"I don't know," said the captain. "Yes, I do: he has run on to light a fire where we found the coal, so as to cook some of the meat." "Yes, that's it," said the doctor. "I hope he'll have a good fire. One gets horribly hungry out here." They trudged on till they came to where the next deer lay waiting to be picked up. This was the last, and, quite satisfied with their load, they made their way steadily on toward the nearly perpendicular rocks where the coal had been discovered cropping out from the face. "That's the place, isn't it?" said the doctor, pointing and shifting his rifle from one shoulder to the other. "Yes, sir!" cried Watty Links eagerly. "She can see ta big white ullet flitting aboot and roond and roond because Meester Stevey's leeting ta fire. She wushes she'd gane. She can leet a fire better tan Meester Stevey, and she could ha' blow in it wi' her brath and beat it wi' her bonnet to mak' a big blaze coom sune." "Did Mr Stephen say to you that he was going to light a fire?" "Phut!" ejaculated Watty, emitting a sound like an angry turkey-cock, and ruffling up and speaking indignantly. "And tit she thenk she would have let her go and light a fire if she hat kenned aboot it? She'd ha' gane hersel', and not let the young chentleman touch the coal stuff. She wadna tell me, and rin away to leet the fire her nainsel', because she thocht she could do it better. But where's the smok?" "Perhaps you are right," said the captain; "but I don't see any smoke. He would have been there by now." "He has chosen some corner out of the wind," suggested the doctor, as he watched the great bird circling about the face of the cliff, but from their distance looking less than a pigeon. "We ought to have a specimen of those owls," said the captain as they trudged on, rather wearily now, their pieces seeming to have grown wonderfully heavy. "Marsham, my good friend," said the doctor, "there is only one specimen in natural history that interests me now, and that is the fleshy tissue known as steak or collops, frizzled over a good clear fire. After I have exhibited, as we doctors say, a dose of that to myself, I shall be quite ready to talk about owls; not before." "See him, Johannes?" said the captain, dropping back to take hold of one of the tracking lines, and helping to pull the sledge and ease the men. "No, sir. He has been troubled to get the fire to burn. Maybe he has no matches. For there was plenty of rough coal lying about, and dry stuff that would soon catch alight. But it will be something to find the fire ready to burn; and we can soon get some bits of meat to roast." "I don't see any signs of that, my lad," said the captain, after they had gone a little farther. "Of course that was why he ran on. Did he say anything to you about it?" "Not a word, sir. He made a sudden dart off and was gone."