THE WINTER NIGHT 27 1 



shook. This was the first ice -pressure. Every one 

 rushed on deck to look. The Frani behaved beauti- 

 fully, as I had expected she would. On pushed the ice 

 with steady pressure, but down under us it had to go, 

 and we were slowly lifted up. These ' squeezings ' con- 

 tinued off and on all the afternoon, and were sometimes 

 so strong that the Fra77i was lifted several feet ; but then 

 the ice could no longer bear her, and she broke it below 

 her. Towards evening the whole slackened again, till 

 we lay in a good-sized piece of open water, and had hur- 

 riedly to moor her to our old floe, or we should have 

 drifted off. There seems to be a good deal of move- 

 ment in the ice here. Peter has just been telling us 

 that he hears the dull booming of strong pressures not 

 far off. 



" Tuesday, October loth. The ice continues dis- 

 turbed. 



" Wednesday, October 1 1 th. The bad news was 

 brought this afternoon that ' Job ' is dead, torn in pieces 

 by the other dogs. He was found a good way from the 

 ship, ' Old Suggen ' lying watching the corpse, so that 

 no other dog could get to it. They are wretches, these 

 dogs; no day passes without a fight. In the day-time 

 one of us is generally at hand to stop it, but at night 

 they seldom fail to tear and bite one of their comrades. 

 Poor 'Barabbas' is almost frightened out of his wits. 

 He stays on board now, and dares not venture on the 

 ice, because he knows the other monsters would set on 



