A Fete Day

: BOOK II

The temperature continued to decrease; the mercurial thermometer, which

freezes at 42 degrees below zero, was no longer of service, and the

spirit thermometer of the Dobryna had been brought into use. This now

registered 53 degrees 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 pr cautionary measure of beveling, 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 unloading 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 clamored 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 meager

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.



The 1st of January was drawing near, the anniversary of the shock

which had resulted in the severance of thirty-six human beings from the

society of their fellow-men. Hitherto, not one of them was missing. The

unvarying calmness of the climate, notwithstanding the cold, had tended

to maintain them in good health, and there seemed no reason to doubt

that, when Gallia returned to the earth, the total of its little

population would still be complete.



The 1st of January, it is true, was not properly "New Year's Day" in

Gallia, but Captain Servadac, nevertheless, was very anxious to have it

observed as a holiday.



"I do not think," he said to Count Timascheff and Lieutenant Procope,

"that we ought to allow our people to lose their interest in the world

to which we are all hoping to return; and how can we cement the bond

that ought to unite us, better than by celebrating, in common with our

fellow-creatures upon earth, a day that awakens afresh the kindliest

sentiments of all? Besides," he added, smiling, "I expect that Gallia,

although invisible just at present to the naked eye, is being closely

watched by the telescopes of our terrestrial friends, and I have no

doubt that the newspapers and scientific journals of both hemispheres

are full of accounts detailing the movements of the new comet."



"True," asserted the count. "I can quite imagine that we are occasioning

no small excitement in all the chief observatories."



"Ay, more than that," said the lieutenant; "our Gallia is certain to

be far more than a mere object of scientific interest or curiosity. Why

should we doubt that the elements of a comet which has once come into

collision with the earth have by this time been accurately calculated?

What our friend the professor has done here, has been done likewise on

the earth, where, beyond a question, all manner of expedients are being

discussed as to the best way of mitigating the violence of a concussion

that must occur."



The lieutenant's conjectures were so reasonable that they commanded

assent. Gallia could scarcely be otherwise than an object of terror to

the inhabitants of the earth, who could by no means be certain that a

second collision would be comparatively so harmless as the first. Even

to the Gallians themselves, much as they looked forward to the event,

the prospect was not unmixed with alarm, and they would rejoice in the

invention of any device by which it was likely the impetus of the shock

might be deadened.



Christmas arrived, and was marked by appropriate religious observance

by everyone in the community, with the exception of the Jew, who made

a point of secluding himself more obstinately than ever in the gloomy

recesses of his retreat.



To Ben Zoof the last week of the year was full of bustle. The

arrangements for the New Year fete were entrusted to him, and he was

anxious, in spite of the resources of Gallia being so limited, to make

the program for the great day as attractive as possible.



It was a matter of debate that night whether the professor should be

invited to join the party; it was scarcely likely that he would care

to come, but, on the whole, it was felt to be advisable to ask him. At

first Captain Servadac thought of going in person with the invitation;

but, remembering Rosette's dislike to visitors, he altered his mind, and

sent young Pablo up to the observatory with a formal note, requesting

the pleasure of Professor Rosette's company at the New Year's fete.



Pablo was soon back, bringing no answer except that the professor had

told him that "to-day was the 125th of June, and that to-morrow would be

the 1st of July."



Consequently, Servadac and the count took it for granted that Palmyrin

Rosette declined their invitation.



An hour after sunrise on New Year's Day, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards,

and little Nina, as the representative of Italy, sat down to a feast

such as never before had been seen in Gallia. Ben Zoof and the Russian

cook had quite surpassed themselves. The wines, part of the Dobryna's

stores, were of excellent quality. Those of the vintages of France and

Spain were drunk in toasting their respective countries, and even Russia

was honored in a similar way by means of a few bottles of kummel. The

company was more than contented--it was as jovial as Ben Zoof could

desire; and the ringing cheers that followed the great toast of the

day--"A happy return to our Mother Earth," must fairly have startled the

professor in the silence of his observatory.



