CHAPTER III.

IN THE DARK--ALL IS STILL--CAPTAIN GANOE'S NARROW ESCAPE--IMPRISONED IN THE ICE--DISTRESSING SITUATION--HOW TO PRESERVE THE HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY OF THE CREW--A NEW DANGER--THE ICE IS MOVING--THE COMMON SAILOR TO THE RESCUE--LIEF AND ERIC SAVE THE SHIP--THE TUNNEL TO THE SURFACE--EXPLORING THE ICE-FIELD.

THE first thing I remember after being thrown to the deck, was the profound quiet, and the consciousness that some mighty change had taken place in our surroundings. I opened my eyes. The deck was wrapped in semi-darkness, and instead of the thundering reverberations of the breaking ice and the waves dashing into foam upon their icy barriers, there was a gentle, swish, swish, of the sea as it lashed the sides of the ship. I felt dazed, and the memory of the awful scenes through which we had passed impressed me like the vivid imagery and fantastic pictures of some horrible dream.

At the moment of the shock, fully impressed with the conviction that all was lost, I was turning to grasp Raphael in my arms, so that we might die together, and on recovering consciousness, my first thought was of him. I sprang to my feet and in the dim light I saw something gliding away from me towards the edge of the deck, and I instinctively grasped it, as it was about to drop overboard. It was Captain Ganoe. He was living but unconscious. With my insecure footing, I feared for a moment that we should both go overboard together, when there was a flash of light and Battell seized my arm, exclaiming:

"Thank God, you are both alive! I called to you and as you did not reply, I feared that you were both killed by the falling ice. It was lucky that you were able to grasp the Captain just when you did, or he would surely have been lost."

I was holding Captain Ganoe in my arms, while Battell was briskly chafing his hands. In a moment he aroused, as if suddenly awaking out of a deep sleep, and straightening himself up in a dazed sort of way, he exclaimed:

"Good God, Jack, what is the matter? Where are we? Have I been asleep?"

"Oh, we are only imprisoned in the ice," said Battell. "I feared that you were crushed by that huge block of ice which came so near carrying away the part of the deck where you were standing. If Jack had not caught you and drawn you back at the imminent risk of his own life, you would now be at the bottom of the sea."

Captain Ganoe, now fully aroused, took in the situation at a glance, and exclaimed as he grasped me by the hand:

"Jack, my savior! The last I remember was that you were turning as if to grasp me in your arms. It was indeed a close call. But why did you risk your life to save mine?"

I had scarcely spoken since the alarm had ended our conversation in my cabin, and I felt that to do so now, in answer to such a question, would betray my weakness and possibly my secret, which I had resolved to guard more closely than ever. Fortunately, however, he did not wait for a reply, but with his usual thoughtfulness for the crew and safety of the ship, he started below, saying:

"Come on, my bruises are not severe, and we must look out for the sailors and make a tour of inspection around the ship and ascertain as nearly as possible, in just what kind of a place we are."

Just as we reached the deck below, we met Paul Huston, the engineer; Pat O'Brien, second mate; and Mike Gallagher, the cabin boy. They understood what had happened and feared we had been injured or killed by the shower of ice that had fallen upon the upper deck. They reported everything all right with the crew and that the vessel was apparently uninjured.

We passed entirely around the ship, narrowly scanning the walls of our ice prison, with a powerful reflector, which revealed every crevice. We lay in an inclosure which gave the vessel more than room enough to turn around if carefully handled. We ascertained that the great overhanging ice-mountains between which we lay, and that had threatened us with instant destruction, had actually been our salvation. When the earthquake shattered the two great ice-fields, these towering mountains had started to tumble over on the ship at the same time, and meeting far above had formed a massive arch which had prevented the closing of the channel at that point. Here and there were openings in the icy roof, but in the main, the colliding masses were closely joined together. The only injury to the ship was from the block of ice that had fallen so near to Captain Ganoe. From the number of fragments of from one to several pounds in weight, which were scattered over the upper deck, it seemed a marvel that we had escaped without serious injury.

