ped in a piece of the fresh-water ice, but on handling the
brandy I found it hard set. The heat of the oven was not sufficiently
great to thaw me a dram; so to save further trouble in this way I took
the chopper and at one blow split open the jar, and then there lay
before me the solid body of the brandy, from which I chipped off as much
as I needed, and thus procured a hot and animating draught.

Raking out the fire, I picked up the lanthorn and was about to go, then
halted, considering whether I should not stow the frozen provisions
away. It was a natural thought, seeing how precious food was to me. But,
alas! it mattered not where they lay; they were as secure here as if
they were snugly hidden in the bottom of the hold. It was the white
realm of death; if ever a rat had crawled in this ship, it was, in its
hiding-place, as stiff and idle as the frozen vessel. So I let the lump
of brandy, the ice, ham, and so forth, rest where they were, and went to
the cabin I had chosen, involuntarily peeping at the figures as I
passed, and hurrying the faster because of the grim and terrifying
liveliness put into the man who sat starting from the table by the swing
of the lanthorn in my hand.

I shut the door and hung the lanthorn near the cot, having the flint and
box in my pocket. There was indeed an abundance of candles in the
vessel; nevertheless, it was my business to husband them with the utmost
niggardliness. How long I was to be imprisoned here, if indeed I was
ever to be delivered, Providence alone knew; and to run short of
candles would add to the terrors of my existence, by forcing me either
to open the hatches and ports for light, and so filling the ship with
the deadly air outside, or living in darkness. There were a cloak and a
coat in the cot, but they would not suffice. The fine cloak I had taken
from the man on the rocks was on deck, and till now I had forgotten it;
there was, however, plenty of apparel in the corner to serve as wraps,
and having chosen enough to smother me I vaulted into the cot, and so
covered myself that the clothes were above the level of the sides of the
cot.

I left the lanthorn burning whilst I made sure my bed was all right, and
lay musing, feeling extremely melancholy; the hardest part was the
thought of those two men watching in the cabin. The most fantastic
alarms possessed me. Suppose their ghosts came to the ship at midnight,
and, entering their bodies, quickened them into walking?