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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Great Bear, by Kirk Munroe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Under the Great Bear
+
+Author: Kirk Munroe
+
+Release Date: September 11, 2006 [EBook #19235]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE GREAT BEAR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: From it was evoked a monstrous shape.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  "Above this far northern sea Ursa
+  Major sailed so directly overhead
+  that he seemed like to fall on us."
+      --_From an early voyage to the coast of Labrador_.
+
+
+
+
+Under the Great Bear
+
+
+BY
+
+KIRK MUNROE
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR OF
+
+"The Flamingo Feather," "Dorymates," "The White Conquerors," Etc.
+
+
+
+
+New York
+
+International Association of Newspapers and Authors
+
+1901
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY
+
+DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER
+
+      I. GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?
+     II. AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT
+    III. THE STRANGE FATE OF A STEAMER
+     IV. ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT
+      V. WHITE BALDWIN AND HIS "SEA BEE"
+     VI. THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION
+    VII. DEFYING A FRIGATE
+   VIII. A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED
+     IX. SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT
+      X. CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY
+     XI. BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY
+    XII. ENGLAND AND FRANCE COME TO BLOWS
+   XIII. A PRISONER OF WAR
+    XIV. THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE
+     XV. OFF FOR LABRADOR
+    XVI. MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH
+   XVII. IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG
+  XVIII. FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES
+    XIX. A MELANCHOLY SITUATION
+     XX. COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF
+    XXI. A WELCOME MISSIONARY
+   XXII. GOOD-BYE TO THE "SEA BEE"
+  XXIII. THE COMFORT OF AN ESKIMO LAMP
+   XXIV. OBJECTS OF CHARITY
+    XXV. LOST IN A BLIZZARD
+   XXVI. AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS
+  XXVII. THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY
+ XXVIII. CABOT IS LEFT ALONE
+   XXIX. DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK
+    XXX. THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE
+   XXXI. ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE MAN-WOLF MINE
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+From It Was Evoked A Monstrous Shape . . . _Frontispiece_
+
+On The Deck Of The Steamer "Lavinia"
+
+He Began To Kick At It With The Hope Of Smashing
+  One Of Its Panels
+
+At This The Enraged Officer Whipped Out A Revolver
+
+"Did This Come From About Here?"
+
+Others Fell On The New-Comers With Their Fists
+
+Livid With Rage, The Frenchman Whipped Out An
+  Ugly-Looking Knife
+
+A Solitary Figure Stood On The Chest Of A Bald Headland
+
+"Yim"
+
+"My Name Is Watson Balfour"
+
+He Reached A Point From Which He Could Look Beyond The Barrier
+
+"My Dear Boy, You Have Done Splendidly"
+
+
+
+
+UNDER THE GREAT BEAR.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?
+
+"Heigh-ho!  I wonder what comes next?" sighed Cabot Grant as he tumbled
+wearily into bed.
+
+The day just ended marked the close of a most important era in his
+life; for on it he had been graduated from the Technical Institute, in
+which he had studied his chosen profession, and the coveted sheepskin
+that entitled him to sign M.E. in capital letters after his name had
+been in his possession but a few hours.
+
+Although Cabot came of an old New England family, and had been given
+every educational advantage, he had not graduated with honours, having,
+in fact, barely scraped through his final examination.  He had devoted
+altogether too much time to athletics, and to the congenial task of
+acquiring popularity, to have much left for study.  Therefore, while it
+had been pleasant to be one of the best-liked fellows in the Institute,
+captain of its football team, and a leading figure in the festivities
+of the day just ended, now that it was all over our lad was regretting
+that he had not made a still better use of his opportunities.
+
+A number of his classmates had already been offered fine positions in
+the business world now looming so ominously close before him.  Little
+pale-faced Dick Chandler, for instance, was to start at once for South
+Africa, in the interests of a wealthy corporation.  Ned Burnett was to
+be assistant engineer of a famous copper mine; a world-renowned
+electrical company had secured the services of Smith Redfield, and so
+on through a dozen names, no one of which was as well known as his, but
+all outranking it on the graduate list of that day.
+
+Cabot had often heard that the career of Institute students was closely
+watched by individuals, firms, and corporations in need of young men
+for responsible positions, and had more than once resolved to graduate
+with a rank that should attract the attention of such persons.  But
+there had been so much to do besides study that had seemed more
+important at the time, that he had allowed day after day to slip by
+without making the required effort, and now it appeared that no one
+wanted him.
+
+Yes, there was one person who had made him a proposition that very day.
+Thorpe Walling, the wealthiest fellow in the class, and one of its few
+members who had failed to gain a diploma, had said:
+
+"Look here, Grant, what do you say to taking a year's trip around the
+world with me, while I coach for a degree next June?  There is no such
+educator as travel, you know, and we'll make a point of going to all
+sorts of places where we can pick up ideas.  At the same time it'll be
+no end of a lark."
+
+"I don't know," Cabot had replied doubtfully, though his face had
+lighted at the mere idea of taking such a trip.  "I'd rather do that
+than almost anything else I know of, but----"
+
+"If you are thinking of the expense," broke in the other.
+
+"It isn't that," interrupted Cabot, "but it seems somehow as though I
+ought to be doing something more in the line of business.  Anyway, I
+can't give you an answer until I have seen my guardian, who has sent me
+word to meet him in New York day after to-morrow.  I'll let you know
+what he says, and if everything is all right, perhaps I'll go with you."
+
+With this the matter had rested, and during the manifold excitements of
+the day our lad had not given it another thought, until he tumbled into
+bed, wondering what would happen next.  Then for a long time he lay
+awake, considering Thorpe's proposition, and wishing that it had been
+made by any other fellow in the class.
+
+Until about the time of entering the Technical Institute, from which he
+was just graduated, Cabot Grant, who was an only child, had been
+blessed with as happy a home as ever a boy enjoyed.  Then in a breath
+it was taken from him by a railway accident, that had caused the
+instant death of his mother, and which the father had only survived
+long enough to provide for his son's immediate future by making a will.
+By its terms his slender fortune was placed in the hands of a trust and
+investment company, who were constituted the boy's guardians, and
+enjoined to give their ward a liberal education along such lines as he
+himself might choose.
+
+The corporation thus empowered had been faithful to its trust, and had
+carried out to the letter the instructions of their deceased client
+during the past five years.  Now less than a twelvemonth of their
+guardianship remained and it was to plan for his disposal of this time
+that Cabot had been summoned to New York.
+
+He had never met the president of the corporation, and it was with no
+little curiosity concerning him that he awaited, in a sumptuously
+appointed anteroom, his turn for an audience with the busy man.  At
+length he was shown into a plainly furnished private office occupied by
+but two persons, one somewhat past middle age, with a shrewd,
+smooth-shaven face, and the other much younger, who was evidently a
+private secretary.
+
+Of course Cabot instantly knew the former to be President Hepburn; and
+also, to his surprise, recognised him as one who had occupied a
+prominent position on the platform of the Institute hall when he had
+graduated two days earlier.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Hepburn, in a crisp, business tone, as he noted the
+lad's flash of recognition, "I happened to be passing through and
+dropped in to see our ward graduate.  I was, of course, disappointed
+that you did not take higher rank.  At the same time I concluded not to
+make myself known to you, for fear of interfering with some of your
+plans for the day.  It also seemed to me better that we should talk
+business here.  Now, with your Institute career ended, how do you
+propose to spend the remainder of your minority?  I ask because, as you
+doubtless know, our instructions are to consult your wishes in all
+matters, and conform to them as far as possible."
+
+"I appreciate your kindness in that respect," replied Cabot, who was
+somewhat chilled by this business-like reception, "and have decided, if
+the funds remaining in your hands are sufficient for the purpose, to
+spend the coming year in foreign travel; in fact, to take a trip around
+the world."
+
+"With any definite object in view," inquired Mr. Hepburn, "or merely
+for pleasure?"
+
+"With the definite object of studying my chosen profession wherever I
+may find it practised."
+
+"Um!  Just so.  Do you propose to take this trip alone or in company?"
+
+"I propose to go with Thorpe Walling, one of my classmates."
+
+"Son of the late General Walling, and a man who failed to graduate, is
+he not?"
+
+"Yes, sir.  Do you know him?"
+
+"I knew his father, and wish you had chosen some other companion."
+
+"I did not choose him.  He chose me, and invited me to go with him."
+
+"At your own expense, I suppose?"
+
+"Certainly!  I could not have considered his proposition otherwise."
+
+"Of course not," agreed Mr. Hepburn, "seeing that you have funds quite
+sufficient for such a venture, if used with economy.  And you have
+decided that you would rather spend the ensuing year in foreign travel
+with Thorpe Walling than do anything else?"
+
+"I think I have, sir."
+
+"Very well, my boy.  While I cannot say that I consider your decision
+the best that could be made, I have no valid objections to offer, and
+am bound to grant as far as possible your reasonable desires.  So you
+have my consent to this scheme, if not my whole approval.  When do you
+plan to start?"
+
+"Thorpe wishes to go at once."
+
+"Then, if you will call here to-morrow morning at about this hour, I
+will have arranged for your letter of credit, and anything else that
+may suggest itself for making your trip a pleasant one."
+
+"Thank you, sir," said Cabot, who, believing the interview to be ended,
+turned to leave the room.
+
+"By the way," continued Mr. Hepburn, "there is another thing I wish to
+mention.  Can you recommend one of your recent classmates for an
+important mission, to be undertaken at once to an out-of-the-way part
+of the world?  He must be a young man of good morals, able to keep his
+business affairs to himself, not afraid of hard work, and willing as
+well as physically able to endure hardships.  His intelligence and
+mental fitness will, of course, be guaranteed by the Institute's
+diploma.  Our company is in immediate need of such a person, and will
+engage him at a good salary for a year, with certain prospects of
+advancement, if he gives satisfaction.  Think it over and let me know
+in the morning if you have hit upon one whom you believe would meet
+those requirements.  In the meantime please do not mention the subject
+to any one."
+
+Charged with this commission, and relieved that the dreaded interview
+was ended, Cabot hastened uptown to a small secret society club of
+which he was a non-resident member.  There he wrote a note to Thorpe
+Walling, accepting his invitation, and expressing a readiness to set
+forth at once on their proposed journey.  This done, he joined a group
+of fellows who were discussing summer plans in the reading-room.
+
+"What are you going in for, Grant?" asked one.  "Is your summer to be
+devoted to work or play?"
+
+"Both," laughed Cabot.  "Thorpe Walling and I are to take an
+educational trip around the world, during which we hope to have great
+fun and accomplish much work."
+
+"Ho, ho!" jeered he who had put the question.  "That's a good one.  The
+idea of coupling 'Torpid' Walling's name with anything that savors of
+work.  You'll have a good time fast enough.  But I'll wager anything
+you like, that in his company you will circumnavigate the globe without
+having done any work harder than spending money.  No, no, my dear boy,
+'Torpid' is not the chap to encourage either mental or physical effort
+in his associates.  Better hunt some other companion, or even go by
+your lonely, if you really want to accomplish anything."
+
+These words recurred to our lad many times during the day, and when he
+finally fell asleep that night, after fruitlessly wondering who of his
+many friends he should recommend to President Hepburn, they were still
+ringing in his ears.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT.
+
+Thorpe Walling had never been one of Cabot Grant's particular friends,
+nor did the latter now regard with unmixed pleasure the idea of a
+year's intimate association with him.  He had accepted the latter's
+invitation because nothing else seemed likely to offer, and he could
+not bear to have the other fellows, especially those whose class
+standing had secured them positions, imagine that he was not also in
+demand.  Besides, the thought of a trip around the world was certainly
+very enticing; any opposition to the plan would have rendered him the
+more desirous of carrying it out.  But in his interview with his
+guardian he had gained his point so easily that the concession
+immediately lost half its value.  Even as he wrote his note to Thorpe
+he wondered if he really wanted to go with him, and after that
+conversation in the club reading-room he was almost certain that he did
+not.  If Mr. Hepburn had only offered him employment, how gladly he
+would have accepted it and declined Thorpe's invitation; but his
+guardian had merely asked him to recommend some one else.
+
+"Which shows," thought Cabot bitterly, "what he thinks of me, and of my
+fitness for any position of importance.  He is right, too, for if ever
+a fellow threw away opportunities, I have done so during the past four
+years.  And now I am deliberately going to spend another, squandering
+my last dollar, in company with a chap who will have no further use for
+me when it is gone.  It really begins to look as though I were about
+the biggest fool of my acquaintance."
+
+It was in this frame of mind that our young engineer made a second
+visit to his guardian's office on the following morning.  There he was
+received by Mr. Hepburn with the same business-like abruptness that had
+marked their interview of the day before.
+
+"Good-morning, Cabot," he said.  "I see you are promptly on hand, and,
+I suppose, anxious to be off.  Well, I don't blame you, for a pleasure
+trip around the world isn't offered to every young fellow, and I wish I
+were in a position to take such a one myself.  I have had prepared a
+letter of credit for the balance of your property remaining in our
+hands, and while it probably is not as large a sum as your friend
+Walling will carry, it is enough to see you through very comfortably,
+if you exercise a reasonable economy.  I have also written letters of
+introduction to our agents in several foreign cities that may prove
+useful.  Let me hear from you occasionally, and I trust you will have
+fully as good a time as you anticipate."
+
+"Thank you, sir," said Cabot.  "You are very kind."
+
+"Not at all.  I am only striving to carry out your father's
+instructions, and do what he paid to have done.  Now, how about the
+young man you were to recommend?  Have you thought of one?"
+
+"No, sir, I haven't.  You see, all the fellows who graduated with
+honours found places waiting for them, and as I knew you would only
+want one of the best, I can't think of one whom I can recommend for
+your purpose.  I am very sorry, but----"
+
+"I fear I did not make our requirements quite clear," interrupted Mr.
+Hepburn, "since I did not mean to convey the impression that we would
+employ none but an honour man.  It often happens that he who ranks
+highest as a student fails of success in the business world; and under
+certain conditions I would employ the man who graduated lowest in his
+class rather than him who stood at its head."
+
+Cabot's face expressed his amazement at this statement, and noting it,
+Mr. Hepburn smiled as he continued:
+
+"The mere fact that a young man has graduated from your Institute, even
+though it be with low rank, insures his possession of technical
+knowledge sufficient for our purpose.  If, at the same time, he is a
+gentleman endowed with the faculty of making friends, as well as an
+athlete willing to meet and able to overcome physical difficulties, I
+would employ him in preference to a more studious person who lacked any
+of these qualifications.  If you, for instance, had not already decided
+upon a plan for spending the ensuing year, I should not hesitate to
+offer you the position we desire to fill."
+
+Cabot trembled with excitement.  "I--Mr. Hepburn!" he exclaimed.
+"Would you really have offered it to me?"
+
+"Certainly I would.  I desired you to meet me here for that very
+purpose; but when I found you had made other arrangements that might
+prove equally advantageous, I believed I was meeting your father's
+wishes by helping you carry them out."
+
+"Is the place still open, and can I have it?" asked Cabot eagerly.
+
+"Not if you are going around the world; for, although the duties of the
+position will include a certain amount of travel, it will not be in
+that direction."
+
+"But I don't want to go around the world, and would rather take the
+position you have to offer than do anything else I know of," declared
+Cabot.
+
+"Without knowing its requirements, what hardships it may present, nor
+in what direction it may lead you?" inquired the other.
+
+"Yes, sir.  So long as you offer it I would accept it without question,
+even though it should be a commission to discover the North Pole."
+
+"My dear boy," said Mr. Hepburn, in an entirely different tone from
+that he had hitherto used, "I trust I may never forfeit nor abuse the
+confidence implied by these words.  Although you did not know it, I
+have carefully watched every step of your career during the past five
+years, and while you have done some things, as well as developed some
+traits, that are to be regretted, I am satisfied that you are at least
+worthy of a trial in the position we desire to fill.  So, if you are
+willing to relinquish your proposed trip around the world, and enter
+the employ of this company instead, you may consider yourself engaged
+for the term of one year from this date.  During that time all your
+legitimate expenses will be met, but no salary will be paid you until
+the expiration of the year, when its amount will be determined by the
+value of the services you have rendered.  Is that satisfactory?"
+
+"It is, sir," replied Cabot, "and with your permission I will at once
+telegraph Thorpe Walling that I cannot go with him."
+
+"Write your despatch here and I will have it sent out.  At the same
+time, do not mention that you have entered the employ of this company,
+as there are reasons why, for the present at least, that should remain
+a secret."
+
+When Cabot's telegram was ready, Mr. Hepburn, who had been glancing
+through a number of letters that awaited his signature, handed it to
+his secretary, to whom he also gave some instructions that Cabot did
+not catch.  As the former left the room, the president turned to our
+young engineer and said:
+
+"As perhaps you are aware, Cabot, there is at present an unprecedented
+demand all over the world for both iron and copper, and our company is
+largely interested in the production of these metals.  As existing
+sources of supply are inadequate it is of importance that new ones
+should be discovered, and if they can be found on the Atlantic
+seaboard, so much the better.  In looking about for new fields that may
+be profitably worked, our attention has been directed to the island of
+Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador.  While the former has been
+partially explored, we desire more definite information as to its
+available ore beds.  There is a small island in Conception Bay, not far
+from St. Johns, known as Bell Island, said to be a mass of iron ore,
+that is already being worked by a local company.  From it I should like
+to have a report, as soon as you reach St. Johns, concerning the nature
+of the ore, the extent of the deposit, the cost of mining it, the
+present output, the facilities for shipment, and so forth.  At the same
+time I want you to obtain this information without divulging the nature
+of your business, or allowing your name to become in any way connected
+with this company.
+
+"Having finished with Bell Island, you will visit such other portions
+of Newfoundland as are readily accessible from the coast, and seem to
+promise good results, always keeping to yourself the true nature of
+your business.  Finally, you will proceed to Labrador, where you will
+make such explorations as are possible.  You will report any
+discoveries in person, when you return to New York, as I do not care to
+have them entrusted to the mails.  Above all, do not fail to bring back
+specimens of whatever you may find in the way of minerals.  Are these
+instructions sufficiently clear?"
+
+"They seem so, sir."
+
+"Very well, then.  I wish you to start this very day, as I find that a
+steamer, on which your passage is already engaged, sails from a
+Brooklyn pier for St. Johns this afternoon.  This letter of credit,
+which only awaits your signature before a notary, will, if deposited
+with the bank of Nova Scotia in St. Johns, more than defray your year's
+expenses, and whatever you can save from it will be added to your
+salary.  Therefore, it will pay you to practise economy, though you
+must not hesitate to incur legitimate expenses or to spend money when
+by so doing you can further the objects of your journey.  You have
+enough money for your immediate needs, have you not?"
+
+"Yes, sir.  I have about fifty dollars."
+
+"That will be ample, since your ticket to St. Johns is already paid
+for.  Here it is."
+
+Thus saying, Mr. Hepburn handed over an envelope containing the
+steamship ticket that his secretary had been sent out to obtain.
+
+"I would take as little baggage as possible," he continued, "for you
+can purchase everything necessary in St. Johns, and will discover what
+you need after you get there.  Now, good-bye, my boy.  God bless you
+and bring you back in safety.  Remember that the coming year will
+probably prove the most important of your life, and that your future
+now depends entirely upon yourself.  Mr. Black here will go with you to
+the banker's, where you can sign your letter of credit."
+
+So our young engineer was launched on the sea of business life.  Two
+hours later he had packed a dress-suit case and sent his trunk down to
+the company's building for storage.  On his way to the steamer he
+stopped at his club for a bite of lunch, and as he was leaving the
+building he encountered the friend with whom he had discussed his plans
+the day before.
+
+"Hello!" exclaimed that individual, "where are you going in such a
+hurry.  Not starting off on your year of travel, are you?"
+
+"Yes," laughed Cabot.  "I am to sail within an hour.  Good-bye!"
+
+With this he ran down the steps and jumped into a waiting cab.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE STRANGE FATE OF A STEAMER.
+
+So exciting had been the day, and so fully had its every minute been
+occupied, that not until Cabot stood on the deck of the steamer
+"Lavinia," curiously watching the bustling preparations for her
+departure, did he have time to realise the wonderful change in his
+prospects that had taken place within a few hours.  That morning his
+life had seemed wholly aimless, and he had been filled with envy of
+those among his recent classmates whose services were in demand.  Now
+he would not change places with any one of them; for was not he, too,
+entrusted with an important mission that held promise of a brilliant
+future in case he should carry it to a successful conclusion?
+
+[Illustration: On the deck of the steamer "Lavinia."]
+
+"And I will," he mentally resolved.  "No matter what happens, if I live
+I will succeed."
+
+In spite of this brave resolve our lad could not help feeling rather
+forlorn as he watched those about him, all of whom seemed to have
+friends to see them off; while he alone stood friendless and unnoticed.
+
+Especially was his attention attracted to a nearby group of girls
+gathered about one who was evidently a bride.  They were full of gay
+chatter, and he overheard one of them say:
+
+"If you come within sight of an iceberg, Nelly, make him go close to it
+so you can get a good photograph.  I should like awfully to have one."
+
+"So should I," cried another.  "But, oh! wouldn't it be lovely if we
+could only have a picture of this group, standing just as we are aboard
+the ship.  It would make a splendid beginning for your camera."
+
+The bride, who, as Cabot saw, carried a small brand-new camera similar
+to one he had recently procured for his own use, promptly expressed her
+willingness to employ it as suggested, but was greeted by a storm of
+protests from her companions.
+
+"No, indeed!  You must be in it of course!" they cried.
+
+Then it further transpired that all wished to be "in it," and no one
+wanted to act the part of photographer.  At this juncture Cabot stepped
+forward, and lifting his cap, said:
+
+"I am somewhat of a photographer, and with your permission it would
+afford me great pleasure to take a picture of so charming a group."
+
+For a moment the girls looked at the presumptuous young stranger in
+silence.  Then the bride, flushing prettily, stepped forward and handed
+him her camera, saying as she did so:
+
+"Thank you, sir, ever so much for your kind offer, which we are glad to
+accept."
+
+So Cabot arranged the group amid much laughter, and by the time two
+plates had been exposed, had made rapid progress towards getting
+acquainted with its several members.
+
+The episode was barely ended before all who were to remain behind were
+ordered ashore, and, a few minutes later, as the ship began to move
+slowly from her dock, our traveller found himself waving his
+handkerchief and shouting good-byes as vigorously as though all on the
+wharf were assembled for the express purpose of bidding him farewell.
+
+By the time the "Lavinia" was in the stream and headed up the East
+River, with her long voyage fairly begun, Cabot had learned that his
+new acquaintance was a bride of but a few hours, having been married
+that morning to the captain of that very steamer.  She had hardly made
+this confession when her husband, temporarily relieved of his
+responsibilities by a pilot, came in search of her and was duly
+presented to our hero.  His name was Phinney, and he so took to Cabot
+that from that moment the latter no longer found himself lonely or at a
+loss for occupation.
+
+As he had never before been at sea, the voyage proved full of interest,
+and his intelligent questions received equally intelligent answers from
+Captain Phinney, who was a well-informed young man but a few years
+older than Cabot, and an enthusiast in his calling.
+
+Up Long Island Sound went the "Lavinia," and it was late that night
+before our lad turned in, so interested was he in watching the many
+lights that were pointed out by his new acquaintance.  The next morning
+found the ship threading her way amid the shoals of Nantucket Sound,
+after which came the open sea; and for the first time in his life Cabot
+lost sight of land.  Halifax was reached on the following day, and here
+the steamer remained twenty-four hours discharging freight.
+
+The capital of Nova Scotia marks the half-way point between New York
+and St. Johns, Newfoundland, which name Cabot was already learning to
+pronounce as do its inhabitants--Newfund-_land_--and after leaving it
+the ship was again headed for the open across the wide mouth of the
+Gulf of St. Lawrence.  Thus far the weather had been fine, the sea
+smooth, and nothing had occurred to break the pleasant monotony of the
+voyage.  Its chief interests lay in sighting distant sails, the
+tell-tale smoke pennons of far-away steamers, the plume-like spoutings
+of sluggishly moving whales, the darting of porpoises about the ship's
+fore-foot, the wide circling overhead of gulls, or the dainty skimming
+just above the wave crests of Mother Carey's fluffy chickens.
+
+"Who was Mother Carey," asked Cabot, "and why are they her chickens?"
+
+"I have been told that she was the _Mater Cara_ of devout Portuguese
+sailors," replied Captain Phinney, "and that these tiny sea-fowl are
+supposed to be under her especial protection, since the fiercest of
+gales have no power to harm them."
+
+"How queerly names become changed and twisted out of their original
+shape," remarked Cabot meditatively.  "The idea of _Mater Cara_
+becoming Mother Carey!"
+
+"That is an easy change compared with some others I have run across,"
+laughed the captain.  "For instance, I once put up at an English
+seaport tavern called the 'Goat and Compasses,' and found out that its
+original name, given in Cromwell's time, had been 'God Encompasseth
+Us.'  Almost as curious is the present name of that portion of the
+Newfoundland coast nearest us at this minute.  It is called
+'Ferryland,' which is a corruption of 'Verulam,' the name applied by
+its original owner, Lord Baltimore, in memory of his home estate in
+England.  In fact, this region abounds in queerly twisted names, most
+of which were originally French.  Bai d'espair, for instance, has
+become Bay Despair.  Blanc Sablon and Isle du Bois up on the Labrador
+coast have been Anglicised as Nancy Belong and Boys' Island.  Cape
+Race, which is almost within sight, was the Capo Razzo of its
+Portuguese discoverer.  Cape Spear was Cappo Sperenza, and Pointe
+l'Amour is now Lammer's Point."
+
+While taking part in conversations of this kind both Cabot and Mrs.
+Phinney, who were the only passengers now left on the ship, kept a
+sharp lookout for icebergs, which, as they had learned, were apt to be
+met in those waters at that season.  Finally, during the afternoon of
+the last day they expected to spend on shipboard, a distant white speck
+dead ahead, which was at first taken for a sail, proved to be an
+iceberg, and from that moment it was watched with the liveliest
+curiosity.  Before their rapid approach it developed lofty pinnacles,
+and proved of the most dazzling whiteness, save at the water line,
+where it was banded with vivid blue.  It was exquisitely chiselled and
+carved into dainty forms by the gleaming rivulets that ran down its
+steep sides and fell into the sea as miniature cascades.  So
+wonderfully beautiful were the icy details as they were successively
+unfolded, that the bride begged her husband to take his ship just as
+close as possible, in order that she might obtain a perfect photograph.
+Anxious to gratify her every wish, Captain Phinney readily consented,
+and the ship's course was slightly altered, so as to pass within one
+hundred feet of the glistening monster, which was now sharply outlined
+against a dark bank of fog rolling heavily in from the eastward.
+
+Both cameras had been kept busy from the time the berg came within
+range of their finders, but just as the best point of view was reached,
+and when they were so near that the chill of the ice was distinctly
+felt, Cabot discovered that he had exhausted his roll of films.
+Uttering an exclamation of disgust, he ran aft and down to his
+stateroom, that opened from the lower saloon, to secure another
+cartridge.  As he entered the room, he closed its door to get at his
+dress-suit case that lay behind it.
+
+Recklessly tossing the contents of the case right and left, he had just
+laid hands on the desired object and was rising to his feet when,
+without warning, he was flung violently to the floor by a shock like
+that of an earthquake.  It was accompanied by a dull roar and an awful
+sound of crashing and rending.  At the same time the ship seemed to be
+lifted bodily.  Then she fell back, apparently striking on her side,
+and for several minutes rolled with sickening lurches, as though in the
+trough of a heavy sea.
+
+In the meantime Cabot was struggling furiously to open his stateroom
+door; but it had so jammed in its casing that his utmost efforts failed
+to move it.  The steel deck beams overhead were twisted like willow
+wands, the iron side of the ship was crumpled as though it were a sheet
+of paper, and with every downward lurch a torrent of icy water poured
+in about the air port, which, though still closed, had been wrenched
+out of position.  With a horrid dread the prisoner realised that unless
+quickly released he must drown where he was, and, unable to open the
+door, he began to kick at it with the hope of smashing one of its
+panels.
+
+[Illustration: He began to kick at it with the hope of smashing one of
+its panels.]
+
+With his first effort in this direction there came another muffled roar
+like that of an explosion, and he felt the ship quiver as though it
+were being rent in twain.  At the same moment his door flew open of its
+own accord, and he was nearly suffocated by an inrush of steam.
+Springing forward, and blindly groping his way through this, the
+bewildered lad finally reached the stairs he had so recently descended.
+In another minute he had gained the deck, where he stood gasping for
+breath and vainly trying to discover what terrible thing had happened.
+
+Not a human being was to be seen, and the forward part of the ship was
+concealed beneath a dense cloud of steam and smoke that hung over it
+like a pall.  Cabot fancied he could distinguish shouting in that
+direction, and attempted to gain the point from which it seemed to
+come; but found the way barred by a yawning opening in the deck, from
+which poured smoke and flame as though it were the crater of a volcano.
+Then he ran back, and at length found himself on top of the after
+house, cutting with his pocket knife at the lashings of a life raft;
+for he realised that the ship was sinking so rapidly that she might
+plunge to the bottom at any moment.
+
+Five minutes later he lay prone on the buoyant raft, clutching the
+sides of its wooden platform, while it spun like a storm-driven leaf in
+the vortex marking the spot where the ill-fated.  "Lavinia" had sunk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT.
+
+Anything less buoyant than a modern life raft, consisting of two steel
+cylinders stoutly braced and connected by a wooden platform, would have
+been drawn under by the deadly clutch of that swirling vortex.  No open
+boat could have lived in it for a minute; and even the raft, spinning
+round and round with dizzy velocity, was sucked downward until it was
+actually below the level of the surrounding water.  But, sturdily
+resisting the down-dragging force, its wonderful buoyancy finally
+triumphed, and as its rotary motion became less rapid, Cabot sat up and
+gazed about him with the air of one who has been stunned.
+
+He was dazed by the awfulness of the catastrophe that had so suddenly
+overwhelmed the "Lavinia," and could form no idea of its nature.  Had
+there been a collision?  If so, it must have been with the iceberg, for
+nothing else had been in sight when he went below.  Yet it was
+incredible that such a thing could have happened in broad daylight.
+The afternoon had been clear and bright; of that he was certain, though
+his surroundings were now shrouded by an impenetrable veil of fog.
+Through this he could see nothing, and from it came no sound save the
+moan of winds sweeping across a limitless void of waters.
+
+What had become of his recent companions?  Had they gone down with the
+ship, and was he sole survivor of the tragedy?  At this thought the lad
+sprang to his feet, and shouted, calling his friends by name, and
+begging them not to leave him; but the only answer came in shape of
+mocking echoes hurled sharply back from close at hand.  Looking in that
+direction, he dimly discerned a vast outline of darker substance than
+the enveloping mist.  From it came also a sound of falling waters, and
+against it the sea was beating angrily.  At the same time he was
+conscious of a deadly chill in the air, and came to a sudden
+comprehension that the iceberg, to which he attributed all his present
+distress, was still close at hand.
+
+Its mere presence brought a new terror; for he knew that unless the
+attraction of its great bulk could be overcome, his little raft must
+speedily be drawn to it and dashed helplessly against its icy cliffs.
+This thought filled him with a momentary despair, for there seemed no
+possibility of avoiding the impending fate.  Then his eyes fell on a
+pair of oars lashed, together with their metal rowlocks, to the sides
+of his raft.  In another minute he had shipped these and was pulling
+with all his might away from that ill-omened neighbourhood.
+
+The progress of his clumsy craft was painfully slow; but it did move,
+and at the end the dreaded ice monster was beyond both sight and
+hearing.  The exercise of rowing had warmed Cabot as well as
+temporarily diverted his mind from a contemplation of the terrible
+scenes through which he had so recently passed.  Now, however, as he
+rested on his oars, a full sense of his wretched plight came back to
+him, and he grew sick at heart as he realised how forlorn was his
+situation.  He wondered if he could survive the night that was rapidly
+closing in on him, and, if he did, whether the morrow would find him
+any better off.  He had no idea of the direction in which wind and
+current were drifting him, whether further out to sea or towards the
+land.  He was again shivering with cold, he was hungry and thirsty, and
+so filled with terror at the black waters leaping towards him from all
+sides that he finally flung himself face downward on the wet platform
+to escape from seeing them.
+
+When he next lifted his head he found himself in utter darkness,
+through which he fancied he could still hear the sound of waters
+dashing against frigid cliffs, and with an access of terror he once
+more sprang to his oars.  Now he rowed with the wind, keeping it as
+directly astern as possible; nor did he pause in his efforts until
+compelled by exhaustion.  Then he again lay down, and this time dropped
+into a fitful doze.
+
+Waking a little later with chattering teeth, he resumed his oars for
+the sake of warming exercise, and again rowed as long as he was able.
+So, with alternating periods of weary work and unrefreshing rest, the
+slow dragging hours of that interminable night were spent.  Finally,
+after he had given up all hope of ever again seeing a gleam of
+sunshine, a faint gray began to permeate the fog that still held him in
+its wet embrace, and Cabot knew that he had lived to see the beginnings
+of another day.
+
+To make sure that the almost imperceptible light really marked the
+dawn, he shut his eyes and resolutely kept them closed until he had
+counted five hundred.  Then he opened them, and almost screamed with
+the joy of being able to trace the outlines of his raft.  Again and
+again he did this until at length the black night shadows had been
+fairly vanquished and only those of the fog remained.
+
+With the assurance that day had fairly come, and that the dreaded
+iceberg was at least not close at hand, Cabot again sought
+forgetfulness of his misery in sleep.  When he awoke some hours later,
+aching in every bone, and painfully hungry, he was also filled with a
+delicious sense of warmth; for the sun, already near its meridian, was
+shining as brightly as though no such things as fog or darkness had
+ever existed.
+
+On standing up and looking about him, the young castaway was relieved
+to note that the iceberg from which he had suffered so much was no
+longer in sight.  At the same time he was grievously disappointed that
+he could discover no sail nor other token that any human being save
+himself was abroad on all that lonely sea.
+
+He experienced a momentary exhilaration when, on turning to the west,
+he discovered a dark far-reaching line that he believed to be land; but
+his spirits fell as he measured the distance separating him from it,
+and realised how slight a chance he had of ever gaining the coast.  To
+be sure, the light breeze then blowing was in that direction, but it
+might change at any moment; and even with it to aid his rowing he
+doubted if his clumsy craft could make more than a mile an hour.  Thus
+darkness would again overtake him ere he had covered more than half the
+required distance, though he should row steadily during the remainder
+of the day.  He knew that his growing weakness would demand intervals
+of rest with ever-increasing frequency until utter exhaustion should
+put an end to his efforts; and then what would become of him?  Still
+there was nothing else to be done; and, with a dogged determination to
+die fighting, if die he must, the poor lad sat down and resumed his
+hopeless task.
+
+A life raft is not intended to be used as a rowboat, and is unprovided
+with either seats or foot braces.  Being thus compelled to sit on the
+platform, Cabot could get so little purchase that half his effort was
+wasted, and the progress made was barely noticeable.  During his
+frequent pauses for rest he stood up to gaze longingly at the goal that
+still appeared as far away as ever, and grew more unattainable as the
+day wore on.  At length the sun was well down the western sky, across
+which it appeared to race as never before.  As Cabot watched it, and
+vaguely wished for the power once given to Joshua, the bleakness of
+despair suddenly enfolded him, and his eyes became blurred with tears.
+He covered them with his hands to shut out the mocking sunlight, and
+sat down because he was too weak to stand any longer.  He had fought
+his fight very nearly to a finish, and his strength was almost gone.
+He had perhaps brought his craft five miles nearer to the land than it
+was when he set out; but after all what had been the gain?  Apparently
+there was none, and he would not further torture his aching body with
+useless effort.
+
+In the meantime a small schooner, bringing with her a fair wind, was
+running rapidly down the coast, not many miles from where our poor lad
+so despairingly awaited the coming of night.  That he had not seen her
+while standing up, was owing to the fact that her sails, instead of
+being white, were tanned a dull red, that blended perfectly with the
+colour of the distant shore line.  A bright-faced, resolute chap,
+somewhat younger than Cabot, but of equally sturdy build, held the
+tiller, and regarded with evident approval the behaviour of his
+speeding craft.
+
+"We'll make it, Dave," he cried, cheerily.  "The old 'Sea Bee's' got
+the wings of 'em this time."
+
+"Mebbe so," growled the individual addressed, an elderly man who stood
+in the companionway, with his head just above the hatch, peering
+forward under the swelling sails.  "Mebbe so," he repeated, "and mebbe
+not.  Steam's hard to beat on land or water, an' we be a far cry from
+Pretty Harbour yet.  So fur that ef they're started they'll overhaul us
+before day, and beat us in by a good twelve hour.  It's what I'm
+looking fur."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" replied the young skipper.  "What a gammy old croaker you
+are.  They won't start to-day, anyhow.  But here, take her a minute,
+while I go aloft for one more look before sundown to make sure."
+
+As the man complied with this request, and waddling aft took the
+tiller, his more active companion sprang into the main rigging and ran
+rapidly to the masthead, from which point of vantage he gazed back for
+a full minute over the course they had come.
+
+"Not a sign," he shouted down at length.  "But hello," he added to
+himself, "what's that?"  With a glance seaward his keen eye had
+detected a distant floating object that was momentarily uplifted on the
+back of a long swell, and flashed white in the rays of the setting sun.
+
+"Luff her, David!  Hard down with your hellum, and trim in all," he
+shouted to the steersman.  "There, steady, so."
+
+"Wot's hup?" inquired the man a few minutes later, as the other
+rejoined him on deck.
+
+"Don't know for sure; but there's something floating off there that
+looks like a bit of wreckage."
+
+"An' you, with all your hurry, going to stop fur a closer look, and
+lose time that'll mebbe prove the most wallyable of your life," growled
+the man disgustedly.  "Wal, I'll be jiggered!"
+
+"So would I, if I didn't," replied the lad.  "It was one of dad's rules
+never to pass any kind of a wreck without at least one good look at it,
+and so it's one of mine as well.  There's what I'm after, now.  See,
+just off the starboard bow.  It's a raft, and David, there's a man on
+it, sure as you live.  Look, he's standing up and waving at us.  Now,
+he's down again!  Poor fellow!  In with the jib, David!  Spry now, and
+stand by with a line.  I'm going to round up, right alongside."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WHITE BALDWIN AND HIS "SEA BEE."
+
+The hour that preceded the coming of that heaven-sent schooner was the
+blackest of Cabot Grant's life, and as he sat with bowed head on the
+wet platform of his tossing raft he was utterly hopeless.  He believed
+that he should never again hear a human voice nor tread the blessed
+land--yes, everything was ended for him, or very nearly so, and
+whatever record he had made in life must now stand without addition or
+correction.  His thoughts went back as far as he could remember
+anything, and every act of his life was clearly recalled.  How mean
+some of them now appeared; how thoughtless, indifferent, or selfish he
+had been in others.  Latterly how he had been filled with a sense of
+his own importance, how he had worked and schemed for a little
+popularity, and now who would regret him, or give his memory more than
+a passing thought?
+
+Thorpe Walling would say: "Served him right for throwing me over, as he
+did," and others would agree with him.  Even Mr. Hepburn, who had
+doubtless given him a chance merely because he was his guardian, would
+easily find a better man to put in his place.  Some cousins whom he had
+never seen nor cared to know would rejoice on coming into possession of
+his little property; and so, on the whole, his disappearance would
+cause more of satisfaction than regret.  Most bitter of all was the
+thought that he would never have the opportunity of changing, or at
+least of trying to change, this state of affairs, since he had
+doubtless looked at the sun for the last time, and the blackness of an
+endless night was about to enfold him.
+
+Had he really seen his last ray of sunlight and hope?  No; it could not
+be.  There must be a gleam left.  The sun could not have set yet.  He
+lifted his head.  There was no sun to be seen.  With a cry of terror he
+sprang to his feet, and, from the slight elevation thus gained, once
+more beheld the mighty orb of day, and life, and promise, crowning with
+a splendour infinitely beyond anything of this earth, the distant
+shore-line that he had striven so stoutly to gain.
+
+Dazzled by its radiance, Cabot saw nothing else during the minute that
+it lingered above the horizon.  Then, as it disappeared, he uttered
+another cry, but this time it was one of incredulous and joyful
+amazement, for close at hand, coming directly towards him from out the
+western glory, was a ship bearing a new lease of life and freighted
+with new opportunities.
+
+The poor lad tried to wave his cap at the new-comers; but after a
+feeble attempt sank to his knees, overcome by weakness and gratitude.
+It was in that position they found him as the little schooner was
+rounded sharply into the wind, and, with fluttering sails, lay close
+alongside the drifting raft.
+
+David flung a line that Cabot found strength to catch and hold to,
+while the young skipper of the "Sea Bee" sprang over her low rail and
+alighted beside the castaway just as the latter staggered to his feet
+with outstretched hand.  The stranger grasped it tightly in both of
+his, and for a moment the two gazed into each other's eyes without a
+word.  Cabot tried to speak, but something choked him so that he could
+not; and, noting this, the other said gently:
+
+"It is all over now, and you are as safe as though you stood on dry
+land; so don't try to say anything till we've made you comfortable, for
+I know you must have had an almighty hard time."
+
+"Yes," whispered Cabot.  "I've been hungry, and thirsty, and wet, and
+cold, and scared; but now I'm only grateful--more grateful than I can
+ever tell."
+
+A little later the life raft, its mission accomplished, was left to
+toss and drift at will, while the "Sea Bee," with everything set and
+drawing finely, was rapidly regaining her course, guided by the
+far-reaching flash of Cape Race light.  In her dingy little cabin,
+which seemed to our rescued lad the most delightfully snug, warm, and
+altogether comfortable place he had ever entered, Cabot lay in the
+skipper's own bunk, regarding with intense interest the movements of
+that busy youth.
+
+The latter had lighted a swinging lamp, started a fire in a small and
+very rusty galley stove, set a tea kettle on to boil, and a pan of cold
+chowder to re-warm.  Having thus got supper well under way, he returned
+to the cabin, where he proceeded to set the table.  The worst of
+Cabot's distress had already been relieved by a cup of cold tea and a
+ship's biscuit.  Now, finding that he was able to talk, his host could
+no longer restrain his curiosity, but began to ask questions.  He had
+already learned Cabot's name, and told his own, which was Whiteway
+Baldwin, "called White for short," he had added.  Now he said:
+
+"You needn't talk, if you don't feel like it, but I do wish you could
+tell how you came to be drifting all alone on that raft."
+
+"A steamer that I was on was wrecked yesterday, and so far as I know I
+am the only survivor," answered Cabot.
+
+"Goodness!  You don't say so!  What steamer was she, where was she
+bound, and what part of the coast was she wrecked on?"
+
+"She was the 'Lavinia' from New York for St. Johns, and she wasn't
+wrecked on any part of the coast, but was lost at sea."
+
+"_Jiminetty_!  The 'Lavinia'!  It don't seem possible.  How did it
+happen?  There hasn't been any gale.  Did she blow up, or what?"
+
+"I don't know," replied Cabot, "for I was down-stairs when it took
+place, and my stateroom door was jammed so that I couldn't get out for
+a long time.  I only know that there was the most awful crash I ever
+heard, and it seemed as though the ship were being torn to pieces.
+Then there came an explosion, and when I got on deck the ship was
+sinking so fast that I had only time to cut loose the raft before she
+went down."
+
+"What became of the others?" asked White excitedly.
+
+"I am afraid they were drowned, for I heard them shouting just before
+she sank, but there was such a cloud of steam, smoke, and fog that I
+couldn't see a thing, and after it was all over I seemed to be the only
+one left."
+
+"Wasn't there a rock or ship or anything she might have run into?"
+asked the young skipper, whose tanned face had grown pale as he
+listened to this tale of sudden disaster.
+
+"There was an iceberg," replied Cabot, "but when I went down-stairs it
+wasn't very close, and the sun was shining, so that it was in plain
+sight."
+
+"That must be what she struck, though," declared the other.  Then he
+thrust his head up the companionway and shouted: "Hear the news, Dave.
+The 'Lavinia's' lost with all on board, except the chap we've just
+picked up."
+
+"What happened her?" asked the man laconically.
+
+"He says she ran into an iceberg in clear day, bust up, and sank with
+all hands, inside of a minute."
+
+"Rot!" replied the practical sailor.  "The 'Laviny' had collision
+bulkheads, and couldn't have sunk in no sich time, ef she could at all.
+'Sides Cap'n Phinney ain't no man to run down a berg in clear day, nor
+yet in the night, nor no other time.  He's been on this coast and the
+Labrador run too long fur any sich foolishness.  No, son, ef the
+'Laviny's' lost, which mind, I don't say she ain't, she's lost some
+other way 'sides that, an' you can tell your friend so with my
+compliments."
+
+Cabot did not overhear these remarks, and wondered at the queer look on
+the young skipper's face when he reëntered the cabin, as he did at the
+silence with which the latter resumed his preparations for supper.  At
+the same time he was still too weak, and, in spite of his biscuit, too
+ravenously hungry to care for further conversation just then.  So it
+was only after a most satisfactory meal and several cups of very hot
+tea that he was ready in his turn to ask questions.  But he was not
+given the chance; for, as soon as White Baldwin was through with
+eating, he went on dock to relieve the tiller, and the other member of
+the crew, whose name was David Gidge, came below.
+
+He was a man of remarkable appearance, of very broad shoulders and long
+arms; but with legs so bowed outward as to materially lower his
+stature, which would have been short at best, and convert his gait into
+an absurd waddle.  His face was disfigured by a scar across one cheek
+that so drew that corner of his mouth downward as to produce a
+peculiarly forbidding expression.  He also wore a bristling iron-grey
+beard that grew in form of a fringe or ruff, and added an air of
+ferocity to his make up.
+
+As this striking-looking individual entered the cabin and rolled into a
+seat at the table, he cast one glance, accompanied by a grunt, at
+Cabot, and then proceeded to attend strictly to the business in hand.
+He ate in such prodigious haste, and gulped his food in such vast
+mouthfuls, that he had cleaned the table of its last crumb, and was
+fiercely stuffing black tobacco into a still blacker pipe, before
+Cabot, who really wished to talk with him, had decided how to open the
+conversation.  Lighting his pipe and puffing it into a ruddy glow, Mr.
+Gidge made a waddling exit from the cabin, bestowing on our lad another
+grunt as he passed him, and leaving an eddying wake of rank tobacco
+smoke to mark his passage.
+
+For some time after this episode Cabot struggled to keep awake in the
+hope that White would return and answer some of his questions; but
+finally weariness overcame him, and he fell into a sleep that lasted
+without a break until after sunrise of the following morning.
+
+In the meantime the little schooner had held her course, and swept
+onward past the flashing beacons of Cape Race, Cape Pine, and Cape St.
+Mary, until, at daylight, she was standing across the broad reach of
+Placentia Bay towards the bald headland of Cape Chapeau Rouge.  She was
+making a fine run, and in spite of his weariness after a six hours'
+watch on deck, White Baldwin presented a cheery face to Cabot, as the
+latter vainly strove to recognise and account for his surroundings.
+
+"Good morning," said the young skipper, "I hope you have slept well,
+and are feeling all right again."
+
+"Yes, thank you," replied Cabot, suddenly remembering, "I slept
+splendidly, and am as fit as a fiddle.  Have we made a good run?"
+
+"Fine; we have come nearly a hundred miles from the place where we
+picked you up."
+
+"Then we must be almost to St. Johns," suggested Cabot, tumbling from
+his bunk as he spoke.  "I am glad, for it is important that I should
+get there as quickly as possible."
+
+"St. Johns!" replied the other blankly.  "Didn't you know that we had
+come from St. Johns, and were going in the opposite direction?  Why, we
+are more than one hundred and fifty miles from there at this minute."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION.
+
+Although Cabot had had no reason to suppose that the "Sea Bee" was on
+her way to St. Johns, it had not for a moment occurred to him that she
+could be going anywhere else.  Thus the news that they were not only a
+long way from the place he wished to reach, but steadily increasing
+their distance from it, so surprised him that for a moment he sat on
+the edge of his bunk gazing at the speaker as though doubting if he had
+heard aright.  Finally he asked: "Where, then, are we bound?"
+
+"To Pretty Harbour, around on the west coast, where I live," was the
+answer.
+
+"I'd be willing to give you fifty dollars to turn around and carry me
+to St. Johns," said Cabot.
+
+"Couldn't do it if you offered me a hundred, much as I need the money,
+and glad as I would be to oblige you, for I've got to get home in a
+hurry if I want to find any home to get to.  You see, it's this way,"
+continued White, noting Cabot's look of inquiry, "Pretty Harbour being
+on the French shore----"
+
+"What do you mean by the French shore?" interrupted Cabot.  "I thought
+you lived in Newfoundland, and that it was an English island."
+
+"So it is," explained White; "but, for some reason or other, I don't
+know why, England made a treaty with France nearly two hundred years
+ago, by which the French were granted fishing privileges from Cape Bay
+along the whole west coast to Cape Bauld, and from there down the east
+coast as far as Cape St. John.  By another treaty made some years
+afterwards France was granted, for her own exclusive use, the islands
+of Miquelon and St. Pierre, that lie just ahead of us now.
+
+"In the meantime the French have been allowed to do pretty much as they
+pleased with the west coast, until now they claim exclusive rights to
+its fisheries, and will hardly allow us natives to catch what we want
+for our own use.  They send warships to enforce their demands, and
+these compel us to sell bait to French fishermen at such price as they
+choose to offer.  Why, I have seen men forced to sell bait to the
+French at thirty cents a barrel, when Canadian and American fishing
+boats wore offering five times that much for it.  At the same time the
+French officers forbid us to sell to any but Frenchmen, declaring that
+if we do they will not only prevent us from fishing, but will destroy
+our nets."
+
+"I should think you would call on English warships for protection,"
+said Cabot.  "There surely must be some on this station."
+
+"Yes," replied the other, bitterly, "there are, but they always take
+the part of the French, and do even more than they towards breaking up
+our business."
+
+"What?" cried Cabot.  "British warships take part with the French
+against their own people!  That is one of the strangest things I ever
+heard of, and I can't understand it.  Is not this an English colony?"
+
+"Yes, it is England's oldest colony; but, while I was born in it, and
+have lived here all my life, I don't understand the situation any
+better than you."
+
+"It seems to me," continued Cabot, "that the conditions here must be
+fully as bad as those that led to the American Revolution, and I should
+think you Newfoundlanders would rebel, and set up a government of your
+own, or join the United States, or do something of that kind."
+
+"Perhaps we would if we could," replied White; "but our country is only
+a poor little island, with a population of less than a quarter of a
+million.  If we should rebel, we would have to fight both England and
+France.  We should have to do it without help, too, for the United
+States, which is the only country we desire to join, does not want us.
+So you see there is nothing for us to do but accept the situation, and
+get along as best we can."
+
+"Why don't you emigrate to the States?" suggested Cabot.
+
+"Plenty of people whom I know have done so," replied the young
+Newfoundlander, "and I might, too, if it were not for my mother and
+sister; but I don't know how I could make a living for them in the
+States, or even for myself.  You see, everything we have in the world
+is tied up right here.  Besides, it would be hard to leave one's own
+country and go to live among strangers.  Don't you think so?"
+
+"How do you make a living here?" asked Cabot, ignoring the last
+question.
+
+"We have made it until now by canning lobsters; but it looks as though
+even that business was to be stopped from this on."
+
+"Why?  Is it wrong to can lobsters?"
+
+"On the French shore, it seems to be one of the greatest crimes a
+person can commit, worse even than smuggling, and the chief duty of
+British warships on this station is to break it up."
+
+"Well, that beats all!" exclaimed Cabot.  "Why is canning lobsters
+considered so wicked?"
+
+"I don't know that I can explain it very clearly," replied the young
+skipper of the "Sea Bee," "but, so far as I can make out, it is this
+way: You see, the west coast of Newfoundland is one of the best places
+in the world for lobsters.  So when the settlers there found they were
+not allowed to make a living by fishing, they turned their attention to
+catching and canning them.  They thought, of course, that in this they
+would not be molested, since the French right was only to take and dry
+fish, which, in this country, means only codfish.  They were so
+successful at the new business that after a while the French also began
+to establish lobster canneries.  As no one interfered with them they
+finally became so bold as to order the closing of all factories except
+their own, and to actually destroy the property of such English
+settlers as were engaged in the business.  Then there were riots, and
+we colonists appealed to Parliament for protection in our rights."
+
+"Of course they granted it," said Cabot, who was greatly interested.
+
+"Of course they did nothing of the kind," responded White, bitterly.
+"The English authorities only remonstrated gently with the French, who
+by that time were claiming an exclusive right to all the business of
+the west coast, and finally it was agreed to submit the whole question
+to arbitration.  It has never yet been arbitrated, though that was some
+years ago.  In the meantime an arrangement was made by which all
+lobster factories in existence on July 1, 1889, were allowed to
+continue their business, but no others might be established."
+
+"Was your factory one of those then in existence?" asked Cabot.
+
+"It was completed, and ready to begin work a whole month before that
+date; but the captain of a French frigate told my father that if he
+canned a single lobster his factory would be destroyed.  Father
+appealed to the commander of a British warship for protection; but was
+informed that none could be given, and that if he persisted in the
+attempt to operate his factory his own countrymen would be compelled to
+aid the French in its destruction.  On that, father went to law, but it
+was not until the season was ended that the British captain was found
+to have had no authority for his action.  So father sued him for
+damages, and obtained judgment for five thousand dollars.  He never got
+the money, though, and by the time the next season came round the law
+regarding factories in existence on the first of the previous July was
+in force.  Then the question came up, whether or no our factory had
+been in existence at that time.  The French claim that it was not,
+because no work had been done in it, while we claim that, but for
+illegal interference, work would have been carried on for a full month
+before the fixed date."
+
+"How was the question settled?" asked Cabot.
+
+"It was not settled until a few days ago, when a final decision was
+rendered against us, and now the property is liable to be destroyed at
+any minute.  Father fought the case until it worried him to death, and
+mother has been fighting it ever since.  All our property, except the
+factory itself, this schooner, and a few hundred acres of worthless
+land, has gone to the lawyers.  While they have fought over the case, I
+have made a sort of a living for the family by running the factory at
+odd times, when there was no warship at hand to prevent.  This season
+promises to be one of the best for lobsters ever known, and we had so
+nearly exhausted our supply of cans that I went to St. Johns for more.
+While there I got private information that the suit had gone against
+us, and that the commander of the warship 'Comattus,' then in port, had
+received orders to destroy our factory during his annual cruise along
+the French shore.  The 'Comattus' was to start as soon as the 'Lavinia'
+arrived.  The minute I heard this I set out in a hurry for home, in the
+hope of having time to pack the extra cases I have on board this
+schooner, and get them out of the way before the warship arrives.  That
+is one reason I am in such a hurry, and can't spare the time to take
+you to St. Johns.  I wouldn't even have stopped long enough to
+investigate your raft if you had been a mile further off our course
+than you were."
+
+"Then all my yesterday's rowing didn't go for nothing," said Cabot.
+
+"I should say not.  It was the one thing that saved you, so far as this
+schooner is concerned.  I'm in a hurry for another reason, too.  If the
+French get word that a decision has been rendered against us, and that
+the factory is to be destroyed, they will pounce down on it in a jiffy,
+and carry away everything worth taking, to one of their own factories."
+
+"I don't wonder you are in a hurry," said Cabot.  "I know I should be,
+in your place, and I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to take me
+back to St. Johns; but I wish you would tell me the next best way of
+getting there.  You see, having lost everything in the way of an outfit
+it is necessary for me to procure a new one.  Besides that and the
+business I have on hand, it seems to me that, as the only survivor of
+the 'Lavinia,' I ought to report her loss as soon as possible."
+
+"Yes," agreed White, "of course you ought; though the longer it is
+unknown the longer the 'Comattus' will wait for her, and the more time
+I shall have."
+
+"Provided some French ship doesn't get after you," suggested Cabot.
+
+"Yes, I realise that, and as I am going to stop at St. Pierre, to sec
+whether the frigate 'Isla' is still in that harbour, I might set you
+ashore there.  From St. Pierre you can get a steamer for St. Johns, and
+even if you have to wait a few days you could telegraph your news as
+quickly as you please."
+
+"All right," agreed Cabot.  "I shall be sorry to leave you; but if that
+is the best plan you can think of I will accept it, and shall be
+grateful if you will set me ashore as soon as possible."
+
+Thus it was settled, and a few hours later the "Sea Bee" poked her nose
+around Gallantry Head, and ran into the picturesque, foreign-looking
+port of St. Pierre.  The French frigate "Isla," that had more than once
+made trouble for the Baldwins, lay in the little harbour, black and
+menacing.  Hoping not to be recognized, White gave her as wide a berth
+as possible; but he had hardly dropped anchor when a boat--containing
+an officer, and manned by six sailors--shot out from her side, and was
+pulled directly towards the schooner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+DEFYING A FRIGATE.
+
+"I wonder what's up now?" said White Baldwin, in a troubled tone, as he
+watched the approaching man-of-war's boat.
+
+"Mischief of some kind," growled David Gidge, as he spat fiercely into
+the water.  "I hain't never knowed a Frencher to be good fur nawthin'
+else but mischief."
+
+"Perhaps it's a health officer," suggested Cabot.
+
+"It's worse than that," replied White.
+
+"A customs officer, then?"
+
+"He comes from the shore."
+
+"Then perhaps it's an invitation for us to go and dine with the French
+captain?"
+
+"I've no doubt it's an invitation of some kind, and probably one that
+is meant to be accepted."
+
+At this juncture the French boat dashed alongside, and, without leaving
+his place, the lieutenant in command said in fair English:
+
+"Is not zat ze boat of Monsieur Baldwin of Pretty Harbour on ze côte
+Française?"
+
+"It is," replied the young skipper, curtly.
+
+"You haf, of course, ze papaire of health, and ze papaire of clearance
+for St. Pierre?"
+
+"No; I have no papers except a certificate of registry."
+
+"Ah!  Is it possible?  In zat case ze commandant of ze frigate 'Isla'
+will be please to see you on board at your earlies' convenience."
+
+"I thought so," said White, in a low tone.  Then aloud, he replied:
+"All right, lieutenant.  I'll sail over there, and hunt up a good place
+to anchor, just beyond your ship, and as soon as I've made all snug
+I'll come aboard.  Up with your mud hook, Dave."
+
+As Mr. Gidge began to work the windlass, Cabot sprang to help him, and,
+within a minute, the recently dropped anchor was again broken out.
+Then, at a sharp order, David hoisted and trimmed the jib, leaving
+Cabot to cat the anchor.  The fore and main sails had not been lowered.
+Thus within two minutes' time the schooner was again under way, and
+standing across the harbour towards the big warship.
+
+The rapidity of these movements apparently somewhat bewildered the
+French officer, who, while narrowly watching them, did not utter a word
+of remonstrance.  Now, as the "Sea Bee" moved away, his boat was
+started in the same direction.
+
+Without paying any further attention to it, White Baldwin luffed his
+little craft across the frigate's bow, and the moment he was hidden
+beyond her, bore broad away, passing close along the opposite side of
+the warship, from which hundreds of eyes watched his movements with
+languid curiosity.
+
+The boat, in the meantime, had headed for the stern of the frigate,
+with a view to gaining her starboard gangway, somewhere near which its
+officer supposed White to be already anchoring.  What was his
+amazement, therefore, as he drew within the shadow of his ship, to see
+the schooner shoot clear of its further side, and go flying down the
+wind, lee rail under.  For a moment he looked to see her round to and
+come to anchor.  Then, springing to his feet, he yelled for her to do
+so; upon which White Baldwin took off his cap, and made a mocking bow.
+
+At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver, and began to fire
+wildly in the direction of the vanishing schooner, which, for answer,
+displayed a British Union Jack at her main peak.  Three minutes later
+the saucy craft had rounded a projecting headland and disappeared,
+leaving the outwitted officer to get aboard his ship at his leisure,
+and make such report as seemed to him best.
+
+[Illustration: At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver.]
+
+After the exciting incident was ended, and the little "Sea Bee" had
+gained the safety of open water, Cabot grasped the young skipper's hand
+and shook it heartily.
+
+"It was fine!" he cried, "though I don't see how you dared do it.
+Weren't you afraid they would fire at us?"
+
+"Not a bit," laughed White.  "They didn't realise what we were up to
+until we were well past them, and then they hadn't time to get ready
+before we were out of range.  I don't believe they would dare fire on
+the British flag, anyway; especially as we hadn't done a thing to them.
+I almost wish they had, though; for I would be willing to lose this
+schooner and a good deal besides for the sake of bringing on a war that
+should drive the French from Newfoundland."
+
+"But what did they want of you, and what would have happened if you had
+not given them the slip?"
+
+"I expect they wanted to hold me here until they heard how our case had
+gone, so that I couldn't get back to the factory before they had a
+chance to run up there and seize it.  Like as not they would have kept
+us on one excuse or another--lack of papers or something of that
+sort--for a week or two, and by the time they let us go some one else
+would have owned the Pretty Harbour lobster factory."
+
+"Would they really have dared do such a thing?" asked Cabot, to whom
+the idea of foreign interference in the local affairs of Newfoundland
+was entirely new.
+
+"Certainly they would.  The French dare do anything they choose on this
+coast, and no one interferes."
+
+"Well," said Cabot, "it seems a very curious situation, and one that a
+stranger finds hard to understand.  However, so long as the French
+possess such a power for mischief, I congratulate you more than ever on
+having escaped them.  At the same time I am disappointed at not being
+able to land at St. Pierre, and should like to know where you are going
+to take me next."
+
+"I declare!  In my hurry to get out of that trap, I forgot all about
+you wanting to land," exclaimed White, "and now there isn't a place
+from which you can get to St. Johns short of Port aux Basques, which is
+about one hundred and fifty miles west of here."
+
+"How may I reach St. Johns from there?"
+
+"By the railway across the island, of which Port aux Basques is the
+terminus.  A steamer from Sidney, on Cape Breton, connects with a train
+there every other day."
+
+"Very good; Port aux Basques it is," agreed Cabot, "and I shan't be
+sorry after all for a chance to cross the island by train and see what
+its interior looks like."
+
+So our young engineer continued his involuntary voyage, and devoted his
+time to acquiring all sorts of information about the great northern
+island, as well as to the study of navigation.  In this latter line of
+research he even succeeded in producing a favorable impression upon
+David Gidge, who finally admitted that it wasn't always safe to judge a
+man from his appearance, and that this young feller had more in him
+than showed at first sight.
+
+While thus creating a favorable impression for himself, Cabot grew much
+interested in the young skipper of the schooner.  He was surprised to
+find one in his position so gentlemanly a chap, as well as so generally
+well informed, and wondered where he had picked it all up.
+
+"Are there good schools at Pretty Harbour?" he asked, with a view to
+solving this problem.
+
+"There is one, but it is only fairly good," answered White.
+
+"Did you go to it?"
+
+"Oh, no," laughed the other.  "I went to school as well as to college
+in St. Johns.  You see, father was a merchant there until he bought a
+great tract of land on the west coast.  Then he gave up his business in
+the city and came over here to establish a lobster factory, which at
+that time promised to pay better than anything else on the island.  He
+left us all in St. Johns, and it was only after his death that we came
+over here to live and try to save something from the wreck of his
+property.  Now I don't know what is to become of us; for, unless one is
+allowed to can lobsters, there isn't much chance of making a living on
+the French shore.  If it wasn't for the others, I should take this
+schooner and try a trading trip to Labrador, but mother has become so
+much of an invalid that I hate to leave her with only my sister."
+
+"What is your sister's name?"
+
+"Cola."
+
+"That's an odd name, and one I never heard before, but I think I like
+it."
+
+"So do I," agreed White; "though I expect I should like any name
+belonging to her, for she is a dear girl.  One reason I am so fond of
+this schooner is because it is named for her."
+
+"How is that?"
+
+"Why, it is the 'Sea Bee,' and these are her initials."
+
+It was early on the second morning after leaving St. Pierre that the
+"Sea Bee" drifted slowly into the harbour of Port aux Basques, where
+the yacht-like steamer "Bruce" lay beside its single wharf.  She had
+just completed her six-hour run across Cabot Strait, from North Sidney,
+eighty-five miles away, and close at hand stood the narrow-gauge train
+that was to carry her passengers and mails to St. Johns.  It would
+occupy twenty-eight hours in making the run of 550 miles from coast to
+coast, and our lad looked forward to the trip with pleasant
+anticipations.
+
+But he was again doomed to disappointment; for while the schooner was
+still at some distance from the wharf, the train was seen to be in
+motion.  In vain did Cabot shout and wave his cap.  No attention was
+paid to his signals, and a minute later the train had disappeared.
+There would not be another for two days, and the young engineer gazed
+about him with dismay.  Port aux Basques appeared to be only a railway
+terminus, offering no accommodation for travellers, and presenting,
+with its desolate surroundings, a scene of cheerless inhospitality.
+
+"That's what I call tough luck!" exclaimed White Baldwin,
+sympathetically.
+
+"Isn't it?" responded Cabot; "and what I am to do with myself in this
+dreary place after you are gone, I can't imagine."
+
+"Seems to me you'd better stay right where you are, and run up the
+coast with us to St. George's Bay, where there is another station at
+which you can take the next train."
+
+"I should like to," replied Cabot, "if you would allow me to pay for my
+passage; but I don't want to impose upon your hospitality any longer."
+
+"Nonsense!" exclaimed White.  "You are already doing your full share of
+the work aboard here, and even if you weren't of any help, I should be
+only too happy to have you stay with us until the end of the run, for
+the pleasure of your company."
+
+"That settles it," laughed Cabot.  "I will go with you as far as St.
+George's, and be glad of the chance.  But, while we are here, I think I
+ought to send in the news about the 'Lavinia.'"
+
+As White agreed that this should be done at once, Cabot was set ashore,
+and made his way to the railway telegraph office, where he asked the
+operator to whom in St. Johns he should send the news of a wreck.
+
+"What wreck?" asked the operator.
+
+"Steamer 'Lavinia.'"
+
+"There's no need to send that to anybody, for it's old news, and went
+through here last night as a press despatch.  'Lavinia' went too close
+to an iceberg, that capsized, and struck her with long, under-water
+projection.  Lifted steamer from water, broke her back, boiler
+exploded, and that was the end of 'Lavinia.'  Mate's boat reached St.
+Johns, and 'Comattus' has gone to look for other possible survivors."
+
+As Cabot had nothing to add to this story, he merely sent a short
+despatch to Mr. Hepburn, announcing his own safety, and then returned
+to the schooner with his news.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed White, when he heard it.  "I hope the 'Comattus' will
+find those she has gone to look for; and I'm mighty glad she has got
+something to do that will keep her away from here for a few days
+longer.  Now, Dave, up with the jib."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED.
+
+Cabot had been impressed by the rugged scenery of the Nova Scotia shore
+line, but it had been tame as compared with the stern grandeur of that
+unfolded when the "Sea Bee" rounded Cape Ray and was headed up the west
+coast of Newfoundland.  He had caught glimpses of lofty promontories
+and precipitous cliffs as the schooner skirted the southern end of the
+island; but most of the time it had kept too far from shore for him to
+appreciate the marvellous details.  Now, however, as they beat up
+against a head wind, they occasionally ran in so close as to be wet by
+drifting spray from the roaring breakers that ceaselessly dashed
+against the mighty wall, rising, grim and sheer, hundreds of feet above
+them.  Everywhere the rock was stained a deep red, indicating the
+presence of iron, and everywhere it had been rent or shattered into a
+thousand fantastic forms.  At short intervals the massive cliffs were
+wrenched apart to make room for narrow fiords, of unknown depth, that
+penetrated for miles into the land, where they formed intricate mazes
+of placid waterways.  Beside them there were nestled tiny fishing
+villages of whitewashed houses, though quite as often these were
+perched on apparently inaccessible crags, overlooking sheltered coves
+of the outer coast.
+
+On the tossing waters fronting them, fleets of fishing boats, with
+sails tanned a ruddy brown, like those of the "Sea Bee," or blackened
+by coal tar, darted with the grace and fearlessness of gulls, or rested
+as easily on the heaving surface, while the fishermen, clad in yellow
+oilskins, pursued their arduous toil.
+
+To our young American the doings of these hardy seafarers proved so
+interesting that he never tired of watching them nor of asking
+questions concerning their perilous occupation.  And he had plenty of
+time in which to acquire information, for so adverse were the winds
+that only by the utmost exertion did White Baldwin succeed in getting
+his schooner to the St. George's landing in time for Cabot to run to
+the railway station just as the train from Port aux Basques was coming
+in.
+
+The two lads exchanged farewells with sincere regrets, after White had
+extended a most cordial invitation to the other to finish the cruise
+with him, and visit his home at Pretty Harbour.  Much as Cabot wished
+to accept this invitation, he had declined it for the present, on the
+plea that he ought first to go to St. Johns.  At the same time he had
+promised to try and make the proposed visit before leaving the island,
+to which White had replied:
+
+"Don't delay too long, then, or you may not find us at home, for there
+is no knowing what may happen when the warships get there."
+
+Even David Gidge shook hands with the departing guest, and said it was
+a pity he couldn't stay with them a while longer, seeing that he might
+be made into a very fair sort of a sailor with proper training.
+
+With one regretful backward glance, Cabot left the little schooner on
+which he had come to feel so much at home, and sprinted towards the
+station, where was gathered half the population of the village--men,
+women, children, and dogs.  The train was already at the platform as he
+made his way through this crowd, wondering if he had time to purchase a
+ticket, and he glanced at it curiously.  It was well filled, and heads
+were thrust from most of the car windows on that side.  Through one
+window Cabot saw a quartette of men too busily engaged over a game of
+cards to take note of their surroundings.  As our lad's gaze fell on
+these, he suddenly stood still and stared.  Then he turned, pushed out
+from the crowd, and made his way back towards the landing as rapidly as
+he had come from it a few minutes before.
+
+The "Sea Bee" was under way, but had not got beyond hail, and was put
+back when her crew discovered who was signalling them so vigorously.
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired her young skipper, as Cabot again
+clambered aboard.  "Did you miss the train after all?"
+
+"No," replied Cabot.  "I could have caught it; but made up my mind at
+the last moment that I might just as well go with you to Pretty Harbour
+now as to try and visit it later."
+
+"Good!" cried White, heartily.  "I am awfully glad you did.  We were
+feeling blue enough without you, weren't we, Dave?"
+
+"Blue warn't no name for it," replied Mr. Gidge.  "It were worse than a
+drop in the price of fish; an' now I feel as if they'd riz a dollar a
+kental."
+
+"Thank you both," laughed Cabot.  "I hadn't any idea how much I should
+hate to leave the old 'Bee' until I tried to do it.  You said there was
+another station that I could reach from your place, didn't you?" he
+added, turning to White.
+
+"Yes.  There is one at Bay of Islands that can be reached by a drive of
+a few hours from Pretty Harbour; and I'll carry you over there any time
+you like," replied the latter.
+
+"That settles it, then; and I'll let St. Johns wait a few days longer."
