, for the
temperature had again fallen below the freezing point.

"We are drifting south of east," said Regnar, quietly, "and unless
picked up will probably clear the south point of the Magdalen Islands."

"How can you tell that?" asked La Salle.

"Easily enough," said the lad, talking still in French. "The wind is
westerly, and the current runs from north to south."

"But how can you decide on the points of the compass?" persisted La
Salle.

For the first time the boy seemed to wonder at the question, and to
doubt the wisdom of his friend.

"Who can fail to know?" said he, quietly, "when he can see in the
heavens above him, the steady light of the Polar Star?"

CHAPTER XVI.

THE BREEDING-GROUNDS OF THE SEAL.--A CURIOUS SIGHT.--A SHARP
ENCOUNTER.--ICE CHANGES.

Early the next morning the breakfast was hurried over, and a survey of
the ice disclosed little change from the conditions of the day before,
except that the natural attraction of floating bodies for each other was
evidently slowly closing the pools and intervening channels.

Leaving Carlo to guard their dwelling, and tying the black "McIntosh"
blanket to the signal-staff, the four stepped into the somewhat narrow
quarters of their clumsy boat, and using the oars as paddles, set off
through a channel which led, as nearly as they could judge, in the
direction of the field of seals seen the day before, and whose constant
whining still gave evidence of their close proximity.

Scarcely two miles of tortuous winding through channels of perfectly
calm water, led them into a pool in which hundreds of large seals were
disporting themselves, but which, on seeing the boat, scattered in all
directions, after a moment of stupidly curious exposure to the fire of
the intruders.

"How lucky it is that these animals don't know their own power!" said
Waring. "If they chose they could soon upset the boat, and tear us in
pieces."

"Not without losing at least half a dozen of their leaders, and that is
generally sufficient to deter hundreds of men, whose reasoning powers
are much superior to these amphibia," said La Salle.

Passing into a narrow channel, in which at every turn they came close
upon swimming and sleeping seals, they suddenly swept up to the verge of
a vast and heavy field, on which thousands of the young of these animals
lay in helpless inability to move. Most of these were what are called
"white-coats,"--fat little things, covered with a thi