By the time he was fit to be seen he had heard order after order given, and the men hurrying about, so that when he went on deck he was not surprised to find that they had shortened sail and were reefing those which were left. But the next instant he was startled by the change which had taken place since he went below. Away to the north beyond the ice cliffs all had been bright and dazzling; now the sky was overcast, the sun had disappeared, and though a little blue sky was visible to the south it was a dingy kind of blue, fast becoming grey. The whistling he had heard below had gone on increasing till the wind sang through the cordage, and made the canvas tug and strain at the ropes which held it. Then it died away to a faint whisper, like a sigh of weariness at the exertion. The ice to the north was only dimly seen after a few minutes, for a thick haze appeared to be gathering in that direction, but high up, and not in any way resembling the fog which had come down upon them twice and appeared to be resting on the sea. Steve had hardly grasped the state of affairs when Captain Marsham caught sight of him. "Here, Steve, my lad," he cried, quite in his old manner, "you had better get on your fur cap and mackintosh if you are going to stay on deck. Sharp! we shall have the storm upon us in a few minutes." Those words were quite cheering, and the lad hurried down to make the change suggested, noting, before he went into the cabin, that their course was altered, and the _Hvalross's_ head lay to the south-east. "He doesn't want to be near the ice in a storm," thought Steve; and, strange enough as it appeared to him, he felt comparatively happy, a big, real trouble making the petty affair over which he had felt so despondent begin to fade away. When he reappeared Captain Marsham was forward seeing to the extra lashing of the boats, which were drawn on board, and a glance showed him that Johannes and Andrew were at the wheel--that is, one was holding the spokes, while the other had been ordered there ready to render aid if it were required. "Going to be much of a storm, Johannes?" asked Steve. "Yes, sir, a fierce, heavy snowstorm, with a great wind from the north." "Ay, awm thenking she'll have ferry dirty weather for twa or three days, Meester Steve," added Andrew. "Well, lad, ye've got rid of all ta feathers, hey?" "Yes," said Steve shortly, as if he did not want to hear any allusion to the morning's trouble. "But tell me, Johannes, can't we get into any sheltered bay till the storm has passed?" "Not without running a great deal of risk of being caught in the ice, sir. We couldn't beat back to the west coast with this wind rising; and even if we could, I fear that the ice would be drifting down and stopping us."