One day great lumps of white snow-clad ice came floating by, and that
same evening the crow's-nest was hoisted high, high up at the very top of
the main-mast. The crow's-nest was like a big barrel with a lid at the
bottom, Pansy said, and Tom, or the mate, used to climb and crawl through
the bottom, and stand, spy-glass in hand, and look all about them.

"Oh," cried Pansy one day, "shouldn't I like to get up just once!
Wouldn't you, Ara?"

"But we could never climb up," sighed her sister.

The clever professor heard them, and lo and behold! the very next day he
had a kind of easy-chair ready for them to go up in. He himself sat down
in it with the children, and up they were hoisted, up and up. It was so
fearsome that the girls shut their eyes and clung to Pete, but when they
did open them what a sight they saw!

They were not far off the main pack, and as far as the eye could see was
one vast field of snow-covered ice. Their eyes were dazzled in looking at
it.

They were not in the crow's-nest, but close beside it, and Pete made them
look through the spy-glass. This was wonderful, for away yonder to the
north, and near to the edge of the pack, where the sea looked as black
as ink, they could see four great ships, with their crews on the ice,
shooting seals and dragging skins. But in two hours' time the _Valhalla_
herself got north as far as these ships, and was stopped.

Neither of the girls felt cold, for they wore great mits and hoods, and