Half a minute more and "twang, twang!" came another report, and the whale-line was gone.

Only one rope now held them to the land, and prevented them being swept into the turmoil of ice, and wind, and water, from which the rocky ledge protected them.

The hawser was a good one--a new ten-inch rope.

It sang like the deep tones of an organ, loud above the rattle of the rigging and the shrouds; but that was its death-song.

It gave way with the noise of a cannon, and in the smoke that followed its recoil they were dragged out by the wild ice, and driven hither and thither at its mercy.
With some difficulty the ship was warped into a place of comparative security in the rushing drift, but it was soon thrown loose again, and severely squeezed by the rolling masses.