We're off! we're off! we're off again
To sail upon the rolling main.
The ice no longer holds us fast,
We're sailing safe and free at last!

This is what the Weathercock sang loud and clear the next morning.

It woke up Marjorie with a start, and running to the porthole she saw that they were once more upon the ocean blue.

"How did it happen?" she asked, turning to her faithful friend on the flagpole, who was still crowing and flapping his wings at a great rate. "How did it all happen?"

"While you were asleep, my dear little Madge," answered the Weathercock.

"I didn't ask you when, I asked you how," laughed Marjorie, for she was delighted, you see, to be once more sailing over the great big ocean.

"You'd better not ask me any more questions," said the Weathercock quickly. "You just better hurry up and dress and ask Capt. Noah what he is going to do about the castaways."

"The what?" gasped Marjorie.

"The castaways. The two polar bears who are still on the iceberg."

"Goodness gracious!" she cried. "I'll hurry and get on my boots. I must tell Capt. Noah at once."

In a few minutes she was running down to the lower cabin.

"Capt. Noah! Capt. Noah!" she shouted. "Capt. Noah, the polar bears are left on the iceberg!"

The captain, who had overslept himself, put his head out of his cabin door.

"What is all the excitement about?" he asked sleepily.

"The bears are left on the iceberg!" shouted Marjorie again.

"Well, that's all right. I told them they could stay out all night. They will come aboard for breakfast, no doubt!"

"They can't! They can't!" cried Marjorie in great excitement. "The Ark is afloat again and we are sailing away."

"Blubber and rubber!" exclaimed the captain, now even more excited than the little girl.

"Mother!" he cried, "the Ark's afloat and two of our passengers are still ashore!"

Mrs. Noah opened her eyes.

"What did you say, my dear?" she asked, sleepily.

The captain by this time had pulled on his sailor suit and, closing the cabin door with a bang, rushed out on deck, with Marjorie close at his heels.

In the distance the iceberg could be seen indistinctly through the morning mist.

"Hard-a-port!" shouted Capt. Noah.

Mr. Jonah, who was at the wheel, woke up with a start. He was so tired with cutting the ice the day before that he had fallen sound asleep at his post.

"You landlubber," cried Capt. Noah. "What do you mean by falling asleep?"

"This is my first experience before the mast," apologized poor Jonah. "I've always been a passenger. Please don't get provoked."

"Provoked!" yelled Capt. Noah. "Provoked! I feel like throwing you overboard!"

"Steer for the iceberg!"

"I won't throw you overboard until later!"

Mr. Jonah heaved a sigh of relief, for at first I guess he thought he'd have to go back to the Whale without having the chance of Capt. Noah cooling off.

Marjorie stood close to the rail, straining her eyes for a glimpse of the polar bears.

The three Noah boys now came on deck, and Ham handed the spyglass to his father.

"I see them! I see them!" cried Capt. Noah. "One of them is waving a flag!"

"Let me look," said Marjorie, who was dreadfully worried about them.

Yes, there they were. On the top of the berg she could dimly see two figures and a white object waving back and forth. The sea was getting rough and the Ark rolled about in a most uncomfortable manner.

The Weathercock clung tightly to his post, however, and flapped his wings now and then.

"Look out!" he cautioned as the Ark neared the berg. "Be careful or you'll stave a hole in the Ark!"

"Hurry up!" shouted the polar bears. "We're nearly starved. We want our breakfast."

"Want your breakfast!" muttered Capt. Noah under his breath. "You'll be wanting something more than breakfast if we don't find a way to get you aboard!"

"Let them swim!" suggested Ham.

"Run up close and let them jump!" advised Shem.

"Let them fly!" chuckled Japheth, unsympathetically, who was somewhat tired of feeding the animals and felt that two less would not be such an awful thing after all.

"Nothing of the sort," cried Capt. Noah. "I am responsible for the safety of every passenger. I will take no such chances."

"What are we going to do, then?" asked Mr. Jonah, looking over the side of the Ark to make sure that it was not getting too close to the dangerous berg, which jutted out in ragged points beneath the water.

"Launch the life-boat!" commanded Capt. Noah. "Who will volunteer?"

"I will!" cried Ham, and in less time than I can take to tell it, Ham and his trained monkeys lowered the boat and jumped in.

"Shove off!" commanded Cockswain Ham, and with a strong pull and a loud "Yo-ho!" the little boat shot away.

Ham held firmly to the tiller and kept the bow pointed toward the big rollers, while the monkeys handled the oars.

"Pull for the shore, sailor, pull for the shore," sang the Weathercock.

The bears, who had slid down the iceberg close to the water's edge, stood anxiously waiting.

"Careful, now!" cried Ham. "Pull on your starboard oar!"

The boat grazed the iceberg. "Jump!" shouted Ham. "Quick!"

And then one of the bears gave a spring and landed in the boat. His mate, however, slipped, and a big wave at that moment whirled the boat away from the ice, and with a big splash he landed in the water.

"Throw him a life-preserver!" shouted Capt. Noah.

"Throw him a life line!" yelled Shem.

"Throw him the anchor!" growled Japheth, who never had liked the Polar Bears, I guess.

But Cockswain Ham was not the least bit rattled. He steered the boat toward the frightened bear and told him to catch hold.

"Now pull for all you're worth!" shouted Ham to the monkeys, "and we'll tow Brother Bear."

But, oh, dear me! The great waves kept washing over the little boat, and the two monkeys had a hard time rowing with that great heavy bear dragging on the stern.

"They'll be swamped!" screamed Mrs. Noah, as a tremendous great wave dashed over the little life-boat.

"Bail, bail, you lubber!" shouted Ham. "We'll all be in Davy Jones's locker if you don't!"

Well, pretty soon they came alongside the Ark, and Capt. Noah let down a rope ladder, up which the two bears managed to scramble after a hard struggle.

And after that Cockswain Ham and his gallant crew came aboard, and the life-boat was hoisted up on deck.

Motherly Mrs. Noah at once put the two bears to bed after a hot mustard bath and a drink of Jamaica ginger.

"Well, this beats the old days all holler!" exclaimed Capt. Noah. "We never had such accidents on my first voyage. It just rained and rained for forty days and forty nights."

"That's the truth, my dear," agreed Mrs. Noah. "I remember it very well. Ham was just a baby, and the other two boys were little fellows. It was hard work finding something new for them to do each day. Rainy days on board ship—well, I never want to go through with it again."

"I should think your boys would think you're just lovely," said little Marjorie.

"Well, I guess we do," said Ham, kissing his mother. "You know we do, mother dear."

"Of course I do," she replied, giving him a hug.

"Go and kiss your mother," said Capt. Noah to Shem and Japheth, "or she won't give you any breakfast."

And then they both ran over to her and kissed her, glad of an excuse to show their real feelings.

"Now, come and get something nice and hot for breakfast," said Mrs. Noah, "for if we don't eat breakfast pretty soon, we'll have to call it lunch."

And in the next chapter you shall hear of a dreadful collision, but don't worry, for I shan't let anything happen to little Marjorie and the kind Noah family.