water were taken on board.
Rain heavy enough to penetrate21 to the ice-crust fell in large quantities during this storm, and melted it in many places. On the slopes of some of the hills the earth was washed away, leaving the white foundations bare. These ravines were hastily filled up with soil to protect the ice from the action of the warm air and rain, and but for this precaution the soil would have been everywhere perforated.
Great havoc22 was caused amongst the woods by this storm; the earth and sand were washed away from the roots of the trees, which fell in large numbers. In a single night the aspect of the country between the lake and the former Port Barnett was completely changed. A few groups of birch trees and thickets23 of firs alone remained — a fact significant of approaching decomposition24, which no human skill could prevent! Every one knew and felt that the ephemeral inland was gradually succumbing25 — every one, except perhaps Thomas Black, who was still gloomily indifferent to all that was going on.
On the 23d of May, during the storm, the hunter Sabine left the house in the thick fog, and was nearly drowned in a large hole which had opened during the night on the site formerly26 occupied by the principal house of the factory.
Hitherto, as we are aware, the house, three quarters submerged, and buried beneath a mass of earth and sand, had remained fixed27 in the ice-crust beneath the island; but now the sea had evidently enlarged the crevasse28, and the house with all it contained had sunk to rise no more. Earth and sand were pouring through this fissure29, at the bottom of which surged the tempest-tossed waves
Sabine’s comrades, hearing his cries, rushed to his assistance, and were just in time to save him as he was still clinging to the slippery walls of the abyss. He escaped with a ducking which might have had tragic30 consequences.
A little later the beams and planks31 of the house, which had slid under the island, were seen floating about in the offing like the spars of a wrecked32 vessel33. This was the worst evil the storm had wrought34, and would compromise the solidity of the island yet more, as the waves would now eat away the ice all round the crevasse.
In the course of the 25th May, the wind veered35 to the north-east, and although it blew strongly, it was no longer a hurricane; the rain ceased, and the sea became calmer. After a quiet night the sun rose upon the desolate36 scene, the Lieutenant was able to take the bearings accurately37, and obtained the following result:—
At noon on the 25th May, Victoria Island was in latitude38 56° 13’, and longitude39 170° 23’.
It had therefore advanced at great speed, having drifted nearly eight hundred miles since the breaking up of the ice set it free in Behring Strait two months before.
This great speed made the Lieutenant once more entertain a slight hope. He pointed40 out the Aleutian Islands on the map to his comrades, and said —
“Look at these islands; they are not now two hundred miles from us, and we may reach them in eight days.”
“Eight days!” repeated Long, shaking his head; “eight days is a long time.”
“I must add,” continued Hobson, “that if our island had followed the hundred and sixty-eighth meridian41, it would already have reached the parallel of these islands, but in consequence of a deviation42 of the Behring current, it is bearing in a south-westerly direction.”
The Lieutenant was right, the current seemed likely to drag the island away from all land, even out of sight of the Aleutian Islands, which only extend as far as the hundred and seventieth meridian.
Mrs Barnett examined the map in silence. She saw the pencil-mark which denoted the exact spot then occupied by the island.
The map was made on a large scale, and the point representing the island looked but a speck43 upon the vast expanse of the Behring Sea. She traced back the route by which the island had come to its present position, marvelling44 at the fatality45, or rather the immutable46 law, by which the currents which had borne it along had avoided all land, sheering clear of islands, and never touching47 either continent; and she saw the boundless48 Pacific Ocean, towards which she and all with her were hurrying.
She mused49 long upon this melancholy50 subject, and at last exclaimed suddenly —
“Could not the course of the island be controlled? Eight days at this pace would bring us to the last island of the Aleutian group.”
“Those eight days are in the hands of God,” replied Lieutenant Hobson gravely; “we can exercise no control upon them. Help can only come to us from above; there is nothing left for us to try.”
“I know, I know!” said Mrs Barnett; “but Heaven helps those who help themselves. Is there really nothing we can do?”
Hobson shook his head doubtfully. His only hope was in the raft, and he was undecided whether to embark every one on it at once, contrive51 some sort of a sail with clothes, &c., and try to reach the nearest land, or to wait yet a little longer.
He consulted Sergeant52 Long, Mac-Nab, Rae, Marbre, and Sabine, in whom he had great confidence, and all agreed that it would be unwise to abandon the island before they were obliged. The raft, constantly swept as it would be by the waves, could only be a last resource, and would not move at half the pace of the island, still driven towards the south by the remains53 of the ice-wall. The wind generally blew from the east, and would be likely to drift the raft out into the offing away from all land. They must still wait then, always wait; for the island was drifting rapidly towards the Aleutians. When they really approached the group they would be able to see what it would be best to do.
This was certainly the wisest course to take. In eight days, if the present speed were maintained, the island would either stop at the southern boundary of Behring Sea, or be dragged to the south west to the waters of the Pacific Ocean, where certain destruction awaited it.
But the adverse54 fate which seemed all along to have followed the hapless colonists had yet another blow in store for them: the speed on which they counted was now to fail them, as everything else had done.
During the night of the 26th May, the orientation55 of the island changed once more; and this time the results of the displacement56 were extremely serious. The island turned half round, and the icebergs57 still remaining of the huge ice-wall, which had shut in the northern horizon, were now on the south.
In the morning the shipwrecked travellers — what name could be more appropriate?— saw the sun rise above Cape Esquimaux instead of above Port Barnett.
Hardly a hundred yards off rose the icebergs, rapidly melting, but still of a considerable size, which till then had driven the island before them. The southern horizon was now partly shut in by them.
What would be the consequences of this fresh change of position? Would not the icebergs now float away from the island, with which they were no longer connected?
All were oppressed with a presentiment58 of some new misfortune, and understood only too well what Kellet meant when he exclaimed —
“This evening we shall have lost our screw!’“
By this Kellet meant that the icebergs, being before instead of behind the island, would soon leave it, and as it was they which imparted to it its rapid motion, in consequence of their very great draught59 of water — their volume being six or seven feet below the sea level for every one above — they would now go on without it, impelled60 by the submarine current, whilst Victoria Island, not deep enough in the water to come under the influence of the current, would be left floating helplessly on the waves.
Yes! Kellet was right; the island would then be like a vessel with disabled masts and a broken screw.
No one answered the soldier’s remark, and a quarter of an hour had not elapsed before a loud cracking sound was heard. The summits of the icebergs trembled, large masses broke away, and the icebergs, irresistibly61 drawn62 along by the submarine current, drifted rapidly to the south.
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1
tepid
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| adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的 | |
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Fahrenheit
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| n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的) | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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lagoon
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| n.泻湖，咸水湖 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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configuration
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| n.结构，布局，形态，(计算机)配置 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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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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catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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ascertaining
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的现在分词 ) | |
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diminution
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| n.减少；变小 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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peals
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| n.（声音大而持续或重复的）洪亮的响声( peal的名词复数 )；隆隆声；洪亮的钟声；钟乐v.（使）（钟等）鸣响，（雷等）发出隆隆声( peal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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succumbing
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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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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crevasse
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| n. 裂缝，破口；v.使有裂缝 | |
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fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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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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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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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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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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accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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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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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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meridian
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| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
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deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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44
marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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fatality
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| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
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46
immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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47
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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48
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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49
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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51
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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52
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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53
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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54
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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55
orientation
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| n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍 | |
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56
displacement
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| n.移置，取代，位移，排水量 | |
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57
icebergs
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| n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 ) | |
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58
presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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59
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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60
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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