Adventure was indeed certain, for relieved of its cumbrous and dislodged pinnacle, the huge iceberg reeled slowly over and with a pulsating boom that shook the gathered snows from its shoulders, in storms of irridescent dust, it rose from its muddy fastenings and floated; to follow perchance the spectral procession which in the morning of the previous day Lhatto had seen far south, proceeding outward on the trackless deep.
But apprehensions were for the instant forgotten. The woman drew from the pocket of her trousers a long thin blade, that shining from its concave facets revealed the substance of obsidian, or volcanic glass. She squeezed the plush-like skin of the seal, draining away the absorbed water, and then cut deeply into its back, and dexterously working the stone knife, dislodged the fat in lumps. And these she ate.
The reassuring comfort of satiety, the new warmth bringing with it courage, made Lhatto keen and anxious again. She reviewed the chances of her escape. The berg was moving. That she could detect by watching the sharp edges of its arête pass the features of the glacier beyond it, and that it was likely to follow in the wake of the endless train of emigrants whose majestic beauty was destined to vanish before the tropic suns, dropping like despoiled queens their ornaments of sparkling jewels in the hot waters of the south, was equally certain. What means did she possess to effect her escape? The boat was intact, food was there, the harpoon and paddle still remained, and her own good heart and buoyant muscles, the quick concurrence of ardor and of strength, were also hers.
The berg moved steadily out to sea. No time was to be lost; the sea was as yet undisturbed, save by its own unquiet breathing, and even this perturbation, near the shore, and shielded as her position was by fences of icy peninsulas and drifting ice, was now scarcely noticeable. If she left the berg and trusted herself upon the water, could she shun the tides which had brought her there? To answer this question it was essential for Lhatto to find out exactly where she was. The body and mass of the berg, in steps and colonnaded loveliness, was between her and the distance, only the shelf on which she stood offered any room for foothold or support.