hey
found on the ship, and a few cups of tea; then fatigue overcame them,
and each one sank into a sound sleep.

The next morning they all awoke rather late; they soon recalled the
difference in their situation; they were no longer perplexed with
uncertainty about the morrow; they only thought of establishing
themselves comfortably. These castaways looked at themselves as
colonists who had reached their destination, and, forgetting the
sufferings of their long march, they had no other thought than that of
securing a comfortable future.

[Illustration: "These castaways looked at themselves as colonists who
had reached their destination."]

"Well," said the doctor, stretching his arms, "it's something not to
have to wonder where one will sleep to-night and what one will have to
eat to-morrow."

"Let us first make an inventory of the ship," answered Johnson.

The _Porpoise_ had been carefully equipped for a long voyage.

The inventory, when complete, indicated the following supplies:--

6,150 lbs. of flour, fat and raisins for puddings;
2,000 " " beef and salt pork;
1,500 " " pemmican;
700 " " sugar;
700 " " chocolate;
500 " " rice;
1-1/2 chests of tea, weighing 87 lbs;
many barrels of canned fruits and vegetables, lime-juice in abundance,
cochlearia, sorrel and water-cresses, and three hundred gallons of rum
and brandy; in the hold there was a large supply of ammunition; there
was plenty of coal and wood. The doctor collected carefully the
nautical instruments, and he also found a Bunsen's Pile, which had
been carried for electrical tests and experiments. In short, they had
supplies enough to keep five men on whole rations for two years; all
fear of starving or freezing to death was hence wholly removed.

"Our means of living are certain," said the doctor to the captain,
"and there is nothing to prevent our reaching the Pole."

"The Pole!" answered Hatteras, trembling with excitement.

"Certainly," continued the doctor; "what's to prevent our pushing on
during the summer across the land?"

"Across the land! true! But how about the sea?"

"Can't we build a small boat out of the timber of the _Porpoise_?"

"An American boat, you mean," answered Hatteras, scornfully, "and
commanded by this American!"

The doctor understood the captain's repugnance, and judged it best to
change the conversation.

"Now that we know what our supplies are," he went on, "we must bu