the island at the
first opportunity which afforded, he would be sure to establish himself
upon a spot where he would have a good view of the sea. He would
undoubtedly choose some elevated place, and one as near as possible to
the Siberian coast. Besides the necessity of sheltering himself against
the polar winds would lead him to establish himself upon the southern
coast of the island.

Erik did not pretend that his conclusions were necessarily
incontrovertible, but he thought that, in any case, they would suffer no
inconvenience from adopting them as the basis of a systematic
exploration of the place. The results fully justified his expectations.
The travelers had not walked along the shore for an hour, when they
perceived on a height, perfectly sheltered by a chain of hills, facing
the south, an object which could only be a human habitation. To their
extreme surprise this little cottage, which was of a cubical form, was
perfectly white, as if it had been covered with plaster. It only lacked
green shutters to perfectly resemble a country home near Marseilles, or
an American cottage.

After they had climbed the height and approached near to it, they
discovered a solution of the mystery. The cottage was not plastered, it
was simply built of enormous bones skillfully arranged, which gave it
its white color. Strange as the materials were, they were forced to
admit that the idea of utilizing them was a natural one; besides there
was nothing else available on the island where vegetation was most
meagre; but the whole place, even the neighboring hills were covered
with bones, which Dr. Schwaryencrona recognized as the remains of wild
beasts.

CHAPTER XVII.

AT LAST.

The door of the cottage was open. The visitors entered, and saw at a
glance that the single room of which it consisted was empty, although it
had been recently occupied. Upon the hearth, which was built of three
large stones, lay some extinguished embers upon which the light ashes
still lingered, although the lightest breeze would have been sufficient
to carry them away. The bed, consisting of a wooden frame, from which
was suspended a sailor's hammock, still bore the impress of a human
figure.

This hammock, that Erik examined immediately, bore the stamp of the
"Vega." On a sort of table formed from the shoulder-blade of some animal
and supported by four thigh bones, lay some crumbs of ship's biscuit, a
pewter goblet, and a wooden spoon of Swedi