satisfaction at finding himself once more upon the deck of a
vessel floating upon the open sea. He felt that he was in his
element, and that the time had come for him to assume his proper
position as a sailor; but this feeling soon passed, and he
declared that his spine was like a long icicle.

"Don't you think we had better go down again?" said Sammy. "I
think we have all seen enough of this, and it isn't anything that
any use can be made of."

"You are right," said Mr. Gibbs; "let everybody go below."

But it was not easy for everybody to obey this command. The wet
decks were now covered with a thin surface of ice, and those who
had been standing still for a few moments found it difficult to
release their shoes from the flooring of the deck, while several
of the men slipped down as they made their way to the forward
hatch. As for Sarah Block, she found it impossible to move at
all. Her shoes were of a peculiar kind, the soles being formed
of thick felt, and these, having been soaked with water, had
frozen firmly to the deck. She tried to make a step and almost
fell over.

"Heavens and earth!" she screamed; "don't let this boat go down
and leave me standing outside!"

Her husband and two men tried to release her, but they could not
disengage her shoes from the deck; so Sammy was obliged to loosen
her shoe-strings, and then he and another man lifted her out of
her shoes and carried her to the hatchway, whence she very