ng, however, she succeeded in
rousing him so far as to creep a short distance, now and then, on his
hands and knees--sometimes to stagger a few paces forward; and at
length, long after the cold moon had arisen on the scene, they reached
the margin of the lake.

Here Frank became utterly powerless, and no exertion on the part of his
companion could avail to rouse him. In this dilemma, Edith once more
wrapped him in her warm cloak, and causing Chimo to lie at his feet,
hastened over the ice towards the igloo. On arriving she lighted the
lamp and heated the tea which she had made in the morning. This took at
least a quarter of an hour to do, and during the interval she
endeavoured to allay her impatience by packing up a few mouthfuls of
pemmican and biscuit. Then she spread the deerskins out on the couch;
and when this was done, the tea was thoroughly heated. The snow on the
river being quite hard, she needed not to encumber herself with
snow-shoes; but she fastened the traces of her own little sledge over
her shoulders, and, with the kettle in her hand, ran as fast as her feet
could carry her to the place where she had left Frank and Chimo, and
found them lying exactly as they lay when she left them.

"Frank! Frank! here is some hot tea for you. Do try to take some."

But Frank did not move, so she had recourse to rubbing him again, and
had soon the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes. The instant he
did so, she repeated her earnest entreaties that he would take some tea.
In a few minutes he revived sufficiently to sit up and sip a little of
the warm beverage. The effect was almost magical. The blood began to
course more rapidly through his benumbed limbs, and in five minutes more
he was able to sit up and talk to his companion.

"Now, Frank," said Edith, with an amount of decision that in other
circumstances would have seemed quite laughable, "try to get on to my
sled, and I'll help you. The igloo is near at hand now."

Frank obeyed almost mechanically, and creeping upon the sled with
difficulty, he fell instantly into a profound sleep. Edith's chief
anxiety was past now. Harnessing Chimo to the sled as well as she
could, she ran on before, and a very few minutes brought them to the
snow-hut. Here the work of rousing Frank had again to be accomplished;
but the vigour which the warm tea had infused into his frame rendered it
less difficult than heretofore, and soon afterwards Edith had the
satisfac