m which
she had been driven by the prolonged tempest.

In that portion of the Antarctic sea the ice-packs were more
numerous, and there was reason to believe that the tempest, by
hastening the smash-up, had broken the barrier of the iceberg wall
towards the east.

CHAPTER XIII.
ALONG THE FRONT OF THE ICEBERGS.

Although the seas beyond the Polar Circle were wildly tumultuous, it
is but just to acknowledge that our navigation had been accomplished
so far under exceptional conditions. And what good luck it would be
if the _Halbrane_, in this first fortnight of December, were to find
the Weddell route open!

There! I am talking of the Weddell route as though it were a
macadamized road, well kept, with mile-stones and "This way to the
South Pole" on a signpost!

The numerous wandering masses of ice gave our men no trouble; they
were easily avoided. It seemed likely that no real difficulties
would arise until the schooner should have to try to make a passage
for herself through the icebergs.

Besides, there was no surprise to be feared. The presence of ice was
indicated by a yellowish tint in the atmosphere, which the whalers
called "blink." This is a phenomenon peculiar to the glacial
zones which never deceives the observer.

For five successive days the _Halbrane_ sailed without sustaining any
damage, without having, even for a moment, had to fear a collision.
It is true that in proportion as she advanced towards the south the
number of icepacks increased and the channels became narrower. On
the 14th an observation gave us 72 deg. 37' for latitude, our
longitude remaining the same, between the forty-second and the
forty-third meridian. This was already a point beyond the Antarctic
Circle that few navigators had been able to reach. We were at only
two degrees lower than Weddell.

The navigation of the schooner naturally became a more delicate
matter in the midst of those dim, wan masses soiled with the excreta
of birds. Many of them had a leprous look: compared with their
already considerable volume, how small our little ship, over whose
mast some of the icebergs already towered, must have appeared!

Captain Len Guy admirably combined boldness and prudence in his
command of his ship. He never passed to leeward of an iceberg, if
the distance did not guarantee the success of any manoeuvre
whatsoever that might suddenly become necessary. He was familiar
with all the contingencies of ice-navigation, and was