admitted plenty of light.

"But won't it make it cold at night?" said I.

"We will prevent that," replied she, and she took out a piece of white
linen, and with some broad-headed nails, she nailed it up, so as to
prevent the air from coming in, although there was still plenty of
light. "There," said she, "that is but a coarse job, which I will mend
by-and-bye; but it will do for the present."

"Well, it is very nice and comfortable now," said I, looking round it.
"Now what shall I bring in?"

"Nothing for the bed but seal-skins," said she. "I do not like the
feathers. The seal-skins are stiff at present, but I think we may be
able to soften them by-and-bye. Now, Frank, your chest had better come
in here, as it is of no use where it is, and we will make a storeroom of
it, to hold all our valuables."

"What, the diamonds?" replied I.

"My dear boy, we have articles to put into the chest, which, in our
present position, are more valuable to us than all the diamonds in the
world. Tell me now, yourself, what do you prefer and set most value
upon, your belt of diamonds, or the iron kettle?"

"The iron kettle, to be sure," replied I.

"Exactly so; and there are many things in our possession as valuable as
the iron kettle, as you will hereafter acknowledge. Now do you go and
get ready some fire for us, and I will finish here by myself Nero keep
out, sir--you are never to come into this cabin."

I went with Nero for a fish, and when I returned. I determined that I
would use the iron kettle. I put it on with water and boiled the fish,
and I thought that it ate better than broiled on the embers, which made
it too dry.

As we sat at our meal, I said, "Dear mother, what are we to do next?"

"To-morrow morning we will put the cabin into better order, and put away
all our things, instead of leaving them about the platform in this way.
Then I will carefully look over all that we have got, and put them away
in the chest. I have not yet seen the contents of the chest."

The next day it was very cloudy and rough weather, blowing fresh. After
breakfast we set to work. We cleared out the floor of the cabin, which
was strewed with all manner of things, for Jackson and I had not been
very particular. The whale-line was coiled up and put into one corner
and everything else was brought in and a place round for it.

"We must contrive some shelves," said my mother, "that we may put things
on them, or else we never can