omfortable at night. As usual, when it began to grow
dark we built our hut, lighted our fire, cooked our supper, made our
beds, and were very soon fast asleep.

I awoke at the usual hour, feeling rather oppressed with the heat. I
then aroused my companion, whose slumbers were heavy after the five or
six pounds of solid flesh he had devoured, and inquired what was the
cause of this. He pointed to the door of the hut, which I found was
completely blocked up with snow. He laughed to show me that there was
nothing to fear, and began making preparations for breakfast.

On further examination of the state of things, I found that we were
snowed in, but to what depth I could not say, further than that, as six
to seven feet frequently fell in the course of a night, I supposed, as
was the case, that we might be buried beneath that depth of snow. This
seemed to make no difference to Ickmallick, for he ate away as heartily
as usual, and then packed up our goods in preparation for departure.

Having accomplished this task, he began cutting away the snow, so as to
form a passage just large enough to admit his body. When this was done,
we crept through it into the cold bleak air, and it took us a
considerable time before we could enlarge the cavity sufficiently to get
out the sledge and dogs with our goods. The heat, with the wear and
tear of the journey, had somewhat damaged the runners of the sledge, and
we had to melt some snow and to rub it hard over them before the
conveyance was fit to proceed. The day closed in before we reached
home, but Ickmallick knew the road too well, as did his dogs, to make it
necessary to stop.

I fancied that I recognised the cliffs of the coast in the distance,
when suddenly just before us I saw some pale lights, like those from
gigantic glow-worms, rising out of the ground. The dogs came to a
standstill; and voices of welcome rising from the interior, showed me
that we had arrived at the village, now covered to the roofs of the huts
by snow. The lights I saw were emitted through the ice windows in them.
I walked on to our own house, where I found all my companions well; and
before long Ickmallick brought in half the deer and a quarter of one of
the oxen, which he seemed to consider my share of the produce of the
chase.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

We thought that we had known what cold was when the winter first began;
but when a strong northerly wind commenced, having passed over either