The Ice King lay between two vast overhanging ice-mountains, which towered high above us. In the front was the huge iceberg, which had prevented the nearer approach of the wall of ice. The channel in which we lay could only be closed by the breaking up of the fields of ice behind us, and we could see no reason why this should occur. If the ice-fields remained intact until the freezing of the channel there would be no collision and we would be safe for the time being.
The weather had become intensely cold and we began to feel that the danger had passed by, when an ominous roar and the sharp reports of breaking ice, gave warning of the only thing we had to dread. A violent earthquake was lashing the ocean into fury, and the ice pack was broken into innumerable fragments, which were crashing against each other in the most violent commotion. Captain Battell shouted from the lookout where he had posted himself:
"Save yourselves if you can. The channel is closing and the ship is lost."
I looked up, and as I did so, the lofty ice-mountains between which we lay, seemed to be falling directly down upon us, and at the same time a violent shock threw me upon the deck with a force that must have rendered me unconscious for a few seconds.
In the dark—All is still—Captain Ganoe's narrow escape—Imprisoned in the ice—Distressing situation—How to preserve the health and efficiency of the crew—A new danger—The ice is moving—The common sailor to the rescue—Lief and Eric save the ship—The tunnel to the surface—Exploring the ice-field.
