Ледяной сфинкс
Chapter XVII. And Pym
Thisisquiteplain,andIdonotseehowanyobjectioncanberaisedtomyreasoning.”
Noonemadeanswer:therewasnonetobemade.
“IfwehavenotcomeacrossthecaptainoftheJaneandhispeople,”Iresumed,“itisbecausetheyhavebeenobligedtoabandonTsalalIslandsincePatterson’sdeparture.Why?Inmybelief,itwasbecausetheearthquakehadrenderedtheislanduninhabitable.Now,theywouldonlyhaverequiredanativeboattogaineitheranotherislandorsomepointoftheAntarcticcontinentbytheaidofthesoutherncurrent.Ihardlyhesitatetoassertthatallthishasoccurred;butinanycase,Iknow,andIrepeat,thatweshallhavedonenothingifwedonotpersevereinthesearchonwhichthesafetyofyourcountrymendepends.”
Iquestionedmyaudiencebyasearchinglook.Noanswer.
CaptainLenGuy,whoseemotionwasunrestrained,bowedhishead,forhefeltthatIwasright,thatbyinvokingthedutiesofhumanityIwasprescribingtheonlycourseopentomenwithfeelinghearts.
“Andwhatisinquestion?”Icontinued,afterthesilentpause.“Toaccomplishafewdegreesoflatitude,andthatwhiletheseaisopen,whilewehavetwomonthsofgoodweathertolookfor,andnothingtofearfromthesouthernwinter.Icertainlyshouldnotaskyoutobraveitsseverity.Andshallwehesitate,whentheHalbraneisabundantlyfurnished,hercrewcompleteandingoodhealth?Shallwetakefrightatimaginarydangers?Shallwenothavecouragetogoon,on,thither?”
AndIpointedtothesouthernhorizon.
