the matter to the captain, I lost no opportunity of sounding the
boatswain. Often when he had finished his work, Hurliguerly would
come and join me; we would chat, and we would compare our
recollections of travel.

One day as we were seated on the summit of the iceberg, gazing
fixedly on the deceptive horizon, he exclaimed,--

"Who could ever have imagined, Mr. Jeorling, when the _Halbrane_
left Kerguelen, that six and a half months afterwards she would be
stuck on the side of an icemountain?"

"A fact much more to be regretted," I replied, "because only
for that accident we should have attained our object, and we should
have begun our return journey."

"I don't mean to contradict," replied the boatswain, "but
you say we should have attained our object, Do you mean by that,
that we should have found our countrymen?"

"Perhaps."

"I can scarcely believe such would have been the case, Mr.
Jeorling, although this was the principal and perhaps even the only
object of our navigation in the polarseas."

"The only one--yes--at the start," I insinuated. "But since
the half-breed's revelations about Arthur Pym--"

"Ah! You are always harking back on that subject, like brave Dirk
Peters."

"Always, Hurliguerly; and only that a deplorable and unforeseen
accident made us run aground--"

"I leave you to your delusions, Mr. Jeorling, since you believe
you have run aground--"

"Why? Is not this the case?"

"In any case it is a wonderful running aground," replied the
boatswain. "Instead of a good solid bottom, we have run aground in
the air."

"Then I am right, Hurliguerly, in saying it is an unfortunate
adventure."

"Unfortunate, truly, but in my opinion we should take warning by
it."

"What warning?"

"That it is not permitted to us to venture so farin these
latitudes, and I believe that the Creator forbids His creatures to
climb to the summit of the poles."

"Notwithstanding that the summit of one pole is only sixty miles
away from us now."

"Granted, Mr. Jeorling, but tilese sixty miles are equal to
thousands when we have no means of making them! And if the launch of
the schooner is not successful, here are we condemned to winter
quarters which the polar bears themselves would hardly relish!"

I replied only by a shake of my head, which Hurliguerly could not
fail to understand.

"Do you know, Mr. Jeorling, of what I think oftenest?"

"What do you think of, boatswain?"

"Of the Kerguelens, whither