nded as if it
were shut in. "Lie on your oars for a few moments. Listen for the beat
of the steamer."

There was dead silence then, and Steve began to realise for the first
time in his life the meaning of the word "lost."

But no sound came to their ears from out of the mist which now
surrounded them, and seemed to arch them in as if they were in a dark
grey cell just big enough to hold the boat.

"Had we better cast off the fish, sir," said Johannes at last, "and pull
hard?"

"No," said Captain Marsham; "matters are not so desperate as that.
Here, Steve boy, your voice is the youngest and most likely to pierce
the mist; give a good ahoy."

"Ahoy!" yelled the boy, and again, "Ahoy! ahoy!" but the hail sounded as
if he were shouting with his head closely shut in a box, and all felt
that it was useless to listen for a reply.

"You hail, Johannes, as you would do if alone."

The Norseman rose up, placed his hands to his mouth, and uttered a
bellowing roar. But though this was repeated again and again there was
no reply.

"Give way!" cried the captain, and the oars began to dip, the men rowing
steadily without a word, trusting themselves entirely to their captain
as the one who must know best under the circumstances; while Steve, who
felt that he ought to be perfectly calm and cool, knew that moment by
moment he was growing more nervous and uncomfortable, haunted as he was
by the idea that they might never reach the _Hvalross_, and be left
alone in that icy solitude, without weapons or provisions, to try and
reach Jan Mayen, and find the refuge they had thought possible for the
others.

"There is the wrecked ship," he said to himself, as thoughts came
swiftly; "it would do for a shelter, and we should have to live on
sea-birds, unless we could find that after all there are some stores
buried in the ship's hold under the sand."

"Steady!" cried the captain just then, interrupting the flow of his wild
thoughts; and the men rested on their oars again, while shout after
shout was sent up, but with no reply.

"We must have come far enough," muttered Captain Marsham; and he
hesitated as he vainly tried to pierce the dense medium which surrounded
them. "We'll lie on our oars and drift a little while," he said aloud;
"the fog will pass over soon. What do you say, Johannes?"

"One never knows, sir," replied the man gravely; "but it is of no use to
go on rowing; we must have passed the ship, for there is a strong