Ледяной сфинкс
Chapter XX. “Unmerciful Disaster“
Thesimplestexplanationwasthatthenewbasehadencounteredgroundatthebottomoftheseatowhichitnowadhered,andwouldcontinuetoadhere,unlessthesubmergedpartroseinthewatersoastocauseasecondcapsize.
Thiscomplicatedmattersseriously,becausethedangersofpositiveimmobilityweresuchthatthechancesofdriftingwerepreferable.Atleast,inthelattercasetherewassomehopeofcomingacrossacontinentoranisland,oreven(ifthecurrentsdidnotchange)ofcrossingtheboundariesoftheaustralregion.
Herewewere,then,afterthreemonthsofthisterriblevoyage!WastherenowanyquestionoftryingtosaveWilliamGuy,hiscomradesontheJane,andArthurPym?Wasitnotforourownsafetythatanymeansatourdisposalshouldbeemployed?AndcoulditbewonderedatwerethesailorsoftheHalbranetorebel,weretheytolistentoHearne’ssuggestions,andmaketheirofficers,ormyselfespecially,responsibleforthedisastersofthisexpedition?
Moreover,whatwaslikelytotakeplace,since,notwithstandingtheirlosses,thefollowersofthesealing-masterwerestillamajorityoftheship’scompany?
ThisquestionIcouldclearlyseewasoccupyingthethoughtsofCaptainLenGuyandWest.
