CHAPTER IV.THE LAST CHARGE OF POWDER.
Johnson had admitted the tired dogs into the snow-house; when the snowis falling heavily it serves as a covering to the animals, preservingtheir natural heat. But in the open air, with a temperature of -40degrees, they would soon have frozen to death.
Johnson, who made an excellent dog-driver, tried feeding the dogs withthe dark flesh of the seals which the travellers could not swallow,and to his great surprise they made a rich feast out of it; the oldsailor in his delight told the doctor. He, however, was not in theleast surprised; he knew that in the north of America the horses makefish their main article of food, and what a herbivorous horse couldcontent himself with would certainly satisfy an omnivorous dog.
Before going to rest, although sleep became an imperious necessity formen who had walked fifteen miles on the ice, the doctor wished to havea few serious words with his companions about the dangers of theirsituation.
"We are only at latitude 82 degrees," he said, "and our supplies arealready running short."
"A reason for losing no time," answered Hatteras; "we must push on;the strong can draw the feeble."
"Shall we find a ship when we get there?" asked Bell, who was muchdepressed by the fatigue of the journey.
"Why doubt it?" said Johnson; "the American's safety depends on ours."
To make sure, the doctor was anxious to question Altamont again. Hecould speak easily, although his voice was weak; he confirmed all thestatements he had already made; he repeated that the ship was agroundon some granite rocks, where it could not stir, and that it lay inlongitude 120 degrees 15 minutes, and latitude 83 degrees 35 minutes.
"We can't doubt this statement," resumed the doctor; "the difficultyis not whether the _Porpoise_ is there, but the way of getting toher."
"How much food have we left?" asked Hatteras.
"Enough for three days at the outside," answered the doctor.
"Well, we must get to her in three days," said the captain, firmly.
"We must indeed," continued the doctor, "and if we succeed we shallhave no need to complain, for we shall have been favored by faultlessweather; the snow has given us a fortnight's respite, and the sledgehas glided easily on the hardened ice! Ah, if it only carried twohundred pounds of food! Our dogs could have managed it easily enough.But still we can't help it!"
"With luck and skill," said Johnson, "we might put to some use the fewcharges of powder which are left us. If we should kill a bear weshould be supplied for all the rest of the journey."
"Without doubt," answered the doctor, "but these animals are rare andshy; and then, when one thinks of the importance of a shot, his handwill shake and his aim be lost."
"But you are a good shot," answered Bell.
"Yes, when four men's dinners do not depend on my hitting; still, Iwill do my best if I get a chance. Meanwhile let us try to satisfyourselves with this thin soup of scraps of pemmican, then go to sleep,and to-morrow early we'll start forth again."
A few moments later excessive fatigue outweighed every other feeling,and they all sank into a heavy sleep. Early on Saturday Johnson awokehis companions; the dogs were harnessed to the sledge, and they tookup again their journey northward.
The heavens were magnificent, the air was very clear, the temperaturevery low; when the sun appeared above the horizon it appeared like anelongated ellipse; its horizontal diameter appeared, in consequence ofrefraction, to be double its vertical diameter. It sent forth itsclear, cold rays over the vast icy plain. This return to light, if notto heat, rejoiced them all.
The doctor, gun in hand, walked off for a mile or two, braving thecold and solitude; before going he measured the supply carefully; onlyfour charges of powder were left, and three balls; that was a smallsupply when one remembers that a strong animal like the polar bearoften falls only after receiving ten or twelve shots. Hence the doctordid not go in search of so fierce game; a few hares or two or threefoxes would have satisfied him and given him plenty of provisions. Butduring that day, if he saw one, or could not approach one, or if hewere deceived by refraction, he would lose his shot; and this day, asit was, cost him a charge of powder and a ball. His companions, whotrembled with hope at the report of his gun, saw him returning withdowncast looks; they did not say anything; that evening they went tosleep as usual, after putting aside two quarter-rations reserved forthe two following days. The next day their journey seemed morelaborious; they hardly walked, they rather dragged along; the dogs hadeaten even the entrails of the seal, and they were beginning to gnawtheir harness.
A few foxes passed at some distance from the sledge, and the doctor,having missed another shot as he chased them, did not dare to risk hislast ball and his last charge save one of powder.
That evening they halted early, unable to set one foot before theother, and, although their way was lighted by a brilliant aurora, theycould not go on. This last meal, eaten Sunday evening under their icytent, was very melancholy. If Heaven did not come to their aid, theywere lost. Hatteras did not speak, Bell did not even think, Johnsonreflected in silence, but the doctor did not yet despair.
