overed his strength. Some time had passed before he
discovered that the captain, and Andrew, and one or two other persons,
had given up to him a portion of their own scanty allowance of food.
When he found this out, he begged that he might not have a larger share
than the rest.

"You, a growing lad, want it more than we do," said Andrew. "And I, for
one, feel that if it had not been for you we should have been left to
die on the ice far away from this. The crew also said that you enabled
them to kill one of the two bears they got the night of our return."

The want of sufficient food at length began to tell on the frames of the
hardy seamen. Parties constantly went out hunting in the hopes of
killing seals or bears, but notwithstanding all their skill in capturing
the mighty whale, they were unable to catch the wary seals at their
blow-holes in the ice, although they succeeded, after a long chase, in
obtaining two more bears, who had been tempted by hunger to approach the
ship. They were disappointed in receiving no visits from the Esquimaux.
Andrew feared truly that the friendly native who had come to their
rescue, had himself, on his return, fallen a victim to the savage
animals who had followed them when making their way to the ship.

The occurrences on board the "Kate" during that long winter cannot be
detailed at length. That dreaded disease, the scurvy, produced by salt
provisions and want of vegetable diet, broke out among the crew; more
than half were laid up by it, and unable to quit their beds; the good
captain himself was also taken ill--he had been long suffering from a
disease caught when the ship was first entrapped by the ice, and when it
was expected that she would be crushed to pieces, as the "Laplander" had
been. Archy had now the satisfaction of repaying his kindness, by
watching over him, as a dutiful son would tend a father. He scarcely
ever left his side. Much of the time was spent in reading the Bible,
the dying captain's consolation and joy. Again and again he urged on
Archy the advice he had before given. Archy did not vow, as some might
have done, that he would follow it, but as he knelt by the captain's
bedside, he earnestly prayed that he might have grace to do so. The
captain, feeling that his hours were numbered, desired to bid farewell
to his crew. It was a sad sight to see the once hardy strong men pass
in and out of the cabin--to observe the tottering steps and the pale
th