Caught in the fog, they remained ten days in succession without beingable to see anything. The fishing went on handsomely the while, andwith so much to do there was no time for weariness. At regularintervals one of them blew a long fog-horn, whence issued a sound likethe howling of a wild beast.

　　Sometimes, out of the depths of white fog, another bellowing answeredtheir call. Then a sharper watch was kept. If the blasts wereapproaching, all ears were turned in the direction of that unknownneighbour, whom they might perhaps never see, but whose presence wasnevertheless a danger. Conjectures were made about the strange vessel;it became a subject of conversation, a sort of company for them; alllonging to see her, strained their eyes in vain efforts to piercethose impalpable white shrouds.

　　Then the mysterious consort would depart, the bellowing of her trumpetfading away in the distance, and they would remain again in the deephush, amid the infinity of stagnant vapour. Everything was drenchedwith salt water; the cold became more penetrating; each day the suntook longer to sink below the horizon; there were now real nights oneor two hours long, and their gray gloaming was chilly and weird.

　　Every morning they heaved the lead, through fear that the /Marie/might have run too near the Icelandic coast. But all the lines onboard, fastened end to end, were paid out in vain--the bottom couldnot be touched. So they knew that they were well out in blue water.

　　Life on board was rough and wholesome; the comfort in the snug strongoaken cabin below was enhanced by the impression of the piercing coldoutside, when they went down to supper or for rest.

　　In the daytime, these men, who ............