o himself.

He lifted his hand above his head, and felt that the roof was lowering.

"Good God!" he cried; "Hatteras! Bell!"

His cries awoke his companions, who got up quickly, and bumped
themselves too; the darkness was thick.

"The roof is falling in!" cried the doctor.

They all rushed out, dragging Simpson with them; they had no sooner
left their dangerous retreat, than it fell in with a great noise.
The poor fellows were obliged to take refuge under the tent covering,
which was soon covered with a thick layer of snow, which, as a bad
conductor, prevented the travellers being frozen alive. The tempest
continued all through the night. When Bell harnessed the dogs the
next morning he found that some of them had begun to eat their leather
harness, and that two of them were very ill, and could not go much
further. However, the caravan set out again; there only remained sixty
miles to go. On the 26th, Bell, who went on in front, called out
suddenly to his companions. They ran up to him, and he pointed to
a gun leaning against an iceberg.

"A gun!" cried the doctor.

Hatteras took it; it was loaded and in good condition.

"The men from the _Porpoise_ can't be far off," said the doctor.

Hatteras remarked that the gun was of American manufacture, and his
hands crisped the frozen barrel. He gave orders to continue the march,
and they kept on down the mountain slope. Simpson seemed deprived
of all feeling; he had no longer the strength to complain. The tempest
kept on, and the sledge proceeded more and more slowly; they scarcely
made a few miles in twenty-four hours, and in spite of the strictest
economy, the provisions rapidly diminished; but as long as they had
enough for the return journey, Hatteras kept on.

On the 27th they found a sextant half-buried in the snow, then a
leather bottle; the latter contained brandy, or rather a lump of ice,
with a ball of snow in the middle, which represented the spirit; it
could not be used. It was evident that they were following in the
steps of some poor shipwrecked fellows who, like them, had taken the
only practicable route. The doctor looked carefully round for other
cairns, but in vain. Sad thoughts came into his mind; he could not
help thinking that it would be a good thing not to meet with their
predecessors; what could he and his companions do for them? They
wanted help themselves; their clothes were in rags, and they had not
enough to eat. If their predecessors we