A NARROW PINCH 217 



wreck by ice pressure they faced the prospect of 

 lying still in an ice bed until the pack broke up 

 in the spring. 



All day long the frightened ships scurried up 

 and down the ice barrier without finding an 

 opening. They ran to the westward. There 

 was no escape there. They flew back to the 

 east. An ice wall confronted them. The case 

 seemed hopeless. The panic of the captains be- 

 came more and more evident. If a ship hurried 

 off in any direction, the other ships flocked after 

 her like so many scared sheep. Morning and 

 afternoon passed in this wild search for an out- 

 let. Night was coming on. 



A bark squared her yards and shot away to 

 the southeast. It was the Sea Breeze. When 

 the others expected her to tack, she did no such 

 thing, but kept going straight ahead. On she 

 went alone, far from the fleet. It was exciting 

 to watch that single ship flying eastward. What 

 could it mean? Had she found an opening? 

 The other ships turned their prows after her, 

 one by one. A long line of vessels soon was 

 careering in the wake of the Sea Breeze. She 



