Great Stone of Sardis

by Frank Richard Stockton

  CHAPTER XII. CAPTAIN HUBBELL TAKES COMMAND

  It was a high-spirited and joyous party that the Dipsey now carried; notone of them doubted that they had emerged from under the ice intothe polar sea. To the northeast they could see its waves shining andglistening all the way to the horizon, and they believed that beyondthe cape in front of them these waters shone and glistened to the verynorth. They breathed the polar air, which, as they became used to it,was exhilarating and enlivening, and they basked in the sunshine, which,although it did not warm their bodies very much, cheered and brightenedtheir souls. But what made them happier than anything else was thethought that they would soon start direct for the pole, on top of thewater, and with nothing in the way.

  When Captain Jim Hubbell took command of the Dipsey the state of affairson that vessel underwent a great change. He was sharp, exact, andsevere; he appreciated the dignity of his position, and he wished to leteverybody see that he did so. The men on board who had previously beenworkmen now became sailors--at least in the eyes of Captain Hubbell.He did not know much about the work that they had been in the habit ofdoing, but he intended to teach them the duties of sailors just as soonas he could find any such duties for them to perform. He walked aboutthe deck with an important air, and looked for something about which hemight give orders. There were no masts or spars or shrouds or sheets,but there were tarpaulins on the deck, and these were soon arranged inseamanlike fashion. A compass was rigged up on deck, and Captain Hubbellput himself into communication with the electric steersman.

  It was morning when the Dipsey emerged from the sea, although day andnight were equally bright at that season, and at twelve o'clock CaptainHubbell took an observation, assisted by Sammy. The result was asfollows: longitude, 69 30'; latitude, 88 42'.

  "It strikes me," said Captain James Hubbell, "that that latitude goesover anything ever set down by any skipper, ancient or modern."

  "I should say so," answered Sammy. "But that record won't be anythingcompared to what we are goin' to set down."

  Work went on very rapidly, in order to get the Dipsey into regularnautical condition, and although it was out of his line, Captain Hubbellmade it a point to direct as much of it as he could. The electric gillswere packed as close to the side of the vessel as possible, and thevarious contrivances for heating and ventilation when sailing in theopen air were put into working order. At four o'clock in the afternoonour party started to round the icy promontory ahead of them, encouragedby a most hearty and soul-inspiring message from the hills of NewJersey.

  "It's all very fine," said Sarah Block to her husband, "for everybody onboard to be talkin' about what a splendid thing it is to be sailin' onthe surface of the sea, in the bright and beautiful air, but I mustsay that I like a ship to keep quiet when I am on board of her. I had apretty bad time when I was comin' up on the Go Lightly, but she was bigand didn't wabble like this little thing. We went along beautifully whenwe were under the water, with the floor just as level as if we were athome, in a house, and now I am not feelin' anything like as well as Ihave been. For my part, I think it would be a great deal better to sinkdown again and go the rest of the way under the water. I am sure wefound it very comfortable, and a great deal warmer."

  Sammy laughed.

  "Oh, that would not do at all," he said. "You can't expect the people onboard this vessel to be willin' to scoop along under the water when theyhave got a chance of sailin' like Christians in the open air. It's thesudden change that troubles you, Sarah; you'll soon get over it."

  But Sarah was not satisfied. The Dipsey rolled a good deal, and the goodwoman was frequently obliged to stop and steady herself when crossingthe little cabin.

  "I feel," said she, "as if I had had a Christmas dinner yesterday andsomebody else had made the pies."

  The dissatisfied condition of Mrs. Block had a cheering influence uponCaptain Hubbell when he heard of it.

  "By George!" said he, "this seems like good old times. When I wasyoung and there was women on board, they all got a little sea-sick; butnowadays, with these ball-and-socket ships, you never hear of that sortof thing. A sea-sick woman is the most natural thing I have struck yeton this cruise."

  Mrs. Block's uneasiness, however, did not last very long. A few electriccapsules of half an alterative volt each soon relieved her; but hermind was still out of order; she was not satisfied. She had accustomedherself to submerged conditions, and ordinary voyaging was verydifferent.

  "It wouldn't surprise me," she said, "if we should find that therewasn't any pole; that's about the way these things generally turn out."

  In a few hours the Dipsey had rounded the cape, keeping well off shore.In front was a clear sweep of unobstructed water. With their telescopesthey could see nothing on the horizon which indicated the presenceof land. If the sea should stretch out before them, as they hoped andexpected, a sail of about seventy miles ought to bring them to the pole.The Dipsey did not go at full speed; there was no hurry, and as he wasin absolutely unknown waters, Captain Hubbell wished to take no risks ofsunken reefs or barely submerged islands. Soundings were frequent, andthey found that the polar sea--at least that part over which they weresailing was a comparatively shallow body of water.

