fr:Hector Servadac - II - Chapitre XII
CHAPTER XII.A FÊTE DAY.
The temperature continued to increase; the mercurial
thermometer, which freezes at 42° below zero, was no
longer of service, and the spirit thermometer of the Dobryna
had been brought into use. This now registered 53° below
freezing point.
In the creek, where the two vessels had been moored
for the winter, the elevation of the ice, in anticipation of
which Lieutenant Procope had taken the precautionary
measure of bevelling, was going on slowly but irresistibly, and the tartan was upheaved fifty feet above the level of the Gallian Sea, while the schooner, as being lighter, had been raised to a still greater altitude.
So irresistible was this gradual process of elevation, so
utterly defying all human power to arrest, that the lieutenant
began to feel very anxious as to the safety of his
yacht. With the exception of the engine and the masts, everything had been cleared out and conveyed to shore, but in the event of a thaw it appeared that nothing short of a miracle could prevent the hull from being dashed to pieces, and then all means of leaving the promontory would be gone. The Hansa, of course, would share a similar fate; in fact, it had already heeled over to such an extent as to render it quite dangerous for its obstinate owner, who, at the peril of his life, resolved that he would stay where he could watch over his all-precious cargo,
though continually invoking curses on the ill-fate of which
he deemed himself the victim.
There was, however, a stronger will than Isaac Hakkabut's. Although no one of all the community cared at all for the safety of the Jew, they cared very much for the security of his cargo, and when Servadac found that nothing would induce the old man to abandon his present quarters voluntarily, he very soon adopted measures of coercion that were far more effectual than any representations of personal danger.
“Stop where you like, Hakkabut,” said the captain to
him; “but understand that I consider it my duty to make
sure that your cargo is taken care of I am going to have
it carried across to land, at once.”
Neither groans, nor tears, nor protestations on the part
of the Jew, were of the slightest avail. Forthwith, on the
20th of December, the removal of the goods commenced.
Both Spaniards and Russians were all occupied for
several days in the work of unlading the tartan. Well
muffled up as they were in furs, they were able to endure
the cold with impunity, making it their special care to
avoid actual contact with any article made of metal, which, in the low state of the temperature, would inevitably have taken all the skin off their hands, as much as if it had been red-hot. The task, however, was brought to an end without accident of any kind; and when the stores of the Hansa were safely deposited in the galleries of the Hive, Lieutenant Procope avowed that he really felt that his mind had been unburdened from a great anxiety.
Captain Servadac gave old Isaac full permission to
take up his residence amongst the rest of the community, promised him the entire control over his own property, and altogether showed him so much consideration that, but for his unbounded respect for his master, Ben Zoof would have liked to reprimand him for his courtesy to a man whom he so cordially despised.
Although Hakkabut clamoured most vehemently about
his goods being carried off “against his will,” in his heart
he was more than satisfied to see his property transferred
to a place of safety, and delighted, moreover, to know that
the transport had been effected without a farthing of
expense to himself. As soon, then, as he found the tartan
empty, he was only too glad to accept the offer that had
been made him, and very soon made his way over to
the quarters in the gallery where his merchandise had
been stored. Here he lived day and night. He supplied
himself with what little food he required from his own
stock of provisions, a small spirit-lamp sufficing to perform
all the operations of his meagre cookery. Consequently
all intercourse between himself and the rest of the inhabitants
was entirely confined to business transactions, when occasion required that some purchase should be made from his stock of commodities. Meanwhile, all the silver and gold of the colony was gradually finding its way to a double-locked drawer, of which the Jew most carefully guarded the key.