The Collected Works of Jules Verne: 36 Novels and Short Stories (Unexpurgated Edition) (Halcyon Classics)

by Jules Verne

  "You’re right," said Bell, after a close inspection.

  "If that’s the case, then," said the Doctor, "we must take care what we’re about, and not be foolhardy, for these animals are starving after the severe winter, and they might be extremely dangerous to encounter and, since we are sure of their number——"

  "And of their intentions, too," put in Altamont.

  "You think they have discovered our presence here?"

  "No doubt of it, unless we have got into a bear-pass, but then, why should these footprints be in a circle round our fort? Look, these animals have come from the south-east, and stopped at this place, and commenced to reconnoitre the coast."

  [Illustration: ]

  "You’re right," said the Doctor, "and, what’s more, it is certain that they have been here last night."

  "And other nights before that," replied Altamont.

  "I don’t think so," rejoined Clawbonny. "It is more likely that they waited till the cessation of the tempest, and were on their way down to the bay, intending to catch seals, when they scented us."

  "Well, we can easily find out if they come tonight," said Altamont.

  "How?"

  "By effacing all the marks in a given place, and if to-morrow, we find fresh ones, it will be evident that Fort Providence is the goal for which the bears are bound."

  [Illustration: ]

  "Very good, at any rate we shall know, then, what we have to expect."

  The three hunters set to work, and scraped the snow over till all the footprints were obliterated for a considerable distance.

  "It is singular, though," said Bell, "that bears could scent us all that way off; we have not been burning anything fat which might have attracted them."

  "Oh!" replied the Doctor, "bears are endowed with a wonderfully keen sense of smell, and a piercing sight; and, more than that, they are extremely intelligent, almost more so than any other animal. They have smelt something unusual; and, besides, who can tell whether they have not even found their way as far as our plateau during the tempest?"

  "But then, why did they stop here last night?" asked Altamont.

  "Well, that’s a question I can’t answer, but there is no doubt they will continue narrowing their circles, till they reach Fort Providence."

  "We shall soon see," said Altamont.

  "And, meantime, we had best go on," added the Doctor, "and keep a sharp look out."

  But not a sign of anything living was visible, and after a time they returned to the snow-house.

  Hatteras and Johnson were informed how matters stood, and it was resolved to maintain a vigilant watch. Night came, but nothing disturbed its calm splendour—nothing was heard to indicate approaching danger.

  Next morning at early dawn, Hatteras and his companions, well armed, went out to reconnoitre the state of the snow. They found the same identical footmarks, but somewhat nearer. Evidently the enemy was bent on the siege of Fort Providence.

  "But where can the bears be?" said Bell.

  "Behind the icebergs watching us," replied the Doctor. "Don’t let us expose ourselves imprudently."

  "What about going hunting, then?" asked Altamont.

  "We must put it off for a day or two, I think, and rub out the marks again, and see if they are renewed to-morrow."

  The Doctor’s advice was followed, and they entrenched themselves for the present in the fort. The lighthouse was taken down, as it was not of actual use meantime, and might help to attract the bears. Each took it in turn to keep watch on the upper plateau.

  The day passed without a sign of the enemy’s existence, and next morning, when they hurried eagerly out to examine the snow, judge their astonishment to find it wholly untouched!

  "Capital!" exclaimed Altamont. "The bears are put off the scent; they have no perseverance, and have grown tired waiting for us. They are off, and a good riddance. Now let us start for a day’s hunting."

  "Softly, softly," said the Doctor; "I’m not so sure they have gone. I think we had better wait one day more. It is evident the bears have not been here last night, at least on this side; but still—"

  "Well, let us go right round the plateau, and see how things stand," said the impatient Altamont.

  "All right," said Clawbonny. "Come along."

  Away they went, but it was impossible to scrutinize carefully a track of two miles, and no trace of the enemy was discoverable.

  "Now, then, can’t we go hunting?" said Altamont.

  "Wait till to-morrow," urged the Doctor again.

