, if he did, his
mouth remained almost motionless, and the sounds that came out were
anything but cheerful. He had light grey eyes which always wore an
expression of astonishment; but the expression was accidental; it
indicated no feeling. He would have said, "Very well, sir," if the
captain had refused to give poor Baker food instead of physic.

"And hark'ee, Mr Dicey," said the captain, "don't let him be disturbed
till he feels inclined to move."

"Very well, sir," replied the second mate, touching his cap as he turned
away.

"So," murmured the captain, as he gazed earnestly at the now distant
shore, "I'm not the only one who carries a heavy heart to sea this day
and leaves sorrowing hearts behind him."

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Note 1. This word is here spelled as pronounced. It is usually spelled
Esquimaux.

CHAPTER TWO.

AT SEA--THE FIRST STORM.

It is now hundreds of years since the North polar regions began to
attract general attention. Men have long felt very inquisitive about
that part of the earth, and many good ships, many noble lives have been
lost in trying to force a passage through the ice that encumbers the
Arctic seas, summer and winter. Britain has done more than other
nations in the cause of discovery within the Arctic circle. The last
and greatest of her Arctic heroes perished there--the famous Sir John
Franklin.

Were I writing a history of those regions I would have much to say of
other countries as well as of our own. But such is not my object in
this book. I mean simply to follow in the wake of one of Britain's
adventurous discoverers, and thus give the reader an idea of the
fortunes of those gallant men who risk life and limb for the sake of
obtaining knowledge of distant lands.

There have always been restless spirits in this country. There have
ever been men who, when boys, were full of mischief, and who could
"settle to nothing" when they grew up. Lucky for us, lucky for the
world, that such is the case! Many of our "restless spirits," as we
call them, have turned out to be our heroes, our discoverers, our
greatest men. No doubt many of them have become our drones, our
sharpers, our blacklegs. But that is just saying that some men are
good, while others are bad--no blame is due to what is called the
restlessness of spirit. Our restless men, if good, find rest in action;
in bold energetic toil; if bad, they find