on the 22nd of december a general meeting was called of the shareholders of the north polar practical association, to take place at the rooms of the gun club in union square. and the square itself was hardly large enough to hold the crowd.
usually the large hall of the club was decorated with weapons of all sorts appropriate to the noble profession of its members. it was quite an artillery museum. even the furniture itself, the chairs and tables, and couches, was of the pattern of the murderous engines which had sent to a better world so many worthy people whose secret desire had been to die of old age.
on this occasion the furniture had been removed. this was not a warlike assembly; it was an industrial and pacific assembly over which barbicane was to preside. the hall was full to suffocation, and the crowd of those who could not get in stretched half across union square.
the members of the gun club who had held the first shares in the company had secured places round the 60platform. amongst them, even more triumphant than usual, were colonel bloomsberry, tom hunter with the wooden legs, and the brisk bilsby. a comfortable armchair had been reserved for mrs. scorbitt, as was only right, considering that she was the chief proprietor of the polar freehold; and there were a number of other lady shareholders belonging to all classes of the city, whose bright bonnets, and hats, and feathers, and ribbons, were a welcome relief to the black coats of the noisy men that crowded under the glazed cupola of the hall.
the immense majority of shareholders were not so much supporters as personal friends of the directors. but among the crowd were the representatives of the rival companies who had bid against forster at the auction sale, and who now had taken shares in order to be qualified to vote and make mischief at the meetings. it can be easily imagined with what intense curiosity they awaited barbicane’s address, which would probably throw some light on the way in which the north pole was to be reached. perhaps there was a difficulty there even greater than working the mines? if any objections could be made we may be sure that baldenak, karkof, jansen, and harald were quite equal to making them. and the major and his invaluable todrin would lose no chance of driving barbicane behind his last entrenchments.
it was eight o’clock. the hall, the side rooms, and the corridors of the gun club glowed with edison lamps. ever since the doors had been opened to the public there had been an incessant uproar, but as soon as the directors appeared all was silent.
at a table covered with a black cloth, on the platform, barbicane, nicholl, and j. t. maston took up their positions 61in the fullest glare of the light. as they did so three cheers, punctuated by the needful “hips,” broke forth, and were echoed in the adjacent streets. solemnly j. t. maston and captain nicholl sat down in all the plenitude of their celebrity. then barbicane, who had remained standing, put his right hand in his trouser pocket, his left thumb in his waistcoat pocket, and began to speak as follows:—
“fellow-shareholders,—the directorate of the north polar practical association have called this meeting in the rooms of the gun club, as they have something of importance to communicate to you.
“you have learnt from the newspapers that the object of our company is the opening up of the coal-fields of the north pole, the concession of which we have obtained. the estate acquired in public auction is the property of the company, and the capital, which was all subscribed by the 11th of december last, enables us to enter at once on an enterprise which will produce a rate of interest unknown up to now in any commercial or industrial operation whatever.”
here the first murmur of approval for a moment interrupted the orator.
“you are aware of how we came to discover that there were rich beds of coal, and also possibly of fossil ivory, in the circumpolar regions. the statements in the public press leave no doubt as to the existence of these coal strata.
“now coal has become the source of all modern industry. to say nothing of the fuel used for heating purposes, or of its employment for the production of steam and electricity, i may direct your attention to its derivatives, the aniline colours, the perfumes, the picrates, salicylic acid, naphtol, 62phenol, antipyrin, benzin, naphthalin, pyrogallic acid, tannin, saccharin, tar, asphalt, pitch, lubricating oils, varnish, yellow prussiate of potass, cyanide, bitters, &c., &c.”
and after this enumeration, which had been given with great rapidity, the orator paused like an exhausted runner to take a long breath. then he continued,—
“it is indubitable that coal will in time be exhausted. before five hundred years the mines in operation to-day—”
“three hundred!” shouted one of the crowd.
“two hundred!” roared another.
“let us say a delay more or less restricted,” said barbicane, “and put ourselves in a position to see what new coal-fields then remain, supposing that the present fields are exhausted at the close of this century.”
here he paused to enable his audience to concentrate their attention. then he continued,—
“now, fellow-shareholders, follow me, and let us start for the north pole.”
and the audience rose as if to pack their baggage ready for shipboard.
an observation from major donellan put a sudden stop to this movement of enthusiasm.
“before you start,” said he, “will you kindly inform the meeting how you intend going? are you going by sea?”
“neither by sea, nor by land, nor by air!” said barbicane sweetly.
and the assembly sat down, a prey to very pardonable curiosity.
