His eyes closed. Slumber held the strange trio, all unconscious of their perils, cast away on the frozen deep under the Polar star.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE ICE HUT.
When the breaking up of the ice occurred there were three parties who were imperiled by that occurrence besides the boys.
Those on board the Arctic had due warning, and, although the ship was badly shattered, the crew got it in order to run the dangerous course the chopping sea opened to it.
The seven sailors who had left the sled also saw their danger. They hurried towards the ship, and not one moment too soon reached its deck.
Then, driven rapidly forward, the Arctic sped on its way, unable to stop and aid those who had been left behind.
To the crew of the ship, as to Will Bertram and his companions, the fate of the two sailors, Jack and Hugo, was a mystery.
The old tars, however, had not been caught in the broken ice, but had reached a place of safety before extreme peril had come.
They had been engaged in conversing, and had not noticed the movements of the party searching for the bear, nor that the boys had wandered out of sight.