  Before they left Sardis, preparations had been made for an appropriateand permanent designation of the exact position of the northern endof the earth's axis. If this should be discovered to be on solid land,there was a great iron standard, or column, on board, in detached parts,with all appliances for setting it up firmly in the rocks or earth orice; but if the end of the said axis should be found to be covered bywater of not too great depth, a buoy had been provided which should beanchored upon the polar point.

  This buoy was a large hollow, aluminium globe, from which a tall steelflag-post projected upward to a considerable height, bearing a lightweather-vane, which, when the buoy should be in its intended position,would always point southward, no matter which way the wind might blow.This great buoy contained various appropriate articles, which hadbeen hermetically sealed up in it before it left Sardis, where it wasmanufactured. All the documents, books, coins, and other articles whichare usually placed in the corner-stones of important buildings were putin this, together with the names of the persons who had gone on thisperilous expedition and those who had been its projectors and promoters.More than this, there was an appropriate inscription deeply cut into themetal on the upper part of the buoy, with a space left for the date ofthe discovery, should it ever take place.

  But the mere ceremony of anchoring a buoy at the exact position of thepole was not enough to satisfy the conscientious ambition of Mr. Gibbs.He had come upon this perilous voyage with the earnest intention ofdoing his duty in all respects, while endeavoring to make the greatdiscovery of the age; and if that discovery should be made, hebelieved that his country should share in the glory and in the materialadvantage, whatever that might be, of the achievement. Consequently itwas his opinion that if the pole should be discovered, the discoverersshould take possession of it in the name of their country. Every oneon board--except Sarah Block, who had something to say about theold proverb concerning the counting of chickens before they arehatched--thought this a good idea, and when the plan was submitted toMr. Clewe and Mrs. Raleigh, they heartily approved.

  Preparations were now made to take possession of the pole if they shouldreach it on the water. On the after-part of the deck a ring about threefeet in diameter was marked, and it was arranged that when they hadascertained, by the most accurate observations and calculations, theexact position of the pole, they would so guide their vessel that thisring should be as nearly as possible directly over it. Then one of theparty should step inside of the ring and take possession of the pole.After this the buoy would be anchored, and their intended scientificobservations and explorations would proceed.

  It was supposed both on the Dipsey and at Sardis that Mr. Gibbs wouldassume the honor of this act of taking possession, but that gentlemandeclined to do so. He considered that he would
no more discover thepole, if they should reach it, than would his companions; and he alsobelieved that, from a broad point of view, Mr. Roland Clewe was the realdiscoverer. Consequently he considered that the direct representativeof the interests of Mr. Clewe should take possession, and it was decidedthat Samuel Block should add the north pole to the territory of hisnative land.

  When this had been settled, a very great change came over the mind ofSarah Block. That her husband should be the man to do this great thingfilled her with pride and alert enthusiasm.

  "Sammy," she exclaimed, "when you are doin' that, you will bethe greatest man in this world, and you will stand at the top ofeverything."

  "Suppose there should be a feller standin' on the south pole," saidSammy, "wouldn't he have the same right to say that he was on top ofeverything?"

  "No," said Sarah, sharply. "The way I look at it, the north pole isabove and the south pole is below; but there ain't any other feller downthere, so we needn't talk about it. And now, Sammy, if you are goin' totake possession of the pole, you ought to put on your best clothes. Forone thing, you should wear a pair of those new red flannel socksthat you haven't had on yet; it will be a good way to christen 'em.Everything on you ought to be perfectly fresh and clean, and just asnice as you've got. This will be the first time that anybody ever tookpossession of a pole, and you ought to look your very best. I would askyou to shave, because you would look better that way, but I suppose ifyou took off your beard you would take cold in your jaws. And I want youto stand up straight, and talk as long about it as you can. You are toomuch given to cuttin' off ceremonies mighty short, as I remember was thecase when you were statin' your 'pinions about our weddin'; but I hadmy way then, and I want to have it now. You are goin' to be a big man,Sammy, and your name will go all over the world, so you must screwyourself up to as much eminence as you think you can stand."

  Sammy laughed. "Well, I will do what I can," said he; "that is,providin' our chickens are hatched."

  "Oh, they'll come out all right," said Sarah. "I haven't the least doubtof it, now that you are to be the chief figure in the hatchin'."

  Shortly after the ordinary hour for rising, an order was issued byCaptain Hubbell, and enforced by Samuel Block, that no one should beallowed to come on deck who had not eaten breakfast. There were thoseon board that vessel who would have stayed on deck during all the hourswhich should have been devoted to sleeping, had it not been so cold.There would probably be nothing to see when they reached the pole, butthey wanted to be on hand, that they might see for themselves that therewas nothing to see.