By Pike and Dyke: a Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XII

  BACK WITH THE PRINCE

  Before throwing off the warps from the shore the captain gave eachman his orders. Two were to stand with fenders, in case the boatdrifted either against another craft or against the wall. Two wereto take the long poles used for punting. An old sail had been tornup into strips and wrapped round these, with a pad of old rope atthe end, so that they could push off from the wall without noise.Not a word was to be spoken in case of their being hailed, nor wasthere to be the slightest movement on board unless the use of thefenders or poles were required. Lastly, all took off their boots.

  It was half an hour after the turn of the tide when the warps werethrown off. The tide in the inner port was so sluggish that it wasabsolutely necessary to pole the boat along until she got out intowhat was known as the Old Haven, which was the cut leading downfrom the town to the river.

  The work was noiselessly done; and Ned, standing at the bow besidethe skipper, scarce heard the slightest sound. The night wasfortunately very dark, and looking intently he could hardly makeout the outline of the shore on either side. In a quarter of anhour they emerged from the inner port. On their left hand the wallof the fortifications connecting the town with the north fort atthe mouth of the haven rose high above them, but its outline couldbe seen against the sky. The captain had told the men poling totake her sharp round the corner, and keep her along as close aspossible to the foot of the wall, as she was far less likely tobe observed by any sentry who might be there than she would be ifkept out in the centre of the cut.

  Very slowly the boat drifted along her course, assisted occasionallyby the men pushing with their poles against the foot of the wallthat rose a few feet from them, while those with the fender stoodin readiness to place them in position should the ship approach soclose to the wall as to render contact probable. The captain wasnow at the tiller, the way given her by the poles being sufficientto enable him to keep her on her course close to the wall. Anotherquarter of an hour and they were at the end of the wall, for theforts at the entrance were detached. They were now approaching themost dangerous portion of the passage; they were no longer shelteredin the shadow, but must go along openly. It was, however, improbablethat there would be sentries on the face of the fort looking towardsthe town, and Ned, accustomed as he was to keep watch on deck atnight, could scarce make out the low shore a few yards away, andfelt pretty confident that the eyes of the sleepy sentries wouldnot be able to pierce the gloom.

  The men had ceased poling now, only giving an occasional push tokeep her head straight and prevent her from swinging round. Presentlya sailor standing next to Ned touched his arm and pointed to theright, and straining his eyes he could dimly make out a dark masslooming in that direction.

  Unlike the wall they had left, the forts stood at a little distanceback from the water, and Ned was sure that as he could scarce makeout the outline of the one nearest to them, no one upon its wallcould distinguish the tracery of the masts and rigging of theboat. The mist had thickened since they had started, and coming onheavier just at this point the fort was presently entirely obscured.

  Another twenty minutes passed. They must be now, Ned knew, in thecourse of the river; and he began to think that the danger wasover, when a dark object suddenly appeared from the mist, close athand. In another moment there was a shock, and then a long grindingmotion as the boat swept along by the side of a large ship. Followingthe shock came a sharp challenge from the darkness above, followedby other shouts. Obedient to orders they had received, no soundwas heard from the smack. Each man stooped low under the bulwarks.Two or three shots rang out from the ship, and there was a hail inDutch--"Stop, or we will sink you."

  Ned knew that this was an idle threat. The vessel was lying head tothe tide, and only a small gun or two in the stern could be broughtto bear, and already the ship was lost to sight in the mist. Therewas much shouting and noise heard astern, and then the creaking ofblocks. Ned made his way aft.

  "The game is up," the skipper said. "They will be alongside in afew minutes. Dark as it is they cannot miss us. They will know thatwe must have drifted straight down. We must take to the boats androw for it."

  "I should say, captain," Ned said, "we had best take to the boatand row off for a short distance, and then wait. As likely as notthey may think when they board her that she has simply drifted outfrom the town, having been carelessly moored. In that case theymay let drop her anchor and return to their ship."

  "That is a happy thought," the captain said; and running forwardhe told the crew to take the boat at once.

  "I have another idea, captain," Ned said, just as they were aboutto push off. "As we saw when we were passing the ship we are driftingstern foremost. If we can fasten a long line to her stern we canhang on to it. They will not be able to see us if we are twentyfathoms astern. Then, if they anchor, and, as is likely enough,leave two or three men on board, we can haul ourselves noiselesslyup with the rope and board her."

