CHAPTER XV. A LAST EXPLORING EXPEDITION, (,ROM this date, February 3rd, the sun rose each day higher above the horizon, the nights were, however, still very long, and, as is often the case in February, the cold in- creased, the thermometer marking only 1° Fahrenheit, the lowest temperature experienced throughout this extraordinary winter. " When does the thaw commence in these northern seas % " inquired Mrs Barnett of the Lieutenant. " In ordinary seasons," replied Hobson, " the ice does not break up until early in May ; but the winter has been so mild that unless a very hard frost should now set in, the thaw may commence at the beginning of April. At least that is my opinion." " We shall still have two months to wait then % " " Yes, two months, for it would not be prudent to launch our boat too soon amongst the floating ice ; and I think our best plan will be to wait until our island has reached the narrowest part of Behring Strait, which is not more than two hundred miles wide." " What do you mean % " exclaimed Mrs Barnett, considerably surprised at the Lieutenant's reply. *' Have you forgotten that it was the Kaintchatka Current which brought us where we now are, and which may seize us again when the thaw sets in and carry us yet farther north % " " I do not think it will, madam ; indeed I feel quite sure that that will not happen. The tliaw always takes place from north to south, and although the Kamtchatka Current runs the other way, the ice always goes down the Behring Current. Other reasons there are for my opinion which I cannot now enumerate. But the icebergs invariably drift towards the Pacific, and are there melted by its warmer waters. Ask Kalumah if I am not right. She knows these latitudes well, and will tell you that the thaw always proceeds from the north to the south."
