For a few seconds she seemed to tremble like a living creature, and every timber creaked.

Then she was turned slowly on one side, until the crew of the _Dolphin_ could see down into her hold, where the beams were giving way and cracking up as matches might be crushed in the grasp of a strong hand.

Then the larboard bow was observed to yield as if it were made of soft clay, the starboard bow was pressed out, and the ice was forced into the forecastle.

Scarcely three minutes had passed since the nip commenced; in one minute more the brig went down, and the ice was rolling wildly, as if in triumph, over the spot where she had disappeared.
The fate of this vessel, which might so soon be their own, threw a momentary gloom over the crew of the _Dolphin_, but their position left them no time for thought.

One upturned mass rose above the gunwale, smashed in the bulwarks, and deposited half a ton of ice on deck.
Scarcely had this danger passed when a new enemy appeared in sight ahead.