The men in the hut adjoining our prison no longer talked sufficiently loud for us to hear, or when they did, there were so many speaking at the same time that we could not make out clearly the subject of the conversation. The snow was still falling; but the air was rapidly growing colder, and I had little question that the storm would soon cease, for the temperature must have been several degrees below zero. To remain in this place, every corner of which was searched out by the wind, would have been to freeze, and we ran to and fro as best we might, thrashing our arms together with such a noise that some one in the hut cried with a laugh:-- “The Yankee cubs won’t be idle this night, that I’ll venture to say;” and another, who may have had boys of his own at home, added:-- “It is barbarous to leave them there without so much as a blanket. If the shed was filled with snow, into which they might burrow, it would not be so bad.” “A bit of chill won’t do them any harm, and in case they get home again it will serve to show the braggarts there what awaits them if they persist in believing it possible to prevent Britain from ruling the sea, or the land either, for that matter.” “We may make as much noise as pleases us, and those fellows will think only that we are trying to keep warm,” Alec whispered. “Well!” I replied, not understanding for the moment what he meant. “How much of satisfaction will you find in making a noise?” “This much,” the lad replied; and from that moment I understood that, despite the lack of years, he was my superior in such knowledge as became one who would be a soldier: “Instead of walking idly to and fro, what prevents us from spending our strength in trying to dislodge some of these logs?” There was nothing to prevent it, as I admitted to myself; but how might we set about it? Work of any kind would be welcome, yet it was necessary young Perry show me how it might be begun. And that he did, after looking about for a moment, feeling of the joints in each corner where the timbers were simply laid one upon another, and only slightly dovetailed together. “The uppermost one should be pushed aside easiest,” he said at length, “for no more than the weight of the roof rests upon it.” “Yet you must have something as a lever with which to work.” “I will use my shoulder, if it so be you can hold me on your back.” “That I will do, and for so long a time as you wish,” I replied, with but little faith that he might succeed in his purpose. It was true nothing save the weight of the roof rested upon these uppermost logs; but this was formed of green saplings, which, when taken as a whole, would prove a burden far too heavy for both of us, even though we could come at it handily, so I said to myself. However, there was no harm in trying; and so much good would come of it that even in the failure we should be gaining needed exercise to keep us warm.