  "Capital!" the captain replied. "I was wondering how we should findher again in the dark. That would be the very thing."

  He sprang on board again, fastened a light line to the rudder, anddropped down into the boat again.

  "Now, back her astern, lads, very gently. I can hear their oars."

  In a minute the captain gave orders to cease rowing, for the linehad tightened. The Spanish ship was showing a bright light in herstern. This acted as a guide to the boats, and in two or threeminutes after the crew had left the smack two large boats full ofsoldiers came alongside. Those in the little boat, lying but fiftyor sixty yards away, could hear every word that was spoken. Firstcame a volley of angry exclamations of disappointment as theSpaniards found that they had been called from their beds only tocapture an empty little coaster. As Ned had expected, they speedilycame to the conclusion that having been carelessly fastened upalongside the wharves, without any one being left in charge, shehad drifted out with the tide.

  "It would serve them right if we were to set her alight," one ofthe officers said.

  "We had best not to do that," another replied. "It might cause analarm in the town; and, besides, boats are wanted. We had betterdrop her anchor, and leave four men on board to take care of her.In the morning the knaves to whom she belongs will come out toclaim her; and I warrant you the captain will punish them sharplyfor the trouble they have given us."

  This opinion prevailed. A minute latter a splash was heard in thewater, and in a very short time the line connecting the boat with thesmack tightened, and those on board knew that she had been broughtup by her anchor. There was a good deal of noise and tramplingof feet as the Spaniards took their place in the boats again, andthen the heavy splashing of many oars as they started to row backagainst the tide to their own vessel.

  The captain wrung Ned's hand.

  "You have saved the boat for us, young sir, for we should neverhave found her again; and if we had, those on board would have heardus rowing up to them, and would have given the alarm. Now we haveonly to wait for a bit, and then haul ourselves up and overpowerthe Spaniards."

  "I doubt if we could do that without noise," Ned replied. "At anyrate it would be very dangerous while their ship is lying so close.I should say the best plan will be to wait, as you say, till theSpaniards have settled themselves comfortably, then to haul up toher and push the boat along by her side, fending her off carefullyso as to make no noise until we reach the bow, then we can cutthe cable and let her drift. The tide is running strong now, andin half an hour she will be over a mile down the river, and therewill be no fear of a shout being heard on board the ship, and wecan then board her and tackle the Spaniards."

  "That will certainly be the best way," the captain agreed. "Nothingcould be better. Well, we will give them half an hour to settlethemselves in the cabin. They will not stay on deck many minutesin the wet."

  The sound of voices on board the smack soon ceased. After waitinghalf an hour to give the Spaniards time if not to go to sleep tobecome drowsy, the ca
ptain and one of his men began to pull uponthe line. Presently the dark mass could be seen ahead, and theywere soon up to her.

  Very carefully they passed the boat alongside, taking pains toprevent her touching. When they reached the bow the captain graspedthe cable, and with two or three cuts with the knife severed it.Then the boat was pushed off from the ship and gently paddled awayto the full length of the line. Another half hour and they againdrew alongside, and noiselessly climbed on to the deck. The menarmed themselves with belaying pins, and Ned took his pistols fromthe belt beneath his jacket. Then they quietly approached the door.There was a light burning within.

  The cabin was astern, and built upon the deck, and was used by theskipper himself and by any passengers he might be carrying, thecrew living in the forecastle. The doors, which opened outwards,were noiselessly closed, for two of the Spaniards were sitting upplaying cards, and there was no chance of taking the party so muchby surprise as to capture them without noise. The instant the doorswere closed a heavy coil of rope was thrown against them. Therewas a loud exclamation in the cabin, and a moment later a rush tothe door. This, however, did not yield. Then a window in the sidewas thrown open and a head was thrust out, and there was a loudshout of "Treachery! Help!"

  A moment later a heavy belaying pin fell on the head, and itdisappeared. Then there was a loud explosion as an arquebus wasfired, the bullet crashing through the door.

  "It is a good thing we are well on our way," the skipper said."We must be two miles from the Spanish ship now; and even if theyhear the report they will not think it has anything to do with us.Besides, if they did, they could never find us."

