Accordingly, the two men, with their gaze still resting upon the narrow strip of water, proceeded along its icy shore. They had not gone far when they saw the seal lying motionless upon a small berg, a few feet ahead of them.
But it moved slowly away as they advanced—so slowly, in fact, that they were obliged to slacken their pace, in order not to alarm the timid animal. Occasionally, it would vanish, by moving under some overhanging mass of ice; but, the next moment, their eyes would again catch the gleam of the golden harpoon, as its bearer emerged to their view. In this manner they followed it for a full half-hour, at the end of which time the creature glided toward a hole, near the base of a berg—one which, as it was near the eastern edge of the floe, had not hitherto been encountered by the men during their search.
“Ay, ay!” cried Stump, “there it goes, sure enough, into the hole, and—and—my eyes!” he suddenly interrupted, “it’s only got half-way in, after all, for the p’int of the harpoon has caught in a crevice, and holds the little lubber fast!”
He darted forward, as he concluded, seized the struggling animal, and, disengaging the bauble from its neck, passed it to Marline. At the same moment, a musical voice was heard to emerge from between the thick ice-walls of the berg:
“Is that you, my friend? Heaven be praised!”
Both men uttered a simultaneous shout of joy.
“It is she—it is Alice!” cried Marline, bounding forward. “Thank God! she is found at last!”
“Ay, ay!” retorted the shipkeeper, clapping his hands, and dancing around the frozen mass, like a wild islander; “I felt pretty sartain that blessed little creatur’ would lead us the right way! We are here, Miss Alice!—both of us!” he added, raising his voice; “so keep up a good heart, till we get you out, which we’ll do in the tying of a square knot!”
In fact, Harry had already begun to ascend one of the sides of the crystal pile, and soon afterward, as the berg was not very high, he had gained its summit. Here he found an aperture, which was barely large enough to admit a human body, and which led into one of those small, curiously-formed cells, which are found among the many crystal wonders fashioned by Nature’s hand.
And, in this narrow chamber, the sides of which were too smooth to enable her to climb them, stood the niece of Captain Howard, looking up at her lover, as he peered through the opening, which was not more than five feet above her head.