sight," remarked O'Riley to Mivins, "to see us
all goin' out like good little childers to see the sun rise of a
beautiful mornin' like this?"

"So it _his_," answered Mivins; "but I wish it wasn't quite so cold."

It was indeed cold--so cold that the men had to beat their hands
together, and stamp their feet, and rush about like real children, in
order to keep their bodies warm. This month of February was the coldest
they had yet experienced. Several times the thermometer fell to the
unexampled temperature of 75 deg. below zero, or 107 deg. below the
freezing-point of water. When we remind our young readers that the
thermometer in England seldom falls so low as zero, except in what we
term weather of the utmost severity, they may imagine--or rather, they
may try to imagine--what 75 deg. _below_ zero must have been.

It was not quite so cold as that upon this occasion, otherwise the men
could not have shown face to it.

"Let's have leap-frog," shouted Davie; "we can jump along as well as
walk along. Hooray! _hup_!"

The "hup" was rather an exclamation of necessity than of delight,
inasmuch as that it was caused by Davie coming suddenly down flat on the
ice in the act of vainly attempting to go leap-frog over Mivins's head.

"That's your sort," cried Amos Parr; "down with you, Buzzby."

Buzzby obeyed, and Amos, being heavy and past the agile time of life,
leaped upon, instead of over, his back, and there stuck.

"Not so high, lads," cried Captain Guy. "Come, Mr. Saunders, give us a
back."

"Faix he'd better go on his hands an' knees."

"That's it! over you go! hurrah, lads!"

In five minutes nearly the whole crew were panting from their violent
exertions, and those who did not or could not join panted as much from
laughter. The desired result, however, was speedily gained. They were
all soon in a glow of heat, and bade defiance to the frost.

An hour's sharp climb brought the party almost to the brow of the hill,
from which they hoped to see the sun rise for the first time for nearly
five months. Just as they were about to pass over a ridge in the cliffs,
Captain Guy, who had pushed on in advance with Tom Singleton, was
observed to pause abruptly and make signals for the men to advance with
caution. He evidently saw something unusual, for he crouched behind a
rock and peeped over it. Hastening up as silently as possible, they
discovered that a group of Polar bears were amusing themselves on the
other side o