MEN'S EYES, AND PROVIDES FOR THEM.

Four human beings with heavy packs on their backs were making their
toilsome way over the snow-covered surface of the frozen sea. One by
one their companions had dropped. They had reached the wished for
shore, but lofty ice-cliffs rose before them on which they had found it
hopeless to seek for shelter of subsistence, and again they were
attempting to make their way to the southward. First the boat which
they had dragged over so many leagues had been consumed for fuel, and
then the sledge was piece by piece burned to give them warmth in their
snow-hut during the night. Archy had held out bravely; Andrew had
wonderfully been supported, ever with confidence seeking for aid from
above, he felt that his own life and that of his companions depended on
his exertions. Foubister and David Saunders, one of the crew of the
"Kate," encouraged by him had hitherto kept up their spirits, yet as
they looked ahead and saw the icy plain stretched out before them they
might well have given way to despair. They had just set out from the
snow-hut which had sheltered them during the night, and in which the
last chip of the sledge had been consumed. As the embers of their fire
died out, Foubister, brave and determined man as he was, had exclaimed,
"Why need we go further? It will only be to perish in a few hours of
cold, as the rest have done."

"Because it is our duty to trust to God and struggle to the last,"
answered Andrew. "He may send us help when we least expect it. Let us
go on while life and strength remain."

Kneeling down, Andrew offered up an earnest prayer for protection, and
the whole party then strapping on their packs, with renewed strength set
forward on their journey. Archy would probably have sunk under the
hardships he was enduring had not his old friend supported and cheered
him throughout. His other companions were also constant in their
kindness. They gave him a larger supply of food than they took
themselves, and chafed his feet and dried his socks at the end of each
day's journey. They had also made him a mask to protect his face, of a
piece of canvas lined with woollen stuff, having breathing places in it
for the nostrils and mouth, and two holes as small as possible for the
eyes. He was surprised to find when he put it on how well he could see
through those small holes. Neither he nor his friends were aware at the
time of their importance.

They had started be