In the Great White Land by Gordon Stables

It would not be far wrong to say that for the next month or six weeks, ere the sun went finally down, Hope sustained the hearts of our heroes almost as much as did the food they ate.

That there was a bad time before them they seemed to feel. Coming events cast their shadows before. But they wanted to have the shadow over and done with, and come to the dark stern reality itself.

They meant to make a bold stand for life anyhow.

Moreover, the behaviour of the Yak-Yaks themselves gave them additional courage. They pooh-poohed the winter darkness. Sheelah and Taffy were quite gay now, and made every one who heard them talk, more happy. Their own tongue is singularly sweet and labial, but even their broken English sounded musical.

"Fo' de cold and de dark I no care -- Pah! " cried Sheelah, snapping her eyes.

The younger Taffy waxed even sentimental over the thoughts of the winter.

"The col' plenty much I lub," she said, "and de night, oh, I lubs plenty much mo'."

And these two strange little women went about all day long, humming little songs to themselves, but working as hard as honey-bees.

As the days grew shorter and shorter, the scenery in fine weather grew more mysterious, the hills and the snow assumed tints, ay, and strong colours, that were often magically beautiful.

Cold as it now was, it was a positive delight for our heroes to get away some distance from the cave-camp, and behold a sunset or a sunrise. Oh, you didn't require to get up at all early now, reader, to see a sunrise.

Will the day ever come, I wonder, when the artist will be able, in colours, to interpret the descriptions which the author and student of nature try to depict?

Till then, much, so very much, must be left to the imagination.

No one in this country, probably, has ever seen a vermilion sun. But this is what greeted the eyes of our heroes on one of the last, short days of autumn.

A sun that you could gaze at unflinchingly, for it was rayless, gaze at and wonder.

In all their difficulties the boys appealed to Curtis, for whom, young though he was, they had the very highest respect. On this occasion, however, he owned up, as young folks say, that he was a little puzzled, for there was neither fog nor haze upon the earth, whatever there might be very high up. But yonder was the sun all day long, figuratively speaking, turned to blood.

Mac averred that it wasna canny, and that something was sure to follow.

Well, night followed, anyhow, and a long and dreary one it was, with ne'er a star, although the sky, to all appearance, was cloudless.

About this time it was noticed that the bears got altogether more friendly together. Gruff no longer kept Growley in his corner, and he ceased to show his affection to his "sonsy" wife; I mean he whacked her no more.

For a whole week they were ravenously hungry, and one night they stole more of the frozen seal-flesh, and devoured it, than would have served to feed the dogs for a fortnight.

They were missing that night.