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THE LOG OF THE "FLYING FISH,'

LIEUTENANT MILDMAY RUNS FOR HIS LIFE.

THE

LOG OF THE "FLYING FISH;"

A STOKY OF AEEIAL AND
SUBMAEINE PEEIL AND ADYENTUEE.

BY
HARRY COLLINGWOOD, ^^^^

Author of "The Congo Rovers;" "The Pirate Island;" "The Missing Merchantman;" Ac.

WITH TWELVE FULL-PAQE ILLUSTRATIONS
Br GORDON BROWNE.

( T ^. ^^S NiiilSM h^>^ i ^^

NEW YORK

SCEIBNEE AND WELFOED
743 & 745 BROADWAY.

IteA,

!\*Cu

CONTENTS.

Chap. Page
I. Professor von Schalckenberg makes a startling Sug-
gestion, 9

II. The Kealization of a Scientist's Dream, 25

III. The "Flying Fish," 32

IV. The novel Beginning of a singular Voyage, ... 55
V. A Submarine Excursion, 75

VI. In Search of a submerged Wreck, 90

VII. En Route for the North Pole, 105

VIII. A Superb Spectacle, 119

IX. An Exciting Adventure and a Eescue, . . . . . .136

X. The "Humboldt" Glacier, 153

XL An Interesting Relic, 170

XII. Another Startling Discovery, 185

XIII. At the North Pole, 204

XIV. Southward Ho! 219

XV. A Troop of Unicorns, 231

XVI. A Battle on Lake Tanganyika, 249

XVII. A Native Chieftain's Visit to Cloudland, .... 265

XVIII. King M'Bongwele is temporarily reduced to Submis-
sion, 280

XIX. King M'Bongwele turns the Tables upon his Visitors, 295

XX. The History of certain Distressed Damsels, . . . 312

XXL Retribution overtakes King M'Bongwele, . . . . 331

XXII. An Adventure on the top of Mount Everest, . . . 346

XXIII. How the Adventure terminated, 358

XXIV. The Foundering of the "Mercury," 368

r^o/s c^c^/\ Q

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page
Lieutenant Mildmay runs for his Life, . . Frontispiece. 195

At Dessert before the Start, 59

A Fight with the Conger- eels, 80

The "Flying Fish" and the Barque in the Jaws of Death, 147

Colonel Lethbridge discovers a Diamond Mine, .... 209

The Professor appears after berthing the "Flying Fish," 230

The Unicorn Hunters in retreat for the Ship, .... 246

A Squadron of Mounted Warriors put to Flight, . . . 262

The Professor and his Comrades in the Hands of the
Savages, 305

The "Flying Fish" destroys King M'Bongwele's Palisade, 339

An Adventure on Mount Everest, 856

" Thank God, we have saved her ! " ejaculated Sir Reginald, 378

THE LOG OF THE ^^LYING FISH."

CHAPTER I

PROFESSOR VON SCHALCKENBERG MAKES A STARTLING
SUGGESTION.

HE " Migrants' " Club stands on the most delight-
ful site in all London ; and it is, as the few who
are intimately acquainted with it know full
well, one of the most cosy and comfortable clubs in the
great metropolis.

It is by no means a famous club; the building itself
has a very simple, unpretentious elevation, with nothing
whatever about it to attract the attention of the passer-
by; but its interior is fitted up in such a style of combined
elegance and comfort, and its domestic arrangements are
so perfect, as to leave nothing to be desired.

Its numerous members are essentially wanderers upon
the face of the earth — that is the one distinguishing
characteristic wherein they most widely differ from their
fellow-men — they are ceaseless travellers; mighty hunters
in far-off lands ; adventurous yachtsmen; eager explorers;
with a small sprinkling of army and navy men. Their

10 THE SMOKE-ROOM OF THE "MIGRANTS'."

visits to their club are infrequent in the extreme; but,
during the brief and widely separated intervals when
they have the opportunity to put in an appearance there,
they like to be made thoroughly comfortable; and no
pains are spared to secure their complete gratification in
this respect.

The smoke-room of the " Migrants' " presented an
appearance of especial comfort and attractiveness on a
certain cold and stormy February evening a few years
ago. A large fire blazed in the polished steel grate and
roared cheerfully up the chimney, in rivalry of the wind,
w^hich howled and scuffled and rumbled in the flue higher
up. An agreeable temperature pervaded the room, making
the lashing of the fierce rain on the window-panes sound
almost pleasant as one basked in the light and warmth
of the apartment and contrasted it with the state of cold
and wet and misery which reigned supreme outside. A
dozen opal-shaded gas-burners brilliantly lighted the
room, and revealed the fact that it was handsomely and
liberally furnished with luxurious divans, capacious easy-
chairs, a piano, a table loaded with the papers and
periodicals of the day, an enormous mirror over the black
marble mantel-piece, a clock with a set of silvery chimes
for the quarters, and a deep, mellow-toned gong for the
hours, and so many pictures that the whole available
surface of the walls was completely covered with them.
These pictures — executed in both oil and water-colour —
represented out-of-the-way scenes visited, or incidents
participated in by the members who had executed them,
and all possessed a considerable amount of artistic merit;
it being a rule of the club that every picture should be
submitted to a hanging committee of distinctly artistic

THE PROFESSOR AND THE BARONET. 11

members before it could be allowed a place upon the
smoke-room walls.

The occupants of the room on the evening in question

[ were four in number. One, a German, known as the
Professor Heinrich von Schalckenberg, was half buried
in the recesses of a huge arm-chair, from the depths of

^ which he perused the pages of the Science Monthly,
smoking meanwhile a pipe with a huge elaborately carved
meerschaum bowl and a long cherry-wood stem. From
the ferocious manner in which he glared through his
spectacles at the pages of the magazine, from the im-
patience with which he from time to time dashed his
disengaged hand through the masses of his iron-gray hair,

; and from the frequent ejaculations of "Pish!" "Psha!"
" Ach!" and so on which escaped his lips, accompanied by
vast volumes of smoke, it seemed evident that he was
not altogether at one with the author whose article he
was perusing. He was an explorer and a scientist.

Near the Herr Professor there reclined upon a divan
the form of Sir Reginald Elphinstone, sometimes called
by his friends "the handsome baronet," said to be the
richest commoner in England. At the age of thirty-five,
having freely exposed himself to all known sources of
peril, except those involved in a trip to the Polar regions,
in his eager pursuit of sport and adventure. Sir Reginald
seemed, for the moment, to have no object left him in life
but to shoot as many rings as possible of cigar-smoke
through each other, as he lay there on the divan in an
attitude more easy than elegant.

Square in front of the fire, dreamily puffing at his cigar
and apparently studying the merits of a painting hanging
behind him, and on the reflected image of which in the

12 HOW THE MATTER ORIGINATED.

mirror before him his eyes lazily rested, sat Cyril Leth-
bridge, ex-colonel of the Royal Engineers, a successful
gold-seeker, and almost everything else to which a spice
of adventure could possibly attach itself.

And next him again, on the side of the fire-place
opposite to the Herr Professor, lounged Lieutenant Edward
Mildmay, KN.

The lieutenant was skimming through the daily papers.
Presently he looked up and remarked to the colonel:

" I see that some Frenchmen have been making experi-
ments in the navigation of balloons."

"Ah, indeed!" responded the colonel, with his head
thrown critically on one side, and his eyes still fixed on
the reflection of the picture. "And with what result?"

" Oh, failure, of course."

"And failure it always will be. The thing is simply
an impossibility," remarked the colonel.

" No, bardon me, colonel, id is not an imbossibilidy by
any means."

This from the professor.

"Indeed? Then how do you account for it, professor,
that all attempts to navigate a balloon have hitherto
failed?" asked the colonel.

"Begause, my dear zir, the aeronauts have never yed
realized all the requiremends of zuccess," replied the
professor, laying down his magazine as though quite
prepared to go thoroughly into the question.

The colonel accepted the challenge, and, rousing himself
from his semi-recumbent posture, said:

" That is quite possible ; but what are the requirements
of success?"

The professor knocked the ashes out of his meerschaum.

THE PROFESSOR BEGINS TO EXPOUND. 13

refilled it with the utmost deliberation, carefully lighted
it, gave a few vigorous puffs, and replied:

" The requiremends of zuccess in balloon navigation are
very zimilar to those which enable a man to draverse the
ocean. If a man wants to make a voyage agross the
ocean he embargs in a ship, not on a life-buoy. Now a
balloon is nothing more than a life-buoy; id zusdains a
man, but that is all. Id drifts aboud with the currends
of air jusd as a life-buoy drifts aboud with the currends
of ocean, and the only advandage which the aeronaud has
over the man with the life-buoy is thad the former can
ascend or descend in search of a favourable air currend,
whereas the ladder is obliged do dake the ocean currends
as they come."

"Very true," remarked the colonel; "and what do you
deduce from that, professor?"

"I deduse from thad thad the man who wands to
navigade the air musd do as his brother the sailor does,
he musd have a ship.''

" Well, is not a balloon a sort of air ship ? "

"You may gall it zo iv you like, colonel, I do nod; I
call it merely a buoy," returned the professor. " A shijy is
zomething gabable of moving in the elemend which
zustains it; a balloon is ingabable of any indebendend
movement in the air; it drifts aboud at the mercy of
every idle wind that blows. Id is like a ship on a breath-
less sea; withoud any means of brobulsion the ship lies
motionless, or drifts at the mercy of the currends. Bud
give the ship a means of brobulsion, and navigation ad
once begomes bossible. And zo will it be with bal-
loons."

" Well, that has already been tried," remarked the

14 THE UNFOLDING OF THE IDEA.

colonel; " but the buoyancy of a balloon is too slight to
permit of its being fitted with engines and a boiler."

"My vriendt," said the professor impressively, "whad
would you think of the man who tried to pud the engines
and boilers of an Atlantic liner in a leedle boad?"

" I should think him an unmitigated ass," retorted the
colonel.

"Jusd so. Yed thad is whad the aeronauds have
been doing; they have been drying to make the leedle
boad-balloon garry the brobelling bower of the aerial
ship. In other words, they have not made their balloons
large enough."

" Then you think they have not yet reached the prac-
tical limit to the size of a balloon?" asked the colonel.

" They have — very nearly — if balloons are do be made
only of silk," was the reply. " Bud if navigable balloons
are to be gonsdrugded, aeronauds musd durn do other
maderials and adobd another form. As I said before,
they musd build a shih, and she musd be of sufficiend
size to float in the air and to garry all her eguip-
ments."

" But such an aerial ship would be a veritable monster^'
protested the colonel.

" Zo are the Adlandic liners of the presend day," quietly
answered the professor.

"Phew!" whistled the colonel. The baronet rose from
the divan, flung away the stump of his cigar, and settled
himself to listen, and perhaps take part in the singular
conversation.

" And of what would you build your aerial ship, pro-
fessor?" asked the colonel when he had in some measure
recovered from his astonishment.

A DIFFICULT TASK. 15

"Of the lighdescl and, ad the zame dime, sdrongesd
maderial I gould find," answered the professor. " Once
get the aeronaud to realize thad greadly ingreased bulk
and a difFerend form are necessary, and id will nod be
long before he will find a suitable building maderial. Iv
I were an aeronaud I should dry medal."

" Metal !" exclaimed the colonel. " Oh, come, professor;
now you are romancing, you know. A ship of metal
would never float in the atmosphere."

" A zimilar remarg was made nod zo very many years
ago when id was suggesded that ocean shibs could be
buildt of medal," retorted the professor. '' Yed there are
thousands of medal shibs in exisdenze do-day; and there
can be no doubt as do the facd thad they fload. And zo
will an aerial shib. The gread — in facd the only difli-
guldy in the madder is thad air is eight hundred dimes
lighder than wader; and an air shib of given dimensions
musd therefore be ad leasd eight hundred dimes lighder
than her ocean sisder do enable her do fload in the atmo-
sphere. The broblem, then, is this: How are you to
gonsdrugt a medal shib, of given dimensions, sdrong
enough do hold dogether and withsdand the shock of
goming do earth, yed of less weighd than her own bulk
of air? With the medals hitherdoo ad our disbosal, I
admid thad the dask is a diffiguld one; bud I maindain
thad id is by no means an imbossibilidy. An ocean shib
musd be buildt sdrong enough nod only do susdain the
weighd of her gargo — often amounding do upwards of
a thousand dons — bud also do withstand the dremendous
and incessandly varying sdrain do which she is exbosed
when garrying thad gargo through a moundainous sea.
This enormous sdrength necessidades the use of a gorres-

16 THE KEY TO THE SOLUTION.

bonding thickness — and therefore weighd — of the medal
used in her gonsdruction. Such brovision would of gourse
be unnecessary in the gase of an aerial shib; begause no
one would dream of garrying an ounze of unnecessary
weighd through the air; and there are no moundain seas
in the admosphere to sdrain a shib. A vasd saving in
weighd would resuld from these zirgumsdances alone;
and a further saving — zufficiend, I believe, to aggomblish
the desired object — gan, no doubd, be efFecded by skilful
engineers, one of whose greadesd driumphs id is do design
sdrugdures in which the maximum of sdrength is zecured
with the minimum of weighd. Id musd nod be forgodden,
either, thad an air shib musd, in one imbordand bardi-
gular, be dreated exactly like her ocean sisder. An ocean
shib gonsdrugded, say, of sdeel, will sink if filled with
wader, begause sdeel is heavier than wader, bulk for bulk;
bud bump oud all the wader from her inderior, and if she
be proberly gonsdrugded, she will fload on the elemend
she is indended do navigade. And the same with an air
shib: bump out all or nearly all the air which she gon-
dains, and if she be gonsdrugded in aggordanze with the
brincibles I have indigaded, she will fload in the lighder
elemend."

" Upon my word, professor, you have argued your case
extremely well," exclaimed the colonel. '* I can see only
one difficulty in the way; and that is in the matter of
weight"

"Which diffiguldy I have gombledely gonquered,"
triumphantly exclaimed the professor, rising excitedly
from his seat with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes.
" Do me, Heinrich von Schalckenberg, belongs the honor
and glory of having made dwo mosd imbordand dis-

(359)

" ^THEREUM.''' 17

goveries, disgoveries of ingalgulable value do the worldt,
disgoveries which will enable me do soar ad will indo the
highesd regions of the embyrean, do skim the surface of
the ocean, or do blunoe do ids lowesd debths."

"Bravo, professor; that was positively dramatic!" ex-
claimed the baronet. " You have mistaken your business,
my dear sir; you were undoubtedly born to be an actor.
But what are these two most important discoveries of
which you so exultantly speak?"

" They are a new medal and a new power," exclaimed
the professor. Then, fumbling in his breast-pocket, he
drew forth a wallet from which he extracted a small
rectangular plate of — apparently — polished silver. It
measured about five inches long by four inches broad,
and was about a quarter of an inch thick.

" There, Sir Reginald," he exclaimed, offering the plate
to the baronet, " dell me whad you think of thad."

" Very pretty indeed," commented Sir Reginald, as he
held out his hand to take it. "What is it? Silver?
Phew! No; it can't be that," as his fingers closed upon
it; "it is far too light for silver. Why, it seems to be
absolutely devoid of weight altogether. What is it, pro-
fessor?"

"Thad, my good sir, is my new medal, which I gall
' oitliereum begause of ids wonderful lighdness. See
here."

There was a WQry handsome cut glass water-jug, full,
standing on the table in a capacious salver of hammered
brass. The professor took up the jug and emptied it into
the salver, almost filling the latter. Then he laid the
glittering slab of metal down on the surface of the water,
where it floated as buoyantly as though it had been an

(359) B

18 AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.

empty box constructed of the lightest cardboard. The
professor raised the salver from the table and agitated
the water, to show that the metal actually floated.

"Why, it floats as lightly as a cork!" exclaimed the
colonel in the utmost astonishment.

'' Korg!" exclaimed the professor disdainfully, "korg is
heavy gombared with this. This is the lighdesd solid
known. Loog ad this."

The professor lifted the plate of metal out of the water,
and, wiping it dry very carefully with his silk pocket-
handkerchief, held it suspended, flat side downwards,
between his finger and thumb. Then, when he had
poised it as nearly horizontal as he could guess at, he let
it go. It wavered about in the air as a thin sheet of
paper would have done, and finally sailed aslant and very
gently to the ground, amid the astonished exclamations
of the beholders, by whom it was immediately examined
with the utmost curiosity.

" You have seen for yourselves and gan therefore judge
how marvellously lighd this medal is," continued the
professor when the plate had been handed back to him;
" bud ids sdrength you musd dake my word for, as I
have no means ad hand do illusdrade id. Ids sdrength is
as wonderful as ids lighdness, being — zo var as I have
had obbordunidy do desd id — exactly one hundred dimes
thad of the besd sdeel."

" If that be the case, professor, then I should say you
have solved the problem of aerial navigation," remarked
the colonel. " But you spoke of having also discovered a
new power. What is it?"

The professor once more instituted a search in his
pockets, and at length produced a small paper packet,

A SOMEWHAT DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE. 19

which, on being opened, was found to contain about a
table-spoonful of green metallic-looking crystals.

" There id is," he said, handing the packet to the
colonel for inspection.

" Um!" ejaculated the colonel, turning the crystals over
slowly with his finger. "Quite new to me; I don't
recognize them at all. And what is the nature of the
power derivable from these crystals?"

"Dreated in one way they give off elegdricidy; dreated
in another way they yield an exbansive gas, which may
be subsdiduded for either gunbowder or sdeam," answered
the professor.

"Are they explosive, then?" asked the colonel.

" Nod in their bresend form. You mighd doss all those
crysdals indo the fire with imbunidy; but bowder them
and mix indo a baste with a zerdain acid, and whad you
now hold in your hand would develop exblosive bower
enough to demolish this building," was the quiet reply.

The professor's little audience looked at him incredu-
lously; a look to which he responded by saying:

"Id is quide drue, I assure you," in such convincing
tones as left no room for further doubt. They knew the
professor well; knew him to be quite incapable of the
slightest attempt at deception or exaggeration.

" Then, if I have understood you aright, you will con-
struct your aerial ship of your new metal, and apply
your new power to give motion to her machinery?" said
the colonel.

" Yes. Thad is do say, I ivould if I bossessed the means
do build such a ship as I have described. Bud I am a
scientist, and therefore boor. Never mind; I have no
doubt thad, when I make my discoveries known, I shall

find some wealthy man who, for the sake of science, will
find der money," said the professor hopefully.

" How much would it cost to build an aerial ship such
as you have been speaking of?" asked the baronet.

"Oh! I cannod say. Nod zo very much. Berhabs a
hundred thousandt bounds," was the reply.

"Phew! That's rather 'steep,' as the Yankees say.
But — 'a fool and his money are soon parted' — if you are
convinced that your scheme is really practicable, pro-
fessor, I will find the needful," remarked the baronet.

" Bragdigable ! My dear sir, id is as bragdigable as id
is to build a shib which will navigade the ocean. I have
thoughd the madder oudt, and there is nod a single weak
boindt anywhere in my scheme. Led me have der money
and I will brovide you with the means of zoaring above
the grest of Mount Everest, or of exbloring the deepest
ocean valleys," exclaimed the professor enthusiastically.

"Good!" remarked the baronet quietly. "That is a
bargain. Meet me here at noon to-morrow, and we will
go together to my bankers, where I will transfer one
hundred thousand pounds to your account. And — what
say you, gentlemen? — when this wonderful ship is com-
pleted will you join the professor and me in an experi-
mental trip round the world?"

" I shall be delighted," exclaimed the colonel.

"Nothing would please me better," remarked the
lieutenant.

And so it was agreed.

"Well," remarked the baronet reflectively, and as though
he already began to feel doubtful as to the wisdom of his
agreement with the professor, *'if it has no other good
result it will at least afibrd employment to a few of the

"ONCE BIT, TWICE SHY." 21

unfortunate fellows who are now hanging about idle day
after day."

The professor looked up sharply.

" What!" he exclaimed. "Of whom are you sbeaging,
my dear Sir Reginald?"

" I am speaking of the unfortunate individual known
as ' the British Workman/ " was the baronet's quiet
reply.

"Am I do understandt thad you make the embloymend
of Eno^lish workmen a o-ondition of the underdakin^r?'*
asked the professor somewhat sharply.

"By no means, my dear sir," answered Sir Reginald;
"I shall not attempt to impose conditions of any kind upon
you. But I should naturally expect that, if English
workmen are as capable of executing the work as
foreigners, the former would be given the preference in
a matter involving the expenditure of say a hundred
thousand pounds of an Englishman's money."

"Quide zo," concurred the professor; "and you would
be perfectly justified in such an expegdation if the
Bridish workman was the steady, indusdrious, reliable
fellow he once was. Bud, unfordunadely, he is nod the
same, zo var ad leasd as reliahilidy is concerned'. You
gannod any longer debend ubon him. Id is no longer
bossible to underdake a work of any imbordance with-
oudt the gonsdand haunting fear that your brogress will
be inderrubted — berhaps ad a most cridical juncture — by
a 'sdrike.' The greadt quesdion which, above all others,
do-day agidades the British mind is: 'Do whadt cause is
the bresendt debression of drade addribudable?' And, in
my obinion, gendlemen, the answer to that quesdion is
thad id is very largely due do the consdandly recurring

22 VON schalckenberg's views on "strikes."

sdrikes which have become almosdt a habid with the
Bridish workman. The 'sdrike' is the most formidable
engine which has ever been brought indo oberation do
seddle the differences bedween embloyer and embloyed;
and, whilst I am willing to admid thad in certain cases id
has resulded in the repression and redress of long-sdanding
oppression and injusdice, id has been used with such a
lack of discrimination as do have almost ruined the
drade of the goundry. With the invention of the 'sdrike'
the workman thoughd he had ad lasd discovered the
means of enriching himself ad the expense of his embloyer,
or of securing his fair and righdful share of the brofids of
his labour, as he described id; and, udderly ignorand of the
laws of bolidigal egonomy, recognizing in the 'sdrike'
merely an insdrumend for forcing a higher rade of wages
from his embloyer, he has gone on recklessly using id
undil the unfordunade gabidalist, finding himself unable
do produce his wares ad a cost which will enable him do
successfully gompede with the manufagdurers of other
goundries, has been gombelled to glose his works and
remove his gabidal and his energies to a spodt where he
gan find workmen less unreasonable in their demands.
There is no more capable or valuable workman in exist-
ence than the English artisan, if he gould only be induced
to do his honest best for his embloyer; there is hardly
any branch of industry in which he is nod ad leasd the
equal, if not very greadly the suberior of the foreigner;
and id is even yet in his power to recover the command
of the world's market by the suberior excellence of his
broductions, if he could only be brevailed upon do aban-
don sdrikes and do be satisfied with a wage which will
allow the cabidalist a fair and moderade redurn for the

THE PROFESSOR DECLINES TO BE COERCED. 23

use of his money and brains and for the risks he has do
run. If the British workman would goUecdively make
up his mind to do this, and would acquaindt the gabi-
dalist with his decision, we should speedily see a revival
of drade and embloymend for every really capable work-
man. Bud in the meantime there unfordunadely seems
do be very little chance of this; and in so delicade a
madder as the gonsdrugdion of this ship of ours, it would
be nod only unwise, but also unfair to you to run the
risk of a failure through the embloymendt of untractable
or unreliable workmen; and if, therefore, you had insisted
on my embloying Englishmen, I should have been re-
lugdandly gombelled do wash my hands of the whole
affair. Ad the same dime I feel id due do myself do say
thad, even had you nod mendioned the madder, I should
have done my best to secure Englishmen for the work,
as of course I shall now; bud I do uod feel very sanguine
as do the resuldt."

"My dear professor!" exclaimed the baronet, smiling at
the intense earnestness of the German, " are you not lay-
ing on the colour rather thickly? I admit with sorrow
that your portrait is only too truthful — as a portrait —
still I cannot help thinking it rather highly coloured.
They are surely not all as despicable as you have painted
them?"

" No," answered the professor with enthusiasm, " no
they are nod. Id was only a few weeks ago thad I read
of the workmen of a cerdain firm bresending their em-
bloyers with a full week's work fi^ee, in order to helb the
firm out of their beguniary diffiguldies. Now, they, I
admid, were fine, noble, sensible fellows; they had indel-
ligence enough to regognize the diffiguldies of the sidua-

24 SIR REGINALD SHOWS HIS GOOD SENSE.

tion, and do grabble with them in a sensible way. I
warrand you they always worked honesdly and efficiendly
whether their embloyer's eye was on them or nod. And
they will find their reward in due time; their embloyers
will never rest until they have recouped the men for
their generous sacrifice. But where will you find another
body of men like them? They are only the one noble,
grand exception which goes do brove my rule."

" Well, professor, though what you have said is, in the
main, only too true, I cannot agree with you altogether;
I believe there are a few good, intelligent, reliable men to
be found here and there, in addition to those splendid
fellows of whom you have just told us," said the baronet.
" But," he continued, " I will not attempt to constrain you
in any way. If you cannot find exactly what you want
here, import men from abroad, by all means. I have a
great deal of sympathy for want and suflfering when they
are the result of misfortune; but when they are brought
on by a man's own laziness or perversity he must go
elsewhere for sympathy and help; I have none to spare
for people of that sort."

•<oH

CHAPTER II.

THE REALIZATION OF A SCIENTIST'S DREAM.

UNCTUAL to the moment, Professor von Sclialck-
enberg opened the door of the smoke-room at
the " Migrants'," and entered the apartment as
the deep-toned notes of Big Ben were heard sounding the
hour of noon on the day following that npon which
occurred the conversation recorded in the preceding
chapter. Sir Reginald Elphinstone was already there;
and after a few words of greeting the two men left the
club together, and, entering the baronet's cab, which was
in waiting, drove away to the banker's, where the busi-
ness of the money transfer was soon concluded.

The pair then separated; and for the next fortnight
the professor was busy all day, and during a great part
of the night, with his drawings and calculations. At the
end of that time, having completed his work on paper to
his satisfaction, he took advantage of a fine day to make
a little excursion. Proceeding to London Bridge, he em-
barked in a river steamer, about ten o'clock in the morn-
ing, and indulged himself in a run down the river. He
kept his eyes sharply about him as the boat sped down
the stream; and just before reaching Blackwall he saw

2.6 THE FIRST DECISIVE STEP.

what he thought would suit him. It was a ship-building
yard, " for sale, or to let, with immediate possession," as
an immense notice-board informed him. Landing at the
pier, he made his way back to the yard, and, having with
some difficulty found the man in charge of the keys,
proceeded to inspect the premises. They turned out to
be as nearly what he wanted as he could reasonably hope
to find, being very spacious, with a full supply of "plant,"
in perfect working order, and with enough spare room to
allow of the laying down of the special " plant " necessary
for the manufacture of his new metal. Having satisfied
himself upon this point, he next obtained the address of
the parties who had the letting of the yard and works,
and proceeded back to town by rail. The parties of
whom he was now in search proved to be a firm of
solicitors having offices in Lincoln's Inn; and by them,
when he had stated the object of his call, he was received
with — figuratively — open arms. The premises had been
lying idle and profitless for some time; and they were
only too glad to let them to him upon a two years' lease
upon terms highly advantageous to him and his client the
baronet.

This important business settled, the next thing was to
lay down the special plant already referred to; and so
energetic was the professor in his managemefit of this
and the other necessary preliminaries that six months
sufficed to place the yard in a fit state for the commence-
ment of actual operations.

And now the professor's troubles began in real earnest.
Impressed with the idea that he was perhaps wrong after
all, and the baronet right, in his judgment of the British
workman, Herr von Schalckenberg determined to run

FIRMNESS? OR OBSTINACY] 27

the risk of giving the Englishmen another trial. He had
no difficulty whatever in engaging an efficient office
staff; but when it came to securing the services of fore-
men, mechanics, and labourers, the unhappy German was
driven almost to despair. He advertised his wants widely,
of course, and, in response to his advertisements, the
applications for employment poured in almost literally
without number. The great entrance-gates of the works
were fairly besieged, and the roadway outside blocked by
the great army of applicants, who were admitted into the
presence of the professor in gangs of twenty at a time.
The professor had set out with the resolve that he would
deal as liberally with his employes as he possibly could,
consistently with justice to his client, the baronet; and
with this object he had spared no pains to ascertain the
rate of wages then ruling for such men as he wanted.
With the data thus obtained he had drawn up a scale of
pay which he was prepared to offer, and beyond which
he had resolved not to go. Armed with this, he inter-
viewed the countless applicants as they presented them-
selves before him; and the result was enough to drive to
distraction even a more patient man than Herr von
Schalckenberg. The applicants proved to be, almost
without exception, trades-unionists, out on strike because
their employers had declined or had been unable to accede
to the exorbitant demands of the workmen. These
workmen had in many cases been idle for months; yet
they now unhesitatingly refused employment, and refused
it insolently too, because the wages offered by the pro-
fessor, though fully equal to those paid by other em-
ployers, were less than they chose to consider themselves
entitled to. Their wives and children were, by their own

28 WORK BEGUN IN EARNEST.

admission, naked and starving, and here was an oppor-
tunity to clothe and feed them, yet they rejected it
scornfully. And naked, starving though the families of
these wretches might be and actually were, almost every
man of them, bearing out the professor's criticism of
them, had a short dirty pipe in his mouth and smelt
strongly of drink. There were a few exceptions to this
rule — about one in every fifty applicants, perhaps — and
they were almost all non-union men, who eagerly and
thankfully accepted employment, careless of the sneers,
gibes, and threats of the others: and these proved to be,
with scarcely a single exception, steady, reliable, honest,
and capable men, who soon worked themselves into lead-
ing positions. The professor wanted about two hundred
men, and he succeeded in securing twenty; after which
his overtasked patience gave out, and in despair he ob-
tained the remainder from Germany.

All this took time; and it was not until nearly eight
months after the conversation in the "Migrants'" smoke-
room that the professor was actually able to commence
work in the building yard. Then, however, the operations
proceeded apace. Day after day long mineral trains
jolted and clanked noisily along the siding and into the
yard, where they disgorged their loads and made way for
still other trains; day after day clumsy steam colliers
hauled in alongside the yard wharf and under the fussy
steam-cranes to discharge their cargoes; and very soon
the lofty furnace chimneys began to belch forth a never-
ending cloud of inky smoke. Very soon, too, the belated
wayfarer might possibly, had he been so disposed, have
obtained a chance glimpse, through accidental chinks in
the close palisading, of a long range of brilliantly lighted

STRANGE SIGHTS. 29

buildings, wherein, if the doors happened to be inadver-
tently left open, he would have witnessed huge out-
pourings of dazzling molten metal, which, after being
subjected to the action of certain chemicals, and passing
through divers strange processes, was passed as it solidi-
fied through a series of powerful rolling mills, which
relentlessly squeezed and flattened it out, until it finally
emerged, still glowing red with fervent heat, in the shape
of long flat symmetrically shaped sheets, or angle-bars
and girders of various sections. And, a little later on,
an inquisitive individual, could he have obtained a peep
into the jealously board ed-in building shed, might have
seen a far-reaching series of light circular ribs of glitter-
ing silver-like metal, of gradually decreasing diameter as
they spread each way from the central rib, rearing them-
selves far aloft toward the ground-glass skylight which
surmounted the roof of the building. But perhaps the
strangest sight of all, could one but have gained admission
into the forge to see it, was the huge main shaft of the
ship, which, after having been mercilessly pounded and
battered into shape by the giant Nasmith hammers, was
coolly seized by only a couple of men, and by them easily
carried into the machine-shop, there to receive its finish-
ing touches in the lathe.

And so the work went on, steadily yet rapidly, until at
length it so nearly approached completion that the pro-
fessor was every week enabled to dispense with the ser-
vices of and pay oflf an increasingly large number of men.
Finally, the day arrived when the score or so of painters
and decorators, who then constituted the sole remnant of
the professor's late army of workmen, completed their task
of beautifying the interior of the aerial ship, and, receiv-

30 A PLEASANT LEAVE-TAKING.

ing their pay, were dismissed to seek a new field of labour.
The official stafi' now alone remained, and to these, after
making them a pleasant little complimentary speech ex-
pressing his appreciation of the zeal and ability with
which they had discharged their duties, Herr von Schalck-
enberg announced the pleasant intelligence that, although
he had now no further need of their services, Sir Reginald
Elphinstone had, upon his — the professor's — earnest re-
commendation, successfully used his influence to secure
them other and immediate employment. The professor
then handed each man a cheque for his salary, including
three months' extra pay in lieu of the usual notice of
dismissal to which he was entitled, too-ether with a
letter of introduction to his new employer, and, shaking-
hands witli the stafi" all round, bade them good-bye, wish-
ing them individually success in their new posts. Then,
watching them file out of the office for the last time, he
waited until all had left the premises, when he turned the
key in the door, and making his way into the interior of
the building shed, found himself at length alone with his
completed work.

How the professor spent the next few hours no man
but himself can say; but it is reasonable to suppose that,
man of science though he was, he was still sufficiently
human to regard with critical yet innocent pride and
exultation the wonderful fabric which owed its existence
to the inventive ingenuity of his fertile brain. It is pro-
bable, too, that when he had at length gratified himself
with an exhaustive contemplation of its many points of
interest, he went on board the ship, and with his own ej^es
and hands made a final inspection and trial of all her
machinery, to satisfy himself that everything was com-

HAPPY AND SATISFIED.

plete and ready. At all events, however the professor
may have passed those few hours of precious solitude,
when he finally handed over the keys to the yard watch-
man and bade him "good-night" late on that summer
evening, his whole bearing and appearance was that of a
thoroughly happy and satisfied man.

CHAPTER III.

THE ''FLYING FISH.'

URING the whole of the following week .stores
of various kinds necessary to the comfort and
sustenance of the voyagers were being constantly
delivered at the building yard, where they were received
by the valet and cook of Sir Reginald Elphinstone — the
only servants or assistants of any kind who were to
accompany the expedition — and promptly stowed away
by them, under the direction of the professor, who was
exceedingly anxious to accurately preserve the proper
" trim" of the vessel — a much more important and diffi-
cult matter than it would have been had she been designed
to navigate the ocean only. By mid-day on Saturday the
last article had been received, including the personal
belongings of the travellers, the stowage was completed,
and everything was ready for an immediate start.

At three o'clock on the following Monday afternoon the
voyagers met in the smoke-room of the " Migrants' " as a
convenient and appropriate rendezvous, and, without
having dropped the slightest hint to anyone respecting
the novel nature of their intended journey, quietly said
" Good-bye " to the two or three men who happened to be

SIR Reginald's equanikity is upset. 33

there, and, chartering a couple of hansoms, made the best
of their way to Fenchurch Street railway station, from
whence they took the train to Black wall. On emerging
from the latter station they placed themselves under the
guidance of the professor, and were by him conducted in
a few minutes to the building yard. The professor was
the only one of the quartette who had as yet set eyes on
the vessel in which they were about to embark; and the
remaining three naturally felt a little flutter of curiosity
as they passed through the gateway and saw before them
the enormous closely-boarded shed which jealously hid
from all unprivileged eyes the latest marvel of science.
But they were Englishmen, and as such it was a part of
their creed to preserve an absolutely unruffled equanimity
under every conceivable combination of circumstances, so
between the whiffs of their cigars they chatted carelessly
about anything and everything but the object upon which
their thoughts were just then centred.

But the baronet's equanimity was for a moment upset
when the professor, after a perhaps unnecessarily pro-
longed fumbling with the key, threw open the wicket
which gave admission to the interior of the shed, and,
stepping back to allow his companions to precede him,
exclaimed in tones of exultant pride, in that broken Eng-
lish of his w^hich it is unnecessary to further reproduce:

" Behold, gentlemen, the embodiment of a scientist's
dream — the Flying Fish!''

The baronet advanced a pace or two, then stopped short,
aghast.

"Good heavens!" he ejaculated. '* What, in the name
of madness, have you done, professor? That huge object
will never float in the air; and I should say it will be a

(359) c

34 THE "FLYING FISH."

pretty expensive business to get her into the ivater, if
indeed it is worth while to put her there."

The other two, the representatives of the army and of
the navy, though probably as much astonished as the
baronet, said nothing. They knew considerably more
than the latter about the capabilities of science; and
though they might possibly entertain grave doubts as to
the success of the professor's experiment, they did not
feel called upon to express an ofF-hand opinion that it
would prove a failure.

The baronet might well be excused his hasty expression
of incredulity. Towering above and in front of him,
filling up the entire space of the enormous shed from end
to end and from ground to roof-timbers, he saw an
immense cylinder, pointed at both ends, and constructed
entirely of the polished silver-like metal which the pro-
fessor had called sethereum. The sides of the ship from
stem to stern formed a series of faultless curves ; the coni-
cal bow or fore body of the ship being somewhat longer,
and therefore sharper, than the after body, which partook
more of the form of an ellipse than of a cone; the curvi-
linear hull was supported steadily in position by two deep
broad bilge-keels, one on either side and about one- third
the extreme length of the ship; and, attached to the stern
of the vessel by an ingeniously devised ball-and-socket
joint in such a manner as to render a rudder unnecessary,
was to be seen a huge propeller having four tremendously
broad sickle-shaped blades, the palms of which were hol-
lowed in such a manner as to gather in and concentrate
the air, or water, about the boss and powerfully project it
thence in a direct line with the lono;itudinal axis of the
ship. Crowning the whole there w^as a low superstructure

A GRACEFUL OBJECT. 35

immediately over and of the same length as the bilge-
keels, very much resembling the upper works of* a double-
bowed vessel such as are some of the small Thames river
steamers. This was decked over, and afforded a promen-
ade about two hundred feet long by thirty feet wide.
And, lastly, rising from the centre of this deck there was
a spacious pilot-house with a dome-like roof, from the
interior of which the movements of the vessel could be
completely controlled. The entire hull of the vessel, ex-
cepting the double-bowed superstructure, was left un-
painted, and it shone like a polished mirror. The super-
structure, however, was painted a delicate gray tint, with
the relief of a massive richly gilded cable moulding all
round the shear-strake and the further adornment of a
broad ribbon of a rich crimson hue rippling through grace-
ful wreaths of gilded scroll-work at bow and stern, the
name Flying Fish being inscribed on the ribbon in gold
letters. Altogether, notwithstanding her unusual form,
the aerial ship was an exceedingly graceful and elegant
object, and, but for her enormous proportions, looked
admirably adapted for her work.

Under other circumstances the professor would pro-
bably have been seriously offended at the baronet's in-
credulous exclamation; but as it was he was so confident
of his success — so gratified and triumphant altogether —
that he could afford to be not only forgiving but actually
tolerant. He therefore replied to Sir Reginald only with
a mute smile of amused compassion for the baronet's
lamentable ignorance and unbelief.

The professor's smile somewhat reassured Sir Reginald,
though he still continued to eye his novel possession very
dubiously.

36 NOVEL SLEEPING QUARTERS.

"You once spoke of Atlantic liners," he at last remarked
to the professor; "but surely this craft is larger than the
larsfest Atlantic liner afloat. What are her dimensions?"

" She is six hundred feet long, by sixty feet diameter
at the point of her greatest girth," quietly replied the
professor.

"And do you mean to tell me that such a monster will
ever float in the air?" ejaculated the baronet, his in-
credulity returning and taking possession of him with
tenfold tenacity.

" I do," answered the professor firmly, his self-love at
length becoming slightly rufiled. " In that ship you shall
to-night soar higher into the empyrean than mortal has
ever soared before; and after that you shall, if you
choose, sleep calmly until morning at the bottom of the
English Channel. By and by at the dinner-table I will
endeavour to demonstrate to you, my dear friend, that it
is her immense proportions alone which will enable her
to float in so thin a fluid as air."

"Very well," said the baronet in the tones of a man
still utterly unconvinced; "if you say so, I suppose I must
doubt no more. Now, please, introduce to us the novel
details of this wonderful craft of yours."

"With pleasure," answered the professor, his brow
clearing and a gratified smile suffusing his countenance.
"A few minutes will suffice to show you all that can be
seen from the outside. Those small circular pieces of
glass which you perceive let into the hull here and there
are, as you have no doubt already surmised, windows to
enable us to observe what is passing outside. The larger
windows at the bow and stern protect powerful electric
lamps, and are exclusively for the purpose of lighting up

A MOST NECESSARY PRECAUTION. 37

our surroundings when we are at the bottom of the sea.
This" — pointing to what looked like a circular trap-door
in the bottom of the ship, some fifteen feet from the
centre on the port side — *'is the anchor recess; and this"
— pointing to a corresponding arrangement on the star-
board side — " is the door through which we shall obtain
egress from and access to the ship when she is at the
bottom of the sea."

" Do you mean by that, that we are going to leave the
ship and walk about on the bed of the ocean?" asked the
baronet.

" Certainly," answered the professor with a look of
surprise. " Our exploration of the ocean's bed will pro-
bably be one of the most interesting incidents of the
expedition."

The baronet shrugged his shoulders and the professor"
continued:

"These bilge-keels serve a threefold purpose; they
enable the ship to rest steadily and firmly on the ground,
as you see, which, from her peculiar form, she could not
otherwise do; they also form the sheaths, so to speak, of
four anchors to fasten her securely to the ground either
above or beneath the water — a most necessary precaution,
believe me; and they also add considerably to the cubical
contents of the water-chambers, with which they com-
municate, which will help to sink the ship to the bottom.
Lastly, there is the propeller, the only peculiarities of
which are its great diameter — fifty feet — its enormous
surface area, and the fact that it is attached to the hull
in such a way as to admit of its being turned freely in
any direction, thus dispensing with all necessity for a
rudder."

38 SIR REGINALD'S ANTICIPATION.

"Why have you left the hull unpaintecl, professor? 1
suppose you had some good reason for so doing?" re-
marked the colonel, chiming into the conversation.

'' I had no less than three good reasons for leaving the
hull of the ship unpainted," answered the professor. " In
the first place, sethereum is quite insensible to the attacks
of air and water — it never oxidizes, and paint was there-
fore unnecessary for its preservation. In the next place,
the quantity of paint necessary to cover that enormous
surface would weigh something considerable; and, as I
have throughout the work taken the utmost pains to
keep down all the weight to the lowest ounce consistent
with absolute safety, I rejected it on that account. And
lastly, I take it that we are anxious to avoid all unneces-
sary observation ; and I believe this cannot be better
accomplished than by preserving the brilliant metallic
lustre of the hull, which, especially when we are float-
ing in mid-air, will reflect the tints of the surrounding
atmosphere, and so make it almost impossible to dis-
tinguish us."

" Except when the sun's rays fall directly upon us, eh,
professor?" remarked Mildmay.

" In that case," returned the professor, *' observers w411
see a dazzling flash of light in which all shape will be
indistinguishable.

"And we shall thus be mistaken for a meteorite," ex-
claimed the baronet somewhat sarcastically. "Excellent!
admirable! I really must congratulate you, professor,
upon the wonderful foresight with which you seem to
have provided for every possible and impossible emer-
gency. Now, what is the next marvel?"

" There is nothing more down here. We will now pro-

ON BOARD. 39

ceed on board, if you please, gentlemen," said the professor ;
and he forthwith led the way up a ladder which leaned
against the vessel's lofty side. This conducted them as
far as the upper curve of her cylindrical bilge, at which
point they encountered a flight of light ornamental open-
work steps permanently attached to the ship's side, up
which they passed to the gangway in the stout metal
railing which served instead of bulwark, and so reached
the spacious promenade deck. Looking down into the
yard from this coign of vantage, they seemed to be an
enormous height from the ground ; and the baronet
shrugged his shoulders more expressively than ever as
he glanced first below and then around him, realizing
more fully than ever, as he did so, the immense propor-
tions of his new possession. He said nothing, however,
but turned inquiringly to the professor.

" This way, gentlemen, if you please," said the German,
in answer to the look; and he led them aft to what may
be styled the quarter-deck.

" You spoke about the weight of a coat of paint on the
hull just now, but I see you have planked the deck. The
w^eight of all this planking must be something consider-
able," remarked Mildmay.

"A mere trifle; it is only a thin veneering just to give
a secure and comfortable foothold," remarked the pro-
fessor. He paused at what looked like a trap-door in
the deck and said:

" We shall not be always soaring in the air nor groping
about at the bottom of the sea; we shall sometimes be
ridinor on the surface; and I have therefore thouo;ht it
advisable to provide a couple of boats. Here is one of
them."

40 A VERY CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT.

He stooped down, seized hold of and turned a ring
in the flap, and raised the trap- door, disclosing a dark
pit-like recess of considerable dimensions. Letting the
flap fold back flat on the deck, the professor then stooped
down and grasped the handle of a horizontal lever
which lay just below the level of the deck, and drew it
up into a perpendicular position, and, as he did so, a pair
of davits, the upper portions of which had been plainly
visible, rose through the aperture close to the protecting
railing, bringing with them a handsomely modelled boat
hanging from the tackles. The professor deftly turned
the davits outward, and there hung the boat at the quar-
ter in the exact position she would have occupied in an
ordinary ship.

"Bravo, professor; very clever indeed!" exclaimed
Mildmay. "But what is the object of those four curved
tubes projecting through the boat's bottom?"

" Those tubes," answered the professor, " are the boat's
means of propulsion. You see," he explained, "being built
of sethereum, the boat is extremely light, and draws so
little water that a screw propeller would be quite useless
to her. So I have substituted those tubes instead. One
pair, you will observe, points toward the stern, and one
pair toward the bow. The boat's engine is a powerful
three-cylinder pump, and it sucks the water strongly in
through the tubes which point forward, discharging it as
powerfully out through those which point astern; thus
drawing and driving the boat along at a speed of about
twelve knots per hour, which is as fast, I fancy, as we
shall ever want her to go. If you want to go astern the
movement of a single lever reverses the wliole process.
There is a similar boat on the other side."

*'A VERITABLE MAGICIAN.'* 41

The boat having been returned to her hiding-place,
the professor next led his friends to the structure which
occupied the centre of the deck. It was a perfectly plain
erection, with curved sides meeting in a kind of stem and
stern-post at its forward and after ends, wdth a curved
dome-like roof, several small circular windows all round
its sides, and no apparent means of entry.

" Why, how is this, professor ? You have actually built
your pilot-house — for such I suppose it is — without a
door," exclaimed the baronet with returning good-humour
as he perceived that, even in the event of the Flying Fish
failing to fly, he would still have a very wonderful ship
for his money.

" As you have rightly supposed, this is the pilot-house,"
answered the professor, with one hand pressing lightly
against the gleaming wall of the structure. "But as to its
being without a door, you are mistaken, for there it is."

And as he spoke a door, hitherto unnoticed in the side
of the building, flew open.

"Why, you are a veritable magician, professor! How
on earth did you manage that?" exclaimed the colonel.

" Easily enough," answered the professor. " Just look
here, all of you. This is a secret door which it is neces-
sary you should all know how to open. Now, there are
four of us, are there not? Very well; find the fourth rivet
from the bottom in the fourth row from the after end of
the building — here it is — push it to your left — not press
it; pressing is no good — and open flies the door. Push the
rivet to the right when the door is open, and you shut it
— so," suiting the action to the word. " Now, Sir Regin-
ald, let me see if you can open that door."

The baronet opened and closed the door without diffi-

42 THE INTERIOR OF THE PILOT-HOUSE.

culty; «ind then the other two essayed the attempt with
similarly successful results.

" That is all right," commented the professor. " Now
step inside, please; and close the door — so: when you
want to open it from the inside you simply turn this
handle — so, and open it comes."

The quartette now found themselves inside the pilot-
house, which proved to be two stories in height. On
their right hand they beheld the companion-way leading
to the interior of the ship, with a wide flight of stairs of
delightfully easy descent, handsomely carpeted, and a
magnificent massive handrail and balusters of gleaming
sethereum. The square opening to the companion-way
was also protected by a similar handrail and balusters,
producing an exceedingly rich effect and seeming to pro-
mise a corresponding sumptuousness of fitting in the
saloons below.

Just clear of the head of the companion staircase and
leading up one side of the pilot-house was another light
staircase of open grid-work leading to the floor above,
which, at a height of seven feet, spanned the building
from side to side. This floor was also of light open grid-
work, affording easy verbal communication between per-
sons occupying the different stories in the pilot-house.
Through this open grid-floor could be seen various appara-
tus, the objects of which the new-comers were naturally
anxious to learn; and to this floor the professor accord-
ingly led his companions up the staircase.

The first object to which he directed attention was a
long straight bar of sethereum handsomely moulded into
the form of a thick cable, and finished off at the outer
end with the semblance of a " Matthew Walker " knot.

TWO IMPORTANT MATTERS. 43

This bar issued at its inner end from a handsomely pan-
elled and moulded casins: which extended down throuo^h
both floors of the pilot-house, presumably covering in and
protecting the mechanism with which the bar was obvi-
ously connected.

" This," said the professor, laying his hand on the bar,
*' is the steering apparatus — the tiller as you call it — of
the ship. It moves, as you see, in all directions, and
communicates a corresponding movement to the propeller
— as you may see, if you will take the trouble to look
out through one of those windows."

The trio immediately did so, and saw, as the professor
had stated, that wdth every movement of the tiller, right
or left, up or down, the propeller inclined itself at a cor-
responding angle. A handsome binnacle compass stood
immediately in front of the tiller, but the professor did
not call attention to it, rightly assuming that his com-
panions were fully acquainted with its use and purpose.

On the professor's right, as he stood at the tiller, was
an upright lever w^orking in a quadrant, and communi-
cating, like the tiller — and indeed all the other apparatus
— wdth the interior of the ship.

"This," said the professor, directing attention to the
lever, " is the lever which controls the valves of the main
engines. I have fashioned and arranged it exactly like
the corresponding lever in a locomotive. Placed verti-
cally, thus, the engines remain motionless. Throw^n for-
ward, thus, the engines will turn ahead. And thrown
backw^ard, thus, they wall turn astern. That is simple
enough. And so is this," directing attention to a dial on
his left hand which stood facing him. The dial had a
single hand w^hich was obviously intended to travel over

44 A VERY NECESSARY CAUTION.

a carefully graduated arc of ninety degrees painted on
the dial-face, and which, in addition to the graduations,
was marked in the proper positions with the words
"Stop;" "Quarter speed;" "Half speed;" "Full speed;"
and also with two arrows pointing in opposite directions
marked " On " and " Off" respectively. Just beneath the
dial was a small wheel with a crank -handle projecting
from one of its spokes, and on this crank-handle the pro-
fessor now laid his hand.

"This," he said, "regulates the valve which admits
vapour into the engine; and the dial-hand shows the ex-
tent to which the valve is opened. Turn the wheel in
the direction of the arrow marked 'On' — thus, and you
admit vapour into the engine. You will observe that, as
I turn the wheel, the hand on the dial travels over the
arc and indicates the extent to which the valve is open.
There; now it is fully open, and the c^dinders are full of
vapour." Then he quickly reversed the wheel and sent
the index hand back to " Stop," keeping a wary eye on
his companions as he did so.

"These are dangerous things to meddle with," he re-
marked apologetically. " The engines are of one hundred
thousand horse-power; and, full as the ship now is of air
at the atmospheric pressure, they would drive her irresis-
tibly along the ground and through all obstacles. I must
beg that none of you will meddle with the machinery
until you are fully acquainted with its tremendous power."

"What is this pendulum-looking affair, professor?" asked
the colonel, pointing to a pendulum the point of which
hung in a shallow basin-like depression thickly studded
with needle-points which the pendukim just cleared by
a hair s-breadth.

ONE OF THE PROFESSOR'S CLEVER DEVICES. 45

" That," explained the professor, " is a device for auto-
matically regulating the balance, or "trim" as you call it,
of the ship when she is floating in the air. You will
readily understand that when freed of air, and thus de-
prived of weight, as it were, the most trifling matter will
suffice to derange her equilibrium; one of us, walking
from side to side, or from one end of the deck to the
other, would very seriously incline her from the horizontal,
and thus alter the direction of her flight, possibly with
disastrous results; so I have devised this little apparatus
to prevent all that. This pendulum, as you see, is so
delicately poised that it will instantly respond to the
slightest deviation from a horizontal position, and, sway-
ing over one of these needle-points, will send an electric
current to the air-pump, causing it to promptly inject a
sufficient quantity of air into the proper chamber to re-
store the equilibrium. But, as we may desire occasion-
ally to direct the flight of the ship in an upward or a
downward direction, I have so arranged matters that the
apparatus shall be thrown out of gear when the tiller is
sloped in either direction out of the horizontal; and as
we shall not require it when the ship is on or below the
surface of the ocean, I have here provided a small knob
by pressing which inwards the apparatus can also be
thrown out of gear until it is again w^anted."

"Excellent!" exclaimed the baronet. "I must again con-
gratulate you, professor, on your truly wonderful fore-
thought. And what is this, pray?"

" That," said the German, " is the controlling lever of
the air-pump. When we want to sink into the depths
of the ocean, I thrust this lever over — so; and the pump
at once begins to pump air into the air-chambers."

" Out of them, I suppose you mean," interrupted the
baronet.

''Into them, I mean," insisted the professor. "You
must understand," he continued, noting the baronet's look
of astonishment, " that air, like everything else, has weight
Feathers are light; but you may pack them so tightly
into a receptacle as to make them very weighty; and so
is it with air: the more air you force into a receptacle of
given size the heavier you make that receptacle; and,
provided that both your forcing apparatus and your
receptacle are strong enough to endure the tremendous
pressure, you may at last force enough air into the re-
ceptacle to sink it. And that is precisely what we shall
do; we shall force air into our air-chambers until the ship
is on the point of sinking, and we shall then close the
valves, stop the air-pump, and, opening the sea-cocks of
the water-chambers, admit water enough into the ship to
send her to the bottom like a stone."

"Well! you astonish me, I freely admit," gasped the
baronet. " This is the first time I ever heard of a ship
being sunk by filling her with air. And then the cool
way in which you talk of our ' sinking to the bottom like
a stone!' I undertook this enterprise because I wanted
to experience a new sensation; and it appears to me that
there are a good many of them in store for me. However,
it is all right; go on with your explanations, my dear
sir.

"These," said the professor, indicating several levers
marked with distino^uishinoj labels rano^ed all alono- one
side of the pilot-house, "are the levers opening and closing
the valves of the air and water chambers, and need no
further description. This," he continued, pointing to a

THE MEANS OF ATTACK AND DEFENCE. 47

small box with a little knob projecting out of the top of
it," is the apparatus for firing our torpedo shells."

The baronet glanced mutely round at his companions,
and shrugged his shoulders expressively, as who should
say, "What next?"

The colonel and the lieutenant nodded approvingly,
however, and the latter said:

" That is capital, professor; we ought to have the means
of fighting the ship, if necessary; but I was beginning to
fear you had overlooked that matter, having seen no pro-
vision for anything of the kind. But where is your tor-
pedo port? you omitted to point that out to us when we
were under the ship's bottom."

"There was nothing to show," replied the professor;
" and I can explain the matter just as well up here as I
could have done when we were down below. The conical
point which forms the extreme forward end of the ship
is solid and movable. Under ordinary circumstances it
remains firmly fixed in position; but when it becomes
necessary to fire a torpedo-shell the solid point is made
to slide in alono^ a PTOOved tube for a certain distance;
the shell is then placed in the tube and fired, when the
solid point follows it out and becomes again securely
fixed in its former position. In addition to this arrange-
ment, I have two large guns which can be worked
through ports in the dining-saloon, and six wonderful
magazine rifles invented by a Mr. Maxim, a friend of
mine. They are perhaps the most wonderful pieces of
mechanism in the ship, for when the first shot has been
fired they will go on firing themselves at the marvellous
rate of six hundred shots per minute so long as you keep
them supplied with cartridges. Then I have also pro-

48 OUTSIDE THE THRESHOLD.

vided an ample supply of ordinary guns and rifles, swords,
pikes, pistols, and in fact everything we are likely to
require for the purposes of sport or defence. These small
knobs afford the means of lighting the electric lamp in
the lantern on the top of the pilot-house and those in the
bow and stern of the ship. And that is all to which I
think I need direct your attention here at present. Now,
if you please, we will go down and look at the ma-
chinery."

The party accordingly left the pilot-house and directed
their steps below by way of the grand staircase. At the
bottom of this they found themselves upon a spacious
landing magnificently carpeted, and lighted at each end by
a circular window in the side of the ship. In front of them
as they descended the staircase, and at a distance of about
twelve feet from its base, a partition stretched from side
to side of the ship, evidently forming one of the saloon
bulkheads. Along the face of this a series of Corinthian
pilasters, supporting a noble cornice at the junction of wall
and ceiling, divided up the partition into a corresponding
number of panels, which were enriched with elegant
mouldings of fanciful scroll-work and painted in creamy
white and gold. In two instances, however, at points
which divided the partition into three equal parts, the
panels were replaced by handsome massively moulded
doors of unpainted sethereum, imparting a very rich and
handsome effect. These doors were, however, closed, and
the curiosity of the new-comers as to what was to be
seen on the other side of them had to remain for a short
time ungratitied.

Passing round to the back of the grand staircase (in
which direction lay the sleeping apartments, bath-rooms.

HIGH PRESSURE. 49

and domestic offices) they found themselves at the head
of another staircase much narrower than the former. The
one now before them was only about four feet wide,
winding cork-screw fashion round the tube which en-
cased the communications between the pilot-house and
the engine-room, &c., and it was in its turn encased in
a cylindrical bulk-head, in which, on their way below,
they passed several doors giving access, as the professor
explained, to the different decks.

Winding their way downward for a considerable dis-
tance they at length reached the foot of the staircase and
passed at once through a doorway marked "Engine Room."
The first sensation of those who now visited this apart-
ment for the first time was disappointment. The room,
though full of machinery, was small, absurdly so, it
seemed to them. So also with the machinery itself. The
main engines, consisting of a pair of three-cylinder com-
pound engines, though made throughout of sethereum,
and consequently presenting an exceedingly handsome
appearance, suggested more the idea of an exquisite model
in silver than anything else, the pair occupying very little
more space than those of one of the larger Thames river
steamers. The impression of diminutiveness and inade-
quacy of power passed away, however, when the professor
informed his companions that the vapour would enter the
high-pressure cylinder at the astounding pressure of five
thousand pounds to the square inch, and that, though the
engines themselves would only make fifty revolutions
per minute, the propeller would be made, by means of
speed-multiplying gear, to revolve at the rate of one
thousand times per minute in air of ordinary atmospheric
pressure.

(359) D

50 WHAT WOULD HAPPEN 1

" But how on earth do you manage to get your vapour
up to that tremendous pressure?" asked the colonel.

"Oh!" answered the professor, "that is a mere matter
of mixing. According to the proportions in which the
crystals and the acid are mingled together, so is the
pressure of the vapour."

"And how do you mingle them together?" asked the
lieutenant.

" This," said the professor, leading them up to a small
boiler-like vessel, "is the generator. The crystals are
placed in a hopper at one end, and the acid in that small
tank at the other, from whence they are respectively
conducted along tubes into a small well in the bottom of
the generator, where, their proportions being regulated
by the size of the tubes through which they pass, they
mingle and generate a vapour having a pressure of five
thousand pounds on the square inch. See, there is the
gauge, and it is now registering a pressure of five
thousand pounds."

" Good Heavens, man!" exclaimed the baronet, starting
back; " you don't mean to say that your generator is now,
at this moment, subjected to that enormous pressure of
more than two tons per square inch? Supposing it ex-
ploded, what would become of us?"

"We should be consumed in an instant by the fierce heat
of the liberated vapour," replied the professor calmly.
" But," he continued, " you need have no apprehension of
an explosion. When that generator was being made I
had a second one constructed at the same time, precisely
similar in every respect, and this second one \[ tested to
destruction, with the satisfactory result that it endured
without distress a pressure of thirty-five tons per square

THE DIVING-ROOM. 51

inch, showed the first signs of weakness when it became
subjected to a pressure of thirty-eight tons, and burst at
a joint when under a pressure of forty -three tons per
square inch. You may therefore feel quite satisfied that
the generator is fully equal to a continuous pressure of
at least fifteen tons, instead of the trifle over two which
it will have to sustain."

The remainder of the machinery possessing no very
startling or novel features, it was passed by with merely
an admiring glance at its exquisite finish; and the quar-
tette, leaving the engine-room, passed round on the other
side of the spiral staircase to a room marked "Diving
Room."

Entering this they found themselves in an apartment
about twenty feet square, one side of which was wholly
occupied by four cupboards labelled respectively " Sir
Reginald Elphinstone," "Colonel Lethbridge," "Lieu-
tenant Mildmay," and " Von Schalckenberg."

" This," explained the professor, " is the room wherein
we shall equip ourselves for our submarine rambles; and
here," opening one of the cupboards, " are the costumes
which we shall wear upon such occasions."

The opened cupboard contained an ordinary india-
rubber diving-dress, a sort of double knapsack, a number
of heterogeneous articles, and, lastly, a suit of armour.

" Why, professor, what, in the name of all that is
comical, is the meaning of this ? Are we to walk forth
among the fishes equipped like the knights of old?" asked
the baronet, pointing to the armour.

" I will explain," said the professor. " In an ordinary
diving-dress a man can only descend to a depth of some-
thing like fifteen fathoms. Instances have certainly

52 A NOVEL EQUIPMENT.

occurred where this depth has been exceeded, a Liverpool
diver named Hooper having descended as far as thirty-
four fathoms, if my information is correct; but this was
quite an exceptional circumstance; and, as I have said,
fifteen fathoms may be taken as the average depth at
which a man can move about and work in comfort. The
reason for this limit is that beyond it the pressure of the
water on the exposed hands is so great as to drive the
blood to the head and bring on a fainting fit, if nothing-
worse; besides which, the volume of air inside the dress
necessary to counteract the outside pressure of the water
would be so great as to speedily result in suffocation.
Now, if our explorations were limited to a depth of fifteen
fathoms only they would hardly be worth the under-
taking; so I have devised these suits of armour, in w^hich
we may safely explore the profoundest depths of the
ocean to which the Flying Fish can penetrate. The
armour is, as you see, composed of a number of small
scales or plates of sethereum, and is so constructed that,
whilst it is perfectly flexible, permitting the utmost
freedom of movement to the wearer, it is also absolutely
water-tight and incompressible, no matter how great the
exterior pressure to which it is subjected. The wearer
of it will consequently be perfectly protected at all points
from the enormous water pressure; and he will be able
to breathe in comfort, his air being supplied to him at the
normal atmospheric pressure. In equipping himself the
diver will first don the india-rubber diving-dress in the
usual way. Then he will assume this double-haversack,
the larger chamber of which, worn on the back, will
contain a supply of air, whilst the smaller of the two,
worn on the chest, is charged with a supply of chemicals

A DEADLY WEAPON. 53

for the purification of the air after it has been breathed.
The two are connected together by a pair of flexible tubes,
as you may perceive, and the mere expansion and con-
traction of the chest, in the act of breathing, sets in
motion the simple apparatus which produces the necessary
circulation of air between the two chambers. Having
secured this haversack in position the diver next dons
his body armour, and straps about his waist this belt,
with its electric lamp and its dagger. The dagger, as you
see, is double-bladed; it has a haft of insulating material,
and the blades have connected to them this insulated wire
at the point where the blades and the handle unite. You
thus have a weapon which, on being plunged into the
body of a foe, not only inflicts a severe wound, but also
administers an electric shock of such terrible intensity as
must result in instant death. The last portion of the
armour to be assumed is the helmet, on the top of which
is securely fixed an electric lamp, which, with the aid of
the one at the belt, will give us, I imagine, as much light
as we are likely to need.

"Having donned our armour we pass out of this chamber
into the next, which I call the chamber of egress, care-
fully closing the door behind us."

The professor, suiting the action to the word, ushered
his companions into the next chamber, closing the door
behind him, and they found themselves in a small room
some ten feet square by seven feet in height. This room,
in common with the diving-room, was brilliantly lighted
by an electric lamp inclosed in a lantern of abnormally
thick glass.

"Arrived here," continued the professor, "we are all
ready to sally forth upon our submarine explorations; all

54 HOW IT IS DONE.

we have to do therefore is, hrst to fill the chamber with
water by means of this valve, then open the trap- door
and step forth upon the bottom of the sea."

As the professor said this he released the fastenings of
the door, and it fell down, forming a sort of inclined
plane, over which they passed, to find themselves once
more on the solid earth, under the ship's bottom, with
the starboard bilge-keel rising like a wall of silver before
them. They passed along the lane formed by this keel
and the cylindrical bottom of the ship, and then stepped
back with one accord to take another glance aloft at the
huge bulk of the ship as she towered high above them.
They now became conscious of the sounds of vigorous
hammerino' and of men's voices in the direction of the
river gable of the building shed, and on looking in that
direction they saw that the contractor, whom the pro-
fessor had engaged for the purpose, was already at work
with his men removing the boarding which had hitherto
concealed the Flying Fish from passers-by on the river,
thus making a way for the exit of the ship a little later
on.

The little party had re-entered the hull by wa}^ of the
trap-door, and the professor had just made the fastenings
once more secure, when, far away aloft from somewhere
within the recesses of the ship, they heard the loud,
sonorous, sustained note of a gong.

"Ah, that is good!" exclaimed Herr von Schalckenberg,
rubbing his hands; "that is the dinner gong; and I am
hungry. Come, my friends, to the dining saloon, and let
us partake of the first of, I hope, many pleasant meals on
board the Flying Fish,"

CHAPTER IV.

THE NOVEL BEGINNING OF A SINGULAR VOYAGE.

N reaching the head of the spiral staircase the
professor paused for a moment to direct the
attention of his companions to a long passage
which extended apparently along the middle of the ship
to the fore- end of the superstructure. The passage was
about five feet wide, and the ceiling was of ground glass,
through which a flood of light streamed brilliantly down.

" In that direction," said the professor, "are to be found,
first, the kitchen, pantry, larder, and store-room; then
next to them come my laboratory and workshop, with
the armoury and magazine on the opposite side; then the
quarters of the cook and the valet; next these again are
the bath-rooms and lavatories; and finally, at the extreme
end of the passage, there are the state-rooms or sleeping
apartments, eight in number — four for ourselves and four
spare ones."

George, the valet — whose duties, however, on board the
Flying Fish were to be rather those of steward and
general handy man — stood during the progress of this
brief explanation with his hand on the handle of the
saloon door; and now, as the professor turned and nodded,

56 A HANDSOME APARTMENT.

he flung the door wide open and stood aside for the
baronet and his friends to enter.

They now found themselves in the dining-saloon, an
apartment thirty feet square and about ten feet high to
the lower edge of the cornice. The walls, of unpainted
oethereum, were broken up into panels by fluted pilasters
with richly-moulded capitals, each panel having a frosted
border covered with delicate tracery, whilst the central
portion of the panel was left plain and polished, serving
the purpose of a mirror, in which the room and its multi-
plied reflections on the opposite wall was again reflected
in a long perspective. The floor was covered with a rich
Turkey carpet, into which one sank ankle deep; the
chairs, sofas, the massive sideboard, the wide table, in
fact all the furniture in the room, was constructed of
8ethereum and modelled after the choicest designs, the
upholstery being in rich embossed velvet of a delicate
light-blue shade. The table glittered with a brilliant
array of plate and glass; and the entire apartment was
suffused wath rich, soft, rainbow-tinted light, stream-
ing down through the magnificent coved skylight of
stained glass, which served instead of ceiling to the
saloon.

"Superb!"

"Magnificent!"

"Exquisite!"

Such were the exclamations which burst from the
professor's companions as they paused to look about them
and take in all the details of the splendidly furnished
and decorated apartment. A dozen eager questions
rushed from their lips; but Herr von Schalckenberg was
huni^ry, and the dinner was served, he therefore con-

SIR REGINALD IS AT LENGTH CONVINCED. 57

tented himself with bowing profoundly and pointing to
the dinner-table.

" Come, gentlemen," exclaimed the baronet laughingly,
"take your seats, I beg. It is evident that we have quite
exhausted both the professor's patience and his strength,
and that we shall get no more information out of him
until both have been restored by a good dinner."

With which remark Sir Reginald set the example by
taking his place at the head of the table, as he was en-
titled to do in virtue of his ownership of the Flying
Fish.

The dinner was an admirable one, in all respects quite
worthy the exceptional nature of the occasion; and under
its genial influence, and that of the choice wines which
accompanied it, the conversation soon grew extremely
animated. The topic was, of course, the aerial ship and
the novel and interesting character of her various equip-
ments. The professor speedily redeemed his afternoon's
promise to the baronet, and at length succeeded in com-
pletely convincing that hitherto sceptical individual that,
so far from the enormous proportions of the Flying Fish
being detrimental to her, they constituted the principal
basis upon which he was justified in his anticipations of
her success as an aerial ship.

Having at length made this perfectly plain, he was
next called upon by Lieutenant Mildmay to explain a
certain peculiarity in the binnacle compass, which had
attracted that gentleman's notice and excited his curio-
sity.

"I observed," he said, "that the compass-card bore
round its outer rim, at every quarter point, a small up-
right needle. As everything on board here, however

58 THE SELF-STEERING APPARATUS.

apparently insignificant, seems to have its own especial
purpose, I should like to know the purpose which those
small needles are designed to serve."

" Ha, ha, my friend ! so you noticed them, did you ? I
quite expected that, as a seaman, you very soon would,"
said the professor. " Well, I will tell you what they are.
They form part of a little device of mine to render the
ship self-steering, or, more correctly, to make the compass
itself steer her in any given direction. Having noticed
those needles, you doubtless also noticed that across the
* lubber's mark' there was a small slit some six inches
long in the side of the compass-box?"

The lieutenant nodded.

"Good!" ejaculated the professor. "Had you looked
outside the box you would also have observed two long
slender arms pivoted close together, their outer and longer
extremities being united, and carrying a small needle
which travels, point downwards, along the arc of a circle.
Now the action of the instrument is this. Supposing
that you wish the ship to travel along, say, a southerly
course, you manipulate the helm in the usual manner
until the south point of the compass-card swings round
to the lubber's mark. The moment that these two accu-
rately coincide you pull toward you a small lever within
easy reach of your hand, and the two arms glide in
through the slit in the side of the compass-box, passing
one on each side of the needle on the edge of the card, and
your apparatus is then connected up ready for action.
Now, so long as the ship's bows remain pointed accurately
to the south, the south point on the compass-card continues
coincident with the lubber's mark, and nothing happens.
But should the ship deviate ever so slightly from her

THE PROFESSORS DISCLAIMER. 59

proper course the heavy, yet sensitive, compass needle at
once swings round in sympathy; the small needle on the
edge of the card moves the two slender arms which em-
brace it; the downward-pointing needle at the further
extremity of these arms travels along the arc; and electric
communication is at once established with the steerin^j
machinery, which promptly acts in such a way as to
bring back the ship to her original course."
h "Capital! Admirable!" ejaculated Sir Reginald and
the lieutenant tooether, the former continuino;:

" Upon my word, professor, you are a veritable wizard
— a magician with powers exceeding those of the most
potent of your brethren referred to in the * Arabian
Nights.'"

The professor made a laughing disclaimer. " No, no,
my dear sir," said he, " I am no magician, but only a poor
scientist. Nevertheless, the wonders of science far exceed
those of the 'Arabian Nights,' and will well repay the
man who cares to patiently study them."

Enlivened by conversation of a character so interesting
to all present, the sitting was prolonged to quite an inor-
dinate length, and though no one, except perhaps the
professor, noted the fact, it was past midnight when the
adventurous quartette rose from the table, and taking
their wine and cigars with them, moved into the music-
room, at the same time dismissing the patient George for
the nio-ht.

The music-room was a much larger apartment than the
dining saloon, being, like the latter, the full width of the
superstructure, and measuring forty feet between the fore
and the after bulkheads. It was the next room abaft the
dining saloon, and was even more elaborately furnished

60 VON schalckenberg's sunset.

and decorated than the latter. The walls, divided up in
the same manner as those of the other apartment, were
adorned with choice pictures, and exquisite statues of
frosted sethereum were grouped on pedestals at frequent
intervals all round the room. A coved and panelled ceil-
ing of decorated sethereum sprang from the upper edge
of the richly moulded cornice; and a skylight of magni-
ficent stained glass, somewhat similar to that of the din-
ing saloon, surmounted the whole. A grand piano and a
noble chamber organ, both in superbly modelled asthereum
cases, occupied opposite sides of the apartment; a very
handsome clock, with a set of silvery chimes for the
quarters and a deep rich-toned gong for the hours, occu-
pied a conspicuous position on a wall bracket; chairs,
couches, and divans of seductive shape and ample capa-
city were dotted here and there about the rich carpet;
and a handsome table occupied the centre of the room,
supporting and reflecting in the silvery depths of its un-
draped top a noble epergne of choice hot-house flowers.

"Why, how is this?" exclaimed the colonel as he sank
into the luxurious depths of a most inviting arm-chair;
" my watch must be all wrong, and your clock there is
also wrong, professor; they both assert that it is half -past
twelve o'clock, yet the sun has not yet set," pointing aloft
to the skylight, through w^hich a brilliant flood of sun-
shine was streaming down into the magnificent apart-
ment.

"The sun has not yet set? Then we will soon make it
do so," laughingly remarked the professor, rising from his
seat and approaching one of the walls of the apartment,
whilst the baronet and the lieutenant stared in dismay at
their own watch-faces. The German began to manipulate

"THE HOUR HAS ARRIVED !" 61

a couple of tiny knobs which occupied unobtrusive posi-
tions in the base of one of the pilasters, and the sunlight
gradually deepened into a rich orange hue, then changed
to a soft pearly gray, which gradually deepened into a
dim delicious twilight in which little was visible save the
pictured glass in the skylight above; then it gradually
brightened again, and presently a flood of glorious silvery
moonlight streamed down through the skylight and suf-
fused the room. Finally, with an instantaneous change,
the brilliant sunlight was ao-ain restored.

o o

"Another wonder!" exclaimed Sir Eeginald. "How do
you manage it, professor?"

