He consulted Sergeant Long, Mac-Nab, Rae, Marbre, and Sabine, in whom he had great confidence, and all agreed that it would be unwise to abandon the island before they were obliged. The raft, constantly swept as it would be by the waves, could only be a last resource, and would not move at half the pace of the island, still driven towards the south by the remains of the ice-wall. The wind generally blew from the east, and would be likely to drift the raft out into the offing away from all land. They must still wait then, always wait; for the island was drifting rapidly towards the Aleutians. When they really approached the group they would be able to see what it would be best to do.
This was certainly the wisest course to take. In eight days, if the present speed were maintained, the island would either stop at the southern boundary of Bering Sea, or be dragged to the south west to the waters of the Pacific Ocean, where certain destruction awaited it.
But the adverse fate which seemed all along to have followed the hapless colonists had yet another blow in store for them: the speed on which they counted was now to fail them, as everything else had done.
During the night of the 26th May, the orientation of the island changed once more; and this time the results of the displacement were extremely serious. The island turned half round, and the icebergs still remaining of the huge ice-wall, which had shut in the northern horizon, were now on the south.
In the morning the shipwrecked travellers—what name could be more appropriate?—saw the sun rise above Cape Eskimo instead of above Port Barnett.
Hardly a hundred yards off rose the icebergs, rapidly melting, but still of a considerable size, which till then had driven the island before them. The southern horizon was now partly shut in by them.
What would be the consequences of this fresh change of position? Would not the icebergs now float away from the island, with which they were no longer connected?
All were oppressed with a presentiment of some new misfortune, and understood only too well what Kellet meant when he exclaimed—
“This evening we shall have lost our screw!”
By this Kellet meant that the icebergs, being before instead of behind the island, would soon leave it, and as it was they which imparted to it its rapid motion, in consequence of their very great draught of water—their volume being six or seven feet below the sea level for every one above—they would now go on without it, impelled by the submarine current, whilst Victoria Island, not deep enough in the water to come under the influence of the current, would be left floating helplessly on the waves.
Yes! Kellet was right; the island would then be like a vessel with disabled masts and a broken screw.
No one answered the soldier’s remark, and a quarter of an hour had not elapsed before a loud cracking sound was heard. The summits of the icebergs trembled, large masses broke away, and the icebergs, irresistibly drawn along by the submarine current, drifted rapidly to the south.
XXI
The Island Becomes and Islet
Three hours later the last relics of the ice-wall had disappeared, proving that the island now remained stationary, and that all the force of the current was deep down below the waves, not on the surface of the sea.
The bearings were taken at noon with the greatest care and twenty-four hours later it was found that Victoria Island had not advanced one mile.
The only remaining hope was that some vessel should sight the poor shipwrecked creatures, either whilst still on the island, or after they had taken to their raft.
The island was now in 54° 33′ latitude, and 177° 19′ longitude, several hundred miles from the nearest land, namely, the Aleutian Islands.
Hobson once more called his comrades together, and asked them what they thought it would be best to do.
All agreed that they should remain on the island until it broke up, as it was too large to be affected by the state of the sea, and only take to the raft when the dissolution actually commenced. Once on the frail vessel, they must wait.
Still wait!
The raft was now finished. Mac-Nab had made one large shed or cabin big enough to hold everyone, and to afford some little shelter from the weather. A mast had been prepared, which could be put up if necessary, and the sails intended for the boat had long been ready. The whole structure was strong, although clumsy; and if the wind were favourable, and the sea not too rough, this rude assortment of planks and timbers might save the lives of the whole party.
“Nothing,” observed Mrs. Barnett—“nothing is impossible to Him who rules the winds and waves.”
Hobson carefully looked over the stores of provisions. The reserves had been much damaged by the avalanche, but there were plenty of animals still on the island, and the abundant shrubs and mosses supplied them with food. A few reindeer and hares were slaughtered by the hunters, and their flesh salted for future needs.
The health of the colonists was on the whole good. They had suffered little in the preceding mild winter, and all the mental trials they had gone through had not affected their physical well-being. They were, however, looking forward with something of a shrinking horror to the moment when they would have to abandon their island home, or, to speak more correctly, when it abandoned them. It was no wonder that they did not like the thought of floating on the ocean in a rude structure of wood subject to all the caprices of winds and waves. Even in tolerably fine weather seas would be shipped and everyone constantly drenched with saltwater. Moreover, it must be
