94 THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH POLE 



harbour on 22nd July, and steamed northwards. In 

 75° 29' it was stopped by ice, and had to return to the 

 south. Kaiser Franz- Joseph's Fjord was afterwards ex- 

 plored ; and on the 17th of August the return home to 

 Germany was begun. By the 25th of August they were 

 clear of the ice. 



" On the 1 Oth of September we were a few miles from 

 Heligoland. A heavy storm blew from the south-west, but 

 in the evening shifted to the north-west, enabling us to run 

 in to shore. At daybreak, though we had seen no pilot, 

 we recognised Langerooge, and steered along the South- 

 wall to the mouth of the Weser. No sign of a ship ! 

 The Weser seemed to have died out. Where are the 

 pilots hidden ? Are they lying perdu on account of 

 yesterday's storm ? Well, then, we must run into the 

 Weser without them ; the wind is favourable, the weather 

 clear, the outer buoy will be easy to find ; there is the 

 church-tower of Wangerooge. Suspecting nothing, we 

 steered on ; the tower bears S.S.W., south-west by south, 

 south-west, but no buoy in sight. The captain and 

 steersman look at each other in astonishment. Can we 

 have been so mistaken and out of our reckoning ? But 

 no ! That is certainly Wangerooge ; the depth of water 

 agrees, our compass is correct. No doubt about it, we 

 are in the Weser ; something unusual must have hap- 

 pened ! Still no sail in sight ! But what is that ? 

 Yonder are the roads. There are several large vessels 

 under steam ; they at least can give us some information. 

 So we make for them. We saluted the German flag, 

 and soon the cry was heard, ' War, war with France ; 

 Napoleon is prisoner ! France has declared a Republic ; 

 our armies are before Paris ! ' And then, ' Hansa de- 

 stroyed in the ice, crew saved.'" 



