, and was floating on the sea with other pieces,
which, when collected in large quantities, are termed a floe of ice.
Whether my situation was changed for the better I knew not, but the
change inspired me with fresh hopes. I now calculated that five months
had elapsed, and that it was the depth of winter, therefore I had no
chance of being released until the ensuing spring.

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"Allah wakbar, God is every where!" interrupted the pacha. "But I wish
to know, Huckaback, how you were so exactly aware of the time which had
passed away."

"Min bashi, and head of thousands!" replied Huckaback, "I will explain
to your highness. I once jammed my nail at the bottom, and I expected
to lose it. It did not however come off but grew up as before, and I
had the curiosity to know how often people changed their nails in the
course of a year. It was exactly two months, and from this I grounded
my calculations. I observed specks on my nails, and as they grew up, so
did I calculate time."

"Mashallah, how wonderful is God! Wallah thaib! Well said, by Allah!
I never should have thought of that," observed the pacha. "Proceed with
your story."

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The five months had elapsed, according to my calculations, when one
morning I heard a grating noise close to me; soon afterwards I perceived
the teeth of a saw entering my domicile, and I correctly judged that
some ship was cutting her way through the ice. Although I could not
make myself heard, I waited in anxious expectation of deliverance. The
saw approached very near to where I was sitting, and I was afraid that I
should be wounded, if not cut in halves; but just as it was within two
inches of my nose, it was withdrawn. The fact was, that I was under the
main floe, which had been frozen together, and the firm ice above having
been removed and pushed away, I rose to the surface. A current of fresh
air immediately poured into the small incision made by the saw, which
not only took away my breath from its sharpness, but brought on a
spitting of blood. Hearing the sound of voices, I considered my
deliverance as certain. Although I understood very little English, I
heard the name of Captain Parry frequently mentioned--a name, I presume,
that your highness is well acquainted with.

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