"Oh! that is a very simple matter," was the reply; "it
is merely a cunning arrangement of variously tinted glass
shades interposed between the electric light above the
centre of the skylight and the mirrors which reflect the
light down through the stained glass into the room. As you
probably noticed when on the deck, there are no actual
skylights in the usual acceptation of the term; ours are
only make-believes; but they struck me as affording an
agreeable means of lighting the saloons, so I introduced
them."

In further conversation, diversified by music, the time
slipped rapidly away; and at length the clock on the
bracket proclaimed that it was two hours after midnight.

As the sonorous strokes of the gong announced the
fact, the professor rose to his feet, and in a voice tremu-
lous with sudden nervous excitement, said:

" Gentlemen, the hour for our departure, the hour which
is to witness the success or failure of our grand experi-
ment, has SbYTwed. The river and the streets of the great
city are by this time nearly or quite deserted; and we

62 A FAVOURABLE MOMENT.

may therefore hope that our movements will attract little
or no notice. Are you ready?"

"Ready!" ejaculated the baronet; "of course we are,
my dear sir. Is not this the moment to which we have
all been anxiously looking forward for more than two
years? Proceed, professor, we v/ill follow you; and what-
ever orders you may give us shall be obeyed to the
letter."

"Come, then," said the professor; and he led the w^ay
through the dining saloon and up the grand staircase to
the lower compartment of the pilot-house, and thence out
on deck.

To their eyes, fresh from the brilliantly lighted saloons,
the night appeared intensely dark; but in a minute or
two, becoming accustomed to the gloom, they were able
to perceive that the ladder had been taken away from the
ship's side, and also that the contractor had completed his
task of removing the planking at the river end of the
shed, thus clearing a way for the exit of the great ship.
They walked to the after extremity of the deck, and from
that point were not only able, in the breathless stillness
then prevailing, to distinctly hear the gurgle and rush of
the river, but also to dimly make out the shining, swirling
surface of the water as the flood-tide swept past them.

" The air is absolutely motionless," said the professor.
" No more favourable moment could possibly have been
chosen for the diflacult task of moving the Flying Fish
out of her present cramped quarters, and we will at once
avail ourselves of it. Lieutenant, I will ask you to return
here presently on the ' look-out,' as you sailors term it.
Your duty will be to see that when we move out of the shed
we do not come into collision with anything. Perhaps

"A SIGNAL SUCCESS." 63

you, colonel, will kindly go to the other end the deck,
also on the 'look-out;' and, as for you. Sir Reginald, I
must ask you to stand on the deck just outside the pilot-
house, to see that the electric lamp on the top of it does
not come into collision with the roof-timbers, and so drasf
the roof off the shed. But as it is necessary that you
should all become acquainted with the working of the
ship, you had better be with me in the pilot-house until
we are actually ready to move."

''Now," continued the professor when the quartette
had made their way to the upper floor of the pilot-house,
which was moderately illuminated by an electric lamp of
small power, " the first thing to be done is to place the
tiller of the ship in a horizontal position, and thus bring
into action the automatic balancing gear. So! It is done.
The next thing is to expel the air from the entire hull of
the ship, excepting, of course, the comparatively insignifi-
cant portion reserved for habitation, and this I do by in-
jecting vapour into the several compartments. The vapour
drives out the air, and then, condensing like steam, creates,
if required, a perfect vacuum. This large wheel controls
the valve which we now want to open. I turn it this
way, so — and now we shall see what will happen."

Two large dials were attached to the side of the pilot-
house, close together; and upon these the professor now
intently fixed his gaze. The index-hands of both w^ere
seen to be moving. A period of perhaps half a minute
elapsed, and then the professor, suddenly shutting off' the
vapour, went over and closely inspected both dials.

"Good!" he exclaimed, after a single keen glance at
each of them. " Gentlemen, let us congratulate each
other. Our experiment is a SIGNAL SUCCESS!"

64 PREPARING TO START.

"How do yoa know that, professor? How can you
tell ? " eagerly asked his companions.
' "Look at these two dials; they will tell you," replied
the professor. "This dial," tapping one with his finger, " in-
dicates the weight of the ship, or the pressure with which
she bears upon the ground. This one," indicating the
other, "shows the pressure of air inside the hull of the ship.
The first, as you see, shows that the ship is now pressing
upon the ground with a force of less than a single ton —
in other words, she now weighs less than one ton. The
air-gauge shows that there is still an air pressure of six
pounds per square inch inside the hull, and we therefore
have, as I expected we should, a large margin of buoy-
ancy. Now, lieutenant, do me the favour to turn on the
vapour once more, very cautiously. Steady! Stop! There,
Sir Reginald, the index has reached zero, and your ship
is now as nearly as possible without weight ; and if a man
were now underneath her, he might, notwithstanding her
gigantic proportions, easily raise her upon his shoulders.
Now comes the delicate part of our operation. To
your stations on the deck quickly, gentlemen, if you
please."

The professor's companions, just a trifle excited, perhaps,
hurried away to their posts, and the scientist was left
alone. The circular windows in the sides of the pilot-
house were all left open, and in through them presently
floated the voice of the lieutenant shouting:

" All ready abaft, professor."

" All ready at this end," replied the colonel.

The professor reversed the engines, tuined on the
vapour very cautiously indeed, and simultaneously, with
the engines below only just barely moving, the huge

"SHE MOVES; SHE MOVES 1" 66

propeller began to whirl round at a speed of some sixty
revolutions a minute.

A breathless pause of perhaps two seconds followed,
and then the professor, his forehead damp with nervous
perspiration, heard:

"Hurrah! She's away!" from the lieutenant.

"She moves; she moves!" from the colonel. And

"By Jove, she is actually moving!" from the baronet.

Slowly but surely the Flying Fish backed out of the
building-shed, until nearly half her immense length pro-
jected beyond the walls. Then the voice of the baronet
was heard exclaimino*:

"Ho! stop her! The electric lamp will not clear the
roof, I am afraid. Can you give us a little light on the
subject, professor?"

By way of reply the professor pressed a knob, and the
lamp itself flashed its dazzling light upon the scene, when
it became apparent that the ship had gradually risen from
the ground, bringing the top of her lamp just above the
level of the last tie- rod of the roof.

"Can you drop her a little? Six inches will do it,"
said the baronet.

The professor opened the air- valve and the ship at once
began to settle down.

"So! That will do; all clear. You may go astern
again now as fast as you please," said the baronet.

Once more the great propeller began to revolve, and
presently the baronet, from his position under the fore-
most end of the pilot-house, remarked:

" Now she is all clear, professor; the whole of the pilot-
house is outside the shed. A bold dash astern now and
we shall be clear fore and aft in another moment."

(359) B

66 AFLOAT IN THE AIR.

The professor extinguished the electric lamp; gave the
wheel connected with the vapour- valve another turn;
the engines increased their speed; and the great ship at
once shot rapidly out over the stream and clear of every-
thing. Then the professor stopped the engines, turned a
thin stream of vapour into the air chambers, and the huge
fabric began to slowly rise perpendicularly in the air.
Herr von Schalckenberg waited until he saw that they
were fairly above the level of the roofs on both sides of
the river; then he left the pilot-house and, joining the
baronet on the deck outside, said, in a voice of undisguised
exultation:

'' Well, Sir Reginald, what think you now of the
Flying Fishr

" I think her, professor, a wonderful creation of a still
more wonderful man. I see that we are steadily rising
in the air, as you assured us would be the case, but I
cannot yet fully realize the fact; I feel like a man in a
dream; vou must pive me time to become familiar with
this new marvel — this new triumph of science. But there
can no longer be any doubt as to the success of your
labours; and I accordingly offer you my most hearty
thanks and congratulations."

The colonel and the lieutenant also hastened to offer
theirs, and then the whole party sauntered to the side,
and, leaning upon the guard-rail which took the place of
bulwarks, stood gazing upon the scene below. Not that
there was very much to see; the sky was obscured by a
thin almost motionless canopy of cloud, and the moon,
in her last quarter, had not yet risen; the darkness was
therefore profound. At the same time it was novel and
interesting to watch how, as the huge ship rose steadily

LONDON, AS SEEN FROM THE CLOUDS. 67

higher in the air, the long lines of lighted gas-lamps in
street after street became visible, until gradually the
whole of the great city lay spread out below them like a
map, with the thoroughfares indicated by faint twinkling
lines of fire. And, as they continued to rise, the various
disjointed sounds which, even at that early hour, pervaded
the city, began to reach their ears: the rumbling of a
wagon or the rattle of a cab over the stone-paved streets,
the barking of a dog, the crow of some unnaturally
wakeful rooster, the clank of shunting trucks at one or
another of the many goods stations dotted here and there
all over the metropolis, the distant whistle and rattle of
a train speeding along in the open country beyond; all
floated up to them with almost startling distinctness at
first, then fainter and fainter, until at length they died
completely away as the Flying Fish gradually attained
a higher altitude. Then they entered the bank of cloud
which overspread the city, and the air, which had hitherto
been warm, became suddenly chill and damp.

'' Now, my friends," said the professor, " there will be
little or nothing more to see until we again descend ; I
therefore propose that we return to the pilot-house, shut
ourselves in, and at once test the soaring powers of the
ship by rising to the highest attainable altitude."

" Agreed ! " said the baronet. " But why shut ourselves
in?

"Because," answered the professor, "it will not only
grow rapidly colder as we rise, but, if we remain outside,
we shall also find it increasingly difficult to breathe as
we reach the more rarefied air; whereas, by remaining
inside, we shall be sheltered from the cold and shall be able
to breathe the denser air which we shall take up with us."

68 HIGHER, AND YET HIGHER!

They accordingly entered the pilot-house, shutting the
door after them, and closing all the windows; then the
professor turned a full jet of vapour into the air-chambers
for a moment, producing a perfect vacuum therein, and
the ship at once began to mount into the ether with
greatly accelerated speed, as they could easily see by
watching the barometer, the bulb of which, completely
protected, was situate outside the walls of the pilot-house.

It was no very easy matter for cold to penetrate through
the thin yet obdurate walls of the pilot-house; but by
the time that the barometer had fallen to fifteen inches
the voyagers experienced a distinct sensation of chilliness,
whilst the windows of the pilot-house were thickly coated
with a delicate frost tracery. Still the barometer con-
tinued to fall steadily, though not so rapidly as at first,
indicating that the ship was still soaring upward; and
with every inch fall of the mercury the professor became
an increasingly interesting study of mingled delight and
anxiety. At length the mercury, still falling, registered
a height of eleven inches only, and the professor gave
vent to a great sigh of relief. And when it further
dropped to ten inches he could no longer contain himself.

"Gentlemen," he exclaimed, "rejoice with me. The
conquest of the mountains is ours. We are now as nearly
as possible on a level with the topmost peak of Everest,
the most lofty projection on the earth's surface; and in
due time I hope we shall have the unique felicity of
planting our feet on that as yet untrodden spot, and of
leaving a record to that efiect behind us."

At length the mercury fell to a little below eight inches,
and there it stopped; the limit of the Flying Fish's
buoyancy was reached.

A CROWNING FEAT. 69

The professor stood intently regarding the barometer
tube for some time; then he turned and said to his com-
panions :

" Gentlemen, behold the indisputably lowest reading of
the barometer which man has ever witnessed, and which
indicates that we are at this moment farther from our
mother earth than mortal has ever journeyed before.
Humboldt and Bonpland ascended Chimborazo to a height
of eighteen thousand five hundred and seventy-six feet.
Gay-Lussac rose in his balloon to the much higher
elevation of twenty-three thousand feet, only to be
eclipsed by your own countryman, Green, who soared to
the astounding height of twenty-seven thousand six
hundred feet. But it was left for us, my friends, to
achieve the crowning feat of aeronautical science, by
attaining to the extraordinary altitude of thirty-four
thousand six hundred feet, or more than six and a half
miles of perpendicular elevation above the sea-level. Now,
Sir Reginald, what think you of your latest acquisition,
the Flying Fishr

"I think her by far the most wonderful creation of
which I have ever heard or read, and" (with a bow to
the professor) " every way worthy of the truly remark-
able man to whom she owes her existence. If her power
to penetrate the hitherto unexplored depths of the ocean
is at all commensurate with her ability to reach the
higher regions of the air, I foresee that our voyage is
likelv to be fruitful in startling: incident and in the dis-
CO very of many hitherto unsuspected secrets of nature.
Now, what do you propose that we shall next do, pro-
fessor?"

*'I propose," said von Schalckenberg, "that, having

70 A DEEP SPOT.

tested the Flying Fish's capabilities of merely rising into
the air, we should now ascertain what she can do in the
way of navigating the atmosphere; after which we will
try her powers as a submarine ship. The lowest depres-
sion in the English Channel is to be found in a sub-
marine valley called the "Hurd Deep;" it is situate about
six miles north of the "Casquets," and lies ninety- four
fathoms (or five hundred and sixty-four feet) below the
surface of the water. I propose (subject to your approval)
to make for this spot and there sink to the bottom,
taking advantage of our presence there to make a first trial
of our diving armour. Does this meet with your ap-
proval?"

The baronet and his companions thought it a very
capital idea, and the professor took immediate steps for
carrying it out. Opening a case he produced therefrom
a chart of the English Channel, and, directing his com-
panions' attention to the spot w^hich he proposed to visit,
requested Lieutenant Mildmay to lay off the course and
measure the distance in a straight line. The latter was
found to be about one hundred and fifty miles.

"Which distance," remarked the professor, "I expect
we shall accomplish, in the present calm state of the
atmosphere, in about an hour and a quarter. This high
rate of speed will necessitate our remaining in the pilot-
house; but it will, perhaps, be worth while to put up
with that temporary inconvenience on the present occa-
sion, since we have so exceptionally favourable an oppor-
tunity of testing the actual speed of the ship through the
air. If, however, you prefer to be on deck in the open
air, we can of course moderate our speed sufficiently to
render such a mode of travelling pleasant."

THE VOYAGE COMMENCES. 71

It was unanimously decided, however, to remain inside
and give the speed of the ship a fair trial. The professor
accordingly turned the vapour into the engines, slowly at
first, but in gradually increasing volume, until they were
revolving at full speed, and the ship's head was pointed
in the proper direction, the automatic steering gear being
at the same time thrown into action to test its capabili-
ties. This done the professor opened the main air- valve,
gradually admitting a certain quantity of air into the
ship's interior, and she at once began to drop once more
earthward.

" We will descend to within about a thousand feet of
the sea level," said the professor. " This will restore us to a
more genial temperature, will give the propeller a denser
atmosphere in which to work, and will also enable us to
see somew^hat of the country over which we are flying;
whilst our elevation will be ample to take us clear of
everything. Leith Hill, nine hundred and sixty- seven
feet in height, is the greatest elevation at all near our
path; but we shall pass some three miles or so to the
westward of it, if the air remains calm; and St. Cather-
ine's Point, over which we shall pass, is only seven hun-
dred and seventy-five feet high. So that we have nothing
to fear."

In a few minutes the Flying Fish had dropped to
within the proposed distance of the earth; and, on clear-
ing the windows of the accumulated frost, it was dis-
covered that the moon (then in her third quarter) had
risen and was sufiusing the earth with her feeble ghostly
light, which, slight as it was, enabled the voyagers to
perceive that they were skimming through the air at a
tremendous speed. The engines, though working at their

72 . A FLIGHT THROUGH THE AIR.

full power, were perfectly noiseless; and the propeller,
though revolving at a rate of fully one thousand revolu-
tions per minute, caused not the slightest perceptible
vibration in the hull of the ship. A loud humming
sound, however, proceeded from it, audible even above
the rush of the air against the sides of the pilot-house.

Leith Hill was soon passed, the waters of the Channel
— distinguished in the faint light only by a thin tremu-
lous line of frlimmerino' silver under the crescent moon —
were sighted, and, almost before they had time to realize
the fact, they had skimmed over the anchorage at Spit-
head, across the Isle of Wight, and were floating above
the waters of the Channel. By this time the eastern sky
had begun to pale perceptibly before the coming dawn;
the lights of St. Catherine behind them and the Casquets
ahead gleamed with steadily diminishing power in the
gathering daylight; the half-dozen or so of ships and
steamers in sight, one after the other extinguished their
signal lamps; and, just as they reached their destination
and settled lightly as a snow-flake upon the glassy sur-
face of the water, up rose the glorious sun, flashing his
brilliant beams over land and sea, and awakening all na-
ture into light and life once more.

As the Flying Fish alighted on the surface of the
water, the professor pulled out his watch and remarked,
with evident satisfaction:

" One hundred and fifty miles in just one hour and a
quarter! That is good travelling, and proves the speed
of our ship to be exactly what I estimated it would be.
We will now set the force-pump to work; and I hope,
that by the time we are ready to descend, that brilliant
sun will have enshrouded our movements in a concealing

A BATH, AND THEN BREAKFAST. 73

mist. We are surrounded by fishing-boats, as you see,
and I have no doubt that we have also been observed by
the light-keepers on the Casquets. It will never do to
disappear before so many curious eyes; they would be
filled with horror at the supposed catastrophe. In the
meantime we may as well go out on deck to enjoy the
fresh morning air. As for me, I propose to indulge in the
luxury of a swim."

The main engines had, in the meantime, been stopped,
and the force-pump put slowly in motion, so that the
submersion of the hull might be sufficiently gradual to
escape notice.

Five minutes later the professor and his three com-
panions were gamboling round the ship like so many
porpoises — or dolphins, if they would prefer the latter
metaphor — enjoying to the full the invigorating luxury
of their bath in the cool, pure sea- water.

By the time that they were on board again and dressed,
the intellio;ent Georo^e had arranored for them on deck a
nice little light breakfast of chocolate, biscuits, and fruit,
for which their swim had given them an unbounded
relish. The meal was partaken of at leisure, and fol-
lowed by a cigar, over which they dawdled so long that
the Flying Fish was submerged to the deck before the
last stump had been reluctantly thrown away. The mist
which the professor had prognosticated having, mean-
while, gathered sufficiently to cloak their movements, a
cast of the lead was taken and the ship was found to be
in ninety fathoms of water. The professor, for reasons
of his own, deemed this sufficiently near the deepest
point to justify an immediate descent. They accordingly
entered the pilot-house forthwith, closing the door

74 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

securely after them — the air-pump was stopped, the sea-
cock communicating with the water - chambers was
opened, and the Flying Fish, w^ith an easy imperceptible
motion, sank gently beneath the placid waters, to rest, a
minute or two later, on a bed of gravel at the bottom of
the Channel.

"Now," said the professor, looking at his watch when
the ship had fairly settled into her strange berth, and
had been securely anchored there, "it is just eight o'clock.
We are all somewhat fatigued, and our bath and break-
fast have prepared us nicely to enjoy a few hours' repose.
I therefore propose, gentlemen, that we retire to our sleep-
ing apartments until two o'clock p.m. George shall call
us at that hour and have a bit of luncheon ready for us,
after which we shall have ample time to test our diving
apparatus before dinner."

This proposal met with a very cordial reception, and
was duly carried out, with the result that, half an hour
later, the four adventurous voyagers were sleeping as
calmly in their novel resting-place as though they had
been accustomed from their earliest infancy to take their
repose at the bottom of the sea.

•bfe^"'

CHAPTER V.

A SUBMARINE EXCURSION.

T the appointed hour the imperturbable George,
who never could be betrayed into the slightest
exhibition of astonishment at finding himself in
any extraordinary situation which he might happen to
be sharing with his somew^hat eccentric master, duly
aroused the four sleepers, and when they were ready, laid
luncheon before them with the same indomitable sang-
froid which he would have exhibited had the transaction
been conducted on terra firma.

The meal over, the professor led the way below to the
diving chamber, where the adventurous four carefully
donned their diving dresses, inclusive of the armour which
Sir Reginald felt so strongly disposed to ridicule. As this
was the first occasion of inducting themselves into their
novel costume, they were rather a long time about it; but
when once they were fairly encased, they were fain to
admit that, strange as might be their appearance, they
felt exceedingly comfortable. The professor was the last
to assume the dress, having busied himself in the first
instance in assisting the others; but at length all was
ready, and they filed into the exit chamber, carefully

76 PREPARATIONS FOR A WALK.

closing the door behind them. This chamber was illu-
minated by an electric lamp, the light of which clearly
revealed the whereabouts of the sea-cock, and of the
fastenings to the trap-door, all of which the professor
pointed out to his companions, at the same time explaining
the method of working them. The sea-cock was then
opened, and the chamber began to slowly fill with water.

" Now," explained the professor, '' please listen to me.
If now, or at any future time, either of you should ex-
perience the slightest sensation of discomfort as the water
rises round you, all you have to do is simply to open this
air-cock, which communicates with the air-chambers, and
the condensed air will at once rush in and expel the water
again; then close the sea and air cocks; open this relief
valve, which will allow the condensed air to disperse it-
self in the habitable portions of the hull, and you can at
once open the door of communication to the diving cham-
ber, and disencumber yourself of your dress, remembering
always to close the door behind you. Now, do either of
you feel at all uncomfortable?"

The exit chamber was by this time full of water, and
its occupants were, therefore, completely submerged, and
subject to the same pressure of water as they would be
outside, but the armour proved fully equal to its work in
every respect, and its wearers were able to move with
just as much freedom and ease as if they had been on dry
land. They accordingly replied to the professor's inquiry
with a brisk neofative.

" And can you hear distinctly what I say ? " continued
the professor.

They replied that they could hear every word perfectly,
only realizing when the question was asked that they

TREADING ON STRANGE GROUND. 77

were completely sheathed in metal from head to foot, and
that, consequently, the fact of their being able to hear at
all was somewhat singular.

" That is all right," exclaimed the professor. " I
thought it would be convenient if we could communicate
freely with each other under water, so I introduced a
couple of small microphones into each helmet, hoping
they would answer the purpose. Mine are simply perfect,
but I was anxious to know if yours were also. Now, if
you are quite ready I will open the door."

The next moment the trap-door fell open, and a great
black aperture yawned before them.

" Light both your lamps," exclaimed the professor, " and
pick your footsteps. Remember, you are about to tread
on strange ground."

The professor led the way, his armour-clad figure loom-
ing up black and gigantic against the two overlapping
discs of illuminated water before him, and the other three
followed closely in his footsteps. On emerging from the
trap-door they turned sharp to the left, and made their
way toward the bow along the tunnel-like passage be-
tween the ship's bottom and the starboard bilge keel.
This was soon traversed, and they then found themselves
on a tolerably firm, level, gravelly bottom. Emerging
from underneath the ship's bottom, they now extinguished
their lamps for a moment by way of experiment, and
found that so clear was the water that even at the great
depth of ninety fathoms it was not absolutely dark, a
sombre greenish blue twilight prevailing in which the
hull of the ship towered above them vast and shadowy,
yet with tolerable distinctness. This twilight, however,
was strongly illuminated at both ends of the ship by the

78 AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

powerful electric lamps at the bow and stern, all of which
the professor had taken the precaution to light before
descending to the diving chamber.

" Those are our beacons," said the professor, pointing
to these lamps, " and we must be exceedingly careful not
to stray beyond the reach of their rays, otherwise we
might experience great difficulty in finding our way back
to the ship. Are you all pretty comfortable in this great
depth of water ? We are now iive hundred and forty feet
beneath the surface of the sea, or three hundred and
thirty-six feet deeper than man has ever reached before.
Why, if we were to accomplish nothing more than this,
we have already achieved a great triumph! Now, let us
make our way toward the deepest spot in this submarine
valley; I have an idea that we shall see something curious
when we reach it. This way, gentlemen; our course is
about due west, and we cannot well lose our way if we
descend the slope which seems to commence yonder."

The little party pressed forward, experiencing no incon-
venience or difiSculty whatever, save that of making their
way through water of such a density as that which en-
veloped them, and soon reached the edge of a rather steep
declivity, evidently leading down to the lowest part of
the depression. Before venturing down this declivity
they paused to glance backward, and saw that, though
the ship herself had become invisible in the sombre twi-
light, all the electric lights were distinctly visible, the
very powerful one on the top of the pilot-house especially
gleaming like the illuminated lantern of a lighthouse.
So far, therefore, all was well; they were still within
range of the lights, and they at once turned and plunged
fearlessly into the depression. They had not far to go,

WHAT THEY SAW THERE. 79

the sides of the depression being steep, and in about two
minutes they found themselves at the bottom, and stand-
ing before an immense confused heap of wreckage of al-
most every imaginable description. Shattered stumps of
spars, waterlogged and weighed down with a thick in-
crustation of barnacles, the accumulated growth of years
of immersion; part of the hull of a ship, so overgrown
with "sea grass" as to be distinguishable as such only
from the fact that the channels and channel irons with
their dead-eyes, and even the frayed ends of the shroud
lanyards still remained attached; a twisted and tangled-up
mass of iron rods which looked as though it might at some
distant period have been the paddle-wheel of a steamer,
and near it the evident remains of a boiler and some
machinery; the beam of a trawl-net, and bales, boxes,
packing-cases, barrels, and, in short, every conceivable
description of covering in which ships' cargoes are usually
stowed were mixed up in inextricable confusion with
heaps of coal, large stones, and other anomalous sub-
stances.

" Just as I anticipated," exclaimed the professor, point-
ing to the heap and addressing his companions. "And
this, I expect, is the sort of thing which we shall see in
every depression of the ocean's bed which we may visit.
All these matters have been swept hither and thither over
the ground by the action of the tidal and other currents,
until they have happened to drift over this spot, and here
they have finally settled owing to the inability of the
currents to move them up the steep sides of the depression.
Let us walk round the heap; we may see something of
interest before we have completed the circuit."

And so they did, though the interest was hardly the

80 A STARTLING SIGHT.

kind of which the professor had been thinking when he
spoke. For, whilst standing on the opposite side of the
heap, contemplating the remains of an ancient and grass-
grown wreck, they were startled by the appearance of a
sharp snake-like head with a pair of fierce gleaming eyes
which was suddenly protruded from a gap in the ship's
side, and in another moment the creature — a conger-eel
of truly gigantic proportions — emerged from its hiding-
place, and, possibly attracted by the brilliancy of the
electric lights which the party carried, swam boldly to-
ward them.

"What a horrible monster!" ejaculated the colonel, at
the same moment that Lieutenant Mildmay, struck with
the savage look of the creature, exclaimed:

"Why, I believe the brute means to attack us!"

"And, by Jove, here come some more of them!" ex-
claimed the baronet, pointing to the hole from which the
creature had emerged.

"Draw your daggers, gentlemen!" shouted the pro-
fessor. " And be not dismayed; they and our armour are
quite sufficient for our protection."

It was perhaps just as well that the professor had
sufficient presence of mind at that moment to say what
he did; for his companions, though their courage had been
proved a thousand times before, were now in a new and
strange element to which they had scarcely had time to
accustom themselves; and, moreover, the aspect of the
fierce fish as they rushed forward with open jaws, dis-
closing their formidable teeth, was sufficiently weird and
uncanny to at least momentarily dismay the stoutest
heart.

Lieutenant Mildmay 's anticipation as to the intentions

ATTACKED BY CONGER-EELS 1 81

of the fish proved quite correct. On they came, some
thirty or forty in number; and before the attacked could
quite recover from their confusion they found themselves
fairly in the clutches of the snake-like creatures. The
attack was made w^ith the utmost determination and
ferocity, the eels twining themselves so powerfully about
the bodies of their foes that it was almost impossible for
the latter to move hand or foot; whilst the sharp teeth
rasped strongly but ineffectually against the scales of the
sethereum armour. The fight, however, though fiercely
waged on the part of the assailants, was soon over, a
single stroke of the keen double-edged dagger — as soon
as the assailed could get their hands free — proving suffi-
cient to instantly destroy the individual fish upon which
it happened to fall. But so fierce were the eels that the
conflict ended only with the slaughter of the last of them.
The fish were of truly enormous size, two or three speci-
mens measuring, as nearly as could be estimated, fully
eighteen feet in length, whilst none were less than ten
feet long. The tour of exploration was then completed
without further adventure; the powerful electric lights
of the ship enabled them to find her without difficulty
the moment that they climbed up out of the depression;
and they made good their return with no worse result
than that of excessive fatigue due to their unwonted
efforts in forcing their way through so dense a medium
as water of ninety fathoms depth.

So novel an experience as theirs had that day been
naturally furnished the chief topic of conversation at the
dinner- table ; the professor especially entertaining his
companions with many interesting anecdotes of strange

adventures which had happened to, and curious sights
(359) y

82 SUBMARINE NAVIGATION.

witnessed by divers at various times and places. At
length, during a lull in the conversation, he said:

" There still remain two trials to which the Flying Fish
must be subjected before we can say that we are fully
acquainted with her powers, namely, a trial of her speed
through the water when fully submerged; and a trial of
her behaviour as an ordinary ocean-going ship. And
these trials, I think, should — if you approve, Sir Reginald
■ — be carried out before we do anything else."

The baronet gave his willing assent to the professor's
proposal; and it was finally arranged that the trials, or,
at all events, one of them, should take place on the
morrow.

It having been arranged that early rising should be
the order of the day throughout the voyage, they were
aroused at seven o'clock on the following morning, and
sat down to breakfast at eight prompt. By nine o'clock
the meal was over, and the party, pipe or cigar in mouth,
mustered in the pilot-house. Here the first thing the
professor did was to produce a chart, to which, on spread-
ing it open on the table, he called Lieutenant Mildmay's
attention, saying:

" Being a seaman by profession, you are undoubtedly
the most skilful navigator of the party; and I therefore
propose — with Sir Reginald's full approval, which I have
already obtained — to confide the navigation of the Flying
Fish to you. Now this" — making a pencil mark on the
chart — " is our present position; and this" — pointing to
another pencil mark off Cape Finisterre, which presented
the appearance of having been very carefully laid down
— " is the point to which I wish you to navigate us in the
first instance."

THE professor's ARRANGEMENTS. 83

" Very good," said Mildmay. " I undertake the charge
with pleasure. Only I must stipulate, that when making
long passages you will rise to the surface occasionally, in
order that I may be enabled to take the observations
necessary to verify our position."

"Of course, of course," answered the professor. "Now,
are we all ready to start?"

An answer in the affirmative was given; and von
Schalckenberg thereupon moved the lever which actuated
the simple machinery controlling the four anchors in the
bilge keels. The ship being thus released from the
ground, he next opened the cocks connecting the air and
water chambers ; a stream of compressed air at once rushed
into the latter, forcing out a certain quantity of water,
and the ship began to rise.

"We will so adjust our position that the top of the
lantern surmounting the pilot-house shall be submerged
to a depth of six fathoms; at which depth we shall not
only be enabled to pass clear of all ships, but shall also,
if the water be clear, be enabled to see pretty well what
is before and above us," said the professor, fixing his eyes
upon a gauge before him. " There," he continued, closing
the air-cocks as the index pointed to six fathoms, " now
we shall do very well. Are you ready to set the course,
Mildmay?"

" A run of six hundred and fifty miles, upon a west-
south-west course, will take us to about the spot you
have indicated," answered Mildmay.

Which is a trifle less than five and a half hours* run,
if our speed under* water is equal to what it was through
the air. But I anticipate that we shall do better than
that; the resistance of water is considerably greater than

84 FULL SPEED AHEAD!

that of air to the vessel's passage through it, I admit;
but I anticipate that this will be more than counter-
balanced by the greater power of the propeller in the
denser fluid. We shall soon see."

''So saying, the professor set the engines in motion,
and the Flying Fish began to glide smoothly yet soon
with marvellous rapidity through the water.

" My surmise was correct, you see," said the professor
some ten minutes afterwards, as he pointed to another
gauge on the wall of the pilot-house. " We are now
running steadily at a speed of one hundred and fifty
miles per hour; and we have already travelled twelve
miles from our starting-point. The gauge is, as you see,
self-registering, and shows on that piece of paper the
exact distance run through or along the surface of the
water (but not through the air) between any two given
points. When the ship's course is altered, or you desire
for any other reason to commence the register afresh, all
you have to do is, press that ivory knob, and the instru-
ment will draw a line across the paper and, at the same
moment, spring back to zero."

The water, at the depth at which they were travelling,
proved to be almost as transparent as crystal, of a dark
olive-green tint beneath them, merging by imperceptible
gradations to a faint greenish-blue above; the surface
being discernible by the shifting lace work of gold inces-
santly playing over it where the sun's beams caught the
ridges of the faint rippling wavelets raised by the lan-
guid summer breeze. Even small objects, such as medusae,
and frao^ments of weed floatino^ in mid-sea, were distin-
guishable at a considerable distance; and fishing- boats
could be clearly made out at the distance of a mile. A

THE PROFESSOR FEELS MISCHIEVOUS. 85

very novel and curious effect was witnessed when objects
floating on the surface (such as ships, fishing-boats, or
aquatic birds) came into view, the submerged portions
of them being as clearly defined as though they were
floating in air, whilst the parts above the surface were
wavering and indistinct. A flock of diving gulls, for
instance, which they passed at no great distance, pre-
sented the curious spectacle of little more than dark dots
furnished with pairs of quickly-moving webbed feet
whilst they floated on the placid surface; but directly a
bird dived its whole body became distinctly visible, with
a lono^ stream of air-bubbles trailino- behind it.

At length it became apparent that they were approach-
ing a large fleet of ships making their way up channel.

A smile passed over the professor's features as he gazed
out at them, and turning to his companions he re-
marked:

" I feel mischievously inclined this morning. I think
we will give the crews of those ships a little surprise, and
furnish them with a new topic for conversation."

" Ah, indeed!" said the baronet. " How do you propose
to do it?"

" By rising to the surface in the midst of the fleet.
Our engine power is quite sufficient, I believe, to send us
to the surface or to plunge us several fathoms deeper than
we now are without our interfering with the water cham-
bers or altering in any way the weight of the ship. There
is a nice clear space just ahead, with ample room in
which to show ourselves and to make a downward plunge
again beneath that large ship, the barnacle-covered bot-
tom of which seems to tell of a long voyage through
tropic seas. Now take up your stations of observation,

86 ASTONISHING THE BLUE-JACKETS.

2'entlemen, and note the consternation which our unex-
pected appearance will produce."

The professor's companions placed themselves at the
windows of the pilot-house, and Herr von Schalckenberg
at the same moment suddenly pressed the end of the
tiller vertically downward. Obedient to the helm, the
Flying FisKs sharp snout immediately swerved upward,
and with a tremendous swirl and commotion of the water
the great ship rushed to the surface, throwing half her
length out of the sea, only to disappear again the next
moment with a graceful plunging motion and a still
greater disturbance of the water by her immense rapidly
revolving propeller.

A single swift glance around them was all that the
travellers were able to obtain of the state of affairs above
water; but that sufficed to show them that their appear-
ance, sudden though it was, had attracted a considerable
amount of notice. They saw that the Flying Fish had
broken water in the very centre of a large fleet of ships,
most of which were making their way up channel under
every stitch of canvas they could spread before a very
light westerly air. Many of these ships were evidently,
from their weather-beaten appearance, traders from far-
distant foreign ports; and their crews, taking advantage
of the beautifully fine weather and smooth water, were
either occupied on stages slung over the sides in giving
the hulls a touch of fresh paint to brighten up their
appearance previous to going into port, or aloft, scraping,
painting, and varnishing the spars, or tarring down the
rigging, with a similar object. All eyes seemed to be
directed toward the apparition which had made its sudden
appearance in their midst; and the shouts of astonish-

A SENSATIONAL NEWSPAPER PARAGRAPH. 87

iiient and dismay evoked by that sudden appearance were
distinctly audible to the occupants of the Flying Fish's
pilot-house. The hurried way in which the crew of the
large ship immediately ahead of them sprang to their feet
and scrambled in over the bulwarks from the stages on
which they were working, or slid down the freshly-tarred
backstays to the deck as they saw the immense object
rushing directly toward them, was particularly amusing,
and drew a hearty laugh from the beholders on board the
Flying Fish. Another moment, and the cause of all this
commotion was plunging fathoms deep beneath the keel
of the last-mentioned ship, to reappear on the surface a
minute later, beyond the farthest outskirts of the fleet.
A judicious manipulation of the helm kept the Flying
Fish this time on the surface for perhaps a quarter of a
minute, just long» enough, in fact, to satisfy the wonder-
ing beholders that their eyes had not deceived them, when
she once more disappeared, this time finally, from the view
of the fleet.

" That escapade of ours will produce a tremendously
sensational paragraph for the newspapers, and we must
keep a look-out for it," said the colonel. " I wonder what
they will make of it!"

Sure enough, the paragraph appeared in due course, to
the following eflect, as copied from a cutting which is still
preserved in the professors scrap-book: —

APPEARANCE OF A GIGANTIC SEA MONSTER IN THE
ENGLISH CHANNEL.

EXTRAORDINARY STORY.

" On Wednesday morning last, the 27th instant, a fleet
of some hundred and fifty sail of vessels was ofl" the Start

88 "A GIGANTIC fish!"

and about in mid-channel, making its way to the eastward
before a light westerly air, the weather at the time being
fine, the water smooth, and the atmosphere perfectly
clear. A portion of the crews belonging to several of the
craft in question w^ere at work in the rigging when their
attention was attracted by a curious commotion which
suddenly appeared on the surface of the water at a con-
siderable distance to the eastward. The disturbance was
in the form of a long wedge-like ripple, the appearance
being very pronounced and distinct at its forward or
pointed extremity, but less so at its rear end, where it
spread widely out and became gradually merged and
lost in the gentle ripple caused by the wind. It was
travelling directly towards the fleet at a speed far exceed-
ing that of the fastest express train, and it bore all the
appearance of being the 'wake' of some enormous body
moving at no great distance beneath the surface. While
the seamen were still watching it in wonder and perplex-
ity, mingled with no little alarm, it had reached the fleet,
the rippling swell spreading out on each side and curling
over into a breaker which dashed against the sides of the
several vessels, causing the smaller craft to rock and toss
perceptibly. It clove its irresistible way to the very
centre of the fleet, where there happened to be a laro^e
open space of water, and here there suddenly shot into
view above the surface a gigantic fish, the length of which
is variously estimated by those who saw it as from four
hundred to eight hundred feet, with a* girth of between
one and two hundred feet. The creature, apparently
startled at finding itself in the midst of so many vessels,
immediately dived below the surface again, passing
directly beneath the keel of the barque Olivia^ of London,

A SEA MONSTER DESCRIBED. 89

from Bangkok, William Rogers master. The crew of
this ship had a most distinct view of the monster, as it
broke water at not more than half a cable's length (or
some three hundred feet) from them, and immediately
afterwards shaved the keel of the ship so closely as almost
to touch it. Captain Rogers, who was on deck at the
time, describes the creature, and his description tallies
perfectly with that of the other witnesses, as being some-
what like a saw-fish, without the saw, in general shape,
but with a proportionately longer and more sharply
pointed head, in which four eyes, two in the upper and
two in the lower part of the head, were distinctly seen.
The body was a beautiful silvery white, glistening in the
sun like polished metal. On the back of the immense lish
was a curious flat protuberance, above which rose another
in the form of a dome-shaped hump, with, if we may
venture to repeat so incredible a story, eyes all round it,
and surmounted by an object having a very marked re-
semblance to a silver crown. This extraordinary creature
had no fins so far as could be seen, but propelled itself
solely by its tail, which it moved with such wonderful
rapidity as rendered it utterly impossible to detect the
shape of it. The creature was evidently an air-breather,
for it had no sooner completely cleared the fleet, which it
did in about one minute, tlie distance travelled in that
time being fully three miles, than it rose once more to
the surface, remaining there for perhaps half a minute,
evidently for the purpose of getting a fresh supply of air,
when it again dived and was seen no more."

CHAPTER VL

IN SEARCH OF A SUBMERGED WRECK.

return to the Flying Fish, It was exactly two
o'clock P.M. when Lieutenant Mildmay announced
that, according to his "dead reckoning," they
were now on or very near the spot indicated on the chart
by the professor, and that, if there was no objection, he
should like to rise to the surface in order to obtain the
astronomical observations necessary to verify the ship's
position. The engines were accordingly stopped, and the
water being ejected from the water chambers, the travel-
lers once more found themselves above water, advantage
being taken of the opportunity to throw open the door of
the pilot-house and step out on deck.

The first discovery made by them was that a moderate
breeze was blowing from the w^estward, with a corre-
sponding amount of sea and a very long heavy swell,
which, however, to their great gratification, affected the
Flying Fish only to a very trifling extent. When end-on
to the sea she pitched a little, it is true, but when broad-
side-on she simply rose and fell with the run of the sea,
being as completely free from rolling motion as though
she had still been on the stocks.

ELUDING OBSERVATION. 91

Their next discovery was that a large steamer was in
sight, some seven miles distant; and, whilst they stood
watching the way in which the craft plunged along over
the heavy swell, pitching '' bows under " occasionally, she
suddenly altered her course and steered direct toward
them, her crew having apparently only that moment
sighted the Flying Fish, and being evidently in great
perplexity as to what she could possibly be.

" Be as quick as you can with your observations. Mild-
may, and let us get under water again," said the baronet.
" We shall perhaps be expected to explain who and what
we are if that steamer gets within hail of us, and I am
not particularly anxious to do that."

The sights were taken, and, whilst the steamer was
yet some five miles distant, the Flying Fish quietly sank
once more beneath the waves; doubtless to the intense
astonishment of those who were making such haste to
get alongside her.

Eapidly, yet steadily, and with a perfectly level deck,
the craft sank lower and lower, the light diminishing
momentarily, until it at length vanished altogether, and
the darkness became so intense that it was impossible for
the occupants of the pilot-house to discern each other;
whilst the silence which prevailed around them was first
oppressive and then awe-inspiring in its intensity.

Suddenly a light shuffling sound arose within the
pilot-house, and in another moment the inky depths
through which they were descending became brilliantly
illuminated with a clear white penetrating light, in which
every detail of the ship's hull fore and aft stood out
distinctly visible, whilst here and there, above, below,
and on either side of them, a momentary gleam revealed

92 A SUBMARINE QUEST.

the presence of some startled and hastily retreating
denizen of the deep. The professor had lighted up the
electric lanterns, the especial purpose of which was to
illuminate the sea around the ship, leaving the interior
of the pilot-house still in darkness, in order that its
occupants might enjoy, to the fullest extent, the novelty
of the scene thus suddenly revealed to them, and also
that, on reaching the bottom, they might the better be
able to distinguish external objects.

Lower and lower sank the Flying Fish, and at length,
after what seemed to the travellers an almost inter-
minable descent, she reached the bottom.

" Now, gentlemen," exclaimed the professor, with some
slight evidences of excitement in the tones of his voice,
" look around you, and see if you can discover anything
unusual in our neighbourhood."

The persons addressed did as they were requested, the
professor himself also peering eagerly out of each of the
pilot-house windows in turn, but without result; the
electric lamps, though they brilliantly illuminated the
scene on all sides for fully fifty yards, and rendered
objects distinguishable for at least three times that
distance, revealed nothing but a plain completely covered
with rocks and boulders, some of which were of enormous
size, and all thickly overgrown with sea- weed.

" What is it you expected to find down here, professor?"
asked the colonel, when it had become perfectly evident
that nothing but rocks lay within their range of vision.

" The hull of a ship," answered the professor. " She
foundered on or near the spot indicated by me, and cannot
be far ofi*; unless, indeed, we are out in our reckoning.
Have you worked out your calculations, Mildmay?"

IN DANGER OF COLLISION. 93

" Not yet," answered the lieutenant, " but I soon will
do so if you will oblige us with a little light inside here."

" Ah, true ! I had forgotten," murmured the professor
apologetically, and he lighted the lamp which hung sus-
pended above the table in the pilot-house.

The lieutenant sat down and rapidly worked out his
observations, with the resulting discovery that they were
exactly two miles north-east of the spot they were seek-
ing, having doubtless been swept that much out of their
proper position by the tide. The Flying Fish was accor-
dingly raised some fifty feet from the bottom, her engines
were once more set in motion, slowly this time, however,
and the ship's head laid in the proper direction, the
occupants of the pilot-house stationing themselves at the
windows and peering out eagerly ahead on the look-out
for the object of their search.

The engines being set to work dead slow and stopped
at intervals when the speed became too high, the speed
of the Flying Fish was kept down to about twelve knots
per hour, at which rate she would occupy ten minutes in
traversing the required distance. She had been under
weigh exactly nine minutes when Mildmay exclaimed:

" Sail ho! That is to say, there is a large object of some
kind dead ahead. Port hard, professor, or we shall be
into it."

The professor, who was not absolutely ignorant of
nautical phraseology, promptly ported his helm and
at the same moment stopped the engines, by which
manoeuvre the Flying Fish glided close past the object
so slowly that it was easily distinguishable as a huge
pinnacle of rock.

They were now on the exact spot indicated by the

94 THE QUEST CONTINUED.

professor on the chart, but nothing in the slightest degree
resembling the hull of a ship was in sight. Rocks in the
form of pinnacles, huge fantastic boulders, and boldly
jutting reefs appeared all round, as far as the powerful
lamps of the ship could project their rays, but no ship
was to be seen. They rose some fifty feet higher, in
order to see over the more lofty rocks, some of which
intercepted their view, but with no more successful result.

" There is no ship here, professor," at last remarked the
baronet, after all hands had carefully inspected the whole
of the ground within their ken. " Are you quite sure of
the accuracy of your information?"

" My information has reference only to an approximate
position; the ship is hereabout — within a few miles of
this spot — and I considered that our best chance of dis-
covering her lay in coming here first, and, if necessary,
prosecuting our search with this position as a starting-
point."

'< Very good. Then, as the object of our quest is mani-
festly not here, I propose that we proceed with our search
at once."

By way of reply the professor put the helm hard over,
and once more set the engines slowly in motion, thus
causing the ship to travel in a circle about the spot; all
hands going, as before, to the windows of the pilot-house
on the look-out.

The circle described by the Flying Fish was a very
small one — not more than two hundred feet in diameter —
and the inmates of the pilot-house were therefore able to
carefully examine every inch of ground within its cir-
cumference. One complete circuit having been accom-
plished without result, the helm was very slightly altered,

found! 95

and the ship then went on in a continually widening
spiral w^hich must necessarily at length take her to the
object of her search, if indeed it actually existed.

That it did so was ultimately demonstrated, the pro-
fessor himself being the first to make its discovery.

The wreck, when first sighted, was distant about one
hundred yards on their starboard hand, and only just
within range of the circle of electric light. The ship's
head was at once turned in that direction, the engines
being at the same time stopped, to permit of a very gradual
approach.

All eyes were of course intently fixed upon the strange
object; and they had neared it to wdthin about one
hundred feet, when Lieutenant Mildmay exclaimed in a
low, awe-struck voice:

" Just as I suspected ! It is the Daedalus!*

" Yes," replied the professor very quietly; "it is that
most unfortunate ship. And now, gentlemen, wdth your
permission I will anchor the Flying Fish, and pay a
visit — unaccompanied — to the wreck."

It was evident, from the extreme gravity of the pro-
fessor's demeanour, that his proposed visit was prompted
by some other motive than that of mere idle curiosity;
his companions therefore simply bowed in token of
acquiescence, and permitted von Schalckenberg to follow
undisturbed the bent of his own inclinations.

The Flying Fish, meanwhile, had been caused to de-
scend to the bottom, to which she was at once secured
by her four grip-anchors; immediately after which the
professor, with a somewhat hurried and incoherent
apology, left his companions and descended to the diving-
room.

a -r\ A "n^"rv A t tto "

96 THE "DAEDALUS.

Left to themselves, the trio occupying the pilot-house
had ample leisure to note the position and surroundings
of the ill-fated steamer.

She had settled down upon a flat ledge of level rock,
and rested, keel downwards, in a perfectly upright posi-
tion, having apparently recovered herself whilst settling
down. She was greatly damaged, both in hull and
rigging; the spar-deck and forecastle being swept away,
and her main deck blown up in midships, very possibly
through the explosion of her boilers. Her bowsprit and
mizzen-mast were gone, as was also her fore topmast;
and the mainmast, with topmast and all attached, was
leaning aft, and so far over the side that the observers
would not have been surprised to see it fall at any
moment. Loose ropes were trailing in all directions; and
the tattered remains of sails still hung from some of the
yards and stays, swaying occasionally in a slow, weird,
ghostly manner, with the mysterious intermittent under-
currents of the sea.

The trio were still discussing the particulars of the sad
disaster, which, on a stormy September night, had resulted
in the drowning of nearly five hundred people, and the
plunging of the ship herself to the depths wherein they
had so strangely found her, when the figure of the pro-
fessor, clad in his suit of diving armour and dwindled in
apparent dimensions by his great distance below them,
was seen to emerge from the black shadow of the Flying
Fish's hull and make his way slowly and laboriously
over the rocky bottom toward the wreck. A couple of
minutes sufiiced him to perform the short journey; and
scrambling up the side by the aid of some of the dangling
gear, he entered the poop cabin and disappeared.

WHERE IS THE PROFESSOR? 97

The party in the pilot-house finished their chat; and
then sauntered down into the music saloon, of which
they had seen nothing since the night of their departure
from London — actually only two nights before, but they
had since then been so satiated with novel sights and
experiences that it really seemed as though at least a
month had elapsed since they last passed the threshold.
Here they beguiled the time so effectually with music,
vocal and instrumental, that it was not until George
appeared announcing dinner that it occurred to either of
them that the professor had been out of the ship nearly
three hours.

"Where can the man be? Surely some accident must
have befallen him!" exclaimed the baronet, starting up
in alarm.

" Not necessarily," replied the colonel. " The professor
is pretty well able to take care of himself. It is much
more probable that he has discovered some object of
exceptional interest on board the wreck, or has fallen
into a scientific reverie as to the actual cause of the
disaster — the cause, I mean, from a scientist's point of
view. Sound the gong, George; water is a good conductor,
and he may possibly hear it and be awakened to a con-
sciousness that time flies."

The gong was accordingly struck, and the three com-
panions hastened to the pilot-house to watch for results.
The call proved effectual, for in less than five minutes
afterwards the professor made his appearance on the
deck of the wreck, soon afterwards rejoining his friends
on board the Flying Fish in the vestibule outside the
saloons. He carried in his hand a small compact package,
which he deposited carefully on the sideboard, and then,

(359) G

98 AN EXPLANATION.

with a much more cheerful mien than he had worn when
setting out upon his solitary journey, took his accustomed
place at the table, apparently quite prepared to do full
justice to the meal which was about to be served.

The soup and fish were discussed in silence; a glass of
wine was then imbibed with much apparent enjoyment,
and this unlocked the professor's lips.
. " I feel it to be due to you, gentlemen — and more
especially to yon, Sir Reginald — to offer some explana-
tion of the motive which influenced me in my proposal
that w^e should come hither," he remarked, setting his
wine-glass down on the table. " I had a threefold object
in view. In the first place, I felt curious to know whether
it would be possible to find, at the bottom of the sea, an
object the position of which is only approximately known.
In the second place, I was anxious to secure a relic.
And in the third place, I was almost equally anxious to
recover a most valuable document which I was convinced
had gone down in the unfortunate Daedalus, With
regard to the first-named object, you have already wit-
nessed our complete success. I have also been successful
in the remaining tw^o."

The speaker paused here; but it was so evident from
his manner that he had not yet said all he had to say
upon the subject that his companions contented them-
selves with mere simple monosyllabic murmurs of polite
congratulation, and then awaited in silence -a further
communication.

The professor continued silent and evidently plunged
deep in a somewhat sombre reverie for several minutes;
then he lifted his head and said somewhat hesitatingly:

"You will perhaps be surprised to learn that my life

THE professor's LOVE STORY. 99

has not been left wholly ungilded by the halo of romance.
Five-ancl-twenty years ago, when Science had perhaps
not obtained so tight a grip upon me as she now has, it
was my fate to meet the loveliest woman I have ever
beheld. She was an only daughter, of English parentage;
and chance threw us somewhat more intimately together
than is usual with people who become acquainted casu-
ally and informally. I fell blindly, madly in love with
this peerless creature; and, gentlemen, I have since — and
alas, too late ! — had reason to believe that, strange as such
a circumstance may appear to you, she did not altogether
escape a reciprocal passion. But my studious habits had
brought with them one serious disadvantage — I was in-
describably diffident and shy; so much so that when the
time arrived that I must either unbosom myself or let
her pass away out of my life, perhaps for ever, I found
myself without the courage to make the necessary decla-
ration. We parted without a word of love having passed
between us. She remained single for five years — to give
me an opportunity of declaring myself, as I now know —
and then married a man far more worthy of her than I
could ever have proved. Gentlemen, her only child, a lad
of fifteen, went down with the ill-fated Daedalus; and
the mother is to-day breaking her heart because, by some
perverse chance, she does not possess a single memento
of her lost boy. My visit to the wreck, however, will
remove that source of grief; for I shall have the melan-
choly satisfaction of transmitting to the dear lady, by
the first safe conveyance which oflTers itself, the watch
and chain and the signet-ring which he wore when he
bade her a final farewell. In the moment that I con-
quered the last difficulty connected with the construction

100 A RECOVERED TREASURE.

of this ship, and felt assured that she would prove a
success, I vowed to myself that, by the courtesy of our
amiable host, I would avail myself of the means she
would offer for securing some memento of that poor lad;
and I have to-day at once performed my vow and passed
through scenes of such surpassing horror as probably no
mortal has ever witnessed before, and which language
has no words to describe.

" The third object of my visit to the wreck is before
you in the shape of yonder package. It is a manuscript
book filled with jottings and memoranda, the result of
some thirty years of profound research in the many by-
paths of science. It was the property of an officer of the
ship with whom I had corresponded for many years; and,
knowing how greatly I coveted the book, he left it me in
his will, probably little thinking, poor fellow ! that it was
fated to go with him to the bottom of the sea. On being
made acquainted with the circumstances of his death, and
also with his bequest, I surmised at once that the precious
volume must have been in his immediate possession when
the ship foundered. And having visited him on board, as
well as had occasion to notice the place in which the book
was ordinarily kept, I had very little difficulty in placing
my hand upon it."

"I suppose matters are in a very terrible state on
board the wreck?" asked the baronet.

" So bad," was the reply, " that, knowing what I now
know, I cannot think of any motive powerful enough to
induce me to repeat my visit. I had two very strong
motives for going on board the ship; and, as each succes-
sive horror presented itself, I thought, surely there can
be nothing worse than this; and I pressed onward, only

A PROPOSAL. 101

to encounter greater and still greater horrors at every
step. But I would not go there again even to achieve
what I have achieved to-day."

"Ah!" said the baronet, ''I have a great curiosity to
see what the ship herself looks like after such a tremen-
dous catastrophe; but, if the sights to be witnessed on
board her be one-tenth part so bad as your words would
lead one to suppose, I would not go near her for the
world."

" Nor I," said the colonel.

" Nor I," added Mildmay.

"You are wise, gentlemen," remarked the professor.
"I can quite understand your curiosity; but, were you
to gratify it, your pleasure would be effectually destroyed
for the remainder of the voyage."

" That reminds me to ask the question, Where are we
going next?" said Sir Reginald.

The professor shrugged his shoulders and spread out
his hands, palms upwards.

" The world is all before you where to choose," he re-
plied. "You have only to name a place, and it will be
strano^e indeed if we cannot o-et there."

" Well, for my own part, I am of opinion that it will be
wise for us to devote this trip as far as possible to the
visiting of such spots as it is difficult or impossible to
reach by any other means. What say you, gentlemen?"

This from the baronet.

The others expressed their full coincidence in this
opinion.

"Very well, then," continued Sir Reginald; "my pro-
posal is that, as the days are now at their longest, and
this is therefore the most favourable time for such an

102 A RESOLUTION.

expedition — and as, moreover, the Flying Fish's stores
have as yet been barely broached — we make the best of
our way forthwith to the North Pole, there to enjoy a
little of the choice sport which we may reasonably hope
to find among animals that have never yet seen the face
of man."

"A most admirable proposal, and one which we are
especially well adapted to successfully carry out," ex-
claimed the professor enthusiastically. The colonel and
Mildmay also gave their cordial assent to the plan.

"Very well, then; that is settled," remarked von
Schalckenberg. "Now, to revert for a moment to the
subject of the wreck. You have not been on board her,
as I have ; but, even with the comparatively distant view
you have had of her, I think you must have seen that
she is injured beyohd all possibility of repair; to say
nothing of the fact that she is lying in a spot from which
it would be difficult— quite impossible, indeed, without our
assistance — to recover her. Now, it has occurred to me
that, all things taken into consideration, it would be a
good deed to destroy her. What say you, gentlemen?
It would afford us an excellent opportunity for making
trial of one of our shells."

" Destroy her, by all means," said the baronet.

" I can see no possible objection," observed the colonel.

" Nor I," remarked Mildmay. " As to assisting in her
recovery, I would not stir so much as my little linger to
do it; she has already drowned some five hundred human
beings, which is quite enough mischief for one ship."

" Quite so," coincided the professor. " Then we will do
the deed after dinner."

Accordingly, half an hour later, the party rose from

il T^ A T?T\ A T TTO "

DESTRUCTION OF THE "DAEDALUS. 103

the table and made their way to the pilot-house, where
the professor delivered a little lecture on the mode of
firing the shells. Then, accompanied by the colonel, who
had proffered his assistance, von Schalckenberg proceeded
to the fore end of the ship to make the requisite arrange-
ments. It being a first experiment, the preparation
occupied fully ten minutes — or ten times as long as he
should allow himself in future, the professor remarked.
Then, all being ready, a return was made to the pilot-
house; the anchors were withdrawn from the ground, and
the Flying Fish was got under weigh. The monster
circled once or twice round the doomed wreck, seeking
the most suitable point of attack, which having been
decided upon, the sharp nose of the submarine ship was
pointed straight at the Daedalus, and the professor
touched a knob. At the same instant — so it appeared,
so rapid was the discharge — there was a blinding flash of
light on board the wreck, a terrific concussion, but no
sound, and the wreck vanished; that is the only word
which adequately describes the suddenness and complete-
ness of her destruction. The concussion was so violent
that it jarred the Flying Fish throughout the whole of
her vast frame; indeed, but for her tremendous strength
she would in all probability have herself been destroyed.
As it was, no damage or harm whatever was done on
board beyond throwing the four occupants of the pilot-
house somewhat violently to the floor, and terrifying the
cook and the hitherto sedate George almost out of their
senses.

But perhaps even they were less frightened than were
the captain and crew of a small Levant trader which
happened at the moment to be almost directly above the

104 THE LEVANT TRADE.

scene of the explosion. All hands felt the jar; the watch
below frantically sprang on deck under the impression
that they had collided with another vessel; and the skip-
per, who happened to be standing near the tafFrail, was
horrified beyond expression to see an immense cone of
water some thirty feet high rise out of the sea just astern
of his vessel, to fall next moment with a deafening splash
and an accompanying surge which tossed the little vessel
as helplessly about for a moment or two as though she
had been the merest cockle-shell. It took that skipper
nearly half an hour to fully recover his faculties; and
when he did so, his first act was to go below and solemnly
make an entry in his official log to the efifect that, on such
and such a date at such an hour, in latitude and longi-
tude so and so, the weather at the time being fine, with
a moderate breeze from s.w., the schooner Pomona had
experienced a terrific shock of earthquake with an ac-
companying disturbance of water which nearly swamped
the ship. This entry he signed in the presence of the
mate, secured that officer's signature to it also, and then,
reviving his courage with a glass of grog stiff enough to
float Sb marlinespike, he retired to his bunk.

•^t^ii^-

CHAPTER VII.

EN ROUTE FOR THE NORTH POLE.

HE destruction of the wreck having been effected,
the Flying Fish moved a few miles northward
until she reached a small level sandy patch

affording a good berth for the night, and there she was
once more placed upon the ground and anchored.

Nothing whatever occurred to disturb the repose of the
travellers; and, after passing a tranquil night, they as-
sembled at the breakfast table punctually at eight o'clock
on the following morning. An hour later, having finished
their meal, the quartette rose, and made their way to the
pilot-house, where preparations were at once commenced
for an ascent to the surface. On this occasion the pro-
fessor being anxious that the other members of the party
should become conversant with the method of handling
the ship, the baronet placed himself at the tiller — from
which post the entire apparatus controlling the move-
ments of the vessel could be reached — and, with von
Schalckenberg at his elbow to correct him in the event
of a possible mistake, the ascent was begun. This, from
prudential motives, was slowly accomplished, and at a
distance of five fathoms from the surface a pause was
made for the purpose of taking a good look round and

106 A DANGER OF SUBMARINE NAVIGATION.

thus avoiding all possibility of inflicting damage on pass-
ing ships in the act of breaking water. It was well that
this precaution was observed; for their first glance re-
vealed to them the bottom of a large steamer close at
hand and coming rapidly straight toward them; and had
the Flying Fish continued to rise she would have broken
water directly under the stranger's bows. As it was, by
backing astern a few yards they gave the steamer good
room to pass; and it was both interesting and novel to
see the great mass go plunging heavily past with the long
sea- grass waving and trailing from her bottom, and the
great propeller spinning rapidly round, now completely im-
mersed, and anon lifted almost entirely out of the water.
Qnce clear of her, the Flying Fish sank to a depth of ten
fathoms, and after a ten-mile run at full speed, once more
paused to reconnoitre. This time the sea was clear for at
least a mile in every direction — which was as far as they
could see in the then condition of the water — and they at
once rose to the surface.

The horizon proved to be clear in every direction save
to the southward, in which quarter the upper spars of
the steamer they had so lately encountered were still
visible. The wind was blowing a moderate breeze from
S.S.E. — almost a dead fair wind for the Flying Fish — the
w^eather also was delightfully fine and clear; it was
therefore promptly resolved to take to the air once more
and thus wing their way northward.

The valves of the air-chambers were accordingly
thrown open to their full extent, when, with a screaming
roar, the highly compressed air at once rushed forth, and
in less than half a minute the huge bulk of the ship was
lying poised as lightly as an air-bubble on the surface of

A LEISURELY FLIGHT. 107

the heaving water. The main vapour-valve was then
cautiously opened, and a partial vacuum produced, when,
as easily as a sea-bird, the Flying Fish rose at once into
the air. The engines were next turned ahead, the helm
adjusted, and the northward journey was fairly begun.

The wind was blowing at the rate of about fifteen miles
an hour, and nearly dead fair; the engines were therefore
set so as just to turn round and no more; this gave the
ship a speed of about twelve knots through the air, which,
added to the rate of the wind, gave a total speed of
twenty-seven knots over the ground — or rather over the
water — and at this pace they calculated that, after making
the necessary allowance in their course for the set of the
wind, they would reach the Irish coast, in the vicinity of
Cape Clear, at about five o'clock the next morning. Their
reason for not travelling faster was that, as the baronet
said, they were on a pleasure cruise, and having been
pent up inside the hull for fully thirty-six hours, they
felt that a few hours in the open air would be an accept-
able change.

They pursued their flight throughout the day at an
altitude of only a thousand feet above the sea, except
when they encountered a ship — which happened only
once during the hours of daylight — and when this oc-
curred they rose, on the instant of sighting her, to the
highest attainable distance, in pursuance of their resolve
to attract as little attention as possible, descending again
to their former level as soon as they had passed beyond
her range of vision. At this latter elevation they were
able to enjoy to the full the health -giving properties of
the pure sea-breeze, and to revel in a prospect — though it
was only that of the restless sea — of nearly forty nautical

108 A NEW AMUSEMENT.

miles on every side; the horizon, that is to say, forming
a circle of little less than eighty miles diameter round
about them. And though it may be hastily thought that,
with a sea bare of craft there was little or nothing to in-
terest the travellers, this was by no means the case; for
at their height the water was clear and transparent for a
long distance below the surface, and the gambols of the
fish, of which there were great numbers visible, including
several schools of porpoises and a solitary whale, could
be seen distinctly, affording a most interesting sight; and
when they grew tired of this they promenaded the spa-
cious deck, or lounged about in chairs, smoking their
cigars or pipes, and discussing with much animation their
future prospects. And now, for the first time, a fact
in connection with the automatic balancing apparatus
brought itself under their notice. It was this. They
found that, let them walk about the ship where and as
much as they chose, the balance of the ship always re-
mained perfect; but the little jets of air which, at their
every movement, were admitted into the hull to main-
tain its equilibrium, soon had a perceptible influence on
the vessel's buoyancy, causing her to slowly but steadily
descend toward the surface of the sea, thus necessitating
periodic visits to the pilot-house to renew the vacuum.
This set the professor's brain to work, and by nightfall he
succeeded — with the aid of a second barometer having: a
small piece of highly magnetized steel floating on the top
of the mercurial column, and a couple of magnetized steel
bars — in constructing a somewhat rude but thoroughly
efficient apparatus for automatically maintaining the ship
at any desired height, unaffected by the movements, be
they few or many, of those on board.

THE ** FLYING FISH " TAKES CARE OF HERSELF. 109

By the time that this apparatus had been fixed, and
subjected to the test of an hour's conscientious walking
fore and aft the deck by the entire party, the dinner-hour
had arrived, and they retired below with such appetites
as only a day's exposure to the tonic effects of a sea-
breeze — minus all uncomfortable motion — could produce.
The fullest justice was consequently done to the meal,
after which they made their way once more to the deck,
and there, under a brilliant star-lit sky, gave themselves
up to the soothing influence of the weed and the renewed
enjoyment of their novel position. Midnight found them
quite ready for their state-rooms, and at that hour they
accordingly retired ; the professor first of all, as a matter
of precaution, increasing the ship's altitude to four thou-
sand feet above the sea-level, and then paying a visit of
inspection to the engine-room. Matters were found to be
all right there; the engines were working smoothly and
noiselessly, the bearings were quite cool, and the automatic
feed was doing its work to perfection. The ship, then,
being at such a height as to be clear of all danger, and
steering herself in the required direction, with all the
machinery in perfect working order, the weather also
being fine and wearing a settled aspect, von Schalcken-
berg told himself that there was not the slightest neces-
sity for the maintenance of a look-out, and he therefore
also retired. A quarter of an hour later the whole of the
crew were sunk in profound repose, and the Flying Fish,
left to herself, was leisurely wending her way northward
at a height of nearly a mile above the earth's surface.

The first of the quartette to put in an appearance on
deck next morning was the professor, who was awakened
just as day was breaking by the faint sound of a steam

110 THE PROFESSOR STARTLED.

whistle. Springing hastily from his very comfortable
couch, he rushed up the companion way and into the
open air, without even pausing to don his nether garments.
Springing to the guard rail he looked around and below
him, and the half-formed fear that something had gone
amiss, and that the ship was in danger, was at once dissi-
pated. He saw that the Flying Fish was moving rapidly
along, with the land beneath her, the breeze having
freshened during the night, whilst still blowing from the
same quarter, causing them to reach the Irish coast sooner
than had been anticipated. The mercury stood at the
same height in the tube as it had done when tliey retired
to rest on the preceding night; the ship had consequently
maintained her approximate height above the sea-level,
the only variation being that due to the greater or lesser
density of the atmosphere; which was eminently satisfac-
tory, as it showed that the professor's hastily constructed
apparatus for maintaining an uniform level had been faith-
fully performing its duty.

These facts ascertained, von Schalckenberg cast his
glance over the scene spread out beneath him, in order
to ascertain, if possible, his position. The morning was
beautifully clear, the atmosphere being entirely destitute
of clouds, and the only obstacle to uninterrupted vision
was a thick mist which overspread the earth outstretched
below him like an immense map. This, to a certain ex-
tent, rendered prompt identification of the locality diffi-
cult; but a lake of very irregular triangular shape was
immediately underneath the ship, and from s. round to
about W.S.W., at a distance of about eight miles, extended
a range of hills which, from their height, the professor
easily identified as Macgillicuddy's Reeks, the lake below

AN EXTENSIVE PROSPECT. Ill

being Killarney. Other hills towered up out of the mist
all round the ship, and, at a distance of some twenty miles
straight ahead, appeared the Stack Mountains. Towns,
villages, farm buildings, and solitary cabins were dotted
about all over the country, and beyond all, from s.s.E.
round by s. and w. to N., could be seen tlie blue sea, dotted
here and there with the brown sails of the fishing craft or
the scarcely whiter canvas of the coasters.

Satisfied that all was right, the professor returned to
the pilot-house, and, closing the doors to exclude the in-
tense cold of the higher atmospheric region, perfected the
vacuum in the air chambers, causing the ship to imme-
diately soar aloft to the enormous height of thirty-five
thousand feet; having done which he made his way below
again and plunged into his bath.

On meeting his companions at the breakfast-table, von
Schalckenberg informed them of the position and elevation
of the ship, and they at once expressed an ardent desire
to go out on deck immediately after breakfast to view
the magnificent prospect spread out around and beneath
them.

" You will have to put on your diving suits then, gentle-
men," remarked the scientist, "for you would find it quite
impossible to breathe in the extremely rarefied atmosphere
which now supports us; moreover, it is so intensely cold
that, unless exceedingly well protected, you would soon
freeze to death. But I quite agree with you that the
prospect, embracing as it does a circle of — let me see,"
and he made a hasty calculation on the back of an en-
velope — "yes, a circle of very nearly four hundred and
sixty miles in diameter, must be well worth looking at."

Accordingly, on the completion of the meal, the quar-

112 A NOVEL SPECTACLE.

tette descended to the diving-room, and there donned their
armour, taking the additional precaution of adding a
flannel overall to their ordinary inner diving dress. Thus
equipped, they made their way to the pilot-house, care-
fully closing all doors behind them on the way, and sallied
out on deck.

The spectacle which then met their gaze was novel be-
yond all power of description, and can only be feebly sug-
gested. The sky overhead was of an intense ultramarine
hue, approaching in depth to indigo, gradually changing,
as the eye travelled downward from the zenith toward
the horizon, to a pallid colourless hue. The stars — ex-
cepting those near the horizon — were almost as distinctly
visible as at midnight; whilst the sun, shorn of his rays,
hung in the sky like a great ball of molten copper; the
moon also, reduced to a thin silver thread-like crescent,
had followed the sun into the sky, and hung a few de-
grees only above the eastern horizon.

So lost in wonder were the travellers at this most ex-
traordinary sight that it was several minutes before they
could withdraw their gaze from the heavens and allow it
to travel earthward. When at length they did so a scarcely
less enchanting spectacle greeted them. They were hover-
ing just over the inner extremity of an. arm of the sea,
which the colonel — who was well acquainted with the
south-west of Ireland — at once identified as Dingle Bay.
Westward of them stretched the broad Atlantic, its foam-
flecked waters tinted a lovely sea-green immediately be-
low them, which gradually changed to a delicate sapphire
blue as it stretched away toward the invisible horizon
(the atmosphere not proving sufficiently clear to allow of
their seeing to the utmost possible limits of distance), the

A bird's-eye view. 113

colour growing gradually fainter and more faint until it
became lost in a soft silvery gray mist. Northward lay
the Dingle peninsula, and beyond it again could be seen
Tralee Bay, the mouth of the Shannon, and Loop Head;
then Gal way Bay and the Isles of Arran, and, further on,
just discernible in the misty distance, the indented shore
and hills of Connemara. From thence, all round to the
eastern point of the compass, could be seen, with more or
less distinctness, the whole of county Clare, with part of
county Galway, the Doon Mountains, and a considerable
portion of Tipperary; the Galtee and Knockmeledown
Mountains, and, in the extreme distance, a faint misty
blue, which the colonel declared was the sea just about
Dungarvan harbour. And from thence, round to the
southward, the sea and the southern coast-line became
more and more distinctly visible as the eye travelled
round the compass, Cork Harbour being just discernible,
whilst Cape Clear Island, Bantry Bay, and the Kenmare
river seemed little more than a stone's - throw distant.
Altogether it was perhaps the most magnificent prospect
upon which the human eye had ever rested; it certainly
exceeded anything which the travellers had ever witnessed
before, and their expressions of admiration and delight
were unbounded.

When at last they had become somewhat accustomed
to even this unique experience, and had found leisure to
take note of themselves, as it were, the baronet remarked
to the professor:

" But how is this, professor? The engines are working,
yet we do not appear to be making any headway. So
far as I can judge we seem to be simply drifting bodily
to the westward and more toward the open sea."

(359) H

114 THE ADVERSE AIR CURRENT.

"It is so/' answered the professor. "We have risen
above the range of the variable winds, and are now feel-
ing the influence of an adverse air current, which, in this
latitude, invariably blows from the northward; and if we
were to maintain our present altitude, for which, however,
there is not the slightest necessity, we should have to
struggle against it for the next eight or nine hundred
miles, in fact until we reach the neighbourhood of the
Arctic circle. There, or thereabout, we should again have
a fair wind, of which we may possibly yet be glad to avail
ourselves. In the meantime, however, we will increase
our speed, if you please — at all events, until we are clear
of the land, when we can once more descend into a
favourable current. And as, until then, our rate of
travelling will be such as to make it difficult, if not im-
possible, to maintain our footing on the deck, I would
suggest the advisability of a retreat to the pilot-house."

This suggestion having been promptly carried out, the
speed of the ship was increased to its utmost limit, where-
by the rate of progression over the ground was raised
from nothing to about one hundred and eight miles per
hour. This rate of travelling — the adverse wind for-
tunately remaining moderate — enabled them to reach
Erris Head, the north-western corner of county Mayo, in
an hour and a half, or about eleven o'clock A.M., at which
hour they found themselves just running clear of the
land, with the bay and county of Donegal on their right
hand, and the broad expanse of the North Atlantic ahead.