  Some more ropes had now been piled against the door, and there wasno fear of its being burst open. Two men were posted at the windowson each side of the cabin with swords, for weapons had now beenfetched from the forecastle.

  "Now," the captain said, "let us get up the sails. There is butlittle wind, but I think there is enough to give us steerage wayand prevent us from drifting on to the sandbanks."

  "I suppose we are well beyond the guard boats now, captain?" Nedasked.

  "Oh, yes; they are not more than half a mile below the forts.Besides, I should think they have not been out; for they would knowthat when the tide once turned no craft could come up from below.Yes, we are quite safe as far as they are concerned."

  Sail was soon made; and though there was scarce wind enough tobelly out the canvas, the boat began to move slowly through thewater, as was shown by her answering her helm. The discharge ofthe arquebus in the cabin was continued from time to time.

  "You may as well cease that noise," the captain shouted to them."Your ship is miles away; and unless you want your throats cut youhad better keep yourselves quiet. You know the beggars are not tobe trifled with."

  The soldiers ceased firing. They had, indeed, already concluded,from the fact that the boats did not come to their rescue, thatthe vessel must somehow have got far from their ship. The name ofthe terrible beggars filled them with alarm, for they knew thatthey showed no mercy. They had not the least idea as to the numberof their captors, and gave themselves up for lost. An hour laterthe captain dropped the second anchor, and brought up in the stream.

  "We must wait till morning," he said. "It is no use getting awayfrom the Spaniards to be cast ashore; and there is no saying in whatpart of the river we may be at present, though we must certainlybe six or seven miles below Bergen."

  Towards morning the mist cleared off, and the wind began to freshen.

  "I think it will blow hard before long," the captain said; "and asit is from the southwest it will soon carry us out of the river.Now, what had we better do with those fellows in the cabin?"

  "I should say the best plan, captain, would be to bring the boatalongside, and tell them that if they will leave their arms behindthem, and come out one by one, they may take to it and row ashore.That if they refuse, we shall open the door and give them noquarter."

  "That would be the best plan," the captain agreed, and going toone of the windows offered these terms to the Spaniards. The menhad prepared for the worst, and had determined to sell their livesas dearly as possible. So convinced were they that the beggarswould show no quarter that they were at first incredulous.

  "It is a trick to get us to give up our arms," one said.

  "It is not," the captain replied. "I swear to you on the word ofa sailor that we will respect the terms and allow you to departunarmed. We don't want to throw away three or four lives merelyfor the pleasure of cutting your throats."

  After a consultation between themselves the soldiers accepted theterms. Ned placed himself at one of the windows to see that thearms were laid aside before the men issued out. Then the coils ofrope were removed, and the door opened, the sailors taking theirplace there in case the Spaniards at the last moment should catchup their arms. This, however, they had no idea of doing, and wereindeed far more afraid of treachery than were their captors. Oneby one they issued out, passed between the line of the sailors tothe bulwark, and got into the boat. It was still dark, and theycould not tell that the group of men at the cabin door were allthose on board. As soon as the last was in, the rope was thrownoff and the boat dropped astern.

  "It will be light enough to see the shore in half an hour," thecaptain said as they drifted away, "and then you can land whereyou like."

  "It would be awkward if they happen to light upon some town," Nedsaid, "and so bring out boats to cut us off."

  "There is no fear of that," the captain replied. "Tergoes is theonly place down here in which they have a garrison, and that liessome miles away yet. Besides, we shall get under way as soon as wecan make out the shore. They have only two oars on board, and arenot likely to know very much about rowing; besides, we shall makeout the shore from deck before they will from the boat."

  "Of course you will not go round by Flushing now? It will be shorterfor you to go straight out to sea through the islands."

  "Yes, and less dangerous. There may be ships at Tergoes and on theeast side of Walcheren, as they still hold Middleburg."

  "The sooner we are out to sea the better, and it will of course suityou also," Ned replied. "I only wanted to put ashore at Flushingin order to take another boat there for Rotterdam, so that I shallsave one day, if not two, if you sail direct."

