Tales for Twilight by Alistair Kerr
Author:Alistair Kerr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Birlinn
The Captain of the Pole-star
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
[Being an extract from the journal of JOHN MCALISTER RAY, student of medicine, kept by him during the six monthsâ voyage in the Arctic Seas, of the steam-whaler Pole-star, of Dundee, Captain Nicholas Craigie.]
September 11th. Lat. 81° 40â N.; Long. 2° E.âStill lying-to amid enormous ice fields. The one which stretches away to the north of us, and to which our ice-anchor is attached, cannot be smaller than an English county. To the right and left unbroken sheets extend to the horizon. This morning the mate reported that there were signs of pack ice to the southward. Should this form of sufficient thickness to bar our return, we shall be in a position of danger, as the food, I hear, is already running somewhat short. It is late in the season and the nights are beginning to reappear. This morning I saw a star twinkling just over the foreyardâthe first since the beginning of May. There is considerable discontent among the crew, many of whom are anxious to get back home to be in time for the herring season, when labour always commands a high price upon the Scotch coast. As yet their displeasure is only signified by sullen countenances and black looks, but I heard from the second mate this afternoon that they contemplated sending a deputation to the Captain to explain their grievance. I much doubt how he will receive it, as he is a man of fierce temper, and very sensitive about anything approaching to an infringement of his rights. I shall venture after dinner to say a few words to him upon the subject. I have always found that he will tolerate from me what he would resent from any other member of the crew. Amsterdam Island, at the north-west corner of Spitzbergen, is visible upon our starboard quarterâa rugged line of volcanic rocks, intersected by white seams, which represent glaciers. It is curious to think that at the present moment there is probably no human being nearer to us than the Danish settlements in the south of Greenlandâa good nine hundred miles as the crow flies. A captain takes a great responsibility upon himself when he risks his vessel under such circumstances. No whaler has ever remained in these latitudes till so advanced a period of the year.
9 P.M. I have spoken to Captain Craigie, and though the result has been hardly satisfactory, I am bound to say that he listened to what I had to say very quietly and even deferentially. When I had finished he put on that air of iron determination which I have frequently observed upon his face, and paced rapidly backwards and forwards across the narrow cabin for some minutes. At first I feared that I had seriously offended him, but he dispelled the idea by sitting down again, and putting his hand upon my arm with a gesture which almost amounted to a caress. There was a depth of tenderness too in his wild dark eyes which surprised me considerably.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Ancient & Controversial Knowledge | Ghosts & Hauntings |
Hermetism & Rosicrucianism | Magic Studies |
Occultism | Parapsychology |
Supernatural | UFOs |
Unexplained Mysteries |
Animal Frequency by Melissa Alvarez(3762)
Sigil Witchery by Laura Tempest Zakroff(3657)
Real Magic by Dean Radin PhD(3575)
Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock(3224)
The Rosicrucians by Christopher McIntosh(3058)
Aleister Crowley: The Biography by Tobias Churton(3026)
Journeys Out of the Body by Robert Monroe(2998)
Alchemy and Alchemists by C. J. S. Thompson(2917)
Mysteries by Colin Wilson(2891)
Hitler's Monsters by Eric Kurlander(2737)
John Dee and the Empire of Angels by Jason Louv(2717)
Wicca: a guide for the solitary practitioner by Scott Cunningham(2711)
The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Translated) by Svatmarama(2498)
Infinite Energy Technologies by Finley Eversole(2495)
Dark Star Rising by Gary Lachman(2426)
The Book of Lies by Aleister Crowley(2388)
Aliens by Jim Al-Khalili(2387)
To Light a Sacred Flame by Silver RavenWolf(2357)
Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War by Stevens Henry(2301)