  His friend was very unwilling to delay, but yielded the point at last, and returned to the fort.

  [Illustration: ]

  As on the preceding night, each man took his hour’s watch on the upper plateau. When it came to Altamont’s turn, and he had gone out to relieve Bell, Hatteras called his old companions round him. The Doctor left his desk and Johnson his cooking, and hastened to their captain’s side, supposing he wanted to talk over their perilous situation; but Hatteras never gave it a thought.

  "My friends," he said, "let us take advantage of the American’s absence to speak of business. There are things which cannot concern him, and with which I do not choose him to meddle."

  Johnson and Clawbonny looked at each other, wondering what the captain was driving at.

  "I wish," he continued, "to talk with you about our plans for the future."

  "All right! talk away while we are alone," said the Doctor.

  "In a month, or six weeks at the outside, the time for making distant excursions will come again. Have you thought of what we had better undertake in summer?"

  "Have you, captain?" asked Johnson.

  "Have I? I may say that not an hour of my life passes without revolving in my mind my one cherished purpose. I suppose not a man among you intends to retrace his steps?"

  No one replied, and Hatteras went on to say—

  "For my own part, even if I must go alone, I will push on to the North Pole. Never were men so near it before, for we are not more than 360 miles distant at most, and I will not lose such an opportunity without making every attempt to reach it, even though it be an impossibility. What are your views, Doctor?"

  "Your own, Hatteras."

  "And yours, Johnson?"

  "Like the Doctor’s."

  "And yours, Bell?"

  "Captain," replied the carpenter, "it is true we have neither wives nor children waiting us in England, but, after all, it is one’s country— one’s native land! Have you no thoughts of returning home?"

  "We can return after we have discovered the Pole quite as well as before, and even better. Our difficulties will not increase, for as we near the Pole we get away from the point of greatest cold. We have fuel and provisions enough. There is nothing to stop us, and we should be culpable, in my opinion, if we allowed ourselves to abandon the project."

  "Very well, captain, I’ll go along with you."

  "That’s right; I never doubted you," said Hatteras. "We shall succeed, and England will have all the glory."

  "But there is an American among us!" said Johnson.

  Hatteras could not repress an impatient exclamation.

  "I know it!" he said, in a stern voice.

  "We cannot leave him behind," added the Doctor.

  "No, we can’t," repeated Hatteras, almost mechanically.

  "And he will be sure to go too."

  "Yes, he will go too; but who will command?"

  "You, captain."

  "And if you all obey my orders, will the Yankee refuse?"

  "I shouldn’t think so; but suppose he should, what can be done?"

  "He and I must fight it out, then."

  The three Englishmen looked at Hatteras, but said nothing. Then the Doctor asked how they were to go.

  "By the coast, as far as possible," was the reply.

  "But what if we find open water, as is likely enough?"

  "Well, we’ll go across it."

  "But we have no boat."

  Hatt
eras did not answer, and looked embarrassed.

  "Perhaps," suggested Bell, "we might make a ship out of some of the planks of the Porpoise."

  "Never!" exclaimed Hatteras, vehemently.

  "Never!" said Johnson.

  The Doctor shook his head. He understood the feeling of the captain.

  "Never!" reiterated Hatteras. "A boat made out of an American ship would be an American!"

  "But, captain——" began Johnson.

  The Doctor made a sign to the old boatswain not to press the subject further, and resolved in his own mind to reserve the question for discussion at a more opportune moment. He managed to turn the conversation to other matters, till it abruptly terminated by the entrance of Altamont.

  This ended the day, and the night passed quietly without the least disturbance. The bears had evidently disappeared.

  CHAPTER XII

  IMPRISONED IN DOCTOR’S HOUSE

  The first business next day was to arrange for a hunt. It was settled that Altamont, Bell, and Hatteras should form the party, while Clawbonny should go and explore as far as Isle Johnson, and make some hydrographic notes and Johnson should remain behind to keep house.

