17th of November, a week after their meeting,
that Jean Cornbutte and his party could think of setting out.
They only had the light of the stars to guide them; but the cold
was less extreme, and even some snow fell.

Before quitting this place a grave was dug for poor Courtois. It
was a sad ceremony, which deeply affected his comrades. He was
the first of them who would not again see his native land.

Misonne had constructed, with the planks of the cabin, a sort of
sledge for carrying the provisions, and the sailors drew it by
turns. Jean Cornbutte led the expedition by the ways already
traversed. Camps were established with great promptness when the
times for repose came. Jean Cornbutte hoped to find his deposits
of provisions again, as they had become well-nigh indispensable
by the addition of four persons to the party. He was therefore
very careful not to diverge from the route by which he had come.

By good fortune he recovered his sledge, which had stranded near
the promontory where they had all run so many dangers. The dogs,
after eating their straps to satisfy their hunger, had attacked
the provisions in the sledge. These had sustained them, and they
served to guide the party to the sledge, where there was a
considerable quantity of provisions left. The little band resumed
its march towards the bay. The dogs were harnessed to the sleigh,
and no event of interest attended the return.

It was observed that Aupic, Andre Vasling, and the Norwegians
kept aloof, and did not mingle with the others; but, unbeknown to
themselves, they were narrowly watched. This germ of dissension
more than once aroused the fears of Louis Cornbutte and Penellan.

About the 7th of December, twenty days after the discovery of the
castaways, they perceived the bay where the "Jeune-Hardie" was
lying. What was their astonishment to see the brig perched four
yards in the air on blocks of ice! They hurried forward, much
alarmed for their companions, and were received with joyous cries
by Gervique, Turquiette, and Gradlin. All of them were in good
health, though they too had been subjected to formidable dangers.

The tempest had made itself felt throughout the polar sea. The
ice had been broken and displaced, crushed one piece against
another, and had seized the bed on which the ship rested. Though
its specific weight tended to carry it under water, the ice had
acquired an incalculable force, and the brig had been suddenly
raised up out