in Len Guy, the boatswain, and I
succeeded in climbing the hill; this exploit occupied a whole hour.
Although evening had now come, it brought no darkness in its train.
From the top of the hill we could see over an extent of from thirty
to forty miles, and this was what we saw.

Behind us lay the open sea, laden with floating masses; a great
number of these had recently heaped themselves up against the beach
and rendered it almost inaccessible.

On the west was a strip of hilly land, which extended beyond our
sight, and was washed on its east side by a boundless sea. It was
evident that we had been carried by the drift through a strait.

Ah! if we had only had our _Halbrane_! But our sole possession was a
frail craft barely capable of containing a dozen men, and we were
twenty-three!

There was nothing for it but to go down to the shore again, to carry
the tents to the beach, and take measures in view of a winter
sojourn under the terrible conditions imposed upon us by
circumstances.

On our return to the coast the boatswain discovered several caverns
in the granitic cliffs, sufficiently spacious to house us all and
afford storage for the cargo of the _Halbrane_. Whatever might be our
ultimate decision, we could not do better than place our material
and instal ourselves in this opportune shelter.

After we had reascended the slopes of the iceberg and reached our
camp, Captain Len Guy had the men mustered. The only missing man was
Dirk Peters, who had decidedly isolated himself from the crew. There
was nothing to fear from him, however; he would be with the faithtul
against the mutinous, and under all circumstanceswe might count upon
him. When the circle had been formed, Captain Len Guy spoke, without
allowing any sign of discouragement to appear, and explained the
position with the utmost frankness and lucidity, stating in the
first place that it was absolutely necessary to lower the cargo to
the coast and stow it away in one of the caverns. Concerning the
vital question of food, he stated that the supply of flour,
preserved meat, and dried vegetables would suffice for the winter,
however prolonged, and on that of fuel he was satisfied that we
should not want for coal, provided it was not wasted; and it would
be possible to economize it, as the hibernating waifs might brave
the cold of the polar zone under a covering of snow and a roof of
ice.

Was the captain's tone of security feigned? I did not think so,
e