At the end of two hours, they sank exhausted. Hatteras urged them to make a fresh attempt, but his entreaties and supplications were powerless; they could not do impossibilities. [Illustration: ] "Well, at any rate," he said, "I won't die of cold if I must of hunger." He set to work to hew out a hut in an iceberg, aided by Johnson, and really they looked like men digging their own tomb. It was hard labour, but at length the task was accomplished. The little house was ready, and the miserable men took up their abode in it. In the evening, while the others lay motionless, a sort of hallucination came over Johnson, and he began raving about bears. The Doctor roused himself from his torpor, and asked the old man what he meant, and what bear he was talking about. "The bear that is following us," replied Johnson. "A bear following us?" "Yes, for the last two days!" "For the last two days! You have seen him?" "Yes, about a mile to leeward." "And you never told me, Johnson!" "What was the good!" "True enough," said the Doctor; "we have not a single bail to send after him!" "No, not even a bit of iron!" The Doctor was silent for a minute, as if thinking. Then he said-- "Are you quite certain the animal is following us?" "Yes, Mr. Clawbonny, he is reckoning on a good feed of human flesh!" "Johnson!" exclaimed the Doctor, grieved at the despairing mood of his companion. "He is sure enough of his meal!" continued the "You have no ball!" "I'll make one." "You have no lead!" "No, but I have mercury." So saying, he took the thermometer, which stood at 50 deg. above zero, and went outside and laid it on a block of ice. Then he came in again, and said, "Tomorrow! Go to sleep, and wait till the sun rises." With the first streak of dawn next day, the Doctor and Johnson rushed out to look at the thermometer. All the mercury had frozen into a compact cylindrical mass. The Doctor broke the tube and took it out. Here was a hard piece of metal ready for use. "It is wonderful, Mr. Clawbonny; you ought to be a proud man." "Not at all, my friend, I am only gifted with a good memory, and I have read a great deal." "How did that help you?" "Why, I just happened to recollect a fact related by Captain Ross in his voyages. He states that they pierced a plank, an inch thick, with a bullet made of mercury. Oil would even have suited my purpose, for, he adds, that a ball of frozen almond oil splits through a post without breaking in pieces." "It is quite incredible!" "But it is a fact, Johnson. Well, come now, this bit of metal may save our lives. We'll leave it exposed to the air a little while, and go and have a look for the bear." Just then Hatteras made his appearance, and the Doctor told him his project, and showed him the mercury. The captain grasped his hand silently, and the three hunters went off in quest of their game. [Illustration: ]