While our party halted in order to give the dog-team a rest, Captain Ganoe and myself hurried on to the gap. On reaching the edge we discovered that the men were taking a rest, after having lifted most of the contents of the sledge to the top. We could see that they had been compelled to cut a road through some hundreds of feet of frozen ashes, in order to reach their present position, and we did not need to be told that they had been having a very hard time. Most of the party were asleep and no one observed our approach until we had descended into the gap, and Captain Ganoe had called out in regular sailor style the familiar: "Ship Ahoy!" This unexpected greeting brought Captain Battell to his feet, but for a moment he was too much surprised to make any response. Recovering himself, he advanced and grasped Captain Ganoe by the hand exclaiming: "How did you get here? I was just thinking how fortunate it would be if you knew the predicament we are in and would come to our relief with a capstan and some more ropes and pulleys." "That is just what we have done," said Captain Ganoe. "Jack was on the lookout for you from his observatory on top of the mountain of ice that covers the resting place of the Ice King. As soon as we discovered you, we started to your relief with a sledge load of such appliances as it seemed you most needed." "This is indeed fortunate," said Battell. "We are almost exhausted with the efforts we have been compelled to make in order to reach this gap, and now that we are here, we find that our difficulties are by no means ended, and it is most important that we should get well over the ridge and commence our exploration of the western portion of this vast island of ashes and ice." As he was speaking, our sledge appeared at the top of the gap and the men joined us at once. Huston acting as spokesman for our Norwegian sailors, said: "Lief and Eric request that they be permitted to complete the work of transferring the sledges and their loads to the west side." "Tell them," said the Captain, "to go ahead in their own way and accept our thanks for their most welcome services." In a few minutes they had their ropes, pulleys and capstan in place and gave us to understand that the dogs would furnish all the power that was needed. They soon had one of the sledges slowly but surely gliding up the steep incline to the top. We watched them a few minutes, when Captain Ganoe said: "I think we can safely leave this matter to the Norwegians and we may start on our return to the ship." "I am willing to trust them," said Battell, "and it is important that we begin at once to compare notes and lay our plans for the future. I feel that there is no time to be lost." And giving some instructions to Brown who had been selected as foreman in the work of road making, to give such assistance as might be needed, we started on foot for the ship, a distance of between five and six miles.