Chapter 8 Chapter Eight The Crew's Plan

However, the Vampire still moved nimbly on its course, and moved a few latitudes to the north; however, what it wanted to do was not to avoid the enemy, but to attack it at once. Packs of ice floes typically exhibit tens of millions of tons of pressure, and care must be taken to avoid becoming trapped by them.The ice saw is installed inside the boat, so it can be put into use immediately. Some of the sailors accepted the arduous labor with meekness, but others, though not refusing to carry out the order, complained.Gary, Bourdain, Payne, and Gripper exchanged different views while arranging the tools.

hell!"I don't know why I should have thought of a nice restaurant in Water Street where I could get a glass of gin or a bottle of stout without too much trouble," said Bourdain cheerfully.How do you look here, Gripper? To tell you the truth, retorted the sailor who was greeted, he is usually very bad-tempered, and I assure you, I don't see that here. That's a way of saying it, Gripper, and it's clear that in these icy lands that Crawburn admires, there isn't a single tavern where an honest sailor might moisten himself with a half-pint or two of brandy. lips. To that you may take it easy, Bourdain, and you may add that there is even something here to refresh yourself, and what a ludicrous idea it is to keep a sailor in the northern seas off his drink!

all right!Gary replied, Haven't you forgotten, Gripper?What did the doctor tell you?Any stimulant drink should be dispensed with, if you are free from scurvy, healthy, and moving forward. But I don't want to go far, Gary, I think it's enough to come here, why go where even the devil doesn't want to go. Alas, not going!Payne retorted when I thought I had forgotten the taste of gin! But, said Bourdain, tell me what the doctors have said to you. oh!Payne retorted in that brusquely loud voice that said all that needed to be said.What you need to know is, are you using your health as an excuse, are you playing a trick to save alcohol?

This guy Payne might have a point.Gripper replied. all right!Bourdain retorted that his nose was red from drinking, and that if the rule had made his nose turn red, Penn would not have complained so much. What does my nose have to do with you?The sailor who was touched on the sensitive part suddenly replied, my nose doesn't need your advice, it didn't ask you, you better mind your own business! Come on!Don't be mad, Payne, I didn't think there was anything wrong with your nose.well!I don't hate a whiskey as much as anyone else, especially in this weather.However, if it ends up being more harm than good, I'm willing to quit.

You quit, said Warren the stoker, and he joined the conversation, but maybe not all of them quit! What do you mean, Warren?Gary looked at him intently as he spoke. I mean, for one reason or another, there's still booze on board, I don't think there's a lot of discipline in the stern. How did you know?Gary asked. Warren was speechless. He was just talking, and everyone knew it. You're right, Gary, Bourdain went on, and Warren doesn't know anything. Well, Payne said, we'll ask the conductor for a gin, we've earned it, and we'll see what he says. I advise you to do nothing.Gary answered.

Why?shouted Penn and Gripper. Because the Commander will reject you.You knew the rules of the ship when you got on the ship, and you should have thought about it then. Besides, Bourdain replied, he voluntarily sided with Gary because his character appealed to him, Richard.Shan Dun is not the master of the ship, he, you, and we are also absolutely obedient. To whom should I obey?Payne asked. Obey the captain. ah!Always the hapless captain!cried Payne, don't you see that on these ice beds there are no longer captains, but only taverns?It's a polite way of saying no to something we have a right to ask for.

But you're wrong, there's a captain, said Bourton, we'll see him soon, and I'll bet my two months' salary. Great, said Payne, come out with someone I'd like to speak to my face! Who's talking about the captain?said a new interlocutor. This is Clifton the Sailor, quite superstitious and jealous. Anything new about the captain?he asked. No.Everyone answered him in unison. Well, I expect he'll show up in his cabin some morning, and no one knows how or where he got here. alright!Bourdain replied, You're fantasizing again, Clifton, as if the fellow were a leprechaun or pixie running in the Scottish Highlands!

Say what you like, Bourdain, it won't change my mind, I look through the keyhole every day when I pass the cabin, and one day I'll come and tell you what the captain looks like, how he is here. Oh hell!Payne said he came from the same source as all men, your captain.If this is a guy who wants to take us where we don't like to go, we all know what's up with him. good!Bourdain said that Payne didn't even know him, so he wanted to quarrel with him! Who doesn't know him?Clifton retorted, putting on a know-it-all look, whether he knew or not remains to be determined! What do you want to say?Gripper asked.

