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Page 62
These successive discoveries had produced consternation in the breasts
of all who were present.
Erik was the first to break the silence which had succeeded the
conversation.
"Poor Captain Marsilas!" he said, in a trembling voice, "he has suffered
for us all. But since we have escaped almost by a miracle the fate which
was prepared for us, let us run no more risks. The tide is rising, and
it may be possible to draw the 'Alaska' off the rocks. If you are
willing, gentlemen, we will go and commence operations without delay."
He spoke with simple authority and a modest dignity, with which the
feeling of responsibility had already inspired him.
To see a young man of his age invested with the command of a ship under
such circumstances, and for such a hazardous expedition, was certainly
an unforeseen occurrence. But he felt that he was equal to the
performance of all his duties. He knew that he could rely upon himself
and upon his crew, and these thoughts transfigured him. The youth of
yesterday was a man to-day. The spirit of a hero burned in his eyes. He
rose superior to the calamity which had befallen them. His ability
impressed all who approached him. Even the doctor and Mr. Bredejord
submitted to him like the others.
The operation of preparing for their morning's work proved easier than
they had hoped.
Lifted by the rising waters, the vessel only required a slight force to
take her off the rocks. A few hours of hard work were sufficient to
accomplish this, and the "Alaska" was once more afloat, strained indeed,
and weighed down by the water which made its way into some of her
compartments, and with her engine silent, but manageable.
All the crew, who were assembled on the deck, watched anxiously the
result of these efforts, and a loud hurrah greeted the deliverance of
the "Alaska."
The Frenchmen replied to this joyful cry with similar acclamations. It
was now three o'clock in the afternoon. Above the horizon the beautiful
February sun inundated the calm sparkling sea with floods of sunshine,
which fell also on the rocks of the Basse-Froide, as if to efface all
remembrance of the drama which had been enacted there the previous
night.
That same evening the "Alaska" had been safely towed into the harbor of
L'Orient.
The next day the French maritime authorities, with the utmost courtesy,
authorized the necessary repairs to be made without delay. The damage
which the vessel had sustained was not serious, but that of the
machinery was more complicated, although not irremediable. Necessarily
it would take some time to render her seaworthy, but nowhere in the
world, as Erik had foreseen, could this be accomplished so speedily as
at this port, which possessed such immense resources for naval
construction. The house of Gainard, Norris & Co., undertook to make the
repairs in three weeks. It was now the 23d of February; on the 16th of
March they would be able to resume their voyage, and this time with good
charts.
That would leave three months and a half for them to reach Behring's
Strait by the end of June. It was not impossible to do this, although
the time was very limited. Erik would not hear of abandoning the
enterprise. He feared only one thing, and that was being compelled to do
so. Therefore he refused to send to Stockholm a report of the shipwreck,
and he would not make a formal complaint against the presumed author of
the attempt to shipwreck them for fear of being delayed by legal
proceedings, yet he had his fears that this might encourage Tudor Brown
to throw some new obstacle in the way of the "Alaska." This is what Dr.
Schwaryencrona and Mr. Bredejord asked each other as they were playing
at whist with Mr. Malarius, in the little sitting-room of the hotel to
which they had gone after arriving at L'Orient.
As for Mr. Bredejord, he had no doubts about the matter.
A rascal like Tudor Brown, if he knew of the failure of his scheme--and
how could any one doubt that he was acquainted with this fact?--would
not hesitate to renew the attempt.
To believe that they would ever succeed in reaching Behring's Strait was
therefore more than self-delusion--it was foolishness. Mr. Bredejord did
not know what steps Tudor Brown would take to prevent this, but he felt
certain that he would find some means of doing so. Dr. Schwaryencrona
was inclined to the same opinion, and even Mr. Malarius could not think
of anything very reassuring to say. The games of whist were therefore
not very lively, and the long strolls that the three friends took were
not very gay.
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