When our tour of inspection was completed we repaired to the library to talk over the situation. Addressing Battell, Captain Ganoe asked:

"What do you think of the situation?"

"I apprehend no immediate danger," replied Captain Battell. "In a few hours with the present intense cold, this ice-pack will be frozen into one solid block. But if we are not crushed by the ice, God only knows when we will get out. As for the present, we are most fortunately situated. We could not find better winter quarters in the frigid zone. We are well protected from the cold, and the fishing will be good, as this will be a good breathing place where the fish will gather for air. We can lay in an ample supply of dog feed and I am inclined to believe that we might capture a whale and lay in a supply of oil for fuel."

"But how long do you think it will be," asked the Captain, "before we will have an opportunity to get the ship clear of the ice?"

"I would not venture a prediction," replied Battell. "One thing is certain. We are sealed up for the winter, and it may be that the entire summer will not be sufficient to produce a break up of the ice-field in which we are caught. So it may be that we will be cooped up for a year or two. There is no telling how long we will be prisoners."

"Well, I suppose then," said the Captain, "that all there is for us to do is to wait."

"Yes," said Battell, "that is all we can do, and," he added, smiling, "it will not take much effort. But," after a pause, "it will take some effort on our part to provide sufficient exercise and amusement to preserve the health and discipline of the crew, so that we will have a reasonable prospect of getting clear of the ice when the break up does take place."

"That is well thought of," said Captain Ganoe, "and I think it would be well to muster the crew and organize a regular system of employment and amusement. And," turning to me, he continued, "what do you have to say, Jack? I never knew you to be so silent. What is the matter? Have you no opinions to offer, and nothing to suggest?"

"I certainly have opinions and I might offer some suggestions," I remarked, "but before doing so, I want to familiarize myself with existing conditions. Only one thing seems certain, just at present, and that is, that we are locked up in the ice for several months and perhaps for years to come. This will give us ample time for careful reflection. There is no reason that we should be in a hurry to inaugurate a rigid system of any kind just now in order to preserve the discipline of the crew. There is no danger of their deserting the ship and we can well afford to wait until the novelty of our present surroundings has worn away."

"You are right," said the Captain. "There is certainly a novelty in our present surroundings, that will attract the attention of all and prevent ennui for the time being, but this will soon wear away, and the monotony of our imprisonment will become unbearable, except to the best disciplined minds. This will be particularly severe on our common sailors, who are uneducated, and thus deprived of the numberless sources of recreation and amusement to which we have ready access. When this time comes, what would you do?"

"So far as I am concerned," I said, "I have access to the library, and will really enjoy the association that it affords with the brightest intellects and noblest characters of earth, past and present. Now, if I should suggest anything for the relief of the common sailors, outside of such exercise and amusements as are essential to health, I would organize them into a school, and seek to bring these more exalted pleasures within their reach by increasing their knowledge, and giving them broader views of life and higher aspirations. This will also furnish us with needful and elevating employment and will certainly afford us a splendid opportunity to do good to others, and at the same time increase our own knowledge of human nature, and to trace the effects produced by environments, on the masses who have not enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education."

"Your suggestion," said the Captain, "is all right as far as the better educated are concerned, but it would be useless and probably hurtful to the common sailors. Remember the old adage that 'a little learning is a dangerous thing.' To the extent that we could succeed in giving them broader views of life and higher aspirations, we would only succeed in making them dissatisfied with their lot, and thus weaken the discipline on which the safety of all depends. All that we can do for the common sailors is to provide such healthful exercise of the muscles as will give them good appetites and enable them to enjoy rest and sleep. They would not appreciate the mental feast which you in your kindness of heart would set before them. Their training has been physical, and, hence, their enjoyments must be of the same nature. The same rules that apply to trained intellects will not apply to them."