Johnson thought of setting some traps that night; but since he had nobait, he had very little hope of success, and in the morning he found,as he expected, that, although a great many foxes had left their marksaround, yet not one had been caught. He was returning muchdisappointed, when he saw an enormous bear sniffing the air at aboutthirty yards from the sledge. The old sailor thought Providence hadsent this animal to him to be slain; without awakening his companionshe seized the doctor's gun and made his way towards the bear.
Having got quite near he took aim, but just as he was about to pullthe trigger he felt his arm trembling; his large fur gloves were inhis way; he took them off quickly, and seized his gun with a firmerhand. Suddenly, a cry of pain escaped him; the skin of his fingers,burned by the cold of the gun-barrel, remained clinging to it, whilethe gun fell to the ground, and went off from the shock, sending thelast ball off into space. At the sound of the report the doctor ran;he understood everything at a glance; he saw the animal trot quicklyaway; Johnson was in despair, and thought no more of the pain.
"I'm as tender as a baby," he cried, "not to be able to endure thatpain! And an old man like me!"
"Come back, Johnson," the doctor said to him, "you'll get frozen; see,your hands are white already; come back, come!"
"I don't deserve your attentions, Doctor," answered the boatswain;"leave me!"
"Come along, you obstinate fellow! Come along! It will soon be toolate!"
And the doctor, dragging the old sailor under the tent, made himplunge his hands into a bowl of water, which the heat of the stove hadkept liquid, although it was not much above the freezing-point; butJohnson's hands had no sooner touched it than it froze at once.
"You see," said the doctor, "it was time to come back, otherwise Ishould have had to amputate your hands."
Thanks to his cares, all danger was gone in an hour; but it was noeasy task, and constant friction was necessary to recall thecirculation into the old sailor's fingers. The doctor urged him tokeep his hands away from the stove, the heat of which might produceserious results.
That morning they had to go without breakfast; of the pemmican and thesalt meat nothing was left. There was not a crumb of biscuit, and onlyhalf a pound of coffee. They had to content themselves with drinkingthis hot, and then they set out.
"There's nothing more!" said Bell to Johnson, in a despairing accent.
"Let us trust in God," said the old sailor; "he is able to preserveus!"
"This Captain Hatteras!" continued Bell; "he was able to return fromhis first expeditions, but he'll never get back from this one, and weshall never see home again!"
"Courage, Bell! I confess that the captain is almost foolhardy, butthere is with him a very ingenious man."
"Dr. Clawbonny?" said Bell.
"Yes," answered Johnson.
"What can he do in such circumstances?" retorted Bell, shrugging his
shoulders. "Can he change these pieces of ice into pieces of meat? Ishe a god, who can work by miracles?"
"Who can say?" the boatswain answered his companion's doubts; "I trustin him."
Bell shook his head, and fell into a silent apathy, in which he evenceased to think.
That day they made hardly three miles; at evening they had nothing toeat; the dogs threatened to devour one another; the men sufferedextremely from hunger. Not a single animal was to be seen. If therehad been one, of what use would it have been? They could not gohunting with a knife. Only Johnson thought he recognized a mile toleeward the large bear, who was following the ill-fated little party.
"It is spying us!" he said to himself; "it sees a certain prey in us!"
But Johnson said no word to his companions; that evening they madetheir accustomed halt, and their supper consisted only of coffee. Theyfelt their eyes growing haggard, their brain growing confused, and,tortured by hunger, they could not get an hour's sleep; strange andpainful dreams took possession of their minds.
At a latitude in which the body imperiously demands refreshment, thesepoor men had not eaten solid food for thirty-six hours, when Tuesdaymorning came. Nevertheless, inspired by superhuman energy, theyresumed their journey, pushing on the sledge which the dogs wereunable to draw. At the end of two hours they fell, exhausted. Hatteraswanted to push on. He, still strong, besought his companions to rise,but they were absolutely unable. Then, with Johnson's assistance, hebuilt a resting-place in an iceberg. It seemed as if they were diggingtheir own graves.
"At the end of two hours they fell, exhausted."]
"I am willing to die of hunger," said Hatteras, "but not of cold."
After much weariness the house was ready, and they all entered it.
So that day passed. In that evening, while his companions lay inert,Johnson had a sort of hallucination; he dreamed of an immense bear.That word, which he kept repeating, attracted the doctor's attention,so that he shook himself free from his stupor, and asked the oldsailor why he kept talking about a bear, and what bear he meant.