  The three hunters soon completed their preparations. They armed themselves each with a double barrelled revolver and a rifle, and took plenty of powder and shot. Each man also carried in his belt his indispensable snow knife and hatchet, and a small supply of pemmican in case night should surprise them before their return.

  Thus equipped, they could go far, and might count on a good supply of game.

  At eight o’clock they started, accompanied by Duk, who frisked and gambolled with delight. They went up the hill to the east, across the cone, and down into the plain below.

  The Doctor next took his departure, after agreeing with Johnson on a signal of alarm in case of danger.

  The old boatswain was left alone, but he had plenty to do. He began by unfastening the Greenland dogs, and letting them out for a run after their long, wearisome confinement. Then he attended to divers housekeeping matters. He had to replenish the stock of combustibles and provisions, to arrange the store-houses, to mend several broken utensils, to repair the rents in coverlets, and get new shoes ready for summer excursions. There was no lack of work, and the old sailor’s nimble clever fingers could do anything.

  [Illustration: ]

  While his hands were busy, his mind was occupied with the conversation of the preceding evening. He thought with regret over the captain’s obstinacy, and yet he felt that there was something grand and even heroic in his determination that neither an American nor an American ship should first touch the Pole.

  The hunters had been gone about an hour when Johnson suddenly heard the report of a gun.

  "Capital!" he exclaimed. "They have found something, and pretty quickly too, for me to hear their guns so distinctly. The atmosphere must be very clear."

  A second and a third shot followed.

  "Bravo!" again exclaimed the boatswain; "they must have fallen in luck’s way!"

  [Illustration: Hatteras could only manage to keep off his pursuers by flinging down one article after another—P.120]

  But when three more shots came in rapid succession, the old man turned pale, and a horrible thought crossed his mind, which made him rush out and climb hastily to the top of the cone. He shuddered at the sight which met his eyes. The three hunters, followed by Duk, were tearing home at full speed, followed by the five huge bears! Their six balls had evidently taken no effect, and the terrible monsters were close on their heels. Hatteras, who brought up the rear, could only manage to keep off his pursuers by flinging down one article after another—first his cap, then his hatchet, and, finally, his gun. He knew that the inquisitive bears would stop and examine every object, sniffing all round it, and this gave him a little time, otherwise he could not have escaped, for these animals outstrip the fleetest horse, and one monster was so near that Hatteras had to brandish his knife vigorously, to ward off a tremendous blow of his paw.

  At last, though panting and out of breath, the three men reached Johnson safely, and slid down the rock with him into the snow-house. The bears stopped short on the upper plateau, and Hatteras and his companions lost no time in barring and barricading them out.

  "Here we are at last!" exclaimed Hatteras; "we can defend ourselves better now. It is five against five."

  "Four!" said Johnson in a frightened voice.

  "How?"

  "The Doctor!" replied Johnson, pointing to the empty sitting-room.

  "Well, he is in Isle Johnson."

  "A bad job for him," said Bell.

  "But we can’t leave him to his fate, in this fashion," said Altamont.

  "No, let’s be off to find him at once," replied Hatteras.

  [Illustration: ]

  He opened the door, but soon shut it, narrowly escaping a bear’s hug.

  "They are there!" he exclaimed.

  "All?" asked Bell.

  "The whole pack."

  Altamont rushed to the windows, and began to fill up the deep embrasure with blocks of ice, which he broke off the walls of the house.

  His companions followed his example silently. Not a sound was heard but the low, deep growl of Duk.

  To tell the simple truth, however, it was not their own danger that occupied their thoughts, but their absent friend, the Doctor’s. It was for him they trembled, not for themselves. Poor Clawbonny, so good and devoted as he had been to every member of the little colony! This was the first time they had been separated from him. Extreme peril, and most likely a frightful death awaited him, for he might return unsuspectingly to Fort Providence, and find himself in the power of these ferocious animals.