"If that is your opinion," I said, "there is no use for any suggestions from me. You are the owner and senior officer of the Ice King, and, of course, good discipline demands that your will shall be law. You ought to understand the material of which your crew is composed, better than I. My duties have not brought me in contact with your sailors and, of course, I know practically nothing about them, except that I see they are courageous and efficient. But, nevertheless, on general principles, I believe that nature has planted the germs of all that is good and noble in every human soul, and if this is true, all that is good and noble can be developed in them by the proper influences, without detracting in any way from their usefulness as mere workers; besides, the effort to elevate them draws them nearer to us, and it seems to me, would tend to engender feelings of mutual love and confidence, that strengthen instead of weaken that perfect discipline which is of such inestimable importance to an expedition like this, when the safety and well-being of every individual member is of vital importance to the safety and well being of the entire crew."

"I have always had the respect and confidence of my sailors," said the Captain, "not because I tried to lift them up to the same plane that I occupied, but because I provided them with good food, good quarters, never overtaxed their strength, and gave them ample time for rest and such amusements as they could appreciate. I have always had the good-will and cheerful obedience of the common sailors, because I looked out for their physical needs and treated them kindly."

"I have no doubt of that," I said. "But your voyages in the past have been between civilized ports and all your sailors wanted was their pay, and in addition to this, you gave them better treatment than they could get elsewhere. Hence, their selfish impulses held them to you. The relation between you and them was purely physical, and all that was needed to make them loyal to you, was to look out for their physical wants and treat them kindly. From their standpoint, this was an addition to their wages that they could not secure under more heartless employers. But you are now differently situated. You are not expected to come into a civilized port where sailors can spend their wages as sailors usually do. They have nothing to look forward to, and as mere workers they have no interests in common with you. But with the broader views of life to which association with the best intellects and the noblest characters gives access, they would take a more exalted view of the work in which they are engaged, and be true to you from a higher motive than their wages, which they cannot use in the supply of their physical wants. This is why I suggested the school."

"I recognize the force of your reasoning," said the Captain, "and if I regarded your premises as correct, I would come to the same conclusion that you do. But you make the mistake of overlooking the fact that a liberal education can only be secured by years of training in school, from the kindergarten to the college, and should be accompanied by the elevating influences of the home and cultured society, and followed by a life of study and experience in the higher walks of life, before the average man can be reasonably expected to rise above the plane of mere physical existence, and act from the high intellectual and moral impulses which impel the most cultivated and elevated characters. And, you must still further take into consideration the fact, that even if we were imprisoned in the ice for a year or more, we would have time enough to give our sailors only a smattering of what they ought to know, in order to develop the high type of character that you propose, even if we could overcome the influence of their home lives and the low social status of the society in which they have always mingled. You do not realize, my dear Jack, the utter impossibility of the task you would have us undertake. They must still be sailors and perform the hard labor for which they were engaged, and we should be careful not to engender in their minds hopes and aspirations that would make them dissatisfied with their lot."

"I certainly would not do anything," I replied, "that would tend to make them discontented. This is something that should be most carefully avoided. But, nevertheless, I still think my suggestion, if carried out, would have just the opposite tendency. From my own experience, I regard my premises as stronger than my reasoning. I enjoyed all the advantages of a liberal education and the elevating influence of home and cultured society, and still, I have engaged in the most menial employments. Yet, I did not find that my education rendered me dissatisfied with my lot. On the contrary, it did much to enable me to adapt myself to the situation, and to find sources of enjoyment which were inaccessible to my uneducated associates. But, more than this, my experience among the lowly, convinces me that a collegiate education is not essential to the development of the noblest characteristics. I have met sailors before the mast, who had accumulated a vast fund of useful knowledge, and had the broadest and most comprehensive views of life, and its duties. The premises from which I reason, are the results of actual experience with the lowly."

"I fear," returned the Captain, "that in your enthusiastic love for humanity, you have made the very natural mistake of judging the uneducated by yourself. I do not desire to flatter, but you have certainly inherited qualities of a high order, and a temperament so well poised, that you could acquit yourself with credit in any capacity in which you might be placed. Your employers could not fail to discover your worth, and according to your own statement, you were rapidly promoted. This is the ordinary reward of those who have inherited exalted qualities. Real ability never remains very long in a menial position. The simple fact that our sailors, who are much above the average of their class, have, after years of experience, still remained in the same humble position, is a very good evidence that they are not qualified for anything higher. There are Lief and Eric, for instance. They have been with me for several years, and they have not even tried to master the language. As mere sailors, you could not find better men, but you would never select them for an emergency that required extraordinary quickness of perception, and the ability to lead."