At this point the professor turned to his companions
and said:

" It now becomes necessary that we should come to a
definite decision as to the course to be steered. All routes

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES. 115

are of course equally open to us; but there are two which
especially commend themselves to our preference. One
is the direct northerly route to the Pole, which will take
us to the eastward of Iceland, straight to the island of
Jan Mayen, and thence, between Greenland and Spitz-
bergen, into an icy sea which has been but little explored.
And the other is the usual route taken by nearly all the
great Arctic explorers, namely, up Davis Strait, through
BafEn's Bay, and thence, by way of Smith Sound and
Kennedy Channel, into the open Polar Sea, if such should
actually exist. By the one route we shall have an oppor-
tunity of surveying the eastern coast of Greenland, and
thus accurately determining much that is at present mere
matter of conjecture; and by the other we shall have an
opportunity of beholding with our own eyes many spots
of interest associated with the researches of former ex-
plorers. Now, which is it to be?"

• The colonel and Mildmay naturally glanced at Sir
Reginald, as an intimation that he, in his character of
founder of the expedition, was entitled to the first ex-
pression of opinion; and, thus appealed to, the baronet,
after a short pause for reflection, replied:

" Well, so far as I am concerned, if I have a preference
at all, I think I am inclined to favour the Baffin's Bay
route. I confess I should like to go over the ground
traversed so painfully by former explorers, and see for
myself the nature of the obstacles with which they have
had to grapple. And I should also like to look with my
bodily eyes upon the spots where they sought refuge
during the rigours of the Arctic winter, and those other
spots where, the forces of nature finally proving too great
for them, they were reluctantly compelled to abandon

116 NORTHWARD HO!

further effort, and, confessing themselves beaten, turn
their faces once more southward. But if either of you
happens to have a preference for another route, I beg that
you will say so, uninfluenced by my remarks."

The colonel and Mildmay now looked at each other
interrogatively; and at length the latter said:

" My predilections are naturally in favour of the route
proposed by Sir Reginald, that being the one followed by
so many of my distinguished predecessors in the service.
But what says the professor? Which route does he, as a
scientist, think would be the most interesting?"

"Exactly; that, it seems to me, is the point of view
from which we ought to regard the question," exclaimed
the baronet and the colonel in a breath.

" From a purely scientific point of view they would
probably prove equally interesting," answered the pro-
fessor. "But, taking the other circumstances into con-
sideration, I am inclined to record my vote in favour of
Sir Reginald's suggestion."

"Then let that decide it," remarked the colonel; "I am
sure we shall have no cause to regret the choice."

The Baffin's Bay route was accordingly agreed upon;
and the ship's head was forthwith laid in a west-north-
westerly direction for Cape Farewell.

For the next hour the ship's altitude above the sea-
level was maintained unaltered; but at noon, the ocean
proving clear of ships as far as the eye could reach, a
descent was made to within one thousand feet of the sea,
at which height a favourable breeze and a clear atmo-
sphere was again met with. On returning to the pilot-
house after luncheon, or about half-past three o'clock in
the afternoon, three icebergs were discovered, two ahead

ICEBERGS IN SIGHT. 117

and one astern; but they were very small, and it was
therefore deemed hardly worth while to pause and
examine them. At the same time a large steamer was
observed, steering east, on the extreme verge of the
southern horizon; and by the aid of their very powerful
telescopes the travellers were able to identify her as one
of the Atlantic liners. Half an hour later a sail was
discovered on the starboard bow; and, from the fact that
she was heading to the northward under easy canvas,
they rightly concluded that she was a whaler. They
passed this vessel within a distance of a dozen miles, and
at this point were able to so minutely examine her with
their telescopes that they could distinctly make out the
figure of a man perched aloft in the "crow's nest'' on the
look-out, as well as the figures of her crew moving about
the deck; but, although within such comparatively close
proximity to her, they were quite unable to detect any
sign of their being observed, which the professor attri-
buted to the almost total absence of colour about the
hull; indeed, he gave it as his opinion that, unless the
rays of the sun happened to be reflected from the polished
surface of the sethereum directly toward an observer, the
Flying Fish might easily pass within half a dozen miles
unnoticed.

Before this whaler had been left out of sight astern
other icebergs had risen into view above the western
horizon, and within half an hour they found themselves
flying above a sea thickly dotted with ice in every
direction, showing that they were rapidly nearing the
entrance to Davis Straits. At six o'clock the sound of
the gong summoned them below to dinner; and just as
they were on the point of leaving the pilot-house, Mild-

118 CAPE FAREWELL.

may, who, with the instinct of the seaman, had paused
to take a last look round, sighted a faint blue cloud-like
appearance on the horizon, about a point on the starboard
bow, and raised a joyful shout of:

"Land, ho!"

The professor glanced at the clock, and, muttering to
himself, "Yes, it is about the right time," took his
telescope and carefully examined the distant cloud-like
appearance.

" You are right, Mildmay," he exclaimed, as he closed
the instrument, "that is the land; it is Cape Farewell, the
most southerly point of that great terra incognita,
Greenland. With your permission. Sir Eeginald, I will
reduce the speed of the ship to about twenty miles per
hour, and slightly alter her course; and, from the look of
the weather, I think I may promise that, when we go on
deck to smoke our cigars after dinner, you will see a
sight well worth looking at."

CHAPTER VIII.

A SUPERB SPECTACLE.

PON one pretext or another the professor pur-
posely delayed the rising of the party from the
table until nine o'clock; and when they at
length reached the deck they found the somewhat rash
promise made by von Schalckenberg abundantly fulfilled.
A scene of surpassing loveliness met their delighted
gaze, and, to enjoy it more fully and completely, it was
promptly decided to descend to the ocean's surface. The
sea on all sides was thickly covered with detached masses
of floating ice, from the diminutive fragment of drift-ice,
measuring not more than two or three square yards in
area, to gigantic bergs, measuring, in one or two instances,
from a half to three quarters of a mile long, and towering
from two to three hundred feet above the surface of the
water. The sun was nearing the horizon, and, with his
golden beams falling full upon them, these huge masses
of ice glittered against the rosy gray of the horizon like
burnished metal or solid flame. Two of these bergs in
particular were the objects of the travellers' especial
wonder and admiration. One, at a distance of some six
miles to the eastward, resembled an island of crystal

120 A COUPLE OF ARCTIC GEMS.

capped with an assemblage of marble ruins. Its perpen-
dicular sides were rent here and there with deep fissures,
and in the centre there yawned an immense cavern, the
interior of which displayed every conceivable shade of
the most lovely green, from the transparent tint of the
emerald to the opaque colour of the malachite, a project-
ing bluff near at hand casting a strangely- contrasting
shadow of the deepest, purest ultramarine. The ruined
pinnacles on the summit of the berg gleamed with every
tint of the rainbow, from palest yellow, through orange
and crimson, to a blue varying from the most delicate
cobalt to a deep violet, almost undistinguishable from
black. And, to complete the fairy-like beauty of the
picture, the body of the berg, a pure marble-like white in
the centre, gradually assumed a translucent appearance
toward the edges, in which the rays of the sun gleamed
and sparkled so brilliantly that the mass resembled
nothing so much as a gigantic opal.

The other large berg, which in the first instance was
only remarkable for its enormous sis^e, lay on the western
horizon at a distance of some eleven miles, and, when the
travellers first directed their gaze upon it, presented the
appearance of a vast mass of a uniform very pale tint
of opaque blue rising above the rosy waters. But as they
looked upon it the setting sun drew round toward its rear,
and then the pale blue opaque tint gradually quickened
into translucency and quivered here and there with sud-
den golden and roseate gleams of indescribable beauty.
As the sun neared the berg these gleams and flashes deep-
ened in tint and became mino^led in the most bewildering'
and delightful manner with rays of rich sea-green, warm
violet, and delicate purple. Finally the sun, just skimming

A VISION OF BEAUTY. 121

the edge of the horizon, passed behind the berg, when it
at once flamed out into a dazzling blinding blaze, as though
the berg had taken fire. For a space of perhaps half a
minute this dazzling spectacle continued with scarcely
diminished brilliancy; then the blaze deepened from gold
to crimson, momentarily subsiding in intensity and in-
creasing in depth of colour until it stood out against the
horizon an immense mass of blood -red hue. The red
deepened into purple, the purple into violet, and at last,
probably when the sun had entirely sunk beneath the
horizon, the violet faded gradually to a pale cold lifeless
gray.

"Superb!"

"Magnificent!"

"Delightful!"

" Beautiful as a dream ! "

Such were the exclamations which burst from the lips
of the travellers as they turned away with a sigh at the
transitory nature of the beauties they had just been wit-
nessing, when lo! the scene to the eastward had donned
new glories. The sun had vanished below the horizon,
and the lower portions of the bergs were therefore in cold
blue shadow; but as the glance travelled upwards the
blue became merged by imperceptible degrees into a deli-
cate amethystine tint, which, growing gradually warmer
and more ruddy, passed by a thousand gradations through
the richest rose and orange tints to the purest golden-
yellow, out of which the projecting points and pinnacles
of ice flashed and sparkled like living flame. This fairy-
like spectacle lasted for a short time only, however; the
golden flashes vanished one by one; the yellow became
orange, the orange deepened into crimson, and the crim-

122 NIGHTFALL AT SEA.

son in its turn slowly merged into a cold cobalt blue as
the light died out of the western sky; and finally the
stars came out one by one until the entire firmament
was thickly studded with them. It was "nightfall on
the sea."

Enthralled by the surpassing witchery of the scene,
some time elapsed before either of the travellers cared to
break the silence. At length, however, the baronet turned
to the professor and said:

" I owe you a debt of never-dying gratitude, professor,
for having been the means of introducing me to a scene
of such indescribable beauty as that which we have just
witnessed; I have looked upon many a fair scene during
the course of my wanderings, but never upon anything
to equal this. We must have been exceptionally fortunate
to-night, have we not? for surely the Polar world can
have no spectacle more enchanting than the one which
we have just witnessed?"

*' We have been fortunate; there is no doubt about that,"
was the reply. " But you have not yet seen the midnight
sun nor the aurora borealis, both of which sights far ex-
ceed in beauty what we have looked upon to-night. But
it grows chilly and an insidious fog is gathering round
us; we must take measures for passing the night in safety,
for, were we by chance to be caught between two ice-
bergs of even ordinary size, not even the enormous
strength of the Flying Fish would save her from de-
struction."

"And what do you propose to do, then, professor, in
order to ensure our safety?"

" There are two courses open to us. One is to sink to
the bottom of the sea, which is here deep enough to

WHAT IS THE "CALM BELT?" 123

secure us from all danger of being struck by floating
bergs. And the other is to ascend into the calm belt,
where the night can be passed in a state of absolute
safety."

"Very well, then; let us ascend into the 'calm belt,'
by all means," said the baronet. "And, by the way, I
should feel extremely obliged if you would kindly ex-
plain to us what the 'calm belt' is; I for one never heard
of it before."

"I will do so with pleasure," replied the professor.
"You must know, then, in the first place, that there are
certain atmospheric currents as regular and precise in
their action as those of the ocean, both being created by
the same cause — namely, the tendency of a warm fluid
to rise and of a colder one to flow into the vacated space.
Thus the air on the equator, being heated by the vertical
rays of the sun, rises, creating a partial vacuum which
the cold air from the poles rushes equator- ward to fill,
the warm air moving toward the poles to restore the
balance. Thus at a few degrees north of the equator the
upper stratum of air will always be found to be travel-
ling northward. And it continues so to do until it reaches
the vicinity of the thirtieth parallel of latitude, when, hav-
ing lost most of its heat by constant exposure to open
space, it becomes cold enough to descend, taking the place
of the polar current, which meanwhile has been warmed
by passing over the temperate zone. The equatorial cur-
rent, though it has descended to the surface of the earth,
still makes its gradual way northward, as well as local
circumstances will permit, in order to replace the south-
ward-flying polar current; and by the time that it
reaches the Arctic circle, it has again, by contact with

124 A SAFE PLACE OF REFUGE.

the earth, become the warmer of the two currents, when
it once more rises into the upper regions of the atmo-
sphere, to descend no more until it reaches the vicinity
of the pole, when it sinks, and at the same time turns
southward as the polar current. And the same thing
happens in the southern hemisphere. Thus in each hemi-
sphere we have two great atmospheric currents — one
flowing from the pole to the equator, and the other flow-
ing from the equator to the pole. The lower current, or
that which sw^eeps along the surface of the earth, meets
with so many disturbing local influences that it is fre-
quently deflected greatly from its proper course, some-
times so much so that its course becomes completely re-
versed for a time; but in the upper regions of the atmo-
sphere these disturbing influences are very little if at all
felt. Now, if I have succeeded in making this plain to
you, you will readily understand that where the top of
the lower current and the bottom of the upper current
touch each other there will be so much friction that a
neutral or 'calm belt' will occur in which the air will be
motionless. And it is in this calm belt — which occurs
between the altitudes of three thousand and twelve thou-
sand feet above the earth's surface — that I propose we
should take refuge to-night."

The professor's small audience duly expressed their
thanks for the extremely interesting lecture to which
they had just been treated, and then the party retreated
to the pilot-house; the door was closed to exclude the
cold air of the upper regions which they were about to
visit; and an ascent was made to an altitude of eight
thousand feet, where the night was passed in an atmo-
sphere so completely motionless that, on their descent

IN THE MIDST OF THE ICE. 125

next morning, Lieutenant Mildmay's observations showed
them to be in the exact spot which they had occupied ou
the previous evening.

It was decided over the breakfast- table that morning,
that the journey northward should be prosecuted, as far
as possible, upon the surface of the sea; and the Flying
Fish was accordingly put in motion on the required
course immediately upon her descent. Their rate of pro-
gress was particularly slow, not exceeding, on the average,
a speed of six miles per hour, as drift ice was remarkably
abundant, mostly in small detached blocks, though they
occasionally encountered a floe of several acres in extent;
and, far away to the northward, quite a large assemblage
of bergs were seen. This slow rate of progress would
have been wearisome to a veteran Arctic navigator in
possession of such means for the accomplishment of a
quick passage as those enjoyed by the inmates of the
Flying Fish's pilot-house; but to them everything was
novel and interesting, and, almost before they knew it,
they found themselves in the immediate vicinity of the
bergs. These varied greatly in size, some of them being
no larger than a dwelling-house of moderate dimensions,
whilst others fully equalled, if, indeed, they did not ex-
ceed, the proportions of the monsters seen on the previous
evening. They were grouped so closely together that a
passage between them seemed to be not wholly unat-
tended with danger; and the party were in the act of
discussing the question which channel it would be most
prudent to take, their eyes being meanwhile fixed on the
huge towering cliffs of ice before them, when a gigantic
overhanging mass was seen to detach itself from its parent
berg and plunge, a distance of some two hundred and

126 GOING TO PIECES.

fifty feet, with a terrific splash into the water and dis-
appear. The deep thunderous roar of its plunge smote
the ears of the watchers next moment, and they looked
on with breathless interest to see what would follow.
The mass, from its enormous size, would weigh, they con-
sidered, fully five thousand tons; and they were not sur-
prised to see that the loss of so much weight had seri-
ously disturbed the balance of the berg, which at once
began to rock ponderously to and fro, creating a terrific
commotion in the water when conjoined with that caused
by the plunge into the sea and the reappearance a second
or two later of the detached mass. The sea was seen to
heap itself up in a long well-defined ridge, similar — though,
of course, on a tremendously magnified scale — to that
caused by the plunge of a stone into the water. This
ridge spread out in a circular form all round the spot
where the mass had fallen, and at once began to travel
outward in the form of an immense breaker some six or
seven feet in height. Onward it rolled, its smooth glassy
front capped with a foaming crest presenting a singular
and somewhat alarming spectacle. The fears of the be-
holders, however, if they had any, were groundless, for,
though the threatening wave swept forward with a velo-
city of some twelve knots per hour, it swept harmlessly
enough over and along the cylindrical sides of the Flying
Fish, hissing and roaring most ominously, but failing to
throw so much as a single drop of spray on her deck.
This wave was quickly followed by several others, each
of which, however, was less formidable than the preced-
ing one. Meanwhile, the drama, it appeared, had only
begun. The oscillation of the parent berg, though it was
probably quite unafifected by the portion of the circular

A SCENE OF MAD COMMOTION. 127

wave which dashed furiously against its sides, became
momentarily more and more violent, accompanied by a
rapidly increasing agitation of the sea in its neighbour-
hood, an agitation so great that the surface of the ocean
soon assumed the appearance of a boiling cauldron, the
foaming surges leaping wildly hither and thither with a
continuous roar like that of the surf beating on a rocky
shore, and soon assuming such dimensions that they even
broke over the deck of the Flying Fish, and dashed them-
selves into a cloud of spray against the strong walls of
the pilot-house. Other fragments now began to detach
themselves with dull heavy roaring crashes from the
rocking berg; and, as though the action were contagious —
or more probably, in consequence of the jarring vibration
of the air from such a strong volume of sound — one after
the other, the remaining bergs began to go to pieces.
Then, indeed, the sight and the accompanying sounds
became truly awe-inspiring. The air resounded with the
continuous roar of the dismembering bergs; the eye grew
dizzy and bewildered as it watched their swaying forms;
and the surface of the ocean was momentarily stirred into
a wilder frenzy as the surges swept madly hither and
thither, and, meeting in mid-career, shattered each other
into a wild tempest of leaping foam, in the midst of which
huge masses of ice were seen every now and then to be
tossed high into the air as though they had been frag-
ments of cork. So mad was the commotion, and so furi-
ously were even the larger masses of ice dashed to and
fro, that it was deemed prudent to remove the Flying Fish
out of harm's way; and she was accordingly raised a few
fathoms above the surface of the ra^ino- commotion which
leaped and roared around her. Scarcely had this been

128 CHAOS COMES AGAIN.

accomplished — the whole of the drama occupying not
one-tenth part of the time which it takes to describe it —
when the largest of the bergs was seen to roll completely
over, raising in the act so awful a surge that it visibly
affected even the immense masses of the other bergs,
which, in their turn, rolled slowly over one after the other,
to the accompaniment of one long loud echoing roar of
rendino^ ice as their dismemberment thus became acceler-
ated. The resulting ocean disturbance was, as may easily
be imagined, appallingly grand and utterly indescribable;
and it no doubt contributed in no inconsiderable degree
to the total destruction of the bergs, which, once started,
continued to roll over and over, every lurch causing a
further dismemberment until the fragments became so
small as to be incapable of further division. Then ensued
comparative silence, the only sounds being those of the
hoarse roar of the angry surges and the grinding crash
of ice-blocks dashed violently together. Gradually these
too subsided; and, in half an hour from the commence-
ment of the spectacle, the ice-strewn waters were again
rippling crisply under the influence of a moderate breeze,
and no sign remained to tell a new arrival upon the scene
— had there been one — what an awful tempest of de-
struction had raged there so short a time before.

Pushing northward, the travellers sighted the coast of
Greenland about noon ; the land made being a lofty snow-
covered mountain, the conical summit of which gleamed
like silver in the brilliant sunshine. As they neared the
coast the water became more open; and at length they
emerged into a broad channel completely free of ice, up
which the Flying Fish was urged at a trifle less than
half-speed, or at the rate of about sixty miles per hour.

THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 129

At eight o'clock that night they crossed, according to their
"dead reckoning," the Arctic circle; and midnight found
them abreast of Disko Island, gazing with delighted eyes
upon the glorious spectacle of the midnight sun, the lower
edge of his ruddy disc just skimming the northern hori-
zon.

At this point the channel between the Greenland coast
and the pack-ice narrowed very considerably; and their
rate of progress northward next day was reduced to a
speed of between two and three miles per hour; the
engines needing to be just started, and then stopped again
for a few minutes in order to keep the speed down to
this very low limit. But they were all as yet so new to
Arctic scenery — everything was so entirely novel to them
— that even this snail's pace failed to prove wearisome,
especially as the weather continued gloriously fine.

Strange to say, up to this time they had not set eyes
on a single Arctic animal; but now, as they were busily
threading their w^ay through a narrow channel in the ice,
a white bear was seen about half a mile ahead rapidly
making his way across the pack toward them, whilst, a
quarter of a mile nearer, an animal which they at once
took for a seal was seen basking in the sun on the ice
close to the water. It speedily became evident that the
bear was after the seal, which, seemingly all unconscious
of the proximity of its enemy, raised its head now and
then as though in keen enjoyment of the warm glow.
The colonel hurried below for rifles, as eager as a school-
boy, to obtain a shot at one or both of the animals; and
when he returned to the pilot-house with the weapons
both the seal and the bear were within range. He raised
one of the rifles to his shoulder, and was covering the seal

(359^ I

130 SOMETHING NEW IN ZOOLOGY.

with it, when Sir Eeginald, who was watching the animals
through a telescope, said:

"Do not fire, Lethbridge; there is something very
curious about this; that seal is armed with a how!'

The colonel stared incredulously at his companion, and
then, dropping the rifle, took and applied to his eye the
telescope which Sir Reginald handed to him.

''By George, you are right!" he exclaimed. "What a
very extraordinary thing. Why," he continued, " it is not
a seal at all, it is a man, an Esquimaux. Now, look out
and you will see some sport; the fellow is fitting an arrow
to his string, and how cautiously he is doing it, too. It
is my belief that he has got himself up as a seal and has
been simulating the actions of the animal in order to
entice that deluded bear within range. There! he has
shot his arrow and hit the mark, but the bear does not
seem to be very much the worse. Aha! now you have to
run for it, my good fellow. By Jove, the matter grows
exciting!"

The Esquimaux had indeed been compelled to " run for
it," the only apparent efiect of the arrow being to irritate
the bear. The man ran fairly well, although hampered
with an immense amount of clothing, but the bear proved
the faster of the two. He rapidly gained upon the man,
and seemed about to spring upon him when the party in
the pilot-house poured in a general fusillade from their
rifles. There was just a perceptible click from the locks
of the weapons, but neither fire nor smoke appeared,
neither was there any report. At that moment the bear
rose upon his hind-legs and, reaching forward with his
fore-paws, aimed a terrific blow at the flying hunter. The
man, who had been intently watching his enemy all the

THE ESQUIMAUX AND THE BEAR. 131

while, nimbly leaped aside, and, quick as thought, plunged
a light lance fairly under the creature's armpit and deep
into his body. The bear uttered a single roar of pain
and baffled rage, staggered a moment, and fell upon the
ice, dead.

"Bravo! very cleverly done, indeed," exclaimed the
colonel, apostrophizing the distant Esquimaux; " that was
a lucky stroke for you, my man. But, I say, professor,
what in the world is the matter with these wretched
rifles? Every one of them missed fire, and, so far as we
are concerned, that unfortunate Esquimaux might have
been killed."

"He might — yes, that is quite true," answered the
professor with provoking composure; " but if he had been
it would have been our fault, not that of the rifles; it
was we who missed, not they. Every one of them duly
discharged its bullet, and we simply missed our mark.
But had we — or rather had / — preserved my presence of
mind, I could still have saved the man, for each of these
weapons is a magazine rifle, firing twenty shots — a fact
which I had forgotten for the moment, and which it now
seems I have never yet explained to you. Fortunately,
the poor man has proved quite able to take care of himself;
but the shameful way in which we all missed the bear,
and our failure to fire again, is a lesson on the folly of
using untried weapons in an emergency. We must
practise, gentlemen; we must practise."

And, without troubling themselves further as to what
became of the Esquimaux and his game, the deeply
mortified party set themselves forthwith first to listen
to the professor s explanation of the peculiarities of the
weapons, and next, to practise diligently with them for a

132 HEMMED IN BY THE ICE.

full hour; at the expiration of which, as the rifles were
really a splendid arm and simple enough to handle when
their action had been clearly explained, the quartette had
fully regained their confidence in themselves and each
other, having done some most excellent shooting.

Meanwhile the channel hourly grew more narrow and
intricate; and, to add still further to the difficulties of
the passage, the wind shifted round and began to blow
freshly from the northward, bringing with it a dense
and bitterly cold fog. The travellers struggled gallantly
against these adverse circumstances as long as any pro-
gress northward was at all possible, being desirous of
realizing, as fully as might be, for themselves the diffi-
culties experienced by explorers in these high latitudes;
but at length they found themselves so completely
hemmed in by vast floes and drifting masses of pack-ice
that to prolong the struggle would only be endangering
the ship, and they were reluctantly compelled to own
themselves beaten and to rise into the air.

They rose to a height of five hundred feet above the sea-
level, and, at this elevation, found themselves entirely
free of the fog. So far this was well, but the dense
masses of heavy gray snow-laden cloud which obscured
the heavens above them, and the threatening aspect of the
sky to windward, told them that their holiday weather
was, at all events for the present, gone, and that they
were about to experience the terrors of a polar gale. The
temperature fell with astounding rapidity; and they were
compelled to beat a rapid retreat to their state-rooms,
there to don additional garments. This done, they sallied
out on deck, to find that during the short period of their
retirement a heavy snow-storm had set in, the air being

A POLAR GALE. 133

SO full of the great white blinding flakes that, standing
abreast the pilot-house, it was impossible to see either
end of the ship. Floating in the air as they were it was,
of course, impossible for them to estimate the strength of
the gale, the only apparent movement of the atmosphere
being that due to their own passage through it. Though
heading to the northward, with the engines making a
sufficient number of revolutions per minute to propel
them through still air at the rate of thirty miles per
hour, it was quite on the cards that the adverse wind
might be travelling at a higher speed than this, in which
event they would actually be driving more or less rapidly
astern, notwithstanding their apparent forward motion.
It thus became necessary to post a look-out at each end
of the ship, in order to avoid all possibility of collision
with some towering iceberg, unless they chose to rise high
enough in the air to be clear of all danger; and this they
were reluctant to do, as they wished to experience, for at
least once in their lives, all the terrors of a polar gale.
The baronet accordingly volunteered to look out forward
and the colonel to do the same aft, and they hastened at
once to their respective stations, Mildmay and the pro-
fessor superintending meanwhile the engine levers and
other appliances controlling the motion of the ship. It
was well for them that these precautions were so promptly
taken, for the colonel had scarcely reached his post when,
through the thick whirling snow which scurried past him,
he descried a huge white ghostly mass looming vaguely
up in the semi-darkness directly astern, and before he
well had time to make up his mind that he actually saw
something, the top of a gigantic berg revealed itself close
at hand, and his prompt warning cry was only raised in

134 A MIGHTY FORCE AT WORK.

barely sufficient time to prevent the Flying Fish driving
stern foremost into it, when the loss of her propeller must
inevitably have resulted. Mildmay, however, whose
quick ear first caught the sound, promptly sent the engines
at full speed ahead, and the danger was averted.

Meanwhile, though the snow whirled so thickly around
them and the fog was so dense beneath that they were
unable to see anything, they were not allowed to remain
entirely in ignorance of what was happening in their near
proximity. The howling of the bitter blast over the
frozen waste beneath resounded in their ears like the
diapason of some huge organ played by giant fingers, and
mingled with these deeper tones there rose up to them a
constant grinding crunching sound with occasional rifle-
like reports, telling of the tremendous destruction going
on among the ice-floes beneath.

Suddenly the snow ceased, the fog was swept away
upon the wings of the gale, and the entire scene in all its
terrific grandeur burst at once upon their gaze. They
were hovering immediately over the spot where two
immense floes had come into collision, and for miles to
the right and left of them the contiguous margins were
being ground to pieces by the enormous pressure, and the
splintered fragments heaped up one above another in the
wildest confusion, to a height of from fifty to eighty feet
above the surface of the floe. The ice, which was about
fifteen feet thick, crumbled away like fragile glass, and
it was only by observing the manner in which masses
weighing hundreds of tons were wildly tossed hither and
thither like corks that even an approximate idea of the
tremendous power at work could be obtained.

A mile ahead another grand sight presented itself.

THE PLOUGH OF THE ARCTIC SEAS. 135

The northern and larger of the two floes, acted strongly
upon by the gale, and opposed by the smaller floe,
was slowly but irresistibly swinging round, and in its
sweep it had come into contact with a very large berg,
which, influenced apparently by some undercurrent, was
with equally irresistible force actually making its way
to windward in the teeth of the gale. The result was a
scene of wild chaos and confusion and destruction com-
pared with which that upon which they had just looked
was as nothing. The berg simply tore its way through
the floe as a plough does through a furrow, splitting up
the thick ice before it, and tossing the huge fragments
hither and thither until its path through the field was
marked by a black band of open water churned into fleecy
froth by the breath of the tempest, and bordered on either
side by an immense wall of ice-blocks, each of which con-
stituted a small berg in itself.

The cold had by this time so increased in intensity
that the colonel and the baronet were only too glad to
abandon their posts, now that there was no further neces-
sity for maintaining them, and retreat to the friendly
shelter of the pilot-house, where they lost no time in
closino- themselves in.

•4oHH^oXo./^iHo>-

CHAPTEE IX.

AN EXCITING ADVENTURE AND A RESCUE.

T was at this moment that Mildmay caught a
momentary glimpse of an object far away on
the northern horizon, which his practised eye
at once told him was a sail of some sort. He instantly
seized one of the telescopes suspended in the pilot-house,
and brought the instrument to bear in her direction.
For nearly a minute he was unsuccessful in his endeavour
to find her; but at length she reappeared from behind
an intervening berg; and it appeared to him that she was
in a situation of considerable peril. She was a barque,
under close-reefed topsails, reefed courses, fore topmast
staysail, and mizzen; and she appeared to be embayed
in the bight of a huge floe, with a whole fleet of bergs in
dangerous proximity and apparently bearing down upon
her. Perhaps the strangest peculiarity about her was
that, notwithstanding her perilous position, she was
dressed with flags, from her mast-heads downward, as
though it were a gala day on board.

Mildmay 's anxious attitude and expression of face, to-
gether with his earnest devotion to his telescope, soon
attracted the notice of the rest of the party; and the

A PERILOUS POSITION. 137

baronet asked him what object it was that so riveted his
attention.

He withdrew his eyes for a moment from the instru-
ment, and, pointing out the vsmall and scarcely distinguish-
able dark spot on the horizon, said:

"Do you see that object, gentlemen? Well, that is a
barque embayed in the ice, and evidently making a supreme
effort to free herself — an effort which to me, and at this
distance, appears quite hopeless. It is my opinion that,
unless the wind changes, or something equally unforeseen
occurs, she will within the next half hour be smashed
into matchwood — unless, indeed, we can help her."

"Help her? Of course we can," said the professor;
and without waiting for further discussion, he laid his
hand on the engine lever and sent the machinery ahead
at nearly half-speed.

The Flying Fish darted forward like a swallow in full
flight; and the professor, leaving the baronet in charge
of the engines and the steering-gear, summoned Mildmay
and the colonel to follow him. The trio hastened to the
after part of the deck, and, raising a trap-door which the
professor indicated, withdrew therefrom a thin pliant
wire hawser— made, like almost everything else in the
ship, of aethereum — which, having secured one end of it
to a ring-bolt in the after extremity of the deck, they
coiled down in readiness for use as a tow-line.

"There!" ejaculated the professor in a gratified tone of
voice, " we will give her the end of that rope; and it shall
go hard with us, but we will tow her into some place of
at least temporary safety."

" That is all right," responded Mildmay; " but how are
we going to get it on board her? Its weight is a mere

138 AN UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT.

nothing, it is true, but it is rather too bulky to heave on
board. Have you nothing smaller that we can bend on
to the eye of the hawser and use as a heaving-line?"

" Certainly I have," replied the professor. " I had not
thought of that. * Every man to his trade.'" And,
diving down the hatchway, he rummaged about for a
few minutes and finally reappeared with a small coil of
very thin light pliant wire line, which Mildmay, pro-
nouncing it to be exactly the thing, proceeded at once
to attach to the eye of the hawser.

Meanwhile, the baronet had been anxiously watching
the barque through the telescope, and had seen so much
to increase his anxiety for her safety that, forgetful of
the exposed situation of his companions, he had gradually
increased the pace of the Flying Fish until he had brought
it up to full speed. This, of course, created so tremendous
a draught that not only was it quite impossible for the
party aft to make headway against it and thus regain
the pilot-house, but they actually had to fling themselves
flat on the deck to avoid being blown overboard; and
even thus it was only with the utmost difficulty that they
were able to save themselves.

And this, unfortunately, was not the worst of it. The
light hawser, acted upon by so powerful a draught, was
for an instant slightly lifted off the deck, and that slight
lift did the mischief. The next moment the coils went
streaming away astern one after the other, and, almost
before those who witnessed the accident could tell what
had happened, the propeller had been fouled and the
hawser snapped like a thread.

The powerful jerk thus occasioned caused the baronet
to turn his head; and he then saw in a moment what

ANCHORED ON AN ICE FLOE. 139

mischief he had done. He, luckily, had presence of mind
enough to stop the engines at once; the Flying Fish's
course was stayed, and she immediately began to drive
swiftly astern in apparently a dead calm, but actually
swept along upon the wings of the gale.

The professor at once scrambled to his feet, and, fol-
lowed by his companions, hurried to the pilot-house,
where, without wasting time in useless words, he at once
set himself to look out for a suitable spot upon which
to alight, it being absolutely necessary to clear the pro-
peller before again moving the engines, lest in doing so
a complete break-down should result.

A favourable spot was at length found — but not until
they had drifted completely out of sight of the apparently
doomed barque — and the Flying Fish was carefully
lowered to the surface of a large floe, her anchor being
first let go in order to " bring her up " and prevent her
being driven along by the wind over the smooth surface.
It was a task more difficult of accomplishment than they
had anticipated, the anchor for some time refusing to
bite, but it caught at last in a crevice, and immediately
on the vessel touching, the grip-anchors were extended
and the ship secured.

No sooner was the Flying Fish fairly settled on the
ice than Mildmay, who knew exactly what ought to be
done, descended to the lower recesses of the ship, and,
opening the trap-door in her bottom, made his way out
on the ice, dragging with him a ladder which was always
kept in the diving-room. He soon reached the stern of
the vessel, and, rearing the ladder in a suitable position
against the propeller, nimbly ran aloft and began to
throw off the convolutions of the entangled hawser.

140 OFF ONCE MORE TO THE RESCUE.

Twenty minutes sufficed, not only to complete the work,
but also to assure him that no damage had been done to
the hull of the vessel; and, his three companions having
followed him and removed the hawser to the interior of
the vessel, he re-entered the hull, secured the trap-door
after him, and ascended to the deck. He here found Sir
Reginald and the colonel busily engaged in adjusting a
new hawser ready for use, and, with his assistance, this
task was completed in another five minutes, and the ship
was once more ready for service.

As the Flying Fish was in the act of rising from off
the ice, Sir Reginald asked:

" Should we not make better speed by taking at once
to the water, professor?"

" Undoubtedly we should," was the answer. '' Such
a course would also have the additional advantage of
enabling us to immerse the hull to the proper depth as
we go along, thus giving us that hold upon the water
necessary to cope successfully with the weight of a large
ship like the one of which we are going in search. We
might, whilst floating in the air, be able to tow her out
of danger, but I am a little doubtful on the point; and,
as this is a case in which it will not do to incur any risk
by trying experiments, we will take to the water as soon
as we can discover a suitable channel. It appears to me
that there is something of the kind about six miles ahead
and a little to our right."

There certainly was a channel through the ice at the
point indicated by the professor, but w^iether it was a
true channel, or merely a cut de sac, they were for the
moment unable to decide. On nearing it to within a mile,
however, they found it to be the latter; but about a

WILL THEY BE IN TIME? 141

couple of miles beyond it another streak of water was
seen extending, unbroken, as far as the eye could reach.
For this they steered, and in a very few minutes after-
wards the Flying Fish was once more afloat, with her
water-chambers full and her air-compresser working to
the full extent of its power.

The hawser being this time temporarily secured in
such a manner as to render a repetition of their late acci-
dent impossible, and the entire party being, moreover,
safely ensconced in the pilot-house, there was no hesita-
tion about again pressing the ship forward at full speed,
the channel, luckily, being straight enough to allow of
this; and very soon the group of icebergs in which the
unfortunate barque was entangled once more appeared in
view. Mildmay was at the helm, with the professor
standing by the engines; but Sir Reginald and the
colonel no sooner saw the bergs than they seized their
telescopes and began at once to look out for the barque.

At first they could see nothing of her, but presently
she glided into view from behind an intervening berg,
and a single glance was sufficient to assure them that
another five minutes would decide her fate. She had
gradually set down into the triangular extremity of the
bight in which she was embayed, so that every tack she
made became shorter than the one preceding it, and very
soon the water space would become so circumscribed as
to leave no room for her to manoeuvre. But this was not
the worst feature of the case. As desperate diseases are
sometimes combated with desperate remedies, so in her
desperate condition the hazardous and almost hopeless
expedient of berthing her alongside one of the edges of
the floe might have been attempted. But this last

142 A DANGEROUS MANCEUVRE.

resource wns denied to the despairing seamen, from the
fact that two enormous bergs, the vanguard of the fleet,
had already reached the edge of the floe, on opposite
sides of the bay, to windward of the entrapped barque,
and were rapidly rasping their way down toward the
apex of the triangle where the whaler was already shoot-
ing into stays for what must evidently be her last tack.
This would be so short that she could scarcely fail to
miss stays on her next attempt, when she would drift
helplessly down into the corner of the bight, and be
ground out of existence by the berg which first happened
to reach that point.

It was at this critical moment that 'a cry of dismay
arose simultaneously from the lips of the party in the
Flying FisJis pilot-house. A slight turn in the channel
had revealed to them the appalling fact that it, also, ter-
minated in a cul de sac, a neck of solid ice, some fifty
yards in width, dividing it from the open water in which
the barque was still battling for her life.

What was to be done ? There was no time to discuss
the question; but a happy inspiration flashed through the
baronet's brain.

" We must leap the barrier!" he exclaimed.

" Right! I understand," was the professor's brief reply;
and, turning the compressed air into the water-chambers,
he forced out the water and succeeded in raising the
sharp nose of the Flying Fish just above the level of the
floe a single instant before she reached it.

It was a tremendous risk to run — one which would
never have been thought of in cold blood, as the ship was
rushing forward at full speed, and there was no knowing
what might happen; but the sympathies of the party

LEAPING THE BARRIER. 143

were now so fully aroused by the awful peril of the
barque — which, in the midst of all her danger, was still
gaily dressed in flags — that they never paused to think
of the possible consequences, but sent the ship at the
barrier as a huntsman sends his horse to a desperate leap.
For an infinitesimal fraction of time the four adventurous
travellers were thrilled with a feeling of wild exultation
as they held their breath and braced themselves for the
expected shock. Then the smooth polished hull of the
Flying Fish met the ice, and, rising like a hunter to the
leap, slid smoothly, and without the slightest jar, up on
to the surface of the floe, across the narrow barrier, and
into the water beyond.

"Stop her!" shouted Mildmay, checking the exultant
cheer which rose to the lips of his companions. " Sheer
as close alongside the barque as you can go. Sir Reginald,
and give me a chance to get our heaving line on board.
Then, as soon as I wave my hand, go ahead gently
until you have brought a strain upon the hawser, when
you may increase the speed to about twelve knots — not
more, or you will tear the windlass out of the barque.
Steer straight out between those two bergs, and remem-
ber that onoments are now precious."

With these words the lieutenant hurried out on deck
and made his way aft, where he at once began to clear
away the heaving line and make ready for a cast.

The engines meanwhile had been stopped in obedience
to Mildmay's command, his companions intuitively recog-
nizing that he was the man to cope with the present emer-
gency, and the Flying Fish answering the helm, which the
baronet, an experienced yachtsman, was deftly manipulat-
ing, shot cleverly up along the weather side of the barque.

144 ALONGSIDE THE BARQUE.

"Look out for our line, lads!" hailed Mildmay to the
crew of the vessel, who were gaping in open-mouthed
astonishment at the extraordinary apparition which had
thus abruptly put in an appearance alongside them.

"Ay, ay, sir; heave!" answered one smart fellow, who,
notwithstanding his surprise, still seemed to have his
wits about him. Mildmay hove the line with all a sea-
man's skill, and a couple of bights settled down round
the neck and shoulders of the expectant tar.

" Haul in, and throw the eye of the hawser over your
windlass bitts," ordered Mildmay; "we will soon have you
clear of your present pickle."

"Thank you, sir," hailed the skipper; "haul in smart
there, for'ard, and take a turn anywhere; those bergs are
driving down upon us mighty fast."

With a joyous "hurrah" at the timely arrival of such
unexpected assistance, the men roused the hawser on
board, threw the eye over the bitts, passed two or three
turns of the slack round the barrel of the windlass, and
adjusted the rope in a "fairlead" with lightning rapidity.
Mildmay, who was intently watching their movements,
waved his hand as a signal to the baronet the instant he
saw that the hawser was properly fast on board the
barque, and the Flying Fish immediately began to glide
ahead. The baronet was evidently bent on retrieving his
character and making up for his past carelessness, for he
handled his strangely- shaped vessel with most consum-
mate skill, bringing the strain upon the hawser very
gradually, and, when he had done so, coaxing the barque's
head round until her nose and that of the Flying Fish
pointed straight toward the rapidly narrowing passage
between the bergs. Then, indeed, the thin but tough

'*INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH." 145

hawser straightened out taut as a bow-string between the
two vessels as the baronet sent his engines powerfully
ahead; the barque's windlass bitts creaked and groaned
with the tremendous strain to which they were suddenly
subjected; a foaming surge gathered and hissed under
her bows, and as her harassed crew, active as wild-cats,
skipped about the decks busily letting go and clewing
up, away went the two craft toward the closing gap.

It was like steering into the jaws of death. The two
bergs were by this time within a bare cable's-length of
the Flying Fish's conical stem; and as they swept
irresistibly onward, their pinnacled summits towering
five hundred feet into the air, their rugged sides rasping
horribly along the edges of the floe with an awful crush-
ing, grinding sound, and their contiguous sides approach-
ing each other more and more nearly every moment,
there was not a man on either of those two vessels who
did not hold his breath and stand fascinated in awe-
stricken suspense, gazing upon those menacing walls of
ice and waiting for the shock which should be the herald
of their destruction.

Rapidly — yet slower than a snail's pace, as it seemed
to those anxious men — the space narrowed between the
bergs and the ships; the grinding crash and crackle of the
ice grew momentarily more loud and distracting; the
freezing wind from the bergs cut their faces like an
invisible razor as it swept down upon them in sudden
powerful gusts, apparently intent upon retarding their
progress until the last hope of escape should be cut off;
the gigantic icy clifls lowered more and more threateningly
down upon them; and at last, when the feeling of doubt
and suspense was at its highest, the Flying Fish entered

(359) ^

146 AN ANXIOUS MOMENT.

the gap. The channel had by this time become so narrow
that for the Flying Fish to pass through it seemed utterly
impossible; indeed, it looked as though there remained
scarcely room for the barque with her much narrower
beam; and as the towering crystal walls closed in upon
them every man present felt that the final moment had
now come. Everything depended upon Sir Reginald; if
at this critical instant his nerve failed him there was
nothing but quick destruction and a horrible death for
every man there. But the baronet's nerve did not fail
him. With a face pale and teeth clenched with excite-
ment, but with a steady pulse and an unquailing eye, he
stood with one hand on the tiller and the other on the
engine lever, guiding his ship exactly midway through
the narrow gorge; and precisely at the right moment,
when the Flying Fish's sides were actually grazing the
ice on either side, he increased the pressure of his hand
upon the lever, the engines revolved a shade more ra-
pidly, and the flying ship slid through the narrowest part
of the pass uninjured, but escaping by the merest hair's-
breadth.

But would the barque also get through? She was
fully two hundred feet astern of the Flying Fish, and
the bergs were revolving on their own centres in such a
manner that ere many seconds were past they must in-
evitably come together with a force which would literally
annihilate whatever might happen to be between them.
And as for the barque — the way in which her bows were
burying themselves in the hissing wave that foamed and
surged about her cutwater, and the terrified looks of her
crew as they glanced, now aloft at the formidable bergs,
and now at the straining hawser — from which they stood

iliiMP'.l<i/?l'-'v?PA i

BY THE SKIN OF THEIR TEETH. 147

warily aloof lest it should part, and in so doing inflict
upon some of them a deadly injury — told the baronet
that he must not increase by a single ounce the strain
upon the rope, lest something should give way on board
the whaler and leave her there helpless in the very grip
of those awful floating mountains of ice.
* It was a race between the bergs and the barque; and
Mildmay, standing there by the after rail, told himself,
as he breathlessly watched the progress of events, that
the bergs would win. The contiguous sides of these
monsters were slightly concave in shape; and whilst the
whaler, still some dozen yards or so within the passage,
had a foot or two of clear water on either side of her, the
projecting extremities of the bergs had neared each other
to within a distance of twenty feet, or some five feet less
than the breadth of the imprisoned ship.

Suddenly a tremendous crash was heard, and the party
on board the Flying Fish looked to see the unfortunate
barque collapse and crumple into a shapeless mass of
splintered wood before their eyes. But, to their inex-
pressible astonishment, nothing of the sort occurred.
There was a reverberating sound as of muffled thunder,
which echoed and re-echoed in the confined space between
the two bergs; a series of tremendous splashes just astern
of the whaler; the bergs recoiled violently from each
other; the baronet, more by instinct than anything else,
threw the engine lever still further forward, and before
anyone had time even to draw a breath of relief, the
apparently doomed vessel was dragged, with a foaming
surge heaped up round her bows as high as the figure-
head, out from the reopened portal and clear of all
danger a single instant before the two gigantic masses of

148 saved!

ice again closed in upon each other with a horrible grind-
ino' crunch which must have been audible for miles.

It was not until the barque had been dragged, almost
bows under, some fifty or sixty fathoms away from the
still grinding and rasping bergs, that her crew were able
to realize the astounding fact of their safety, but w^hen
they did so they sent up a wild cheer which was as
distinct an expression of gratitude to God for their
deliverance as ever issued from human lips. Their
escape, though it could easily be accounted for, might
indeed well be called miraculous, for at the moment when
their last hope was extinguished — apparently their last
chance gone — two huge overhanging projections on the
summits of the bergs had come into contact with such
violence that both the projecting masses of ice had
become detached and had gone thundering down into
the water, fortunately at some few yards' distance astern
of the whaler, and the shock of collision had been so
great as to compel the momentary recoil of the bergs,
with the fortunate result already described.

Directly it was seen that the barque had indeed escaped,
the Flying Fish's engines were slowed down to their
lowest speed, and the whaler, relieved of the enormous
tugging strain upon her, once more floated on her normal
water-lines. The two craft were now in comparatively
open water, the channel being between two and three miles
wide, and still widening ahead of them, with a few small
bergs in their vicinity, it is true, but with no ice at hand
likely to cause them immediate peril. The barque was
towed to windward of all these, and then the baronet
stopped the Flying Fish altogether, and hailed the
skipper of the whaler to know whither he was bound.

THE SKIPPER OF THE WHALER. 149

Upon this the worthy man lowered one of his boats and
pulled alongside his strange consort to return thanks in
person for his recent rescue.

He was a very fine specimen of a seaman, not very tall,
but bluff and hearty-looking in his manifold wraps sur-
mounted by a dreadnought pilot jacket, sealskin cap, and
water boots reaching to his thighs; and it was amusing
to see his look of surprise as he came up the Flying Fish's
side-ladder and stepped in upon her roomy deck unencum-
bered by anything but the pilot-house. The four com-
panions of course stepped out on deck in a body to meet
him, and after they had all heartily shaken hands with
him and deprecatingly received his thanks for the impor-
tant service rendered in the rescue of his ship from the
ice, he was invited to accompany them below to cement
the newly-made acquaintance over a glass of grog. And
if the worthy seaman was surprised at the exterior of the
strange craft he was now visiting, how much greater was
his astonishment when he entered her magnificent saloons,
revelled in their grateful warmth, and looked round be-
wildered upon the rich carpets, the handsome furniture,
the superb pictures and statuary, and the choice brie a
brae, all glowing under the brilliant but cunningly modi-
fied electric light. And if he was surprised at all these
unwonted sights, his astonishment may be imagined when
he was informed that the four refined and cultured men
who welcomed him so hospitably, constituted, with the
exception of the cook and the steward, the entire crew of
the immense craft, and that the owner of all the magni-
ficence he beheld had dared the terrors of the polar regions
solely by way of pastime.

" Well, gentlemen," he remarked, " it's an old saying

150 WHY THE WHALER "DRESSED SHIP."

that tastes differ, and what you've just told me proves it.
I've been a whaler for nigh on to twenty-five years, but
it has been a ease of necessity, not choice, with me; and
after the first two or three years of the life — when the
novelty had worn ofi* a bit, as you may say — I've looked
forward to only one thing, and that is the scraping to-
gether of enough money to retire and get quit of it all for
ever. I took to it first as a hand before the mast, and
have regularly passed through all the grades — boat-steerer,
third, second, and chief mate, master, and at last owner
of my own ship, always with the same object ahead.
And when, little more than a year" ago, I put the savings
of a lifetime into the purchase of the old Walrus there, I
thought that the dream of my life was soon to be realized,
and that one trip more to the nor ard would bring me in
a sufficiency to last me the remainder of my days, and
enable me to enjoy 'em in the company of my wife and
my little daughter. God bless the child! if she's still alive
she's five years old to-day."

"Ah!" interrupted Mildmay, "then that, I suppose,
accounts for the fiags flying on board you, and the mean-
ing of which we were so utterly unable to guess?"

"That's it, sir," was the reply. "I 'dressed ship' at
eight o'clock this morning in honour of my little Florrie's
birthday, and I hadn't the heart to haul down the flags
even when we found ourselves in such a precious pickle
amongst the ice yonder. I thought that if so be it was
God's will that we was to go, we might as well go with
the buntin' still flying in Florrie's honour as not."

"And what success have you met with, captain?" asked
Sir Reginald.

"Precious little, sir. We've been out now more'n a

A whaler's difficulties. 151

twelvemonth, and we've only killed three fish in all that
time. Got jammed up here in the ice all last winter. I
stayed in hopes of doin something in the sealing line, and
only got some three hundred skins after all. It's been a
bad speculation for me. An old friend of mine came this
way the year before last, and, the season being an open
one and not much ice about, he reached as far north as
Baffin's Bay and through Jones' Sound, fillin' his ship with
oil and bone in a single season. He was lucky enough
to hit upon a spot where the sea was fairly alive with
whales, and he filled the ship right up in that very spot.
The fish seemed tame, as though they hadn't been inter-
fered with for years; and bein' an old friend, as I said
before, he gave me the latitude and longitude of the place
as a great secret, and I've been trying to reach the spot
ever since we came north, but have been kept back by
the ice and the contrary winds. If I could get there,
even now, it would make the trip profitable enough to
serve my purpose; but I see no chance of it, and the men
are getting disheartened."

"Never mind, captain, cheer up; all may yet be well,"
exclaimed the baronet. " We can't drag your ship over
the ice, but if there is only a passage for her we can drag
her through it, and for little Florrie's sake we will. If it
is in our power to get you to the spot you wish to reach,
you shall go there. Now, as the present open water affords
an opportunity too good to be lost, return to your ship,
secure our hawser in such a way that we may put a big
strain upon it without damaging the vessel, and send
a trustworthy hand aloft into the crow's-nest to look out
for the best channels. We will tow you to the northward
as lon^i: as a channel can be found throun^h the ice, and at

152 PREPARING FOR A LONG TOW.

seven o'clock I hope you will give us the pleasure of your
company on board here to dinner, when we will drink
'many happy returns of the day' to Florrie in the best
champagne the Flying Fish's cellar affords."

The captain of the whaler returned to his own ship in
a state of such mingled astonishment and elation that his
people were at first inclined to think he had suddenly
gone demented. However, the order which he gave them
to secure the towing hawser in such a manner as w^ould
enable the ship to withstand a heavy strain was intelli-
gible enough; it told them that, with the assistance of
their strange rescuers, a supreme effort was now to be
made to reach those prolific fishing -grounds which had
from the first been the goal of their voyage; and that,
best of all, that effort was to be unaccompanied by any of
the usual harassing labour of working the ship to wind-
ward through the ice, and they set to with a will. A
sufficient length of the hawser was hauled on board to
enable them to take a couple of turns round the barrel of
the windlass and two more round the heel of the foremast,
the eye of the hawser being further secured by tackles to
every ring-bolt in the ship capable of bearing a good sub-
stantial strain; and then, the skipper himself going aloft
to the crow's-nest, the signal was given for the Flying
Fish to go ahead.

CHAPTER X.

THE "HUMBOLDT GLACIER.

HE two ships were at this time floating in a toler-
ably broad expanse of open water; but at a dis-
tance of some seven miles ahead the pack-ice
stretched, apparently unbroken, across their track for
miles. The skipper of the whaler, however, shouted down
to them from his elevated perch the intelligence that a
somewhat intricate but continuous channel extended
through this ice in a northerly direction as far as the eye
could reach. Toward this channel, then, away they went
at a speed of something like sixteen knots per hour, the
barque with her string of colours still fluttering bravely
in defiance of the adverse gale, and the Flying Fish with
the white ensign of the Royal Yacht Squadron, of which
Sir Reginald was a member, streaming from her ensign
staff in honour of little Florrie. It was a strange sight;
even in that region of fantastic phantasmagoria, to see
the two ships, one of which, moreover, wore such an unac-
customed shape, dashing rapidly along through the black
foam-flecked water, with ice in every conceivable form
heaped and piled around them, and their bright-hued
flafrs flutterino' aofainst the dark and dismal backo^round

164 A WELCOME CHANGE.

of a stormy sky; and the skipper of the whaler possesses
to this day a spirited w^ater-eolour sketch of the scene,
executed on the spot by the colonel, which he exhibits
with becoming pride whenever he relates the story of his
wonderful escape from the threatening icebergs.

Half an hour later they entered the channel through
the ice. Narrow and tortuous at first, it gradually
widened out, and, after a journey of some fourteen or fif-
teen miles, turned sharply off in a direction almost due
west. About the same time the gale broke, the sun made
his appearance through the rifted clouds, and by seven
o'clock that evening, at which hour Florrie's father duly
put in an appearance on board the Flying Fish, the
engines having been temporarily stopped to receive him,
they found themselves in open water, or rather in a
straight channel some twelve miles in width and entirely
free from ice, with a clear sky overhead, a light easterly
wind blowing, and the evening sun lighting up the snow-
clad peaks of the extensive island called North Devon.
An hour later, dinner having been postponed on account
of their near proximity to the land, the two vessels entered
a commodious natural harbour called Hyde Bay, and
anchored there for the night, in order to give the whaler's
exhausted crew an opportunity to snatch a few hours of
much-needed rest.

The master of the Walrus, who answered, by the way,
to the name of Hudson, though only a bluff hearty sea-
man, and somewhat shy for the first half-hour or so in
such unaccustomed company as that of his four well-bred
easy-mannered entertainers, gradually thawed out under
the genial influence of the baronet's champagne, and
proved himself a tolerably well informed and by no

WHALES IN SIGHT. 155

means disagreeable companion. He possessed a fund of
interesting anecdote and information with respect to the
peculiarities of the region his hosts were now visiting for
the first time, and imparted to them many valuable hints
as to the best means of protecting themselves from the
ice; but, as they did not see fit to inform him of the
aerial capabilities of the Flying Fishy he laughed to scorn
their project of reaching the North Pole, which he assured
them most solemnly was an utter impossibility. They
duly drank the unconscious Florrie's health, treated her
father to some excellent music, gave him a file of the
latest newspapers they had brought with them, and sent
him back to his own ship at midnight a thoroughly happy
man.

On the following morning about half -past eight, whilst
the party on board the Flying Fish were sitting down to
breakfast, the sound of oars was heard close alongside;
and a minute later Captain Hudson, ushered by George,
made his appearance in the saloon. He was in a great
hurry and almost breathlessly explained that he had
come on board to repeat his thanks and those of his
crew for their rescue of the previous day, and to say
" Good-bye," as he w^as about to weigh and proceed to sea
in chase of a large school of whales which had just been
seen spouting at a distance of some twelve miles in the
offing. The baronet was good-natured enough to offer to
tow him to the scene of action ; but this service he grate-
ful ly declined, saying that there was a fine fair wind
blowing and that his anchor was already a-trip. The
party therefore shook hands heartily with him, wishing
him " Good luck," and he departed, leaving Sir Reginald
and his friends to finish their meal at their leisure.

156 A SPLENDID OPPORTUNITY.

An hour later the Flying Fish also weighed and stood
out to sea after the Walrus, now nearly hull down, to
witness the sport.

The engines had scarcely begun to move when the
whaler was seen to heave to; and when the Flying Fish
ranged up alongside her, some ten minutes afterwards,
three whale-boats were in the water and pulling lustily
toward a school of some forty whales which were lazily
sporting, apparently quite unconscious of danger, about
two miles away.

" Those whales do not appear in the least alarmed at
the presence of the boats," remarked Mildmay; "evidently
they have not been chased for a considerable period. If
we only had the means of killing a few, now, what a
splendid opportunity there would be to do that poor
fellow Hudson a good turn."

"Well thought of!" exclaimed the professor. "Follow
me, gentlemen; we can do our friend a good turn, and, at
the same time, test the powers of our large-bore rifles
with explosive shells for big game."

The party hurried below to the armoury, and each
selected one of the weapons indicated by the professor,
providing himself at the same time with a supply of
cartridges from a large chest near at hand.

The rifles were truly formidable, being repeating
weapons each capable of firing ten shots without reload-
ing. The barrels were not very long, measuring only
three feet from breech to muzzle, but they were of one-
and-a-half-inch bore and fired a conical shell four and a
half inches in length. Notwithstanding their somewhat
ponderous appearance they were very light, being con-
structed of aethereum throughout.

TRYING THE NEW WEAPONS. 157

When the party returned to the deck they had the
satisfaction of seeing that, though each of the whale-boats
had succeeded in fastening to a fish, the remainder of the
school manifested very little alarm, the stricken whales
having started to " run " in different directions and quite
away from their companions.

The Flying Fish was moved as gently as possible into
the very centre of the herd, the huge monsters taking no
apparent notice of her, and perhaps mistaking her for
one of themselves. They were swimming lazily about,
rolling over on their sides until their pectoral fins appeared
above the surface, and occasionally throwing themselves
entirely out of the water.

The engines being stopped the four sportsmen took up
their positions, two on each side of the deck, and, having
loaded their weapons, waited for a favourable opportunity
to use them.

The baronet was the first to fire. He had selected for his
victim a huge bull, fully eighty feet in length, and this
creature he patiently watched, hoping for an opportunity
to inflict a fatal wound. It soon came. The animal
rolled lazily over on its right side, exposing the whole of
its left fin, and before it could recover itself Sir Reginald
had levelled and discharged his piece. There was a very
faint pufF of thin fleecy vapour, but no report or sound
of any kind save the by no means loud click of the
hammer, above which could be distinctly heard the dull
thud of the shell. The whale shuddered visibly at the
blow, and made as though about to "sound" or dive; but
before it had power to do so the shell must have exploded,
for the immense creature made a sudden violent writhing
motion, half leapt out of the water, and rolled over on its

158 A BIG "BAG."

side, dead. The professor scored the next success, closely
followed by the colonel, Lieutenant Mildmay signalizing
his first essay with the new arm by making a palpable
miss, much to his disgust. His failure, however, taught
him a valuable lesson, and he succeeded in killing two
whales before either of the others liad been able to secure
another shot. In ten minutes eight whales had been
killed, and the professor, who was very rigid in his
objection to the wanton sacrifice of life, then suggested
that probably as many had been killed as the whaler
could successfully deal with at one time, especially as the
boats now had signals flying which showed that each had
killed her fish. The Flying Fish was accordingly ranged
up close alongside the Walrus, and the baronet hailed:

" Walrus ahoy ! how many fish can you ' cut in ' at one
operation ? "

" I wish I had the chance of trying my hand upon half
a dozen," was the reply, given, the baronet thought, in
rather a sulky tone.

" Well," returned Sir Reginald, " there are eight which
we have killed and three taken by your boats, making
eleven altogether. Can you handle any more? because,
if so, we will kill them for you; but, if not, we think it
best not to disturb them further."

" Do you mean to say that you've killed those fish on
my account, then?" asked Hudson with great animation.

" To be sure we did. You surely did not suppose that
we wanted them for ourselves, did you?"

The whaling skipper muttered a few unintelligible
words to himself, and then shouted back in unmistak-
ably hearty tones:

" Thank'ee, gentlemen, thank'ee with all my heart.

PARTING COMPANY. 169

That's another favour I'm in your debt. That being the
case, I think, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather that
the rest of the school be left to go their ways in peace.
I don't want them to be frightened; and eleven fish is as
much as we can well handle at one time."

" In that case, then," returned Sir Reginald, " we will
wish you 'Good-bye,' and a prosperous voyage."

" Thank'ee, gentlemen; the same to you, and best
thanks for all favours," replied Hudson.

And with mutual hand-wavings and dipping of colours
the two craft separated, the Wahus bearing up to inter-
cept her boats, and the Flying Fish heading northward
at a speed of about twenty knots.

For about a couple of hours the adventurous voyagers
were able to maintain that speed; but toward noon they
found themselves once more surrounded by ice ; and they
had no choice but either to materially reduce their speed
and slowly thread their way through narrow and tortu-
ous channels, or once more take flight into the air. They
chose the latter alternative; and for the next two hours
the flying ship sped northward through Smith's Sound,
for the most part over an unbroken field of pack-ice
which, to any ordinary vessel, would have opposed an
utterly impassable barrier. At two o'clock in the after-
noon, however, the Greenland shore suddenly trended to
the north-eastward; and after following it for a short
time the ice once more began to be intersected with water
channels, short and narrow at first, but wider as they
proceeded, until at length they found themselves once
i^ore able to descend in a water lane some four miles
in width.

" And now," said the professor, as they were Hearing a

160 THE "HUMBOLDT" GLACIER.

bold rocky headland on their starboard bow, "we are about
to be introduced to one of the sights par excellence of the
Arctic regions."

" What is it?" was the question which burst simultane-
ously from the lips of his three companions.

"Wait and see," answered the professor, nodding mys-
teriously.

Sure enough, the moment that the Flying Fish rounded
the point a magnificent spectacle burst upon the tra-
vellers' enraptured gaze. It was neither more nor less
than an immense cliff of the clearest crystal ice, towering
some thtee hundred feet above the water's edge, and ex-
tending so far northward along the coast that its northern
extremity lay far below the horizon. It was the magni-
ficent Humboldt Glacier. The afternoon sun was shining-
full upon its rugged face, causing the enormous mass to
flash and gleam like a gigantic diamond. As they coasted
slowly along, at a distance of about half a mile from its
face, the dazzling flashes of light were reproduced one
after the other, changing rapidly from one colour to an-
other through every conceivable tint of the rainbow,
until the beholders' eyes fairly ached with the contem-
plation of so much splendour, all of which was reflected
with the most charming variation in the mirror-like sur-
face of the deep still water below. The wind had died
away to a dead calm, as if to give the bold explorers an
opportunity of witnessing this unrivalled sight to the best
advantage; and every now and then the still air resounded
with the sharp rifle-like crack which told that, though
apparently so motionless and solid, hidden forces were at
work within the heart of the glacier, slowly but surely
tending to its ultimate dismemberment. .

THE BIRTH OF AN ICEBERG. 161

Suddenly a crashing report, so loud that it resembled
the simultaneous discharge of a whole army of rifles,
smote upon their ears ; and then, as they stood in a trance
of breathless expectation, wondering what was about to
happen, an immense section of the icy cliff was seen to be
in motion. Slowly at first, but with ever-increasing
rapidity, it slid downward into the water, with a con-
tinuous roaring reverberating crash, to which even the
awful pealing of thunder was as nothing, until in a wild
turmoil of madly leaping and foaming surges it disap-
peared entirely below the water. The sea rushed irre-
sistibly after it from all sides, pouring like a foaming
cataract into the hollow watery basin it had left, and
dragging the Flying Fish helplessly toward the yawning
vortex. Then the inward rush suddenly ceased ; a gleam-
ing white crest of ice reappeared above the foam, and with
a mighty upward rush and a resounding roar the gigantic
submerged mass once more upreared itself above the again
maddened waters, swaying heavily to and fro, whilst a
thousand gleaming torrents poured down its sparkling
sides. And, as a fitting finale to the thrilling spectacle,
a huge wall of water suddenly heaped itself up about the
rocking mass and began to rush rapidly outward in an
ever-widening circle, its towering crest surmounted by a
roarino: curling fringe of snow-white foam. Increasino^ in
height and in speed as it advanced, it rapidly attained an
altitude of fully sixty feet, bearing down upon the Fly-
ing Fish so menacingly that, for a few seconds, the party in
the pilot-house stood paralysed with consternation, expect-
ing nothing less than that they would be helplessly over-
whelmed. The first to recover his presence of mind was
Mildmay, who, springing to the rods which controlled the

(350) L

162 A GIGANTIC WAVE.

air- valves, pressed them powerfully down, throwing them
all wide open and at once ejecting from the hull both the
water and the compressed air, and causing the ship to rise
until she floated lightly as an air-bubble on the water. He
then injected a dense body of vapour into the air and
water chambers, completing the vacuum ; and the ship
rose into the air just in time to avoid the gigantic surge,
which went hissing and roaring close beneath them with
a power and fury which fully revealed to them the ex-
tent of the disturbance from which they had so narrowly
escaped. Other surges followed in quick rotation; but
each was less formidable than its predecessor, and in an-
other ten minutes the surface had once more subsided
into a state of comparative calm.

As the Flying Fish once more settled down upon the
water and the air-pump was set going, the professor
turned to his companions and remarked:

" We have especial reason to congratulate ourselves and
each other, gentlemen, for we have to-day not only
looked upon the magnificent Humboldt Glacier under
most highly favourable conditions, but we have been
also permitted to witness that even rarer sight, the birth
of an iceberg y

They had indeed witnessed the birth of an iceberg, and
that too of quite unusual size; for, as soon as they dared,
they approached the newly fallen mass of ice closely
enough to make a tolerably accurate measurement of it; and
they found that it was of nearly square shape, measuring
fully three-quarters of a mile along each of its four sides,
and towering to an average height of about three hun-
dred and fifteen feet above the surface of the water. The
visible portion of the berg constituted, however, only a

A SIGHT WORTH SEEING. 163

small portion of its entire bulk, since fresh-water ice
floating in salt water shows above the surface only one-
eighth of its entire depth. This enormous berg, therefore,
must have measured in its entirety about four thousand
feet square by about two thousand five hundred feet
deep! And its weight must have approximated closely
upon two thousand millions of tons! Bergs of equal, or
even greater dimensions, have occasionally been encoun-
tered in the Arctic seas; but how few of earth's inhabi-
tants have ever been privileged to witness the disruption
of so enormous a mass from its parent glacier!

After witnessing so thrilling a spectacle as this — prob-
ably the grandest and most impressive which the Arctic
regions can exhibit — it is perhaps not to be wondered at
that even the beauties of the glacier itself appeared some-
what tame and uninteresting to the voyagers. But their
interest was once more awakened when, having at length
coasted alono^ the face of the o^lacier for a distance of not
less than sixty miles, they reached its northern extremity
and found the succeeding Greenland coast to be magnifi-
cently picturesque, the greenstone and sandstone cliffs in
some cases towering abruptly from the water's edge to a
height of a thousand feet or more, not in a smooth un-
broken face, or even with the usual everyday rugged
aspect of a rocky precipice, but presenting to the enrap-
tured eye an ever-varying perspective of ruined buttresses,
pinnacles, arches, and even more fantastic architectural
semblances. In one spot which caused them to pause in
sheer admiration, the crumbling debris at the foot of the
cliff' had shaped itself into the likeness of a huge causeway
such as might have been constructed by one of the giants
of fabulous times, leading into a deep wild rocky gorge

164 AN ENCHANTED REGION.

rich in soft purple shadows, at the further edge of which
rose a gigantic rock hewn by the storms of ten thousand
winters into the exact similitude of a castle flanked by
three lofty detached towers all bathed in the dreamy
roseate haze of the evening sunshine. And, somewhat
further on, they came to a single greenstone clifl" the sky-
line of which was boldly chiselled into the likeness of the
ruined ramparts of an extensive city, whilst at its northern
extremity, at the edge of a deep ravine, a solitary column
nearly five hundred feet high, and standing upon a base
or pedestal nearly three hundred feet high, shot straight
and smooth up into the deep blue of the northern sky.

Tearing themselves unwillingly away from this region
of weird enchantment, the voyagers pushed onward along
Kennedy and Robeson Channels, sometimes winding their
way through intricate water lanes in the ice, and some-
times skimming lightly a few yards above the surface of
the solid pack, until they reached the latitude of 82° 80'
N., when the land abruptly trended away to their right
and left, and they found themselves hovering over an
immense field of pack - ice which extended in an un-
broken mass as far northward as the eye could reach.

Up to the present, from the time of their passing Disko
Island, the voyagers had seen plenty of seals and walruses,
with an occasional white bear, a few Arctic foxes, a herd
or two of reindeer, and even a few specimens of the elk
and musk-ox, to say nothing of birds, such as snow-geese,
eider and long-tailed ducks, sea-eagles, divers, auks, and
gulls. Moreover, they had been favoured with, on the
whole, exceptionally fine weather — due as much as any-
thing, perhaps, to the fact that they had been fortunate
enough to enter the Arctic circle during the prevalence

THE sea-birds' WARNING. 165

of a ''spell" of fine weather, and that they had accom-
plished in a very few days a distance which it would
occupy an ordinary craft months of weary toil to cover.
But, on passing the edge of this gigantic ice barrier, they
left all life behind them; even the very gulls — which had
followed them in clouds whenever the speed of the Flying
Fish was low enough to permit of such a proceeding —
after wheeling agitatedly about the ship for a tew minutes
with discordant screams, as of warning to the travellers
not to venture into so vast and gloomy a solitude, forsook
them and retraced their way to the southward. The
weather, too, changed, the sky becoming overcast with a
pall of dull gray snow - laden cloud accompanied by a
dismal murky atmosphere and a temperature of ten de-
grees below zero. The wind sighed and moaned over the
icy waste; but, excepting for this dreary and depressing
sound, there was absolute silence, the silence of a dead
world.

The ice bore at first the same appearance as all the
other ice which they had hitherto encountered, but by the
time that they had advanced a distance of thirty miles
into the frozen desert they became conscious of a change.
The hummocks were not so lofty as heretofore, the hol-
lows between them having the appearance of being to a
considerable extent filled up with hard frozen snow; the
ice itself, too, instead of being a pure white, was tinged
with yellow of the hue of very old ivory; the sharp
angles, also, were all worn away as if by long- continued
abrasion; the ice, in fact, bore unmistakable evidence of
extreme age.

At the professor's suggestion a pause was made and a
descent effected, in order that he might carefully investi-

166 A DREARY SOLITUDE.

gate the nature of the ice; and, warmly clad in furs, the
entire party left the ship for this purpose.

" It is as I feared," said von Schalckenberg, after they
had toiled painfully over the surface for some time; "we
have reached the region of paleocrystic or ancient ice;
and my cherished theory of an open sea about the North
Pole vanishes into thin air. Look at this ice here, where
a portion of the original hummock still remains bare — it
is yellow and rotten, not with the rottenness which pre-
cedes a thaw, but with extreme age. See, it crumbles at
a kick or a blow, but the fragments do not melt; it is
years — possibly ages — since this ice was water. And look
at the edges of the blocks; they are rounded and worn
away by the constant abrading action of the wind, the
snow, the hail, and possibly the rain, which has beaten
upon them through unnumbered years. It is no wonder
that this is a lifeless solitude; there is nothing here ca-
pable of sustaining the life of even the meanest insect.
Let us return to the ship, my friends, and hasten over
this part of our journey; we shall meet with nothing
worthy of interest until we reach the Pole, which itself
will probably prove to be merely an undistinguishable
spot in just such a waste as this."

The professor was, however mistaken; a most interest-
ing discovery awaited them at no very great distance
ahead. They returned to the ship oppressed with a vague
feeling of melancholy foreboding for which they could
not account, but which was doubtless attributable to the
gloomy cheerless aspect of their surroundings, and, re-
leasing the ship from the hold of her grip-anchors, re-
sumed their way northward at the Flying Fish's utmost
speed.

A POLAR MYSTERY. 167

Half an hour later, however, they suddenly checked
their flight and diverged a mile to the eastward of their
former course to examine an object which Mildmay's
quick eye had detected. The object — or objects rather,
for there were two of them — proved to be short poles
or spars about twenty-five feet apart, projecting about
twelve feet out of the ice, and surmounted by the skele-
ton framework of what seemed to have been at one time
small bulwarked platforms. Wondering what they could
possibly be, and by whom placed in so out-of-the-way a
region, but thinking they might possibly mark cairns or
places of deposit inclosing the records of some long-lost
expedition, they resolved to stop and institute a thorough
examination.

They were fortunate enough to find a smooth and level
spot suitable for grounding the Flying Fish upon, at a
distance of barely a quarter of a mile from the objects of
their interest; and it being by that time six o'clock in
the evening, and too late to do any good before dinner,
they secured the ship there for the night — taking the
precaution of fully weighting her down with compressed
air in addition to mooring her firmly to the ice by her
four grip-anchors. It was a most happy inspiration which
impelled them to take this precaution; for when they
arose next morning a terrific gale from the northward
was blowing, accompanied by a heavy ceaseless fall of
snow; and, well secured as the ship was both by her
weight and by her anchors, she fairly trembled at times
with the violence of the blast. Had she been dependent
only upon her anchors and her own unassisted weight —
which the reader will remember was very trifiing not-
withstanding her immense dimensions — she would in-

168 ARCTIC WEATHER INDEED.

fallibly have been whirled away like a bubble upon the
wings of the gale. The highly-compressed air, however,
held her securely down upon her icy bed, and, beyond
imparting an occasional tremor, as already mentioned, the
tempest, fierce as it was, had no power to move her.

