CHAPTER XII

CAPTAIN HUBBELL TAKES COMMAND


It was a high-spirited and joyous party that the Dipsey now
carried; not one of them doubted that they had emerged from under
the ice into the polar sea. To the northeast they could see its
waves shining and glistening all the way to the horizon, and they
believed that beyond the cape in front of them these waters shone
and glistened to the very north. They breathed the polar air,
which, as they became used to it, was exhilarating and
enlivening, and they basked in the sunshine, which, although it
did not warm their bodies very much, cheered and brightened their
souls. But what made them happier than anything else was the
thought that they would soon start direct for the pole, on top of
the water, and with nothing in the way.

When Captain Jim Hubbell took command of the Dipsey the state of
affairs on that vessel underwent a great change. He was sharp,
exact, and severe; he appreciated the dignity of his position,
and he wished to let everybody see that he did so. The men on
board who had previously been workmen now became sailors--at
least in the eyes of Captain Hubbell. He did not know much about
the work that they had been in the habit of doing, but he
intended to teach them the duties of sailors just as soon as he
could find any such duties for them to perform. He walked about