+
+So the little schooner was again headed seaward, and set forth at a
+nimble pace for her run around Cape St. George and up the coast past
+Port au Port to the exquisitely beautiful Bay of Islands, on which
+Pretty Harbour is located; and, as she bore him away, Cabot hoped he
+had done the right thing.
+
+When commissioned to undertake this journey that was proving so full of
+incident, our young engineer had been only too glad of an excuse to
+break his engagement with Thorpe Walling; for, as has been said, the
+latter was not a person whom he particularly liked.  Walling, on the
+other hand, had boasted that the most popular fellow in the Institute
+had chosen above all things to take a trip around the world in his
+company, and was greatly put out by the receipt of Cabot's telegram
+announcing his change of plan.  The more Thorpe reflected upon this
+grievance the more angry did he become, until he finally swore enmity
+against Cabot Grant, and to get even with him if ever he had the chance.
+
+He was provoked that his chosen companion should have dismissed him so
+curtly, without any intimation of what he proposed to do, and this he
+determined to discover.  So he went to New York and made inquiries at
+the offices of the company acting as Cabot's guardian; but could only
+learn that the young man had left the city after two private interviews
+with President Hepburn.  At the club where Cabot had lunched on the day
+of his departure, Thorpe's appearance created surprise.
+
+"Thought you had started off with Grant on a trip around the world?"
+said one member in greeting him.
+
+"No," replied Walling; "we are not going."
+
+"But he sailed two days ago.  At least, he said that was what he was
+about to do when he bade me good-bye on his way to the steamer."
+
+"What steamer, and where was she bound?" asked Thorpe.
+
+"Don't know.  He only said he was about to sail."
+
+"I'll not be beaten that way," thought Walling, angrily; and, having
+plenty of money to expend as best suited him, he straightway engaged
+the services of a private detective.  This man was instructed to
+ascertain for what port a certain Cabot Grant had sailed from New York
+two days earlier, and that very evening the coveted information was in
+his possession.
+
+"Sailed on the 'Lavinia' for St. Johns, Newfoundland, has he?" muttered
+Thorpe.  "Then I, too, will visit St. Johns, and discover what he is
+doing.  I might as well go there as anywhere else; and perhaps Grant
+will find out that it would have been wiser to confide in an old friend
+than to treat him as shabbily as he has me."
+
+Having reached this decision, Walling took a train from New York, and,
+travelling by way of Boston, Portland, and Bangor, crossed the St.
+Croix River from Maine into New Brunswick at Vanceboro.  From there he
+went, via St. John, N.B., and Truro, Nova Scotia, to Port Mulgrave,
+where he passed over the Strait of Canso to Cape Breton.  Across that
+island his route lay through the Bras d'Or country to North Sidney, at
+which point he took steamer for Port aux Basques and the Newfoundland
+railway that should finally land him in St. Johns.  On this journey he
+became acquainted with several Americans, with whom he played whist,
+which is what he was doing when his train pulled up at the St. George's
+Bay platform.
+
+At sight of his classmate, Cabot became instantly desirious of avoiding
+him and the embarrassing questions he would be certain to ask.
+Although our young engineer could not imagine why Thorpe Walling had
+come to Newfoundland, he instinctively felt that the visit had
+something to do with his own trip to the island.  He knew that Thorpe
+delighted to pry into the secrets of others; and also that he was of a
+vindictive nature, quick to take offence, and unscrupulous in his
+enmities.  Therefore, as his instructions permitted him to visit
+whatever part of Newfoundland he chose, he decided to avoid St. Johns
+for the present rather than risk the results of a companionship that
+now seemed so undesirable.
+
+Somewhat earlier on that same day one of Thorpe's travelling
+companions, named Gregg, spoke to him of Newfoundland's mineral wealth,
+and referred particularly to the Bell Island iron mines.
+
+"Yes," replied Walling, who had never before heard of Bell Island,
+"they must be immensely valuable."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," said the other, carelessly.  "Several American
+companies are trying to get control of them; but perhaps they are not
+what they are cracked up to be after all."
+
+"Isn't a New York man by the name of Hepburn one of the interested
+parties?" asked Thorpe, at a venture.
+
+"Yes, he is," responded Mr. Gregg, turning on him sharply.  "Why, do
+you know him?"
+
+"I can't say that I know him; but I know a good deal about him, and
+have every reason to believe that he has just sent an acquaintance of
+mine, a young mining engineer, up here to examine that very property."
+
+"Is he an expert?"
+
+"Oh, yes.  He and I were classmates at a technical institute."
+
+"Then you also are a mining engineer?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"Have you come to Newfoundland to investigate mineral lands?"
+
+"Not exactly; though I may do something in that line if I find a good
+opening.  At present I am merely on a pleasure trip."
+
+"I see, and I am glad to have made your acquaintance, as I am somewhat
+interested in mineral lands myself.  When we reach St. Johns I hope you
+will introduce me to your friend, and it may happen that I can return
+the favour by putting you on to a good thing."
+
+"Certainly, I will introduce you if we run across him," replied Thorpe.
+"At the same time I hope you won't mention having any knowledge of his
+business, as he is trying to keep it quiet."
+
+"Like most of us who have 'deals' on hand," remarked the other, with a
+meaning smile.  "But it is hard to hide them from clever chaps like
+yourself."
+
+At which compliment, Thorpe, who had only been making some shrewd
+guesses, looked wise, but said nothing.
+
+It happened that these two were playing whist when the train reached
+St. George's Bay, and Mr. Gregg remarked to his partner:
+
+"There's a chap staring at this crowd as if he knew some of us."
+
+Thorpe glanced from the window, and started from his seat with an
+exclamation.  At the same moment Cabot Grant turned away and hurried
+from the station.
+
+"Do you know him?" asked Mr. Gregg.
+
+"He is the very person I was speaking to you about a while ago,"
+replied Thorpe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT.
+
+At sight of Cabot, Thorpe Walling's instinct had been to leave the car
+and follow him; but the thought of his luggage, which he knew he could
+not get off in time, caused him to hesitate, and then it was too late,
+for the train was again in motion.
+
+"The young man did not seem particularly anxious to meet his old
+classmate," remarked Mr. Gregg.  "In fact, it rather looked as though
+he wished to avoid recognition."
+
+Thorpe pretended to be too busy with his cards to make reply to this
+suggestion; but an ugly expression came into his face, and, from that
+moment, he hated Cabot Grant.  When, on the following day, he reached
+St. Johns and learned of the loss of the "Lavinia," with all on board,
+except those saved in the mate's boat, he was more perplexed than ever.
+Cabot's name was published as one of those who had gone down with the
+ill-fated steamer, and yet he had certainly seen him alive and well
+only the day before.  What could it mean?
+
+"Do you suppose Hepburn knows of his escape?" asked Mr. Gregg, who was
+stopping at the same hotel, and to whom Thorpe confided this mystery.
+
+"I haven't an idea."
+
+"What do you say to wiring and finding out?  It can't do us any harm,
+and might gain us an insight into the old man's plans up here."
+
+"I should say it was a good idea."
+
+As a result of this desire for information the following telegram was
+sent to the president of the Gotham Trust and Investment Company:
+
+"St. Johns, N'f'l'd.--Here all right.  What shall I do next?----C. G."
+
+
+And the answer came promptly:
+
+"Congratulations.  Send B. I. report.  If in need of funds, draw.----H."
+
+
+"That settles it!" exclaimed Mr. Gregg, exultingly.  "Hepburn is after
+Bell Island, and your friend was sent here to report upon its value.
+Now, it will be a pity if the old man doesn't get his information,
+which he isn't likely to do for some time with that young chap over on
+the west coast.  Some one ought to send him a report."
+
+"I have a mind to do it myself," said Thorpe, reflectively.
+
+"It would be an awfully decent thing for you to do.  Be a good joke on
+your friend, too, and make him fed ashamed of himself for cutting you
+so dead yesterday, when he finds it out.  He is bound to get into
+trouble if some sort of a report isn't sent in, now that he is known to
+have escaped from the wreck."
+
+"Confound him!" exclaimed Thorpe.  "I don't care how soon he gets into
+trouble; nor how much."
+
+"Oh, come.  That isn't a nice way to speak of an old friend and
+classmate," remarked Mr. Gregg, reprovingly.  "Now, I always feel sorry
+when I see a decent young chap like that throwing away a good chance,
+and want to help him if I can.  So in the present case, I think we
+really ought to send in a report that will satisfy old Hepburn, and
+keep the boy solid with his employers.  I shouldn't know how to word it
+myself, but if you, with your expert knowledge of the subject, will
+make it out, of course after taking a look at the mine, I'll see that
+you don't lose anything by your kindness."
+
+"All right," replied Thorpe, who was quite sharp enough to comprehend
+the other's meaning.  "I'll do it."
+
+So the two conspirators drove to the picturesque fishing village of
+Portugal Cove, where they hired a boat to carry them across to Bell
+Island.  There they paid a hasty visit to the mine, which Mr. Gregg
+plausibly belittled and undervalued, until Thorpe really began to
+consider it a greatly overestimated piece of property, and this idea he
+embodied in a report that he wrote out that very evening.
+
+"I'm glad to see that you think as I do concerning the real
+worthlessness of Bell Island," remarked Mr. Gregg, gravely, as he
+glanced over the paper, "and the man who would have anything to do with
+it after reading this must be a greater fool than I take old Hepburn to
+be."
+
+On the following day a type-written copy of Thorpe's report was made,
+signed "C. G.," and forwarded by mail to the president of the Gotham
+Trust and Investment Company.  As a result, a telegram was received a
+week later at the Bank of Nova Scotia in St. Johns addressed to Cabot
+Grant, and desiring him to return at once to New York.  As the bank
+people wired back that they had no knowledge of any such person, Mr.
+Hepburn in reply requested them to keep a sharp lookout for a young man
+of that name, who would shortly present a letter of credit to them, and
+provide him with a ticket to New York on account of it, but nothing
+more.  Mr. Hepburn also explained that, as Cabot Grant's guardian, he
+had the right to thus limit his ward's expenditures.
+
+Thus our lad fell into disgrace with his employer, who knew, as well as
+any man living, the exact status of the Bell Island iron mine, and had
+only requested Cabot to report on it in order to test his fitness for
+other work.
+
+While the correspondence with the bank was being carried on, Messrs.
+Walling and Gregg watched for the arrival of the young engineer, whom
+they expected by every train.  They also anxiously awaited the news
+that the Hepburn syndicate had withdrawn its offer for the Bell Island
+property, in which event it would fall, at a greatly reduced price, to
+the company represented by Mr. Gregg.
+
+Totally unconscious of all this, Cabot Grant was at that very time in a
+remote corner of the west coast, happily engaged in aiding certain of
+its inhabitants to discomfit the combined naval forces of two of the
+most powerful governments of the world.  Moreover, he had become so
+interested in this exciting occupation, as well as in certain
+discoveries that he was making, as to have very nearly lost sight of
+his intention to visit the capital of the island.
+
+When he reëmbarked on the "Sea Bee" at St. George's Bay, he fully
+intended to catch the train of two days later at the station to which
+White had promised to convey him.  He was glad of a chance to view some
+more of that magnificent west coast scenery, and when the little
+schooner finally rounded South Head, and was pointed towards the
+massive front of Blomidon, which David Gidge called "Blow-me-down," he
+felt well repaid for his delay by the enchanting beauty of the Bay of
+Islands that lay outspread before them.
+
+Soon after passing South Head, the "Sea Bee," with flags flying from
+both masts, slipped through a narrow passage into the land-locked basin
+of Pretty Harbour.  On its further shore stood a handful of white
+houses, and a larger building that fronted the water.
+
+"That's our factory!" cried White, "and there is our house, on the
+hillside, just beyond.  See, the one with the dormer windows.  There's
+Cola waving from one of them now.  Bless her!  She must have been
+watching, to sight us so quickly.  Oh, I can't wait.  Dave, you take
+the 'Bee' up to the wharf.  Mr. Grant will help you, I know, as well as
+excuse me if I go ashore first."
+
+"Of course, I will," replied Cabot; and in another minute the young
+skipper was sculling ashore in the dinghy, while the schooner drifted
+more slowly in the same direction.
+
+When they finally reached the factory wharf White was on hand to meet
+them, and beside him stood the slender, merry-eyed girl for whom the
+schooner had been named.  She unaffectedly held out a hand to Cabot
+when they were introduced, and at once invited him to the house to meet
+her mother.
+
+"Yes," said White, "you two go along, and don't wait for me.  You see,"
+he added, apologetically, to Cabot, "there's been a great catch of
+lobsters, and if I can only get them packed before we are interfered
+with, we'll make a pretty good season of it, after all."
+
+So the new-comer walked with Cola up the straggling village street,
+past a score of fisher cottages, each with a tiny porch, pots of
+flowers in the front windows, and a bit of a garden fenced with
+wattles, to keep out the children, goats, dogs, and pigs, that swarmed
+on all sides.  At length they came to the neatly kept and
+comfortable-looking house, overlooking the whole, that White Baldwin
+called home.  Here Cabot was presented to the sweet-faced invalid
+mother, who sat beside a window of the living-room, from which she
+could look out on the little harbour, and who was eager to learn the
+details of his recent experiences that White had only found time to
+outline to her.
+
+Both mother and daughter listened with deepest interest while Cabot
+told of the loss of the "Lavinia," and when he had finished Mrs.
+Baldwin said:
+
+"You certainly made a wonderful escape, and I am grateful that my boy
+was granted the privilege of rescuing you from that dreadful raft.  I
+am confident, also, that you have been brought to this place for some
+wise purpose, and trust that you are planning to remain with us as long
+as your engagements will permit."
+
+"Thank you, madam," replied Cabot.  "I wish I might accept your
+hospitality for a week, at least.  For I am certain I should find much
+to enjoy in this delightful region.  I feel, however, that I ought to
+catch to-morrow's train, as it is rather necessary for me to reach St.
+Johns without further delay."
+
+"It seems queer," remarked Cola, "that this stupid place can strike
+even a stranger as being delightful, since there is no one to see but
+fisherfolk, who can talk of nothing but fish, and there isn't a thing
+to do but watch the boats go and come.  For my part, I am so tired of
+it all that I wish something would happen to send us away from here
+forever."
+
+"My dear!" said Mrs. Baldwin to Cola, reprovingly.
+
+"Some one seems to have found an occupation here in collecting a
+cabinet of specimens," suggested Cabot, indicating, as he spoke, some
+shelves covered with bits of rock, that had attracted his attention.
+
+"Yes," admitted Cola, "I have found some amusement in gathering those
+things; but I don't know what half of them are, and there is no one
+here to tell me."
+
+"Possibly I might help you to name some of them," said Cabot, "as I
+have a bowing acquaintance with geology."
+
+"Oh! can you?" cried the girl.  "Then I wish you would, right away, for
+I am almost certain that several of them contain minerals, and I want
+awfully to know if they are gold."
+
+The next moment the two young people were standing before the cabinet,
+deep in the mysteries of periods, ages, formations, series, and other
+profound geologic terms.  All at once Cabot paused, and, holding a bit
+of serpentine in his hand, asked:
+
+"Did this come from about here?"
+
+[Illustration: "Did this come from about here?"]
+
+"Yes; ail of them did."
+
+"Could you show me the place, or somewhere near where you found it?"
+
+"I think I could, if we had time; but not if you are going away in the
+morning, for it would take at least half a day."
+
+"Well," said Cabot, "I believe I might wait over long enough for that,
+and guess I won't start for St. Johns to-morrow, after all."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY.
+
+The Baldwins were greatly pleased at Cabot's decision to wait over a
+train; for, as Mrs. Baldwin said, a desirable guest in that
+out-of-the-way corner of the world was the greatest of luxuries.  White
+was glad to prolong the friendship so strangely begun, and also to
+escape a present necessity for leaving his work to carry Cabot to the
+distant railway station, while Cola was delighted to have found what
+she termed a geologic companion.  After it was arranged that these two
+should set forth early the following day on a search for specimens,
+Cabot strolled down to the factory to learn something of the process of
+canning lobsters.
+
+He was amazed at the change effected in so short a time.  When he
+landed at Pretty Harbour the factory had been closed, silent, and
+deserted.  Now it was a hive of bustling activity, in which every
+available person of the village, including women and children, was hard
+at work.  Fires were blazing under a number of great kettles half
+filled with boiling water.  Into these, green lobsters were tossed by
+barrowfuls, to be taken out a little later smoking hot and coloured a
+vivid scarlet.  On the packing tables their shells were broken, and the
+extracted meat was put into cans, to which covers, each with a tiny
+hole in the middle, were soldered.  Then the filled cans were steamed,
+by trayfuls, to exhaust their air; a drop of solder closed each vent,
+and they were ready for labelling and packing in cases.  White Baldwin,
+in person, superintended all these operations, while David Gidge saw to
+the unloading of the "Sea Bee," and kept sharp watch on a gang of
+shouting urchins, who were withdrawing the live lobsters from the
+outside salt-water pens, in which they had been kept while awaiting
+their fate.
+
+White was in high spirits, for the travelling agent of a St. Johns
+business house had just offered a good cash price for his entire pack.
+
+"Of course," the young proprietor said to Cabot, as they viewed the
+busy scone, "we won't make anything like what we would if we were
+allowed a whole uninterrupted season; but, if they will only let us
+alone for a week, I'll pack a thousand cases.  Those will yield enough
+to support us for a year, and before that is up I'm not afraid but that
+I'll find some other way of earning a living.  Now, if I can only get
+sufficient help, I'm going to run this factory night and day for the
+next week, unless compelled by force to stop sooner."
+
+Cabot was already so interested that he promptly volunteered to aid in
+making the all-important pack.
+
+"I don't know anything about the business," he said, "but if you can
+make use of me in any way, I shall be only too glad of a chance to
+repay a small portion of the great debt I owe you."
+
+"Nonsense!" laughed White.  "You don't owe me a thing, and I don't want
+you to feel that way.  At the same time I should be ever so glad of
+your help in getting things well started; for just now one strong
+fellow like you would be worth a dozen of those children."
+
+So, a few minutes later, Cabot, clad in overalls and an old flannel
+shirt of White's, was as hard at work as though the canning of lobsters
+was the business of his life.  Far into the night he laboured, only
+pausing long enough to go up to the house for supper; and, on the
+following morning, he was actually pleased that a heavy rain storm
+should postpone the trip for specimens, furnish him with an excuse for
+prolonging his stay, and leave him at liberty to resume his
+self-imposed task in the factory.
+
+The storm lasted for two days, at the end of which time half the pack
+had been made, and Cabot had become so familiar with all details of the
+work as to be a most valuable assistant.  On the third day, the supply
+of lobsters on hand being exhausted, operations were suspended until
+the boats could return with a new catch; and, as the weather was again
+fine, Cabot and Cola set forth on their geological exploration.
+
+It was a glorious day, with a sky of deepest blue; the hot sunshine
+tempered by a cool breeze pouring in from the sea, and all nature
+sparkling with joyous life.  To Cabot, who had thought of Newfoundland
+as a place of perpetual fog, and almost constant rain, the whole scene
+was a source of boundless delight.  As the two young people climbed the
+steep ascent behind the village, new beauties were unfolded with each
+moment, until, when they reached the crest, and could look far out over
+the islanded bay, with the placid cove and its white hamlet nestling at
+their feet, Cabot declared his belief that there was not a more
+exquisite view in all the world.
+
+After gazing their fill, the explorers plunged into a sweet-scented
+forest of spruce and birches, threaded by narrow wood roads, and
+tramped for miles, stopping now and then to examine some outcropping
+ledge or gather a handful of snow-white capilear berries.  But the main
+object of their quest, the copper-bearing serpentine, was not found
+until they had gained the summit of the Blomidon range and were in full
+view of the sea.  Then they came to a distinct outcrop of
+mineral-bearing rock that caused the eyes of the young geologist to
+glisten with anticipation.
+
+While he chipped off specimens, studied the trend of the ledge, and
+made such estimates of its character as were possible from surface
+indications, his companion climbed a rocky eminence that, short of
+Blomidon itself, commanded the most extended view of any in that
+region.  She had hardly gained the summit when she uttered a cry that
+attracted Cabot's attention and caused him to hasten in her direction.
+In a few moments he met her running breathlessly down the hill.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.  "Are you hurt?"
+
+"A warship coming up the coast," she panted.  "I saw it plainly, and we
+must get back with the news as quick as we can."
+
+Much as Cabot hated to give over the exploration of that wonderful
+copper-bearing ledge, he did not hesitate to obey the imperative call
+of friendship, and accompanied Cola with all speed back to the village.
+When they reached it they found White jubilant over the extraordinary
+catch of lobsters that was even then being brought in.
+
+"Hurrah!" he cried, as Cabot appeared.  "Biggest catch of the season,
+and you are just in time to help pack it away.  But what brings you
+back so early?  I thought you were off for all day."
+
+"Oh, White, they are coming!" gasped Cola.
+
+"Who are coming?"
+
+"A warship.  I saw it from Maintop."
+
+"British or French?"
+
+"I don't know.  I only knew it was a warship because it was so much
+bigger than the 'Harlaw' and had tall masts."
+
+"Well, it don't make any difference," growled White, "one is just as
+bad as another, and our business is ruined anyway.  Why couldn't they
+have kept away for three days longer?"
+
+"What will they do?" inquired Cabot, curiously.
+
+"I don't know," replied White, bitterly.  "Either destroy or seize the
+whole plant and leave us to starve at our leisure.  Now, I suppose we
+might as well go up to the house and tell mother.  There's no use doing
+any more work under the circumstances."
+
+"I don't see why not," objected Cabot, who was not accustomed to
+throwing up a fight before it was begun.  "There is a possibility that
+the vessel may not be a warship after all, and another that she is not
+coming to this place.  Even if she does, you don't know that she has
+any warrant for interfering with your business.  So, if I were you, I'd
+go right on with the work and keep at it until some one compelled me to
+stop.  I say, though, speaking of warrants gives me an idea.  All you
+want is three days' delay, isn't it?"
+
+"That is what I want most just now," replied White.
+
+"Well, then, why not place this property in the name of some
+friend--David Gidge, for instance--and when those men-of-war people
+begin to make trouble let him ask them whose factory it is they are
+after.  They will say yours, or your mother's, of course.  Then he'll
+speak up and say in that case they've come to the wrong place, since
+this is the property of Mr. David Gidge, while their warrant only
+mentions that of Mrs. Whiteway Baldwin.  It'll be a big bluff, of
+course, and won't work for very long, but it may puzzle 'em a bit and
+give the delay of proceedings that you require."
+
+"I believe you are right about keeping on with the work," replied
+White, thoughtfully; "though I am not so sure about the other part of
+your scheme.  Anyway, I must run to the house for a little talk with
+mother, and if you'll just set things going in the factory I shall be
+much obliged."
+
+"All right," agreed Cabot, "I'll shake 'em up."
+
+And he was as good as his word, for when, after an absence of more than
+an hour, White reappeared on the scene he found the factory in full
+blast, with its operatives working as they had never worked before, and
+Cabot Grant, the most disreputable-looking of the lot, urging them on
+by voice and example to still greater exertions.  He seemed to be
+everywhere and doing everything at once.
+
+"Hello, old man!  We've got greenbacks to burn, and we're a-burning
+'em," he cried cheerily as he paused to greet his friend, and at the
+same time dash the streaming perspiration from his face with a grimy
+hand.  "What's the news?"
+
+"The news is that you are a trump!" exclaimed White, "and that in spite
+of all you are doing for us we want you to grant us still another
+favour."
+
+"Name it, my boy, and if it is anything within reason, including a
+defiance of the whole British navy, I'll do it," laughed Cabot.
+
+"I hope you will, for it is something that we all want you to do very
+much," responded White.  "You see it's this way.  I spoke of your
+suggestion to mother, and she thought so well of it that I went to the
+magistrate and got him to draw up a deed transferring this property,
+for a nominal consideration, to a friend.  Now it is all ready for
+signatures, and we want you to be that friend."
+
+"Me!" cried Cabot, completely staggered by this unexpected result of
+his own planning.  "You can't mean that.  Why, you don't know anything
+about me.  For all you know I might never give the property back to
+you."
+
+"We are willing to risk that," replied White, "and would rather trust
+you to act for us in this matter than any one else we know.  It is a
+big favour to ask, I know; but you said you felt indebted to me and
+only wanted a chance to pay off the debt, so I thought perhaps--but if
+you don't want to do it, of course----"
+
+"But I will, if you really want me to," cried Cabot.  "I have always
+longed to own a lobster factory.  It never entered my head when I
+proposed the plan that I would help carry it out; but if you think I
+can be of the slightest assistance in that way, why of course I am only
+too glad."
+
+So the papers constituting Cabot Grant, Esq., sole owner of the Pretty
+Harbour lobster factory were duly signed and recorded; and at sunset of
+that very evening our hero stood regarding his suddenly acquired
+property with the air of one who is dubiously pleased at a prospect.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY.
+
+Cabot was not long allowed to enjoy his sense of possession before
+experiencing some of the anxieties of proprietorship; for, even as he
+stood overlooking his newly acquired factory, a clipper-built schooner,
+showing the fine lines and tall topmasts of an American, rounded the
+outer headland and entered the harbour.  For a few minutes our young
+engineer, who was learning to appreciate the good points of a vessel,
+watched her admiringly as she glided across the basin and drew near the
+factory wharf.  Then he was joined by White, who had been detained at
+the house, and they went down together to greet the new-comer.
+
+She proved to be the fishing schooner "Ruth" of Gloucester, and her
+skipper, who introduced himself as Cap'n Ezekiel Bland, explained that
+he had come to the coast after bait.
+
+"I 'lowed to get it in St. George," he said, "but there was a pesky
+French frigate that wouldn't allow the natives to sell us so much as a
+herring, though they had a-plenty and were keen to make a trade for the
+stuff I've got aboard."
+
+"What kind of stuff?" asked Cabot, curiously.
+
+"Flour and pork mostly.  You see, I'm bound on a long trip, and being
+obliged to lay in a big supply of grub anyway, thought I might as well
+stow a few extra barrels to trade for bait; but now it looks like I
+couldn't get rid of 'em unless I give 'em away."
+
+"There's plenty of bait in the bay," remarked White.
+
+"Yes, so I've heard, and a plenty of frigates, too.  The Frenchy must
+have suspicioned where I was bound, for he has followed us up sharp,
+and as we came by South Head I seen him jest a bilin' along 'bout ten
+mile astarn, and now he'll poke into every hole of the bay till he
+finds us.  Anyhow, there won't be no chance to trade long as he's
+round, for you folks don't dare say your soul's your own when there's a
+Frenchy on the coast."
+
+"Nor hardly at any other time," remarked White, moodily.
+
+"There's another one, too--Britisher, I reckon--went up the bay towards
+Humber Arm ahead of us.  I only wish the two tarnal critters would get
+into a scrap and blow each other out of the water.  Then there'd be
+some chance for honest folks to make a living.  Now I'm up a stump and
+don't know what to do, unless some of you people can let me have a few
+barrels of bait right off, so's I can clear out again to-night."
+
+"There isn't any to be had here," replied White, "for this is a lobster
+factory, and the whole business of the place, just at present, is
+catching and canning lobsters.  You'll find some round at York Harbour,
+though."
+
+"No use going there now, nor anywhere else, long as that pesky
+Frenchman's on the lookout.  Can't think what made him leave St. Pierre
+in such a hurry.  Thought he was good to stay there a week longer at
+any rate.  But say, who owns this factory?"
+
+"This gentleman is the proprietor," replied White, indicating his
+companion as he spoke.
+
+"Hm!" ejaculated the Yankee skipper, regarding Cabot with an air of
+interest.  "Never should have took you to be the owner of a
+Newfoundland lobster factory.  Sized you up to be a Yankee same as
+myself, and reckoned you was here on a visit.  Seeing as you are the
+boss, though, how'd you like to trade your pack for my cargo--lobsters
+for groceries?  Both of us might make a good thing out of it.  Eh?
+I'll take all the risks, and neither of us needn't pay no duty."
+
+"Can't do it," replied Cabot promptly, "because, in the first place,
+I'm not in the smuggling business, and in the second our whole pack is
+engaged by parties in St. Johns."
+
+"As for the smuggling part," responded Captain Bland, "I wouldn't let
+that worry me a little bit.  Everybody smuggles on this coast, which is
+neither British, French, nor Newfoundland.  So a man wouldn't rightly
+know who to pay duties to, even if he wanted to pay 'em ever so bad,
+which most of us don't.  If you have engaged your goods to St. Johns,
+though, of course a bargain is a bargain.  Same time I could afford to
+pay you twice as much as any St. Johns merchant.  But it don't matter
+much one way or another, seeing as the idea of trading was only an idea
+as you may say that just popped into my head.  Well, so long.  It's
+coming on dark, and I must be getting aboard.  See you to-morrow,
+mebbe."
+
+As the Yankee skipper took his departure, Cabot and White turned into
+the factory, where all night long fires blazed and roared beneath the
+seething kettles.
+
+Until nearly noon of the following day the work of canning lobsters was
+continued without interruption, and pushed with all possible energy.
+Then a boy, who had been posted outside the harbour as a lookout, came
+hurrying in to report that he had seen a naval launch steaming in that
+direction.
+
+The emergency for which Cabot had been planning ever since he consented
+to become the responsible head of the concern was close at hand, and he
+at once began to take measures to meet it.
+
+"Draw your fires," he shouted.  "Empty the kettles and cool them off.
+Pass all cans, empty or full, up into the loft, and then every one of
+you clear out.  Remember that you are not to know a thing about the
+factory, if anybody asks questions, and you don't even want to give any
+one a chance to ask questions if you can help it.  Run up to the
+house," he added, turning to the boy who had brought tidings of the
+enemy's approach, "and tell Mrs. Baldwin, with my compliments, that the
+carriage is ready for her drive."
+
+So thoroughly had everything been explained and understood beforehand,
+and so promptly were these orders obeyed, that, half an hour later,
+when a jaunty man-of-war's launch, flying a British Jack, entered the
+little harbour, every preparation had been made for her reception.  The
+factory, closed and silent, presented no outward sign that it had been
+in operation for months.  Those who had recently worked so
+industriously within its weather-stained walls now lounged about their
+own house doors, or on the village street, as though they had nothing
+to do, and limitless leisure in which to do it.  White Baldwin, with
+his mother and sister, had driven away in a cart, leaving their
+tenantless house with closed doors and tightly shuttered windows.
+Cabot Grant, with hands thrust into his trousers pockets, leaned
+against a wharf post and surveyed the oncoming launch with languid
+curiosity.  The Yankee schooner swung gracefully at her moorings, and
+from her a boat was pulling towards shore; while on the deck of the
+"Sea Bee," also anchored in the stream, David Gidge placidly smoked a
+pipe.
+
+The launch slowed down as it neared him, and an officer inquired in the
+crisp tones of authority:
+
+"What place is this?"
+
+Deliberately taking the pipe from his mouth, and looking about him as
+though to refresh his memory, Mr. Gidge answered:
+
+"I've heard it called by a number of names."
+
+"Was one of them Pretty Harbour?"
+
+"Now that you mention it, I believe it were."
+
+"What kind of a building is that?" continued the officer, sharply,
+pointing to the factory as he spoke.
+
+David gazed at the building with interest, as though now seeing it for
+the first time.
+
+"Looks to me like a barn," he said at length.  "Same time it might be a
+church, though I don't reckon it is."
+
+"Isn't it a lobster factory?"
+
+"They might make lobsters in it, but I don't think they does.  Mebbe
+that young man on the wharf could tell ye.  He looks knowing."
+
+Disgusted at this exhibition of stupidity, and muttering something
+about a chuckle-headed idiot, the officer motioned for his launch to
+move ahead, and, in another minute, it lay alongside the wharf.
+
+"Is this the Pretty Harbour lobster factory?" demanded the officer as
+he stepped ashore.
+
+"I believe it was formerly used as a lobster cannery," replied Cabot,
+guardedly, "but no business of the kind is being carried on here at
+present."
+
+"It is owned by the family of the late William Baldwin, is it not?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Who then does own the property?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"You!" exclaimed the officer.  "And pray, sir, who are you?"
+
+"I am an American citizen named Grant, and have recently acquired this
+property by purchase."
+
+"Indeed.  Then of course you possess papers showing the transfer of
+ownership."
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"I should like to look at them."
+
+"They have been sent for record to the county seat, where any one who
+chooses may examine them."
+
+"Where shall I find a person by the name of Whiteway Baldwin?"
+
+"I can't tell you, as he has left the place."
+
+"Is any member of his family here?"
+
+"No.  All of them went with him."
+
+"Have you the keys of this factory?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"Then I must trouble you to open it, as I wish to look inside."
+
+As the two entered the building, and the officer caught sight of the
+machinery used in canning lobsters, he said:
+
+"I am very sorry, Mr. Grant, but I have orders to destroy everything
+found in this factory that has been, or may be, used in the canning of
+lobsters."
+
+"Those orders apply to the property of Mrs. William Baldwin, do they
+not?"
+
+"They do."
+
+"Then, sir, since she no longer owns this building, and I do, together
+with all that it contains, I warn you that if you destroy one penny's
+worth of my property I shall at once bring suit for damages against
+both you and your commanding officer.  I can command plenty of money
+and a powerful influence at home, both of which shall be brought to
+bear on the case.  If it goes against you my claim will be pressed by
+the American Government at the Court of St. James.  Moreover, articles
+concerning the outrage will be published in all the leading American
+papers.  Public sentiment will be aroused, and you doubtless know as
+well as any one whether England, with all the troubles now on her
+hands, can afford to incur the ill will of the American people for the
+sake of a pitiful lobster factory.  You can see for yourself that no
+illegal business--nor in fact business of any kind--is being carried on
+here at present, and, under the circumstances, I would advise you to
+take time for serious reflection before you begin to destroy the
+property of an American citizen."
+
+Bewildered by this unexpected aspect of the situation, and remembering
+how a suit brought by the proprietors of that same factory had gone
+against a former British commander who had interfered with its
+operations, the officer hemmed and hawed and made several remarks
+uncomplimentary to Americans, but finally decided to lay the case
+before his captain.  As he reëntered his launch he said:
+
+"Of course you understand, sir, that no work of any kind is to be done
+in this building between this and the time of my return, nor may
+anything whatever be removed from it."
+
+"I understand perfectly," replied Cabot.  Yet within half an hour the
+employees of the factory had returned to their tasks, fires had been
+re-lighted, kettles were boiling merrily, and the place again hummed
+with busy activity.
+
+"Young feller, it was the biggest bluff I ever see, and it worked!"
+exclaimed Captain Ezekiel Bland a few minutes earlier, as he stood on
+the wharf with Cabot watching the departing launch.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+ENGLAND AND FRANCE COME TO BLOWS.
+
+The Baldwins returned to their home shortly after the departure of the
+discomfited officer, and listened with intense interest to Cabot's
+report of all that had taken place during their absence.
+
+"So one but a Yankee would have thought of such a plan!" exclaimed
+White, "or had the cheek to carry it out.  But it makes me feel as mean
+as dirt to have run away and left you to face the music alone."
+
+"You needn't," replied Cabot, "for your absence was one of the most
+important things, and I couldn't possibly have carried out the
+programme if you had been there.  Now, though, we've got to hustle, for
+I expect that navy chap will be back again to-morrow, and whatever we
+can accomplish between now and then will probably end the
+lobster-packing business so far as this factory is concerned."
+
+That night the workers received a reinforcement, as unexpected as it
+was welcome, from the crew of the Yankee schooner, who, led by Captain
+Bland, came to assist their fellow countryman in his struggle against
+foreign oppression.  With this timely and expert aid, the canning
+business was so rushed that by ten o'clock of the next morning, when
+the lookout again reported a launch to be approaching, every can was
+filled and the pack was completed.  More than half of it had also been
+removed from the factory and stowed aboard the "Sea Bee," ready for
+delivery to the St. Johns purchaser.
+
+"I wish he were here now," said White, "so that we might settle up our
+business with him before those chaps arrive."
+
+"Well, he isn't," replied Cabot, "and we must protect the goods as best
+we can until he comes.  In the meantime I think you'd better disappear
+and leave me to manage alone, the same as I did yesterday."
+
+"No.  I won't run away again.  I'm going to stay and face the music."
+
+"All right," agreed Cabot.  "Perhaps it will be just as well, since the
+factory is closed sure enough this time.  You must let me do all the
+talking, though, and perhaps in some way we'll manage to scare 'em off
+again."
+
+"If we could have just one day more we'd be all right," said White,
+"but there they come.  Only, I say!  They are Frenchmen this time.  See
+the flag."
+
+Sure enough.  Instead of flying the British Union Jack the launch that
+now appeared in the harbour displayed the tri-colour of the French
+Republic.  Thus, when Cabot and White reached the wharf, they were just
+in time to greet their acquaintance of St. Pierre, the lieutenant of
+the French frigate "Isla," whom White had so neatly outwitted in that
+port.  As he stepped ashore he was accompanied by a sharp-featured,
+black-browed individual, whom White recognised as M. Delom, proprietor
+of a French lobster factory located on another shore of the bay.
+
+"That chap has come for pickings and stealings," he remarked in a low
+tone.
+
+"Shouldn't wonder," returned Cabot, "for he looks like a thief."
+
+"Ah, ha, Monsieur Baldwin!  I haf catch you zis time, an' you cannot
+now gif me what you call ze sleep," cried the French lieutenant.  "Also
+I am come to siz your property, for you may no more can ze lob of ze
+Française.  Behol'!  I have ze aut'orization."
+
+So saying, the officer drew forth and unfolded with a flourish a paper
+that he read aloud.  It was an order for the confiscation and removal
+of all property owned by a person, or persons, named Baldwin, and used
+by them contrary to law in canning lobsters on the French territory of
+Newfoundland, and it was signed: "Charmian, Capitan de Frégate."
+
+"So, Monsieur Baldwin," continued the officer, when he had finished the
+reading, "you will gif to me ze key of your factory zat I may from it
+remof ze materiel.  I sall also take your schooner for to convey it to
+ze factory of M. Delom.  Is it plain, ma intention?"
+
+"Your intention is only too plain," responded White.  "You are come to
+aid that thief in stealing my property; but you are too late, for the
+factory no longer belongs to the Baldwin family."
+
+"Ah!  Is it so?  Who zen belong to it?"
+
+"This gentleman is the present owner," replied White, "and you must
+arrange your business with him."
+
+"Who is he?" demanded the Frenchman, surveying Cabot contemptuously
+from head to foot.  "But I do not care.  Ze material mus all ze same be
+remof."
+
+"I am an American citizen," interrupted Cabot, "and I forbid you to
+touch my property.  If you do so I shall claim damages through the
+American government, and in the meantime I shall call on the British
+frigate now in this bay for protection."
+
+"For ze Americains I do not care," cried the Frenchman, assuming a
+theatrical attitude.  "For l'Anglais, pouf!  I also care not.  When it
+is my duty I do him.  Ze material mus be remof.  Allons, mes garçons."
+
+A dozen French bluejackets, armed with cutlasses and pistols, had
+gathered behind their leader, and now these sprang forward with a
+shout, clearing a way through the collected throng of villagers.
+Advancing upon the main entrance to the factory, they quickly battered
+down its door and rushed inside.  With them went swarthy-faced Delom,
+who gloated over the spoil that now seemed within his grasp, and which
+would make his own factory the best equipped on the coast, he was
+especially pleased to note the pack all boxed ready for shipment, and
+our lads saw him direct the officer's attention to it.  As a result the
+latter gave an order, and in another minute a file of French
+bluejackets, each with a case of canned lobster on his shoulder, was
+marching towards the door.
+
+Just as they reached it there came a shout and a tramp of heavy feet
+from the outside.  Then a stern voice cried:
+
+"Halt!  What are you doing here, you French beggars?  Drop those boxes
+and clear out."
+
+As the Frenchmen halted irresolute, their officer, who could not see
+what was going on, but imagined that some of the villagers were
+blocking the entrance, shouted for them to march on and clear away the
+canaille who dared oppose them.
+
+The French bluejackets attempted to obey, but, with their first forward
+movement, they were met by an inrush of sturdy British sailors, who
+sent them and their burdens crashing to the floor in every direction.
+Some of them as they regained their feet drew their cutlasses, while
+others fell upon the new-comers with their fists.  A pistol shot rang
+out, and a British sailor pitched heavily forward.  At the same instant
+both officers sprang into the mêlée, beating back their men with the
+flat of their swords, and fiercely ordering them to desist from further
+fighting.
+
+[Illustration: Others fell on the new-comers with their fists.]
+
+So sharp had been the brief encounter between these hereditary enemies,
+that as they sullenly withdrew their clutch from each other's throats a
+British sailor remained on the floor striving to staunch the blood that
+spurted from a bullet wound in his leg, while near at hand lay a French
+bluejacket, as white and motionless as though dead.  Another Frenchman
+had a broken arm, while several others on both sides looked askance at
+their enemies from blackened eyes and swollen faces.
+
+"Sir!" cried the French lieutenant, the moment order was so far
+restored that he could make himself heard, "I am bidden by my
+commandant, ze Chevalier Charmian, capitan de frigate 'Isla,' to remof
+all material from zis building, and in his name I protest against zis
+mos outrage interference."
+
+"Sir," answered the British officer, "I am ordered by my captain to
+destroy all property contained in this building, and not permit the
+removal of a single article."
+
+"But I will not allow it destroyed!"
+
+"And I will not allow it removed."
+
+For a moment the two glared at each other in speechless rage.  Then the
+Frenchman said:
+
+"As humanity compels me to gif immediate attention to my men, wounded
+by ze unprovoked assault of your barbarians, I sall at once carry zem
+to my sheep, where I sail immediately also report zis outrage to my
+commandant."
+
+"Same here," replied the Englishman, laconically, and with this both
+officers ordered their men to fall back to the launches, carrying with
+them their wounded comrades.
+
+During the progress of this thrilling episode our two lads had watched
+it in breathless excitement without once thinking of leaving the
+building, though a back door opened close at hand.  So intent were they
+upon what was taking place that they did not notice the approach of a
+third person until he was close beside them and had addressed White by
+name.  He was the St. Johns travelling man, who had engaged the Baldwin
+pack for his firm, and now he said in low, hurried tones:
+
+"You fellows want to skip out of this while you can, for that British
+officer has got orders to arrest you both and carry you to St. Johns
+for trial.  Charges--contempt of court and carrying on an illegal
+business.  Awfully sorry I can't take your goods, but order has been
+issued that any one handling them will also be arrested and subject to
+heavy fine.  Hurry up.  They are making a move, and he'll be looking
+for you directly.  Don't let on that I gave you the tip."
+
+With this the man moved away, and without exchanging a word our lads
+slipped out of the nearby door.
+
+So fully was the British officer occupied in getting his men back to
+their launch without making another attack upon their hated rivals,
+that not until all were safely on board did he remember that he had
+been charged to bring off two prisoners.  Now he was in a quandary.
+Those whom he desired were nowhere to be seen, and he dared not leave
+his men, whose fighting blood was still at fever heat, long enough to
+go in search of them.  Also the French launch was about to depart, and
+it would never do for the captain of the "Isla" to be informed of the
+recent unfortunate encounter in advance of his own commander.  So, with
+a last futile look ashore, he reluctantly gave the order to shove off,
+and side by side, their crews screaming taunts at each other, the two
+launches raced out of the harbour.
+
+As Cabot and White watched them from a place of snug concealment, the
+latter heaved a sigh of relief, saying:
+
+"Well, I'm mighty glad they're gone, and haven't got us with them; but
+I do wish that fight could have lasted a few minutes longer."
+
+"Wasn't it lovely!" retorted Cabot, "and isn't the lobster industry on
+this coast just about the most exciting business in the world!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A PRISONER OF WAR.
+
+With the disappearance of the launches our lads realised that it was
+time to make new plans for immediate action.  So, as they walked slowly
+back towards the village, they earnestly discussed the situation.
+
+"It is too bad that I have drawn you into such a scrape," said White,
+"and the very first thing for me to do is to make an effort to get you
+out of it.  So, if you like, I will drive you over to the station this
+afternoon, where you can take the morning train for St. Johns."
+
+"No," replied Cabot, "that wouldn't do at all.  In the first place, you
+didn't draw me into the scrape.  I went into it with my eyes open, and
+am quite ready to stand by what I have done.  In fact I rather enjoy it
+than otherwise.  At the same time I do not propose to be arrested if I
+can help it, and for that reason do not care to visit St. Johns at
+present.  Even at the railway station we should be very likely to meet
+and be recognised by some of our recent unpleasant naval acquaintances.
+Besides, I am going to see this thing through, and shall stand by you
+just as long as I can be of any service, for I hope you don't think so
+meanly of me as to imagine that I would desert in the time of his
+trouble the fellow who saved my life."
+
+"I never for one moment thought meanly of you," declared White, "and I
+know that in rescuing you from that raft I also gained for myself one
+of the best friends I ever had.  For that very reason, though, I don't
+want to abuse your friendship."
+
+"All right," laughed Cabot.  "Whenever I feel abused I'll let you know.
+And now, it being settled that we are to fight this thing out together,
+what do you propose to do with the pack we have worked so hard to make?"
+
+"I don't know," replied White, despondently; "but, as it is legally
+your property, I think you ought to decide what is to be done with it."
+
+"Nonsense!" retorted Cabot.  "It no more really belongs to me than it
+does to that black-faced Frenchman.  At the same time I'd fight rather
+than let him have it."
+
+"I'd toss every case into the sea first," cried White, "and everything
+the factory contains besides."
+
+"'Same here,' as the Englishman said; but I guess we can do better than
+that.  Why not accept Captain Bland's offer, and trade it to him for
+groceries?"
+
+"I thought you were opposed to receiving smuggled goods?"
+
+"So I am on general principles," admitted Cabot, "but circumstances
+alter cases.  I consider the highway robbery that two of the most
+powerful nations of the world are attempting right here a circumstance
+strong enough to alter any case.  So I would advise you to accept the
+only offer now remaining open.  You will at least get enough groceries
+to keep your family supplied for a year."
+
+"I should say so, and for two years more, provided the goods didn't
+spoil."
+
+"Then you might sell what you couldn't use."
+
+"Where?" asked White.  "Not in Newfoundland, for they would be seized
+as contraband in any part of the island.  Besides, you seem to forget
+that as both of us are liable to arrest, we are hardly in a position to
+go into the grocery business just at present."
+
+"That's so.  Well, then, why not carry them somewhere else in the 'Sea
+Bee'?  To Canada, or--I have it!  You said something once about making
+a trading trip to Labrador, and now is the very opportunity.  Why
+shouldn't we take the goods to Labrador?  I don't believe we'd be
+arrested in that country, even for smuggling, and they must need a lot
+of provisions up there.  It's the very thing, and the sooner we can
+arrange to be off the better."
+
+"But you don't want to go to Labrador," protested White.
+
+"Don't I?  There's where you make a big mistake; for I do want to go to
+Labrador more than to any other place I know of.  Also I would rather
+go there with you in the 'Sea Bee' than in any other company, or by any
+other conveyance.  So there you are, and if you don't invite me to
+start for Labrador before that brass-bound navy chap has a chance to
+arrest me, I shall consider myself a victim of misplaced confidence."
+
+"I do believe you have hit upon the very best way out of our troubles,"
+said White, thoughtfully.  "If I could arrange to leave mother, and if
+the Yankee captain would make a part payment in cash, so that she and
+Cola could get along until my return, I believe I would go."
+
+"You can leave your mother and sister now as well as when you went to
+St. Johns, and better, for I am sure David Gidge would look out for
+them during the month or so that we'll be away."
+
+"But David would have to go along to help work the schooner."
+
+"I don't see why.  You and I could manage without him, and so save his
+wages, or his share of the voyage, which would amount to the same
+thing.  If one man can sail a 30-foot boat around the world alone, as
+Captain Slocum did, two of us certainly ought to be able to take a
+50-foot schooner up to Labrador and back.  Any way I'm game to try it,
+if you are, and I'd a heap rather risk it than stay here to be
+arrested.  There is Captain Bland now.  Let's go and talk with him."
+
+The Yankee skipper stood near the shattered door of the factory in
+company with a number of villagers, all of whom seemed greatly
+interested in something going on inside.  As our lads drew near these
+made way for them, and Captain Bland said:
+
+"'Pears like the new owner is making himself perfectly at home."
+
+Inside the factory the Frenchman Delom, who had remained behind to make
+good his claim to the confiscated property of his rival, was too busily
+at work to pay any attention to the disparaging remarks and muttered
+threats of those whom he had forbidden to enter.  He had collected all
+the tools and lighter machinery into a pile ready for removal, and was
+now marking with his own stencil such of the filled cases as remained
+on the lower floor.
+
+So dreaded was the power of France on that English coast that up to
+that moment no one had dared interfere with him, but Cabot Grant was
+not troubled by a fear of France or any other nation, and, as he
+realised what was going on, he sprang into the building.  The next
+instant our young football player had that Frenchman by the collar and
+was rushing him towards the doorway.  From it he projected him so
+violently that the man measured his length on the ground a full rod
+beyond it.
+
+Livid with rage at this assault, the Frenchman scrambled to his feet,
+whipped out an ugly-looking knife, and started towards Cabot with
+murderous intent.
+
+[Illustration: Livid with rage, the Frenchman whipped out an
+ugly-looking knife.]
+
+"No you don't," shouted Captain Bland, and in another moment Monsieur
+Delom's arms were pinioned behind him, while he struggled helplessly in
+the iron grasp of the Yankee skipper.
+
+"I think we'd better tie him," remarked the latter quietly.  "'Tain't
+safe to let a varmint like this loose on any community."
+
+White produced a rope and was stepping forward with it, but Cabot took
+it from him, saying: "For the sake of your family you mustn't have
+anything to do with this affair."  So he and Captain Bland bound the
+Frenchman hand and foot, took away his knife, and carried him for
+present safe keeping to a small, dark building that was used for the
+storage of fish oil.  Here they locked him in, and left him to meditate
+at leisure on the fate of those who have done to them, what they would
+do to others if they could.
+
+"Well," said Captain Bland, at the conclusion of this incident, "you
+young fellers always seem to have something interesting on hand; what
+are you going to do next?  Are you going to skin out, or wait for the
+return of the French and English fleets?  I'd like to know, 'cause I
+want to be getting a move on; but if there's going to be any more fun I
+expect I'll have to wait and take it in."
+
+"I expect our next move depends very largely on you, captain," replied
+White.  "Are you still willing to trade your cargo for our pack?"
+
+"I might be, and then again I mightn't," answered the Yankee, as he
+meditatively chewed a blade of grass.  "You see, the risk of the thing
+has been so increased during the past two days that I couldn't make
+nigh so good an offer now as I could at first.  Also, here's so many
+claiming the pack of this factory that I'm in considerable doubt as to
+who is the rightful owner.  First there's the Baldwin interest and the
+American interest, represented by you two chaps.  Then there's the St.
+Johns interest, represented by that travelling man; the British
+interest, which is a mighty powerful one, seeing that it is supported
+by the English navy; the French government interest, which is likewise
+backed up by a fleet of warships, and the French factory interest,
+represented by our friend in limbo, who, though he isn't saying much
+just now, seems to have a pretty strong political pull.  So, on the
+whole, the ownership appears to be muddled, and the pack itself subject
+to a good many conflicting claims.  I expect also that the factory
+workmen and the lobster catchers have some sort of a lien on it for
+services rendered."
+
+"Look here, Captain Bland," said Cabot, "we understand perfectly that
+all you have just said is trade talk, made to depreciate the value of
+our goods, and you know as well as I do that they have but one rightful
+owner."
+
+"Who is that?" asked the skipper with an air of interest.
+
+"Mrs. William Baldwin."
+
+"But I thought she deeded the property to you."
+
+"So she did; but as I am not yet of age that deed is worth no more than
+the paper on which it is written."
+
+"You don't mean it.  What a whopping big bluff it was then!" cried
+Captain Bland, admiringly.  "Beats any I ever heard of, and I'm proud
+to know 'twas a Yankee that worked it.  What you say does alter the
+situation considerable, and I'd like to have Miss Baldwin's own views
+on the subject of a trade."
+
+In accordance with this wish an adjournment was made to the house,
+where Mrs. Baldwin assured the Yankee skipper of her willingness to
+abide by any agreement made with him by her son and Mr. Grant.
+
+"Which so simplifies matters, ma'am," replied the captain, "that I
+think we may consider a trade as already effected, and make bold to say
+that this season's pack of the Pretty Harbour lobster factory will be
+sold somewhere's else besides Newfoundland."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE.
+
+The arrangement made with the Yankee skipper was satisfactory, save in
+one respect.  He was willing to trade provisions for canned lobsters to
+the extent of taking the entire pack, and he also offered to remove the
+machinery outfit of the factory on the chance of finding a purchaser
+for it in the States, but he refused to make any cash advance on the
+goods.
+
+"I'm willing," he said, "to risk considerable for the sake of being
+accommodating, and with the hope of making a little something, but I
+can't afford to risk cold cash."
+
+"I don't see how we can make a trade, then," remarked White, as he and
+Cabot discussed the situation.  "It will take every penny I've got to
+pay off the hands, and though I believe we could make a good thing out
+of a Labrador trip, I can't leave mother and Cola without a cent while
+I'm away.  If he would only let me have fifty dollars----"
+
+"He won't, though," interrupted Cabot, "but I will.  I have got just
+that amount of money with me, and, as I shan't have any use for it in
+Labrador, I should be more than pleased to leave it here for safe
+keeping."
+
+White at first refused to take his friend's money; but on Cabot's
+declaring that he had plenty more on deposit in St. Johns, he
+gratefully accepted the loan, which he promised to repay from the very
+first sale of goods they should make.
+
+Everything being thus arranged, preparations for departure were pushed
+with all speed.  Such of the pack as remained in the factory was
+hurried aboard the "Ruth" by a score of willing workers, who also
+transferred to her every tool and bit of machinery, including the big
+kettles.  Then she and the "Sea Bee," the latter manned by two of the
+Yankee sailors, with David Gidge as pilot, sailed from the harbour, and
+were lost to sight beyond its protecting headland.
+
+The next hour was spent in settling with the lobster catchers and those
+who had been employed in the factory, each of whom was warned to give
+no information concerning the movements of the two schooners.  This was
+barely finished when the boy who had been posted outside immediately
+after the departure of the naval launches came hurrying in with news
+that both of them were returning.
+
+"My!" cried Cabot, "but I'd like to see the fun when they get here."
+
+"I am afraid you'd see more than enough of it," replied White, "for
+they'll be keen on getting us this time.  So we'd best be starting.
+Hold on a minute, though; I want to leave proof behind that we haven't
+gone off with either of the schooners."
+
+With this he ran down to the oil house, in which their well-nigh
+forgotten prisoner was still confined.  Flinging open the door, he
+said, in a tone of well-feigned regret:
+
+"It is too bad, Monsieur Delom, that you should have been kept so long
+in this wretched place, but I dared not attempt your release while
+those terrible Yankees were here.  Now, however, they are gone and you
+are once more free.  Also, as I realise that I can no longer maintain
+my factory here, you are at liberty to make what use you please of its
+contents.  Accept my congratulations on your good fortune, monsieur.
+As for me, I must now leave you to prepare for my journey to St. Johns."
+
+With this White bade the bewildered Frenchman a mocking adieu, and left
+him still blinking at the sunlight from which he had been so long
+secluded.
+
+A few minutes later the Baldwin house again stood, closed and
+tenantless, while a cart driven by Cola, and accompanied by the two
+young men on foot, climbed the hill back of the village by a road
+leading to the nearest railway station.  Monsieur Delom witnessed this
+departure, as did many others, but no one saw the cart leave the
+highway a little later and turn into a dim trail leading through an
+otherwise pathless forest.  After a time it emerged from this on
+another road and came to a farmhouse to which Mrs. Baldwin had
+previously been taken.  Here mother and son bade each other farewell,
+while the former also prayed for a blessing upon the stranger who had
+so befriended them, and whose fortunes had become so curiously linked
+with theirs.  Then the cart with Cola still acting as driver rattled
+away, and was quickly lost to sight.
+
+It lacked but an hour of sunset when our refugees reached a pocket on
+the outer coast, in which the two schooners lay snugly, side by side,
+nearly filling the tiny harbour.  On the beach David Gidge already
+waited, and, as the lads transferred their few effects to the boat that
+had brought him ashore, he climbed stiffly into the cart which Cola was
+to guide back over the way it had just come.
+
+"Good-bye, Cola," said Cabot, as he held for a moment the hand of the
+girl he had come to regard almost as a sister.  "Try and have a lot of
+specimens ready for me when we come back."
+
+"Good-bye, sister!" cried White.  "Take care of mother, and don't let
+her worry about us.  We'll be back almost before you have time to miss
+us.  Good-bye, David!  I trust you to look out for them because you
+have promised."
+
+"Oh! how I wish I were a boy and going with you," exclaimed Cola.  "It
+is so stupid to be left behind with nothing to do but just wait.  Do
+please hurry back."
+
+"All right," replied her brother.  "With good luck we'll sail into
+Pretty Harbour inside of a month, and perhaps with money enough to take
+us all to the States."
+
+"Oh, wouldn't that be splendid!   Do get started, for the sooner you
+are off the quicker you'll come back," cried the girl.
+
+"That's so.  Come on, Cabot," and in another minute the boat had shot
+out from the beach, while the cart was slowly climbing the rugged trail
+that led inland.
+
+On reaching the schooners our lads found Captain Bland impatiently
+awaiting them, since the transfer of goods was nearly completed, and he
+was anxious to get his compromising cargo away from the coast patrolled
+by those meddlesome frigates.
+
+"Let me once get beyond the three-mile limit," he said, "and I wouldn't
+mind meeting a fleet of 'em; if either one of 'em caught me in here,
+though, I'd not only stand to lose cargo, but schooner as well.  So I
+reckon we'd best get a move on at once, and talk business while we tow
+out."
+
+As our lads wore equally desirous of gaining a safe distance from the
+authorities they had so openly defied, they readily agreed to Captain
+Bland's proposal, and four dories, each manned by a couple of stalwart
+Yankee fishermen, were ordered to tow the schooners from their snug
+hiding place.  While this was going on, and White was busily engaged on
+the deck of the "Sea Bee," Cabot and Captain Bland were examining
+invoices and price lists in her cabin.
+
+"Here's a list of all I've put aboard," said the latter, "and you'll
+see I've only made a small freight charge over and above the cost price
+in Boston.  Same time I've allowed for your pack the full market price
+on canned lobsters according to latest St. Johns quotations, and you
+ought not to sell a single barrel at less 'n one hundred per cent.
+clear profit.  As for the kettles and tools, here's an order on my
+owners in Gloucester for them, or what they'll fetch less a freight
+charge, provided I get 'em there all right; but I want both you and
+young Baldwin to sign this release that frees me from all claims for
+loss of property in case anything happens to 'em."
+
+"I am perfectly willing to sign it," replied Cabot, "because I have no
+ownership in the property, but I shouldn't think Baldwin would care to
+give such a release."
+
+"I guess he will, though," said the skipper.
+
+And he was right, for White readily consented to sign the paper, saying
+that the property would have been lost anyhow if it had been left
+behind.  "I have also full faith that Captain Bland will do the right
+thing about it," he added, "for, while I have always found you Yankees
+sharp as knives in a trade, I have yet to meet one whom I wouldn't
+trust."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Baldwin," said the skipper, "and I shall try my best
+not to be the first to abuse your confidence."
+
+So the paper was signed, and White had barely laid down his pen when
+the occupants of the cabin were startled by a loud cry from above,
+followed almost immediately by a distant shot.  Hurrying on deck they
+found that the schooner had reached open water and was beginning to
+feel the influence of an offshore breeze.  At the same time the man
+whom White had left at the tiller was pointing up the coast, where they
+caught sight of a steam launch that had just cleared South Head.
+
+"He fired a shot at us," announced the steersman.
+
+"That's all right 'long's he didn't hit us," replied Captain Bland.
+"It is our French friend, and he only took that way of hinting that he
+wished us to wait for him.  I don't think we can afford the time just
+now, though--leastways, I can't.  Hello there in boats!  Drop your tow
+lines and come alongside."
+
+"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away from him?" asked
+Cabot.
+
+"Dunno.  Mebbe, if the breeze freshens, as I believe it will.  Anyhow,
+I'm going to give him a race for his money.  Good-bye!  Good luck, and
+I hope we'll meet again before long."
+
+So saying Captain Bland, taking the steersman with him, stepped into a
+dory that had come alongside and was rowed towards his own schooner.
+He had hardly gained her deck before she set main and jib topsails and
+a big main staysail.  Our lads also sprang to their own sails, and
+spread to the freshening breeze every stitch of canvas that the "Sea
+Bee" possessed.  When they next found time to look at the "Ruth," White
+uttered an exclamation of astonishment, for she had already gained a
+good half mile on them and was moving with the speed of a steam yacht.
+
+"There's no chance of the Yankee being caught," he said enviously, "but
+there's a mighty big one that we will."
+
+Although the "Sea Bee" was holding a course in the wake of the "Ruth,"
+and was heeled handsomely over before the same freshening breeze, she
+was not doing so well by a half, and it was evident that in a long run
+the launch must overtake her.
+
+"She is certainly gaining on us," said Cabot, after a long look, and he
+had hardly spoken before a second shot from the launch plumped a ball
+into the water abreast of the little schooner and not two rods away.
+
+White, who was at the tiller, glanced nervously backward.  "Do you want
+to heave to and let them overhaul us?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly not," replied Cabot promptly.  "They have no right to meddle
+with us out here, and I would keep straight on without paying the
+slightest attention to them until they either sink us or get alongside."
+
+"All right," laughed the other.  "I only wanted to make sure how you
+felt.  Some fellows, you know, don't like to have cannon balls fired at
+them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+OFF FOR LABRADOR.
+
+Slowly but surely the launch gained on the flying schooner, until, as
+the sun was sinking behind its western horizon of water, she fired a
+shot that passed through the "Sea Bee's" mainsail and fell a hundred
+yards beyond her.
+
+"Wh-e-e-w!" exclaimed White, as he glanced up at the clean-cut hole.
+"That's rather too close for comfort, and I shouldn't be surprised if
+the next one made splinters fly.  However, it will soon be dark, and
+then, if we are not disabled, we may be able to give them the slip."
+
+"I don't believe there's going to be another shot," cried Cabot, who
+was gazing eagerly astern.  "No--yes--hurrah!  They are turning back.
+They have given it up, old man, and we are safe.  Bully for us!  I
+wonder what possesses them to do such a thing, though, when they had so
+nearly caught us?"
+
+"Can't imagine," replied White, who was also staring at the launch,
+which certainly had circled back and was making towards the place
+whence she had come.  "They are afraid to be caught out at sea after
+dark perhaps.  I always understood that Frenchmen made mighty poor
+sailors.  Lucky thing for us she wasn't a British launch, for they'd
+have kept on around the world but what they'd had us."
+
+In justice to the Frenchmen it should be said that their reason for
+turning back, which our lads did not learn until long afterwards, was
+the imminent exhaustion of their coal supply, which, not calculated for
+a long cruise, would barely serve to carry them back to the Bay of
+Islands.
+
+By the time the launch was lost to sight in the growing dusk the "Ruth"
+had also disappeared.  She was headed southward when last seen, and now
+White said it was time that they, too, were turning towards their
+ultimate destination.  So, topsails and mainstaysail were taken in, and
+the helm was put down until fore and mainsails jibed over.  Then sheets
+were trimmed until the little schooner, with lee rail awash, was
+running something east of north, on an easy bowline, carrying a bone in
+her teeth and leaving a bubbling wake trailing far astern.  With
+everything thus satisfactorily in shape, White lighted the binnacle
+lamp, and giving Cabot a course to steer, went below to prepare the
+first meal of their long cruise.  "You must keep a sharp lookout," he
+said as he disappeared down the companionway, "for I don't dare show
+any lights.  So if we are run into we'll have only ourselves to blame."
+
+Left thus to his own devices, Cabot realised for the first time the
+responsibility of his position and began to reflect seriously upon what
+he had done.  Until this time one disturbing event had followed another
+so rapidly that he had been borne along almost without a thought of
+what he was doing or of the consequences.  As a result, instead of
+carrying out the purpose for which he had been sent to Newfoundland,
+and studying its mineral resources, he now found himself forced into
+flight for having defied the authorities of the island, embarked upon a
+doubtful trading venture into one of the wildest and least known
+portions of the continent, and, with but a slight knowledge of
+seamanship, engaged in navigating a small sailing vessel across one of
+its stormiest seas.  What would his guardian and employer say could he
+know all this and see him at the present moment?
+
+"I wish he could, though," exclaimed Cabot half aloud, "for it would be
+fun to watch his look of amazement and hear his remarks.  I suppose he
+is wondering what has become of that Bell Island report I was to send
+in the first thing, and I guess he'll have to wonder for some time
+longer, as St. Johns is about the last place I feel like visiting just
+at present.  I certainly have made a mess of my affairs, though, so
+far, and it looks as if I had only just begun, too.  At the same time I
+don't see how I could have acted differently.  I tried hard enough to
+reach St. Johns, and would have got there all right if it hadn't been
+for this factory business.  But when the fellow who saved my life got
+into trouble, from which I could help him out, I'm sure even Mr.
+Hepburn would say I was bound to do it.  Besides, I have found one
+promising outcrop of copper, and now I'm off for Labrador; so perhaps
+things will turn out all right after all.  Anyway I'm learning how to
+sail a boat, and that is something every fellow ought to know.  I wish
+it wasn't so awfully dark though, and that White would hurry up with
+that supper, for I am powerful hungry.  How good it smells, and what a
+fine chap he is.  Falling in with him was certainly a great bit of
+luck.  But how this confounded compass wabbles, and how the schooner
+jumps off her course if I lift my eyes from it for a single instant.  I
+don't see why she can't go straight if I hold the tiller perfectly
+still.  There's a star dead ahead, and I guess I'll steer by it.  Then
+I can keep the sharp lookout White spoke of at the same time."
+
+Thus deciding, the anxious helmsman fixed his gaze upon the newly risen
+star that he had just discovered, and wondered admiringly at its rapid
+increase in brilliancy.  After a little he rubbed his eyes and looked
+again at two more stars that had suddenly appeared above the horizon
+directly below the first one.
+
+"Never saw red and green stars before," Cabot muttered.  "Must be
+peculiar to this high latitude.  Wonder if they can be stars, though?
+Oh! what a chump I am.  White!  I say, White, come up here quick!"
+
+In obedience to this summons the young skipper thrust his head from the
+companionway.
+
+"What's up?" he asked.
+
+"Don't know exactly," replied Cabot, "but there is a lighthouse or a
+dock or something right in front of us."
+
+"Steamer!" cried White as he sprang on deck and glanced ahead.  "Keep
+her away, quick.  I don't want them to sight us."
+
+"Steamer," repeated Cabot as he obeyed this order and let the schooner
+fall off to leeward.  "I never thought of such a thing as a steamer
+away up here.  Do you mean that she is a frigate?"
+
+"No," laughed White.  "There are other steamers besides frigates even
+in these waters, and that is one of them.  She is the 'Harlaw,' from
+Flower Cove, near the northern end of the island, and bound for
+Halifax.  It's mighty lucky she didn't pass us by daylight."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because she is already heading in for the Bay of Islands and would
+have reported us as soon as she got there.  Then we would have had a
+frigate after us sure enough."
+
+"But how do you know she's a steamer?  Mightn't she be a sailing
+vessel!"
+
+"Not with that white light at her foremast head.  Sailing vessels
+aren't allowed to show any above their side lights.  Now go below and
+eat your supper while I take her."
+
+This eating alone was such an unpleasant feature of the cruise that, as
+Cabot sat down to his solitary meal, he regretted having persuaded
+White to leave David Gidge behind.
+
+"I am afraid this going to sea shorthanded will prove a false economy
+after all," he said to himself, thereby reaching a conclusion that has
+been forced upon seafaring men since ships first sailed the ocean.
+
+Finishing his supper as quickly as possible, Cabot rejoined his
+companion, and begged him also to hurry that they might bear each other
+company on deck.
+
+"All right," agreed White, "only, of course, I shall be longer than you
+were, for I have to wash and put away the dishes."
+
+"Oh, bother the dishes!" exclaimed Cabot "Let them go till morning."
+
+"Not much.  We haven't any too many dishes as it is, nor a chance of
+getting any more, and if I should leave them where they are we probably
+wouldn't have any by morning.  Besides, it wouldn't be tidy, and an
+untidy ship is worse than an untidy house, because you can't get away
+from it.  But I won't be long."
+
+True to his promise, White, bringing with him a heavy oilskin coat and
+an armful of blankets, speedily rejoined his comrade, who was by this
+time shivering in the chill night air.
+
+"Put this on," said the young skipper, tendering Cabot the oilskin,
+"and then I am going to ask you to stand first watch.  I will roll up
+in these blankets and sleep here on deck, so that you can get me up at
+a moment's notice.  You want to wake me at midnight, anyhow, when I
+will take the morning watch."
+
+"Very well," agreed Cabot resignedly.  "I suppose you know what is best
+to be done, but it seems to me that we are arranging for a very
+lonesome cruise on regular Box and Cox lines."
+
+As White had no knowledge of Box and Cox he did not reply to this
+grumble, but, rolling up in his blankets until he resembled a huge
+cocoon, almost instantly dropped asleep.
+
+During the next four hours Cabot, shivering with cold and aching with
+weariness, but never once allowing his tired eyes to close, remained at
+his post.  Through the black night, and over the still darker waters,
+he guided the flying schooner according to the advice of the unstable
+compass card that formed the only spot of light within his whole range
+of vision.  At the same time, knowing how little of skill he possessed
+in this new line of business, and not yet having a sailor's confidence
+in the craft that bore him, he was filled with such a fear of the
+night, the wind, the leaping waters, and a thousand imaginary dangers
+that his hardest struggle was against an ever-present impulse to arouse
+his sleeping comrade.  But he would not yield, and finally had the
+satisfaction of coming unaided to the end of his watch.
+
+"Midnight, and all hands on deck," he shouted, and White, springing up,
+asked:
+
+"What's happened?  Anything gone wrong?"
+
+"Nothing yet," replied Cabot, "but something will happen if you leave
+me at this wretched tiller a minute longer."
+
+"I won't," laughed the other.  "It will only take me half a minute to
+get an eye-opener in shape of a cup of cold tea, and then you can turn
+in."
+
+When Cabot was at length free to seek his bunk he turned in all
+standing, only kicking off his boots.  The very next thing of which he
+was conscious was being shaken and told that breakfast was ready.
+
+It was broad daylight; the sun was shining; the breeze had so moderated
+that White had been able to leave the schooner to herself with a lashed
+helm while he prepared breakfast, and as Cabot tumbled out he wondered
+if he had really been anxious and fearful a few hours earlier.
+
+All that day and through the following night our lads kept watch and
+watch while the "Sea Bee" travelled up the coast.  Early on the second
+morning they passed Flower Cove, and from this point White headed
+directly across the Strait of Belle Isle, which, here, is but a dozen
+miles in width.  Then, as Newfoundland grew dim behind them, a new
+coast backed by a range of lofty hills came into view ahead; and, in
+answer to Cabot's eager question, White said:
+
+"Yes, that is Labrador, and those are the Bradore Hills back of
+Forteau."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH.
