"To-morrow I shall kill that bear!"
"To-morrow!" said Johnson, as if he had awakened from a bad dream.
"Yes, to-morrow."
"You have no ball!"
"I shall make one."
"You have no lead!"
"No, but I have some quicksilver."
Thereupon the doctor took the thermometer; it marked +50. He went outside, placed the instrument on the ice, and soon returned. The outside temperature was -50. Then he said to the old sailor,--
"Now go to sleep, and wait till to-morrow."
That night they endured the horrors of hunger; only the doctor and the boatswain were able to temper them with a little hope. The next morning, at dawn, the doctor rushed out, followed by Johnson, and ran to the thermometer; all the mercury had sunk into the bulb, in the form of a compact cylinder. The doctor broke the instrument, and seized in his gloved fingers a piece of very hard metal. It was a real bullet.
"Ah, Doctor," shouted the old sailor, "that"s a real miracle! You are a wonderful man!"
"No, my friend," answered the doctor, "I am only a man with a good memory, who has read a good deal."
"Why, what do you mean?"
"I happened to remember something Captain Ross related in the account of his voyage: he said he shot through an inch plank with a bullet of frozen mercury; if I had any oil it would amount to nearly the same thing, for he speaks of a ball of sweet almond, which was fired against a post and fell back to the ground unbroken."
"That is hardly credible!"
"But it is true, Johnson; this piece of metal may save our lives; let us leave it here in the air before we take it, and go and see whether the bear is still following us."
At that moment Hatteras came out of the hut; the doctor showed him the bullet, and told him what he thought of doing; the captain pressed his hand, and the three went off to inspect. The air was very clear.
Hatteras, who was ahead of his companions, discovered the bear about a half-mile off. The animal, seated on his hind quarters, was busily moving his head about, sniffing towards these new arrivals.
"There he is!" shouted the captain.
"Silence!" said the doctor.
But the huge beast did not stir when he saw the hunters. He gazed at them without fear or anger. Still, it would be found hard to approach him.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
"My friends," said Hatteras, "we have not come out for sport, but to save our lives. Let us act cautiously."
"Yes," answered the doctor; "we can only have one shot, and we must not miss; if he were to run away, he would be lost, for he can run faster than a hare."
"Well, we must go straight for him," said Johnson; "it is dangerous, but what does it matter? I am willing to risk my life."
"No, let me go!" cried the doctor.
"No, I shall go," answered Hatteras, quietly.
"But," said Johnson, "are not you of more use to the others than I should be?"
"No, Johnson," answered the captain, "let me go; I shall run no needless risk; perhaps, too, I shall call on you to help me."
"Hatteras," asked the doctor, "are you going to walk straight towards the bear?"
"If I were sure of hitting him, I would do so, even at the risk of having my head torn open, but he would flee at my approach. He is very crafty; we must try to be even craftier."
"What do you intend to do?"
"To get within ten feet of him without his suspecting it."
"How are you going to do it?"
"By a simple but dangerous method. You kept, did you not, the skin of the seal you shot?"
"Yes, it is on the sledge."
"Well, let us go back to the snow-house, while Johnson stays here on watch."
The boatswain crept behind a hummock which hid him entirely from the sight of the bear, who stayed in the same place, continually sniffing the air.
CHAPTER V.
THE SEAL AND THE BEAR.
Hatteras and the doctor went back to the house.
"You know," said the captain, "that the polar bears chase seals, which are their princ.i.p.al food. They watch for days at their breathing-holes, and seize them the moment they come upon the ice. So a bear will not be afraid of a seal; far from it."
"I understand your plan," said the doctor, "but it"s dangerous."
"But there is a chance of success," answered the captain, "and we must try it. I am going to put on the sealskin and crawl over the ice. Let us lose no time. Load the gun and give it to me."
The doctor had nothing to say; he would himself have done what his companion was about to try; he left the house, carrying two axes, one for Johnson, the other for himself; then, accompanied by Hatteras, he went to the sledge.
There Hatteras put on the sealskin, which very nearly covered him.
Meanwhile, Hatteras loaded the gun with the last charge of powder, and dropped in it the quicksilver bullet, which was as hard as steel and as heavy as lead. Then he handed Hatteras the gun, which he hid beneath the sealskin. Then he said to the doctor,--
"You go and join Johnson; I shall wait a few moments to puzzle the enemy."
"Courage, Hatteras!" said the doctor.