  [Illustration: ]

  "And yet," said Johnson, "unless I am much mistaken, he must be on guard. Your repeated shots cannot but have warned him. He must surely be aware that something unusual has happened."

  "But suppose he was too far away to hear them," replied Altamont, "or has not understood the cause of them? It is ten chances to one but he’ll come quickly back, never imagining the danger. The bears are screened from sight by the crag completely."

  "We must get rid of them before he comes," said Hatteras.

  "But how?" asked Bell.

  [Illustration: ]

  It was difficult to reply to this, for a sortie was out of the question. They had taken care to barricade the entrance passage, but the bears could easily find a way in if they chose. So it was thought advisable to keep a close watch on their movements outside, by listening attentively in each room, so as to be able to resist all attempts at invasion. They could hear them distinctly prowling about, growling and scraping the walls with their enormous paws.

  However, some action must be taken speedily, for time was passing. Altamont resolved to try a port-hole through which he might fire on his assailants. He had soon scooped out a hole in the wall, but his gun was hardly pushed through, when it was seized with irresistible force, and wrested from his grasp before he could even fire.

  "Confound it!" he exclaimed, "we’re no match for them."

  And he hastened to stop up the breach as fast as possible.

  This state of things had lasted upwards of an hour, and there seemed no prospect of a termination. The question of a sortie began now to be seriously discussed. There was little chance of success, as the bears could not be attacked separately, but Hatteras and his companions had grown so impatient, and it must be confessed were also so much ashamed of being kept in prison by beasts, that they would even have dared the risk if the captain had not suddenly thought of a new mode of defence.

  He took Johnson’s furnace-poker, and thrust it into the stove while he made an opening in the snow wall, or rather a partial opening, for he left a thin sheet of ice on the outer side. As soon as the poker was red hot, he said to his comrades who stood eagerly watching him, wondering what he was going to do—

  "This red-hot bar will keep off the bears when they try to get
hold of it, and we shall be able easily to fire across it without letting them snatch away our guns."

  "A good idea," said Bell, posting himself beside Altamont.

  Hatteras withdrew the poker, and instantly plunged it in the wall. The melting snow made a loud hissing noise, and two bears ran and made a snatch at the glowing bar; but they fell back with a terrible howl, and at the same moment four shots resounded, one after the other.

  "Hit!" exclaimed Altamont.

  "Hit!" echoed Bell.

  "Let us repeat the dose," said Hatteras, carefully stopping up the opening meantime.

  The poker was again thrust into the fire, and in a few minutes was ready for Hatteras to recommence operations.

  Altamont and Bell reloaded their guns, and took their places; but this time the poker would not pass through.

  "Confound the beasts!" exclaimed the impetuous American.

  "What’s the matter?" asked Johnson.

  "What’s the matter? Why, those plaguey animals are piling up block after block, intending to bury us alive!"

  "Impossible!"

  "Look for yourself; the poker can’t get through. I declare it is getting absurd now."

  It was worse than absurd, it was alarming. Things grew worse. It was evident that the bears meant to stifle their prey, for the sagacious animals were heaping up huge masses, which would make escape impossible.

  "It is too bad," said old Johnson, with a mortified look. "One might put up with men, but bears!"

  [Illustration: ]

  Two hours elapsed without bringing any relief to the prisoners; to go out was impossible, and the thick walls excluded all sound. Altamont walked impatiently up and down full of exasperation and excitement at finding himself worsted for once. Hatteras could think of nothing but the Doctor, and of the serious peril which threatened him.

  [Illustration: ]

  "Oh, if Mr. Clawbonny were only here!" said Johnson.

  "What could he do?" asked Altamont.

  "Oh, he’d manage to get us out somehow."

  "How, pray?" said the American, crossly.

  "If I knew that I should not need him. However, I know what his advice just now would be."

  "What?"

  "To take some food; that can’t hurt us. What do you say, Mr. Altamont?"

  "Oh, let’s eat, by all means, if that will please you, though we’re in a ridiculous, not to say humiliating, plight."