The dejeuner over, there still remained three hours of daylight. The

sun was approaching the zenith, but so dim and enfeebled were his rays

that they were very unlike what had produced the wines of Bordeaux and

Burgundy which they had just been enjoying, and it was necessary for

all, before starting upon an excursion that would last over nightfall,

to envelop themselves in the thickest of clothing.



Full of spirits, the party left the Hive, and chattering and singing as

they went, made their way down to the frozen shore, where they fastened

on their skates. Once upon the ice, everyone followed his own fancy,

and some singly, some in groups, scattered themselves in all directions.

Captain Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant were generally seen

together. Negrete and the Spaniards, now masters of their novel

exercise, wandered fleetly and gracefully hither and thither,

occasionally being out of sight completely. The Russian sailors,

following a northern custom, skated in file, maintaining their rank by

means of a long pole passed under their right arms, and in this way they

described a trackway of singular regularity. The two children, blithe

as birds, flitted about, now singly, now arm-in-arm, now joining the

captain's party, now making a short peregrination by themselves, but

always full of life and spirit. As for Ben Zoof, he was here, there,

and everywhere, his imperturbable good temper ensuring him a smile of

welcome whenever he appeared.



Thus coursing rapidly over the icy plain, the whole party had soon

exceeded the line that made the horizon from the shore. First, the rocks

of the coast were lost to view; then the white crests of the cliffs were

no longer to be seen; and at last, the summit of the volcano, with its

corona of vapor, was entirely out of sight. Occasionally the skaters

were obliged to stop to recover their breath, but, fearful of

frost-bite, they almost instantly resumed their exercise, and proceeded

nearly as far as Gourbi Island before they thought about retracing their

course.



But night was coming on, and the sun was already sinking in the east

with the rapidity to which the residents on Gallia were by this time

well accustomed. The sunset upon this contracted horizon was very

remarkable. There was not a cloud nor a vapor to catch the tints of the

declining beams; the surface of the ice did not, as a liquid sea would,

reflect the last green ray of light; but the radiant orb, enlarged by

the effect of refraction, its circumference sharply defined against the

sky, sank abruptly, as though a trap had been opened in the ice for its

reception.



Before the daylight ended. Captain Servadac had cautioned the party to

collect themselves betimes into one group. "Unless you are sure of your

whereabouts before dark," he said, "you will not find it after. We have

come out like a party of skirmishers; let us go back in full force."



The night would be dark; their moon was in conjunction, and would not be

seen; the stars would only give something of that "pale radiance" which

the poet Corneille has described.



Immediately after sunset the torches were lighted, and the long series

of flames, fanned by the rapid motion of their bearers, had much the

appearance of an enormous fiery banner. An hour later, and the volcano

appeared like a dim shadow on the horizon, the light from the crater

shedding a lurid glare upon the surrounding gloom. In time the glow of

the burning lava, reflected in the icy mirror, fell upon the troop of

skaters, and cast their lengthened shadows grotesquely on the surface of

the frozen sea.



Later still, half an hour or more afterwards, the torches were all but

dying out. The shore was close at hand. All at once, Ben Zoof uttered

a startled cry, and pointed with bewildered excitement towards the

mountain. Involuntarily, one and all, they plowed their heels into the

ice and came to a halt. Exclamations of surprise and horror burst from

every lip. The volcano was extinguished! The stream of burning lava had

suddenly ceased to flow!



Speechless with amazement, they stood still for some moments. There was

not one of them that did not realize, more or less, how critical was

their position. The sole source of the heat that had enabled them to

brave the rigor of the cold had failed them! death, in the cruellest of

all shapes, seemed staring them in the face--death from cold! Meanwhile,

the last torch had flickered out.



It was quite dark.



"Forward!" cried Servadac, firmly.



At the word of command they advanced to the shore; clambered with

no little difficulty up the slippery rocks; gained the mouth of the

gallery; groped their way into the common hall.



How dreary! how chill it seemed!



The fiery cataract no longer spread its glowing covering over the mouth

of the grotto. Lieutenant Procope leaned through the aperture. The pool,

hitherto kept fluid by its proximity to the lava, was already encrusted

with a layer of ice.



Such was the end of the New Year's Day so happily begun.