enough to bear the whole party, and yet almost detached from the
general field. The sledges were put upon it, and then, by breaking
with their axes the narrow tongue which held it, it swayed away into
the tempestuous sea. It almost turned round as it started. The sledges
and dogs were placed in the middle, while the five men stood at the
very edge to guide it as far as possible with their hunting spears.

In a few minutes it was impelled along by the rapid current, but
received every now and then a check when it came in contact with
heavier and deeper masses. The Kolimsk men stood transfixed with
terror as they saw themselves borne out toward that vast deep sea
which eternally tosses and rages round the Arctic Pole: but Sakalar,
in a peremptory tone, bade them use their spears. They pushed away
heartily; and their strange raft, though not always keeping its
equilibrium, was edged away both across and down the stream. At last
it began to move more slowly, and Sakalar found himself under the
shelter of a huge iceberg, and then impelled up stream by a backwater
current. In a few minutes the much wished-for shore was reached.

The route was rude and rugged as they approached the land; but all
saw before them the end of their labors for the winter, and every one
proceeded vigorously. The dogs seemed to smell the land, or at all
events some tracks of game, for they hurried on with spirit. About
an hour before the usual time of camping they were under a vast
precipice, turning which, they found themselves in a deep and
sheltered valley, with a river at the bottom, frozen between its
lofty banks, and covered by deep snow.

"The ivory mine!" said Sakalar in a low tone to Ivan, who thanked him
by an expressive look.