Giving him a glass of wine, they left him, and in a few minutes his regular breathing showed that he slept again.
By this time the joint of seal was roasted, and the little party of three sat down together.
"What can that noise come from?" exclaimed our hero, as he stayed his fork halfway to his mouth to listen.
"I heard it once or twice before," returned Jack, "but thought it rats."
"Faith, but I hope there's no ghosts here," cried Bok. "Heaven stand between us and harm."
"Bah! don't be foolish. It's rats, sure enough."
It was not long after this that the sick man sat up to partake of more food.
This done, he told his story.
He said he belonged to the whaler, Cross of Gold, which had been caught in a large icepack.
"This pack we attempted to cross," continued the sailor, "by dragging our boats over rollers we had brought with us.