site their mouths to breathe through, and after that
they were lashed side by side on the small sledge. The larger sledge,
with the muskets, ammunition, and spare blankets, had to be abandoned.
Then the rescue party put their shoulders to the tracking-belts, and
away they went briskly over the floes.

But the drag was a fearfully heavy one for men who, besides having
walked so long and so far on the previous day, were, most of them, much
weakened by illness and very unfit for such laborious work. The floes,
too, were so rugged that they had frequently to lift the heavy sledge
and its living load over deep rents and chasms which, in circumstances
less desperate, they would have scarcely ventured to do. Work as they
would, however, they could not make more than a mile an hour, and night
overtook them ere they reached the level floes. But it was of the
utmost importance that they should continue to advance, so they pushed
forward until a breeze sprang up that pierced them through and through.

Fortunately there was a bright moon in the sky, which enabled them to
pick their way among the hummocks. Suddenly, without warning, the whole
party felt an alarming failure of their energies. Captain Guy, who was
aware of the imminent danger of giving way to this feeling, cheered the
men to greater exertion by word and voice, but failed to rouse them.
They seemed like men walking in their sleep.

"Come, Saunders, cheer up, man," cried the captain, shaking the mate by
the arm; but Saunders stood still, swaying to and fro like a drunken
man. Mizzle begged to be allowed to sleep, if it were only for two
minutes, and poor Davie Summers deliberately threw himself down on the
snow, from which, had he been left, he would never more have risen.

The case was now desperate. In vain the captain shook and buffeted the
men. They protested that they did not feel cold--"they were quite warm,
and only wanted a little sleep." He saw that it was useless to contend
with them, so there was nothing left for it but to pitch the tent.

This was done as quickly as possible, though with much difficulty, and
the men were unlashed from the sledge and placed within it. The others
then crowded in, and, falling down beside each other, were asleep in an
instant. The excessive crowding of the little tent was an advantage at
this time, as it tended to increase their animal heat. Captain Guy
allowed them to sleep only two hours, and then roused them