"I'll introduce you to Captain Williamson," said the hunter. "He is in charge of the repairs that are being made. He is a fine man, and I know you will like him." The captain proved to be a bluff and hearty old salt, who had at one time commanded a whaler. He shook hands with a grip that made Andy and Chet wince, and looked them over with a twinkle in his eye. "So you are going to try to hunt polar bears and such, eh?" he said. "Well, you look out that the bears don't eat you up," and he laughed broadly. "We'll try to keep out of the way," answered Chet, modestly. "And what are you going to do when the thermometer drops to fifty below zero?" "Work around and keep warm," answered Andy, with a grin, and this made the captain laugh again. "Guess you'll do," he said. "Anyway, we'll try you." The _Ice King_ was a two-masted steamer that had been built for use in the icy seas of the north. She was small, broad of beam, and shallow, with an outer "jacket" of stout oak planks, and a prow and stern of steel. Inside, all the bracings were extra heavy, and the railings of the deck were of the hardest kind of timber. She carried an engine of great power, and steam could be gotten up both with coal and with oil. "You see, it will not do to take too large a ship," explained Barwell Dawson. "A small vessel can often get through where a big one would get stuck. The _Ice King_ is built shallow, so that instead of being crushed in the floating ice, she will slide up on it, or over it. The sides are two feet thick, and they ought to resist a tremendous pressure. We have to have great engine power, and a steel prow, for sometimes we'll have to simply smash our way through." The entire lower portion of the ship was to be given over to the storage of provisions and coal, and coal was also to be stored, at the start, on deck. The quarters for the crew were forward, in a forecastle of the usual order. At the stern was a fair-sized cabin, half above and half below the deck, with quarters for Barwell Dawson, the captain, and the others. The boys were conducted to a stateroom not over six feet by seven. It had an upper and a lower berth on one side, and a tiny washstand and some clothing hooks on the other. "We'll all have close quarters," said Barwell Dawson. "My own room is but two feet larger than this." "It's large enough," said Andy. He turned to his chum. "We'll be as snug as a bug in a rug in here, won't we?" "Suits me right down to the ground," returned Chet. "Not much room for clothing, but as we haven't much, that's all right." Professor Jeffer was to share his stateroom with another man, who had not yet arrived. He asked for a cabinet, in which he might store his scientific instruments, and Mr. Dawson said he would attend to the matter. "Next week I shall commence the purchase of all supplies," said the man who headed the expedition. "Until that time there will be little for any of you to do, and you can go where you please."