I see. But we don't understand you! Why, hadn't Penn had a bad time with him? With the captain? Yes, with Captain Dog, because that's exactly the same thing. The sailors looked at each other, not daring to answer. Whether it's a dog or a person, Payne muttered, I tell you, this animal will be a big deal one day. Look, Clifton, asked Bourton gravely, do you take this dog for the real captain, as Johnson joked? Of course, said Clifton confidently, if you were watching as I was, you would have noticed that the animal behaved unusually. what manners?Come on, talk! Don't you see the way he walks up and down the poop with a dignified air, looking at the sails as if he were on watch?

It's true, says Gripper, and I even actually saw him rest his paw on the wheel one night. impossible!Bourdain said. Now, said Clifton, didn't he leave the boat at night and go out on to the ice, where he wasn't afraid of the bear or the cold? This is also true.Bourdain said. Had the beast been seen standing beside people like a faithful dog, prowling about the kitchen, staring at the Commander while Chef Strong brought him delicious food?Didn't you hear, at night, when the ship had gone two or three miles, howling that sent a chill down your spine, which is not easy to feel at this temperature?Finally, have you ever seen this dog eat?It doesn't eat human food at all, the dog food is never touched, unless a hand secretly feeds it on the boat, I have the right to say that this beast does not live on food, so if it is not magical, I am a head brute.

