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twg_000012588900 | was to rest leaned comfortably against the lumps caused by inequalities of the cargo, while the others took to their oars. "It's coming!" cried Benjy, about half-an-hour after all had been prepared. And unquestionably it _was_ coming. The boy's quick eyes had detected a line on the southern horizon, which became gradua... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588901 | covered the heavens. At the same time the indigo ripple caused by a rushing mighty wind crept steadily over the sea. As it neared the boats the white crests of breaking waves were seen gleaming sharply in the midst of the dark blue. "Clap the women under hatches," shouted the Captain, with more good sense than refineme... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588902 | Anders at the word lifted a corner of their respective sheets. Obedient Toolooha, Oblooria, and Tekkona bent their meek heads and disappeared: The sheets were refastened, and the men, taking their places, held on to the cords or life-lines. It was an anxious moment. No one could guess how the boats would behave under t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588903 | the Captain, "we must run before it." A hiss, which had been gradually increasing as the squall drew near, broke into a kind of roar, and wind and waves rushed upon them as the men bent their backs to the oars with all their might. It was soon found that the boats had so little hold of the water that | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588904 | the wind and oars combined carried them forward so fast as to decrease considerably the danger of being whelmed by a falling wave. These waves increased every moment in size, and their crests were so broken and cut off by the gale that the three boats, instead of appearing as they had hitherto done the only solid objec... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588905 | scene, were almost lost to sight in the chaos of black waves and driving foam. Although they tried their best to keep close together they failed, and each soon became ignorant of the position of the others. The last that they saw of Alf's boat was in the hollow between two seas like a vanishing cormorant or a northern ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588906 | Leo was visible some time longer. He was wielding the steering-oar in an attitude of vigorous caution, while his Eskimos were pulling as if for their lives. An enormous wave rose behind them, curled over their heads and appeared ready to overwhelm them, but the sturdy rowers sent the boat forward, and the broken crest ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588907 | billow was still larger. Taken up though he was with his own boat the Captain found time to glance at them with horror. "They're gone!" he cried, as the top of the billow fell, and nothing was seen save the heads of the four men like dark spots on the foam. The boat had in truth been overwhelmed and sunk, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588908 | but, like a true lifeboat it rose to the surface like a cork the instant the weight of water was removed, and her crew, who had held on to the life-lines and oars, were still safe. "Well done the little _Hope_!" cried the Captain, while Benjy gave vent to his feelings in a cheer, which was evidently heard by Leo, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588909 | for he was seen to wave his hand in reply. Next moment another wave hid the _Hope_ from view, and it was seen no more at that time. "I feel easier now, Benjy, thank God, after _that_. Alf is a fair steersman, and our boats are evidently able to stand rough usage." Benjy made no reply. He was rubbing the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588910 | water out of his eyes, and anxiously looking through the thick air in the hope of seeing Leo's boat again. The poor boy was grave enough now. When the might and majesty of the Creator are manifested in the storm and the raging sea, the merely humorous fancies of man are apt to be held in check. The Captain's boat | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588911 | went rushing thus wildly onwards, still, fortunately, in the right direction; and for some hours there was no decrease in the force of the gale. Then, instead of abating, as might have been expected, it suddenly increased to such an extent that speedy destruction appeared to be inevitable. "No sort o' craft could live ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588912 | as if to himself rather than to his son, who sat with a firm expression on his somewhat pale countenance, looking wistfully towards the northern horizon. Perhaps he was wondering whether it was worth while to risk so much for such an end. Suddenly he shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed intently. "Land!" he exclaime... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588913 | eager tone. "Whereaway, boy? Ay, so there is something there. What say you, Chingatok? Is it land?" The giant, who, during all this time, had calmly plied a pair of oars with strength equal almost to that of four men, looked over his shoulder without, however, relaxing his efforts. "No," he said, turning round again, "... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588914 | berg!" exclaimed the Captain. "We will make for it. Tie your handkerchief, Benjy, to the end of an oar and hold it up. It will serve as a guide to our comrades." In a wonderfully short space of time the berg which Benjy had seen as a mere speck on the horizon rose sharp, rugged, and white against the black | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588915 | sky. It was a very large one--so large that it had no visible motion, but seemed as firm as a rock, while the billows of the Arctic Ocean broke in thunder on its glassy shore. "We'll get shelter behind it, Ben, my boy," said the Captain, "hold the oar well up, and don't let the rag clap round the blade. | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588916 | Shake it out so. God grant that they may see it." "Amen," ejaculated Benjy to the prayer with heartfelt intensity. There was danger as well as safety in the near vicinity to this berg, for many of its pinnacles seemed ready to fall, and there was always the possibility of a mass being broken off under water, which migh... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588917 | the equilibrium of the whole berg, and cause it to revolve with awfully destructive power. However, there was one favourable point--the base was broad, and the ice-cliffs that bordered the sea were not high. In a few more minutes the western end of the berg was passed. Its last cape was rounded, and the _Faith_ was swe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588918 | efforts of Chingatok, Benjy, and Toolooha, (who _would_ not remain under cover), into the comparatively still water on the lee, or northern side of the berg. "Hurrah!" shouted Benjy in a tone that was too energetic and peculiar to have been called forth by the mere fact of his own escape from danger. Captain Vane looke... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588919 | by the boy's glistening eyes--glistening with the salt tears of joy as well as with salt sea spray--and there beheld the other two boats coming dancing in like wild things on the crests of the heaving waves. They had seen the signal of the handkerchief, understood and followed it, and, in a few minutes more, were under... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588920 | the ice-cliffs, thanking God and congratulating each other on their deliverance. A sheltered cove was soon found, far enough removed from cliffs and pinnacles to insure moderate safety. Into this they ran, and there they spent the night, serenaded by the roaring gale, and lullabied by the crash of falling spires and th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588921 | A WONDERFUL APPARITION BUT A FURIOUS NIGHT. When the storm had passed, a profound calm once more settled down on the face of nature, as if the elements had been utterly exhausted by the conflict. Once more the sea became like a sheet of undulating glass, in which clouds and sun and boats were reflected vividly, and onc... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588922 | voyagers found themselves advancing towards the north, abreast of each other, and rowing sociably together at the rate of about four miles an hour. When advancing under oars they went thus abreast so as to converse freely, but when proceeding under kites they kept in single file, so as to give scope for swerving, in th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588923 | of wind, and to prevent the risk of the entanglement of lines. "What is that?" exclaimed Benjy, pointing suddenly to an object ahead which appeared at regular intervals on the surface of the water. "A whale, I think," said Leo. "A whale usually spouts on coming up, doesn't it?" said Alf. Chingatok uttered an unpronounc... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588924 | throw light on the subject. "What is it, Anders?" shouted the Captain. "What you say?" asked the interpreter from Alf's boat, which was on the other side of the _Hope_. "If these squawkin' things would hold their noise, you'd hear better," growled the Captain before repeating the question. His uncourteous remark had re... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588925 | round and followed the boats with remonstrative cries and astonished looks. "It's beast," shouted Anders, "not knows his name in Ingliss." "Humph! a man with half an eye might see it is `beast,'" retorted the Captain in an undertone. As he spoke, the "beast" changed its course and bore down upon them. As it drew near t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588926 | for the size of the creature seemed beyond anything they had yet seen. Strange to say, the Eskimos looked at it with their wonted gaze of calm indifference. "It's the great sea-serpent at last," said Benjy, with something like awe on his countenance. "It does look uncommon like it," replied the Captain, with a perplexe... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588927 | "Get out the rifles, lad! It's as well to be ready. D'ye know what it is, Chingatok?" Again the giant uttered the unpronounceable name, while Benjy got out the fire-arms with eager haste. "Load 'em all, Ben, load 'em all, an' cram the Winchester to the muzzle," said the Captain. "There's no sayin' what we may have to e... