Jules Verne

“ Why not? We might try---”
“What are you thinking of?” asked Hatteras.
“An idea which has just occurred to me---”
“An idea,” said Johnson: “one of your ideas! Then we are saved!”
“It's a question,” answered the doctor, “whether it will succeed.”
“What is your plan?” said Hatteras.
“We have no lens; well, we will make one.”
“How?” asked Johnson.
“With a piece of ice which we shall cut out.”
“Why, do you think---”
“Why not? We want to make the sun's rays converge to a common focus, and ice will do as much good as crystal.”
“Is it possible?” asked Johnson. ”

“ Simpson, the harpooner, and Bell, the carpenter, were steady men, obedient and well disciplined. The ice-master, Foker, an experienced sailor, who had sailed in northern waters, promised to be of the greatest service.
Of the other men, Garry and Bolton seemed to be the best; Bolton was a jolly fellow, always laughing and joking; Garry, a man about thirty-five years old, had an energetic, but rather pale and sad face.
The three sailors, Clifton, Gripper, and Pen, seemed to be the least enthusiastic and determined; they were inclined to grumbling. ”

“ I confess that without us he would not be alive; but what would become of us without him, without his ship, without its resources?”
“Well, Doctor, you are here, and I hope with your aid all will well.”
“I hope so, Johnson.”
The voyage went on without incident; there was no lack of bear's flesh, and they made copious meals of it; there was a certain good-humor in the little band, thanks to the jests of the doctor and his pleasant philosophy; this worthy man always had some scrap of information to give to his companions. His health continued good ”

“ At five o'clock the pilot resigned the charge of the ship to Richard Shandon, and sailed away in his boat, which soon disappeared from sight in the southwest.
Towards evening the brig doubled the Calf of Man, at the southern extremity of the island of that name. During the night the sea was very high; the Forward rode the waves very well, however, and leaving the Point of Ayr on the northwest, she ran towards the North Channel.
Johnson was right; once at sea the sailors readily adapted themselves instinctively to the situation. ”

“ Hatteras and the doctor went back to the house.
“You know,” said the captain, “that the polar bears chase seals, which are their principal food. They watch for days at their breathing holes, and seize them the moment they come upon the ice. So a bear will not be afraid of a seal ”

“ Shandon knew therefore what to expect from each man. On the 14th of April, the Forward crossed the Gulf Stream, which, after following the eastern coast of America as far as Newfoundland, turns to the northeast and moves towards the shore of Norway. They were then in latitude 51°37', and longitude 22°37', two hundred miles from the end of Greenland. The weather grew colder; the thermometer fell to 32°, the freezing-point.
The doctor, without yet putting on his arctic winter dress, was wearing a suit of sea-clothes, like all the officers and sailors ”

“ Clawbonny,” answered Johnson, “since this Yankee has returned to life, I don't like his face much.”
“Either I'm mistaken,” answered the doctor, “or he suspects Hatteras's plans.”
“Do you think that the stranger has the same plans?”
“Who can tell? The Americans are bold; an American may well try what an Englishman tries!”
“You think that Altamont---”
“I don't think anything about it,” answered the doctor ”

“ If things went well, if they encountered no excessive dangers, and their toil was not too severe, these three men could be counted on; but they were hard to please with their food, for they were inclined to gluttony. ”

“ Shandon called the doctor's attention to it.
“Well,” said the doctor, “that confirms the curious observations of the whaler Scoresby, who was a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, of which I have the honor to be a corresponding member. You see that while the rain is falling the waves are hardly to be noticed, even when the wind is strong. ”