"Do you feel sick, George?" said La Salle, anxiously, when the others were temporarily absent from the hut.
"O, no, Charley; don't fuss about me. I'm all right, only I've eaten a little too much of that fat meat, and taken scarcely any exercise," was the reply.
"Well, George, don't fail to let me know at once if you do feel sick, for my stock of medicines is limited, and I must do my doctoring during the first stages of the disease," said La Salle, gravely.
"Yes, I should judge so, doctor," laughed Waring; and, turning to the fire, he placed another stick under the cylinder, as if suffering from a chill.
At an hour before sunset they saw on their left hand, and, as nearly as they could judge, about twelve miles away, the high headland of Escumenac. The pack opened a little, for the wind had now been blowing for about three hours from the west, the air was very perceptibly colder, and the standing pools on the ice began to freeze. Under Le Salle's direction, Regnar cut a hole in the ice, which would hold about four pailsful of salt water, and filled it to overflowing, while Peter cut up a dozen of the decoys into junks three inches square, and piled them near the door.
As they entered the hut, they found Waring shivering over the fire. "I am afraid, Charley," stammered he, "that I am going to be very sick, for I can't keep warm to save my life."
