"You know," said the captain, "that the polar bears chase seals, which are their principal food. They watch for days at their breathing-holes, and seize them the moment they come upon the ice. So a bear will not be afraid of a seal; far from it."
"I understand your plan," said the doctor, "but it's dangerous."
"But there is a chance of success," answered the captain, "and we must try it. I am going to put on the sealskin and crawl over the ice. Let us lose no time. Load the gun and give it to me."
The doctor had nothing to say; he would himself have done what his companion was about to try; he left the house, carrying two axes, one for Johnson, the other for himself; then, accompanied by Hatteras, he went to the sledge.
There Hatteras put on the sealskin, which very nearly covered him. Meanwhile, Hatteras[*] loaded the gun with the last charge of powder, and dropped in it the quicksilver bullet, which was as hard as steel and as heavy as lead. Then he handed Hatteras the gun, which he hid beneath the sealskin. Then he said to the doctor,—
"You go and join Johnson; I shall wait a few moments to puzzle the enemy."
"Courage, Hatteras!" said the doctor.
"Don't be uneasy, and above all don't show yourselves before you hear my gun."
The doctor soon reached the hummock which concealed Johnson.