OFF FOR WRANGELL ISLAND 
307 
hoped that meanwhile the Russian ships or one of 
the walrus-hunting boats had been there and taken 
off the men. It was getting late and before many 
weeks the ice might close in around the island and 
render it inaccessible to a ship, but it was not alto¬ 
gether this danger alone that worried me but also 
the feeling that the longer the men were kept on 
the island the greater would be their suspense and 
the harder it would be for them to keep up their 
spirits. Of course, until some one came to rescue 
them they would not know whether I had ever suc¬ 
ceeded in reaching the Siberian coast or not. 
Every day of this suspense must be telling on them 
and bringing them face to face with the thought 
that they might have to spend another winter on 
the island, an experience which would be likely to 
kill them all. So altogether these days had been 
nightmares to me, the more so because naturally 
under the circumstances I was not in a position to 
do anything to hasten matters. The Bear had her 
own work to do, of course, and only a limited sea¬ 
son to do it in. My feeling of relief at being at 
last on the way to the goal of all my thought and 
effort may be imagined. 
We left on August 28, with a fresh north-north¬ 
east wind behind us, and straightened her out for 
Rodgers Harbor. The harder it blew the better 
I liked it, for our voyage would be so much the 
