d to fight the
darkness and depression; and all the time so utterly weak and despairing
that I could at any time have lain down and given up all hope. But we
got through the winter, and this year my lads have held up wonderfully,
and have battled through with hardly one breakdown."

"It is astonishing," said the doctor.

"Perhaps so; but I daresay all of you would have fought through a second
year far better than your first."

Steve shook his head.

"Nonsense, boy! It is principally the mind, and being used to things.
You wrote at school, I know, `Familiarity breeds contempt,' which,
written simply, means, `Bogies don't frighten you when you've seen them
more than once.'"

"But our poor fellows were very bad, sir," said Steve.

"Yes, in spirits, my boy. Now they think it's all right, they get up
and talk and eat and drink."

"Well, but, uncle," said Steve, "see how different our position is now!"

"Nonsense! It's all fancy, my lad. You're worse off now than you were
a couple of hours ago."

"Worse off?" cried Steve.

"Of course. You have a dozen hungry men to provide for."

"But you've come to save us, and brought us hope."

"Where is it then, boy?" cried Captain Young. "You all had as much hope
as we had--far more; but you gave up and smothered it. We haven't come
to save you; we want you to save us."

"I don't understand you," said Steve.

"Then I'll make myself plain, my lad. You have a sound ship here in
this fiord, well provisioned, and with plenty of fuel, besides having a
doctor to take care of you. On the other hand, we have a ship sixty
miles away, yonder on the east side of this great island or peninsula of
a vast arctic continent, for we have not made out much; but our ship
lies where it was driven ashore by the ice, crushed beyond repairing,
good for nothing but to make us a house to live in."

"Then you have been within sixty miles of us all the time!" cried the
doctor.

"Yes, sixty miles, I should say, south-east, and only found a way across
the mountains during these last few days, and quite by accident; for
they have always been like a wall to us till now."

"But you have tried to get across to here before?"

"Once; but our expeditions have generally been in the other directions--
south and east."

"And you have kept on making expeditions in this terrible weather?" said
the doctor.

"Terrible? When it is quite calm, and the moon makes it like day," said
Captain Young