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 3 1 2 THE FUR COUNT R Y. enlarged the crevasse, and the house with all it contained had sunk to rise no more. Earth and sand were pouring through this fissure, at the bottom of which surged the tempest-tossed waves. Sabine's comrades, hearing his cries, rushed to his assistance, and were just in time to save him as he was still clinging to the slippery walls of the abyss. He escaped with a ducking which might have had tragic consequences. A little later the beams and planks of the house, which had slid under the island, were seen floating about in the offing like the spars of a wrecked vessel. This was the worst evil the storm had wrought, and would compromise the solidity of the island yet more, as the waves would now eat away the ice all round the crevasse. In the course of the 25th May, the wind veered ta the north-east, and although it blew strongly, it was no longer a hurricane ; the rain ceased, and the sea became calmer. After a quiet night the sun rose upon the desolate scene, the Lieutenant was able to take the bearings accurately, and obtained the following result : — At noon on the 25th May, Victoria Island was in latitude 56° 13', and longitude 170° 23'. It had therefore advanced at great speed, having drifted nearly eight hundred miles since the breaking up of the ice set it free in Behring Strait two months before. This great speed made the Lieutenant once more entertain a slight hope. He pointed out the Aleutian Islands on the map to his comrades, and said — " Look at these islands ; they are not now two hundred miles from us, and we may reach them in eight days." " Eight days ! " repeated Long, shaking his head ; " eight days is a long time." " I must add," continued Hobson, " that if our island had fol- lowed the hundred and sixty-eighth meridian, it would already have reached the parallel of these islands, but in consequence of a deviation of the Behring current, it is bearing in a south-westerly direction." The Lieutenant was right, the current seemed likely to drag the island away from all land, even out of sight of the Aleutian Islands, which only extend as far as the hundred and seventieth meridian. Mrs Barnett examined the map in silence. She saw the pencil- mark which denoted the exact spot then occupied by the islands