That evening Toby announced that the sea was calmer, but still too rough to freeze, and the next morning that the water was much "steadier," though yet not enough to freeze.
"If she keeps on steadyin' down I'm thinkin' by to-morrow marnin' she'll begin to fasten."
"I'm not half so hungry as I was," said Charley, "but I'll be just as glad to get away from here."
"That's the way I hears the Indians say 'tis," said Toby, "and that's the way 'tis with me. I wants to eat, but I'm not hankerin' after un the way I was first."
Another morning brought a calm, though still unfrozen, sea. The boys were early by the shore to scan eagerly the waters.
"She's smokin'!" exclaimed Toby. "She's smokin'! 'Tis a sure sign!"
"What do you mean?" asked Charley excitedly. "Do you mean that haze that hangs over the water?"
"Aye," explained Toby, "'tis what we calls the sea smoke."
But this time the sign failed, and another morning dawned with the sea still free from its wintry shackles. A gentle swell, but quite enough to prevent the hoped for freezing, was rolling in, and the boys, quite discouraged, returned to their fire.
"We can't stand it much longer," declared Charley, making no effort to conceal his discouragement. "I'm getting so weak I don't believe I can ever walk to Double Up Cove, even if it does freeze. I'm weak and I'm sleepy all the time. We've been days without eating, and even when it does freeze you say we'll have to wait a day or two before the ice outside will be strong enough to bear our weight."