then very near
the Pole, exactly one hundred and seventy-five miles from it. However
small the land might be at that point of the globe, the voyage would
certainly be a short one. The wind was light, but fair. The
thermometer stood at 50 degrees; it was really warm.

The launch had not been injured by the journey on the sledge; it was
in perfect order, and sailed easily. Johnson was at the helm; the
doctor, Bell, and Altamont were lying as best they might among the
load, partly on deck, partly below.

Hatteras stood forward, with his eyes turned to the mysterious point,
which attracted him with an irresistible power, as the magnetic pole
attracts the needle. If there should be any land, he wanted to be the
first to see it. This honor really belonged to him. He noticed,
besides, that the surface of the Polar Sea was covered with short
waves, like those of land locked seas. This he considered a proof of
the nearness of the opposite shore, and the doctor shared his opinion.

Hatteras's desire to find land at the North Pole is perfectly
comprehensible. His disappointment would have been great if the
uncertain sea covered the place where he wanted to find a piece of
land, no matter how small! In fact, how could he give a special name
to an uncertain portion of the sea? How plant the flag of his country
among the waves? How take possession, in the name of her Gracious
Majesty, of the liquid element?

So Hatteras, compass in hand, gazed steadily at the north. There was
nothing that he could see between him and the horizon, where the line
of the blue water met the blue sky. A few floating icebergs seemed to
be leaving the way free for these bold sailors. The appearance of this
region was singularly strange. Was this impression simply the result
of the nervous excitement of the travellers? It is hard to say. Still,
the doctor in his journal has described the singular appearance of the
ocean; he spoke of it as Penny did, according to whom these countries
present an appearance "offering the most striking contrast of a sea
filled with millions of living creatures."

The sea, with its various colors, appeared strangely transparent, and
endowed with a wonderful dispersive quality, as if it had been made
with carburet of sulphur. This clearness let them see down into
immeasurable depths; it seemed as if the sea were lit up like a large
aquarium; probably some electric phenomenon at the bottom of the sea
lit it up. So the launch