Nothing loth, Leslie and Guy alighted, and began to stamp and swing their arms vigorously. Aubrey Hawke, picking up his rifle, gave the word, and the three set off briskly across the ice.
"This must be the end of the floe," declared Hawke. "See how the ice is piled up in great slabs. Evidently there has been a gale, and that accounts for the grotesque formation of this part of the ice. Be careful, it will be much more slippery. You two follow me, and look where you're treading."
[Illustration: A huge polar bear standing on its hind legs.
To face page 57.]
For about a hundred yards the party threaded their way between huge, frozen slabs of water, until their progress was barred by a steep wall of semi-transparent ice.
"Nothing doing this way," said Guy.
"Isn't everything still?" remarked Leslie.
The remark was justifiable. The solitude of the Arctic was most impressive. Not a living creature except the three human beings was to be seen. The absence of beast and bird seemed the strange part of the business. It was a land of utter solitude.
"Best make our way back," suggested Hawke. "I don't want the motor to be 'gummed' up again. The cold is almost enough to fracture the cylinders. And, hang it, why did I trouble to bring this rifle with me?"