  In another half hour it was light enough to make out the shore.The anchor was again weighed in and the boat got under way. Theywere now off the end of the Island of St. Anna, and leaving SouthBeveland behind them turned up the channel called the Kype, betweenthe Islands of North Beveland and Duveland. Here they passed manyfishing smacks and coasting vessels, for they were now in theheart of Zeeland, and far beyond reach of the Spaniards. They werefrequently hailed, and were greeted with shouts of applause whenthey told how they had given the Spaniards the slip and made theirescape from Bergen. Two hours later they were out at sea, and beforesunset entered the port of Rotterdam. Finding, when he landed, thatthe Prince of Orange had that day returned from a trip to Haarlemand some other towns, where he had been engaged in raising thespirits of the citizens, inciting them to resistance, and urgingthem that it was necessary to make a common effort against the enemy,and not to allow the town to be taken piecemeal, Ned at once madehis way to the house he occupied. As he entered one of the pageshurried up to him.

  "What do you want?" he asked. "The prince is ready to give audienceto all who have important business, but it is too much that heshould be intruded upon by sailor lads."

  "You do not remember me!" Ned laughed. "Your memory is a short one,Master Hans."

  "I did not, indeed!" the page exclaimed. "Who would have thought ofseeing you dressed as a sailor boy? The prince will be glad to seeyou; for the first question he asked when he crossed the thresholdthis afternoon was whether you had returned."

  He hurried away, and returned a minute later with word that theprince would see Ned at once.

  "Well, my brave lad, so you have returned," the prince said as Nedentered. "
I have blamed myself many times for letting you go uponso dangerous a mission, and I am glad indeed to see that you havesafely returned, even if you have failed altogether touching thematter on which you went."

  "I thought more of the honour than of the danger of the missionyou intrusted to me, your excellency," Ned replied, "and am happyto say that I have fulfilled it successfully, and have brought youback messages by word of mouth from all, save one, of those to whomyour letters were addressed."

  "Say you so!" the prince exclaimed in tones of satisfaction. "Thenyou have indeed done well. And how fared it with you on your journey?Did you deliver the letters and return here without suspicionfalling upon you?"

  "No, sir. I have run some slight risk and danger owing to anunfortunate meeting with Councillor Von Aert, who was of a moresuspicious nature than his countrymen in general; but I will notoccupy your excellency's time by talking about myself, but willdeliver the various messages with which I am charged."

  He then went through the particulars of his interviews with eachof the nine persons he had visited, and gave the contents of theletter, word for word, he had received from the tenth, excusinghimself for not having brought the message by word of mouth, owingto the difficulty of obtaining a private audience with him. He alsoproduced the paper upon which he had jotted down all the particularsof the men and money that had been confided to him.

  "Your news might be better, and worse," the prince said when he hadconcluded. "Some of these men doubtless are, as they say, zealousin the cause, others are not to be largely trusted in extremities.The money they promise is less than I had hoped. Promises arecheaper than gold, and even here in Holland, where all is at stake,the burghers are loath to put their hands in their pockets, andhaggle over their contributions as if they were to be spent for mypleasure instead of their own safety. It is pitiful to see men sofond of their moneybags. The numbers of men who can be relied uponto rise are satisfactory, and more even than I had hoped for; forin matters like this a man must proceed cautiously, and only soundthose upon whom he feels sure beforehand he can rely. The worst ofit is, they are all waiting for each other. One will move if anotherwill move, but none will be first. They will move if I get a victory.But how can I win a victory when I have no army nor money to raiseone, and when each city will fight only in its own defence, andwill not put a man under arms for the common cause?"

  As the prince was evidently speaking to himself rather than to him,Ned remained silent. "Please to write all the particulars down thatyou have given me," the prince went on, "that I may think it overat my leisure. And so you could not see the Count of Coeverden?Was he more difficult of access than he of Sluys?"

  "I do not know that he was, sir," Ned replied; "but my attire wasnot such as to gain me an entrance into antechambers."

  "No, I did not think of that," the prince said. "You should havetaken with you a suit of higher quality. I forgot when I agreedthat you should, for safety, travel as a country lad, that in suchdress you could hardly gain an entrance into the palaces of nobles;and of course it would have excited surprise for one so attired totry to purchase such clothes as would have enabled you to boldlyenter."

  "I might possibly have managed as a peasant lad," Ned repliedwith a smile; "but having been detected in that attire, and beingeagerly sought for by Von Aert's agents, I was at the time dressedas a peasant woman, and could think of no possible excuse uponwhich I might obtain an audience with the count."