+
+While Cabot gazed eagerly at the lofty but still distant coast towards
+which all their hopes were now directed, his companion was casting
+anxious glances to the eastward, where a low hanging bank of cloud
+betokened an advancing fog.  He had good reason to be apprehensive, for
+this northern entrance to the gulf of St. Lawrence forms the shortest
+route for steamers plying between Canadian and European ports.
+Consequently many of them use it during the brief summer season when it
+is free from ice.  At the same time it is a stormy stretch of water,
+tormented by powerful currents, and generally shrouded in fog.
+
+Early in the season countless icebergs, borne southward by the Arctic
+current that hugs the Labrador coast, drift aimlessly over its troubled
+surface, and even at midsummer it is a passage to be dreaded.  White,
+being familiar with its many dangers, had good cause for anxiety, as he
+saw one of them about to enfold his little craft.  He consulted the
+compass, took his bearings with the utmost care, and then as Cabot,
+finding his view obscured, turned to him with a look of inquiry,
+remarked:
+
+"Yes, we are in for it, and you'd better keep a sharp lookout for
+steamers.  It wouldn't be very pleasant to run one down and sink it,
+you know."
+
+"I should say not," responded Cabot as he started for the bow of the
+schooner, where, steadying himself by a stay, he peered into the
+thickening mist curtain.  For half an hour or so he saw nothing, though
+during that time the hoarse bellowing of a steam whistle, approaching
+closely and then receding, told of a passing ship.  While the lookout
+was still listening to this a black form, magnified to gigantic size by
+his apprehensions and the opaqueness through which he saw it, loomed up
+directly ahead and apparently not a rod away.  With a sharp cry of
+warning the lad sprang aft, while a yell of dismay came from the
+stranger.  The next moment, both vessels having been headed sharply
+into the wind, lay side by side, heaving and grinding against each
+other, with their sails slatting noisily overhead.
+
+As our lads realised the true character of the other craft, they were
+ready to laugh at their fright of a minute earlier, for she was only an
+open fishing boat, carrying three men, a woman, and a couple of
+children.
+
+"We took ye for a steamer, first sight," remarked one of the men.
+
+"And we did the same by you," laughed White.  "Who are you and where
+are you bound?"
+
+"Mail boat from L'Anse Au Loup for Flower Cove," replied the man, "and
+as we're not sure of our compass we'd be obleeged if you'd give us a
+bearing."
+
+"With pleasure.  Come aboard and take it for yourself.  If you'll wait
+just a minute I'll have a letter ready for you."
+
+So saying the young skipper dived below and hastily pencilled a line to
+his mother, telling of their safety up to that time.
+
+While he was thus engaged Cabot learned that owing to the recent
+arrival of a steamer from St. Johns provisions were plentiful on that
+part of the Labrador coast, but were believed to be scarce further
+north.
+
+As a result of this information the "Sea Bee" was headed more to the
+eastward after the boats had again parted company, for, as White said,
+there was no use wasting time running in to Blanc Sablon, Forteau, or
+any of those places at which the trading steamer had touched.  "It is
+too bad," he continued, "for I did hope to dispose of our cargo
+somewhere along here.  If we could do that we might be home again
+inside of ten days.  Now, if we have to go far to the northward, it may
+be two or three weeks longer before we again sight Blomidon."
+
+"I am sorry for your sake," replied Cabot, "though I would just as soon
+spend a month up here as not.  I only wish we could land somewhere
+along here, for I am curious to see what land of a country Labrador is."
+
+This wish was gratified late that afternoon, when the fog lifted in
+time to disclose the fine harbour of Red Bay, into which, White said,
+they would run, so as to spend the night quietly at anchor, with both
+watches turned in at once.
+
+At Red Bay, therefore, Cabot had his first taste of life in Labrador.
+The shores looked so green and attractive that he wondered why the only
+settlement in sight--a collection of a dozen huts and fish houses,
+should be located on a rocky islet, bare and verdureless.  He asked
+White, who only laughed, and said he'd find out soon enough by
+experience.
+
+After they had come to anchor and lowered the sails, White got an empty
+water cask into the dinghy, saying that first of all they must go about
+a mile to a trout stream at the head of the bay for some fresh water.
+
+"Trout stream!" cited Cabot.  "How I wish I had my fishing tackle.
+Trout for supper would be fine."
+
+"There are other things equally important with tackle for trout fishing
+in this country," remarked White.
+
+"What, for instance?"
+
+"You'll know inside of half an hour," was the significant reply.
+
+So they rowed up the bay, Cabot filled with curiosity and White
+chuckling with anticipation.  The further they went the more was Cabot
+charmed with the beauty of the scene and the more desirous did he
+become to ramble over the green slopes on which, as White assured him,
+delicious berries of several varieties were plentiful.  At length they
+opened a charming valley, through which wound and tumbled a sparkling
+brook thickly bordered by alders and birches.  At one side were several
+substantial log cabins, but as they were evidently uninhabited Cabot
+began to undress, declaring that he must have a bath in that tempting
+water.
+
+"Better keep your shirt on until we have filled the cask," advised
+White, at the same time stepping overboard in the shallows at the mouth
+of the stream without removing any of his clothing.  They pulled the
+boat up until it grounded, and then White began hurriedly to fill the
+water barrel, while Cabot waded a short distance up stream to see if he
+could discover any trout.  All at once he stopped, looked bewildered,
+and then started back on a run.  At the same time he slapped vigorously
+at his bare legs, brushed his face, waved his arms, and uttered
+exclamations of frantic dismay.  The air about him had been suddenly
+blackened by an incredible swarm of insects that issued in dense clouds
+from the low growth bordering the stream, and attacked the unfortunate
+youth with the fury of starvation.
+
+"What's the matter?" inquired White innocently, as his companion rushed
+past him towards the open.
+
+"Matter!" retorted the other.  "I'm on fire with the bites of these
+infernal things, and we want to get out of here in a hurry or they'll
+sting us to death."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" laughed White, though he also was suffering greatly.
+"You've only struck a few ordinary Labrador mosquitoes and black flies."
+
+"Mosquitoes and black flies!" cried Cabot.  "Hornets and red-hot coals,
+you'd better say.  How can you stand them?  Your skin must be thicker
+than sole leather."
+
+"I can't very well," admitted White, "but this cask has got to be
+filled, and the sooner we do it the quicker we can get away.  Break off
+a couple of leafy branches to fight with and then keep 'em off both of
+us as well as you can.  It will only take a few minutes longer."
+
+In spite of their efforts at self-defence, faces, hands, and Cabot's
+bare legs were covered with blood before their task was completed, and
+they were once more in the boat pulling furiously for the wind-swept
+water of the open bay.
+
+"I never expected to find mosquitoes this far north," said Cabot, as
+the pests began to disappear before the freshening breeze and the
+rowers paused for breath.
+
+"Strangers are apt to be unpleasantly surprised by them," replied
+White, "but they are here all the same, and they extend as far north as
+any white man has ever been.  I have been told that they are as bad in
+Greenland as here, and I expect they flourish at the North Pole itself.
+They certainly are the curse of Labrador, and until ice makes in the
+fall they effectually prevent all travel into the interior.  Even the
+Indians have to come to the coast in summer to escape them, while the
+whites who visit this country for the fishing make their settlements on
+the barest and most wind-swept places.  The few who live here the year
+round have summer homes on the coast, but build their winter houses
+inland, at the heads of bays or the mouths of rivers, where there is
+timber to afford some protection from the cold.  Those are winter
+houses back there."
+
+"I wondered why they were abandoned," said Cabot, "but I don't any
+longer."
+
+"By the way," suggested White, "you forgot to try the trout fishing.
+Shall we go back?"
+
+"I wouldn't go fishing on that stream if every trout in it was of solid
+gold and I could scoop them out with my hands," asserted Cabot.  "In
+fact, I don't know of anything short of starvation, or dying of thirst,
+that would take me back there."
+
+After supper our lads went ashore at the island settlement, and were
+hospitably received by the dwellers in its half-dozen stoutly built,
+earthen-roofed houses.  These were constructed of logs, set on end like
+palisades, and while they were scantily furnished, they were warm and
+comfortable.  In them Cabot, who was regarded with great curiosity on
+account of having come from the far foreign city of New York, asked
+many questions, and acquired much information concerning the strange
+country to which Fate had brought him.  Thus he learned that Labrador
+is a province of Newfoundland, and that while its prolific fisheries
+attract some 20,000 people to its bleak shores every summer, its entire
+resident white population hardly exceeds one thousand souls.  He was
+told that from June to October news of the outside world is received by
+steamer from St. Johns every two or three weeks, but that during the
+other eight months of the year only three mails reach the country,
+coming by dog sledge from far-away Quebec.
+
+While Cabot was gathering these and many other interesting bits of
+information, White was becoming confirmed in his belief that to make a
+successful trading trip he must carry his goods far to the northward.
+
+So at daybreak of the following morning the "Sea Bee" was once more got
+under way, and ran up the rock-bound coast past Chateau Bay, with its
+superb Castle Rock, to Battle Harbour, the metropolis of Labrador,
+which place was reached late the same evening.
+
+At this point, which is at the eastern end of the Belle Isle Strait, is
+a resident population of some two hundred souls, a hospital, a church,
+a schoolhouse, and a prosperous mercantile establishment.  Here our
+lads found a large steamer loading with dried fish for Gibraltar, and
+here Cabot became greatly interested in the rose-tinted quartz that
+forms so striking a feature of Labrador scenery.
+
+At Battle Harbour they were still advised to push farther on, and so,
+bidding farewell to this outpost of civilisation, the "Sea Bee" again
+spread her dusky wings and set forth for the mission stations of the
+far North, where it was hoped a profitable market might be found.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG.
+
+The brief northern summer was nearly ended.  Its days were growing
+short and chill, its nights long and cold.  The month of October was
+well advanced, and flurries of snow heralded the approach of winter.
+Most of the Labrador fishing fleet had already sailed away, and the few
+boats still left were preparing for a speedy departure.  The last
+steamer of the season had come and gone, and the few permanent
+residents of the country were moving back from the coast into winter
+quarters.  Great flocks of geese streamed southward, and with harsh
+cries gave warning of the icy terrors that had driven them from their
+Arctic nesting places.  Night after night the wonderful beauties of the
+aurora borealis were flashed across the northern heavens with ever
+increasing brilliancy.  Every one predicted a hard winter, and
+everything pointed to its early coming.
+
+Nearly two months had elapsed since the little schooner "Sea Bee,"
+manned by a couple of plucky lads, sailed out of Battle Harbour on a
+trading venture to the northern missions, and from that day no tidings
+had been received concerning her.  The few who remembered her,
+occasionally speculated as to what success she had met and why she had
+not put in ah appearance on her return voyage, but generally dismissed
+the subject by saying that she must have been in too great a hurry to
+get south, as any one having a chance to leave that forsaken country
+naturally would be.  But the "Sea Bee" had not gone to the southward,
+nor was there any likelihood of her doing so for many long months to
+come.
+
+On one of the mildest of these October days, when the sunshine still
+held a trace of its summer warmth, a solitary figure stood on the crest
+of a bald headland, some hundreds of miles to the north of Battle
+Harbour, gazing wistfully out over the lead-coloured waters that came
+leaping and snarling towards the red rocks far beneath him.  He had on
+great sea boots that stood sadly in need of mending, and was clad in
+heavy woollens, faded and worn, that showed many a rent and patch.  As
+he leaned on the stout staff that had assisted him in climbing, his
+figure seemed bent as though by age, but when he lifted his, face,
+tanned brown by long exposure, the downy moustache on his upper lip
+proclaimed his youth.  Altogether the change in his appearance was so
+great that his most intimate friend would hardly have recognised in him
+the youth who had been called the best dressed man in the T. I. class
+of '99 a few months earlier.  But the voice with which he finally broke
+the silence of his long reverie was unmistakably that of Cabot Grant.
+
+[Illustration: A solitary figure stood on the crest of a bald headland.]
+
+"Heigh ho!" he sighed, as he cast a sweeping glance over the widespread
+waste of waters on which nothing floated save a few belated icebergs,
+and then inland over weary miles of desolate upland barrens, treeless,
+moss-covered, and painfully rugged.  "It is tough luck to be shut up
+here like birds in a cage, with no chance of the door being opened
+before next summer.  It is tougher on Baldwin, though, than on me, and
+if he can stand it I guess I can.  But I suppose I might as well be
+getting back or he will be worrying about me."
+
+Thus saying, Cabot picked up a canvas bag that lay at his feet and
+moved slowly away.
+
+A very serious misfortune had befallen our lads, and for more than a
+month the "Sea Bee," though still afloat and as sound as ever, had been
+unable to move from the position she now occupied.  After leaving
+Battle Harbour her voyage to the northward had not been more than
+ordinarily eventful, though subject to many and irritating delays.  Not
+only had there been adverse winds, but she had twice been stormbound
+for days in harbours to which she had run for shelter.  Then, too,
+White had insisted on stopping at every settlement that promised a
+chance for trading, and had even run fifty miles up Hamilton Inlet with
+the hope of finding customers for his goods at the half-breed village
+of Rigoulette.  But he had always been disappointed.  Either his goods
+were not in demand, or those who desired them had nothing to offer in
+exchange but fish, which he did not care to take.  And always he was
+told of a scarcity of food still farther north.  So the voyage had been
+continued in that direction along a coast that ever grew wilder,
+grander, and more inhospitable.
+
+In the meantime Cabot was delighted at the opportunities thus given him
+for getting acquainted with the country, and made short exploring trips
+from every port at which they touched.  From some of these he came back
+sadly bitten by the insect pests of the interior, and from others he
+brought quantities of blueberries, pigeon berries that looked and
+tasted like wild cranberries, or yellow, raspberry-like "bake apples,"
+resembling the salmon berries of Alaska.  Also he picked up numerous
+rock and mineral specimens that he afterwards carefully labelled.
+
+Finally, when they had passed the last fishing station of which they
+had any knowledge, and had only the missions to look forward to, they
+were overtaken, while far out at sea, by a furious gale that sorely
+buffeted them for twenty-four hours, and, in spite of their strenuous
+efforts, drove them towards the coast.  The gale was accompanied by
+stinging sleet and blinding snow squalls, and at length blew with such
+violence that they could no longer show the smallest patch of canvas.
+
+In this emergency White constructed a sea anchor, by means of which he
+hoped to prolong their struggle for at least a few hours.  It was
+hardly got overboard, however, before a giant surge snapped its cable
+and hurled the little craft helplessly towards the crash and smother
+with which the furious seas warred against an iron coast.
+
+In addition to the other perils surrounding our lads, the gloom of
+impending night was upon them, and they could only dimly distinguish
+the towering cliffs against which they expected shortly to be dashed.
+Both of them stood by the tiller, grimly silent, and using the last of
+their strength to keep their craft head on, for in the trough of that
+awful sea she would have rolled over like a log.  Neither of them
+flinched nor showed a sign of fear, though both fully realised the fate
+awaiting them.
+
+At last, with the send of a giant billow, the little schooner was flung
+bodily into the roaring whiteness, and, with hearts that seemed already
+to have ceased their beating, the poor lads braced themselves for the
+final shock.  To their unbounded amazement the "Sea Bee," instead of
+dashing against the cliffs, appeared to pass directly into them as
+though they were but shadows of a solid substance, and in another
+minute had shot, like an arrow from a bow, through a rift barely wide
+enough to afford her passage.
+
+As her stupefied crew slowly realised that a reprieve from death had
+been granted at the last moment, they also became aware that they were
+in a place of absolute darkness, and, save for the muffled outside roar
+of furious seas, of absolute quiet.  At the same time they were so
+exhausted after their recent prolonged struggle that they found barely
+strength to get overboard an anchor.  Then, careless of everything
+else, they tumbled into their bunks for the rest and sleep they so
+sadly needed.
+
+When they next awoke it was broad daylight, and their first move was to
+hasten on deck for a view of their surroundings.  Their craft lay as
+motionless as a painted ship, in the middle of a placid pool black as a
+highland tarn.  In no place was it more than a pistol shot in width,
+and it was enclosed by precipitous cliffs that towered hundreds of feet
+above her.  The schooner could not have been more happily located by
+one possessed of an absolute knowledge of the coast under the most
+favourable conditions, and that she should have come there as she had
+was nothing short of a miracle.
+
+Filled with thankfulness for their marvellous escape the lads gazed
+about them curious to discover by what means they had gained this haven
+of refuge.  On three sides they could see only the grim fronts of
+inaccessible cliffs.  On the fourth was a strip of beach and a cleft
+through which poured a plume-like waterfall white as a wreath of driven
+snow.
+
+"Did we come in that way?" asked Cabot, pointing to this torrent of
+silver spray.
+
+"I suppose we must have," rejoined White soberly; "for I can't see any
+other opening, and it certainly felt last night as though we were
+sailing over the brink of a dozen waterfalls.  But let's get breakfast,
+for I'm as hungry as a wolf.  Then there'll be time enough to find out
+how we got in here, as well as how we are to get out again."
+
+After a hearty meal they got the dinghy overboard and started on a tour
+of exploration.  First they visited the beach and found a rude pathway
+leading up beside the waterfall that promised exit from the basin to an
+active climber.
+
+"In spite of all the wonderful happenings of last night I don't believe
+we came in that way," said Cabot.
+
+"No," laughed White, "the old 'Bee's' wings aren't quite strong enough
+for that yet, though there's no saying what she may do with practice."
+
+Satisfied that there was no outlet for a sailing craft in this
+direction, they pulled towards the opposite side of the basin, but not
+until they were within a few rods of its cliffs did they discover an
+opening which was so black with shadow that it had heretofore escaped
+their notice.
+
+"Here it is," cried Cabot, "though----"
+
+His speech was cut suddenly short, and for a moment he stared in silent
+amazement.  The farther end of the passage was completely filled by
+what appeared a gigantic mass of white rock.
+
+"An iceberg!" exclaimed the young skipper, who was the first to
+recognise the true nature of the obstacle.  "An iceberg driven in by
+the gale and jammed.  Now we are in a fix."
+
+"I should say as much," responded Cabot, "for there isn't space enough
+to let a rowboat out, much less a schooner.  No wonder this water is as
+still as that in a corked bottle.  What shall we do now?"
+
+"Wait until it melts, I suppose," replied White gloomily, "or until the
+outside seas batter it away."
+
+So our lads had waited unhappily and impatiently for more than a month,
+and still the ice barrier was as immovable as ever.  Also, as the
+weather was growing steadily cooler, its melting became less and less
+with each succeeding day.
+
+During this period of enforced imprisonment they had made several
+exploring trips into the interior, but had failed to find trace of
+human life; nor were they able to go far either north or south on
+account of impassable waterways.  Neither could they discover any
+timber from which to obtain firewood, and as the supply on the schooner
+was nearly exhausted their outlook for the future grew daily more and
+more gloomy.
+
+For a while they had hoped to signal some passing vessel, and one or
+the other of them made daily trips to the most prominent headland of
+the vicinity, where he kept a lookout for hours.  But this also proved
+fruitless, for but two vessels had been sighted, and neither of these
+paid any attention to their signals.
+
+Thus the open season passed, and with the near approach of an Arctic
+winter the situation of our imprisoned lads grew so desperate that they
+were filled with the gloomiest forebodings.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES.
+
+Only once during their tedious imprisonment had our lads received
+evidence that human beings existed in that desolate country, and after
+they gained this information they hardly knew whether to rejoice or to
+regret that it had come to them.  One morning, some weeks after their
+arrival in the basin, to which they had given the name of "Locked
+Harbour," Cabot, going on deck for a breath of air, made a discovery so
+startling that, for a moment, he could hardly credit the evidence of
+his eyes.  Then he shouted to White:
+
+"Come up here quick, old man, and take in the sight."
+
+As the latter, who had been lighting a fire in the galley stove, obeyed
+this call, Cabot pointed to the beach, on which stood a row of human
+figures, gazing at the schooner as stolidly as so many graven images.
+
+"Indians!" cried White, "and perhaps we can get them to show us the way
+to the nearest mission."
+
+"Good enough!" rejoined Cabot in high excitement.  "Let's go ashore and
+interview them before they have a chance to disappear as mysteriously
+as they have appeared.  Where do you suppose they came from?"
+
+"Can't imagine, and doubt if they'll ever tell.  Probably they are
+wondering the same thing about us.  I suppose, though, they are on
+their way towards the interior for the winter.  But hold on a minute.
+We must take them some sort of a present.  Grub is what they'll be most
+likely to appreciate, for the natives of this country are always
+hungry."
+
+Acting upon his own suggestion, White dived below, to reappear a minute
+later with a bag of biscuit and a generous piece of salt pork, which he
+tossed into the dinghy.  Then the excited lads pulled for the beach on
+which the strangers still waited in motionless expectation.
+
+"Only a woman, a baby, and three children," remarked White, in a tone
+of disappointment, as they approached near enough to scrutinise the
+group.  "Still, I suppose they can guide us out of here as well as any
+one else if they only will."
+
+The strangers were as White had discovered--a woman and children, but
+one of these latter was a half-grown boy of such villainous appearance
+that Cabot promptly named him "Arsenic," because his looks were enough
+to poison anything.  They were clad in rags, and were so miserably thin
+that they had evidently been on short rations for a long time.  White's
+belief that they were hungry was borne out by the ravenous manner with
+which they fell upon the provisions he presented to them.
+
+Arsenic seized the piece of pork and whipping out a knife cut it into
+strips, which he, his mother, and his sisters devoured raw, as though
+it were a delicacy to which they had long been strangers.  The hard
+biscuit also made a magical disappearance, and when all were gone,
+Arsenic, looking up with a hideous grin, uttered the single word:
+"More."
+
+"Good!" cried Cabot, "he can talk English.  Now look here, young man,
+if we give you more--all you can carry, in fact, of pork, bread, flour,
+tea, and sugar, will you show us the road to the nearest
+mission--Ramah, Nain, or Hopedale?"
+
+"Tea, shug," replied the boy, with an expectant grin.
+
+"Yes, tea, sugar, and a lot of other things if you'll show us the way
+to Nain.  You understand?"
+
+"Tea, shug," repeated the young Indian, again grinning.
+
+"We wantee git topside Nain.  You sabe, Nain?" asked Cabot, pointing to
+his companion and himself, and then waving his hand comprehensively at
+the inland landscape.
+
+"Tea, shug, more," answered the young savage, promptly, while his
+relatives regarded him admiringly as one who had mastered the art of
+conversing with foreigners.
+
+"Perhaps he understands English better, or rather more, than he speaks
+it," suggested White.
+
+"It is to be hoped that he does," replied Cabot.  "Even then he might
+not comprehend more than one word in a thousand.  But I tell you what.
+Let's go and get our own breakfast, pack up what stuff we intend to
+carry, make the schooner as snug as possible, and come back to the
+beach.  Here we'll show these beggars what stuff we've brought, and
+give them to understand that it shall all be theirs when they get us to
+Nain.  Then we'll start them up the trail, and follow wherever they
+lead.  They are bound to fetch up somewhere.  Even if they don't take
+us where we want to go, we will have provisions enough to last us a
+week or more, and can surely find our way back."
+
+"I hate to leave them, for they might skip out while we were gone,"
+objected White.
+
+"That's so.  Well then, why not invite them on board?  They'll be safe
+there until we are ready to go.  Say, Arsenic, you all come with we all
+to shipee, sabe?  Get tea, sugar, plenty, eat heap, you understand?"
+
+As Cabot said this he made motions for all the natives to enter the
+dinghy, and then pointed to the schooner.
+
+It was evident that he was understood, and equally so that the woman
+declined his proposition, for she sat motionless, holding her baby, and
+with the younger children close by her side.  The boy, however,
+expressed his willingness to visit the schooner by entering the dinghy
+and seating himself in its stern.
+
+"That will do," said White.  "The others won't run away without him,
+and he is the only one we want anyhow."
+
+So the boat was rowed out to the anchored schooner, while those left on
+the beach watched the departure of their son and brother with the same
+apathy that they had shown towards all the other happenings of that
+eventful morning.
+
+"Look at the young scarecrow, taking things as coolly as though he had
+always been used to having white men row him about a harbour," laughed
+Cabot, "and yet I don't suppose he was ever in a regular boat before."
+
+"No," agreed White, "I don't suppose he ever was."
+
+They did not allow Arsenic to enter the "Sea Bee's" cabin, but made him
+stay on deck, where, however, he appeared perfectly contented and at
+his ease.  Here Cabot brought the various supplies for their proposed
+journey and put them up in neat packages while White prepared
+breakfast.  The former had supposed that their guest would be greatly
+interested in what he was doing, but the young savage manifested the
+utmost indifference to all that took place.  In fact he seemed to pay
+no attention to Cabot's movements, but squatted on the deck, and gazed
+in silent meditation at the beach, where his mother and sisters could
+be seen also seated in motionless expectation.
+
+"I believe he is a perfect idiot," muttered Cabot, "and wonder that he
+knows enough to eat when he's hungry."
+
+Then White called him, and he went below to breakfast.
+
+"Do you think it is safe to leave that chap alone on deck with all
+those things?" asked the former.
+
+"Take a look at him and see for yourself," replied Cabot.
+
+So White crept noiselessly up the companion ladder and peeped
+cautiously out.  Arsenic still squatted where Cabot had left him,
+gazing idiotically off into space.  At the same time a close observer
+might have imagined that his beady eyes twinkled with a gleam of
+interest as White's head appeared above the companion coaming.
+
+"I guess it is all right," said White, rejoining his friend.
+
+"Of course it is.  He couldn't swim ashore with the things, and there
+isn't any other way he could make off with them, except by taking them
+in the dinghy, and that chump couldn't any more manage a boat than a
+cow."
+
+In spite of this assertion Cabot finished his meal with all speed, and
+then hurried on deck, where he uttered a cry of dismay.  A single
+glance showed him that their guest, together with all the supplies
+prepared for their journey, was no longer where he had left him.  A
+second glance disclosed the dinghy half way to the beach, while in her
+stern, sculling her swiftly along with practised hand, stood the
+wooden-headed young savage who didn't know how to manage a boat.
+
+"Come back here, you sneak thief, or I'll fill you full of lead,"
+yelled Cabot, and as the Indian paid not the slightest attention he
+drew his revolver and fired.  He never knew where the bullet struck,
+but it certainly did not reach the mark he intended, for Arsenic merely
+increased the speed of his boat without even looking back.
+
+So angry that he hardly realised what he was doing, Cabot cocked his
+pistol and attempted to fire again, but the lock only snapped
+harmlessly, and there was no report.  Then he remembered that he had
+expended several shots the day before in a fruitless effort to attract
+attention on board a distant vessel seen from the lookout, and had
+neglected to reload.
+
+As he started for the cabin in quest of more cartridges he came into
+collision with White hurrying on deck.
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired the latter, as soon as he regained the
+breath thus knocked out of him.
+
+"Oh, nothing at sill," replied Cabot, with ironical calmness, "only
+we've been played for a couple of hayseeds by a wooden-faced young
+heathen who don't know enough to go in when it rains.  In his childish
+folly he has gone off with the dinghy, taking our provisions along as a
+souvenir of his visit, and he didn't even have the politeness to look
+round when I spoke to him.  Oh! but it will be a chilly day for little
+Willy if I catch him again."
+
+"I am glad you only spoke," remarked White.  "When I heard you shoot I
+didn't know but what you had murdered him."
+
+"Wish I had," growled Cabot, savagely.  "Look at him now, and consider
+the cheek of the plain, every-day North American savage."
+
+It was aggravating to see the young thief gain the beach and lift from
+the boat the provisions he had so deftly acquired.  It was even more
+annoying to see the embryo warrior's grateful family pounce upon the
+prizes of his bow and spear, and to be forced to listen to the joyous
+cries with which they greeted their returned hero.  Filled now with a
+bustling activity, the Indians quickly divided the spoil according to
+their strength; and then, without one backward glance, or a single look
+towards the schooner, they started up the narrow trail by the
+waterfall, with the triumphant Arsenic heading the procession, and in
+another minute had disappeared.
+
+As the last fluttering rag vanished from sight, our lads, who had
+watched the latter part of this performance in silent wrath, turned to
+each other and burst out laughing.
+
+"It was a dirty, mean, low-down trick!" cried Cabot.  "At the same time
+he played it with a dexterity that compels my admiration.  Now, what
+shall we do?"
+
+"I suppose one of us will have to swim ashore and get that boat."
+
+"What, through ice water?  You are right, though, and as I am the
+biggest chump, I'll go."
+
+Cabot was as good as his word, and did swim to the beach, though, as he
+afterwards said, he did not know whether his first plunge was made into
+ice water or molten lead.  Then he and White followed the trail of
+their recent guests to the crest of the bluffs, but could not discover
+what direction they had taken from that point.  So they returned to the
+schooner sadder but wiser than before, and wondered whether they were
+better or worse off on account of the recent visitation.
+
+"If they carry news of us to one of the missions we will be better
+off," argued Cabot.
+
+"But, if they don't, we are worse off, by at least the value of our
+stolen provisions," replied White.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A MELANCHOLY SITUATION.
+
+In Labrador, under ordinary circumstances, the loss of such a quantity
+of provisions as Arsenic had carried away would have been a very
+serious misfortune.  But food was the one thing our lads had in
+abundance, and they were more unhappy at having lost a guide, who might
+have shown them a way out of their prison, than over the theft he had
+so successfully accomplished.
+
+"The next time we catch an Indian we'll tie a string to him," said
+Cabot.
+
+"Yes," agreed White, "and it will be a stout one, too; but I am afraid
+there won't be any more Indians on the coast this season."
+
+"How about Eskimo?"
+
+"Some of them may come along later, when the snowshoeing and sledging
+get good enough, for they are apt to travel pretty far south during the
+winter.  Still, there's no knowing how far back from the coast their
+line of travel may lie at this point, and dozens of them might pass
+without our knowledge."
+
+"Couldn't we go up or down the coast as well as an Eskimo, whenever
+these miserable waterways freeze over?" asked Cabot.
+
+"Of course, if we had sledges, dogs, snowshoes, and fur clothing,"
+replied White; "but without all these things we might just as well
+commit suicide before starting."
+
+"Well, I'll tell you what we can do right off, and the sooner we set
+about it the better.  We can go inland as far as possible, and leave a
+line of flags or some sort of signals that will attract attention to
+this place."
+
+"I don't know but what that is a good idea," remarked White,
+thoughtfully.  "At any rate, it would be better than doing nothing, and
+if we don't get help in some way we shall certainly freeze to death in
+this place long before the winter is over."
+
+So Cabot's suggestion was adopted, and the remainder of that day was
+spent in preparing little flags of red and white cloth, attaching them
+to slender sticks, and in making a number of wooden arrows.  On a
+smooth side of these they wrote:
+
+"Help!  We are stranded on the coast."
+
+"I wish we could write it in Eskimo and Indian," said Cabot, "for
+English doesn't seem to be the popular language of this country."
+
+"The flags and arrows will be a plain enough language for any natives
+who may run across them," responded White, "and I only hope they'll see
+them; but it is a slim chance, and we'll probably be frozen stiff long
+before any one finds us."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," said Cabot, cheerfully.  "There's firewood enough
+in the schooner itself to last quite a while."
+
+"Burn the 'Sea Bee'!" cried White, aghast at the suggestion.  "I
+couldn't do it."
+
+"Neither could I at present; but I expect both of us could and would,
+long before our blood reached the freezing point."
+
+"But if we destroyed the schooner, how would we get out of here next
+summer?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know, and don't care to try and think yet a while.
+Just now I am much more interested in the nearby winter than in a very
+distant summer."
+
+The next day, and for a number of days thereafter, our lads worked at
+the establishment of their signal line.  They erected stone cairns at
+such distances apart that every one was visible from those on either
+side, and on the summit of each they planted a flag with its
+accompanying pointer.  In this way they ran an unbroken range of
+signals for ten miles, and would have carried it further had they dared
+expend any more of their precious firewood.
+
+While they were engaged upon this task the weather became noticeably
+colder, the mercury falling below the freezing point each night, and
+the whole country was wrapped in the first folds of the snow blanket
+under which it would sleep for months.  About the time their signal
+line was completed, however, there came a milder day, so suggestive of
+the vanished summer that Cabot declared his intention of spending an
+hour or so at the lookout.  "There might be such a thing as a belated
+vessel," he argued, "and I might have the luck to signal it.  Anyhow, I
+am going to make one more try before agreeing to settle down here for
+the winter."
+
+As White was busy moving the galley stove into the cabin, and making
+other preparations for their coming struggle against Arctic cold, Cabot
+rowed himself ashore and left the dinghy on the beach.  Then he climbed
+to the summit of the lofty headland, where, for a long time, he leaned
+thoughtfully on the rude Alpine-stock that had aided his steps, and
+gazed out over the vacant ocean.
+
+While Cabot thus watched for ships that failed to come, White was
+putting the finishing touches to his new cabin fixtures.  He was just
+beginning to wonder if it were not time for his comrade's return when
+he felt the slight jar of some floating object striking against the
+side of the schooner.  Thinking that Cabot had arrived, he shouted a
+cheery greeting, but turned to survey the general effect of what he had
+done before going on deck.  The next minute some one softly entered the
+cabin and sprang upon the unsuspecting youth, overpowering him and
+flinging him to the floor before he had a chance to offer resistance.
+Here he was securely bound and left to make what he could of the
+situation, while his captors swarmed through the schooner with
+exclamations of delight at the richness of their prize.
+
+As White slowly recovered from the bewilderment of his situation he saw
+that his assailants were Indians, and even recognised in one of them
+the hideous features of the lad whom Cabot had named Arsenic.
+
+"What fools we have been," he thought, bitterly.  "We might have known
+that he would come back with the first band of his friends that he ran
+across.  And to make sure that they would find us we filled the country
+with sign posts all pointing this way.  Seems to me that was about as
+idiotic a thing as we could have done, and if ever a misfortune was
+deserved this one is.  I wonder what has become of Cabot, and if they
+have caught him yet.  I only hope he won't try to fight 'em, for they'd
+just as soon kill him as not.  Probably they'll kill us both, though,
+so that no witnesses can ever appear against them.  Poor chap!  It was
+a sad day for him when he attempted to help a fellow as unlucky as I am
+out of his troubles.  Now I wonder what's up."
+
+A shrill cry of triumph had come from the shore, and the savages on the
+schooner's deck were replying to it with exultant yells.
+
+The cry from shore announced the capture of Cabot by two Indians who
+had been left behind for that express purpose.  Of course the
+new-comers had known as soon as they discovered the dinghy that at
+least one of the schooner's defenders was on shore, and had made their
+arrangements accordingly.  As we have seen, the naval contingent
+experienced no difficulty in capturing the schooner, and a little later
+the land forces carried out their part of the programme with equal
+facility.  They merely hid themselves behind some boulders, and leaping
+out upon the young American, as he came unsuspectingly swinging down
+the trail, overpowered him before he could make a struggle.  Tying him
+beyond a possibility of escape, they carried him down to the beach,
+where they uttered the cries that informed their comrades of their
+triumph.
+
+Until this time the schooner had been left at her anchorage, for fear
+lest any change in her position might arouse Cabot's suspicions.  Now
+that they were free to do as they pleased with her the Indians cut her
+cable, and, after much awkward effort, succeeded in towing her to the
+beach, where they made her fast.
+
+As the darkness and cold of night were now upon them, and as they had
+no longer any use for the dinghy, they smashed it in pieces and started
+a fire with its shattered timbers.  At the same time they broke out
+several barrels of provisions, and the entire band, gathering about the
+fire, began to feast upon their contents.
+
+In the meantime Cabot and White, in their respective places of
+captivity, were equally miserable through their ignorance of what had
+happened to each other, and of the fate awaiting them.  Of course Cabot
+had seen the schooner brought to the beach, while White, still lying on
+her cabin floor, was able to guess at her position from such sounds as
+came to his ears.
+
+During that eventful afternoon, while the savages were still preparing
+the plan that had resulted in such complete success, a white man,
+setting a line of traps for fur-bearing animals, had run across the
+outermost of the signals established by our lads a few days earlier.
+Its fluttering pennon had attracted his attention while he was still at
+a distance, and, filled with curiosity, he had gone to it for a closer
+examination.  On reaching the signal he read the pencilled writing on
+its arrow, and then stood irresolute, evidently much perturbed, for
+several minutes.  Finally, heaving a great sigh, he set forth in the
+direction indicated by the arrow.
+
+He was a gigantic man, and presented a strange spectacle as he strode
+swiftly across the country with the long, sliding gait of a practised
+snowshoer.  Although his wide-set blue eyes were frank and gentle in
+expression, a heavy mass of blonde hair, streaming over his shoulders
+like a mane, and a shaggy beard, gave him an air of lion-like ferocity.
+This wildness of aspect, as well as his huge proportions, were both
+increased by his garments, which were entirely of wolf skins.  Even his
+cap was of this material, ornamented by a wolf's tail that streamed out
+behind and adorned in front with a pair of wolf ears pricked sharply
+forward.  He carried a rifle and bore on his shoulders, as though it
+were a feather weight, a pack of such size than an ordinarily strong
+man would have found difficulty in lifting it.
+
+As this remarkable stranger, looking more like a Norse war god than a
+mere human being, reached one signal after another, he passed it
+without pausing for examination until he had gained a point about half
+way to the coast.  Then he came to an abrupt halt and studied the
+surrounding snow intently.  He had run across the trail made by Arsenic
+and his fellows a few hours earlier.  After an examination of the
+sprawling footprints, the big man uttered a peculiar snort of
+satisfaction, and again pushed on with increased speed.  An hour later
+he stood, concealed by darkness, on the verge of the cliffs enclosing
+Locked Harbour, gazing interestedly down on the fire-lit beach, the
+half-revealed schooner, the feasting savages, and the recumbent, dimly
+discerned figure of Cabot Grant, their prisoner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF.
+
+Once Arsenic went to where Cabot was lying, and, grinning cheerfully,
+remarked: "Tea, shug.  Plenty, yes."  Then he laughed immoderately, as
+did several other Indians who were listening admiringly to this flight
+of eloquence in the white man's own tongue.
+
+"Oh, clear out, you grinning baboon," growled Cabot.  "I only hope I'll
+live to get even with you for this day's work."
+
+The Indians were evidently so pleased at having drawn a retort from
+their prisoner that he declined to gratify them further, or to speak
+another word, though for some time Arsenic continued to beguile him
+with his tiresome "Tea, shug," etc.  When the latter finally gave it up
+and started away to get his share of the feast, Cabot's gaze followed
+him closely.
+
+All this time our lad was filled with vague terrors concerning White,
+of whose fate he had not received the slightest intimation, as well as
+of what might be in store for himself.  Would he be carried to the
+distant interior to become a slave in some filthy Indian village, or
+would he be killed before they took their departure?  Perhaps they
+would simply leave him there to freeze and starve to death, or they
+might amuse themselves by burning him at the stake.  Did these far
+northern Indians still do such things?  He wondered, but could not
+remember ever to have heard.
+
+While considering these unpleasant possibilities, Cabot was also
+suffering with cold, from the pain of his bonds, and from lying
+motionless on the bed of rocks to which he had been carelessly flung.
+But, with all his pain and his mental distress, he still glared at the
+young savage who had so basely betrayed his kindness, and at length
+Arsenic seemed to be uneasily aware of the steady gaze.  He changed his
+position several times, and his noisy hilarity was gradually succeeded
+by a sullen silence.  Suddenly he lifted his head and listened
+apprehensively.  His quick ear had caught an ominous note in the
+distant, long-drawn howl of a wolf.  He spoke of it to his comrades,
+and several of them joined him in listening.  It came again, a
+blood-curdling yell, now so distinct that all heard it.  They stopped
+their feasting to consult in low tones and peer fearfully into the
+surrounding blackness.
+
+Cabot had also recognised the sound, but, uncanny as it was, he
+wondered why the howl of a wolf should disturb a lot of Indians who
+must know, even better than he, the cowardly nature of the beast, and
+that there was no chance of his coming near a fire.
+
+Even as these thoughts passed through his mind, the terrible cry was
+uttered again--this time so close at hand that it was taken up and
+repeated by a chorus of echoes from the nearby cliffs.  The Indians
+sprang to their feet in terror, while at the same moment an avalanche
+of stones, gravel, and small boulders rushed down the face of the cliff
+close to where Cabot lay.  From it was evolved a monstrous shape that,
+with unearthly howlings, leaped towards the frightened natives.  As it
+did so flashes of lightning, that seemed to dart from it, gleamed with
+a dazzling radiance on their distorted faces.  In another moment they
+were in full flight up the rugged pathway leading from the basin, hotly
+pursued by their mysterious enemy.
+
+The latter seemed to pass directly through the fire, scattering its
+blazing brands to all sides.  At the same time he snatched up a flaming
+timber for use as a weapon against such of the panic-stricken savages
+as still remained within reach.
+
+The flashes of light that accompanied the apparition, while
+illuminating all nearby objects, had left it shrouded in darkness, and
+only when it crouched for an instant above the fire did Cabot gain a
+clear glimpse of the gigantic form.  To his dismay it appeared to be a
+great beast with a human resemblance.  It had the gleaming teeth, the
+horrid jaws, the sharp ears, in fact the face and head of a wolf, the
+tawny mane of a lion, and was covered with thick fur; but it stood
+erect and used its arms like a man.  At the same time, the sounds
+issuing from its throat seemed a combination of incoherent human cries
+and wolfish howlings.  Cabot only saw it for a moment, and then it was
+gone, leaping up the pathway, whirling the blazing timber above its
+head, and darting its mysterious lightning flashes after the flying
+Indians.
+
+As the clamour of flight and pursuit died away, to be followed by a
+profound silence, there came a muffled call:
+
+"Cabot.  Cabot Grant."
+
+"Hello!" shouted our lad.  "Who is it?  Where are you?"
+
+"It is I, White," came the barely heard answer.  "I am here in the
+cabin.  Can't you come and let me out?"
+
+"No," replied Cabot.  "I am tied hand and foot."
+
+"So am I.  Are you wounded?"
+
+"No.  Are you?"
+
+"No.  What are the Indians doing?"
+
+"Running for dear life from a Labrador devil--half wolf and half
+man--armed with soundless thunder-bolts."
+
+During the short silence that followed, White meditated upon this
+extraordinary statement, and decided that his comrade's brain must be
+affected by his sufferings.
+
+"If I could only twist out of these ropes," he groaned, and then he
+began again a struggle to free his hands from their bonds.  At the same
+time Cabot, who had long since discovered the futility of such effort,
+was anxiously listening, and wondering what would happen next.
+
+With all his listening he did not hear the soft approach of furred
+footsteps, and when a blinding light was flashed full in his face he
+was so startled that he cried out with terror.  Instantly the light
+vanished, and he shuddered as he realised that the furry monster had
+returned, and, bending over him, was fumbling at his bonds.
+
+In another moment these were severed, he was picked up as though he had
+been an infant, and carried to the fire, whose scattered embers were
+speedily re-assembled.  As it blazed up, Cabot gazed eagerly at the
+mysterious figure, which had thus far worked in silence.  Curious as he
+was to see it, he yet dreaded to look upon its wolfish features.
+Therefore, as the fire blazed up, he uttered a cry of amazement, for,
+fully revealed by its light, was a man; clad in furs, it is true, but
+bare-headed and having a pleasant face lighted by kindly blue eyes.
+
+"You are really human after all!" gasped Cabot.
+
+The stranger smiled but said nothing.
+
+"And can understand English?"
+
+A nod of the head was the only answer.
+
+"Then," continued Cabot, hardly noting that his deliverer had not
+spoken, "won't you please go aboard the schooner and find my friend?
+He is in the cabin, where those wretches left him, tied up."
+
+This was the first intimation the stranger had received that any one
+besides Cabot needed his assistance, but without a word he did as
+requested, swinging himself aboard the "Sea Bee" by her head chains and
+her bowsprit, which overhung the beach.  Directly afterwards a flash of
+light streamed from the cabin windows.  Then White Baldwin, assisted by
+the fur-clad giant, emerged from his prison, walked stiffly along the
+deck, and was helped down to the beach, where Cabot eagerly awaited him.
+
+After a joyous greeting of his friend the young American said
+anxiously: "But are you sure you are all right, old man--not wounded
+nor hurt in any way?"
+
+"No; I am sound as a nut," replied White.  "Only a little stiff, that's
+all."
+
+"Same here," declared Cabot, industriously rubbing his legs to restore
+their circulation.  "I was rapidly turning into a human icicle, though,
+when our big friend dropped down from the sky in a chariot of flame and
+gave those Indian beggars such a scare that I don't suppose they've
+stopped running yet.  But how did you happen to let 'em aboard, old
+man?  Couldn't you stand them off with a gun?"
+
+For answer White gave a full account of all that had taken place, so
+far as he knew, and in return Cabot described his own exciting
+experiences, while the stranger listened attentively, but in silence,
+to both narratives.  When Cabot came to the end of his own story, he
+said:
+
+"Now, sir, won't you please tell us how you happened to find us out and
+come to our rescue just in the nick of time?  I should also very much
+like to know how you managed to tumble down that precipice unharmed, as
+well as how you produced those flashes of light that scared the savages
+so badly--me too, for that matter."
+
+For answer the stranger only smiled gravely, pointed to his lips, and
+shook his head.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed both Cabot and White, shocked by this intimation, and
+the former said:
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir.  While I noticed that you didn't do much
+talking, it never occurred to me that you were dumb.  I am awfully
+sorry, and it must be a terrible trial.  At the same time, I am glad
+you can hear me say how very grateful we are to you for getting us out
+of a nasty fix in the splendid way you did.  Now, I move we adjourn to
+the cabin of the schooner, where we can make some hot tea and be rather
+more comfortable than out here.  That is, if you think those Indians
+won't come back."
+
+The stranger smiled again, and shook his head so reassuringly that the
+lads had no longer a doubt as to the expediency of returning to the
+cabin.  There they started a fire in the stove, boiled water, made tea,
+and prepared a meal, of which the stranger ate so heartily, and with
+such evident appreciation, that it was a pleasure to watch him.
+
+While supper was being made ready, the big man removed his outer
+garments of wolf fur and stood in a close-fitting suit of tanned
+buckskin that clearly revealed the symmetry of his massive proportions.
+
+"If I were as strong as you look, and, as I know from experience, you
+are," exclaimed Cabot, admiringly, "I don't think I would hesitate to
+attack a whole tribe of Indians single handed.  My! but it must be fine
+to be so strong."
+
+After supper Cabot, who generally acted as spokesman, again addressed
+himself to their guest, saying:
+
+"If you don't mind, sir, we'd like to have you know just what sort of a
+predicament we've got into, and ask your advice as to how we can get
+out of it."  With this preamble Cabot explained the whole situation,
+and ended by saying:
+
+"Now you know just how we are fixed, and if you can guide us to the
+nearest Mission Station or, if you haven't time to go with us, if you
+will give us directions how to find it--we shall be under a greater
+obligation to you than ever."
+
+For a minute the stranger looked thoughtful but made no sign.  Then,
+dipping his finger in a bowl of water, he wrote on the table the single
+word: "To-morrow."  Having thus dismissed the subject for the present,
+he stretched his huge frame on a transom and almost instantly fell
+asleep.
+
+Our tired lads were not long in following his example, and, though
+several times during the alight one or the other of them got up to
+replenish the fire, they always found their guest quietly sleeping.
+But when they both awoke late the following morning and looked for him
+he had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+A WELCOME MISSIONARY.
+
+Although the outer garments of wolf fur belonging to the mysterious
+stranger were also missing, our lads were not at first at all uneasy
+concerning his absence, but imagined that their guest had merely gone
+for a breath of fresh air or to examine the situation of the schooner
+by daylight.  So they mended the fire and got breakfast ready,
+expecting with each moment that he would return.  As he did not, Cabot
+finally went on deck to look for him.
+
+The morning was bitterly cold, and the harbour was covered with ice
+sufficiently strong to bear a man.
+
+"The old 'Bee's' found her winter berth at last," reflected Cabot, as
+he glanced about him, shivering in the keen air.
+
+To his disappointment he could discover no trace of the man upon whom
+they were depending to aid their escape from this icy prison.  Cabot
+even dropped to the beach and made his way to the crest of the inland
+bluffs, but could see no living thing on all the vast expanse of snow
+outspread before him.
+
+"I guess he has gone, all right," muttered the lad, "and we are again
+left to our own resources, only a little worse off than we were before.
+Why he came and helped us out at all, though, is a mystery to me."
+
+With this he retraced his steps and conveyed the unwelcome news to
+White.
+
+"It is evident then," said the latter, "that we must stay here, alive
+or dead, all winter.  And I expect we'll be a great deal more dead than
+alive long before it is over."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," replied Cabot.  "This doesn't seem to be such a
+very uninhabited place, after all.  I'm sure we've had a regular job
+lot of visitors during the past week, and a good many of them, too.  So
+I don't see why we shouldn't have other callers before the winter is
+over.  When the next one comes, though, we'll take care and not let him
+out of our sight.  Why didn't you tie a string to one of those Indians,
+as I advised?"
+
+"Because they tied me first," answered White, laughing in spite of his
+anxiety.  "Why didn't you do it yourself?"
+
+"Because all the tying apparatus was aboard the schooner, and I hadn't
+so much as a shoe-string about me.  I wish I could have tied that
+scoundrel Arsenic, though.  If ever I meet him again I'll try to teach
+him a lesson in gratitude.  But what do you propose to do to-day,
+skipper?"
+
+"I suppose we might as well unbend and stow our canvas, since the 'Bee'
+'ll not want to use sails again for a while.  We might also send down
+topmasts, stow away what we can of the running rigging, get those
+provisions on the beach aboard again, and----"
+
+"Hold on!" cried Cabot, "you've already laid out all the work I care to
+tackle in one day, and if you want any more done you'll have to ship a
+new crew."
+
+It was well that the lads had ample occupation for that day, otherwise
+they would have been very unhappy.  Even Cabot, for all his assumed
+cheerfulness, realised the many dangers with which they were beset.  He
+believed that their unknown friend had deserted them, and that the
+Indians might return at any moment in over-powering numbers.  He knew
+that without outside assistance and guidance it would be impossible to
+traverse the vast frozen wilderness lying between them and
+civilisation.  He knew also that if he and White remained where they
+were they must surely perish before the winter was over.  So the
+prospect was far from cheerful, and that evening the "Sea Bee's" crew,
+wearied with their hard day's work, ate their supper in thoughtful
+silence.
+
+While they were thus engaged both suddenly sprang to their feet with
+startled faces.  A gun had been fired from close at hand, and with its
+report came a confusion of shouts.  Evidently more visitors had
+arrived; but were they friends or foes?
+
+White thought the latter, and snatched up a loaded revolver, declaring
+that the Indians should not again get possession of his schooner
+without fighting for it; but Cabot believed the new-comers to be
+friends.
+
+"If they were enemies," he argued, "they would have got aboard and
+taken us by surprise before making a sound."  So saying he hurried up
+the companionway, with White close at his heels.
+
+"Hello!" shouted Cabot.  "Who are you?"
+
+"We are friends," answered a voice from the beach in English, but with
+a strong German accent.  "Can you show us a light?"
+
+"Of course we can, and will in a moment," replied Cabot joyously.
+"White, get a----"
+
+But White had already darted back into the cabin for a lantern, with
+which he speedily emerged, and led the way to the beach.  Here our lads
+found a dog sledge with its team, and an Eskimo driver, who was already
+collecting wood for a fire, together with a white man, tall, straight,
+middle-aged, and wearing a long beard streaked with grey.
+
+"God be with you and keep you," he said, as he shook hands with Cabot
+and White.  "Where is the captain of this schooner?"
+
+Cabot pointed to his companion.
+
+"Where then is the crew?"
+
+At this both lads laughed, and Cabot replied:
+
+"I am the crew."
+
+"You don't mean to tell me that you two boys navigated that vessel to
+this place unaided."
+
+"We certainly did, sir, though we have not done much navigating for
+more than a month now.  But will you please tell us who you are, where
+you came from, and how you happened to discover us?  Though we are not
+surprised at being discovered, for we seem to be located on a highway
+of travel and have visitors nearly every day."
+
+"Indeed," replied the stranger; "and yet you are stranded in one of the
+least known and most inaccessible bays of the coast.  It is rarely
+visited even by natives, and I doubt if any white man was ever here
+before your arrival."
+
+"Then how did you happen to come?" asked Cabot.
+
+"I came by special request to find you and offer whatever assistance I
+may render.  I am the Rev. Ostrander Mellins, Director of a Moravian
+Mission Station located on the coast some twenty-five miles from this
+point."
+
+"But how did you know of us?" cried Cabot, in amazement.  "We haven't
+sent any telegrams nor even written any letters since coming here."
+
+"Did not you send a messenger yesterday?"
+
+"No, sir.  Most of yesterday we were prisoners in the hands of some
+rascally Indians."
+
+"I perceive," said the missionary, "that I have much to hear as well as
+to tell, and, being both tired and cold, would suggest that we seek a
+more sheltered spot than this, where we may converse while my man
+prepares supper."
+
+At these words both our lads were covered with confusion, and, with
+profuse apologies for their lack of hospitality, besought the
+missionary to accompany them into the schooner's cabin.
+
+"We should have asked you long ago," declared White, "only we were so
+overcome with joy at meeting a white man who could talk to us that we
+really didn't know what we were about."
+
+"Won't your man and dogs also come aboard?" asked Cabot, anxious to
+show how hospitable they really were.
+
+"No, thank you," laughed the missionary.  "They will do very well where
+they are."
+
+In the cabin, which had never seemed more cheerful and comfortable, the
+lads helped the new-comer remove his fur garments, plied him with hot
+tea, together with everything they could think of in the way of
+eatables, and at the same time told him their story as they had told it
+to their other guest of the night before.
+
+"And you did not send me any message?" he asked, with a quizzical smile.
+
+"I know!" cried Cabot.  "It was the man-wolf.  But where did you meet
+him, and why didn't he come back with you?  How did he manage to
+explain the situation?  We thought he couldn't talk."
+
+"I don't know that he can," replied the missionary, "for I have never
+heard him speak, nor do I know any one who has.  Neither did I meet
+him.  In fact I have never seen him, but I think your messenger must be
+one and the same with your man-wolf, since he signed his note
+'Homolupus.'"
+
+"His note," repeated Cabot curiously.  "Did he send you a note?"
+
+"Not exactly; but he left one for me at a place near the station, where
+he has often left furs to be exchanged for goods, and called my
+attention to it by a signal of rifle shots.  When I reached the place I
+was not surprised to find him gone, for he always disappears when it is
+certain that his signal has been understood.  I was, however, greatly
+surprised to find, instead of the usual bundle of furs, only a slip of
+paper supported by a cleft stick.  On it was written:
+
+"'Schooner laden with provisions stranded in pocket next South of
+Nukavik Arm.  Crew in distress.  Need immediate assistance.
+Homolupus.'"
+
+
+"With such a message to urge me, I made instant preparation, and came
+here with all speed."
+
+"It was awfully good of you," said White.
+
+"Perhaps not quite so good as you may think, since our annual supply
+ship having thus far failed to make her appearance, the mission is very
+short of provisions, and the intimation that there was an abundance
+within reach relieved me of a load of anxiety.  So if you are disposed
+to sell----"
+
+"Excuse me for interrupting," broke in Cabot, "but, before you get to
+talking business, please tell us something more about the man who sent
+you to our relief.  Who is he?  Where does he live?  What does he look
+like?  Why does he disappear when you go in answer to his signals?  Why
+do you call him a wolf-man?  What----"
+
+"Seems to me that is about as many questions as I can remember at one
+time," said the missionary, smiling at Cabot's eagerness, "and I am
+sorry that, with my slight knowledge of the subject, I cannot answer
+them satisfactorily.  The man-wolf was well known to this country
+before I came to it, which was three years ago, and dwells somewhere to
+the southward of this place, though no one, to my knowledge, has ever
+seen his habitation.  Some of the Eskimo can point out its location,
+but they are in such terror of him that they give it a wide berth
+whenever travelling in that direction.  As I said, I have never seen
+him, nor have I ever known of his holding communication other than by
+writing with any human being.  The natives describe him as a man of
+great size with the head of a wolf."
+
+"There!  I was sure it wasn't imagination," interrupted Cabot
+excitedly.  "When I first saw him his head and face were those of a
+wolf, but the next time they were those of a man, and so I thought I
+must have dreamed the wolf part.  I wonder how he manages it, and I
+wish I knew how he produces those lightning flashes.  If this were a
+more civilised part of the world I should say that they resulted from
+electricity--but of course that couldn't be away off here in the
+wilderness.  I asked him about them but got no answer."
+
+"Have you, then, seen and spoken with him?" asked the missionary.
+
+"Of course we have seen him, for he spent last night in this very
+cabin, and we have spoken to him, though not with him, for he is dumb."
+
+"I envy you the privilege of having met him, and am greatly relieved to
+learn that he is so wholly human; for the natives regard him as either
+a god or a devil, I can't tell which, and ascribe to him superhuman
+powers.  He has righted many a wrong, punished many an evil-doer, saved
+many a poor soul from starvation, and performed innumerable deeds of
+kindness.  He dares everything and seems able to do anything.  He is at
+once the guardian angel and the terror of this region, and, on the
+whole, I doubt if there is in all the world to-day a more remarkable
+being than the man-wolf of Labrador."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+GOOD-BYE TO THE "SEA BEE."
+
+White Baldwin was of course interested in this talk of the man-wolf,
+but he was, at the same time, anxious to hear what the new-comer had to
+say concerning the cargo of provisions for which he had so long sought
+a purchaser.  His heart beat high with the hope of a speedy return to
+his home and its loved ones; for he had already planned to leave the
+"Sea Bee" where she was until the following season.  In case he could
+dispose of her cargo, he would insist that transportation and a
+guide--at least as far as Indian Harbour--should form part of the
+bargain.  From Indian Harbour they would surely find some way of
+continuing the journey.  He might even reach home by Christmas!
+Wouldn't it be great if he could, and if, at the same time, he could
+carry with him enough money to relieve all present anxieties?  Perhaps
+he might even be able to take his mother and Cola to St. Johns for a
+long visit.  Of course Cabot would accompany them, for with the
+warships all gone south for the winter there would be no danger of
+arrest, and then he would find out what a splendid city the capital of
+Newfoundland really was.  Oh! if they could only start at once; but of
+course there were certain preliminaries to be settled first, and the
+sooner they got at them the better.
+
+Thus thinking, White took advantage of a pause in the conversation to
+remark: "What a very fortunate thing it is that you who want to
+purchase provisions and we who have them for sale should come together
+in this remarkable fashion."
+
+"It is so fortunate and so remarkable that I must regard it as a
+distinct leading of the Divine Providence that knows our every need and
+guides our halting footsteps," replied the missionary.
+
+"And do you think," continued the young trader anxiously, "that you
+want our entire cargo?"
+
+"I am sure of it; and even then we may be put on short rations before
+the winter is ended, for there are many to be fed."
+
+With this opening the conversation drifted so easily into business
+details that, before the occupants of the cabin turned in for the
+night, everything had been arranged.  White had been somewhat
+disappointed when the missionary said that, having no funds in St.
+Johns, he would be obliged to give a sight draft on New York in payment
+for the goods.  This slight annoyance was, however, speedily smoothed
+away by Cabot, who offered to cash the draft immediately upon their
+arrival in St. Johns, where, he said, he had ample funds for the
+purpose.  It was also agreed that our lads should be provided with fur
+clothing, snowshoes, a dog sledge, and a guide as far as Indian
+Harbour.  In addition to taking the cargo of the "Sea Bee," the
+missionary proposed to purchase the schooner itself, at a sum much less
+than her real value, but one that constituted a very fair offer under
+the circumstances.
+
+White hesitated over this proposition, but finally accepted it upon
+condition that at any time during the following summer he should be
+allowed to buy the schooner back at the same price he now received for
+her.
+
+"Isn't it fine," he whispered to Cabot, after all hands had sought
+their bunks, "to think that our venture has turned out so splendidly
+after all?"
+
+"Fine is no name for it," rejoined the other.  "But I do hope we will
+have the chance of meeting Mr. Homolupus once more and of thanking him
+for what he has done.  We owe so much to him that, man-wolf or no
+man-wolf, I consider him a splendid fellow."
+
+In spite of their impatience to start southwards, our lads were still
+compelled to spend two weeks longer at Locked Harbour.  First the
+missionary was obliged to make a visit to his station, and, on his
+return, the snow was not in condition for a long sledge journey.
+Furious winds had piled it into drifts, with intervening spaces of bare
+ground, over which sledge travel would be impossible.  So they must
+wait until the autumnal storms were over and winter had settled down in
+earnest.  But, impatient as they were, time no longer hung heavily on
+their hands, nor did they now regard their place of abode as a prison.
+Its solitude and dreariness had fled before the advent of half a
+hundred Eskimo--short, squarely built men, moon-faced women, and
+roly-poly children, looking like animated balls of fur, all of whom had
+been brought from the mission to form a settlement on the beach.  It
+was easier to bring them to the Heaven-sent provisions that were to
+keep them until spring than it would have been to transport the heavy
+barrels of flour and pork to the mission.  At the same time, they could
+protect the schooner from depredations by other wandering natives.
+
+So they came, bag and baggage, babies, dogs, and all, and at once set
+to work constructing snug habitations, in which, with plenty of food
+and plenty of seal oil, they could live happily and comfortably during
+the long winter months.  These structures were neither large nor
+elegant.  In fact they were only hovels sunk half underground, with low
+stone walls, supporting roofs of whale ribs, covered thick with earth.
+A little later they would be buried beneath warm, shapeless mounds of
+snow.  To most of them outside light and air could only be admitted
+through the low doorways, but one, more pretentious than the others,
+was provided with an old window sash, in which the place of missing
+panes was filled by dried intestines tightly stretched.  In every hovel
+a stone lamp filled with seal oil burned night and day, furnishing
+light, warmth, and the heat for melting ice into drinking water,
+boiling tea, drying wet mittens, and doing the family cooking.
+
+Cabot and White were immensely interested in watching the construction
+of these primitive Labrador homes.  They were also amazed at the
+readiness with which the natives made themselves snugly safe and
+comfortable, in a place where they had despaired of keeping alive.
+Besides watching the Eskimo prepare for the winter and picking up many
+words of their language, Cabot took daily lessons in snowshoeing and
+the management of dog teams, in both of which arts White was already an
+adept.
+
+According to contract, both lads had been provided with complete
+outfits for Arctic travel, including fur clothing, boots, and sleeping
+bags.  A sledge with a fine team of dogs had also been placed at their
+disposal, and an intelligent young Eskimo, who could speak some
+English, was ready to guide them on their southward journey.  He was
+introduced to his future travelling companions as Ildlat-Netschillik,
+whereupon Cabot remarked:
+
+"That is an elegant name for special occasions, such as might occur
+once or twice in a lifetime, but seems to me something less ornamental,
+like 'Jim,' for instance, would be better for everyday use.  I wonder
+if he would mind being called Jim?"
+
+On being asked this question the young Eskimo, grinning broadly, said:
+
+"A' yite.  Yim plenty goot," and afterwards he always answered promptly
+and cheerfully to the name of "Yim."
+
+[Illustration: "Yim."]
+
+At length snow fell for several days almost without intermission.  Then
+a fierce wind took it in hand, kneading it, packing it, and stuffing it
+into every crack and cranny of the landscape until hollows were filled,
+ridges were nicely rounded, and rocks had disappeared.  In the
+meantime, strong white bridges had been thrown across lake and stream,
+and the great Labrador highway for winter travel was formally opened to
+the public.
+
+November was well advanced, and our lads had been prisoners in Locked
+Harbour for more than two months when this way of escape was opened to
+them.  It had been decided that they should take a single large sledge,
+having broad runners, and a double team of dogs--ten in all.  On this,
+therefore, was finally lashed a great load of provisions, frozen walrus
+meat for dog food, sleeping bags, the three all-important cooking
+utensils of the wilderness--kettle, fry-pan, and teapot--an axe, and
+Cabot's bag of specimens.  With this outfit Yim was to conduct them
+over the first half of their 400-mile journey, or to Indian Harbour,
+where, through a letter from the missionary, they expected to procure a
+fresh team, renew their supply of provisions, and obtain another guide,
+who should go with them to Battle Harbour.
+
+When the time for starting arrived, the entire population of the new
+settlement turned out to see them off and help get their heavily laden
+sledge up the steep ascent from the beach.  At the crest of the bluffs
+the men fired a parting salute from their smooth-bore guns, the women
+and children uttered shrill cries of farewell, and the missionary gave
+them his final blessing, Yim cracked his eighteen-foot whiplash like a
+pistol shot, shouted to his dogs, and the yelping team sprang forward.
+Our lads gave a fond backward glance at their loved schooner, so far
+below them that she looked like a toy boat, and then, with hearts too
+full for words, they faced the vast white wilderness outspread like a
+frozen sea before them.
+
+All that day they pushed steadily forward almost without a pause,
+holding a westerly course to pass around a deep fiord that penetrated
+far inland, and might not yet be crossed with safety.  Yim ran beside
+his straining dogs, encouraging the laggards with whip and voice; White
+led the way and broke the trail, while Cabot brought up the rear and
+helped the sledge over difficult places.
+
+For several hours they followed the signal line with its fluttering
+flags, and felt that they were still on familiar ground.  At length
+even these were left behind, and for three hours longer they plodded
+sturdily forward, guided only by Yim's unerring instinct.  Then the
+short day came to an end and night descended with a chill breath of
+bitter winds.  Cabot was nearly exhausted, and even White was painfully
+weary, but both had been buoyed up by a hope that they might reach
+timber and have abundant firewood for their first camp.  Now, when Yim,
+throwing down his whip and giving his dogs the command to halt, calmly
+announced that they would make camp where they were, both lads looked
+at him in dismay.
+
+"We surely can't camp here in the snow without a fire or any kind of
+shelter!" exclaimed Cabot.  "Why, man, we'll be frozen stiff long
+before morning."
+
+"A' yite.  Me fix um.  You see," responded Yim, cheerfully.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE COMFORT OF AN ESKIMO LAMP.
+
+In that dreary waste of snow, unrelieved so far as the eye could reach
+by so much as a single bush, the making of a camp that should contain
+even the rudiments of comfort seemed as hopeless to White, who had
+always been accustomed to a timbered country, as it did to Cabot, who
+knew nothing of real camp life, and had only played at camping in the
+Adirondacks.  Left to their own devices, they would have passed a most
+uncomfortable if not a perilous night, for the mercury stood at many
+degrees below zero.  But they had Yim with them, and he, being
+perfectly at home amid all that desolation, was determined to enjoy all
+the home comforts it could be made to yield.
+
+First he marked out a circular space some twelve feet in diameter, from
+which he bade his companions excavate the snow with their snowshoes,
+and throw it out on the windward side.  While they were doing this he
+went a short distance away, and, from a mass of closely compacted snow,
+carved out with his knife a number of blocks, as large as could be
+handled without breaking, to each of which he gave a slight curve.
+With time enough Yim could have constructed from such slabs a perfect
+igloo or snow hut, but the fading daylight was very precious, and he
+did not consider that the cold was yet sufficiently severe to demand a
+complete enclosure.  So he merely built a low, hood-like structure on
+the windward side of the space the others had cleared.  One side of
+this was still further extended by the sledge, relieved of its load and
+set on edge.
+
+The precious provisions were placed inside the rude shelter, the
+sleeping bags covered its floor, and, when all was completed, Yim
+surveyed his work with great satisfaction.
+
+"It is pretty good so far as it goes," admitted.  White, dubiously,
+"but I don't see how we are to get along without at least enough fire
+to boil a pot of tea, and of course we can't have a fire without wood."
+
+"That's so," agreed Cabot, shivering.
+
+Yim only smiled knowingly as he groped among the miscellaneous articles
+piled at the back of the hut.  From them he finally drew forth a
+shallow soapstone bowl having one straight side about six inches long.
+It was shaped something like a clam shell, and was a specimen of the
+world-famed Eskimo cooking lamp.  He also produced a bladder full of
+seal oil.
+
+"Good enough!" cried Cabot.  "Yim has remembered to bring along his
+travelling cook stove."
+
+Setting the lamp in the most sheltered corner of the hut, Yim filled it
+with oil, and then, drawing forth a pouch that hung from his neck, he
+produced a wick made of sphagnum moss previously dried, rolled, and
+oiled.  This he laid carefully along the straight side of the lamp.
+Then, turning to Cabot, he uttered the single word: "Metches."
+
+"Great Scott!" exclaimed the young engineer, "I forgot to bring any.
+But of course you must have some, White."
+
+"No, I haven't.  Matches were among the things you were to look after,
+and so I never gave them a thought."
+
+The spirits of the lads, raised to a high pitch of expectation by the
+sight of Yim's lamp, suddenly sank to zero with the discovery that they
+had no means for lighting it.  Yim, however, only smiled at their
+dismay.  Of course he had long since learned the use of matches, and to
+appreciate them at their full value; but he also knew how to produce
+fire without their aid in the simplest manner ever devised by primitive
+man.  It is the friction method of rubbing wood against wood, and, in
+one form or another, is used all over the world.  It was known to the
+most ancient Egyptians, and is practised to-day by natives of the
+Amazon valley, dwellers on South Pacific islands, inhabitants of Polar
+regions, Indians of North America, and the negroes of Central Africa.
+These widely scattered peoples use various models of wooden drills,
+ploughs, or saws.  But Yim's method is the simplest of all.  When he
+saw that no matches were forthcoming, he said:
+
+"A' yite.  Me fix um."  At the same time he produced two pieces of soft
+wood from some hiding place in his garments.  One of these, known as
+the "spindle," was a stick about two feet long by three-quarters of an
+inch in diameter and having a rounded point.  The other, called the
+"hearth," was flat, about eighteen inches in length, half an inch
+thick, and three inches wide.  On its upper surface, close to one edge,
+were several slight cavities, each just large enough to hold the
+rounded end of the spindle, and from each was cut a narrow slot down
+the side of the hearth.  This slot is an indispensable feature, and
+without it all efforts to produce fire by wood-friction must fail.
+
+Laying the hearth on the flat side of a sledge runner and kneeling on
+it to hold it firmly in position, Yim set the rounded end of his
+spindle in one of its depressions, and holding the upper end between
+the palms of his hands, began to twirl it rapidly, at the same time
+exerting all possible downward pressure.  As his hands moved towards
+the lower end of the spindle he dexterously shifted them back to the
+top, without lifting it or allowing air to get under its lower end.
+
+With the continuation of the twirling process a tiny stream of wood
+meal, ground off by friction, poured through the slot at the side of
+the hearth, and accumulated in a little pile, that all at once began to
+smoke.  In two seconds more it was a glowing coal of fire.  Then Yim
+dropped his spindle, covered the coal with a bit of tinder previously
+made ready, and blew it into a flame, which he deftly transferred to
+the wick of his lamp.
+
+At sight of the first spiral of smoke our lads had been filled with
+amazement.  As the coal began to glow they uttered exclamations of
+delight, and when the actual flame appeared they broke into such
+enthusiastic cheering as set all the dogs to barking in sympathy.
+
+"It is one of the most wonderful things I ever saw," cried Cabot.
+"I've often read of fire being produced by wood friction, and I have
+tried it lots of times myself, but as I never could raise even a smoke,
+and never before met any one who could, I decided that it was all a
+fake got up by story writers."
