The boat
was in imminent danger of being crushed before they realized their
danger. Grenfell and his companion sprang from the boat to a pan, and
seizing the prow of the boat hauled upon it with the energy of
desperation. They succeeded in raising the prow upon the ice, but they
were too late. The edge of the ice was high and the pans were moving
rapidly, and to their chagrin they heard a smashing and splintering of
wood, and the next instant were aware that the stern of the boat had
been completely bitten off and that they were adrift on an ice pan,
cut off from the land by open water.
An inspection of the boat proved that it was wrecked beyond repair.
All of the after part had been cut off and ground to pulp between the
ice pans. In the distance, to the westward, rose the coast, a grim
outline of rocky bluffs. Between them and the shore the sea was dotted
with pans and pieces of ice, separated by canals of black water. The
men looked at each other in consternation as they realized that they
had no means of reaching land and safety, and that a few hours might
find them far out on the Atlantic.
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