I was about to reply, feeling myself master of the situation, so far as the argument was concerned, when a crashing sound from above, and a careening motion of the ship brought us to our feet. On gaining the deck the cause of the commotion was immediately apparent. The ship was moving toward the starboard, and was being forced under the shelving ice. The crashing sound had been caused by the masts coming in contact with the sloping, icy roof. The masts were closely wedged under the roof and could go no farther, while the hull was still being carried forward by what seemed to be a strong ocean current. The situation was one of imminent peril, for if this motion continued, we were in immediate danger of being capsized. The ship was already careening toward the larboard.

The top could go no farther, while the hull was too far from the solid ice to admit of the use of pikes and spars to prop it back.

Battell was calling for axes to cut away the masts, when a shout from the larboard wall of our prison, attracted our attention. By the light of the reflectors we saw Lief, on a low lying bench of ice making a cable fast around an ice hummock, and at the same time we heard the voice of Eric calling for aid at the capstan on the lower deck. We saw instantly that this was the thing to do, and Captain Ganoe, Battell, Huston and myself were the first to take hold of the lever. Eric immediately motioned for the men who were coming forward with axes to man another capstan, while he seized a coil of small rope attached to a cable, sprang into the sea and swam rapidly to join Lief on the ice bench. The axmen hesitated for a moment and Captain Ganoe shouted:

"Man the capstan! The Norwegians know what they are doing."

With remarkable celerity, the new cable was made fast and the men began turning the capstan. This was not a moment too soon, as the first cable, unable to stand the strain, showed unmistakable signs of breaking. The motion of the vessel toward the starboard and under the ice was stopped. But the Norwegians now called for a boat and more cables. Their orders were promptly obeyed. Captain Ganoe, Battell and myself were the first to respond. For the moment, our Norwegian sailors were in command, and all obeyed their orders with alacrity. The boat was manned and the Ice King was lashed to the larboard wall of our prison at a number of different points. The ship was saved from the impending disaster, but still was slightly careened and the masts were bent almost to the point of breaking.

Returning to the ship, Captain Ganoe and Battell began figuring on getting the masts clear of the ice and the ship righted. The pressure of the water on the larboard side was immense, but the cables held her fast and there was no especial need of haste. The first thought suggested was to remove the upper splice of the mainmast, which would relieve the pressure, but the Norwegians had evolved a more simple plan. They motioned the engineer to set the screws in motion, slowly. As soon as the ship began to move forward the masts began to bend toward the stern, and the cables which held the ship firmly on the larboard, being relatively shortened by the forward motion, the vessel was drawn in that direction and righted herself. We now moved the vessel to the center of the enclosure in which she floated, and cables were made fast to the ice on every quarter, and thus secured from contact with it, the Ice King had the appearance of a huge spider with its web spread out in every direction.

The danger was past, the ship was safe, and we had time to inquire into the particulars concerning the important part that had been enacted by our two Norwegian sailors. We now learned that while the entire crew, except themselves, were resting from their recent fatigue in a feeling of security, Lief and Eric were far from believing that our winter quarters were entirely safe until the ship was securely tied up to the walls of our prison. Their especial charge was to keep the cables, capstans and anchors ready for use at a moment's notice, and they were satisfied that this was a time when they were needed. Hence, instead of retiring to their hammocks to sleep, they determined to carefully examine our surroundings for themselves. They observed that the larboard wall was nearly perpendicular to a point several feet above the top of the masts, while on the starboard, the sloping roof extended far out to the water's edge. They further observed that along the larboard was a low lying bench upon which the falling ice had formed a number of hummocks. This was a safe place to tie to.

