being finally beset by ice, from which all efforts on the part of the
men to extricate her proved abortive, and in which she was ultimately
frozen in, hard and fast.

The first sight the crew obtained of the red snow filled them with
unbounded amazement, and a few of the more superstitious amongst them
with awe approaching to fear. But soon their attention was attracted
from this by the wonderful column.

"Och, then! may I niver!" exclaimed O'Riley, the moment he caught sight
of it, "if there ben't the north pole at long last--_sure_ enough!"

The laugh that greeted this remark was almost immediately checked,
partly from the feelings of solemnity inspired by the magnificent view
which opened up to them, and partly from a suspicion on the part of the
more ignorant among the men that there might be some truth in O'Riley's
statement after all.

But their attention and energies were speedily called to the dangerous
position of the ship, which unexpectedly took the ground in a bay where
the water proved to be unusually shallow, and before they could warp her
off the ice closed round her in compact, immovable masses. At first
Captain Guy was not seriously alarmed by this untoward event, although
he felt a little chagrin in consequence of the detention, for the summer
was rapidly advancing, and it behoved him to return to Baffin's Bay and
prosecute the whale-fishing as energetically as possible; but when day
after day passed, and the ice round the ship still remained immovable,
he became alarmed, and sought by every means in his power to extricate
himself.