But on the fourth day out there came symptoms of a change. The chief
had adopted the plan of travelling during every hour of the short day,
or twilight, in order to make more sure of not missing the trail, and
the stars with frequent aurora borealis had made each night so brilliant
that he advanced almost as easily as during the day-time. The fourth
day, however, on awaking, his ears were greeted with sounds that caused
him to rise in haste and force out the door of his sleeping hut, when to
his dismay he found that a furious gale was blowing, that the sky was
black, and that he could hardly see the poor dogs, whom he found
crouching as close as possible on the sheltered side of the hut. In
these circumstances, to advance without losing his way was impossible,
so that he was compelled to make the most of his time by sleeping as
much as he could.

To do him justice he possessed a wonderful capacity in that way. Having
put the sledge outside in order to make room, he called all the dogs in,
resolving that the poor things should not be exposed to the pitiless
storm. Then, having fed himself and them, he lay down with them and was
soon in happy oblivion.

Of course he had no artificial means of measuring time, and, the sky
being overclouded, darkness visible pervaded the region. But a healthy
stomach helped in some degree to furnish a natural chronometer, and its
condition when he awoke suggested that he must have slept till near
daylight of the following day. Rousing the dogs, he gave them a feed,
ate heartily himself, and then went out to look at the weather.

The sight which the grey dawn rendered barely visible was one which
caused him to return to the hut with extreme promptitude for his gun,
for, about fifty yards off, were two white polar bears of apparently,
colossal size, frolicking about in a curious manner, and evidently
amusing themselves with something. The something turned out to be the
chief's sledge, which the bears had unpacked; eating whatever they had a
fancy for, scattering about what they did not want, smashing the sledge
itself to pieces, and twisting the leathern wraps and cordage into
unimaginable knots.

Nazinred did not discover all this at once, being too much excited by
the unexpected visit to note trifling details. Besides, prompt action
was necessary, for the four dogs, on becoming aware of what was
transacting outside, made a united and clamorous dash at the foe. Two
of them,