In such terrible weather it was of course useless to
think of pursuing their investigations; it would, indeed,
have been the sheerest madness to have attempted to
face the furious gale, with its deadly cold and the blind-
ing whirling snow. The travellers were therefore com-
pelled to spend an inactive day. For this, however, they
were by no means sorry; they had been keeping rather
late hours since entering the Arctic circle, and this in-
terval of inaction afforded them an opportunity of secur-
ing their arrears of rest. Besides this there were sketches
to complete, and a thousand little odd matters to attend
to — to such an extent, indeed, that when they once began
work they wondered at their own thoughtlessness in not
having attended to them before. Thus employed, with
occasional interludes of meditative gazing out upon the
ceaseless whirling rush of the snow, the day passed
rapidly and pleasantly away, wound up by an hour or
two of vocal and instrumental music after dinner. They
retired early to their warm comfortable state-rooms that
night, and were lulled to sweet dreamless slumber by the
howling of the gale outside.

The four following days were spent in the same man-
ner — the gale lasting all that time with unabated fury,
accompanied by an almost ceaseless fall of snow. But
on the fifth day the weather moderated; the snow ceased,
or at all events fell only intermittently ; the wind backed
round and blew from the south-west; and the exterior

PREPARATIONS FOR AN INVESTIGATION. 169

temperature, which during the gale had fallen to thirty-
three degrees below zero, rose twenty degrees. The sky
was still overcast and lowering, it is true, and the cold
was still intense. But notwithstanding this the weather,
compared with that of the preceding five days, seemed
positively fine; and, wrapping themselves up in their
warmest clothing, and arming themselves with pick and
shovel, they set out to discover if possible what lay con-
cealed beneath the two queer-looking poles.

CHAPTER XL

AN INTERESTING RELIC.

HEY issued from the ship through the trap-door
in her bottom; and no sooner did they find
themselves in the open air than an almost un-
controllable impulse seized them to go back again. The
contrast between the warm comfortable temperature of
the ship's interior and the bitter piercing cold without
was so great that at first the latter felt quite unendurable.
They, however, persevered ; and, after perhaps ten minutes
of intense suffering, the severe exercise of scrambling
over the rotten slippery hummocks somewhat restored
their impeded circulation, and they began to feel that,
perhaps, after all, they might be able to do something
toward the execution of their self-imposed task. The
mere act of breathing, however, continued to be exceed-
ingly painful; and when they at length reached the spot
of which they were in search, they were able to fully
realize, for the first time in their lives, the incredible
difficulties attendant upon the exploration of the regions
within the polar circles.

On a nearer inspection of the two poles they proved to
be stout spars about the thickness of a man's leg; and.

AN INTERESTING ANNOUNCEMENT. 171

from the appearance in each of a sort of sheave-hole,
Lieutenant Mild may declared his conviction that they
were the masts of a small ship. They were very rotten,
however, and, if Mildmay's surmise was indeed correct,
the craft must have been under the ice for a very long
time. The mere suggestion was enough to fully arouse
their curiosity; and, forgetful for the moment of the in-
tense cold, to which they were already in a measure grow-
ing accustomed, they set to work with a will plying
pick-axe and shovel upon the ice with such small dex-
terity as they possessed.

The task to which they had devoted themselves was,
after all, not a very difficult one, the ice, especially that
of ancient formation, yielding readily before the vigorous
strokes of their picks; and it soon became evident that
they could work to greater advantage by dividing them-
selves into two gangs of two each; one gang breaking up
the ice with the pick, and the other shovelling away the
debris. The low temperature, however, made the work
very exhausting; and by lunch time they had only suc-
ceeded in excavating a hole some twenty-five feet long —
or the distance between the two masts — by six feet wide
and four feet deep. They had widened this excavation
by a couple of feet and sunk it some four feet deeper by
six o'clock that evening; and then they knocked off work
for the day, returning to the Flying Fish stiff, and ex-
hausted with their unwonted exertions, but with more
voracious appetites than they ever remembered experi-
encing before.

In this way they laboured day after day for ten days;
being greatly hindered in their operations by frequent
showers of snow, which filled up their excavation almost

172 THE VIKING SHIP.

as rapidly as they made it, until, beginning to lose patience
at their slow progress, they resolved to run a little risk,
and the professor was induced to employ a minute por-
tion of his explosive compound in blowing away the sides
of the pit to a sufficient extent to allow of the snow drift-
ing out with the wind instead of lodging in the bottom.
This engineering feat was successfully accomplished with-
out apparent damage to the object they sought to bring
to light; and, thus encouraged, they further cautiously
employed the compound in breaking up the ice, with the
triumphant result that, on the evening of the thirteenth
day before giving up work, they succeeded in uncovering
the deck of a craft measuring eighty feet long over all
by sixteen feet beam. They were now intensely excited
and elated, as they had every reason to believe that —
judging from certain peculiarities of build which had
already revealed themselves — they had discovered a most
interesting relic.

The next morning was most fortunately as fine as they
could reasonably expect it to be in that stormy and de-
solate region; and, commencing work at an early hour —
having, moreover, by this time acquired quite a respect-
able dexterity in the use of their tools — they succeeded
by lunch time in laying completely bare the entire hull
of what proved most unmistakably to be a veritable
ancient Viking ship.

This intensely interesting relic was, as already stated,
eighty feet long by sixteen feet beam; with a depth of
hold in midships, as they now found, of eight feet ; she
must therefore have been at the time of her launch quite
a noble specimen of naval architecture. She was of course
built of wood, and was beautifully moulded fore and aft;

THE EQUIPMENT OF THE SHIP. 173

her stem and stern-posts were carried to a height of five
feet above her rail ; and the former was finished off* with
a rather roughly hewn but vigorously modelled horse's
head, whilst the latter terminated in an elaborately carved
piece of scroll-work. She was fully decked, with a sort
of monkey-poop aft, about two and a half feet high and
twenty feet long, beneath which was her principal cabin.
Her bulwarks and rail were very solidly constructed ; the
former being pierced with rowlock holes for sixteen oars
or sweeps of a side, in addition to holes abaft, one on each
side of, and near the stern-post, for the short broad-
bladed steering paddles. Both of these paddles, together
with twenty-three oars and two square sails, shaped some-
what like lugs and still attached to their yards, were
found stowed fore and aft amidships on the vessel's deck.
They were all in an excellent state of preservation, as
were also the lower portions of the masts; indeed it was
only that portion of these spars which had been long
exposed to the air which showed signs of rot, the upper
extremities being most rotten, whilst the parts close to
the deck were perfectly sound.

Having fully satisfied their curiosity with regard to
the exterior of this interesting craft, they next essayed
to penetrate below by forcing open the after hatch. On
removing the cover a small and almost perpendicular
ladder was revealed, down which Mildmay rapidly made
his way. On reaching the bottom he found himself in a
small vestibule or ante-room, the floor, sides, and ceiling
of which were thickly cased with smooth glassy ice, long
icicles of varying thicknesses also depending from the
beams and deck planking overhead. He could trace the
existence of a door in the middle of the bulkhead facinor

174 THE CABIN OF THE VIKING SHIP.

him; but it was hermetically sealed with the thick coat-
inof of ice hefore mentioned, and the removal of this oc-
cupied over half an hour. Whilst he was thus engaged
the rest of the party at his suggestion returned to the
Flying Fish for the small electric lamps used in their
diving operations; and when they returned he was just
about ready to force open the door of the after cabin.
This was accomplished without much difficulty, and a
faint sickly odour at once became apparent, issuing from
the interior of the cabin.

Consumed by curiosity, the party pressed eagerly for-
ward through the doorway, and a most extraordinary
sight at once revealed itself. The cabin was a tolerably
roomy apartment for the size of the vessel, having for
furniture a solid handsomely carved oaken table in the
centre, shaped to suit the narrowing dimensions of the
vessel abaft, and side benches or lockers all round the
sides. The walls or inner planking of the ship were
thickly covered with seal, walrus, and white bear skins,
evidently hung there to prevent, as far as possible, the
penetration of the extreme cold through the ship's sides;
and upon large nails, driven through these and into the
planks, were hung various trophies of weapons, such as
long two-handed swords, small shields or targets, maces
with heavy iron- spiked heads, short-handled battle-axes,
spears, unstrung bows, and quivers of arrows. But it was
not these objects, interesting as they were, which first
riveted the attention of the intruders; it was upon the
occupants of the cabin that their startled glances fixed
themselves. Yes, strange as it may seem, the four nine-
teenth-century travellers found themselves face to face
with some at least of the hardy crew who had stood on

THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CABIN. 175

the deck waving their last good-bye to wives, children, or
sweethearts — who shall say how many years ago? — when
that stout galley swept out of harbour with pennons
flying, oars flashing, and arms glancing, maybe, in the
brilliant sunshine, as she started on the enterprise of
wild adventure from which she was never to return.
The inmates were four in number. Three of them were
reclining on the lockers, their heads pillowed upon, and
their bodies thickly covered with skins, whilst the fourth,
doubtless the master spirit of the expedition, sat as in life
at the narrow or after end of the table, his body supported
in a massive quaintly carved oaken chair.

The bodies, the floor, the table, and every article in the
cabin were thickly coated with frost-rime, which glittered
with a diamond-like lustre in the cold keen light of the
electric lamps, and the first act of the visitors was to care-
fully remove and clear away this frost coating. To their
intense satisfaction this task was accomplished by gentle
brushing without the slightest difficulty, and they were
then able to minutely inspect the bodies of these ancient
sea kings. They were in a state of surprisingly perfect
preservation, and indeed had the appearance of having
only recently fallen asleep, the intense cold having seized
upon them with such fierce rapidity that their bodies had
completely congealed before even the primary stages of
decay had had time to manifest themselves. Indeed,
judging from appearances, they had succumbed, in the
first instance, to starvation, and, overcome by weakness,
had been frozen to death. They were all of lofty stature
and muscular build, with fair hair and tawny beards and
moustaches, the latter worn extremely long. They were
fully clad, all in garments of the same general character.

176 THE PARCHMENT CHART.

excepting that those of the seated figure appeared to be
of somewhat finer material than those of his companions.
These garments, the outer ones, that is to say, consisted
of a thick leathern tunic confined at the waist by a broad
belt, and leather drawers reaching from the waist to the
ankles, thick leather socks or stockings, and sandals laced
to the feet and legs by leather thongs. The tunic of the
chief was elaborately embroidered on the breast in silk,
a winged black horse being the central and most con-
spicuous design. The trophy hanging at the back of the
sitter's chair consisted of a small circular shield, with a
formidable axe, double-handed sword, and mace crossing
each other, behind it, the whole being surmounted by a
handsome bronze head^Jece, or helmet without a visor,
having a large pair of finely modelled wings starting from
the sides and near the crown. The helmets of the other
three occupants were of similar shape, but without orna-
ment of any kind. Two drinking horns were upon the
table, one being plainly mounted in bronze, and the other
elaborately mounted in silver and supported upon three
legs modelled after those of the horse, the fourth leg
being lifted in the attitude of pawing the ground.

But perhaps the most interesting object of all was a
sheet of parchment which lay stretched upon the table
before the sitter, and which he had evidently been study-
ing when the drowsiness of death seized him, and, sinking
back in his chair, he had closed his eyes for ever. This
parchment was, of course, stiff with the frost of centuries;
but by exercising the utmost care the finders succeeded
in conveying it intact to the Flying Fish, and in thawing
it out, when it was found to be covered with a rude but
vigorously drawn sketch or chart, representing with sur-

A MYSTERIOUS ISLAND. 177

prising accuracy o£ outline — but without much attention
to scale — the whole of the channel between the west coast
of Greenland and the east coast of America, and showing,
at the top or northern margin, an irregular line evidently
intended to represent land. And in the top left-hand
corner of the chart was a square space marked off as a
separate and distinct chart, the centre of which was oc-
cupied by an island, the southern coast-line of which cor-
responded in shape with the line drawn next the northern
margin of the main or principal chart. Eudely drawn
figures of the whale, narwhal, walrus, seal, and polar bear
were sketched here and there upon the chart, as though
to indicate spots where these animals had been seen by
the author of the document; and on the island shown in
the small subsidiary chart, great numbers of animals were
drawn, among those represented being hares, foxes, deer,
seals, and elephants, besides others which the travellers
failed to identify. There was also a sketch of a ship —
very similar in appearance to the craft from which the
chart had been taken — represented as sailing away from
the island. This particular sketch was the source of much
speculation on the part of the quartette; Sir Reginald and
the colonel being disposed to regard it as an insertion for
the purpose merely of giving a more effective appearance
to the chart, whilst the professor and Mildmay were of
opinion that it was intended to convey an intimation
that the mysterious island had actually been visited.

The above particulars, it need scarcely be said, were
ascertained and the surmises discussed after dinner that
day; the party not leaving the galley until they had
effected a thorough and exhaustive examination of her
from stem to stern. They found little else of interest on

(359) M

178 COMPLETION OF THE INVESTIGATION.

board her, however, except ten more bodies in the large
fore-cabin or forecastle of the craft. The store-rooms oc-
cupied the central portion of the vessel, being accessible
only from the after end, and the fact that they were clean
swept of everything which could hj any possibility have
served for food, tended to confirm the impression that the
expedition had perished of starvation. One or two docu-
ments and a massive vellum-bound book were discovered,
and these, together with some of the armour and weapons
found on board, were taken possession of, but the docu-
ments and book proved to be written in a tongue wholly
unknown to either of the discoverers, and they were
therefore destined to remain for some time longer in
ignorance of the history of the long-lost expedition. One
fact only was it possible to discover in connection with it,
which was that the hardy and resolute crew had un-
doubtedly cut their way for a very considerable distance
into the heart of that vast field of everlastino^ ice. This
was most conclusively ascertained by Sir Reginald and
his friends, who, on board the Flying Fish, were able to
follow quite unmistakable traces of the channel cut by
the unknown explorers for a distance of fully forty miles
to the southward of the galley itself.

The examination of this strange and interesting craft
being at length completed, the cabin doors were closed,
the hatches replaced, and the ship, with all that she con-
tained, left to the mercy of the weather, there being no
doubt that the excavation so laboriously accomplished
would soon be again filled up by the almost ceaseless
snow-fall, and the ship again concealed in all probability
for ever.

The first thing after breakfast on the following morn-

INTENSE COLD. 179

ing, the northward journey was resumed in the face of a
perfect hurricane from the northward, accompanied by so
tremendous and incessant a fall of snow that it was utterly
impossible to see anything at a distance of more than
twenty feet in any direction. It was, of course, quite out
of the question for anyone to venture outside the door of
the pilot-house in such terrible weather; and the cold even
inside on the steering platform was so intense that the
breath of the travellers was condensed on their moustaches,
and, instantly congealing, rapidly formed into a mass of
ice which effectually prevented the opening of their
mouths. An attempt was made to elude the storm by
rising into the higher regions of the atmosphere; but the
cold there proved to be so unbearable, notwithstanding
the protection afforded by the stubbornly non-conducting
material of which the Flying Fish was built, that they
were compelled to descend once more, and their journey
was continued at about a height of one thousand feet above
the ice, and at a speed of ninety miles per hour, at which
rate of travel they considered that they were stemming
the gale, and perhaps actually progressing to windward
some ten miles or so every hour.

The dreary day lagged slowly on, with the occurrence
of no event of importance, until about four o'clock in the
afternoon, at which time the travellers became conscious
of a decided rise of temperature. By five o'clock the
cold had so greatly diminished that they were compelled
to throw off their thick fur outer clothing; and half an
hour later, the thick dreadnought jackets, which consti-
tuted their ordinary outer covering in bad weather, were
also discarded; the snow meanwhile giving place to sleet,
and the sleet in its turn yielding to a deluge of driving rain.

180 AN OPEN POLAR SEA.

And, whilst they were still wondering what this singular
phenomenon might portend, a hoarse low muffled roar,
accompanied by an occasional grinding crash, smote upon
their ears through the heavy swish of the rain; the dull
white monotonous expanse of the ice-field was abruptly
broken into by a jagged irregular-shaped black blot
ahead; and, almost before they had time to realize the
extraordinary change, the Flying Fish had swept beyond
the northern boundary of the immense expanse of
paleocrystic ice, and was careering northward, at an
elevation of about a thousand feet, above the surface of
a liquid sea which raged and chafed and tossed its foamy
arms to heaven under the influence of the fast-diminish-
ing gale.

" Hurrah!" ejaculated the professor; "hurrah! Scoresby
and Kane spoke the truth; and my pet theory turns out
to be correct, after all. Gentlemen, look round and feast
your eyes upon the glorious spectacle of an open Polar
Sea!''

Whether it actually was an open sea, or only an un-
usually wide channel between two ice-fields, was now the
question to be settled. It certainly looked like the
former; it was completely free of floating ice, large or
small, except the cakes which were broken away by the
waves from the edge of the enormous floe just left behind,
and they were kept by the wind close to their parent
mass; the sea ran so high and was so regular as to con-
vey the idea of a very considerable extent of " fetch;" and,
lastly, there was neither ice nor ice-blink to be seen any-
where along the whole stretch of the northern horizon.

Impatient to solve this momentous and interesting
question, the Flying Fish was pushed to her utmost

A CHANGE OF WEATHER. 181

speed, causing her to make headway over the ground,
and against the fresh breeze still blowing, at a pace of
about ninety miles per hour. A quarter of an hour later
the rain ceased, and the flying ship plunged into the
midst of a dense fog, so thick that it was impossible to
see even so far as the guard-rail on either side of the
deck. The temperature had by this time, however, risen
to tJiirty -three degrees above zero {Fahrenheit), and the
travellers therefore at once resolved to again brave the
rigours of the upper atmosphere. An immediate ascent
was accordingly made, with the satisfactory result, that
at an elevation of three thousand feet above the sea-level
they found themselves once more clear of the fog, with
no perceptible fall of the thermometer, and with a clear
view ahead. Twenty minutes more of travelling, and
the northern skirts of the fog-bank were past, the clouds
broke away, and the westering sun cast his ruddy beams
upon the surface of the heaving waters. The sea was
still without a vestige of ice, and the horizon was perfectly
clear ahead.

Consumed with enthusiasm and impatience, the travel-
lers now eflfected a descent to the surface of the sea, that
having been proved to be the situation in which the
Flying Fish made her greatest speed, and the journey
was promptly proceeded with. A further run of twenty
miles found them beneath a cloudless sky, with the wind,
soft and balmy, fallen to the gentlest of zephyrs, and the
temperature risen to the extraordinary height of forty-
five degrees above zero. Their delight, especially that of
the professor, was excessive at this wonderful change in
their surroundings within so short a time; indeed von
Schalckenberg became positively extravagant in his

182 NEARING THE NORTH POLE.

demonstrations, dancing about the deck like a schoolboy,
laughing, cheering, clapping his hands, and uttering the
most extraordinary prophecies as to what awaited them
at the now not far distant pole. The moment was favour-
able for an astronomical observation; and the ship, not-
withstanding their eagerness to press forward, was
accordingly stopped for a few minutes to take the neces-
sary sights, after which "Northward ho!" again became
their watchword. A few minutes sufficed Mildmay to
complete his calculations, and then, amidst vociferous
cheering on the part of his companions, he announced to
them the gratifying intelligence that they had approached
to within a distance of only one hundred and sixty
miles of the North Pole,

At the moment when this announcement was made it
was exactly ten minutes after six o'clock p.m. The
speed gauge showed that the Flying Fish was then
making her way through the water at the rate of
one hundred and fifty miles per hour; in a trifle over
one hour more, therefore, if nothing prevented, they
would reach the goal of their northward journey. Their
enthusiasm became almost painful in its intensity; and
as the Flying Fish rushed at headlong speed through the
rippling waters, tossing the wavelets aside in a great
outward- curling fringe of sparkling foam, and as the
minutes lagged slowly away, the eyes of the quartette in
the pilot-house were strained with ever- increasing inten-
sity in their vain efforts to pierce the mysteries of the
horizon ahead.

At exactly twenty minutes to seven o'clock, Mildmay
electrified his companions, and put the finishing touch to
their excitement, by raising an exultant shout of :

"LAND ho!" 183

"Land ho!"

" Where ? " " Show it me ! " " I can't see it. You must
be mistaken!" exclaimed his companions in chorus, after
a breathless moment of vain peering into the pearly-
northern horizon.

" There it is, directly ahead, looking just like the edge
of a flat gray cloud showing above the water's edge," was
the reply.

Sure enough it ivas land; for when once their eyes had
been directed to the proper point there was little difficulty
in discerning it. Moreover, as the ship sped on, it rose
rapidly above the horizon, the gray tint growing every
moment darker and more distinct, and a few minutes
later otlier land, more sharply defined in outline and
more distinctive in colour, rose above the horizon imme-
diately below it, showing that the table-land first made
out lay at some distance from the southern shore.

And at this auspicious moment the sea began to exhibit
signs of the life which teemed within its depths. An
accidental glance astern showed an enormous school of
whales spouting on the southern horizon; porpoises undu-
lated sportively to windward; a troop of dolphins sud-
denly appeared for a moment alongside the ship, evidently
straining every nerve to keep pace with her; and an
occasional sea-otter rose now and then to the surface of
the placid sea, to dive out of sight again the next instant
in quite a ridiculous state of consternation at so unwonted
a sight as the rushing form of the Flying Fish. Flocks
of sea-birds of various, and indeed some of hitherto
unknown, kinds next made their appearance, indus-
triously pursuing their avocation of fishermen, and — un-
like the sea-otters — paying little or no attention to their

184 THE PROFESSOR IS SURPRISED.

strange visitors. And finally, as they drew nearer in
with the land, seals of various kinds were passed, sport-
ively chasing each other, and pausing for a moment to
raise their heads inquisitively and turn their mild glances
upon the flying ship.

When within some ten miles of the land, it was deemed
advisable to rise out of the water and to complete the
journey at a few feet above its surface, thus taking the
most effectual of precautions against accidental collision
with a sunken rock. As the ship drew in still closer
with the land, her speed was reduced; and, at a quarter
after seven o'clock on that calm July evening, she once
more settled down, like a wearied sea-fowl, upon the
surface of the water, and let go her anchor in a depth
of twelve fathoms, at a distance of half a mile from the
shore, in a fine roomy well-sheltered bay of crescent form,
the two horns or outer extremities of which rose sheer
out of the water in the form of a pair of bold rocky
spurs, backed up on the landward side by a sweep of low
grassy hills, crowned, at a short distance from the shore,
with a forest of majestic pines.

"Well!" ejaculated the professor, as he finally turned
away and went below to dinner, after feasting his eyes
on the splendid landscape, gloriously lighted up by the
rays of the evening sun, " I was prepared to see many
unexpected sights in the event of our reaching the North
Pole, but grass and trees! — well, T was not prepared to
find them''

CHAPTER XII.

ANOTHER STARTLING DISCOVERY.

OTWITHSTANDING the state of excitement
which the travellers had been thrown into by
the successful accomplishment of this, the first,
and, perhaps, the most difficult part of their novel enter-
prise, they managed to secure a tolerably sound night's
rest — if one may venture to term night any part of the
twenty-four hours at that season and in that region,
where the sun had never once sunk beneath the horizon
since the twenty-first of the preceding March, and where
the day had still two months more to run before it should
wane into the long six-months' night of winter. But, as
might be expected, they were up bright and early on the
following morning, eager to explore this strange new
polar land, and scarcely patient enough to sit down and
consume with becoming leisure the appetizing breakfast
which the still imperturbable George had provided for
them.

The meal, however, like most other matters, had an
end at last; and the travellers felt themselves free to
follow the bent of their impatient inclinations. But the
expedition upon which they were about to enter was one
not to be undertaken without due foresight and prepara-

186 AN EXPLORING EXPEDITION.

tion. It was only to be a preliminary exploration, it is
true, only a journey of some three or four miles into the
interior; but the country and the climate having already
proved so extraordinarily at variance with all their pre-
conceived ideas, who could say what new and strange
forms of animal life might not possibly be lurking within
those vast forest depths? It therefore behoved them to
adopt at least a reasonable amount of precaution, and so
to equip themselves that, in the event of their encoun-
tering new and hitherto unsuspected dangers, they might
not find themselves in a wholly defenceless condition.

The question of the kind of clothing to be worn was
soon settled. The temperature stood at the extraordinary
height (for that latitude) of fifty-seven degrees Fahren-
heit; and the air, actually cool and bracing, felt almost
oppressively warm to them after the rigours of the paleo-
crystic ice-field; they therefore donned a suit of rough
serviceable cloth of moderate thickness, and stout water-
proof leather walking boots. Then, for arms, as they
were merely going on a reconnoitring and not a hunting
expedition, they decided to take their large-bore repeating
rifles, which, with the explosive shells constituting their
ammunition, would enable the explorers to face anything.
And lastly, as accident or design might cause them to
extend their ramble beyond its originally intended limits,
they adopted the precaution of providing themselves each
with a small light knapsack of provisions. Thus equipped
they proceeded on deck, raised the two boats with their
davits out of the snug belovv-deck compartments in which
they had hitherto been concealed, and, lowering the
smaller boat of the two, stepped into her, and were
quickly conveyed to the shore.

AN ANNOYING DISCOVERY. 187

It was with a curiously mingled feeling of awe and
exultation that they sprang from the boat to the strand,
and planted their feet for the first time upon this hitherto
unknown and unvisited ground.

"Behold!" exclaimed the baronet, pointing to their
footprints in the sand; "behold the first human foot-
prints ever impressed upon this soil." And stepping
rapidly forward until he had passed beyond the high-
water mark, he unfurled a small union-jack w^hich he
carried in his hand, and, forcing the butt-end of the staff
into the yielding sand, exclaimed:

'' In the name of her most gracious majesty Victoria,
Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, I annex this land as
a dependency of the British crown!"

Then they all took off their hats and gave three cheers
for the queen; after which Colonel Lethbridge proposed
that the newly-discovered country be called "Elphinstone
Land," a proposition which was carried with acclamation
by a majority of three to one, the dissenting voice being
that of the baronet, who modestly disclaimed the honour
of having the country named after himself.

But were theirs, after all, the first human footprints
which had ever been impressed upon that soil? A de-
cided answer in the negative awaited them ; for they had
not advanced very many yards from the shore when they
came upon an object which, upon examination, proved to
be an ancient and much-rusted spear-head broken short
off, but with some six inches of the haft still attached to
it. The travellers felt greatly disconcerted at this dis-
covery; it robbed them at once irretrievably of the honour
of being the first discoverers of the North Pole, and
showed them that, at some unknown period in the remote

188 AN INTERESTING SPECULATION.

past, there must have existed a man, or more probably a
body of men, who, not only without the exceptional faci-
lities offered by the possession of such a ship as the Fly-
ing Fish, but with, in all probability, ships infinitely
inferior to the worst of those used by modern explorers,
had actually achieved the hitherto deemed impossible
feat of piercing the great ice-barrier and actually reach-
ing the northern pole of the earth.

Who were they? Of what country could they pos-
sibly have been natives ? And why was the fact of their
important discovery suffered to sink into oblivion ? Such
were the questions which at once rose to the minds of
the baronet and his companions, and to which their lips
spontaneously gave utterance.

" I think there can be little doubt as to who and what
they were," remarked the professor. " They were Vikings;
and their leader it must unquestionably have been who
drew the chart found by us in the Viking ship buried in
the ice of the paleocrystic sea. It is his ship which we
see delineated upon the chart; this is the land from which
she is represented as sailing triumphantly away; and it
was doubtless this land which the Viking ship, discovered
by us, was making so desperate an effort to reach when
death claimed her crew as its prey. The other question,
as to why the discovery of this land was suffered to re-
main an unknown fact, is not by any means so easy to
answer. Perhaps the man before whose dead body the
chart lay spread open upon the table may have been its
author and the original discoverer of this land; perhaps
the ship represented on the chart and the ship discovered
by us may have been one and the same; she may have
been on her homeward voyage; and, finding the channels

A FURTHER DISCOVERY. 189

to the southward completely blocked with ice, may have
been attempting to force her way back into the open
Polar Sea when her fate overtook her."

"But, admitting for the moment that such may pos-
sibly have been the case," remarked the baronet, " how
do you account for the fact that, whilst she must neces-
sarily have forced her way twice through the ancient ice,
she should have failed in her third attempt?"

''Her third attempt may have been made late in the
season," answered the professor. "But it is just possible
that her final attempt may have been to force not a third
but a second passage through the ice. She may have
been attempting to return southward instead of north-
ward, as I just now suggested. My impression, with
respect to the vast field of paleocrystic . ice, is that at
certain seasons — as when, for instance, two or three very
mild winters have occurred in succession in the Arctic
circle, followed possibly by exceptionally hot summers —
it undergoes partial disruption, splitting up, in fact, into
several lesser fields which drift for longer or shorter
distances out into the open Polar Sea. The fact that
Scoresby, Penny, and Kane all beheld, at diflferent periods,
an open Polar sea, tends to confirm this impression; and
the circumstance that the bows of the galley discovered
by us were pointing to the northward may be due, not
to the fact that she was actually making her way north
when finally frozen in, but to the accident of that portion of
the field by which she was surrounded being subsequently
turned completely round whilst adrift. But what object
do I see yonder? Surely it is not a human habitation?"

It was, however, or at least had been, at some more or
less distant period. It was the roofless ruin of a once

190 A TEMPTING SIGHT.

most substantially built log-hut, measuring some twenty-
five feet long by sixteen feet broad. The roof had fallen
in; the log sides were decayed and moss-grown; and the
interior was overgrown with long grass and brambles,
with a stately pine springing to a height of some ninety
feet from the very centre of the structure — all of which
incontestably proved its antiquity; but that it was the
work of man — most probably those who had left behind
them the rusty spear-head — there could be no possible
doubt.

The party minutely inspected this interesting ruin, but
without making any further discovery, and then pressed
forward through the heart of a belt of pine forest which
they had by this time reached.

The walking was not difficult and they made tolerably
rapid progress. That the country was not absolutely
tenantless they soon had abundant proof, for they had
not advanced more than half a mile before an Arctic fox
was discovered gliding rapidly away before them. A
little further on they came unexpectedly upon a herd of
moose-deer. The behaviour of these animals — naturally
extremely shy — conclusively proved that they had never
before met such an enemy as man, for, instead of bound-
ing rapidly away, as is their wont, they merely ceased
feeding for a moment to stand and gaze curiously upon
the new-comers, and then went on browsing again with
the utmost composure. Their fearlessness offered a strong
temptation to such inveterate sportsmen as Sir Reginald
and the colonel; but not being in actual need of their
flesh, and being, moreover, anxious not to disturb them
just then, the party passed quietly on without firing a
shot. A huge brown bear was the next animal encoun-

POLAR GAME. 191

tered, and this time the baronet's love of sport overcame
his humanity, bruin falling an easy victim to the noiseless
but deadly percussion shell of Sir Reginald's large-bore
rifle. A solitary prowling wolf next fell before the
equally deadly weapon of the colonel; and then the ex-
plorers emerged on the other side of the forest-belt, and
found themselves on the borders of an extensive tract of
tolerably level country intersected here and there by low
hills, with occasional patches of marshy land, the high
fiat table-land, which had been the first object sighted
by them when approaching these shores from the south-
ward, looming up, still misty and gray, at a long distance
in the extreme background of the landscape.

Heading directly for this mountain, as a conspicuous
landmark, the party again pressed forward, and were
speedily delighted to observe several flocks of ptarmigan
busily feeding on the crests of the low hills which here
and there crossed the route. These birds proved rather
shy, though not so much so as to have prevented the
sportsmen making a very decent bag had they been pro-
vided with fowling-pieces. As it was, however, the birds
were, of course, permitted to go free and undisturbed. A
mile further on a small drove of musk-oxen were seen
grazing in the distance, and, whilst some of the party
were watching the animals and discussing the possibility
of stalking them, Mildmay, who had been intently gazing
through his binocular in another direction, startled his
companions by exclaiming, in an almost horrified tone of
voice:

" What on earth are those immense creatures moving
slowly about in the valley away yonder? Surely they
cant be elephants?"

192 A HERD OF MAMMOTHS.

"Elephants! my dear fellow, don't be absurd," remon-
strated the baronet. "Where are they? Oh, ah! now I
have them," as he brought his glass to bear in the right
direction. " By George, they are elephants, though, and
monsters into the bargain. And, I declare, it seems to me
that they are covered with a thick coat of shaggy hair.
Why, I never saw such a thing in my life."

" Elephants? Covered with hairV exclaimed the pro-
fessor in a voice so eager that it almost amounted to a
scream. " Lend me a binocular, somebody; with my usual
luck I have left mine at home — on board, I mean. A
thousand thanks, Mildmay, my dear fellow. Now, where
are these elephants of yours? Quick, show me where to
look for them. Good heavens! if it should really be so.
Ah! now I see them. Yes — yes — they are — they must
be — Gentlemen, as I am a man of science, I solemnly
declare to you the stupendous fact that those extra-
ordinary animals are neither more nor less than living
Mammoths. I congratulate you, gentlemen — I con-
gratulate myself. Ach, himmel! to think that it should
ever be my good fortune to actually behold, not only one,
but a whole herd of living mammoths! I cannot believe
it — yet — yes, there they are; it is no freak of a disordered
imagination, but an actual, positive, undeniable reality."

The worthy professor was so excited that he could
scarcely hold the binocular firmly enough to look through
it, and it was really laughable — to his companions — to
hear his " Ach's " and " Pish's " of impatience as he vainly
strove to steady his trembling hands and get another good
look at the herd of hitherto believed extinct monsters,
which were quietly feeding at a distance of about two
miles away. At length he, with a comical gesture of

ARRANGING FOR A MAMMOTH HUNT. 193

despair, restored the borrowed binocular to Mildmay, and,
turning to his companions, exclaimed in a voice of feverish
earnestness :

" Come, my dear friends, why do we stand idly gaping
here and wasting valuable time, when we really have not
a moment to lose? We may never have such a priceless
opportunity again. Let us press forward, then, and at all
risks secure a specimen of so unique an animal as the
mammoth. If we were to achieve this and nothing more
our success would be ample repayment for all the anxious
thought devoted to the designing of our vessel, and all
the money spent in her construction."

His excitement was contagious, and the baronet, after
briefly arranging with the colonel a plan of operations,
invited von Schalckenbero^ to follow him; Lethbridg-e
and Mildmay going off in another direction, with the
object of getting on the other side of the animals, and,
in co-operation with the other party, driving them, if
possible, within easy distance of the harbour in which
the Flying Fish lay at anchor.

To do this a wide detour was necessary, and it was
nearly an hour and a half later when the four men found
themselves in a proper position to commence the operation
of " driving." They had arranged themselves in the form
of a semicircle round the herd, at a distance of about a
quarter of a mile away, and, at a signal from the baronet,
all hands advanced toward the huge creatures, shouting
and gesticulating to the utmost extent of their several
powers.

The mammoths, utterly unsuspicious of danger, had
been quietly feeding among the long grass during the
approach of their enemies; but on the baronet's first

(359) N

194 THE MAMMOTHS SHOW FIGHT.

signal shout they paused, and, facing rapidly round in the
direction of the noise, raised their trunks in the air and
waved them slowly from side to side as though scenting
the air. The hunters now redoubled their exertions, fully
expecting that, on seeing them, the animals would wheel
about and shamble off in the required direction. But, to
their dismay, the creatures, instead of doing this, no
sooner caught sight of the party than, with upraised
trunks and harsh trumpet-like screams of rage and
defiance, they charged furiously straight down upon
them. The herd numbered ten individuals, four of which
appeared to instantly constitute themselves the defenders
of the party; and each of these promptly selected his own
particular enemy, occupying his attention so fully that the
remaining members of the herd were afforded every
facility for escape.

It was a nervous moment for the hunters, who, never
having faced such a creature before, had not the most "
remote idea of its fighting tactics ; moreover, the aspect of
the monsters, with their towering stature of fully fifteen
feet, their thick shaggy coats of rusty brown hair, their
enormous spirally curving tusks, and their small eyes
blazing with fury as they rushed forward to the attack,
all combined to produce such a hideous tout ensemble as
might well strike terror to the boldest heart. But neither
Sir Reginald nor the colonel were the men to shrink from
an encounter when game was before them; Mildmay
possessed all the cool daring and recklessness of the
British seaman; and as for the professor, he would
willingly have faced a thousand deaths to secure so new
and rare a specimen of natural history as the creature
before him.

A HUNTING DISASTER. 195

The four sportsmen pulled trigger almost simultane-
ously. The baronet and the colonel had each selected
the same spot, the eye, as the object of their aim, and
both had been equally successful, the shell in each case
passing upward through the eyeball into the brain, ex-
ploding there and causing instant death. The professor s
fascinated gaze being riveted upon the wide-open mouth
of his own particular adversary, he seemed to think that
the yawning cavern thus revealed would be as good a
place as any to empty his rifle into; and he did so — just
in bare time to bring down his game and save himself
from being trampled to a jelly. Mildmay, however, was
not so fortunate. He seemed to think that it mattered
very little where he directed his aim, so long as he made
sure of hitting the brute somewhere, and he therefore
fired point-blank at the chest of the mammoth which
was menacing him. The shell sped true, but, encounter-
ing the thick shaggy coat and the enormously tough hide
of the creature, failed to penetrate the body, and, explod-
ing outside, only inflicted such wounds as further excited
the already angry monster to a perfect frenzy of rage.
Even at this critical moment there was time for another
shot; but Mildmay most unfortunately forgot that he
had nine loaded chambers still available, and instead of
firing again he flung away his piece and ran for his life.
The race was a disastrously short one, however; he had
not run more than twenty yards when the huge creature
was upon him. The great uplifted trunk gave one whirl
in the air and descended with force enough to slay an ox.
It struck poor Mildmay on his right side, and, but for the
fortunate accident of his having at that moment tripped
and fallen forward, the lieutenant would there and then

196 LIEUTENANT MILDMAY IS DISABLED.

have lost the number of his mess. As it was, he was sent
whirling through the air like a cricket-ball, to fall sense-
less, and bleeding from the nose and mouth, fully forty
feet away. The vindictive brute instantly turned short
off with the evident intention of trampling his victim to
death; but before he could reach the prostrate body a
shell from the colonel's rifle sent him crashing lifeless to
the ground. The remainder of the herd, evidently dis-
mayed at the slaughter of their companions, now aban-
doned a half -formed intention which they had at first
manifested to stay and fight it out, and went off in full
retreat with horrible trumpetings of anger and alarm.

The colonel was the first to reach the side of his un-
fortunate friend, the professor and the baronet joining
him as speedily as their legs could convey them to the
spot. Very fortunately von Schalckenberg, among his
other multitudinous acquirements, possessed a very fair
knowledge of medicine and surgery; and his skilful fin-
gers were soon at work removing the lieutenant's cloth-
ing so far as was necessary to investigate the nature and
extent of his injuries. Singularly enough these were
found to be comparatively trifling, a fractured rib and
several very severe bruises being the sum of them. A
little brandy forced between the lips of the sufferer soon
restored him to consciousness, a.nd he was able to sit up.

On attempting to rise to his feet, however, he experi-
enced such severe pain that it was then and there resolved
to let him remain where he was, two of his companions
also remaining to mount guard over him and see that he
came to no harm; whilst the third was to hurry back
with all speed to the ship and bring her out on to the
plain close by the spot where the accident occurred, when

THE "FLYING FISH " IS MOVED INLAND. 197

it would be a comparatively easy matter to convey the
lieutenant from the spot where he then lay to his own
bed on board the Flying Fish,

The professor, having first made Mildmay as easy and
comfortable as circumstances permitted, volunteered for
the service of moving the ship, explaining to his com-
panions that, in the event of an attack of any kind, they,
as seasoned sportsmen, would be able to far more effec-
tually defend the wounded man than he could possibly
hope to do; and then. Sir Reginald and the colonel quite
concurring in this view, he set off for the bay, shouting
back an assurance as he went that he would not be
absent one moment longer than should prove absolutely
necessary.

The worthy scientist was as good as his word; for in
less than an hour from the moment of his departure the
immense bulk of the Flying Fish was seen to rise into
the air beyond the tops of the distant pine-trees, and,
with her polished hull gleaming and flashing in the rays
of the sun, to sweep gracefully round until she was head-
ing straight in the direction of the anxious watchers.
Under the professor's able pilotage she was soon brought
to the ground and secured within a dozen yards of the
spot occupied by them, when it was the work of a few
minutes only to convey the injured man to his own state-
room, where his hurts were at once properly attended to
and himself made thoroughly comfortable.

As soon as luncheon was over Sir Reginald and the
colonel set out for the spot were they had shot the bear
in the morning, one of them being armed with a large-
bore rifle and the other carrying a fowling-piece; and on
their return somewhat late in the afternoon they bore

198 VON SCHALCKENBERG IN HIS ELEMENT.

not only the skin, skull, and claws of the defunct bruin,
but also a goodly bag of ptarmigan. During their ab-
sence the professor had also been very busy, dividing his
attention pretty evenly between Mildmay and the finest
specimen of the slain mammoths, the latter of which he
had succeeded in nearly half- denuding of its skin. With
the assistance of. his two able-bodied friends this task
was completed by dinner-time; and by the corresponding
hour next evening not only was the enormous hide under-
going the first stage of preparation for the taxidermist,
but the indefatigable labourers had also succeeded in
hewing out the tusks of the other slaughtered mammoths.
For health's sake the ship was then moved about a mile
further inland, and the carcasses were left to the wolves,
which had already gathered in large numbers in the
vicinity.

Under the skilful treatment of the professor Mildmay
made steady and rapid progress toward recovery from
the very first; the baronet and the colonel had therefore
no hesitation about carrying out a project which had
been under discussion between them for the last two or
three days, and which was neither more nor less than a
pedestrian excursion to the far distant table-land which
they had first sighted from the sea. They estimated that
this goal of their journey, upon which they expected to
find the actual site of the Northern Pole of the earth,
must be about sixty miles distant from the ship; and
they considered that the trip there and back would
occupy them about six days. It would of course have
been very much easier, and more convenient in every
way, to have made the journey on board the Flying
Fish; but the professor was busy with the preparation

A WALKING TOUR OF EXPLORATION. 199

of his mammoth, the skin of which he had carefully
stretched and pegged out on the ground alongside the
ship, and was so averse to the losing sight of it, even for
a few "hours, that it was soon decided the Flying Fish
must not be moved for the present. After all, the jour-
ney would probably not involve any very great amount
of hardship; it simply meant camping out for five or six
nights, or at least those hours of the twenty-four which
did duty for night. And this the two seasoned hunters
looked forward to as rather a pleasant change than other-

ise.

The necessary preparations were all made on the pre-
vious evening, and after breakfast on the appointed day
the two adventurers set out, taking leave of Mildmay —
who was already out of bed again — and of the professor,
who, to tell the truth, was heartily glad to be left to the
uninterrupted prosecution of his task.

They were in light marching order, having resolved
to carry nothing which they could possibly do without;
their previous experience of the country had taught them
that game was pretty plentiful, and that they might
safely depend upon their guns for the supply of their
larder; and their stock of provisions consisted solely,
therefore, of a few biscuits and a substantial flask of
brandy each. The temperature was decidedly mild, and
had been so ever since their arrival at "Elphinstone Land,"
with settled fine weather, and they therefore carried
nothing in the shape of extra clothing save a light mac-
intosh each, which they bore securely strapped on the top
of their knapsacks. The remainder of their impedimenta
consisted of a double-barrelled gun for each man — one
barrel being rifled and the other a smooth bore — two car-

200 A CURIOUS PHENOMENON.

trido'e belts, one for the waist and the other for the
shoulder, fully stocked; a formidable double-edged hunt-
ing knife each; a capacious waterproof bag containing a
reserve supply of cartridges, and a small stock of matches
and tobacco.

Their road for the first five or six miles led up a gentle
acclivity, just sufficient to make itself felt, but not steep
enough to render walking difficult or fatiguing. Then
came a stretch of flat country, bounded on each side by
the projecting spurs of a range of rugged hills of fantastic
outline which stretched immediately across their path at
a distance of some three or four miles or so. The pedes-
trians had not progressed very far across this plain before
their attention became arrested by a curious phenomenon.
The atmosphere immediately behind the range of hills
last mentioned was thick with fleecy vapour, now so thin
that the distant table-land could be dimly seen through
it as through a veil, and anon so dense that it assumed a
decided cloud-like shape upon which the unsetting sun
shone with dazzling brilliancy. This thickening of the
vapour seemed to occur at tolerably regular intervals of
about twenty minutes each, and was immediately pre-
ceded by a sudden silvery gleam succeeded by a most
brilliant and perfectly formed rainbow. The periodical
recurrence of this singular phenomenon under a perfectly
cloudless sky of course greatly excited the curiosity of
the pedestrians, and they pushed rapidly forward, eager
to ascertain the cause.

As they advanced, the encircling hills thrust their pro-
jecting spurs further and further into the narrowing
plain, their slopes became steeper and more rugged, and
rocks began to crop out here and there with increasing

A DIFFICULT PATH. 201

frequency through the lessening soil. A corresponding
change of course occurred in the character of the land-
scape; it grew increasingly picturesque and wild at every
step, and at length the travellers found themselves at the
mouth of a narrow rocky boulder-strewn gorge bounded
on either side by titanic masses of volcanic rock, rugged
and moss-grown, with little patches of herbage here and
there, or an occasional stunted pine growing out of an
almost imperceptible fissure. The only signs of life in
this wild spot consisted of a diminutive musk-ox here
and there cropping the scanty herbage half-way up the
apparently inaccessible height in spots from which it ap-
peared equally impossible for the creature to advance or
to retreat.

Plunging into this defile, the travellers advanced with
steadily increasing difficulty, the boulders with which their
path was strewed growing ever larger and more numer-
ous until at length the narrowing road became completely
choked with them, and the only mode of progression was
that of a slow, toilsome, dangerous scramble. Still the
pair pushed resolutely on, every minute hoping that the
difficulties of the journey would come to an end, and
every minute less willing to turn back and again en-
counter the obstacles already surmounted. At length the
path became so narrow that one enormous boulder sufficed
to completely block the way, whilst the perpendicular
rocky walls of the chasm towered so far aloft that only
the merest thread of sky was visible; the air grew chill
and damp, and so deep a twilight gloom pervaded the
place that it was difficult to distinguish any object more
than half a dozen yards distant.

The weary travellers looked at each other in dismay.

202 A GRUESOME SPOT.

Was this to be the ineffectual ending of that long and
toilsome scramble through the ravine? There was just
one single narrow crevice between the huge boulder
which blocked their way, and one of the precipitous walls
which pressed so closely in upon them — a crevice left by
the irregular shape of the block, and affording barely
space enough for a man of robust proportions to squeeze
himself through — and they determined that, before re-
tracing their steps, they would at least satisfy their
curiosity so far as to creep through this crevice and see
what lay on the farther side. The baronet with some
little difficulty squeezed through first, and his exclama-
tion of astonishment quickly took the colonel to his side.
The pair found themselves in a narrow rent between
the two vertical faces of rock — the projections of the one
accurately corresponding with the indentations of the
other, and clearly demonstrating that, at some distant
period of the earth's history, that mighty chasm had been
suddenly torn open by a great natural convulsion awful
in its intensity beyond all power of imagination. The
rent was roofed in as it were by boulders which thickly
hung suspended and jammed in at varying heights be-
tween the almost touching walls of the rift; and the
adventurous explorers could not repress a shudder as
they glanced aloft at these huge masses and thought of
the consequences to themselves which would ensue should
a projecting corner just then yield and suffer its parent
rock to come crashing down to the bottom. Their first
impulse was to beat a precipitate retreat; their second, to
go forward ; for at only a few yards' distance before them
the rift closed altogether, except at the very bottom,
where a low cavern-like fissure dimly appeared. A hasty

forward! 203

consultation passed between them, resulting in a deter-
mination to go forward and explore the fissure.

Fortunately for their purpose they had, at an early
stage of their difficulties, provided themselves with a
couple of stoutish pine branches — wrenched from their
parent stems and hurled into the ravine perchance by
some winter storm — to aid them in surmounting the diffi-
culties of the way, and these they now determined to
utilize if possible as torches.

With some little difficulty the smaller ends of these
brands were induced to kindle; but, once fairly ignited,
they blazed up bravely, and thus provided with the neces-
sary lights the adventurers boldly pushed forward and
plunged into the recesses of the fissure.

•7^

CHAPTER XIII.

AT THE NORTH POLE.

HE opening was so low and so narrow, that for
the first fifty or sixty feet the explorers were
obliged to creep forward on their hands and
knees; then it widened and became gradually higher,
so that by the time they had penetrated a couple of
hundred feet they were able to resume a perpendicular
attitude. The cavern, if such it could be called, still
however remained so narrow that it was only here and
there possible for them to walk side by side. It was also
very tortuous; and the heights varied momentarily, at
one time compelling them to stoop almost double in order
to pass beneath some immense projection, and anon in-
creasing so greatly that the light of their torches failed
to reach and reveal the roof. They observed several rifts
or crevices to the right and left of them as they pressed
forward, but, with one or two exceptions, these were
quite impassable, and those which were not so were still
so cramped that they offered no inducement to deviate
from the main passage.

Groping thus in semi-darkness over painfully rough
and broken ground, a full hour was spent, and the colonel

A LAKE OF WARM WATER. 205

was just expressing his conviction that they must have
traversed a distance of fully two miles when a faint
glimmer of daylight revealed itself on one of the rocky
walls of the passage; and, turning sharply round an
angle, the pair suddenly found themselves once more
within a few yards of the open air.

Emerging into broad daylight a most wonderful spec-
tacle greeted the two adventurous explorers. They found
themselves standing on a narrow strip of coarse sandy
beach at the bottom of an immense basin, measuring fully
a mile in diameter, the sides of which were formed of
lofty precipitous cliffs of volcanic rock, so smooth and so
nearly vertical that nowhere, at least in their immediate
neighbourhood, could they discover a spot capable of
being scaled. Before them, and occupying the whole
bottom of this enormous basin, stretched a placid lake,
the water of which was as clear as crystal. A thin filmy
veil of vapour rose everywhere from the surface of the
water, softening the hard outlines of the more distant
landscape, and imparting an aspect of dreamlike witchery
and unreality which it would certainly have otherwise
lacked.

"Why, the water is tepid!" exclaimed Sir Reginald,
plunging his hand into the lake and raising a small quan-
tity of its water in his palm, to ascertain by taste whe-
ther it was fresh or salt.

The colonel thereupon thrust his hand down, and satis-
fied himself by experiment of the truth of his compan-
ion's statement. It was even more than tepid, it was
positively warm.

The two were still discussing the probable reason for
this phenomenon when their attention was suddenly

206 "THE VON SCHALCKENBERG GEYSER."

arrested by a curious movement of the water in the centre
of the lake. First a few tremulous ripples appeared,
spreading outward from the centre; then the disturbance
became more pronounced, until, within a minute, an area
of some thirty or forty yards in diameter had assumed
an appearance of violent ebullition. Suddenly a jet of
steam and spray shot up out of the centre of this dis-
turbed spot; and then, before either of the two bewil-
dered spectators could find time to remark upon so curi-
ous a phenomenon, an immense column of purest crystal
water shot into the air to a height of at least two hun-
dred feet, and, gleaming and flashing in the sunbeams
as it soared away above the level of the encircling cliffs,
spread out into a domelike sheet, and, leaving behind it
aloft a dense cloud of vapour of dazzling whiteness, fell
again into the lake in the form of a shower of boiling
water.

"A geyser!" exclaimed the baronet. ''A geyser! and
of such grandeur that the Great Geyser of Iceland, which
I have seen, sinks into the utmost insignificance com-
pared with it."

'' You are right," acquiesced Lethbridge. " I too have
seen the so-called Great Geyser, and admired it im-
mensely; but after this — "

He finished with a shrug of the shoulders so expressive
that there was not the slightest need for words to explain
his meaning.

" We must bring the professor to see this," he continued
after a slight pause. " And — look here, Elphinstone — if
you wish to intensely gratify the worthy man, call this
geyser after him — ' The Von Schalckenberg Geyser' — eh?
It doesn't sound half bad, does it?"

LUNCHEON AND A PIPE. 207

The baronet laughingly consented to his friend's pro-
posal, the more readily, as he knew that what Lethbridge
had said as to the professor's gratification was perfectly
true; and then the wanderers resumed their journey,
passing along the narrow strip of sand which divided the
edo^e of the water from the base of the cliffs.

" There is no doubt, I think, that this geyser produces
the cloud of vapour and the sudden flashing gleam, at
tolerably regular intervals, which so aroused our curiosity
this morning," remarked the baronet as they plodded
somewhat wearily along side by side over the sand.
bv His companion assented, and then they both paused,
' and finally flung themselves down upon the sand to wit-
ness a repetition of the eruption, the premonitory signs
of which at that moment made their appearance. Then,
when it was over, finding themselves very comfortable —
and very hungry — they concluded to take luncheon be-
fore again moving; and, this being followed by a pipe, it
was after four o'clock in the afternoon when they once
more made a move.

A saunter for three-quarters of an hour along the
margin of the lake enabled them to reach a spot almost
directly opposite that where they had emerged into day-
light from the interior of the cavern; and here they
found the point of overflow from the lake. The chain
of hills, which from their first point of sight had ap-
peared to completely surround the sheet of water, was
here pierced by a narrow valley, through which a small
shallow stream, emanating from the geyser lake, made
its devious way. As the course of this valley appeared
to trend generally in a northerly direction, or toward the
high table-land of which the travellers were in quest, and

208 A SAUNTER ALONG THE STREAM.

as, moreover, the valley appeared to offer the only exit
from the lake basin in a northerly direction, the travellers
decided to follow its course, which they did by keeping-
close to the margin of the stream. This mode of pro-
cedure, whilst it afforded them tolerably easy walking,
also enabled them to estimate more accurately than they
had hitherto done, the enormous quantity of water pro-
jected into the air by the geyser; for whilst the stream
normally consisted of a body of w^ater some ten feet wide
by three or four inches deep, it was swollen — at regular
intervals of twenty minutes each, corresponding with the
periodical discharge of the geyser — into a rushing and
foamincy torrent of about ten feet wide and four feet
deep, lasting thus for about a minute, when the stream
again rapidly subsided to its previous depth.

For a distance of about two miles the stream wound
its way over a bed of exposed rock, beyond which
occurred a considerable stretch of coarse gravelly soil,
thickly overgrown with long grass. The constant flow
of water for untold ages through this bed of gravel had
scoured out a channel nearly forty feet wide by half that
depth; the banks being perfectly vertical, except in a
few places where the gravel had crumbled away to a
rather steep slope.

It was whilst the wanderers were passing one of these
places that — the sun being by this time in the western
quarter of the heavens, and his level rays falling directly
upon the right bank of the stream — the baronet's atten-
tion was arrested by the appearance of several bright
sparkling gleams emanating from among the debris of
the crumbling bank. He directed the colonel's attention
to these, whereupon the latter, seized with sudden excite-

COLONEL LETHBRIDGE DISCOVERS A DIAMOND MINE.

"A BED OF DIAMONDIFEROUS GRAVEL." 209

merit, scrambled down the bank, waded across the shal-
low stream, and in another instant flung himself down
upon his knees on the gravel. Before the astonished
baronet could follow him he leaped to his feet again, and,
whilst he waved some glittering object above his head,
shouted:

" Hurrah ! hurrah! Elphinstone, my dear fellow, we are
in luck to-day. Here is a fabulous fortune for every one
of us, to be had merely for the trouble of picking up.
litis is a bed of diamondiferous gravel."

Sir Reginald hastened across the stream, and, scram-
bling half-way up the bank, joined his companion on the
spot where the latter had halted.

" Look here !" exclaimed Lethbridge, holding out for in-
spection a crystal as large as a pigeon's egg; "what think
you of that for a first find ? And it is of the first water, too."

The baronet took it in his hand and examined it criti-
cally. Then he handed it back with the remark:

" Well, my dear fellow, I am no judge of diamonds, at
least in their natural uncut state; but if your supposi-
tion — that you have discovered a 'bed' or 'pocket,' or
whatever you call it, of diamonds — be correct, I most
heartily congratulate you."

"You — congratulate — me?" gasped the colonel. "Why,
my dear Elphinstone, what on earth do you mean? I am
much obliged for your congratulations, certainly; but
whether the diamonds here be many or few, we shall of
course all share alike, so you may also congratulate your-
self and our absent friends at the same time. And as to
my supposition being correct, I have had too much expe-
rience at the South African diamond-fields to make a
mistake in such a matter. Why," he continued, looking

(359) Q

210 DIAMONDS SOWN BUOADCAST!

round and picking up two or three more stones, "they
are positively sown broadcast just here — an hour's dili-
gent work in this spot will make us all rich beyond the
power of computation."

" If that be the case," returned the baronet, " then here
goes to help you. But, mind, I am a rich man already;
and not a single stone will I accept until all three of you
are perfectly satisfied that you have abundantly sufficient
for all your requirements."

" Very well," said the colonel. " Go ahead with that
understanding if you like. I feel pretty confident that,
even upon such terms, you will be able to take back to
England, if all goes well, sufficient gems to make the
future Lady Elphinstone — should there ever be such a
personage — a diamond suite which shall cause her to be
the envied of all beholders."

Sir Reginald laughed gleefully. "I have never yet
met a woman charming enough to induce me to yield up
my freedom of action and movement for her sake, and I
do not think it likely I ever shall," he said.

Lethbridge shook his head a little doubtfully, but he
was just then so busy digging down into the gravel with
his hunting-knife that he had no breath to waste in the
words of a disclaimer.

The baronet moved away to a distance of some twenty
feet, and began poking about the gravel in a very care-
less, half-hearted sort of way, occasionally picking up
and slipping into one of his capacious pockets such crys-
tals as he thought likely to be of value.

Half an hour of this work sufficed him; and, rising to
his feet, he cried: *' Spell, ho! as our friend Mildmay
would probably observe. Now, Lethbridge," as he saun-

A GOOD HAUL. 211

tered up to his companion, " let us compare the results of
our labour."

With this he flung himself down upon the gravel, and,
plunging his hand into his pocket three or four times,
produced a goodly little heap of gems of all sizes, rang-
ing from that of a pea up to stones of fully one ounce in
weight. Meanwhile the colonel brought his collection to
light, and a very fine one it was, the stones being nearly
twice as many as those gathered by the baronet, though
many of them were much smaller.

" Is that all?" asked Sir Reginald.
• ''AllV echoed Lethbridge; "why, my dear sir, what
would you have? If, after we have quite exhausted the
ground here, my share amounts to such a handsome col-
lection as this, I can assure you I shall be exceedingly
well satisfied. You have made a most excellent haul too,
but I think mine is the more valuable of the two.''

"Perhaps," said the baronet, ''this will go some way
toward equalizing our finds." And as he spoke he quietly
slipped his hand into his pocket and smilingly produced a
stone fully as large as a hen's egg.

The colonel took it into his hands and critically exam-
ined it for several minutes. It was most unmistakably a
diamond, and that, too, of the very finest water, without
the faintest trace of a flaw of any kind. He remained
silent so long that Sir Reginald grew impatient and finally
blurted out:

" Well, man, what is it? Is it a diamond, or is it merely
a worthless piece of crystal? Why don't you speak?"

" Simply," said the colonel as he took a final look at it
against the light and then handed it back, "because I am
at a loss for words to express my admiration. It is a

212 THE JOUENEY RESUMED. *

diamond, and, so far as I know, the finest that has ever
yet been brought to light. Its value must be simply-
fabulous, and I heartily congratulate you on its discovery.
Where did you find it? Was it deep in the gravel?"

"Come with me and I'll show you," was the reply; and,
leading the colonel back to the spot. Sir Reginald quietly
pointed to a hole about eighteen inches deep which he
had excavated, and wherein lay, side by side, seven other
gems equally as fine as the one he had produced.

" Help yourself, my dear fellow," he said with a laugh,
"and then let us be moving; we have our dinner to find
yet, you know."

Lethbridge fairly gasped for breath as his eyes first fell
upon the magnificent jewels; but he lost no time in trans-
ferring them to his pocket, and then he turned to the
baronet and asked what would be the best thing for them
to do next.

" Let us simply continue our journey," answered the
baronet. " Of course if these stones which we have found
are really diamonds, which I do not doubt, since you
assure me that they are, I am as fully alive as yourself to
the fact that a mine of incalculable wealth lies here at
our feet. But it will not run away within the next few
days. Let us finish our exploration and return to the
Flying Fish. We will then move her to this spot, and all
hands of us can then go to work at diamond-hunting in
good earnest. Meanwhile, if these large stones are of
such inestimable value, it seems to me that they are likely
to prove, after all, practically valueless, for the simple
reason that nobody will be found willing to spend the
enormous sum which would enable him to become a pur-
chaser."

^ A hunter's paradise. 213

" That is very true," answered the colonel with a laugh.
" The stones of moderate size are what we must hope to
realize upon ; nevertheless, I shall not pass over such large
ones as may happen to thrust themselves under my notice,
for if we should fail to dispose of them, they will still
come in handy as ornaments for our future wives, in
which, notwithstanding a remark you made a little while
ago, I somehow have a profound belief. Now, if you are
ready to march, so am I."

The pair accordingly shouldered their guns, and, turn-
ing their backs for the time being upon the diamond
mine, continued their course down the valley.

Half an hour later a herd of reindeer was discovered
browsing upon the lichens and mosses which grew plenti-
fully on the rocky spurs of the range of hills from which
the travellers were now emerging, and one of these was
soon afterwards killed with little or no difficulty by
means of a bullet from one of the rifles. To such experi-
enced hunters as Sir Reginald and the colonel the task of
"breaking up" the deer was an easy one, and, that done,
they went into camp on the spot, and feasted royally that
night upon reindeer tongue and marrow-bones.

The two following days passed uneventfully, that is to
say the travellers met with no adventure specially worth
recording. They passed through extensive tracts of pine
forest, and saw plenty of game, to say nothing of such
valuable fur-bearing animals as the sable and ermine, both
of which animals seemed to be extraordinarily abundant,
and late on the evening of the third day they found
themselves at the base of the table-land, after a somewhat
fatiguing but most enjoyable tramp.

The next day was devoted to a thorough examination of

214 A NATURAL FORTRESS.

the somewhat remarkable object which they had set out to
visit. It proved to be an enormous mass of rock, nearly-
circular in shape, about three miles in circumference, and
towering aloft from the surface of the surrounding plain
to a height of between three and four thousand feet, as
nearly as could be measured without the aid of instru-
ments. Their idea had of course been not only to reach
this enormous rock, but also to ascend to its summit, but
this they found to be quite impracticable, a journey round
it demonstrating the fact that on all sides its cliffs rose
perpendicularly and without a single break from the base
to the flat summit. For that time at least they were de-
feated; but when they finally turned their backs upon
" Mount Mildmay," as they determined to name it, it was
with a fixed resolve that, before many days were over,
they would reach the summit with the aid of the Flying
Fish.

Their journey back to the ship was marked by no more
noteworthy incident than the sighting in the distance of
a herd of mammoths, apparently the identical animals
with which they had already had an encounter. They fol-
lowed a somewhat difierent route from their outward one,
making a detour round the group of hills which inclosed
the " Schalckenberg Geyser," and arrived at the ship late
on the evening of the sixth day from their departure,
weary and somewhat foot-sore it is true, but in all other
respects in the very best of health, and with thoroughly
pleasant memories of their journey.

They were of course welcomed with open arms by the
two friends they had left behind them. Mildmay, under
the professor's skilful treatment, was rapidly advancing
toward complete recovery; and as for the scientist him-

VON SCHALKEN berg's DELIGHT. 215

self, he was jubilant in the highest degree over the fact
that he had been thoroughly successful in his preparation
of that gigantic "specimen," the mammoth. A great deal
of desultory conversation of course took place within the
first hour of the wanderers' return; but at last the party
settled down, and then followed a recital by Sir Reginald
of the particulars of the journey. Both the professor and
Mildmay were of course intensely interested in the story,
but in different ways. Mildmay 's interest was merely
that of the ordinary travelled man of culture, but von
Schalckenberg was disposed to regard everything from
the scientist's view-point, and incessantly broke the con-
tinuity of the narrative by a whole string of questions
which neither Sir Reginald nor the colonel could possibly
answer. He was extravagantly delighted with both the
description of the geyser and the sight of the diamonds,
and it was difficult to say which pleased him most; per-
haps the most gratifying circumstance to him was the
information that the geyser had been named after him, at
all events he begged most pathetically that the projected
visit to this most interesting object might be allowed to
take precedence of that to the diamond mine.

Such being the case, it will readily be understood that
no pen of mere ordinary graphic power could hope to
adequately portray the ecstasy of enthusiasm with which
the worthy man, two days later, actually viewed the
geyser itself from so advantageous a stand-point as the
deck of the Flying Fish; such a task is utterly beyond
the powers of the present narrator and must be left to the
vivid imagination of the indulgent reader. For over two
hours did that amiable and learned scientist sit immov-
ably in his deck chair with a meerschaum of abnormal

216 ON THE TOP OF MOUNT MILDMAY.

dimensions in his mouth, and with his eyes beaming in a
rapt admiration, which was ahnost adoration, upon the
magnificent spectacle; and it was not until he had been
solemnly assured by the others that he would be excused
from all participation in the task of diamond-hunting and
have full liberty to return to the geyser and spend there
the whole of the time during which the rest of the party
might be so engaged, that he consented to leave the spot
at all.

Three days were spent at the diamond mine; and, with
the aid of proper tools obtained from the ship, this time
proved sufficient for the accumulation of such a hoard of
priceless gems as would, if disposed of at even half their
market value, realize a magnificent fortune for each of
the lucky finders.

The next move was to the summit of the flat table-
land, which was of course easily reached by the Flying
Fish. It proved to be, as had already been surmised,
merely an enormous mass of bare rock, without a scrap
of soil or vegetation of any kind about its surface, and
useful only as a citadel, into which, had it been planted in
some more accessible spot on the earth's surface, it would
undoubtedly have been converted, in which case it would
have eclipsed even Gibraltar itself in the matter of im-
pregnability. Useless as it was, however, w^here it stood,
its summit aflforded an admirable look-out; and from that
point of vantage the travellers made the discovery that
'' Elphinstone Land" was an island, the horizon at that
elevation being bounded by the sea on every side. The
rock was roughly circular in shape, with a circumference
of about three miles, and the travellers made the circuit
of the summit in about an hour and a half, pausing at

"THIS IS THE NORTH POLE!" 217

frequent intervals to admire and enjoy the magnificent
panorama of woods and hills and streams which lay
spread out beneath them. Herds of elk, reindeer, and
musk-oxen were seen dotted about here and there on the
plains below, as well as a skulking wolf or two, a few
Arctic foxes, and other wild animals. The herd of mam-
moths — apparently the only herd in the island — was also
seen; and, with the aid of their telescopes, the travellers
were also able to make out, far away at sea, certain dark
moving spots which, from their alternate appearance
above and disappearance beneath the surface, they judged
to be whales.

The chief business of the travellers, however, on the
summit of "Mount Mildmay" was to ascertain whether
or no the North Pole of the earth was or was not situated
within its circumference. This was rightly regarded as
a matter of such great importance that several days were
unhesitatingly devoted to its settlement; and Mildmay,
the professor, and Colonel Lethbridge were busy from
breakfast time in the morning until dinner-time at night,
making the most careful observations and working out
the necessary calculations. These were at length satis-
factorily completed — not one moment too soon, for the
sun was daily dropping nearer and nearer to the horizon
— and the trio were enabled, not only to say that the
North Pole luas contained within the limits of the summit,
but to plant their feet upon it and to say unhesitatingly
and authoritatively:

"THIS IS THE NORTH POLE!"

The position having thus been accurately determined,
the next thing was to mark the spot.

218 MARKING THE POSITION OF THE POLE.

With this object a large triangle was first described
about it, and a point was carefully marked off on each of
its sides in such a position that a line tightly strained
from such point to the opposite angle of the triangle
would pass directly through the pole. This done, an ex-
cavation six feet deep in the solid rock was made, and in
its bottom was deposited a tightly-sealed bottle contain-
ing a small parchment scroll, on which w^as inscribed a
brief statement of the circumstances connected with the
discovery of the spot, with the date, and the signatures of
the joint discoverers. This bottle was carefully packed
in and buried up with small fragments of rock, and
made finally secure by a covering of excellent concrete,
the materials for compounding which had been carefully
and with infinite labour prepared by the professor. Then,
when the concrete had become properly hardened, a sub-
stantial flagstaff of aethereum was stepped into the hole
in a position accurately corresponding with the North
Pole of the earth, and also made secure by being built
in or *'set" in concrete, which completely filled the hole.
The professor next, with the aid of a diamond, engraved
on the staff, in bold conspicuous characters, at a height of
five feet from the ground, the words:

" This staff marks the exact position of the North Pole
of the earth" And finally, amid cheers from the rest of
the party. Sir Keginald Elphinstone ran the Union Jack
up to the staff head and knotted the halliards so that it
would remain there, thus formally claiming for the
British nation the honour of actual discovery.

CHAPTER XIV.

SOUTHWARD HO!

important a matter as the localization of the
Pole having thus been satisfactorily disposed of,
it was next resolved to effect a thorough ex-
ploration of the entire island, including its circumnaviga-
tion. This, with the aid of the Flying Fish, was pretty-
effectually accomplished in a fortnight, after which the
ship returned to her original anchorage in the harbour,
on the south side of the island, now named Lethbridge
Cove.

Both the forests and the adjacent waters of this
favoured hyperborean land were found to be literally
swarming with game and other animals, some of which
afforded in their flesh a welcome change from the pre-
served meats with which the ship's larder was stocked,
whilst the chief value of others lay in their "pelts" or
skins; and, the hydrographic features of the island hav-
ing been carefully ascertained and recorded, the party,
with the exception of von Schalckenberg, now gave
themselves up unreservedly to the pleasures of the chase.
The professor's tastes lay more in the direction of geology,
mineralogy, and botany, though he was also an enthusi-
astic naturalist, and thus, whilst he sallied forth every

220 BIDDING FAREWELL TO THE SUN.

morning armed with gun, hammer, specimen box for his
botanical treasures, and bag for his minerals, the three
others went their several ways, either armed with traps
and guns in search of game, or in one of the boats, duly-
provided with dredger, net, and line, in quest of ocean spoils.
Thus employed, the short remainder of the Arctic sum-
mer swiftly passed away; the sun daily sank nearer and
nearer the horizon; the temperature fell; frost made its
appearance, hardening the soil beneath the tread and
coating the pools and puddles and morasses with an ever-
thickening sheet of ice and the vegetation with a delicate
tracery of silver; and at length the day came when the
anchor was lifted and the Flying Fish moved some few
miles out to sea to enable her occupants to witness the
final disappearance of the sun beneath the southern
horizon. Some anxiety had been experienced by the
travellers for the last few days, as clouds had been
gathering in the sky, with every indication of a speedy
change of weather, and it was feared that the sight,
which they had long been promising themselves, would,
after all, be denied them; but at the last moment, or
rather at the last hour, fortune proved favourable to
them; the cloud-bank broke up along the south-western
horizon, the vapours grouped themselves into a series of
imposingly picturesque masses, all aflame with the most
gorgeous tints of sunset, and from a little after eleven
o'clock until shortly after noon the thin golden upper
edge of the luminary's disc was visible sweeping imper-
ceptibly along the purple horizon, until finally, as it
reached the point of disappearance, it glimmered feebly
for a moment, and, whilst the travellers stood w^atching
it bare-headed, sank out of sight. The Arctic day was

WINTER AT THE NORTH POLE. 221

over, and the six months of night and winter had set in.
Not, it must be understood, that darkness set in imme-
diately — far from it; for several succeeding days there
ensued a weird, delicious, magic, and ever-deepening twi-
light; but by the eighth day after the sun's final disap-
pearance this also had vanished, and night reigned with
undisputed sway.

And now, too, winter laid its icy hand with unrelent-
ing grasp upon this beauteous polar island; not, however,
to desolate it with storm and howling tempest and the
deadly cold with which he visits less favoured climes, but
only to add newer and more unaccustomed beauties to
the scene. It is true that for the first fortnight after the
disappearance of the sun the weather wore a more or less
unsettled aspect. The sky became overcast with a canopy
of cloud which, light and fleecy at first, steadily increased
in density; and at length, on the travellers emerging from
the pilot-house one morning after breakfast, they found
the motionless air thick with falling snow, which, settling
noiselessly down, had already covered the deck to a depth
of some three inches. The darkness was of course intense,
so much so, indeed, that it was impossible to see for a
distance of half the length of the ship, and for all that they
could see of the land it might as well have been a hun-
dred miles distant.

This state of things lasted without intermission for the
ensuing four days and kept the travellers close prisoners
on board their ship. This, however, they in nowise re-
gretted; indeed this short breathing space was positively
welcome to them, for they had plenty of work to do;
and, shut up warm and snug on board the Flying Fish,
with all her saloons, cabins, and corridors brilliantly

222 A MAGNIFICENT SPECTACLE.

illuminated by the electric light, they busied themselves
in carefully preparing and curing the many unique speci-
mens of natural history and the various choice skins and
furs they had already accumulated.

