nd, this was a mere nothing.

CHAPTER XI. A FETE DAY

The temperature continued to decrease; the mercurial thermometer, which
freezes at 42 degrees below zero, was no longer of service, and the
spirit thermometer of the _Dobryna_ had been brought into use. This now
registered 53 degrees below freezing-point.

In the creek, where the two vessels had been moored for the winter, the
elevation of the ice, in anticipation of which Lieutenant Procope had
taken the precautionary measure of beveling, was going on slowly but
irresistibly, and the tartan was upheaved fifty feet above the level of
the Gallian Sea, while the schooner, as being lighter, had been raised
to a still greater altitude.

So irresistible was this gradual process of elevation, so utterly
defying all human power to arrest, that the lieutenant began to feel
very anxious as to the safety of his yacht. With the exception of the
engine and the masts, everything had been cleared out and conveyed to
shore, but in the event of a thaw it appeared that nothing short of a
miracle could prevent the hull from being dashed to pieces, and then all
means of leaving the promontory would be gone. The _Hansa_, of course,
would share a similar fate; in fact, it had already heeled over to such
an extent as to render it quite dangerous for its obstinate owner, who,
at the peril of his life, resolved that he would stay where he could
watch over his all-precious cargo, though continually invoking curses on
the ill-fate of which he deemed himself the victim.

There was, however, a stronger will than Isaac Hakkabut's. Although no
one of all the community cared at all for the safety of the Jew, they
cared very much for the security of his cargo, and when Servadac found
that nothing would induce the old man to abandon his present quarters
voluntarily, he very soon adopted measures of coercion that were far
more effectual than any representations of personal danger.

"Stop where you like, Hakkabut," said the captain to him; "but
understand that I consider it my duty to make sure that your cargo is
taken care of. I am going to have it carried across to land, at once."

Neither groans, nor tears, nor protestations on the part of the Jew,
were of the slightest avail. Forthwith, on the 20th of December, the
removal of the goods commenced.

Both Spaniards and Russians were all occupied for several days in the
work of unloading the tartan. Well muffled up as they were in furs,