“you are not without some knowledge,” continued the orator, “of the attempts that have been made to reach that inaccessible point of the terrestrial spheroid. it is better, 63however, that i should remind you of a few of them. it will be to render due honour to the bold pioneers who have survived and those who have succumbed in these expeditions.”
unanimous approval from the entire audience irrespective of nationality.
“in 1845,” resumed barbicane, “sir john franklin with the erebus and terror set out to find the north-west passage, and nothing more was heard of him.
“in 1854 the american, kane, and his lieutenant, morton, went in search of franklin. they returned, but their ship, the advance did not return.
“in 1859 sir leopold macclintock discovered a document from which it appeared that no survivor remained of the erebus and terror expedition.
“in 1860 hayes left boston in the schooner united states, crossed the eighty-first parallel, and returned in 1862 without being able to advance farther, notwithstanding the heroic efforts of his companions.
“in 1869 captains koldewey and hegeman, both germans, left bremerhaven in the hansa and germania. the hansa was crushed in the ice a little below the seventy-first parallel, and the crew had to take to their boats to reach the coast of greenland. the germania was more fortunate, and returned to bremerhaven, but she had not been able to get higher than the seventy-seventh parallel.
“in 1871 captain hall left new york in the steamer polaris. four months afterwards, during the terrible winter, he died. a year later the polaris, caught in the floes after reaching the eighty-second parallel, was crushed by the ice. eighteen of her men, under lieutenant tyson, 64took refuge on an ice-floe and reached the continent after long drifting about in the arctic ocean.
“in 1875 sir george nares left portsmouth with the alert and discovery. it was in his memorable arctic campaign that winter quarters were established between the eighty-second and eighty-third parallels, and that captain markham, in a dash to the northward, stopped within four hundred miles of the pole, no one up to then having been so near.
“in 1879 our great citizen, gordon bennett—”
here there were three cheers given for the proprietor of the new york herald.
—“fitted out the jeannette, which he confided to captain de long. the jeannette left san francisco with thirty-three men, passed through behring straits, was caught by the ice at herald island, and sank at bennett island, near the seventy-seventh parallel. the men had only one resource; to make southwards with the boats or journey over the ice-fields. misery decimated them. de long died in october. many others succumbed, and twelve only returned from the expedition.
“in 1881 lieutenant greely left st. john’s, newfoundland, in the steamer proteus, to establish a station on lady franklin bay, a little below the eighty-second degree. there he founded fort conger, whence he sent out expeditions west and north, one of which, under lieutenant lockwood and his companion, brainard, in may, 1882, claims to have reached 83° 35′, being fifteen miles nearer than markham’s furthest. that is the nearest yet obtained. it is the ultima thule of circumpolar cartography.”
here there were loud cheers in honour of the american discoverers.
65“but,” said barbicane, “the expedition ended in disaster. the proteus sank. eighty-four men were left in frightful misery. doctor pavy died. greely was discovered by the thetis in 1883 with only six companions, and one of these was lieutenant lockwood, who soon succumbed, adding another name to the sorrowful martyrology of arctic exploration.”
there was a respectful silence while barbicane paused.
then in a thrilling voice he resumed,—
“and so, in spite of devotion and courage unparalleled, the eighty-fourth degree has never been passed. and we may even assert that it never will be by means of ships or sledges. it is not given to man to face such dangers and support such extremes of temperature. it is by other means we must advance to the conquest of the pole!”
from the subdued murmur of the audience it was evident that therein lay the interest of the communication. what was this secret?
“and how are you going to capture it?” asked the canadian.
“before ten minutes are up you will know, sir,” replied barbicane, “and in addressing the shareholders generally i say, have confidence in us, for the promoters of the affair are the same men who embarked in the cylindro-conical—”
“the cylindro-conical,” interrupted todrin—
“dared to venture to the moon.”
“and have come back as we see!” added todrin, not without signs of disapproval.
“yes,” continued barbicane, “within the next ten minutes you will know what we propose.”
a murmur of “oh!” and “eh!” and “ah!” rose in answer to the reply.
66it seemed as though the orator had said, “within the ten minutes we shall be at the pole!”
he continued,—
“and now, is it a continent at the pole? is it not a sea such as sir george nares called the palæocrystic sea, the sea of ancient ice? to that i say, we do not think so.”
“that is not good enough,” said baldenak. “it is not a question of not thinking so but of being certain.”
