CHAPTER XXIII. THE LAST DIVE OF THE DIPSEY
When the engines of the Dipsey had stopped, and she was quietly floatingupon the smooth surface of Lake Shiver, Mr. Gibbs greatly desired tomake a connection with the telegraphic cable which was stretched at thebottom of the ocean, beneath him, and to thus communicate with Sardis,But when this matter was discussed in council, several objections werebrought against it, the principal one being that the cable could notbe connected with the Dipsey without destroying its connection with thelittle station near the pole; and although this means of telegraphiccommunication with regions which might never be visited again might wellbe considered as possessing no particular value, still it was such awonderful thing to lay a telegraph line to the pole that it seemed thegreatest pity in the world to afterwards destroy it.
The friends of this exploring party had not heard from it since it leftthe polar sea, but there could be no harm in making them wait a littlelonger. If the return voyage under the ice should be as successfullyaccomplished as the first submarine cruise, it would not be very manydays before the Dipsey should arrive at Cape Tariff. She would notproceed so slowly as she did when coming north, for now her officerswould feel that in a measure they knew the course, and moreover theywould not be delayed by the work of laying a cable as they progressed.
So it was agreed that it would be a waste of time and labor to stop hereand make connection with the cable, and preparations were made fora descent to a safe depth beneath the surface, when they would startsouthward on their homeward voyage. Mrs. Sarah Block, wrapped from headto foot in furs, remained on deck as long as her husband would allow herto do so. For some time before her eyes had been slowly wandering aroundthe edge of that lonely piece of water, and it was with an unsatisfiedair that she now stood gazing from side to side. At last Sammy took herby the arm and told her she must go below, for they were going to closeup the hatchways.
"Well," said Sarah, with a sigh, "I suppose I must give 'em up; theywere the warmest and most comfortable ones I had, and I could havethawed 'em out and dried 'em so that they would have been as good asever. I would not mind leavin' 'em if there was a human bein' in thisneighborhood that would wear 'em; but there ain't, and it ain't likelythere ever will be, and if they are frozen stiff in the ice somewhere,they may stay here, as good as new, for countless ages!"
Of course everybody was very happy, now that they were returninghomeward from a voyage successful beyond parallel in history, and evenRovinski was beginning to assume an air of gratified anticipation. Hehad been released from his confinement and allowed to attend to hisduties, but the trust which had been placed in him when this kindnesshad been extended to him on a previous occasion was wanting now.Everybody knew that he was an unprincipled man, and that if he couldgain access to the telegraph instrument at Cape Tariff he would maketrouble for the real discoverer of the north pole; so it was agreedamong the officers of the vessel that the strictest watch must be kepton him and no shore privileges be allowed him.
The southward voyage of the Dipsey was an easy one and without notableincident; and at last a lookout who had been posted at the upperskylight reported light from above. This meant that they had reachedopen water southward of the frozen regions they had been exploring,and the great submarine voyage, the most peculiar ever made by man, wasended. Captain Jim Hubbell immediately put on a heavy pea-jacket withsilver buttons, for as soon as the vessel should sail upon the surfaceof the sea he would be in command.
When the dripping Dipsey rose from the waters of the arctic regions, itmight have been supposed that the people on board of her were emerginginto a part of the world where they felt perfectly at home. Cape Tariff,to which they were bound, was a hundred miles away, and was itself alonely spot, often inaccessible in severe weather, and they must make along and hazardous voyage from it before they could reach their homes;but by comparison with the absolutely desolate and mysterious regionthey had left, any part of the world where there was a possibility ofmeeting with other human beings seemed familiar and homelike.
But when the Dipsey was again upon the surface of the ocean, when thelight of day was shining unobstructed upon the bold form of CaptainHubbell as he strode upon the upper deck--being careful not to standstill lest his shoes should freeze fast to the planks beneath him--theparty on board were not so-well satisfied as they expected to be. Therewas a great wind blowing, and the waves were rolling high. Not far away,on their starboard bow, a small iceberg, tossing like a disabled ship,was surging towards them, impelled by a biting blast from the east, andthe sea was so high that sometimes the spray swept over the deck of thevessel, making it impossible for Captain Hubbell and the others with himto keep dry.
