all
this. Suppose we come to the stationary ice, with all these great floes
behind us?"

"Well, what then?"

"What then?" said the mate, with a laugh at this questioner's innocence.
"Why, the drifting ice behind us, pressed forward with a power of
millions of tons, will force us against the fixed ice, and then we shall
either be lifted right out of the water, or go, as I said, like an
eggshell."

"Ah! but that's only what might happen," said Steve. "I say, though,
Mr Lowe, whereabouts are we? Not up by the North Pole?"

"No," said the mate, smiling as he gave a look round, shading his eyes
with his hand; "I don't see it sticking up out of the snow. We're not
anywhere near the North Pole, but I can give a pretty shrewd guess as to
where we are."

"Can you?"

"We've been driven right through the opened-up ice somewhere a long way
east and north of Spitzbergen. I should say about where land was
sighted in one of the expeditions up beyond Gillis Land, toward where
the Austrians saw a coast which they called Franz Josef."

"Ah!"

"I don't say that's it; but we're somewhere thereabouts, and--"

He stopped short to use his glass for a few minutes, Steve watching him
impatiently.

"Yes," he said at last, "there's land yonder."

"Where? amongst that ice?"

"Yes; look," said the mate, handing the glass; "right in the nor'-east
yonder. There's land miles away. Quite mountainous. See it?"

"I can see a glittering pyramid of ice; yes, and a big, heavy mass
beside it."

"That's right; that's it."

"But it's ice and snow, not land."

"The land's under it, my lad," said the mate. "The ice and snow don't
pile up like that without something to stand on. The captain ought to
know this; but he's so done up I wouldn't wake him. He could do no good
if he came on deck."

"Then shall you make for that land?"

"Yes; there's nothing else to be done. We must go forward now, as
there's open water. All astern is ice, where we should certainly be
nipped. That's safety for us if we can steam there, for we should be
sure to find some cove or fiord, and shelter from the pressure of the
ice."

"But suppose we should get into a fiord, and the ice blocked us in, what
then?" said Steve, more anxiously.

"Why, then we should have to wait till it opened again and let us out."

"But it might be a long time."

"Perhaps so; but that's better than getting our ship crushed, eh?"

"Of course," said Steve; and soon af