The _Valhalla_ had either been crushed to atoms or been driven out to sea.
Tom clung to the last hope, and even told his sisters that she was sure to return for them soon.

He would not get downhearted.
"This is a queer business, Frank," he said with a light laugh, which had no sound of fun in it however; "but we must do the best we can till they come back.

Eh, Frank ?" "Yes, of course." But Pansy was clinging to Aralia, quietly crying.
"Well, Frank, we must live in the cave for a little, and so we had better get everything in, and be as jolly as we can." [Illustration] When they had got everything up to the cave, which took a long time, everybody had a good breakfast.

There was really enough food to last a week, and it was lucky there were several boxes of sardines, for Floss would take nothing else.
"It's going to be a big, big picnic," said Frank, and the girls began to laugh.

"We're going to have lots of fun." Frank and Tom could climb like monkeys, and in about an hour's time they had put all the food high up in a hole in the rock out of the reach of bears or foxes.
By twelve o'clock, when the sun was as high as it could get, the snow had disappeared, and once more there was a soft, warm breeze blowing, and beauty everywhere.
Two days flew by and nothing happened, only at night they could hear foxes barking in the distance.