Just as they had satisfied themselves on this point, they noticed that the ship was drifting toward the starboard, and that the masts were coming dangerously near the roof, and that in a few minutes we might be capsized. There was not a moment to be lost. This motion toward the starboard must be arrested, and Lief, with one end of a coil of small rope, sprang into the water and swam to the bench along the larboard wall while Eric attached the other end to a cable. But before it could be made fast to the larboard wall the masts came in contact with the sloping roof on the starboard which gave the alarm that aroused the crew and brought the officers on deck with the results already mentioned.

Captain Ganoe was visibly affected when he learned how the ship and the lives of the crew had been saved by the quick perception and prompt action of the two sailors. He shook their hands and thanked them over and over again, declaring that such all-important service should not go unrewarded. They understood his allusion and declared in their very limited supply of English that they could not be induced to take pay from the Captain for saving the ship and at the same time saving themselves. That we must all stand together or we would all perish.

As soon as they had succeeded in making themselves understood, they withdrew. As a rule they kept to themselves, except when their services were needed. Yet they were not unsociable and often conversed with the engineer, Paul Huston, who understood their language. When they had an important communication to make, they secured his services as an interpreter. They seemed averse to the use of English.

When they were gone Captain Ganoe said: "I little thought that Lief and Eric possessed ability of such a high order, and since I have discovered their true nobility of character, I am more than ever anxious that they should study English, as it would enable me to do so much more for them."

"You little understand the material of which these Norwegians are made," said Huston, who was standing by. "They do not want you to do anything for them. They feel more than able to take care of themselves. They have not always been sailors, but that occupation suits their purpose best for the present. They are looking forward to great results that may be accomplished by this expedition, and they care more for its success than for anything you could do for them. As to the language, they already understand more than they care to use. They are proud of their native Norse."

"You astonish me!" exclaimed the Captain. "I must get better acquainted with them."

"Then," said Huston, "you must learn their language, and even then they may repel any familiarity. They preferred working for you because you did not understand their language. They do not care to be on confidential terms with anyone. When they found that I understood them, they became somewhat communicative but not confidential. Yet, I have learned enough to make me believe they have a history, and some well defined purpose in life. I would not think, however, of trying to draw from them anything that they did not care to give of their own accord. One thing is certain. You can place implicit confidence in their courage, ability, nobility of character and fidelity to the purposes of this expedition."

"Well, thanks to their watchfulness, quick perception and prompt action," said Captain Ganoe, "we can now have the much needed rest we tried to enjoy before we had taken the precautions essential to our safety. I am surprised that we did not think of the possible dangers that might beset us from ocean currents. My only fear was that some disturbing cause might sunder the walls of our prison before they were frozen solid. And, even now, I have some fears on that score."

"No danger of that kind," replied Battell. "Several hours have already elapsed, and the weather was intensely cold before the channel closed. Just listen how the storm still rages."

Through the rifts in our ice roof, we had been enabled to catch glimpses of the sky, but now it was all inky blackness. The gale that had brought the two great ice-fields together, had now grown to a terrific storm, and had changed its direction. The winds roared and raged like demons in mortal combat, and ever and anon the snow was driven in upon us like fine dust, indicating the intense cold. We, now that the ship was safe, had the best of reasons for congratulating ourselves on our snug winter quarters. Our icy prison was both our safety from the violence of the storm, and our protection from the intense cold. We partook of a hearty lunch and retired to our rest with feelings of perfect security.

When I awoke everything was astir on board. The carpenters were busily engaged in repairing the broken deck, while the sailors were removing the ice and snow. Everything was being put in order as if we were preparing for a voyage. The storm had ceased to howl and we were in the grasp of an Arctic winter. Even in our secluded retreat, it was necessary for us to wrap up in furs and woolens when we went on the upper deck. But our cabins were warm and we had an abundance of everything to eat and wear to make us comfortable. The ice-field was frozen into a solid block, and there was no question as to our safety, but we had no means of making observations that would indicate our location. This to me, was the loss of an occupation that I really enjoyed and I felt the need of something that would take its place.

