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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.

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