MERCUR Y FREEZES. 1 3 9 would of course thwart all bis plans for hunting in the early spring. Moreover, he sometimes heard subterranean rumblings, which were evidently connected with the volcanic eruption. The western horizon still glowed with the reflection of the burning lava, and it was evident that some great convulsion was going on in the bowels of the earth. Might not the close vicinity of an active volcano be dangerous to the new fort ? Such was the question which the subterranean rumblings forced upon the mind of the Lieutenant, but he kept his vague apprehensions to himself. Of course under these circumstances no one dreamt of leaving the house. The animals were well provided for, and being accus- tomed to long fasts in the winter, required no attention from their masters, so that there really was no necessity for any exposure out of doors. It was difficult enough to endure the inside tempera- ture, even with the help of a plentiful combustion of wood and oil ; for, in spite of every precaution, damp crept into the ill-ventilated rooms, and layers of ice, increasing in thickness every day, were formed upon the beams. The condensers were choked up, and one of them burst from the pressure of the ice. Lieutenant Hobson did not spare his fuel ; he was, in fact, rather lavish of it in his anxiety to raise the temperature, which, when the fires got low — as of course sometimes happened — fell to 15° Fahrenheit. The men on guard, who relieved each other every hour, had strict orders to keep up the fires, and great was the dismay of the Lieutenant when Sergeant Long said to iiim one day — " We shall be out of wood soon ! " " Out of wood ! " exclaimed Hobson. " I mean our stock is getting low, and we must lay in fresh stores soon. Of course I know, though, that it will be at the risk of his life that any one goes out in this cold ! " " Yes," replied Hobson. " It was a mistake not to build the wooden shed close to the house, and to make no direct communica- tion with it. I see that now it is too late. I ought not to have forgotten that we were going to winter beyond the seventieth parallel. But what 's done can't be undone. How long will the wood last % " " There is enough to feed the furnace and stove for another two or three days," replied the Sergeant. " Let us hope by that time that the severity of the cold may
