“Axel,” replied the Professor with perfect coolness, “our situation is almost desperate; but there are some chances of deliverance, and it is these that I am considering. If at every instant we may perish, so at every instant we may be saved. Let us then be prepared to seize upon the smallest advantage.”

“But what shall we do now?”

“Recruit our strength by eating.”

At these words I fixed a haggard eye upon my uncle. That which I had been so unwilling to confess at last had to be told.

“Eat, did you say?”

“Yes, at once.”

The Professor added a few words in Danish, but Hans shook his head mournfully.

“What!” cried my uncle. “Have we lost our provisions?”