Off on a Comet! a Journey through Planetary Space

by Jules Verne

  CHAPTER XI. A FETE DAY

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

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

  So irresistible was this gradual process of elevation, so utterlydefying all human power to arrest, that the lieutenant began to feelvery anxious as to the safety of his yacht. With the exception of theengine and the masts, everything had been cleared out and conveyed toshore, but in the event of a thaw it appeared that nothing short of amiracle could prevent the hull from being dashed to pieces, and then allmeans of leaving the promontory would be gone. The _Hansa_, of course,would share a similar fate; in fact, it had already heeled over to suchan 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 couldwatch over his all-precious cargo, though continually invoking curses onthe ill-fate of which he deemed himself the victim.

  There was, however, a stronger will than Isaac Hakkabut's. Although noone of all the community cared at all for the safety of the Jew, theycared very much for the security of his cargo, and when Servadac foundthat nothing would induce the old man to abandon his present quartersvoluntarily, he very soon adopted measures of coercion that were farmore effectual than any representations of personal danger.

  "Stop where you like, Hakkabut," said the captain to him; "butunderstand that I consider it my duty to make sure that your cargo istaken 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, theremoval of the goods commenced.

  Both Spaniards and Russians were all occupied for several days in thework of unloading the tartan. Well muffled up as they were in furs, theywere able to endure the cold with impunity, making it their special careto avoid actual contact with any article made of metal, which, in thelow state of the temperature, would inevitably have taken all the skinoff their hands, as much as if it had been red-hot. The task, however,was brought to an end without accident of any kind; and when the storesof the _Hansa_ were safely deposited in the galleries of the Hive,Lieutenant Procope avowed that he really felt that his mind had beenunburdened from a great anxiety.

  Captain Servadac gave old Isaac full permission to take up his residenceamongst the rest of the community, promised him the entire control overhis own property, and altogether showed him so much consideration that,but for his unbounded respect for his master, Ben Zoof would haveliked to reprimand him for his courtesy to a man whom he so cordiallydespised.

  Although Hakkabut clamored most vehemently about his goods being carriedoff "against his will," in his heart he was more than satisfied to seehis property transferred to a place of safety, and delighted, moreover,to know that the transport had been effected without a farthing ofexpense to himself. As soon, then, as he found the tartan empty, he wasonly too glad to accept the offer that had been made him, and very soonmade his way over to the quarters in the gallery where his merchandisehad been stored. Here he lived day and night. He supplied himself withwhat little food he required from his own stock of provisions, a smallspirit-lamp sufficing to perform all the operations of his meagercookery. Consequently all intercourse between himself and the rest ofthe inhabitants was entirely confined to business transactions, whenoccasion required that some purchase should be made from his stockof commodities. Meanwhile, all the silver and gold of the colony wasgradually finding its way to a double-locked drawer, of which the Jewmost carefully guarded the key.

  The 1st of January was drawing near, the anniversary of the shockwhich had resulted in the severance of thirty-six human beings from thesociety of their fellow-men. Hitherto, not one of them was missing. Theunvarying calmness of the climate, notwithstanding the cold, had tendedto maintain them in good health, and there seemed no reason to doubtthat, when Gallia returned to the earth, the total of its littlepopulation would still be complete.

  The 1st of January, it is true, was not properly "New Year's Day" inGallia, but Captain Servadac, nevertheless, was very anxious to have itobserved as a holiday.

  "I do not think," he said to Count Timascheff and Lieutenant Procope,"that we ought to allow our people to lose their interest in the worldto which we are all hoping to return; and how can we cement the bondthat ought to unite us, better than by celebrating, in common with ourfellow-creatures upon earth, a day that awakens afresh the kindliestsentiments of all? Besides," he added, smiling, "I expect that Gallia,although invisible just at present to the naked eye, is being closelywatched by the telescopes of our terrestrial friends, and I have nodoubt that the newspapers and scientific journals of both hemispheresare full of accounts detailing the movements of the new comet."

  "True," asserted the count. "I can quite imagine that we are occasioningno small excitement in all the chief observatories."

  "Ay, more than that," said the lieutenant; "our Gallia is certain tobe far more than a mere object of scientific interest or curiosity. Whyshould we doubt that the elements of a comet which has once come intocollision with the earth have by this time been accurately calculated?What our friend the professor has done here, has been done likewise onthe earth, where, beyond a question, all manner of expedients are beingdiscussed as to the best way of mitigating the violence of a concussionthat must occur."

  The lieutenant's conjectures were so reasonable that they commandedassent. Gallia could scarcely be otherwise than an object of terror tothe inhabitants of the earth, who could by no means be certain that asecond collision would be comparatively so harmless as the first. Evento the Gallians themselves, much as they looked forward to the event,the prospect was not unmixed with alarm, and they would rejoice in theinvention of any device by which it was likely the impetus of the shockmight be deadened.

  Christmas arrived, and was marked by appropriate religious observanceby everyone in the community, with the exception of the Jew, who madea point of secluding himself more obstinately than ever in the gloomyrecesses of his retreat.

  To Ben Zoof the last week of the year was full of bustle. Thearrangements for the New Year _fete_ were entrusted to him, and he wasanxious, in spite of the resources of Gallia being so limited, to makethe program for the great day as attractive as possible.