Seriously, replied Bell the Carpenter, who had heard all of Clifton's arguments, and seriously, it's quite possible! But the other sailors said nothing. In any case, Bourdain asked, where is the Forward taking us? I don't know anything, Bell replied, when Richard.Shandon would have other instructions. But who gives directions? Who gives instructions? Yes, how to instruct?He appeared eager, Bourdain said. Come on, Bell, talk!said the other sailors. Who gives instructions?How to instruct?oh!I have no idea.The carpenter retorted, looking a little embarrassed. Ah, it's Captain Dog!Clifton yelled that he had written the first time, and would write the second as well.oh!I'd be worthy of the title of Lord of the Admiralty if I knew half what the beast knows. So, Bourdain concludes, you insist that the dog is the captain of the ship? Yes, as I said. Well, said Payne muffled, if the beast doesn't want to die in dog's skin, he'll just have to be human soon, because I'm going to fix him the way Penn does. why? Because I want to, Payne gruffly replied, I don't want to report to anyone. Enough said no.Boys, cried Mr. Johnson, who intervened when the speech seemed to be deadlocked, and made the saw go faster!We have to go through the big ice floes! great!It's another Friday!Clifton shrugged and said, you see, crossing the polar circle is not so easy! In any case, the crew was a little out of energy for the day, and the "Forward" rushed to the ice field at full power, but could not separate them, so they had to anchor here at night. On Saturday, due to the influence of the easterly wind, the temperature was still dropping;At seven o'clock in the morning, the temperature was minus twenty-one degrees Celsius. The doctor tried to stay quietly in the cabin and read the polar travel journal, but he asked himself, according to his habits, what was the last thing he wanted to do at this time.He answered himself that it was not much fun to help out on deck in this temperature.So he strictly abides by his own code of conduct, leaving the warm cabin to help tug the boat.He has a good complexion and wears green glasses so that his eyes will not be hurt by the reflection. He always wears snow goggles when observing later, so as not to contract the blindness that is very common in high latitudes. . In the evening, the Vanguard sailed north for several miles, thanks to the efforts of her crew and the wisdom of Shandon, who was good at taking advantage of every favorable situation.At midnight, the Admiral passed the sixty-sixth latitude. Through sounding, the water depth was twenty-three feet. Sandon realized that he had come to the shoal where the Queen's battleship Victory was located, and gradually approached thirty nautical miles to the east. land. But by that time the ice floes, which had been motionless until then, began to break up and begin to move. Icebergs seemed to come in from all directions on the horizon. The ship encountered moving reefs whose pressure was irresistible. It was quite difficult to get up, the first helmsman Gary was at the helm, and the icebergs behind the ship tended to close together.It is therefore necessary to cross this glacier, and to advance, both out of prudence and duty.The difficulty increased, for Shandon could not orient himself among these moving points, which changed from one place to another without any possibility of settling down. The people on board were divided between the starboard and port sides of the ship; each man held a long stick with an iron head, and pushed away the particularly dangerous ice blocks, and the Advance soon entered two high-rise buildings. In the narrow lane between the icebergs, the top of the spar grazed the ice wall as hard as rock, and it gradually entered a winding valley full of snow whirlpools, and the ice floes collided with each other and broke apart with a loud noise. But it was soon confirmed that there was no exit to the canyon. A huge ice block entered the channel and quickly drifted towards the Forward. It seemed that there was no way to avoid it, and it was also impossible to retreat. Shandon and Johnson stood in front of the ship, observing the situation.Sandon indicated the direction of progress to the helmsman with his right hand, and pointed to James, who was next to the mechanic, with his left hand.Wall communicated the order to operate the engine. How can this end?the doctor asked Johnson. That depends on whether God is happy or not.replied the bosun. The 100-foot-tall iceberg is only one chain away from the Forward. 】It is in danger of crushing it. Damn it, damn it!Payne cried out, cursing horribly. shut up!Someone shouted, whose voice was hard to discern in the high wind. The iceberg appeared to be heading towards the ship, and there was a moment of indescribable anxiety when the crew dropped their iron bars and backed away, in complete disregard of Sandon's orders. Suddenly there was a terrible bang, and a real downpour from the waves fell on the deck of the ship.There was a horrific cry from the crew, and Gary at the helm kept the March going steadily despite the ship's dire veering. When people cast their horrified eyes on the iceberg, the iceberg disappeared, the road was cleared, and there appeared a canal illuminated by the slanting sunlight, and the ship could continue to drive forward. Well, Mr. Crawburn, said Johnson, can you explain this phenomenon to me? Quite simply, my friend, the doctor answered, it happens often, when the floes melt and separate from each other, they drift alone, in perfect equilibrium, but gradually they drift south, where the water is warmer, and their bottoms As other icebergs collide and start to melt and break apart, at some point the center of gravity of the floes shifts and they collapse.It's just that if the iceberg turned around in two minutes, it would have swooped down on the boat, pinning it to the bottom. Chapter Nine A Message At noon on April 30, the Forward passed near Holsteinberg and finally crossed the polar circle.Majestic mountains tower over the eastern horizon.It can be said that there is no more ice floes on the sea, or that these floes are easy to avoid.When the southeast wind blew, the ship put up the fore-sail, mizzen-sail, second-tier square sail, and third-tier sail, and sailed up the Baffin Sea. It was a very calm day, and the crew could rest for a while. Numerous birds were cruising and circling around the ship. Among them, the doctor noticed alca|aua, which was almost exactly the same as the wild duck, with the same neck, wings, black back and white. Breasted, they dive nimbly, and they often dive for more than forty seconds. Nothing new happened that day, were it not for a subsequent incident on board the ship, however unusual it may have seemed. Six o'clock in the morning, Richard.When Sandon returned to his cabin after his shift, he found a letter on the table with the following address: Forward Commander Richard.Shan Dun received Bafenhai. Shandon couldn't believe his eyes, but before he knew the contents of this strange letter, he had the doctor called, James.Wall and the bosun, show them the letter. This is very strange.Johnson said. This is very interesting.the doctor thought. In short, exclaimed Shandon, we are about to learn the secret, and with a swift movement he tore open the envelope, and read the following: commander, The Captain of the March is very pleased with the coolness, wisdom, and courage shown last time by your sailors, your officers, and yourself, and he asks you to express his gratitude to the entire crew. Please sail straight north to Melville Sound, from where you are about to enter Smith Strait. Captain of the March K． Z． Monday, April 30th, near Walsingheim. Is it all here?cried the doctor. It's all here.Shandon replied. The letter fell from his hand. Well, says Wall, the phantom captain doesn't even mention coming on board anymore, and I don't think he'll ever come. But this letter, Johnson said, how did it come about? Shandon was silent. M．