We were imprisoned in the ice on September 23d, and from my last observations I inferred that our location was about latitude 77° North and longitude 160° West. The sun made his appearance for a brief interval each day, and I calculated that the long Arctic night would be fully set in by the last of October. The rifts in the roof of our prison afforded us no opportunity for determining our location. Our recent danger had revealed the fact that we were moving. We tried the sounding line and found that we were in deep water, and that our motion was evidently due to the motion of the ice-field. We were floating at the mercy of the winds and ocean currents. But whither would they carry us? None could tell. Assuming, however, that the currents were north-bound, and reasoning from the fact that the motion of the earth was from west to east, the tendency being, as it were, to slip from under us, we concluded that as long as the ice was floating freely, our general motion would be toward the west and north.

For the present we were safe and comfortable with the ship securely fastened to the solid walls of our prison. But we knew summer would come, and the warm rays of the sun would beam down on us for months, melting and breaking up the frozen surface of the ocean which was now our security, but might then become the cause of our destruction. Our future safety, and the success of the expedition, demanded that we should have easy access to the surface, so that we could make the necessary observations, and, if possible, find some means of providing for the safety of the ship and crew when the ice went to pieces. This was the task before us, but we had no means of calculating the time it would take. All we knew was, that the two ice mountains by coming together had formed a roof over our heads, and towered many feet above the ship's masts, and if their other dimensions were in proportion, it might take a long time for us to tunnel through to the surface.

We felt that there was no time to lose. All needful arrangements were soon perfected under the direction of Battell, who took charge as engineer and manager. The ice-bench on our larboard was selected as the point of starting. The crew was divided into three reliefs, each with a foreman, and the work of excavation went on without intermission. This arrangement gave eight hours for work in the tunnel, and sixteen for rest and recreation.

I again suggested my "pet hobby" as it was called, of organizing the crew into a school and devoting a few hours each day to educational purposes. But I was alone in the recommendation, and it was not acted on, but the library was free to all who cared to read. I noticed, however, that Paul Huston, Pat O'Brien and Mike Gallagher, were the only ones who ever called for books, and Huston was the only one who seemed to know just what he wanted. Lief and Eric had some Norwegian books and writings which they often consulted, but all the others, when not at work, spent their time in playing games, spinning yarns and fishing.

As predicted by Battell, the enclosure in which the ship floated, seemed to attract the finny denizens of the deep, supplying fresh food for the crew and our dog teams, as well as oil which we used for fuel. The library was the favorite resort of those who cared to read and discuss topics of general interest. Here we spent our leisure hours, reading, conversing upon subjects of every description and devising amusements that would enable us to pass the time pleasantly. When tired of these things we joined the working force in the tunnel and exercised our muscles. This was a work of necessity, as well as a healthful recreation, and we went into it with the utmost enthusiasm. We managed to get comfortably tired every day, and enjoyed excellent appetites and most refreshing sleep, in consequence. Altogether the winter passed very agreeably.

It was well on toward spring before the tunnel was completed. We now had access to the surface, up an easy incline, and beheld the uninterrupted beauties of an Arctic night. The scene which greeted us defies description. The sky was cloudless, and the Northern Lights, with their brilliant corruscations, nature's compensation for the long polar night, presented a pyrotechnic display, the grandeur and beauty of which are indelibly impressed on my memory.

We took our bearings and found we were in latitude 84° N. longitude 170° W. We were seven degrees farther north than when we were caught in the ice, and ten degrees farther west. We were plainly in the grasp of north-bound currents, while our motion toward the west was uncertain. Subsequent observations revealed the fact that at times our longitude was stationary, or drifting somewhat toward the east. On the whole, our westerly motion exceeded any opposite tendency, but our progress northward was considerable though not regular, as if we were retarded by obstructions which were being overcome at intervals by the force of northerly currents.

