Крижаний сфінкс
Chapter III. Captain Len Guy
“WhydoyouspeakoftheAntarcticseas?”heasked,takingmyhand.
“Well,justasImighthavespokenofthe‘Hyperboreanseas’fromwhenceanIrishpoethasmadeSebastianCabotaddresssomelovelyversestohisLady.(1)IspokeoftheSouthPoleasImighthavespokenoftheNorth.”
CaptainLenGuydidnotanswer,andIthoughtIsawtearsglisteninhiseyes.Then,asthoughhewouldescapefromsomeharrowingrecollectionwhichmywordshadevoked,hesaid,—
“WhowouldventuretoseektheSouthPole?”
“Itwouldbedifficulttoreach,andtheexperimentswouldbeofnopracticaluse,”Ireplied.“Neverthelesstherearemensufficientlyadventuroustoembarkinsuchanenterprise.”
“Yes—adventurousistheword!”mutteredthecaptain.
“Andnow,”Iresumed,“theUnitedStatesisagainmakinganattemptwithWilkes’sfleet,theVancouver,thePeacock,theFlyingFish,andothers.”
“TheUnitedStates,Mr.Jeorling?DoyoumeantosaythatanexpeditionhasbeensentbytheFederalGovernmenttotheAntarcticseas?”
“Thefactiscertain,andlastyear,beforeIleftAmerica,Ilearnedthatthevesselshadsailed.Thatwasayearago,anditisverypossiblethatWilkeshasgonefartherthananyoftheprecedingexplorers.”
CaptainLenGuyhadrelapsedintosilence,andcameoutofhisinexplicablemusingonlytosayabruptly—
“YoucomefromConnecticut,sir?”
“FromConnecticut.”
“Andmorespecially?”
“FromProvidence.