"The bear which is following us," answered Johnson.
"The bear which is following us?" repeated the doctor.
"Yes, the last two days."
"The last two days! Have you seen him?"
"Yes, he's a mile to leeward."
"And you didn't tell us, Johnson?"
"What was the use?"
"True," said the doctor; "we have no ball to fire at him."
"Not a slug, a bit of iron, nor a bolt!" said the old sailor.
The doctor was silent, and began to think intently. Soon he said tothe boatswain,--
"You are sure the bear is following us?"
"Yes, Doctor, he's lying in wait to eat us. He knows we can't escapehim!"
"Johnson!" said the doctor, touched by the despairing accent of hiscompanion.
"His food is sure," continued the poor man, who was beginning to bedelirious; "he must be half famished, and I don't see why we need keephim waiting any longer!"
"Be quiet, Johnson!"
"No, Doctor; if we've got to come to it, why should we prolong theanimal's sufferings? He's hungry as we are; he has no seal to eat!Heaven sends him us men; well, so much the better for him!"
Thereupon Johnson went out of his mind; he wanted to leave thesnow-house. The doctor had hard work to prevent him, and he onlysucceeded by saying, as if he meant it,--
"To-morrow I shall kill that bear!"
"To-morrow!" said Johnson, as if he had awakened from a bad dream.
"Yes, to-morrow."
"You have no ball!"
"I shall make one."
"You have no lead!"
"No, but I have some quicksilver."
Thereupon the doctor took the thermometer; it marked +50 degrees. Hewent outside, placed the instrument on the ice, and soon returned. Theoutside temperature was -50 degrees. Then he said to the old sailor,--
"Now go to sleep, and wait till to-morrow."
That night they endured the horrors of hunger; only the doctor and theboatswain were able to temper them with a little hope. The nextmorning, at dawn, the doctor rushed out, followed by Johnson, and ranto the thermometer; all the mercury had sunk into the bulb, in theform of a compact cylinder. The doctor broke the instrument, andseized in his gloved fingers a piece of very hard metal. It was a realbullet.
"Ah, Doctor," shouted the old sailor, "that's a real miracle! You area wonderful man!"
"No, my friend," answered the doctor, "I am only a man with a goodmemory, who has read a good deal."
"Why, what do you mean?"
"I happened to remember something Captain Ross related in the accountof his voyage: he said he shot through an inch plank with a bullet offrozen mercury; if I had any oil it would amount to nearly the samething, for he speaks of a ball of sweet almond, which was firedagainst a post and fell back to the ground unbroken."
"That is hardly credible!"
"But it is true, Johnson; this piece of metal may save our lives; letus leave it here in the air before we take it, and go and see whetherthe bear is still following us."
At that moment Hatteras came out of the hut; the doctor showed him thebullet, and told him what he thought of doing; the captain pressed hishand, and the three went off to inspect. The air was very clear.Hatteras, who was ahead of his companions, discovered the bear about ahalf-mile off. The animal, seated on his hind quarters, was busilymoving his head about, sniffing towards these new arrivals.
"There he is!" shouted the captain.
"Silence!" said the doctor.
But the huge beast did not stir when he saw the hunters. He gazed atthem without fear or anger. Still, it would be found hard to approachhim.
"My friends," said Hatteras, "we have not come out for sport, but tosave our lives. Let us act cautiously."
"Yes," answered the doctor; "we can only have one shot, and we mustnot miss; if he were to run away, he would be lost, for he can runfaster than a hare."
"Well, we must go straight for him," said Johnson; "it is dangerous,but what does it matter? I am willing to risk my life."
"No, let me go!" cried the doctor.
"No, I shall go," answered Hatteras, quietly.
"But," said Johnson, "are not you of more use to the others than Ishould be?"
"No, Johnson," answered the captain, "let me go; I shall run noneedless risk; perhaps, too, I shall call on you to help me."
"Hatteras," asked the doctor, "are you going to walk straight towardsthe bear?"
"If I were sure of hitting him, I would do so, even at the risk ofhaving my head torn open, but he would flee at my approach. He is verycrafty; we must try to be even craftier."
"What do you intend to do?"
"To get within ten feet of him without his suspecting it."
"How are you going to do it?"
"By a simple but dangerous method. You kept, did you not, the skin ofthe seal you shot?"
"Yes, it is on the sledge."
"Well, let us go back to the snow-house, while Johnson stays here onwatch."
The boatswain crept behind a hummock which hid him entirely from thesight of the bear, who stayed in the same place, continually sniffingthe air.