+
+"I was rather doubtful about it myself," admitted White.  "But, I say!
+Isn't that a great lamp, and doesn't it make things look cheery?"
+
+White's approval of "Yim's cook stove," as Cabot called it, was well
+merited, for its five inches of blazing wick yielded as much light and
+twice the heat of a first-class kerosene lamp.  Over it Yim had already
+suspended a kettle full of snow, and now he laid a slab of frozen pork
+close beside it to be thawed out.
+
+While waiting for these he fed the dogs, who had been watching him with
+wistful eyes and impatient yelpings.  To each he threw a two-pound
+chunk of frozen walrus meat, and each devoured his portion with such
+ravenous rapidity that Cabot declared they swallowed them whole.
+
+Half an hour after the lamp was lighted it had converted enough snow
+into boiling water to provide three steaming cups of tea, and while our
+lads sipped at these Yim cut slices of thawed pork, laid them in the
+fry-pan, and holding this over his lamp soon had them sizzling and
+browning in the most appetising manner.  This, with tea and ship
+biscuit, constituted their supper.
+
+When Yim no longer needed his lamp for cooking he removed two-thirds of
+its wick and allowed the flame thus reduced to burn all night.  Over it
+hung a kettle of melting snow, and above this, on a snowshoe, supported
+by two others, wet mittens and moccasins were slowly but thoroughly
+dried.
+
+In spite of the hot tea, their fur-lined sleeping bags, and the
+effective wind-break behind which they were huddled, our lads suffered
+with cold long before the night was over, and were quite willing to
+make a start when Yim, after a glance at the stars, announced that
+daylight was only three hours away.  For breakfast they had more
+scalding tea and a quantity of hard bread, broken into small bits,
+soaked in warm water, fried in seal oil, and eaten with sugar.  White
+pronounced this fine, but Cabot only ate it under protest, because, as
+he said, he must fill up with something.
+
+The travel of that day, with its accompaniments of blisters and
+strained muscles, was much harder than that of the day before, and our
+weary lads were thankful when, towards its close, they entered a belt
+of timber that had been in sight for hours.
+
+That night they slept warmly and soundly on luxurious beds of spruce
+boughs beside a great fire frequently replenished by Yim.
+
+"I tell you what," said Cabot, as, early in the evening, he basked in
+the heat of this blaze, "there's nothing in all this world so good as
+that.  For my part I consider fire to be the greatest blessing ever
+conferred upon mankind."
+
+"How about light, air, water, food, and sleep?" asked White.
+
+"Those are necessaries, but fire is a luxury.  Not only that, but it is
+the first of all luxuries and the one upon which nearly all others
+depend."
+
+When, a little later, Cabot lay so close to the blaze that his sleeping
+bag caught on fire, and he burned his hands in putting it out, White
+laughingly asked:
+
+"What do you think of your luxury now?"
+
+"I think," was the reply, "that it proves itself the greatest of
+luxuries by punishing over-indulgence in it with the greatest amount of
+pain."
+
+"Umph!" remarked Yim, who was listening, "Big fire, goot.  Baby fire,
+more goot.  Innuit yamp mos' goot of any."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" retorted Cabot, "your sooty little lamp isn't in it with a
+blaze like that."
+
+On the third day of their journey the party had skirted the edge of the
+timber for several hours, when all at once Yim held his head high with
+dilated nostrils.  At the same time it was noticed that the dogs were
+also sniffing eagerly.
+
+"What is it, Yim?"
+
+"Fire.  Injin fire," was the reply.
+
+"I'd like to know how you can tell an Indian fire from any other," said
+Cabot.  "Especially when it is so far away that I can't smell anything
+but cold air."
+
+But Yim was right, for, after a while, his companions also smelled
+smoke, and a little later the yelping of their dogs was answered by
+shrill cries from within the timber.  Suddenly two tattered scarecrows
+of children emerged from the thick growth, stared for an instant, and
+then, with terrified expressions, darted back like frightened rabbits.
+
+"The Arsenic kids!" cried Cabot, who had recognised them.  "Now I'll
+catch that scoundrel."  As he spoke he sprang after the children, and
+was instantly lost to view in the low timber.
+
+"Hold on!" shouted White.  "You'll run into an ambush."
+
+But Cabot, crashing through the undergrowth, failed to hear the
+warning, and with the loyalty of true friendship White started after
+him.  A minute later he overtook his impulsive comrade standing still
+and gazing irresolute at a canvas tent, black with age and smoke, and
+patched in many places.  It stood on the edge of a small lake, and
+showed no sign of occupancy save a slender curl of smoke that drifted
+from a vent hole in its apex.
+
+"Get behind cover," cried White.  "They may take a pot shot at any
+moment."
+
+"I don't believe it," replied Cabot.  "Any way, I'm bound to see what's
+inside."
+
+Thus saying he stepped forward and lifted the dingy flap.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+OBJECTS OF CHARITY.
+
+While Cabot felt very bitter against the young Indian whom he had named
+"Arsenic," on account of the base ingratitude with which the latter had
+repaid the kindness shown him, and was determined to punish him for it
+in some way, he had not the slightest idea what form the punishment
+would take.  Of course he did not intend to kill Arsenic, nor even to
+severely injure him, but he had thought of giving the rascal a sound
+thrashing, and only hoped he could make him understand what it was for.
+In the excitement of the past two weeks he had forgotten all about
+Arsenic, but the sight of those ragged children had awakened his
+animosity, and he had followed them, hoping that they would lead him to
+the object of his just wrath.  It was only when he reached the
+sorry-looking tent that he remembered the other savages whom Arsenic
+had brought with him on his second visit to the schooner, and wondered
+if some of them might not be concealed behind the canvas screen ready
+to spring upon him.
+
+With this thought he stepped nimbly to one side as he threw open the
+flap, and stood for a moment waiting for what might happen.  There was
+no rush of men and no sound, save only a faint cry of terror, hearing
+which Cabot peered cautiously around the edge of the opening.
+
+A poor little fire of sticks smouldered on the ground in the middle,
+filling the place with a pungent smoke.  Through this Cabot could at
+first make out only a confused huddle at one side, from which several
+pairs of eyes glared at him like those of wild beasts.  As he entered
+the tent a human figure detached itself from this and strove to rise,
+but fell back weakly helpless.  In another moment a closer view
+disclosed to Cabot the whole dreadful situation.  The huddle resolved
+itself into a woman, hollow-cheeked and gaunt with sickness and hunger,
+two children in slightly better plight, and a little dead baby.  There
+was no other person in the tent, and it contained no furnishing except
+the heap of boughs, rags, and scraps of fur that passed for a bed, and
+a broken kettle that lay beside the fire.  On the floor were scattered
+a few bones picked clean, from which even the marrow had been
+extracted; but otherwise there was no vestige of food.
+
+"I believe they are starving to death!" cried Cabot, as he made these
+discoveries.
+
+"It certainly looks like it," replied White, who had followed his
+friend into the tent.  "I wonder what they did with all the provisions
+they stole from us."
+
+"Probably they were taken from them in turn to feed those other
+Indians.  At any rate, they are destitute enough now, and we can't
+leave them here to die.  Go and bring Yim with the sled as quick as you
+can, while I wake up this fire."
+
+"All right," replied White, "only I'm afraid he won't come."
+
+"He must come," said Cabot decisively.
+
+The hatred between Eskimo and Indian is so bitter that it took all
+White's powers of persuasion, together with certain threats, to bring
+Yim to the tent, but once there even he was sufficiently roused by its
+spectacle of suffering to bestir himself most actively.
+
+During the next hour, while the starving, half-frozen Indians were
+warmed and fed, the rescuers discussed the situation and what should be
+done.  They could not leave the helpless family as they had found them,
+neither could they carry them away, and it would be folly to remain
+with them longer than was absolutely necessary.  They could not gain a
+word of information from the woman or children as to how they had
+arrived at such a pitiable plight, what they had done with the stolen
+provisions, why their friends had abandoned them, or what had become of
+Arsenic.
+
+"I'll tell you what," said Cabot at length; "we'll provide them with a
+supply of wood and leave all the provisions we can possibly spare.
+Then we will hurry on to Indian Harbour, send back some more provisions
+from there by Yim, and get him to report the case to Mr. Mellins."
+
+As there seemed nothing better to be done, this plan was carried out,
+though dividing the provisions made each portion look woefully small,
+and by noon the sledge was again on its way southward.
+
+The head of the fiord having been reached, the trail now left the
+sheltering timber and struck across an open country, which was also
+extremely rugged, abounding in hills and hollows.  Over these the
+sledge pulled heavily, in spite of its lightened load, because one of
+the ice shoes, with which its runners were shod, had broken and could
+not be repaired until camp was made.
+
+When they had gone about three miles, and while our lads were still
+talking of the suffering they had so recently witnessed, they were
+attracted by an exclamation from Yim, who was pointing eagerly ahead.
+Looking in that direction, they saw a line of dark objects, that had
+just topped a distant ridge, running swiftly towards them.
+
+"Caribou!" shouted White, in great excitement, at the same time seizing
+his rifle from the sledge and hastily removing it from its sealskin
+case.  In another minute sledge and dogs were concealed in a bit of a
+gully, with Cabot to watch them, while Yim and White, lying flat behind
+the crest of a low ridge, were eagerly noting the course of the
+approaching animals.  When it became evident that they would pass at
+some distance on the right, White, crouching low, ran in that direction.
+
+The caribou appeared badly frightened, pausing every few moments to
+face about and cast terrified glances over the way they had come.  All
+at once, during one of these pauses, a shot rang out, followed quickly
+by another, and, as the terrified animals dashed madly away in a new
+direction, one of their number dropped behind, staggered, and fell.
+
+"I've got him!  I've got him!" yelled White, wild with the joy of his
+achievement.
+
+"Hurrah for us!" shouted Cabot.  "Steaks and spare-ribs for supper
+to-night."
+
+"Yip, yip, yip!" screamed Yim to his dogs, and with a jubilant chorus
+of yells and yelpings, the entire outfit streamed over the ridge to the
+place where the unfortunate caribou lay motionless.
+
+In his broken English Yim gave the lads to understand that it would be
+advisable to camp where they were, in order to prepare their meat for
+transportation, and also to mend their broken sledge shoe.  This
+latter, he explained, could be done much better with a mixture of blood
+and snow than with any other available material.  He furthermore
+intimated that he feared they might be overtaken by a blizzard before
+morning, in which case they could best defy it in a regularly built
+igloo.
+
+All these reasons for delay seemed so good that the others accepted
+them, and the work outlined by Yim was immediately begun.  In cutting
+up the caribou, as in building the snow hut, Cabot, from lack of
+experience, could give but slight assistance, and, realising this, he
+made a proposal.
+
+"Look here," he said.  "The wood we have brought along won't last long
+and I want a good fire to-night.  I also want to carry some of this
+meat to those poor wretches we have just left.  We have got more than
+we can take with us, anyhow.  So I am going back with a leg of venison,
+and on my return I'll bring all the wood I can pack."
+
+"But you might lose the way," objected White.
+
+"No one could lose so plain a trail as the one we have just made,"
+replied Cabot, scornfully.
+
+"Suppose it should be dark before you got back?"
+
+"There will be three hours of daylight yet, and I won't be gone more
+than two at the most.  Anyhow, I must get some of this meat to those
+starving children."
+
+White's protests were ineffectual before Cabot's strong resolve, and,
+as soon as a forequarter of the caribou could be made ready, the latter
+get forth on his errand of mercy.  Although he had no difficulty in
+finding the trail, it was so much harder to walk with a heavy load than
+it had been without one that a full hour had passed before he again
+came within sight of the lonely tent in the forest.
+
+One of the children who was outside spied him and announced his coming,
+so that when he entered the tent he again found a frightened group
+huddled together and apprehensively awaiting him.  But they were
+stronger now, and the children uttered little squeals of joy at sight
+of the meat he had brought, while even the haggard face of their mother
+was lighted by a fleeting smile.
+
+For the pleasure of seeing the children eat Cabot toasted a few strips
+of venison over the coals, and these smelled so good that he cut off
+some more for himself.  In this occupation he spent another hour
+without realising the flight of time, and had eaten a quantity of meat
+that he would have deemed impossible had it all been placed before him
+at once.
+
+As he was bending over the fire toasting a strip that he said to
+himself should be the last, a slight cry from one of the children
+caused him to look up.  He barely caught a glimpse of a face at the
+entrance as it was hastily withdrawn, but in that moment he recognised
+the features of Arsenic.  At sight of the ill-favoured young Indian all
+of Cabot's former resentment flamed up, and springing to his feet he
+dashed from the tent, determined to give Arsenic the thrashing he
+deserved.
+
+Of course Cabot had removed his snowshoes, but, as the young Indian had
+done the same thing, both were compelled to readjust these
+all-important articles, without which they would have floundered
+helplessly in the deep snow.
+
+Arsenic was off first, and though Cabot chased him hotly he could not
+overcome the advantage thus gained.  Being also much less expert in the
+management of snowshoes, he tripped several times, and finally pitched
+headlong.  When he next regained his feet Arsenic had disappeared in
+the timber, and our lad realised the futility of a further pursuit.
+Now, too, he noticed that the sky had become heavily overcast, and that
+a strong wind was soughing ominously through the tree tops.
+
+"It must be later than I thought," he reflected, "and high time for me
+to be getting back to camp."  With this he hastily gathered a bundle of
+sticks to be used as firewood and started, as he supposed, towards the
+open; but so confused was he, and so many turns did he make, that more
+than half an hour was wasted before he finally emerged from the timber.
+Here he was dismayed to find that snow was falling, or rather being
+driven in straight lines by the wind, which had increased to the force
+of a gale.
+
+"I've got to hump myself to reach camp before dark, but I'll make it
+all right," he remarked to himself, as he set forth across the white
+plain.
+
+He took a diagonal course that he hoped would lead him to the trail,
+but by the time all landmarks were obliterated by the descending night
+he had failed to find it.  In looking back he could not even
+distinguish the timber line from which he had come.  Then the awful
+conviction slowly forced itself upon him that he was lost in a
+trackless wilderness, swept by the first fury of an Arctic blizzard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+LOST IN A BLIZZARD.
+
+So numbed was our poor lad by the shock of his discovery that, for a
+few moments, he stood motionless.  Of course it would be of no use to
+continue his hopeless struggle.  Even if he had come in the right
+direction he must ere this have passed the place where his companions
+were encamped.  If he could only regain the timber there might be a
+slight chance of surviving the night; but even its location was lost to
+him, and a certain death stared him in the face.  At any rate it would
+be a painless ending, for he had only to lie down to be quickly covered
+by a soft blanket of snow.  Then he could go to sleep never again to
+waken.  He was very weary, and already so drowsy that the thought of
+sleep was pleasant to him.  Such a death would certainly not be so
+terrible as drowning after a hopeless struggle with black waters.
+
+With this thought every incident of that awful night after the loss of
+the "Lavinia" flashed into his mind.  How utterly hopeless had seemed
+his situation then and how desperately he had fought for his life.  But
+he had fought, and had won the fight.  What was the use of learning a
+lesson of that kind if he could not profit by it?  Was not his life as
+well worth fighting for now as then?  Of course it was; nor was his
+present position any more hopeless than that one had been.  Then he had
+drifted with the wind, and now he would do the same thing.  If he could
+hold out long enough he would fetch up somewhere sometime.  It was
+merely a question of endurance.  Even in that howling wilderness, with
+death on all sides, there were still three chances for life.  The drift
+with the wind might take him to the igloo that Yim must have built ere
+this.  How bright, and warm, and cosey its lamplighted interior would
+be.  How glad they would be to see him, and how he would laugh at all
+his recent fears.  But of course there was not one chance in a million
+of his finding the igloo.  It was not at all unlikely, though, that the
+drift might take him to a belt of timber, into which the bitter wind
+could not penetrate; and where he could crawl under the thick,
+low-hanging branches of some tent-like spruce.  Even such a shelter now
+seemed very desirable, and would be accepted with thankfulness.  If he
+failed to reach timber, the wind might blow him to some region of
+cliffs and rocks that would shelter him from its cutting blasts.  If he
+missed all these chances, and if worse came to worst, he could always
+go to sleep beneath the snow blanket, and it would be better to do that
+with the consciousness of having made a good fight than to yield now
+like a coward.
+
+All these thoughts flashed through Cabot's mind within the space of a
+minute, and, having determined to fight until the battle was either won
+or lost, he flung away his now useless burden of firewood and started
+off down the wind.  Tramping through that newly fallen snow, even with
+the support of racquets, was exhausting work, but the effort at least
+kept him warm, and, before he came to the end of his strength, some
+hours later, he had covered a number of miles.  He had also come to the
+least promising of the three places he had hoped for, and found himself
+in a region of cliffs, precipices, and huge rocks, among which he could
+no longer make headway, even though he had not reached the limit of
+endurance.
+
+But he had reached that limit, and now only sought a spot in which he
+might lie down and go to sleep.  Of course the snow would quickly cover
+him, and doubtless he would be buried deep ere the fury of the storm
+was past.  But he had a vague plan for putting his snowshoes over his
+head like an inverted V, and hoped in that way to be kept from
+smothering.  At the same time he had little thought that he should ever
+see the light of another day.
+
+"Only a bit further and then I can rest," he muttered, as he pushed
+into the blackness of a rift between two tall cliffs, and experienced a
+partial relief from the furious wind.  It seemed as though he ought to
+penetrate this as far as possible, and so he struggled weakly forward.
+Then he stumbled over something that lay across his path and fell
+heavily.  As he lay wondering whether an attempt to regain his feet
+would be worth while, he seemed to hear the distant but strenuous
+ringing of an electric bell, and almost smiled at the absurdity of such
+a fancy in such a place.  The thought carried him back to the
+electrical laboratory of the Institute, and he began to dream that he
+was still a student of ohms, volts, and amperes.
+
+In another moment his consciousness would have been wholly merged in
+dreams, but suddenly the place where he lay was filled with a blaze of
+light that apparently streamed from the solid rock on either side.  So
+intense was this light that it penetrated even Cabot's closed eyes, and
+aroused him from the stupor into which he had fallen.  He lifted his
+head, and, still bewildered, wondered why the laboratory was so
+brilliantly illuminated.
+
+Then, through the glare, he saw the driving snow-flakes with their
+dancing shadows magnified a hundred fold, and, all at once, he
+remembered.  Staggering to his feet, and groping with outstretched
+arms, he pushed forward along the narrow pathway outlined by the
+mysterious light.  He no longer heard the sound of bells, but in its
+place came strains of music that blended weirdly with the shrieking
+wind, and irresistibly compelled him forward.  The pathway sloped
+downward and then took a sharp turn.  As Cabot passed this the light
+behind him was extinguished as suddenly as it had appeared, the wild
+music sounded louder than ever, and directly in front of him gleamed
+two squares of light like windows.  Between them was a dark space,
+towards which he instinctively stumbled.  It proved to be as he had
+hoped, a door massive and without any means of unclosing that his blind
+fumblings could discover.  So he beat against it feebly and uttered a
+hoarse cry for help.  In another moment it was opened, and Cabot,
+leaning heavily against it, fell into a room, small, warm, and brightly
+lighted.
+
+For a few minutes he lay with closed eyes, barely conscious that his
+struggle for life had been successful, and that in some mysterious
+manner he had gained a place of safety.  Gradually he became aware that
+some one was bending over him, and opening his eyes he gazed full into
+a face that he instantly recognised, though it had sadly changed since
+he last saw it.  At that time it had expressed strength in every line,
+but now it was haggard and worn by suffering.
+
+"The Man-wolf!" gasped Cabot, in a voice hardly above a whisper.
+
+A slight smile flitted across the man's face, and then, without
+warning, he sank to the floor in a dead faint.  His mighty strength had
+been turned to the weakness of water, and the iron will had at length
+relaxed its hold upon the enfeebled body.  As the man-wolf fell, a
+stream of blood trickled from his mouth, and he choked for breath as
+though strangling.
+
+There is nothing so effective in restoring spent strength as a demand
+upon it from one who is weaker, and at sight of the big man's
+helplessness Cabot was instantly nerved to renewed effort.  He sat up,
+cut loose his snowshoes, closed the open door, and rid himself of his
+snow-laden outer garments.  Then, by a supreme effort, he managed to
+drag the unconscious man to a bed that was piled with robes and lean
+him against it.  His eyes had already lighted on a jug of water, and
+fetching this he bathed the sufferer's face, washed the blood from his
+mouth, and finally had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes unclose.
+Then he helped him on to the bed, and though during the operation the
+man's face expressed the most intense pain, he uttered no sound.  But
+the movement was accompanied by another hemorrhage, so severe that it
+seemed to our distressed lad as though the man must surely bleed to
+death before it was checked.  When it finally ceased the exhausted
+sufferer dropped asleep, and, for the first time since entering that
+place of mysteries, Cabot found an opportunity for looking about him.
+
+Although the room was small it was comfortably furnished with a table,
+chairs--one of which was a rocker--a lounge, and the bed on which the
+man-wolf lay.  There were no windows nor doors except those in front.
+The ceiling was of heavy canvas tightly stretched, while the walls were
+hung with the skins of fur-bearing animals, and the floor was covered
+with rugs of the same material.  At first Cabot paid no attention to
+these details, for his eyes were fixed upon the most astonishing thing
+he had seen in all Labrador.  It was a lamp that, depending from the
+ceiling, gave to the room an illumination as brilliant as daylight.
+
+"Electric, as I live!" gasped the young engineer.  "A regular
+incandescent, and those lights out on the trail must have been the
+same.  That was an electric bell too.  I know it now, though I couldn't
+believe my ears at the time.  The light he scared the Indians with must
+have been an electric flash, worked by a storage battery.  But it is
+all so incredible!  I wonder if I am really awake or still dreaming?"
+
+To assure himself on this point Cabot went to the light, and, as he did
+so, came upon another surprise greater than any that had preceded it.
+He had wondered at the comfortable temperature of the room, for there
+was nowhere a fire to be seen, and the blizzard still howled outside
+with unabated fury.  Now, on drawing near to the lamp, he found himself
+also approaching some heretofore unobserved source of heat, which he
+discovered to be a drum of sheet iron.  It stood by itself, unconnected
+with any chimney, and apparently had no receptacle for any form of
+fuel, solid, liquid, or gaseous.
+
+"A Balfour electric heater," murmured Cabot, in an awe-stricken tone,
+"and I didn't even know they had been perfected.  I don't suppose there
+are half-a-dozen in use in all the world, and yet here is one of them
+doing its full duty up here in the Labrador wilderness, a thousand
+miles from anywhere.  It is fully equal to any tale of the Arabian
+Nights, and Mr. Homolupus must, as the natives say, be either a god or
+a devil.  I do wonder who he is, where he came from, what has happened
+to him, where he gets his electricity, and a thousand other things.  I
+wish he would wake up, and I wish he could talk."
+
+Cabot's curiosity concerning the weird music that had drawn him to that
+place had been partially satisfied by the discovery of a violin on the
+floor beside the sick man's bed.  Now, as he flung himself wearily down
+on the lounge for a bit of rest, he became conscious of the muffled
+b-r-r-r of a dynamo.  That accounted in a measure for the electric
+lights, but still left our lad in a daze of wonder at the nature of his
+surroundings.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
+
+When Cabot threw himself down on that lounge he fully intended to
+remain awake, or at most to take only a series of short naps, always
+holding himself in readiness to assist the sufferer on the opposite
+side of the room.  But exhausted nature proved too much for his good
+intentions, and he had hardly lain down before he fell into a dead,
+dreamless sleep that lasted for many hours.  When he next awoke it was
+with a start, and he sat up bewildered by the strangeness of his
+environment.  Daylight was streaming in at the frost-covered windows
+and the storm of the night before had evidently spent its fury.
+
+Almost the first thing he saw was the tall form of his host bending
+feebly over the electric stove.  His face was drawn with pain, and he
+was so weak that he was compelled to support himself by grasping the
+table with one hand while with the other he stirred the contents of a
+simmering kettle.
+
+"Let me do that, sir!" cried Cabot, springing to his feet.  "You are
+not fit to be out of your bed, and I am perfectly familiar with the
+management of electrical cooking apparatus, though I don't know much
+about cooking itself."
+
+The man hesitated a moment, and then permitted the other to lead him
+back to his bed, on which he sank with a groan.  Here Cabot made him as
+comfortable as possible before turning his attention to the stove.  On
+it he found two kettles, each having its own wire connections, in one
+of which was boiling water while the other contained a meat stew.  On
+the table was a box of tea, a bowl of sugar, and a plate heaped with
+hard bread.  Finding other dishes in a cupboard, Cabot made a pot of
+tea, turned off the electric current, and served breakfast.  Before
+eating a mouthful himself he prepared a bowl of broth for his patient,
+which the latter managed to swallow after many attempts and painful
+effort.
+
+Cabot ate ravenously, and, after his meal, felt once more ready to face
+any number of difficulties.  First he went to the bedside of his host
+and said:
+
+"Now, Mr. Homolupus, I want to find out what is the trouble and what I
+can do for you.  Are you wounded, or just naturally ill?"
+
+The man looked at his questioner for a moment, as though he were on the
+point of speaking.  Then he seemed to change his mind, and, reaching
+for a pencil and pad that lay close at hand, he wrote:
+
+"I am shot in the chest."
+
+"Who--I mean how----" began Cabot, and then, realising that his
+curiosity could well wait, he added: "But, with your permission, I will
+examine the wound and see if there is anything I can do."
+
+With this he sought and gently removed a blood-soaked bandage, thereby
+disclosing a sight so ghastly that it almost unnerved him.  The wound
+was so terrible, and the loss of blood from it had evidently been so
+great, that how even the giant frame of the man-wolf could have
+survived it was amazing.  Having no knowledge of surgery, Cabot could
+only bathe and rebandage it.  Then he said:
+
+"Now, I am going to be your nurse, and you must lie perfectly still
+without attempting to get up again until I give you leave."
+
+Seeing an expression of dissent in the man's face, he continued:
+
+"It's all right.  I am under the greatest of obligations to you, and am
+only too glad of a chance to pay some of it back.  So I shall stay
+right here just as long as you need me.  Fortunately I know something
+about both electricity and machinery, having been educated at a
+technical institute, so that I shall be able to manage very well with
+your plant.  But I do wish you could explain a few things to me.  Is
+your name really 'Homolupus'?"
+
+The sufferer smiled and wrote on his pad:
+
+"My name is Watson Balfour."
+
+[Illustration: "My name is Watson Balfour."]
+
+"Of London?" queried Cabot.
+
+The man nodded.
+
+"Is it possible that you can be Watson Balfour, the celebrated English
+electrician, who is supposed to have been lost at sea some years ago?"
+
+Again the man smiled and made a sign of assent.
+
+For a moment Cabot stared, well nigh speechless with the wonder and
+excitement of this discovery.  Then he broke into a torrent of
+exclamations and questions.
+
+"Why, Mr. Balfour, I know you so well by reputation that you seem like
+an old friend.  Your 'Handbook of Electricity' and your 'Comparative
+Voltage' are text books at the Institute.  The whole scientific world
+mourned your supposed death.  But how do you happen to be up here, and
+how have you managed to establish an electric plant in this wilderness?
+Why are you masquerading as a man-wolf?  How did you lose the power of
+speech?  How did you become so severely wounded?  Can't you tell me
+some of these things?"
+
+For answer Mr. Balfour wrote: "Perhaps, some time.  Tell first how you
+came here."
+
+So Cabot, forced to curb for the present his own overpowering
+curiosity, sat down and told of all that had happened since the
+departure of the man-wolf from Locked Harbour.  When he had finished he
+said:
+
+"And now, I ought to go outside and see if I can discover any trace of
+my companions, who must be awfully cut up over my disappearance.  But
+don't be uneasy, Mr. Balfour, I shan't go far, and whether I find them
+or not I shall certainly come back to stay just as long as you need me.
+I hope you will sleep while I am gone, and I wish you would promise not
+to leave your bed, or move more than is absolutely necessary, before my
+return."
+
+When Cabot first stepped outside the shelter that had proved such a
+haven of safety to him, he was dazzled by the brilliancy of the day.
+After becoming somewhat accustomed to the glare of sunlight on
+new-fallen snow, he turned to see what sort of a house he had just
+left.  To his surprise there was no house; the only suggestion of one
+being two windows and a door set in a wall of rock that was built at
+the base of a cliff.
+
+"It is a cavern," thought Cabot, "and that is the reason the room is so
+easily kept warm.  Mighty good thing to have in this country,
+especially when it is lined with furs."
+
+The snow lay unbroken, and there was no sign of the trail he had made
+the night before.  For a short distance, however, he could go in but
+one direction, for the only way out was through the narrow defile by
+which he had entered.  At its mouth he found the wire over which he had
+fallen, and thereby given notice of his approach by causing the ringing
+of an electric bell.
+
+"When he heard it he turned on the lights," said Cabot to himself.
+"It's a great scheme for scaring off Indians and attracting white men.
+I wonder if any other person ever found the place?  What a marvellous
+thing my stumbling on it was, anyhow.  Now, which way did I come?"
+
+Gazing blankly at the surrounding chaos of snow-covered rocks, our lad
+could form no idea of the route by which he had been led to that place,
+through the storm and darkness of the preceding night, nor of how he
+might leave it.
+
+"There is no use wandering aimlessly," he decided at length, "and I'll
+either have to gain a bird's-eye view of the country or get Mr. Balfour
+to make me a map.  To think that I should have discovered him, and here
+of all places in the world.  What a sensation it will make when I tell
+of it.  Of course I shall do so, for I'll get out of this fix all right
+somehow.  What a state of mind poor White must be in this morning.  I
+know I should be in his place.  He's all right, though, with Yim to
+pull him through, and they'll make Indian Harbour easy enough.  Then I
+shall be reported lost, and after a while Mr. Hepburn will hear the
+news.  Wonder what he thinks has become of me anyhow?  I am following
+out instructions, and wintering in Labrador fast enough.  Only I don't
+seem to have much time to investigate mining properties, and of course
+it's no use trying to find 'em buried under feet of snow.  Perhaps Mr.
+Balfour has discovered some while roaming around the country as a
+man-wolf.  How absurd to think of 'Voltage' Balfour as a man-wolf!
+Wonder why he did it?  How I wish he could talk!  Wonder why he can't?"
+
+While thus cogitating, Cabot had also been climbing a nearby eminence
+that promised a view of the outlying country, but from it he could see
+nothing save other hills rising still higher and an unbroken waste of
+snow.
+
+"It's no use," he sighed.  "I don't believe I could find them, even if
+I had plenty of time.  As it is, I don't dare stay away from Mr.
+Balfour any longer.  I'm afraid he's a very sick man, with a slim
+chance of ever pulling through."
+
+So Cabot, after an absence of several hours, turned back towards the
+snug shelter so providentially provided for him, and for which he was
+just then more grateful than he could express.  He was thinking of the
+many wonders of the place when he reached its door; but, as he opened
+it and stepped inside the room, he was greeted by a greater surprise
+than he had yet encountered.  Nothing was changed about the interior,
+and the wounded man lay as Cabot had left him, but with the appearance
+of the latter he exclaimed:
+
+"Thank God, dear lad, that you have come back to me!  It seemed as
+though I should go crazy if left alone a minute longer."
+
+Cabot stared in amazement.  "Is it a miracle?" he finally asked, "and
+has your speech been restored to you, or have you been able to speak
+all the time?"
+
+"I have been able, but not willing," was the reply.  "I had thought to
+die without speaking to a human being.  I even avoided my fellows,
+believing myself sufficient unto myself.  But God has punished my
+arrogance and shown me my weakness.  Until you came no stranger has
+ever set foot within this dwelling, to none have I spoken, and not even
+to you did I intend to speak, but with your going my folly became
+plain.  I feared you might never return; the horror of living alone,
+and the greater horror of dying alone, swept over me.  Then I prayed
+for you to come.  I promised to speak as soon as you were within
+hearing.  Every moment since then I have watched for you and longed for
+your coming as a dying man longs for the breath of life.  Promise that
+you will not leave me again."
+
+"I have already promised, and now I repeat, that I will not leave you
+so long as you have need of me," replied Cabot.  "But tell me----"
+
+"I will tell you everything," interrupted the wounded man, "but first
+you must look after the dynamo.  It has stopped, and if you cannot set
+it going again we must both perish."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY.
+
+An accident to the dynamo in that place where there was no fuel, and
+electricity must be depended upon for light and heat, was so serious a
+matter that, for a moment, even Cabot's curiosity concerning his host
+was merged in anxiety.
+
+"Where shall I find it?" he asked.
+
+"In the cavern back of this room.  The doorway is behind that bearskin.
+This upper row of keys connects with the storage battery, and the
+second key controls the lights of the dynamo room.  If there is a bad
+break I can manage to get to it, but I wouldn't try until you came,
+because I promised not to move."
+
+All this was said in a voice that faltered from weakness, and a wave of
+pity surged in Cabot's breast as he realised how dependent upon him
+this man, so recently a mental as well as a physical giant, had become.
+
+"I expect I shall be able to attend to it all right," he said
+decisively, as he turned on the stored current that would light the
+unknown cavern.  "At any rate, I shall be able to report the condition
+of things, so that you can advise me what to do, or else my training is
+a greater failure than I think."
+
+With this he lifted the bearskin, opened a door thus disclosed, and
+found himself in a small, well-lighted cavern that was at once a dynamo
+room, a workshop, and a storehouse for a confused miscellany of
+articles.  Without pausing to investigate any of these he went directly
+to a dynamo that had been set up at one side and examined it carefully.
+It appeared in perfect order, and the trouble must evidently be sought
+elsewhere.
+
+Cabot had wondered by what power the dynamo was driven, and now,
+hearing a sound of running water, he stepped in that direction.  A
+short distance away he discovered a swift-flowing subterranean stream,
+in which revolved a water wheel of rude, but serviceable, construction.
+As nothing seemed wrong with it, he was obliged to look further, and
+finally found the cause of trouble to be a transmitting belt, the
+worn-out lacing of which had parted.  As portions of the belt itself
+had been caught in the pulleys and badly cut, it was necessary to hunt
+through the pile of material for a new one, and for leather suitable
+for lacing.  Then the new belt must be accurately measured, laced
+together, and adjusted to its pulleys.
+
+Although the temperature of the cavern was many degrees above that of
+the outside air, it was still so low that Cabot worked slowly and with
+numbed fingers.  Thus more than an hour had elapsed before the dynamo
+was again in running order, and he was at liberty to return to the
+living room.  In the meantime his curiosity concerning this strange
+place of abode and its mysterious tenant was increased by the
+remarkable collection of articles stored on all sides.  There was no
+end of machinery, tools, and electrical apparatus of all kinds,
+including miles of copper wire and chemicals for charging batteries.
+Besides these, there were ropes, canvas, furniture, boxes, barrels, and
+other things too numerous to mention.
+
+"What a prize this place would have been for the Indians if they had
+ever discovered it," reflected the young engineer.  "I wonder that he
+dared go off and leave it unguarded."
+
+When he finally returned to the outer room, he found it even colder
+than the cavern in which he had been working, and realised, as never
+before, the value of the knowledge that had enabled him to restore the
+usefulness of that electric heater.  After getting it into operation,
+and making his report to the sick man, who had impatiently awaited him,
+there was another meal to prepare.
+
+So, in spite of Cabot's overwhelming desire to hear Mr. Balfour's
+story, there was so much to be done first that the short day had merged
+into another night before the opportunity arrived.  When it came, our
+lad drew a chair to the bedside of his patient and said:
+
+"Now, sir, if you feel able to talk, and are willing to tell me how you
+happen to be living in this place, I shall be more than glad to listen."
+
+"I am willing," replied the other, "but must be brief, since talking
+has become an exertion.  As perhaps you know, I was a working
+electrician in London, where, though I had a good business, I had not
+accumulated much money.  Consequently I was greatly pleased to receive
+what promised to be a lucrative contract from a Canadian railway
+company for supplying and installing a quantity of electrical apparatus
+along their line.  I at once invested every penny I could raise in the
+purchase of material and in the charter of a sailing vessel to
+transport it to this country.  On the eve of sailing I married a young
+lady to whom I had long been engaged, and, with light hearts, we set
+forth on our wedding trip across the Atlantic.
+
+"The first two weeks of that voyage were filled with such happiness
+that I trembled for fear it should be snatched from me.  During that
+time we had fair weather and favouring winds.  Then we ran into a gale
+that lasted for days, and drove us far out of our course.  One mast
+went by the board, the other was cut away to save the ship, and, while
+in this helpless condition, she struck at night, what I afterwards
+learned to be, a mass of floating ice.  At the time all hands believed
+us to be on the coast, and the crew, taking our only seaworthy boat,
+put off in a panic, while I was below preparing my wife for departure.
+Thus deserted, we awaited the death that we expected with each passing
+moment, but it failed to come and the ship still floated.  With
+earliest daylight I was on deck, and, to my amazement, saw land on both
+sides.  We had been driven into the mouth of a broad estuary, up which
+wind and tide were still carrying us.
+
+"For three days our helpless drift, to and fro, was continued, and then
+our ship grounded on a ledge at the foot of these cliffs.  Getting
+ashore with little difficulty, we were dismayed to find ourselves in an
+uninhabited wilderness, devoid even of vegetation other than moss and
+low growing shrubs.  One of my first discoveries was this cavern with
+its subterranean stream of water, and two openings, one of which gives
+easy access to the sea.  Knowing that our ship must, sooner or later,
+go to pieces, and desirous of saving what property I might, I rigged up
+a derrick at the mouth of the cavern, and, with the aid of my brave
+wife, transferred everything movable from the wreck; a labour of months.
+
+"Winter was now at hand, and, foreseeing that we must spend it where we
+were, I walled up the openings and made all possible preparations to
+fight the coming cold.  We burned wood from the wreck while it lasted,
+and in the meantime I labored almost night and day at the establishment
+of an electric plant.  But the awful winter came and found it still
+unfinished, and before the coming of another spring I was left alone."
+
+Here the speaker paused, overcome as much by his feelings as by
+weakness, and, during the silence that followed, Cabot stole away,
+ostensibly to see that the dynamo was running smoothly.  When he
+returned the narrator had recovered his calmness, and was ready to
+continue his story.
+
+"She had never been strong," he said, "and I so cruelly allowed her to
+overwork herself that she had no strength left with which to fight the
+winter.  She died in my arms in this very room, and I promised never to
+leave her.  Also, after her death, I vowed that my last words to her
+should be my last to any human being, and, until this day, I have kept
+that vow, foolish and wicked though it was.  I have talked and read
+aloud when alone, but to no man have I spoken.  I have also avoided
+intercourse with my fellows, selfishly preferring to nurse my sorrow in
+sinful rebellion against God's will.  Now am I justly punished by being
+stricken down in the pride of my strength.  At the same time God has
+shown his everlasting mercy by sending you to me in the time of my sore
+need.  And you have promised to stay with me until the end, which I
+feel assured is not far off."
+
+"I trust it may be," said Cabot, "for the world can ill afford to spare
+a man of your attainments."
+
+"The world has forgotten me ere this," replied Mr. Balfour, with a
+faint smile, "and has also managed to get along very well without me.
+Whether it has or has not I feel that I am shortly to rejoin my dear
+one."
+
+"How did it happen?  I mean your wound," asked Cabot, abruptly changing
+the subject.  "Was it an accident?"
+
+"It may have been, but I believe not.  Dressed in wolf skins, I was
+creeping up on a small herd of caribou two days ago, when I was shot by
+some unknown person, probably an Indian hunting the same game, though I
+never saw him.  I managed to crawl home, and as I lay here, filled with
+the horror of dying alone, the ringing of my alarm bell announced a
+coming of either man or beast.  I found strength to turn on the outer
+lights and to sound a call for aid on my violin that I hoped would be
+heard and understood."
+
+"It was fortunate for me that you did both those things," said Cabot,
+"for I should certainly have remained where I fell after stumbling over
+the wire if it had not been for the combination of light and music.
+But tell me, sir, why have you masqueraded as a man-wolf?"
+
+"For convenience in hunting, as well as to inspire terror in the minds
+of savages and keep them at a respectful distance from this place."
+
+"Have they ever troubled you?"
+
+"At first they were inclined to, but not of late years."
+
+"Not of late years!   Why, sir, how many years have you dwelt in this
+place?"
+
+"A little more than five."
+
+"Five years alone and cut off from the world!  I should think you would
+feel like a prisoner shut in a dungeon."
+
+"No, for I have led the life of my own choice, and it has been full of
+active interests.  I have had to hunt, trap, and fish for my own
+support.  I have tried to redress some wrongs, and have been able to
+relieve much distress among the improvident natives.  I have busied
+myself with electrical experiments, and have explored the surrounding
+country for a hundred miles on all sides."
+
+"Have you discovered any indications of mineral wealth during your
+explorations?" asked the young engineer, recalling his previous thought
+on this subject.
+
+"Quite a number, of which the most important is right here; for this
+range of cliffs is so largely composed of red hematite as to form one
+of the richest ore beds in the world."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+CABOT IS LEFT ALONE.
+
+Deeply interested and affected as Cabot had been by the electrician's
+story, his excitement over its conclusion caused him momentarily to
+forget everything else.
+
+"Does the ore show anywhere about here?" he asked eagerly.
+
+"Yes.  Lift one of the skins hanging against the wall and you will find
+it.  It is better, though, in the lower portions of the inner cavern,
+for the deeper you go the richer it gets."
+
+In another moment our young engineer was chipping bits of rock from the
+nearest wall, and then he must need explore those of the storeroom,
+where, on a bank of the subterranean stream, he found ore as rich as
+any he had ever seen, even in museums.  Returning with hands and
+pockets full of specimens, he said:
+
+"This is the very thing for which I came to Labrador, but have thus far
+failed to find.  Of course I have discovered plenty of indications, for
+the whole country is full of iron, but nowhere else have I found it in
+quantity or of a quality that would pay to work.  Here you have both,
+and close to a navigable waterway."
+
+"On which the largest ships may moor to the very cliffs," added Mr.
+Balfour.
+
+"It means a fortune to the owner, and I congratulate you, sir."
+
+"My dear lad, I don't want it!  I am an electrician, not a miner.  Even
+if I were inclined to work it, which I am not, I should not be
+permitted to do so, for my earthly interests are very nearly ended.
+Therefore I cheerfully relinquish in your favour whatever claim I may
+have acquired by discovery or occupation.  If you want it, take it, and
+may God's blessing go with the gift.  Also, under this bed, you will
+find a bag containing more specimens that may interest you.  Of them we
+will talk at another time, for now I am weary."
+
+With this the man turned his face to the wall, while Cabot, securing
+the bag, quickly became absorbed in an examination of its contents.
+Among these he found rich specimens of iron and copper ores, slabs of
+the rare and exquisitely beautiful Labradorite, with its sheen of
+peacock-blue, and even bits of gold-bearing quartz.  For a long time he
+examined and tested these; then, with a sigh of content, he laid them
+aside and went to bed.  His mission to Labrador was at length
+accomplished, and now he had only to get back to New York as quickly as
+possible.
+
+But getting to New York from that place, under existing circumstances,
+was something infinitely easier to plan than to accomplish.  To begin
+with, he had promised to remain with the new-found friend, who was also
+so greatly his benefactor, so long as he should be needed, and he meant
+to fulfil the promise to the letter.  But to do so taxed his patience
+to the utmost; for, in spite of the electrician's belief that he had
+not long to live, the passing of many weeks found his condition but
+little changed.  At the same time, in spite of Cabot's best nursing and
+ceaseless attention, he failed to gain strength.
+
+Having once broken his years of silence, he now found his greatest
+pleasure in talking, and Cabot had frequently to interrupt his
+conversation on the pretence of taking outside exercise, to prevent him
+from exhausting himself in that way.  He hated to do this, for Mr.
+Balfour's words were always instructive, and he so freely yielded the
+established secrets of his profession, as well as those of his own
+recent discoveries, to his young friend that Cabot acquired a rich
+store of valuable information during the short days and long nights of
+that Labrador winter.
+
+With the apparatus at hand, he was able to conduct many experiments and
+put into practice a number of his newly acquired theories.  The sick
+man followed these with keenest interest, and aided his pupil with
+shrewd suggestions.  At other times they discussed the mineral wealth
+of Labrador, and Mr. Balfour drew rough diagrams to show localities
+from which his various specimens had been brought.  He also gave much
+time to a sketch map of the surrounding country, especially the coast
+between the place where the "Sea Bee" had been left and Indian Harbour,
+beyond which his knowledge did not extend.
+
+With these congenial occupations, time never hung heavily in the
+wilderness home of the Man-wolf, and, though bitter cold might reign
+outside, fierce storms rage, and driving snows pile themselves into
+mountainous drifts, neither hunger nor cold could penetrate its snug
+interior, warmed and lighted by the magic of modern science.  With the
+passing weeks the old year died and a new one was born.  January merged
+into February, and days began noticeably to lengthen.  Through all
+these weeks Cabot kept up his strength by frequent exercise in the
+open, where, in conflict with storm and cold, he ever won some part of
+their own ruggedness.  At the same time, his patient grew slowly but
+surely weaker, until at length he could converse only in whispers, and
+experienced such difficulty in swallowing that he had almost ceased to
+take nourishment.  One evening while affairs stood thus, he roused
+himself sufficiently to inquire what day of the month it was.
+
+"The thirteenth of February," replied Cabot, who had kept careful note
+of the calendar.
+
+Instantly the man brightened, and said, with an unexpected strength of
+voice: "Six years to-morrow since we were married.  Five years to-day
+since she left me, and to-night I shall rejoin her.  Wish me joy, lad,
+for the long period of our separation is ended.  Good-night, good-bye,
+God bless you!"
+
+With this final utterance, he again lapsed into silence, closed his
+eyes, and seemed to sleep.  Several times during that night Cabot stole
+softly to his patient's bedside, but the latter was always asleep, and
+he would not disturb him.  Only in the morning, when daylight revealed
+the marble-like repose of feature, did he know that a glad reunion of
+long parted lovers had been effected, and that it was he who was left
+alone.
+
+Although the position in which our lad now found himself was a very
+trying one, he had anticipated and planned for it.  He had no boards
+with which to make a coffin, but there was plenty of stout canvas, and
+in a double thickness of this he sewed the body of his friend.  Before
+doing so he dug away the snow beside a cairn of rocks that marked the
+last resting place of her who had gone before, and placed the electric
+heater, with extended wire connections, on the ground thus exposed.
+Within a few hours this soil became sufficiently thawed to permit him
+to dig a shallow grave, to which, by great effort, he managed to remove
+the shrouded body.  After covering it, and piling above it rocks as
+large as he could lift, he returned to the empty dwelling, having
+completed the hardest and saddest day's work of his life.
+
+So terrible was the loneliness of that night, and so anxious was Cabot
+to take his departure, that he was again astir long before daylight,
+completing his preparations.  He had previously built a light sled that
+he proposed to drag, and had planned exactly what it should carry.  Now
+he loaded this with a canvas-wrapped package of cooked provisions, a
+sleeping bag, a rifle together with a few rounds of ammunition, a light
+axe, his precious bag of specimens, and the Man-wolf's electric
+flashlight with its battery newly charged.
+
+With everything thus in readiness he ate a hearty meal, threw the
+dynamo out of gear, closed the door and shutters of the place that had
+given him the shelter of a home, adjusted the hauling straps of his
+sled, and set resolutely forth on his venturesome journey across the
+frozen wilderness.
+
+In his mittened hands Cabot carried a stout staff tipped with a
+boathook, and this proved of inestimable service in aiding him down the
+face of the cliffs to the frozen surface of the estuary; for, by Mr.
+Balfour's advice, he had determined to follow the coast line rather
+than attempt the shorter but more uncertain inland route.
+
+Although the distance to be covered was but little over one hundred
+miles, the journey was so beset with difficulties and hardships that
+only our young engineer's splendid physical condition and recently
+acquired skill, combined with indomitable pluck, enabled him to
+accomplish it.  While he sometimes met with smooth stretches of
+snow-covered ice, it was generally piled in huge wind-rows, incredibly
+rugged and difficult to surmount.  Again it would be broken away from
+the base of sheer cliffs, where stretches of open water would
+necessitate toilsome inland detours over or around lofty headlands.  He
+was always buffetted by strong winds, and often halted by blinding
+snowstorms.  He had no fire, no warm food, and no shelter save such as
+he could make by burrowing into snowdrifts.  During the weary hours of
+one whole night he held a pack of snarling wolves at bay by means of
+his flashlight.  But always he pushed doggedly forward, and after ten
+days of struggle, exhausted almost beyond the power for further effort,
+but immensely proud of his achievement, he reached the goal of his long
+desire.
+
+Indian Harbour--with its hospital, its church, its two or three houses,
+and score of native huts, seemed to our lad almost a metropolis after
+his months of wilderness life, and the welcome he received from its
+warm-hearted inhabitants when he made known his identity was that of
+one raised from the dead.  White Baldwin and Yim had been there many
+weeks earlier, and had reported his disappearance under circumstances
+that left no hope of his ever again being seen alive.  Then the latter
+had set forth on his return journey, while White had joined a mail
+carrier and started for Battle Harbour.
+
+Now occurred what promised to be a serious interruption to Cabot's
+southward advance, for no one was proposing to travel in that
+direction, and, in spite of their hospitality, his new acquaintances
+were not inclined to undertake the arduous task of guiding him to
+Battle Harbour, 250 miles away, without being well paid for their
+labour, and our young engineer had no money.  Nor, after his recent
+experience, did he care to again encounter the perils of the wilderness
+alone.
+
+But fortune once more favoured him; for while he was chafing against
+this enforced detention, Dr. Graham Aspland, house surgeon of the
+Battle Harbour Hospital, who makes a heroic sledge journey to the far
+north every winter, arrived on his annual errand of mercy.  He would
+set out on his return trip a few days later, and would be more than
+pleased to have Cabot for a companion.
+
+Thus it happened that one bright day in early March the music of sledge
+bells and the cracking of a dog driver's whip attracted the inmates of
+the Battle Harbour Hospital to doors and windows to witness an arrival.
+Two fur-clad figures followed a great travelling sledge, and one of
+them dragged a small sled of his own.  As he came to a halt, and began
+wearily to loosen his hauling gear, he cast a glance at one of the
+upper windows, and uttered an exclamation of amazement.  Then, with a
+joyful cry, he shouted:
+
+"Hello!  White, old man!  Run down here and say you're glad I've come!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK.
+
+Cabot had learned from Dr. Aspland of White's arrival at Battle Harbour
+two months before, with a leg so badly wrenched by slipping into an ice
+crevice that he had gone to the hospital for treatment, but had
+expected that he would long ere this have taken his departure.  At the
+same time White had, of course, given up all hope of ever again seeing
+the friend to whom he had become so deeply attached.  He had been
+terribly cut up over Cabot's disappearance on the night of the
+blizzard, and, with the faithful Yim, had spent days in searching for
+him.  They had gone back to the timber, only to find the Indian camp
+deserted, and that its recent occupants had made a hasty departure.
+Finally they had given over the hopeless search and had sadly continued
+their southward journey.
+
+Now to again behold Cabot alive and well filled poor White with such
+joyful amazement that for some minutes he could not frame an
+intelligent sentence.  He flew down to where the new arrival still
+struggled with his hauling gear, and flung himself so impulsively upon
+him that both rolled over in the snow.  There, with gasping
+exclamations of delight, they wrestled themselves into a mood of
+comparative calmness that enabled them to regain their feet and begin
+to ask questions.
+
+For some time White had been sufficiently recovered to resume his
+journey, had an opportunity offered for so doing, but, as none had come
+to him, he had earned his board by acting as nurse in the hospital.  If
+he had been anxious to depart before, he was doubly so now that he had
+regained his comrade, and Cabot fully shared his impatience of further
+delay.  But how they were to reach the coast of Newfoundland they could
+not imagine.  It would still be many weeks before vessels of any kind
+could be expected at Battle Harbour, and they had no money with which
+to undertake the expensive journey by way of Quebec.
+
+"If only the ocean would freeze over, we could walk home!" exclaimed
+Cabot one day, as the two friends sat gloomily discussing their
+prospects.  And then that very thing came to pass.
+
+A dog sledge arrived from Forteau, that same evening, bringing a
+wounded man to the hospital for treatment, and its driver reported the
+Strait of Belle Isle as being so solidly packed with ice that several
+persons had traversed it from shore to shore.
+
+"If others have made the trip, why can't we?" cried Cabot.
+
+"I am willing to try it, if you are," replied White, and by daylight of
+the following morning the impatient lads were on their way up the coast
+in search of the ice bridge to Newfoundland.  Cabot had traded his
+electric flashlight for a supply of provisions sufficient to load his
+sled, which they took turns at hauling, and four days after leaving
+Battle Harbour they reached L'Anse au Loup.  At that point the strait
+is only a dozen miles wide, and there, if anywhere, they could cross
+it.  It was midday when they came to the winter huts of L'Anse au Loup,
+and they had intended remaining in one of them over night, but a short
+conversation with its owner caused them to change their plans.
+
+"Yas, there be solid pack clear to ither side all right," he said, "but
+happen it 'll go out any time.  Fust change o' wind 'll loose it, and
+one's to be looked for.  Ah wouldn't resk it on no account mahself, but
+if Ah had it to do, Ah'd go in a hurry 'ithout wasting no time."
+
+"It is a case of necessity with us," said Cabot.
+
+"Yes," agreed White, "we simply must go, and the quicker we set about
+it the better.  If we make haste I believe we can get across by dark."
+
+Thus determined, and disregarding a further expostulation from the
+fisherman, our lads set their faces resolutely towards the confusion of
+hummocks, "pans," floes tilted on edge, and up-reared masses of blue
+ice forming the "strait's pack" of that season.  Five minutes later
+they were lost to sight amid the frozen chaos.
+
+"Wal," soliloquized the man left standing on shore, "Ah 'opes they'll
+make it, but it's a fearsome resk, an' Gawd 'elp 'em if come a shift o'
+wind afore they're over."
+
+Nothing, in all their previous experience of Labrador travel, had
+equalled the tumultuous ruggedness of the way by which Cabot and White
+were now attempting to bridge that boisterous arm of the stormy
+northern ocean, and to advance at all taxed their strength to the
+utmost.  To transport their laden sled was next to impossible, but they
+dared not leave it behind, and with their progress thus impeded they
+were barely half way to the Newfoundland coast when night overtook
+them.  Even though the gathering darkness had not compelled a halt,
+their utter exhaustion would have demanded a rest.  For an hour White
+had been obliged to clinch his teeth to keep from crying out with the
+pain of his weakened, and now overstrained, ankle, and when Cabot
+announced that it was no use trying to get further before morning, he
+sank to the ice with a groan.
+
+Full of sympathy for his comrade's suffering, the Yankee lad at once
+set to work to make him as comfortable as circumstances would permit,
+and soon had him lying on a sleeping bag, in a niche formed by two
+uptilted slabs of ice.  Profiting by past experience, they had procured
+and brought with them an Eskimo lamp with its moss wick, a small
+quantity of seal oil, and a supply of matches, so that, after a while,
+Cabot procured enough boiling water to furnish a small pot of tea.
+When they had eaten their simple meal of tea, hard bread, and pemmican,
+White's ankle was bathed with water as hot as he could bear it, and
+then the weary lads turned in for such sleep as their cheerless
+quarters might yield.  About midnight the wind that had for many days
+blown steadily from the eastward changed to northwest, and, with the
+coming of daylight, it was blowing half a gale from that direction.
+
+To Cabot this change meant little or nothing, and he was suggesting
+that they remain where they were until White's leg should be thoroughly
+rested, when the other interrupted him with:
+
+"But we can't stay here.  Don't you feel the change of wind?"
+
+"What of it?" asked Cabot.
+
+"Oh, nothing at all, only that it will drive the ice out to sea, and,
+if we haven't reached land before it begins to move, we'll go with it."
+
+"You don't mean it!" cried Cabot, now thoroughly alarmed.  "In that
+case we'd best get a move on in a hurry.  Do you think your leg will
+stand the trip?"
+
+"It will have to," rejoined White, grimly; and a few minutes later they
+had resumed the toilsome progress that was now a race for life.  But it
+was a snail's race, for the task of moving the sled had devolved
+entirely upon Cabot, White having all he could do to drag himself
+along.  Each step gave him such exquisite pain that, by the time they
+had accomplished a couple of miles, he was crawling on hands and knees.
+
+Still, as Cabot hopefully pointed out, the Newfoundland coast was in
+plain sight, and the ice held as firm as ever.  He had hardly spoken
+when there came a distant roaring, that quickly developed into a sound
+of crashing and grinding not to be mistaken.
+
+"The ice is moving!" gasped White.
+
+"Then," said Cabot bravely, "we'll move too.  Come on, old man.  We'll
+leave the sled, and I'll get you ashore even if I have to carry you.
+It isn't so very far now."
+
+With this the speaker disengaged his hauling straps and turned to
+assist his comrade, but, to his dismay, the latter lay on the ice pale
+and motionless.  What with pain, over-exertion, and excitement, White
+had fainted, and Cabot must either carry him to the shore, remain
+beside him until he recovered, or leave him to his fate and save
+himself by flight over the still unbroken ice.  He tried the first
+plan, picked White up, staggered a few steps with his helpless burden,
+and discovered its futility.  Then he proceeded to put the second into
+execution by calmly unloading the sled and making such arrangements as
+his slender means would allow for his comrade's comfort.  The third
+plan came to him merely as a thought, to be promptly dismissed as
+unworthy of consideration.
+
+In the meantime the ominous sounds of cracking, grinding, rending, and
+splitting grew ever louder, and came ever closer, until, at length,
+Cabot could see and feel that the ice all about him was in motion.  By
+the time White recovered consciousness, a broad lane of black water had
+opened between that place and the Newfoundland coast, while others
+could be seen in various directions.
+
+"What are you doing?" asked White, feebly, after he had struggled back
+to a knowledge of passing events, and had, for some minutes, been
+watching his friend's movements.
+
+"Building an igloo," answered Cabot, cheerily.  "We might as well be
+comfortable while we can, and though my hut won't have the
+architectural beauty that Yim could give it, I believe it will keep us
+warm."
+
+It would have been more than easy, and perfectly natural, under the
+circumstances, to give way to utter despair; for of the several
+hopeless situations in which our lads had been placed during the past
+few months, the present was, by far, the worst.  At any moment the ice
+beneath them might open and drop them into fathomless waters.  Even if
+it held fast, they were certainly being carried out to sea, where they
+would be exposed to furious gales that must ultimately work their
+destruction.  In spite of all this, Cabot Grant insisted on remaining
+hopefully cheerful.  He said he had squeezed out of just as tight
+places before, and believed he would get out of this one somehow.  At
+any rate, as crying wouldn't help it, he wasn't going to cry.  Besides
+all sorts of things might happen.  They might drift ashore somewhere or
+into the track of passing steamers.  Wouldn't it be fine to be picked
+up and carried straight to New York?  If steamers failed them, they
+were almost certain to sight fishing boats sooner or later.
+
+"Yes," added White, catching some of his companion's hopefulness, "or
+we may meet with the sealers who leave St. Johns about this time every
+year and hunt seals on the ice pack off shore."
+
+"Of course," agreed the other.  "So what's the use of worrying?"
+
+In spite of the brave front and cheerful aspect that Cabot maintained
+before his helpless comrade, he often broke down when off by himself,
+vainly straining his eyes from the summit of some ice hummock for any
+hopeful sign, and acknowledged that their situation was indeed
+desperate.
+
+That first night, spent sleeplessly and in momentary expectation that
+the ice beneath them would break, was the worst.  After that they
+dreaded more than anything the fate that would overtake them with the
+disappearance of their slender stock of provisions.  While this
+diminished with alarming rapidity, despite their efforts at economy,
+their ice island drifted out from the strait, and soon afterwards
+became incorporated with the great Arctic pack that always in the
+spring forces its resistless way steadily south-ward towards the
+melting waters of the Gulf Stream.
+
+Land had disappeared with the second day of the ice movement, and after
+that, for a week, nothing occurred to break the terrible monotony of
+life on the pack, as experienced by our young castaways.  Then came the
+dreaded announcement that one portion of their supplies was exhausted.
+There was no longer a drop of oil for their lamp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE.
+
+White, who was still confined to the hut with his strained ankle,
+announced that they no longer had any oil upon Cabot's return at dusk
+from a day of fruitless hunting and outlook duty on the ice.
+
+"That's bad," replied the latter, in a tone whose cheerfulness strove
+to conceal his anxiety.  "Now we'll have to burn the sled.  Lucky thing
+for us that it's of wood instead of being one of those bone affairs
+such as we saw at Locked Harbour."
+
+"Our provisions are nearly gone too," added White.  "In fact we've only
+enough for one more day."
+
+"Oh, well!  A lot of things can happen in a day, and some of them may
+happen to us."
+
+But the only thing worthy of note that happened on the following day
+was a storm of such violence as to compel even stout-hearted Cabot to
+remain behind the sheltering walls of the hut, and, while it raged, our
+shivering lads, crouched above a tiny blaze of sled wood, ate their
+last morsel of food.  They still had a small quantity of tea, but that
+was all.  As soon, therefore, as the storm abated Cabot sallied forth
+with his gun, still hopeful, in spite of many disappointments, of
+finding some bird or beast that, by a lucky shot, might be brought to
+the table.
+
+The ice pack was of such vast extent that it seemed as though it must
+support animal life of some kind, but Cabot traversed it that day for
+many miles without finding so much as a track or a feather.  That
+night's supper was a pot of tea, and a similar one formed the sole
+nourishment upon which Cabot again set forth the next morning for
+another of those weary hunts.
+
+This time he went further from the hut than he had dared go on previous
+expeditions; but on them he had been hopeful and knew that even though
+he failed in his hunting he would still find food awaiting him on his
+return.  Now he was desperate with hunger, and the knowledge that
+failing in his present effort he would not have strength for another.
+In his mind, too, he carried a vivid picture of poor White, crouching
+in that wretched hut over an expiring blaze fed by the very last of
+their wood.
+
+"I simply can't go back empty-handed!" he cried aloud.  "It would be
+better not to go back at all, and let him hope for my coming to the
+last."
+
+So the young hunter pushed wearily and hopelessly on, until he found
+himself at the foot of a line of icebergs that had been frozen into the
+pack, where they resembled a range of fantastically shaped hills.
+Cabot had seen them from a distance on a previous expedition, and had
+wondered what lay beyond.  Now he determined to find out, though he
+knew if he once crossed them there would be little chance of regaining
+the hut before dark.  It was a laborious climb, and several times he
+slid back to the place of starting, but each mishap of this kind only
+made him the more determined to gain the top.  At length, breathless
+and bruised, crawling on hands and knees, he reached a point from which
+he could look beyond the barrier.  As he did so, he turned sick and
+uttered a choking cry.
+
+[Illustration: He reached a point from which he could look beyond the
+barrier.]
+
+What he saw in that first glance was so utterly incredible that it
+could not be true, though if it were it would be the most welcome and
+beautiful sight in all the world.  Yet it was only a ship!  Just one
+ship and a lot of men!  The ship was not even a handsome one, being
+merely a three-masted steam sealer, greasy and smeared in every part
+with coal soot from her tall smoke stack.  She lay a mile or so away,
+but well within the pack, through the outer edge of which she had
+forced a passage.  The men, evidently her crew, who were on the ice
+near the foot of Cabot's ridge, were a disreputable looking lot,
+ragged, dirty, unkempt, and as bloody as so many butchers.  And that is
+exactly what they were--butchers engaged in their legitimate business
+of killing the seals that, coming up from the south to meet the
+drifting ice pack, had crawled out on it by thousands to rear their
+young.
+
+This was all that Cabot saw; yet the sight so affected him that he
+laughed and sobbed for joy.  Then he stood up, and, with glad tears
+blinding his eyes, tried to shout to the men beneath him, but could
+only utter hoarse whispers; for, in his overpowering happiness, he had
+almost lost the power of speech.  As he could not call to them he began
+to wave his arms to attract their attention, and then, all at once, he
+was nearly paralysed by a hail from close at hand of:
+
+"Hello there, ye bloomin' idjit!  Wot's hup?"
+
+Whirling around, Cabot saw, standing only a few rods away, a man who
+had evidently just climbed the opposite side of the ridge.  He
+recognised him in an instant, as he must have done had he met him in
+the most crowded street of a great city, so distinctively peculiar was
+his figure.
+
+"David!  David Gidge!" he gasped, recovering his voice for the effort,
+and in another moment, flinging his arms about the astonished mariner's
+neck, he was pouring out a flood of incoherent words.
+
+"Wal, I'll be jiggered!" remarked Mr. Gidge, as he disengaged himself
+from Cabot's impulsive embrace and stepped back for a more
+comprehensive view.  "Your voice sounds familiar, Mister, but I can't
+say as I ever seen you before.  I took ye fust off fer a b'ar, and then
+fer a Huskie.  When I seen you was white, I 'lowed ye might be one of
+the 'Marmaid's' crew, seeing as she was heading fer the pack 'bout the
+time we struck it.  Now, though, as I say, I'm jiggered ef I know
+exectly who ye be."
+
+"Why, Mr. Gidge, I'm Cabot Grant, who----"
+
+"Of course.  To be sartin!  Now I know ye!" interrupted the other.
+"But where's White?  What hev ye done with Whiteway Baldwin?"
+
+"He's back there on the ice helpless with a crippled leg, freezing and
+starving to death; but if you'll come at once I'll show you the way,
+and we may still be in time to save him."
+
+With instant comprehension of the necessity for prompt action, Mr.
+Gidge, who, as Cabot afterwards learned, was first mate of the sealer
+"Labrador," turned and shouted in stentorian tones to the men who were
+working below:
+
+"Knock off, all hands, and follow me.  Form a line and keep hailing
+distance apart, so's we'll find our way back after dark.  There's white
+men starving on the ice.  One of ye go to the ship and report.  Move
+lively!  Now, lad, I'm ready."
+
+Two hours later Cabot and David Gidge, with, a long line of men
+streaming out behind them, reached the little hut.  There was no answer
+to the cheery shouts with which they approached it, and, as they
+crawled through its low entrance, they were filled with anxious
+misgivings.  What if they were too late after all?  No spark of fire
+lighted the gloom or took from the deadly chill of the interior, and no
+voice bade them welcome.  But, as David Gidge struck a match, a low
+moaning sounded from one side, and told them that White was at least
+alive.
+
+It took but a minute to remove him from the hut, together with the few
+things worth taking away that it contained.  Then it was left without a
+shadow of regret, and the march to the distant ship was begun.  Four
+men carried White, who seemed to have sunk into a stupor, while two
+more supported Cabot, who had become suddenly weak and so weary that he
+begged to be allowed to sleep where he was.
+
+"It's been a close call for both of 'em," said David Gidge, "and now,
+men, we've got to make the quickest kind of time getting 'em back to
+the ship."
+
+Fortunately there were plenty of willing hands to which the burdens
+might be shifted, for the "Labrador" carried a crew two hundred strong,
+and, as the little party moved swiftly from one shouting man to
+another, it constantly gained accessions.
+
+At length the sealer was reached, and the rescued lads were taken to
+her cabin, where the ship's doctor, having made every possible
+preparation for their reception, awaited them.  They were given hot
+drinks, rubbed, fed, and placed between warm blankets, where poor,
+weary Cabot was at last allowed to fall asleep without further
+interruption.
+
+The animal sought by the sealers of Newfoundland amid the furious
+storms and crashing floes of the great ice pack is not the fur-bearing
+seal of Alaska, but a variety of the much less important hair seal,
+which may be seen almost anywhere along the Atlantic coast.  From its
+skin seal leather is made, but it is chiefly valuable for the oil
+yielded by the layer of fat lying directly beneath the skin and
+enveloping the entire body.  These seals would hardly be worth hunting
+unless they could be captured easily and in quantities; but, on their
+native ice in early spring, the young seals are found in prime
+condition and in vast numbers.  Each helpless victim is killed by a
+blow on the head, "sculped" or stripped of his pelt, and the flayed
+body is left lying in a pool of its own blood.
+
+The crew of a single vessel will thus destroy thousands of seals in a
+day, and in some prosperous years the total kill of seals has passed
+the half million mark.  Now only about a dozen steamers are engaged in
+the business, but by them from 200,000 to 300,000 seals are destroyed
+each spring.  The movements of sealing vessels are governed by rigidly
+enforced laws that forbid them to leave port before the 12th of March,
+to kill a seal before the 14th of the same month, or after the 20th of
+April, and prohibit any steamer from making more than one trip during
+this short open season.  The crews are paid in shares of the catch, and
+men are never difficult to obtain for the work, as the sealing season
+comes when there is nothing else to be done.
+
+As March was not yet ended when our lads were received aboard the
+"Labrador," and as she would not return to port until the last minute
+of the open season had expired, they had before them nearly a month in
+which to recover their exhausted energies and learn the business of
+sealing.  White had suffered so severely, and reached such a precarious
+condition, that he required every day of the allotted time for
+recuperation, and even at its end his strength was by no means fully
+restored.  Cabot, on the other hand, woke after a thirty-six-hour nap,
+ravenously hungry, and as fit as ever for anything that might offer.
+After that, although he could never bring himself to assist in clubbing
+baby seals to death, he took an active part in the other work of the
+ship, thereby fully repaying the cost of the food eaten by himself and
+White.
+
+Of course, with their very first opportunity, both lads eagerly plied
+David Gidge with questions concerning the welfare of the Baldwin family
+and everything that had happened during their long absence.  Thus they
+learned to their dismay that another suit had been brought against the
+Baldwin estate that threatened to swallow what little property had been
+left, and that White, having been convicted of contempt of court for
+continuing the lobster factory after an adverse decision had been
+rendered, was now liable to a fine of one thousand dollars, or
+imprisonment, as soon as he landed.
+
+"But what has become of my mother and sister?" asked White.
+
+"They are in Harbour Grace," answered David Gidge, "stopping with some
+kin of mine.  You see, all three of us was brung to St. Johns as
+witnesses, and there wasn't money enough to take us back till I could
+come sealing and make some."
+
+"You are a trump, David Gidge!" exclaimed Cabot, while White gratefully
+squeezed the honest fellow's hand.
+
+"I promised to look arter 'em till you come back," said the sailorman,
+simply.
+
+At length the sealing season closed, and the prow of the "Labrador" was
+turned homeward, but even now, after many an anxious discussion, our
+lads were undecided as to what they should do upon landing.  But a
+solution of the problem came to Cabot on the day that the steamer
+entered Conception Bay and anchored close off Bell Island, to await the
+moving of a great ice mass that had drifted into the harbour.
+
+"I know what we'll do!" he cried.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE MAN-WOLF MINE.
+
+As the deeply laden sealer drew near to land, Cabot had impatiently
+scanned the coast of the great island that he had once thought so remote,
+but which, after his long sojourn in the Labrador wilderness, now seemed
+almost the same as New York itself.  When the "Labrador" entered
+Conception Bay, at the head of which lies Harbour Grace, her home port,
+and was forced by ice to anchor, he inquired concerning a small island
+that lay close at hand.
+
+"Bell Island," he repeated meditatively, on being told its name.  "Isn't
+there an iron mine on it?"
+
+"Sartain," replied David Gidge.  "The whole island is mostly made of
+iron."
