CHAPTER VI. 



THE WINTER NIGHT. 



IT really looked as if we were now frozen in for good, 

 and I did not expect to get the Frain out of the ice till 

 we were on the other side of the Pole, nearing the 

 Atlantic Ocean. Autumn was already well advanced ; 

 the sun stood lower in the heavens day by day ; and the 

 temperature sank steadily. The long night of winter 

 was approaching that dreaded night. There was 

 nothing to be done except prepare ourselves for it, and 

 by degrees we converted our ship, as well as we could, 

 into comfortable winter quarters ; while at the same time 

 we took every precaution to assure her against the 

 destructive influences of cold, drift-ice, and the other 

 forces of nature to which it was prophesied that we must 

 succumb. The rudder was hauled up, so that it might 

 not be destroyed by the pressure of the ice. We had 

 intended to do the same with the screw ; but as it, with 

 its iron case, would certainly help to strengthen the stern, 

 and especially the rudder stock, we let it remain in its 

 place. We had a good deal of work with the engine, 



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