But day after day passed and there were no openings towards the south. Seals and whales were of minor importance now. The Captain took observations each day, but I do not now remember what the results were. I understood very little about such matters anyway, and only when I saw that the men were getting uneasy, did I know that there was any danger.

The storm continued. Sometimes great clouds of snow so filled the air that we were unable to See the length of the ship. There seemed to be plenty of open water ahead of us, so there was no immediate danger from the ice. The ESKEN was built for the business and did not mind a few bumps from ice blocks. I believe the storm lasted for a week, and then there came a pause. At last, the wind did not blow so hard, although the sky was full of clouds. Then the anxieties deepened, for the clear water was gone and not only on the south, but on the north were vast fields of ice. The ship was surrounded by ice floes, and to add to the danger, these fields of ice were moving backward and forward, grinding against each other with deafening noise,

"Captain," said I one day-we were in the cabin after dinner"where [change to - dinner "where] are we?" "We are nearer the North Pole than any man has yet been," said he, "Well, that's something," said I, in the cheeriest way possible, for I saw he was troubled. "It will be, if we get home again," and as he said it he looked up at the portrait on the cabin wall.

We were now well along in the month of July, I think, There was yet plenty of time to get back home, if only the ice would let us; but there certainly seemed to be poor prospects. The men were constantly making efforts to travel over the ice sheet with which the ship was surrounded, but they could get no distance owing to the movements of the floes. It began to be disheartening. The ice packed in firmer than ever, and at times there was considerable danger of a crush. Then a thick fog settled over everything.

Another week went by; and then the Captain gathered the men into the cabin and spoke to them. He explained that the ice pressure was getting greater each day, and that there was danger of the ship's being crushed. The situation was talked over by all who wished to say anything, and it was decided to prepare to leave the ship at a moment's notice should it be necessary. Boats, provisions, etc., were placed in readiness for removal.

A few days later the critical moment came. We were seated at the supper table when we heard a cracking sound in the sides of the ship. The noises increased until they were terrific. Then the vessel began to tremble and shake, and it felt as if she was being lifted up. Then the noises ceased and the ship sank down into her place again...

But we did not wait for a second squeeze. Orders were given and soon there was life and stir. A boat was lowered and dragged onto one of the largest and firmest floes. Bags, boxes, instruments, etc., soon followed and were stacked up. Then another pressure came. We could hear it at a distance coming towards the ship like the thundering rumble of an earthquake. Nearer and nearer it came. The ice cracked in all directions, and where the pressure was great piled itself up into great heaps. It felt as if the world under one's feet was heaving and trembling, as in fact it was.

I was one of the first to abandon the ship. I was told to take what belongings I could carry in my hands and get over to the ice floe. I picked up my small traveling bag, slipped on my fur overcoat and scrambled over the ship's side to the ice, for all the world, now I think of it, like a man just starting out on a few days' journey. One of the sailors, Karlson by name, was ill, and I was told to remain with him by the small boats on the ice.

The second pressure did not reach the ship, so there was a breathing spell for a few minutes; but another, fiercer than ever, soon came. It opened long lanes of blue water, over which the men on the ice had often to cross. They were working hard to save what they could from the ship, as they felt sure that she could not stand many more onslaughts from the ice.

And now the wind stiffened again and with it came a bank of snow, which filled the air and made it dangerous to move. The scene will never be forgotten. The howling wind, the whirlingsnow, the thundering, of the ice, the shouting of the men -- all time Karlson and I were on the ice floe - was not strong enough to help and I – well was useful as a watcher.

Then for a time, I hardly knew what happened. The ship was lost to view in the blinding snow storm. The voices of the men grew fainter and then ceased altogether. Had the ship gone down with all on board? That was hardly probable as they could have escaped on the surrounding ice. I made a shelter for Karlson with boxes and canvas, and waited; but no sounds came. The snow veil became thinner, but the ship was not in sight.