snow-hut was ready; the four companions
burrowed into it like moles, and soon slept the sleep of the just.

The next day and the following ones passed without any particular
incident; the journey was easy or difficult according to the weather;
when it was cold and clear they wore their moccasins and advanced
rapidly, when damp and penetrating, their snow-shoes, and made little
way. They reached thus the 15th of January; the moon was in her last
quarter, and was only visible for a short time; the sun, though still
hidden below the horizon, gave six hours of a sort of twilight, not
sufficient to see the way by; they were obliged to stake it out
according to the direction given by the compass. Bell led the way;
Hatteras marched in a straight line behind him; then Simpson and the
doctor, taking it in turns, so as only to see Hatteras, and keep in
a straight line. But notwithstanding all their precautions, they
deviated sometimes thirty or forty degrees; they were then obliged
to stake it out again. On Sunday, the 15th of January, Hatteras
considered he had made a hundred miles to the south; the morning was
consecrated to the mending of different articles of clothing and
encampment; divine service was not forgotten. They set out again at
noon; the temperature was cold, the thermometer marked only 32 degrees
below zero in a very clear atmosphere.

All at once, without warning of any kind, a vapour rose from the ground
in a complete state of congelation, reaching a height of about ninety
feet, and remaining stationary; they could not see a foot before them;
it clung to their clothing, and bristled it with ice. Our travellers,
surprised by the frost-rime, had all the same idea--that of getting
near one another. They called out, "Bell!" "Simpson!" "This way,
doctor!" "Where are you, captain?" But no answers were heard; the
vapour did not conduct sound. They all fired as a sign of rallying.
But if the sound of the voice appeared too weak, the detonation of
the firearms was too strong, for it was echoed in all directions,
and produced a confused rumble without appreciable direction. Each
acted then according to his instincts. Hatteras stopped, folded his
arms, and waited. Simpson contented himself with stopping his sledge.
Bell retraced his steps, feeling the traces with his hands. The doctor
ran hither and thither, bumping against the icebergs, falling down,
getting up, and losing himself more and more. At the end of five
minu