But on the morning of the fifth day they found that
another change of weather had taken place, and, on going
out on deck, a glorious spectacle greeted their delighted
eyes. The snowfall had ceased, the sky was once more
cloudless, and the deep sapphire blue was studded with
countless myriads of scintillating stars that gleamed with
the cold sharp lustre which is seen only in periods of
very severe frost. But it was not the brilliant starlight,
beautiful though that was, which drew ejaculations of
wonder and delight from the lips of the entranced be-
holders; it was another and a rarer sight which excited
their admiration. As they looked, the sky immediately
overhead, and for a distance of some twenty degrees all
round from the zenith, became tinged with the softest and
most delicate rose-colour, bordering which there suddenly
appeared a broad circle of flashing rays of light, blood-
red at the inner rim of the circle, and merging from
thence through the richest purple into brilliant blue, and
from thence, through green of every conceivable tint, into
a clear dazzling yellow at the points of the rays. These
superbly-tinted rays were animated by a constant motion,
now withdrawing themselves into the main body of the
circle as into a sheath, and anon darting out again until
they almost reached the horizon; and so delicately trans-
parent were they that, notwithstanding their brilliant
colour, the stars were distinctly perceptible through them.
This magnificent spectacle continued for a full hour with
ever-increasing brilliancy, suflusing sea and land with a

THE BEAUTIES OF THE POLAR NIGHT. 223

quivering glow of prismatic light, and imparting an
aspect of magic, unearthly, indescribable beauty to the
scene. Then the colours gradually faded, the flashes be-
came more feeble, and the darting rays ever shorter and
shorter, until they finally faded completely away, to be
succeeded shortly afterwards by the keen silvery radi-
ance of the young crescent moon which slowly rolled
upwards from the horizon, and, shedding her subdued
light upon the snow-clad landscape, invested it with an
air of bewitching mystery and unreality which was dis-
tinctly heightened by the profound impressive silence of
the lono^ Arctic nio^ht.

With nature thus presenting herself to the travellers
in so novel and attractive a guise a month swiftly passed
away, during which they tended their traps or prosecuted
their hunting expeditions under the glorious light of the
aurora, the cold steel-like radiance of the silver moon, or
the dim mysterious starlight; alternating these open-air
employments with assiduous devotion to their easels, in
sufficiently clever but altogether unsuccessful efforts to
adequately transfer to canvas the entrancing beauties of
the Arctic scenery and phenomena which constantly
charmed their delighted eyes.

Toward the end of October, however, the temperature
had fallen so low that ice had begun to form all along
the coast-line of Elphinstone Land, and the weather had
taken a decided change for the worse. Moreover, the
party had accumulated so much extra weight in the shape
of valuable skins, natural history specimens, and other
curiosities, as to seriously affect the buoyancy of the Fly-
ing Fish as an aerial ship; and they therefore at last —
more than half -reluctantly — came to the determination

224 FAREWELL TO THE POLE.

to desert the enchanted region of the Pole and wend their
way southward.

Accordingly, on the morning of the first day of No-
vember the anchor was hove up; the vapour was turned
into the air and water chambers, producing an almost
perfect vacuum; and, rising into the air to an altitude of
about ten thousand feet, the Flying Fish turned her nose
southward, and, illumined by the dazzling eflfulgence of
the most glorious aurora the voyagers had ever seen, was
sent ahead at the utmost limit of her speed.

It was determined to return to England forthwith, and
without pause or stoppage of any kind, unless some un-
foreseen necessity should arise, the object being to dis-
pose of their various acquisitions previous to a renewal
of their wanderings. The elevation at starting was there-
fore maintained, and the ship pursued her headlong flight
to the southward with only one man — Mildmay — in the
pilot-house to take charge and enact the part of look-out;
the remainder busying themselves in packing up their
various treasures for transference to safe - keeping on
shore. The pilot-house, like every other habitable portion
of the ship, was maintained at a comfortable temperature
by means of pipes communicating with the vapour-gene-
rating chamber in the engine-room below; and, reclining
at his ease in a most luxurious lounging chair, the lieu-
tenant had nothing to do but maintain a vigilant look-
out through the circular windows, and solace himself
with his pipe meanwhile. The ship's speed through the
air was about one hundred and twenty miles per hour;
and by their calculations they expected to overtake the
sun in about latitude 79° 49' N.; if, therefore, the Flying
Fish maintained her speed, the sun ought to appear once

THE SOLITARY WATCHER. 225

more above the horizon in four hours thirty-five and a
half minutes from the time of starting — Lethbridge Cove
being situated in exactly 89° 0' N. latitude. It was exactly
nine o'clock in the morning when they started; conse-
quently, if their calculations were right, the sun ought
to make his appearance at thirty-five and a half minutes
past one ; and it was this phenomenon for which Mildmay
was chiefly watching, his companions being anxious to
have the unique experience of seeing the luminary rise
an hour and a half past mid-day. And it was for this
reason, and in order that they might not on the one hand
be taken by surprise by being hurried southward on
the wings of a favouring gale, or on the other hand be
delayed by a possible adverse one, that the elevation of
ten thousand feet had been selected, this being well within
the limits of the neutral belt, or zone of motionless air.

Not to be caught napping, Mildmay extinguished the
electric light in the pilot-house as the musical gong of
the clock suspended therein struck the hour of one; after
which he rose to his feet and took a good look round on
all sides. There was, however, nothing to be seen save a
vast sea of cloud beneath his feet and on all sides, as far
as the eye could reach, softly illumined by the light of
the star-studded heavens above. But even as he looked
a just perceptible paleness in the deep velvety blue of the
sky to the southward attracted his attention. He looked
more intently. Yes, there could be no mistake about it;
that pallor of the southern sky was undoubtedly the first
faint indication of the approaching dawn ; and he at once
struck two strokes — the appointed signal — upon the great
mellow-toned bell which hung in the pilot-house.

The call was promptly answered by the appearance

(359) P

226 AN UNIQUE EXPERIENCE. ^

of his three fellow-voyagers, who, abandoning whatever
they had in hand, rushed helter-skelter up the saloon
staircase and into the pilot-house, anxious to lose no
scrap of that, to them, now novel sight, sunrise.

Rapidly yet imperceptibly the pale dawn stole upward
into the sky; the lustrous stars waxed dim before it, and
one by one twinkled out of sight; a faint roseate flush
tinged the sky along the horizon, brightened first into a
rich orange, then into purest amber, the colours being
faintly reflected on the most distant edges of the vast
cloud-bank floating below; and at length, just as the
hands of the clock marked thirty-five minutes after one,
an arrowy shaft of pure white light shot upward into the
sky, swiftly followed by another and another; and then,
with a dazzling flash of golden light, the upper edge of
the sun's disc rose slowly into view, soaring higher and
higher until the whole of the glorious luminary was re-
vealed, whilst the rolling sea of cloud above which the
Flying Fish skimmed glowed softly beneath his beams
with varying tints of the most exquisite opal.

This return to the realms of day had a curious eflfect
upon the travellers. They had not been conscious of the
least depression of spirits consequent upon their sojourn
of more than a month in the region of uninterrupted
night, but it must have aflfected them, however uncon-
sciously, to no inconsiderable extent, for now, at the first
glimpse of sunshine, their spirits rose to an extravagant
height; they felt as though they had just effected their
escape from some terrible doom, and they were irresistibly
impelled to shake hands with each other, to exchange
congratulations, and to talk all together, laughing up-
roariously at even the feeblest attempt at jocularity.

A KNOTTY QUESTION TO SETTLE. 227

The thoughts of the quartette were, however, speedily
diverted by the ever -imperturbable George, who now
sounded the gong for luncheon, and the whole party at
once trundled below, leaving the ship to take care of
herself, as they very safely might, seeing that she was
now travelling down the "first" meridian, or that of
Greenwich, with no land ahead nearer than the Shetland
Islands, more than a thousand miles distant.

After luncheon, however, the whole party returned to
the pilot-house, where they spent the time smoking and
chatting, talking over their past adventures, and maturing
their further plans, until sunset, when, their short day
having come to an end, they once more retired below to
complete their preparations for a flying visit to London
previous to a resumption of their wanderings.

The question of the disposal of the Flying Fish during
the short period of their absence from her had greatly
exercised their minds for a time. They were anxious still
to avoid for the present, if possible, anything approaching
to notoriety or the attraction of public notice to their
proceedings, and they felt that this could scarcely be done
if they ventured to take so singularly modelled a ship
into any British port, however insignificant; moreover,
there are very few harbours or havens on the British
coast capable of receiving a ship with such an excessive
draught of water — namely, forty feet — as that of the
Flying Fish. So they finally decided to sink her ofi* the
Isle of Wight (first of all, of course, taking the precaution
to accurately ascertain the bearings of her berth), and to
proceed to Portsmouth in the two boats, taking with
them the spoils of their polar expedition, and trusting to
their own ingenuity to evade such suspicions and specu-

228 OLD ENGLAND ONCE MORE.

lations as might be engendered by the somewhat singular
circumstances connected with their arrival, es^^ecially as
the hour — about half-past four o'clock on the following
morning — at which they would reach the Wight would
be favourable to the execution of their plan.

The night was intensely dark, with a fresh north-
easterly gale blowing, accompanied by frequent rain-
squalls, as the voyagers found on descending to within
about a thousand feet of the level of the sea at midnight,
in order to discover, if possible, their whereabouts. But
they could see nothing save the lights of a few ships and
fishing craft dotted about here and there; the appearance
of the latter indicating that they had already approached
to within a short distance of the land; nor did they sight
anything by which to fix their position until first the
light on Flamborough Head and then that on Spurn
Point flashed into view out of the murky darkness. Then
indeed, having satisfactorily identified those lights, they
knew exactly where they were; the course was altered
and shaped anew directly for the spot of their intended
descent, and the ship once more soared to her former
elevation.

At twenty minutes after four o'clock a.m. a second
descent was made, when it was found that they were
passing over hilly country which they surmised to be
that situated about the borders of the three counties of
Surrey, Hants, and Sussex; and almost immediately
afterwards the lights on the forts in progress of construc-
tion at Spithead came into view, together with the anchor-
lights of two or three men-o'-war in the roadstead, and
they knew that the first part of their journey was almost
accomplished.

229

Precisely at half-past four o'clock the Flying Fish took
the water about two miles to the eastward of the
"Noman" fort, and her occupants at once began the
search for a suitable berth for her — a berth, that is to say,
in a position where she would not be likely to be dis-
covered by the fishermen, and where the depth of water
would be sufficient to permit of the largest man-o'-war
passing over her submerged hull without striking upon
it. To discover such a spot proved by no means an easy
task ; but it was accomplished at last, though at a distance
considerably farther out to sea than they had bargained
for, and at half -past five o'clock her anchor was let go in
the selected berth. Cross bearings were then most carefully
taken and entered in each of the travellers' pocket-books,
after which the next task was to get their varied spoils
into the boats and the boats themselves into the water.
This was soon done, and then all hands, including George
and the chef, but excluding the professor, entered the
boats and shoved oflf a few fathoms from the ship's side,
where they anchored.

The first faint signs of dawn were just appearing in the
eastern sky when it became apparent to those in the boats
that the huge bulk of the Flying Fish was disappearing.
Steadily but imperceptibly she settled lower and lower in
the water until her deck was awash and nothing but her
pilot-house remained visible in the dim ghostly light of
the early morning. A minute more and this too had
disappeared, and, as the waves washed over its top, the
baronet carefully lowered over the side of his boat a rope-
ladder, well weighted at the bottom and with an unlit
electric lamp attached to it in such a position as to hang
suspended at a height of about six feet above the bed of

230 TERMINATION OF THE FIRST CRUISE.

the sea. This lamp was of course attached to a battery
in the boat, and as soon as Sir Reginald felt the weights
at the foot of the ladder touch bottom he sent the current
through the insulated wire, a patch of vivid white light,
like a patch of moonlight, immediately shining out
beneath the waves and showing that the lantern was
properly performing its duty. Then they waited.

Not for very long, however. An interval of perhaps
five minutes elapsed, and then a quivering jerky motion
became communicated to the rope-ladder, followed a
minute later by the appearance of von Schalckenberg in
his suit of diving armour. He stepped quietly into the
boat, and whilst he busied himself in doffing his glitter-
ing panoply, the lamp was extinguished, the ladder hauled
inboard, the anchors tripped, and the two boats made
their way slowly to the westward, heading in for Nettle-
stone Point and the Solent.

They arrived at Portsmouth about half-past seven
o'clock, and Sir Reginald at once made his way to the
Custom House to get the boats' cargoes cleared. He was
fortunate enough to find in the collector a man with
whom he had had several previous transactions, and who
was consequently pretty well acquainted with him. This
facilitated matters greatly, and by half -past eight the
duty (a very considerable sum) had been paid and the
goods passed, so that nothing further remained but to
land everything and have it conveyed to the railway-
station for transmission to town. This done the two
boats were taken into " The Camber " and put under
the care of a trustworthy man, after which the party
breakfasted at the " George," proceeding to town directly
afterwards by the twelve-o'clock express.

CHAPTER XY.

A TROOP OF UNICORNS.

WEEK later, the four friends once more found
themselves beneath the roof of " The Migrants'/'
where it had been arranged that they were to
meet and take luncheon together prior to their journey
down to Portsmouth to rejoin the Flying Fish. On com-
paring notes it was found that each had, according to his
own views, made the best possible use of his time, the pro-
fessor having not only placed the mammoth's skin in the
hands of an eminent taxidermist, but also prepared and
read before the Royal Society a paper on "The Open
Polar Sea," which had created a profound impression on
the collective mind of that august body; Lethbridge and
Mildmay had seized the opportunity for paying a too-long-
deferred visit to their respective mothers; and Sir Regin-
ald had, acting upon the best obtainable advice, conveyed
the four parcels of diamonds belonging to the party over
to Amsterdam, where they had been left in the care of a
thoroughly trustworthy diamond merchant, with instruc-
tions that certain of the jewels were to be cut and set in
the handsomest possible manner, whilst the rest were to
be disposed of as opportunity might offer. The furs were
also satisfactorily got rid of; some of them having been

232 A LIVELY MEAL.

sold, and the remainder (consisting of all the choicest
skins) placed in the hands of the furriers to be cured and
taken care of until their owners should return to claim
them.

The luncheon was a very lively meal; the conversation
naturally turning to the last occasion upon which the
travellers had met there; and upon its conclusion the four
friends chartered a couple of hansoms, which conveyed
them to Waterloo station in good time for the Portsmouth
express.

On their arrival at the Harbour station they found
George and his French friend, the cook (both of whom
had been granted a week's leave), dutifully awaiting
them on the platform. The boats, under the care of the
man who had been placed in charge of them, were lying
alongside the adjacent slipway, in accordance with a
telegraphed arrangement which had preceded the travel-
lers; and, entering these, the party at once proceeded
down the harbour, past Southsea and its castle, and out
toward Nettlestone Point. It was by this time quite
dark, save for the light of the young moon, which was
already near her setting, and the boats were consequently
at once urged to their full speed in the direction where
the Flying Fish had been left.

Having originally taken their cross bearings wholly
from the shore lights, the voyagers had now no difficulty
whatever in placing the boats in their proper position.
Arrived on the spot, a sounding-line was dropped over
the side, and the first cast showed that they were floating
exactly over the submerged ship. The boats were there-
fore allowed to drift with the tide until they were clear of
the Flying Fish, when Sir Reginald dropped his anchor

THE TRAVELLERS REJOIN THEIR SHIP. 233

and ladder, and the professor, who had already routed out
from the stern locker and donned his diving armour,
stepped over the side, adjusted his weights, and quietly
disappeared beneath the surface of the water. A lapse
of perhaps a minute occurred, when the ladder was found
to be hanging limp and loose; a bright white light flashed
upward through the water for a moment, as a signal from
the professor that he had reached the bottom all right;
and then the luminous beam was seen moving slowly
forward over the bottom in the direction of the submerged
ship. Suddenly the light vanished.

"He has reached the ship," the baronet reported to
those in the other boat, who were alternately drifting
with the tide and moving up against it to maintain an
easy speaking distance from their consort. A quarter of
an hour passed, and then a brilliant, dazzling flood of
light streamed out for about ten seconds at apparently
no great distance below the surface, then vanished again.

" All right," remarked Sir Reginald as soon as he saw
this; "he has reached the pilot-house. Now, George, up
with the anchor, my good fellow, and we will back oflf a
few yards out of harm's way."

The boats accordingly did so, von Schalckenberg allow-
ing them ten minutes for the operation; then, with a
sudden rush and swirl of water, the huge bulk of the
Flying Fish appeared above the surface, looming black,
vast, and mysterious against the faintly luminous horizon.
A moment more, and the windows of the pilot-house
shone out a series of luminous discs against the darkness,
showing that the professor had lighted up the interior,
and that individual himself appeared on deck hailing the
invisible boats with:

234 "FRESH FIELDS, AND PASTURES NEW.

''It is all right; everything is just as we left it, and
you may come on board as soon as you like."

Ten minutes later the boats had been hoisted in and
stowed away, and the Flying Fish, at an elevation of
some three hundred feet above the sea-level, was moving
to the southward and eastward across the placid waters
of the Channel, at the moderate rate of some five-and-
twenty miles per hour. At midnight, however, after a
little music and conversation, the pace was quickened to
about one hundred miles per hour; the altitude was at
the same time increased to ten thousand feet; the course
was set to south, by compass, and the travellers, with a
feeling of perfect security, retired to rest, confident that
the professor's clever automatic devices would not only
maintain the ship at her then elevation, but would also
steer her straight in the required direction.

On the following morning at daybreak the travellers
found themselves hovering over the blue Mediterranean,
with the African coast at no great distance, and a town
of considerable size directly ahead. This town was soon
identified as Tunis (near which is the site of ancient
Carthage), and they shortly afterwards passed over it,
not unnoticed by the inhabitants, who, with the aid of
the telescope, could be seen pointing upward at the ship
in evident consternation. Then on over the chain of hills
beyond the town, and they once more found themselves
with the sea beneath them, the ship's course causing her
to just skirt the Gulf of Hammamet, whilst they obtained
a splendid view of Lake Kairwan and the three streams
which it absorbs. Then past Capes Dimas and Kadijah,
across the Gulf of Cabes, and so on to Tripoli, which was
reached and passed soon after the party had risen from

A LIKELY HUNTING DISTRICT. 235

breakfast. At this point the Mediterranean was finally-
left behind, and the ship's speed was shortly afterwards
reduced to a rate of about fifteen knots throush the air;
her altitude being also decreased to about one thousand
feet above the ground level.

The course was now altered to about s. by w. (true),
and the travellers passed slowly over the Fezzan country,
the borders of the Libyan Desert, the Soudan, and Dar
Zaleh; the prospect beneath and around them varying
with every hour of their progress, from the most fertile
and highly cultivated district, dotted here and there with
straggling villages, to the most sterile and sandy wastes.
They saw but little game during this portion of their
journey, and only descended to the ground at night, when
the vessel was secured by her four grip-anchors during
the hours which her crew devoted to rest.

This uneventful state of afifairs continued until they
arrived in ten degrees of north latitude and twenty
degrees of east longitude, when they found themselves
fairly beyond the limits of even the most rudimentary
civilization, and in a country of alternating wooded hill
and grassy, well- watered plain, which had all the appear-
ance of a very promising hunting district. The country
was very thinly populated, the native villages being in
some cases as much as fifty or sixty miles apart, whilst
in no instance were two villages found within a shorter
distance than twenty miles. The inhabitants were, as
far as could be seen, fine stalwart specimens of the negro
race, evidently skilled in the chase and, presumably, also
in all the arts of savage warfare; but it was not very
easy to form a reliable opinion upon their habits and
mode of life, as whenever the Flying Fish appeared upon

236 A HALT IS CALLED.

the scene they invariably took to their heels with yells
of terror and sought shelter in the thickest covert they
could find.

As the travellers penetrated further in toward the
heart of this district, their anticipations in the matter of
game became ever more abundantly realized; vast herds
of antelope of various descriptions, and including more
than one new species, being constantly visible from the
ship's deck w^henever she was raised a few hundred feet
in the air. And, in addition to antelope, a few elephants,
an occasional herd of buffalo, a troop or two of wild
horses, a rhinoceros, a family of lions, a skulking leopard,
or a gorilla, was a by no means unusual sight; to say
nothing of the countless troops of monkeys and other
unimportant game with which the country seemed to be
literally swarming.

Such a district seemed to be the very realization of a
sportsman's or a naturalist's dream of paradise; and it
was quickly decided that a halt should be called, and at
least a few days devoted to the pursuit of game and the
collection of natural history specimens. A suitable spot
in which to bring the Flying Fish to earth was accord-
ingly sought for, and found in a small open space of
about thirty acres, almost entirely surrounded by bush,
and in close proximity to a tiny streamlet which emptied
itself into a small shallow lake about half a mile distant
from the selected site.

Here they hunted with moderate success for a week,
not killing any very large amount of game — for they soon
discovered that they could do very little without horses
— but managing, by patient stalking and the secreting of
themselves in artfully devised ambushes, to secure a few

WHAT ARE THEY? 237

choice and rare skins and horns, besides the tusks of eight
elephants and the plumage of over a dozen ostriches.

On the day of their departure from this temporary
halting-place, however, a piece of surprising and wholly
unexpected good fortune befell them. It was one of those
especially glorious mornings which are never encoun-
tered anywhere but in the tropics. A very t^avy dew
had fallen during the night, revivifying the vegetation
parched by the fervid heat of the previous day, and caus-
ing the foliage and flowers to glow for a brief period in
their brightest and freshest tints, whilst they exhaled
their choicest odours; and a light cool northerly breeze
imparted a temporary freshness to the early morning air,
as yet uninfluenced by the scarcely risen sun.

They had " broken camp," and had risen to a height of
about one thousand feet above the ground level, prepara-
tory to the resumption of their southward journey. An
awning was spread over the deck, fore and aft, under the
protecting shade of which they proposed to take break-
fast; and whilst waiting for the meal to be served, the
travellers, each seated in a deck chair, were amusing
themselves by inspecting the magnificent prospect which
lay spread out around and beneath them, the more dis-
tant parts of which were being diligently investigated
with the aid of their telescopes.

They were thus engaged when George announced that
breakfast was served; and the professor was just on the
point of laying down his instrument, preparatory to seat-
ing himself at the table, when a small group of animals,
which were grazing upon the crest of a distant eminence,
swept for a moment across his field of view. A certain
something of peculiarity and strangeness in the appear-

238 THE professor's little peculiarities.

ance of the creatures caused • the motion of the telescope
to be arrested in mid-sweep, and in another instant von
Schalckenberg, deaf to the calls of his companions and
the respectful reminder of the faithful steward, had his
instrument focused full upon the group of animals.
They were, however, a long way off, and the mist was
now rising so thickly from the surface of the ground that
it was impossible to clearly distinguish them ; so the pro-
fessor contented himself by going to the pilot-house and
directing the ship's head straight toward the point occu-
pied by the animals. After which he carefully noted the
time, made a little mental calculation, and seated himself
at the breakfast table, with his watch carefully propped
up before his plate.

His friends were, by this time, so accustomed to the
professor's little peculiarities that no one thought of ask-
ing any questions, feeling sure that an explanation would
come all in good time. Neither did they make any re-
mark or evince any surprise, beyond a shrug of the
shoulders and an amused elevation of the eyebrows, when
the savant, glancing at his watch, hastily rose from the
table, and, in his absent-mindedness carrying with him
a fork with a morsel of venison-steak impaled upon its
prongs, hurried away to the pilot-house. A moment or
two later a gentle jar was felt as the ship came to the
ground; but the mist was by this time so thick that it
was difficult to see objects more than a couple of hundred
feet distant, and all that could be clearly made out was
that they had stopped close to a clump of bush of consid-
erable extent.

By the time that breakfast was over, the morning mist,
true to its proverbially evanescent character, had com-

A REMARKABLE STATEMENT. 239

pletely passed away, and the travellers found that they
had come to earth on the crest of a slight eminence, from
which an uninterrupted view, of several miles extent
over the surrounding plains, could be obtained in every
direction save one, namely, that between which and the
ship stretched the belt of bush.

And now came the professor's explanation:
" You have, doubtless, wondered, gentlemen," said he,
"why I have thus early, and without warning, inter-
rupted our journey. I will now tell you. I have lately
been glancing through the book which, you will remem-
ber, I succeeded in recovering from the wreck of the
Daedalus, and therein I met with a passage of a most
surpassingly interesting character. This passage related
to the rumoured penetration into this region of a certain
unnamed traveller who is stated to have positively
asserted that he here saw, on more than one occasion,
an animal absolutely identical with the fabled unicorn.
This remarkable statement at once reminded me that I
had, many years ago, seen a paragraph in a Berlin paper
to a similar effect. The statement was accompanied by
an expression of strong doubt, if not of absolute incredu-
lity, as to its veracity; an expression which impressed
me at the time as being most cruel and unfair to the
claimant for the honours of a new discovery in natural
history; since the discovery was alleged to have been
made in a region which had never before — nor, indeed,
has since, until now — been penetrated by civilized man;
or from which, at all events, no civilized traveller has
ever aofain emersred, if indeed he had been successful in
penetrating it. Such being the case, as the course we
were pursuing would take us through the very heart of

240 THE PROFESSOR FEELS SANGUINE.

this unknown and unvisited region, I resolved to main-
tain a most careful watch for these creatures. I have
done so, and I am sanguine that I have this morning
actually seen a troop of them. Unfortunately, the mist
and the distance together prevented a clear and distinct
view of the animals to which I refer; but, whatever they
may be, I have an idea that they are at this moment
feeding at no great distance on the other side of this belt
of bush. Should such be the case, we have the wind of
the animals and ought to have no great difficulty in
stalking them; a proceeding which, if patiently and cau-
tiously executed, ought to enable us not only to secure a
specimen or two, but also to obtain a slight insight into
the habits of the creature."

The trio addressed felt, one and all, slightly incredu-
lous as to the realization of von Schalckenberg's sanguine
surmises; but, remembering the mammoths, they pru-
dently kept their own counsel, and hastened away to
secure their rifles and to make their preparations for a
possibly long and tedious stalk. They exchanged their
suits of dazzling white nankeen for others of a thin,
tough serge of a light greenish - gray tint, which admir-
ably matched the colour of the long grass through which
the stalk would have to be performed; and, in about a
quarter of an hour from the commencement of their pre-
parations, found themselves standing outside the huge
hull of the ship, and in its shadow, making their final dis-
positions for the chase. These arrangements were soon
made. Sir Reginald and the professor were to constitute
one contingent, Lethbridge and Mildmay the other; these
last being impressively instructed by von Schalckenberg
to take up the most advantageous position possible for

A TROOP OF UNICORNS. 241

intercepting the flight of the game, but on no account to
shoot until the others had first opened fire.

The two parties then went their several ways, reaching,
at about the same moment, the opposite extremities of
the bush belt. The utmost caution now became necessary
in order to avoid startling the game, if indeed the pro-
fessor was right in his conjectures, and the hunters sank
down upon their knees and began a slow and tedious
progress through the long grass. The professor was fairly
quivering with excitement, and all his companion's efforts
were ineffectual to prevent his rising cautiously to his
feet as soon as they had cleared the bush suflaciently to
allow of his obtaining a view beyond. For a moment or
two he glared anxiously around him, then dropped to his
knees again as if shot.

"They are there," he gasped almost inarticulately,
"sixteen of them; not more than half a mile away."

" And what do ' they ' actually prove to be ?" murmured
the baronet. "Not unicorns, of course?"

"Yes, unicorns! Animals with only one horn — the
males, that is to say. Some have no horns, and those I
take to be females."

This was too much for Sir Reginald's curiosity. He,
in his turn, rose to his feet, ignoring the professor's
agonized entreaties for caution, and, sure enough, within
half a mile of where he stood was a herd of animals so
closely resembling the unicorn which figures as one of
the supporters of the royal arms of England that he
could hardly credit his eyes. He counted the creatures,
and found that, as the professor had stated, there were
sixteen of them, all apparently full-grown. They very
closely approached the zebra in general shape, but were

(359; . Q

242 THE GAME PROVES SHY.

considerably larger animals, standing about fourteen
hands high. They were of a beautiful deep cream colour,
their legs black below the knee, and they had short black
manes, black switched tails very similar to that of the
gemsbok, and, in the case of four of the animals then
in view, were provided with a single straight black
pointed horn projecting from the very centre of the fore-
head, just above the level of the eyes.

At length, yielding to the professor's entreaties and
remonstrances, the baronet again sank to his knees and
the stalk was resumed.

Soon, however, it became apparent that, from some cause
or other, the animals were growing restless and uneasy.
They frequently ceased feeding suddenly and gazed about
them with an anxious, inquiring look, as though sus-
picious of but unable to detect the approach of danger,
and instead of steadily cropping at the grass in one
particular spot they would snatch a few hasty mouthfuls
and then move on some ten or a dozen yards. And, as it
unfortunately happened, their progress was directly away
from the hunters, so that the latter soon found they were
booked for a very long, tedious, and wearisome task.
The stalkers were at first disposed to regard the uneasi-
ness of the game as due to their own presence, yet, upon
further reflection, this seemed scarcely possible, for, in the
first place, they were all, even to Mildmay and the pro-
fessor, tolerably experienced hunters, and were conducting
the stalk in the most approved and sportsmanlike manner,
and, in the next place, they were dead to leeward of the
animals, and it was consequently impossible that the
creatures could have scented them. Both Sir Reo^inald
and the colonel were thoroughly puzzled; and at length

A STORM BREWING. 243

they — almost simultaneously, as it afterwards appeared —
arrived at the same conclusion, namely, that the unicorns
were being stalked by somebody or something besides
themselves, or else that a storm was brewing.

In support of the first idea there was no evidence
beyond the mere fact of the animals' restlessness; but the
aspect of the heavens soon became such as to strongly
favour the second. Whilst the hunters had been sedu-
lously pursuing their task the sky had gradually lost its
pristine purity of blue and had become a pale colourless
gray, in which the sun seemed to hang like a ghastly
white radiant ball, shorn of his beams. The distant
landscape first became unnaturally clear and distinct in
all its details and then became veiled in a sort of murky
haze. Presently a sharply defined ridge of cloud made
its appearance above the south-western horizon, spreading
rapidly toward the zenith, and the hunters began to
realize that they were in for a thorough wetting, if for
nothing worse. Mildmay, indeed, who was perhaps better
acquainted than anyone else in the party with the char-
acter of the tropics, strongly urged upon his companion,
Lethbridge, the desirability of abandoning the chase and
returning with all speed to the ship; and the latter,
impressed by the lieutenant's earnestness, once rose cau-
tiously to his feet with the intention of signalling a
return to the other contingent, but the baronet and the
scientist were at that moment invisible, so the colonel
sank once more on all-fours and the chase went on.

Suddenly a sound like a low growling roar, closely
followed by a shrill scream, came floating down to the
hunters upon the wings of the almost stagnant breeze,
and, springing hastily to their feet, they saw that a

244 A LEOPARD INTRUDES UPON THE SCENE.

magnificent leopard had sprung upon the back of one of
the hornless unicorns, and was tearing savagely at its neck
and throat with its teeth and claws, the rest of the herd,
with one exception, being in full flight. The exception
was a fine male unicorn, which, with bristling mane and
half-averted body, stood motionless save for a quick
angry stamping of his fore -feet upon the ground, watch-
ing the unavailing struggles of his hapless companion.
These were of very short duration, a staggering gallop
of a few yards sufficing to exhaust the victim's strength,
when she reeled and fell headlong to the ground with
her savage rider still clinging tenaciously to her back.
This, apparently, was the moment which the male unicorn
had been waiting for. Bounding forward at lightning
speed and with lowered head he charged full upon the
prostrate pair, and, as the leopard faced round toward him
with an angry snarl, the long straight pointed horn was
levelled and in another instant the great cat was hurled
ruthlessly from the quivering body of his victim, trans-
fixed through eye and brain by the formidable weapon
of his vengeful antagonist. The unicorn stood for a
moment tossing his head, apparently half stunned with
the tremendous shock; but he quickly recovered, and was
evidently preparing to renew his terrible onslaught when
his quick eye detected the presence of the hunters, who,
completely carried away by the exciting spectacle they
had just witnessed, were standing at their full height
in the long grass, fully exposed from their waists up-
ward, and with the light glancing brightly from the
polished silver-like barrels of their rifies. A moment's
pause was sufficient for the unicorn; some subtle instinct
doubtless taught him that in the strange beings who had

A PIECE OF CARELESSNESS. 245

thus unexpectedly revealed themselves he beheld enemies
more dangerous than the most deadly of his four-footed
foes; and, wheeling quickly about, he uttered a curious
barking kind of neio-h and dashed off at a headlong:
gallop in the direction already taken by the rest of his
companions.

"Good Heavens, we have lost them!" groaned the pro-
fessor in a perfect agony of despair.

"Yes," assented the baronet, who next turned to his
more distant companions and hailed them with:

"We have had our trouble for nothing, after all. The
best thing we can now do is to make our way back to
the ship with all speed, when we can renew the pursuit,
unless, as seems only too probable, we are about to have
our hands full with the coming storm. We have not a
moment to lose, I should say; so I would suggest that
each of us put his best foot foremost."

"Ay, ay," replied Mildmay, "crowd sail we must; for,
unless I am greatly mistaken, we are about to have a
regular tornado."

"A tornado!" gasped the professor. "Run — run for
your lives; I verily believe I forgot to moor the ship!'*

Forgot to moor the ship ! Could such fatal carelessness
be possible? If so, they must indeed run for their lives;
for should the storm burst before they reached the ship
she would be whirled away over the plain like an empty
bladder before the blast, to what distance and with what
results it was difficult just then to foreshadow; but among
the possibilities which instantly presented themselves to
the mind was that of death to the two inmates of the ship,
irreparable damage to the craft herself, and four persons
left to shift for themselves in the very centre of Africa,

246 A RUN FOR LIFE.

with nothing but the clothes they wore, the riliesthey
carried, and about a dozen rounds of ammunition apiece.
The prospect was appalling enough to send a momentary
spasm of horror thrilling through the stoutest heart there,
but it also at the same time endowed them with a tempo-
rary access of almost supernatural energy; and the four
men at once started for the ship at a speed which, even
at the moment and to themselves, seemed incredible.

The distance they had to traverse was but short, a mere
half-mile or so perhaps; but to the runners it seemed, not-
withstanding their speed, as though they would never
reach their goal. The grass was long and tangled, and
rapid progress through it was possible only by a series
of leaps or bounds; any other mode of progression would
simply have resulted in their being tripped up at every
other step. This, to men unaccustomed to such exercise,
was in itself a sufficiently fatiguing process; but in addi-
tion to this they had to contend with the stifling heat
of the stagnant atmosphere, which had been oppressive
enough even whilst they had been in a condition of
comparative inactivity; now it seemed to completely sap
their strength and cause their limbs to hang heavy as
lead about them. Then, too, the air had become so rare-
fied that it seemed impossible to breathe, whilst the blood
rushed to their heads, and their hearts thumped against
their ribs until it seemed as though nature could bear
the tremendous exertion no more, and that the runners
must drop dead upon the plain. Still, however, the men
sped on, the portentous aspect of the heavens serving as
an eflectual spur to their flagging energies. The dark
slate-coloured cloud had already reached the zenith, deep-
ening in tint meanwhile until it had grown almost liter-

THE COMMENCEMKNT OF THE STORM. 247

ally as black as ink. Presently a few great drops of hot
rain splashed down upon the panting runners; and, as
they rounded the end of the bush clump and came within
view of the Flying Fish, a blinding flash of lightning
blazed out from the sable canopy overhead, accompanied
by a deafening peal of thunder which rattled and crashed
and' boomed and rumbled and rolled until its echoes
gradually died away in the distance. A perfect deluge
of rain almost immediately followed, wetting the runners
to the skin in an instant as effectually as though they
had been plunged into the sea. This lasted for perhaps
ten seconds, during which every object, even to the racing
figures of their companions, was hidden from view by the
dense volume of falling water. Then the rain ceased as
abruptly as it had begun, the travellers finding them-
selves at the same instant close to the towering hull of
the Flying Fish,

"Last man in, close the trap!" gasped the baronet as
he dashed up first to the opening in the ship's bottom.
The others w^ere only a few yards behind him and heard
his command; so he wasted no more time in conversation,
but bounded up the long spiral staircase leading to the
pilot-house, having reached which he laid his hands upon
the engine lever and tiller, and gaspingly awaited the
signal shout which should tell him he might move the
ship, gazing anxiously out through the windows mean-
while on the watch for some sign of the bursting of the
hurricane.

He had not long to wait. Almost before he had found
time to remove his hat and wipe the perspiration from
his brow a shout came echoing up the staircase shaft
from the bottom of the ship, announcing the fact that

248 safe!

the trap-door was securely closed; and Sir Reginald in-
stantly raised the ship from the ground, sending the
engines gently ahead at the same moment, and putting
the helm hard over so as to bring the Flying Fish stem-
on to the direction from which he expected the hurricane.

^^'

CHAPTER XVI.

A BATTLE ON LAKE TANGANYIKA.

HE ship had risen about one hundred feet from
the ground, and her engines had just completed
a single revolution, when the black pall of
murky cloud suddenly burst apart on the south-western
horizon, revealing a broad patch of livid coppery-looking
sky behind it; and at the same moment a low moaning
sound became audible in the breathless air. A dull
smoky gray veil of vapour seemed at the same time to
overspread the more distant features of the landscape
in that quarter, and through it the baronet and his three
companions, who had now rejoined him, saw the trees
and foliage of the most remote clumps of bush bowing
themselves almost to the ground before some mighty
invisible force. The moaning sound rapidly increased in
power and volume, the cloud of vapour rushed down
toward them with appalling speed; the long billowy grass
was flattened down to the earth, as if under the pressure
of a heavy roller; the successive clumps of bush were
seen to yield one after the other to the resistless power
of the hurricane, and the air in that direction grew dark
with the leaves and branches which were torn from the
trees.

250 FIGHTING THE HURRICANE.

" Raise the ship higher. Lift her above the power of
the hurricane altogether if you have still time to do
so," shouted the professor in Sir Reginald's ear, as the
roar of the approaching tornado thundered in their ears
with almost deafening intensity.

"No," shouted back the baronet; "I am going to try
the experiment of seeing how^ she will bear the stroke of
the gale. Hold on tight all of you ! "

And as he spoke he sent the engines ahead at full
speed, and drove the ship forw^ard right in the teeth of
the hurricane.

The next instant, with an appalling burst of sound, the
gale was upon them. Contrary to their expectations,
there was scarcely any perceptible shock, but the ship's
speed was rapidly checked much as is the speed of an ex-
press train when the brakes are suddenly and pow^erfully
applied, and in some six seconds, though the engines were
still going ahead at their utmost speed, the progress of the
Flying Fish over the ground was as effectually checked
as though she had been lying at anchor.

Meanwdiile the air was one vast volume of awful sound,
and thick with the clouds of dust, and tufts of grass, and
leaves, and hurtling branches which were being w^hirled
furiously along upon the wings of the tornado, so that
the inmates of the pilot-house could neither hear each
other speak nor see any object beyond a quarter of a mile
away on either side. This lasted for perhaps three min-
utes, when the wind suddenly lulled, and the ship at once
began to forge rapidly ahead. The lull lasted perhaps
half a minute, and then ensued a repetition of all that
had gone before, excepting that perhaps the wind was not
quite so strong as at the first outburst. But it was of

THE EFFECTS OF THE TORNADO. 251

longer duration, the second instalment of the gale lasting
fully half an hour, after which the wind gradually
dropped to a gentle breeze, the sky cleared, the sun
reappeared in all his wonted splendour, and the air
resumed its usual transparency.

But what a sight was now presented to the view of the
travellers; what a scene of devastation was that which
lay outspread around them ! The long grass was pressed
so flat to the ground that it would scarcely have afforded
cover to the smallest animal; stately trees were tying
prostrate, either uprooted altogether, or their massive
trunks snapped short off, whilst others still retained their
upright position indeed, but stood denuded of every
branch. Other trees again, whilst less mutilated as to
their branches, retained only a few straggling leaves here
and there, and the same thing applied to those dense
patches of creeper-like tangled growth known as " bush,"
the upper portions of which presented merely a bristling
array of leafless twigs. And in some spots could be seen
huge clumps of " bush " which had been torn bodily out
of the ground and swept remorselessly along for perhaps
miles of distance.

But the strangest sight of all was presented by the
animals. From a height of one thousand feet, to which
the Flying Fish had by this time risen, a very wide
extent of the plateau below could be surveyed, and on
this in every direction could be seen the wild creatures of
the forest, the jungle, and the plain, many of them suflfer-
ing from injuries more or less severe, received during the
progress of the tornado, and all of them exhibiting unmis-
takable and in some instances surprising evidences of
demoralization and terror. Deer and antelopes of various

252 TERROR OF THE WILD ANIMALS.

species lay crouched upon the ground palpably quivering
with fear, or limped painfully about on three legs, the
fourth being doubtless injured through the creature hav-
ing been hurled violently to the ground, or struck by
some falling branch. The lion and his mate could be
seen here and there wandering harmlessly and aimlessly
to and fro in the midst of hundreds of creatures which on
ordinary occasions would afford them a welcome prey, but
which were now too completely overcome with terror to
notice their presence. In one place a fine elephant lay pros-
trate, his massive spine apparently broken by the fall of
an enormous tree, the trunk of which had pinned him to
the ground ; and in another, an immense assemblage of
animals of the most mixed and antagonistic species were
seen huddled promiscuously together under the lee of an
immense belt of bush, where they seemed to have found
a shelter from which they were evidently still afraid to
venture.

At length, having seen enough to afford them a toler-
ably clear idea of the destruction wrought by the storm,
the professor suggested the retracing of their steps with
the object of again finding, if possible, the troop of uni-
corns. The ship w^as accordingly put about, and in a
short time the spot was reached on which still lay the
carcasses of the leopard and the female unicorn. Here she
was again brought temporarily to the ground in order
that the party might secure the two skins, which was
done; but the hide of the unicorn was so dreadfully
lacerated by the claws of the leopard that the professor
was plunged into the lowest depths of chagrin and de-
spondency. The pursuit of the lost animals was now once
more taken up; the ship rising to a height of five thou-

THE PROFESSORS SUGGESTION. 253

sand feet into the air and then going ahead dead slow in
the direction taken by the unicorns, the four gentlemen,
armed with their most powerful telescopes, posting them-
selves in advantageous positions on deck and minutely
examining every yard of the ground over which they
passed. This method of proceeding was continued until
nightfall without result; and it then became evident that
the animals of which they were in pursuit had somehow
eluded them.

" Well," said the professor, endeavouring to put a good
face upon his disappointment, as, the ship having been
carefully brought to earth and securely moored for the
night, the party left the pilot-house and went below to
take their evening bath previous to dinner, "it is dis-
appointing, but it cannot be helped. Perhaps we shall be
fortunate enough to encounter them or others to-morrow
as we wend our way southward. And, a propos of our
next destination, I have a suggestion which I should like
to make, and which I will lay before you when we meet
at the dinner- table."

Accordingly, when they had fairly settled down to the
meal that evening. Sir Reginald called upon the scientist
for his suggestion or proposal.

" I must preface it," said von Schalckenberg, " by in-
forming you that I have again been diving into my
lamented friend's note-book, which I may say en passant
is the most remarkable volume I have ever come across.
And in it I find, under the heading of ' Africa,' a most
clever and scholarly disquisition on 'the site of ancient
Ophir,' the place from which it is recorded that David
obtained gold for the building of Solomon's temple. I
need not inflict upon you the various arguments and

254 TO ANCIENT OPHIR.

authorities which are cited in the endeavour to identity
the position of this most interesting spot; suffice it to say,
that I am morally convinced I can lay my finger upon it
on the map. The principal, indeed I may say the only
reasons why the region has never yet been explored are,
first, its extreme difficulty of access except by sea; and
secondly, the fact that all recorded attempts to penetrate
it have been thwarted by the inhabitants, who are a most
jealous, warlike, and savage race of people. We, however,
are fortunately possessed of exceptional, or I should rather
say unique, means of approach to this unknown country;
and my suggestion is that we should — "

" Do it," interrupted the baronet. " Most certainly we
^vill, my dear sir, and I am exceedingly obliged to you
for the proposal. The adventure will doubtless possess a
piquant flavouring of danger about it, but I presume that
will scarcely be regarded by any of us as a drawback?"
glancing across the table to the colonel and Mild may.

" Scarcely," echoed Lethbridge lazily, as he held his
glass of wine up critically to the light.

"Did you say 'danger?'" laughed Mildmay. "This
craft of yours is so confoundedly safe. Sir Reginald, that
upon my word I have almost forgotten what danger is;
so if you really think you can find a place where we
may once more come within hail of it, pray take us there
without loss of time. For my part, I am becoming
positively effeminate, and unless I can speedily have a
chance of getting my head broken I shall be utterly
ruined for ' the service ' when I go back to it."

" So be it," said the baronet. " Ancient Ophir is our
next destination; and we will start to-morrow morning.
You, professor, I know will not shrink from danger

LAKE TANGANYIKA. 255

when the solving of so interesting a question is con-
cerned."

"Ah, ah! try me/' laughed the professor joyously —
" try me, my friend, and you shall see."

Accordingly, on the following morning after breakfast
a general adjournment was made to the pilot-house,
where, with map and chart spread out before them,
and the professor's treasured volume beside them for
reference, the probable site of ancient Ophir was at
length definitely located; when the course and distance
were ascertained, and a start made.

Being anxious to see as much as possible of the coun-
try during their passage over it, a low rate of speed —
averaging about twenty miles per hour — was maintained;
the day's journey beginning at six o'clock in the morning,
and terminating at the same hour in the evening, when a
halt was called and the ship brought to earth for the night.

On the fourth day of this part of their journey, shortly
after effecting their morning's start, they came within
sight of an immense lake; and a slight deviation from
their prescribed course was made in order that a thorough
examination of it might be effected. A long range of
hills, which had been sighted on the previous day, lay on
their left hand; and, on clearing the southern spurs of
these, they found that another large body of water lay
beyond or to the eastward of them; a river connecting
the two lakes, afterwards identified by them as lakes
Albert Nyanza and Tanganyika. Rising in the air to a
height of about ten thousand feet, they slowly traversed
the latter from its northern extremity, reaching its
widest part — which they estimated to be about sixty
miles across — at mid-day.

256 A FLEET OF WAR CANOES IN SIGHT.

And here a most exciting scene presented itself. An
hour previously a dark mass had been sighted near the
western shore of the lake, which mass had at first been
taken for an island; but, on a nearer approach, the sup-
posed island had resolved itself into an immense fleet of
canoes, in number about three hundred, manned by from
four to twenty men in each, rapidly making its way
toward the western shore. So large a concourse of craft,
coupled with the fact that the crews were elaborately
*' got up " with paint, feathers, and skins, and were well
provided with bows and arrows, spears, shields, and
clubs — to say nothing of a few very antiquated-looking
muskets which the travellers' glasses revealed here and
there — seemed to point to the conclusion that a hostile
expedition was afoot, or, rather, afloat ; and the explorers
resolved upon a temporary pause in order to watch the
course of events.

The natives were so intent upon their paddling that —
facing forward as they all were, with the Flying Fish
somewhat in their rear and nearly a mile above them — not
one of them seemed to have detected the near vicinity of
the aerial ship; and the fleet diligently pursued its course
landward, the short broad-bladed paddles moving to the
time of a deep, sonorous, but somewhat monotonous song,
which, issuing as it did from the throats of probably
quite two thousand warriors, was distinctly audible on
board the Flying Fish, and really had quite an impres-
sive effect.

The flotilla had reached within about four miles of the
shore, and of a tolerably extensive native settlement
built thereon on both sides of a river which at that point
emptied itself into the lake, when a sudden confused

MUSTERING TO REPEL AN INVASION. 267

beating of drums and blowing of horns seemed to indicate
that the menaced tribe had at last become awakened to
the unpleasant fact that an invasion of their territory was
imminent. The summons was responded to with very
commendable celerity, the men swarming out of the
settlement like ants out of an ant-heap; and in less than
ten minutes nearly a hundred canoes were launched and
manned, and advancing boldly to meet the enemy, whilst
the laggards pushed off by twos and threes as soon after-
wards as they could get down to the beach, all making
the most strenuous efforts to join the main body.

To the observers on board the Flying Fish it seemed
that the attacked party had made a grave mistake in
thus taking; to their canoes and advancino^ in them to
meet the enemy; the colonel's impression being that they
would have done better if they had awaited their foes
on the beach and harassed them during their attempt to
effect a landing. But it soon became evident that the
threatened tribe knew perfectly well what they were
about, their canoes being larger and steadier than those
of their opponents, and their method of handling them
greatly superior.

The opposing forces encountered each other at a dis-
tance of about two miles from the western shore of the
lake, when a simultaneous discharge of arrows was
poured in by both sides, after which the two fleets closed,
and a most determined and sanguinary battle commenced.
The invaders outnumbered their opponents nearly in the
proportion of two to one; yet the latter not only gal-
lantly held their own, but actually appeared now and then
to gain some slight temporary advantage. Spears were
thrown and arrows were shot by hundreds; the heavily-

(359) R

258 A STUBBORN AND BLOODY BATTLE.

knobbed war-clubs were wielded with untiring activity
and terrible effect; and, occasionally, a flash and a faint
pufF of smoke followed by a report told that one of the
ancient muskets had been brought into play. The
shouting of commands, the cries of anguish or defiance,
the shrieks of the wounded, and the yells of triumph
united in the creation of a most deafening din; and that
it was not noise only, but work as well, was speedily
manifested by the numerous bodies, splashing and strug-
gling in the agonies of death, or floating quiescent on the
surface of the lake.

"How stubbornly the rascals fight!" remarked Leth-
bridge at last, when the battle had been hotly raging for
fully three-quarters of an hour without yielding to either
side any decided advantage. " I wonder what the quarrel
is all about?"

"It is difficult to say," answered the professor, who
seemed to consider the question as addressed to himself ;
" it may be a simple case of tribal animosity ; it may be
an attack of retaliation; or it may be a slave-hunting
expedition. It is pretty sure to be one or the other of
those three, but it is impossible to say which."

" Well," remarked Mildmay, " whatever the cause of the
fight, my sympathies are all with the weaker side. Can-
not we help the poor wretches a little? A shot or two
from our rifles — "

" Would ensure to either party a victory," interrupted
the baronet. " Yes ; that is quite true. But how can we
tell which party — if either — is fighting in the cause of
right and justice? We cannot take the part of either
the aggressors or the defenders without a certain lurking
doubt that in so doing we may perhaps be unwittingly

TOTAL ROUT OF THE INVADER. 259

giving aid and encouragement to the evil-doer. My
sympathies are, like yours, on the side of the defenders;
but I am afraid we must let them fight it out unaided."

And fight it out they did in the most gallant manner,
the invaded baffling all attempts on the part of the in-
vaders to get even a small portion of their force between
them and the shore; and finally, by what looked like a
last supreme and desperate effort, putting the foe to flight,
and pursuing him triumphantly and persistently in his
retreat, harassing his rear, cutting off and capturing
stragglers, and in every possible way worrying and
annoying him so thoroughly that, to those on board the
Flying Fish, it looked unlikely in the extreme that the
attack, whether provoked or not, would ever be repeated.

The combatants had evidently been far too busy to
notice the extraordinary apparition floating in the sky
above them; but just as the battle was about to commence
a crowd of women and children, with a few decrepit old
men, had assembled on the beach, seemingly to watch the
conflict; and on bringing the telescopes to bear on these
it soon became apparent, by their gestures and cries of
amazement, that they had seen the ship.

" Yes," said the professor, peering through his telescope,
"they see us undoubtedly, but they can detect neither
form nor details. The sun is immediately behind them,
you will observe; consequently, as it is shining full upon
our burnished hull, those people, in the position they now
occupy, will be able to see nothing but a shapeless blaze
of dazzling eflfulgence, which they will doubtless take as
an outward manifestation of their particular deity's
favour, and an indication that he is present to crown
their cause with victory."

260 AN ARID DESERT.

And indeed there was plenty of evidence to support
this singular opinion, for the people, though evidently
astonished beyond measure, manifested delight rather
than fear at what they saw, stretching out their hands,
palms upward, by way of greeting and salute, whilst
many were seen to hurry away to the village and back,
bringing with them oiFerings of fruit, goats, and fowls,
which they ranged in a line ("in order to make the most
of them," as Mildmay suggested) along the margin of the
lake. The proffered offering was, however, unaccepted,
and, the battle being over, the Flying Fish resumed her
course along the centre line of the lake, reaching its
southern extremity in time to select a halting-place
before sunset.

The fourth day following found them within easy
distance of their destination; and the disappointment of
the travellers, arising from the fact that no more uni-
corns had been seen, was to a very great extent swal-
lowed up in curiosity as to what lay before them. Shortly
after effecting their morning's start the fertile region over
which they had hitherto been travelling came abruptly
to an end, and they found themselves passing over an
arid sandy desert, utterly destitute of even the feeblest
suggestion of vegetation, without a trace of water or
even of moisture, and of course with no sign of a
living creature anywhere upon it. So uninteresting a
region offered no temptation for loitering or dalliance,
and the speed of the ship was accordingly increased to
about sixty miles an hour over the ground, the pace being
maintained until two o'clock in the afternoon, when a
low range of rocky precipitous hills was reached, beyond
which fertility and life once more resumed their sway.

THE "FLYING FISH " CREATES A SENSATION. 261

The travellers computed the stretch of desert over which
they had passed as being fully three hundred miles in
extent, and they could therefore fully understand the
difficulty — not to say impossibility — of approaching
Ophir, at all events from a north-westerly direction.
Speed was now once more reduced, the ship gently glid-
ing through the hot afternoon air at the rate of about
eighteen knots, over a somewhat rugged, well-wooded
country, watered by numerous streams, with native
villages dotted here and there along the banks, in the
midst of well- cultivated maize and tobacco fields, with an
occasional patch of sugar-cane. Large herds of cattle
were also frequently passed, and it soon became evident
that to the natives in charge of these, and indeed to the
inhabitants generally, the apparition of the aerial ship
was productive of a vast amount of curiosity, excitement,
and wonder. These natives appeared to possess the same
power or gift attributed to the Montenegrins, namely,
that of projecting the voice for incredible distances
through the air; and it was speedily apparent that the
arrival of the monster aerial visitant to the country was
being orally telegraphed forward in the direction of her
course. Mounted men were seen dashing madly along
until they reached some eminence favourably situated for
the exercise of their powers, when, dismounting, the mes-
senger would raise his hands to his lips, and, in a peculiar
high-pitched tone of voice which seemed to have the
power of penetrating the air for an immense distance,
send his messaofe echoing forward over hill and dale, to
be instantly caught up and repeated by another. So
smartly was this novel system of telegraphy performed,
that the message actually outsped the ship, and the

262 A BRUSH WITH THE NATIVE CAVALRY.

travellers found the inhabitants of every village along
their route awaiting en r)iasse their appearance, which was
instantly greeted with loud shouts -of astonishment. At
one village or settlement, which, from its size, appeared
to be of more than ordinary importance, they found, in
addition to the general inhabitants, a squadron of about
fifty mounted warriors awaiting them, fully armed with
bow, spear, and shield, and upon the appearance of the
Flying Fish these troops most pluckily ranged themselves
directly across her course and prepared to treat her to
a shower of arrows.

"Now is our time to create a wholesome impression
of our invincibility upon these fellows," remarked the
baronet, and hurrying to the pilot-house he caused the
ship to sink well within range of the projected salute.

In an instant every bow was drawn to its utmost
tension, a second or two sufficed the warriors to steady
their aim, and then, with a simultaneous twang of bow-
strings, the fifty arrows sped through the air, and, rattling
harmlessly against the ship's gleaming hull, glanced off
and fell to the earth again. The baronet smartly raised
the fore end of the tiller, and, obedient to her helm, the
Flying Fish made a sudden swoop earthward in the
direction of the audacious cavalry, who, already discon-
certed at the utter failure of their attack, at once wheeled
short about, and, with piercing yells of terror, took head-
long flight, jostling and overthrowing each other with-
out the least compunction in their frantic eagerness to
escape.

" There," remarked the baronet, as, steadying the helm,
the ship once more soared to her former elevation, '' I
hope that will suffice to convince them that we are not to

THE RUINS OF AN IMPOSING CITY. 263

be attacked with impunity. If not, we shall be compelled
to read them a sharper lesson."

After that no further attempt at molestation was
ventured upon, the inhabitants simply congregating in
close proximity to the doors of their huts to see the ship
go past, watching her stately progress in silent, awe-
struck wonder, and obviously holding themselves ready
for an instant dive beneath the fancied shelter of their
thatched roofs in the event of any hostile demonstration
on the part of the Mysterious Visitant.

At about half-past five in the evening the hilly char-
acter of the country gave place to that of a wide-stretch-
ing level plain, thickly overgrown with long rank grass,
with occasional isolated clumps of bush, and here and
there a tall feathery palm, or a grove of wild plantains or
bamboo. The faint gray glimmer of the sea appeared on
the utmost verge of the distant horizon, and certain huge
shapeless irregularities in the extreme distance gradually
revealed themselves as the colossal remains of what must
at one time have been a city of extraordinary extent and
magnificence. The ship was brought to earth and secured
exactly at six o'clock, at a distance of some eight or nine
miles from the sea, and the travellers then found them-
selves surrounded on all sides by gigantic ruined walls,
arches, columns, erect and overturned, huge fragments of
pediments, shattered entablatures, ruined capita,ls, splin-
tered pedestals, and crumbling mutilated statues of men
and animals, all of colossal proportions, the buildings
being of a massive but ornate and imposing style of
architecture, quite unknown to civilization. The ship
had found a resting-place as nearly as possible in the
centre of the ruins, which extended all round her for a

264 ANCIENT OPHIR.

distance of nearly three miles, the eastern half being all
aglow with the golden radiance of the sunset, whilst the
western half loomed up black, imposing, and solemnly
mysterious against the clear orange of the evening sky.

"Well," said the professor, as the party slowly paced
the deck, watching in almost silent rapture the swiftly
changing glories of the dying day, the rapid but exquisite
gradations of tint on the mouldering ruins which accom-
panied the fading light, and the almost instantaneous
appearance of the stars in the darkening heavens — " well,
I am equally surprised and delighted at the result of our
resolve to come hither. Here we find ourselves in the
very heart of savagedom surrounded by the vast remains
of a remote but civilized and evidently highly cultivated
race; and though at present we have nothing more than
the merest surmise to help us to their identification, I
have little doubt that the result of our explorations and
investigations will be to satisfy us that we have in very
deed found in these ponderous ruins the remains of An-
cient Ophir."

■^

CHAPTER XVII.

A NATIVE chieftain's VISIT TO CLOUDLAND.

HE travellers, safely shut up in that impregnable
fortress, the hull of the Flying Fish, passed the
night in peaceful slumber, undisturbed, in the
confidence begotten of a sense of perfect security, by the
weird cries of the night birds, the incessant howling of
the jackals, the maniacal laugh of the prowling hyena,
the occasional roar of the lion, the loud whirr of myriads
of insects, the croaking of bull-frogs, and the other mul-
titudinous nocturnal sounds which floated in through the
open windows of their state-rooms. They were early
ast^r in the morning, eager to commence their investiga-
tions as are school-boys to plunge into the enjoyments of
a long-anticipated holiday. Moved by a common im-
pulse, they all went out on deck to witness the ruins
under the effect of sunrise previous to their plunge into
the matutinal bath; and it was whilst they were admiring
the exquisite beauty of the scene that the keen-eyed
colonel became conscious of the fact that they were be-
leaguered by a host of lurking savages.

"Umph!" he commented, "I expected as much."
" You expected as much as what ? What is it, Leth-
bridfi^e?" asked Sir Reoinald.

266 beleaguered!

"Look there," was the reply; "and there, and there,
and there. Do you notice anything peculiar in the ap-
pearance of the undergrowth about us, especially where
it is thickest?"

" N — o, I can't say that I do— unless you refer to those
occasional quick gleams which come and go here and
there. What are they ? At first I thought it was the
flash of the sun on the dew-laden grass and leaves as
they wave in the wind, but it can hardly be that, or we
should see more of it."

"No," said the colonel, "it is not that; it is the occa-
sional glint of the sun on a native spear-head. I have
been through the Kaffir war, and have seen the same
thing before, though not so distinctly as now, our pre-
sent towering height above the ground giving us an ad-
vantage in that respect which we sadly lacked before.
We are beset by the natives. You cannot see one, I know,
but they are all about us, all the same. Ah! look there,
just behind that magnolia bush. Do you see a small dark
object rising slowly into view? That is the head of a
savage, and he is — ah ! now he has ducked again, having
caught sight of us."

"And what do you suppose the fellows want?" asked
the baronet. " They cannot attack us, you know."

"No; but they don't know it. Their object is to steal
up as close as possible to us in order, in the first place,
to satisfy their curiosity, and, in the second place, to
make a sudden swoop if they see any fancied chance of
being successful."

''Well," said Sir Reginald. "I should like to see
the savage who can reach us so long as we stick to the
Flying Fish. But we don't want to stick to her, so we

A CAUTIOUS APPROACH. 267

will leave them undisturbed to satisfy their curiosity to
its fullest extent until after breakfast, when we must
adopt measures either to conciliate them or to terrorize
them into leaving us alone. Come, gentlemen, we shall
be late for breakfast. What a superb mass of ruins it
is! — beats the Acropolis; don't you think so?"

If the thousand or more savages, who had spent nearly
half the night in accomplishing the engirdlement of the
Flying Fish, could have heard and understood the airy
way in which the fact of their close proximity was dis-
missed by the baronet as a matter of the most trivial
importance, they would have been intensely disgusted.
Happily for their dignity they were blissfully uncon-
scious of it; and whilst Sir Reginald and his companions
were luxuriating in the bath, and afterwards dallying
with a light but dainty breakfast, the sable warriors
continued to close cautiously in upon the huge white
gleaming object which had come into their midst in so
unexpected and extraordinary a manner. Slowly, cau-
tiously, with untiring patience, and practising every
known art of savage warfare, the band drew closer and
closer, until they found themselves within about a hun-
dred feet of the hull, and almost overshadowed by her
enormous bulk, when considerations of personal safety
prevailed over the ardour of the warrior burning to dis-
tinguish himself, and further advance was, as by unani-
mous consent, checked. The huge monster, with its
gleaming silvery skin and its curiously-shaped tail, lay
so ominously still and silent, with its enormous circular
black eyes so wide open and fixed, that, having heard of
its threatening demonstration against the cavalry who
attacked it on the previous day, they felt certain it meant

268 A COMICAL SITUATION.

mischief, and was only waiting for some foolhardy wight
to venture within its reach, to seize and devour him.
They had been despatched by a despotic king to capture
or kill the creature; but, whilst every man there would
have emulated his neighbour in rushing to certain death
against the ranks of an enemy, there seemed to be so
little glory in furnishing a breakfast to this monster that
every individual there inwardly resolved that some other
man than himself should be the first to offer himself as
a sacrifice. And, equally afraid to advance or to retire,
there they remained motionless, and in a state of breath-
less suspense, waiting for events to develop themselves.
And there they were distinctly visible from the lofty
stand-point of the Flying Fish's deck when the quartette,
cigar in mouth, emerged from the pilot-house after break-
fast.

The situation was decidedly comical, and the travellers
indulged in a hearty laugh at the expense of the discom-
fited savages. But it was obvious that matters could not
be allowed to remain in that condition; the natives must
be impressed with the conviction that hostilities were
neither necessary nor desirable, and that it would be
to their advantage to be on terms of amity with the new-
comers. How could this be achieved ? A parley offered
the most ready solution of the difficulty; and the pro-
fessor — who was a perfect polyglot dictionary in human
form — offered to essay the task of conducting it. This
was by no means his first introduction to savages; he had
encountered them in various parts of the world before,
and had never experienced any very serious difficulty in
communicating with them, so that he felt tolerably san-
guine of success on the present occasion.

A PARLEY WITH THE ENEMY. 269

"The matter is very simple, I think," remarked the
German, as he led the way to the larboard gangway.
" We want these people to understand that we are
friendly disposed toward them; that they have nothing
whatever to fear from us; that w^e have not come here to
rob them of one tittle of their possessions; that we merely
wish to explore and examine these ancient ruins; and
that, if they will receive us among them as friends, they
will be distinct and decided gainers by the transaction.
Is not that so?"

"Certainly," remarked the baronet. "Tell them — if
you can — that all we ask is permission to investigate and
explore unmolested; and that if they will accord us this
privilege they shall be substantially rewarded."

" Very good ; I will do my best. And that reminds me
that you had better order George to bring on deck and
open a small case of those beads and nicknacks that we
provided for such occasions as the present," remarked the
professor.

The baronet returned to the pilot-house to give the
order; and von Schalckenberg drew out his white pocket-
handkerchief, waved it two or three times in the air, and
then demanded, in the language he thought most likely
to be intelligible:

" What chief commands the w^arriors who have assem-
bled to pay homage to the four Spirits of the Winds?"

Most luckily for the professor's prestige and reputation
as an all- wise Spirit, the dialect he had adopted, though
not the language actually spoken by the tribe he ad-
dressed, was so far similar that his question was under-
stood; and whilst the astounded blacks started to their
feet in dismay at finding themselves at last actually face

270 LUALAMBA.

to face with and addressed by an avowed Spirit, one of
them hesitatingly and timorously advanced a few paces,
threw himself prostrate on the ground, and, maintaining
his posture of humility, stammered out:

" I, Lualamba, am the leader of these warriors, O most
potent Spirit."

" Approach, brave Lualamba, and ascend to us by the
ladder which we will let down to you. We have that to
say which must be heard by your ear alone," commanded
the professor, waving his hand majestically.

A rope-ladder was attached to the lower extremity of
the side-ladder and let down to the ground; and the
chief, in a state of mind about equally divided between
the extremity of bodily fear on the one hand and pride
at being selected as the recipient of a special communica-
tion from the Spirit Land on the other, hesitatingly and
falteringly, and with many doubtful pauses, advanced
until he reached the foot of the ladder, when his courage
failed him, and he came to a dead halt.

" Ascend, and fear not," called out the professor encour-
agingly; "we are the friends of your nation, and have
forgiven the attack w^hich some of your people (not
knowing us) made upon us yesterday. We have come
hither to shower gifts and benefits upon you — if you are
obedient; but if you reject our friendship, bewaee!"

Upon this the savage, no doubt feeling that, by placing
himself at the head of this most unlucky expedition, he
had already gone too far to permit of withdrawal, sum-
moned up all his courage, and, with the air of a man who
knew himself to be treading on mined ground, scrambled
up the swaying ladder, and finally stepped in through
the gangway on to the spacious deck of the Flying Fish,

ELICITING INFORMATION. 271

upon which he prostrated himself on his face, laying his
shield and weapons — his most valued possessions — as an
offering at the feet of the professor.

The latter, touching him lightly on the shoulder, at
once bade him rise ; and, as the chief gathered himself up
and regained his feet, von Schalckenberg threw round the
quaking but gratified savage's neck a string of large
opaque, turquoise-blue glass beads, and over his naked
shoulders a length of gaudily-flowered chintz. A loud
shout of admiration from the crowd of natives below
proclaimed the fact that they had witnessed the bestowal
of these gifts, whilst Lualamba, notwithstanding the
august presence in which he found himself, could not
restrain the broad grin of delight which spontaneously
overspread his features.

A few judicious questions, artfully put, soon elicited from
the savage the information that the travellers were now in
the country belonging to M'Bongwele, a fierce, cruel, and
jealous despot, so suspicious of foreigners that the most
stringent orders were in force to allow none such to cross
his borders upon any pretence whatever. This king had
been duly apprised, through the medium of the curious
voice -telegraphic mode of communication already de-
scribed, of the mysterious arrival in his dominions on the
day previous; and had been so greatly disconcerted and
enraged at the news that he had forthwith issued the
most peremptory orders for the capture or slaughter of
the monstrous visitant; and he was now, according to
Lualamba, impatiently awaiting in his palace, a few miles
distant, the intelligence that his order had been executed.
The chief, during the conversation which elicited these
facts, had so far recovered his self-possession and equani-

272 A WILY SAVAGE.

mity as to be able to make the best possible use o£ his
eyes; and, being a very shrewd fellow, he was not long-
in arriving at the conclusion that the gigantic monster
on whose back he stood was, after all, nothing more nor
less than an inanimate, though unquestionably wonderful,
vehicle of some sort; and that the fair-skinned beings to
whom he was talking, though they claimed to be the four
Spirits of the Winds, were very similar in many respects
to certain white men whom he had seen only a few
moons ago. The wily savage accordingly made up his
mind that, if he could only induce these beings to accom-
pany him into the king's presence, he would, after all,
have most satisfactorily accomplished his mission; and he
forthwith proceeded, with all the craft and subtlety of
which he was master, to urge upon them the desirability
of an immediate visit to king M'Bongwele, who, averse
as he was to the prying visits of strange men, would, he
assured them, be highly gratified at the honour of hav-
ing as his guests the four Spirits of the Winds.

This proposition, however, by no means accorded with
the views of the travellers; and von Schalckenberg some-
what sternly intimated that, whilst an interview with
M'Bongwele was undoubtedly desirable, it was he who
must visit and pay homage to them, and not they to him.
They had entered the country with the most friendly
disposition toward M'Bongwele and his people, and that
friendly disposition would be manifested to the distinct
advantage of the entire nation if the king showed him-
self properly appreciative of the honour done him by this
visit. But if not, king and people would be very severely
punished for the insult offered to their potent visitors,
'and,' continued the professor, 'in order that Lualamba

lualamba's trip skyward. 273

might see for himself that, in making this threat, they
were indulging in no mere empty boast, he would give
the chief and his followers a single specimen of their
power/

Mildmay having, during the progress of this conversa-
tion, received a hint from the professor how to act, had
quietly, and as if not particularly interested in what was
going forward, sauntered oft' to the pilot-house, where,
stationing himself at the engine and other levers control-
ling the movements of the ship, he awaited further in-
structions.

The professor, having promised to give the savages a
specimen of their visitors' power, now waved his right
hand very slowly and impressively skyward, as a signal
to the watchful Mildmay, loudly exclaiming as he did so:

" Lualamba will now accompany the four Spirits of the
Winds to yonder cloud,'' pointing, as he spoke, to a
single small white fleecy cloud which was floating at the
moment across the sun's disc.

Dexterously manipulating the various valves, Mildmay
caused the Flying Fish to rise with a gentle and almost
imperceptible motion from the earth. So gentle was the
movement that Lualamba was utterly unconscious of it,
and it was not until some seconds had elapsed that he
fully realized what was happening. The savages below,
however, no sooner heard von Schalckenberg's exclama-
tion than, to their inexpressible horror, they beheld the
huge structure, round which they were standing, lift
itself off the earth without the slightest visible effort and
begin to rise into the air. Many of them were so over-
powered by astonishment that they could only stand,
open-mouthed and as motionless as statues, staring at the

(359) 3

274 DISCOMFITURE OF THE SAVAGES.

extraordinary sight; others, however, remembering the
stringent orders of the king, and feeling that the prize
which they had believed to be so secure was not only
escaping them but also carrying off one of their number,
rushed forward, and, whilst some fruitlessly attempted to
grasp and hold the smooth and polished hull, others
seized and clung tenaciously to the rope-ladder. The
weight of some seven or eight natives clinging to the
dangling ladder had, of course, no visible effect upon the
movement of the great ship ; and, finding themselves
being helplessly dragged skyward, they let go their hold
with a yell of dismay when they were some four or ^ve
yards from the earth, upon which they dropped back
heavily.

The ship once fairly off the ground, Mildmay increased
the rarefaction of the air in the air-chambers to an
almost perfect vacuum, and the immense structure soared
skyward with great rapidity. Lualamba, hearing the
shouts of his people from below, stepped to the gangway
to ascertain the cause; and it was then that, to his inex-
pressible dismay, he saw the earth apparently falling
from under him, and the upturned faces of his followers
rapidly dwindling until they became unrecognizable. In
the first extremity of his terror he would have flung
himself headlong from the deck had he not been pre-
vented; failing in this he prostrated himself, and for
some time lay motionless, with his face hidden in his
hands. At length, however, somewhat reassured by the
encouraging adjurations of the professor and the appa-
rent absence of movement in the ship, he ventured first
of all to uncover his eyes and then to rise slowly to his
feet. He glanced wildly about him, but could see no-

A NOVEL EXPERIENCE FOR LUALAMBA. 275

tiling, save a thick white mist which completely envel-
oped the ship (for she had just plunged into the centre
of the cloud), with the sun dimly visible through it; and
a fresh paroxysm of terror seized him, for the horrible
thought at once suggested itself that he had looked his
last upon mother Earth. The professor, however, speedily
reassured him upon this point, and, leading him to the
guard-rail which ran round the deck, bade him look
downward. Terrified into the most servile obedience,
the wretched chief did as he was bidden, and in a few
minutes, the mist growing thinner and thinner, he once
more caught sight of the earth at an immense distance
below, the gigantic ruins above which they were hover-
ing dwarfed to a mere sprinkling of boulders over the
plain; the trees, the clumps of bush, and the meandering
streams stretching away to the horizon in almost illimit-
able perspective, and to the eastward the sea, with just
one solitary sail upon it, barely visible above its gleam-
ing rim.

Ignorant savage though he was, Lualamba was quite
intelligent enough to appreciate the novel beauty of the
scene upon which his eyes now rested; and, forgetting
for the moment all his terrors, he leaned upon the rail,
lost in wonder and admiration. And when, after a
minute or two, he became conscious that the ship was
again nearing the earth, his delight knew no bounds, for
he felt that, as the -hero of so unique an experience as he
was now passing through, he must henceforth be a per-
son of much greater consequence among his countrymen
than he had ever been before.

