mperature fell still lower under the influence of
an east-wind; the sky cleared up, and they all had a wide view over
the white expense, which shone brilliantly beneath the bright rays of
the sun. At seven o'clock in the morning, the thermometer stood at 8
degrees above zero.

The doctor was tempted to remain quietly in his cabin, or read over
the accounts of arctic journeys; but he asked himself, following his
usual habit, what would be the most disagreeable thing he could do at
that moment. He thought that to go on deck on such a cold day and help
the men would not be attractive. So, faithful to his line of conduct,
he left his well-warmed cabin, and went out to help tow the ship. He
looked strange with his green glasses, which he wore to protect his
eyes against the brilliancy of the sun, and after that he always took
good care to wear snow-spectacles as a security against the
inflammation of the eyes, which is so common in these latitudes.

[Illustration]

By evening the _Forward_ had got several miles farther north, thanks
to the energy of the men and the intelligence of Shandon, who was
quick at utilizing every favorable circumstance; at midnight they
crossed the sixty-sixth parallel, and the lead announcing a depth of
twenty-three fathoms, Shandon knew that he was in the neighborhood of
the shoal on which her Majesty's ship _Victory_ grounded. Land lay
thirty miles to the east.

But then the mass of ice, which had hitherto been stationary,
separated, and began to move; icebergs seemed to rise in all points of
the horizon; the brig was caught in a number of whirlpools of
irresistible force; controlling her became so hard, that Garry, the
best steersman, took the helm; the masses began to close behind the
brig, hence it was necessary to cut through the ice; both prudence and
duty commanded them to go forward. The difficulties were enhanced by
the impossibility of Shandon's fixing the direction of the brig among
all the changing points, which were continually shifting and
presenting no definite point to be aimed at.

The crew were divided into two forces, and one stationed on the
starboard, the other on the larboard side; every man was given a long
iron-headed pole, with which to ward off threatening pieces of ice.
Soon the _Forward_ entered such a narrow passage between two lofty
pieces, that the ends of the yards touched its solid walls; gradually
it penetrated farther into a winding valley filled with a whi