CHAPTER XII

A dangerous sleep wnterrupted—A rmayht m a srow-hut, and an unpleasant
visitor—Snowed up.

“ce

OW, then,” cried Fred, as they drew up on a

level portion of the ice-floe, where the snow
on its surface was so hard that the runners of the
sledge scarce made an impression on it, “let us to
work, lads, and get the tarpaulins spread. We shall
have to sleep to-night under star-spangled bed-cur-
tains.”

“‘Troth,” said O'Riley, gazing round towards the
land, where the distant cliffs loomed black and heavy
in the fading light, and out upon the floes and hum-
mocks, where the frost-smoke from pools of open
water on the horizon circled round the pinnacles of
the icebergs—* troth, it’s a cowld place intirely to
go to wan’s bed in, but that fat-faced Exqueemaw
seems to be settin’ about it quite coolly; so here goes!”

“It would be difficult to sct about it otherwise
than coolly with the thermometer forty-five below
zero,” remarked Fred, beating his hands together,
and stamping his feet, while the breath issued from
his mouth like dense clouds of steam, and fringed the