specially as West approved of what he said.

A third question raised by Hearne remained, and was well calculated
to arouse jealousy and anger among the crew. It was the question of
the use to be made of the only craft remaining to us. Ought the boat
to be kept for the needs of our hibernation, or used to enable us to
return to the iceberg barrier?

Captain Len Guy would not pronounce upon this; he desired to
postpone the decision for twenty-four or forty-eight hours. The
boat, carrying the provisions necessary for such a voyage, could not
accommodate more than eleven or, at the outside, twelve men. If the
departure of the boat were agreed to, then its passengers must be
selected by lot. The captain proceeded to state that neither West,
the boatswain, I, nor he would claim any privilege, but would submit
to the fortune of the lot with all the others. Both Martin Holt and
Hardy were perfectly capable of taking the boat to the
fishing-grounds, where the whalers would still be found.

Then, those to whom the lot should fall were not to forget their
comrades, left to winter on the eighty-sixth parallel, and were to
send a ship to take them off at the return of summer.

All this was said in a tone as calm as it was firm. I must do
Captain Len Guy the justice to say that he rose to the occasion.

When he had concluded--without any interruption even from
Hearne--no one made a remark. There was, indeed, none to be made,
since, in the given case, lots were to be drawn under conditions of
perfect equality.

The hour of rest having arrived, each man entered the camp, partook
of the supper prepared by Endicott, and went to sleep for the last
time under the tents.

Dirk Peters had not reappeared, and I sought for him in vain.

On the following day, the 7th of February, everybody set to work
early with a will. The boat was let down with all due precaution to
the base of the iceberg, and drawn up by the men on a little sandy
beach out of reach of the water. It was in perfectly good condition,
and thoroughly serviceable.

The boatswain then set to work on the former contents of the
_Halbrane_, furniture, bedding, sails, clothing, instruments, and
utensils. Stowed away in a cabin, these things would no longer be
exposed to the knocking about and damage of the iceberg. The cases
containing preserved food and the casks of spirits were rapidly
carried ashore.

I worked with the captain and West at this onerous task, and Dirk
P