cretly. The Doctor was so popular and loved by all that as soon as he
showed his face at his door in the morning crowds of admirers, waiting
patiently outside, flocked about him and followed him wherever he went.
After his fire-making feat, this childlike people expected him, I think,
to be continually doing magic; and they were determined not to miss a
trick.

It was only with great difficulty that we escaped from the crowd the
first morning and set out with Long Arrow to explore the island at our
leisure.

In the interior we found that not only the plants and trees were
suffering from the cold: the animal life was in even worse straits.
Everywhere shivering birds were to be seen, their feathers all fluffed
out, gathering together for flight to summer lands. And many lay dead
upon the ground. Going down to the shore, we watched land-crabs in large
numbers taking to the sea to find some better home. While away to the
Southeast we could see many icebergs floating--a sign that we were now
not far from the terrible region of the Antarctic.

As we were looking out to sea, we noticed our friends the porpoises
jumping through the waves. The Doctor hailed them and they came inshore.

He asked them how far we were from the South Polar Continent.

About a hundred miles, they told him. And then they asked why he wanted
to know.

"Because this floating island we are on," said he, "is drifting
southward all the time in a current. It's an island that ordinarily
belongs somewhere in the tropic zone--real sultry weather, sunstrokes
and all that. If it doesn't stop going southward pretty soon everything
on it is going to perish."

"Well," said the porpoises, "then the thing to do is to get it back into
a warmer climate, isn't it?"

"Yes, but how?" said the Doctor. "We can't ROW it back."

"No," said they, "but whales could push it--if you only got enough of
them."

"What a splendid idea!--Whales, the very thing!" said the Doctor. "Do
you think you could get me some?"

"Why, certainly," said the porpoises, "we passed one herd of them out
there, sporting about among the icebergs. We'll ask them to come over.
And if they aren't enough, we'll try and hunt up some more. Better have
plenty."

"Thank you," said the Doctor. "You are very kind--By the way, do you
happen to know how this island came to be a floating island? At least
half of it, I notice, is made of stone. It is very odd that it floats at
all, isn't it?"

"It is