Meanwhile the travellers had availed themselves of
their recent ascent to sharply scrutinize the face of the

276 A MESSAGE TO THE KING.

country immediately adjacent to the ruins, and had at
length discovered, on the summit of a distant hill, an
extensive village or settlement, strongly defended by a
circular stockade, which they shrewdly suspected to be
the headquarters of king M'Bongwele. The single street,
which ran through the centre of the village from end to
end, was crowded with people all gazing skyward at the
unwonted apparition of the aerial ship ; and, with the aid
of their telescopes, the travellers could see in the central
square a small group of persons (who they conjectured to
be the king and his suite) similarly engaged, surrounded
and protected from the rabble by a phalanx of armed
men.

The ship swept rapidly onward until she hovered
immediately over the last-named party (just to impress
upon the king a wholesome conviction of the utter useless-
ness of his stockade as a protection against such a foe as
the Flying Fish), and then, making a majestic sweep,
came gently to earth immediately opposite the principal
gate in the stockade.

"Now, go,'' said the professor, addressing Lualamba,
" and inform king M'Bongwele that we await him on the
spot among the ruins where you found us this morning."

The bewildered chief, scarcely able to realize the fact
that he had actually been brought safely back to terra
firma, lost no time in availing himself of the permission
given him to depart, and, scrambling down the ship's side
and the rope-ladder, he reached the ground and bounded
off like a startled deer toward the gate, which was hastily
thrown open to admit him, and as hastily closed and
barred again the moment he had passed through. The
Flying Fish then rose once more into the air and leisurely

THE DELIVERY OF THE MESSAGE. 277

made her way back to the ruins, passing, en route , the
force which had been sent out to capture her, and which
was now making the best of its way back to the village
to report the result of the expedition.

Meanwhile Lualamba made his way rapidly up through
the village to the king's palace (which was, after all,
merely the largest hut in the inclosure), having gained
which he besought an immediate audience with M'Bong-
wele on a matter of the utmost importance. The king,
who had already been made acquainted with the circum-
stance of the chief's involuntary journey into the upper
regions, was, of course, all curiosity to learn the fullest
details of the adventure, and the desired audience was
accordingly at once granted. Conscious of the fact that,
for the first time in his life, he had failed to execute the
mission intrusted to him, and extremely doubtful as to
the reception which would be accorded to the message of
which he was the unwilling bearer, Lualamba deemed it
best on this occasion to tell a plain unvarnished tale, and,
commencing his narrative at the point where he and his
warriors had first come within sight of the huge object of
which they were in quest, he described in full detail all
his subsequent adventures, with the thoughts, feelings,
and impressions resulting therefrom, and wound up
falteringly with the message.

His story was received by the king and his suite with
ejaculations of wonder and incredulity, interspersed with
many sharp commands from the monarch to repeat or
to explain more fully certain passages; and when the
message was delivered a profound silence reigned for fully
an hour. King M'Bongwele was a despot, accustomed to
issue his commands in the most heedless manner and to

278 KING M'bONGWELE FEELS PERPLEXED.

have them executed at all costs ; but to receive a command
was an entirely novel and decidedly disagreeable ex-
perience, and he was thoroughly puzzled how to act. His
first feeling was one of speechless indignation at the
insolence of these audacious strangers; his second, a
wholesome fear of the consequences of disobedience. For
if these mysterious visitants had the power of soaring
into the air by a mere wave of the hand, what might it
not be possible for them to do in the event of their being
seriously provoked. Besides, he had already received a
practical assurance of his impotency so far as they were
concerned; moreover, he was consumed by curiosity to
see for himself the marvels so graphically described by
his lieutenant, to receive a moiety of those magnificent
gifts which the strangers seemed prepared to lavish
broadcast upon all with whom they chanced to come into
contact, and, above all, to satisfy himself with respect to
certain conjectures which had flitted through his brain
whilst listening to the astonishing narrative of Lualamba.
M'Bongwele was an ignorant savage, it is true, but he
was possessed of a dauntless courage, a persistency of
purpose, and an unscrupulous craftiness and ambitious -
ness of character which would have won him distinction
of a certain unenviable kind in any community. Already
his brain was teeming with vague unformed plots of the
wildest and most audaciously extravagant description,
the possibility of which he was determined to ascertain
for himself, and the maturing of which he was quite pre-
pared to leave to time. He therefore ultimately resolved
to obey the summons sent him by the strangers; but,
remembering his kingly dignity, he postponed obedience
as long as he dared, and it was not until four o'clock in

AN IMPOSING CAVALCADE. 279

the afternoon that he set out for the ruins, attired in all
his native finery, consisting of a lion-skin mantle and
magnificent gold coronet adorned with flamingo's feathers
— the emblems of his regal power — gold bangles on his
arms and ankles, a necklace of lion's teeth and claws
round his neck, and a short petticoat of leopard's skin
about his loins. He was armed with a sheaf of light
javelins or assegais, he carried in his left hand a long
narrow shield of rhinoceros hide decorated with ostrich
plumes, and he was mounted on a superb black horse
(which he rode bare-backed and managed with the skill
of a finished equestrian). His followers, numbering about
Hve hundred, were also fully armed and excellently
mounted, they being, indeed, with the exception of a few
court ofl&cials, his regiment of household cavalry, the pick
of his native warriors and the very flower of his army.
He was anxious to make the profoundest possible im-
pression of his power and greatness upon the mysterious
beings he was about to visit; and, indeed, the cavalcade,
as it swept at a hand-gallop out through the wide gate-
way which formed the principal opening in the stockade,
constituted, with its tossing plumes, its fluttering mantles,
its glancing weapons, and its prancing horses, a sight to
make a soldier's heart bound with appreciative delight.

CHAPTER XVIII.

KING M'bONGWELE IS TEMPORARILY REDUCED
TO SUBMISSION.

N the return of the Flying Fish to her former
berth the subject of the reception to be accorded
to king M'Bongwele, in the event of his obey-
ing their summons, was somewhat anxiously discussed by
the travellers. They had already seen and heard enough
to convince them that the individual in question was a
sovereign of considerable power, as African kings go, and
former experience among savages had taught them that
he would, as likely as not, prove to be a crafty, un-
scrupulous, and slippery customer to deal with. To
satisfactorily carry out the object of their visit to this
man's country — namely, the examination and exploration
of the mysterious and very interesting ruins which sur-
rounded them — it would be absolutely necessary that they
should be able to pass to and fro, freely and unmolested,
between the ship and the various points selected for
examination; and, in order to secure this perfect freedom,
it would be necessary not only to conciliate this powerful
ruler and his people, but also to so thoroughly im-
press him and them with the mysterious and wonderful

PREPARATIONS FOR M'bONGWELE's SUBJECTION. 281

attributes of their unbidden guests that they should, one
and all, be absolutely afraid to interfere with them. The
question was, how could this be most effectually achieved?
The first part of the programme, namely the conciliation
of sovereign and subjects, appeared simple enough; the
obvious pride and delight with which Lualamba had
received his flashy presents of beads and Manchester
finery furnished a key to the satisfactory solution of this
difficulty; but how was the second and equally important
part of the programme to be carried out? Lualamba, it was
true, had been effectually cowed by the simple expedient
of carrying him a few thousand feet up into the air; but
something more than the mere repetition of this experi-
ment would be necessary to produce the required impres-
sion upon M'Bongwele and the crowd of warriors he
would be certain to bring with him. The matter was
placed in the hands of the professor for settlement, and
he promptly avowed himself to be fully equal to the task.

" Science, my friends," he remarked, ^' is constantly re-
vealing wonders which surprise and astound even the
most cultured minds of the civilized world; how much
more capable is it then of overawing the uncultured
savage, however shrewd and clever he may be in those
simple matters which affect his everyday life! Leave it
to me; we have ample scientific means at our command to
quell this man and his followers, and to reduce them to a
state of the most abject and servile subjection.'*

Von Schalckenberg then retired to make his propag-
ations, which were soon complete. When next he ap-
peared he carried upon one arm a glittering mass of
what at first sight appeared to be drapery, but which, on
his unfolding it, proved to be three suits of chain armour

282 THE PROFESSORS FORETHOUGHT.

(minus helmet and gauntlets), constructed of very small
fine links of sethereum, light and flexible as silk.

" I think," said he, " it will be unadvisable to make any
change in our outward appearance in preparing to receive
this royal savage; any such change would be certainly
noticed, and as certainly regarded as an indication of the
importance we attach to his visit. Now, our policy is to
treat the whole afiair as a matter of no moment whatever,
and we will therefore (if you agree with my views) con-
tinue to wear the white flannel suits in which we received
Lualamba this morning. But I would recommend that
each of you don a suit of this mail under your clothing
(I have already assumed mine), and we shall then be
pretty well prepared for emergencies. These savages are
often exceedingly treacherous fellows, and it is quite
among the possibilities that certain of this king's followers
may have received instructions to test our supposed in-
vulnerability by a sly stab in the back or something of
that kind; it will be well, therefore, that we should be
properly prepared for anything of the kind. I had in
view some such occasion as the present when I arranged
for the construction of these suits. There is a helmet and
gauntlets for each; but we shall scarcely need them to-
day, I think, and it would hardly be politic to wear any
visible defensive armour."

The luncheon hour arrived and passed without sign or
token of the presence of a single savage in the neighbour-
hood, and as the afternoon waned with still no indication
of human vicinity, the travellers — but for the absolute
impregnability of the Flying Fish — would have begun to
feel uneasy. About half-past four o'clock, however, as
the quartette were languidly puffing at their cigars, lolling

ARRIVAL OF THE KING. 283

meanwhile in the most luxurious of deck-chairs, a huo-e
cloud of yellow dust rising into the air beyond the ruins
announced the approach of the cavalcade, and a minute
or two later king M'Bongwele at the head of his cavalry
swept like a whirlwind into the open space occupied by
the great ship, and, charging in a solid square close up to
her, suddenly wheeled right and left into line, and came
to an abrupt halt. The evolution was very brilliantly
executed, and as Lethbridge lazily scanned the performers
through the thin filmy smoke of his cigar, he could not
restrain a low murmur of admiration, followed by the re-
mark :

"By George! what splendid soldiers those fellows would
make with a couple of months' training!"

" Y-e-s," agreed the baronet, " that was very well done;
but I suppose that particular evolution is the one in which
they most excel, and of course it was done purely for effect.
Ah! the individual now dismounting is, I suppose, our
royal visitor."

The baronet was quite right in his conjecture. As the
party halted, some ten or a dozen individuals, including
Lualamba, flung themselves from their horses, and, ad-
vancing reverentially, grouped themselves about the royal
charger. Two of them then stepped to the creature's head
and grasped the bridle, whilst two more assisted the king
to dismount. The horse was then handed over to the
care of a warrior, and the king, closely followed by the
members of his suite, advanced to the foot of the rope-
ladder, which had been lowered for their accommodation;
the professor at the same time stepping to the gangway
and inviting the party to ascend.

M'Bongwele looked somewhat doubtfully at the sway-

284 PORTRAIT OF KING m'bONGWELE.

ing ladder for a moment or two, and then essayed the
ascent; but the oscillation set up by his movements proved
too much for his nerves — or his dignity — and, much
chagrined, he was obliged to desist. The professor then
in compassion suggested the steadying of the ladder at
its foot, when the king, promptly giving the necessary
order to his suite, ascended to the deck, leaving those
who followed him to manage as best they could.

The first glance of the travellers satisfied them that in
king M'Bongwele they had a man of more than ordinary
intelligence to deal with. The colour of his skin and
complexion was a rich deep brown, he stood nearly six
feet high on his naked feet, and, but for his somewhat
excessive corpulence, he would have been a man of mag-
nificent proportions. His lips were rather thick, and his
nose somewhat flattened, but not nearly as much so as in
the case of the genuine negro. His forehead was broad
and lofty, though receding, his eyes keen, restless, and
piercing, and there was a crafty, cruel, resolute look about
the lower part of his face which taught his hosts that
they w^ould have to be exceedingly cautious in their deal-
ings with him. He was accommodated with a chair be-
tween Sir Reginald and the professor, the former being
flanked by Lethbridge (Mildmay, in accordance with pre-
vious arrangements, had ensconced himself in the pilot-
house); Lualamba and the rest of the suite were quietly
allowed to squat in a semicircle before them on the deck.

The king opened the conversation by somewhat abruptly
demanding the reason for the strangers' visit to his
dominions; to which the professor replied by pointing to
the ruins, explaining that they were believed to be the
remains of a great city built many ages ago by a very

THE KING PROVES SOMEWHAT SCEPTICAL. 285

interesting race of people of whom but little was known,
and he and his companions were anxious to minutely ex-
amine and explore what was left, in the hope of discover-
ing some sculptured or other record bearing upon the
origin, habits, and history of the builders.

A few minutes of profound meditation on the part of
the king followed this announcement, and then he sud-
denly demanded where the travellers had come from.
The professor replied by a comprehensive sweep of the
hand skyward.

"But," objected M'Bongwele, "if you are spirits you
should know all that you want to know about these ruins
without coming here to investigate. The spirits know
everything."

A low murmur of applause from the king's adherents
followed this enunciation, showing that they evidently
considered their monarch to be getting the better of the
strangers, and a smile of gratification flickered for an
instant over M'Bongwele's features.

" Not everything," corrected the professor. " We know
a great many things, but not everything. And what we
know we have been obliged to find out by investigation.
We spend the greater part of our existence in passing
from place to place investigating and finding out things."

"Then I have been misinformed, and the spirits are
neither so wise nor so powerful as I thought them to be,"
retorted the king.

"Perhaps so," quietly remarked the professor. "Never-
theless we are very powerful — sufficiently so to destroy
you and your whole army in a moment, should we choose
to do so. Would you like to witness a specimen or two
of our power?"

286 A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT.

M*Bongwele glanced somewhat nervously about him
for a second or two, and then with an obvious effort
answered:

"Yes."

"I see that some of your followers here are armed with
bows/' continued the professor. "Are they good marks-
men?"

" The best in the world," answered the king proudly.

The professor in his turn hesitated an instant; he was
about to make a dangerous experiment. Then he drew
from his pocket a small crimson silk rosette, and, placing
it in M'Bongwele's hand, said:

" I will attach this to any part of my dress you choose
to point out; then order one of your archers to shoot an
arrow at it, and observe the result."

The king took the rosette in his hand, examined it
carefully, and passed it round among his suite for inspec-
tion. On receiving it back he suddenly wheeled round
in his chair, and, reaching over, laid his finger on Leth-
bridge's breast exactly over the heart."

" Fasten it there^' he said with a scornful smile, " and
I will shoot at it myself."

The professor was disconcerted. The danger of the
experiment consisted in the possibility that the archer,
instead of aiming at the rosette, would select an eye or
some part of the head for a mark, in which case the
result would be fatal. He was quite willing to incur the
risk himself, trusting that the archer's vanity would impel
him to aim at the right spot; but he had never contem-
plated the turn which affairs had now taken.

Lethbridge, however, with a languid smile and a shrug
of the shoulders, rose to his feet, and, nonchalantly flick-

THE KING TRIES TO FRIGHTEN LETHBRIDGE. 287

ing the ash off the end of his cigar, waited for the pro-
fessor to affix the rosette.

A happy inspiration just then occurred to von Schalck-
enberg. "It is a very small mark," he murmured con-
fidentially to M'Bongwele; "I do not believe you can hit
it. Shall I get something larger?"

The king would not listen to any such proposal; he
was evidently anxious to exhibit his skill; and the pro-
fessor, reassured, attached the rosette to Lethbridge's
coat in the exact spot indicated, M'Bongwele and his
companions watching the operation with the keenest
interest.

The colonel, glancing round for a good background
against which to place himself, noticed a large clump of
trees with olive-green foliage growing at a short distance
directly astern of the ship. Against these his white-clad
figure would stand out in strong relief. He accordingly
stepped leisurely out to a suitable position on the deck,
and, with one hand in his pocket and his smouldering
cigar in the other, patiently awaited the decisive moment.
M'Bongwele in the meantime snatched a bow from one
of his followers, and, selecting a long straight arrow from
the sheaf, retired to the other end of the deck, a distance
of about one hundred and fifty feet from his living target.
He strung the bow carefully, adjusted the arrow to the
string with the utmost nicety, drew it to the head, and
then paused for a full minute, apparently waiting for
some indication of flinching on Lethbridge's part. In
this, however, he was disappointed, not the faintest sug-
gestion of uneasiness could be detected in the colonel's
face — indeed, he seemed to be absorbed in a critical con-
templation of the smoke which lazily wreathed upward

288 m'bongwele discomfited.

from the end of the cigar. Suddenly the bow twanged
loudly, the arrow whizzed through the air, and, striking
fair upon the rosette, fell in splinters to the deck. Leth-
bridge somewhat contemptuously kicked the fragments
aside, unpinned the rosette from the breast of his coat, and
sauntered back to his former seat. The group of chiefs
gathered on the deck glanced at each other and uttered
suppressed ejaculations of dismay. As for M'Bongwele,
he was thoroughly discomfited ; he had been shrewd
enough to suspect in the professor's proposal some pre-
concerted arrangement, which he flattered himself he had
skilfully baffled; instead of which his ruse had simply
redounded to his own more complete confusion.

The professor rose and picked up the pierced rosette,
w^hich he handed to the king.

''You are very skilful," he remarked, pointing to the
puncture; "I compliment you." Then, changing his tone,
he continued: ''We have allowed you to do this in order
that you may be thoroughly convinced of the impossi-
bility of injuring us. Now you shall have a further
example of our power. Order your warriors to dismount
and try their best to lift this ship from off the ground."

The king turned to Lualamba and gave him the neces-
sary order; whereupon the chief, descending the ladder
to the ground, advanced to the troops, and, dismounting
them, assembled them all round the hull; then, at a given
signal, the entire body exerted themselves to the utmost
to lift the immense fabric from the ground — of course
without effect, as her chambers were full of air.

" Now," said the professor when the savages had pretty
well exhausted themselves, " let all but one man retire."

This was done, Mildmay meanwhile exhausting the

AN ASTOUNDING FEAT. 289

chambers until the gauge showed that the ship weighed
only a few pounds. The professor glanced carelessly at
the pilot-house, caught the signal that all was in readi-
ness, and said to the king:

" Now order that man to lift the ship on to his
shoulders."

M'Bongwele duly repeated the order, without the
slightest expectation that it would be fulfilled; and the
man — who would have plunged into a blazing bonfire if
he had been so ordered^advanced, and, to the unutter-
able astonishment of himself, the king, and in fact the
whole concourse of natives, raised the gigantic structure
to his shoulders and held it there with scarcely an effort.

"Now, tell him to toss us into the air," commanded
von Schalckenberg, shouting down from the gangway to
Lualamba.

And in another second the terrified king and his suite
felt a slight movement, and saw the earth sinking far
away beneath them. This was altogether too much for
the suite, who grovelled on the deck in mortal fear; and
even king M'Bongwele felt his courage rapidly oozing
away as he sat uneasily in his deck-chair convulsively
gripping its arms and glancing anxiously about him.

The ascent was continued to a height of about fifteen
thousand feet, at which altitude the wretched savages
were shivering even more with cold than they had
hitherto done with fear. The ship was then headed
straight for the sea, which she soon reached, and, speed-
ing onward at the rate of thirty miles an hour, her course
was continued, accompanied by a gradual descent until
the land was lost sight of; when a wide sweep was made,
and, at a height of only one hundred feet above the

(359) T

290 m'bongwele has met his match.

waves, the return journey was commenced. This ex-
perience proved sufficient, and more than sufficient, for
M'Bongwele; he was completely cowed; and when he
found himself hovering over the illimitable sea, without
a sign of land in any direction, he flung himself upon his
knees before the professor and piteously entreated to be
restored to his home and people, abjectly promising that he
and they would be the willing slaves of the White^ Spirits
for ever; and as for the ruins, the Spirits might do what-
ever they chose with them, freely and without let or
hindrance. This was all very well, but von Schalckenberg
had not yet fully carried out his programme ; he had still
one more item in the entertainment which he was de-
termined to produce, and which he fully believed would
render M'Bongwele's subjugation not only complete but
permanent.

Accordingly, on returning to thei^ starting-place (by
which time it was nearly dark), the demoralized warriors,
who had all but given up their king as lost, were set to
work by von Schalckenberg's orders to collect wood for
a p'io-antic bonfire. This was soon done, and the fire was
kindled; but, much of the wood being green, an immense
cloud of smoke was raised, with very little flame, which
exactly suited the professor's purpose. When the fire was
fairly alight, the troops were re-formed in line as close to
the ship as possible, and M'Bongwele and his suite were
arranged in position on the deck immediately beneath the
pilot-house walls. By this time it was perfectly dark,
save for the starlight and the flickering gleam of the bon-
fire; and the air was stark calm.

Gradually and imperceptibly the dense cloud of smoke
which hung motionless over the smouldering pile became

TWO VISIONS. 291

faintly luminous. The radiance grew stronger and stronger,
and presently an immense circular disc of light appeared
reflected on the slowly-rising cloud of vapour, in which a
host of forms were indistinctly traceable. Another mo-
ment and a loud ejaculation of astonishment burst from
the savage spectators, for, with another sudden brighten-
ing of the luminous disc there appeared the phantom pre-
sentment of M'Bongwele's troops drawn up as they had
appeared a couple of hours before, when the king had
first boarded the Flying Fish. So clear and vivid was
the representation that it met with instant recognition,
amid loud murmurs of amazement from the beholders;
the king being quite as strongly moved as any of his
subjects.

"Do you recognize the vision?" demanded the profes-
sor sternly of M'Bongwele.

*' I do, I do. Those are the spirits of my bravest sol-
diers," murmured the king. " Truly the Spirits of the
Winds have wondrous powers."

" You say well," answered von Schalckenberg. " Now,
look again and you shall see a few of our warriors."

As he spoke the picture became blurred and indistinct,
prismatic colours began to come and go upon the curtain
of vapour, and suddenly out flashed the image of a wide-
stretching sun-lit plain, upon which were drawn up on
parade, in illimitable perspective, a countless host of
British troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, with
bayonets, swords, and lance-points gleaming in the sun,
with colours uncased, guns limbered up, and all appa-
rently ready and waiting for the order to march. So
realistic was the picture that even the baronet and Leth-
bridge could scarcely repress an exclamation of astonish-

292 "IT IS ENOUGH: LET ME GO HOME."

ment, and as for M'Bongwele and his people, tbey were
perfectly breathless with surprise. The picture was
allowed to remain clear, brilliant, and distinct for some
ten minutes, then the radiant disc rapidly faded until it
vanished altogether, and nothing remained but the red
glimmer of the smouldering fire.

A heavy sigh issued from M'Bongwele's breast, and he
rose to his feet.

" It is enough," he said. " Let me go home."

He advanced gropingly to the gangway (for it was now
very dark), when, in an instant, every one of the electric
lights in the ship flashed out at their fullest brightness,
brilliantly illuminating the deck, and turning night into
day for fully a mile round, and, under the clear steely radi-
ance thus unexpectedly furnished him, the king slowly
made his way to the ground, mounted his horse in silence,
and galloped away at the head of his followers. The illu-
mination of the ship was maintained until the cavalcade
was well clear of the ruins, when the side-ladder was
drawn up, the lights extinguished, and M'Bongwele was
left to make the remainder of his way as best he could in
the darkness.

"Well," said the professor as the quartette wended their
way below to dinner, "how have I managed?"

" Admirably," answ^ered Sir Eeginald and the colonel
together. "Never, surely," continued the latter, "was
African king so completely overawed in so short a time
as this fellow has been to-day."

" We all, and I especially, owe you thanks, colonel, for
the sublime sang froid with which you stood up and
allowed yourself to be made a target of to-day," said von
Schalckenberg. " Believe me, I would never have made

HOW IT WAS DONE. 293

the proposal I did had I suspected that the part of target
would have been so cleverly transferred to someone else.
But the crafty fellow evidently suspected what you Eng-
lish call 'a plant' — a prearranged plan — and he thought
that by adopting the course he did he would have us at
advantage."

" Oh," laughed the colonel scornfully, " that was a mere
trifle, less than nothing. I saw that the fellow was con-
fident of his skill as a marksman and anxious to show off,
so I felt perfectly easy in my mind. Had it been one of
our own men, now — " an expressive shrug of the shoulders
finished the sentence.

"Yes," remarked the baronet reflectively, "what a pity
it is that they are not trained to individually select and
aim at a particular object. If they were, no troops in the
world could stand up for ten minutes before them. But,
speaking of troops, professor, what a master-stroke that
was of yours to give the darkies an opportunity of com-
paring their own soldiers with ours. How on earth did
you manage it?"

" Oh, easily enough," laughed the professor. " A magic
lantern and a couple of slides did the whole business.
The throwing of the pictures upon the smoke-wreath cer-
tainly enhanced its effectiveness a good deal, but it is
quite an old trick, which I have often done before with
excellent results. Everyone who is going much among
savaofes ous^ht to include a lantern and an assortment of
good startling slides in his outfit if possible."

"But how did you get the first of your two slides?
That was surely a representation of M'Bongwele's own
people."

"Certainly. And our friend Mildmay very cleverly

294 A FARCE WORTH THE PLAYING.

secured it with a camera which I set up and prepared tor
him in the pilot-house. He only had to release a spring
at the right moment, and the thing was done. He de-
veloped the picture whilst we were making our little
excursion out to sea and back. Well, the whole thing
was a farce; but I believe it has effectually secured us
from interruption during our researches among the ruins;
and if so, it was worth playing."

tcr

•^?3£P'

CHAPTER XIX.

KING m'bONGWELE TURNS THE TABLES UPON HIS
VISITORS.

N reaching his palace that night king M'Bongwele
dismissed his followers with but scant ceremony,
and at once retired to rest. He passed a very
disturbed night of alternate sleeplessness and harassing
fitful dreams, and arose next morning in a particularly
bad temper. He was anxious, annoyed, and uneasy in the
extreme at the unexpected and unwelcome presence of
these extraordinary visitants to his dominions — these
spirits, or men, whichever they happened to be, wdio had
taken such pains to show him that they despised his
power, and were quite prepared to ride rough-shod over
him unless he slavishly conformed to all their wishes;
who had frightened and humiliated him in the presence
of his immediate followers and most powerful chiefs, and
entailed upon him a loss of prestige which it would be
difficult if not impossible to recover. He was childishly
jealous of the slightest interference with his supreme
authority, and he fretted and chafed himself into a state
of fury almost bordering upon madness as he reflected
upon the veiled menaces to himself which had been only

296 m'bongwele's gloomy reflections.

too distinctly recognizable in every manifestation of these
strangers' extraordinary power on the preceding day. He
recognized that their deliberate intention had been to
show him that during their sojourn in his country he
must in all respects conform to their wishes, and model
his conduct strictly in accordance with their ideas of what
was right and proper, or take the consequences. And
what were those consequences likely to be? Judging
from what he had already seen, his dethronement and
utter humiliation seemed to be among the least severe of
future possibilities. Instead of remaining the irrespon-
sible autocrat he had hitherto been, he would, during the
sojourn of these strangers in his vicinity, be obliged to
carefully weigh and consider his every word and action,
in order that he might neither say nor do anything which
could by any possibility prove distasteful to them. And
if this state of servile, abject, slavish submission was to
be his condition during the period of their stay — which
might last the Great Fetisch himself only knew how long —
his life would not be worth having, it would simply be a
grinding, insupportable burden to him.

As these unwelcome reflections thronged through his
mind he grew so madly ferocious that he issued orders
for the instant execution of certain white prisoners which
had fallen into his hands a few months before, counter-
manding the order almost immediately afterwards— and,
happily, in good time — partly because they were women,
and he still hoped, notwithstanding present difficulties
and frequent former failures, to add them to his harem;
and partly because he was under the apprehension that,
among their other attributes, his mysterious visitors
might possess that of omniscience, and, getting knowledge

A PUZZLING QUESTION. 297

of the execution, object to and call him to account for it
It was a similar consideration alone which deterred him
from solacing himself by the impalement of half a dozen
or so of his principal ministers, the entire suite having an
exceedingly lively time of it that morning, and being in-
finitely thankful when they were at last dismissed with
whole skins.

The question which harassed and perplexed M'Bong-
wele for the remainder of that day was: could the visit
of these extraordinary beings be by any means shortened
or terminated? And, if so, how? Or if the visit could
not be cut short, was there any possibility of subjugating
the visitors? This particular African monarch possessed
at least one virtue, that of perseverance under difiiculties.
He was not at all the sort of man to sit dow^n and tamely
submit to evils if he thought there was even the most
remote and slender possibility of overcoming them. He
had, on a previous occasion, encountered certain fair-
skinned men so similar in appearance, and in every other
respect, except dress, to these present troublesome visitors
of his that they might well have been taken for beings
of the same race; yet they had proved so thoroughly
mortal that he had had no difficulty whatever in dispos-
ing of them. True, he had shot an arrow at one of these
visitants yesterday, striking him fair upon the breast,
and the arrow, instead of piercing him through and
through, had fallen splintered to pieces at his feet. Yet
this very extraordinary incident was not, to M'Bongwele,
wholly conclusive evidence as to their invulnerability.
Lualamba had on the previous day made certain sugges-
tive remarks tending to strenothen his monarch's belief
that if these persons could by any means be separated

298 DRIVEN TO DESPERATION.

from the huge structure which seemed to be their home
they might possibly prove to be very ordinary mortals
after all. He was inclined to believe that a great deal,
if not the whole, of their power was centred in the
gigantic fabric which they called a ship. And, if that
should indeed prove to be the case, all that they had done
on the previous day could be done by anyone into whose
hands the ship might happen to fall. It could be done
by him. As this reflection flashed across his brain he
pictured to himself the immense accession of power and
prestige which would come to him with the possession of
that wonderful structure; of the conquests it would en-
able him to make, and of the boundless extension of his
dominions which it would enable him to secure; and his
eyes flashed and his bosom heaved with unsuppressed
excitement as he inwardly vowed that he would achieve
its possession or die in the attempt. All the conditions
of his life, he angrily told himself, had been violently and
permanently disarranged by the incidents of the previous
day; he had been publicly threatened; publicly terrified
into a cowardly and disgraceful state of submission; and
it was quite impossible that he could permanently continue
as he then was. He must fully recover all his lost prestige
and add immeasurably to it, or must be content to see
some ambitious chief rise up and wrest the kingdom from
him. These presumptuous strangers had forced him into
enmity against them, and they must take the conse-
quences.

Lualamba was one of M'Bongwele's most trusted chiefs,
and shortly before sunset he and the head witch-doctor
were summoned to a special conference with the king.

Meanwhile the travellers, having enjoyed a most excel-

A BUSY DAY. 299

lent night's rest, rose betimes in the morning and pre-
pared for a thorough systematic investigation of the
ruins. They bathed and breakfasted in due course, and
then, armed to the teeth, set out upon a tour of general
inspection, the professor carrying his camera, and Sir
Reginald his sketch-block and colour-box, whilst Mild-
may and the colonel, provided with a box-sextant and a
light measuring chain, set themselves the task of making
a rough survey of the ruins and a portion of the sur-
rounding country. The tour of the ruins, the taking of
an occasional sketch or photograph, and the making of
the survey, kept the party fully occupied for the whole of
the first day; and they returned to the ship just before sun-
set, tired and hungry, but thoroughly satisfied with their
day's work, and fully convinced that their success in pene-
trating to this interesting spot would alone more than re-
pay them for all the trouble and expense connected with
the outfit of the expedition. One important fact at least
had been clearly ascertained by them in the course of the
day, which was, that the ruins were extremely ancient, their
antiquity being demonstrated by the circumstance that
during successive ages the soil had gradually accumu-
lated about the ruins until they were nearly half buried.
The most interesting discovery made by them during the
day was that of an enormous block of ruins, which, from
its extent and the imposing character of its architecture,
they felt convinced must have been a temple or other
public building, and it was resolved that their investiga-
tions should commence with it. It was situated about a
mile distant from the spot occupied by the Flying Fish,
and their first intention had been to move the ship some-
what nearer; but an inspection of the intervening ground

300 m'bongwele disposed to be civil.

had shown it to be so encumbered with ruins that it was
soon apparent that she must be left where she was.

A very large amount of excavation — much more than
they could possibly manage alone — would be necessary
before the lower portion of the walls and the pavement
of the building could be laid bare, and they decided to go
over to M'Bongwele's village on the following morning
and arrange with him if possible for the hire of some
fifty or a hundred men. This, however, proved to be un-
necessary, for whilst they were at breakfast next day the
sound of a horn was heard without, and, going on deck,
they discovered Lualamba below in charge of a party of
some twenty w^omen bearing a present of milk (in closely
woven grass baskets), eggs, fowls, and fruit, and a mes-
sage from the king asking whether his visitors required
assistance of any kind in the pursuit of their investiga-
tions.

"Capital!" exclaimed the baronet when von Schalcken-
berg had translated the message. " This is as it should
be. Lower the ladder, professor, and ask Lualamba to
come on deck. We must send back a present to the king
in return for that which he has sent us; and we can at
the same time forward a message explaining our wants."

Lualamba quickly made his appearance on deck, where,
after receiving a further small present for himself and a
cast-oif soldier's coat, battered cocked-hat, an old pair of
uniform trousers, the seams of which were trimmed with
tarnished gold braid, and half a dozen strings of beads,
as a present for the king, the wants of the travellers w^ere
explained to him. The chief shook his head; he feared
it would be difficult, if not impossible, to meet the wishes
of the illustrious strangers in the particular manner

A GANG OF FEMALE LABOURERS. 301

spoken of. The male inhabitants of the village were all
warriors, to whom work of any description would be an
unspeakable degradation. But he would see what could
be done. If women, now, would serve the strangers' pur-
pose as well as men, the thing could easily be arranged.

Had the travellers been less experienced than they were
this suggestion as to the employment of women would
have come upon them as a surprise; but they were well
aware that among many savage races labour is looked
upon as degrading, and therefore imposed solely upon the
women; so they merely thanked Lualamba for his pro-
mise, and intimated that women would serve them
equally as well as men. Upon which Lualamba with-
drew, promising that a gang of at least fifty should be
at the ruined temple — or whatever it was — " before the
sun reached the top of the sky;" in other words, before
noon. This promise was faithfully fulfilled, for at eleven
o'clock the explorers saw the gang of labourers come
filing in among the ruins, armed with rude wooden mat-
tocks and spades, and provided with large baskets in
which to convey away the soil as it was dug out. They
were as unprepossessing a lot of specimens of female
humanity as could well be imagined. Naked, save for a
filthy ragged skin petticoat round their waists and reach-
ing to the knee, their faces wore, without exception, an
expression of sullen stupidity, and they looked as though
they had never experienced a joyous moment in their
lives; but they were active and muscular, and soon
showed that they thoroughly understood how to use
their clumsy tools to the best advantage. They were
led by and worked under the directorship of a lean,
shrunken, withered old gray- haired hag of superlative

302 SATISFACTORY?

Ugliness, who did no work herself, but went constantly
back and forth along the line of workers, bearing in her
hand a long thin pliant rattan, which she did not hesi-
tate to smartly apply to the shoulders of those who
seemed to her to be doing less than their fair share of
the work in hand. This bit of petty cruelty was, how-
ever, as a matter of course, promptly stopped by the pro-
fessor, who thereby won for himself a look of withering
scorn from the hag aforesaid, and glances of stupid won-
der — in which in some cases could be also detected faint
traces of an expression of gratitude — from the unfortu-
nate sisterhood who laboured under her.

The amount of work performed was, as might natu-
rally be expected, nothing approaching to that which
would have been accomplished in the same time by the
same number of white labourers; indeed, a gang of half
a dozen good honest hard-working English navvies would
have accomplished fully as much per diem as the fifty
women who laboured among the ruins. But the explor-
ers were quite satisfied; they were in no particular
hurry; the climate was delightful; M'Bongwele was won-
derfully civil, sending large supplies of provisions, fruit,
and milk to the ship daily, accompanied by the most
solicitous inquiries through Lualamba as to whether all
thinofs were o^oino- well with his visitors. There was no
attempt whatever, so far as they could discover, to pry
into their doings, not a single warrior, save Lualamba,
having been seen by them since the day of the king's
visit, and everything seemed to be favourable to a tho-
rough and leisurely execution of their purpose.

On the fourth day from the commencement of the ex-
cavation the explorers were gratified by the uncovering

LULLED INTO A FEELING OF SECURITY. 303

of a yard or two of what appeared to be a magnificent
tesselated pavement of white and variegated marble; and
by the end of a fortnight fully half of its supposed area
was exposed, showing it to be of an entirely novel and
exquisitely graceful design, the intricate outline of the
pattern being emphasized by the insertion of plates of
gold about a quarter of an inch wide between the tesserae.
The pavement was smooth, level, and in perfect preserva-
tion, and the explorers were in the very highest of spirits
at their exceptional good luck.

At the outset of the work the four friends had been in
the habit of returning every day to the ship for luncheon,
but as time passed on they felt that to do this in the
very hottest part of the day was a wholly unnecessary
waste of energy, and they accordingly transferred from
the ship to the scene of their operations a spacious um-
brella-tent (that is to say, a tent w4th a top but no sides),
together with a small table and four chairs. And under
the shadow of this tent they were wont to partake of the
mid-day meal (usually a cold collation), which they gen-
erally finished off with a cup of chocolate or coffee and a
cigar, the potables being prepared by a particular one of
the women labourers, who speedily developed quite a
special aptitude for the task, and who at length fell into
the habit of regularly bringing with her, every day, the
milk needed for the purpose. The tent being pitched on
a spot which commanded a full view of the operations in
progress, the quartette gradually acquired the habit of
lingering somewhat over their luncheon, and especially
over the final coffee and cigar, the inevitable result of
which was that, for the next hour or two, they experi-
enced a feeling of delicious languor and drowsiness, and

304 treachery!

an almost unconquerable disinclination to exchange the
grateful shade of the tent for the scorching heat of the
afternoon sun. At first they struggled resolutely and
manfully against this overpowering temptation to idle-
ness; but finding, or fancying, that they could supervise
the work as efficiently from the tent as they could at a
yard or two from its shelter, they gradually gave up the
struggle, yielding day after day more completely to the
seductive feelino^ of lassitude which seemed to have laid
hold upon them.

Finally, one hot afternoon, overcome by the drowsy
influence of the warm perfumed air which played about
their languid bodies, they all fell asleep.

Unknown to and wholly unsuspected by them, the old
crone who was in charge of the gang of female labourers
had, for some days past, been keeping a sharply watchful
eye upon the investigators, and upon the day in question
she had been, if possible, more sharply watchful than
ever. So interested in them did she at last become that,
turning her back upon the women and leaving them to
work or not as they saw fit, she advanced until she
entered the shadow of the tent, where she paused, eagerly
scanning the features of the slumberers. For some ten
minutes or so she stood motionless as a statue, her
sunken glittering eyes turning from one placid face to
the other; then she stepped to the baronet's side and,
seizing him by the shoulder, shook him sharply. The
sleeper might have been dead for all the consciousness
which he exhibited at her rude touch. Another and
more violent shake proved equally unproductive of re-
sults. Then she passed on to the colonel, to Mildmay,

IN THE HANDS OF THE SAVAGE. 305

and to the professor, experimenting in like manner with
each. If she wished to arouse them, her efforts were use-
less; they were, one and all, locked fast in the embrace
of sleep — profound, unnatural, death-like sleep. A scorn-
ful laugh grated harshly from her lips, and, wheeling
sharply upon her heel, she rejoined the gang of excava-
tors, exclaiming:

*' Cease this useless labour; there is no further need
of it. The witch-potion has done its . work, and you
may all return to the village. I go to summon the
warriors."

The women, without further ado, gathered up their
tools and baskets, and, breaking into a low monotonous
song, to which their feet kept time, took the trail leading
to the village, and soon disappeared among the scattered
ruins and the bush which clustered thickly about them.

Ten minutes later a band of dusky warriors, fully
armed and numbering about a hundred, made their ap-
pearance, and, led by Lualamba, advanced to the tent,
which they surrounded. Four grass hammocks, each of
which w^as stretched between two long bamboo poles,
were then brought forward, and, by the directions of the
chief, the unconscious white men were carefully lifted
from their seats and deposited at full length in them.
The tent was then struck, and, with its simple furniture,
taken in charge by certain members of the band told off
for the purpose, when each of the hammocks, with its
sleeping burden, was carefully raised from the ground
and shouldered by four savages, and, the remainder of
the warriors forming round them as an escort, the band
took the trail to the village, and marched rapidly away.

On reaching their destination the prisoners (for such

(359) U

306 UNDER A STRONG GUARD.

they evidently were) were carried to a new hut, which
had all the appearance of having been specially con-
structed for them, and, once inside, the poles of the ham-
mocks were carefully laid in the forked ends of upright
posts, firmly fixed in the ground, the whole forming a
sufficiently comfortable bed. Four young women then
entered the building, and, taking their places, one at the
head of each sleeper, proceeded, with the aid of large
feather fans, to protect their helpless charges from the
attacks of the mosquitoes and other insect torments with
which the village swarmed; when the hammock-bearers
filed out, and the white men were left to sleep off, undis-
turbed, the effects of the potent drug which had been
artfully mingled w^th the milk with which their coffee
had that day been prepared.

The hut in which our four friends were thus left had
been erected in a spacious palisaded quadrangle which
surrounded the king s palace, so that M'Bongwele might,
as it were, always have them under his own eye; and the
fact that, having got them into his power, the king was
determined, if possible, to keep them there, was made
manifest by the presence of a strong cordon of guards,
who, on the passage of the prisoners within the portal,
immediately ranged themselves round the hut outside.
The hut was only some twelve feet square, and entirely
open at one end, the open end being, however, protected
from the sun by a continuation of the roof in the form
of a broad verandah supported at the eaves upon two
stout verandah-posts ; and round this diminutive structure
were ranged twenty picked men, facing inward, fully
armed with bow, spear, and shield; it was pretty evident,
therefore, that, unless the prisoners had the power to

FRIGHTENED AT HIS OWN SUCCESS. 307

render themselves invisible, or of paralysing their guards,
there was little probability of their effecting their escape.

The. posting of the guard having been effected to
Lualamba s satisfaction, he entered the palace to make
his report to the king, who was anxiously expecting him.
M'Bongwele listened attentively to all the details of the
capture, and, upon its completion, rose and, accompanied
by the chief, made his way to the hut, which he cautiously
entered, placing himself at the foot of each hammock in
succession, and long and anxiously regarding the coun-
tenances of the sleepers. He had been successful in his
bold enterprise beyond his most sanguine hopes; but it
w^as evident that even in the very moment of his triumph
he was anxious and disturbed in his mind. He trembled
at the audacity which had led him to pit himself against
these extraordinary beings, and the very ease with which
he had accomplished his purpose frightened him. Had
these men — if men they were — been encountered and
overcome awake, and in the full possession of their senses,
he would have been happy, for he would then have felt
that his own power was superior to theirs. But they had
been surprised whilst under the influence of a subtle and
potent drug prepared by the chief witch-doctor; and when
they awoke and discovered what had been done to them,
what might not the consequence be ? But what was done
was done; he had now gone too far to retreat; besides
w^hich, his ambition overmastered his fears, and he deter-
mined to go on and risk the consequences.

Having obtained possession of the persons of these
formidable beings, obviously the next thing would be to
secure that wonderful thing which they called a "ship;"
and this M'Bongwele determined to do at once: who knew

308 m'bongwele resolves to seize the '' flying fish."

but that its possession might give him a much-needed
and decisive power over its former owners? He accord-
ingly retired from the prison hut, and gave orders for the
immediate assembling of all his available cavalry; at the
head of which he soon dashed off in the direction of the
ruins, leaving Lualamba in charge of the guard and of
the prisoners, a position of responsibility which that chief
by no means coveted, and which he accepted with much
inward perturbation.

Proceeding at a gallop, the impatient M'Bongwele and
his troopers soon reached the Flying Fish, which they
immediately surrounded. The king then dismounting,
and summoning some fifty of his most famous braves to
follow him, cautiously approached the ship, with the pur-
pose of boarding her. But the rope-ladder, by means of
which he had on a former occasion accomplished this feat,
was no longer there; and, as he glanced upward at the
gleaming cylindrical sides of the towering structure, it
began to dawn upon him that the task he had under-
taken was, after all, not without its difficulties. Pre-
sently, however, a brilliant idea occurred to him, and,
selecting a dozen men, he gave them certain orders which
sent them scurrying off at a gallop. Half an hour later
they returned, dragging behind them two long stout
bamboos and a considerable quantity of tough pliant
"monkey-rope" or creeper. With these materials the
men, under M'Bongwele's instructions, proceeded to con-
struct a ladder, which, when completed, they reared
against the side of the ship; and by this means the king
and his fifty chosen warriors ascended and triumphantly
reached the deck.

M'Bongwele now regarded himself as completely sue-

NOT AN UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS. 309

cessful; he had gained possession of the wonderful struc-
ture; and all that remained was to make use of it in a
similar manner to that of its former owners. He accord-
ingly advanced pompously to the gangway, and ordered
his troopers to first remove the ladder from the ships
side, and then return to the village with all speed, adding
exultantly that he and those with him on the "flying
horse's back" would be there long before them.

Resolved to give the cavalcade a good start, he watched
it disappear in a cloud of dust among the ruins, and then,
assuming his most commanding attitude and manner,
raised his right hand aloft and exclaimed:

" We will now return throuo-h the air to the villaore —
keeping as close to the ground as possible," he added with
some trepidation as he nervously grasped the guard rail
in anticipation of the expected movement.

The ship, however, remained motionless. Something
was evidently wrong, but what it might be he could not
imagine; surely he had not forgotten or misunderstood
the formula as stated to him by Lualamba? He now
most heartily wished that he had brought that trusty
chief with him, and so provided against all possibility of
error; however, the omission could not be helped, and he
would try again, adopting a somewhat diflerent form of
words. This time he stamped rather impatiently on the
deck, exclaiming:

"Take us back to the village, good flying horse, but
gently, and not very far above the ground."

Still no movement. The king began to look puzzled,
and to feel as vexed as he dared, with the consciousness
weighing heavily upon him that he was playing with
frightfully keen edged tools. He did not know what to

310 THE KING GIVES WAY TO ANGER.

make of this persistent immobility; it was uncanny,
sinister, portentous, almost appalling. He would try
again. He did try again, not once but nearly a dozen
times, varying the form of words, more or less, every
time; and, of course, with the same ill success. At length,
in chagrin and disgust, he gave up the attempt to move
the ship, and turned his attention to an examination of
her interior. He advanced to the pilot-house, compla-
cently reflecting that here, at least, he could not possibly
be beaten; he had only to walk up to the door and enter.
But here, again, surprise and confusion awaited him ; for,
after twice making the circuit of the building, he was
unable to find a door; there was no perceptible entrance
anywhere excepting the circular windows, which, how-
ever, were all open. Summoning his followers to his
assistance, he made them give him a "back;" and, scram-
bling up on their shoulders, he at length contrived to
raise himself to the level of these openings and to look in.
He saw a great many levers, and knobs, and buttons, and
short lengths of insulated wire; in fact, he got a glimpse
of pretty nearly all the apparatus contained in the pilot-
house; but that did not help him in the least, for he had
not the most remote idea of what all these things were
for; and when he essayed an entrance by one of the win-
dows he was again foiled; it was much too small. At
length, after a great deal of ineff*ectual wriggling and
struggling — which occasioned serious inconvenience and
anxiety to the human supports who were with the utmost
difiiculty maintaining a state of very unstable equilibrium
beneath his feet — his patience completely failed him, and,
in a fit of childish anger and spite, he sent a series of
truly blood-curdling yells echoing into the interior of the

IMPRISONED BY HIS OWN ACT. 311

pilot-house. These cries were of course distinctly heard
by George and the chef, but (acting upon a concise code
of instructions furnished to them when they were first
engaged for the voyage, and which provided for almost
every conceivable emergency), neither of these individuals
condescended to take any notice of them. Having thus
given vent to a portion of his spleen, king M'Bongwele,
paying but scanty attention to the comfort or dignity of
his supporters, scrambled down from his elevated position
to the deck, and sat down to reflect upon the next steps
to be taken. He would gladly now have left the ship
and made the best of his way back to the village, even
though the journey would have had to be performed on
foot; but the ladder had, by his own command, been re-
moved, and his retreat was thus effectually cut off, a drop
of about forty feet from the bottom of the metal accom-
modation ladder to the ground being a something not to
be thought of.

•oc

CHAPTER XX.

THE HISTORY OF CERTAIN DISTRESSED DAMSELS.

B""Wg|E AN WHILE Seketulo, the chief in command of
&J|^B king M'Bongwele's household cavalry, returned
IT ^lyi l j^Q ^\^Q village in due course, and lost no time in
dismissing his men, chuckling to himself as he reflected
that, after all, he had beaten his monarch in the race
homeward.

Time passed on; the sun set; the evanescent twilight
faded out of the sky; the stars twinkled forth in all the
mellow radiance characteristic of the tropics; and still
the adventurous M'Bongwele and his wondrous prize
came not. Hour after hour lagged slowly away; and at
length the expectant villagers, who had poured into the
open air to witness the triumphant arrival of the king,
returned to their huts — their transient enthusiasm over-
come by their habitual apathy and indolence — and sur-
rendered themselves willingly enough to the blandish-
ments of sleep. All, with the exception, that is to say,
of the guard detailed to watch over the prisoners, the
anxious Lualamba, and Seketulo. These were all wakeful
enough, the latter perhaps even more so than any of the
others. For, as the night waxed and the great full moon
rolled slowly upward into the sky, the powerful chief,

THK MEDITATIONS OF AN AMBITIOUS CHIEF. 313

who had won for himself the envied position of com-
mander of the king's cavalry (a position equivalent to
that of commander-in-chief of the whole army), felt the
hope growing within him that the foolhardy king and
those with him had been carried off to the nether regions
for a permanency by the wondrous Thing of which they
had so audaciously sought to secure the possession. And
in that case (M'Bongwele being without sons, and having,
in order to avoid possible future complications, carefully
slaughtered all his brothers and other relations on his
accession to the throne) there would be a vacancy in
that particular country for a king, which vacancy Seke-
tulo believed himself powerful enough to secure and fill.

Giving free rein to these ambitious ideas and aspira-
tions, the chief paced thoughtfully to and fro in a retired
corner of the village until about ten o'clock that night,
when his impatience could no longer be curbed, and he
felt that he must sally forth to ascertain, if possible, the
fate of M'Bongwele and his party. Accordingly, mount-
ing his horse, he took his way out of the village, passing
through the principal gateway, and heading for the ruins
at a gallop. He was greatly disconcerted, on reaching his
destination, to discover that the Flying Fish still peace-
fully reposed in her usual berth; and his disgust was
supreme when he further noticed, crouched on her lofty
deck, a disconsolate-looking group, which his fears only
too truly assured him must be the king and his com-
panions. His first impulse was to retire and leave them
to their merited fate; but the unwelcome reflection sug-
gesting itself to him that they might possibly be discov-
ered and rescued in the morning, he altered his purpose,
and, making a virtue of what was almost a necessity,

314 ANOTHER ABORTIVE SCHEME.

advanced with the intention of proffering a respectful in-
quiry as to whether any unfortunate accident had delayed
the royal return. He was, however, forestalled by the
king and his party, who, the instant they saw him, hailed
his appearance with joyous shouts and an almost piteous
entreaty to him to replace the ladder. This he, still mak-
ing a virtue of necessity, at once attempted to do; but
the clumsy construction proved too much for his strength.
A happy idea, however, now flashed through the mind of
one of the party; and, unstringing their bows, they joined
the strings together into one continuous line, which,
luckily for them, reached the ground; and Seketulo
bending the lower end on to the ladder, the latter was
soon, by the exertions of all hands, reared into position.
The party, thoroughly crestfallen, now lost no time in
making their way to the ground, when M'Bongwele at
once requisitioned Seketulo's horse, and galloped off
homeward at top speed, the chief and the rest of the
party being left to plod back to the village at their lei-
sure and as best they could.

Notw^ithstanding this most dismal failure, M'Bongwele
still entertained hopes of being able to possess himself of
the coveted ship; and early next morning every avail-
able man and woman was marched to the scene of the
preceding day's discomfiture to attempt the task of car-
rying the Flying Fish to the village! This attempt, it is
scarcely necessary to say, also resulted in complete failure,
and with this failure king M'Bongwele was at last com-
pelled to recognize himself as beaten. It became clear
to him that the mysterious beings whose persons he had
so rashly seized possessed certain peculiar and wonderful
powers; and the only course now open to him seemed to

SKETULO STILL HOPEFUL. 315

be to make the best terms he could with them for their
co-operation in the furtherance of his schemes. And he
felt heartily glad — pluming himself at the same time
upon his prudence — that he had not taken advantage of
their seemingly helpless condition, when brought to the
village, to attempt the putting of a period to their
existence.

Meanwhile, Seketulo, though greatly chagrined at the
turn of affairs, by no means abandoned hope. He felt
that though disappointment had for once overtaken him,
it by no means followed that such would always be the
case; and if his ambitious dreams could not be realized
in one way, they still might be in another. The king,
unfortunately, had not been carried off to perdition; but,
figuratively Bpeaking, that seemed to be his ultimate and
speedy destination. For, had he not pitted his own
power against that of the mysterious strangers, and lost
the game? He had inflicted a most grievous outrage
upon them, and had ineflectually attempted to seize their
wonderful ship; yet not a particle of gain or advantage
of any description had been secured, and the wrath of
these strangers had yet to be faced; the penalty of his
audacious deeds had yet to be paid. Did not all this
point to M'Bongwele's speedy downfall? And if such a
state of things should happily be in the near future,
would it not be worth his (Seketulo's) while to approach
the strangers in a friendly spirit and (after cautiously
feeling his way) with oflfers of assistance? He decided
that it undoubtedly would, and that he would forthwith
adopt that line of policy, cautiously, yet without losing
a single favourable opportunity.

So far as M'Bonojwele was concerned, he found himself

316 m'bongwele environed with difficulties.

in a greater strait than ever. He had not only failed
completely in his ambitious schemes, but he had also
lost prestige with his own people and had made enemies
of the strangers. His situation was distinctly worse
than if he had done nothing at all; and how to make
his way out of the imbroglio he knew not, nor could any
of his ministers advise anything. He now fervently
wished he had adopted other and more friendly measures
with his visitors; but it was too late; he fully recognized
that, with the odium of failure fresh upon him, any
attempt at conciliation would be utterly hopeless; the
only course still open to him appearing to be that of
"masterly inactivity." This would, at all events, leave
time for events to shape themselves, and afford him an
opportunity of regulating his conduct in accordance
therewith; and this course he accordingly determined to
pursue; at the same time issuing the most imperative
orders that the prisoners were to be treated with the
utmost courtesy and consideration consistent with their
safe-keeping.

In accordance with these orders, the prisoners found
that, after the second day of their seizure, they had very
little of which to complain beyond the actual loss of their
liberty. They were abundantly supplied with provisions
of all kinds within the resources of the village ; the four
young women originally detailed to watch over them
during their drugged slumber were permanently ap-
pointed to attend upon them, do their cooking, keep their
hut clean, and so on; and they were allowed to take
unrestricted exercise within the bounds of the compound.
Their attendants and guards were allowed to answer any
questions except such as related to the king's recent

A FORTUITOUS INCIDENT. 317

attempt to possess himself of their property; and hints
were freely offered to the effect that M'Bongwele was
most anxious to secure their friendship, and would gladly
afford them an audience whenever they might desire it.
But they had no intention whatever of seeking an
audience with the king; they had a very shrewd sus-
picion of what had actually taken place; and having by
this time formed a tolerably accurate estimate of the
royal character, they felt convinced that their only chance
of advantageously dealing with M'Bongwele lay in
forcing upon him the character of a suitor to them.

Thus matters stood for nearly a fortnight from the
date of their seizure — Seketulo doing his best to effec-
tually ingratiate himself in the strangers' favour before
venturing to tender his proposed offer of assistance; and
M'Bongwele waiting with daily growing impatience for
overtures from his prisoners — when an event occurred
which, simple though it seemed at the moment, was
destined to have an important bearing on the fortunes of
certain other white prisoners then in the king's power.

It happened thus. The quartette were sitting under
the verandah of their hut one morning, whiffing away
the very last remains of their carefully hoarded stock of
tobacco, when a soft thud, followed by a low startled
cry of pain and terror from one of their female attend-
ants caused them to glance hastily round. The sight
which then met their eyes was startling enough to make
them spring instantly to their feet. A snake fully seven
feet long, and of the most deadly venomous kind (which
had evidently just dropped out of the thatch of the hut),
had flung its coils round the bare leg of one of the
women, and, before help could be rendered, had struck

318 PROMPT SURGICAL MEASURES.

its fangs deep into the flesh. The cruel heart-shaped
head, with its wicked eyes glowing like a couple of car-
buncles, was already drawn back to repeat the stroke
when Lethbridge sprang forward, and, seizing a small
pliant rattan which happened to be handy at the moment,
dealt the reptile a swift downward cut across the body,
dividing the creature almost in two; following up the
blow by a rapid dart of his hand, grasping the reptile
by the neck and tearing the quivering coils away from
the wounded limb. Another second, and the head was
being fiercely ground into the dust under the thick solid
leather of his boot-heel, the wounded body twisting and
writhing in the most horrible contortions meanwhile.

Two out of Lethbridge's three companions stood help-
lessly aghast whilst this tragedy was in progress; but the
professor, ever alert in the interests of science, promptly
compelled the wounded girl to lie down, and instantly
applied his lips to the wound made by the poisonous fangs
of the snake, sucking vigorously until he had induced as
copious a flow of blood as could reasonably be expected
from the two tiny punctures. Then, fumbling in his
waistcoat pocket, he drew forth a small stick of lunar
caustic (with which he had some time previously pro-
vided himself in anticipation of possible snake-bites) and
eflectually cauterized the wound. The result of which
prompt treatment was that the girl, after enduring some
three hours' slioiit sufferins: and inconvenience from the
pain and subsequent swelling of the wound, recovered,
and in a day or two was as well again as ever.

This incident was, as might be expected, much talked
about in the village, and it very soon reached M'Bong-
wele's ears. That monarch happened, just then, to be

COMPLICATIONS IN THE ROYAL PALACE. 319

plunged into a state of serious domestic affliction; and,
inspired by the above occurrence with a brilliant idea, he,
after much painful cogitation, resolved to seek the aid
of his prisoners. Briefly stated, the difficulty was this.
His youngest and favourite wife had just added another
to his already too numerous family of daughters, thus
disgusting and seriously disappointing the king, who had
confidently looked forward to being this time blessed
with a son. This was by no means the first disappoint-
ment of the kind that the monarch had been called upon
to endure; and it had been his wont, on such occasions,
to banish the ofiending wife from his presence, replacing
her with a new one. He proposed to follow the same
rule upon the present occasion; and the only difficulty
which lay in his way consisted in suitably filling up the
vacancy. There were, of course, hundreds of sable
damsels within the limits of his dominions who would
gladly have accepted the responsibilities of the position,
but that would no longer suit king M'Bongwele; the
women of his own race had, one and all, so far as he had
tried them, failed disgracefully in their duty of provid-
ing him with an heir, and he was now determined to
try elsewhere He happened to have in his possession,
as prisoners, four white women, one of whom was some-
what elderly, whilst the remaining three were young,
and, though by no means sufficiently embonpoint to be
strictly handsome, from an African savage's point of
view, still attractive enough to justify his choice of either
of them as a wife. The difficulty with these women was
that they were unfortunately all insane — a circumstance
which (in accordance with one of the many superstitious
beliefs of the natives, and quite apart from the equally

320 m'bongwele seeks aid.

important objection of consequent unsuitability) effec-
tually precluded any resort to threats or compulsion for
enabling the king to carry out his plans. And it was
for the purpose of securing these unfortunate creatures'
restoration to reason that M'Bongwele now resolved to
invoke the potent aid of his new prisoners. When
making up his mind to this course he was at first greatly
puzzled as to how he should approach the individuals he
had so basely betrayed, and how explain and excuse his
conduct; but at last the happy idea suggested itself of
ignoring his ill-behaviour altogether; and acting upon
this, and without giving himself time for further con-
sideration, he hurried off to the hut and presented himself
before his prisoners.

Seating himself jauntily upon one of the bedsteads, he
opened the negotiations by explaining that he had come
to express his admiration of, and his thanks for, the
wonderful manner in which the woman had been saved
from the deadly effects of the snake-bite ; and then, with-
out affording an opportunity for interruption, he went on
to state, in full detail, his further business.

The indignation excited in the breasts of his listeners
by the cool impudence of the king soon subsided under
the influence of the interesting news that four white
women were captives in the village; and when M'Bong-
wele closed his explanation and proffered his request, the
professor, instead of loading his captor with reproaches,
followed the latter's example of ignoring all cause for
unpleasantness, and simply stated that no promise of any
kind could be made until the four friends had been
afforded an interview with the afflicted women. To this
proposition the king eagerly assented, overjoyed at so

AN IMPORTANT VISIT. 321

unexpected a measure of success, indeed he volunteered
to personally conduct the quartette into the presence of
his female prisoners; but this was promptly negatived,
the professor declaring that if he and his friends went to
see the women at all they must go entirely unattended,
and at such time as might be most convenient to them
selves. It would have suited M'Bongwele very much
better to have been present at this interview, for he was
suspicious to a really absurd degree; but, finding the
white men firm upon this point, and, apparently, wholly
indififerent in the matter, and being also unable to dis-
cover any cause for suspicion in their conduct, he at length
yielded his assent and retired, giving the necessary in-
structions to the guard as he passed out of the hut.

The next morning, about eleven o'clock, having pre-
viously talked this curious matter carefully over together,
they paid their promised visit; the women's prison (to
which they were carefully escorted by their entire guard)
being situated close to the principal opening in the pali-
sading which surrounded the village; the same guard
being apparently made to serve for both the prison and
the gateway. The building was an almost exact fac-
simile of their own place of confinement, both in shape
and dimensions; but at the very threshold the visitors
encountered evidences of female delicacy and refinement
in the shape of finely woven grass curtains or "portieres
across the otherwise unclosed entrance, and these trifling
elegances were multiplied a hundred-fold in the interior,
converting the little building into a veritable miniature
palace in comparison with their own unadorned domicile.

But these little interior adornments did not attract the
visitors' notice until later on; their whole attention was

(359) X

322 A CORDIAL RECEPTION.

at once claimed, upon their entrance, by the occupants
of the building, or at least by the fairer portion of them.

There were eis^ht altoo^ether — four white and four black,
the ebony damsels evidently filling the position of attend-
ants. Of the white women three were young — that is
to say, they apparently ranged between nineteen and
twenty-five years of age — w^hilst the fourth seemed to be
somewhere between forty and fifty. This lady was of
medium height, with a figure slightly inclined toward
stoutness, brown hair with just a single streak of silver
discernible here and there amongst it, a complexion still
in fairly good preservation, a pair of keen but kindly
gray eyes, an excellent set of teeth, shapely hands and
feet, and a pleasant smile which at once prepossessed the
beholder in its possessor's favour. Of the three younger
women, two, aged respectively twenty-one and nineteen,
were sisters; whilst the third, aged twenty-five, was their
cousin, the elderly lady being aunt to all three.

On entering the hut, in response to the cry of '' Come
in" which followed their knock on the framework of the
portal, the visitors at once found themselves face to face
with the four ladies, who had risen to their feet to meet
them; the sable attendants crouching at the rear end of
the apartment with a grin of sympathetic curiosity over-
spreading their shining visages.

" You are most welcome, gentlemen," said the elderly
lady, advancing and ofi'ering her hand to each of her
visitors in succession. " We have been expecting you.
Allow me to perform the ceremony of introduction. I
am Mrs. Scott, widow" of Brigadier-general Scott of her
majesty's forces in India. This lady is Miss Sabine, my
niece and the only daughter of Major-general Sabine;

INTRODUCTIONS. 323

and these are respectively Miss Rose and Miss Lucilla
Lumsden, the daughters of an Indian judge."

The gentlemen bowed low as each name was mentioned,
and, upon Mrs. Scott making a somewhat significant
pause, the baronet took up his parable, remarking:

" We are greatly honoured and delighted, ladies, at thus
unexpectedly making your acquaintance in this out-of-
the-way spot, and we sincerely hope that the acquain-
tanceship will redound to our mutual advantage. I am
Sir Reginald Elphinstone. This gentleman is Colonel
Lethbridge; this is Lieutenant Mildmay, of her majesty's
navy; and, last but by no means least, this gentleman
is Professor von Schalckenberg, an eminent German
scientist, a most delightful companion, and a man clever
enough, I firmly believe, to help us all out of our present
difficulties."

A general shaking of hands ensued; and then Mrs. Scott
laughingly invited the gentlemen to seat themselves on
the four bamboo pallets which occupied opposite sides of
the apartment, apologizing at the same time for the lack
of suitable sitting accommodation.

"And now," said Mrs. Scott laughingly, "to which
of you gentlemen are we to look for the cure of our
madness?"

" It is expected, I believe," said Sir Reginald, " that we
shall each aid, to the best of our ability, in the good work.
But," he continued in a lower and more cautious tone of
voice, " is it not rather imprudent of you to behave in so
very sane a manner before these women?"

" Oh," said Mrs. Scott, " they are all right. They are
perfectly trustworthy — indeed, they are actively aiding
and abetting us in the exceedingly disagreeable but

324 MRS. SCOTT REGARDS ESCAPE AS HOPELESS.

necessary deception we are practising upon king M'Bong-
wele. The wretch!" she continued, starting indignantly
to her feet. '' Would you believe it? He actually has the
audacity and impudence to — to — to — "

" To aspire to a matrimonial alliance with one, if not all,
of you. Yes, I am aware of his ambition," said the ba-
ronet with a smile; " and whilst we are here to-day, at his
request, to remove the obstacle which your most deplor-
able insanity interposes, I hope that the ultimate result
will be your speedy deliverance, with our own, from his
power. We are, like yourselves, prisoners, but we are by
no means hopeless of escape, and I pledge you my word
that we will not leave until we can take you all with us."

Mrs. Scott shook her head somewhat doubtfully. " We
are all infinitely obliged to you for your generous pro-
mise," she said with a sigh; "but I greatly fear you
are somewhat overrating your powers. The difficulties
of escape — in the first place, from this village, and, in the
next place, from the country itself — are so formidable
that we have almost given up all hope. May I ask what
strange accident brought you hither?"

" Assuredly," answered the baronet. "And when I have
informed you of the facts, you will see that the difficulties
of escape are, after all, not so very enormous, and I trust
that you will all take heart once more."

Sir Reginald then proceeded to give a detailed descrip-
tion of the Flying Fish^emd of his own and his companions'
adventures in her; winding up with an account of their
capture — so far as they were aware of its details — and a
recital of the grounds upon which they founded their
hopes of escape.

The ladies listened to Sir Reginald's singular story

MRS. scott's story. 325

with an astonishment which they vainly strove to conceal,
and had it been uncorroborated, they would probably
have suspected in him a touch of the same malady with
which they were supposed to be afflicted; but, as matters
were, they had no choice but to credit the tale, and very
much gratified they were to learn that there existed a
means of conveyance affording, if they could but once
gain access to it, a safe, easy, and speedy escape from the
realms of king M'Bongwele.

Sir Reginald, having brought his story to an end, re-
quested that he and his companions might be favoured
with an account of the manner in which the ladies had
fallen into the hands of the savages, which request Mrs.
Scott complied with, somewhat in the following terms:

" It is, to a great extent, my fault that these poor girls
find themselves in the unfortunate position which they
occupy to-day. I have been a widow for nearly seven
years; but, having been early left an orphan, with no
friends in England and many in India, I did not, as many
newly-made widows do, turn my face homeward imme-
diately on my husband's death; on the contrary, I deter-
mined rather to remain in the country of my adoption,
and, being left in tolerably comfortable circumstances,
made arrangements to reside alternately in Delhi and
Simla. These arrangements I duly carried into efiect, and
nothing occurred to disturb them until about a year ago,
when my brother. Sir James Lumsden, died, leaving his
motherless daughters — Rose and Lucilla here — in my
care, with an earnest entreaty that I would convey them,
at my earliest convenience, home to their grandfather,
who owns a very fine place in Hampshire, and who would,
doubtless, be glad to receive them. I, of course, very

326 SHIPWRECKED.

willingly undertook the duty — not the less so, perhaps,
from the fact that I was myself somewhat ailing, and had
been strongly urged by my medical adviser to try the
effect of change and a long sea voyage. Our preparations
were soon completed, and we journeyed down to Bombay,
at which place I happened to meet my brother-in-law.
General Sabine. He, poor man, was in a great difficulty
just then, being under orders to proceed at once to Afghan-
istan, and not knowing what to do with his daughter,
who, I ought to explain, has been motherless from her
infancy. The best way I could see out of the difficulty
was for her to take the trip home to Europe with us, and,
upon my making the proposal, it was joyfully adopted.
So far all was well ; but at this point our difficulties were
to begin. We, unfortunately, took passage for London in
a sailing ship for my health's sake. We, or the ship rather,
had to call at the Cape, and, three weeks after we sailed,
the captain died. The chief mate then assumed the com-
mand of the vessel, and in a few days afterwards we
found that he was giving way to drink. That was,
doubtless, the cause of the disaster which followed, for on
a dark and stormy night, whilst the chief mate — or cap-
tain, rather, I suppose I ought to call him — was lying in
his berth in a state of almost helpless intoxication, and
the ship was flying before the rising gale under all the
* sail the sailors could spread, we struck! the masts snapped
short off at the deck, and in a moment all was confusion
and panic. The mate, or captain, staggered up on deck to
see what was the matter, and he had scarcely reached the
poop when a breaker swept down upon the wreck and
washed the unhappy wretch overboard, never to be seen
again. The next officer — a brave energetic young fellow

A DISAGREEABLE SITUATION. 327

— then took command, and by his coolness and courage
soon restored order among the crew. He commanded the
lead-line to be dropped overboard, and by its means as-
certained that the ship was being rapidly driven shore-
ward by the force of the waves. Meanwhile the shocks
of the ship striking against the ground gradually grew
less and less severe, until they ceased altogether, and the
vessel became motionless save for an occasional sickening
lurch when an exceptionally heavy wave struck her. By
this time it was ascertained that the hold was nearly full
of water, a circumstance from which the young officer in
charge came to the conclusion that the hull was irretriev-
ably damaged, and he then gave orders to lower the boats.
This task the sailors with great difficulty accomplished,
and then, there being at the moment no immediate pros-
pect of the wreck going to pieces, the boats were secured
under the shelter of the ship, and it was determined to
defer until daylight our attempt at landing, when the
dangers of the enterprise could be distinctly seen and
more easily avoided. About two hours elapsed between
the first striking of the vessel and the launching of the
boats, during which time I and my nieces were on deck
in our night-dresses, supplemented by such wraps as we
had been able to hastily snatch on the moment of the first
alarm. But when the boats had been safely lowered into
the sea and secured, Mr. Snelgrove (the young officer who
had last assumed the command) came to us, and, in the
kindest manner possible, begged us to retire to our cabins,
assuring us that we might do so with perfect safety, and
that we might depend on him to summon us in good time
to attempt a landing with the rest of the crew. We ac-
cordingly took his advice, glad to get back to the shelter

328 A LANDING EFFECTED ON THE BEACH.

of the saloon, where we at once discarded our wet gar-
ments and proceeded to make ourselves as comfortable as
the circumstances permitted. Day broke at length, and
then Mr. Snelgrove made his appearance in the saloon,
informing us that the w^eather had moderated, the sea
gone down a good deal, and the tide had ebbed, rendering
it a favourable moment to attempt a landing, which he
believed might be effected without much danger; he
further added that the seamen were then passing pro-
visions and water into the boats, and that he would allow
us ten minutes wherein to select and pack a small bundle
of such clothing and effects as might be deemed by us
most necessary. At length the eventful moment arrived
for us to pass down into the boats, and though we were
assured by the sailors that there was no danger, I never
was so thoroughly frightened in my life, for the sea was
still very rough, leaping, curling, and foaming all round
us. However, we all managed to embark without acci-
dent, and then our boat (which was the second to make
the attempt) pushed off and made for the shore. The
breakers were appalling, and the boat was turned round
with her bow pointing seaward, and 'backed' — I think
they called it — toward the shore. The sea broke over us
several times, half filling the boat; but two men were
kept constantly baling with buckets, and at length —
thanks to Mr. SneWove's admirable manaoement — we
safely reached the beach, but wet to the skin as a matter
of course. Meanwhile, the first boat, in charge of the
boatswain, had discharged her cargo on the beach, and
was now sent back with four men to the wreck to bring
on shore the remainder of the crew and whatever of value
they could lay their hands upon. This going to and fro

SURPRISED BY THE SAVAGES. 329

between the beach and the ship lasted nearly all day, and
by nightfall we had quite a large quantity of provisions,
water, canvas, spars, and other matters, and last, but not
least, all my nieces* and my own boxes. The sailors con-
structed two tents in a sheltered spot high up on the
beach — one for themselves and one for us — and we at
length retired to spend our first night in the character of
castaways.

