Ледяной сфинкс
Chapter XIII. Along the Front of the Icebergs
“IfIhadaconsort,”hesaid,“Iwouldsailcloseralongtheicebergs,anditisagreatadvantagetobetwo,whenoneisonsuchanenterpriseasthis!ButtheHalbraneisalone,andifsheweretofailus—”
Eventhoughweapproachednonearertotheicebergsthanprudencepermitted,ourshipwasexposedtogreatrisk,andWestwasconstantlyobligedtochangehistriminordertoavoidtheshockofanicefield.
Fortunately,thewindblewfromeasttonorth-nor’-eastwithoutvariation,anditdidnotfreshen.HadatempestarisenIknownotwhatwouldhavebecomeoftheschooner—yes,though,Idoknowtoowell:shewouldhavebeenlostandallonboardofher.InsuchacasetheHalbranecouldnothaveescaped;wemusthavebeenflungonthebaseofthebarrier.
AfteralongexaminationCaptainLenGuyhadtorenouncethehopeoffindingapassagethroughtheterriblewallofice.Itremainedonlytoendeavourtoreachthesouth-eastpointofit.Atanyrate,byfollowingthatcoursewelostnothinginlatitude;and,infact,onthe18ththeobservationtakenmadetheseventy-thirdparallelthepositionoftheHalbrane.
Imustrepeat,however,thatnavigationintheAntarcticseaswillprobablyneverbeaccomplishedundermorefelicitouscircumstances—theprecocityofthesummerseason,thepermanenceofthenorthwind,thetemperatureforty-ninedegreesatthelowest;allthiswasthebestofgood-fortune.Ineednotaddthatweenjoyedperpetuallight,andthewholetwenty-fourhoursroundthesun’sraysreachedusfromeverypointofthehorizon.