+
+"Then it is a place that I particularly want to visit, and I know what we
+will do.  Of course, White, we can't let you go to prison, but at the
+same time you haven't, immediately available, the money with which to pay
+that fine.  I have, though, right in St. Johns.  So, if you will endorse
+that New York draft to me, I will carry it into the city, deposit it at
+the bank, draw out the cash, and take the first train for Harbour Grace,
+so as to be there with more than enough money to pay your fine when you
+arrive.  After that I propose that we both go on to New York, where I am
+almost certain I can get you something to do that will pay even better
+than a lobster factory.  If that plan strikes you as all right, and if
+Mr. Gidge will set me ashore here, I'll just take a look at Bell Island
+and then hurry on to St. Johns."
+
+The plan appearing feasible to White, Cabot--taking with him only his bag
+of specimens, to which he intended to add others of the Bell Island
+ore--bade his friends a temporary farewell, and was set ashore.  As the
+country was still covered with snow, he had slung his snowshoes on his
+back, and as he was still clad in the well-worn fur garments that had
+been so necessary in Labrador, his appearance was sufficiently striking
+to attract attention as soon as he landed.  One of the very first persons
+who spoke to him proved to be the young superintendent of the mine he
+wished to visit, and, when this gentleman learned that Cabot had just
+returned from Labrador, he offered him every hospitality.  Not only did
+he show him over the mine and give him all possible information
+concerning it, but he kept him over night in his own bachelor quarters,
+and provided a boat to take him across to Portugal Cove on the mainland
+in the morning.
+
+From that point, there being no conveyance, Cabot was forced to walk the
+nine miles into St. Johns, which city he did not reach until nearly noon.
+Even there, where fur-clad Arctic explorers are not uncommon, Cabot's
+costume attracted much attention.  Disregarding this, he inquired his way
+to the Bank of Nova Scotia, where he presented the letter of credit that
+he had carefully treasured amid all the vicissitudes of the past ten
+months.  The paying teller of the bank examined it closely, and then took
+a long look at the remarkable-appearing young man who had presented it.
+Finally he said curtly:
+
+"Sign your name."
+
+Cabot did so, and the other, after comparing the two signatures, retired
+to an inner room.  From it he reappeared a few moments later and
+requested Cabot to follow him inside, where the manager wished to see him.
+
+The manager also regarded our lad with great curiosity as he said:
+
+"You have retained this letter a long time without presenting it."
+
+"And I might have retained it longer if I had not been in need of money,"
+rejoined Cabot, somewhat nettled by the man's manner.
+
+"You are Cabot Grant of New York?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"Not yet of age?"
+
+"Not quite."
+
+"And you have a guardian?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"Do you mind telling his name and address?"
+
+"Is that a necessary preliminary to drawing money on a letter of credit?"
+
+"In this case it is."
+
+"Well, then, he is James Hepburn, President of the Gotham Trust and
+Investment Company."
+
+"Just so, and you will doubtless be interested in this communication from
+him."
+
+So saying, the manager handed over the telegram in which Mr. Hepburn
+instructed the St. Johns branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia to advance
+only the price of a ticket to New York on a letter of credit that would
+be presented by his ward, Cabot Grant.
+
+"What does it mean?" asked Cabot in bewilderment, as he finished reading
+this surprising order.
+
+"I've no idea," replied the manager dryly.  "I only know that we are
+bound to follow those instructions, and can let you have but forty
+dollars, which is the price of a first-class ticket to New York by
+steamer.  Moreover, as this is sailing day, and the New York steamer
+leaves in a couple of hours, I would advise you to engage passage and go
+on board at once, if you do not want to be indefinitely detained here."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"Possibly by the sheriff, who has wanted you for some time in connection
+with a certain French Shore lobster case that the government is
+prosecuting."
+
+Perplexed and indignant as he was, Cabot realised that only in New York
+could his tangled affairs be straightened out, and that the quicker he
+got there the better.  Determined, however, to make one more effort in
+behalf of his friend, he produced the missionary's draft and asked if the
+manager would cash it.
+
+"Certainly not," replied that individual promptly.  "Under present
+circumstances, Mr. Grant, we must decline to have any business dealings
+with you other than to accept your receipt for forty dollars, which will
+be paid you in the outer office."
+
+So Cabot swallowed his pride, took what he could get, and left the bank a
+little more downcast than he had been at any time since the day on which
+President Hepburn had entrusted him with his present mission.
+
+"I don't understand it at all," he muttered to himself, as he sought an
+eating-house, where he proposed to expend a portion of his money in
+satisfying his keen appetite.  "Seems to me it is a mighty mean return
+for all I have gone through, and Mr. Hepburn will have to explain matters
+pretty clearly when I get back to New York."
+
+From the eating-house Cabot sent a letter to White, explaining his
+inability to secure the money he had expected, begging him to lie low for
+a few days, and announcing his own immediate departure for New York, from
+which place he promised to send back the amount of the draft immediately
+upon his arrival.  In this letter Cabot also enclosed fifteen dollars,
+just to help White out until he could send him some more money.  This
+outlay left our young engineer but twenty-five dollars, but that would
+pay for a steerage passage, which, he reflected, would be plenty good
+enough for one in his reduced circumstances, and leave a few dollars for
+emergencies when he reached New York.
+
+Two hours later, still clutching the bag of specimens that now formed his
+sole luggage, he stood on the forward deck of the steamer "Amazon" as she
+slipped through the narrow passage leading out from the land-locked
+harbour, gazing back at the city of St. Johns climbing its steep hillside
+and dominated by the square towers of its Roman Catholic cathedral.  He
+was feeling very forlorn and lonely, and was wondering how he should
+manage to exist on steerage fare in steerage company during the next five
+days, when a familiar voice, close at hand, said:
+
+"Hello, young man in furs!  Where do you come from?  Been to the North
+Pole with Peary?"
+
+Turning quickly, Cabot gasped out:
+
+"Captain Phinney!"
+
+"No, not cap'n, but second mate Phinney," retorted the other.  "But how
+do you know my name?  I don't recognise you."
+
+"I am Cabot Grant, who was with you on the 'Lavinia' when----"
+
+"Good heavens, man!  It can't be."
+
+"It is, though, and I never was more glad to see any one, not even David
+Gidge, than I am to see you at this minute.  But why are you second mate
+instead of captain?"
+
+"Because," replied the other bitterly, "it was the only berth they would
+give me after I lost my ship, and I had to take it or beg."
+
+"But I thought you went down with the 'Lavinia'?"
+
+"So I thought you did, but it seems both of us were mistaken.  All but
+you got off in two of the boats, and ours was picked up the next day by a
+liner bound for New York.  But how, in the name of all that is
+wonderful--  Hold on, though.  Let us go up to my room, where we can talk
+comfortably."
+
+As a result of this happy meeting, Cabot's voyage was made very pleasant
+after all.  Much as he had to tell and to hear, he also found time to
+write out a full report on the Bell Island mine, and also a series of
+notes concerning the ore specimens that he was carrying to New York.
+
+At length the great city was reached, the "Amazon" was made fast to her
+Brooklyn pier, and Cabot went to bid the second mate good-bye.  "Hold on
+a bit," said the latter, "and run up to the house with me.  You can't go
+without seeing Nelly and the baby."
+
+"Nice calling rig I've got on, haven't I?" laughed Cabot.  "Why, it would
+scare 'em stiff.  So not to-day, thank you; but I'll come to-morrow."
+
+The carriage that Cabot engaged to carry him across to the city cost him
+his last cent of money, but he knew it was well worth it when, still in
+furs and with his snowshoes still strapped to his back, he entered the
+Gotham building.  Such a sensation did he create that he would have been
+mobbed in another minute had he not dodged into an elevator and said:
+
+"President's room, please."
+
+He so petrified Mr. Hepburn's clerks and office boys by his remarkable
+appearance that they neglected to check his progress, and allowed him to
+walk unchallenged into the sacred private office.  Its sole occupant was
+writing, and did not notice the entrance until Cabot, laying a folded
+paper on his desk, said:
+
+"Here is that Bell Island report, Mr. Hepburn."
+
+The startled man sprang to his feet with a face as pale as though he had
+seen a ghost, and for a few moments stared in speechless amazement at the
+fur-clad intruder.  Then the light of recognition flashed into his eyes,
+and holding out a cordial hand he said:
+
+"My dear boy, how you frightened me!  Where on earth did you come from?"
+
+"From the steerage of the steamer 'Amazon,'" replied Cabot, stiffly,
+ignoring his guardian's proffered hand.  "I only dropped in to hand you
+that Bell Island report, and to say that, as this happens to be my
+twenty-first birthday, I shall be pleased to receive whatever of my
+property you may still hold in trust at your earliest convenience.  With
+that business transacted, it is perhaps needless to add, that I shall
+trouble no further the man who was cruel enough to leave me penniless
+among strangers."
+
+"Cabot, are you crazy, or what do you mean?  I received your Bell Island
+report months ago, and it was that caused me to recall you.  Why did you
+not come at once?"
+
+"I never sent a Bell Island report.  In fact I never wrote one until
+yesterday, and there it lies.  Nor did I ever receive any notice of
+recall, and I did not come back sooner because I have been following your
+instructions and wintering in Labrador.  There I have acquired one of the
+most remarkable iron properties in the world, which I intend to develop
+as far as possible with my own resources, seeing that not one cent of
+your money has been used in defraying the expenses of my recent trip,"
+replied Cabot, hotly.
+
+But Mr. Hepburn did not hear the last of this speech, for he had opened
+the report laid on his desk and was glancing rapidly through it.
+
+"This is exactly what I expected and wanted!" he exclaimed.  "Why didn't
+you send it in before, instead of that other one?"
+
+"I never sent any other," repeated Cabot, and then they sat down to
+mutual explanations.
+
+For that whole morning President Hepburn denied himself to all callers
+and devoted his entire attention to Cabot's recital.  When it was
+finished, and when the bag full of specimens had been examined, the elder
+man grasped the other's hand and said:
+
+"My dear boy, you have done splendidly!  I am not only satisfied with you
+as an agent, but am proud of you as a ward.  Yes, this is your day of
+freedom from our guardianship, and I shall take pleasure in turning over
+to you the balance of the property left by your father.  It, together
+with the balance remaining on your letter of credit, and your salary for
+the past year, will amount to about ten thousand dollars, a portion of
+which at least I would advise you to invest in the Man-wolf mine."
+
+[Illustration: "My dear boy, you have done splendidly!"]
+
+"Then you intend to develop it, sir?" cried Cabot.
+
+"Certainly, provided we can acquire your claim to the property, and
+engage a certain Mr. Cabot Grant to act as our assistant Labrador
+manager."
+
+"Do you think me capable of filling so responsible a position, sir?"
+
+"I am convinced of it," replied Mr. Hepburn, smiling.
+
+"And may I find places for White, and David Gidge, and Captain Phinney,
+and----"
+
+"One of the duties of your new position will be the selection of your
+subordinates," interrupted the other, "and I should hope you would give
+preference to those whose fidelity you have already tested."
+
+Within an hour after this happy conclusion of the interview, Cabot had
+wired White Baldwin the full amount of the missionary's draft and invited
+him to come as quickly as possible to New York.  He had also written to
+Captain Phinney asking him to resign at once his position as second mate,
+in order that he might assume command of a steamer shortly to be put on a
+run between New York and Labrador.
+
+With these pleasant duties performed, our young engineer prepared to
+accept President Hepburn's invitation to a dinner that was to be given in
+his honour, and with which the happiest day of his life was to be
+concluded.
+
+
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Great Bear, by Kirk Munroe
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Great Bear, by Kirk Munroe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Under the Great Bear
+
+Author: Kirk Munroe
+
+Release Date: September 11, 2006 [EBook #19235]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE GREAT BEAR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<A NAME="img-front"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="From it was evoked a monstrous shape." BORDER="2" WIDTH="389" HEIGHT="510">
+<H3>
+[Frontispiece: From it was evoked a monstrous shape.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<P CLASS="dedication">
+"Above this far northern sea Ursa<BR>
+Major sailed so directly overhead<BR>
+that he seemed like to fall on us."<BR>
+<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 4em">&mdash;<I>From an early voyage to the coast of Labrador</I>.</SPAN><BR>
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+Under the Great Bear
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+BY
+</H3>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+KIRK MUNROE
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+AUTHOR OF
+<BR>
+"The Flamingo Feather," "Dorymates," <BR>
+"The White Conquerors," Etc.
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H4 ALIGN="center">
+New York
+<BR>
+International Association of Newspapers and Authors
+<BR>
+1901
+</H4>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H5 ALIGN="center">
+COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY
+<BR>
+DOUBLEDAY, PAGE &amp; COMPANY
+</H5>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+</H2>
+
+<BR>
+
+<CENTER>
+
+<TABLE WIDTH="80%">
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">CHAPTER</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">&nbsp;</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap01">GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap02">AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap03">THE STRANGE FATE OF A STEAMER</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap04">ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap05">WHITE BALDWIN AND HIS "SEA BEE"</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap06">THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap07">DEFYING A FRIGATE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap08">A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap09">SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap10">CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap11">BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap12">ENGLAND AND FRANCE COME TO BLOWS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap13">A PRISONER OF WAR</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap14">THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap15">OFF FOR LABRADOR</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap16">MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap17">IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap18">FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap19">A MELANCHOLY SITUATION</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap20">COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap21">A WELCOME MISSIONARY</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap22">GOOD-BYE TO THE "SEA BEE"</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap23">THE COMFORT OF AN ESKIMO LAMP</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap24">OBJECTS OF CHARITY</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap25">LOST IN A BLIZZARD</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap26">AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap27">THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap28">CABOT IS LEFT ALONE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap29">DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap30">THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR>
+<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI.&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
+<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top">
+<A HREF="#chap31">ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE MAN-WOLF MINE</A></TD>
+</TR>
+
+</TABLE>
+
+</CENTER>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+</H2>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-front">
+From It Was Evoked A Monstrous Shape&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. <I>Frontispiece</I>
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-023">
+On The Deck Of The Steamer "Lavinia"
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-031">
+He Began To Kick At It With The Hope Of Smashing<BR>
+One Of Its Panels
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-065">
+At This The Enraged Officer Whipped Out A Revolver
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-091">
+"Did This Come From About Here?"
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-119">
+Others Fell On The New-Comers With Their Fists
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-129">
+Livid With Rage, The Frenchman Whipped Out An<BR>
+Ugly-Looking Knife
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-165">
+A Solitary Figure Stood On The Chest Of A Bald Headland
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-217">
+"Yim"
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-255">
+"My Name Is Watson Balfour"
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-291">
+He Reached A Point From Which He Could Look Beyond The Barrier
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<H3>
+<A HREF="#img-309">
+"My Dear Boy, You Have Done Splendidly"
+</A>
+</H3>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap01"></A>
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+UNDER THE GREAT BEAR.
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER I.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+"Heigh-ho!  I wonder what comes next?" sighed Cabot Grant as he tumbled
+wearily into bed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The day just ended marked the close of a most important era in his
+life; for on it he had been graduated from the Technical Institute, in
+which he had studied his chosen profession, and the coveted sheepskin
+that entitled him to sign M.E. in capital letters after his name had
+been in his possession but a few hours.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although Cabot came of an old New England family, and had been given
+every educational advantage, he had not graduated with honours, having,
+in fact, barely scraped through his final examination.  He had devoted
+altogether too much time to athletics, and to the congenial task of
+acquiring popularity, to have much left for study.  Therefore, while it
+had been pleasant to be one of the best-liked fellows in the Institute,
+captain of its football team, and a leading figure in the festivities
+of the day just ended, now that it was all over our lad was regretting
+that he had not made a still better use of his opportunities.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A number of his classmates had already been offered fine positions in
+the business world now looming so ominously close before him.  Little
+pale-faced Dick Chandler, for instance, was to start at once for South
+Africa, in the interests of a wealthy corporation.  Ned Burnett was to
+be assistant engineer of a famous copper mine; a world-renowned
+electrical company had secured the services of Smith Redfield, and so
+on through a dozen names, no one of which was as well known as his, but
+all outranking it on the graduate list of that day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot had often heard that the career of Institute students was closely
+watched by individuals, firms, and corporations in need of young men
+for responsible positions, and had more than once resolved to graduate
+with a rank that should attract the attention of such persons.  But
+there had been so much to do besides study that had seemed more
+important at the time, that he had allowed day after day to slip by
+without making the required effort, and now it appeared that no one
+wanted him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Yes, there was one person who had made him a proposition that very day.
+Thorpe Walling, the wealthiest fellow in the class, and one of its few
+members who had failed to gain a diploma, had said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Look here, Grant, what do you say to taking a year's trip around the
+world with me, while I coach for a degree next June?  There is no such
+educator as travel, you know, and we'll make a point of going to all
+sorts of places where we can pick up ideas.  At the same time it'll be
+no end of a lark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," Cabot had replied doubtfully, though his face had
+lighted at the mere idea of taking such a trip.  "I'd rather do that
+than almost anything else I know of, but&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you are thinking of the expense," broke in the other.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It isn't that," interrupted Cabot, "but it seems somehow as though I
+ought to be doing something more in the line of business.  Anyway, I
+can't give you an answer until I have seen my guardian, who has sent me
+word to meet him in New York day after to-morrow.  I'll let you know
+what he says, and if everything is all right, perhaps I'll go with you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this the matter had rested, and during the manifold excitements of
+the day our lad had not given it another thought, until he tumbled into
+bed, wondering what would happen next.  Then for a long time he lay
+awake, considering Thorpe's proposition, and wishing that it had been
+made by any other fellow in the class.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Until about the time of entering the Technical Institute, from which he
+was just graduated, Cabot Grant, who was an only child, had been
+blessed with as happy a home as ever a boy enjoyed.  Then in a breath
+it was taken from him by a railway accident, that had caused the
+instant death of his mother, and which the father had only survived
+long enough to provide for his son's immediate future by making a will.
+By its terms his slender fortune was placed in the hands of a trust and
+investment company, who were constituted the boy's guardians, and
+enjoined to give their ward a liberal education along such lines as he
+himself might choose.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The corporation thus empowered had been faithful to its trust, and had
+carried out to the letter the instructions of their deceased client
+during the past five years.  Now less than a twelvemonth of their
+guardianship remained and it was to plan for his disposal of this time
+that Cabot had been summoned to New York.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He had never met the president of the corporation, and it was with no
+little curiosity concerning him that he awaited, in a sumptuously
+appointed anteroom, his turn for an audience with the busy man.  At
+length he was shown into a plainly furnished private office occupied by
+but two persons, one somewhat past middle age, with a shrewd,
+smooth-shaven face, and the other much younger, who was evidently a
+private secretary.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Of course Cabot instantly knew the former to be President Hepburn; and
+also, to his surprise, recognised him as one who had occupied a
+prominent position on the platform of the Institute hall when he had
+graduated two days earlier.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said Mr. Hepburn, in a crisp, business tone, as he noted the
+lad's flash of recognition, "I happened to be passing through and
+dropped in to see our ward graduate.  I was, of course, disappointed
+that you did not take higher rank.  At the same time I concluded not to
+make myself known to you, for fear of interfering with some of your
+plans for the day.  It also seemed to me better that we should talk
+business here.  Now, with your Institute career ended, how do you
+propose to spend the remainder of your minority?  I ask because, as you
+doubtless know, our instructions are to consult your wishes in all
+matters, and conform to them as far as possible."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I appreciate your kindness in that respect," replied Cabot, who was
+somewhat chilled by this business-like reception, "and have decided, if
+the funds remaining in your hands are sufficient for the purpose, to
+spend the coming year in foreign travel; in fact, to take a trip around
+the world."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"With any definite object in view," inquired Mr. Hepburn, "or merely
+for pleasure?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"With the definite object of studying my chosen profession wherever I
+may find it practised."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Um!  Just so.  Do you propose to take this trip alone or in company?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I propose to go with Thorpe Walling, one of my classmates."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Son of the late General Walling, and a man who failed to graduate, is
+he not?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, sir.  Do you know him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I knew his father, and wish you had chosen some other companion."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I did not choose him.  He chose me, and invited me to go with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"At your own expense, I suppose?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly!  I could not have considered his proposition otherwise."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course not," agreed Mr. Hepburn, "seeing that you have funds quite
+sufficient for such a venture, if used with economy.  And you have
+decided that you would rather spend the ensuing year in foreign travel
+with Thorpe Walling than do anything else?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think I have, sir."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well, my boy.  While I cannot say that I consider your decision
+the best that could be made, I have no valid objections to offer, and
+am bound to grant as far as possible your reasonable desires.  So you
+have my consent to this scheme, if not my whole approval.  When do you
+plan to start?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thorpe wishes to go at once."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, if you will call here to-morrow morning at about this hour, I
+will have arranged for your letter of credit, and anything else that
+may suggest itself for making your trip a pleasant one."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you, sir," said Cabot, who, believing the interview to be ended,
+turned to leave the room.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By the way," continued Mr. Hepburn, "there is another thing I wish to
+mention.  Can you recommend one of your recent classmates for an
+important mission, to be undertaken at once to an out-of-the-way part
+of the world?  He must be a young man of good morals, able to keep his
+business affairs to himself, not afraid of hard work, and willing as
+well as physically able to endure hardships.  His intelligence and
+mental fitness will, of course, be guaranteed by the Institute's
+diploma.  Our company is in immediate need of such a person, and will
+engage him at a good salary for a year, with certain prospects of
+advancement, if he gives satisfaction.  Think it over and let me know
+in the morning if you have hit upon one whom you believe would meet
+those requirements.  In the meantime please do not mention the subject
+to any one."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Charged with this commission, and relieved that the dreaded interview
+was ended, Cabot hastened uptown to a small secret society club of
+which he was a non-resident member.  There he wrote a note to Thorpe
+Walling, accepting his invitation, and expressing a readiness to set
+forth at once on their proposed journey.  This done, he joined a group
+of fellows who were discussing summer plans in the reading-room.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What are you going in for, Grant?" asked one.  "Is your summer to be
+devoted to work or play?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Both," laughed Cabot.  "Thorpe Walling and I are to take an
+educational trip around the world, during which we hope to have great
+fun and accomplish much work."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ho, ho!" jeered he who had put the question.  "That's a good one.  The
+idea of coupling 'Torpid' Walling's name with anything that savors of
+work.  You'll have a good time fast enough.  But I'll wager anything
+you like, that in his company you will circumnavigate the globe without
+having done any work harder than spending money.  No, no, my dear boy,
+'Torpid' is not the chap to encourage either mental or physical effort
+in his associates.  Better hunt some other companion, or even go by
+your lonely, if you really want to accomplish anything."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These words recurred to our lad many times during the day, and when he
+finally fell asleep that night, after fruitlessly wondering who of his
+many friends he should recommend to President Hepburn, they were still
+ringing in his ears.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap02"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER II.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Thorpe Walling had never been one of Cabot Grant's particular friends,
+nor did the latter now regard with unmixed pleasure the idea of a
+year's intimate association with him.  He had accepted the latter's
+invitation because nothing else seemed likely to offer, and he could
+not bear to have the other fellows, especially those whose class
+standing had secured them positions, imagine that he was not also in
+demand.  Besides, the thought of a trip around the world was certainly
+very enticing; any opposition to the plan would have rendered him the
+more desirous of carrying it out.  But in his interview with his
+guardian he had gained his point so easily that the concession
+immediately lost half its value.  Even as he wrote his note to Thorpe
+he wondered if he really wanted to go with him, and after that
+conversation in the club reading-room he was almost certain that he did
+not.  If Mr. Hepburn had only offered him employment, how gladly he
+would have accepted it and declined Thorpe's invitation; but his
+guardian had merely asked him to recommend some one else.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Which shows," thought Cabot bitterly, "what he thinks of me, and of my
+fitness for any position of importance.  He is right, too, for if ever
+a fellow threw away opportunities, I have done so during the past four
+years.  And now I am deliberately going to spend another, squandering
+my last dollar, in company with a chap who will have no further use for
+me when it is gone.  It really begins to look as though I were about
+the biggest fool of my acquaintance."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was in this frame of mind that our young engineer made a second
+visit to his guardian's office on the following morning.  There he was
+received by Mr. Hepburn with the same business-like abruptness that had
+marked their interview of the day before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good-morning, Cabot," he said.  "I see you are promptly on hand, and,
+I suppose, anxious to be off.  Well, I don't blame you, for a pleasure
+trip around the world isn't offered to every young fellow, and I wish I
+were in a position to take such a one myself.  I have had prepared a
+letter of credit for the balance of your property remaining in our
+hands, and while it probably is not as large a sum as your friend
+Walling will carry, it is enough to see you through very comfortably,
+if you exercise a reasonable economy.  I have also written letters of
+introduction to our agents in several foreign cities that may prove
+useful.  Let me hear from you occasionally, and I trust you will have
+fully as good a time as you anticipate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you, sir," said Cabot.  "You are very kind."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not at all.  I am only striving to carry out your father's
+instructions, and do what he paid to have done.  Now, how about the
+young man you were to recommend?  Have you thought of one?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, sir, I haven't.  You see, all the fellows who graduated with
+honours found places waiting for them, and as I knew you would only
+want one of the best, I can't think of one whom I can recommend for
+your purpose.  I am very sorry, but&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I fear I did not make our requirements quite clear," interrupted Mr.
+Hepburn, "since I did not mean to convey the impression that we would
+employ none but an honour man.  It often happens that he who ranks
+highest as a student fails of success in the business world; and under
+certain conditions I would employ the man who graduated lowest in his
+class rather than him who stood at its head."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot's face expressed his amazement at this statement, and noting it,
+Mr. Hepburn smiled as he continued:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The mere fact that a young man has graduated from your Institute, even
+though it be with low rank, insures his possession of technical
+knowledge sufficient for our purpose.  If, at the same time, he is a
+gentleman endowed with the faculty of making friends, as well as an
+athlete willing to meet and able to overcome physical difficulties, I
+would employ him in preference to a more studious person who lacked any
+of these qualifications.  If you, for instance, had not already decided
+upon a plan for spending the ensuing year, I should not hesitate to
+offer you the position we desire to fill."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot trembled with excitement.  "I&mdash;Mr. Hepburn!" he exclaimed.
+"Would you really have offered it to me?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly I would.  I desired you to meet me here for that very
+purpose; but when I found you had made other arrangements that might
+prove equally advantageous, I believed I was meeting your father's
+wishes by helping you carry them out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is the place still open, and can I have it?" asked Cabot eagerly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not if you are going around the world; for, although the duties of the
+position will include a certain amount of travel, it will not be in
+that direction."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I don't want to go around the world, and would rather take the
+position you have to offer than do anything else I know of," declared
+Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Without knowing its requirements, what hardships it may present, nor
+in what direction it may lead you?" inquired the other.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, sir.  So long as you offer it I would accept it without question,
+even though it should be a commission to discover the North Pole."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear boy," said Mr. Hepburn, in an entirely different tone from
+that he had hitherto used, "I trust I may never forfeit nor abuse the
+confidence implied by these words.  Although you did not know it, I
+have carefully watched every step of your career during the past five
+years, and while you have done some things, as well as developed some
+traits, that are to be regretted, I am satisfied that you are at least
+worthy of a trial in the position we desire to fill.  So, if you are
+willing to relinquish your proposed trip around the world, and enter
+the employ of this company instead, you may consider yourself engaged
+for the term of one year from this date.  During that time all your
+legitimate expenses will be met, but no salary will be paid you until
+the expiration of the year, when its amount will be determined by the
+value of the services you have rendered.  Is that satisfactory?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is, sir," replied Cabot, "and with your permission I will at once
+telegraph Thorpe Walling that I cannot go with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Write your despatch here and I will have it sent out.  At the same
+time, do not mention that you have entered the employ of this company,
+as there are reasons why, for the present at least, that should remain
+a secret."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When Cabot's telegram was ready, Mr. Hepburn, who had been glancing
+through a number of letters that awaited his signature, handed it to
+his secretary, to whom he also gave some instructions that Cabot did
+not catch.  As the former left the room, the president turned to our
+young engineer and said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As perhaps you are aware, Cabot, there is at present an unprecedented
+demand all over the world for both iron and copper, and our company is
+largely interested in the production of these metals.  As existing
+sources of supply are inadequate it is of importance that new ones
+should be discovered, and if they can be found on the Atlantic
+seaboard, so much the better.  In looking about for new fields that may
+be profitably worked, our attention has been directed to the island of
+Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador.  While the former has been
+partially explored, we desire more definite information as to its
+available ore beds.  There is a small island in Conception Bay, not far
+from St. Johns, known as Bell Island, said to be a mass of iron ore,
+that is already being worked by a local company.  From it I should like
+to have a report, as soon as you reach St. Johns, concerning the nature
+of the ore, the extent of the deposit, the cost of mining it, the
+present output, the facilities for shipment, and so forth.  At the same
+time I want you to obtain this information without divulging the nature
+of your business, or allowing your name to become in any way connected
+with this company.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Having finished with Bell Island, you will visit such other portions
+of Newfoundland as are readily accessible from the coast, and seem to
+promise good results, always keeping to yourself the true nature of
+your business.  Finally, you will proceed to Labrador, where you will
+make such explorations as are possible.  You will report any
+discoveries in person, when you return to New York, as I do not care to
+have them entrusted to the mails.  Above all, do not fail to bring back
+specimens of whatever you may find in the way of minerals.  Are these
+instructions sufficiently clear?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They seem so, sir."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well, then.  I wish you to start this very day, as I find that a
+steamer, on which your passage is already engaged, sails from a
+Brooklyn pier for St. Johns this afternoon.  This letter of credit,
+which only awaits your signature before a notary, will, if deposited
+with the bank of Nova Scotia in St. Johns, more than defray your year's
+expenses, and whatever you can save from it will be added to your
+salary.  Therefore, it will pay you to practise economy, though you
+must not hesitate to incur legitimate expenses or to spend money when
+by so doing you can further the objects of your journey.  You have
+enough money for your immediate needs, have you not?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, sir.  I have about fifty dollars."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That will be ample, since your ticket to St. Johns is already paid
+for.  Here it is."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus saying, Mr. Hepburn handed over an envelope containing the
+steamship ticket that his secretary had been sent out to obtain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I would take as little baggage as possible," he continued, "for you
+can purchase everything necessary in St. Johns, and will discover what
+you need after you get there.  Now, good-bye, my boy.  God bless you
+and bring you back in safety.  Remember that the coming year will
+probably prove the most important of your life, and that your future
+now depends entirely upon yourself.  Mr. Black here will go with you to
+the banker's, where you can sign your letter of credit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So our young engineer was launched on the sea of business life.  Two
+hours later he had packed a dress-suit case and sent his trunk down to
+the company's building for storage.  On his way to the steamer he
+stopped at his club for a bite of lunch, and as he was leaving the
+building he encountered the friend with whom he had discussed his plans
+the day before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello!" exclaimed that individual, "where are you going in such a
+hurry.  Not starting off on your year of travel, are you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," laughed Cabot.  "I am to sail within an hour.  Good-bye!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this he ran down the steps and jumped into a waiting cab.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap03"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER III.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE STRANGE FATE OF A STEAMER.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+So exciting had been the day, and so fully had its every minute been
+occupied, that not until Cabot stood on the deck of the steamer
+"Lavinia," curiously watching the bustling preparations for her
+departure, did he have time to realise the wonderful change in his
+prospects that had taken place within a few hours.  That morning his
+life had seemed wholly aimless, and he had been filled with envy of
+those among his recent classmates whose services were in demand.  Now
+he would not change places with any one of them; for was not he, too,
+entrusted with an important mission that held promise of a brilliant
+future in case he should carry it to a successful conclusion?
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-023"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-023.jpg" ALT="On the deck of the steamer &quot;Lavinia.&quot;" BORDER="2" WIDTH="374" HEIGHT="468">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: On the deck of the steamer "Lavinia."]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"And I will," he mentally resolved.  "No matter what happens, if I live
+I will succeed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In spite of this brave resolve our lad could not help feeling rather
+forlorn as he watched those about him, all of whom seemed to have
+friends to see them off; while he alone stood friendless and unnoticed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Especially was his attention attracted to a nearby group of girls
+gathered about one who was evidently a bride.  They were full of gay
+chatter, and he overheard one of them say:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you come within sight of an iceberg, Nelly, make him go close to it
+so you can get a good photograph.  I should like awfully to have one."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So should I," cried another.  "But, oh! wouldn't it be lovely if we
+could only have a picture of this group, standing just as we are aboard
+the ship.  It would make a splendid beginning for your camera."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The bride, who, as Cabot saw, carried a small brand-new camera similar
+to one he had recently procured for his own use, promptly expressed her
+willingness to employ it as suggested, but was greeted by a storm of
+protests from her companions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, indeed!  You must be in it of course!" they cried.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then it further transpired that all wished to be "in it," and no one
+wanted to act the part of photographer.  At this juncture Cabot stepped
+forward, and lifting his cap, said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am somewhat of a photographer, and with your permission it would
+afford me great pleasure to take a picture of so charming a group."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a moment the girls looked at the presumptuous young stranger in
+silence.  Then the bride, flushing prettily, stepped forward and handed
+him her camera, saying as she did so:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you, sir, ever so much for your kind offer, which we are glad to
+accept."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So Cabot arranged the group amid much laughter, and by the time two
+plates had been exposed, had made rapid progress towards getting
+acquainted with its several members.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The episode was barely ended before all who were to remain behind were
+ordered ashore, and, a few minutes later, as the ship began to move
+slowly from her dock, our traveller found himself waving his
+handkerchief and shouting good-byes as vigorously as though all on the
+wharf were assembled for the express purpose of bidding him farewell.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By the time the "Lavinia" was in the stream and headed up the East
+River, with her long voyage fairly begun, Cabot had learned that his
+new acquaintance was a bride of but a few hours, having been married
+that morning to the captain of that very steamer.  She had hardly made
+this confession when her husband, temporarily relieved of his
+responsibilities by a pilot, came in search of her and was duly
+presented to our hero.  His name was Phinney, and he so took to Cabot
+that from that moment the latter no longer found himself lonely or at a
+loss for occupation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As he had never before been at sea, the voyage proved full of interest,
+and his intelligent questions received equally intelligent answers from
+Captain Phinney, who was a well-informed young man but a few years
+older than Cabot, and an enthusiast in his calling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Up Long Island Sound went the "Lavinia," and it was late that night
+before our lad turned in, so interested was he in watching the many
+lights that were pointed out by his new acquaintance.  The next morning
+found the ship threading her way amid the shoals of Nantucket Sound,
+after which came the open sea; and for the first time in his life Cabot
+lost sight of land.  Halifax was reached on the following day, and here
+the steamer remained twenty-four hours discharging freight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The capital of Nova Scotia marks the half-way point between New York
+and St. Johns, Newfoundland, which name Cabot was already learning to
+pronounce as do its inhabitants&mdash;Newfund-<I>land</I>&mdash;and after leaving it
+the ship was again headed for the open across the wide mouth of the
+Gulf of St. Lawrence.  Thus far the weather had been fine, the sea
+smooth, and nothing had occurred to break the pleasant monotony of the
+voyage.  Its chief interests lay in sighting distant sails, the
+tell-tale smoke pennons of far-away steamers, the plume-like spoutings
+of sluggishly moving whales, the darting of porpoises about the ship's
+fore-foot, the wide circling overhead of gulls, or the dainty skimming
+just above the wave crests of Mother Carey's fluffy chickens.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who was Mother Carey," asked Cabot, "and why are they her chickens?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have been told that she was the <I>Mater Cara</I> of devout Portuguese
+sailors," replied Captain Phinney, "and that these tiny sea-fowl are
+supposed to be under her especial protection, since the fiercest of
+gales have no power to harm them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How queerly names become changed and twisted out of their original
+shape," remarked Cabot meditatively.  "The idea of <I>Mater Cara</I>
+becoming Mother Carey!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is an easy change compared with some others I have run across,"
+laughed the captain.  "For instance, I once put up at an English
+seaport tavern called the 'Goat and Compasses,' and found out that its
+original name, given in Cromwell's time, had been 'God Encompasseth
+Us.'  Almost as curious is the present name of that portion of the
+Newfoundland coast nearest us at this minute.  It is called
+'Ferryland,' which is a corruption of 'Verulam,' the name applied by
+its original owner, Lord Baltimore, in memory of his home estate in
+England.  In fact, this region abounds in queerly twisted names, most
+of which were originally French.  Bai d'espair, for instance, has
+become Bay Despair.  Blanc Sablon and Isle du Bois up on the Labrador
+coast have been Anglicised as Nancy Belong and Boys' Island.  Cape
+Race, which is almost within sight, was the Capo Razzo of its
+Portuguese discoverer.  Cape Spear was Cappo Sperenza, and Pointe
+l'Amour is now Lammer's Point."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While taking part in conversations of this kind both Cabot and Mrs.
+Phinney, who were the only passengers now left on the ship, kept a
+sharp lookout for icebergs, which, as they had learned, were apt to be
+met in those waters at that season.  Finally, during the afternoon of
+the last day they expected to spend on shipboard, a distant white speck
+dead ahead, which was at first taken for a sail, proved to be an
+iceberg, and from that moment it was watched with the liveliest
+curiosity.  Before their rapid approach it developed lofty pinnacles,
+and proved of the most dazzling whiteness, save at the water line,
+where it was banded with vivid blue.  It was exquisitely chiselled and
+carved into dainty forms by the gleaming rivulets that ran down its
+steep sides and fell into the sea as miniature cascades.  So
+wonderfully beautiful were the icy details as they were successively
+unfolded, that the bride begged her husband to take his ship just as
+close as possible, in order that she might obtain a perfect photograph.
+Anxious to gratify her every wish, Captain Phinney readily consented,
+and the ship's course was slightly altered, so as to pass within one
+hundred feet of the glistening monster, which was now sharply outlined
+against a dark bank of fog rolling heavily in from the eastward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Both cameras had been kept busy from the time the berg came within
+range of their finders, but just as the best point of view was reached,
+and when they were so near that the chill of the ice was distinctly
+felt, Cabot discovered that he had exhausted his roll of films.
+Uttering an exclamation of disgust, he ran aft and down to his
+stateroom, that opened from the lower saloon, to secure another
+cartridge.  As he entered the room, he closed its door to get at his
+dress-suit case that lay behind it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Recklessly tossing the contents of the case right and left, he had just
+laid hands on the desired object and was rising to his feet when,
+without warning, he was flung violently to the floor by a shock like
+that of an earthquake.  It was accompanied by a dull roar and an awful
+sound of crashing and rending.  At the same time the ship seemed to be
+lifted bodily.  Then she fell back, apparently striking on her side,
+and for several minutes rolled with sickening lurches, as though in the
+trough of a heavy sea.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime Cabot was struggling furiously to open his stateroom
+door; but it had so jammed in its casing that his utmost efforts failed
+to move it.  The steel deck beams overhead were twisted like willow
+wands, the iron side of the ship was crumpled as though it were a sheet
+of paper, and with every downward lurch a torrent of icy water poured
+in about the air port, which, though still closed, had been wrenched
+out of position.  With a horrid dread the prisoner realised that unless
+quickly released he must drown where he was, and, unable to open the
+door, he began to kick at it with the hope of smashing one of its
+panels.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-031"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-031.jpg" ALT="He began to kick at it with the hope of smashing one of its panels." BORDER="2" WIDTH="359" HEIGHT="507">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: He began to kick at it with the hope <BR>
+of smashing one of its panels.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+With his first effort in this direction there came another muffled roar
+like that of an explosion, and he felt the ship quiver as though it
+were being rent in twain.  At the same moment his door flew open of its
+own accord, and he was nearly suffocated by an inrush of steam.
+Springing forward, and blindly groping his way through this, the
+bewildered lad finally reached the stairs he had so recently descended.
+In another minute he had gained the deck, where he stood gasping for
+breath and vainly trying to discover what terrible thing had happened.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Not a human being was to be seen, and the forward part of the ship was
+concealed beneath a dense cloud of steam and smoke that hung over it
+like a pall.  Cabot fancied he could distinguish shouting in that
+direction, and attempted to gain the point from which it seemed to
+come; but found the way barred by a yawning opening in the deck, from
+which poured smoke and flame as though it were the crater of a volcano.
+Then he ran back, and at length found himself on top of the after
+house, cutting with his pocket knife at the lashings of a life raft;
+for he realised that the ship was sinking so rapidly that she might
+plunge to the bottom at any moment.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Five minutes later he lay prone on the buoyant raft, clutching the
+sides of its wooden platform, while it spun like a storm-driven leaf in
+the vortex marking the spot where the ill-fated.  "Lavinia" had sunk.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap04"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IV.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Anything less buoyant than a modern life raft, consisting of two steel
+cylinders stoutly braced and connected by a wooden platform, would have
+been drawn under by the deadly clutch of that swirling vortex.  No open
+boat could have lived in it for a minute; and even the raft, spinning
+round and round with dizzy velocity, was sucked downward until it was
+actually below the level of the surrounding water.  But, sturdily
+resisting the down-dragging force, its wonderful buoyancy finally
+triumphed, and as its rotary motion became less rapid, Cabot sat up and
+gazed about him with the air of one who has been stunned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was dazed by the awfulness of the catastrophe that had so suddenly
+overwhelmed the "Lavinia," and could form no idea of its nature.  Had
+there been a collision?  If so, it must have been with the iceberg, for
+nothing else had been in sight when he went below.  Yet it was
+incredible that such a thing could have happened in broad daylight.
+The afternoon had been clear and bright; of that he was certain, though
+his surroundings were now shrouded by an impenetrable veil of fog.
+Through this he could see nothing, and from it came no sound save the
+moan of winds sweeping across a limitless void of waters.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+What had become of his recent companions?  Had they gone down with the
+ship, and was he sole survivor of the tragedy?  At this thought the lad
+sprang to his feet, and shouted, calling his friends by name, and
+begging them not to leave him; but the only answer came in shape of
+mocking echoes hurled sharply back from close at hand.  Looking in that
+direction, he dimly discerned a vast outline of darker substance than
+the enveloping mist.  From it came also a sound of falling waters, and
+against it the sea was beating angrily.  At the same time he was
+conscious of a deadly chill in the air, and came to a sudden
+comprehension that the iceberg, to which he attributed all his present
+distress, was still close at hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Its mere presence brought a new terror; for he knew that unless the
+attraction of its great bulk could be overcome, his little raft must
+speedily be drawn to it and dashed helplessly against its icy cliffs.
+This thought filled him with a momentary despair, for there seemed no
+possibility of avoiding the impending fate.  Then his eyes fell on a
+pair of oars lashed, together with their metal rowlocks, to the sides
+of his raft.  In another minute he had shipped these and was pulling
+with all his might away from that ill-omened neighbourhood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The progress of his clumsy craft was painfully slow; but it did move,
+and at the end the dreaded ice monster was beyond both sight and
+hearing.  The exercise of rowing had warmed Cabot as well as
+temporarily diverted his mind from a contemplation of the terrible
+scenes through which he had so recently passed.  Now, however, as he
+rested on his oars, a full sense of his wretched plight came back to
+him, and he grew sick at heart as he realised how forlorn was his
+situation.  He wondered if he could survive the night that was rapidly
+closing in on him, and, if he did, whether the morrow would find him
+any better off.  He had no idea of the direction in which wind and
+current were drifting him, whether further out to sea or towards the
+land.  He was again shivering with cold, he was hungry and thirsty, and
+so filled with terror at the black waters leaping towards him from all
+sides that he finally flung himself face downward on the wet platform
+to escape from seeing them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he next lifted his head he found himself in utter darkness,
+through which he fancied he could still hear the sound of waters
+dashing against frigid cliffs, and with an access of terror he once
+more sprang to his oars.  Now he rowed with the wind, keeping it as
+directly astern as possible; nor did he pause in his efforts until
+compelled by exhaustion.  Then he again lay down, and this time dropped
+into a fitful doze.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Waking a little later with chattering teeth, he resumed his oars for
+the sake of warming exercise, and again rowed as long as he was able.
+So, with alternating periods of weary work and unrefreshing rest, the
+slow dragging hours of that interminable night were spent.  Finally,
+after he had given up all hope of ever again seeing a gleam of
+sunshine, a faint gray began to permeate the fog that still held him in
+its wet embrace, and Cabot knew that he had lived to see the beginnings
+of another day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To make sure that the almost imperceptible light really marked the
+dawn, he shut his eyes and resolutely kept them closed until he had
+counted five hundred.  Then he opened them, and almost screamed with
+the joy of being able to trace the outlines of his raft.  Again and
+again he did this until at length the black night shadows had been
+fairly vanquished and only those of the fog remained.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With the assurance that day had fairly come, and that the dreaded
+iceberg was at least not close at hand, Cabot again sought
+forgetfulness of his misery in sleep.  When he awoke some hours later,
+aching in every bone, and painfully hungry, he was also filled with a
+delicious sense of warmth; for the sun, already near its meridian, was
+shining as brightly as though no such things as fog or darkness had
+ever existed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On standing up and looking about him, the young castaway was relieved
+to note that the iceberg from which he had suffered so much was no
+longer in sight.  At the same time he was grievously disappointed that
+he could discover no sail nor other token that any human being save
+himself was abroad on all that lonely sea.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He experienced a momentary exhilaration when, on turning to the west,
+he discovered a dark far-reaching line that he believed to be land; but
+his spirits fell as he measured the distance separating him from it,
+and realised how slight a chance he had of ever gaining the coast.  To
+be sure, the light breeze then blowing was in that direction, but it
+might change at any moment; and even with it to aid his rowing he
+doubted if his clumsy craft could make more than a mile an hour.  Thus
+darkness would again overtake him ere he had covered more than half the
+required distance, though he should row steadily during the remainder
+of the day.  He knew that his growing weakness would demand intervals
+of rest with ever-increasing frequency until utter exhaustion should
+put an end to his efforts; and then what would become of him?  Still
+there was nothing else to be done; and, with a dogged determination to
+die fighting, if die he must, the poor lad sat down and resumed his
+hopeless task.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A life raft is not intended to be used as a rowboat, and is unprovided
+with either seats or foot braces.  Being thus compelled to sit on the
+platform, Cabot could get so little purchase that half his effort was
+wasted, and the progress made was barely noticeable.  During his
+frequent pauses for rest he stood up to gaze longingly at the goal that
+still appeared as far away as ever, and grew more unattainable as the
+day wore on.  At length the sun was well down the western sky, across
+which it appeared to race as never before.  As Cabot watched it, and
+vaguely wished for the power once given to Joshua, the bleakness of
+despair suddenly enfolded him, and his eyes became blurred with tears.
+He covered them with his hands to shut out the mocking sunlight, and
+sat down because he was too weak to stand any longer.  He had fought
+his fight very nearly to a finish, and his strength was almost gone.
+He had perhaps brought his craft five miles nearer to the land than it
+was when he set out; but after all what had been the gain?  Apparently
+there was none, and he would not further torture his aching body with
+useless effort.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime a small schooner, bringing with her a fair wind, was
+running rapidly down the coast, not many miles from where our poor lad
+so despairingly awaited the coming of night.  That he had not seen her
+while standing up, was owing to the fact that her sails, instead of
+being white, were tanned a dull red, that blended perfectly with the
+colour of the distant shore line.  A bright-faced, resolute chap,
+somewhat younger than Cabot, but of equally sturdy build, held the
+tiller, and regarded with evident approval the behaviour of his
+speeding craft.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We'll make it, Dave," he cried, cheerily.  "The old 'Sea Bee's' got
+the wings of 'em this time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mebbe so," growled the individual addressed, an elderly man who stood
+in the companionway, with his head just above the hatch, peering
+forward under the swelling sails.  "Mebbe so," he repeated, "and mebbe
+not.  Steam's hard to beat on land or water, an' we be a far cry from
+Pretty Harbour yet.  So fur that ef they're started they'll overhaul us
+before day, and beat us in by a good twelve hour.  It's what I'm
+looking fur."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, pshaw!" replied the young skipper.  "What a gammy old croaker you
+are.  They won't start to-day, anyhow.  But here, take her a minute,
+while I go aloft for one more look before sundown to make sure."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the man complied with this request, and waddling aft took the
+tiller, his more active companion sprang into the main rigging and ran
+rapidly to the masthead, from which point of vantage he gazed back for
+a full minute over the course they had come.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not a sign," he shouted down at length.  "But hello," he added to
+himself, "what's that?"  With a glance seaward his keen eye had
+detected a distant floating object that was momentarily uplifted on the
+back of a long swell, and flashed white in the rays of the setting sun.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Luff her, David!  Hard down with your hellum, and trim in all," he
+shouted to the steersman.  "There, steady, so."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wot's hup?" inquired the man a few minutes later, as the other
+rejoined him on deck.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't know for sure; but there's something floating off there that
+looks like a bit of wreckage."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"An' you, with all your hurry, going to stop fur a closer look, and
+lose time that'll mebbe prove the most wallyable of your life," growled
+the man disgustedly.  "Wal, I'll be jiggered!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So would I, if I didn't," replied the lad.  "It was one of dad's rules
+never to pass any kind of a wreck without at least one good look at it,
+and so it's one of mine as well.  There's what I'm after, now.  See,
+just off the starboard bow.  It's a raft, and David, there's a man on
+it, sure as you live.  Look, he's standing up and waving at us.  Now,
+he's down again!  Poor fellow!  In with the jib, David!  Spry now, and
+stand by with a line.  I'm going to round up, right alongside."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap05"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER V.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+WHITE BALDWIN AND HIS "SEA BEE."
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+The hour that preceded the coming of that heaven-sent schooner was the
+blackest of Cabot Grant's life, and as he sat with bowed head on the
+wet platform of his tossing raft he was utterly hopeless.  He believed
+that he should never again hear a human voice nor tread the blessed
+land&mdash;yes, everything was ended for him, or very nearly so, and
+whatever record he had made in life must now stand without addition or
+correction.  His thoughts went back as far as he could remember
+anything, and every act of his life was clearly recalled.  How mean
+some of them now appeared; how thoughtless, indifferent, or selfish he
+had been in others.  Latterly how he had been filled with a sense of
+his own importance, how he had worked and schemed for a little
+popularity, and now who would regret him, or give his memory more than
+a passing thought?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thorpe Walling would say: "Served him right for throwing me over, as he
+did," and others would agree with him.  Even Mr. Hepburn, who had
+doubtless given him a chance merely because he was his guardian, would
+easily find a better man to put in his place.  Some cousins whom he had
+never seen nor cared to know would rejoice on coming into possession of
+his little property; and so, on the whole, his disappearance would
+cause more of satisfaction than regret.  Most bitter of all was the
+thought that he would never have the opportunity of changing, or at
+least of trying to change, this state of affairs, since he had
+doubtless looked at the sun for the last time, and the blackness of an
+endless night was about to enfold him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Had he really seen his last ray of sunlight and hope?  No; it could not
+be.  There must be a gleam left.  The sun could not have set yet.  He
+lifted his head.  There was no sun to be seen.  With a cry of terror he
+sprang to his feet, and, from the slight elevation thus gained, once
+more beheld the mighty orb of day, and life, and promise, crowning with
+a splendour infinitely beyond anything of this earth, the distant
+shore-line that he had striven so stoutly to gain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Dazzled by its radiance, Cabot saw nothing else during the minute that
+it lingered above the horizon.  Then, as it disappeared, he uttered
+another cry, but this time it was one of incredulous and joyful
+amazement, for close at hand, coming directly towards him from out the
+western glory, was a ship bearing a new lease of life and freighted
+with new opportunities.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The poor lad tried to wave his cap at the new-comers; but after a
+feeble attempt sank to his knees, overcome by weakness and gratitude.
+It was in that position they found him as the little schooner was
+rounded sharply into the wind, and, with fluttering sails, lay close
+alongside the drifting raft.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+David flung a line that Cabot found strength to catch and hold to,
+while the young skipper of the "Sea Bee" sprang over her low rail and
+alighted beside the castaway just as the latter staggered to his feet
+with outstretched hand.  The stranger grasped it tightly in both of
+his, and for a moment the two gazed into each other's eyes without a
+word.  Cabot tried to speak, but something choked him so that he could
+not; and, noting this, the other said gently:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is all over now, and you are as safe as though you stood on dry
+land; so don't try to say anything till we've made you comfortable, for
+I know you must have had an almighty hard time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," whispered Cabot.  "I've been hungry, and thirsty, and wet, and
+cold, and scared; but now I'm only grateful&mdash;more grateful than I can
+ever tell."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A little later the life raft, its mission accomplished, was left to
+toss and drift at will, while the "Sea Bee," with everything set and
+drawing finely, was rapidly regaining her course, guided by the
+far-reaching flash of Cape Race light.  In her dingy little cabin,
+which seemed to our rescued lad the most delightfully snug, warm, and
+altogether comfortable place he had ever entered, Cabot lay in the
+skipper's own bunk, regarding with intense interest the movements of
+that busy youth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The latter had lighted a swinging lamp, started a fire in a small and
+very rusty galley stove, set a tea kettle on to boil, and a pan of cold
+chowder to re-warm.  Having thus got supper well under way, he returned
+to the cabin, where he proceeded to set the table.  The worst of
+Cabot's distress had already been relieved by a cup of cold tea and a
+ship's biscuit.  Now, finding that he was able to talk, his host could
+no longer restrain his curiosity, but began to ask questions.  He had
+already learned Cabot's name, and told his own, which was Whiteway
+Baldwin, "called White for short," he had added.  Now he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You needn't talk, if you don't feel like it, but I do wish you could
+tell how you came to be drifting all alone on that raft."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A steamer that I was on was wrecked yesterday, and so far as I know I
+am the only survivor," answered Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Goodness!  You don't say so!  What steamer was she, where was she
+bound, and what part of the coast was she wrecked on?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She was the 'Lavinia' from New York for St. Johns, and she wasn't
+wrecked on any part of the coast, but was lost at sea."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"<I>Jiminetty</I>!  The 'Lavinia'!  It don't seem possible.  How did it
+happen?  There hasn't been any gale.  Did she blow up, or what?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," replied Cabot, "for I was down-stairs when it took
+place, and my stateroom door was jammed so that I couldn't get out for
+a long time.  I only know that there was the most awful crash I ever
+heard, and it seemed as though the ship were being torn to pieces.
+Then there came an explosion, and when I got on deck the ship was
+sinking so fast that I had only time to cut loose the raft before she
+went down."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What became of the others?" asked White excitedly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am afraid they were drowned, for I heard them shouting just before
+she sank, but there was such a cloud of steam, smoke, and fog that I
+couldn't see a thing, and after it was all over I seemed to be the only
+one left."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wasn't there a rock or ship or anything she might have run into?"
+asked the young skipper, whose tanned face had grown pale as he
+listened to this tale of sudden disaster.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There was an iceberg," replied Cabot, "but when I went down-stairs it
+wasn't very close, and the sun was shining, so that it was in plain
+sight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That must be what she struck, though," declared the other.  Then he
+thrust his head up the companionway and shouted: "Hear the news, Dave.
+The 'Lavinia's' lost with all on board, except the chap we've just
+picked up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What happened her?" asked the man laconically.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He says she ran into an iceberg in clear day, bust up, and sank with
+all hands, inside of a minute."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Rot!" replied the practical sailor.  "The 'Laviny' had collision
+bulkheads, and couldn't have sunk in no sich time, ef she could at all.
+'Sides Cap'n Phinney ain't no man to run down a berg in clear day, nor
+yet in the night, nor no other time.  He's been on this coast and the
+Labrador run too long fur any sich foolishness.  No, son, ef the
+'Laviny's' lost, which mind, I don't say she ain't, she's lost some
+other way 'sides that, an' you can tell your friend so with my
+compliments."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot did not overhear these remarks, and wondered at the queer look on
+the young skipper's face when he reëntered the cabin, as he did at the
+silence with which the latter resumed his preparations for supper.  At
+the same time he was still too weak, and, in spite of his biscuit, too
+ravenously hungry to care for further conversation just then.  So it
+was only after a most satisfactory meal and several cups of very hot
+tea that he was ready in his turn to ask questions.  But he was not
+given the chance; for, as soon as White Baldwin was through with
+eating, he went on dock to relieve the tiller, and the other member of
+the crew, whose name was David Gidge, came below.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was a man of remarkable appearance, of very broad shoulders and long
+arms; but with legs so bowed outward as to materially lower his
+stature, which would have been short at best, and convert his gait into
+an absurd waddle.  His face was disfigured by a scar across one cheek
+that so drew that corner of his mouth downward as to produce a
+peculiarly forbidding expression.  He also wore a bristling iron-grey
+beard that grew in form of a fringe or ruff, and added an air of
+ferocity to his make up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As this striking-looking individual entered the cabin and rolled into a
+seat at the table, he cast one glance, accompanied by a grunt, at
+Cabot, and then proceeded to attend strictly to the business in hand.
+He ate in such prodigious haste, and gulped his food in such vast
+mouthfuls, that he had cleaned the table of its last crumb, and was
+fiercely stuffing black tobacco into a still blacker pipe, before
+Cabot, who really wished to talk with him, had decided how to open the
+conversation.  Lighting his pipe and puffing it into a ruddy glow, Mr.
+Gidge made a waddling exit from the cabin, bestowing on our lad another
+grunt as he passed him, and leaving an eddying wake of rank tobacco
+smoke to mark his passage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For some time after this episode Cabot struggled to keep awake in the
+hope that White would return and answer some of his questions; but
+finally weariness overcame him, and he fell into a sleep that lasted
+without a break until after sunrise of the following morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime the little schooner had held her course, and swept
+onward past the flashing beacons of Cape Race, Cape Pine, and Cape St.
+Mary, until, at daylight, she was standing across the broad reach of
+Placentia Bay towards the bald headland of Cape Chapeau Rouge.  She was
+making a fine run, and in spite of his weariness after a six hours'
+watch on deck, White Baldwin presented a cheery face to Cabot, as the
+latter vainly strove to recognise and account for his surroundings.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good morning," said the young skipper, "I hope you have slept well,
+and are feeling all right again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, thank you," replied Cabot, suddenly remembering, "I slept
+splendidly, and am as fit as a fiddle.  Have we made a good run?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Fine; we have come nearly a hundred miles from the place where we
+picked you up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then we must be almost to St. Johns," suggested Cabot, tumbling from
+his bunk as he spoke.  "I am glad, for it is important that I should
+get there as quickly as possible."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"St. Johns!" replied the other blankly.  "Didn't you know that we had
+come from St. Johns, and were going in the opposite direction?  Why, we
+are more than one hundred and fifty miles from there at this minute."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap06"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VI.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Although Cabot had had no reason to suppose that the "Sea Bee" was on
+her way to St. Johns, it had not for a moment occurred to him that she
+could be going anywhere else.  Thus the news that they were not only a
+long way from the place he wished to reach, but steadily increasing
+their distance from it, so surprised him that for a moment he sat on
+the edge of his bunk gazing at the speaker as though doubting if he had
+heard aright.  Finally he asked: "Where, then, are we bound?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"To Pretty Harbour, around on the west coast, where I live," was the
+answer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd be willing to give you fifty dollars to turn around and carry me
+to St. Johns," said Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Couldn't do it if you offered me a hundred, much as I need the money,
+and glad as I would be to oblige you, for I've got to get home in a
+hurry if I want to find any home to get to.  You see, it's this way,"
+continued White, noting Cabot's look of inquiry, "Pretty Harbour being
+on the French shore&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What do you mean by the French shore?" interrupted Cabot.  "I thought
+you lived in Newfoundland, and that it was an English island."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So it is," explained White; "but, for some reason or other, I don't
+know why, England made a treaty with France nearly two hundred years
+ago, by which the French were granted fishing privileges from Cape Bay
+along the whole west coast to Cape Bauld, and from there down the east
+coast as far as Cape St. John.  By another treaty made some years
+afterwards France was granted, for her own exclusive use, the islands
+of Miquelon and St. Pierre, that lie just ahead of us now.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In the meantime the French have been allowed to do pretty much as they
+pleased with the west coast, until now they claim exclusive rights to
+its fisheries, and will hardly allow us natives to catch what we want
+for our own use.  They send warships to enforce their demands, and
+these compel us to sell bait to French fishermen at such price as they
+choose to offer.  Why, I have seen men forced to sell bait to the
+French at thirty cents a barrel, when Canadian and American fishing
+boats wore offering five times that much for it.  At the same time the
+French officers forbid us to sell to any but Frenchmen, declaring that
+if we do they will not only prevent us from fishing, but will destroy
+our nets."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should think you would call on English warships for protection,"
+said Cabot.  "There surely must be some on this station."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," replied the other, bitterly, "there are, but they always take
+the part of the French, and do even more than they towards breaking up
+our business."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What?" cried Cabot.  "British warships take part with the French
+against their own people!  That is one of the strangest things I ever
+heard of, and I can't understand it.  Is not this an English colony?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, it is England's oldest colony; but, while I was born in it, and
+have lived here all my life, I don't understand the situation any
+better than you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It seems to me," continued Cabot, "that the conditions here must be
+fully as bad as those that led to the American Revolution, and I should
+think you Newfoundlanders would rebel, and set up a government of your
+own, or join the United States, or do something of that kind."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps we would if we could," replied White; "but our country is only
+a poor little island, with a population of less than a quarter of a
+million.  If we should rebel, we would have to fight both England and
+France.  We should have to do it without help, too, for the United
+States, which is the only country we desire to join, does not want us.
+So you see there is nothing for us to do but accept the situation, and
+get along as best we can."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why don't you emigrate to the States?" suggested Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Plenty of people whom I know have done so," replied the young
+Newfoundlander, "and I might, too, if it were not for my mother and
+sister; but I don't know how I could make a living for them in the
+States, or even for myself.  You see, everything we have in the world
+is tied up right here.  Besides, it would be hard to leave one's own
+country and go to live among strangers.  Don't you think so?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How do you make a living here?" asked Cabot, ignoring the last
+question.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We have made it until now by canning lobsters; but it looks as though
+even that business was to be stopped from this on."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why?  Is it wrong to can lobsters?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On the French shore, it seems to be one of the greatest crimes a
+person can commit, worse even than smuggling, and the chief duty of
+British warships on this station is to break it up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, that beats all!" exclaimed Cabot.  "Why is canning lobsters
+considered so wicked?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know that I can explain it very clearly," replied the young
+skipper of the "Sea Bee," "but, so far as I can make out, it is this
+way: You see, the west coast of Newfoundland is one of the best places
+in the world for lobsters.  So when the settlers there found they were
+not allowed to make a living by fishing, they turned their attention to
+catching and canning them.  They thought, of course, that in this they
+would not be molested, since the French right was only to take and dry
+fish, which, in this country, means only codfish.  They were so
+successful at the new business that after a while the French also began
+to establish lobster canneries.  As no one interfered with them they
+finally became so bold as to order the closing of all factories except
+their own, and to actually destroy the property of such English
+settlers as were engaged in the business.  Then there were riots, and
+we colonists appealed to Parliament for protection in our rights."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course they granted it," said Cabot, who was greatly interested.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course they did nothing of the kind," responded White, bitterly.
+"The English authorities only remonstrated gently with the French, who
+by that time were claiming an exclusive right to all the business of
+the west coast, and finally it was agreed to submit the whole question
+to arbitration.  It has never yet been arbitrated, though that was some
+years ago.  In the meantime an arrangement was made by which all
+lobster factories in existence on July 1, 1889, were allowed to
+continue their business, but no others might be established."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Was your factory one of those then in existence?" asked Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was completed, and ready to begin work a whole month before that
+date; but the captain of a French frigate told my father that if he
+canned a single lobster his factory would be destroyed.  Father
+appealed to the commander of a British warship for protection; but was
+informed that none could be given, and that if he persisted in the
+attempt to operate his factory his own countrymen would be compelled to
+aid the French in its destruction.  On that, father went to law, but it
+was not until the season was ended that the British captain was found
+to have had no authority for his action.  So father sued him for
+damages, and obtained judgment for five thousand dollars.  He never got
+the money, though, and by the time the next season came round the law
+regarding factories in existence on the first of the previous July was
+in force.  Then the question came up, whether or no our factory had
+been in existence at that time.  The French claim that it was not,
+because no work had been done in it, while we claim that, but for
+illegal interference, work would have been carried on for a full month
+before the fixed date."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How was the question settled?" asked Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was not settled until a few days ago, when a final decision was
+rendered against us, and now the property is liable to be destroyed at
+any minute.  Father fought the case until it worried him to death, and
+mother has been fighting it ever since.  All our property, except the
+factory itself, this schooner, and a few hundred acres of worthless
+land, has gone to the lawyers.  While they have fought over the case, I
+have made a sort of a living for the family by running the factory at
+odd times, when there was no warship at hand to prevent.  This season
+promises to be one of the best for lobsters ever known, and we had so
+nearly exhausted our supply of cans that I went to St. Johns for more.
+While there I got private information that the suit had gone against
+us, and that the commander of the warship 'Comattus,' then in port, had
+received orders to destroy our factory during his annual cruise along
+the French shore.  The 'Comattus' was to start as soon as the 'Lavinia'
+arrived.  The minute I heard this I set out in a hurry for home, in the
+hope of having time to pack the extra cases I have on board this
+schooner, and get them out of the way before the warship arrives.  That
+is one reason I am in such a hurry, and can't spare the time to take
+you to St. Johns.  I wouldn't even have stopped long enough to
+investigate your raft if you had been a mile further off our course
+than you were."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then all my yesterday's rowing didn't go for nothing," said Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should say not.  It was the one thing that saved you, so far as this
+schooner is concerned.  I'm in a hurry for another reason, too.  If the
+French get word that a decision has been rendered against us, and that
+the factory is to be destroyed, they will pounce down on it in a jiffy,
+and carry away everything worth taking, to one of their own factories."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't wonder you are in a hurry," said Cabot.  "I know I should be,
+in your place, and I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to take me
+back to St. Johns; but I wish you would tell me the next best way of
+getting there.  You see, having lost everything in the way of an outfit
+it is necessary for me to procure a new one.  Besides that and the
+business I have on hand, it seems to me that, as the only survivor of
+the 'Lavinia,' I ought to report her loss as soon as possible."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," agreed White, "of course you ought; though the longer it is
+unknown the longer the 'Comattus' will wait for her, and the more time
+I shall have."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Provided some French ship doesn't get after you," suggested Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, I realise that, and as I am going to stop at St. Pierre, to sec
+whether the frigate 'Isla' is still in that harbour, I might set you
+ashore there.  From St. Pierre you can get a steamer for St. Johns, and
+even if you have to wait a few days you could telegraph your news as
+quickly as you please."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," agreed Cabot.  "I shall be sorry to leave you; but if that
+is the best plan you can think of I will accept it, and shall be
+grateful if you will set me ashore as soon as possible."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus it was settled, and a few hours later the "Sea Bee" poked her nose
+around Gallantry Head, and ran into the picturesque, foreign-looking
+port of St. Pierre.  The French frigate "Isla," that had more than once
+made trouble for the Baldwins, lay in the little harbour, black and
+menacing.  Hoping not to be recognized, White gave her as wide a berth
+as possible; but he had hardly dropped anchor when a boat&mdash;containing
+an officer, and manned by six sailors&mdash;shot out from her side, and was
+pulled directly towards the schooner.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap07"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+DEFYING A FRIGATE.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+"I wonder what's up now?" said White Baldwin, in a troubled tone, as he
+watched the approaching man-of-war's boat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mischief of some kind," growled David Gidge, as he spat fiercely into
+the water.  "I hain't never knowed a Frencher to be good fur nawthin'
+else but mischief."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps it's a health officer," suggested Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's worse than that," replied White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A customs officer, then?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He comes from the shore."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then perhaps it's an invitation for us to go and dine with the French
+captain?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've no doubt it's an invitation of some kind, and probably one that
+is meant to be accepted."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this juncture the French boat dashed alongside, and, without leaving
+his place, the lieutenant in command said in fair English:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is not zat ze boat of Monsieur Baldwin of Pretty Harbour on ze côte
+Française?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is," replied the young skipper, curtly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You haf, of course, ze papaire of health, and ze papaire of clearance
+for St. Pierre?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No; I have no papers except a certificate of registry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah!  Is it possible?  In zat case ze commandant of ze frigate 'Isla'
+will be please to see you on board at your earlies' convenience."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought so," said White, in a low tone.  Then aloud, he replied:
+"All right, lieutenant.  I'll sail over there, and hunt up a good place
+to anchor, just beyond your ship, and as soon as I've made all snug
+I'll come aboard.  Up with your mud hook, Dave."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As Mr. Gidge began to work the windlass, Cabot sprang to help him, and,
+within a minute, the recently dropped anchor was again broken out.
+Then, at a sharp order, David hoisted and trimmed the jib, leaving
+Cabot to cat the anchor.  The fore and main sails had not been lowered.
+Thus within two minutes' time the schooner was again under way, and
+standing across the harbour towards the big warship.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The rapidity of these movements apparently somewhat bewildered the
+French officer, who, while narrowly watching them, did not utter a word
+of remonstrance.  Now, as the "Sea Bee" moved away, his boat was
+started in the same direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Without paying any further attention to it, White Baldwin luffed his
+little craft across the frigate's bow, and the moment he was hidden
+beyond her, bore broad away, passing close along the opposite side of
+the warship, from which hundreds of eyes watched his movements with
+languid curiosity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The boat, in the meantime, had headed for the stern of the frigate,
+with a view to gaining her starboard gangway, somewhere near which its
+officer supposed White to be already anchoring.  What was his
+amazement, therefore, as he drew within the shadow of his ship, to see
+the schooner shoot clear of its further side, and go flying down the
+wind, lee rail under.  For a moment he looked to see her round to and
+come to anchor.  Then, springing to his feet, he yelled for her to do
+so; upon which White Baldwin took off his cap, and made a mocking bow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver, and began to fire
+wildly in the direction of the vanishing schooner, which, for answer,
+displayed a British Union Jack at her main peak.  Three minutes later
+the saucy craft had rounded a projecting headland and disappeared,
+leaving the outwitted officer to get aboard his ship at his leisure,
+and make such report as seemed to him best.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-065"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-065.jpg" ALT="At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver." BORDER="2" WIDTH="504" HEIGHT="399">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+After the exciting incident was ended, and the little "Sea Bee" had
+gained the safety of open water, Cabot grasped the young skipper's hand
+and shook it heartily.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was fine!" he cried, "though I don't see how you dared do it.
+Weren't you afraid they would fire at us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not a bit," laughed White.  "They didn't realise what we were up to
+until we were well past them, and then they hadn't time to get ready
+before we were out of range.  I don't believe they would dare fire on
+the British flag, anyway; especially as we hadn't done a thing to them.