  "No, indeed," the prince said smiling. "I must hear your story withall its details; but as it is doubtless somewhat long, I must putit off until later. After the evening meal you shall tell us youradventures before I betake myself to my work."

  Ned retired to his own room and resumed the attire he usually wore.After supper he was sent for by the prince, with whom he found thechamberlain and three or four of his principal officers.

  "Now, young sir, tell us your story," the prince said. "Do notfear of its being long. It is a rest to have one's mind taken offthe affairs of state. I have already told these gentlemen whatvaluable services you have rendered to the cause we all have atheart, and they, like myself, wish to know how you fared, and howyou escaped the danger you referred to at the hands of Von Aert."

  Thus requested, Ned gave a full account of his journey, and of theadventures he had met with in Brussels and on his way back.

  "What think you, sirs," the prince asked when Ned had concluded hisstory. "It seems to me that this lad has shown a courage, a presenceof mind, and a quickness of decision that would be an honour toolder men. The manner in which he escaped from the hands of VonAert, one of the craftiest as well as of the most cruel of theCouncil of Blood, was excellent; and had he then, after obtaininghis disguise, escaped at once from the city, I for one shouldassuredly not have blamed him, and I consider he showed a raredevotion in continuing to risk his life to deliver my letters.Then, again, the quickness with which he contrives to carry outhis scheme for saying a word to the Count of Sluys was excellent;and though he takes no credit to himself, I doubt not that theescape of the boat, after falling foul of the Spanish ship, wasgreatly due to him. I think, sirs, you will agree with me that hehas the makings of a very able man in him, and that henceforth wecan safely intrust him with the most delicate as well as the mostperilous missions."

  There was a general cordial agreement.

  "I am free to aver that you are right and that I am wrong, prince,"the chamberlain said. "I know that you seldom fail in your judgmentof character, and yet it seemed to me, if you will not mind mysaying so, that it was not only rash but wrong to risk the livesof our friends in Brussels upon the chances of the discretion ofthe lad. I now see you were right, for there are few indeed who,placed as he was, would have carried out his mission as skilfullyand well as he has done."

  "By the way," the prince said, "I would beg you to seek out thecaptain of the boat in which you came here, and bid him come tome this time tomorrow evening. I would fain hear from him somewhatfurther details as to how you escaped from the Spaniards, for Iobserved that in this matter you were a little reticent as to yourshare in it. He may be able to tell me, too, more about the strengthof the Spanish garrisons in Bergen and its neighbourhood than youcan do."

  For the next fortnight Ned was employed carrying messages from theprince to various towns and ports. Alva was at Amsterdam, and thearmy under his son, Don Frederick, was marching in that directionon their way from Zutphen. They came down upon the little town ofNaarden on the coast of the Zuider Zee. A troop of a hundred menwas sent forward to demand its surrender. The burghers answeredthat they held the town for the king and the Prince of Orange, anda shot was fired at the troopers. Having thus committed themselves,the burghers sent for reinforcements and aid to the Dutch towns,but none were sent them, and when the Spaniards approached on the1st of December they sent out envoys to make terms. The army marchedforward and encamped a mile and a half from the town.

  A large deputation was sent out and was met by General Romero, whoinformed them that he was commissioned on the part of Don Frederickto treat with them. He demanded the keys, and gave them a solemnpledge that the lives and properties of all the inhabitants shouldbe respected. The gates were thrown open, and Romero with fivehundred soldiers entered. A sumptuous feast was prepared for themby the inhabitants. After this was over the citizens were summoned bythe great bell to assemble in the church that was used as a townhall. As soon as they assembled the soldiers attacked them andkilled them all. The town was then set on fire, and almost everyman, woman, and child killed. Don Frederick forbade that the deadshould be buried, and issued orders forbidding anyone, on pain ofdeath, to give shelter to the few fugitives who had got away. Thefew houses which had escaped the flames were levelled to the ground,and Naarden ceased to exist.

  Great as the horrors perpetrated at Zutphen had been, they weresurpassed by the atrocities committed at Naarden. The news of thehorrible massacre, so far from frightening the Hollanders intosubmission, nerved them to even more strenuous re
sistance. Betterdeath in whatsoever form it came than to live under the rule ofthese foul murderers. With the fall of Naarden there remained onlythe long strip of land facing the sea, and connected at but a fewpoints with the mainland, that remained faithful to the cause offreedom. The rest of the Netherlands lay cowed beneath the heel ofthe Spaniards. Holland alone and a few of the islands of Zeelandremained to be conquered.