About an hour before daybreak we were rudely awak-
ened — to find ourselves in the power of the savages. I
am of opinion that we must have been watched during
the whole of the previous day, for the surprise of the
camp was complete; we had been noiselessly surrounded,
and, whilst we unfortunate women were spared, the
equally unfortunate men were, for the most part, slain in
their sleep ; not one had escaped — at least we never after-
wards saw any of them alive. The camp was of course
ransacked, and when every man had possessed himself of
whatever happened to take his fancy, we were placed in
the centre of the band and conveyed to this place, where
we have been detained close prisoners ever since. The
scattered contents of the camp must afterwards, I fancy,
have been collected and brought to this village, for a few
days later our boxes — broken open and the contents in a
dreadfully soiled and disordered condition — w^ere brought
to us, and upon our replying in the affirmative to the
questions put to us by signs as to whether they were our
property, were left in our possession. I have only to
add that the wreck, and the horrors which succeeded it,
proved too much for poor Lucilla in her then somewhat
weak state of health, and she fell into a low fever with
delirium, which prostrated her for nearly three months,

330 MRS. Scott's story ended.

and from the effects of which she has even now not
wholly recovered. It was during this dreadfully anxious
period that those four poor black creatures were appointed
to attend upon us. They have been most zealous and
faithful in their efforts to help us; they have instructed
us to some extent in their simple language; and they have
informed us, not only that they are cast-ofF wives of the
king, but that he was, and still is, anxious to secure one
(if not more) of my nieces for a wife, and that the only
hope of escape from such a fate lay in our simulating
insanity, which, most reluctantly, we have been compelled
to do whenever M'Bongwele or any of his emissaries have
visited us. But, beyond our close confinement and this
horrible ever-impending danger, we have no very great
cause for complaint, all our expressed wants being in-
stantly satisfied so far as the resources of the king will
permit."

Mrs. Scott having thus brought her story to an end,
the gentlemen expressed their sympathy and condolences,
and the conversation gradually grew more general. At
length, much as they would have liked to prolong the
interview, they felt that they had already lengthened it
out almost beyond the bounds of prudence, so they rose
to take leave, uttering a few encouraging remarks, which
Sir Reginald rounded ofif with an exhortation to them to
be ever on the watch, and to hold themselves in readiness
for flight at a moment's notice, adding that one or other of
the gentlemen would visit them as often as possible and
keep them well informed upon the progress of events.

CHAPTER XXI.

RETRIBUTION OVERTAKES KING M*BONGWELE.

ING M'BONGWELE had evidently been keenly
on the watch for the return of the four prisoners,
for they had scarcely had time to enter their
hut when the monarch presented himself before them,
and, with some little impatience of manner, began his
interrogations with the single word:

"Well?"

" We can cure them," briefly answered the professor.

"Good!" ejaculated the king, his impatience yielding
to almost childish delight. " When is the cure to be
performed?"

"Within one span of the sun's journey through the
sky after we have administered a certain medicine, which
we must procure from the ship Provide us each with a
horse to go and fetch this medicine, and I promise you,
that before you see the stars to-night those women shall
be in as full possession of their reason as you are."

" No," said the king, eyeing the professor keenly, " I
will arransre better than that. You shall tell Lualamba
where to find this wonderful medicine, and he shall fetch
it for you."

332 m'bongwele makes a final effort.

"That will not do at all/' answered the professor.
"Lualamba could never find the medicine; he could not
even gain access to the ship. We must fetch it our-
selves."

M'Bongwele rested his chin in his hand for some
minutes, pondering deeply. Then he rose to his feet and
stalked out of the hut again without vouchsafing a word,
either "yea" or "nay."

"He is not quite such a fool as he looks," was the
baronet's sole comment upon this strange behaviour, and
then they sat down to luncheon.

The king, upon re-entering his palace, at once sent for
Lualamba, and, upon that chief making his appearance,
issued strict orders that every available man, woman, and
child, not only in the village but in the entire district,
should be mustered by noon next day, to make one grand
and final attempt to move the ship to the village, pending
which the king decided to hold no further communica-
tions with his prisoners. The attempt was made in due
course, and, like the others, it proved, as might be ex-
pected, a miserable failure. Poor M'Bongwele was now
completely at a loss; he knew not what to do. He was
most anxious to have the white women cured; but he had
a powerful presentiment that if those singular beings,
whom he certainly to some extent had in his power, once
again set foot upon that curious thing they called a
"ship," his power over them would be gone for ever. And
in such a case he felt that his fate was certain; he had
laid unholy hands upon them, and dire would be his
punishment. No ; he was convinced that at all costs they
must be debarred from access to that terrible "ship,"
unless he could first of all gain their forgiveness, amity,

SEKETULO'S EXCESSIVE CAUTION. 333

and good- will, and interest them in his fortunes to the
extent of securing their active co-operation in his schemes
of conquest and aggrandizement. How to do this was,
however, the question which puzzled king M'Bongwele;
and it puzzled him so long that — but stay, we must not
forestall the story.

Thus engaged in a futile endeavour to discover a way
out of his dilemma, the king kept himself strictly secluded
in his palace day after day, allowing no one access to him
unless upon business of the utmost urgency and impor-
tance. Meanwhile, Seketulo, deeming the period a favour-
able one for the furtherance of his own schemes, first
exhibited an increased amount of pi-ecaution in the proper
posting of the guard over the prisoners, and then a grad-
ually growing disposition to converse with the prisoners
themselves. From this he proceeded to develop an in-
terest, which, after a suitable lapse of time, was allowed
to merge into anxiety for their welfare and greater com-
fort, and, finding these cautious advances well received,
he then set to work in real earnest upon the delicate task
of unfolding his proposals. He was so very cautious,
however, and took so long a time about this, that he
missed his opportunity altogether, and that, too, through
a very simple accident.

It happened one night that, after an unusually long,
disjointed, and desultory conversation with this same
chief, Mildmay failed to get to sleep with his usual
promptitude, and he lay tossing restlessly upon his pallet
until he became impatient and finally exasperated at his
want of success. The hut felt hot and stuffy to the verge
of suffocation, and the lieutenant at length came to the
conclusion that there was no hope of his getting to sleep

334 ASLEEP ON GUARD.

until he had taken a turn or two up and down the com-
pound, in the comparatively cool night air.

He accordingly scrambled to his feet, and, groping his
way in the intense darkness, made for the verandah.
Here he paused for a moment, glancing upward to the
sky, which he found to be obscured by a dense canopy
of heavy black cloud, portending rain, which sufficiently
accounted for the pitchy darkness. His eyes at length
becoming accustomed to the obscurity, he looked round
for the guard; and he eventually discovered the various
members faithfully occupying their posts, but, one and
all, squatted upon the ground evidently fast asleep. He
stalked out toward the centre of the compound and took
two or three turns up and down its length, his footsteps
falling noiselessly upon the light sandy soil, and not one
of the savages manifested the slightest consciousness of
his presence. Then he gradually extended his walk until
he reached the gate in the palisade, and here too the
guard was fast asleep. An idea presented itself to him;
and he was about to make an attempt to noiselessly re-
move the bars and open the gate, when prudence sug-
gested another and a better plan. He tiptoed lightly
back to the hut, and, gently awakening each of his com-
panions in turn, whispered in their ears:

" Up at once ! there is an opportunity for us to effect
our escape!"

The aroused sleepers instinctively comprehended the
situation and sprang to their feet. Another minute, and
four shadowy shapes stole noiselessly across the compound,
to vanish almost instantly in the deeper shadows of the
palisading. The closed gate was reached and passed, and
presently the fugitives found themselves in the angle of

SCALING THE PALISADES. 335

the compound most distant from the slumbering guard.
Here Mildmay offered a "back" to the baronet, whis-
pering :

"You go first."

Without a word Sir Reginald complied, clambering
first upon his companion's back and thence noiselessly to
the top of the palisading. In another second a faint thud
on the outside told that the first adventurer had success-
fully scaled the barrier

"You go next," whispered Mildmay to the colonel, "and
remain on the top of the palisade to give the professor a
hand."

Up went the colonel, and up after him went the pro-
fessor. The latter, with the baronet's assistance from
below on the outside, accomplished his descent in safety;
and then the colonel, reaching as far down as he could,
assisted Mildmay to the top. The rest was easy; and a
minute later they were cautiously making their way up
the road to the top end of the village, or that which was
most thinly inhabited. At this moment down came the
rain, a regular tropical deluge, which was undoubtedly a
most fortunate circumstance for the fugitives, as they
could otherwise have scarcely hoped to escape the vigi-
lance of the numerous prowling curs belonging to the
village, who, as it was, were driven by the rain to take
refuge in their masters' huts.

Five minutes suflaced the travellers to reach the stout
lofty palisade which inclosed the village; and this, the
framework all being on the inner side, they were easily
enabled to surmount. Once outside this obstacle, Mildmay
assumed the leadership, confidently declaring his ability
to find the ship, though he had only once before, con-

336 LAND NAVIGATION UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

sciously, passed over the ground between the village and
the ruins.

The party made their way in the first place along the
outer side of the palisading until they reached the main
entrance gate to the village; and from this point Mild-
may " took his departure." A well-defined pathway led
for some distance down into the plain, and this they tra-
versed until the lieutenant believed he had reached the
point at which to turn off. Here he paused for a full
minute, looking about him and peering into the darkness.
The rain was still pelting down, though not so heavily as
at first; and away to the eastward the clouds were already
beginning to break, allowing a star to peep through here
and there. At length Mildmay thought he had got his
bearings right; and, selecting a star to steer by, away he
plunged into the long thick wet grass, his companions
following closely behind. A few minutes later the rain
ceased, the clouds vanished from the sky, and the stars
shone calmly out in all their beauty, affording an ample
sufficiency of light to distinctly reveal to the wayfarers
the nearer clumps of bush, trees, and other large objects.
Mildmay now paused again, and, shading his eyes with
his hand, once more keenly surveyed the horizon.

"All right," he murmured. ''We are going just right,
I believe. I can indistinctly make out something away
there on the horizon, just ahead, which I feel certain
must be the ruins. Come along, my hearties; heave
ahead!"

Again they pushed forward, dripping wet, drenched to
the skin with the recent shower, and stumbling every
now and then as their feet became entangled in the long
matted grass; now swerving to the right to avoid a

A THRICE-WELCOME SIGHT. 337

clump of bush, then to the left for the same purpose;
but ever keeping one particular star, low down on the
horizon, as nearly straight ahead as possible. Though
the rest of the party felt themselves utterly lost, without
the faintest notion of where they were going, and though
neither of them could distinguish anything even remotely
resembling the ruins, Mildmay still persisted that he was
right; and he continued to press rapidly forward, the
rest following him, since they could do no better. At
length they struck a narrow path through the grass, and
Mildmay at once announced his intention of following it.

" It is a little off our course," he said, " but the walk-
ing is so much easier here that we shall gain more
than we shall lose by following it; and I should not be
surprised to find that it leads to the ruins. Half an
hour later a brilliant star suddenly appeared in the dense
darkness ahead. It shone steadily for nearly a minute,
disappeared, and almost instantly appeared again.

"Hurrah!" ejaculated the lieutenant joyously, "there
is the ship's light. Now we know that we are right.
Another hour's tramp will, if all be well, take us along-
side. How I wish I had a pipe of tobacco!"

"Don't mention it!" fervently ejaculated the professor,
who was an ardent lover of the weed. "However, in
another hour, as you say — ah !"

The professor's " ah ! " was so very expressive of antici-
pated pleasure that his companions with one accord burst
into a hearty laugh, which, however, was abruptly cut
short by a low savage growl and a sudden rustling in
the grass close by.

"What was that?" was the simultaneous inquiry as the
party came abruptly to a dead halt.

(359) Y

338 "SAFE AT LAST."

''Push on, push on!" urged the professor. ''It is some
nocturnal animal prowling in search of prey. At this
moment he is more frightened than we are; but if we
wait here until he has regained his courage he will per-
haps spring on one of us."

The march was accordingly resumed, with perhaps some
little precipitation; and at length Mildmay's companions
began to be conscious of the presence of certain shapeless
blotches of blackness rising up against the sky ahead of
them and occasionally obscuring for a few seconds the now
brilliant light which gleamed from the top of the Flying
Fish's pilot-house. These shapeless blotches of blackness
increased in size with almost startling rapidity; and in a
few minutes the travellers, still following the footpath,
found themselves in the midst of them, winding in and
out between great blocks of masonry which suddenly
rose up in front of them in the darkness, and stumbling
over loose boulders and fragments of stone. At length
they found themselves in the clear open space occupied
by the Flying Fish; and in another quarter of an hour
the party passed into the black tunnel formed by the
bilge-keel and the side of the ship, and began to feel
with their feet for the open trap-door. This was soon
reached; the party entered the opening, closed the flap,
and, with a murmured "Thank God, we are safe at last!"
began to feel for the button which was to open the door
giving access to the interior proper of the ship. Another
second and this door swung open, and the party found
themselves at the foot of the cylindrical staircase, in the
full blaze of the electric lamps.

"Now," said the baronet, "ten minutes in which to
strip, rub down, and don dry garments, and then we will

TO THE rescue! 339

be off to the rescue of those poor women, after which I
think we must give our friend M'Bongwele a salutary
lesson on the evil and impolicy of treachery."

The allotted ten minutes had not quite expired when
the professor, the last of the party, made his appearance
in the pilot-house, by which time the Flying Fish was
some five hundred feet in the air, with her nose pointing
in the direction of M'Bongvvele's village, and her propeller
driving her ahead at full speed. The electric lights of
the ship were all called into requisition for the illumina-
tion of the landscape, producing a weird and ghostlike
effect as the trees and clumps of bush first caught the
light and then brightened into full radiance as they
flashed past, to instantly fade again into obscurity. A
startled howl or two smote upon the ears of the travellers,
and the forms of hastily retreating animals were momen-
tarily caught sight of; but all eyes were intently directed
ahead in anxious expectancy of catching sight of the
village, and presently it came into view. The speed was
at once reduced and the vessel's flight directed earthward,
and in another moment she dashed through the palisade,
shivering the principal entrance gate to splinters, and (as
was intended) frightening the guard clean out of their
senses With one shrill, piercing scream of terror, as
they caught sight of the dazzling bow lights of the ship,
the sable warriors took to their heels and vanished in the
darkness, whilst the Flying Fish was dexterously brought
to earth close alongside the hut tenanted by Mrs. Scott
and her nieces. That appalling yell effectually awakened
the entire occupants of the hut; and whilst they were
sitting up on their pallets, rubbing their eyes and won-
dering what the terrible sound might portend, the portiere

340 EXCITEMENT IN THE VILLAGE.

was pushed aside and the professor, bearing a hand-lamp,
unceremoniously made his appearance before them with
an earnest request that they would dress with all speed
and join him on the outside of the hut, where he would
await them, the hour of their deliverance having arrived.

A quarter of an hour later the bewildered ladies were
conducted by von Schalckenberg in through the trap-
door in the bottom of the Flying Fish and up the cylin-
drical staircase to the saloon, where they were warmly
welcomed by the other three gentlemen, who, after a few^
congratulatory remarks on their fortunate escape, retired
to secure and convey on board the boxes containing the
remainder of their guests' wardrobes. This done, Mrs.
Scott and her nieces were conducted to the cabins assigned
for their use, and the gentlemen then retreated to the
pilot-house, where, over a keenly enjoyed pipe, a hasty
council was held as to what should be done with M'Bong-
wele.

This question was settled just as the first faint streaks
of approaching dawn began to brighten the eastern
horizon, when the ship was moved up into the great
square before the king's house, where the whole of the
king's body-guard were drawn up under arms, and,
beyond them, the remaining inhabitants of the village, a
dense, surging, excited, squabbling crowd.

On the approach of the Flying Fish the latter flung
themselves face downwards, in abject terror, to the
ground, and the armed and mounted warriors betrayed
a disposition to stampede which was only with the utmost
difficulty checked and restrained by Seketulo. Even this
chief found himself unable to wholly conceal the feeling
of nervousness which agitated him; but he in this trying

A THRILLING MOMENT. 341

moment enjoyed a consciousness, unshared by any other
man there present, of having done his best to make the
erstwhile prisoners comfortable.

As the huge ship settled quietly down in the centre
of the great square a profound and deathlike silence
suddenly succeeded the confused babbling sound which
had hitherto prevailed, and when the four travellers
stepped out from the pilot-house to the deck and appeared
at the gangway a visible shudder ran through the entire
concourse of people there assembled. They dreaded they
knew not what, and their fears were only in a very
trifling degree allayed by the promise of intercession on
their behalf which Seketulo had made to them.

The professor was of course to be spokesman for the
occasion; it was he, therefore, who broke the terrible
silence by exclaiming, in a loud, commanding tone of
voice :

"Seketulo, we are your friends. Advance, therefore,
and listen to the commands which we are about to lay
upon you!"

The reassured and now happy chief struck with his
spurred heels the sides of his charger, and the animal,
bounding and caracoling, advanced to within a few yards
of the ship's side, where his rider dismounted and, with
bowed head and bended knee, waited for such communi-
cation as might be vouchsafed him.

"Listen, O Seketulo!" continued the professor, "We
entered this country animated by feelings of the most
amicable nature to its king and to every one of its in-
habitants. We showed this by distributing presents of
beads, cloth, and other matters when Lualamba and his
warriors first visited us. And we asked for nothing in

342 dethroned!

return save permission to examine and explore the ruins
on yonder plain; offering to pay promptly and liberally
for whatever assistance we might need. Is not this the
truth?"

"It is, O most mighty wizard," answered Seketulo
humbly; some of the braver warriors also venturing to
murmur:

"It is! it is!"

"And how have we been treated?" asked the professor.
"Your king, not satisfied with our friendship and the
presents we gave him, wickedly and treacherously devised
a scheme to get us into his power- — a scheme which, in
order to try him, we permitted to succeed. And, having
done that, he further attempted to gain possession of this
ship " — this fact having leaked out in Seketulo's previous
conversations — "profanely and audaciously thinking he
could subdue her to his will and control her as we do.
Now, therefore, be it understood by all present that, for
his base treachery, M'Bongwele is dethroned, and Seke-
tulo will, from this moment, reign in his stead. Let a
detachment of the guard enter the palace and bring
M'Bongwele forth to hear his sentence!"

In an instant Lualamba — anxious above all things to
please the powers that be, and having, moreover, in
revengeful remembrance many little gratuitous slights
and insults which he had suffered at the king's hands —
dismounted a squadron of the guard, and, surrounding
the palace, himself entered the building at the head of
half a dozen men. Two or three minutes later the party
reappeared with the dethroned monarch in their midst.
They advanced until almost level with the spot occupied
by Seketulo, when, at a sign from the professor, they

MEETING MISFORTUNE AS BECOMES A KING. 343

halted; the guards disposing themselves round M'Bong-
wele in such a manner that, whilst to escape was an utter
impossibility, he could still see and hear the individual
who, perched far aloft in the gangway of the ship, was
about to address him.

M'Bongwele never, perhaps, looked more kingly than
whilst he thus stood to receive his sentence of dethrone-
ment. He was fully conscious of his treacherous be-
haviour to his guests, but he felt no shame thereat,
for he had been schooled in the belief that treachery,
falsehood, ay, even deliberate, cold-blooded murder, was
perfectly justifiable in the pursuit of power. His only
feeling was that he had played a bold game for a high
stake and had lost it. The moment of reckoning had
now arrived, the penalty of failure had to be paid, and
though he knew not what that penalty might be — though
his brain was teeming with all sorts of possible and im-
possible horrors — he never for a moment forgot that he
was a monarch, that the eyes of his people were on him,
noting his every look and gesture, and he summoned all
his fortitude to his aid, in order that, since fall he must,
he should fall as becomes a king.

So there he stood in the bright sunlight of the early
morning — an unarmed man, surrounded by those who,
whilst they would yesterday have poured out their heart's
blood at his command, were now prepared to hew him in
pieces at the bidding of a white-skinned stranger — with
arms folded across the muscular naked chest which
throbbed visibly with the intensity of his hardly repressed
emotions, his head thrown back, his brows knitted, his
lips firmly closed over his rigidly set teeth, and his eyes
unquailingly fixed upon the group of white men whom he

344 m'bongwele vanishes from the scene.

recognized and tacitly acknowledged as his conquerors
and judges. And when the sentence o£ dethronement,
separation from his family, and instant banishment for
life from his country, was pronounced upon him, he
offered no plea for pardon or mitigation of his punish-
ment; he urged nothing in extenuation or justification of
his conduct, but simply bowed his head in token of his
submission to the inevitable, and begged a respite of a
few minutes in which to bid farewell to his family before
setting out upon his journey to the frontier, whither he
was to be escorted by a small well-armed party, in whom
Seketulo knew he could place implicit trust.

This somewhat painful scene over, the troops and
people there present were required to swear allegiance
and fidelity to their new king, which they readily did
with all the formalities customary among them on such
occasions; after which the crown of gold and feathers
worn by M'Bongwele was brought forward and placed
upon Seketulo's head; and the new king was then invited
on board the ship to confer with — and in reality to receive
instructions respecting his future policy and conduct
from — the men who had raised him to the supreme dig- .
nity. The advice — given with sufficient firmness and
emphasis to constitute a command — comprised many
valuable hints for the wise and humane government of
the nation, and was concluded with a powerful exhorta-
tion to treat with fairness, justice, humanity, and hos-
pitality all strangers who might be brought by accident
or otherwise into the country; to succour, nourish, and
carefully protect them from molestation or spoliation of
any and every kind whilst within its borders; and to
afford them every help and facility to leave whensoever

A. SATISFACTORY ARRANGEMENT. 345

they might desire. And, finally, a satisfactory arrange-
ment was made whereby the baronet and his companions
were enabled to continue and complete their exploration
and examination of the ruins.

The Flying Fish and her inmates remained in the
country for rather more than three months from that
date; quite long enough to satisfy the party that they
had really acted wisely, and for the benefit of the nation,
in deposing M'Bongwele ; and long enough to enable them
to make several most surprising and interesting dis-
coveries among the ruins — discoveries which it is not
necessary to describe or particularize here, since the pro-
fessor has prepared, and is now revising for the press, an
elaborate and exhaustive treatise upon the subject.

^
^

^j-^

«-' '^■'v^

CHAPTER XXII.

AN ADVENTURE ON THE TOP OF MOUNT EVEREST.

EAVING the country at last — to the very great
regret of the inhabitants, who found that every
little service rendered to the white strangers
was munificently rewarded by a present of beads, buttons,
party-coloured cloth, or perhaps a small hand mirror — the
travellers made the best of their way to Bombay, at
which place Mrs. Scott and her nieces were anxious to be
landed, and there they bade their fair guests a reluctant
adieu. Thence, starting under cover of night and rising
to a height of about ten thousand feet above the ground
surface, the travellers made their way across the Indian
peninsula in a north-easterly direction, travelling at a
speed of about one hundred miles per hour, and arriving
about eif^^ht o'clock the next morning at the foot of Mount
Everest, the summit of which — towering into the sky to
the enormous altitude of twenty-nine thousand feet above
the sea-level, and believed to be the most lofty spot of
earth on the surface of our globe — they intended attempt-
ing to reach.

Here, on a magnificent grassy plateau surrounded by
trees, and with not a single sign of human life at hand,

A DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS TASK. 347

the Flying Fish was brought to earth and temporarily
secured whilst the party took breakfast.

'' Now," said the professor as they rose from the break-
fast-table, "in seeking to plant our feet upon the topmost
peak of Mount Everest we are about to enter upon a task
of no ordinary difficulty and danger, and it is desirable
that no avoidable risks should be run. The danger arises
from two causes — the excessive cold, and the highly rare-
fied state of the atmosphere at so enormous an elevation.
The tirst can be guarded against by suitable clothing;
the second can only be overcome by the assumption of
our diving dresses. The latter, no doubt, seems to you a
strange precaution; but it is a fact, that on the top of
Mount Everest the air is too thin to support life, at all
events in comfort, and for any but the briefest possible
time; so we must take up our air with us. Let us there-
fore go and make these necessary changes of costume
before we attempt moving the ship from her present
position."

Half an hour later, the party, accoutred in their diving
armour — between which and their ordinary clothing they
had interposed stout warm flannel overalls — and armed
with small ice-hatchets, mustered in the pilot-house; the
ship was released from the ground, a vacuum created in
her air-chambers, and upward she at once shot into the
clear blue cloudless sky. A few minutes only sufficed
her to soar to the height of ten thousand feet, after which
her progress upward, as indicated by the steadily falling
column of mercury in the tube of the barometer, gradually
decreased in velocity. At the height of twenty-nine
thousand feet the mercury ceased to fall, or the ship
ceased to rise, which amounted to the same thing, and

348 THE FIRST DIFFICULTY.

Mount Everest lay before them, its snowy peak glisten-
ing in the sun ten miles away, and its topmost pinnacle
still towering somewhere about five hundred feet above
the line of their horizon.

" Well," said the professor, remarking upon their failure
to attain a greater altitude, " I anticipated this; I was quite
prepared to find that here, where the sun is so much
more nearly vertical than it is with us in England, we
should meet with a more rarefied atmosphere. However,
we cannot help it. We must do what we can; and if we
fail to reach the summit we shall simply be obliged to
descend again, rid ourselves temporarily of a few of our
more weighty matters, and then renew the attempt.
Perhaps we may be enabled to force her up that remain-
ing five hundred feet by the power of her engines. Let
us try."

The engines were sent ahead at full speed, and the
Flying Fish rushed toward the glittering peak, the pro-
fessor so adjusting the helm as to give the ship's bows a
slight upward inclination. The experiment resulted in
partial success, an additional elevation of some two hun-
dred feet being attained, but beyond that it was found
impossible to go; even then it was necessary to keep the
ship moving at full speed, and to maintain the upward
inclination of her bows, in order to preserve the slight
additional height gained, her tendency being to sink
immediately upon any relaxation of speed. It was re-
solved to be satisfied with this, to efifect a landing some-
w^here, and to attempt surmounting the remaining three
hundred feet by climbing. A landing-place was next
sought for, and this was at length found on the northern
side of the mountain, on a sidelong slanting snow-bank,

A PERILOUS LANDING-PLACE. 349

which seemed to have accumulated between two project-
ing crags. It was by no means a desirable spot on which
to effect a landing, the area of the bank being very small,
and the surface sloping most awkwardly; however, it
was the best place the travellers could iBnd, and they were
therefore obliged to rest content with it; so the ship was
headed toward it, and in another second or two a harsh
grating sound, accompanied by an upward surge, showed
that she had taken the ground, or rather the snow-bank.
The engines were then stopped, and the grip -anchors
brought into requisition to secure her in her somewhat
precarious berth.

"Well, here we are," exclaimed the baronet; "and the
next thing, I suppose, is to land and commence our climb
without loss of time. What a wild-looking spot it is, to
be sure; if I were to stand looking at it long I believe I
should lose my nerve and shirk the task."

" Better not look at it any longer, then, until we can
contemplate the prospect from the peak away up aloft
there," remarked the practical Mildmay. " But," he con-
tinued, " I don't half like the idea of going out upon that
sloping slippery surface of frozen snow that the ship has
grounded upon; a single slip or false step and away one
would go over the edge, to bring up, perhaps, on a rock a
thousand feet below. I shall hook on the rope-ladder,
and endeavour to make a start from yonder naked spur
of rock."

The others also seemed to think this the wisest plan,
and in a few minutes they were making their way cau-
tiously down the rope-ladder one after the other, the
baronet, an experienced mountaineer, leading, and Mild-
may bringing up the rear.

350 ON THE TOPMOST PINNACLE OF EVEREST.

The adventurers soon found that their task was likely
to be a great deal more difficult and hazardous than they
had at all contemplated. The snow-bank upon which the
Flying Fish rested proved to be the only even approxi-
mately level spot at that elevation; the rocks rising almost
sheer above them everywhere, with only an occasional
crevice here and there by way of foothold, and in many
places the precipice was coated with treacherous frozen
snow, sometimes tenacious enough to afford a momentary
support, but more often crumbling away beneath the
weight of the body. Slowly and steadily, however, they
worked their way upward — now occupying perhaps five
minutes to advance as many feet, and anon hitting upon
a favourable spot where twenty or thirty feet might be
gained in a single minute. At length, after a toilsome
and hazardous climb of more than an hour's duration, the
baronet found himself clinging to a slender pinnacle of
rock about seven feet high and four feet in diameter,
upon the top of which he next moment triumphantly
seated himself. The colonel, the professor, and Mildmay
speedily followed, and there they sat, undoubtedly the
first human beings who had ever reached the topmost
pinnacle of Mount Everest.

Having accomplished the ascent, they now settled
themselves down as comfortably as they could upon their
narrow perch to enjoy at leisure the magnificent view
spread out around them, a view such as no human eye
had ever before looked upon, and which even they would
probably never have another opportunity of beholding.
The atmosphere, most fortunately, was exceptionally clear
and transparent, not a vestige of cloud or vapour being
anywhere visible; the view was therefore unobstructed to

AN UNPARALLELED PROSPECT. 351

the very verge of the horizon, which extended round them
in a gigantic circle measuring four hundred and eighteen
miles in diameter.

Northward of them stretched the vast plains of Thibet,
the only object worthy of notice being the river Sampoo,
which, although sixty miles distant, was distinctly seen
as it issued from the purplish-gray haze of the extreme
distance on their left, meandering along the plain beneath
for a visible distance of nearly two hundred miles before
its course became ao^ain lost in the haze on their riofht
hand. Right and left of them stretched the vast moun-
tain chain of the Himalayas, their wooded slopes and
countless peaks and cones presenting a bewildering yet
charming picture of variegated colour, sunlight and shadow,
as they dwindled away on either hand until all suggestion
of local colouring was swallowed up and lost in an en-
chanting succession of increasingly pure and delicate soft
pearly grays, which merged and melted at last into the
vague shapeless all-pervading purple-gray of the horizon.
Glancing immediately around and beneath them their
blood curdled and their brains whirled with the vertigo
which seized them as they peered appalled and shrink-
ingly down upon the sharp crags, the sheer precipices,
the steeply -sloping snow- fields with their lower edges
generally overhanging some fathomless abyss, the great
glaciers, the awful crevasses spanned here and there by
crumbling snow bridges — the effect of the scene being
heightened and intensified in its impressive grandeur by
the deathlike silence which prevailed, broken only by the
occasional thunderous roar of an avalanche far below.
The scene was absolutely fascinating in its appalling sub-
limity; but it was a relief to turn the eye further afield

352 A CATASTROPHE.

until it rested to the eastward upon the grandly towering-
mass of Everest's rival, snow-capped Kunchinjinga, which
reared its giant crest aloft to a height of twenty-eight
thousand five hundred feet above the sea-level, and which,
though it was eighty-five miles away, appeared to be al-
most within rifle-shot. And still more was it a relief to
turn the eye in an opposite direction, and to allow it to
rest upon the glittering summit of Dhawalagiri, which,
at a distance of no less than two hundred and forty miles ^
gleamed faint and softly opalescent out of the western
haze. And, lastly, to the southward of them they beheld
the fertile province of Nepaul, watered by countless tri-
butaries to the mighty Ganges; and, beyond it again, the
still more fertile province of Oudh. The professor, totally
forgetful of his exceedingly perilous position, was enthu-
siastically expatiating, after his usual manner, upon the
marvellous extent and beauty of the prospect, and inter-
rupting the flow of his eloquence at short intervals to
assure his companions that a — to them — invisible object
on the far horizon must be the town of Patna, when a
terrific crackling crash just below them drew the eyes of
the party in that direction, just in time for them to see
the supposed projecting crag — in reality an enormous mass
of ice — which supported the snow-bank on which the
Flying Fish rested, break ofi" and go thundering down
into the unfathomable depths below. The spectators
clung to each other in helpless nerveless terror at so ap-
palling a spectacle as the falling of this mass, weighing
probably millions of tons; but the full significance and
import of the catastrophe did not present itself to their
dazed and bewildered senses until they beheld the Flying
Fishy after following the falling mass for a couple of

THE "FLYING FISH " ADRIFT. 353

hundred feet, recover herself and float jauntily in the air,
adrift, at a distance of fully two thousand feet from the
mountain side. Then, indeed, the full horror of their
position began to slowly dawn upon them, and they
looked at each other with eyes in which could be read a
despair too deep and too complete to need or find expres-
sion in words. Their long search for a landing-place that
morning had unconsciously impressed upon them a fact
which now — and not till now — took intelligible shape
within their brains, and it was this: they could descend
the mountain as far as the spot at which they had left
the Flying Fish, hut no further; beyond that point further
descent, with the means at their disposal, was impossible.
Which meant, in plain language and few words, that,
sooner or later, they would try to get down, and either be
dashed to pieces in the attempt or perish miserably of star-
vation upon the edge of some ghastly impassable precipice.

It took but a moment for these ideas to shape them-
selves intelligibly, and then a general movement was
made to commence the descent and thus cut short a state
of suspense which would soon become unbearable.

But at this moment the colonel interposed with a word
of caution.

" One moment," said he. " Before we start let each
one of us clearly understand that perfect coolness and
presence of mind is imperatively necessary if we would
emerge from this strait alive. We may perhaps find a
way down after all, but in order to do so we must have
our wits completely about us; let no man move, therefore,
until he has fully recovered the control of his nerves;
when all have done so we will make a start, and I will
go last."

(359) z

354 A CHANCE OF ESCAPE YET.

"And I first/' exclaimed the baronet, "because, next to
you, I believe I am the most experienced mountaineer of
the party."

The colonel's little speech produced a most beneficial
effect upon the nerves of* the whole party, his own in-
cluded; and now, without further ado, a general ^tart
was made, the baronet going first and directing and help-
ing the professor, who followed him; Mildmay going
third, also helping von Schalckenberg, and being helped
in his turn by Lethbridge, and the latter bringing up the
rear.

The descent, owing to the perpendicular precipices over
which they had to pass, and the extremely dangerous
character, generally, of the road, proved to be even more
tedious and difficult than the ascent; and within the first
quarter of an hour (during which they had accomplished
only about one hundred feet of perpendicular descent)
every one of the party had experienced at least one
narrow escape from certain death.

Steadily, however, they toiled on; foot by foot they
crept down the face of the icy precipice, and at length
they reached a ledge nearly a foot in width, upon which
the entire party were enabled to pause for a minute or
two to rest and relieve their tired and quivering muscles.

When their feet were safely planted upon this ledge
Mildmay spoke.

"I may now venture," he said, "to call your attention
to a fact which I feared to mention before, lest it should
upset the balance of your nerves and produce a catastro-
phe. It is this. The Flying Fish, floating undisturbed
in this motionless air, is, in obedience to the la^ of gravi-
tation, slowly but steadily being drawn in toward the

WILL THEY REGAIN THE SHIP? 355

side of the mountain; and if — which God grant — it re-
mains perfectly calm up here for another quarter of an
hour, she will be once more alongside, and we may yet
regain access to her. To do this, however, we must edge
away more toward the eastern side of the mountain,
where I fear we shall encounter even greater difficulties
than we have yet met with. We can but try, however,
and I think the sooner we push on the better."

"Forward, then, at once," cried the baronet; "and take
heed to your steps, my friends, for this ice is terribly
smooth and slippery."

Once more was the journey resumed, the baronet
availing himself of the ledge, as far as it extended, to
work his way round the shoulder of the hill in the
required direction; and by the time they reached a point
where actual descent had again become necessary, they
had once more come within sight of the ship, and had the
satisfaction of seeing that she had drawn sensibly nearer
to the cliff.

" All right," exclaimed Sir Reginald cheerfully, " I see
the spot we must aim for — that pinnacle of bare rock
yonder, and there is a tolerably easy road down to it,
moreover."

Away they now went, their spirits at the very highest
pitch of exhilaration, and their nerves by so much the
steadier, and such rapid progress did they make that ten
minutes later saw them clustered together clinging to the
rocky pinnacle before mentioned. And a gruesome-enough
looking spot it was — a sharp projecting point of rock
overhanging a sheer precipice some two hundred feet
deep, with a narrow snow-bank immediately beneath,
and then another frightful abyss of unknown depth

356 A PERILOUS LEAP.

beyond. And, to the right and left of it, an almost
vertical face of bare rock coated with smooth, slippery,
transparent ice, any attempt to traverse which would be
courting death in its most horrible form.

The Flying Fish seemed to be drifting steadily in
toward this pinnacle of rock, though at a depth of some
twenty feet below it, and it was resolved to pause there
and allow events to develop somewhat before exerting
themselves further.

Slowly, very slowly, the Flying Fish drifted nearer
and nearer in; the little party clustered upon the rock
watching her with bated breath, and every moment
dreading that a faint air of wind might after all waft
her beyond their reach. But nothing of the sort occurred ;
in she steadily came, until at last her starboard gangway
was immediately underneath the party.

" Now or never!" exclaimed Sir Reginald. " I am going
to make a jump for her. We shall scarcely have a better
chance; and a breeze may at any moment sweep round
the face of the rock and carry her away from us. Leth-
bridge and Mildmay, let me steady myself by your
shoulders whilst I stand on the extreme point of the
rock. Stand firm, now; I am about to jump. Are you
ready ? Then — one — two — three ! "

The body of the baronet darted outward from the face
of the rock, Mildmay and the colonel retaining their foot-
ing with the utmost difficulty under the recoil from the
outward impulse; and then the three men left behind on
the rock craned their necks over the precipice to watch
the result.

The sight which met their eyes caused their hair to
bristle and their blood to curdle with horror. Sir Regi-

AN ADVENTURE ON MOUNT EVEREST.

MISSED. 357

nald had either miscalculated his distance, or his foot had
slipped in the act of springing, for instead of alighting upon
the ship's deck, as he had intended, he had fallen on the
circular bilge of the vessel, from whence, after an un-
availing struggle to secure a footing, he slid off, and, with
a piercing scream, went whirling downward until he
alighted on the narrow snow- hank some two hundred
feet below. His horror-stricken companions fully ex-
pected to see him rebound and go plunging over the edge
of the next precipice, but luckily the snow upon which
he had fallen was so deep that his body sank into it, and
there he lay, motionless.

"Merciful Heaven, he is killed!" ejaculated the colonel
with stammering lips.

"Perhaps not," returned Mildmay; "at all events we
will hope for the best. Let me see if I can do better.
Quick — out of the way — ah! the wind after all! We are
too late!"

And even as he spoke the bows of the Flying Fish
swung slowly round, and her hull was swept gently away
from the face of the cliff by a capricious zephyr which
just then came creeping along the mountain side.

CHAPTER XXIII.

HOW THE ADVENTURE TERMINATED.

HE silence of despair again settled upon the three
remaining travellers; they had lost one of their
party, and were a second time left stranded upon
that terrible mountain top, from which it now began to
appear that there was no possibility of escape. One
thing at least was certain, which was, that on their side
of the mountain there was no means of further descent;
the pinnacle of rock upon which they then stood was the
lowest accessible point; there was no possible way even
of reaching poor Sir Reginald's body, and the way down-
ward, if indeed such existed, must be sought elsewhere.

They crouched where they were, in helpless bewilder-
ment, watching the ship until she slowly drifted out of
sight round a projecting bluff; and then, in a dazed, half-
hearted way, and with nerves all unstrung by disappoint-
ment and the dreadful accident which had befallen the
baronet, they began to slowly retrace their steps, in the
faint hope of stumbling upon some means of escape.

Led this time by the colonel, Mildmay bringing up the
rear, the little party at last made their way back to the
narrow ledge where they had previously paused to rest,
and here they again made a momentary halt, afterwards
following the led^^e in the other direction until it termi-

BEWILDERED I 359

nated abruptly in an almost perpendicular wall of smooth
rock. Another ledge was here discovered, about eighteen
feet further down, but it was certainly not more than a
foot wide, with apparently a vertical fall of several hun-
dred feet beyond. This ledge extended right and left
beyond their range of vision, and had evidently been
traversed by them in their original ascent, for their foot-
prints were plainly visible in the snow with which it was
covered ; if, therefore, they could reach it, it would at
least be possible to return to their original starting-point,
which would certainly be something gained. But how
to get down to it was the question. They had grown
bewildered in their gropings round about the summit,
and knew not in which direction to go to regain the lost
path. They might, of course, go on climbing until they
were once more at the very top of the mountain, and
commence their descent afresh, but this was a task so
full of difficulty and peril as not to be thought of, save
as a last resort. Besides, the day was already on the
wane, and it was of the utmost importance that they
should reach some place of comparative safety before
nightfall. At length Mildmay hit upon a bold though
terribly dangerous mode of mastering the difficulty.

"Look here," he said, "it is no use hesitating here; we
shall never do any good at this rate. Let me offer a
suggestion. I will lower myself down over the ledge
until I hang from it by my hands alone; then you, Leth-
bridge, must climb down over me, using my body as a
ladder (or a rope, rather), and when you are hanging at
arm's-length from my feet there will only remain a very
trifling drop to the lower ledge, which you can surely
accomplish in safety. That done you must stand by to
steady me and prevent me, if possible, from going back-
ward over the precipice; and, with us two safely on the

360 A TERRIBLY DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT.

ledge, we are surely men enough to catch the professor
when he makes the drop. What say you to the plan?"

"It is frightfully dangerous, but it is perhaps worth
trying — if you think you have the strength for it. What
say you, professor? Have you nerve enough to make the
drop, trusting to us to catch you?"

" An3^thing is better than this," answered the profes-
sor. " Your own and Mildmay's are the most difficult
portions of the task. If you are equal to your parts I
will perform mine; but my strength is not sufficient to
justify my offering to change places with either of you."

" Then let us try it," exclaimed the colonel decisively.
"Will you go first, Mildmay, or shall I?"

"You go first," answered Mildmay. "I am pretty
strong in the arms, and think the method I have pro-
posed the safest, on the whole."

" All right, then. I am ready whenever you are."

" Stand firm, then, and let me steady myself down over
the ledge by your leg — we shall be down, one way or
another, all the sooner. Now, look out, I am going!"

The colonel braced himself as firmly as possible against
the strain, and Mildmay lowered himself cautiously down
until he hung from the ledge by both hands. Then,
without wasting a moment, Lethbridge carefully placed
himself in position, got down on his knees, lowered one
foot until it rested on Mildmay's shoulder, then the other;
firmly grasped the ledge with both hands, outside Mild-
may's; got his knees down on Mildmay's shoulders, and
then, warning the lieutenant to hold firm, grasped him
by both wrists and proceeded as rapidly and carefully as
possible to slide down his body until he hung to him by
a firm hand-grasp round the ankles. The muscles of poor
Mildmay's hands and arms quivered and fairly cracked
with the terrible strain thrown upon them during the

A NARROW ESCAPE FOR THE PROFESSOR. 361

latter part of this manoeuvre; but he set his teeth hard,
remembering that the lives of the whole party depended
upon him just then, and hung on. It was not for long.
The colonel paused only for a moment to give one down-
ward glance at the spot upon which he was about to
drop, and then let go. He pitched fairly on the ledge,
slipped, staggered for a moment, almost went over, but
recovered himself and stood firm. Then moving a little
to one side he prepared to receive Mildmay, and gave
him the word to drop. It came none too soon, for the
lieutenant's quivering muscles were already failing him,
his nerveless fingers were already relaxing their grasp,
and he felt that he must let go, whether or not, in another
moment. At the cry from Lethbridge he released his
hold, and next moment, with the colonel's arm thrown
firmly round his waist, stood safely on the ledge.

It was next the professor's turn; but now that the
critical moment had arrived for him too to drop from
one ledge to another, the unwelcome discovery was
made that his nerves were unequal to the task, and for
some time persuasion, cajolery, entreaties, and threats
proved equally unavailing to tempt him to the enterprise.
At length, however, in a fit of desperation he essayed the
task, hurried over it, missed his hold, and went whirling
outward from the face of the cliff*. In another instant he
would have been over the precipice, and plunging head-
long downward to the death which awaited him thou-
sands of feet below, but most fortunately both Mildmay
and the colonel saw the mishap, and made a simultaneous
snatch at him; the former succeeded in grasping him by
the arm, and, before either of the trio had time to fully
realize what had actually happened, poor von Schalcken-
berg was dragged — pale, breathless, and completely un-
nerved — in upon the ledge.

362 A PLACE OF REST.

A few minutes were allowed the unhappy professor in
which to recover his presence of mind, and then the little
party cautiously worked their way downward along the
ledge, finally arriving half an hour later on the narrow
platform of ice which was now all that remained of the
plateau whereon the Flying Fish had been grounded.

It had been the intention of the unfortunate adven-
turers to make a temporary halt here, for the purpose of
recruiting their exhausted energies so far as it might be
done by taking a few minutes' rest, but the ice was so
shivered by the shock of its recent rupture as to present
a very insecure appearance, and they were therefore con-
strained to keep moving notwithstanding their fatigue.
Very fortunately the breaking away of the snow-bank
had, in one place, laid bare the surface of the rock, which
here was very jagged and uneven (which would proba-
bly account for the original accumulation of the snow in
that spot), and these irregularities were promptly utilized
as a means of further descent. By their aid an addi-
tional two hundred feet of downward movement was
slowly and painfully accomplished, and then Mildmay
(who was now leading the way) found himself within a
foot or two of the lower edge of an almost perpendicular
slope overhanging an awful abyss of unfathomable depth,
his further progress downward being barred by the fact
that beneath him the rock sloped inwards! A single
downward glance sufficed not only to reveal to him his
appalling situation, but also to wring from his lips such
a piercing cry of horror as effectually warned his friends
from following him any further. Then he pressed his
body close to the face of the rock, and clung there con-
vulsively with feet and hands to the trifling irregularities
of surface which alone afforded him a hold, his blood
curdling and his brain reeling at the thought of the

THE "FLYING FISH " AGAIN IN SIGHT. 363

horrible deadly danger which menaced him. A single
slip of hand or foot, a momentary failure of a muscle, the
slightest seizure of cramp or vertigo, and he would go
whirling headlong downward at least five hundred feet
sheer through the air before reaching the ground below.
He was so unnerved that he was actually incapable of
replying to the colonel's anxious hail as to what was the
matter.

It was whilst he stood thus vainly striving to recover
his self-control — a growing conviction of the impossibility
of escape meanwhile forcing itself with momentarily in-
creasing intensity upon him — that a huge moving mass
suddenly swung into view round a projection on his left,
and a simultaneous cry of surprise from his two waiting
and wondering companions told that they too had caught
sight of it. It was the Flying Fish slowly drifting round
the mountain, stern on, and that too so closely that her
propeller actually touched the rocky projection, some
thirty feet ofi*, as she passed it. The force of the contact,
though very gentle, was sufficient to give her a slight
outward impulse; and though she continued to drift
round toward the rock to which the adventurers were
clinging, it appeared as though she would pass it at such
a distance as would just preclude the possibility of their
reaching her.

"We must shout," exclaimed Mildmay, finding his voice
all at once; "we must shout to George. Perhaps our cries
may reach him and bring him on deck, in which event
we shall be able to tell him what to do."

And shout they did, simultaneously, and at the full
power of their lungs; but it was of no avail — George
and the cook were both at that moment in the innermost
recesses of the ship busily engaged on their respective
avocations, and in all likelihood profoundly ignorant of

364 MILDMAY LOSES HIS HOLD.

the state of affairs. At all events there was no response,
and the ship went drifting slowly past. She was floating
almost level with the little party clinging there despe-
rately to the face of the naked rock, the boss of her pro-
peller being at just about the same height as the colonel's
head. As she drove almost imperceptibly along it seemed
to Mildmay that she was also being drawn inward tow^ard
the face of the rock; and he began to ask himself whether
an active man might not, after all, be able to overleap
the intervening space and grasp one of the propeller-
blades. The craft was so tantalizingly close that it
seemed to him almost a cowardly thing to let this chance
pass; yet, when he glanced downward at the darkening
abyss over which he hung, he shudderingiy confessed to
himself that the leap was an impossibility, and that they
must retreat upward with all speed to gain some com-
paratively secure spot upon which to pass the night
now gathering about them. He was about to put this
thought into words, and to propose an immediate upward
movement, when he turned to take (as he believed) a last
parting glance at the Flying Fish, now immediately be-
hind him. In doing so his fingers slipped and lost their
grip upon the rock, and before he could recover his hold
he found himself going over backwards. He felt that he
was lost; but, with the instinct of self-preservation, turned
quickly on his feet, and as they too were slipping off the
minute projections on which he had been supporting him-
self, he made a vigorous desperate spring outward from
the face of the rock, reaching forward into space toward
the curved end of the propeller-blade which he saw in
front of him. Despair must have leant him extra strength
when making that last awful leap, for, though the dis-
tance was fully twenty feet, he actually reached and suc-
ceeded in grasping the end of the blade. To swing him-

THE MOST DIFFICULT TASK OF ALL. 365

self up astride upon it was the work of a moment; and
then he paused to rest and recover from this last shock to
his nervous system. Not for long, however; he knew that
his companions must be nearly exhausted, and that their
lives now probably depended solely on his activity and
the celerity with which he might be able to go to their
rescue; so he pulled himself together, shouted to them the
encouraging news of his success, and then devoted himself
in earnest to the difficult and perilous task of reaching the
deck of the ship. He had hardly begun this task before
he realized that it was one which would tax his strength,
energy, and ingenuity to their utmost extent. The pro-
peller-blade upon which he was perched happened to be
at the very lowest point of its revolution; and his first
task must be to reach the boss, which was about seven-
teen feet above his head. The peculiar shape of the
blades rendered it impossible for him to achieve this by
climbing up the edge of any one of them ; his only chance
consisted in working his way from one to the other. The
blade to his right seemed to him the most easily acces-
sible, and he forthwith set about the work of reaching it.
To do this he had to climb about ten feet up the fore
edge of the blade upon which he was perched, and to
anyone but a sailor this would have been an impossi-
bility. Even to Mildmay it proved a most difficult as
well as hazardous feat; but after a couple of failures
success crowned his efiTorts, and he found himself high
enough to reach the point of the next blade. This was
so far away, however, that he could only touch it with
his finger-tips, and in order to grasp it — even with one
hand — he found that he would be obliged to overbalance
himself so much that, if he missed, a fall must inevitably
result. The risk had to be taken, however; and he took
it, fortunately with success. This left him swinging by

366 RECOVERY OF THE "FLYING FISH."

one hand from the point of the propeller-blade; but in
another second he had grasped it with his other hand,
and, after a struggle or two, managed to get fairly astride
the edge. His next task was to work himself in along
the edge until he was abreast the after edga of the blade
he had just left, when he had to reach over to the utmost
stretch of his arms, grasp the blade, and in that awkward
position scramble to his feet. This he also managed, when
a further comparatively easy climb enabled him to reach
the boss. He now found himself standing on the boss and
leaning against the smooth elliptical stern of the vessel.
His next task was to climb up over this smooth rounded
surface and so make his way along the upper surface of
the hull to the superstructure, when he would soon find
means to reach the deck. This also, though a task of im-
mense difficulty, he actually accomplished ; finally reaching
the deck in so prostrate a condition that he fell insensible
before he could gain the pilot-house.

His fit of insensibility, however, did not last long —
the latent consciousness of responsibility effectually pre-
vented that; and he was soon able to rise and stagger to
the pilot-house. Once there, he forthwith made his way
below and availed himself of the stimulus afforded by a
glass of neat brandy, after which he felt equal to the task
which yet lay before him. Having swallowed the brandy,
he at once returned to the deck and shifted the rope-
ladder over to the larboard gangway. He then looked
about him to ascertain the whereabouts of the ship, which
he found to be about half a mile distant from the spot
where he had left his friends, and gradually drifting fur-
ther away under the influence of a gentle night -breeze
which had just sprung up — thus proving indubitably
that, had he not reached the craft when he did, she
would probably have been lost to them all for ever. Hav-

ENOUGH OF MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING. 367

ing attached the ladder securely, Mildmay next entered
the pilot-house, and — night having by this time com-
pletely fallen — turned on the electric lights; after which
he set the engines in motion and returned to the side of
the mountain in search of the two companions he had
left clinging in so dangerous a situation. These were
found just as he had left them, and were speedily taken
on board — they too being completely overcome by the
revulsion of feeling following upon their rescue.

A glass of brandy each quickly revived them, how-
ever, and then they devoted their united energies to a
search for the baronet. With some little difficulty the
scene of the accident was discovered; and a minute or
two later Sir Reginald was observed, not dead, as they
had feared to find him, but sitting up on the snow-bank
upon which he had fallen, a prisoner to the spot, from
the fact that there was no possible way of retreat from
it either upward or downward; but in other respects
very little the worse for his terrible fall, the snow, happily,
proving so deep that it served as a cushion or buffer,
allowing the baronet to escape with only a few some-
what severe bruises. The adventure being thus happily
terminated, the ship was quickly navigated to the berth
she had occupied on the preceding night; and the party
then sat down to dinner, over which meal they came to
the conclusion that they had had enough mountain-
climbing that day to suffice them for the remainder of
their lives.

CHAPTER XXIV

THE FOUNDERING OF THE ''MERCURY.'

HE nerves of the adventurers were so shaken by
the vicissitudes of their day's adventure that
they found it impossible to obtain sound and
refreshing sleep that night, notwithstanding their terrible
fatigue; their slumbers were broken by horrible dreams,
and further disturbed by the cries of wild beasts of
various descriptions which kept the forest in a perfect
uproar the whole night long. So great, indeed, was the
disturbance from the latter cause, that, on comparing
notes over the breakfast table next morning, the party
came to the conclusion that they must be in a district
literally swarming with big game, and that it might be
worth their while to spend a few days there hunting.
This they did; with such success that their stay was
prolonged for nearly a month, by which time they had
collected such a quantity of skins, horns, tusks, skulls,
and other trophies of the chase that even they, inveterate
sportsmen as they were, acknowledged themselves satis-
fied. The professor, meanwhile, had devoted himself
enthusiastically to the forming of a collection of rare
birds, beetles, and butterflies, in which pursuit he had
been fully as successful as his companions in theirs; so
that when the time came for them to leave this delightful

IN THE BAY OF BENGAL. 369

spot they did so in the highest possible state of health
and spirits; the remembrance of their ugly adventure on
Everest disturbing them no more than would the memory
of a troublesome dream.

Their next destination was the island of Borneo; and
they arranged their departure so as to pass over Calcutta
and enter the Bay of Bengal during the hours of dark-
ness, their intention being to make the latter part of the
trip by water rather than by air.

They descended to the surface of the sea at daylight,
the land being at that time invisible from the elevation
of ten thousand feet at which they had been travelling
during the night. Not a sail of any description was in
sight; the sparkling sea was only moderately ruffled by
the north-east monsoon; and appearances seemed to
warrant a belief that the passage would be a thoroughly
pleasant one. The travellers were in no hurry whatever,
and they were, moreover, longing for a sniff of the good
wholesome sea-breeze; the Flying Fish therefore pro-
ceeded very leisurely on her course, her engines revolving
dead slow, which gave her a speed of about sixteen knots
through the water.

They proceeded thus during the whole of that day
and the succeeding night, finding themselves at daybreak
next mornino^ within sip'ht of one of the lesser islands of
the Andaman group. And at this point of their journey
a gradual fall of the mercury in their barometers warned
them that they were about to experience a change
of weather. The atmospheric indications remained un-
changed, however, until about two o'clock in the after-
noon, when the wind lulled, the mercury experienced a
sudden further fall, and a great mass of murky cloud
began to bank up in the south-western quarter. This
rapidly overspread the sky, until the whole of the visible

(359) 2A

370 THE BURST OF THE HURRICANE.

heavens became obscured by a thick curtain of flying-
scud. The sea, inky black, suddenly became agitated,
and formed itself into a confusion of irregular waves
without any " run," but which reared themselves trem-
blingly aloft, and then subsided again, only to be instantly
succeeded by others. The wind fell away to a dead
calm, which continued for about a quarter of an hour,
during which an alarmingly rapid fall of the mercury,
combined with a low weird moaning in the atmosphere,
seemed to forebode the approach of some dire disaster.
This was followed by a sudden blast of wind from the
eastward — which came and was gone again in an instant
— and which preceded a brief but terrific downpour of
rain. This lasted for perhaps three minutes, when it
ceased as suddenly as it had commenced.

"Now, look out for the wind," exclaimed Mildmay.
"Ah ! here it comes — a regular hurricane ! Thank Heaven,
there is no sail to shorten on board the Flying FishT

He might well say so; for sore indeed would be the
plight of the unwary seaman who should find himself
under similar circumstances, unprepared. A long line of
white foam suddenly appeared on their starboard bow,
racing down toward them and spreading out right and
left with frightful rapidity, until the whole horizon,
from some four points on the larboard bow right round
to broad on their starboard beam, was marked by a con-
tinuous line of flying foam and spindrift. They watched
with eager curiosity this remarkable phenomenon, noticed
the astounding rapidity with which it travelled, and
saw that the sea on their starboard hand, ay, and even
well on their starboard quarter, was lashed into a perfect
frenzy by the hurricane before it reached the ship.
Then, with a wild rush and a deafening roar, the gale
struck them, and the Flying Fish — stout ship as she

A CYCLONE. 371

was — fciirly shuddered under the force of the blow. In
an instant the air became so thick with the drivinsf
scud- water that every window in the pilot-house had to
be closed to prevent the inmates being drenched to the
skin. In less than five minutes the deck was wet fore
and aft with the flying spray; and before a quarter of
an hour had elapsed the Flying Fish was pitching her
fore-deck clean under water.

At its commencement the gale blew from about south-
east, or dead in their teeth; and the revolutions of the
engines were increased to a rate which, under ordinary
circumstances, would have given the ship a speed of some
twenty- five knots, but which now drove her ahead at the
rate of only some fifteen knots against the gale. As the
afternoon wore on, the wind gradually " backed," until, at
four p.m., it was blowing from due south. This confirmed
Mildmay in his suspicion that they had fallen in with
one of those most terrible of storms — a cyclone!

At half-past four o'clock — at which time the gale was
raging with hurricane force — a sail was made out, bearing
about one point on the Flying Fish's port bow, and
about four miles distant. As well as could be made out,
she appeared to be barque-rigged; and, on approaching
her more closely, this proved to be the case. She was a
vessel of some four hundred tons register, pretty deep
in the water; and — though she was hove- to under close-
reefed fore and main topsails — was making frightfully
bad weather of it, the seas sweeping clear and clean over
her, fore and aft, every time she met them.

The moment that the stranger was first sighted, Mild-
may opened one of the windows — at the risk of getting
drenched to the skin — and brought a telescope to bear
upon her. He had scarcely brought her within the field
of vision when he exclaimed agitatedly:

372 THE "MERCURY.

" Good Heavens ! what is the man about ? He has
hove-to his ship on the port tack; does he not know he
is in a cyclone ? "

" What does it matter which tack the vessel is hove-to
upon?" asked Sir Reginald with a smile at Mildmay's
excitement.

" All the difference in the world, my dear sir/' was the
reply. "We are in the Northern Hemisphere; in which
— as you have already had an opportunity of observing —
cyclones invariably revolve against the apparent course
of the sun. A knowledge of this fact teaches the wary
seaman to heave-to on the starboard tack ; by doing which
his ship dodges away from the fatal centre or "eye" of
the storm. This fellow, however, by heaving-to on the
port tack, is steadily nearing the centre, which must
eventually pass over him, when his ship will be sud-
denly becalmed, only to be struck aback a few moments
later, when she will — almost to a dead certainty — founder
with all hands. For Heaven's sake let us bear down
upon him and warn him ere it be too late. And we have
no time to lose about it either; for, if I may judge from
the fury of the gale, the centre of the storm is not far off"

The speed of the Flying Fish was promptly increased,
her course being at the same time so far altered as to
admit of her intercepting the barque, and a few minutes
later she passed under the stranger's stern and hauled
close up on her weather quarter, the travellers thus hav-
ing an opportunity of ascertaining the name of the vessel,
which proved to be the Mercury of Bristol. They were
now also able to realize more fully than they had yet
the tremendous strength of the gale and power of the
sea; the unfortunate barque careening gunwale-to under
the pressure of the wind upon her scanty canvas, whilst
the sea deluged her decks fore and aft; the whole of her

A SURLY INDIVIDUAL. 373

lee and a considerable portion of her weather bulwarks
having already been carried away, together with her
spare spars; whilst every sea which broke on board her
swept something or other off the deck and into the sea
to leeward. The long-boat and pinnace, stowed over the
main hatchway, were stove and rendered unserviceable;
and, even as the Flying Fish ranged up alongside, their
destruction was completed and their shattered planks and
timbers torn out of the " gripes/' The crew of the ship
had, for safety's sake, assembled aft on the full poop; and
among them could be seen a female figure crouching down
under the meagre shelter of the cabin skylight evidently
in a state of extreme terror.

"You go out and hail them, Mildmay; you know what
to say," remarked Sir Reginald, as he steered the Flying
Fish into a favourable position for communicating.

The lieutenant needed no second bidding; he felt that
the crisis was imminent; and, stepping out on deck, where
he had to cling tightly to the lee guard-rail to escape
being washed overboard, he hailed:

" Barque ahoy! do you know that you are in a cyclone,
and hove-to on the wrong tack? I would very strongly
advise you to wear round at once and get the ship on the
starboard tack. If the eye of the storm catches you you
will surely founder."

To his intense astonishment an answer came back —
from a great black-bearded savage-looking fellow —
couched in the words, as nearly as he could make them
out for the howling of the wind and the rush of the sea:

" You mind your own business! Nobody on board this
ship wants your advice."

" But I am giving it you for your own safety's sake,
and that of the ship," persisted Mildmay.

The answer was unintellicrible, but, as it was accom-

374 STRUCK aback!

panied by an impatient wave of the hand and a turning
of the speaker's back upon him, Mildmay rightly con-
cluded that the individual was one of those obstinate,
pig-headed people, who, having once made a mistake, will
persist in it at all hazards rather than take advice, and
so admit the possibility of their having done wrong; he
accordingly turned away somewhat disgusted, and made
his way back to the shelter of the pilot-house.

The lieutenant was in the act of describing to his com-
panions the unsatisfactory nature of the foregoing brief
colloquy, when suddenly — instantaneously — there oc-
curred an awful pause in the fury of the hurricane; the
wind lulled at once to a dead calm; the air cleared; the
sea, no longer thrashed down by the gale, reared itself
aloft as though it would scale the very heavens; and the
canvas of the barque flapped with a single loud thun-
derous report as she rolled heavily to windward.

"Now, look out!" gasped Mildmay. And, even as the
w^ords escaped his lips, down came the hurricane again
in a sudden mad burst of relentless fury; but now the
wind blew from the northward, the point of the com-
pass exactly opposite that from which it had been blow-
ing a minute before.

The Flying Fish, having neither sails nor spars exposed
to the blast, received this second stroke of the gale with
impunity; but with the devoted barque it was, alas, very
different. She was struck flat aback and borne irresis-
tibly over on her beam- ends, gathering stern- way at the
same time. The crew, at last fully alive to the extreme
peril of their situation, scrambled along the deck and
made their way to the braces in a futile attempt to haul
round the yards, the helmsman at the same time jamming
the wheel hard down that the ship might have a chance
to pay off. The yards, however, were jammed fast against

FOUNDERING, STERN FOREMOST. 375

the weather rigging, and could not be moved; neither
would the ship's head pay off*; meanwhile, her stern-way
was rapidly increasing, the sea already foaming up level
with her taffrail; and presently it curled in over her lee
quarter, sweeping in a steadily increasing volume along
her deck. The catastrophe which followed took place
with startling rapidity. The stern of the barque, now
buried beneath the surge, seemed at once to lose all its
buoyancy, and, powerfully depressed by the leverage of
the topsails on the masts, plunged at once deeply below
the surface of the hungrily leaping sea, the rest of the
hull following so quickly that, before the horrified spec-
tators in the Flying Fish's pilot-house fully realized what
was happening, the entire hull had disappeared, the masts,
yards, and top-hamper generally only remaining in sight a
moment longer, as though to impress upon them unmistak-
ably the fact that a ship was foundering before their eyes

"Come back and close the door!" thundered Sii
Reginald to Mildmay, laying his hand upon certain valve^
handles as the lieutenant sprang out on deck, urged by
some indefinite purpose of rendering help where help was
obviously no longer possible.

Mildmay stood for a moment, as one in a dream, watch-
ing the submergence of the ill-fated Mercury s jib-boom
end and fore-topgallant mast-head (the last of her spars
to disappear) beneath the swirl where her hull had just
vanished, and then, dazedly, he obeyed the baronet's
sharply reiterated command.

No sooner did the door clang to than Sir Eeginald
rapidly threw open all the valves of the water chambers,
and the Flying Fish at once began to follow the barque
to the bottom. In less than five seconds the travellers
found themselves clear of all the wild commotion raging
on the surface, and descending silently, rapidly, yet

376 A TERRIBLE SCENE.

steadily deeper and deeper into the recesses of the cool
twilight which prevailed around them, deepest blue below
and an ever-darkening green above. They quickly over-
took the Mercury and continued the descent almost side
by side with her, watching, with awe-struck curiosity yet
overwhelming pity and horror, the death-struggles of those
who were being helplessly dragged down with her. They
observed, with a feeling of intense relief, that the struggle
for life ceased, in almost every case, in less than a minute,
the expression of horror on the dying men's faces passing
away still earlier and giving place to one of profound
peace and contentment; thus confirming, to a great
extent the current belief that death by drowning is a
painless mode of dissolution.

The crew had, without exception, at the moment of the
barque's foundering, grasped some rope or other portion
of the vessel's equipment, the death-clutch upon which
was in no single instance relaxed; hence they were, one
and all, dragged hopelessly to the bottom with the wreck.
With the female, however, it was different. She had been
crouching in a kneeling attitude upon the deck, under
the imperfect shelter of the cabin skylight, and when the
poop deck became submerged she was swept forward,
still in the same attitude, with her hands clasped as in
prayer, until her body was washed clear of the poop rail,
when the suction of the sinking ship dragged her below
the surface. As the hull of the barque settled down it
gradually recovered its balance and assumed an almost
level position, due, to some extent, no doubt, to the
pressure of the water upon the sails; and, with every
fathom of descent, the downward motion grew increas-
ingly slower. The wreck had sunk to a depth of perhaps
twenty or five-and-twenty fathoms, when the absorbed
spectators in the Flying Fish's pilot-house were startled

SAVED FROM THE WRECK. 377

by observing a sudden convulsive motion in the body of
the female. Her hands were unclasped, her arms were
flung wildly out above her head, and her body was slowly
straightened out. At the same moment the space between
her and the sinking wreck widened; the vessel was sink-
ing more rapidly than the body. The descent of the
Flying Fish was instantly checked, and in another
moment it became apparent that the body was rising to
the surface.

In eager, breathless anxiety the watchers noted the
steady downward progress of the Mercury s spars and
cordage past the now struggling form of the woman,
victims of alternate dismay and hope as they saw the
body now fouled by some portion of the complicated
net- work of standing and running gear between the main
and mizzen masts, and anon drifting clear of it again.
A few seconds, which to the quartette in the pilot-house
seemed spun out to the duration of ages, and the last of
these perils was evaded, upon which the body, still feebly
struggling, resumed its upward journey.

With a great sigh of intense relief, echoed by each of
his companions, Sir Eeginald swiftly backed the Flying
Fish astern, causing her at the same time, by a movement
of the tiller, to swerve with her bow directly toward the
body, now some five or six feet above the level of the deck.
Then, quick as thought, the ship was sent ahead until her
deck was immediately beneath the body, when, the valves
of the air and water chambers being simultaneously
thrown open, she rushed upward to the surface, over-
taking the drowning woman and carrying her upward
also.

In another instant, a vacuum having been created in
the air-chambers, the Flying Fish broke water with a
tremendous rush and swirl, and, without a moment's pause,

378 "WE HAVE SAVED HER, I BELIEVE."

rose into the air, the senseless body on deck being pre-
vented from washing off again only by the guard-rail
which stood in place of bulwarks.

"Take charge, please, and do not rise too high,"
hurriedly exclaimed the baronet to Mildmay, springing,
as he spoke, for the door of the pilot-house, which he
flung open, rushing out on deck and seizing the body as
though fearful that it might yet be snatched away from
him.

Gently raising it in his arms he turned and bore the
slender form to the shelter of the pilot-house, at the door
of which he was met by the professor, who felt that his
medical skill might yet perhaps serve the unfortunate
girl in good stead. Together they conveyed her below to
one of the state-rooms, and, without a moment's loss of
time, the most approved methods of resuscitation were
vigorously resorted to. For fully half an hour their
utmost efforts proved all unavailing; but von Schalcken-
berg so positively asserted life was not extinct that they
persevered, and at length a slight return of warmth to
the body and colour to the lips, followed by a fluttering
sigh, assured them that success was about to reward their
endeavours. Another minute, and a pair of glorious brown
eyes were disclosed by their opening lids, a faint moan
escaped the quivering lips, the head moved uneasily
upon the pillow, and the sufferer murmured a few inar-
ticulate words.

" Thank God, we have saved her, I believe," ejaculated
Sir Reginald, in a whisper, to the professor. "Now, doctor,
I will retire and leave you to complete her restoration, so
that the poor girl may be spared embarrassment as far
as possible on the full recovery of consciousness. But I
shall establish myself outside the door of the state-room,
within easy reach of your voice should you need anything;

RESCUED AND RESCUERS. 379

and do not forget that the whole resources of the ship
are at your absolute disposal."

"All right/' answered the professor. "Now go, for the
patient is coming to herself rapidly."

Half an hour later von Schalckenberg crept out on tip-
toe, his kindly face beaming and his eyes sparkling with
exultation.

" It is all right," he whispered in his broadest German-
English. " I have fully restored the circulation, and the
young patient is now in a sound sleep, from which she
must not be disturbed on any account. I shall keep
watch by her side, and when she awakes you shall all be
duly informed of the circumstance. You may now go about
your business, my good friend, your services are no longer
required here."

The worthy professor kept sedulous watch over his
patient until satisfied that she was completely out of
danger, presenting her to his companions only when
they assembled in the saloon for dinner some four-and-
twenty hours after the catastrophe which had thrown
her into their society.

The colonel and Mildmay were stricken absolutely,
though only temporarily, dumb with astonishment and
admiration at the vision of remarkable beauty which
met their gaze as the saloon door opened, and von Schalck-
enberg, stepping hastily forward with a most courtly
bow, met the fair stranger at the threshold, taking her
hand and leading her forward into the apartment pre-
liminary to the ceremony of introduction. Even Sir
Reginald, though he had not failed to notice the beauty
of the pale and apparently lifeless girl he had raised from
the wet deck and borne so carefully below on the preced-
ing evening, was startled at her radiant loveliness as she,
somewhat shrinkingly and with a momentary vivid blush,

380 OLIVIA d'arcy.

responded to the introductions and congratulatory greet-
ings which immediately followed. All night long, and
throughout the day, she had been haunted by the dreamy
recollection of another face than that of the kindly pro-
fessor who had so assiduously nursed her back to life —
a bronzed handsome face, with tender pitiful blue eyes,
close-cut auburn hair clustering wavily about the small
shapely head, and luxuriant auburn moustache and beard,
bending anxiously over her as she lay weak, helpless,
suffering, and with the feebly-returning consciousness of
having recently experienced some terrible calamity; of
having passed through some awful and harrowing ordeal;
and now, as she gave her hand to Sir Reginald, and shyly
glanced up into his handsome face and read the tender
sympathy for her expressed by the kindly blue eyes, she
recognized the embodiment of the vision which had
haunted her so persistently, and knew that she had not
been merely dreaming. The circumstances in which she
thus found herself placed were certainly somewhat em-
barrassing; but, with the tact of a true gentleman, Sir
Reginald at once led the conversation into a channel
w^hich soon made the poor girl forget her embarrassment,
and almost immediately afterwards the party sat down
to dinner.

During the progress of this meal — which, however, their
guest scarcely tasted — the gentlemen were made aware of
the circumstances which led to this lovely girl being
thrown, helpless and friendless, into their society and
upon their hospitality.

Her name, she informed them, was Olivia D'Arcy.
She was an orphan. Her brother, formerly a lieutenant
in the royal navy, had been compelled by straitened cir-
cumstances to quit the service and enter the mercantile
marine, in which he had without much difficulty succeeded

A VERY SAD STORY. 381

in securing a command. By practising the most rigid
economy he had contrived to maintain his only sister,
Olivia, and educate her at a first-class school, and on her
education being completed he had decided, as the simplest
way out of many difficulties, financial and otherwise, to
take her to sea with him. This had been her first voyage
with him, as it had been his first in command of the
Mercury. The ship had been to Manilla, and at the time
of her loss was homeward-bound, with instructions to call
at Madras en route. The voyage had been an unfortunate
one in many respects, even from its commencement, and
Olivia thought the climax had been reached when, a
week before her wreck, the Mercury had been attacked
by pirates in the Straits of Malacca, and her brother slain
by the pirates' last shot, as they retired defeated. The
cruel shot, she declared in a burst of uncontrollable grief,
had robbed her, in her brother, of her sole relative; and
whilst she was deeply grateful to those she addressed for
preserving her life, she felt that it would perhaps have
been better for her had she been allowed to perish.

Such a story was calculated to excite the deepest sym-
pathy and commiseration in the breasts of those who
listened to it; and it did; in Sir Reginald's case, indeed,
the feeling was even warmer than either of those men-
tioned, especially when he learned, upon further inquiry,
that Olivia s brother had been none other than the George
D'Arcy who, in the days of their mutual boyhood, had
fought many a battle on his behalf at Eton when certain
first-form bullies had shown a disposition to tyrannize
over the then delicate curly-headed "Miss Reggie" (as
Elphinstone was dubbed when he first entered the school),
and the sorrowing girl was assured that, so far from being
friendless, she would find in her then companions four
men upon whom she might always rely for the warmest

382 A CHANGE OF PLANS.

sympathy, the most kindly counsel, and the most sub-
stantial help so long as their lives might last.

