me.

His beard was frozen as hard as a bush, and it crackled unpleasantly to
the movement of my hands, which I was obliged to force under it to
unhook the silver chain that confined the cloak about his neck. I felt
like a thief, and stole a glance over either shoulder as though,
forsooth, some strangely clad companion of his should be creeping upon
me unawares. Then, thought I, since I have the cloak I may as well take
the watch, flask, and tobacco-box, as I had before resolved; and so I
dipped my hand into his pockets, and without another glance at his
fierce still face made for the boat.

I now noticed for the first time, so overwhelmingly had my discoveries
occupied my attention, that the wind had freshened and was blowing
briskly and piercingly. When I had first started upon the ascent of the
slope, the wind had merely wrinkled the swell as the large bodies ran;
but those wrinkles had become little seas, which flashed into foam after
a short race, and the whole surface of the ocean was a brilliant blue
tremble. I came to a halt to view the north-east sky before the brow of
the rocks hid it, and saw that clouds were congregating there, and some
of them blowing up to where the sun hung, these resembling in shape and
colour the compact puff of the first discharge of a cannon before the
smoke spreads on the air. What should I do? I sank into a miserable
perplexity. If it was going to blow what good could attend my departure
from this island? It was an adverse wind, and when it freshened I could
not choose but run before it, and that would drive me clean away from
the direction I required to steer in. Yet if I was to wait upon the
weather, for how long should I be kept a prisoner in this horrid place?
True, a southerly wind might spring up to-morrow, but it might be
otherwise, or come in a hard gale; and if I faltered now I might go on
hesitating, and then my provisions would give out, and God alone knows
how it would end with me. Besides, the presence of the two bodies made
the island fearful to my imagination, and nature clamoured in me to be
gone, a summons my judgment could not resist, for reason often misleads,
but instincts never.

I fell again to my downward march and looked towards my boat--that is to
say, I looked towards the part of the ice where the little haven in
which she lay had been, and I found both boat and haven gone!

I rubbed my eyes and stared again. Tush, thought I, I am deceived by the
ice. I