+I almost wish they had, though; for I would be willing to lose this
+schooner and a good deal besides for the sake of bringing on a war that
+should drive the French from Newfoundland."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what did they want of you, and what would have happened if you had
+not given them the slip?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect they wanted to hold me here until they heard how our case had
+gone, so that I couldn't get back to the factory before they had a
+chance to run up there and seize it.  Like as not they would have kept
+us on one excuse or another&mdash;lack of papers or something of that
+sort&mdash;for a week or two, and by the time they let us go some one else
+would have owned the Pretty Harbour lobster factory."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Would they really have dared do such a thing?" asked Cabot, to whom
+the idea of foreign interference in the local affairs of Newfoundland
+was entirely new.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly they would.  The French dare do anything they choose on this
+coast, and no one interferes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Cabot, "it seems a very curious situation, and one that a
+stranger finds hard to understand.  However, so long as the French
+possess such a power for mischief, I congratulate you more than ever on
+having escaped them.  At the same time I am disappointed at not being
+able to land at St. Pierre, and should like to know where you are going
+to take me next."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I declare!  In my hurry to get out of that trap, I forgot all about
+you wanting to land," exclaimed White, "and now there isn't a place
+from which you can get to St. Johns short of Port aux Basques, which is
+about one hundred and fifty miles west of here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How may I reach St. Johns from there?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By the railway across the island, of which Port aux Basques is the
+terminus.  A steamer from Sidney, on Cape Breton, connects with a train
+there every other day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very good; Port aux Basques it is," agreed Cabot, "and I shan't be
+sorry after all for a chance to cross the island by train and see what
+its interior looks like."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So our young engineer continued his involuntary voyage, and devoted his
+time to acquiring all sorts of information about the great northern
+island, as well as to the study of navigation.  In this latter line of
+research he even succeeded in producing a favorable impression upon
+David Gidge, who finally admitted that it wasn't always safe to judge a
+man from his appearance, and that this young feller had more in him
+than showed at first sight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While thus creating a favorable impression for himself, Cabot grew much
+interested in the young skipper of the schooner.  He was surprised to
+find one in his position so gentlemanly a chap, as well as so generally
+well informed, and wondered where he had picked it all up.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Are there good schools at Pretty Harbour?" he asked, with a view to
+solving this problem.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is one, but it is only fairly good," answered White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did you go to it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, no," laughed the other.  "I went to school as well as to college
+in St. Johns.  You see, father was a merchant there until he bought a
+great tract of land on the west coast.  Then he gave up his business in
+the city and came over here to establish a lobster factory, which at
+that time promised to pay better than anything else on the island.  He
+left us all in St. Johns, and it was only after his death that we came
+over here to live and try to save something from the wreck of his
+property.  Now I don't know what is to become of us; for, unless one is
+allowed to can lobsters, there isn't much chance of making a living on
+the French shore.  If it wasn't for the others, I should take this
+schooner and try a trading trip to Labrador, but mother has become so
+much of an invalid that I hate to leave her with only my sister."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is your sister's name?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Cola."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's an odd name, and one I never heard before, but I think I like
+it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So do I," agreed White; "though I expect I should like any name
+belonging to her, for she is a dear girl.  One reason I am so fond of
+this schooner is because it is named for her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How is that?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, it is the 'Sea Bee,' and these are her initials."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was early on the second morning after leaving St. Pierre that the
+"Sea Bee" drifted slowly into the harbour of Port aux Basques, where
+the yacht-like steamer "Bruce" lay beside its single wharf.  She had
+just completed her six-hour run across Cabot Strait, from North Sidney,
+eighty-five miles away, and close at hand stood the narrow-gauge train
+that was to carry her passengers and mails to St. Johns.  It would
+occupy twenty-eight hours in making the run of 550 miles from coast to
+coast, and our lad looked forward to the trip with pleasant
+anticipations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But he was again doomed to disappointment; for while the schooner was
+still at some distance from the wharf, the train was seen to be in
+motion.  In vain did Cabot shout and wave his cap.  No attention was
+paid to his signals, and a minute later the train had disappeared.
+There would not be another for two days, and the young engineer gazed
+about him with dismay.  Port aux Basques appeared to be only a railway
+terminus, offering no accommodation for travellers, and presenting,
+with its desolate surroundings, a scene of cheerless inhospitality.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's what I call tough luck!" exclaimed White Baldwin,
+sympathetically.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Isn't it?" responded Cabot; "and what I am to do with myself in this
+dreary place after you are gone, I can't imagine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Seems to me you'd better stay right where you are, and run up the
+coast with us to St. George's Bay, where there is another station at
+which you can take the next train."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should like to," replied Cabot, "if you would allow me to pay for my
+passage; but I don't want to impose upon your hospitality any longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nonsense!" exclaimed White.  "You are already doing your full share of
+the work aboard here, and even if you weren't of any help, I should be
+only too happy to have you stay with us until the end of the run, for
+the pleasure of your company."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That settles it," laughed Cabot.  "I will go with you as far as St.
+George's, and be glad of the chance.  But, while we are here, I think I
+ought to send in the news about the 'Lavinia.'"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As White agreed that this should be done at once, Cabot was set ashore,
+and made his way to the railway telegraph office, where he asked the
+operator to whom in St. Johns he should send the news of a wreck.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What wreck?" asked the operator.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Steamer 'Lavinia.'"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's no need to send that to anybody, for it's old news, and went
+through here last night as a press despatch.  'Lavinia' went too close
+to an iceberg, that capsized, and struck her with long, under-water
+projection.  Lifted steamer from water, broke her back, boiler
+exploded, and that was the end of 'Lavinia.'  Mate's boat reached St.
+Johns, and 'Comattus' has gone to look for other possible survivors."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As Cabot had nothing to add to this story, he merely sent a short
+despatch to Mr. Hepburn, announcing his own safety, and then returned
+to the schooner with his news.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good!" exclaimed White, when he heard it.  "I hope the 'Comattus' will
+find those she has gone to look for; and I'm mighty glad she has got
+something to do that will keep her away from here for a few days
+longer.  Now, Dave, up with the jib."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap08"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VIII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Cabot had been impressed by the rugged scenery of the Nova Scotia shore
+line, but it had been tame as compared with the stern grandeur of that
+unfolded when the "Sea Bee" rounded Cape Ray and was headed up the west
+coast of Newfoundland.  He had caught glimpses of lofty promontories
+and precipitous cliffs as the schooner skirted the southern end of the
+island; but most of the time it had kept too far from shore for him to
+appreciate the marvellous details.  Now, however, as they beat up
+against a head wind, they occasionally ran in so close as to be wet by
+drifting spray from the roaring breakers that ceaselessly dashed
+against the mighty wall, rising, grim and sheer, hundreds of feet above
+them.  Everywhere the rock was stained a deep red, indicating the
+presence of iron, and everywhere it had been rent or shattered into a
+thousand fantastic forms.  At short intervals the massive cliffs were
+wrenched apart to make room for narrow fiords, of unknown depth, that
+penetrated for miles into the land, where they formed intricate mazes
+of placid waterways.  Beside them there were nestled tiny fishing
+villages of whitewashed houses, though quite as often these were
+perched on apparently inaccessible crags, overlooking sheltered coves
+of the outer coast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the tossing waters fronting them, fleets of fishing boats, with
+sails tanned a ruddy brown, like those of the "Sea Bee," or blackened
+by coal tar, darted with the grace and fearlessness of gulls, or rested
+as easily on the heaving surface, while the fishermen, clad in yellow
+oilskins, pursued their arduous toil.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To our young American the doings of these hardy seafarers proved so
+interesting that he never tired of watching them nor of asking
+questions concerning their perilous occupation.  And he had plenty of
+time in which to acquire information, for so adverse were the winds
+that only by the utmost exertion did White Baldwin succeed in getting
+his schooner to the St. George's landing in time for Cabot to run to
+the railway station just as the train from Port aux Basques was coming
+in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The two lads exchanged farewells with sincere regrets, after White had
+extended a most cordial invitation to the other to finish the cruise
+with him, and visit his home at Pretty Harbour.  Much as Cabot wished
+to accept this invitation, he had declined it for the present, on the
+plea that he ought first to go to St. Johns.  At the same time he had
+promised to try and make the proposed visit before leaving the island,
+to which White had replied:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't delay too long, then, or you may not find us at home, for there
+is no knowing what may happen when the warships get there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even David Gidge shook hands with the departing guest, and said it was
+a pity he couldn't stay with them a while longer, seeing that he might
+be made into a very fair sort of a sailor with proper training.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With one regretful backward glance, Cabot left the little schooner on
+which he had come to feel so much at home, and sprinted towards the
+station, where was gathered half the population of the village&mdash;men,
+women, children, and dogs.  The train was already at the platform as he
+made his way through this crowd, wondering if he had time to purchase a
+ticket, and he glanced at it curiously.  It was well filled, and heads
+were thrust from most of the car windows on that side.  Through one
+window Cabot saw a quartette of men too busily engaged over a game of
+cards to take note of their surroundings.  As our lad's gaze fell on
+these, he suddenly stood still and stared.  Then he turned, pushed out
+from the crowd, and made his way back towards the landing as rapidly as
+he had come from it a few minutes before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The "Sea Bee" was under way, but had not got beyond hail, and was put
+back when her crew discovered who was signalling them so vigorously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is the matter?" inquired her young skipper, as Cabot again
+clambered aboard.  "Did you miss the train after all?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," replied Cabot.  "I could have caught it; but made up my mind at
+the last moment that I might just as well go with you to Pretty Harbour
+now as to try and visit it later."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good!" cried White, heartily.  "I am awfully glad you did.  We were
+feeling blue enough without you, weren't we, Dave?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Blue warn't no name for it," replied Mr. Gidge.  "It were worse than a
+drop in the price of fish; an' now I feel as if they'd riz a dollar a
+kental."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you both," laughed Cabot.  "I hadn't any idea how much I should
+hate to leave the old 'Bee' until I tried to do it.  You said there was
+another station that I could reach from your place, didn't you?" he
+added, turning to White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes.  There is one at Bay of Islands that can be reached by a drive of
+a few hours from Pretty Harbour; and I'll carry you over there any time
+you like," replied the latter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That settles it, then; and I'll let St. Johns wait a few days longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the little schooner was again headed seaward, and set forth at a
+nimble pace for her run around Cape St. George and up the coast past
+Port au Port to the exquisitely beautiful Bay of Islands, on which
+Pretty Harbour is located; and, as she bore him away, Cabot hoped he
+had done the right thing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When commissioned to undertake this journey that was proving so full of
+incident, our young engineer had been only too glad of an excuse to
+break his engagement with Thorpe Walling; for, as has been said, the
+latter was not a person whom he particularly liked.  Walling, on the
+other hand, had boasted that the most popular fellow in the Institute
+had chosen above all things to take a trip around the world in his
+company, and was greatly put out by the receipt of Cabot's telegram
+announcing his change of plan.  The more Thorpe reflected upon this
+grievance the more angry did he become, until he finally swore enmity
+against Cabot Grant, and to get even with him if ever he had the chance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was provoked that his chosen companion should have dismissed him so
+curtly, without any intimation of what he proposed to do, and this he
+determined to discover.  So he went to New York and made inquiries at
+the offices of the company acting as Cabot's guardian; but could only
+learn that the young man had left the city after two private interviews
+with President Hepburn.  At the club where Cabot had lunched on the day
+of his departure, Thorpe's appearance created surprise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thought you had started off with Grant on a trip around the world?"
+said one member in greeting him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," replied Walling; "we are not going."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But he sailed two days ago.  At least, he said that was what he was
+about to do when he bade me good-bye on his way to the steamer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What steamer, and where was she bound?" asked Thorpe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't know.  He only said he was about to sail."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll not be beaten that way," thought Walling, angrily; and, having
+plenty of money to expend as best suited him, he straightway engaged
+the services of a private detective.  This man was instructed to
+ascertain for what port a certain Cabot Grant had sailed from New York
+two days earlier, and that very evening the coveted information was in
+his possession.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sailed on the 'Lavinia' for St. Johns, Newfoundland, has he?" muttered
+Thorpe.  "Then I, too, will visit St. Johns, and discover what he is
+doing.  I might as well go there as anywhere else; and perhaps Grant
+will find out that it would have been wiser to confide in an old friend
+than to treat him as shabbily as he has me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having reached this decision, Walling took a train from New York, and,
+travelling by way of Boston, Portland, and Bangor, crossed the St.
+Croix River from Maine into New Brunswick at Vanceboro.  From there he
+went, via St. John, N.B., and Truro, Nova Scotia, to Port Mulgrave,
+where he passed over the Strait of Canso to Cape Breton.  Across that
+island his route lay through the Bras d'Or country to North Sidney, at
+which point he took steamer for Port aux Basques and the Newfoundland
+railway that should finally land him in St. Johns.  On this journey he
+became acquainted with several Americans, with whom he played whist,
+which is what he was doing when his train pulled up at the St. George's
+Bay platform.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At sight of his classmate, Cabot became instantly desirious of avoiding
+him and the embarrassing questions he would be certain to ask.
+Although our young engineer could not imagine why Thorpe Walling had
+come to Newfoundland, he instinctively felt that the visit had
+something to do with his own trip to the island.  He knew that Thorpe
+delighted to pry into the secrets of others; and also that he was of a
+vindictive nature, quick to take offence, and unscrupulous in his
+enmities.  Therefore, as his instructions permitted him to visit
+whatever part of Newfoundland he chose, he decided to avoid St. Johns
+for the present rather than risk the results of a companionship that
+now seemed so undesirable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Somewhat earlier on that same day one of Thorpe's travelling
+companions, named Gregg, spoke to him of Newfoundland's mineral wealth,
+and referred particularly to the Bell Island iron mines.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," replied Walling, who had never before heard of Bell Island,
+"they must be immensely valuable."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, I don't know," said the other, carelessly.  "Several American
+companies are trying to get control of them; but perhaps they are not
+what they are cracked up to be after all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Isn't a New York man by the name of Hepburn one of the interested
+parties?" asked Thorpe, at a venture.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, he is," responded Mr. Gregg, turning on him sharply.  "Why, do
+you know him?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can't say that I know him; but I know a good deal about him, and
+have every reason to believe that he has just sent an acquaintance of
+mine, a young mining engineer, up here to examine that very property."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is he an expert?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, yes.  He and I were classmates at a technical institute."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you also are a mining engineer?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you come to Newfoundland to investigate mineral lands?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not exactly; though I may do something in that line if I find a good
+opening.  At present I am merely on a pleasure trip."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I see, and I am glad to have made your acquaintance, as I am somewhat
+interested in mineral lands myself.  When we reach St. Johns I hope you
+will introduce me to your friend, and it may happen that I can return
+the favour by putting you on to a good thing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly, I will introduce you if we run across him," replied Thorpe.
+"At the same time I hope you won't mention having any knowledge of his
+business, as he is trying to keep it quiet."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Like most of us who have 'deals' on hand," remarked the other, with a
+meaning smile.  "But it is hard to hide them from clever chaps like
+yourself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At which compliment, Thorpe, who had only been making some shrewd
+guesses, looked wise, but said nothing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It happened that these two were playing whist when the train reached
+St. George's Bay, and Mr. Gregg remarked to his partner:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's a chap staring at this crowd as if he knew some of us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thorpe glanced from the window, and started from his seat with an
+exclamation.  At the same moment Cabot Grant turned away and hurried
+from the station.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you know him?" asked Mr. Gregg.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He is the very person I was speaking to you about a while ago,"
+replied Thorpe.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap09"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IX.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+At sight of Cabot, Thorpe Walling's instinct had been to leave the car
+and follow him; but the thought of his luggage, which he knew he could
+not get off in time, caused him to hesitate, and then it was too late,
+for the train was again in motion.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The young man did not seem particularly anxious to meet his old
+classmate," remarked Mr. Gregg.  "In fact, it rather looked as though
+he wished to avoid recognition."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thorpe pretended to be too busy with his cards to make reply to this
+suggestion; but an ugly expression came into his face, and, from that
+moment, he hated Cabot Grant.  When, on the following day, he reached
+St. Johns and learned of the loss of the "Lavinia," with all on board,
+except those saved in the mate's boat, he was more perplexed than ever.
+Cabot's name was published as one of those who had gone down with the
+ill-fated steamer, and yet he had certainly seen him alive and well
+only the day before.  What could it mean?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you suppose Hepburn knows of his escape?" asked Mr. Gregg, who was
+stopping at the same hotel, and to whom Thorpe confided this mystery.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I haven't an idea."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What do you say to wiring and finding out?  It can't do us any harm,
+and might gain us an insight into the old man's plans up here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should say it was a good idea."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As a result of this desire for information the following telegram was
+sent to the president of the Gotham Trust and Investment Company:
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="letter">
+"St. Johns, N'f'l'd.&mdash;Here all right.  What shall I do next?&mdash;&mdash;C. G."
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+And the answer came promptly:
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="letter">
+"Congratulations.  Send B. I. report.  If in need of funds, draw.&mdash;&mdash;H."
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+"That settles it!" exclaimed Mr. Gregg, exultingly.  "Hepburn is after
+Bell Island, and your friend was sent here to report upon its value.
+Now, it will be a pity if the old man doesn't get his information,
+which he isn't likely to do for some time with that young chap over on
+the west coast.  Some one ought to send him a report."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have a mind to do it myself," said Thorpe, reflectively.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It would be an awfully decent thing for you to do.  Be a good joke on
+your friend, too, and make him fed ashamed of himself for cutting you
+so dead yesterday, when he finds it out.  He is bound to get into
+trouble if some sort of a report isn't sent in, now that he is known to
+have escaped from the wreck."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Confound him!" exclaimed Thorpe.  "I don't care how soon he gets into
+trouble; nor how much."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, come.  That isn't a nice way to speak of an old friend and
+classmate," remarked Mr. Gregg, reprovingly.  "Now, I always feel sorry
+when I see a decent young chap like that throwing away a good chance,
+and want to help him if I can.  So in the present case, I think we
+really ought to send in a report that will satisfy old Hepburn, and
+keep the boy solid with his employers.  I shouldn't know how to word it
+myself, but if you, with your expert knowledge of the subject, will
+make it out, of course after taking a look at the mine, I'll see that
+you don't lose anything by your kindness."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," replied Thorpe, who was quite sharp enough to comprehend
+the other's meaning.  "I'll do it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the two conspirators drove to the picturesque fishing village of
+Portugal Cove, where they hired a boat to carry them across to Bell
+Island.  There they paid a hasty visit to the mine, which Mr. Gregg
+plausibly belittled and undervalued, until Thorpe really began to
+consider it a greatly overestimated piece of property, and this idea he
+embodied in a report that he wrote out that very evening.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm glad to see that you think as I do concerning the real
+worthlessness of Bell Island," remarked Mr. Gregg, gravely, as he
+glanced over the paper, "and the man who would have anything to do with
+it after reading this must be a greater fool than I take old Hepburn to
+be."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the following day a type-written copy of Thorpe's report was made,
+signed "C. G.," and forwarded by mail to the president of the Gotham
+Trust and Investment Company.  As a result, a telegram was received a
+week later at the Bank of Nova Scotia in St. Johns addressed to Cabot
+Grant, and desiring him to return at once to New York.  As the bank
+people wired back that they had no knowledge of any such person, Mr.
+Hepburn in reply requested them to keep a sharp lookout for a young man
+of that name, who would shortly present a letter of credit to them, and
+provide him with a ticket to New York on account of it, but nothing
+more.  Mr. Hepburn also explained that, as Cabot Grant's guardian, he
+had the right to thus limit his ward's expenditures.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus our lad fell into disgrace with his employer, who knew, as well as
+any man living, the exact status of the Bell Island iron mine, and had
+only requested Cabot to report on it in order to test his fitness for
+other work.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While the correspondence with the bank was being carried on, Messrs.
+Walling and Gregg watched for the arrival of the young engineer, whom
+they expected by every train.  They also anxiously awaited the news
+that the Hepburn syndicate had withdrawn its offer for the Bell Island
+property, in which event it would fall, at a greatly reduced price, to
+the company represented by Mr. Gregg.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Totally unconscious of all this, Cabot Grant was at that very time in a
+remote corner of the west coast, happily engaged in aiding certain of
+its inhabitants to discomfit the combined naval forces of two of the
+most powerful governments of the world.  Moreover, he had become so
+interested in this exciting occupation, as well as in certain
+discoveries that he was making, as to have very nearly lost sight of
+his intention to visit the capital of the island.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he reëmbarked on the "Sea Bee" at St. George's Bay, he fully
+intended to catch the train of two days later at the station to which
+White had promised to convey him.  He was glad of a chance to view some
+more of that magnificent west coast scenery, and when the little
+schooner finally rounded South Head, and was pointed towards the
+massive front of Blomidon, which David Gidge called "Blow-me-down," he
+felt well repaid for his delay by the enchanting beauty of the Bay of
+Islands that lay outspread before them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Soon after passing South Head, the "Sea Bee," with flags flying from
+both masts, slipped through a narrow passage into the land-locked basin
+of Pretty Harbour.  On its further shore stood a handful of white
+houses, and a larger building that fronted the water.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's our factory!" cried White, "and there is our house, on the
+hillside, just beyond.  See, the one with the dormer windows.  There's
+Cola waving from one of them now.  Bless her!  She must have been
+watching, to sight us so quickly.  Oh, I can't wait.  Dave, you take
+the 'Bee' up to the wharf.  Mr. Grant will help you, I know, as well as
+excuse me if I go ashore first."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course, I will," replied Cabot; and in another minute the young
+skipper was sculling ashore in the dinghy, while the schooner drifted
+more slowly in the same direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they finally reached the factory wharf White was on hand to meet
+them, and beside him stood the slender, merry-eyed girl for whom the
+schooner had been named.  She unaffectedly held out a hand to Cabot
+when they were introduced, and at once invited him to the house to meet
+her mother.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," said White, "you two go along, and don't wait for me.  You see,"
+he added, apologetically, to Cabot, "there's been a great catch of
+lobsters, and if I can only get them packed before we are interfered
+with, we'll make a pretty good season of it, after all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the new-comer walked with Cola up the straggling village street,
+past a score of fisher cottages, each with a tiny porch, pots of
+flowers in the front windows, and a bit of a garden fenced with
+wattles, to keep out the children, goats, dogs, and pigs, that swarmed
+on all sides.  At length they came to the neatly kept and
+comfortable-looking house, overlooking the whole, that White Baldwin
+called home.  Here Cabot was presented to the sweet-faced invalid
+mother, who sat beside a window of the living-room, from which she
+could look out on the little harbour, and who was eager to learn the
+details of his recent experiences that White had only found time to
+outline to her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Both mother and daughter listened with deepest interest while Cabot
+told of the loss of the "Lavinia," and when he had finished Mrs.
+Baldwin said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You certainly made a wonderful escape, and I am grateful that my boy
+was granted the privilege of rescuing you from that dreadful raft.  I
+am confident, also, that you have been brought to this place for some
+wise purpose, and trust that you are planning to remain with us as long
+as your engagements will permit."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you, madam," replied Cabot.  "I wish I might accept your
+hospitality for a week, at least.  For I am certain I should find much
+to enjoy in this delightful region.  I feel, however, that I ought to
+catch to-morrow's train, as it is rather necessary for me to reach St.
+Johns without further delay."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It seems queer," remarked Cola, "that this stupid place can strike
+even a stranger as being delightful, since there is no one to see but
+fisherfolk, who can talk of nothing but fish, and there isn't a thing
+to do but watch the boats go and come.  For my part, I am so tired of
+it all that I wish something would happen to send us away from here
+forever."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear!" said Mrs. Baldwin to Cola, reprovingly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Some one seems to have found an occupation here in collecting a
+cabinet of specimens," suggested Cabot, indicating, as he spoke, some
+shelves covered with bits of rock, that had attracted his attention.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," admitted Cola, "I have found some amusement in gathering those
+things; but I don't know what half of them are, and there is no one
+here to tell me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Possibly I might help you to name some of them," said Cabot, "as I
+have a bowing acquaintance with geology."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh! can you?" cried the girl.  "Then I wish you would, right away, for
+I am almost certain that several of them contain minerals, and I want
+awfully to know if they are gold."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The next moment the two young people were standing before the cabinet,
+deep in the mysteries of periods, ages, formations, series, and other
+profound geologic terms.  All at once Cabot paused, and, holding a bit
+of serpentine in his hand, asked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did this come from about here?"
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-091"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-091.jpg" ALT="&quot;Did this come from about here?&quot;" BORDER="2" WIDTH="382" HEIGHT="513">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: "Did this come from about here?"]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"Yes; ail of them did."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Could you show me the place, or somewhere near where you found it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think I could, if we had time; but not if you are going away in the
+morning, for it would take at least half a day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Cabot, "I believe I might wait over long enough for that,
+and guess I won't start for St. Johns to-morrow, after all."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap10"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER X.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+The Baldwins were greatly pleased at Cabot's decision to wait over a
+train; for, as Mrs. Baldwin said, a desirable guest in that
+out-of-the-way corner of the world was the greatest of luxuries.  White
+was glad to prolong the friendship so strangely begun, and also to
+escape a present necessity for leaving his work to carry Cabot to the
+distant railway station, while Cola was delighted to have found what
+she termed a geologic companion.  After it was arranged that these two
+should set forth early the following day on a search for specimens,
+Cabot strolled down to the factory to learn something of the process of
+canning lobsters.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was amazed at the change effected in so short a time.  When he
+landed at Pretty Harbour the factory had been closed, silent, and
+deserted.  Now it was a hive of bustling activity, in which every
+available person of the village, including women and children, was hard
+at work.  Fires were blazing under a number of great kettles half
+filled with boiling water.  Into these, green lobsters were tossed by
+barrowfuls, to be taken out a little later smoking hot and coloured a
+vivid scarlet.  On the packing tables their shells were broken, and the
+extracted meat was put into cans, to which covers, each with a tiny
+hole in the middle, were soldered.  Then the filled cans were steamed,
+by trayfuls, to exhaust their air; a drop of solder closed each vent,
+and they were ready for labelling and packing in cases.  White Baldwin,
+in person, superintended all these operations, while David Gidge saw to
+the unloading of the "Sea Bee," and kept sharp watch on a gang of
+shouting urchins, who were withdrawing the live lobsters from the
+outside salt-water pens, in which they had been kept while awaiting
+their fate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White was in high spirits, for the travelling agent of a St. Johns
+business house had just offered a good cash price for his entire pack.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," the young proprietor said to Cabot, as they viewed the
+busy scone, "we won't make anything like what we would if we were
+allowed a whole uninterrupted season; but, if they will only let us
+alone for a week, I'll pack a thousand cases.  Those will yield enough
+to support us for a year, and before that is up I'm not afraid but that
+I'll find some other way of earning a living.  Now, if I can only get
+sufficient help, I'm going to run this factory night and day for the
+next week, unless compelled by force to stop sooner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot was already so interested that he promptly volunteered to aid in
+making the all-important pack.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know anything about the business," he said, "but if you can
+make use of me in any way, I shall be only too glad of a chance to
+repay a small portion of the great debt I owe you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nonsense!" laughed White.  "You don't owe me a thing, and I don't want
+you to feel that way.  At the same time I should be ever so glad of
+your help in getting things well started; for just now one strong
+fellow like you would be worth a dozen of those children."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So, a few minutes later, Cabot, clad in overalls and an old flannel
+shirt of White's, was as hard at work as though the canning of lobsters
+was the business of his life.  Far into the night he laboured, only
+pausing long enough to go up to the house for supper; and, on the
+following morning, he was actually pleased that a heavy rain storm
+should postpone the trip for specimens, furnish him with an excuse for
+prolonging his stay, and leave him at liberty to resume his
+self-imposed task in the factory.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The storm lasted for two days, at the end of which time half the pack
+had been made, and Cabot had become so familiar with all details of the
+work as to be a most valuable assistant.  On the third day, the supply
+of lobsters on hand being exhausted, operations were suspended until
+the boats could return with a new catch; and, as the weather was again
+fine, Cabot and Cola set forth on their geological exploration.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was a glorious day, with a sky of deepest blue; the hot sunshine
+tempered by a cool breeze pouring in from the sea, and all nature
+sparkling with joyous life.  To Cabot, who had thought of Newfoundland
+as a place of perpetual fog, and almost constant rain, the whole scene
+was a source of boundless delight.  As the two young people climbed the
+steep ascent behind the village, new beauties were unfolded with each
+moment, until, when they reached the crest, and could look far out over
+the islanded bay, with the placid cove and its white hamlet nestling at
+their feet, Cabot declared his belief that there was not a more
+exquisite view in all the world.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After gazing their fill, the explorers plunged into a sweet-scented
+forest of spruce and birches, threaded by narrow wood roads, and
+tramped for miles, stopping now and then to examine some outcropping
+ledge or gather a handful of snow-white capilear berries.  But the main
+object of their quest, the copper-bearing serpentine, was not found
+until they had gained the summit of the Blomidon range and were in full
+view of the sea.  Then they came to a distinct outcrop of
+mineral-bearing rock that caused the eyes of the young geologist to
+glisten with anticipation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While he chipped off specimens, studied the trend of the ledge, and
+made such estimates of its character as were possible from surface
+indications, his companion climbed a rocky eminence that, short of
+Blomidon itself, commanded the most extended view of any in that
+region.  She had hardly gained the summit when she uttered a cry that
+attracted Cabot's attention and caused him to hasten in her direction.
+In a few moments he met her running breathlessly down the hill.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is it?" he asked.  "Are you hurt?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A warship coming up the coast," she panted.  "I saw it plainly, and we
+must get back with the news as quick as we can."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Much as Cabot hated to give over the exploration of that wonderful
+copper-bearing ledge, he did not hesitate to obey the imperative call
+of friendship, and accompanied Cola with all speed back to the village.
+When they reached it they found White jubilant over the extraordinary
+catch of lobsters that was even then being brought in.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hurrah!" he cried, as Cabot appeared.  "Biggest catch of the season,
+and you are just in time to help pack it away.  But what brings you
+back so early?  I thought you were off for all day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, White, they are coming!" gasped Cola.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who are coming?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A warship.  I saw it from Maintop."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"British or French?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know.  I only knew it was a warship because it was so much
+bigger than the 'Harlaw' and had tall masts."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, it don't make any difference," growled White, "one is just as
+bad as another, and our business is ruined anyway.  Why couldn't they
+have kept away for three days longer?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What will they do?" inquired Cabot, curiously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," replied White, bitterly.  "Either destroy or seize the
+whole plant and leave us to starve at our leisure.  Now, I suppose we
+might as well go up to the house and tell mother.  There's no use doing
+any more work under the circumstances."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't see why not," objected Cabot, who was not accustomed to
+throwing up a fight before it was begun.  "There is a possibility that
+the vessel may not be a warship after all, and another that she is not
+coming to this place.  Even if she does, you don't know that she has
+any warrant for interfering with your business.  So, if I were you, I'd
+go right on with the work and keep at it until some one compelled me to
+stop.  I say, though, speaking of warrants gives me an idea.  All you
+want is three days' delay, isn't it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is what I want most just now," replied White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, then, why not place this property in the name of some
+friend&mdash;David Gidge, for instance&mdash;and when those men-of-war people
+begin to make trouble let him ask them whose factory it is they are
+after.  They will say yours, or your mother's, of course.  Then he'll
+speak up and say in that case they've come to the wrong place, since
+this is the property of Mr. David Gidge, while their warrant only
+mentions that of Mrs. Whiteway Baldwin.  It'll be a big bluff, of
+course, and won't work for very long, but it may puzzle 'em a bit and
+give the delay of proceedings that you require."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe you are right about keeping on with the work," replied
+White, thoughtfully; "though I am not so sure about the other part of
+your scheme.  Anyway, I must run to the house for a little talk with
+mother, and if you'll just set things going in the factory I shall be
+much obliged."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," agreed Cabot, "I'll shake 'em up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And he was as good as his word, for when, after an absence of more than
+an hour, White reappeared on the scene he found the factory in full
+blast, with its operatives working as they had never worked before, and
+Cabot Grant, the most disreputable-looking of the lot, urging them on
+by voice and example to still greater exertions.  He seemed to be
+everywhere and doing everything at once.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello, old man!  We've got greenbacks to burn, and we're a-burning
+'em," he cried cheerily as he paused to greet his friend, and at the
+same time dash the streaming perspiration from his face with a grimy
+hand.  "What's the news?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The news is that you are a trump!" exclaimed White, "and that in spite
+of all you are doing for us we want you to grant us still another
+favour."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Name it, my boy, and if it is anything within reason, including a
+defiance of the whole British navy, I'll do it," laughed Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hope you will, for it is something that we all want you to do very
+much," responded White.  "You see it's this way.  I spoke of your
+suggestion to mother, and she thought so well of it that I went to the
+magistrate and got him to draw up a deed transferring this property,
+for a nominal consideration, to a friend.  Now it is all ready for
+signatures, and we want you to be that friend."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Me!" cried Cabot, completely staggered by this unexpected result of
+his own planning.  "You can't mean that.  Why, you don't know anything
+about me.  For all you know I might never give the property back to
+you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are willing to risk that," replied White, "and would rather trust
+you to act for us in this matter than any one else we know.  It is a
+big favour to ask, I know; but you said you felt indebted to me and
+only wanted a chance to pay off the debt, so I thought perhaps&mdash;but if
+you don't want to do it, of course&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I will, if you really want me to," cried Cabot.  "I have always
+longed to own a lobster factory.  It never entered my head when I
+proposed the plan that I would help carry it out; but if you think I
+can be of the slightest assistance in that way, why of course I am only
+too glad."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the papers constituting Cabot Grant, Esq., sole owner of the Pretty
+Harbour lobster factory were duly signed and recorded; and at sunset of
+that very evening our hero stood regarding his suddenly acquired
+property with the air of one who is dubiously pleased at a prospect.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap11"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XI.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Cabot was not long allowed to enjoy his sense of possession before
+experiencing some of the anxieties of proprietorship; for, even as he
+stood overlooking his newly acquired factory, a clipper-built schooner,
+showing the fine lines and tall topmasts of an American, rounded the
+outer headland and entered the harbour.  For a few minutes our young
+engineer, who was learning to appreciate the good points of a vessel,
+watched her admiringly as she glided across the basin and drew near the
+factory wharf.  Then he was joined by White, who had been detained at
+the house, and they went down together to greet the new-comer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+She proved to be the fishing schooner "Ruth" of Gloucester, and her
+skipper, who introduced himself as Cap'n Ezekiel Bland, explained that
+he had come to the coast after bait.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I 'lowed to get it in St. George," he said, "but there was a pesky
+French frigate that wouldn't allow the natives to sell us so much as a
+herring, though they had a-plenty and were keen to make a trade for the
+stuff I've got aboard."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What kind of stuff?" asked Cabot, curiously.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Flour and pork mostly.  You see, I'm bound on a long trip, and being
+obliged to lay in a big supply of grub anyway, thought I might as well
+stow a few extra barrels to trade for bait; but now it looks like I
+couldn't get rid of 'em unless I give 'em away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's plenty of bait in the bay," remarked White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, so I've heard, and a plenty of frigates, too.  The Frenchy must
+have suspicioned where I was bound, for he has followed us up sharp,
+and as we came by South Head I seen him jest a bilin' along 'bout ten
+mile astarn, and now he'll poke into every hole of the bay till he
+finds us.  Anyhow, there won't be no chance to trade long as he's
+round, for you folks don't dare say your soul's your own when there's a
+Frenchy on the coast."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nor hardly at any other time," remarked White, moodily.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's another one, too&mdash;Britisher, I reckon&mdash;went up the bay towards
+Humber Arm ahead of us.  I only wish the two tarnal critters would get
+into a scrap and blow each other out of the water.  Then there'd be
+some chance for honest folks to make a living.  Now I'm up a stump and
+don't know what to do, unless some of you people can let me have a few
+barrels of bait right off, so's I can clear out again to-night."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There isn't any to be had here," replied White, "for this is a lobster
+factory, and the whole business of the place, just at present, is
+catching and canning lobsters.  You'll find some round at York Harbour,
+though."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No use going there now, nor anywhere else, long as that pesky
+Frenchman's on the lookout.  Can't think what made him leave St. Pierre
+in such a hurry.  Thought he was good to stay there a week longer at
+any rate.  But say, who owns this factory?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This gentleman is the proprietor," replied White, indicating his
+companion as he spoke.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hm!" ejaculated the Yankee skipper, regarding Cabot with an air of
+interest.  "Never should have took you to be the owner of a
+Newfoundland lobster factory.  Sized you up to be a Yankee same as
+myself, and reckoned you was here on a visit.  Seeing as you are the
+boss, though, how'd you like to trade your pack for my cargo&mdash;lobsters
+for groceries?  Both of us might make a good thing out of it.  Eh?
+I'll take all the risks, and neither of us needn't pay no duty."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Can't do it," replied Cabot promptly, "because, in the first place,
+I'm not in the smuggling business, and in the second our whole pack is
+engaged by parties in St. Johns."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As for the smuggling part," responded Captain Bland, "I wouldn't let
+that worry me a little bit.  Everybody smuggles on this coast, which is
+neither British, French, nor Newfoundland.  So a man wouldn't rightly
+know who to pay duties to, even if he wanted to pay 'em ever so bad,
+which most of us don't.  If you have engaged your goods to St. Johns,
+though, of course a bargain is a bargain.  Same time I could afford to
+pay you twice as much as any St. Johns merchant.  But it don't matter
+much one way or another, seeing as the idea of trading was only an idea
+as you may say that just popped into my head.  Well, so long.  It's
+coming on dark, and I must be getting aboard.  See you to-morrow,
+mebbe."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the Yankee skipper took his departure, Cabot and White turned into
+the factory, where all night long fires blazed and roared beneath the
+seething kettles.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Until nearly noon of the following day the work of canning lobsters was
+continued without interruption, and pushed with all possible energy.
+Then a boy, who had been posted outside the harbour as a lookout, came
+hurrying in to report that he had seen a naval launch steaming in that
+direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The emergency for which Cabot had been planning ever since he consented
+to become the responsible head of the concern was close at hand, and he
+at once began to take measures to meet it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Draw your fires," he shouted.  "Empty the kettles and cool them off.
+Pass all cans, empty or full, up into the loft, and then every one of
+you clear out.  Remember that you are not to know a thing about the
+factory, if anybody asks questions, and you don't even want to give any
+one a chance to ask questions if you can help it.  Run up to the
+house," he added, turning to the boy who had brought tidings of the
+enemy's approach, "and tell Mrs. Baldwin, with my compliments, that the
+carriage is ready for her drive."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So thoroughly had everything been explained and understood beforehand,
+and so promptly were these orders obeyed, that, half an hour later,
+when a jaunty man-of-war's launch, flying a British Jack, entered the
+little harbour, every preparation had been made for her reception.  The
+factory, closed and silent, presented no outward sign that it had been
+in operation for months.  Those who had recently worked so
+industriously within its weather-stained walls now lounged about their
+own house doors, or on the village street, as though they had nothing
+to do, and limitless leisure in which to do it.  White Baldwin, with
+his mother and sister, had driven away in a cart, leaving their
+tenantless house with closed doors and tightly shuttered windows.
+Cabot Grant, with hands thrust into his trousers pockets, leaned
+against a wharf post and surveyed the oncoming launch with languid
+curiosity.  The Yankee schooner swung gracefully at her moorings, and
+from her a boat was pulling towards shore; while on the deck of the
+"Sea Bee," also anchored in the stream, David Gidge placidly smoked a
+pipe.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The launch slowed down as it neared him, and an officer inquired in the
+crisp tones of authority:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What place is this?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Deliberately taking the pipe from his mouth, and looking about him as
+though to refresh his memory, Mr. Gidge answered:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've heard it called by a number of names."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Was one of them Pretty Harbour?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now that you mention it, I believe it were."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What kind of a building is that?" continued the officer, sharply,
+pointing to the factory as he spoke.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+David gazed at the building with interest, as though now seeing it for
+the first time.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Looks to me like a barn," he said at length.  "Same time it might be a
+church, though I don't reckon it is."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Isn't it a lobster factory?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They might make lobsters in it, but I don't think they does.  Mebbe
+that young man on the wharf could tell ye.  He looks knowing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Disgusted at this exhibition of stupidity, and muttering something
+about a chuckle-headed idiot, the officer motioned for his launch to
+move ahead, and, in another minute, it lay alongside the wharf.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is this the Pretty Harbour lobster factory?" demanded the officer as
+he stepped ashore.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe it was formerly used as a lobster cannery," replied Cabot,
+guardedly, "but no business of the kind is being carried on here at
+present."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is owned by the family of the late William Baldwin, is it not?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, sir."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who then does own the property?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You!" exclaimed the officer.  "And pray, sir, who are you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am an American citizen named Grant, and have recently acquired this
+property by purchase."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Indeed.  Then of course you possess papers showing the transfer of
+ownership."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should like to look at them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They have been sent for record to the county seat, where any one who
+chooses may examine them."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where shall I find a person by the name of Whiteway Baldwin?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can't tell you, as he has left the place."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is any member of his family here?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No.  All of them went with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you the keys of this factory?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then I must trouble you to open it, as I wish to look inside."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the two entered the building, and the officer caught sight of the
+machinery used in canning lobsters, he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am very sorry, Mr. Grant, but I have orders to destroy everything
+found in this factory that has been, or may be, used in the canning of
+lobsters."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Those orders apply to the property of Mrs. William Baldwin, do they
+not?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then, sir, since she no longer owns this building, and I do, together
+with all that it contains, I warn you that if you destroy one penny's
+worth of my property I shall at once bring suit for damages against
+both you and your commanding officer.  I can command plenty of money
+and a powerful influence at home, both of which shall be brought to
+bear on the case.  If it goes against you my claim will be pressed by
+the American Government at the Court of St. James.  Moreover, articles
+concerning the outrage will be published in all the leading American
+papers.  Public sentiment will be aroused, and you doubtless know as
+well as any one whether England, with all the troubles now on her
+hands, can afford to incur the ill will of the American people for the
+sake of a pitiful lobster factory.  You can see for yourself that no
+illegal business&mdash;nor in fact business of any kind&mdash;is being carried on
+here at present, and, under the circumstances, I would advise you to
+take time for serious reflection before you begin to destroy the
+property of an American citizen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bewildered by this unexpected aspect of the situation, and remembering
+how a suit brought by the proprietors of that same factory had gone
+against a former British commander who had interfered with its
+operations, the officer hemmed and hawed and made several remarks
+uncomplimentary to Americans, but finally decided to lay the case
+before his captain.  As he reëntered his launch he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course you understand, sir, that no work of any kind is to be done
+in this building between this and the time of my return, nor may
+anything whatever be removed from it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I understand perfectly," replied Cabot.  Yet within half an hour the
+employees of the factory had returned to their tasks, fires had been
+re-lighted, kettles were boiling merrily, and the place again hummed
+with busy activity.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Young feller, it was the biggest bluff I ever see, and it worked!"
+exclaimed Captain Ezekiel Bland a few minutes earlier, as he stood on
+the wharf with Cabot watching the departing launch.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap12"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+ENGLAND AND FRANCE COME TO BLOWS.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+The Baldwins returned to their home shortly after the departure of the
+discomfited officer, and listened with intense interest to Cabot's
+report of all that had taken place during their absence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So one but a Yankee would have thought of such a plan!" exclaimed
+White, "or had the cheek to carry it out.  But it makes me feel as mean
+as dirt to have run away and left you to face the music alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You needn't," replied Cabot, "for your absence was one of the most
+important things, and I couldn't possibly have carried out the
+programme if you had been there.  Now, though, we've got to hustle, for
+I expect that navy chap will be back again to-morrow, and whatever we
+can accomplish between now and then will probably end the
+lobster-packing business so far as this factory is concerned."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That night the workers received a reinforcement, as unexpected as it
+was welcome, from the crew of the Yankee schooner, who, led by Captain
+Bland, came to assist their fellow countryman in his struggle against
+foreign oppression.  With this timely and expert aid, the canning
+business was so rushed that by ten o'clock of the next morning, when
+the lookout again reported a launch to be approaching, every can was
+filled and the pack was completed.  More than half of it had also been
+removed from the factory and stowed aboard the "Sea Bee," ready for
+delivery to the St. Johns purchaser.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wish he were here now," said White, "so that we might settle up our
+business with him before those chaps arrive."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, he isn't," replied Cabot, "and we must protect the goods as best
+we can until he comes.  In the meantime I think you'd better disappear
+and leave me to manage alone, the same as I did yesterday."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No.  I won't run away again.  I'm going to stay and face the music."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," agreed Cabot.  "Perhaps it will be just as well, since the
+factory is closed sure enough this time.  You must let me do all the
+talking, though, and perhaps in some way we'll manage to scare 'em off
+again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If we could have just one day more we'd be all right," said White,
+"but there they come.  Only, I say!  They are Frenchmen this time.  See
+the flag."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Sure enough.  Instead of flying the British Union Jack the launch that
+now appeared in the harbour displayed the tri-colour of the French
+Republic.  Thus, when Cabot and White reached the wharf, they were just
+in time to greet their acquaintance of St. Pierre, the lieutenant of
+the French frigate "Isla," whom White had so neatly outwitted in that
+port.  As he stepped ashore he was accompanied by a sharp-featured,
+black-browed individual, whom White recognised as M. Delom, proprietor
+of a French lobster factory located on another shore of the bay.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That chap has come for pickings and stealings," he remarked in a low
+tone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Shouldn't wonder," returned Cabot, "for he looks like a thief."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah, ha, Monsieur Baldwin!  I haf catch you zis time, an' you cannot
+now gif me what you call ze sleep," cried the French lieutenant.  "Also
+I am come to siz your property, for you may no more can ze lob of ze
+Française.  Behol'!  I have ze aut'orization."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So saying, the officer drew forth and unfolded with a flourish a paper
+that he read aloud.  It was an order for the confiscation and removal
+of all property owned by a person, or persons, named Baldwin, and used
+by them contrary to law in canning lobsters on the French territory of
+Newfoundland, and it was signed: "Charmian, Capitan de Frégate."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So, Monsieur Baldwin," continued the officer, when he had finished the
+reading, "you will gif to me ze key of your factory zat I may from it
+remof ze materiel.  I sall also take your schooner for to convey it to
+ze factory of M. Delom.  Is it plain, ma intention?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Your intention is only too plain," responded White.  "You are come to
+aid that thief in stealing my property; but you are too late, for the
+factory no longer belongs to the Baldwin family."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Ah!  Is it so?  Who zen belong to it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This gentleman is the present owner," replied White, "and you must
+arrange your business with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who is he?" demanded the Frenchman, surveying Cabot contemptuously
+from head to foot.  "But I do not care.  Ze material mus all ze same be
+remof."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am an American citizen," interrupted Cabot, "and I forbid you to
+touch my property.  If you do so I shall claim damages through the
+American government, and in the meantime I shall call on the British
+frigate now in this bay for protection."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For ze Americains I do not care," cried the Frenchman, assuming a
+theatrical attitude.  "For l'Anglais, pouf!  I also care not.  When it
+is my duty I do him.  Ze material mus be remof.  Allons, mes garçons."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A dozen French bluejackets, armed with cutlasses and pistols, had
+gathered behind their leader, and now these sprang forward with a
+shout, clearing a way through the collected throng of villagers.
+Advancing upon the main entrance to the factory, they quickly battered
+down its door and rushed inside.  With them went swarthy-faced Delom,
+who gloated over the spoil that now seemed within his grasp, and which
+would make his own factory the best equipped on the coast, he was
+especially pleased to note the pack all boxed ready for shipment, and
+our lads saw him direct the officer's attention to it.  As a result the
+latter gave an order, and in another minute a file of French
+bluejackets, each with a case of canned lobster on his shoulder, was
+marching towards the door.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Just as they reached it there came a shout and a tramp of heavy feet
+from the outside.  Then a stern voice cried:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Halt!  What are you doing here, you French beggars?  Drop those boxes
+and clear out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the Frenchmen halted irresolute, their officer, who could not see
+what was going on, but imagined that some of the villagers were
+blocking the entrance, shouted for them to march on and clear away the
+canaille who dared oppose them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The French bluejackets attempted to obey, but, with their first forward
+movement, they were met by an inrush of sturdy British sailors, who
+sent them and their burdens crashing to the floor in every direction.
+Some of them as they regained their feet drew their cutlasses, while
+others fell upon the new-comers with their fists.  A pistol shot rang
+out, and a British sailor pitched heavily forward.  At the same instant
+both officers sprang into the mêlée, beating back their men with the
+flat of their swords, and fiercely ordering them to desist from further
+fighting.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-119"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-119.jpg" ALT="Others fell on the new-comers with their fists." BORDER="2" WIDTH="391" HEIGHT="489">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: Others fell on the new-comers with their fists.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+So sharp had been the brief encounter between these hereditary enemies,
+that as they sullenly withdrew their clutch from each other's throats a
+British sailor remained on the floor striving to staunch the blood that
+spurted from a bullet wound in his leg, while near at hand lay a French
+bluejacket, as white and motionless as though dead.  Another Frenchman
+had a broken arm, while several others on both sides looked askance at
+their enemies from blackened eyes and swollen faces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sir!" cried the French lieutenant, the moment order was so far
+restored that he could make himself heard, "I am bidden by my
+commandant, ze Chevalier Charmian, capitan de frigate 'Isla,' to remof
+all material from zis building, and in his name I protest against zis
+mos outrage interference."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sir," answered the British officer, "I am ordered by my captain to
+destroy all property contained in this building, and not permit the
+removal of a single article."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I will not allow it destroyed!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And I will not allow it removed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a moment the two glared at each other in speechless rage.  Then the
+Frenchman said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"As humanity compels me to gif immediate attention to my men, wounded
+by ze unprovoked assault of your barbarians, I sall at once carry zem
+to my sheep, where I sail immediately also report zis outrage to my
+commandant."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Same here," replied the Englishman, laconically, and with this both
+officers ordered their men to fall back to the launches, carrying with
+them their wounded comrades.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the progress of this thrilling episode our two lads had watched
+it in breathless excitement without once thinking of leaving the
+building, though a back door opened close at hand.  So intent were they
+upon what was taking place that they did not notice the approach of a
+third person until he was close beside them and had addressed White by
+name.  He was the St. Johns travelling man, who had engaged the Baldwin
+pack for his firm, and now he said in low, hurried tones:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You fellows want to skip out of this while you can, for that British
+officer has got orders to arrest you both and carry you to St. Johns
+for trial.  Charges&mdash;contempt of court and carrying on an illegal
+business.  Awfully sorry I can't take your goods, but order has been
+issued that any one handling them will also be arrested and subject to
+heavy fine.  Hurry up.  They are making a move, and he'll be looking
+for you directly.  Don't let on that I gave you the tip."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this the man moved away, and without exchanging a word our lads
+slipped out of the nearby door.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So fully was the British officer occupied in getting his men back to
+their launch without making another attack upon their hated rivals,
+that not until all were safely on board did he remember that he had
+been charged to bring off two prisoners.  Now he was in a quandary.
+Those whom he desired were nowhere to be seen, and he dared not leave
+his men, whose fighting blood was still at fever heat, long enough to
+go in search of them.  Also the French launch was about to depart, and
+it would never do for the captain of the "Isla" to be informed of the
+recent unfortunate encounter in advance of his own commander.  So, with
+a last futile look ashore, he reluctantly gave the order to shove off,
+and side by side, their crews screaming taunts at each other, the two
+launches raced out of the harbour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As Cabot and White watched them from a place of snug concealment, the
+latter heaved a sigh of relief, saying:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I'm mighty glad they're gone, and haven't got us with them; but
+I do wish that fight could have lasted a few minutes longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wasn't it lovely!" retorted Cabot, "and isn't the lobster industry on
+this coast just about the most exciting business in the world!"
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap13"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+A PRISONER OF WAR.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+With the disappearance of the launches our lads realised that it was
+time to make new plans for immediate action.  So, as they walked slowly
+back towards the village, they earnestly discussed the situation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is too bad that I have drawn you into such a scrape," said White,
+"and the very first thing for me to do is to make an effort to get you
+out of it.  So, if you like, I will drive you over to the station this
+afternoon, where you can take the morning train for St. Johns."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," replied Cabot, "that wouldn't do at all.  In the first place, you
+didn't draw me into the scrape.  I went into it with my eyes open, and
+am quite ready to stand by what I have done.  In fact I rather enjoy it
+than otherwise.  At the same time I do not propose to be arrested if I
+can help it, and for that reason do not care to visit St. Johns at
+present.  Even at the railway station we should be very likely to meet
+and be recognised by some of our recent unpleasant naval acquaintances.
+Besides, I am going to see this thing through, and shall stand by you
+just as long as I can be of any service, for I hope you don't think so
+meanly of me as to imagine that I would desert in the time of his
+trouble the fellow who saved my life."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I never for one moment thought meanly of you," declared White, "and I
+know that in rescuing you from that raft I also gained for myself one
+of the best friends I ever had.  For that very reason, though, I don't
+want to abuse your friendship."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," laughed Cabot.  "Whenever I feel abused I'll let you know.
+And now, it being settled that we are to fight this thing out together,
+what do you propose to do with the pack we have worked so hard to make?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know," replied White, despondently; "but, as it is legally
+your property, I think you ought to decide what is to be done with it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nonsense!" retorted Cabot.  "It no more really belongs to me than it
+does to that black-faced Frenchman.  At the same time I'd fight rather
+than let him have it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd toss every case into the sea first," cried White, "and everything
+the factory contains besides."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Same here,' as the Englishman said; but I guess we can do better than
+that.  Why not accept Captain Bland's offer, and trade it to him for
+groceries?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I thought you were opposed to receiving smuggled goods?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So I am on general principles," admitted Cabot, "but circumstances
+alter cases.  I consider the highway robbery that two of the most
+powerful nations of the world are attempting right here a circumstance
+strong enough to alter any case.  So I would advise you to accept the
+only offer now remaining open.  You will at least get enough groceries
+to keep your family supplied for a year."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should say so, and for two years more, provided the goods didn't
+spoil."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then you might sell what you couldn't use."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where?" asked White.  "Not in Newfoundland, for they would be seized
+as contraband in any part of the island.  Besides, you seem to forget
+that as both of us are liable to arrest, we are hardly in a position to
+go into the grocery business just at present."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's so.  Well, then, why not carry them somewhere else in the 'Sea
+Bee'?  To Canada, or&mdash;I have it!  You said something once about making
+a trading trip to Labrador, and now is the very opportunity.  Why
+shouldn't we take the goods to Labrador?  I don't believe we'd be
+arrested in that country, even for smuggling, and they must need a lot
+of provisions up there.  It's the very thing, and the sooner we can
+arrange to be off the better."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you don't want to go to Labrador," protested White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't I?  There's where you make a big mistake; for I do want to go to
+Labrador more than to any other place I know of.  Also I would rather
+go there with you in the 'Sea Bee' than in any other company, or by any
+other conveyance.  So there you are, and if you don't invite me to
+start for Labrador before that brass-bound navy chap has a chance to
+arrest me, I shall consider myself a victim of misplaced confidence."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I do believe you have hit upon the very best way out of our troubles,"
+said White, thoughtfully.  "If I could arrange to leave mother, and if
+the Yankee captain would make a part payment in cash, so that she and
+Cola could get along until my return, I believe I would go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You can leave your mother and sister now as well as when you went to
+St. Johns, and better, for I am sure David Gidge would look out for
+them during the month or so that we'll be away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But David would have to go along to help work the schooner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't see why.  You and I could manage without him, and so save his
+wages, or his share of the voyage, which would amount to the same
+thing.  If one man can sail a 30-foot boat around the world alone, as
+Captain Slocum did, two of us certainly ought to be able to take a
+50-foot schooner up to Labrador and back.  Any way I'm game to try it,
+if you are, and I'd a heap rather risk it than stay here to be
+arrested.  There is Captain Bland now.  Let's go and talk with him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Yankee skipper stood near the shattered door of the factory in
+company with a number of villagers, all of whom seemed greatly
+interested in something going on inside.  As our lads drew near these
+made way for them, and Captain Bland said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"'Pears like the new owner is making himself perfectly at home."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Inside the factory the Frenchman Delom, who had remained behind to make
+good his claim to the confiscated property of his rival, was too busily
+at work to pay any attention to the disparaging remarks and muttered
+threats of those whom he had forbidden to enter.  He had collected all
+the tools and lighter machinery into a pile ready for removal, and was
+now marking with his own stencil such of the filled cases as remained
+on the lower floor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So dreaded was the power of France on that English coast that up to
+that moment no one had dared interfere with him, but Cabot Grant was
+not troubled by a fear of France or any other nation, and, as he
+realised what was going on, he sprang into the building.  The next
+instant our young football player had that Frenchman by the collar and
+was rushing him towards the doorway.  From it he projected him so
+violently that the man measured his length on the ground a full rod
+beyond it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Livid with rage at this assault, the Frenchman scrambled to his feet,
+whipped out an ugly-looking knife, and started towards Cabot with
+murderous intent.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-129"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-129.jpg" ALT="Livid with rage, the Frenchman whipped out an ugly-looking knife." BORDER="2" WIDTH="366" HEIGHT="516">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: Livid with rage, the Frenchman<BR>
+whipped out an ugly-looking knife.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"No you don't," shouted Captain Bland, and in another moment Monsieur
+Delom's arms were pinioned behind him, while he struggled helplessly in
+the iron grasp of the Yankee skipper.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think we'd better tie him," remarked the latter quietly.  "'Tain't
+safe to let a varmint like this loose on any community."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White produced a rope and was stepping forward with it, but Cabot took
+it from him, saying: "For the sake of your family you mustn't have
+anything to do with this affair."  So he and Captain Bland bound the
+Frenchman hand and foot, took away his knife, and carried him for
+present safe keeping to a small, dark building that was used for the
+storage of fish oil.  Here they locked him in, and left him to meditate
+at leisure on the fate of those who have done to them, what they would
+do to others if they could.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well," said Captain Bland, at the conclusion of this incident, "you
+young fellers always seem to have something interesting on hand; what
+are you going to do next?  Are you going to skin out, or wait for the
+return of the French and English fleets?  I'd like to know, 'cause I
+want to be getting a move on; but if there's going to be any more fun I
+expect I'll have to wait and take it in."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect our next move depends very largely on you, captain," replied
+White.  "Are you still willing to trade your cargo for our pack?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I might be, and then again I mightn't," answered the Yankee, as he
+meditatively chewed a blade of grass.  "You see, the risk of the thing
+has been so increased during the past two days that I couldn't make
+nigh so good an offer now as I could at first.  Also, here's so many
+claiming the pack of this factory that I'm in considerable doubt as to
+who is the rightful owner.  First there's the Baldwin interest and the
+American interest, represented by you two chaps.  Then there's the St.
+Johns interest, represented by that travelling man; the British
+interest, which is a mighty powerful one, seeing that it is supported
+by the English navy; the French government interest, which is likewise
+backed up by a fleet of warships, and the French factory interest,
+represented by our friend in limbo, who, though he isn't saying much
+just now, seems to have a pretty strong political pull.  So, on the
+whole, the ownership appears to be muddled, and the pack itself subject
+to a good many conflicting claims.  I expect also that the factory
+workmen and the lobster catchers have some sort of a lien on it for
+services rendered."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Look here, Captain Bland," said Cabot, "we understand perfectly that
+all you have just said is trade talk, made to depreciate the value of
+our goods, and you know as well as I do that they have but one rightful
+owner."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who is that?" asked the skipper with an air of interest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mrs. William Baldwin."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I thought she deeded the property to you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So she did; but as I am not yet of age that deed is worth no more than
+the paper on which it is written."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't mean it.  What a whopping big bluff it was then!" cried
+Captain Bland, admiringly.  "Beats any I ever heard of, and I'm proud
+to know 'twas a Yankee that worked it.  What you say does alter the
+situation considerable, and I'd like to have Miss Baldwin's own views
+on the subject of a trade."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In accordance with this wish an adjournment was made to the house,
+where Mrs. Baldwin assured the Yankee skipper of her willingness to
+abide by any agreement made with him by her son and Mr. Grant.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Which so simplifies matters, ma'am," replied the captain, "that I
+think we may consider a trade as already effected, and make bold to say
+that this season's pack of the Pretty Harbour lobster factory will be
+sold somewhere's else besides Newfoundland."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap14"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIV.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE.
+</H3>
+
+<P>
+The arrangement made with the Yankee skipper was satisfactory, save in
+one respect.  He was willing to trade provisions for canned lobsters to
+the extent of taking the entire pack, and he also offered to remove the
+machinery outfit of the factory on the chance of finding a purchaser
+for it in the States, but he refused to make any cash advance on the
+goods.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm willing," he said, "to risk considerable for the sake of being
+accommodating, and with the hope of making a little something, but I
+can't afford to risk cold cash."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't see how we can make a trade, then," remarked White, as he and
+Cabot discussed the situation.  "It will take every penny I've got to
+pay off the hands, and though I believe we could make a good thing out
+of a Labrador trip, I can't leave mother and Cola without a cent while
+I'm away.  If he would only let me have fifty dollars&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He won't, though," interrupted Cabot, "but I will.  I have got just
+that amount of money with me, and, as I shan't have any use for it in
+Labrador, I should be more than pleased to leave it here for safe
+keeping."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White at first refused to take his friend's money; but on Cabot's
+declaring that he had plenty more on deposit in St. Johns, he
+gratefully accepted the loan, which he promised to repay from the very
+first sale of goods they should make.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Everything being thus arranged, preparations for departure were pushed
+with all speed.  Such of the pack as remained in the factory was
+hurried aboard the "Ruth" by a score of willing workers, who also
+transferred to her every tool and bit of machinery, including the big
+kettles.  Then she and the "Sea Bee," the latter manned by two of the
+Yankee sailors, with David Gidge as pilot, sailed from the harbour, and
+were lost to sight beyond its protecting headland.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The next hour was spent in settling with the lobster catchers and those
+who had been employed in the factory, each of whom was warned to give
+no information concerning the movements of the two schooners.  This was
+barely finished when the boy who had been posted outside immediately
+after the departure of the naval launches came hurrying in with news
+that both of them were returning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My!" cried Cabot, "but I'd like to see the fun when they get here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am afraid you'd see more than enough of it," replied White, "for
+they'll be keen on getting us this time.  So we'd best be starting.
+Hold on a minute, though; I want to leave proof behind that we haven't
+gone off with either of the schooners."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this he ran down to the oil house, in which their well-nigh
+forgotten prisoner was still confined.  Flinging open the door, he
+said, in a tone of well-feigned regret:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is too bad, Monsieur Delom, that you should have been kept so long
+in this wretched place, but I dared not attempt your release while
+those terrible Yankees were here.  Now, however, they are gone and you
+are once more free.  Also, as I realise that I can no longer maintain
+my factory here, you are at liberty to make what use you please of its
+contents.  Accept my congratulations on your good fortune, monsieur.
+As for me, I must now leave you to prepare for my journey to St. Johns."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this White bade the bewildered Frenchman a mocking adieu, and left
+him still blinking at the sunlight from which he had been so long
+secluded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few minutes later the Baldwin house again stood, closed and
+tenantless, while a cart driven by Cola, and accompanied by the two
+young men on foot, climbed the hill back of the village by a road
+leading to the nearest railway station.  Monsieur Delom witnessed this
+departure, as did many others, but no one saw the cart leave the
+highway a little later and turn into a dim trail leading through an
+otherwise pathless forest.  After a time it emerged from this on
+another road and came to a farmhouse to which Mrs. Baldwin had
+previously been taken.  Here mother and son bade each other farewell,
+while the former also prayed for a blessing upon the stranger who had
+so befriended them, and whose fortunes had become so curiously linked
+with theirs.  Then the cart with Cola still acting as driver rattled
+away, and was quickly lost to sight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It lacked but an hour of sunset when our refugees reached a pocket on
+the outer coast, in which the two schooners lay snugly, side by side,
+nearly filling the tiny harbour.  On the beach David Gidge already
+waited, and, as the lads transferred their few effects to the boat that
+had brought him ashore, he climbed stiffly into the cart which Cola was
+to guide back over the way it had just come.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good-bye, Cola," said Cabot, as he held for a moment the hand of the
+girl he had come to regard almost as a sister.  "Try and have a lot of
+specimens ready for me when we come back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good-bye, sister!" cried White.  "Take care of mother, and don't let
+her worry about us.  We'll be back almost before you have time to miss
+us.  Good-bye, David!  I trust you to look out for them because you
+have promised."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh! how I wish I were a boy and going with you," exclaimed Cola.  "It
+is so stupid to be left behind with nothing to do but just wait.  Do
+please hurry back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," replied her brother.  "With good luck we'll sail into
+Pretty Harbour inside of a month, and perhaps with money enough to take
+us all to the States."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, wouldn't that be splendid!   Do get started, for the sooner you
+are off the quicker you'll come back," cried the girl.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's so.  Come on, Cabot," and in another minute the boat had shot
+out from the beach, while the cart was slowly climbing the rugged trail
+that led inland.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On reaching the schooners our lads found Captain Bland impatiently
+awaiting them, since the transfer of goods was nearly completed, and he
+was anxious to get his compromising cargo away from the coast patrolled
+by those meddlesome frigates.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let me once get beyond the three-mile limit," he said, "and I wouldn't
+mind meeting a fleet of 'em; if either one of 'em caught me in here,
+though, I'd not only stand to lose cargo, but schooner as well.  So I
+reckon we'd best get a move on at once, and talk business while we tow
+out."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As our lads wore equally desirous of gaining a safe distance from the
+authorities they had so openly defied, they readily agreed to Captain
+Bland's proposal, and four dories, each manned by a couple of stalwart
+Yankee fishermen, were ordered to tow the schooners from their snug
+hiding place.  While this was going on, and White was busily engaged on
+the deck of the "Sea Bee," Cabot and Captain Bland were examining
+invoices and price lists in her cabin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here's a list of all I've put aboard," said the latter, "and you'll
+see I've only made a small freight charge over and above the cost price
+in Boston.  Same time I've allowed for your pack the full market price
+on canned lobsters according to latest St. Johns quotations, and you
+ought not to sell a single barrel at less 'n one hundred per cent.
+clear profit.  As for the kettles and tools, here's an order on my
+owners in Gloucester for them, or what they'll fetch less a freight
+charge, provided I get 'em there all right; but I want both you and
+young Baldwin to sign this release that frees me from all claims for
+loss of property in case anything happens to 'em."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am perfectly willing to sign it," replied Cabot, "because I have no
+ownership in the property, but I shouldn't think Baldwin would care to
+give such a release."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I guess he will, though," said the skipper.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+And he was right, for White readily consented to sign the paper, saying
+that the property would have been lost anyhow if it had been left
+behind.  "I have also full faith that Captain Bland will do the right
+thing about it," he added, "for, while I have always found you Yankees
+sharp as knives in a trade, I have yet to meet one whom I wouldn't
+trust."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank you, Mr. Baldwin," said the skipper, "and I shall try my best
+not to be the first to abuse your confidence."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the paper was signed, and White had barely laid down his pen when
+the occupants of the cabin were startled by a loud cry from above,
+followed almost immediately by a distant shot.  Hurrying on deck they
+found that the schooner had reached open water and was beginning to
+feel the influence of an offshore breeze.  At the same time the man
+whom White had left at the tiller was pointing up the coast, where they
+caught sight of a steam launch that had just cleared South Head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He fired a shot at us," announced the steersman.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's all right 'long's he didn't hit us," replied Captain Bland.
+"It is our French friend, and he only took that way of hinting that he
+wished us to wait for him.  I don't think we can afford the time just
+now, though&mdash;leastways, I can't.  Hello there in boats!  Drop your tow
+lines and come alongside."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away from him?" asked
+Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Dunno.  Mebbe, if the breeze freshens, as I believe it will.  Anyhow,
+I'm going to give him a race for his money.  Good-bye!  Good luck, and
+I hope we'll meet again before long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So saying Captain Bland, taking the steersman with him, stepped into a
+dory that had come alongside and was rowed towards his own schooner.
+He had hardly gained her deck before she set main and jib topsails and
+a big main staysail.  Our lads also sprang to their own sails, and
+spread to the freshening breeze every stitch of canvas that the "Sea
+Bee" possessed.  When they next found time to look at the "Ruth," White
+uttered an exclamation of astonishment, for she had already gained a
+good half mile on them and was moving with the speed of a steam yacht.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's no chance of the Yankee being caught," he said enviously, "but
+there's a mighty big one that we will."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the "Sea Bee" was holding a course in the wake of the "Ruth,"
+and was heeled handsomely over before the same freshening breeze, she
+was not doing so well by a half, and it was evident that in a long run
+the launch must overtake her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She is certainly gaining on us," said Cabot, after a long look, and he
+had hardly spoken before a second shot from the launch plumped a ball
+into the water abreast of the little schooner and not two rods away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White, who was at the tiller, glanced nervously backward.  "Do you want
+to heave to and let them overhaul us?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly not," replied Cabot promptly.  "They have no right to meddle
+with us out here, and I would keep straight on without paying the
+slightest attention to them until they either sink us or get alongside."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," laughed the other.  "I only wanted to make sure how you
+felt.  Some fellows, you know, don't like to have cannon balls fired at
+them."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap15"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XV.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+OFF FOR LABRADOR.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Slowly but surely the launch gained on the flying schooner, until, as
+the sun was sinking behind its western horizon of water, she fired a
+shot that passed through the "Sea Bee's" mainsail and fell a hundred
+yards beyond her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wh-e-e-w!" exclaimed White, as he glanced up at the clean-cut hole.
+"That's rather too close for comfort, and I shouldn't be surprised if
+the next one made splinters fly.  However, it will soon be dark, and
+then, if we are not disabled, we may be able to give them the slip."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't believe there's going to be another shot," cried Cabot, who
+was gazing eagerly astern.  "No&mdash;yes&mdash;hurrah!  They are turning back.
+They have given it up, old man, and we are safe.  Bully for us!  I
+wonder what possesses them to do such a thing, though, when they had so
+nearly caught us?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Can't imagine," replied White, who was also staring at the launch,
+which certainly had circled back and was making towards the place
+whence she had come.  "They are afraid to be caught out at sea after
+dark perhaps.  I always understood that Frenchmen made mighty poor
+sailors.  Lucky thing for us she wasn't a British launch, for they'd
+have kept on around the world but what they'd had us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In justice to the Frenchmen it should be said that their reason for
+turning back, which our lads did not learn until long afterwards, was
+the imminent exhaustion of their coal supply, which, not calculated for
+a long cruise, would barely serve to carry them back to the Bay of
+Islands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+By the time the launch was lost to sight in the growing dusk the "Ruth"
+had also disappeared.  She was headed southward when last seen, and now
+White said it was time that they, too, were turning towards their
+ultimate destination.  So, topsails and mainstaysail were taken in, and
+the helm was put down until fore and mainsails jibed over.  Then sheets
+were trimmed until the little schooner, with lee rail awash, was
+running something east of north, on an easy bowline, carrying a bone in
+her teeth and leaving a bubbling wake trailing far astern.  With
+everything thus satisfactorily in shape, White lighted the binnacle
+lamp, and giving Cabot a course to steer, went below to prepare the
+first meal of their long cruise.  "You must keep a sharp lookout," he
+said as he disappeared down the companionway, "for I don't dare show
+any lights.  So if we are run into we'll have only ourselves to blame."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Left thus to his own devices, Cabot realised for the first time the
+responsibility of his position and began to reflect seriously upon what
+he had done.  Until this time one disturbing event had followed another
+so rapidly that he had been borne along almost without a thought of
+what he was doing or of the consequences.  As a result, instead of
+carrying out the purpose for which he had been sent to Newfoundland,
+and studying its mineral resources, he now found himself forced into
+flight for having defied the authorities of the island, embarked upon a
+doubtful trading venture into one of the wildest and least known
+portions of the continent, and, with but a slight knowledge of
+seamanship, engaged in navigating a small sailing vessel across one of
+its stormiest seas.  What would his guardian and employer say could he
+know all this and see him at the present moment?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wish he could, though," exclaimed Cabot half aloud, "for it would be
+fun to watch his look of amazement and hear his remarks.  I suppose he
+is wondering what has become of that Bell Island report I was to send
+in the first thing, and I guess he'll have to wonder for some time
+longer, as St. Johns is about the last place I feel like visiting just
+at present.  I certainly have made a mess of my affairs, though, so
+far, and it looks as if I had only just begun, too.  At the same time I
+don't see how I could have acted differently.  I tried hard enough to
+reach St. Johns, and would have got there all right if it hadn't been
+for this factory business.  But when the fellow who saved my life got
+into trouble, from which I could help him out, I'm sure even Mr.