It was now the 20th of Feb., and it was determined that the work of exploration should commence. The dog-teams and sledges were brought out and provisioned for a journey to the eastward under the direction of Captain Battell. Captain Ganoe, Pat O'Brien, Mike Gallagher, Paul Huston, the two Norwegian sailors and myself remained on the ship. The sledge party was to be absent a month and possibly longer. Captain Battell wanted to make some thorough observations on the eastern borders of the ice-field, and take soundings if he could reach open water.

We still had some weeks of Arctic night before us, but the full, round moon and the brilliant Aurora, made every object visible for a long distance. The weather was intensely cold, but the scenery was so attractive that I spent much of my time exploring the ice-field in the immediate vicinity of the ship. Many were the weird and fantastic scenes that I sketched, and many the strolls I took in a vain effort to find some prominent point from which with my glass I could get an unobstructed view of the horizon. But like our prison in the ice, all nature seemed cramped. The starry vault was contracted by the obscuration of stars which I thought should have been visible above the horizon. I kept searching for an elevated point of view, but this seemed always just a little ahead. These rambles often extended for miles and occupied hours.

Returning from one of them, I was met by Lief and Eric who pointed to the crest of the mountain of ice that formed the roof of our prison, and beckoned me to follow them. I did so and found that they had cut an inclined road around the icy mountain to the apex, where they had erected an observatory out of ice blocks. It was built over a rift in the roof of our prison that was directly above the ice bench on the larboard near the mouth of the tunnel. The wall at this point was almost perpendicular, and with but little labor they were able to put in an elevator, consisting simply of a platform secured by ropes, and attached to a pulley inside the observatory.

They showed me what they had done, and to convince me that it was entirely safe, they let themselves down on the elevator and raised themselves up again, much as a painter handles his swinging scaffold, but more rapidly. I was pleased with the contrivance, and more with the interest taken by Lief and Eric in making arrangements to facilitate my observations. I did not hesitate to take my place on the platform with them and return to the ship by this direct route.

I now learned that as soon as the tunnel was completed, Lief and Eric had found their way to the top of our prison, and seeing the advantages that this elevation offered as an outlook, they conceived the idea of an observatory on the top, to be connected with the ship by an elevator. They took no one into their confidence but Huston, and set to work immediately. In a little over two weeks they were ready to put in the elevator which connected directly with the ship, and saved a long walk by way of the tunnel. This work had just been completed and they were enabled to give me a very unexpected but agreeable surprise on my return from one of my usual rambles.

But it was no more of a surprise to me than it was to Captain Ganoe, who was just starting out to the surface through the tunnel, when Lief, Eric and myself came swinging down from the observatory on the platform which constituted the cage. Lief who was handling the rope stopped our descent just in time to prevent the platform from swinging against the Captain, who looking up exclaimed:

"Hello, Jack! Where did you come from, and what is all this rigging for?"

"Just ask Lief and Eric," I replied. "They have been looking out for a more direct route to the surface than by way of the tunnel. They have erected an observatory on the roof, and if you are going out for a walk, you had better take the elevator."

"All right," said the Captain stepping on the platform, "but I would suggest that you ought to have a light on board, to give warning in this gloom to all whom it may concern, to get out of the way of the engine."

"That can be provided for in the future," I said. "This is the first trial and we find that it works all right. Now we are ready for such improvements as you have to suggest. While the invention belongs to our Norwegian friends, we have no patent laws in this country and hence there can be no infringement. There is no restrictive legislation here to stand in the way of progress."

"I think in view of all the facts," said the Captain, "that this matter had better be left in the hands of the inventors. I have no doubt that they are fully equal to the task, and they have free access to the ship's stores for that purpose. It seems to me that the improvement most needed is some contrivance that will counteract the swinging motion, and no doubt Lief and Eric have a plan already that will accomplish that."

We were now in the observatory and the view in every direction was most satisfactory. This was by far the most elevated location anywhere in the region, and Captain Ganoe cordially concurred in my suggestion to fit it up in good shape for all the purposes of an observatory as well as a resting place when the weather became warm. We carefully explored the immediate vicinity and found that this towering mountain of ice could be made accessible from both the east and west. Towards the north and south it was easy to trace the seam where the ice walls had come together, and along this line were numerous depressions of great depth.

