it was a singular fact that
he was not joyful, but rather disturbed by this new intelligence.

"Do you know what I am afraid of?" said he to the doctor and Mr.
Bredejord. "I fear that some misfortune has happened to the 'Vega.' You
know it is now the 5th of December, and you know the leaders of the
expedition counted upon arriving at Behring's Strait before October. If
this expectation had been realized, we should have heard from her by
this time; for she would have reached Japan, or at least Petropaulosk,
in the Aleutian Islands, or some station in the Pacific, from which we
should have received news of her. The dispatches and letters here came
by the way of Irkutsk, and are dated the 7th of September, so that for
three entire months we have heard nothing from the 'Vega.' So we must
conclude that they did not reach Behring's Strait as soon as they
expected, and that she has succumbed to the common fate of all
expeditious which for the last three centuries have attempted to
discover the north-east passage. This is the deplorable conclusion which
I have been compelled to arrive at."

"The 'Vega' might have been obliged to encounter in the Polar regions a
great deal which was unforeseen, and she might have been unprovided for
such a contingency," replied Dr. Schwaryencrona.

"Evidently; but this is the most favorable hypothesis; and a winter in
that region is surrounded by so many dangers that it is equivalent to a
shipwreck. In any case, it is an indisputable fact that if we ever have
any news of the 'Vega' it will not be possible to do so before next
summer."

"Why, how is that?"

"Because, if the 'Vega' has not perished she is inclosed in the ice, and
she will not be able, at the best, to extricate herself before June or
July."

"That is true," answered Mr. Bredejord.

"What conclusion do you draw from this reasoning?" asked the doctor,
disturbed by the sad tone of Erik's voice as he made the announcement.

"The conclusion that it is impossible to wait so long before solving a
question which is of such great importance to me."

"What do you want to do? We must submit to what is inevitable."

"Perhaps it only appears to be so," answered Erik. "The letters which
have reached us have come across the Arctic Ocean by the way of Irkutsk.
Why could I not follow the same route? I would keep close to the coast
of Siberia. I would endeavor to communicate with the people of that
country, and find out whether any fore