Ed had finished the building, he cut a circular place
through the side, close down to the bottom, and just large enough to
permit him to crawl out. Now with a snowshoe he shoveled the loose snow
out of the opening, and leveled the floor within.

Bobby and Jimmy in the meantime busied themselves unlashing the loads
upon the sledges and unharnessing the dogs. When this was done Bobby
with an ax chopped frozen seal meat into pieces for the dogs' supper,
while Jimmy with the long whip kept the hungry dogs at a distance, for
with the unharnessing, and preparation of their supper, they collected
into bunches, and sitting on their haunches, growled and snapped at one
another, each fearful that his neighbor should gain an advantage, and
all the time emitted dismal, whistling whines of impatience.

Presently Bobby stepped aside, Jimmy withdrew the menace of the whip,
and in an instant the hungry beasts were upon their food, gulping it
down as fast as they could pick it up, a snarling, snapping, yelping
mass, and there was a fight or two that the boys were called upon to
mediate by beating the animals apart.

By the time the feeding was over Skipper Ed had carried the harness into
the _igloo_ and spread it evenly on the floor--for the dogs would have
eaten their own harness if it had been left to them--and over the
harness he laid caribou skins, and then carried in the sleeping bags and
provisions. Nothing, indeed, was left outside, for nothing would have
been safe from the ravenous beasts. And when the dogs were fed and all
was made snug and safe the three crawled within, and closed the entrance
to the _igloo_ with a big block of snow previously provided for the
purpose.

They had brought with them two of Abel's old stone lamps. These were
simply blocks of stone cut in the shape of a half moon, and hollowed
out, to hold seal oil.

The lamps were now placed upon snow shelves, one on either side of the
_igloo_, and the oil from a piece of blubber squeezed into them. Pieces
of rags carefully placed along the straight side of the lamps served as
wicks. These were lighted and burned with a smoky, yellow flame.

When the wicks were burning well a snow knife was stuck into the wall of
the snow house over each lamp, and upon these knives kettles were
suspended and filled with snow taken from the wall of the _igloo_. One
of the kettles was removed when the snow was melted, and set aside for
drinking water. The other was permitted