When we were ready to return to the ship we found that Lief and Eric had stretched ropes from the top to the bottom which passing through the platform held it steady while passing up and down. They had also devised a contrivance by which the elevator could be operated either from above or below as occasion might require; also a telephone connection between the observatory and the ship.

With this easy means of access to the surface, we seldom used the tunnel except for the sledges, or the transportation of some heavy burden. From this elevated point I watched with continually increasing interest, the roseate hues on the horizon which indicated the location of the rising sun. These grew brighter and brighter until the king of day made his appearance. This was the signal for inflating the balloons and sending up dispatches in the hope that they might be carried south into civilized portions of the globe by the equinoctial storms. It was also the time fixed for the return of Battell from his exploring expedition on the eastern portion of the ice field. His observations, in connection with my own, constituted our only means of accumulating that fund of information concerning these unknown regions which would make this expedition valuable to the world. Besides, our own safety depended to a very great extent upon the accuracy of the knowledge we could acquire concerning the forces which controlled the movements of this vast island of ice. My relation to the scientific work of the expedition, made me anxious to make the best possible use of our present favorable opportunity for investigation.

During our long incarceration in our ice prison I had kept such notes and made such observations as our environments would permit. The movement of the ice field towards the west which at first had threatened to draw us under the ice and capsize the ship, had lost much of its force, and now that we were on the surface, and able to trace the seam which marked the channel in which we had been moving, we discovered that its general direction was from southeast to northwest, while at the time we had been caught between the colliding ice fields, we had according to my notes, been running northeast. This demonstrated, that the entire body of ice had turned one quarter around, while its general movement had been toward the west and north. And now my daily observations indicated that it was continually changing its position, and that while its motions were generally toward the west, they were by no means uniform. It seemed to have been at the mercy of contending forces ever since we had been held within its grasp, and it was one of the prime objects of the expedition to make a close study of just this kind of influences.

As soon as the sun began to show itself above the horizon, I kept a constant lookout for the return of Captain Battell and his sledge party. We knew that he had gone east, and that it was his intention to commence the exploration of the western portion of the ice-field before the sun was remaining above the horizon for the full twenty-four hours. But the weather during the early spring was unfavorable and I discovered nothing worthy of note. When the days became longer and with the sun in the west, I expected to make some important discoveries with my glass. And when I did get a clear view I was startled to observe what seemed to be a barren waste of sand and sand mountains. I called Captain Ganoe's attention to this appearance, and after a careful scrutiny with his glass he said:

"That looks very much like land. The surface is certainly neither snow nor ice. But where in the world did all that sand come from? I will telephone Huston to bring a larger telescope and we will make a closer examination."

In a few minutes Huston made his appearance and we placed the instrument in position. With the stronger glass, our first impressions as to the nature of the surface were confirmed but we discovered nothing that offered any explanation of the phenomenon. Here was a mystery and we were now more anxious than ever for the return of Captain Battell, who we felt assured had made some very interesting discoveries.

I continued to scan the horizon with the large telescope and my search was soon rewarded by the discovery of a man who seemed to have just reached the crest of what appeared to be a long sandy ridge running north and south, but a few miles distant. He seemed to be assisting others to reach the same position. Raising the instrument to its highest powers I was enabled to recognize Captain Battell and several sailors. They were hauling others up from the opposite side by means of a rope, who as soon as they reached the top, took hold and helped to raise others.

I described the scene and asked Captain Ganoe to look for himself. He took in the situation at a glance and said;

"We must go to their assistance. The sledges and dog teams are evidently on the opposite side and they must be lifted up as well as the men," and turning to Huston he said: "Return to the ship. Summon the entire crew. Explain the situation to the Norwegians, tell them to get out the sledges immediately and take such appliances as they deem necessary, and Jack and I will meet you at the foot of the mountain on the east side. Make all haste possible as we must hurry to the assistance of our comrades who are evidently nearly exhausted."