Wall was right, replied the doctor, picking up the letter and turning it over, the captain had no good reason to come on board what reason?Shandon asked eagerly. Because he was already on board.The doctor answered succinctly. already!Shandon exclaimed, what do you mean? If not, how to explain the arrival of this letter? Johnson nodded in agreement. impossible!Shandon said impulsively, I know all the crew members, could it be that the captain was among them when the ship set off?It's impossible, I told you!There is not a single person whom I have not seen a hundred times in Liverpool for more than two years, and your inferences, doctor, are unacceptable! So what do you think, Shandon? Anything else will do.I admit to the captain or one of his men, how should I know?Sneak onto the boat in the dark or fog, whatever you can think of, we're not far from land, and the Eskimos' boats are invisible among the icebergs, they probably came to the boat and delivered the letter The fog is thick , which facilitates the realization of the plan But the ship would also be invisible, replied the doctor, how could he have spotted the March in the mist if we hadn't seen an uninvited guest coming on board? It's obvious.Johnson said. I still stick to my hypothesis, said the doctor, what do you think, Shandon? Look at it any way you want, Sandron said furiously, except the assumption that the man was on board. Perhaps, Wall added, there was one of his men among the crew who took his instructions. Maybe.The doctor said. But who?Sandon asked, I have known all my men, and I tell you, for a long time. In conclusion, Johnson went on, if the Captain appeared, man or ghost, we would accept him, but wouldn't there be another lesson, or another message, to be drawn from this letter? What?Sandon asked. This is how we go not only to Melville Bay, but also to Smith Strait. You are right.The doctor said again. Smith Strait.Richard.Shandon repeated mechanically. Evidently, Sandon went on, the purpose of the Going was not to find the North-West Passage, since we would be throwing the only entrance to it to the left, Lancaster Sound.This portends a difficult voyage in unfamiliar waters. Yes, Smith Strait, Sandon replied, this is the route taken by the American Kahn in 1853, how dangerous it is!For a long time it was thought he was lost in these dreadful waters!Since you want to go there, just go!But where?To the extreme? Why not?cried the doctor. The bosun shrugged his shoulders at the thought of this madness. Anyway, James.Wall added, let's go back to the captain. If he exists, the only houses I've seen on the coast of Greenland are Disko Island or Urbana Vik. In a few days, we'll find out what's going on. But, the doctor asked Sandon, don't you want the crew to know the contents of this letter? As long as the commander allows, Shandon replied, I have no objection. why?the doctor asked. For all that is strange and unreal is fundamentally unnerving to our people, who are already very anxious about their fate in this mode of sailing.So pushing them into the supernatural has bad consequences and we can no longer count on them at critical moments.What do you think, Commander? And you, doctor, what do you think?Shandon asked. Mr. Johnson, replied the doctor, which seems to me quite reasonable. How about you, James? Unless there is a better idea, replied Wall, I agree with these gentlemen. Sandon thought for a while, and he read the letter carefully again. Gentlemen, he said, your idea is indeed very good, but I cannot adopt it. Why so, Shandon?asked the doctor. For the instructions of this letter are very specific, and all they require of the crew to know is the captain's compliment, and, as I have hitherto blindly obeyed his orders, in whatever manner they were communicated to me, I cannot But Johnson went on to say that he was concerned about the effect such a communication would have on the sailors' psyches. My good Johnson, said Sandon again, I understand your obstinacy, and your reasons are very good, but read this: He asks you to thank the whole crew. Just do it, Johnson went on. He is a man of discipline after all. Should the whole crew be gathered on deck? go a head.Shandon replied. News of the captain's letter spread quickly through the ship.The sailors arrived at the patrol post punctually, and the commander read the mysterious letter aloud. The letter brought a gloomy silence, and the crew's individual imaginations, Clifton had material for the superstitious imagination, in which he believed that Captain Dog played a considerable part in the matter, when he happened to be on the way When he met it, he didn't forget to say hello to it. What am I telling you, he repeated to the sailors, the beast can write. Everyone was powerless to refute this view, even Bell, the carpenter, was speechless. But one thing was indisputable to each, that though the captain was not on board, his shadow and his spirit were on board, and the wisest men never exchanged their opinions with one another. At noon on May 1st, the observed latitude was 68 degrees and the longitude was 56 degrees 32 minutes.The temperature had risen, and the thermometer indicated minus four degrees Celsius. The doctor was amused to see a mother bear and two cubs playing on the edge of a land-bound ice floe.Accompanied by Wall and Simpson, he tried to hunt it in a small boat, but the animal was not aggressive, and immediately fled with her children, so the doctor had to give up. Rounding Cape Chidley at night with a favorable wind, the high mountains of Disko Island immediately appeared on the horizon, and Godavan Bay, the residence of the Danish Governor, was left to the right. Sandon felt it was inappropriate to stop, and soon Ditched the canoes of the Eskimos who were trying to keep up. Disko Island is also called Whale Island, and it is on this island that John.Sir Franklin wrote his last letter to the Admiralty on July 12, 1845, also on this island, Mark.Captain Clintock returned with undeniable evidence of the voyage's wreck. The coincidence of the two events was so great that the doctor should have noticed that the tragic resemblance was much more in his memory, but the high mountains of Disko Island were soon fading from his vision. There are many icebergs on the coast, which belong to the kind that cannot be melted even by the maximum thawing. This series of continuous peaks is really strange. About three o'clock the next day, passing Sanderson-Hope Cape in the northeast, the land was thrown fifteen nautical miles to starboard, and the mountains were reddish brown.At night, many finned whales play among the icebergs, blowing air and water out of their nostrils. On the night of the 3rd/4th of May, the doctor saw for the first time the sunlight brushing the horizon without sinking its bright disk, whose glossy surface had grown more and more since the 31st of January. Great, at the moment it glows continuously. To the unaccustomed viewer, the constant daylight has always been a surprising, even exhausting thing, and one cannot believe how vital the night is to the health of the eyes. I felt real pain from the light, made all the more scorching by the reflection from the iceberg. On May 5, the Forward passed the 72nd latitude.In two months, it will encounter many whalers operating at high latitudes, but the channel is still not clear enough to allow large ships to enter the Baffin Sea. The next day the ship passed the Isle of Mujeres before arriving at Urbana Vik, the northernmost Danish colony on this coast.