+Hepburn would say I was bound to do it.  Besides, I have found one
+promising outcrop of copper, and now I'm off for Labrador; so perhaps
+things will turn out all right after all.  Anyway I'm learning how to
+sail a boat, and that is something every fellow ought to know.  I wish
+it wasn't so awfully dark though, and that White would hurry up with
+that supper, for I am powerful hungry.  How good it smells, and what a
+fine chap he is.  Falling in with him was certainly a great bit of
+luck.  But how this confounded compass wabbles, and how the schooner
+jumps off her course if I lift my eyes from it for a single instant.  I
+don't see why she can't go straight if I hold the tiller perfectly
+still.  There's a star dead ahead, and I guess I'll steer by it.  Then
+I can keep the sharp lookout White spoke of at the same time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus deciding, the anxious helmsman fixed his gaze upon the newly risen
+star that he had just discovered, and wondered admiringly at its rapid
+increase in brilliancy.  After a little he rubbed his eyes and looked
+again at two more stars that had suddenly appeared above the horizon
+directly below the first one.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Never saw red and green stars before," Cabot muttered.  "Must be
+peculiar to this high latitude.  Wonder if they can be stars, though?
+Oh! what a chump I am.  White!  I say, White, come up here quick!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In obedience to this summons the young skipper thrust his head from the
+companionway.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's up?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Don't know exactly," replied Cabot, "but there is a lighthouse or a
+dock or something right in front of us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Steamer!" cried White as he sprang on deck and glanced ahead.  "Keep
+her away, quick.  I don't want them to sight us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Steamer," repeated Cabot as he obeyed this order and let the schooner
+fall off to leeward.  "I never thought of such a thing as a steamer
+away up here.  Do you mean that she is a frigate?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," laughed White.  "There are other steamers besides frigates even
+in these waters, and that is one of them.  She is the 'Harlaw,' from
+Flower Cove, near the northern end of the island, and bound for
+Halifax.  It's mighty lucky she didn't pass us by daylight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Because she is already heading in for the Bay of Islands and would
+have reported us as soon as she got there.  Then we would have had a
+frigate after us sure enough."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But how do you know she's a steamer?  Mightn't she be a sailing
+vessel!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not with that white light at her foremast head.  Sailing vessels
+aren't allowed to show any above their side lights.  Now go below and
+eat your supper while I take her."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This eating alone was such an unpleasant feature of the cruise that, as
+Cabot sat down to his solitary meal, he regretted having persuaded
+White to leave David Gidge behind.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am afraid this going to sea shorthanded will prove a false economy
+after all," he said to himself, thereby reaching a conclusion that has
+been forced upon seafaring men since ships first sailed the ocean.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Finishing his supper as quickly as possible, Cabot rejoined his
+companion, and begged him also to hurry that they might bear each other
+company on deck.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," agreed White, "only, of course, I shall be longer than you
+were, for I have to wash and put away the dishes."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, bother the dishes!" exclaimed Cabot "Let them go till morning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not much.  We haven't any too many dishes as it is, nor a chance of
+getting any more, and if I should leave them where they are we probably
+wouldn't have any by morning.  Besides, it wouldn't be tidy, and an
+untidy ship is worse than an untidy house, because you can't get away
+from it.  But I won't be long."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+True to his promise, White, bringing with him a heavy oilskin coat and
+an armful of blankets, speedily rejoined his comrade, who was by this
+time shivering in the chill night air.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Put this on," said the young skipper, tendering Cabot the oilskin,
+"and then I am going to ask you to stand first watch.  I will roll up
+in these blankets and sleep here on deck, so that you can get me up at
+a moment's notice.  You want to wake me at midnight, anyhow, when I
+will take the morning watch."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Very well," agreed Cabot resignedly.  "I suppose you know what is best
+to be done, but it seems to me that we are arranging for a very
+lonesome cruise on regular Box and Cox lines."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As White had no knowledge of Box and Cox he did not reply to this
+grumble, but, rolling up in his blankets until he resembled a huge
+cocoon, almost instantly dropped asleep.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the next four hours Cabot, shivering with cold and aching with
+weariness, but never once allowing his tired eyes to close, remained at
+his post.  Through the black night, and over the still darker waters,
+he guided the flying schooner according to the advice of the unstable
+compass card that formed the only spot of light within his whole range
+of vision.  At the same time, knowing how little of skill he possessed
+in this new line of business, and not yet having a sailor's confidence
+in the craft that bore him, he was filled with such a fear of the
+night, the wind, the leaping waters, and a thousand imaginary dangers
+that his hardest struggle was against an ever-present impulse to arouse
+his sleeping comrade.  But he would not yield, and finally had the
+satisfaction of coming unaided to the end of his watch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Midnight, and all hands on deck," he shouted, and White, springing up,
+asked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's happened?  Anything gone wrong?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nothing yet," replied Cabot, "but something will happen if you leave
+me at this wretched tiller a minute longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I won't," laughed the other.  "It will only take me half a minute to
+get an eye-opener in shape of a cup of cold tea, and then you can turn
+in."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When Cabot was at length free to seek his bunk he turned in all
+standing, only kicking off his boots.  The very next thing of which he
+was conscious was being shaken and told that breakfast was ready.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was broad daylight; the sun was shining; the breeze had so moderated
+that White had been able to leave the schooner to herself with a lashed
+helm while he prepared breakfast, and as Cabot tumbled out he wondered
+if he had really been anxious and fearful a few hours earlier.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All that day and through the following night our lads kept watch and
+watch while the "Sea Bee" travelled up the coast.  Early on the second
+morning they passed Flower Cove, and from this point White headed
+directly across the Strait of Belle Isle, which, here, is but a dozen
+miles in width.  Then, as Newfoundland grew dim behind them, a new
+coast backed by a range of lofty hills came into view ahead; and, in
+answer to Cabot's eager question, White said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, that is Labrador, and those are the Bradore Hills back of
+Forteau."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap16"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XVI.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+While Cabot gazed eagerly at the lofty but still distant coast towards
+which all their hopes were now directed, his companion was casting
+anxious glances to the eastward, where a low hanging bank of cloud
+betokened an advancing fog.  He had good reason to be apprehensive, for
+this northern entrance to the gulf of St. Lawrence forms the shortest
+route for steamers plying between Canadian and European ports.
+Consequently many of them use it during the brief summer season when it
+is free from ice.  At the same time it is a stormy stretch of water,
+tormented by powerful currents, and generally shrouded in fog.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Early in the season countless icebergs, borne southward by the Arctic
+current that hugs the Labrador coast, drift aimlessly over its troubled
+surface, and even at midsummer it is a passage to be dreaded.  White,
+being familiar with its many dangers, had good cause for anxiety, as he
+saw one of them about to enfold his little craft.  He consulted the
+compass, took his bearings with the utmost care, and then as Cabot,
+finding his view obscured, turned to him with a look of inquiry,
+remarked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, we are in for it, and you'd better keep a sharp lookout for
+steamers.  It wouldn't be very pleasant to run one down and sink it,
+you know."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should say not," responded Cabot as he started for the bow of the
+schooner, where, steadying himself by a stay, he peered into the
+thickening mist curtain.  For half an hour or so he saw nothing, though
+during that time the hoarse bellowing of a steam whistle, approaching
+closely and then receding, told of a passing ship.  While the lookout
+was still listening to this a black form, magnified to gigantic size by
+his apprehensions and the opaqueness through which he saw it, loomed up
+directly ahead and apparently not a rod away.  With a sharp cry of
+warning the lad sprang aft, while a yell of dismay came from the
+stranger.  The next moment, both vessels having been headed sharply
+into the wind, lay side by side, heaving and grinding against each
+other, with their sails slatting noisily overhead.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As our lads realised the true character of the other craft, they were
+ready to laugh at their fright of a minute earlier, for she was only an
+open fishing boat, carrying three men, a woman, and a couple of
+children.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We took ye for a steamer, first sight," remarked one of the men.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And we did the same by you," laughed White.  "Who are you and where
+are you bound?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mail boat from L'Anse Au Loup for Flower Cove," replied the man, "and
+as we're not sure of our compass we'd be obleeged if you'd give us a
+bearing."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"With pleasure.  Come aboard and take it for yourself.  If you'll wait
+just a minute I'll have a letter ready for you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So saying the young skipper dived below and hastily pencilled a line to
+his mother, telling of their safety up to that time.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While he was thus engaged Cabot learned that owing to the recent
+arrival of a steamer from St. Johns provisions were plentiful on that
+part of the Labrador coast, but were believed to be scarce further
+north.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As a result of this information the "Sea Bee" was headed more to the
+eastward after the boats had again parted company, for, as White said,
+there was no use wasting time running in to Blanc Sablon, Forteau, or
+any of those places at which the trading steamer had touched.  "It is
+too bad," he continued, "for I did hope to dispose of our cargo
+somewhere along here.  If we could do that we might be home again
+inside of ten days.  Now, if we have to go far to the northward, it may
+be two or three weeks longer before we again sight Blomidon."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am sorry for your sake," replied Cabot, "though I would just as soon
+spend a month up here as not.  I only wish we could land somewhere
+along here, for I am curious to see what land of a country Labrador is."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This wish was gratified late that afternoon, when the fog lifted in
+time to disclose the fine harbour of Red Bay, into which, White said,
+they would run, so as to spend the night quietly at anchor, with both
+watches turned in at once.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At Red Bay, therefore, Cabot had his first taste of life in Labrador.
+The shores looked so green and attractive that he wondered why the only
+settlement in sight&mdash;a collection of a dozen huts and fish houses,
+should be located on a rocky islet, bare and verdureless.  He asked
+White, who only laughed, and said he'd find out soon enough by
+experience.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After they had come to anchor and lowered the sails, White got an empty
+water cask into the dinghy, saying that first of all they must go about
+a mile to a trout stream at the head of the bay for some fresh water.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Trout stream!" cited Cabot.  "How I wish I had my fishing tackle.
+Trout for supper would be fine."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There are other things equally important with tackle for trout fishing
+in this country," remarked White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What, for instance?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You'll know inside of half an hour," was the significant reply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So they rowed up the bay, Cabot filled with curiosity and White
+chuckling with anticipation.  The further they went the more was Cabot
+charmed with the beauty of the scene and the more desirous did he
+become to ramble over the green slopes on which, as White assured him,
+delicious berries of several varieties were plentiful.  At length they
+opened a charming valley, through which wound and tumbled a sparkling
+brook thickly bordered by alders and birches.  At one side were several
+substantial log cabins, but as they were evidently uninhabited Cabot
+began to undress, declaring that he must have a bath in that tempting
+water.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Better keep your shirt on until we have filled the cask," advised
+White, at the same time stepping overboard in the shallows at the mouth
+of the stream without removing any of his clothing.  They pulled the
+boat up until it grounded, and then White began hurriedly to fill the
+water barrel, while Cabot waded a short distance up stream to see if he
+could discover any trout.  All at once he stopped, looked bewildered,
+and then started back on a run.  At the same time he slapped vigorously
+at his bare legs, brushed his face, waved his arms, and uttered
+exclamations of frantic dismay.  The air about him had been suddenly
+blackened by an incredible swarm of insects that issued in dense clouds
+from the low growth bordering the stream, and attacked the unfortunate
+youth with the fury of starvation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What's the matter?" inquired White innocently, as his companion rushed
+past him towards the open.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Matter!" retorted the other.  "I'm on fire with the bites of these
+infernal things, and we want to get out of here in a hurry or they'll
+sting us to death."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, pshaw!" laughed White, though he also was suffering greatly.
+"You've only struck a few ordinary Labrador mosquitoes and black flies."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Mosquitoes and black flies!" cried Cabot.  "Hornets and red-hot coals,
+you'd better say.  How can you stand them?  Your skin must be thicker
+than sole leather."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I can't very well," admitted White, "but this cask has got to be
+filled, and the sooner we do it the quicker we can get away.  Break off
+a couple of leafy branches to fight with and then keep 'em off both of
+us as well as you can.  It will only take a few minutes longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In spite of their efforts at self-defence, faces, hands, and Cabot's
+bare legs were covered with blood before their task was completed, and
+they were once more in the boat pulling furiously for the wind-swept
+water of the open bay.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I never expected to find mosquitoes this far north," said Cabot, as
+the pests began to disappear before the freshening breeze and the
+rowers paused for breath.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Strangers are apt to be unpleasantly surprised by them," replied
+White, "but they are here all the same, and they extend as far north as
+any white man has ever been.  I have been told that they are as bad in
+Greenland as here, and I expect they flourish at the North Pole itself.
+They certainly are the curse of Labrador, and until ice makes in the
+fall they effectually prevent all travel into the interior.  Even the
+Indians have to come to the coast in summer to escape them, while the
+whites who visit this country for the fishing make their settlements on
+the barest and most wind-swept places.  The few who live here the year
+round have summer homes on the coast, but build their winter houses
+inland, at the heads of bays or the mouths of rivers, where there is
+timber to afford some protection from the cold.  Those are winter
+houses back there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wondered why they were abandoned," said Cabot, "but I don't any
+longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"By the way," suggested White, "you forgot to try the trout fishing.
+Shall we go back?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wouldn't go fishing on that stream if every trout in it was of solid
+gold and I could scoop them out with my hands," asserted Cabot.  "In
+fact, I don't know of anything short of starvation, or dying of thirst,
+that would take me back there."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After supper our lads went ashore at the island settlement, and were
+hospitably received by the dwellers in its half-dozen stoutly built,
+earthen-roofed houses.  These were constructed of logs, set on end like
+palisades, and while they were scantily furnished, they were warm and
+comfortable.  In them Cabot, who was regarded with great curiosity on
+account of having come from the far foreign city of New York, asked
+many questions, and acquired much information concerning the strange
+country to which Fate had brought him.  Thus he learned that Labrador
+is a province of Newfoundland, and that while its prolific fisheries
+attract some 20,000 people to its bleak shores every summer, its entire
+resident white population hardly exceeds one thousand souls.  He was
+told that from June to October news of the outside world is received by
+steamer from St. Johns every two or three weeks, but that during the
+other eight months of the year only three mails reach the country,
+coming by dog sledge from far-away Quebec.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While Cabot was gathering these and many other interesting bits of
+information, White was becoming confirmed in his belief that to make a
+successful trading trip he must carry his goods far to the northward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So at daybreak of the following morning the "Sea Bee" was once more got
+under way, and ran up the rock-bound coast past Chateau Bay, with its
+superb Castle Rock, to Battle Harbour, the metropolis of Labrador,
+which place was reached late the same evening.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this point, which is at the eastern end of the Belle Isle Strait, is
+a resident population of some two hundred souls, a hospital, a church,
+a schoolhouse, and a prosperous mercantile establishment.  Here our
+lads found a large steamer loading with dried fish for Gibraltar, and
+here Cabot became greatly interested in the rose-tinted quartz that
+forms so striking a feature of Labrador scenery.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At Battle Harbour they were still advised to push farther on, and so,
+bidding farewell to this outpost of civilisation, the "Sea Bee" again
+spread her dusky wings and set forth for the mission stations of the
+far North, where it was hoped a profitable market might be found.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap17"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XVII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+The brief northern summer was nearly ended.  Its days were growing
+short and chill, its nights long and cold.  The month of October was
+well advanced, and flurries of snow heralded the approach of winter.
+Most of the Labrador fishing fleet had already sailed away, and the few
+boats still left were preparing for a speedy departure.  The last
+steamer of the season had come and gone, and the few permanent
+residents of the country were moving back from the coast into winter
+quarters.  Great flocks of geese streamed southward, and with harsh
+cries gave warning of the icy terrors that had driven them from their
+Arctic nesting places.  Night after night the wonderful beauties of the
+aurora borealis were flashed across the northern heavens with ever
+increasing brilliancy.  Every one predicted a hard winter, and
+everything pointed to its early coming.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nearly two months had elapsed since the little schooner "Sea Bee,"
+manned by a couple of plucky lads, sailed out of Battle Harbour on a
+trading venture to the northern missions, and from that day no tidings
+had been received concerning her.  The few who remembered her,
+occasionally speculated as to what success she had met and why she had
+not put in ah appearance on her return voyage, but generally dismissed
+the subject by saying that she must have been in too great a hurry to
+get south, as any one having a chance to leave that forsaken country
+naturally would be.  But the "Sea Bee" had not gone to the southward,
+nor was there any likelihood of her doing so for many long months to
+come.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On one of the mildest of these October days, when the sunshine still
+held a trace of its summer warmth, a solitary figure stood on the crest
+of a bald headland, some hundreds of miles to the north of Battle
+Harbour, gazing wistfully out over the lead-coloured waters that came
+leaping and snarling towards the red rocks far beneath him.  He had on
+great sea boots that stood sadly in need of mending, and was clad in
+heavy woollens, faded and worn, that showed many a rent and patch.  As
+he leaned on the stout staff that had assisted him in climbing, his
+figure seemed bent as though by age, but when he lifted his, face,
+tanned brown by long exposure, the downy moustache on his upper lip
+proclaimed his youth.  Altogether the change in his appearance was so
+great that his most intimate friend would hardly have recognised in him
+the youth who had been called the best dressed man in the T. I. class
+of '99 a few months earlier.  But the voice with which he finally broke
+the silence of his long reverie was unmistakably that of Cabot Grant.
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-165"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-165.jpg" ALT="A solitary figure stood on the crest of a bald headland." BORDER="2" WIDTH="407" HEIGHT="477">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: A solitary figure stood on the crest of a bald headland.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"Heigh ho!" he sighed, as he cast a sweeping glance over the widespread
+waste of waters on which nothing floated save a few belated icebergs,
+and then inland over weary miles of desolate upland barrens, treeless,
+moss-covered, and painfully rugged.  "It is tough luck to be shut up
+here like birds in a cage, with no chance of the door being opened
+before next summer.  It is tougher on Baldwin, though, than on me, and
+if he can stand it I guess I can.  But I suppose I might as well be
+getting back or he will be worrying about me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus saying, Cabot picked up a canvas bag that lay at his feet and
+moved slowly away.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A very serious misfortune had befallen our lads, and for more than a
+month the "Sea Bee," though still afloat and as sound as ever, had been
+unable to move from the position she now occupied.  After leaving
+Battle Harbour her voyage to the northward had not been more than
+ordinarily eventful, though subject to many and irritating delays.  Not
+only had there been adverse winds, but she had twice been stormbound
+for days in harbours to which she had run for shelter.  Then, too,
+White had insisted on stopping at every settlement that promised a
+chance for trading, and had even run fifty miles up Hamilton Inlet with
+the hope of finding customers for his goods at the half-breed village
+of Rigoulette.  But he had always been disappointed.  Either his goods
+were not in demand, or those who desired them had nothing to offer in
+exchange but fish, which he did not care to take.  And always he was
+told of a scarcity of food still farther north.  So the voyage had been
+continued in that direction along a coast that ever grew wilder,
+grander, and more inhospitable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime Cabot was delighted at the opportunities thus given him
+for getting acquainted with the country, and made short exploring trips
+from every port at which they touched.  From some of these he came back
+sadly bitten by the insect pests of the interior, and from others he
+brought quantities of blueberries, pigeon berries that looked and
+tasted like wild cranberries, or yellow, raspberry-like "bake apples,"
+resembling the salmon berries of Alaska.  Also he picked up numerous
+rock and mineral specimens that he afterwards carefully labelled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Finally, when they had passed the last fishing station of which they
+had any knowledge, and had only the missions to look forward to, they
+were overtaken, while far out at sea, by a furious gale that sorely
+buffeted them for twenty-four hours, and, in spite of their strenuous
+efforts, drove them towards the coast.  The gale was accompanied by
+stinging sleet and blinding snow squalls, and at length blew with such
+violence that they could no longer show the smallest patch of canvas.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In this emergency White constructed a sea anchor, by means of which he
+hoped to prolong their struggle for at least a few hours.  It was
+hardly got overboard, however, before a giant surge snapped its cable
+and hurled the little craft helplessly towards the crash and smother
+with which the furious seas warred against an iron coast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In addition to the other perils surrounding our lads, the gloom of
+impending night was upon them, and they could only dimly distinguish
+the towering cliffs against which they expected shortly to be dashed.
+Both of them stood by the tiller, grimly silent, and using the last of
+their strength to keep their craft head on, for in the trough of that
+awful sea she would have rolled over like a log.  Neither of them
+flinched nor showed a sign of fear, though both fully realised the fate
+awaiting them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At last, with the send of a giant billow, the little schooner was flung
+bodily into the roaring whiteness, and, with hearts that seemed already
+to have ceased their beating, the poor lads braced themselves for the
+final shock.  To their unbounded amazement the "Sea Bee," instead of
+dashing against the cliffs, appeared to pass directly into them as
+though they were but shadows of a solid substance, and in another
+minute had shot, like an arrow from a bow, through a rift barely wide
+enough to afford her passage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As her stupefied crew slowly realised that a reprieve from death had
+been granted at the last moment, they also became aware that they were
+in a place of absolute darkness, and, save for the muffled outside roar
+of furious seas, of absolute quiet.  At the same time they were so
+exhausted after their recent prolonged struggle that they found barely
+strength to get overboard an anchor.  Then, careless of everything
+else, they tumbled into their bunks for the rest and sleep they so
+sadly needed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they next awoke it was broad daylight, and their first move was to
+hasten on deck for a view of their surroundings.  Their craft lay as
+motionless as a painted ship, in the middle of a placid pool black as a
+highland tarn.  In no place was it more than a pistol shot in width,
+and it was enclosed by precipitous cliffs that towered hundreds of feet
+above her.  The schooner could not have been more happily located by
+one possessed of an absolute knowledge of the coast under the most
+favourable conditions, and that she should have come there as she had
+was nothing short of a miracle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Filled with thankfulness for their marvellous escape the lads gazed
+about them curious to discover by what means they had gained this haven
+of refuge.  On three sides they could see only the grim fronts of
+inaccessible cliffs.  On the fourth was a strip of beach and a cleft
+through which poured a plume-like waterfall white as a wreath of driven
+snow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did we come in that way?" asked Cabot, pointing to this torrent of
+silver spray.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose we must have," rejoined White soberly; "for I can't see any
+other opening, and it certainly felt last night as though we were
+sailing over the brink of a dozen waterfalls.  But let's get breakfast,
+for I'm as hungry as a wolf.  Then there'll be time enough to find out
+how we got in here, as well as how we are to get out again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a hearty meal they got the dinghy overboard and started on a tour
+of exploration.  First they visited the beach and found a rude pathway
+leading up beside the waterfall that promised exit from the basin to an
+active climber.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In spite of all the wonderful happenings of last night I don't believe
+we came in that way," said Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," laughed White, "the old 'Bee's' wings aren't quite strong enough
+for that yet, though there's no saying what she may do with practice."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Satisfied that there was no outlet for a sailing craft in this
+direction, they pulled towards the opposite side of the basin, but not
+until they were within a few rods of its cliffs did they discover an
+opening which was so black with shadow that it had heretofore escaped
+their notice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here it is," cried Cabot, "though&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+His speech was cut suddenly short, and for a moment he stared in silent
+amazement.  The farther end of the passage was completely filled by
+what appeared a gigantic mass of white rock.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"An iceberg!" exclaimed the young skipper, who was the first to
+recognise the true nature of the obstacle.  "An iceberg driven in by
+the gale and jammed.  Now we are in a fix."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I should say as much," responded Cabot, "for there isn't space enough
+to let a rowboat out, much less a schooner.  No wonder this water is as
+still as that in a corked bottle.  What shall we do now?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wait until it melts, I suppose," replied White gloomily, "or until the
+outside seas batter it away."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So our lads had waited unhappily and impatiently for more than a month,
+and still the ice barrier was as immovable as ever.  Also, as the
+weather was growing steadily cooler, its melting became less and less
+with each succeeding day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During this period of enforced imprisonment they had made several
+exploring trips into the interior, but had failed to find trace of
+human life; nor were they able to go far either north or south on
+account of impassable waterways.  Neither could they discover any
+timber from which to obtain firewood, and as the supply on the schooner
+was nearly exhausted their outlook for the future grew daily more and
+more gloomy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a while they had hoped to signal some passing vessel, and one or
+the other of them made daily trips to the most prominent headland of
+the vicinity, where he kept a lookout for hours.  But this also proved
+fruitless, for but two vessels had been sighted, and neither of these
+paid any attention to their signals.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus the open season passed, and with the near approach of an Arctic
+winter the situation of our imprisoned lads grew so desperate that they
+were filled with the gloomiest forebodings.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap18"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Only once during their tedious imprisonment had our lads received
+evidence that human beings existed in that desolate country, and after
+they gained this information they hardly knew whether to rejoice or to
+regret that it had come to them.  One morning, some weeks after their
+arrival in the basin, to which they had given the name of "Locked
+Harbour," Cabot, going on deck for a breath of air, made a discovery so
+startling that, for a moment, he could hardly credit the evidence of
+his eyes.  Then he shouted to White:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come up here quick, old man, and take in the sight."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the latter, who had been lighting a fire in the galley stove, obeyed
+this call, Cabot pointed to the beach, on which stood a row of human
+figures, gazing at the schooner as stolidly as so many graven images.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Indians!" cried White, "and perhaps we can get them to show us the way
+to the nearest mission."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good enough!" rejoined Cabot in high excitement.  "Let's go ashore and
+interview them before they have a chance to disappear as mysteriously
+as they have appeared.  Where do you suppose they came from?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Can't imagine, and doubt if they'll ever tell.  Probably they are
+wondering the same thing about us.  I suppose, though, they are on
+their way towards the interior for the winter.  But hold on a minute.
+We must take them some sort of a present.  Grub is what they'll be most
+likely to appreciate, for the natives of this country are always
+hungry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Acting upon his own suggestion, White dived below, to reappear a minute
+later with a bag of biscuit and a generous piece of salt pork, which he
+tossed into the dinghy.  Then the excited lads pulled for the beach on
+which the strangers still waited in motionless expectation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Only a woman, a baby, and three children," remarked White, in a tone
+of disappointment, as they approached near enough to scrutinise the
+group.  "Still, I suppose they can guide us out of here as well as any
+one else if they only will."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The strangers were as White had discovered&mdash;a woman and children, but
+one of these latter was a half-grown boy of such villainous appearance
+that Cabot promptly named him "Arsenic," because his looks were enough
+to poison anything.  They were clad in rags, and were so miserably thin
+that they had evidently been on short rations for a long time.  White's
+belief that they were hungry was borne out by the ravenous manner with
+which they fell upon the provisions he presented to them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Arsenic seized the piece of pork and whipping out a knife cut it into
+strips, which he, his mother, and his sisters devoured raw, as though
+it were a delicacy to which they had long been strangers.  The hard
+biscuit also made a magical disappearance, and when all were gone,
+Arsenic, looking up with a hideous grin, uttered the single word:
+"More."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good!" cried Cabot, "he can talk English.  Now look here, young man,
+if we give you more&mdash;all you can carry, in fact, of pork, bread, flour,
+tea, and sugar, will you show us the road to the nearest
+mission&mdash;Ramah, Nain, or Hopedale?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tea, shug," replied the boy, with an expectant grin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes, tea, sugar, and a lot of other things if you'll show us the way
+to Nain.  You understand?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tea, shug," repeated the young Indian, again grinning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We wantee git topside Nain.  You sabe, Nain?" asked Cabot, pointing to
+his companion and himself, and then waving his hand comprehensively at
+the inland landscape.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Tea, shug, more," answered the young savage, promptly, while his
+relatives regarded him admiringly as one who had mastered the art of
+conversing with foreigners.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps he understands English better, or rather more, than he speaks
+it," suggested White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is to be hoped that he does," replied Cabot.  "Even then he might
+not comprehend more than one word in a thousand.  But I tell you what.
+Let's go and get our own breakfast, pack up what stuff we intend to
+carry, make the schooner as snug as possible, and come back to the
+beach.  Here we'll show these beggars what stuff we've brought, and
+give them to understand that it shall all be theirs when they get us to
+Nain.  Then we'll start them up the trail, and follow wherever they
+lead.  They are bound to fetch up somewhere.  Even if they don't take
+us where we want to go, we will have provisions enough to last us a
+week or more, and can surely find our way back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I hate to leave them, for they might skip out while we were gone,"
+objected White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's so.  Well then, why not invite them on board?  They'll be safe
+there until we are ready to go.  Say, Arsenic, you all come with we all
+to shipee, sabe?  Get tea, sugar, plenty, eat heap, you understand?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As Cabot said this he made motions for all the natives to enter the
+dinghy, and then pointed to the schooner.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was evident that he was understood, and equally so that the woman
+declined his proposition, for she sat motionless, holding her baby, and
+with the younger children close by her side.  The boy, however,
+expressed his willingness to visit the schooner by entering the dinghy
+and seating himself in its stern.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That will do," said White.  "The others won't run away without him,
+and he is the only one we want anyhow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the boat was rowed out to the anchored schooner, while those left on
+the beach watched the departure of their son and brother with the same
+apathy that they had shown towards all the other happenings of that
+eventful morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Look at the young scarecrow, taking things as coolly as though he had
+always been used to having white men row him about a harbour," laughed
+Cabot, "and yet I don't suppose he was ever in a regular boat before."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," agreed White, "I don't suppose he ever was."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They did not allow Arsenic to enter the "Sea Bee's" cabin, but made him
+stay on deck, where, however, he appeared perfectly contented and at
+his ease.  Here Cabot brought the various supplies for their proposed
+journey and put them up in neat packages while White prepared
+breakfast.  The former had supposed that their guest would be greatly
+interested in what he was doing, but the young savage manifested the
+utmost indifference to all that took place.  In fact he seemed to pay
+no attention to Cabot's movements, but squatted on the deck, and gazed
+in silent meditation at the beach, where his mother and sisters could
+be seen also seated in motionless expectation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe he is a perfect idiot," muttered Cabot, "and wonder that he
+knows enough to eat when he's hungry."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then White called him, and he went below to breakfast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think it is safe to leave that chap alone on deck with all
+those things?" asked the former.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Take a look at him and see for yourself," replied Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So White crept noiselessly up the companion ladder and peeped
+cautiously out.  Arsenic still squatted where Cabot had left him,
+gazing idiotically off into space.  At the same time a close observer
+might have imagined that his beady eyes twinkled with a gleam of
+interest as White's head appeared above the companion coaming.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I guess it is all right," said White, rejoining his friend.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course it is.  He couldn't swim ashore with the things, and there
+isn't any other way he could make off with them, except by taking them
+in the dinghy, and that chump couldn't any more manage a boat than a
+cow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In spite of this assertion Cabot finished his meal with all speed, and
+then hurried on deck, where he uttered a cry of dismay.  A single
+glance showed him that their guest, together with all the supplies
+prepared for their journey, was no longer where he had left him.  A
+second glance disclosed the dinghy half way to the beach, while in her
+stern, sculling her swiftly along with practised hand, stood the
+wooden-headed young savage who didn't know how to manage a boat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Come back here, you sneak thief, or I'll fill you full of lead,"
+yelled Cabot, and as the Indian paid not the slightest attention he
+drew his revolver and fired.  He never knew where the bullet struck,
+but it certainly did not reach the mark he intended, for Arsenic merely
+increased the speed of his boat without even looking back.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So angry that he hardly realised what he was doing, Cabot cocked his
+pistol and attempted to fire again, but the lock only snapped
+harmlessly, and there was no report.  Then he remembered that he had
+expended several shots the day before in a fruitless effort to attract
+attention on board a distant vessel seen from the lookout, and had
+neglected to reload.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As he started for the cabin in quest of more cartridges he came into
+collision with White hurrying on deck.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is the matter?" inquired the latter, as soon as he regained the
+breath thus knocked out of him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, nothing at sill," replied Cabot, with ironical calmness, "only
+we've been played for a couple of hayseeds by a wooden-faced young
+heathen who don't know enough to go in when it rains.  In his childish
+folly he has gone off with the dinghy, taking our provisions along as a
+souvenir of his visit, and he didn't even have the politeness to look
+round when I spoke to him.  Oh! but it will be a chilly day for little
+Willy if I catch him again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am glad you only spoke," remarked White.  "When I heard you shoot I
+didn't know but what you had murdered him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wish I had," growled Cabot, savagely.  "Look at him now, and consider
+the cheek of the plain, every-day North American savage."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was aggravating to see the young thief gain the beach and lift from
+the boat the provisions he had so deftly acquired.  It was even more
+annoying to see the embryo warrior's grateful family pounce upon the
+prizes of his bow and spear, and to be forced to listen to the joyous
+cries with which they greeted their returned hero.  Filled now with a
+bustling activity, the Indians quickly divided the spoil according to
+their strength; and then, without one backward glance, or a single look
+towards the schooner, they started up the narrow trail by the
+waterfall, with the triumphant Arsenic heading the procession, and in
+another minute had disappeared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the last fluttering rag vanished from sight, our lads, who had
+watched the latter part of this performance in silent wrath, turned to
+each other and burst out laughing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was a dirty, mean, low-down trick!" cried Cabot.  "At the same time
+he played it with a dexterity that compels my admiration.  Now, what
+shall we do?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose one of us will have to swim ashore and get that boat."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What, through ice water?  You are right, though, and as I am the
+biggest chump, I'll go."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot was as good as his word, and did swim to the beach, though, as he
+afterwards said, he did not know whether his first plunge was made into
+ice water or molten lead.  Then he and White followed the trail of
+their recent guests to the crest of the bluffs, but could not discover
+what direction they had taken from that point.  So they returned to the
+schooner sadder but wiser than before, and wondered whether they were
+better or worse off on account of the recent visitation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If they carry news of us to one of the missions we will be better
+off," argued Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But, if they don't, we are worse off, by at least the value of our
+stolen provisions," replied White.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap19"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIX.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+A MELANCHOLY SITUATION.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+In Labrador, under ordinary circumstances, the loss of such a quantity
+of provisions as Arsenic had carried away would have been a very
+serious misfortune.  But food was the one thing our lads had in
+abundance, and they were more unhappy at having lost a guide, who might
+have shown them a way out of their prison, than over the theft he had
+so successfully accomplished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The next time we catch an Indian we'll tie a string to him," said
+Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," agreed White, "and it will be a stout one, too; but I am afraid
+there won't be any more Indians on the coast this season."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How about Eskimo?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Some of them may come along later, when the snowshoeing and sledging
+get good enough, for they are apt to travel pretty far south during the
+winter.  Still, there's no knowing how far back from the coast their
+line of travel may lie at this point, and dozens of them might pass
+without our knowledge."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Couldn't we go up or down the coast as well as an Eskimo, whenever
+these miserable waterways freeze over?" asked Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course, if we had sledges, dogs, snowshoes, and fur clothing,"
+replied White; "but without all these things we might just as well
+commit suicide before starting."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, I'll tell you what we can do right off, and the sooner we set
+about it the better.  We can go inland as far as possible, and leave a
+line of flags or some sort of signals that will attract attention to
+this place."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know but what that is a good idea," remarked White,
+thoughtfully.  "At any rate, it would be better than doing nothing, and
+if we don't get help in some way we shall certainly freeze to death in
+this place long before the winter is over."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So Cabot's suggestion was adopted, and the remainder of that day was
+spent in preparing little flags of red and white cloth, attaching them
+to slender sticks, and in making a number of wooden arrows.  On a
+smooth side of these they wrote:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Help!  We are stranded on the coast."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I wish we could write it in Eskimo and Indian," said Cabot, "for
+English doesn't seem to be the popular language of this country."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The flags and arrows will be a plain enough language for any natives
+who may run across them," responded White, "and I only hope they'll see
+them; but it is a slim chance, and we'll probably be frozen stiff long
+before any one finds us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, I don't know," said Cabot, cheerfully.  "There's firewood enough
+in the schooner itself to last quite a while."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Burn the 'Sea Bee'!" cried White, aghast at the suggestion.  "I
+couldn't do it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Neither could I at present; but I expect both of us could and would,
+long before our blood reached the freezing point."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But if we destroyed the schooner, how would we get out of here next
+summer?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'm sure I don't know, and don't care to try and think yet a while.
+Just now I am much more interested in the nearby winter than in a very
+distant summer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The next day, and for a number of days thereafter, our lads worked at
+the establishment of their signal line.  They erected stone cairns at
+such distances apart that every one was visible from those on either
+side, and on the summit of each they planted a flag with its
+accompanying pointer.  In this way they ran an unbroken range of
+signals for ten miles, and would have carried it further had they dared
+expend any more of their precious firewood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While they were engaged upon this task the weather became noticeably
+colder, the mercury falling below the freezing point each night, and
+the whole country was wrapped in the first folds of the snow blanket
+under which it would sleep for months.  About the time their signal
+line was completed, however, there came a milder day, so suggestive of
+the vanished summer that Cabot declared his intention of spending an
+hour or so at the lookout.  "There might be such a thing as a belated
+vessel," he argued, "and I might have the luck to signal it.  Anyhow, I
+am going to make one more try before agreeing to settle down here for
+the winter."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As White was busy moving the galley stove into the cabin, and making
+other preparations for their coming struggle against Arctic cold, Cabot
+rowed himself ashore and left the dinghy on the beach.  Then he climbed
+to the summit of the lofty headland, where, for a long time, he leaned
+thoughtfully on the rude Alpine-stock that had aided his steps, and
+gazed out over the vacant ocean.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While Cabot thus watched for ships that failed to come, White was
+putting the finishing touches to his new cabin fixtures.  He was just
+beginning to wonder if it were not time for his comrade's return when
+he felt the slight jar of some floating object striking against the
+side of the schooner.  Thinking that Cabot had arrived, he shouted a
+cheery greeting, but turned to survey the general effect of what he had
+done before going on deck.  The next minute some one softly entered the
+cabin and sprang upon the unsuspecting youth, overpowering him and
+flinging him to the floor before he had a chance to offer resistance.
+Here he was securely bound and left to make what he could of the
+situation, while his captors swarmed through the schooner with
+exclamations of delight at the richness of their prize.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As White slowly recovered from the bewilderment of his situation he saw
+that his assailants were Indians, and even recognised in one of them
+the hideous features of the lad whom Cabot had named Arsenic.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What fools we have been," he thought, bitterly.  "We might have known
+that he would come back with the first band of his friends that he ran
+across.  And to make sure that they would find us we filled the country
+with sign posts all pointing this way.  Seems to me that was about as
+idiotic a thing as we could have done, and if ever a misfortune was
+deserved this one is.  I wonder what has become of Cabot, and if they
+have caught him yet.  I only hope he won't try to fight 'em, for they'd
+just as soon kill him as not.  Probably they'll kill us both, though,
+so that no witnesses can ever appear against them.  Poor chap!  It was
+a sad day for him when he attempted to help a fellow as unlucky as I am
+out of his troubles.  Now I wonder what's up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A shrill cry of triumph had come from the shore, and the savages on the
+schooner's deck were replying to it with exultant yells.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The cry from shore announced the capture of Cabot by two Indians who
+had been left behind for that express purpose.  Of course the
+new-comers had known as soon as they discovered the dinghy that at
+least one of the schooner's defenders was on shore, and had made their
+arrangements accordingly.  As we have seen, the naval contingent
+experienced no difficulty in capturing the schooner, and a little later
+the land forces carried out their part of the programme with equal
+facility.  They merely hid themselves behind some boulders, and leaping
+out upon the young American, as he came unsuspectingly swinging down
+the trail, overpowered him before he could make a struggle.  Tying him
+beyond a possibility of escape, they carried him down to the beach,
+where they uttered the cries that informed their comrades of their
+triumph.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Until this time the schooner had been left at her anchorage, for fear
+lest any change in her position might arouse Cabot's suspicions.  Now
+that they were free to do as they pleased with her the Indians cut her
+cable, and, after much awkward effort, succeeded in towing her to the
+beach, where they made her fast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the darkness and cold of night were now upon them, and as they had
+no longer any use for the dinghy, they smashed it in pieces and started
+a fire with its shattered timbers.  At the same time they broke out
+several barrels of provisions, and the entire band, gathering about the
+fire, began to feast upon their contents.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime Cabot and White, in their respective places of
+captivity, were equally miserable through their ignorance of what had
+happened to each other, and of the fate awaiting them.  Of course Cabot
+had seen the schooner brought to the beach, while White, still lying on
+her cabin floor, was able to guess at her position from such sounds as
+came to his ears.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During that eventful afternoon, while the savages were still preparing
+the plan that had resulted in such complete success, a white man,
+setting a line of traps for fur-bearing animals, had run across the
+outermost of the signals established by our lads a few days earlier.
+Its fluttering pennon had attracted his attention while he was still at
+a distance, and, filled with curiosity, he had gone to it for a closer
+examination.  On reaching the signal he read the pencilled writing on
+its arrow, and then stood irresolute, evidently much perturbed, for
+several minutes.  Finally, heaving a great sigh, he set forth in the
+direction indicated by the arrow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was a gigantic man, and presented a strange spectacle as he strode
+swiftly across the country with the long, sliding gait of a practised
+snowshoer.  Although his wide-set blue eyes were frank and gentle in
+expression, a heavy mass of blonde hair, streaming over his shoulders
+like a mane, and a shaggy beard, gave him an air of lion-like ferocity.
+This wildness of aspect, as well as his huge proportions, were both
+increased by his garments, which were entirely of wolf skins.  Even his
+cap was of this material, ornamented by a wolf's tail that streamed out
+behind and adorned in front with a pair of wolf ears pricked sharply
+forward.  He carried a rifle and bore on his shoulders, as though it
+were a feather weight, a pack of such size than an ordinarily strong
+man would have found difficulty in lifting it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As this remarkable stranger, looking more like a Norse war god than a
+mere human being, reached one signal after another, he passed it
+without pausing for examination until he had gained a point about half
+way to the coast.  Then he came to an abrupt halt and studied the
+surrounding snow intently.  He had run across the trail made by Arsenic
+and his fellows a few hours earlier.  After an examination of the
+sprawling footprints, the big man uttered a peculiar snort of
+satisfaction, and again pushed on with increased speed.  An hour later
+he stood, concealed by darkness, on the verge of the cliffs enclosing
+Locked Harbour, gazing interestedly down on the fire-lit beach, the
+half-revealed schooner, the feasting savages, and the recumbent, dimly
+discerned figure of Cabot Grant, their prisoner.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap20"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XX.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Once Arsenic went to where Cabot was lying, and, grinning cheerfully,
+remarked: "Tea, shug.  Plenty, yes."  Then he laughed immoderately, as
+did several other Indians who were listening admiringly to this flight
+of eloquence in the white man's own tongue.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, clear out, you grinning baboon," growled Cabot.  "I only hope I'll
+live to get even with you for this day's work."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The Indians were evidently so pleased at having drawn a retort from
+their prisoner that he declined to gratify them further, or to speak
+another word, though for some time Arsenic continued to beguile him
+with his tiresome "Tea, shug," etc.  When the latter finally gave it up
+and started away to get his share of the feast, Cabot's gaze followed
+him closely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All this time our lad was filled with vague terrors concerning White,
+of whose fate he had not received the slightest intimation, as well as
+of what might be in store for himself.  Would he be carried to the
+distant interior to become a slave in some filthy Indian village, or
+would he be killed before they took their departure?  Perhaps they
+would simply leave him there to freeze and starve to death, or they
+might amuse themselves by burning him at the stake.  Did these far
+northern Indians still do such things?  He wondered, but could not
+remember ever to have heard.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While considering these unpleasant possibilities, Cabot was also
+suffering with cold, from the pain of his bonds, and from lying
+motionless on the bed of rocks to which he had been carelessly flung.
+But, with all his pain and his mental distress, he still glared at the
+young savage who had so basely betrayed his kindness, and at length
+Arsenic seemed to be uneasily aware of the steady gaze.  He changed his
+position several times, and his noisy hilarity was gradually succeeded
+by a sullen silence.  Suddenly he lifted his head and listened
+apprehensively.  His quick ear had caught an ominous note in the
+distant, long-drawn howl of a wolf.  He spoke of it to his comrades,
+and several of them joined him in listening.  It came again, a
+blood-curdling yell, now so distinct that all heard it.  They stopped
+their feasting to consult in low tones and peer fearfully into the
+surrounding blackness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot had also recognised the sound, but, uncanny as it was, he
+wondered why the howl of a wolf should disturb a lot of Indians who
+must know, even better than he, the cowardly nature of the beast, and
+that there was no chance of his coming near a fire.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even as these thoughts passed through his mind, the terrible cry was
+uttered again&mdash;this time so close at hand that it was taken up and
+repeated by a chorus of echoes from the nearby cliffs.  The Indians
+sprang to their feet in terror, while at the same moment an avalanche
+of stones, gravel, and small boulders rushed down the face of the cliff
+close to where Cabot lay.  From it was evolved a monstrous shape that,
+with unearthly howlings, leaped towards the frightened natives.  As it
+did so flashes of lightning, that seemed to dart from it, gleamed with
+a dazzling radiance on their distorted faces.  In another moment they
+were in full flight up the rugged pathway leading from the basin, hotly
+pursued by their mysterious enemy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The latter seemed to pass directly through the fire, scattering its
+blazing brands to all sides.  At the same time he snatched up a flaming
+timber for use as a weapon against such of the panic-stricken savages
+as still remained within reach.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The flashes of light that accompanied the apparition, while
+illuminating all nearby objects, had left it shrouded in darkness, and
+only when it crouched for an instant above the fire did Cabot gain a
+clear glimpse of the gigantic form.  To his dismay it appeared to be a
+great beast with a human resemblance.  It had the gleaming teeth, the
+horrid jaws, the sharp ears, in fact the face and head of a wolf, the
+tawny mane of a lion, and was covered with thick fur; but it stood
+erect and used its arms like a man.  At the same time, the sounds
+issuing from its throat seemed a combination of incoherent human cries
+and wolfish howlings.  Cabot only saw it for a moment, and then it was
+gone, leaping up the pathway, whirling the blazing timber above its
+head, and darting its mysterious lightning flashes after the flying
+Indians.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the clamour of flight and pursuit died away, to be followed by a
+profound silence, there came a muffled call:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Cabot.  Cabot Grant."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello!" shouted our lad.  "Who is it?  Where are you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is I, White," came the barely heard answer.  "I am here in the
+cabin.  Can't you come and let me out?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No," replied Cabot.  "I am tied hand and foot."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So am I.  Are you wounded?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No.  Are you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No.  What are the Indians doing?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Running for dear life from a Labrador devil&mdash;half wolf and half
+man&mdash;armed with soundless thunder-bolts."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the short silence that followed, White meditated upon this
+extraordinary statement, and decided that his comrade's brain must be
+affected by his sufferings.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If I could only twist out of these ropes," he groaned, and then he
+began again a struggle to free his hands from their bonds.  At the same
+time Cabot, who had long since discovered the futility of such effort,
+was anxiously listening, and wondering what would happen next.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With all his listening he did not hear the soft approach of furred
+footsteps, and when a blinding light was flashed full in his face he
+was so startled that he cried out with terror.  Instantly the light
+vanished, and he shuddered as he realised that the furry monster had
+returned, and, bending over him, was fumbling at his bonds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In another moment these were severed, he was picked up as though he had
+been an infant, and carried to the fire, whose scattered embers were
+speedily re-assembled.  As it blazed up, Cabot gazed eagerly at the
+mysterious figure, which had thus far worked in silence.  Curious as he
+was to see it, he yet dreaded to look upon its wolfish features.
+Therefore, as the fire blazed up, he uttered a cry of amazement, for,
+fully revealed by its light, was a man; clad in furs, it is true, but
+bare-headed and having a pleasant face lighted by kindly blue eyes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are really human after all!" gasped Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The stranger smiled but said nothing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And can understand English?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A nod of the head was the only answer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then," continued Cabot, hardly noting that his deliverer had not
+spoken, "won't you please go aboard the schooner and find my friend?
+He is in the cabin, where those wretches left him, tied up."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This was the first intimation the stranger had received that any one
+besides Cabot needed his assistance, but without a word he did as
+requested, swinging himself aboard the "Sea Bee" by her head chains and
+her bowsprit, which overhung the beach.  Directly afterwards a flash of
+light streamed from the cabin windows.  Then White Baldwin, assisted by
+the fur-clad giant, emerged from his prison, walked stiffly along the
+deck, and was helped down to the beach, where Cabot eagerly awaited him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After a joyous greeting of his friend the young American said
+anxiously: "But are you sure you are all right, old man&mdash;not wounded
+nor hurt in any way?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No; I am sound as a nut," replied White.  "Only a little stiff, that's
+all."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Same here," declared Cabot, industriously rubbing his legs to restore
+their circulation.  "I was rapidly turning into a human icicle, though,
+when our big friend dropped down from the sky in a chariot of flame and
+gave those Indian beggars such a scare that I don't suppose they've
+stopped running yet.  But how did you happen to let 'em aboard, old
+man?  Couldn't you stand them off with a gun?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For answer White gave a full account of all that had taken place, so
+far as he knew, and in return Cabot described his own exciting
+experiences, while the stranger listened attentively, but in silence,
+to both narratives.  When Cabot came to the end of his own story, he
+said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, sir, won't you please tell us how you happened to find us out and
+come to our rescue just in the nick of time?  I should also very much
+like to know how you managed to tumble down that precipice unharmed, as
+well as how you produced those flashes of light that scared the savages
+so badly&mdash;me too, for that matter."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For answer the stranger only smiled gravely, pointed to his lips, and
+shook his head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh!" exclaimed both Cabot and White, shocked by this intimation, and
+the former said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I beg your pardon, sir.  While I noticed that you didn't do much
+talking, it never occurred to me that you were dumb.  I am awfully
+sorry, and it must be a terrible trial.  At the same time, I am glad
+you can hear me say how very grateful we are to you for getting us out
+of a nasty fix in the splendid way you did.  Now, I move we adjourn to
+the cabin of the schooner, where we can make some hot tea and be rather
+more comfortable than out here.  That is, if you think those Indians
+won't come back."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The stranger smiled again, and shook his head so reassuringly that the
+lads had no longer a doubt as to the expediency of returning to the
+cabin.  There they started a fire in the stove, boiled water, made tea,
+and prepared a meal, of which the stranger ate so heartily, and with
+such evident appreciation, that it was a pleasure to watch him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While supper was being made ready, the big man removed his outer
+garments of wolf fur and stood in a close-fitting suit of tanned
+buckskin that clearly revealed the symmetry of his massive proportions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If I were as strong as you look, and, as I know from experience, you
+are," exclaimed Cabot, admiringly, "I don't think I would hesitate to
+attack a whole tribe of Indians single handed.  My! but it must be fine
+to be so strong."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After supper Cabot, who generally acted as spokesman, again addressed
+himself to their guest, saying:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If you don't mind, sir, we'd like to have you know just what sort of a
+predicament we've got into, and ask your advice as to how we can get
+out of it."  With this preamble Cabot explained the whole situation,
+and ended by saying:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now you know just how we are fixed, and if you can guide us to the
+nearest Mission Station or, if you haven't time to go with us, if you
+will give us directions how to find it&mdash;we shall be under a greater
+obligation to you than ever."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a minute the stranger looked thoughtful but made no sign.  Then,
+dipping his finger in a bowl of water, he wrote on the table the single
+word: "To-morrow."  Having thus dismissed the subject for the present,
+he stretched his huge frame on a transom and almost instantly fell
+asleep.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Our tired lads were not long in following his example, and, though
+several times during the alight one or the other of them got up to
+replenish the fire, they always found their guest quietly sleeping.
+But when they both awoke late the following morning and looked for him
+he had disappeared.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap21"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXI.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+A WELCOME MISSIONARY.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Although the outer garments of wolf fur belonging to the mysterious
+stranger were also missing, our lads were not at first at all uneasy
+concerning his absence, but imagined that their guest had merely gone
+for a breath of fresh air or to examine the situation of the schooner
+by daylight.  So they mended the fire and got breakfast ready,
+expecting with each moment that he would return.  As he did not, Cabot
+finally went on deck to look for him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The morning was bitterly cold, and the harbour was covered with ice
+sufficiently strong to bear a man.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The old 'Bee's' found her winter berth at last," reflected Cabot, as
+he glanced about him, shivering in the keen air.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To his disappointment he could discover no trace of the man upon whom
+they were depending to aid their escape from this icy prison.  Cabot
+even dropped to the beach and made his way to the crest of the inland
+bluffs, but could see no living thing on all the vast expanse of snow
+outspread before him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I guess he has gone, all right," muttered the lad, "and we are again
+left to our own resources, only a little worse off than we were before.
+Why he came and helped us out at all, though, is a mystery to me."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this he retraced his steps and conveyed the unwelcome news to
+White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is evident then," said the latter, "that we must stay here, alive
+or dead, all winter.  And I expect we'll be a great deal more dead than
+alive long before it is over."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, I don't know," replied Cabot.  "This doesn't seem to be such a
+very uninhabited place, after all.  I'm sure we've had a regular job
+lot of visitors during the past week, and a good many of them, too.  So
+I don't see why we shouldn't have other callers before the winter is
+over.  When the next one comes, though, we'll take care and not let him
+out of our sight.  Why didn't you tie a string to one of those Indians,
+as I advised?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Because they tied me first," answered White, laughing in spite of his
+anxiety.  "Why didn't you do it yourself?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Because all the tying apparatus was aboard the schooner, and I hadn't
+so much as a shoe-string about me.  I wish I could have tied that
+scoundrel Arsenic, though.  If ever I meet him again I'll try to teach
+him a lesson in gratitude.  But what do you propose to do to-day,
+skipper?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I suppose we might as well unbend and stow our canvas, since the 'Bee'
+'ll not want to use sails again for a while.  We might also send down
+topmasts, stow away what we can of the running rigging, get those
+provisions on the beach aboard again, and&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hold on!" cried Cabot, "you've already laid out all the work I care to
+tackle in one day, and if you want any more done you'll have to ship a
+new crew."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was well that the lads had ample occupation for that day, otherwise
+they would have been very unhappy.  Even Cabot, for all his assumed
+cheerfulness, realised the many dangers with which they were beset.  He
+believed that their unknown friend had deserted them, and that the
+Indians might return at any moment in over-powering numbers.  He knew
+that without outside assistance and guidance it would be impossible to
+traverse the vast frozen wilderness lying between them and
+civilisation.  He knew also that if he and White remained where they
+were they must surely perish before the winter was over.  So the
+prospect was far from cheerful, and that evening the "Sea Bee's" crew,
+wearied with their hard day's work, ate their supper in thoughtful
+silence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While they were thus engaged both suddenly sprang to their feet with
+startled faces.  A gun had been fired from close at hand, and with its
+report came a confusion of shouts.  Evidently more visitors had
+arrived; but were they friends or foes?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White thought the latter, and snatched up a loaded revolver, declaring
+that the Indians should not again get possession of his schooner
+without fighting for it; but Cabot believed the new-comers to be
+friends.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If they were enemies," he argued, "they would have got aboard and
+taken us by surprise before making a sound."  So saying he hurried up
+the companionway, with White close at his heels.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello!" shouted Cabot.  "Who are you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We are friends," answered a voice from the beach in English, but with
+a strong German accent.  "Can you show us a light?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course we can, and will in a moment," replied Cabot joyously.
+"White, get a&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But White had already darted back into the cabin for a lantern, with
+which he speedily emerged, and led the way to the beach.  Here our lads
+found a dog sledge with its team, and an Eskimo driver, who was already
+collecting wood for a fire, together with a white man, tall, straight,
+middle-aged, and wearing a long beard streaked with grey.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"God be with you and keep you," he said, as he shook hands with Cabot
+and White.  "Where is the captain of this schooner?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot pointed to his companion.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where then is the crew?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this both lads laughed, and Cabot replied:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am the crew."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't mean to tell me that you two boys navigated that vessel to
+this place unaided."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We certainly did, sir, though we have not done much navigating for
+more than a month now.  But will you please tell us who you are, where
+you came from, and how you happened to discover us?  Though we are not
+surprised at being discovered, for we seem to be located on a highway
+of travel and have visitors nearly every day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Indeed," replied the stranger; "and yet you are stranded in one of the
+least known and most inaccessible bays of the coast.  It is rarely
+visited even by natives, and I doubt if any white man was ever here
+before your arrival."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then how did you happen to come?" asked Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I came by special request to find you and offer whatever assistance I
+may render.  I am the Rev. Ostrander Mellins, Director of a Moravian
+Mission Station located on the coast some twenty-five miles from this
+point."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But how did you know of us?" cried Cabot, in amazement.  "We haven't
+sent any telegrams nor even written any letters since coming here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Did not you send a messenger yesterday?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, sir.  Most of yesterday we were prisoners in the hands of some
+rascally Indians."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I perceive," said the missionary, "that I have much to hear as well as
+to tell, and, being both tired and cold, would suggest that we seek a
+more sheltered spot than this, where we may converse while my man
+prepares supper."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At these words both our lads were covered with confusion, and, with
+profuse apologies for their lack of hospitality, besought the
+missionary to accompany them into the schooner's cabin.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We should have asked you long ago," declared White, "only we were so
+overcome with joy at meeting a white man who could talk to us that we
+really didn't know what we were about."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Won't your man and dogs also come aboard?" asked Cabot, anxious to
+show how hospitable they really were.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, thank you," laughed the missionary.  "They will do very well where
+they are."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the cabin, which had never seemed more cheerful and comfortable, the
+lads helped the new-comer remove his fur garments, plied him with hot
+tea, together with everything they could think of in the way of
+eatables, and at the same time told him their story as they had told it
+to their other guest of the night before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And you did not send me any message?" he asked, with a quizzical smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know!" cried Cabot.  "It was the man-wolf.  But where did you meet
+him, and why didn't he come back with you?  How did he manage to
+explain the situation?  We thought he couldn't talk."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't know that he can," replied the missionary, "for I have never
+heard him speak, nor do I know any one who has.  Neither did I meet
+him.  In fact I have never seen him, but I think your messenger must be
+one and the same with your man-wolf, since he signed his note
+'Homolupus.'"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"His note," repeated Cabot curiously.  "Did he send you a note?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not exactly; but he left one for me at a place near the station, where
+he has often left furs to be exchanged for goods, and called my
+attention to it by a signal of rifle shots.  When I reached the place I
+was not surprised to find him gone, for he always disappears when it is
+certain that his signal has been understood.  I was, however, greatly
+surprised to find, instead of the usual bundle of furs, only a slip of
+paper supported by a cleft stick.  On it was written:
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="letter">
+"'Schooner laden with provisions stranded in pocket next South of
+Nukavik Arm.  Crew in distress.  Need immediate assistance.
+Homolupus.'"
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+"With such a message to urge me, I made instant preparation, and came
+here with all speed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was awfully good of you," said White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Perhaps not quite so good as you may think, since our annual supply
+ship having thus far failed to make her appearance, the mission is very
+short of provisions, and the intimation that there was an abundance
+within reach relieved me of a load of anxiety.  So if you are disposed
+to sell&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Excuse me for interrupting," broke in Cabot, "but, before you get to
+talking business, please tell us something more about the man who sent
+you to our relief.  Who is he?  Where does he live?  What does he look
+like?  Why does he disappear when you go in answer to his signals?  Why
+do you call him a wolf-man?  What&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Seems to me that is about as many questions as I can remember at one
+time," said the missionary, smiling at Cabot's eagerness, "and I am
+sorry that, with my slight knowledge of the subject, I cannot answer
+them satisfactorily.  The man-wolf was well known to this country
+before I came to it, which was three years ago, and dwells somewhere to
+the southward of this place, though no one, to my knowledge, has ever
+seen his habitation.  Some of the Eskimo can point out its location,
+but they are in such terror of him that they give it a wide berth
+whenever travelling in that direction.  As I said, I have never seen
+him, nor have I ever known of his holding communication other than by
+writing with any human being.  The natives describe him as a man of
+great size with the head of a wolf."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There!  I was sure it wasn't imagination," interrupted Cabot
+excitedly.  "When I first saw him his head and face were those of a
+wolf, but the next time they were those of a man, and so I thought I
+must have dreamed the wolf part.  I wonder how he manages it, and I
+wish I knew how he produces those lightning flashes.  If this were a
+more civilised part of the world I should say that they resulted from
+electricity&mdash;but of course that couldn't be away off here in the
+wilderness.  I asked him about them but got no answer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you, then, seen and spoken with him?" asked the missionary.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course we have seen him, for he spent last night in this very
+cabin, and we have spoken to him, though not with him, for he is dumb."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I envy you the privilege of having met him, and am greatly relieved to
+learn that he is so wholly human; for the natives regard him as either
+a god or a devil, I can't tell which, and ascribe to him superhuman
+powers.  He has righted many a wrong, punished many an evil-doer, saved
+many a poor soul from starvation, and performed innumerable deeds of
+kindness.  He dares everything and seems able to do anything.  He is at
+once the guardian angel and the terror of this region, and, on the
+whole, I doubt if there is in all the world to-day a more remarkable
+being than the man-wolf of Labrador."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap22"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+GOOD-BYE TO THE "SEA BEE."
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+White Baldwin was of course interested in this talk of the man-wolf,
+but he was, at the same time, anxious to hear what the new-comer had to
+say concerning the cargo of provisions for which he had so long sought
+a purchaser.  His heart beat high with the hope of a speedy return to
+his home and its loved ones; for he had already planned to leave the
+"Sea Bee" where she was until the following season.  In case he could
+dispose of her cargo, he would insist that transportation and a
+guide&mdash;at least as far as Indian Harbour&mdash;should form part of the
+bargain.  From Indian Harbour they would surely find some way of
+continuing the journey.  He might even reach home by Christmas!
+Wouldn't it be great if he could, and if, at the same time, he could
+carry with him enough money to relieve all present anxieties?  Perhaps
+he might even be able to take his mother and Cola to St. Johns for a
+long visit.  Of course Cabot would accompany them, for with the
+warships all gone south for the winter there would be no danger of
+arrest, and then he would find out what a splendid city the capital of
+Newfoundland really was.  Oh! if they could only start at once; but of
+course there were certain preliminaries to be settled first, and the
+sooner they got at them the better.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus thinking, White took advantage of a pause in the conversation to
+remark: "What a very fortunate thing it is that you who want to
+purchase provisions and we who have them for sale should come together
+in this remarkable fashion."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is so fortunate and so remarkable that I must regard it as a
+distinct leading of the Divine Providence that knows our every need and
+guides our halting footsteps," replied the missionary.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And do you think," continued the young trader anxiously, "that you
+want our entire cargo?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am sure of it; and even then we may be put on short rations before
+the winter is ended, for there are many to be fed."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this opening the conversation drifted so easily into business
+details that, before the occupants of the cabin turned in for the
+night, everything had been arranged.  White had been somewhat
+disappointed when the missionary said that, having no funds in St.
+Johns, he would be obliged to give a sight draft on New York in payment
+for the goods.  This slight annoyance was, however, speedily smoothed
+away by Cabot, who offered to cash the draft immediately upon their
+arrival in St. Johns, where, he said, he had ample funds for the
+purpose.  It was also agreed that our lads should be provided with fur
+clothing, snowshoes, a dog sledge, and a guide as far as Indian
+Harbour.  In addition to taking the cargo of the "Sea Bee," the
+missionary proposed to purchase the schooner itself, at a sum much less
+than her real value, but one that constituted a very fair offer under
+the circumstances.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White hesitated over this proposition, but finally accepted it upon
+condition that at any time during the following summer he should be
+allowed to buy the schooner back at the same price he now received for
+her.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Isn't it fine," he whispered to Cabot, after all hands had sought
+their bunks, "to think that our venture has turned out so splendidly
+after all?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Fine is no name for it," rejoined the other.  "But I do hope we will
+have the chance of meeting Mr. Homolupus once more and of thanking him
+for what he has done.  We owe so much to him that, man-wolf or no
+man-wolf, I consider him a splendid fellow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In spite of their impatience to start southwards, our lads were still
+compelled to spend two weeks longer at Locked Harbour.  First the
+missionary was obliged to make a visit to his station, and, on his
+return, the snow was not in condition for a long sledge journey.
+Furious winds had piled it into drifts, with intervening spaces of bare
+ground, over which sledge travel would be impossible.  So they must
+wait until the autumnal storms were over and winter had settled down in
+earnest.  But, impatient as they were, time no longer hung heavily on
+their hands, nor did they now regard their place of abode as a prison.
+Its solitude and dreariness had fled before the advent of half a
+hundred Eskimo&mdash;short, squarely built men, moon-faced women, and
+roly-poly children, looking like animated balls of fur, all of whom had
+been brought from the mission to form a settlement on the beach.  It
+was easier to bring them to the Heaven-sent provisions that were to
+keep them until spring than it would have been to transport the heavy
+barrels of flour and pork to the mission.  At the same time, they could
+protect the schooner from depredations by other wandering natives.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So they came, bag and baggage, babies, dogs, and all, and at once set
+to work constructing snug habitations, in which, with plenty of food
+and plenty of seal oil, they could live happily and comfortably during
+the long winter months.  These structures were neither large nor
+elegant.  In fact they were only hovels sunk half underground, with low
+stone walls, supporting roofs of whale ribs, covered thick with earth.
+A little later they would be buried beneath warm, shapeless mounds of
+snow.  To most of them outside light and air could only be admitted
+through the low doorways, but one, more pretentious than the others,
+was provided with an old window sash, in which the place of missing
+panes was filled by dried intestines tightly stretched.  In every hovel
+a stone lamp filled with seal oil burned night and day, furnishing
+light, warmth, and the heat for melting ice into drinking water,
+boiling tea, drying wet mittens, and doing the family cooking.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot and White were immensely interested in watching the construction
+of these primitive Labrador homes.  They were also amazed at the
+readiness with which the natives made themselves snugly safe and
+comfortable, in a place where they had despaired of keeping alive.
+Besides watching the Eskimo prepare for the winter and picking up many
+words of their language, Cabot took daily lessons in snowshoeing and
+the management of dog teams, in both of which arts White was already an
+adept.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+According to contract, both lads had been provided with complete
+outfits for Arctic travel, including fur clothing, boots, and sleeping
+bags.  A sledge with a fine team of dogs had also been placed at their
+disposal, and an intelligent young Eskimo, who could speak some
+English, was ready to guide them on their southward journey.  He was
+introduced to his future travelling companions as Ildlat-Netschillik,
+whereupon Cabot remarked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That is an elegant name for special occasions, such as might occur
+once or twice in a lifetime, but seems to me something less ornamental,
+like 'Jim,' for instance, would be better for everyday use.  I wonder
+if he would mind being called Jim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On being asked this question the young Eskimo, grinning broadly, said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A' yite.  Yim plenty goot," and afterwards he always answered promptly
+and cheerfully to the name of "Yim."
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<A NAME="img-217"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-217.jpg" ALT="&quot;Yim.&quot;" BORDER="2" WIDTH="409" HEIGHT="480">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: "Yim."]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+At length snow fell for several days almost without intermission.  Then
+a fierce wind took it in hand, kneading it, packing it, and stuffing it
+into every crack and cranny of the landscape until hollows were filled,
+ridges were nicely rounded, and rocks had disappeared.  In the
+meantime, strong white bridges had been thrown across lake and stream,
+and the great Labrador highway for winter travel was formally opened to
+the public.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+November was well advanced, and our lads had been prisoners in Locked
+Harbour for more than two months when this way of escape was opened to
+them.  It had been decided that they should take a single large sledge,
+having broad runners, and a double team of dogs&mdash;ten in all.  On this,
+therefore, was finally lashed a great load of provisions, frozen walrus
+meat for dog food, sleeping bags, the three all-important cooking
+utensils of the wilderness&mdash;kettle, fry-pan, and teapot&mdash;an axe, and
+Cabot's bag of specimens.  With this outfit Yim was to conduct them
+over the first half of their 400-mile journey, or to Indian Harbour,
+where, through a letter from the missionary, they expected to procure a
+fresh team, renew their supply of provisions, and obtain another guide,
+who should go with them to Battle Harbour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When the time for starting arrived, the entire population of the new
+settlement turned out to see them off and help get their heavily laden
+sledge up the steep ascent from the beach.  At the crest of the bluffs
+the men fired a parting salute from their smooth-bore guns, the women
+and children uttered shrill cries of farewell, and the missionary gave
+them his final blessing, Yim cracked his eighteen-foot whiplash like a
+pistol shot, shouted to his dogs, and the yelping team sprang forward.
+Our lads gave a fond backward glance at their loved schooner, so far
+below them that she looked like a toy boat, and then, with hearts too
+full for words, they faced the vast white wilderness outspread like a
+frozen sea before them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All that day they pushed steadily forward almost without a pause,
+holding a westerly course to pass around a deep fiord that penetrated
+far inland, and might not yet be crossed with safety.  Yim ran beside
+his straining dogs, encouraging the laggards with whip and voice; White
+led the way and broke the trail, while Cabot brought up the rear and
+helped the sledge over difficult places.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For several hours they followed the signal line with its fluttering
+flags, and felt that they were still on familiar ground.  At length
+even these were left behind, and for three hours longer they plodded
+sturdily forward, guided only by Yim's unerring instinct.  Then the
+short day came to an end and night descended with a chill breath of
+bitter winds.  Cabot was nearly exhausted, and even White was painfully
+weary, but both had been buoyed up by a hope that they might reach
+timber and have abundant firewood for their first camp.  Now, when Yim,
+throwing down his whip and giving his dogs the command to halt, calmly
+announced that they would make camp where they were, both lads looked
+at him in dismay.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"We surely can't camp here in the snow without a fire or any kind of
+shelter!" exclaimed Cabot.  "Why, man, we'll be frozen stiff long
+before morning."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A' yite.  Me fix um.  You see," responded Yim, cheerfully.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap23"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE COMFORT OF AN ESKIMO LAMP.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+In that dreary waste of snow, unrelieved so far as the eye could reach
+by so much as a single bush, the making of a camp that should contain
+even the rudiments of comfort seemed as hopeless to White, who had
+always been accustomed to a timbered country, as it did to Cabot, who
+knew nothing of real camp life, and had only played at camping in the
+Adirondacks.  Left to their own devices, they would have passed a most
+uncomfortable if not a perilous night, for the mercury stood at many
+degrees below zero.  But they had Yim with them, and he, being
+perfectly at home amid all that desolation, was determined to enjoy all
+the home comforts it could be made to yield.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+First he marked out a circular space some twelve feet in diameter, from
+which he bade his companions excavate the snow with their snowshoes,
+and throw it out on the windward side.  While they were doing this he
+went a short distance away, and, from a mass of closely compacted snow,
+carved out with his knife a number of blocks, as large as could be
+handled without breaking, to each of which he gave a slight curve.