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588928 | I _have_ heard of a gigantic bit of seaweed bein' mistaken for the great sea-serpent before now." "That may be, father," said Benjy, with increasing excitement, "but nobody ever saw a bit of seaweed swim with the activity of a gigantic eel like _that_. Why, I have counted its coils as they rise and sink, and I'm quite ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588929 | a hundred and fifty yards long if it's an inch." Those in the other boats were following the Captain's example,--getting out and charging the fire-arms,--and truly there seemed some ground for their alarm, for the creature, which approached at a rapid rate, appeared most formidable. Yet, strange to say, the Eskimos pai... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588930 | up with the excitement of the white men. When the creature had approached to within a quarter of a mile, it diverged a little to the left, and passed the boats at the distance of a few hundred yards. Then Captain Vane burst into a sudden laugh, and shouted:-- "Grampuses!" "What?" cried Leo. "Grampuses!" repeated the Ca... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588931 | a shoal of grampuses following each other in single file, that we've mistaken for one creature!" Never before was man or boy smitten with heavier disappointment than was poor Benjy Vane on that trying occasion. "Why, what's wrong with you, Benjy?" asked his father, as he looked at his woeful countenance. "To think," sa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588932 | come all the way to the North Pole for _this_! Why I've believed in the great sea-serpent since ever I could think, I've seen pictures of it twisting its coils round three-masted ships, and goin' over the ocean with a mane like a lion, and its head fifty feet out o' the water! Oh! it's too bad, I'd have given | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588933 | my ears to have seen the great sea-serpent." "There wouldn't have been much of you left, Benjy, if you had given _them_." "Well, well," continued the boy, not noticing his father's remark, "it's some comfort to know that I've all _but_ seen the great sea-serpent." It is some comfort to us, reader, to be able to record ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588934 | Benjy Vane was not doomed to total disappointment on that memorable day, for, on the same evening, the voyagers had an encounter with walruses which more than made up for the previous misfortune. It happened thus:-- The three boats were proceeding abreast, slowly but steadily over the still calm sea, when their attenti... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588935 | splash or upheaval of water, just off what the Captain styled his "port bow." At the same moment the head of a walrus appeared on the surface like a gigantic black bladder. It seemed to be as large as the head of a small elephant, and its ivory tusks were not less than two feet long. There was a square | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588936 | bluntness about the creature's head, and a savage look about its little bloodshot eyes, which gave to it a very hideous aspect. Its bristling moustache, each hair of which was six inches long, and as thick as a crow quill, dripped with brine, and it raised itself high out of the water, turning its head from side to sid... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588937 | a rapidity and litheness of action that one would not have expected in an animal so unwieldy. Evidently it was looking eagerly for something. Catching sight of the three boats, it seemed to have found what it looked for, and made straight at them. Leo quietly got ready his Winchester repeater, a rifle which, as the rea... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588938 | discharge a dozen or more shots in rapid succession; the cartridges being contained in a case resembling a thick ram-rod under the barrel, from which they are thrust almost instantaneously into their places. But before the creature gained the boats, a second great upheaval of water took place, and another walrus appear... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588939 | had been in quest. Both were bulls of the largest and most ferocious description. No sooner did they behold each other, than, with a roar, something betwixt a bark and a bellow, they collided, and a furious fight began. The sea was churned into foam around them as they rolled, reared, spurned, and drove their tusks int... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588940 | and shoulders. The boats lay quietly by, their occupants looking on with interest. The Eskimos were particularly excited, but no one spoke or acted. They all seemed fascinated by the fight. Soon one and another and another walrus-head came up out of the sea, and then it was understood that a number of cow walruses had ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588941 | combat! But the human audience paid little regard to these, so much were they engrossed by the chief actors. It might have been thought, from the position of their tusks, which are simply an enlargement and prolongation of the canine teeth, that these combatants could only strike with them in a downward direction, but ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588942 | contrary, they turned their thick necks with so much ease and rapidity that they could strike in all directions with equal force, and numerous were the wounds inflicted on either side, as the blood-red foam soon testified. We have said that the human spectators of the scene remained inactive, but, at the first pause, t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588943 | might as well put a stop to the fight, and advised Leo to give one of them a shot. "We'll not be the worse for a fresh steak," he added to Benjy, as Leo was taking aim. The effect of the shot was very unexpected. One of the bulls was hit, but evidently not in a deadly manner, for the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588944 | motion of the boat had disturbed Leo's aim. Each combatant turned with a look of wild surprise at the interruptor, and, as not unfrequently happens in cases of interference with fights, both made a furious rush at him. At the same moment, all the cows seemed to be smitten with pugnacity, and joined in the attack. There... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588945 | to get ready, when the furious animals were upon them. Guns and rifles were pointed, axes and spears grasped, and oars gripped. Even the women seized each a spear, and stood on the defensive. A simultaneous volley checked the enemy for a moment, and sent one of the cows to the bottom; but with a furious bellow they cha... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588946 | The great anxiety of the defenders was to prevent the monsters from getting close to the boats, so as to hook on to them with their tusks, which would probably have overturned them, or penetrated the inflated sides. In either case, destruction would have been inevitable, and it was only by the active use of oar, axe, a... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588947 | this was prevented. Twice did one of the bulls charge the Captain's boat, and on both occasions he was met by the tremendous might of Chingatok, who planted the end of an oar on his blunt nose, and thrust him off. On each occasion, also, he received a shot from the double barrel of Benjy, who fired the first time | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588948 | into his open mouth, and the second time into his eye, but an angry cough from the one, and a wink from the other showed that he did not mind it much. Meantime the Captain, with the Winchester repeater, was endeavouring--but vainly, owing to the motions of the giant, and the swaying of the boat--to get a shot at the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588949 | beast, while Toolooha, with an axe, was coquetting with a somewhat timid cow near the stern. At last an opportunity offered. Captain Vane poured half a dozen balls as quick as he could fire into the head of the bull, which immediately sank. Not less vigorously did the occupants of the other boats receive the charge. Le... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588950 | than the Captain, as well as more expert with his repeater, slew his male opponent in shorter time, and with less expenditure of ammunition. Butterface, too, gained much credit by the prompt manner in which he split the skull of one animal with an axe. Even Oblooria, the timid, rose to the occasion, and displayed unloo... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588951 | seal-spear she stood up and invited a baby walrus to come on--by looks, not by words. The baby accepted the invitation--perhaps, being a pugnacious baby, it was coming on at any rate--and Oblooria gave it a vigorous dab on the nose. It resented the insult by shaking its head fiercely, and endeavouring to back off, but ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588952 | into the wound and held on. Oblooria also held on. Oolichuk, having just driven off a cow walrus, happened to observe the situation, and held on to Oblooria. The baby walrus was secured, and, almost as soon as the old bull was slain, had a line attached to it, and was made fast to the stern. "Well done, little girl!" | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588953 | exclaimed Oolichuk in admiration, "you're almost as good as a man." Among civilised people this might have been deemed a doubtful compliment, but it was not so in Eskimo-land. The little maid was evidently much pleased, and the title of the Timid One, which Oolichuk was wont to give her when in a specially endearing fr... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588954 | for the Brave One from that day. In a few more minutes the last charge of the enemy was repulsed, and those of them that remained alive dived back to that native home into which the slain had already sunk. Thus ended that notable fight with walruses. After consummating the victory with three cheers and congratulating e... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588955 | proceeded to examine into the extent of damage received. It was found that, beyond a few scratches, the _Faith_ and the _Hope_ had escaped scathless, but the _Charity_ had suffered considerably. Besides a bad rip in the upper part of the gunwale, a small hole had been poked in her side below water, and her air-chamber ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588956 | here, quick, uncle," cried Alf, in consternation, when he discovered this. To his surprise the Captain was not so much alarmed as he had expected. "It won't sink you, Alf, so keep your mind easy," he said, while examining the injury. "You see I took care to have the boats made in compartments. It will only make you go ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588957 | like a lame duck till I can repair the damage." "Repair it, uncle! how can--" "Never mind just now, hand out a blanket, quick; I'll explain after; we must undergird her and keep out as much water as we can." This operation was soon accomplished. The blanket was passed under the boat and made fast. By pressing against t... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588958 | part it checked the inflow of water. Then the cargo was shifted, and part of it was transferred to the other boats, and soon they were advancing as pleasantly, though not as quickly as before, while the Captain explained that he had brought a solution of gutta-percha for the express purpose of repairing damages to the ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588959 | was impossible to use it until they could disembark either on land or on an iceberg. "We'll come to another berg ere long, no doubt, shan't we, Chingatok?" he asked. The Eskimo shook his head and said he thought not, but there was a small rocky islet not far from where they were, though it lay somewhat out of their | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588960 | course. On hearing this the Captain changed his course immediately, and rowed in the direction pointed out. "There's wind enough up there, Benjy," remarked his father, looking up to the sky, where the higher clouds were seen rapidly passing the lower strata to the northward, "but how to get the kites set up in a dead c... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588961 | I can tell." "There is a way out of the difficulty, father," said Benjy, pointing behind them. He referred to a slight breeze which was ruffling the sea into what are called cat's paws far astern. "Right boy, right. Prepare to hoist your tops'ls, lads," shouted the Captain. In a few minutes the kites were expanded and ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588962 | When the light breeze came up they all soared, heavily, it is true, but majestically, into the sky. Soon reaching the upper regions, they caught the steady breeze there, and towed the boats along at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. In two hours they sighted the islet which Chingatok had mentioned, and, soon afte... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588963 | and taken possession of it, in the usual manner, under the name of Refuge Island. CHAPTER FIFTEEN. DISCOURSES OF DEEP THINGS. The islet, or rock, for it was little more, which the explorers had reached, was low and extremely barren. Nevertheless it had on it a large colony of sea-fowl, which received the strangers with... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588964 | not of welcome. As it was near noon at the time, the Captain and Leo went with their sextants to the highest part of the island to ascertain its position; the Eskimos set about making an encampment, unloading the boats, etcetera, and Alf, with hammer and botanical box, set off on a short ramble along the coast, accompa... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588965 | and Butterface. Sometimes these three kept together and chatted, at other times they separated a little, each attracted by some object of interest, or following the lead, it might have been, of wayward fancy. But they never lost sight of each other, and, after a couple of hours, converged, as if by tacit consent, until... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588966 | to rest on a ledge of rock. "Well, I _do_ like this sort o' thing," remarked Benjy, as he wiped his heated brow. "There is something to me so pleasant and peaceful about a low rocky shore with the sun blazing overhead and the great sea stretching out flat and white in a dead calm with just ripple enough to | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588967 | let you know it is all alive and hearty--only resting, like a good-humoured and sleepy giant." "Why, Ben, I declare you are becoming poetical," said Alf with a smile; "your conceptions correspond with those of Buzzby, who writes:-- "`Great Ocean, slumb'ring in majestic calm, Lies like a mighty--a mighty--' "I--I fear I... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588968 | majestic calm, Lies like a mighty--'" "Giant in a dwalm," suggested Benjy. "We'll change the subject," said Alf, opening his botanical box and taking out several specimens of plants and rocks. "See, here are some bits of rock of a kind that are quite new to me." "What's de use ob dem?" inquired Butterface with a look o... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588969 | "The use?" said Benjy, taking on himself to reply; "why, you flat-nosed grampus, don't you know that these bits of rock are made for the express purpose of being carried home, identified, classified, labelled, stuck up in a museum, and stared at by wondering ignoramuses, who care nothing whatever about them, and know l... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588970 | world with their little hammers keeping up the supply." "Yes, Butterface," said Alf, "Benjy is partly correct; such specimens will be treated as he describes, and be stared at in blank stupidity by hundreds of fellows like himself, but they will also be examined and understood by geologists, who from their profound kno... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588971 | to have had in arranging the materials of the earth, are able to point out many interesting and useful facts which are not visible to the naked and unscientific eye, such, for instance, as the localities where coal and other precious things may be found." "Kin dey tell whar' gold is to be found, massa Alf?" "O yes, the... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588972 | tell that." "Den it's dis yer chile as wishes," said Butterface with a sigh, "dat he was a jollygist." "Oh! Butterface, you're a jolly goose at all events," said Benjy; "wouldn't it be fun to go and discover a gold mine, and dig up as much as would keep us in happy idleness all the rest of our lives? But | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588973 | I say, Alf, have you nothing better than geological specimens in your box--no grubological specimens, eh?" Alf replied by producing from his box a paper parcel which contained some of the required specimens in the shape of biscuit and pemmican. "Capital! Well, you are a good fellow, Alf. Let us make a table-cloth of th... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588974 | glare so at the victuals, else you'll grow too hungry for a moderate supply." When the trio were in the full swing of vigorous feeding, the negro paused, with his mouth full, to ask Alf what would be the use of the North Pole when it was discovered. "Make matches or firewood of it," said Benjy just as he was | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588975 | about to stop up his impudent mouth with a lump of pemmican. "Truly, of what use the Pole itself may be--supposing it to exist in the form of a thing," said Alf, "I cannot tell, but it has already been of great use in creating expeditions to the Polar regions. You know well enough, Butterface, for you've been round the | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588976 | Capes of Good Hope and Horn often enough, what a long long voyage it is to the eastern seas, on the other side of the world, and what a saving of time and expense it would be if we could find a shorter route to those regions, from which so many of our necessaries and luxuries come. Now, if we | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588977 | could only discover an open sea in the Arctic regions which would allow our ships to sail in a straight line from England across the North Pole to Behring's Straits, the voyage to the East would be reduced to only about miles, and we should be able to reach Japan in three or four weeks. Just think what an advantage | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588978 | that would be to commerce!" "Tea at twopence a pound an' sugar to match--not to mention molasses and baccy, you ignorant nigger!" said Benjy;--"pass the biscuits." "An' now, massa Alf," said Butterface with an eager look, "we's diskivered dis open sea--eh!" "Well, it seems as if we had." "But what good will it do us," ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588979 | in the discussion, "if it's all surrounded by a ring of ice such as we have passed over on sledges." "If," repeated Alf, "in that `if' lies the whole question. No doubt Enterprise has fought heroically for centuries to overleap this supposed ring of ice, and science has stood expectant on the edge, looking eagerly for ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588980 | perseverance shall reveal the secrets of the Far North. It is true, also, that _we_ at last appear to have penetrated into the great unknown, but who shall say that the so-called ice-ring has been fully examined? Our explorations have been hitherto confined to one or two parts of it. We may yet find an ever-open entran... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588981 | Polar sea, and our ships may yet be seen sailing regularly to and fro over the North Pole." "Just so," said Benjy, "a North Pole steam line once a month to Japan and back--first class accommodation for second class fares. Walrus and white bear parties dropped on the way at the Pole Star Hotel, an easy trip from the Pol... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588982 | itself, which may be made in Eskimo cabs in summer and reindeer sleighs in winter. Return tickets available for six months--touching at China, India, Nova Zembla, Kamtschatka, and Iceland. Splendid view of Hecla and the great Mer de Glace of Greenland--fogs permitting.--Don't eat so much, Butterface, else bu'stin' will... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588983 | Ben," rejoined Alf with a smile. "So would the ancients have said," retorted Benjy, "if you had prophesied that in the nineteenth century our steamers would pass through the Straits of Hercules, up the Mediterranean, and over the land to India; or that our cousins' steam cars would go rattling across the great prairies... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588984 | over and under the Rocky Mountains from the States to California, in seven days; or that the telephone or electric light should ever come into being." "Well, you see, Butterface," said Alf, "there is a great deal to be said in favour of Arctic exploration, even at the present day, and despite all the rebuffs that we ha... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588985 | Edward Sabine, one of the greatest Arctic authorities, says of the route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, that it is the greatest geographical achievement which can be attempted, and that it will be the crowning enterprise of those Arctic researches in which England has hitherto had the pre-eminence. Why, Butterface,"... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588986 | negro listened as it were with every feature of his expressive face, and even the volatile Benjy became attentive, "why, there is no telling what might be the advantages that would arise from systematic exploration of these unknown regions, which cover a space of not less than two million, five hundred thousand square ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588987 | hydrography, and help to solve some of the difficult problems connected with Equatorial and Polar currents. It would enable us, it is said, by a series of pendulum observations at or near the Pole, to render essential service to the science of geology, to form a mathematical theory of the physical condition of the eart... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588988 | conformation. It would probably throw light on the wonderful phenomena of magnetism and atmospheric electricity and the mysterious Aurora Borealis--to say nothing of the flora of these regions and the animal life on the land and in the sea." "Why, Alf," exclaimed Benjy in surprise, "I had no idea you were so deeply lea... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588989 | Alf with a laugh, "why, I have only a smattering of them. Just knowledge enough to enable me in some small degree to appreciate the vast amount of knowledge which I have yet to acquire. Why do you look perplexed, Butterface?" "'Cause, massa, you's too deep for me altogidder. My brain no big 'nough to hold it all." "And... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588990 | skull's too thick to let it through to the little blob of brain that you do possess," said Benjy with a kindly-contemptuous look at his sable friend. "Oh! flatnose, you're a terrible thick-head." "You's right dere, massa," replied the negro, with a gratified smile at what he deemed a compliment. "You should ha' seed me... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588991 | leetle boy down in Ole Virginny, whar dey riz me, when my gran'moder she foun' me stickin' my fist in de molasses-jar an' lickin' it off. She swarmed at me an' fetch me one kick, she did, an' sent me slap troo a pannel ob de loft door, an' tumbled me down de back stair, whar I felled over de | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588992 | edge an' landed on de top ob a tar barrel w'ich my head run into. I got on my legs, I did, wiv difficulty, an' runned away never a bit de worse--not even a headache--only it was tree months afore I got dat tar rightly out o' my wool. Yes, my head's t'ick _'nough_." While Butterface was speaking, Leo and | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588993 | the Captain were seen approaching, and the three rose to meet them. There was a grave solemnity in the Captain's look which alarmed them. "Nothing wrong I hope, uncle?" said Alf. "Wrong! no, lad, there's nothing wrong. On the contrary, everything is right. Why, where do you think we have got to?" "A hundred and fifty m... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588994 | said Alf. "Less, less," said Leo, with an excited look. "We are not more," said the Captain slowly, as he took off his hat and wiped his brow, "not more than a hundred and forty miles from it." "Then we could be there in three days or sooner, with a good breeze," cried Benjy, whose enthusiasm was aroused. "Ay, Ben, | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588995 | if there was nothing in the way; but it's quite clear from what Chingatok says, that we are drawing near to his native land, which cannot be more than fifty miles distant, if so much. You remember he has told us his home is one of a group of islands, some of which are large and some small; some mountainous | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588996 | and others flat and swampy, affording food and shelter to myriads of wild-fowl; so, you see, after we get there our progress northward through such a country, without roads or vehicles, won't be at the rate of ten miles an hour by any means." "Besides," added Leo, "it would not be polite to Chingatok's countrymen if we... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588997 | them immediately after arriving. Perhaps they would not let us go, so I fear that we shan't gain the end of our journey yet a while, but that does not matter much, for we're sure to make it out at last." "What makes the matter more uncertain," resumed the Captain, as they sauntered back to camp, "is the fact that | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588998 | this northern archipelago is peopled by different tribes of Eskimos, some of whom are of a warlike spirit and frequently give the others trouble. However, Chingatok says we shall have no difficulty in reaching this Nothing--as he will insist on styling the Pole, ever since I explained to him that it was not a real but ... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
twg_000012588999 | wonder how Anders ever got him to understand what an imaginary point is," said Benjy. "That has puzzled me too," returned the Captain, "but he did get it screwed into him somehow, and the result is--Nothing!" "Out of nothing nothing comes," remarked Leo, as the giant suddenly appeared from behind a rock, "but assuredly... | 60 | gutenberg | unknown |
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