In spite of the weird noises and the crash of the broken ice, Leslie slept soundly. His companions failed to awaken him, the Russians taking his turn on watch. When at length he awoke the blizzard had practically ceased, and the men were preparing to dig a way out through the deep snow drift.
A strange sight met Leslie's eyes as he gained the open air.
Although it was supposed to be midnight, the sun was showing dully in the northern sky, and casting long shadows on the hummocks across the undulating plain of white snow. But what had been a portion of the vast glacier only a day or so before was now open water, dotted with masses of floating ice.
Almost half a mile of glacier had separated from the main ice river and had been hurled into Desolation Inlet. The sea was within two hundred yards of the hut, but the Polarity was no longer to be seen.
"The ship!" exclaimed Leslie. "Where is she? Has she been 'nipped'?"
He knew the danger of a vessel being crushed between those miniature bergs, and the thought that the Polarity had foundered under the impact of the detached ice filled him with alarm.
"Nipped?" repeated O'Donovan, "Not her. Faith, she's slipped her cables and stood out to sea. I'll allow Cap'n Stormleigh wouldn't wait for those chunks of ice to hit him. She'll be back presently."
Although O'Donovan spoke hopefully, in his inmost thoughts he knew there might be a possibility of the catastrophe at which Leslie had hinted actually taking place. If so, the fate of the fifteen men left on Nova Cania would be a terrible one.
Four tedious hours passed, yet the Polarity did not put in an appearance. O'Donovan consoled his companions by suggesting that perhaps there was a thick fog outside, so that the vessel would be compelled to wait before attempting to recross the dangerous bar. Or, again, the floating ice might have become "packed" lower down the inlet, thus rendering it impossible for the Polarity to return until the barrier was removed.
The Russians, upon the seaman's surmises being translated, nodded gravely. Their stolidity seemed in keeping with the suspense of the situation.