Крижаний сфінкс
Chapter XXIII. Found at Last
Themovementofthesehugecreaturesisslow,heavy,andwaddling;theyhavethinneckstwofeetlong,triangularsnake-likeheads,andcangowithoutfoodforverylongperiods.
ArthurPymhascomparedtheantarcticturtlestodromedaries,because,likethoseruminants,theyhaveapouchjustwheretheneckbegins,whichcontainsfromtwotothreegallonsofcoldfreshwater.Herelates,beforethesceneofthelot-drawing,thatbutforoneoftheseturtlestheshipwreckedcrewoftheGrampusmusthavediedofhungerandthirst.IfPymistobebelieved,someofthegreatturtlesweighfromtwelvetofifteenhundredpounds.ThoseofHalbraneLanddidnotgobeyondsevenoreighthundredpounds,buttheirfleshwasnonethelesssavoury.
Onthe19thofFebruaryanincidentoccurred—anincidentwhichthosewhoacknowledgetheinterventionofProvidenceinhumanaffairswillrecognizeasprovidential.
Itwaseighto’clockinthemorning;theweatherwascalm;theskywastolerablyclear;thethermometerstoodatthirty-twodegreesFahrenheit.
Wewereassembledinthecavern,withtheexceptionoftheboatswain,waitingforourbreakfast,whichEndicottwaspreparing,andwereabouttotakeourplacesattable,whenweheardacallfromoutside.
ThevoicewasHurliguerly’s,andwehurriedout.Onseeingus,hecried,—
“Come—comequickly!”
HewasstandingonarockatthefootofthehillockabovethebeachinwhichHalbraneLandendedbeyondthepoint,andhisrighthandwasstretchedouttowardsthesea.