The accession of such a guest as Olivia D'Arcy to the
little party on board the Flying Fish occasioned, it will
readily be understood, a complete and immediate change
in all their plans. In the first moment that they gave
to the consideration of the matter they saw that it would
never do for a young, beautiful, and unprotected girl to
accompany them hither and thither in their wanderings,
even were she willing to do so, which they felt well
assured she would not be. Two alternatives then pre-
sented themselves to the choice of the party: the one
being to land her at the nearest port, and, furnishing her
with the necessary means, leave her to make her way to
England alone and unprotected as best she could; the
other alternative involving the temporary abandonment
of their further projects and the immediate return of the
Flying Fish to England. The first project was named
only to be abruptly and unanimously rejected by the en-
tire party, the second being gladly adopted by Sir Eegi-
nald upon his receiving from his three friends the assur-
ance of their hearty approval and acquiescence.

This decision was arrived at shortly before midnight
on the evening following Olivia s formal introduction by
the professor to the remaining members of the party, and
thereupon — the Flying Fish being at the time afloat and
making her way leisurely southward toward the Straits
of Malacca — an ascent to the upper regions of the atmo-
sphere was at once made, and the ship's head pointed
homeward. The distance to be traversed was consider-
able, but it was calculated that by travelling at the ship s
utmost speed along the arc of a great circle (the shortest
possible route between any two places on the earth's sur-
face), the journey might be accomplished in about forty-

AT HOME ONCE MORE. 383

five hours, which, allowing for the difference of longitude
in time between their then position and the Eno-lish
Channel, would enable them to reach the latter place at
about two o'clock in the afternoon of the day but one
following. This was rather an awkward time, if they
still intended to maintain their secrecy of movement and
avoid observation, but under the circumstances they
resolved to risk it. Soaring, therefore, to a height of
ten thousand feet — the elevation which experience had
taught them to be most suitable for the performance of
long-distance journeys — the Flying Fish was put to her
utmost speed, and, with the gentlemen keeping watch by
turns in the pilot-house, the journey was commenced.

Swiftly the wonderful fabric sped forward upon her
homeward way, and, without incident of any kind worthy
of mention, and almost at the very minute calculated upon,
the waters of the English Channel were sighted; an unob-
served descent being effected some twenty miles seaward
of the little town of Saint Yalery on the French coast.
A course was now shaped for the Isle of Wight, and, a
few hours later, one of the boats belonging to the Flying
Fish quietly glided into Portsmouth harbour in charge of
Lieutenant Mildmay. Three passengers — Olivia D'Arcy,
the professor, and Colonel Lethbridge — landed from her
without attracting any attention, and found themselves
iust in good time to take the London express, which they
did, Mildmay making his solitary way out of the harbour
again immediately.

In accordance with arrangements previously made by
Sir Reginald, Miss D'Arcy was escorted by her two
cavaliers straight to the town residence of a certain aunt
of the baronet's, and handed over to the care and pro-
tection of the old lady, with whom (to make short of a
long story) for the ensuing twelve months she found a

384 CONCLUSION.

most comfortable and happy home; Sir Reginald and
Mildmay turning up in town two days later laden with
their African spoils, the equitable division of which, and
their ultimate disposal, occupied the party for several
months.

Thus ended the cruise of the Flying Fish. What
remains to be told may be said in a very few words.
Will the sagacious reader be very much surprised to learn
that Sir Reginald Elphinstone suddenly discovered, in the
aunt who had kindly taken Olivia D'Arcy under her pro-
tection, an old lady whose good graces were worth the
most assiduous cultivation? Such, at all events, was the
fact, and, this much having been stated, the aforesaid
sagacious reader will perhaps be not altogether unpre-
pared to learn that, about a year after the return of the
Flying Fish to England, a wedding took place from that
old lady's house; in which ceremony Olivia enacted most
charmingly the part of bride, with Sir Reginald as bride-
groom, supported by the three staunch friends who had
shared with him so many perils.

And what about the Flying Fish, does somebody ask?
When last heard of she was — where she probably still is —
lying safe and unsuspected at the bottom of the " Hurd
Deep," in the identical spot where she made her first de-
scent into the waters of the English Channel.

Whether she will ever again be put into commission —
and, if so, under what circumstances — time alone will
show.

THE END.

"More suitable books, especially for boys, it would be impossible to imagine. Whether
of adventure, school life, or domestic interest, every story is alike marked with those wholesome
and robust characteristics which form so valuable a feature in juvenile literature."— C/irw/;«aj
Bookseller.

CRIBNER & MELFORD'S

Catalogue of Books

FOR

YOUNG PEOPLE.

INCLUDING NEW WORKS

G. A. HENTY, G. M. FENN, S. BARING -GOULD, F. FRANKFORT MOORE,

HARRY COLLI NGWOOD, ROSA MULHOLLAND, SARAH DOUDNEY,

ALICE CORKRAN, AND OTHER POPULAR AUTHORS.

743 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.

BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

Here we have Mr. George Henty— the Boys' Own Author."— PmicA.

WITH LEE IN VIRGINIA:

A Story of the American Civil War. By G. A. Henty. With
10 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne, and 6 Maps.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1-50.
Few great wars have been fought out by each side with greater intensity
of conviction in the rightness of its cause or with more abundant personal
heroism than the American civil war ; and it is natural that the renewed
interest in its details, which has been manifested during the last two or
three years, should have attracted writers of fiction to so admirable a ground.
Of this heroic clash of opposing conviction Mr. Henty has made admirable
use in this story of a young Virginian planter, who, after bravely proving
his sympathy with the slaves of brutal masters, serves with no less courage
and enthusiasm under Lee and Jackson through the most exciting events of
the struggle. He has many hairbreadth escapes, is several times wounded
and twice taken prisoner; but his courage and readiness and, in two cases,
the devotion of a black servant and of a runaway slave whom he had
assisted bring him safely through all difficulties. Mr. Henty has in no
case been more successful in interweaving an exciting personal narrative
with important historic events.

BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE:

A Tale of Fontenoy and CuUoden. By G A. Henty. With
12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

The adventures of the son of a Scotch officer in French service who had
secretly married the daughter of a noble. The boy, brought up by a
Glasgow bailie, is arrested for aiding a Jacobite agent, escapes in a Dutch
ship, is wrecked on the French coast, reaches Paris, and serves with the
French army at Dettingen. Having discovered the convent in which his
mother is imprisoned, he establishes communication with her, and succeeds
in obtaining through Marshal Saxe the release of both his parents. He
kills his father's foe in a duel, and escaping to the coast, shares the ad-
ventures of Prince Charlie, but finally settles happily in Scotland.

"A historical romance of the best

"Ronald, the hero, is very like the
hero of Quentin Durward. The lad's
journey across France with his faith-
ful attendant Malcolm, and his hair-
breadth escapes from the machinations
of his father's enemies, make up as
good a narrative of the kind as we have
ever read. For freshness of treatment
and variety of incident, Mr. Henty has
here surpassed himself. "Spectator.

quality. Mr. Henty has written many
more sensational stories than Bonnie
Prince Charlie but never a more artistic
one. " — A cademy.

" His book is really a painstaking and
conscientious historical study, and it
has the swift-flowing vivacity and vigour
of his most spontaneous and stirring
stories."— CAmtian Leader.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

" Mr. Henty is one of the best of story-tellers for young peoT^le."— Spectator.

BY PIKE AND DYKE:

A Tale of the Eise of the Dutch Eepublic. By G. A. Henty.
With 10 full-page Illustrations by Maynard Brown, and 4
Maps. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

A story covering the period which forms the thrilling subject of Motley's
Rise of the Dutch Republic^ when the Netherlands, under the guidance of
William of Orange, revolted against the attempts of Alva and the Spaniards
to force upon them the Catholic religion. To a story already of the
keenest interest, Mr. Henty has added a special attractiveness for boys in
tracing through the historic conflict the adventures and brave deeds of an
English boy in the household of the ablest man of his age — William the
Silent. Edward Martin, the son of an English sea-captain, after sharing
in the excitement of an escape from the Spaniards and a sea-fight, enters
the service of the Prince as a volunteer, and is employed by him in many
dangerous and responsible missions, in the discharge of which he passes
through the great sieges and more than one naval engagement of the time.
He is subsequently employed in Holland by Queen Elizabeth, to whom he
is recommended by Orange; and ultimately settles down as Sir Edward
Martin and the husband of the lady to whom he owes his life, and whom
he in turn has saved from the Council of Blood.

CAPTAIN BAY LETS HEIR:

A Tale of the Gold Fields of California. By G. A. Henty.
With 12 full-page Illustrations by H. M. Paget. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

A frank manly lad and his cousin, who is of the plausible scheming type,
are rivals in the heirship of a considerable property. The former falls into
a trap laid by the latter, and while under a false accusation of theft fool-
ishly leaves England for America. He works his passage before the mast,
becomes one of the hands on a river trading-flat, joins a small band of
hunters, crosses a tract of country infested with Indians to the Califomian
gold diggings, and is successful both as digger and trader. He acquires a
small fortune, is at length proved innocent of the charge which drove him
from home, and returns rich in valuable experiences.

"A Westminster boy who, like all
this author's heroes, makes his way in
the world by hard work, good temper,
and unfailing courage. The descrip-
tions given of life are just what a
healthy intelligent lad should delight
in."— St. James's Gazette.

"Mr. Henty is careful to mingle solid
instruction with entertainment; and
the humorous touches, especially in
the sketch of John Holl, the Westmin-
ster dustman, Dickens himself could
hardly have excelled. " — Christian
Leader.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

"Mr. Henty's books for boys have long been recognized as amongst the very
best things of their kind."— Court Journal.

THE LION OF ST. MARK.

A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth Century. By G. A. Henty.
With 10 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

A story of Venice at a period when her strength and splendour were put
to the severest tests. The hero, the son of an English trader who has
taken up residence in the city, displays a fine sense and manliness which
carry him safely through an atmosphere of intrigue, crime, and bloodshed.
In his gondola on the canals and lagunes, and in the ships which he rises
to command, he is successful in extricating his friends and himself from
imminent dangers, and contributes largely to the victories of the Venetians
at Porto d'Anzo and Chioggia. He is honoured by the state and finally
wins the hand of the daughter of one of the chief men of Venice.

" Every boy should read The Lion of
St. Mark. Mr. Henty has never pro-
duced any story more delightful, more
wholesome, or more vivacious. From
first to last it will be read with keen
ex^loyment."— Saturday Review.

"Mr. Henty has probably not pub
lished a more interesting story than
The Lion of St. Mark. He has certainly
not published one in which he has been
at such pains to rise to the dignity of
his subject." — The Academy.

THE LION OF THE NORTH.

A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of Eeligion. By
G. A. Henty. With 12 full- page Illustrations by John
ScHONBERG. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

In this story Mr. Henty gives the history of the first part of the Thirty
Years' War, a struggle unprecedented in length; in the fury with which it
was carried on, and in the terrible destruction and ruin which it caused.
The issue had its importance, which has extended to the present day, as
it established religious freedom in Germany. The army of the chivalrous
King of Sweden, the prop and maintenance of the Protestant cause, was
largely composed of Scotchmen, and among these was the hero of the
story. The chief interest of the tale turns on the great struggle between
Gustavus and his chief opponents Wallenstein, Tilly, and Pappenheim.

vus Adolphus. Mackay, Hepburn, and
Munro live again inMr. Henty's pages,as
those deserve to live whose disciplined
bands formed really the germ of the
modern British army." — Athenceum.

*' A stirring story of stirring times.
This book should hold a place among
the classics of youthful fiction. "— United
Service Gazette.

"As we might expect from Mr. Henty
the tale is a clever and instructive
piece of history, and as boys may be
trusted to read it conscientiously, they
can hardly fail to be profited as well as
pleased." — The Times.

"A praiseworthy attempt to interest
British youth in the great deeds of the
Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gusta-

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLB.

BY G. A. HENTY.

** Mr. Ilenty's books never fail to interest boy readers. "—Academy.

FOB THE TEMPLE:

A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By G. A. Hentt. With 10
full-page Illustrations by S. J. Solomon : and a coloured Map.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

Few boys have failed to find the story of the revolt of the Jews of
thrilling interest when once brought to their notice; but there hgis hitherto
been Uttle choice between sending them to books of history and supply-
ing them with insipid fictional transcripts of the story. Mr. Henty sup-
plies a distinct want in this regard, weaving into the record of Josephus
an admirable and attractive plot. The troubles in the district of Tiberias,
the march of the legions, the sieges of Jotapata, of Gamala, and of
Jerusalem, form the impressive and carefully-studied historic setting
to the figure of the lad who passes from the vineyard to the service of
Josephus, becomes the leader of a guerrilla band of patriots, fights bravely
for the Temple, and after a brief term of slavery at Alexandria, returns to
his Galilean home with the favour of Titus.

WITH C LIVE IN INDIA:

Or the Beginnings of an Empire. By G. A. Henty. With
12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne, in black and
tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, Jl'SO.

The period between the landing of Clive as a young writer in India and
the close of his career was critical and eventful in the extreme. At its
commencement the English were traders existing on sufferance of the
native princes. At its close they were masters of Bengal and of the greater
part of Southern India. The author has given a full and accurate account
of the events of that stirring time, and battles and sieges follow each other
in rapid succession, while he combines with his narrative a tale of daring
and adventure, which gives a lifelike interest to the volume.

" III this book Mr. Henty has contrived
to exceed himself in stirring adventures
and thrilling situations. The pictures add
greatly to the interest of the book." —
Saturday Review.

' 'Among writers of stories of adventure
for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very
first rank, and Mr. Gordon Browne occu-
pies a similar place with his pencil. . . .
Those who know something about India

will be the most ready to thank Mr.
Henty for giving them this instructive
volume to place in the hands of their chil-
dren."— .Academy.

'* He has taken a period of Indian His-
tory of the most vital importance, and he
has embroidered on the historical facts
a story which of itself is deeply interest-
ing. Young people assuredly will be de-
lighted with the volume."— Scotemon.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

"Surely Mr. Henty should understand boys' tastes better than any man living.'

—The Times.

THE YOUNG CARTHAGINIAN:

A Story of the Times of Hannibal. By G. A. Henty. With 12
full-page Illustrations by C. J. Staniland, E.I. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

Boys reading the history of the Punic Wars have seldom a keen appre-
ciation of the merits of the contest. That it was at first a struggle for
empire, and afterwards for existence on the part of Carthage, that Hanni-
bal was a great and skilful general, that he defeated the Romans at Trebia.
Lake Trasimenus, and Cannae, and all but took Rome, represents pretty
nearly the sum total of their knowledge.

To let them know more about this momentous struggle for the empire of
the world Mr. Henty has written this story, which not only gives in graphic
style a brilliant description of a most interesting period of history, but is a
tale of exciting adventure sure to secure the interest of the reader.

"The effect of an interesting story,
well constructed and vividly told, is
enhanced by the picturesque quality of
the scenic background. From first to
last nothing stays the interest of the
narrative. It bears us along as on a
stream, whose current varies in direc-

tion, but never loses its force." — Satur-
day Review.

" Ought to be popular with boys who
are not too ill instructed or too dandi-
fied to be affected by a graphic picture
of the days and deeds of Hannibal. "-
Athenoeum.

WITH WOLFE IN CANADA:

Or, The Winning of a Continent. By G. A. Henty. With 12
full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.
In the present volume Mr. Henty gives an account of the struggle be-
tween Britain and France for supremacy in the North American continent.
On the issue of this war depended not only the destinies of North Ame-
rica, but to a large extent those of the mother countries themselves. The
fall of Quebec decided that the Anglo-Saxon race should predominate in
the New World; that Britain, and not France, should take the lead among
the nations of Europe; and that English and American commerce, the
English language, and English literature, should spread right round the
globe.

"It is not only a lesson in history as
Instructively as it is graphically told,
but also a deeply interesting and often
thrilling tale of adventure and peril by
flood and field." — Illustrated London
News.

" A model of what a boy's story-book
should be. Mr. Henty has a great power
of infusing into the dead facts of his-
tory new life, and his books supply
useful aids to study as well as amuse
ment. " — School Guardian.

BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLM.

BY G. A. HENTY.

'* The brightest of all the living writera whose office it is to enchant the boys."

— Chrutian Leader.

THROUGH THE FRAY:

A Story of the Luddite Eiots. By G. A. Henty. With 12 full-
page IHustrations by H. M. Paget, in black and tint. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $l'50.

The author in this story has followed the lines which he worked out so
successfully in Facing Death. As in that story he shows that there arc
victories to be won in peaceful fields, and that steadfastness and tenacity
are virtues which tell in the long run. The story is laid in Yorkshire at the
commencement of the present century, when the high price of food induced
by the war and the introduction of machinery drove the working-classes
to desperation, and caused them to band themselves in that wide-spread
organization known as the Luddite Society. There is an abundance of
adventure in the tale, but its chief interest lies in the character of the
hero, and the manner in which by a combination of circumstances he is
put on trial for his life, but at last comes victorious "through the fray."

"Mr. Henty inspires a love and ad-
miration for straightforwardness, truth,
and courage. This is one of the best of
the many good books Mr. Henty has
produced, and deserves to he classed
with his Facing Death."— Standard.

" The interest of the story never flags.
Were we to propose a competition for
the best list of novel writers for boys
we have little doubt that Mr. Henty's
name would stand first."— Journal 0/
Education.

TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG:

A Tale of the American War of Independence. By G. A.
Henty. With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

In this story the author has gone to the accounts of officers who took part
in the conflict, and lads will find that in no war in which American and Bri-
tish soldiers have been engaged did they behave with greater courage and
good conduct. The historical portion of the book being accompanied with
numerous thrilling adventures with the redskins on the shores of Lake
Huron, a story of exciting interest is interwoven with the general narrative
and carried through the book.

** Does justice to the pluck and deter-
mination of the British soldiers during
the iinfortunate struggle against Ameri-
can emancipation. The son of an Ameri-
can loyalist, who remains true to our flag,
falls among the hostile redskins in that
very Huron country which has been en-
deared to us by the exploits of Hawk-
eye and Chingachgook." — The Times.

" Mr. G. A. Henty's extensive personal
experience of adventures and moving
incidents by flood and field, combined
with a gift of picturesque narrative,
make his books always welcome visitoi-s
in the home circle." — Daily News.

*' Very superior in every way. The book
is almost unique in its class in having
illustrative ma,T^s."— Saturday Review.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

Mr. Henty is the king of story-telleis for \ioy^"— Sword and Trowel

IN FREEDOM'S CAUSE:

A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By G. A. Henty. With
12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne, in black and
tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, f 1*50.

In this story the author relates the stirring tale of the Scottish War of
Independence. The extraordinary valour and personal prowess of Wallace
and Bruce rival the deeds of the mythical heroes of chivalry, and indeed
at one time Wallace was ranked with these legendary personages. The
researches of modern historians have shown, however, that he was a living,
breathing man— and a valiant champion. The hero of the tale fought under
both Wallace and Bruce, and while the strictest historical accuracy has
been maintained with respect to public events, the work is full of "hair-
breadth 'scapes " and wild adventure.

"Mr. Henty has broken new ground
as an historical novelist. His tale is fall
of stirring action, and will commend
itself to boys." — Athenceum.

*'It is written in the author's best
style. Full of the wildest and most
remarkable achievements, it is a tale of
great interest, which a boy, once he has

begun it, will not willingly put on one

side." — The Schoolmaster.

"Scarcely anywhere have we seen in
prose a more lucid and spirit-stirring
description of Bannockburn than the one
with which the author fittingly closes his
volume,"— i?wm/ries Standard.

UNDER DRAKE'S FLAG.

A Tale of the Spanish Main. By G. A. Henty. Illustrated
by 12 full-page Pictures by Gordon Browne, in black and
tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1-50.

A story of the days when England and Spain struggled for the supre-
macy of the sea, and England carried off the palm. The heroes sail as lads
with Drake in the expedition in which the Pacific Ocean was first seen by
an Englishman from a tree-top on the Isthmus of Panama, and in his great
voyage of circumnavigation. The historical portion of the story is abso-
lutely to be relied upon, but this, although very useful to lads, will perhaps
be less attractive than the great variety of exciting adventure through
which the young adventurers pass in, the course of their voyages.

"A stirring book of Drake's time, and
just such a book as the youth of this
maritime coimtry are likely to prize
highly." — Daily Telegraph.

*' Ned in the coils of the boa-constrictor
is a wonderful picture. A boy must be

hard to please if he wishes for anything
more exciting." — Pall Mall Gazette.

"A book of adventure, where the hero
meets with experience enough one would
think to turn his hair gray." — Harper's
Monthly Magazine.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

Mr. Henty's books for boys are always admirsible."— Birmingham Po&t.

ONE OF THE 28^^:

With 8 full-page Illus-
2 Maps. Crown 8vo^

A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. Henty.
trations by W. H. Overend, and
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

Herbert Penfold, being desirous of benefiting the daughter of an inti-
mate friend, and Ralph Conway, the son of a lady to whom he had once
been engaged, draws up a will dividing his property between them, and
places it in a hiding-place only^known to members of his own family. At
his death his two sisters determine to keep silence, and the authorized
search for the will, though apparently thorough, fails to bring it to light.
The mother of Ralph, however, succeeds in entering the house as a servant,
and after an arduous and exciting search secures the will. In the mean-
time, her son has himself passed through a series of adventures. The boat
in which he is fishing is run down by a French privateer, and Ralph,
scrambling on board, is forced to serve until the harbour of refuge is
entered by a British frigate. On his return he enters the army, and after
some rough service in Ireland, takes part in the Waterloo campaign, from
which he returns with the loss of an arm, but with a substantial fortune,
which is still further increased by his marriage with his co-heir.

THU CAT OF BU BASTES:

A Story of Ancient Egypt. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by J. E. Weguelin. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, $1*50.

In availing himself of the pictured records of Egyptian life and history,
Mr. Henty has produced a story which will give young readers an unsur-
passed insight into the customs of one of the greatest of the ancient peoples.
Amuba, a prince of the Rebu nation on the shores of the Caspian, is carried
with his charioteer Jethro into slavery. They become inmates of the house
of Ameres, the Egyptian high-priest, and are happy in his service until the
priest's son accidentally kills the sacred cat of Bubastes. In an outburst
of popular fury Ameres is killed, and it rests with Jethro and Amuba to
secure the escape of the high-priest's son and daughter. After many
dangers they succeed in crossing the desert to the Red Sea, and eventually
making their way to the Caspian.

" The story is highly enjoyable. We
have pictures of Egyptian domestic
life, of sport, of religious ceremonial,
and of other things which may still be
seen vividly portrayed by the brush of
Egyptian artists."— TAe Spectator.

*' The story, from the critical moment
of the killing of the sacred cat to the
perilous exodus into Asia with which it
closes, is very skilfully constructed and
full of exciting adventures. It is admir-
ably illustrated."— 5a«t(rdoy Review.

BOOKS FOR YOUNQ PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

'Mr. Henty is one of our most successful writers of historical tales.

-Scotsman.

IN THE EEIGN OF TERROR:

The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. By G. A. Henty. With
8 full-page Illustrations by J. Schonberq. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

Harry Sandwith, a Westminster boy, becomes a resident at the chateau
of a French marquis, and after various adventures accompanies the family
to Paris at the crisis of the Revolution. Imprisonment and death reduce
their number, and the hero finds himself beset by perils with the three
young daughters of the house in his charge. The stress of trial brings out
in him all the best English qualities of pluck and endurance, and after
hair-breadth escapes they reach Nantes. There the girls are condemned
to death in the coffin-ships Les Noyades, but are saved by the unfailing
courage of their boy-protector.

"Harry Sandwith, the Westminster
boy, may fairly be said to beat Mr.
Henty's record. His adventures will
delight boys by the audacity and peril
they depict. . . . The story is one of
Mr. Henty's hQ^t"— Saturday Review.

"The interest of this story of the
Reign of Terror lies in the way in

which the diflaculties and perils Harry
has to encounter bring out the he-
roic and steadfast qualities of a brave
nature. Again and again the last ex-
tremity seems to have been reached,
but his unfailing courage triumphs
over all. It is an admirable boy's
hook.,"— Birmingham Post.

ST. GEORGE FOB ENGLAND:

A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-
page Illustrations by Gordon Browne, in black and tint.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, $1-50.

No portion of English history is more crowded with great events than that
of the reign of Edward III. Cressy and Poitiers laid France prostrate at
the feet of England; the Spanish fleet was dispersed and destroyed by a
naval battle as remarkable in its incidents as was that which broke up the
Armada in the time of Elizabeth. Europe was ravaged by the dreadful
plague known as the Black Death, and France was the scene of the terrible
peasant rising called the Jacquerie. All these stirring events are treated
by the author in aS"^. George for England. The hero of the story, although
of good family, begins life as a London apprentice, but after countless
adventures and perils, becomes by valour and good conduct the squire,
and at last the trusted friend of the Black Prince.

•'Mr. Henty as a boy's story-teller
stands in the very foremost rank. With
plenty of scope to work upon he has
produced a strong story at once in-
structive and entertaining."— GrZas(70to
Herald.

" Mr. Henty has developed for him-
self a type of historical novel for boys
which bids fair to supplement, on their
behalf, the historical labours of Sir
Walter Scott iu the laud of fiction. " —
Standard.

BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

All'. Henty is the prince of story-tellers for boys. "— Sheffield Independent.

A FINAL BECKONING:

A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. By G. A. Henty. With
8 full-page Illustrations by W. B. Wollen. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

In this book Mr. Henty has again left the battlefields of history and has
written a story of adventure in Australia in the early days of its settlement.

The hero, a young English lad, after rather a stormy boyhood, emigrates
to Australia, and gets employment as an oflBcer in the mounted police.

A few years of active work on the frontier, where he has many a brush
with both natives and bush-rangers, gain him promotion to a captaincy,
and he eventually settles down to the peaceful life of a squatter.

"Mr. Henty has never published a
more readable, a more carefully con-
atructed, or a better written story than
this. " — Spectator.

" Exhibits Mr. Henty's talent as a
story-teller at his best. . . . The draw-
ings possess the uncommon merit of
really illustrating the text." — Saturday
Review.

"All boys will read this story with
eager and unflagging interest. The
episodes are in Mr. Henty's very best
vein— graphic, exciting, realistic ; and,
as in all Mr. Henty's books, the tend-
ency is to the formation of an honour-
able, manly, and even heroic character. "
—Birmingham, Post.

THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE:

Or With Peterborough in Spain. By G. A. Henty. With
8 full-page Illustrations by H. M. Paget. Crown 8vo, cloth

elegant, $1'5U.

There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely
fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. This is largely
due to the fact that they were overshadowed by the glory and successes
of Marlborough. His career as General extended over little more than
a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare which has
never been surpassed, and performed feats of daring worthy of the leaders
of chivalry.

"Mr. Henty has done good service in
endeavouring to redeem from oblivion
the name of the great soldier, Charles
Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough. The
young recruit, Jack Stilwell, worthily
earns his commission and tells his tale
with spirit."— ^t/ienceww.

"Mr. Henty never loses sight of the
moral purpose of his work — to enforce
the doctrine of courage and truth,
mercy and lovingkindness, as indispens-
able to the making of a gentleman.

Lads will read The Bravest of the Brave
with pleasure and profit; of that we are
quite BVLve." —Daily Telegraph.

"In describing the brief, brilliant,
most extraordinary campaigns of this
chivalric and picturesque commander
Mr. Henty is in his element, and the
boy who does not follow the animated
and graphic narrative with rapture
must sadly lack spirit and pluck."—
CivU Service Gazette.

BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

"Among writers of stories of adventure for boys Mr. Henty stands in the very
first rank."— Academy.

FOB NAME AND FAME:

Or, Through Afghan Passes. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-
page Illustrations by Gordon Browne, in black and tint.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, v*l*50.

This is an interesting story of the last war in Afghanistan. The hero,
after being wrecked and going through many stirring adventures among
the Malays, finds his way to Calcutta, and enhsts in a regiment proceed-
ing to join the army at the Afghan passes. He accompanies the force
under General Roberts to the Peiwar Kotal, is wounded, taken prisoner,
and carried to Cabul, whence he is transferred to Candahar, and takes
part in the final defeat of the army of Ayoub Khan.

"Mr. Henty's pen is never more effec-
tively employed than when he is de-
scribing incidents of warfare. The best
featm-e of the book — apart from the
interest of its scenes of adventure— is
its honest effort to do justice to the
patriotism of the Afghan people."—
Daily News.

"Here we have not only a rousing

story, replete with all the varied forms
of excitement of a campaign, but an in-
structive history of a recent war, and,
what is still more useful, an account of
a territory and its inhabitants which
must for a long time possess a supreme
interest for Englishmen, as being the
key to our Indian Empire." — Glasgow
Herald.

BY SHEEB PLUCK:

A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page
Illustrations by Gordon Browne, in black and tint. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, '1*50.

The Ashanti Campaign seems but an event of yesterday, but it happened
when the generation now rising up were too young to have made them-
selves acquainted with its incidents. The author has woven, in a tale of
thrilling interest, all the details of the campaign, of which he was himself
a witness. His hero, after many exciting adventures in the interior, finds
himself at Coomassie just before the outbreak of the war, is detained a
prisoner by the king, is sent down with the army which invaded the British
Protectorate, escapes, and accompanies the English expedition on their
march to Coomassie.

" Mr. Henty keeps up his reputation as
a writer of boys' stories. * By Sheer Pluck'
will be eagerly read." — Athenaeum.

"The book is one which will not only
sustain, but add to Mr. Henty's reputa-
tion." — The Standard.

"Written with a simple directness,
force, and purity of style worthy of De-
foe. Morally, the book is everything that
could be desired, setting before the boys
a bright and bracing ideal of the English
gentleman."— C/irisfian Leader.

BOOKS FOR TOUNO PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

"Mr. Henty's books are always welcome visitors in the home circle."-
News.

■Daily

FACING DEATH:

Or the Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of the Coal Mines.
By G. A. Henty. With 8 full-page Illustrations by Gordon
Browne, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, $1 '60.

*' Facing Death " is a story with a purpose. It is intended to show that
a lad who makes up his mind firmly and resolutely that he will rise in life,
and who is prepared to face toil and ridicule and hardship to carry out his
determination, is sure to succeed. The hero of the story is a typical British
boy, dogged, earnest, generous, and though "shamefaced" to a degree, is
ready to face death in the discharge of duty. His is a character for imita-
tion by boys in every station.

" Tho tale is well written and well
illustrated, and there is much reality
in the characters." — Athenceum.

' ' If any father, godfather, clergyman,

or schoolmaster is on the look-out for a
good book to give as a present to a boy
who is worth his salt, this is the book
we would recommend."— Sianrfard.

ORANGE AND GBEEN:

A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. By G. A. Henty. With
8 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

The history of Ireland has assumed such immediate interest that Mr.
Henty's fictional treatment of one of its important crises will be welcomed
by all who desire that the young should realize vividly the sources of many
of its troubles. The story is the record of two typical families — the
Davenants, who, having come over with Strongbow, had allied themselves
in feeling to the original inhabitants ; and the Whitefoots, who had been
placed by Cromwell over certain domains of the Davenants. In the chil-
dren the spirit of contention has given place to friendship, and though
they take opposite sides in the struggle between James and William, their
good-will and mutual service are never interrupted, and iji the end the
Davenants come happily to their own again.

"An extremely spirited story, based
on the struggle in Ireland, rendered
memorable by the defence of 'Deny
and the siege of Limerick. "Saturday
Review.

"The work is not only amusing and
instructive, but it is also one, as all
Mr. Henty's books are, likely to make
any lad desire to be a noble and use-
ful member of society, whether he be

a soldier or aught else." — Practical
Teacher.

" The narrative is free from the vice
of prejudice, and ripples witli life as
vivacious as if what is being described
were really passing before the eye. . . .
Orange and Green should be in the
hands of every young student of Irish
history without delay."— Morning News
(JBelfast).

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY G. A. HENTY.

Mr. Henty as a boys' story-teller stands in the very foremost rank."

—Glasgow Herald.

THE DRAGON AND THE RAVEN:

By G. A. Henty.
Staniland, R.I.

With 8 full-
Crown 8vo,

Or, The Days of King Alfred,
page Illustrations by C. J.
cloth elegant, $1'50.

In this story the author gives an account of the desperate struggle
between Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid
picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the
ravages of the sea-wolves. The hero of the story, a young Saxon thane,
takes part in all the battles fought by King Alfred, and the incidents in
his career are unusually varied and exciting. He is driven from his home,
takes to the sea and resists the Danes on their own element, and being
pursued by them up the Seine, is present at the long and desperate siege
of Paris.

" Perhaps the best story of the early
days of England which has yet been
tolA."— Court Journal.

"We know of no popular book in
which the stirring incidents of the reign

of the heroic Saxon king are made ac-
cessible to young readers as they are
here. Mr. Henty has made a book which
will afford much delight to boys, and is
of genuine historic value." — Scotsman.

STURDY AND STRONG:

Or, How George Andrews made his Way. By G. A. Henty.
With 4 full-page Illustrations. Crown Svo, cloth extra, $1.

" The history of a hero of everyday
life, whose love of truth, clothing of
modesty, and innate pluck, carry him,
naturally, from poverty to affluence.

George Andrews is an example of char-
acter with nothing to cavil at, and
stands as a good instance of chivalry
in domesticlife. "—TAe Empire.

TALES OF DARING AND DANGER.

By (^. A. Henty. With 2 full-page Illustrations. Crown Svo,
cloth extra, 75 cents.

YARNS ON THE

By G. A. Henty. With 2 full-page Illustrations,
cloth extra, 75 cents.

BE A OH

Crown Svo,

" This little book should find special
favour among boys. The yarns arc spun

by old sailors, and are admirably calcu-
lated to foster a manly spirit. " — Echo.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 15

BY S. BARING-GOULD.

GRETTIR THE OUTLAW:

A Story of Iceland. By S. Baring-Gould, author of "John
Herring," "Mehalah," &c. With 10 full-page Illustrations
by M. Zeno Diemer, and a Coloured Map. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

A work of special interest, not only because of the high rank which Mr.
Baring-Gould has of late years acquired by his brilliant series of novels,
MeJialah, John Herring ^ Court Royal, &c., but because of his earlier won
reputation as a historian and explorer of folk-legends and popular beliefs.
In the story of Grettir, both the art of the noveHst and the lore of the
archaeologist have had full scope, with the result that we have a nan'ative
of adventure of the most romantic kind, and at the same time an interesting
and minutely accurate account of the old Icelandic families, their homes,
their mode of life, their superstitions, their songs and stories, their bear-
serk fury, and their heroism by land and sea. The story is told throughout
with a simplicity which will make it attractive even to the very young, but
the clearness is really secured by a close personal knowledge, not only of
the whole saga-Uterature, but of the places in which the events occurred.
It will on this account be turned to with no little interest by students of
the old sagas, while no boy will be able to withstand the magic of such
scenes as the fight of Grettir with the twelve bear-serks, the wrestle with
Karr the Old in the chamber of the dead, the combat with the spirit of
Glam the thrall, and the defence of the dying Grettir by his younger
brother.

BY PROFESSOR CHURCH.

TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO:

Or, The Adventures of a Eoman Boy. By Professor A. J. Church.
With 12 full-page Illustrations by Adrien Marie. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

Prof. Church has in this story sought to revivify that most interesting
period, the last days of the Roman Republic. The hero, Lucius Marius, is
a young Roman who has a very chequered career, being now a captive in
the hands of Spartacus, again an officer on board a vessel detailed for the
suppression of the pirates, and anon a captive once more, on a pirate ship.
He escapes to Tarsus, is taken prisoner in the war with Mithradates, and
detained by the latter in Pontus for a number of years.

" Adventures well worth the telling.
The book is extremely entertaining as
well as useful : there is a wonderful
freshness in the Boman scenes and
characters. ' '—Tvtnea.

" Entertaining in the highest degree
from beginning to end, and full of ad-
venture which is all the livelier for
its close connection with history."—
Spectator.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

"Mr. Fenn is in the front rank of writers of stories for \)oy&."— Liverpool
Uerctiry

DICK 0' THE FENS:

A. Romance of the Great East Swamp. By G. Manvillb Fenn.
With 12 full -page Illustrations by Frank Dadd. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

A tale of boy life in the old Lincolnshire Fens, when the first attempts
wore made to reclaim them and turn the reedy swamps, and wild -fowl
and fish haunted pools into dry land. Dick o' the Fens and Tom o'
Grimsey are the sons of a squire and a farmer living on the edge of one
of the vast wastes, and their adventures are of unusual interest. Sketches
of shooting and fishing experiences are introduced in a manner which should
stimulate the faculty of observation and give a healthy love for country
Ufe; while the record of the fen-men's stealthy resistance to the great
draining scheme is full of the keenest interest. The ambushes and shots
in the mist and dark, the incendiary fires, the bursting of the sea-wall,
aod ^bf> long-baffled attempts to trace the lurking foe, are described with
Mr. Manville Fenn's wonted skill in the management of mystery.

"We should say that in Dick o' the
Fens Mr. Manville Fenn has verynearly
attained perfection. Life in the Fen
country in the old ante-drainage days
is admirably reproduced. ... Al-
together we have not of late come

across a historical fiction, whether in-
tended for boys or for men, which de-
serves to be so heartily and unreservedly
praised as regards plot, incidents, and
spirit as Dick o' the Fens. It is its au-
thor's masterpiece as yet."— Spectator.

BBOWNSMITH'S BOY.

By George Manville Fenn. With 12 full-page Illustrations
by Gordon Browne, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth
elegant, olivine edges, $1-50.

The career of " Brownsmith's Boy" embraces the home adventures of
an orphan, who, having formed the acquaintance of an eccentric old gar-
dener, accepts his offer of a home and finds that there is plenty of romance
in a garden, and much excitement even in a journey now and then to
town. In a half -savage lad he finds a friend who shows his love and fidelity
principally by pretending to be an enemy. In ^' Brownsmith's Boy " there
is abundance of excitement and trouble within four walls.

"Brownsmith's Boy excels all the
numerous 'juvenile' books that the
present season has yet produced."—
Aeadbmy.

"Mr. Fenn's books are among the
best, if not altogether the best, of the
stories for boys. Mr. Fenn is at his
best in Brownsmith's Boy. The story

is a thoroughly manly and healthy
one." — Pictorial World.

"Brownsmith's Boy must rank among
the few undeniably good boys' books.
He will be a very dull boy indeed who
lays it down without wishing that it
had gone on for at least 100 pages
more. "—North British Mail.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, 17

BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

"Mr. Manville Fenn may be regarded as the successor in boyhood's affections
of Captain Mayne Reid."— Academy.

Q UICKSIL VER:

Or a Boy with no Skid to his Wheel. By George Manville
Fenn. With 10 full-page Illustrations by Frank Dadd.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $.1'50.

Dr. Grayson has a theory that any boy, if rightly trained, can be made
into a gentleman and a great man; and in order to confute a friendly
objector decides to select from the workhouse a boy to experiment with.
He chooses a boy with a bad reputation but with excellent instincts, and
adopts him, the story narrating the adventures of the mercurial lad who
thus finds himself suddenly lifted several degrees in the social scale. The
idea is novel and handled with Mr. Manville Fenn's accustomed cleverness,
the restless boyish nature, with its inevitable tendency to get into scrapes,
being sympathetically and often humorously drawn.

' ' Quichnlvey is little short of an in-
spiration. In it that prince of story-
writers for boys— George Manville Fenn
—has surpassed himself. It is an ideal
book for a boy's library." — Practical
Teacher.

"Mr. Fenn possesses the true secret

of producing real and serviceable boys'
books. Every word he writes is in-
formed with full knowledge and, even
more important, quick sympathy with
all the phases of youthful life. In
Quicksilver he displays these qualities
in a high degree." — Dundee Advertiser.

DEVON BOYS:

A Tale of the North Shore. By George Manville Fenn. With
12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1 -50.

The adventures of Sep Duncan and his school friends take place in the
early part of the Georgian era, during the wars between England and France.
The scene is laid on the picturesque rocky coast of North Devon, where the
three lads pass through many perils both afloat and ashore. Fishermen,
smugglers, naval officers, and a stern old country surgeon play their parts
in the story, which is one of honest adventure with the mastering of diffi*
culties in a wholesome manly way, mingled with sufficient excitement to
satisfy the most exacting reader. The discovery of the British silver mine
and its working up and defence take up a large portion of the story.

for the individuality of its young heroes
— the cynical Bob Chowne being especi-
ally good— as for the excellent descrip-
tions of coast scenery and life in North
Devon. It is one of the best books we
have seen this seaaon."— Athenaeum.

* ' We do not know that Mr. Fenn has
ever reached a higher level than he has
in Devon Boys. It must be put in the
very front rank of Christmas books."—
Spectator.

" An admirable story, as remarkable

BOOKS FOR YOU NO PEOPLE.

BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

' ' There is a freshness, a buoyancy, a heartiness about Mr. Fenn's writings. " —iStondard.

THE GOLDEN MAGNET:

A Tale of the Land of the Incas. By G. Manvillb Fenn.
With 12 full-page Pictures by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1"50.

The tale is of a romantic lad, who leaves home, where his father conducts
a failing business, to seek his fortune in South America by endeavouring to
discover some of that treasure which legends declare was ages ago hidden
by. the Peruvian rulers and the priests of that mysterious country, to pre-
serve it from the Spanish invaders. The hero of the story is accompanied
by a faithful companion, who, in the capacity both of comrade and hench-
man, does true service, and shows the dogged courage of the British lad
during the strange adventures which befall them. The plot of the story
is simple, but the movement is rapid and full of strange excitement.

"This is, we think, the best boys'
book Mr. Fenn has produced. . . .
The illustrations are perfect in their
\f2iy"— Globe.

"There could be no more welcome
present for a boy. There is not a dull

page in the book, and many will be
read with breathless interest. 'The
Golden Magnet' is, of course, the same
one that attracted Raleigh and the
heroes of Westward Ho!"— Journal of
Education.

BUNYIP LAND:

The Story of a Wild Journey in New Guinea. By G. Man-
viLLE Fenn. . With 12 full-page Illustrations by Gordon
Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

"Bunyip Land" is the story of an eminent botanist, who ventures into
the interior of New Guinea in his search for new plants. Years pass away,
and he does not return; and though supposed to be dead, his young wife
and son refuse to believe it ; and as soon as he is old enough young Joe
goes in search of his father, accompanied by Jimmy, a native black. Their
adventures are many and exciting, but after numerous perils they discover
the lost one, a prisoner among the blacks, and bring him home in triumph.

"Mr. Fenn deserves the thanks of
everybody for ' Bunyip Land ' and ' Men-
hardoc,' and we may venture to promise
that a quiet week may be reckoned on
whilst the youngsters have such fascinat-
ing literature provided for their even-
ings' &vims,&mGXit."— Spectator.

"One of the best tales of adventure
produced by any living writer, combining
the inventiveness of Jules Verne, and the
solidity of character and earnestness of
spirit -which have made the English vic-
torious in so many fields of labour and
research."— Daiiy Chronicle.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 19

BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

*'Onr boys know Mr. Fenn well, his stories having won for him a foremost
p1;u:e in their estimation." — Pall Mall Gazette.

IN THE KING'S NAME:

Or the Cruise of the Kestrel. By G. Manville Fenn. Illus-
trated by 12 full-page Pictures by Gordon Browne, in black
and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

"In the King's Name" is a spirited story of the Jacobite times, con-
cerning the adventures of Hilary Leigh, a young naval officer in the
preventive service off the coast of Sussex, on board the Kestrel. Leigh
is taken prisoner by the adherents of the Pretender, amongst whom is an
early friend and patron who desires to spare the lad's life, but will not release
him. The narrative is full of exciting and often humoroii« incident.

"Mr. Fenn has won a foremost place
among writers for boys. *In the King's
Name' is, we think, the best of all his
productions in this field."— iJaiZy News.

"Told with the freshness and verve
which characterize all Mr. Fenn's writ-
ings and put him in the front rank of
writers for boys." — Standard.

MENIIABBOC:

A Story of Cornish Nets and Mines. By G. Manville Fenn.
With 8 full-page Illustrations by C. J. Staniland, E.I., in
black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant. |r50.

The scene of this story of boyish aspiration and adventure is laid among
the granite piles and tors of Cornwall. Here amongst the hardy, honest
fishermen and miners the two London boys are inducted into the secrets of
fishing in the great bay, they learn how to catch mackerel, pollack, and conger
with the line, and are present at the hauling of the nets, although not with-
out incurring many serious risks. Adventures are pretty plentiful, but
the story has for its strong base the development of character of the three
boys. There is a good deal of quaint character throughout, and the
sketches of Cornish life and local colouring are based upon experience in
the bay, whose fishing village is called here Menhardoc. This is a thor-
oughly English story of phases of Hfe but Httle touched upon in boys'
literature up to the present time.

"They are real living boys, with the
virtues and faults which characterize the
transition stage between boyhood and
manhood. The Cornish fishermen are
drawn from life, they are racy of the soil,
salt with the sea water, and they stand
out from the pages in their jerseys and

sea-boots all sprinkled with silvery pil-
chard scales." — Spectator.

"Mr. Fenn has written many books in
his time ; he has not often written one
which for genuine merit as a story for
young people will exceed this." — ScoU-
man.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

*'No one can find his way to the hearts of lads more readily than Mr. Fenn." —
Nottingham Guardian.

PATIENCU WINS:

Or, War in the Works. By G. Manville Fenn. AVith 8 full-
page Illustrations by Gordon Browne, in black and tint.
Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, $1'50.

This is a graphic narrative of factory life in the Black Country. The
hero, Cob, and his three uncles, engineers, machinists, and inventors, go
down to Arrowfield to set up "a works." They find, however, that the
workmen, through prejudice and ignorance, are determined to have no
new-fangled machinery. After a series of narrow escapes and stirring
encounters, the workmen by degrees find that no malice is borne against
them, and at last admiration takes the place of hatred. A great business is
built up, and its ^Foundation is laid on the good-will of th^ men.

'*An excellent story, the interest be-
ing sustained from first to last. This
is, both in its intention and the way
the story is told, one of the best books
of its kind which has come before us
this yesLY." —Saturday Review.

" Mr. Fenn is at his best in * Patience
Wins.' It is sure to prove acceptable
to youthful readers, and will give a good
idea of that which was the real state of

one of our largest manufacturing towns
not many years ago."— Guardian.

"Mr. Fenn has written many a book
for boys, but never has ^he hit upon a
happier plan than in writing this story
of Yorkshire factory life. The whole
book, from page 1 to 352, is all aglow
with life, the scenes varying continu-
ally with kaleidoscopic rapidity."—
Pall Mall Gazette.

NAT THE NATURALIST:

A Boy's Adventures in the Eastern Seas. By G. Manville
Fenn. Illustrated by 8 full-page Pictures by Gordon Browne,
in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, $1*50.

This is a pleasant story of a lad who has a great desire to go abroad to
seek specimens in natural history, and has that desire gratified. The
boy Nat and his uncle Dick go on a voyage to the remoter islands of
the Eastern seas, and their adventures there are told in a truthful and
vastly interesting fashion, which will at once attract and maintain the
earnest attention of young readers. The descriptions of Mr. Ebony, their
black comrade, and of the scenes of savage life, are full of genuine humour.

** Mr. Manville Fenn has here hit upon
a capital idea. . . . This is among the
best of the boys' books of the season." —
The Times.

" This soi-t of book encourages inde-
pendence of character, develops resource,
and teaches a boy to keep his eyes open."
— Saturday Review.

"We can conceive of no more attrac-
tive present for a young naturalist." —
Land and Water.

"The late Lord Palmerston used to
say that one use of M'ar was to teach
geography; such books as this teach it
in a more harmless and cheaper way." —
AthenoBum.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 21

BY GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.

"Mr. Fenn is in the front rank of writers of stories for boys."— Liverpool
Mercury.

MOTHER CABBY'S CHICKEN:

Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle. By G. Manville Fenn.
With 8 full -page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant,
olivine edges, $1*50.

A stirring story of adventure in the Eastern seas, where a lad shares the
perils of his father, the captain of the merchant ship The Pttrtl. After
touching at Singapore, they are becalmed off one of the tropic isles, where
the ship is attacked and, after a desperate fight, set on fire by Malay
pirates. They escape in a boat and drift ashore upon a beautiful volcanic
island, where, after sundry adventures, they come upon the half-burned
remains of the ship, out of whose timbers they construct a small vessel,
but when on the point of sailing are discovered by the Malays. They are
in great peril, when a volcanic eruption, while increasing their danger,
relieves them of their enemies, and they finally escape and reach a civilized
port.

" Jules Verne himself never con- manly vigour of his sentiment, and
structed a more marvellous tale. It wholesome moral lessons. For any-
contains the strongly marked features thing to match his realistic touch we
that are always conspicuous in Mr. must go to Daniel Defoe." — Christian
Fenn's stories — a racy humour, the Leader.

YUSSUF THE GUIDE:

Being the Strange Story of the Travels in Asia Minor of Burne
the Lawyer, Preston the Professor, and Lawrence the Sick.
By G. Manville Fenn. With 8 full-page Illustrations by
John Schonberg. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, $1-50.

Deals with the stirring incidents in the career of Lawrence Grange, a
lad who has been almost given over by the doctors, but who rapidly
recovers health and strength in a journey through Asia Minor with his
guardians "The Professor" and "The Lawyer." Yussuf is their guide;
and in their journeyings through the wild mountain region in search of
the ancient cities of the Greeks and Romans they penetrate where law is
disregarded, and finally fall into the hands of brigands. Their adventures
in this rarely-traversed romantic region are many, and culminate in the
travellers being snowed up for the winter in the mountains, from which
they escape while their captors are waiting for the ransom that does not
come.

'This story is told with such real
freshness and vigour that the reader
feels he is actually one of the party,
sharing in the fun and facing the dangers
with them."— Paii Mall Gazette.

" Takes its readers into scenes that
will have great novelty and attraction
for them, and the experiences with the
brigands will be especially delightful to
the boyish imagination."— o'coi^/nan.

BOOKS FOR YOUNQ PEOPLE.

BY SARAH DOUDNEY.

UNDER FALSE COLOURS.

By Sarah Doudney. With 12 full-page Illustratious by G. G.
KiLBURNE. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

A story which, while it is eminently suitable for girls' reading because
of the purity of its style, its genuine pathos and healthy sentiment, has in
it so strong a dramatic element that it will attract readers of all ages and
of either sex. The incidents of the plot, arising from the thoughtless indul-
gence of a deceptive freak, are exceedingly natural, and the keen interest
of the narrative is sustained from beginning to end. It is worthy of the
high reputation attained by the author as a writer of stories interesting as
novels and destined for the delight of the home circle.

"This is a charming story, abound-
ing in delicate touches of sentiment
and pathos. Its plot is skilfully con-
trived. It will be read with a warm
interest by every girl who takes it up."
— Scotsman.

" Sarah Doudney has no superior as

a writer of high-toned stories— pure in
style, original in conception, and with
skilfully wrought-out plots; but we
have seen nothing from this lady's pen
equal in dramatic energy to her latest
work, Under False Colours." — Christian
Leader.

BY ROSA MULHOLLAND.

GLANNETTA:

A GirFs Story of Herself. By EosA Mulholland. With
8 full-page Illustrations by Lockhart Bogle. Crown Svo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, |1'50.

The daughter of an Anglo-Irish gentleman, who had married a poor
Swiss girl, was stolen as an infant by some of her mother's relatives. The
child having died, they afterwards for the sake of gain substitute another
child for it, and the changeling, after becoming a clever modeller of clay
images, is suddenly transferred to the position of a rich heiress. She
develops into a good and accomplished woman, and though the imposture
of her early friends is finally discovered, she has gained too much love and
devotion to be really a sufferer by the surrender of her estates.

"Extremely well told and full of
interest. Giannetta is a true heroine —
warm-hearted, self-sacriflcing, and, as
all good women nowadays are, largely
touched with the enthusiasm of huma-
nity. The illustrations are unusually
good, and combine with the binding
and printing to make this one of the

most attractive gift-books of the sea-
son."— T/ie Academy.

"No better book could be selected
for a young girl's reading, as its object
is evidently to hold up a mirror, in
which are seen some of the brightest
and noblest traits in the female char-
acter. "—Schoolmistress.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD.

Mr. G, A. Heuty has found a formidable rival in Mr. Collingwood."— .Academy.

THE LOG OF THE "FLYING FISH:"

A Story of Aerial and Submarine Peril and Adventure. By
Harry Collingwood. With 12 full-page Illustrations by
Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo, cl. elegant, olivine edges, $1'60.

In this story the aim of the author has been, not only to interest and
amuse, but also to stimulate a taste for scientific study. He has utilized
natural science as a peg whereon to hang the web of a narrative of absorb-
ing interest, interweaving therewith sundry very striking scientific facts
in such a manner as to provoke a desire for further information.

Professor Von Schalckenberg constructs a gigantic and wonderful ship,
appropriately named the Flying Fish, which is capable of navigating not
only the higher reaches of the atmosphere, but also the extremest depths
of ocean; and in her the four adventurers make a voyage to the North
Pole, and to a hitherto unexplored portion of Central Africa.

"The Flying Fish, that marvellous
achievement of science, actually sur-
passes all Jules Verne's creations; with
incredible speed she flies through the
air, skims over the surface of the water,
and darts along the ocean bed. We
strongly recommend our school-boy
friends to possess themselves of her
log. "—Athe7iceum.

**Ts full of even more vividly re-
counted adventures than those which
charmed so many boy readers iu Pirate
Island and Congo Rovers. . . . There
is a thrilling adventure on the preci-
pices of Mount Everest, when the ship
floats off and providentially returns by
force of * gravitation. ' "—Academy.

THE MISSING MERCHANTMAK

By Harry Collingwood. With 8 full-page Pictures by W. H.
OvEREND. Crown Svo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

A fine Australian clipper is seized by the crew; the passengers are landed
on one desert island, the captain and a junior officer on another; and the
young hero of the story is kept on board to navigate the ship. The muti-
neers refit the ship as a pirate vessel at an island which affords them con-
venient shelter, and in which Ned makes the discovery of an old-world
treasure-hoard. At length, with the aid of a repentant member of the
crew, Ned succeeds in carrying off the ship. In the meantime the captain
and his associates have succeeded in rejoining the passengers, and they are
after many adventures found by Ned.

"Mr. Collingwood is facile princeps "This is one of the author's best sea

as a teller of sea stories for boys, and stories. The hero is as heroic as any

the present is one of the best produc- boy could desire, and the ending is

tions of his ^qu."— Standard. extremely happy. "—£nttsA Weekly.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG P:tOPLE.

BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD.

"Mr. Collingwood has established his reputation as a first-rate writer of sea-
stories. "Scotsman.

THE MOVER'S 8ECBET:

A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba. By Harrt
Collingwood. With 8 full -page Illustrations by W. C.
Symons. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

The hero of the Rover's Secret, a young officer of the British navy, nar-
rates his peculiar experiences in childhood and his subsequent perils and
achievements: the mutiny on board the Hermione; his escape with a com-
panion to La Guayra, their seizure by the Spaniards, their romantic flight,
and the strange blunder which commits them to a cruise to the head-
quarters of the notorious pirate Merlani, whose ultimate capture and con-
fession come about in a way as exciting as unexpected.

the days of Captain Marryat, there has
arisen a writer who combined fertility
of invention in stiiTing episodes, with
practical knowledge of seafaring life,
in the degree to which Mr. Colling-
wood attains in this volume." — Scottish
Leader.

" The Rover's Secret is by far the best
sea-story we have read for years, and is
certain to give unalloyed pleasure to
boys. The illustrations are fresh and
vigorous. "—Sa turday Re v iew.

"A book that will rejoice the hearts
of most lads. We doubt whether, since

THE PIRATE ISLAND:

A Story of the South Pacific. By Harry Collingwood. Illus-
trated by 8 full-page Pictures by C. J. Staniland anrl J. E.
Wells, in black and tint. Crown 8vo, cloth elegant. $i'50.

This story details the adventures of a lad who was found in his infancy
on board a wreck, and is adopted by a fisherman. By a deed of true gal-
lantry his whole destiny is changed, and, going to sea, he forms one of a
party who, after being burned out of their ship in the South Pacific, and
experiencing great hardship and suffering in their boats, are picked up
by a pirate brig and taken to the " Pirate Island." After many thrilling
adventures, they ultimately succeed in effecting their escape. The story
depicts both the Christian and the manly virtues in such colours as will
cause them to be admired — and therefore imitated.

" A capital story of the sea ; indeed
in our opinion the author is superior
in some respects as a marine novelist
to the better known Mr. Clarke Rus-
sell."— TAe Times.

" The best of these books. . . . The
events are described with minuteness
and care. The result is a very amusing
\iQQk."— Saturday Review.

"Told in the most vivid and graphic
language. It would be difficult to find a
more thoroughly delightful gift-book."
—The Guardian.

'* One of the very best books for boys
that we have seen for a long time: its
author stands far in advance of any
other writer for boys as a teller of
stories of tlie sea. "—The Standard,

BOOKS FOR YOUNO PEOPLE.

BY HARRY COLLINGWOOD.

" Stands far in advance of any other writer for boys as a teller of sea stories. '

—Standardt

THE CONGO B0VEB8:

A Tale of the Slave Squadron. By Harry Collin gwood.
With 8 full-page Illustrations by J. Schonberg, in black and
tint. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1*50.

The scene of this tale is laid on the west coast of Africa, and in the
lower reaches of the Congo; the characteristic scenery of the great river
being delineated with wonderful accuracy and completeness of detail.
The hero of the story — a midshipman on board one of the ships of the slave
squadron — after being effectually laughed out of his boyish vanity, develops
into a lad possessed of a large share of sound common sense, the exercise
of which enables him to render much valuable service to his superior officers
in unmasking a most daring and successful ruse on the part of the slavers.

"Mr. Collingwood carries us off for
another cruise at sea, in The Congo
Rovers, and boys will need no press-
ing to join the daring crew, which seeks
adventures and meets with any number
of them."— 27i(3 T Lines.

"We can heartily recommend The
Congo Rovers as a book that boys will
be sure to read throughout with plea-
sure, and with advantage, also, to
their morals and their imaginations. "—
Academy.

BY G. NORWAY.

THE LOSS OF JOHN HUMBLE:

What Led to It, and what Came of it, By G. Norway. With
8 full-page Illustrations by John Schonberg. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1'50.

John Humble, an orphan, is sent to sea with his Uncle Rolf, the captain
of the Erl King, but in the course of certain adventures, in which Rolf
shows both skill and courage, the boy is left behind at Portsmouth. He
escapes to a Norwegian vessel, the Thor, which is driven from her course
in a voyage to Hammerfest, and wrecked on a desolate shore. The si r-
vivors experience the miseries of a long sojourn in the Arctic circle, with
inadequate means of supporting life, but ultimately, with the aid of some
friendly but thievish Lapps, they succeed in making their way to a reindeer
station and so southward to Tornea and homo again. The story throughout
is singularly vivid and truthful in its details, the individual characters are
fresh and well marked, and a pleasant vein of humour relieves the stress of
the more tragic incidents in the story.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY SARAH TYTLER.

GIRL NEIGHBOURS:

Or, The Old Fashion and the New. By Sarah Tytler. With
8 full-page Illustrations by C. T. Garland. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, f 1'50.

A story specially adapted for girls, told in that quaint delightful fashion
which has made Miss Tytler's former books so popular and attractive.
The characters of the Girl Neighbours Sapientia (Pie) Stubbs, and Harriet
(Harry) Cotton, who may be said respectively to illustrate the old and the
new fashioned method of education, are admirably delineated; and the
introduction of the two young ladies from London, who represent the
modern institutions of professional nursing and schools of cookery, is very
happily effected. The story possesses abundant humour and piquant
descriptions of character.

' ' One of the most effective and quietly
Immorous of Miss Tytler's stories. Girl
Neighbours is a healthy comedy, not
so much of errors as of prejudices got
rid of, very healthy, very agreeable,
and very well YfniiQn."— Spectator.

"Girls will find it very interesting.
The illustrations are very good; the
frontispiece, especially, possesses a deli-
cacy of execution not often met with
in books of this class."— 5'cAooZ Guar-
dian.

BY ASCOTT R. HOPE.

THE WIOWAM AND THE WAR-PATH:

Stories of the Eed Indians. By Ascott K. Hope. With 8 full-
page Pictures by Gordon Browne, in black and tint. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, $1*50.

The interest taken by boys in stories of the North American Indians is
probably as keen as ever. At all events the works of Fenimore Cooper and
other writers about the red men and the wild hunters of the forests and
prairies are still among the most popular of boys' books. "The Wigwam
and the War-path" consists of stories of Red Indians which are none the
less romantic for being true. They are taken from the actual records of
those who have been made prisoners by the red men or have lived among
them, joining in their expeditions and taking part in their semi-savage but
often picturesque and adventurous life.

"Mr. Hope's volume is notably good:
it gives a very vivid picture of life
among the Indians."— iSpectoior.

"So far, nothing can be better than
Mr. Ascott Hope's choice of The Wig-

wam and the War-path as the name of
a collection of all the most scalping
stories, so to speak, of the North Ame-
rican Indians we have ever heard."—
Saturday Review.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY F. FRANKFORT MOORE.

"Ill writing a spirited tale of adventure to delight the hearts of boys, Mr.
Frankfort Moore shows himself a master. "—T/ie Guardian.

HIGHWAYS AND HIGH SEAS:

Cyril Harley's Adventures on Both. By F. Frankfort Moore.
With 8 full-page Illustrations by Alfred Pearse. Crown
8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

The story belongs to a period when highways meant post-chaises,
coaches, and highwaymen, and when high seas meant post-captains,
frigates, privateers, and smugglers; and the hero — a boy who has some
remarkable experiences upon both — tells his story with no less humour
than vividness. He shows incidentally how little real courage and romance
there frequently was about the favourite law-breakers of fiction, but how
they might give rise to the need of the highest courage in others and lead
to romantic adventures of an exceedingly exciting kind. A certain
piquancy is given to the story by a slight trace of nineteenth century
malice in the picturing of eighteenth century life and manners.

UNDER HATCHES:

Or, Ned Woodthorpe's Adventures. By F. Frankfort Moore.
With 8 full-page Illustrations by A. Forestier. Crown 8vo,
cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*50.

In rescuing another lad from drowning, Ned Woodthorpe is compelled
to take refuge in a light-ship, from which he is involuntarily transferred
to an outward-bound convict-ship. After a series of exciting events, in
which Bowkitt, an innocent convict, plays a brilHant part, the convicts
and mutinous crew obtain the mastery under the leadership of a fanatical
gold-seeker. The officers, Ned, and Bowkitt are set adrift in the cutter,
and eventually land on a desert island, to which also the mutineers find
their way. By the want of discipline of the latter, opportunity is afforded
for the daring recapture of the ship, and Ned and his friends escape from
the island.

" Mr. Moore has never shown him-
self so thoroughly qualified to write
books for boys as he has done in Under
Hatches."— The Academy.

"A first-rate sea story, full of stirring
incidents, and, from a literary point of
view, far better written than the ma-
jority of books for boys."— PaZZ Mall
Gazette.

" A story that will just suit boys all
the world over. The characters are
well drawn and consistent ; Patsy, the
Irish steward, will be found especially
amusing." — Schoolmaster.

" Unless we are greatly mistaken this
will prove one of the most successful
books for boys issued for many a day."
—Practical Teacher.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BY ALICE CORKRAN.

DOWN THE SNOW STAIRS:

Or, From Good-night to Good-morning. By Alice Corkran.
With 60 character Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Square
crown 8vo, cloth elegant, olivine edges, $1*25.

This is a remarkable story: full of vivid fancy and quaint originality.
In its most fantastic imaginings it carries with it a sense of reality, and
derives a singular attraction from that combination of simplicity, origi-
nality, and subtle humour, which is so much appreciated by lively and
thoughtful children. Children of a larger growth will also be deeply
interested in Kitty's strange journey, and her wonderful experiences.

" A fascinating wonder-book for chil-
dren. " — A thenceum.

"Among all the Christmas volumes
which the year has brought to our
table this one stands out facile prin-
ceps—a, gem of the first water, bearing

upon every one of its pages the signet
mark of genius. . . . All is told with
such simplicity and perfect natural-
ness that the dream appears to be a
solid reality. It is indeed a Little Pil-
grim's Progress." — Christian Leader.

MARGERY MERTON'S GIRLHOOD:

By Alice Corkran. With 6 full-page Illustrations by Gordon
Browne. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1*25.

The experiences of an orphan girl who in infancy is left by her father —
an officer in India^to the care of an elderly aunt residing near Paris. The
accounts of the various persons who have an after influence on the story,
the school companions of Margery, the sisters of the Conventual College of
Art, the professor, and the peasantry of Fontainebleau, are singularly
vivid. There is a subtle attraction about the book which will make it a
great favourite with thoughtful girls.

"Another book for girls we can
warmly commend. There is a delight-
ful piquancy in the experiences and

trials of a young English girl who
studies painting in 'Bdiri^."— Saturday
Review.

MEG'S FRIEND.

By Alice Corkran. With 6 full-page Illustrations by Egbert
Fowler. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1'25.

Meg, a child of unknown parentage, has been brought up by a woman
who abuses the trust. She is removed to a ladies' school, passes success-
fully through the many troubles incident to so complete a change, and is
ultimately taken into the house of a mysterious benefactor, who proves to
be her grandfather. Her fine nature at length breaks down his coldness
and apparent aversion to her; and after long separation she once more
meets the friend of her neglected childhood.

"Another of Miss Corkran's charm-
ing books for girls, narrated in that
simple and picturesque style which

marks the authoress as one of the first
amongst writers for young people."
—The Spectator.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 29

BY MARY C. ROWSELL.

THORNDYKE MANOR:

A Tale of Jacobite Times. By Mary C. Eowsell. With
6 full-page Illustrations by L. Leslie Brooke. Crown 8vo,
cloth extra, $1'25.

Thorndyke Manor is an old house, near the mouth of the Thames, which
is convenient, on account of its secret vaults and situation, as the base
of operations in a Jacobite conspiracy. In conseqvience its owner, a
kindly, quiet, book-loving squire, who lives happily with his sister, bright
Mistress Amoril, finds himself suddenly involved by a treacherous steward
in the closest meshes of the plot. He is conveyed to the Tower, but all
difficulties are ultimately overcome, and his innocence is triumphantly
proved by his sister. The Hoo in Kent makes a charming as well as a
romantic background to the story, which is an excellent representation
of English life in the earlier part of the eighteenth century.

TRAITOR OR PATRIOT f

A Tale of the Eye-House Plot. By Mary C. Eowsell. With

6 full-page Pictures. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1*25.

"A romanticlove episode, whose true I sticks as in many historical tales." —
characters are lifelike beings, not dry I Graphic.

BY CAROLINE AUSTIN.

COUSIN GEOFFREY AND L

By Caroline Austin. With 6 full-page Illustrations by W.
Parkinson. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1*25.

The only daughter of a country gentleman finds herself unprovided for
at her father's death, and for some time lives as a dependant upon the
kinsman who has inherited the property. Life is kept fi'om being entirely
unbearable to her by her cousin Geoffrey, who at length meets with a
serious accident for which she is held responsible. She is then passed on
to other relatives, who prove even more objectionable, and in despair she
runs away and makes a brave attempt to earn her own livelihood. Being
a splendid rider, she succeeds in doing this, until the startling event which
brings her cousin Geoffrey and herself together again.

HUGH HERBERTS INHERITANCE.

By Caroline Austin. With 6 full-page Illustrations by C. T.
Garland. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $r25.
"A story that teaches patience as well as courage in figliting the battles of
life. "—Daily Chronicle.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

SIR WALTER'S WARD:

A Tale of the Crusades. By William Everard. With 6 full-
page Illustrations by Walter Paget. Crown 8vo, cloth
extra, $1*25.

" This book will prove a very accep-
table present either to boys or girls.
Both alike will take an interest in the
career of Dodo, in spite of his unheroic
name, and follow him through his
exciting adventures."— J. cacZewy.

"With its gentle elevation, its large-
hearted charity, its quiet satire of folly
and baseness, the story is one to win
the affection and charm the fancy not
only of boys and maidens, but also of
grown men and women."— £ni. Weekly.

THE SEARCH FOR THE TALISMAN:

A Story of Labrador. By Henry Frith. With 6 full-page
Illustrations by J. Schonberg. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1*25.

"Mr. Frith's volume will be among
those most read and highest valued.
The adventures among seals, whales,
and icebergs in Labrador will delight
many a young reader, and at the same
time give him an opportunity to widen

his knowledge of the Esquimaux, the
heroes of many tales." — Pa^i Mall
Gazette.

"A genial and rollicking tale. It is
a regular boys' book, and a very cheery
and wholesome one."— Spectator.

STORIES OF OLD RENOWN:

Tales of Knights and Heroes. By Ascott R. Hope. With 100
Illustrations from designs by Gordon Browne. Crown 8vo,
cloth extra, $1*25.

" Mr. Ascott Hope's volume makes a
really fascinating book, worthy of its
telling title. There is, we venture to
say, not a dull page in the book, not
a story which will not bear a second
TQdiAmg." —Guardian.

"Ogier the Dane, Robert of Sicily,
and other old-world heroes find their
deeds embedded in beautiful type, and
garnished with animated sketches by
Gordon Browne. It is a charming gift-
book." — Land and Water.

REEFER AND RIFLEMAN:

A Tale of the Two Services. By J. Percy-Groves, late 27th
Inniskillings. With 6 full -page Illustrations by John
Schonberg. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1-25.

"A good, old-fashioned, amphibious
story of fighting with the Frenchmen in
the beginning of our century, with a fair
sprinkling of fun and frolic."— Tiw^*.

"The author writes with a pictur-
esque dash which is fast bringing him
to the front rank among the writers of
boys' hooks."— Daily News.

WOES FOR YOUyO PEOPLE. 31

WHITE LILAC:

A Story of Two Girls. By Amy Walton, author of " Susan,"
"The Hawthorns," &c. With 4 full-page Illustrations. Crown
8vo, cloth extra, $1.

White Lilac proved a fortune to the relatives to whose charge she fell —
a veritable good brownie, who brought luck wherever she went. The story
of her life forms a most readable and admirable rustic idyl.

MISS WILLOWB URN'S OFFER.

By Sarah Doudney. With 4 full-page Illustrations. Crown
8vo, cloth extra, $1.

" Patience Willowburn is one of Miss
Doiulney's best creations, and is the
one personality in the story which can

be said to give it the character of a
book not for young ladies but for
girls. "—Spectator.

HETTY GRAY:

Or Nobody's Bairn. By Rosa Mulholland. With 4 full-page

Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1.

"A charming story for young folks. I tender, and true, and her varying for-
Hetty is a delightful creature— piquant, I tunes are perfectly realistic."— World.

THE WAR OF THE AXE:

Or Adventures in South Africa. By J. Percy-Groves. With
4 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1.

" The story of their final escape from
the Caffres is a marvellous bit of
writing. . . . The story is well and

brilliantly told, and the illustrations
are especially good and effective."—
Literary World.

JACK O' LANTHORN:

A Tale of Adventure. By Henry Frith. With 4 full-page
Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1.

" Jack o' Lanthorn will hold its own
with the best works of Mr. Henty and
Mr. Manville Fenn." — Morning Adver-
tiser.

"The narrative is crushed full of
stirring incident, and is sure to be a
prime favourite with our boys."—
Christian Leader.

BROTHERS IN ARMS:

A Story of the Crusades. By F. Bayford Harrison. With

4 full-page Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth extra, $1.

" Full of striking incident, is very fair- "One of the best accounts of the

ly illustrated, and may safely be chosen Crusades it has been our privilege to

as sure to prove interesting to young read. The book cannot fail to interest

people of both sexea."— Guardian. hoys."— Schoolmistress.

32 BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

BOOKS OF ADVENTURE FOR BOYS.

Beautifully Illustrated, and bound in cloth elegant. Price $1
per volume.

STOEIES OF THE SEA IN FORMER DAYS: Nar-
ratives of Wreck and Rescue.

"Next to ail original sea-tale of sustained interest come well-sketched collec-
tions of maritime peril anO suffering which awaken the sympathies by the realism
of fact. Stories of the Sea are a very good specimen of the kind," — The Times.

TALES OF CAPTIVITY AND EXILE.

"It would be difficult to place in the hands of young people a book which
combines interest and instruction in a higher degree." — Manchester Courier.

FAMOUS DISCOVERIES BY SEA AND LAND.

"Such a volume may providentially stir up some youths by the divine fire
kindled by these 'great of old' to lay open other lands, and show their vast
resouTces."— Perthshire Advertiser.

STIRRING EVENTS OF HISTORY.

" The volume will fairly hold its place among those which make the smaller
ways of liistory pleasant and attractive. It is a gift-book in which the interest
will not be exhausted with one reading." — Guardian.

ADVENTURES IN FIELD, FLOOD, AND FOREST.

Stories of Danger and Daring.

"One of the series of books for young people which Messrs. Scribner excel in
producing. The editor has beyond all question succeeded admirably. The pre-
sent book cannot fail to be read with interest and advantage."— ^cadem?/.

THE STORIES OF WASA AND MENZIKOFF: The

Deliverer of Sweden, and the Favourite of Czar Peter.

"Both are stories worth telling more than once, and it is a happy thought to
have put them side by side. Plutarch himself has no more suggestive com-
parison. "Spectator.

SCRIBNER & WELFORD,
743 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.

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