wind afore they're over."

Nothing, in all their previous experience of Labrador travel, had
equalled the tumultuous ruggedness of the way by which Cabot and White
were now attempting to bridge that boisterous arm of the stormy
northern ocean, and to advance at all taxed their strength to the
utmost. To transport their laden sled was next to impossible, but they
dared not leave it behind, and with their progress thus impeded they
were barely half way to the Newfoundland coast when night overtook
them. Even though the gathering darkness had not compelled a halt,
their utter exhaustion would have demanded a rest. For an hour White
had been obliged to clinch his teeth to keep from crying out with the
pain of his weakened, and now overstrained, ankle, and when Cabot
announced that it was no use trying to get further before morning, he
sank to the ice with a groan.

Full of sympathy for his comrade's suffering, the Yankee lad at once
set to work to make him as comfortable as circumstances would permit,
and soon had him lying on a sleeping bag, in a niche formed by two
uptilted slabs of ice. Profiting by past experience, they had procured
and brought with them an Eskimo lamp with its moss wick, a small
quantity of seal oil, and a supply of matches, so that, after a while,
Cabot procured enough boiling water to furnish a small pot of tea.
When they had eaten their simple meal of tea, hard bread, and pemmican,
White's ankle was bathed with water as hot as he could bear it, and
then the weary lads turned in for such sleep as their cheerless
quarters might yield. About midnight the wind that had for many days
blown steadily from the eastward changed to northwest, and, with the
coming of daylight, it was blowing half a gale from that direction.

To Cabot this change meant little or nothing, and he was suggesting
that they remain where they were until White's leg should be thoroughly
rested, when the other interrupted him with:

"But we can't stay here. Don't you feel the change of wind?"

"What of it?" asked Cabot.

"Oh, nothing at all, only that it will drive the ice out to sea, and,
if we haven't reached land before it begins to move, we'll go with it."

"You don't mean it!" cried Cabot, now thoroughly alarmed. "In that
case we'd best get a move on in a hurry. Do you think your leg will
stand the trip?"

"It will have to," rejoined White, grimly; and a few minutes later they
had resumed the toilsome progress t