JULIAN HAWTHORNE. THE GODDESS OF ATVATABAR. CHAPTER I. A POLAR CATASTROPHE. I had been asleep when a terrific noise awoke me. I rose up on my couch in the cabin and gazed wildly around, dazed with the feeling that something extraordinary had happened. By degrees becoming conscious of my surroundings, I saw Captain Wallace, Dr. Merryferry, Astronomer Starbottle, and Master-at-Arms Flathootly beside me. "Commander White," said the captain, "did you hear that roar?" "What roar?" I replied. "Where are we?" "Why, you must have been asleep," said he, "and yet the roar was enough to raise the dead. It seemed as if both earth and heaven were split open." "What is that hissing sound I hear?" I inquired. "That, sir," said the doctor, "is the sound of millions of flying sea-fowl frightened by the awful noise. The midnight sun is darkened with the flight of so many birds. Surely, sir, you must have heard that dreadful shriek. It froze the blood in our veins with horror." I began to understand that the _Polar King_ was safe, and that we were all still alive and well. But what could my officers mean by the terrible noise they talked about? I jumped out of bed saying, "Gentlemen, I must investigate this whole business. You say the _Polar King_ is safe?" "Shure, sorr," said Flathootly, the master-at-arms, "the ship lies still anchored to the ice-fut where we put her this afthernoon. She's all right." I at once went on deck. Sure enough the ship was as safe as if in harbor. Birds flew about in myriads, at times obscuring the sun, and now and then we heard growling reverberations from distant icebergs, answering back the fearful roar that had roused them from their polar sleep. The sea, that is to say the enormous ice-pack in which we lay, heaved and fell like an earthquake. It was evident that a catastrophe of no common character had happened. What was the cause that startled the polar midnight with such unwonted commotion? Sailors are very superstitious; with them every unknown sound is a cry of disaster. It was necessary to discover what had happened, lest the courage of my men should give way and involve the whole expedition in ruin. The captain, although alarmed, was as brave as a lion, and as for Flathootly, he would follow me through fire and water like the brave Irishman that he was. The scientific staff were gentlemen of education, and could be relied upon to show an example of bravery that would keep the crew in good spirits. "Do you remember the creek in the ice-foot we passed this morning," said the captain, "the place where we shot the polar bear?" "Quite well," I said. "Well, the roar that frightened us came from that locality. You remember all day we heard strange squealing sounds issuing from the ice, as though it was being rent or split open by some subterranean force."