Крижаний сфінкс
Chapter XXV. “We Were the First“
Aloneonthatvastplainitproducedasenseofawe.And—butthiscouldonlyhavebeenadelusion—weseemedtobedrawntowardsitbytheforceofitsmagneticattraction.
Onarrivingatthebaseofthemound,wefoundtherethevariousarticlesonwhichthemagnethadexerteditspower;arms,utensils,thegrapneloftheParacuta,alladheringtothesidesofthemonster.TherealsoweretheironrelicsoftheHalbrane’sboat,allherutensils,arms,andfittings,eventothenailsandtheironportionsoftherudder.
Therewasnopossibilityofregainingpossessionofanyofthesethings.Evenhadtheynotadheredtotheloadstonerockattoogreataheighttobereached,theyadheredtoittoocloselytobedetached.Hurliguerlywasinfuriatedbytheimpossibilityofrecoveringhisknife,whichherecognizedatfiftyfeetabovehishead,andcriedasheshookhisclenchedfistattheimperturbablemonster,—
“Thiefofasphinx!”
OfcoursethethingswhichhadbelongedtotheHalbrane’sboatandtheParacuta’sweretheonlyarticlesthatadornedthemightysidesofthelonelymysticform.NeverhadanyshipreachedsuchalatitudeoftheAntarcticSea.Hearneandhisaccomplices,CaptainLenGuyandhiscompanions,werethefirstwhohadtroddenthispointofthesoutherncontinent.Andanyvesselthatmighthaveapproachedthiscolossalmagnetmusthaveincurredcertaindestruction.Ourschoonermusthaveperished,evenasitsboathadbeendashedintoashapelesswreck.
