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At twelve o'clock the next day, the 6th of September, the kibitka halted in the village of Alsalevok, which was as deserted as the surrounding country. There, on a doorstep, Nadia found two of those strong-bladed knives used by Siberian hunters. She gave one to Michael, who concealed it among his clothes, and kept the other herself. Nicholas had not recovered his usual spirits.
The wild rocks raised their summits till they were lost in the clouds, and the valleys lay covered with everlasting snow. There was not a tree to be seen, or a shrub found, that was even big enough to make a tooth-pick. The only vegetation, that was met with, was a coarse strong-bladed grass, growing in tufts, wild burnet, and a plant like moss, which sprang from the rocks.
The tops of the mountains are lofty, and perpetually covered with snow; but in the valleys, during the summer season, vegetation is rather abundant. Almost the only natural production of the soil is a strong-bladed grass, the length of which is in general about two feet; it grows in tufts on mounds three or four feet from the ground.
Nothing is more completely demoralizing than the helplessness of an unarmed man. With his Express or his six-shooter this one would have regarded the situation in the light of a wholly new and adventurous excitement with even a large strong-bladed knife he would have been willing to take his chances. But he was totally unarmed.
If I had a chisel or a strong-bladed knife I could force the lock back without doing any damage at all." The mention of a strong-bladed knife made me think of the dead seaman upon the brig. "I wonder if he could have been on the job when someone came to interfere with him," said I. "I don't know about that, sir, but I am perfectly certain that I could open the box.
The only vegetation we met with was a coarse strong-bladed grass growing in tufts, wild burnet, and a plant like moss, which sprung from the rocks. Seals, or sea-bears, were pretty numerous. They were smaller than those at Staten Land: Perhaps the most of those we saw were females, for the shores swarmed with young cubs.
Not a tree was to be seen, nor even a shrub big enough to make a toothpick. The only vegetation met with was a coarse, strong-bladed grass, growing in tufts, wild burnet, and a plant like moss, which sprang from the rocks. Seals or sea-bears were pretty numerous, and so were penguins; some very large, weighing from twenty-nine to thirty-eight pounds, were brought on board.
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