CHAPTER V
AN ICY COUCH
By this time the sailor felt that he had forgotten himself in theagitation caused by the loss of the boat. Although he might see thedark future with clearer vision than his young friends, it was hisduty to keep their sight veiled as long as he could. Time enough toface the terrors and their direful consequences when the possibilityof avoiding them no longer existed.
It will be recalled that when the little party stepped out from thesmall boat upon the iceberg they did so on the side farthest from the"Nautilus," so that all view of the ship was shut off, and neitherCaptain McAlpine nor any of his crew could observe the action of Jackand the boys.
The skipper had warrant for supposing that such an experienced sailoras the one in charge of the lads would be quick to notice thethreatening change in the weather, and would make all haste to return.Inasmuch as he had failed to do so, the party must be left tothemselves for the time, while the commander gave his full attentionto the care of the ship--a responsibility that required his utmostskill, with no slight chance of his failure.
The storm or squall, or whatever it might be termed, was one of thosesudden changes, sometimes seen in the high latitudes, whose coming isso sudden that there is but the briefest warning ere it bursts in allits fury.
By the time our friends reached the spot where they expected to findtheir boat it was almost as dark as night. This darkness deepened sorapidly, after losing sight of the craft, that they were unable to seemore than fifty feet in any direction. Fortunately, before leaving the"Nautilus," they had donned their heaviest clothing, so that they werequite well protected under the circumstances. Had they neglected thisprecaution they must have perished of the extreme cold that followed.
Accompanying the oppressive gloom was a marked falling of thetemperature, and a fierceness of blast which, so long as they wereexposed to it, cut them to the bone. The gale, instead of blowing intheir faces, swept along the side of the iceberg. They had but towithdraw, therefore, only a short distance when they were able to takeshelter behind some of the numerous projections, and save themselvesfrom its full force.
All at once the air was full of millions of particles of snow, whicheddied and whirled in such fantastic fashion that when they croucheddown they were so blinded that they could not see each other's forms,although near enough to clasp hands.
This lasted but a few minutes, when it ceased as suddenly as it began.The air was clear, but the gloom was profound. They could see nothingof the raging ocean, nor of a tall spire-like mass of ice, whichtowered a hundred feet above their heads, within a few yards of them,and which had attracted their admiration on their first visit.
It was blowing great guns. The sound of the waves, as they brokeagainst the solid abutment of ice, and were dashed into spray andspume, was like that of the breakers in a hurricane. Inconceivable aswas the bulk of the berg, they plainly felt it yield to the resistlesspower of the ocean. It acquired a slow sea-saw motion, more alarmingthan the most violent disturbance they had ever known on the"Nautilus" in a storm. The movement was slight, but too distinct to bemistaken.
For some time the three huddled together, under the protection of thefriendly projection, and no one spoke a word. They had laid down theirguns, for there was no need of keeping them in their hands. The metalwas so intensely cold that it could be noted through the protection oftheir thick mittens, and they needed every atom of vitality in theirshivering bodies. They pressed closer together and found comfort inthe mutual warmth thus secured.
The sky was blackness itself. There was no glimpse of moon or friendlystar. They were adrift on an iceberg in darkness and gloom in themidst of a trackless ocean. Whither they were going, when theterrifying voyage should end, what was to be the issue, only One knew.They could but pray and trust and hope and await the end.
It is a curious feature of this curious human nature of ours that themost hopeless depression of spirits is frequently followed by arebound, as the highest spirits are quickly succeeded by the deepestdejection. Our make-up is such that nature reacts, and neither statecan continue long without change, unless the conditions areexceptional. Were it otherwise, many a strong mind would break downunder its weight of trouble.
The three had remained crouching together silent and motionless forsome minutes, no one venturing to express a hope or opinion, when RobCarrol suddenly spoke, in the cheeriest tones.
"I'll tell you what we'll do, fellows."
"What's that?" asked Fred, quick to seize the relief of hearing eachother's voices.
"Let's start a fire."
"A good idee," assented Jack Cosgrove, falling into the odd mood thathad taken possession of his companions; "you gather the fuel and I'llkindle it. It happens I haven't such a thing as a match about me, butI'll find a way to start it."
"Rob and I have plenty, but, if we hadn't, we could rub some pieces ofice together till the friction started a flame."
"The Esquimaux have another plan," added Rob. "They will trim a pieceof ice in the form of a convex lens and concentrate the sun's rays onthe object they want to set on fire. Why not try that?"
"I am afraid there isn't enough sunlight to amount to anything,"replied Fred, craning his head forward and peering through the gloom,as if searching for the orb of day.
"That isn't the only way of getting up steam," remarked Jack, who,just like his honest self, was striving to dispose of his body so asto give each of the boys the greatest possible amount of warmth; "Iknow a better one."
"Let's hear it."
"Race back and forth along the side of the berg till we start theblood circulating; nothing like that."
"Suppose we should slip, Jack?"
"Then you'd flop into the sea; it's a good thing to take a bath whenyour blood is heated too much."
"If there was only a footpath where we could do that, it would be agood plan," observed Rob, "but, as it is, we shall have to huddletogether till morning, when I hope Captain McAlpine will send a boatafter us."
The boys noticed that Jack made no reply to this. They expected anencouraging response, but he remained silent, as though he wasconsidering difficulties, dangers, complications, and perils of whichthey could form no idea.
Meanwhile the gale raged with resistless fury. There was no more fallof snow, but the wind was like a hurricane. The most vivid idea of itsawful power was gained when the friends, far removed from the water'sedge, and at no small elevation above it, felt drops of spray flung intheir faces.
The thunder of the surges, shattered into mist and foam against theadamantine side of the iceberg, was so overpowering that, had not theheads of the three been close, they would not have heard each other'svoices. The see-sawing of the colossal mass was more perceptible thanever, and caused them to think, with unspeakable dread, of thepossibility of the berg breaking apart, or overturning like the other,in the effort to preserve its equilibrium.
The gale whistled around and among the projections of the ice with aweird, uncanny sound, alike and yet different from that heard when itmoans through the network of ropes and rigging of a great ship. Thequestion was whether such a vast volume of wind, impinging against thethousands of square feet of ice, would not affect the course and speedof the mass. If the hurricane drove in the same direction as thecontrolling current, it ought to be of much help. If opposed, it mightcheck it; if quartering, it might make a radical change in its course.
All these speculations were in vain, however, and, as has been said,there was nothing to be done, but to wait and trust in the only Onewho could help them, and who had been so merciful in the past thattheir faith in His goodness and protecting care could not be shaken.
"My lads," said Jack, when the silence which followed their briefconversation had lasted some minutes, "there's only one thing to do,and that's to make ourselves as comfortable as we can where we are."
"Isn't that what we are doing?" asked Rob.
"Of course it is, but I didn't know but what you was trying to conjureup
some other plan. If so, give it up, say your prayers, and go tobed."