ch of your company on him. Walk with me, sirrah, I command
you, as I wish to have a chat."

"You are unjust to me," replied Fred, taking his father's arm, and
falling with him a little to the rear of the party; "Tom complains that
I have quite given him up of late."

"Och! isn't it a purty sight," remarked O'Riley to Mivins, "to see us
all goin' out like good little childers to see the sun rise of a
beautiful mornin' like this?"

"So it _h_is," answered Mivins, "but I wish it wasn't quite so cold."

It was indeed cold--so cold that the men had to beat their hands
together, and stamp their feet, and rush about like real children, in
order to keep their bodies warm. This month of February was the coldest
they had yet experienced. Several times the thermometer fell to the
unexampled temperature of 75 degrees below zero, or 107 degrees below
the freezing-point of water. When we remind our young readers that the
thermometer in England seldom falls so low as zero, except in what we
term weather of the utmost severity, they may imagine--or, rather, they
may try to imagine--what 75 degrees _below_ zero must have been.

It was not quite so cold as that upon this occasion, otherwise the men
could not have shown face to it.

"Let's have leap-frog," shouted Davie; "we can jump along as well as
walk along. Hooray! _hup_!"

The "hup" was rather an exclamation of necessity than of delight
inasmuch as that it was caused by Davie coming suddenly down flat on the
ice in the act of vainly attempting to go leap-frog over Mivins's head.

"That's your sort," cried Amos Parr; "down with you, Buzzby."

Buzzby obeyed, and Amos, being heavy and past the agile time of life,
leaped upon, instead of over, his back, and there stuck.

"Not so high, lads," cried Captain Guy. "Come, Mr Saunders, give us a
back."

"Faix, he'd better go on his hands an' knees."

"That's it! over you go; hurrah, lads!"

In five minutes nearly the whole crew were panting from their violent
exertions, and those who did not, or could not, join, panted as much
from laughter. The desired result, however, was speedily gained. They
were all soon in a glow of heat, and bade defiance to the frost.

An hour's sharp climb brought the party almost to the brow of the hill,
from which they hoped to see the sun rise for the first time for nearly
five months. Just as they were about to pass over a ridge in the
cliffs, Captain Guy, who had pushed on in advance wit