ristmas!" cried Fred, tumbling out of his bunk, and his cry
awoke the others, and the greeting went the whole round. The fire was
now blazing with a vigor which threatened to crack the stove, yet as
they talked they could see each other's breath. Every one was stamping
around to get his blood in circulation.

"I'll give ye some hot coffee and Christmas flap-jacks!" said the
captain; and soon a smell which was most appetizing was floating through
the air, and they sat down at the table, which had been placed as close
to the fire as possible. Indeed, "hugging the stove" was a common trick
all day long, and Fred often grumbled because he could not take the
stove to bed with him. The boys were waking up to the fact that an
Alaskan winter was "two winters in one," as Earl said, when compared
with those experienced at home.

It had been snowing again; indeed, it snowed about half the time now,
and even in the middle of the day it was so dark they could scarcely
see, excepting right in front of the windows. Some time previous several
Indians had appeared with fish oil and some dried fat fish to sell, and
they had purchased a quantity of both for lighting purposes. The oil was
used in a lamp made of a round tin having a home-made wick hanging over
the side. The fat fish, dried very hard, were slit in strips and set up,
to be lighted and burnt as tallow candles. Many of the Indians and the
Esquimaux have no lights but these dried-fish candles. The smell from
them is far from pleasant, but they are certainly better than nothing.

As it was a holiday, the boys felt they must do something. But what to
do was the question, until Fred suggested they try their hand at making
some candy. They were allowed just a pound of sugar by the men, and
worked themselves half sick over the wood fire until noon, when the
candy was declared done. It was a sort of taffy; and although it would
not have added to the reputation of a skilled confectioner, all hands
partook of their share of it, and declared it excellent.

Just before being snowed in Mr. Portney had become the possessor of two
newspapers and a magazine, and much of the time was spent by one or
another over these. The magazine was rather a heavy one, yet the boys
read it through from cover to cover, including all the advertisements.
It contained among other stories one which was continued, and to pass
away the time they tried to invent a conclusion. This self-imposed task
amused the do