68 CONQUERING THE ARCTIC ICE 



but before we could get a rope out we drifted again by, and 

 once more we came down on a piece of ice, so hard that I 

 thought we surely must be leaking. But the ship held out, 

 the pumps were dry, and only the bow had been damaged. 

 The iron bands which were strapped round it had been broken 

 off and the outside timber smashed. Well, as long as she 

 doesn't leak it does not matter much ; we must take some 

 chances to get out, as the time is getting very short. 



Monday, August 13. We had high hopes last night for the 

 coming day, but they have been sadly disappointed, and again 

 we have a nasty, foggy, and stormy morning. It is blowing 

 from N.E., so we have at least the consolation to know that 

 even if we cannot see it the ice must be clearing out, leaving 

 us a highway for Point Barrow. 



At noon we had a small clearing, and I was able to see that 

 the ice had practically cleared away from the shore, but also 

 that there were no lanes within reach leading in that direction. 

 The fog shut down again before we could get a real chance to 

 look, but it is bound to clear up again sooner or later. 



The clearing came before we expected, and at 1.15 P.M. we 

 left our floe with our sails reefed, though not more than was 

 absolutely necessary. We had a lane to pass about three 

 hundred yards long, with the wind right against us. Through 

 it, we could bear off a little into more open water, and from 

 there we could easily reach the large coast water. We stood 

 across our own pool to get so much to windward that we 

 could come down on the lane with a fair wind. After two 

 tacks we managed to do so, and with slackened sheets the 

 Duchess of Bedford flew through the water. As soon as we 

 entered the lane, we ran her right into the wind, hauled down 

 the headsails, and with the large sails flapping, our staunch 

 little vessel shot up in the wind like an arrow. We all 

 watched her with anxiety, for we had no time to lose, as the 

 floes on both sides of us were fast nearing each other. With 

 a great effort, however, we poled ourselves along for the 

 remaining fifty yards, hoisted the headsails, and at last we 

 were in open water, and once more- felt our vessel move on 

 the seas. The sea was running strong, and that promised well 

 for a considerable space of open water further ahead. 



We had just got through the last lane when the fog came 





