Afterthisthetravellersflewnorthwardatgreatspeedintheupperregionsoftheair,fortheywereanxioustohastentheirjourney。Theyfoundnothingbutunbrokensea,andnottilltheyreachedlatitudeeighty—sevenwasthereasignofice。Theythensawsomesmallbergsandfieldice,butinnogreatquantities。
Astheiroutsidethermometer,whenjustabovetheplacidwater——fortherewerenowaveshere——registeredtwenty—onedegreesFahrenheit,theyaccountedforthisscarcityoficebytheabsenceoflandonwhichfreshwatercouldfreeze,andbythefactthatitwasnotcoldenoughtocongealtheverysaltsea—water。
Finallytheyreachedanotherarchipelagoafewhundredmilesinextent,thelargerislandsofwhichwerecoveredwithasheetofice,attheedgesofwhichsmallicebergswerebeingformedbybreakingoffandslowlyfloating。Findingasmallislandonwhichthecoatingwasthin,theygroundedtheCallisto,andsteppedoutforthefirsttimeinseveraldays。Theairwassostillthatasmallpieceofpaperreleasedataheightofsixfeetsankslowlyandwentasstraightasthestringofaplumb—line。Thesunwasbisectedbythelineofthehorizon,andappearedtobemovingabouttheminacircle,withonlyitsupperhalfvisible。AsJupiter\'snorthernhemispherewaspassingthroughitsautumnalequinox,theyconcludedtheyhadlandedexactlyatthepole。
\"Nowtoworkonourexperiment,\"saidCortlandt。\"Iwonderhowwemaybestgetbelowthefrozensurface？\"
\"Wecanexplodeasmallquantityofdynamite,\"repliedBearwarden,\"afterwhichthediggingwillbecomparativelyeasy。\"