ith
unbounded amazement, and a few of the more superstitious amongst them
with awe approaching to fear. But soon their attention was attracted
from this by the wonderful column.

"Och, then! may I niver!" exclaimed O'Riley, the moment he caught sight
of it, "if there ben't the north pole at long last--sure enough!"

The laugh that greeted this remark was almost immediately checked,
partly from the feelings of solemnity inspired by the magnificent view
which opened up to them, and partly from a suspicion on the part of the
more ignorant among the men that there might be some truth in O'Riley's
statement after all.

But their attention and energies were speedily called to the dangerous
position of the ship, which unexpectedly took the ground in a bay where
the water proved to be unusually shallow, and before they could warp her
off, the ice closed round her in compact, immovable masses. At first
Captain Guy was not seriously alarmed by this untoward event, although
he felt a little chagrin in consequence of the detention, for the summer
was rapidly advancing, and it behoved him to return to Baffin's Bay, and
prosecute the whale-fishing as energetically as possible; but when day
after day passed, and the ice round the ship still remained immovable,
he became alarmed, and sought by every means in his power to extricate
himself.

His position was rendered all the more aggravating by the fact that, a
week after he was beset, the main body of the ice in the strait opened
up and drifted to the southward, leaving a comparatively clear sea
through which he could have pushed his way without much difficulty in
any direction, but the solid masses in which they lay embedded were fast
to the ground for about fifty yards beyond the vessel, seaward, and
until these should be floated away there was no chance of escape.

"Get up some powder and canisters, Mr Bolton," he exclaimed, one
morning after breakfast; "I'll try what can be done by blasting the ice.
The highest spring tide will occur to-morrow, and if the ship don't
move then we shall--"

He did not finish the sentence, but turned on his heel, and walked
forward, where he found Buzzby and some of the men preparing the
ice-saws.

"Ay, ay," muttered the mate, as he went below to give the necessary
directions, "you don't need to conclude your speech, Captain. If we
don't get out to-morrow, we're locked up for one winter at least if not
more."

"Ay, and ye'll no get oot t