Крижаний сфінкс
Chapter XXVI. A Little Remnant
Ah!ifnoobstacletothecourseofourperilousnavigationhadexisted,ifpassagebetweenthisinnerseaofthesouthernzoneandthewatersofthePacificOceanhadbeencertain,theParacutamighthavereachedtheextremelimitoftheaustralseasinafewdays.Butafewhundredmilesmoretosail,andtheiceberg-barrierwouldconfrontuswithitsimmovablerampart,andunlessapassagecouldbefound,weshouldbeobligedtogorounditeitherbytheeastorbythewest.
Onceclearedindeed—
Ah!oncecleared,weshouldbeinafrailcraftupontheterriblePacificOcean,attheperiodoftheyearwhenitstempestsragewithredoubledfuryandstrongshipsdreadthemightofitswaves.
Weweredeterminednottothinkofthis.Heavenwouldcometoouraid.Weshouldbepickedupbysomeship.Thistheboatswainassertedconfidently,andwewereboundtobelievetheboatswain.
Forsixentiredays,untilthe2ndofApril,theParacutaheldhercourseamongtheice-barrier,whosecrestwasprofiledatanaltitudeofbetweensevenandeighthundredfeetabovethelevelofthesea.Theextremitieswerenotvisibleeitherontheeastorthewest,andifourboatdidnotfindanopenpassage,wecouldnotclearit.Byamostfortunatechanceapassagewasfoundontheabove-mentioneddate,andattempted,amidathousandrisks.Yes,werequiredallthezeal,skill,andcourageofourmenandtheirchiefstoaccomplishsuchatask.
