Крижаний сфінкс
Chapter XXV. “We Were the First“
Forty-eighthourslaterCaptainLenGuyandhisbrothersucceededwithgreatdifficultyintakinganapproximateobservation,withthefollowingresultsoftheircalculations:
Latitude:75°17’south.
Latitude:118°3’east.
Atthisdate,therefore(12thMarch),theParacutawasdistantfromthewatersoftheAntarcticCircleonlyfourhundredmiles.
Duringthenightathickfogcameon,withasubsidenceofthebreeze.Thiswastoberegretted,foritincreasedtheriskofcollisionwiththefloatingice.Ofcoursefogcouldnotbeasurprisetous,beingwherewewere,butwhatdidsurpriseuswasthegraduallyincreasingspeedofourboat,althoughthefallingofthewindoughttohavelessenedit.
Thisincreaseofspeedcouldnotbeduetothecurrentforweweregoingmorequicklythanit.
Thisstateofthingslasteduntilmorning,withoutourbeingabletoaccountforwhatwashappening,whenataboutteno’clockthemistbegantodisperseinthelowzones.Thecoastonthewestreappeared—arockycoast,withoutamountainousbackground;theParacutawasfollowingitsline.
Andthen,nomorethanaquarterofamileaway,webeheldahugemound,rearedabovetheplaintoaheightofthreehundredfeet,withacircumferenceoffromtwotothreehundredfeet.Initsstrangeformthisgreatmoundresembledanenormoussphinx;thebodyupright,thepawsstretchedout,crouchingintheattitudeofthewingedmonsterwhichGrecianMythologyhasplaceduponthewaytoThebes.
