It had begun to snow again, and all three were glad that they had exchanged the temporary shelter in the woods for the large and comfortable cabin of the old professor. The cabin was well furnished, and on the walls hung horns and skins of various wild animals. There were a good-sized table and some chairs, and in one corner stood a bookcase with a hundred volumes or more. Opening out of the living room were a kitchen and two bedrooms. It was in the kitchen that Professor Jeffer had been conducting the experiments which had made him ill. A powerful odor filled the air of the apartment, and to get rid of it, Chet opened a window for a while. "I should have had something open when I tried the experiment," said the professor. "But I became so interested that I forgot. If you hadn't come when you did, I don't know what would have happened." "You want to be careful in the future, Professor," said Barwell Dawson. "Science cannot afford to lose a man like you." And this latter remark tickled the old scientist very much. He was really quite learned, and he was glad to have it known. "If this snow keeps on, we'll have to stay here all night," said Andy to Chet. "You are welcome to remain as long as the storm lasts," answered Professor Jeffer, who overheard the remark. "I have a well-filled larder, and with what you have brought we can get along very well." "We have a moose about a mile from here--if only we could bring him here," said Chet. "I'm afraid your game will have to wait. If you went for it now, you'd surely get lost. It is snowing furiously." What the professor said about the storm was true. The snow was accompanied by a high wind, which whistled loudly around the cabin. All of the party were glad enough to gather in front of the big open fireplace, for that was the one spot that was thoroughly warm. As they sat around, Chet told in detail his story of the moose, and then the boys listened while Barwell Dawson and Professor Jeffer related some things that had happened to them when they had met in the far north. "I should like exceedingly to take another trip to the polar regions," said the professor. "The other trip was too short for me. I did not gain half the knowledge I desired." "I am going up there again," answered Barwell Dawson, quietly. "Ah, indeed! When?" "As soon as my ship is ready for me." "Your ship? Are you equipping a ship?" demanded Professor Jeffer, while the boys listened in astonishment. "I am. I have not said much about it as yet, for I did not want to excite public comment. But I am fitting out a ship for polar exploration." And Barwell Dawson smiled quietly, as if fitting out such an expedition were an everyday occurrence. "Why, really, you--you astonish me!" cried the professor. "This is most extraordinary, sir. Are you, may I ask, fitting out this ship yourself?" "I am footing the bill, yes." "It will cost a large amount of money."