Still the captain kept his post and roared out his orders, still theDipsey pressed forward against wind and wave. Her engines were strong,her electric gills were folded close to her sides, and she seemed tofeel herself able to contend against the storm, and in this point shewas heartily seconded by her captain.
But the other people on board soon began to have ideas of a differentkind. It seemed to all of them, including the officers, that thisvessel, not built to encounter very heavy weather, was in danger, andeven if she should be able to successfully ride out the storm, theirsituation must continue to be a very unpleasant one. The Dipsey pitchedand tossed and rolled and shook herself, and it was the general opinion,below decks, that the best thing for her to do would be to sink intothe quiet depths below the surface, where she was perfectly at home, andproceed on her voyage to Cape Tariff in the submarine fashion to whichshe was accustomed.
It was some time before Captain Hubbell would consent to listen to sucha proposition as this, but when a wave, carrying on its crest a lump ofice about the size of a flour barrel, threw its burden on the deck ofthe vessel, raking it from stem to stern, the captain, who had barelybeen missed by the grating missile, agreed that in a vessel with sucha low rail and of such defective naval principles, it would be betterperhaps to sail under the water than on top of it, and so he wentbelow, took off his pea-jacket with the silver buttons, and retired intoprivate life. The Dipsey then sank to a quiet depth and continued hercourse under water, to the great satisfaction of everybody on board.
On a fine, frosty morning, with a strong wind blowing, although thestorm had subsided, the few inhabitants of the little settlement at CapeTariff saw in the distance a flag floating over the water. The Dipseyhad risen to the surface some twenty miles from the Cape and now camebravely on, Captain Hubbell on deck, his silver buttons shining in thesun. The sea was rough, but everybody was willing to bear with a littlediscomfort in order to be able to see the point of land which was theend of the voyage on the Dipsey, to let their eyes rest as early aspossible upon a wreath of smoke arising from the habitation of humanbeings, and to catch sight of those human beings themselves.
As soon as the Dipsey arrived in the harbor, Sammy and most of theofficers went on shore to open communication with Sardis. Sarah Blockstayed on the vessel. She had been on shore when she had arrived at CapeTariff in the Go Lightly, and her disgust with the methods of livingin that part of the world had been freely expressed. So long as she hadperfectly comfortable quarters on board the good ship she did not wishto visit the low huts and extremely close quarters in which dwelt thepeople of the little colony. Rovinski also remained on board, but notbecause he wanted to do so. A watch was kept upon him; but as the Dipseywas anchored some distance from the landing-place, Mr. Marcy was of theopinion that if he attempted to swim ashore it might be well to let himdo so, for if he should not be benumbed in the water into which he wouldplunge he would certainly be frozen to death as soon as he reached theshore.
The messages which came from Sardis as soon as news had been received ofthe safe return of the explorers were full of hearty congratulationsand friendly welcome, but they were not very long, and Sammy said to Mr.Gibbs that he thought it likely that this was one of Mr. Clewe's busytimes. The latter telegraphed that he would send a vessel for themimmediately
, and as she was now lying at St. John's they would not haveto wait very long.
The fact was that the news of the arrival of the Dipsey at Cape Tariffhad come to Sardis a week after Clewe's descent into the shaft, and hewas absorbed, body and soul, in his underground discoveries. He wasnot wanting in sympathy, or even affection, for the people who had beendoing his work, and his interest in their welfare and their achievementswas as great as it ever had been, but the ideas and thoughts which nowoccupied his mind were of a character which lessened and overshadowedevery other object of consideration. Most of the messages sent to CapeTariff had come from Margaret Raleigh.
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