“well! i reply to our exuberant interrupter that we are certain. it is solid ground, not a liquid basin, that the north polar practical association has purchased. it is a plateau like the desert of gobi in central asia, two or three miles above sea-level, as can be easily and logically proved from the observations made in the regions of which the polar domain is really a prolongation. nordenskiold and other observers have all stated that greenland increases in height as it goes northward. a hundred miles from disko its altitude is nearly 7000 feet. and if we consider the different products, animal or vegetable, found in the secular ice, such as the carcases of mastodons, the trunks of conifers, you can see that the continent was once a fertile one, inhabited certainly by animals, and probably by men. there lie buried the thick forests of pre-historic times, which have formed the coal-fields we propose to develop. yes! it is a continent round the pole, a virgin continent untrodden by human foot.”
great applause.
when the echoes of the applause had rolled away, the strident voice of the canadian was heard,—
“seven minutes out of the ten have gone, and we have not yet reached the pole!”
67“we will be there in three minutes,” placidly remarked barbicane.
he continued,—
“but if it is a continent, and the continent is elevated as we have reason to believe, it is obstructed by eternal ice, covered with icebergs and ice-fields, and under such circumstances its development would be difficult—”
“impossible!” said harald.
“impossible, i am aware,” said barbicane. “and it is to conquer this impossibility that our efforts are directed. we have no need of ships or sledges to reach the pole, but thanks to our arrangements the fusion of the ice, ancient or modern, will take place like enchantment!”
he paused. there was absolute silence.
“gentlemen,” he continued, “archimedes demanded but a fulcrum to lift the world! well, we have found a fulcrum! a lever was what the great syracusan geometer required, and a lever we possess! we are in a position to displace the pole—”
“displace the pole!” exclaimed baldenak.
“bring it to baltimore!” said professor harald.
evidently barbicane did not wish to be more precise, for he continued,—
“as to this fulcrum—”
“don’t tell! don’t tell!” shouted one of the audience excitedly.
“as to this lever—”
“keep it secret! keep it secret!” shouted the spectators.
“we will keep it secret!” said barbicane.
baldenak and co. protested in vain. the orator continued,—
68“as to the results of this mechanical operation—an operation unprecedented in industrial annals—which we have undertaken and will bring to a successful issue thanks to your capital, i will say a few words.”
“listen! listen!” shouted the crowd.
“the first idea of our enterprise occurred to one of the most learned, devoted, and illustrious of our colleagues. to him also belongs the glory of having made the calculations which rendered the theory practicable, for if the development of the polar mines is child’s play, the displacement of the pole is a problem which higher mechanics can alone deal with. that is why we addressed ourselves to our worthy secretary, j. t. maston!”
“hurrah! hip ! hip ! hip! hurrah! for j. t. maston!” shouted the whole assembly, electrified by the presence among them of that extraordinary man.
ah! how much was mrs. scorbitt moved at the acclamations which resounded round the celebrated calculator!
he, with great modesty, bowed his head to the right; then to the left, and then saluted in front with his metal hook.
“already,” said barbicane, “when the great meeting which celebrated the arrival in america of the frenchman michel ardan, a few months before our departure for the moon—”
the american spoke as coolly of the voyage to the moon as of a railway journey to new york.
“—j. t. maston had exclaimed, “let us invent machines, let us find a fulcrum, and we will shift the axis of the earth!” many of you heard him, and will remember it. well, the machines are invented, the fulcrum is found, and 69it is to the righting of the earth’s axis that our efforts will be directed.”
“what!” exclaimed donellan. “you will put the earth’s axis upright?”
“yes, sir,” said barbicane; “or rather we can make a new axis on which the diurnal rotation formerly—”
“modify the diurnal rotation!” exclaimed karkof.
“absolutely! and without touching its duration. the operation will bring the pole to about the sixty-seventh parallel, and under such circumstances the earth will behave like jupiter, whose axis is nearly perpendicular to the plane of his orbit. this displacement of 23° 28′ will suffice to obtain for our polar property sufficient warmth to melt the ice accumulated for thousands of years.”
the audience looked at him in a state of breathlessness. no one dared to interrupt or even to applaud him. all were overwhelmed with the idea, which was so ingenious and so simple; to change the axis on which the globe turns!
the representatives of the rival syndicates were astounded, annihilated, and remained without a word to say for themselves.
but the applause broke out when barbicane concluded with sublime simplicity,—
“thus it is the sun himself who will melt the icebergs and ice-floes, and render it easy to obtain access to the pole!”
“and so,” said donellan, “if man cannot get to the pole, the pole must come to man?”
“just so!” said barbicane.
