"Click!"

A mighty roar followed and the ship seemed to rise in the air. But
only for an instant. The next minute she settled back and those on
board her broke out in a cheer as they realized that they once more
floated free of the great ice-reef.

The two ends of the obstruction having been blown off by the dynamite,
the center portion was not buoyant enough to support the weight of the
Southern Cross, and went scraping and bumping beneath her to bob up
harmlessly to the surface at her stern.

There was only one dissenting voice in the general enthusiasm that
reigned on board at the thought that they were now able to proceed,
and that was the professor's. He had been untangling a forgotten rare
specimen of deep-sea lobster from his net, when the explosion came.

In his agitation at the vessel's sudden heave and the unexpected
noise, he had let his hand slip and the creature had seized him by the
thumb. With a roar of pain the professor flung it from him and it
flopped overboard.

"Hurray! we are off the reef, professor," shouted Frank, running aft
to help adjust a stern cable that had been thrown out when the
Southern Cross grounded.

"So I see, but I have lost a rare specimen of deep-sea lobster,"
groaned the professor, peering over the side of the ship to see if
there were any hope of recapturing his prize.