Later the boys helped the natives carry the canoes up close to the igloo where they would be sheltered from the worst of the storm.
Then they carried the contents of the little craft into the snow house.
They found to their delight that Kapje, with the foresight of his race, or, possibly, thinking that they would probably run into just such a storm as they had encountered, had provided for the emergency.
There were canned goods enough to keep them in comfort for several days and a tiny oil stove for their cooking. And when a fire had been made in the little stove and the contents of a can of pork and beans was sending out its tempting aroma, the boys felt that their contentment was complete.
The snow fell steadily all the rest of that afternoon and all night, but in the morning the storm had abated. It was clear, but bitterly cold. It did not take the boys long to realize that the thermometer had dropped several degrees during the hours they had been asleep.
However, refreshed by a good hot breakfast and feeling that they were at last close upon the trail of the guide Mooloo, they set off in high spirits, which even the bitter cold could not discourage.
They traveled steadily for several hours without meeting with further accident, and at last Kapje volunteered the information that they were nearing the little Eskimo settlement where Mooloo lived in his igloo with his wife and two small children.
The boys, half frozen as they were, felt their old eagerness reviving at this information, and when Kapje finally turned in toward the shore they had all they could do to keep from jumping into the icy water and beating the canoe to a landing.
Once on shore, it was only a short distance to the igloo of Mooloo, the guide, and soon they found themselves at the door of the snow house.
Then they followed Kapje and his son into the warmth of its interior.