  The inhabitants of Holland felt the terrible danger; and Bossu,Alva's stadtholder, formally announced that the system pursuedat Mechlin, Zutphen, and Naarden was the deliberate policy of thegovernment, and that man, woman, and child would be exterminatedin every city which opposed the Spanish authority. The day afterthe news arrived of the fall of Naarden Ned received a letter fromhis father, saying that the Good Venture was again at Enkhuizen,and that she would in two days start for Haarlem with a fleet ofDutch vessels; that he himself had made great progress in the lastsix weeks, and should return to England in her; and that if Nedfound that he could get away for a day or two he should be glad tosee him.

  The prince at once gave Ned permission to leave, and as he hadan excellent horse at his service he started the next morning atdaybreak and arrived at Enkhuizen before nightfall. He was receivedwith great joy by his family, and was delighted to find his fatherlooking quite himself again.

  "Yes, thanks to good nursing and good food, my boy, I feel almoststrong and well enough to take my post at the helm of the GoodVenture again. The doctor tells me that in another couple of monthsI shall be able to have a wooden leg strapped on, and to stumpabout again. That was a rare adventure you had at Brussels, Ned;and you must give us a full account of it presently. In the morningyou must come on board the vessel, Peters and the crew will be allglad to see you again."

  Ned stayed two days with his family. On the evening of the secondday he said to his father: "I should like to make the trip toHaarlem and back, father, in the Good Venture. It may be that theSpaniards will sally out from Amsterdam and attack it. Last timewe had to run away, you know; but if there is a sea fight I shouldlike to take my part in it."

  "Very well, Ned, I have no objection; but I hardly think that therewill be a fight. The Spaniards are too strong, and the fleet willstart so as to pass through the strait by night."

  "Well, at any rate I should like to be on board the Good Ventureagain if only for the sail down and back again," Ned said. "Theyare to sail at three o'clock tomorrow, so that if the wind is fairthey will pass the strait at night and anchor under the walls ofHaarlem in the morning. I suppose they will be two days dischargingtheir cargo of food and grain, and one reason why I want to go isthat I may if possible persuade my aunt and the two girls to returnwith me and to sail for England with you. All think that Haarlemwill be the next place besieged, and after what has taken place inthe other towns it would be madness for my aunt to stop there."

  "I quite agree with you, Ned. The duke is sure to attack Haarlemnext. If he captures it he will cut Holland in two and strike aterrible blow at the cause. Your mother shall write a letter tonightto her sister-in-law urging her to come with us, and take up herabode in England till these troubles are over. She can either dwellwith us, or, if she would rather, we can find her a cottage hardby. She will be well provided with money, for I have at home a copyof your grandfather's will signed by him leaving all his propertyto such of his relatives as may survive him.

  "His three sons are dead; your mother and Elizabeth are thereforehis heirs, and the money he transmitted to England is in itselfsufficient to keep two families in comfort. What proportion of itwas his and what belonged to his sons now matters not, seeing thatyour mother and aunt are the sole survivors of the family. As yousay, it is madness for her to remain in Holland with her two girls.Were I a burgher of that town I would send my family away to Leydenor Dort and stay myself to defend the walls to the last, but I donot believe that many will do so. Your countrymen are obstinatepeople, Sophie, and I fear that few will send their families away."

  Upon the following afternoon Ned started with the little fleet. Thewind was fair and light, and they reached the mouth of the straitleading from the Zuider Zee to Haarlem. Then suddenly the winddropped and the vessels cast anchor. For the two or three daysprevious the weather had been exceedingly cold, and with the fallof the wind the frost seemed to increase in severity, and Ned, whohad been pacing the deck with Peters chatting over what had happenedsince they last met, was glad to go into the cabin, where the newfirst mate and supercargo had retired as soon as the anchor waslet go. They sat talking for a couple of hours until a sailor camein, and said that they were hailed by the nearest ship. They allwent on deck. Ned shouted to know what was the matter.

  "Do you not see the water is freezing? By morning we shall be allfrozen up hard and fast."

  This was startling news indeed, for they were now in full sight ofAmsterdam, and would, if detained thus, be open to an attack acrossthe ice.