"Your hour's nearly up, Rogers," said Ranworth, consulting his watch.
The crew had now gone for'ard again, and although the Bird of Freedom had traversed nearly fifty miles of water as she skirted the gigantic floe, no sign of an opening had yet presented itself.
The seaman merely shrugged his broad shoulders.
It wanted five minutes to the hour. "There's a likely place, sir," announced Payne, pointing to a part of the ice-barrier where, instead of ice ten to twenty feet of vertical cliff, the ice shelved towards the sea.
The Bird of Freedom was headed towards the spot. As she drew nearer, it became apparent to the crew that the ice did not slope so gently as it seemed to at first sight. Yet with a little caution and skilful manoeuvring it might be possible to draw the huge bulk of the sleigh upon the level ice beyond.
"Yes, it looks scaleable," agreed Ranworth. "But we don't know what is beyond. It's no use if we find the ice is intersected by numerous crevasses. Easy with her, Leslie; we'll bring up close alongside, and get ashore. It will be worth the trouble."
Adroitly the Bird of Freedom was taken close in to the ice, and a couple of grapnels thrown ashore. Securely moored, the floating sleigh could be safely left for a brief interval, since there were no indications of a change in the weather.
Armed with an ice-axe, Rogers scrambled upon the shelving, slippery ice and proceeded to cut niches in the hard, smooth surface.
As soon as he had established a means of communication with the upper portion of the floe, a rope was thrown to him. This he made fast to the handle of his ice-axe, the after part of which was driven firmly into the ice. Steadying themselves by the rope, the rest of the party rejoined Rogers on the ice.
It was excessively cold. Coming direct from the comparatively warm cabin, the explorers noticed the change acutely in spite of their thick furs. Their limbs felt like lead, their faces were lacerated by the biting wind. To talk required a strenuous effort. Their exhaled breath, rapidly congealing, fell to the ground in the form of minute particles of ice.