over the ground with his gun and
arms outstretched like the horns of one of these shy animals, and
having thus come within easy gunshot, he could not fail.

But the best game, the musk-ox, of which Parry found plenty at
Melville Island, appeared not to frequent the shores of Victoria Bay.
A distant hunt was determined on, as much to get these valuable
animals as to reconnoitre the eastern lands. Hatteras did not propose
to reach the Pole by this part of the continent, but the doctor was
not sorry to get a general idea of the country. Hence they decided to
start to the east of Fort Providence. Altamont intended to hunt; Duke
naturally was of the party.

[Illustration]

So, Monday, June 17th, a pleasant day, with the thermometer at 41
degrees, and the air quiet and clear, the three hunters, each carrying
a double-barrelled gun, a hatchet, a snow-knife, and followed by Duke,
left Doctor's House at six o'clock in the morning. They were fitted
out for a trip of two or three days, with the requisite amount of
provisions. By eight o'clock Hatteras and his two companions had gone
eight miles. Not a living thing had tempted a shot, and their hunt
threatened to be merely a trip.

This new country exhibited vast plains running out of sight; new
streams divided them everywhere, and large, unruffled pools reflected
the sun. The layers of melting ice bared the ground to their feet; it
belonged to the great division of sedimentary earth, and the result of
the action of the water, which is so common on the surface of the
globe. Still a few erratic blocks were seen of a singular nature,
foreign to the soil where they were found, and whose presence it was
hard to explain. Schists and different productions of limestone were
found in abundance, as was also a sort of strange, transparent,
colorless crystal, which has a refraction peculiar to Iceland spar.

[Illustration]

But, although he was not hunting, the doctor had not time to
geologize; he had to walk too quickly, in order to keep up with his
friends. Still, he observed the land and talked as much as possible,
for had he not there would have been total silence in the little band;
neither Altamont nor the captain had any desire to talk to one
another.

By ten o'clock the hunters had got a dozen miles to the east; the sea
was hidden beneath the horizon; the doctor proposed a halt for
breakfast. They swallowed it rapidly, and in half an hour they were
off again. The ground was