k!

At first, work on the outside occupied the crew; the sails were kept
furled on the yards instead of being placed at the bottom of the hold,
as the earlier explorers did; they were merely bound up in a case, and
soon the frost covered them with a dense envelope; the topmasts were
not unshipped, and the crow's-nest remained in its place. It was a
natural observatory; the running-rigging alone was taken down.

It became necessary to cut away the ice from the ship to relieve the
pressure. That which had accumulated outside was quite heavy, and the
ship did not lie as deep as usual. This was a long and laborious task.
At the end of some days the ship's bottom was freed, and could be
inspected; it had not suffered, thanks to its solidity; only its
copper sheathing was nearly torn away. The ship, having grown lighter,
drew about nine inches less than she did earlier; the ice was cut away
in a slope, following the make of the hull; in this way the ice formed
beneath the brig's keel and so resisted all pressure.

The doctor took part in this work; he managed the ice-cutter well; he
encouraged the sailors by his good-humor. He instructed them and
himself. He approved of this arrangement of the ice beneath the ship.

"That is a good precaution," he said.

"Without that, Dr. Clawbonny," answered Johnson, "resistance would be
impossible. Now we can boldly raise a wall of snow as high as the
gunwale; and, if we want to, we can make it ten feet thick, for there
is no lack of material."

"A capital idea," resumed the doctor; "the snow is a bad conductor of
heat; it reflects instead of absorbing, and the inside temperature
cannot escape."

"True," answered Johnson; "we are building a fortification against the
cold, and also against the animals, if they care to visit us; when
that is finished, it will look well, you may be sure; in this snow we
shall cut two staircases, one fore, the other aft; when the steps are
cut in the snow, we shall pour water on them; this will freeze as hard
as stone, and we shall have a royal staircase."

"Precisely," answered the doctor; "and it must be said it is fortunate
that cold produces both snow and ice, by which to protect one's self
against it. Without that, one would be very much embarrassed."

In fact, the ship was destined to disappear beneath a thick casing of
ice, which was needed to preserve its inside temperature; a roof made
of thick tarred canvas and covered with snow was built a