t evening, before supper, Clawbonny turned the
conversation to certain proposed expeditions in the summer months for
hydrographic observations.

"I suppose, Altamont," he said, "that you will join us?"

"Certainly," was the reply; "we must know how large New America is."

Hatteras gazed earnestly at his rival while he made his answer.

"And for that," continued Altamont, "we must make the best use we can
of the fragments of the _Porpoise_; let us make a strong boat which
can carry us far."

"You hear, Bell," said the doctor, quickly; "to-morrow we shall set to
work."

CHAPTER XV.
THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.

The next day Bell, Altamont, and the doctor went to the _Porpoise_;
they found no lack of wood; the old three-masted launch, though
injured by being wrecked, could still supply abundant material for the
new one. The carpenter set to work at once; they needed a seaworthy
boat, which should yet be light enough to carry on a sledge. Towards
the end of May the weather grew warmer; the thermometer rose above the
freezing-point; the spring came in earnest this time, and the men were
able to lay aside their winter clothing. Much rain fell, and soon the
snow began to slide and melt away. Hatteras could not hide his joy at
seeing the first signs of thaw in the ice-fields. The open sea meant
liberty for him.

[Illustration: "The carpenter set to work at once."]

[Illustration]

Whether or not his predecessors had been wrong on this great question
of an open polar sea, he hoped soon to know. All chance of success in
his undertaking depended on this. One evening, after a warm day in
which the ice had given unmistakable signs of breaking up, he turned
the conversation to the question of an open sea. He took up the
familiar arguments, and found the doctor, as ever, a warm advocate of
his doctrine. Besides, his conclusions were evidently accurate.

"It is plain," he said, "that if the ocean before Victoria Bay gets
clear of ice, its southern part will also be clear as far as New
Cornwall and Queen's Channel. Penny and Belcher saw it in that state,
and they certainly saw clearly."

"I agree with you, Hatteras," answered the doctor, "and I have no
reason for doubting the word of these sailors; a vain attempt has been
made to explain their discovery as an effect of mirage; but they were
so certain, it was impossible that they could have made such a
mistake."

"I always thought so," said Altamont; "the polar basin