  It was a matter of debate that night whether the professor should beinvited to join the party; it was scarcely likely that he would careto come, but, on the whole, it was felt to be advisable to ask him. Atfirst Captain Servadac thought of going in person with the invitation;but, remembering Rosette's dislike to visitors, he altered his mind, andsent young Pablo up to the observatory with a formal note, requestingthe pleasure of Professor Rosette's company at the New Year's _fete_.

  Pablo was soon back, bringing no answer except that the professor hadtold him that "to-day was the 125th of June, and that to-morrow would bethe 1st of July."

  Consequently, Servadac and the count took it for granted that PalmyrinRosette declined their invitation.

  An hour after sunrise on New Year's Day, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards,and little Nina, as the representative of Italy, sat down to a feastsuch as never before had been seen in Gallia. Ben Zoof and the Russiancook had quite surpassed themselves. The wines, part of the _Dobryna's_stores, were of excellent quality. Those of the vintages of France andSpain were drunk in toasting their respective countries, and even Russiawas honored in a similar way by means of a few bottles of kummel. Thecompany was more than contented--it was as jovial as Ben Zoof coulddesire; and the rin
ging cheers that followed the great toast of theday--"A happy return to our Mother Earth," must fairly have startled theprofessor in the silence of his observatory.

  The _dejeuner_ over, there still remained three hours of daylight. Thesun was approaching the zenith, but so dim and enfeebled were his raysthat they were very unlike what had produced the wines of Bordeaux andBurgundy which they had just been enjoying, and it was necessary forall, before starting upon an excursion that would last over nightfall,to envelop themselves in the thickest of clothing.

  Full of spirits, the party left the Hive, and chattering and singing asthey went, made their way down to the frozen shore, where they fastenedon their skates. Once upon the ice, everyone followed his own fancy,and some singly, some in groups, scattered themselves in all directions.Captain Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant were generally seentogether. Negrete and the Spaniards, now masters of their novelexercise, wandered fleetly and gracefully hither and thither,occasionally being out of sight completely. The Russian sailors,following a northern custom, skated in file, maintaining their rank bymeans of a long pole passed under their right arms, and in this way theydescribed a trackway of singular regularity. The two children, blitheas birds, flitted about, now singly, now arm-in-arm, now joining thecaptain's party, now making a short peregrination by themselves, butalways full of life and spirit. As for Ben Zoof, he was here, there,and everywhere, his imperturbable good temper ensuring him a smile ofwelcome whenever he appeared.

  Thus coursing rapidly over the icy plain, the whole party had soonexceeded the line that made the horizon from the shore. First, the rocksof the coast were lost to view; then the white crests of the cliffs wereno longer to be seen; and at last, the summit of the volcano, with itscorona of vapor, was entirely out of sight. Occasionally the skaterswere obliged to stop to recover their breath, but, fearful offrost-bite, they almost instantly resumed their exercise, and proceedednearly as far as Gourbi Island before they thought about retracing theircourse.

  But night was coming on, and the sun was already sinking in the eastwith the rapidity to which the residents on Gallia were by this timewell accustomed. The sunset upon this contracted horizon was veryremarkable. There was not a cloud nor a vapor to catch the tints of thedeclining beams; the surface of the ice did not, as a liquid sea would,reflect the last green ray of light; but the radiant orb, enlarged bythe effect of refraction, its circumference sharply defined against thesky, sank abruptly, as though a trap had been opened in the ice for itsreception.

  Before the daylight ended. Captain Servadac had cautioned the party tocollect themselves betimes into one group. "Unless you are sure of yourwhereabouts before dark," he said, "you will not find it after. We havecome out like a party of skirmishers; let us go back in full force."

  The night would be dark; their moon was in conjunction, and would not beseen; the stars would only give something of that "pale radiance" whichthe poet Corneille has described.

  Immediately after sunset the torches were lighted, and the long seriesof flames, fanned by the rapid motion of their bearers, had much theappearance of an enormous fiery banner. An hour later, and the volcanoappeared like a dim shadow on the horizon, the light from the cratershedding a lurid glare upon the surrounding gloom. In time the glow ofthe burning lava, reflected in the icy mirror, fell upon the troop ofskaters, and cast their lengthened shadows grotesquely on the surface ofthe frozen sea.

  Later still, half an hour or more afterwards, the torches were all butdying out. The shore was close at hand. All at once, Ben Zoof uttereda startled cry, and pointed with bewildered excitement towards themountain. Involuntarily, one and all, they plowed their heels into theice and came to a halt. Exclamations of surprise and horror burst fromevery lip. The volcano was extinguished! The stream of burning lava hadsuddenly ceased to flow!

  Speechless with amazement, they stood still for some moments. There wasnot one of them that did not realize, more or less, how critical wastheir position. The sole source of the heat that had enabled them tobrave the rigor of the cold had failed them! death, in the cruellest ofall shapes, seemed staring them in the face--death from cold! Meanwhile,the last torch had flickered out.

  It was quite dark.

  "Forward!" cried Servadac, firmly.

  At the word of command they advanced to the shore; clambered withno little difficulty up the slippery rocks; gained the mouth of thegallery; groped their way into the common hall.

  How dreary! how chill it seemed!

  The fiery cataract no longer spread its glowing covering over the mouthof the grotto. Lieutenant Procope leaned through the aperture. The pool,hitherto kept fluid by its proximity to the lava, was already encrustedwith a layer of ice.

  Such was the end of the New Year's Day so happily begun.