and discovered that she was being attacked by half a dozen
great sea-gulls, and only after receiving some severe blows

from their beaks could he succeed by means of a stout cudgel
in driving them away.

"Tell me, Nina, what is this?" he asked as soon as the tumult had subsided.
The child pointed to a bird which she was caressing tenderly in her bosom.

"A pigeon!" exclaimed Ben Zoof, who had reached the scene
of motion" target="_blank" title="n.混乱；骚动">commotion, adding:

"A carrier-pigeon! And by all the saints of Montmartre,
there is a little bag attached to its neck!"

He took the bird, and rushing into the hall placed it in Servadac's hands.
"Another message, no doubt," cried the captain, "from our unknown friend.

Let us hope that this time he has given us his name and address."
All crowded round, eager to hear the news. In the struggle

with the gulls the bag had been partially torn open, but still
contained the following dispatch: "Gallia!

Chemin parcouru du 1er Mars au 1er Avril: 39,000,000 1.!
Distance du soleil: 110,000,000 1.!

Capte Nerina en passant.
Vivres vont manquer et . . ."

The rest of the document had been so damaged by the beaks of
the gulls that it was illegible. Servadac was wild with vexation.

He felt more and more convinced that the writer was a Frenchman, and that
the last line indicated that he was in distress from scarcity of food.

The very thought of a fellow-countryman in peril of starvation drove
him well-nigh to distraction, and it was in vain that search was made

everywhere near the scene of conflict in hopes of finding the missing
scrap that might bear a signature or address.

Suddenly little Nina, who had again taken possession of the pigeon,
and was hugging it to her breast, said:

"Look here, Ben Zoof!"
And as she spoke she pointed to the left wing of the bird.

The wing bore the faint impress of a postage-stamp, and the
one word: "FORMENTERA."

CHAPTER XXIV
A SLEDGE-RIDE

Formentera was at once recognized by Servadac and the count as the name
of one of the smallest of the Balearic Islands. It was more than probable

that the unknown writer had thence sent out the mysteriousdocuments,
and from the message just come to hand by the carrier-pigeon, it appeared

all but certain that at the beginning of April, a fortnight back,
he had still been there. In one important particular the present

communication differed from those that had preceded it: it was written
entirely in French, and exhibited none of the ecstatic exclamations

in other languages that had been remarkable in the two former papers.
The concluding line, with its intimation of failing provisions,

amounted almost to an appeal for help. Captain Servadac briefly drew
attention to these points, and concluded by saying, "My friends, we must,

without delay, hasten to the assistance" target="_blank" title="n.协作；援助；帮助">assistance of this unfortunate man."
"For my part," said the count, "I am quite ready to accompany you;

it is not unlikely that he is not alone in his distress."
Lieutenant Procope expressed much surprise. "We must have passed close

to Formentera," he said, "when we explored the site of the Balearic Isles;
this fragment must be very small; it must be smaller than the remaining

splinter of Gibraltar or Ceuta; otherwise, surely it would never have
escaped our observation."

"However small it may be," replied Servadac, "we must find it.
How far off do you suppose it is?"

"It must be a hundred and twenty leagues away," said the lieutenant,
thoughtfully; "and I do not quite understand how you would propose

to get there."
"Why, on skates of course; no difficulty in that, I should imagine,"

answered Servadac, and he appealed to the count for confirmation
of his opinion.

The count assented, but Procope looked doubtful.
"Your enterprise is generous," he said, "and I should be most unwilling

to throw any unnecessary obstacle in the way of its execution; but, pardon me,
if I submit to you a few considerations which to my mind are very important.

First of all, the thermometer is already down to 22 degrees below zero, and
the keen wind from the south is making the temperature absolutely unendurable;

in the second place, supposing you travel at the rate of twenty leagues a day,
you would be exposed for at least six consecutive days; and thirdly,

your expedition will be of small avail unless you convey provisions not only
for yourselves, but for those whom you hope to relieve."

"We can carry our own provisions on our backs in knapsacks,"
interposed Servadac, quickly, unwilling to recognize any difficulty

in the way.
"Granted that you can," answered the lieutenant, quietly; "but where,

on this level ice-field, will you find shelter in your periods of rest?
You must perish with cold; you will not have the chance of digging

out ice-huts like the Esquimaux."
"As to rest," said Servadac, "we shall take none; we shall keep on our

way continuously; by traveling day and night without intermission,
we shall not be more than three days in reaching Formentera."

"Believe me," persisted the lieutenant, calmly, "your enthusiasm
is carrying you too far; the feat you propose is impossible;

but even conceding the possibility of your success in reaching
your destination, what service do you imagine that you,

half-starved and half-frozen yourself, could render to those
who are already perishing by want and exposure? you would

only bring them away to die."
The obvious and dispassionate reasoning of the lieutenant could

not fail to impress the minds of those who listened to him;
the impracticability of the journey became more and more apparent;

unprotected on that drear expanse, any trav-eler must assuredly succumb
to the snow-drifts that were continually being whirled across it.

But Hector Servadac, animated by the generous desire of rescuing
a suffering fellow-creature, could scarcely be brought within

the bounds of common sense. Against his better judgment he was
still bent upon the expedition, and Ben Zoof declared himself

ready to accompany his master in the event of Count Timascheff
hesitating to encounter the peril which the undertaking involved.

But the count entirely repudiated all idea of shrinking from what,
quite as much as the captain, he regarded as a sacred duty,

and turning to Lieutenant Procope, told him that unless some better
plan could be devised, he was prepared to start off at once

and make the attempt to skate across to Formentera. The lieutenant,
who was lost in thought, made no immediate reply.

"I wish we had a sledge," said Ben Zoof.
"I dare say that a sledge of some sort could be contrived," said the count;

"but then we should have no dogs or reindeers to draw it."
"Why not rough-shoe the two horses?"

"They would never be able to endure the cold," objected the count.
"Never mind," said Servadac, "let us get our sledge and put them to the test.

Something must be done!"
"I think," said Lieutenant Procope, breaking his thoughtful silence,

"that I can tell you of a sledge already provided for your hand,
and I can suggest a motive power surer and swifter than horses."

"What do you mean?" was the eager inquiry.
"I mean the _Dobryna_'s yawl," answered the lieutenant;

"and I have no doubt that the wind would carry her rapidly
along the ice."

The idea seemed admirable. Lieutenant Procope was well aware to what
marvelous perfection the Americans had brought their sail-sledges,

and had heard how in the vast prairies of the United States
they had been known to outvie the speed of an express train,

occasionally attaining a rate of more than a hundred miles an hour.
The wind was still blowing hard from the south, and assuming

that the yawl could be propelled with a velocity of about fifteen
or at least twelve leagues an hour, he reckoned that it was quite

possible to reach Formentera within twelve hours, that is to say,
in a single day between the intervals of sunrise and sunrise.

The yawl was about twelve feet long, and capable of holding
five or six people. The addition of a couple of iron runners

would be all that was requisite to convert it into an excellent
sledge, which, if a sail were hoisted, might be deemed certain

to make a rapid progress over the smooth surface of the ice.
For the protection of the passengers it was proposed to erect

a kind of wooden roof lined with strong cloth; beneath this could
be packed a supply of provisions, some warm furs, some cordials,