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 THE LARGE POLAR BEARS. T47 until the animal shoved its head between the door and the wall, discharged the contents into its open mouth. The bear fell backwards, mortally wounded no doubt, and the door was shut and securely fastened. The body of the Sergeant was then carried into the large room. But, alas ! the fire was dying out. How was it possible to restore the vital heat with no means of obtaining warmth 1 " I will go — I will go and fetch some wood ! " cried the blacksmith Rae. " Yes, Rae, we will go together ! " exclaimed Mrs Barnett, whose courage was unabated. " No, my friends, no ! " cried Hobson ; " you would fall victims to the cold, or the bears, or both. Let us burn all there is to burn in the house, and leave the rest to God ! " And the poor half-frozen settlers rose and laid about them with their hatchets like madmen. Benches, tables, and partition walls were thrown down, broken up, crushed to pieces, and piled up in the stove of the large room and kitchen furnace. Very soon good lires were burning, on which a few drops of walrus-oil were poured, so that the temperature of the rooms quickly rose a dozen degrees. Every effort was made to restore the Sergeant. He was rubbed with warm rum, and gradually the circulation of his blood was restored. The white blotches with which parts of his body were covered began to disappear • but he had suffered dreadfully, and several hours elapsed before he could articulate a word. He was laid in a warm bed, and Mrs Barnett and Madge watched by him until the next morning. Meanwhile Hobson, Mac-Nab, and Rae consulted how best to escape from their terrible situation. It was impossible to shut their eyes to the fact that in two days this fresh supply of fuel would be exhausted, and then, if the cold continued, what would become of them all 1 The new moon had risen forty-eight hours ago, and there was no sign of a change in the weather 1 The north wind still swept the face of the country with its icy breath ; the barometer remained at " fine dry weather ; " and there was not a vapour to be seen above the endless succession of ice-fields. There was reason to fear that the intense cold would last a long time yet, but what was to be done ? Would it do to try once more to get to the wood- shed, when the bears had been roused by the shot, and rendered doubly dangerous 1 Would it be possible to attack these dreadful creatures