rs half deafened by the report of the piece, for the
captain fired directly.

"Gone! Lost them!" he cried, as the deer tore on.

"Fire again."

"With small shot?" said the captain. "No use, my lad. And I should
have been so glad to have got a brace of these deer. It would have been
such a good change for the men."

"Hooray!" shouted Steve. "One's down!" For all at once the foremost of
the deer stopped short, then staggered on a few yards, stopped again,
and fell.

At that moment a rifle shot rang out from their left, and the last of
the flying deer pitched headlong amongst the stones and lay kicking.

"Well done, doctor! and a very long shot, too! Ahoy, Johannes!
Jakobsen!" he shouted as he placed a fresh cartridge in his gun. Then,
as the men came up, "There you are! We'll get back to the boat with the
fresh provisions. What shall you do, cut them up here?"

"No, sir; tie their legs, and carry them on the lance-poles. We are
enough to manage them."

In a very short time the two deer were being borne, hanging head
downwards, over the rough ground till the ice was reached, and finally
the boat, the welcome supply of fresh meat being greeted with a cheer as
it was hauled up over the side to the deck of the _Hvalross_; and that
evening the cook had a busy time, while, as Steve remarked, the smell of
that kind of cooking was far better than that which prevailed when the
Norsemen were busy rendering down the oil.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

A TALE OF THE WINTER COLD.

The shore looked more attractive the next morning, probably from the
fact that all on board the _Hvalross_ had had a most enjoyable supper of
fresh meat, and afterwards a long--what Steve called day's--night's
rest; so that every one was on the alert and eager to carry out the
captain's orders.

So as not to lose time steam was got up at once, and Captain Marsham
explained his intentions, which were to go up the west coast until
stopped by the ice, and on the way search the different fiords and bays
for signs of the lost party. Failing to find them, he said that they
would return to their starting-point, and then proceed in the same way
southward, and round to the east coast, and ascend that.

"I don't think it is a question of scouting along the land in the
search," said the captain, "but of being here, for it must be a matter
of accident our finding them. We shall of course build up a cairn
wherever we touch, with a paper in it tellin