rizon there spread magnificent orange tints,
which rested their eyes, weary with gazing at the eternal snow.

Thursday, July 26th, the _Forward_ coasted along Dundas Island, and
then stood more northward; but there she found herself face to face
with a thick mass of ice, eight or nine feet high, consisting of
little icebergs washed away from the shore; they had to prolong the
curve they were making to the west. The continual cracking of the ice,
joining with the creaking of the rolling ship, sounded like a gloomy
lamentation. At last the brig found a passage and advanced through it
slowly; often a huge floe delayed her for hours; the fog embarrassed
the steersman; at one moment he could see a mile ahead, and it was
easy to avoid all obstacles; but again the snow-squalls would hide
everything from their sight at the distance of a cable's length. The
sea ran very high.

[Illustration]

Sometimes the smooth clouds assumed a strange appearance, as if they
were reflecting the ice-banks; there were days when the sun could not
pierce the dense mist.

The birds were still very numerous, and their cries were deafening;
the seals, lying lazily on the drifting ice, raised their heads
without being frightened, and turned their long necks to watch the
ship go by. Often, too, the brig would leave bits of sheathing on the
ice against which she grazed.

[Illustration]

Finally, after six days of this slow sailing, August 1st, Point
Beecher was made, sighted in the north; Hatteras passed the last hours
in the lookout; the open sea, which Stewart had seen May 30, 1851,
towards latitude 76 degrees 20 minutes, could not be far off, and yet,
as far as Hatteras could see, he could make out no sign of an open
polar sea. He came down without saying a word.

"Do you believe in an open sea?" asked Shandon of the second mate.

"I'm beginning to have my doubts," answered James Wall.

"Wasn't I right in considering this pretended discovery as a mere
hypothesis? No one agreed with me, and you too, Wall,--you sided
against me."

"They'll believe you next time, Shandon."

"Yes," he answered, "when it's too late."

And he returned to his cabin, where he had kept himself almost
exclusively since his discussion with the captain.

Towards evening the wind shifted to the south. Hatteras then set his
sails and had the fires put out; for many days the crew were kept hard
at work; every few minutes they had to tack or bear away, or to
shorte