+With time enough Yim could have constructed from such slabs a perfect
+igloo or snow hut, but the fading daylight was very precious, and he
+did not consider that the cold was yet sufficiently severe to demand a
+complete enclosure.  So he merely built a low, hood-like structure on
+the windward side of the space the others had cleared.  One side of
+this was still further extended by the sledge, relieved of its load and
+set on edge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The precious provisions were placed inside the rude shelter, the
+sleeping bags covered its floor, and, when all was completed, Yim
+surveyed his work with great satisfaction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is pretty good so far as it goes," admitted.  White, dubiously,
+"but I don't see how we are to get along without at least enough fire
+to boil a pot of tea, and of course we can't have a fire without wood."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's so," agreed Cabot, shivering.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Yim only smiled knowingly as he groped among the miscellaneous articles
+piled at the back of the hut.  From them he finally drew forth a
+shallow soapstone bowl having one straight side about six inches long.
+It was shaped something like a clam shell, and was a specimen of the
+world-famed Eskimo cooking lamp.  He also produced a bladder full of
+seal oil.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good enough!" cried Cabot.  "Yim has remembered to bring along his
+travelling cook stove."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Setting the lamp in the most sheltered corner of the hut, Yim filled it
+with oil, and then, drawing forth a pouch that hung from his neck, he
+produced a wick made of sphagnum moss previously dried, rolled, and
+oiled.  This he laid carefully along the straight side of the lamp.
+Then, turning to Cabot, he uttered the single word: "Metches."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Great Scott!" exclaimed the young engineer, "I forgot to bring any.
+But of course you must have some, White."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, I haven't.  Matches were among the things you were to look after,
+and so I never gave them a thought."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The spirits of the lads, raised to a high pitch of expectation by the
+sight of Yim's lamp, suddenly sank to zero with the discovery that they
+had no means for lighting it.  Yim, however, only smiled at their
+dismay.  Of course he had long since learned the use of matches, and to
+appreciate them at their full value; but he also knew how to produce
+fire without their aid in the simplest manner ever devised by primitive
+man.  It is the friction method of rubbing wood against wood, and, in
+one form or another, is used all over the world.  It was known to the
+most ancient Egyptians, and is practised to-day by natives of the
+Amazon valley, dwellers on South Pacific islands, inhabitants of Polar
+regions, Indians of North America, and the negroes of Central Africa.
+These widely scattered peoples use various models of wooden drills,
+ploughs, or saws.  But Yim's method is the simplest of all.  When he
+saw that no matches were forthcoming, he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A' yite.  Me fix um."  At the same time he produced two pieces of soft
+wood from some hiding place in his garments.  One of these, known as
+the "spindle," was a stick about two feet long by three-quarters of an
+inch in diameter and having a rounded point.  The other, called the
+"hearth," was flat, about eighteen inches in length, half an inch
+thick, and three inches wide.  On its upper surface, close to one edge,
+were several slight cavities, each just large enough to hold the
+rounded end of the spindle, and from each was cut a narrow slot down
+the side of the hearth.  This slot is an indispensable feature, and
+without it all efforts to produce fire by wood-friction must fail.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Laying the hearth on the flat side of a sledge runner and kneeling on
+it to hold it firmly in position, Yim set the rounded end of his
+spindle in one of its depressions, and holding the upper end between
+the palms of his hands, began to twirl it rapidly, at the same time
+exerting all possible downward pressure.  As his hands moved towards
+the lower end of the spindle he dexterously shifted them back to the
+top, without lifting it or allowing air to get under its lower end.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With the continuation of the twirling process a tiny stream of wood
+meal, ground off by friction, poured through the slot at the side of
+the hearth, and accumulated in a little pile, that all at once began to
+smoke.  In two seconds more it was a glowing coal of fire.  Then Yim
+dropped his spindle, covered the coal with a bit of tinder previously
+made ready, and blew it into a flame, which he deftly transferred to
+the wick of his lamp.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At sight of the first spiral of smoke our lads had been filled with
+amazement.  As the coal began to glow they uttered exclamations of
+delight, and when the actual flame appeared they broke into such
+enthusiastic cheering as set all the dogs to barking in sympathy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is one of the most wonderful things I ever saw," cried Cabot.
+"I've often read of fire being produced by wood friction, and I have
+tried it lots of times myself, but as I never could raise even a smoke,
+and never before met any one who could, I decided that it was all a
+fake got up by story writers."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I was rather doubtful about it myself," admitted White.  "But, I say!
+Isn't that a great lamp, and doesn't it make things look cheery?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White's approval of "Yim's cook stove," as Cabot called it, was well
+merited, for its five inches of blazing wick yielded as much light and
+twice the heat of a first-class kerosene lamp.  Over it Yim had already
+suspended a kettle full of snow, and now he laid a slab of frozen pork
+close beside it to be thawed out.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While waiting for these he fed the dogs, who had been watching him with
+wistful eyes and impatient yelpings.  To each he threw a two-pound
+chunk of frozen walrus meat, and each devoured his portion with such
+ravenous rapidity that Cabot declared they swallowed them whole.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Half an hour after the lamp was lighted it had converted enough snow
+into boiling water to provide three steaming cups of tea, and while our
+lads sipped at these Yim cut slices of thawed pork, laid them in the
+fry-pan, and holding this over his lamp soon had them sizzling and
+browning in the most appetising manner.  This, with tea and ship
+biscuit, constituted their supper.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When Yim no longer needed his lamp for cooking he removed two-thirds of
+its wick and allowed the flame thus reduced to burn all night.  Over it
+hung a kettle of melting snow, and above this, on a snowshoe, supported
+by two others, wet mittens and moccasins were slowly but thoroughly
+dried.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In spite of the hot tea, their fur-lined sleeping bags, and the
+effective wind-break behind which they were huddled, our lads suffered
+with cold long before the night was over, and were quite willing to
+make a start when Yim, after a glance at the stars, announced that
+daylight was only three hours away.  For breakfast they had more
+scalding tea and a quantity of hard bread, broken into small bits,
+soaked in warm water, fried in seal oil, and eaten with sugar.  White
+pronounced this fine, but Cabot only ate it under protest, because, as
+he said, he must fill up with something.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The travel of that day, with its accompaniments of blisters and
+strained muscles, was much harder than that of the day before, and our
+weary lads were thankful when, towards its close, they entered a belt
+of timber that had been in sight for hours.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That night they slept warmly and soundly on luxurious beds of spruce
+boughs beside a great fire frequently replenished by Yim.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I tell you what," said Cabot, as, early in the evening, he basked in
+the heat of this blaze, "there's nothing in all this world so good as
+that.  For my part I consider fire to be the greatest blessing ever
+conferred upon mankind."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How about light, air, water, food, and sleep?" asked White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Those are necessaries, but fire is a luxury.  Not only that, but it is
+the first of all luxuries and the one upon which nearly all others
+depend."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When, a little later, Cabot lay so close to the blaze that his sleeping
+bag caught on fire, and he burned his hands in putting it out, White
+laughingly asked:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What do you think of your luxury now?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I think," was the reply, "that it proves itself the greatest of
+luxuries by punishing over-indulgence in it with the greatest amount of
+pain."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Umph!" remarked Yim, who was listening, "Big fire, goot.  Baby fire,
+more goot.  Innuit yamp mos' goot of any."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, pshaw!" retorted Cabot, "your sooty little lamp isn't in it with a
+blaze like that."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the third day of their journey the party had skirted the edge of the
+timber for several hours, when all at once Yim held his head high with
+dilated nostrils.  At the same time it was noticed that the dogs were
+also sniffing eagerly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What is it, Yim?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Fire.  Injin fire," was the reply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'd like to know how you can tell an Indian fire from any other," said
+Cabot.  "Especially when it is so far away that I can't smell anything
+but cold air."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But Yim was right, for, after a while, his companions also smelled
+smoke, and a little later the yelping of their dogs was answered by
+shrill cries from within the timber.  Suddenly two tattered scarecrows
+of children emerged from the thick growth, stared for an instant, and
+then, with terrified expressions, darted back like frightened rabbits.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Arsenic kids!" cried Cabot, who had recognised them.  "Now I'll
+catch that scoundrel."  As he spoke he sprang after the children, and
+was instantly lost to view in the low timber.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hold on!" shouted White.  "You'll run into an ambush."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But Cabot, crashing through the undergrowth, failed to hear the
+warning, and with the loyalty of true friendship White started after
+him.  A minute later he overtook his impulsive comrade standing still
+and gazing irresolute at a canvas tent, black with age and smoke, and
+patched in many places.  It stood on the edge of a small lake, and
+showed no sign of occupancy save a slender curl of smoke that drifted
+from a vent hole in its apex.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Get behind cover," cried White.  "They may take a pot shot at any
+moment."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't believe it," replied Cabot.  "Any way, I'm bound to see what's
+inside."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus saying he stepped forward and lifted the dingy flap.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap24"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+OBJECTS OF CHARITY.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+While Cabot felt very bitter against the young Indian whom he had named
+"Arsenic," on account of the base ingratitude with which the latter had
+repaid the kindness shown him, and was determined to punish him for it
+in some way, he had not the slightest idea what form the punishment
+would take.  Of course he did not intend to kill Arsenic, nor even to
+severely injure him, but he had thought of giving the rascal a sound
+thrashing, and only hoped he could make him understand what it was for.
+In the excitement of the past two weeks he had forgotten all about
+Arsenic, but the sight of those ragged children had awakened his
+animosity, and he had followed them, hoping that they would lead him to
+the object of his just wrath.  It was only when he reached the
+sorry-looking tent that he remembered the other savages whom Arsenic
+had brought with him on his second visit to the schooner, and wondered
+if some of them might not be concealed behind the canvas screen ready
+to spring upon him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this thought he stepped nimbly to one side as he threw open the
+flap, and stood for a moment waiting for what might happen.  There was
+no rush of men and no sound, save only a faint cry of terror, hearing
+which Cabot peered cautiously around the edge of the opening.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A poor little fire of sticks smouldered on the ground in the middle,
+filling the place with a pungent smoke.  Through this Cabot could at
+first make out only a confused huddle at one side, from which several
+pairs of eyes glared at him like those of wild beasts.  As he entered
+the tent a human figure detached itself from this and strove to rise,
+but fell back weakly helpless.  In another moment a closer view
+disclosed to Cabot the whole dreadful situation.  The huddle resolved
+itself into a woman, hollow-cheeked and gaunt with sickness and hunger,
+two children in slightly better plight, and a little dead baby.  There
+was no other person in the tent, and it contained no furnishing except
+the heap of boughs, rags, and scraps of fur that passed for a bed, and
+a broken kettle that lay beside the fire.  On the floor were scattered
+a few bones picked clean, from which even the marrow had been
+extracted; but otherwise there was no vestige of food.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I believe they are starving to death!" cried Cabot, as he made these
+discoveries.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It certainly looks like it," replied White, who had followed his
+friend into the tent.  "I wonder what they did with all the provisions
+they stole from us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Probably they were taken from them in turn to feed those other
+Indians.  At any rate, they are destitute enough now, and we can't
+leave them here to die.  Go and bring Yim with the sled as quick as you
+can, while I wake up this fire."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"All right," replied White, "only I'm afraid he won't come."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He must come," said Cabot decisively.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The hatred between Eskimo and Indian is so bitter that it took all
+White's powers of persuasion, together with certain threats, to bring
+Yim to the tent, but once there even he was sufficiently roused by its
+spectacle of suffering to bestir himself most actively.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the next hour, while the starving, half-frozen Indians were
+warmed and fed, the rescuers discussed the situation and what should be
+done.  They could not leave the helpless family as they had found them,
+neither could they carry them away, and it would be folly to remain
+with them longer than was absolutely necessary.  They could not gain a
+word of information from the woman or children as to how they had
+arrived at such a pitiable plight, what they had done with the stolen
+provisions, why their friends had abandoned them, or what had become of
+Arsenic.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I'll tell you what," said Cabot at length; "we'll provide them with a
+supply of wood and leave all the provisions we can possibly spare.
+Then we will hurry on to Indian Harbour, send back some more provisions
+from there by Yim, and get him to report the case to Mr. Mellins."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As there seemed nothing better to be done, this plan was carried out,
+though dividing the provisions made each portion look woefully small,
+and by noon the sledge was again on its way southward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The head of the fiord having been reached, the trail now left the
+sheltering timber and struck across an open country, which was also
+extremely rugged, abounding in hills and hollows.  Over these the
+sledge pulled heavily, in spite of its lightened load, because one of
+the ice shoes, with which its runners were shod, had broken and could
+not be repaired until camp was made.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When they had gone about three miles, and while our lads were still
+talking of the suffering they had so recently witnessed, they were
+attracted by an exclamation from Yim, who was pointing eagerly ahead.
+Looking in that direction, they saw a line of dark objects, that had
+just topped a distant ridge, running swiftly towards them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Caribou!" shouted White, in great excitement, at the same time seizing
+his rifle from the sledge and hastily removing it from its sealskin
+case.  In another minute sledge and dogs were concealed in a bit of a
+gully, with Cabot to watch them, while Yim and White, lying flat behind
+the crest of a low ridge, were eagerly noting the course of the
+approaching animals.  When it became evident that they would pass at
+some distance on the right, White, crouching low, ran in that direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The caribou appeared badly frightened, pausing every few moments to
+face about and cast terrified glances over the way they had come.  All
+at once, during one of these pauses, a shot rang out, followed quickly
+by another, and, as the terrified animals dashed madly away in a new
+direction, one of their number dropped behind, staggered, and fell.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've got him!  I've got him!" yelled White, wild with the joy of his
+achievement.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hurrah for us!" shouted Cabot.  "Steaks and spare-ribs for supper
+to-night."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yip, yip, yip!" screamed Yim to his dogs, and with a jubilant chorus
+of yells and yelpings, the entire outfit streamed over the ridge to the
+place where the unfortunate caribou lay motionless.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In his broken English Yim gave the lads to understand that it would be
+advisable to camp where they were, in order to prepare their meat for
+transportation, and also to mend their broken sledge shoe.  This
+latter, he explained, could be done much better with a mixture of blood
+and snow than with any other available material.  He furthermore
+intimated that he feared they might be overtaken by a blizzard before
+morning, in which case they could best defy it in a regularly built
+igloo.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All these reasons for delay seemed so good that the others accepted
+them, and the work outlined by Yim was immediately begun.  In cutting
+up the caribou, as in building the snow hut, Cabot, from lack of
+experience, could give but slight assistance, and, realising this, he
+made a proposal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Look here," he said.  "The wood we have brought along won't last long
+and I want a good fire to-night.  I also want to carry some of this
+meat to those poor wretches we have just left.  We have got more than
+we can take with us, anyhow.  So I am going back with a leg of venison,
+and on my return I'll bring all the wood I can pack."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But you might lose the way," objected White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No one could lose so plain a trail as the one we have just made,"
+replied Cabot, scornfully.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Suppose it should be dark before you got back?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There will be three hours of daylight yet, and I won't be gone more
+than two at the most.  Anyhow, I must get some of this meat to those
+starving children."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+White's protests were ineffectual before Cabot's strong resolve, and,
+as soon as a forequarter of the caribou could be made ready, the latter
+get forth on his errand of mercy.  Although he had no difficulty in
+finding the trail, it was so much harder to walk with a heavy load than
+it had been without one that a full hour had passed before he again
+came within sight of the lonely tent in the forest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+One of the children who was outside spied him and announced his coming,
+so that when he entered the tent he again found a frightened group
+huddled together and apprehensively awaiting him.  But they were
+stronger now, and the children uttered little squeals of joy at sight
+of the meat he had brought, while even the haggard face of their mother
+was lighted by a fleeting smile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For the pleasure of seeing the children eat Cabot toasted a few strips
+of venison over the coals, and these smelled so good that he cut off
+some more for himself.  In this occupation he spent another hour
+without realising the flight of time, and had eaten a quantity of meat
+that he would have deemed impossible had it all been placed before him
+at once.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As he was bending over the fire toasting a strip that he said to
+himself should be the last, a slight cry from one of the children
+caused him to look up.  He barely caught a glimpse of a face at the
+entrance as it was hastily withdrawn, but in that moment he recognised
+the features of Arsenic.  At sight of the ill-favoured young Indian all
+of Cabot's former resentment flamed up, and springing to his feet he
+dashed from the tent, determined to give Arsenic the thrashing he
+deserved.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Of course Cabot had removed his snowshoes, but, as the young Indian had
+done the same thing, both were compelled to readjust these
+all-important articles, without which they would have floundered
+helplessly in the deep snow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Arsenic was off first, and though Cabot chased him hotly he could not
+overcome the advantage thus gained.  Being also much less expert in the
+management of snowshoes, he tripped several times, and finally pitched
+headlong.  When he next regained his feet Arsenic had disappeared in
+the timber, and our lad realised the futility of a further pursuit.
+Now, too, he noticed that the sky had become heavily overcast, and that
+a strong wind was soughing ominously through the tree tops.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It must be later than I thought," he reflected, "and high time for me
+to be getting back to camp."  With this he hastily gathered a bundle of
+sticks to be used as firewood and started, as he supposed, towards the
+open; but so confused was he, and so many turns did he make, that more
+than half an hour was wasted before he finally emerged from the timber.
+Here he was dismayed to find that snow was falling, or rather being
+driven in straight lines by the wind, which had increased to the force
+of a gale.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've got to hump myself to reach camp before dark, but I'll make it
+all right," he remarked to himself, as he set forth across the white
+plain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He took a diagonal course that he hoped would lead him to the trail,
+but by the time all landmarks were obliterated by the descending night
+he had failed to find it.  In looking back he could not even
+distinguish the timber line from which he had come.  Then the awful
+conviction slowly forced itself upon him that he was lost in a
+trackless wilderness, swept by the first fury of an Arctic blizzard.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap25"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXV.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+LOST IN A BLIZZARD.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+So numbed was our poor lad by the shock of his discovery that, for a
+few moments, he stood motionless.  Of course it would be of no use to
+continue his hopeless struggle.  Even if he had come in the right
+direction he must ere this have passed the place where his companions
+were encamped.  If he could only regain the timber there might be a
+slight chance of surviving the night; but even its location was lost to
+him, and a certain death stared him in the face.  At any rate it would
+be a painless ending, for he had only to lie down to be quickly covered
+by a soft blanket of snow.  Then he could go to sleep never again to
+waken.  He was very weary, and already so drowsy that the thought of
+sleep was pleasant to him.  Such a death would certainly not be so
+terrible as drowning after a hopeless struggle with black waters.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this thought every incident of that awful night after the loss of
+the "Lavinia" flashed into his mind.  How utterly hopeless had seemed
+his situation then and how desperately he had fought for his life.  But
+he had fought, and had won the fight.  What was the use of learning a
+lesson of that kind if he could not profit by it?  Was not his life as
+well worth fighting for now as then?  Of course it was; nor was his
+present position any more hopeless than that one had been.  Then he had
+drifted with the wind, and now he would do the same thing.  If he could
+hold out long enough he would fetch up somewhere sometime.  It was
+merely a question of endurance.  Even in that howling wilderness, with
+death on all sides, there were still three chances for life.  The drift
+with the wind might take him to the igloo that Yim must have built ere
+this.  How bright, and warm, and cosey its lamplighted interior would
+be.  How glad they would be to see him, and how he would laugh at all
+his recent fears.  But of course there was not one chance in a million
+of his finding the igloo.  It was not at all unlikely, though, that the
+drift might take him to a belt of timber, into which the bitter wind
+could not penetrate; and where he could crawl under the thick,
+low-hanging branches of some tent-like spruce.  Even such a shelter now
+seemed very desirable, and would be accepted with thankfulness.  If he
+failed to reach timber, the wind might blow him to some region of
+cliffs and rocks that would shelter him from its cutting blasts.  If he
+missed all these chances, and if worse came to worst, he could always
+go to sleep beneath the snow blanket, and it would be better to do that
+with the consciousness of having made a good fight than to yield now
+like a coward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All these thoughts flashed through Cabot's mind within the space of a
+minute, and, having determined to fight until the battle was either won
+or lost, he flung away his now useless burden of firewood and started
+off down the wind.  Tramping through that newly fallen snow, even with
+the support of racquets, was exhausting work, but the effort at least
+kept him warm, and, before he came to the end of his strength, some
+hours later, he had covered a number of miles.  He had also come to the
+least promising of the three places he had hoped for, and found himself
+in a region of cliffs, precipices, and huge rocks, among which he could
+no longer make headway, even though he had not reached the limit of
+endurance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But he had reached that limit, and now only sought a spot in which he
+might lie down and go to sleep.  Of course the snow would quickly cover
+him, and doubtless he would be buried deep ere the fury of the storm
+was past.  But he had a vague plan for putting his snowshoes over his
+head like an inverted V, and hoped in that way to be kept from
+smothering.  At the same time he had little thought that he should ever
+see the light of another day.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Only a bit further and then I can rest," he muttered, as he pushed
+into the blackness of a rift between two tall cliffs, and experienced a
+partial relief from the furious wind.  It seemed as though he ought to
+penetrate this as far as possible, and so he struggled weakly forward.
+Then he stumbled over something that lay across his path and fell
+heavily.  As he lay wondering whether an attempt to regain his feet
+would be worth while, he seemed to hear the distant but strenuous
+ringing of an electric bell, and almost smiled at the absurdity of such
+a fancy in such a place.  The thought carried him back to the
+electrical laboratory of the Institute, and he began to dream that he
+was still a student of ohms, volts, and amperes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In another moment his consciousness would have been wholly merged in
+dreams, but suddenly the place where he lay was filled with a blaze of
+light that apparently streamed from the solid rock on either side.  So
+intense was this light that it penetrated even Cabot's closed eyes, and
+aroused him from the stupor into which he had fallen.  He lifted his
+head, and, still bewildered, wondered why the laboratory was so
+brilliantly illuminated.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then, through the glare, he saw the driving snow-flakes with their
+dancing shadows magnified a hundred fold, and, all at once, he
+remembered.  Staggering to his feet, and groping with outstretched
+arms, he pushed forward along the narrow pathway outlined by the
+mysterious light.  He no longer heard the sound of bells, but in its
+place came strains of music that blended weirdly with the shrieking
+wind, and irresistibly compelled him forward.  The pathway sloped
+downward and then took a sharp turn.  As Cabot passed this the light
+behind him was extinguished as suddenly as it had appeared, the wild
+music sounded louder than ever, and directly in front of him gleamed
+two squares of light like windows.  Between them was a dark space,
+towards which he instinctively stumbled.  It proved to be as he had
+hoped, a door massive and without any means of unclosing that his blind
+fumblings could discover.  So he beat against it feebly and uttered a
+hoarse cry for help.  In another moment it was opened, and Cabot,
+leaning heavily against it, fell into a room, small, warm, and brightly
+lighted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a few minutes he lay with closed eyes, barely conscious that his
+struggle for life had been successful, and that in some mysterious
+manner he had gained a place of safety.  Gradually he became aware that
+some one was bending over him, and opening his eyes he gazed full into
+a face that he instantly recognised, though it had sadly changed since
+he last saw it.  At that time it had expressed strength in every line,
+but now it was haggard and worn by suffering.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The Man-wolf!" gasped Cabot, in a voice hardly above a whisper.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A slight smile flitted across the man's face, and then, without
+warning, he sank to the floor in a dead faint.  His mighty strength had
+been turned to the weakness of water, and the iron will had at length
+relaxed its hold upon the enfeebled body.  As the man-wolf fell, a
+stream of blood trickled from his mouth, and he choked for breath as
+though strangling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is nothing so effective in restoring spent strength as a demand
+upon it from one who is weaker, and at sight of the big man's
+helplessness Cabot was instantly nerved to renewed effort.  He sat up,
+cut loose his snowshoes, closed the open door, and rid himself of his
+snow-laden outer garments.  Then, by a supreme effort, he managed to
+drag the unconscious man to a bed that was piled with robes and lean
+him against it.  His eyes had already lighted on a jug of water, and
+fetching this he bathed the sufferer's face, washed the blood from his
+mouth, and finally had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes unclose.
+Then he helped him on to the bed, and though during the operation the
+man's face expressed the most intense pain, he uttered no sound.  But
+the movement was accompanied by another hemorrhage, so severe that it
+seemed to our distressed lad as though the man must surely bleed to
+death before it was checked.  When it finally ceased the exhausted
+sufferer dropped asleep, and, for the first time since entering that
+place of mysteries, Cabot found an opportunity for looking about him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the room was small it was comfortably furnished with a table,
+chairs&mdash;one of which was a rocker&mdash;a lounge, and the bed on which the
+man-wolf lay.  There were no windows nor doors except those in front.
+The ceiling was of heavy canvas tightly stretched, while the walls were
+hung with the skins of fur-bearing animals, and the floor was covered
+with rugs of the same material.  At first Cabot paid no attention to
+these details, for his eyes were fixed upon the most astonishing thing
+he had seen in all Labrador.  It was a lamp that, depending from the
+ceiling, gave to the room an illumination as brilliant as daylight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Electric, as I live!" gasped the young engineer.  "A regular
+incandescent, and those lights out on the trail must have been the
+same.  That was an electric bell too.  I know it now, though I couldn't
+believe my ears at the time.  The light he scared the Indians with must
+have been an electric flash, worked by a storage battery.  But it is
+all so incredible!  I wonder if I am really awake or still dreaming?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To assure himself on this point Cabot went to the light, and, as he did
+so, came upon another surprise greater than any that had preceded it.
+He had wondered at the comfortable temperature of the room, for there
+was nowhere a fire to be seen, and the blizzard still howled outside
+with unabated fury.  Now, on drawing near to the lamp, he found himself
+also approaching some heretofore unobserved source of heat, which he
+discovered to be a drum of sheet iron.  It stood by itself, unconnected
+with any chimney, and apparently had no receptacle for any form of
+fuel, solid, liquid, or gaseous.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A Balfour electric heater," murmured Cabot, in an awe-stricken tone,
+"and I didn't even know they had been perfected.  I don't suppose there
+are half-a-dozen in use in all the world, and yet here is one of them
+doing its full duty up here in the Labrador wilderness, a thousand
+miles from anywhere.  It is fully equal to any tale of the Arabian
+Nights, and Mr. Homolupus must, as the natives say, be either a god or
+a devil.  I do wonder who he is, where he came from, what has happened
+to him, where he gets his electricity, and a thousand other things.  I
+wish he would wake up, and I wish he could talk."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot's curiosity concerning the weird music that had drawn him to that
+place had been partially satisfied by the discovery of a violin on the
+floor beside the sick man's bed.  Now, as he flung himself wearily down
+on the lounge for a bit of rest, he became conscious of the muffled
+b-r-r-r of a dynamo.  That accounted in a measure for the electric
+lights, but still left our lad in a daze of wonder at the nature of his
+surroundings.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap26"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+When Cabot threw himself down on that lounge he fully intended to
+remain awake, or at most to take only a series of short naps, always
+holding himself in readiness to assist the sufferer on the opposite
+side of the room.  But exhausted nature proved too much for his good
+intentions, and he had hardly lain down before he fell into a dead,
+dreamless sleep that lasted for many hours.  When he next awoke it was
+with a start, and he sat up bewildered by the strangeness of his
+environment.  Daylight was streaming in at the frost-covered windows
+and the storm of the night before had evidently spent its fury.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Almost the first thing he saw was the tall form of his host bending
+feebly over the electric stove.  His face was drawn with pain, and he
+was so weak that he was compelled to support himself by grasping the
+table with one hand while with the other he stirred the contents of a
+simmering kettle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Let me do that, sir!" cried Cabot, springing to his feet.  "You are
+not fit to be out of your bed, and I am perfectly familiar with the
+management of electrical cooking apparatus, though I don't know much
+about cooking itself."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The man hesitated a moment, and then permitted the other to lead him
+back to his bed, on which he sank with a groan.  Here Cabot made him as
+comfortable as possible before turning his attention to the stove.  On
+it he found two kettles, each having its own wire connections, in one
+of which was boiling water while the other contained a meat stew.  On
+the table was a box of tea, a bowl of sugar, and a plate heaped with
+hard bread.  Finding other dishes in a cupboard, Cabot made a pot of
+tea, turned off the electric current, and served breakfast.  Before
+eating a mouthful himself he prepared a bowl of broth for his patient,
+which the latter managed to swallow after many attempts and painful
+effort.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot ate ravenously, and, after his meal, felt once more ready to face
+any number of difficulties.  First he went to the bedside of his host
+and said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, Mr. Homolupus, I want to find out what is the trouble and what I
+can do for you.  Are you wounded, or just naturally ill?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The man looked at his questioner for a moment, as though he were on the
+point of speaking.  Then he seemed to change his mind, and, reaching
+for a pencil and pad that lay close at hand, he wrote:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am shot in the chest."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Who&mdash;I mean how&mdash;&mdash;" began Cabot, and then, realising that his
+curiosity could well wait, he added: "But, with your permission, I will
+examine the wound and see if there is anything I can do."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this he sought and gently removed a blood-soaked bandage, thereby
+disclosing a sight so ghastly that it almost unnerved him.  The wound
+was so terrible, and the loss of blood from it had evidently been so
+great, that how even the giant frame of the man-wolf could have
+survived it was amazing.  Having no knowledge of surgery, Cabot could
+only bathe and rebandage it.  Then he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, I am going to be your nurse, and you must lie perfectly still
+without attempting to get up again until I give you leave."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Seeing an expression of dissent in the man's face, he continued:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's all right.  I am under the greatest of obligations to you, and am
+only too glad of a chance to pay some of it back.  So I shall stay
+right here just as long as you need me.  Fortunately I know something
+about both electricity and machinery, having been educated at a
+technical institute, so that I shall be able to manage very well with
+your plant.  But I do wish you could explain a few things to me.  Is
+your name really 'Homolupus'?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The sufferer smiled and wrote on his pad:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My name is Watson Balfour."
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<A NAME="img-255"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-255.jpg" ALT="&quot;My name is Watson Balfour.&quot;" BORDER="2" WIDTH="377" HEIGHT="499">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: "My name is Watson Balfour."]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"Of London?" queried Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The man nodded.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is it possible that you can be Watson Balfour, the celebrated English
+electrician, who is supposed to have been lost at sea some years ago?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Again the man smiled and made a sign of assent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a moment Cabot stared, well nigh speechless with the wonder and
+excitement of this discovery.  Then he broke into a torrent of
+exclamations and questions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, Mr. Balfour, I know you so well by reputation that you seem like
+an old friend.  Your 'Handbook of Electricity' and your 'Comparative
+Voltage' are text books at the Institute.  The whole scientific world
+mourned your supposed death.  But how do you happen to be up here, and
+how have you managed to establish an electric plant in this wilderness?
+Why are you masquerading as a man-wolf?  How did you lose the power of
+speech?  How did you become so severely wounded?  Can't you tell me
+some of these things?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For answer Mr. Balfour wrote: "Perhaps, some time.  Tell first how you
+came here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So Cabot, forced to curb for the present his own overpowering
+curiosity, sat down and told of all that had happened since the
+departure of the man-wolf from Locked Harbour.  When he had finished he
+said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And now, I ought to go outside and see if I can discover any trace of
+my companions, who must be awfully cut up over my disappearance.  But
+don't be uneasy, Mr. Balfour, I shan't go far, and whether I find them
+or not I shall certainly come back to stay just as long as you need me.
+I hope you will sleep while I am gone, and I wish you would promise not
+to leave your bed, or move more than is absolutely necessary, before my
+return."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When Cabot first stepped outside the shelter that had proved such a
+haven of safety to him, he was dazzled by the brilliancy of the day.
+After becoming somewhat accustomed to the glare of sunlight on
+new-fallen snow, he turned to see what sort of a house he had just
+left.  To his surprise there was no house; the only suggestion of one
+being two windows and a door set in a wall of rock that was built at
+the base of a cliff.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is a cavern," thought Cabot, "and that is the reason the room is so
+easily kept warm.  Mighty good thing to have in this country,
+especially when it is lined with furs."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The snow lay unbroken, and there was no sign of the trail he had made
+the night before.  For a short distance, however, he could go in but
+one direction, for the only way out was through the narrow defile by
+which he had entered.  At its mouth he found the wire over which he had
+fallen, and thereby given notice of his approach by causing the ringing
+of an electric bell.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"When he heard it he turned on the lights," said Cabot to himself.
+"It's a great scheme for scaring off Indians and attracting white men.
+I wonder if any other person ever found the place?  What a marvellous
+thing my stumbling on it was, anyhow.  Now, which way did I come?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Gazing blankly at the surrounding chaos of snow-covered rocks, our lad
+could form no idea of the route by which he had been led to that place,
+through the storm and darkness of the preceding night, nor of how he
+might leave it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There is no use wandering aimlessly," he decided at length, "and I'll
+either have to gain a bird's-eye view of the country or get Mr. Balfour
+to make me a map.  To think that I should have discovered him, and here
+of all places in the world.  What a sensation it will make when I tell
+of it.  Of course I shall do so, for I'll get out of this fix all right
+somehow.  What a state of mind poor White must be in this morning.  I
+know I should be in his place.  He's all right, though, with Yim to
+pull him through, and they'll make Indian Harbour easy enough.  Then I
+shall be reported lost, and after a while Mr. Hepburn will hear the
+news.  Wonder what he thinks has become of me anyhow?  I am following
+out instructions, and wintering in Labrador fast enough.  Only I don't
+seem to have much time to investigate mining properties, and of course
+it's no use trying to find 'em buried under feet of snow.  Perhaps Mr.
+Balfour has discovered some while roaming around the country as a
+man-wolf.  How absurd to think of 'Voltage' Balfour as a man-wolf!
+Wonder why he did it?  How I wish he could talk!  Wonder why he can't?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While thus cogitating, Cabot had also been climbing a nearby eminence
+that promised a view of the outlying country, but from it he could see
+nothing save other hills rising still higher and an unbroken waste of
+snow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's no use," he sighed.  "I don't believe I could find them, even if
+I had plenty of time.  As it is, I don't dare stay away from Mr.
+Balfour any longer.  I'm afraid he's a very sick man, with a slim
+chance of ever pulling through."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So Cabot, after an absence of several hours, turned back towards the
+snug shelter so providentially provided for him, and for which he was
+just then more grateful than he could express.  He was thinking of the
+many wonders of the place when he reached its door; but, as he opened
+it and stepped inside the room, he was greeted by a greater surprise
+than he had yet encountered.  Nothing was changed about the interior,
+and the wounded man lay as Cabot had left him, but with the appearance
+of the latter he exclaimed:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Thank God, dear lad, that you have come back to me!  It seemed as
+though I should go crazy if left alone a minute longer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot stared in amazement.  "Is it a miracle?" he finally asked, "and
+has your speech been restored to you, or have you been able to speak
+all the time?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have been able, but not willing," was the reply.  "I had thought to
+die without speaking to a human being.  I even avoided my fellows,
+believing myself sufficient unto myself.  But God has punished my
+arrogance and shown me my weakness.  Until you came no stranger has
+ever set foot within this dwelling, to none have I spoken, and not even
+to you did I intend to speak, but with your going my folly became
+plain.  I feared you might never return; the horror of living alone,
+and the greater horror of dying alone, swept over me.  Then I prayed
+for you to come.  I promised to speak as soon as you were within
+hearing.  Every moment since then I have watched for you and longed for
+your coming as a dying man longs for the breath of life.  Promise that
+you will not leave me again."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have already promised, and now I repeat, that I will not leave you
+so long as you have need of me," replied Cabot.  "But tell me&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I will tell you everything," interrupted the wounded man, "but first
+you must look after the dynamo.  It has stopped, and if you cannot set
+it going again we must both perish."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap27"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+An accident to the dynamo in that place where there was no fuel, and
+electricity must be depended upon for light and heat, was so serious a
+matter that, for a moment, even Cabot's curiosity concerning his host
+was merged in anxiety.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Where shall I find it?" he asked.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In the cavern back of this room.  The doorway is behind that bearskin.
+This upper row of keys connects with the storage battery, and the
+second key controls the lights of the dynamo room.  If there is a bad
+break I can manage to get to it, but I wouldn't try until you came,
+because I promised not to move."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All this was said in a voice that faltered from weakness, and a wave of
+pity surged in Cabot's breast as he realised how dependent upon him
+this man, so recently a mental as well as a physical giant, had become.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I expect I shall be able to attend to it all right," he said
+decisively, as he turned on the stored current that would light the
+unknown cavern.  "At any rate, I shall be able to report the condition
+of things, so that you can advise me what to do, or else my training is
+a greater failure than I think."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this he lifted the bearskin, opened a door thus disclosed, and
+found himself in a small, well-lighted cavern that was at once a dynamo
+room, a workshop, and a storehouse for a confused miscellany of
+articles.  Without pausing to investigate any of these he went directly
+to a dynamo that had been set up at one side and examined it carefully.
+It appeared in perfect order, and the trouble must evidently be sought
+elsewhere.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot had wondered by what power the dynamo was driven, and now,
+hearing a sound of running water, he stepped in that direction.  A
+short distance away he discovered a swift-flowing subterranean stream,
+in which revolved a water wheel of rude, but serviceable, construction.
+As nothing seemed wrong with it, he was obliged to look further, and
+finally found the cause of trouble to be a transmitting belt, the
+worn-out lacing of which had parted.  As portions of the belt itself
+had been caught in the pulleys and badly cut, it was necessary to hunt
+through the pile of material for a new one, and for leather suitable
+for lacing.  Then the new belt must be accurately measured, laced
+together, and adjusted to its pulleys.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the temperature of the cavern was many degrees above that of
+the outside air, it was still so low that Cabot worked slowly and with
+numbed fingers.  Thus more than an hour had elapsed before the dynamo
+was again in running order, and he was at liberty to return to the
+living room.  In the meantime his curiosity concerning this strange
+place of abode and its mysterious tenant was increased by the
+remarkable collection of articles stored on all sides.  There was no
+end of machinery, tools, and electrical apparatus of all kinds,
+including miles of copper wire and chemicals for charging batteries.
+Besides these, there were ropes, canvas, furniture, boxes, barrels, and
+other things too numerous to mention.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What a prize this place would have been for the Indians if they had
+ever discovered it," reflected the young engineer.  "I wonder that he
+dared go off and leave it unguarded."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When he finally returned to the outer room, he found it even colder
+than the cavern in which he had been working, and realised, as never
+before, the value of the knowledge that had enabled him to restore the
+usefulness of that electric heater.  After getting it into operation,
+and making his report to the sick man, who had impatiently awaited him,
+there was another meal to prepare.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So, in spite of Cabot's overwhelming desire to hear Mr. Balfour's
+story, there was so much to be done first that the short day had merged
+into another night before the opportunity arrived.  When it came, our
+lad drew a chair to the bedside of his patient and said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Now, sir, if you feel able to talk, and are willing to tell me how you
+happen to be living in this place, I shall be more than glad to listen."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am willing," replied the other, "but must be brief, since talking
+has become an exertion.  As perhaps you know, I was a working
+electrician in London, where, though I had a good business, I had not
+accumulated much money.  Consequently I was greatly pleased to receive
+what promised to be a lucrative contract from a Canadian railway
+company for supplying and installing a quantity of electrical apparatus
+along their line.  I at once invested every penny I could raise in the
+purchase of material and in the charter of a sailing vessel to
+transport it to this country.  On the eve of sailing I married a young
+lady to whom I had long been engaged, and, with light hearts, we set
+forth on our wedding trip across the Atlantic.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The first two weeks of that voyage were filled with such happiness
+that I trembled for fear it should be snatched from me.  During that
+time we had fair weather and favouring winds.  Then we ran into a gale
+that lasted for days, and drove us far out of our course.  One mast
+went by the board, the other was cut away to save the ship, and, while
+in this helpless condition, she struck at night, what I afterwards
+learned to be, a mass of floating ice.  At the time all hands believed
+us to be on the coast, and the crew, taking our only seaworthy boat,
+put off in a panic, while I was below preparing my wife for departure.
+Thus deserted, we awaited the death that we expected with each passing
+moment, but it failed to come and the ship still floated.  With
+earliest daylight I was on deck, and, to my amazement, saw land on both
+sides.  We had been driven into the mouth of a broad estuary, up which
+wind and tide were still carrying us.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For three days our helpless drift, to and fro, was continued, and then
+our ship grounded on a ledge at the foot of these cliffs.  Getting
+ashore with little difficulty, we were dismayed to find ourselves in an
+uninhabited wilderness, devoid even of vegetation other than moss and
+low growing shrubs.  One of my first discoveries was this cavern with
+its subterranean stream of water, and two openings, one of which gives
+easy access to the sea.  Knowing that our ship must, sooner or later,
+go to pieces, and desirous of saving what property I might, I rigged up
+a derrick at the mouth of the cavern, and, with the aid of my brave
+wife, transferred everything movable from the wreck; a labour of months.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Winter was now at hand, and, foreseeing that we must spend it where we
+were, I walled up the openings and made all possible preparations to
+fight the coming cold.  We burned wood from the wreck while it lasted,
+and in the meantime I labored almost night and day at the establishment
+of an electric plant.  But the awful winter came and found it still
+unfinished, and before the coming of another spring I was left alone."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here the speaker paused, overcome as much by his feelings as by
+weakness, and, during the silence that followed, Cabot stole away,
+ostensibly to see that the dynamo was running smoothly.  When he
+returned the narrator had recovered his calmness, and was ready to
+continue his story.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"She had never been strong," he said, "and I so cruelly allowed her to
+overwork herself that she had no strength left with which to fight the
+winter.  She died in my arms in this very room, and I promised never to
+leave her.  Also, after her death, I vowed that my last words to her
+should be my last to any human being, and, until this day, I have kept
+that vow, foolish and wicked though it was.  I have talked and read
+aloud when alone, but to no man have I spoken.  I have also avoided
+intercourse with my fellows, selfishly preferring to nurse my sorrow in
+sinful rebellion against God's will.  Now am I justly punished by being
+stricken down in the pride of my strength.  At the same time God has
+shown his everlasting mercy by sending you to me in the time of my sore
+need.  And you have promised to stay with me until the end, which I
+feel assured is not far off."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I trust it may be," said Cabot, "for the world can ill afford to spare
+a man of your attainments."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The world has forgotten me ere this," replied Mr. Balfour, with a
+faint smile, "and has also managed to get along very well without me.
+Whether it has or has not I feel that I am shortly to rejoin my dear
+one."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"How did it happen?  I mean your wound," asked Cabot, abruptly changing
+the subject.  "Was it an accident?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It may have been, but I believe not.  Dressed in wolf skins, I was
+creeping up on a small herd of caribou two days ago, when I was shot by
+some unknown person, probably an Indian hunting the same game, though I
+never saw him.  I managed to crawl home, and as I lay here, filled with
+the horror of dying alone, the ringing of my alarm bell announced a
+coming of either man or beast.  I found strength to turn on the outer
+lights and to sound a call for aid on my violin that I hoped would be
+heard and understood."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It was fortunate for me that you did both those things," said Cabot,
+"for I should certainly have remained where I fell after stumbling over
+the wire if it had not been for the combination of light and music.
+But tell me, sir, why have you masqueraded as a man-wolf?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"For convenience in hunting, as well as to inspire terror in the minds
+of savages and keep them at a respectful distance from this place."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have they ever troubled you?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"At first they were inclined to, but not of late years."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not of late years!   Why, sir, how many years have you dwelt in this
+place?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"A little more than five."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Five years alone and cut off from the world!  I should think you would
+feel like a prisoner shut in a dungeon."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, for I have led the life of my own choice, and it has been full of
+active interests.  I have had to hunt, trap, and fish for my own
+support.  I have tried to redress some wrongs, and have been able to
+relieve much distress among the improvident natives.  I have busied
+myself with electrical experiments, and have explored the surrounding
+country for a hundred miles on all sides."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Have you discovered any indications of mineral wealth during your
+explorations?" asked the young engineer, recalling his previous thought
+on this subject.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Quite a number, of which the most important is right here; for this
+range of cliffs is so largely composed of red hematite as to form one
+of the richest ore beds in the world."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap28"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CABOT IS LEFT ALONE.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Deeply interested and affected as Cabot had been by the electrician's
+story, his excitement over its conclusion caused him momentarily to
+forget everything else.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Does the ore show anywhere about here?" he asked eagerly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes.  Lift one of the skins hanging against the wall and you will find
+it.  It is better, though, in the lower portions of the inner cavern,
+for the deeper you go the richer it gets."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In another moment our young engineer was chipping bits of rock from the
+nearest wall, and then he must need explore those of the storeroom,
+where, on a bank of the subterranean stream, he found ore as rich as
+any he had ever seen, even in museums.  Returning with hands and
+pockets full of specimens, he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is the very thing for which I came to Labrador, but have thus far
+failed to find.  Of course I have discovered plenty of indications, for
+the whole country is full of iron, but nowhere else have I found it in
+quantity or of a quality that would pay to work.  Here you have both,
+and close to a navigable waterway."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"On which the largest ships may moor to the very cliffs," added Mr.
+Balfour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It means a fortune to the owner, and I congratulate you, sir."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear lad, I don't want it!  I am an electrician, not a miner.  Even
+if I were inclined to work it, which I am not, I should not be
+permitted to do so, for my earthly interests are very nearly ended.
+Therefore I cheerfully relinquish in your favour whatever claim I may
+have acquired by discovery or occupation.  If you want it, take it, and
+may God's blessing go with the gift.  Also, under this bed, you will
+find a bag containing more specimens that may interest you.  Of them we
+will talk at another time, for now I am weary."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this the man turned his face to the wall, while Cabot, securing
+the bag, quickly became absorbed in an examination of its contents.
+Among these he found rich specimens of iron and copper ores, slabs of
+the rare and exquisitely beautiful Labradorite, with its sheen of
+peacock-blue, and even bits of gold-bearing quartz.  For a long time he
+examined and tested these; then, with a sigh of content, he laid them
+aside and went to bed.  His mission to Labrador was at length
+accomplished, and now he had only to get back to New York as quickly as
+possible.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But getting to New York from that place, under existing circumstances,
+was something infinitely easier to plan than to accomplish.  To begin
+with, he had promised to remain with the new-found friend, who was also
+so greatly his benefactor, so long as he should be needed, and he meant
+to fulfil the promise to the letter.  But to do so taxed his patience
+to the utmost; for, in spite of the electrician's belief that he had
+not long to live, the passing of many weeks found his condition but
+little changed.  At the same time, in spite of Cabot's best nursing and
+ceaseless attention, he failed to gain strength.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having once broken his years of silence, he now found his greatest
+pleasure in talking, and Cabot had frequently to interrupt his
+conversation on the pretence of taking outside exercise, to prevent him
+from exhausting himself in that way.  He hated to do this, for Mr.
+Balfour's words were always instructive, and he so freely yielded the
+established secrets of his profession, as well as those of his own
+recent discoveries, to his young friend that Cabot acquired a rich
+store of valuable information during the short days and long nights of
+that Labrador winter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With the apparatus at hand, he was able to conduct many experiments and
+put into practice a number of his newly acquired theories.  The sick
+man followed these with keenest interest, and aided his pupil with
+shrewd suggestions.  At other times they discussed the mineral wealth
+of Labrador, and Mr. Balfour drew rough diagrams to show localities
+from which his various specimens had been brought.  He also gave much
+time to a sketch map of the surrounding country, especially the coast
+between the place where the "Sea Bee" had been left and Indian Harbour,
+beyond which his knowledge did not extend.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With these congenial occupations, time never hung heavily in the
+wilderness home of the Man-wolf, and, though bitter cold might reign
+outside, fierce storms rage, and driving snows pile themselves into
+mountainous drifts, neither hunger nor cold could penetrate its snug
+interior, warmed and lighted by the magic of modern science.  With the
+passing weeks the old year died and a new one was born.  January merged
+into February, and days began noticeably to lengthen.  Through all
+these weeks Cabot kept up his strength by frequent exercise in the
+open, where, in conflict with storm and cold, he ever won some part of
+their own ruggedness.  At the same time, his patient grew slowly but
+surely weaker, until at length he could converse only in whispers, and
+experienced such difficulty in swallowing that he had almost ceased to
+take nourishment.  One evening while affairs stood thus, he roused
+himself sufficiently to inquire what day of the month it was.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The thirteenth of February," replied Cabot, who had kept careful note
+of the calendar.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Instantly the man brightened, and said, with an unexpected strength of
+voice: "Six years to-morrow since we were married.  Five years to-day
+since she left me, and to-night I shall rejoin her.  Wish me joy, lad,
+for the long period of our separation is ended.  Good-night, good-bye,
+God bless you!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this final utterance, he again lapsed into silence, closed his
+eyes, and seemed to sleep.  Several times during that night Cabot stole
+softly to his patient's bedside, but the latter was always asleep, and
+he would not disturb him.  Only in the morning, when daylight revealed
+the marble-like repose of feature, did he know that a glad reunion of
+long parted lovers had been effected, and that it was he who was left
+alone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the position in which our lad now found himself was a very
+trying one, he had anticipated and planned for it.  He had no boards
+with which to make a coffin, but there was plenty of stout canvas, and
+in a double thickness of this he sewed the body of his friend.  Before
+doing so he dug away the snow beside a cairn of rocks that marked the
+last resting place of her who had gone before, and placed the electric
+heater, with extended wire connections, on the ground thus exposed.
+Within a few hours this soil became sufficiently thawed to permit him
+to dig a shallow grave, to which, by great effort, he managed to remove
+the shrouded body.  After covering it, and piling above it rocks as
+large as he could lift, he returned to the empty dwelling, having
+completed the hardest and saddest day's work of his life.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So terrible was the loneliness of that night, and so anxious was Cabot
+to take his departure, that he was again astir long before daylight,
+completing his preparations.  He had previously built a light sled that
+he proposed to drag, and had planned exactly what it should carry.  Now
+he loaded this with a canvas-wrapped package of cooked provisions, a
+sleeping bag, a rifle together with a few rounds of ammunition, a light
+axe, his precious bag of specimens, and the Man-wolf's electric
+flashlight with its battery newly charged.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With everything thus in readiness he ate a hearty meal, threw the
+dynamo out of gear, closed the door and shutters of the place that had
+given him the shelter of a home, adjusted the hauling straps of his
+sled, and set resolutely forth on his venturesome journey across the
+frozen wilderness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In his mittened hands Cabot carried a stout staff tipped with a
+boathook, and this proved of inestimable service in aiding him down the
+face of the cliffs to the frozen surface of the estuary; for, by Mr.
+Balfour's advice, he had determined to follow the coast line rather
+than attempt the shorter but more uncertain inland route.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the distance to be covered was but little over one hundred
+miles, the journey was so beset with difficulties and hardships that
+only our young engineer's splendid physical condition and recently
+acquired skill, combined with indomitable pluck, enabled him to
+accomplish it.  While he sometimes met with smooth stretches of
+snow-covered ice, it was generally piled in huge wind-rows, incredibly
+rugged and difficult to surmount.  Again it would be broken away from
+the base of sheer cliffs, where stretches of open water would
+necessitate toilsome inland detours over or around lofty headlands.  He
+was always buffetted by strong winds, and often halted by blinding
+snowstorms.  He had no fire, no warm food, and no shelter save such as
+he could make by burrowing into snowdrifts.  During the weary hours of
+one whole night he held a pack of snarling wolves at bay by means of
+his flashlight.  But always he pushed doggedly forward, and after ten
+days of struggle, exhausted almost beyond the power for further effort,
+but immensely proud of his achievement, he reached the goal of his long
+desire.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Indian Harbour&mdash;with its hospital, its church, its two or three houses,
+and score of native huts, seemed to our lad almost a metropolis after
+his months of wilderness life, and the welcome he received from its
+warm-hearted inhabitants when he made known his identity was that of
+one raised from the dead.  White Baldwin and Yim had been there many
+weeks earlier, and had reported his disappearance under circumstances
+that left no hope of his ever again being seen alive.  Then the latter
+had set forth on his return journey, while White had joined a mail
+carrier and started for Battle Harbour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now occurred what promised to be a serious interruption to Cabot's
+southward advance, for no one was proposing to travel in that
+direction, and, in spite of their hospitality, his new acquaintances
+were not inclined to undertake the arduous task of guiding him to
+Battle Harbour, 250 miles away, without being well paid for their
+labour, and our young engineer had no money.  Nor, after his recent
+experience, did he care to again encounter the perils of the wilderness
+alone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But fortune once more favoured him; for while he was chafing against
+this enforced detention, Dr. Graham Aspland, house surgeon of the
+Battle Harbour Hospital, who makes a heroic sledge journey to the far
+north every winter, arrived on his annual errand of mercy.  He would
+set out on his return trip a few days later, and would be more than
+pleased to have Cabot for a companion.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus it happened that one bright day in early March the music of sledge
+bells and the cracking of a dog driver's whip attracted the inmates of
+the Battle Harbour Hospital to doors and windows to witness an arrival.
+Two fur-clad figures followed a great travelling sledge, and one of
+them dragged a small sled of his own.  As he came to a halt, and began
+wearily to loosen his hauling gear, he cast a glance at one of the
+upper windows, and uttered an exclamation of amazement.  Then, with a
+joyful cry, he shouted:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello!  White, old man!  Run down here and say you're glad I've come!"
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap29"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+Cabot had learned from Dr. Aspland of White's arrival at Battle Harbour
+two months before, with a leg so badly wrenched by slipping into an ice
+crevice that he had gone to the hospital for treatment, but had
+expected that he would long ere this have taken his departure.  At the
+same time White had, of course, given up all hope of ever again seeing
+the friend to whom he had become so deeply attached.  He had been
+terribly cut up over Cabot's disappearance on the night of the
+blizzard, and, with the faithful Yim, had spent days in searching for
+him.  They had gone back to the timber, only to find the Indian camp
+deserted, and that its recent occupants had made a hasty departure.
+Finally they had given over the hopeless search and had sadly continued
+their southward journey.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now to again behold Cabot alive and well filled poor White with such
+joyful amazement that for some minutes he could not frame an
+intelligent sentence.  He flew down to where the new arrival still
+struggled with his hauling gear, and flung himself so impulsively upon
+him that both rolled over in the snow.  There, with gasping
+exclamations of delight, they wrestled themselves into a mood of
+comparative calmness that enabled them to regain their feet and begin
+to ask questions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For some time White had been sufficiently recovered to resume his
+journey, had an opportunity offered for so doing, but, as none had come
+to him, he had earned his board by acting as nurse in the hospital.  If
+he had been anxious to depart before, he was doubly so now that he had
+regained his comrade, and Cabot fully shared his impatience of further
+delay.  But how they were to reach the coast of Newfoundland they could
+not imagine.  It would still be many weeks before vessels of any kind
+could be expected at Battle Harbour, and they had no money with which
+to undertake the expensive journey by way of Quebec.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If only the ocean would freeze over, we could walk home!" exclaimed
+Cabot one day, as the two friends sat gloomily discussing their
+prospects.  And then that very thing came to pass.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A dog sledge arrived from Forteau, that same evening, bringing a
+wounded man to the hospital for treatment, and its driver reported the
+Strait of Belle Isle as being so solidly packed with ice that several
+persons had traversed it from shore to shore.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"If others have made the trip, why can't we?" cried Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am willing to try it, if you are," replied White, and by daylight of
+the following morning the impatient lads were on their way up the coast
+in search of the ice bridge to Newfoundland.  Cabot had traded his
+electric flashlight for a supply of provisions sufficient to load his
+sled, which they took turns at hauling, and four days after leaving
+Battle Harbour they reached L'Anse au Loup.  At that point the strait
+is only a dozen miles wide, and there, if anywhere, they could cross
+it.  It was midday when they came to the winter huts of L'Anse au Loup,
+and they had intended remaining in one of them over night, but a short
+conversation with its owner caused them to change their plans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yas, there be solid pack clear to ither side all right," he said, "but
+happen it 'll go out any time.  Fust change o' wind 'll loose it, and
+one's to be looked for.  Ah wouldn't resk it on no account mahself, but
+if Ah had it to do, Ah'd go in a hurry 'ithout wasting no time."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is a case of necessity with us," said Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," agreed White, "we simply must go, and the quicker we set about
+it the better.  If we make haste I believe we can get across by dark."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus determined, and disregarding a further expostulation from the
+fisherman, our lads set their faces resolutely towards the confusion of
+hummocks, "pans," floes tilted on edge, and up-reared masses of blue
+ice forming the "strait's pack" of that season.  Five minutes later
+they were lost to sight amid the frozen chaos.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wal," soliloquized the man left standing on shore, "Ah 'opes they'll
+make it, but it's a fearsome resk, an' Gawd 'elp 'em if come a shift o'
+wind afore they're over."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nothing, in all their previous experience of Labrador travel, had
+equalled the tumultuous ruggedness of the way by which Cabot and White
+were now attempting to bridge that boisterous arm of the stormy
+northern ocean, and to advance at all taxed their strength to the
+utmost.  To transport their laden sled was next to impossible, but they
+dared not leave it behind, and with their progress thus impeded they
+were barely half way to the Newfoundland coast when night overtook
+them.  Even though the gathering darkness had not compelled a halt,
+their utter exhaustion would have demanded a rest.  For an hour White
+had been obliged to clinch his teeth to keep from crying out with the
+pain of his weakened, and now overstrained, ankle, and when Cabot
+announced that it was no use trying to get further before morning, he
+sank to the ice with a groan.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Full of sympathy for his comrade's suffering, the Yankee lad at once
+set to work to make him as comfortable as circumstances would permit,
+and soon had him lying on a sleeping bag, in a niche formed by two
+uptilted slabs of ice.  Profiting by past experience, they had procured
+and brought with them an Eskimo lamp with its moss wick, a small
+quantity of seal oil, and a supply of matches, so that, after a while,
+Cabot procured enough boiling water to furnish a small pot of tea.
+When they had eaten their simple meal of tea, hard bread, and pemmican,
+White's ankle was bathed with water as hot as he could bear it, and
+then the weary lads turned in for such sleep as their cheerless
+quarters might yield.  About midnight the wind that had for many days
+blown steadily from the eastward changed to northwest, and, with the
+coming of daylight, it was blowing half a gale from that direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To Cabot this change meant little or nothing, and he was suggesting
+that they remain where they were until White's leg should be thoroughly
+rested, when the other interrupted him with:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But we can't stay here.  Don't you feel the change of wind?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What of it?" asked Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, nothing at all, only that it will drive the ice out to sea, and,
+if we haven't reached land before it begins to move, we'll go with it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You don't mean it!" cried Cabot, now thoroughly alarmed.  "In that
+case we'd best get a move on in a hurry.  Do you think your leg will
+stand the trip?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It will have to," rejoined White, grimly; and a few minutes later they
+had resumed the toilsome progress that was now a race for life.  But it
+was a snail's race, for the task of moving the sled had devolved
+entirely upon Cabot, White having all he could do to drag himself
+along.  Each step gave him such exquisite pain that, by the time they
+had accomplished a couple of miles, he was crawling on hands and knees.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Still, as Cabot hopefully pointed out, the Newfoundland coast was in
+plain sight, and the ice held as firm as ever.  He had hardly spoken
+when there came a distant roaring, that quickly developed into a sound
+of crashing and grinding not to be mistaken.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"The ice is moving!" gasped White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then," said Cabot bravely, "we'll move too.  Come on, old man.  We'll
+leave the sled, and I'll get you ashore even if I have to carry you.
+It isn't so very far now."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With this the speaker disengaged his hauling straps and turned to
+assist his comrade, but, to his dismay, the latter lay on the ice pale
+and motionless.  What with pain, over-exertion, and excitement, White
+had fainted, and Cabot must either carry him to the shore, remain
+beside him until he recovered, or leave him to his fate and save
+himself by flight over the still unbroken ice.  He tried the first
+plan, picked White up, staggered a few steps with his helpless burden,
+and discovered its futility.  Then he proceeded to put the second into
+execution by calmly unloading the sled and making such arrangements as
+his slender means would allow for his comrade's comfort.  The third
+plan came to him merely as a thought, to be promptly dismissed as
+unworthy of consideration.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the meantime the ominous sounds of cracking, grinding, rending, and
+splitting grew ever louder, and came ever closer, until, at length,
+Cabot could see and feel that the ice all about him was in motion.  By
+the time White recovered consciousness, a broad lane of black water had
+opened between that place and the Newfoundland coast, while others
+could be seen in various directions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What are you doing?" asked White, feebly, after he had struggled back
+to a knowledge of passing events, and had, for some minutes, been
+watching his friend's movements.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Building an igloo," answered Cabot, cheerily.  "We might as well be
+comfortable while we can, and though my hut won't have the
+architectural beauty that Yim could give it, I believe it will keep us
+warm."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It would have been more than easy, and perfectly natural, under the
+circumstances, to give way to utter despair; for of the several
+hopeless situations in which our lads had been placed during the past
+few months, the present was, by far, the worst.  At any moment the ice
+beneath them might open and drop them into fathomless waters.  Even if
+it held fast, they were certainly being carried out to sea, where they
+would be exposed to furious gales that must ultimately work their
+destruction.  In spite of all this, Cabot Grant insisted on remaining
+hopefully cheerful.  He said he had squeezed out of just as tight
+places before, and believed he would get out of this one somehow.  At
+any rate, as crying wouldn't help it, he wasn't going to cry.  Besides
+all sorts of things might happen.  They might drift ashore somewhere or
+into the track of passing steamers.  Wouldn't it be fine to be picked
+up and carried straight to New York?  If steamers failed them, they
+were almost certain to sight fishing boats sooner or later.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Yes," added White, catching some of his companion's hopefulness, "or
+we may meet with the sealers who leave St. Johns about this time every
+year and hunt seals on the ice pack off shore."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course," agreed the other.  "So what's the use of worrying?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In spite of the brave front and cheerful aspect that Cabot maintained
+before his helpless comrade, he often broke down when off by himself,
+vainly straining his eyes from the summit of some ice hummock for any
+hopeful sign, and acknowledged that their situation was indeed
+desperate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That first night, spent sleeplessly and in momentary expectation that
+the ice beneath them would break, was the worst.  After that they
+dreaded more than anything the fate that would overtake them with the
+disappearance of their slender stock of provisions.  While this
+diminished with alarming rapidity, despite their efforts at economy,
+their ice island drifted out from the strait, and soon afterwards
+became incorporated with the great Arctic pack that always in the
+spring forces its resistless way steadily south-ward towards the
+melting waters of the Gulf Stream.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Land had disappeared with the second day of the ice movement, and after
+that, for a week, nothing occurred to break the terrible monotony of
+life on the pack, as experienced by our young castaways.  Then came the
+dreaded announcement that one portion of their supplies was exhausted.
+There was no longer a drop of oil for their lamp.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap30"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXX.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+White, who was still confined to the hut with his strained ankle,
+announced that they no longer had any oil upon Cabot's return at dusk
+from a day of fruitless hunting and outlook duty on the ice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"That's bad," replied the latter, in a tone whose cheerfulness strove
+to conceal his anxiety.  "Now we'll have to burn the sled.  Lucky thing
+for us that it's of wood instead of being one of those bone affairs
+such as we saw at Locked Harbour."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Our provisions are nearly gone too," added White.  "In fact we've only
+enough for one more day."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Oh, well!  A lot of things can happen in a day, and some of them may
+happen to us."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But the only thing worthy of note that happened on the following day
+was a storm of such violence as to compel even stout-hearted Cabot to
+remain behind the sheltering walls of the hut, and, while it raged, our
+shivering lads, crouched above a tiny blaze of sled wood, ate their
+last morsel of food.  They still had a small quantity of tea, but that
+was all.  As soon, therefore, as the storm abated Cabot sallied forth
+with his gun, still hopeful, in spite of many disappointments, of
+finding some bird or beast that, by a lucky shot, might be brought to
+the table.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The ice pack was of such vast extent that it seemed as though it must
+support animal life of some kind, but Cabot traversed it that day for
+many miles without finding so much as a track or a feather.  That
+night's supper was a pot of tea, and a similar one formed the sole
+nourishment upon which Cabot again set forth the next morning for
+another of those weary hunts.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This time he went further from the hut than he had dared go on previous
+expeditions; but on them he had been hopeful and knew that even though
+he failed in his hunting he would still find food awaiting him on his
+return.  Now he was desperate with hunger, and the knowledge that
+failing in his present effort he would not have strength for another.
+In his mind, too, he carried a vivid picture of poor White, crouching
+in that wretched hut over an expiring blaze fed by the very last of
+their wood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I simply can't go back empty-handed!" he cried aloud.  "It would be
+better not to go back at all, and let him hope for my coming to the
+last."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So the young hunter pushed wearily and hopelessly on, until he found
+himself at the foot of a line of icebergs that had been frozen into the
+pack, where they resembled a range of fantastically shaped hills.
+Cabot had seen them from a distance on a previous expedition, and had
+wondered what lay beyond.  Now he determined to find out, though he
+knew if he once crossed them there would be little chance of regaining
+the hut before dark.  It was a laborious climb, and several times he
+slid back to the place of starting, but each mishap of this kind only
+made him the more determined to gain the top.  At length, breathless
+and bruised, crawling on hands and knees, he reached a point from which
+he could look beyond the barrier.  As he did so, he turned sick and
+uttered a choking cry.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<A NAME="img-291"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-291.jpg" ALT="He reached a point from which he could look beyond the barrier." BORDER="2" WIDTH="451" HEIGHT="430">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: He reached a point from which <BR>
+he could look beyond the barrier.]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+What he saw in that first glance was so utterly incredible that it
+could not be true, though if it were it would be the most welcome and
+beautiful sight in all the world.  Yet it was only a ship!  Just one
+ship and a lot of men!  The ship was not even a handsome one, being
+merely a three-masted steam sealer, greasy and smeared in every part
+with coal soot from her tall smoke stack.  She lay a mile or so away,
+but well within the pack, through the outer edge of which she had
+forced a passage.  The men, evidently her crew, who were on the ice
+near the foot of Cabot's ridge, were a disreputable looking lot,
+ragged, dirty, unkempt, and as bloody as so many butchers.  And that is
+exactly what they were&mdash;butchers engaged in their legitimate business
+of killing the seals that, coming up from the south to meet the
+drifting ice pack, had crawled out on it by thousands to rear their
+young.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This was all that Cabot saw; yet the sight so affected him that he
+laughed and sobbed for joy.  Then he stood up, and, with glad tears
+blinding his eyes, tried to shout to the men beneath him, but could
+only utter hoarse whispers; for, in his overpowering happiness, he had
+almost lost the power of speech.  As he could not call to them he began
+to wave his arms to attract their attention, and then, all at once, he
+was nearly paralysed by a hail from close at hand of:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello there, ye bloomin' idjit!  Wot's hup?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Whirling around, Cabot saw, standing only a few rods away, a man who
+had evidently just climbed the opposite side of the ridge.  He
+recognised him in an instant, as he must have done had he met him in
+the most crowded street of a great city, so distinctively peculiar was
+his figure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"David!  David Gidge!" he gasped, recovering his voice for the effort,
+and in another moment, flinging his arms about the astonished mariner's
+neck, he was pouring out a flood of incoherent words.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Wal, I'll be jiggered!" remarked Mr. Gidge, as he disengaged himself
+from Cabot's impulsive embrace and stepped back for a more
+comprehensive view.  "Your voice sounds familiar, Mister, but I can't
+say as I ever seen you before.  I took ye fust off fer a b'ar, and then
+fer a Huskie.  When I seen you was white, I 'lowed ye might be one of
+the 'Marmaid's' crew, seeing as she was heading fer the pack 'bout the
+time we struck it.  Now, though, as I say, I'm jiggered ef I know
+exectly who ye be."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Why, Mr. Gidge, I'm Cabot Grant, who&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Of course.  To be sartin!  Now I know ye!" interrupted the other.
+"But where's White?  What hev ye done with Whiteway Baldwin?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"He's back there on the ice helpless with a crippled leg, freezing and
+starving to death; but if you'll come at once I'll show you the way,
+and we may still be in time to save him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With instant comprehension of the necessity for prompt action, Mr.
+Gidge, who, as Cabot afterwards learned, was first mate of the sealer
+"Labrador," turned and shouted in stentorian tones to the men who were
+working below:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Knock off, all hands, and follow me.  Form a line and keep hailing
+distance apart, so's we'll find our way back after dark.  There's white
+men starving on the ice.  One of ye go to the ship and report.  Move
+lively!  Now, lad, I'm ready."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Two hours later Cabot and David Gidge, with, a long line of men
+streaming out behind them, reached the little hut.  There was no answer
+to the cheery shouts with which they approached it, and, as they
+crawled through its low entrance, they were filled with anxious
+misgivings.  What if they were too late after all?  No spark of fire
+lighted the gloom or took from the deadly chill of the interior, and no
+voice bade them welcome.  But, as David Gidge struck a match, a low
+moaning sounded from one side, and told them that White was at least
+alive.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It took but a minute to remove him from the hut, together with the few
+things worth taking away that it contained.  Then it was left without a
+shadow of regret, and the march to the distant ship was begun.  Four
+men carried White, who seemed to have sunk into a stupor, while two
+more supported Cabot, who had become suddenly weak and so weary that he
+begged to be allowed to sleep where he was.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It's been a close call for both of 'em," said David Gidge, "and now,
+men, we've got to make the quickest kind of time getting 'em back to
+the ship."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Fortunately there were plenty of willing hands to which the burdens
+might be shifted, for the "Labrador" carried a crew two hundred strong,
+and, as the little party moved swiftly from one shouting man to
+another, it constantly gained accessions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length the sealer was reached, and the rescued lads were taken to
+her cabin, where the ship's doctor, having made every possible
+preparation for their reception, awaited them.  They were given hot
+drinks, rubbed, fed, and placed between warm blankets, where poor,
+weary Cabot was at last allowed to fall asleep without further
+interruption.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The animal sought by the sealers of Newfoundland amid the furious
+storms and crashing floes of the great ice pack is not the fur-bearing
+seal of Alaska, but a variety of the much less important hair seal,
+which may be seen almost anywhere along the Atlantic coast.  From its
+skin seal leather is made, but it is chiefly valuable for the oil
+yielded by the layer of fat lying directly beneath the skin and
+enveloping the entire body.  These seals would hardly be worth hunting
+unless they could be captured easily and in quantities; but, on their
+native ice in early spring, the young seals are found in prime
+condition and in vast numbers.  Each helpless victim is killed by a
+blow on the head, "sculped" or stripped of his pelt, and the flayed
+body is left lying in a pool of its own blood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The crew of a single vessel will thus destroy thousands of seals in a
+day, and in some prosperous years the total kill of seals has passed
+the half million mark.  Now only about a dozen steamers are engaged in
+the business, but by them from 200,000 to 300,000 seals are destroyed
+each spring.  The movements of sealing vessels are governed by rigidly
+enforced laws that forbid them to leave port before the 12th of March,
+to kill a seal before the 14th of the same month, or after the 20th of
+April, and prohibit any steamer from making more than one trip during
+this short open season.  The crews are paid in shares of the catch, and
+men are never difficult to obtain for the work, as the sealing season
+comes when there is nothing else to be done.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As March was not yet ended when our lads were received aboard the
+"Labrador," and as she would not return to port until the last minute
+of the open season had expired, they had before them nearly a month in
+which to recover their exhausted energies and learn the business of
+sealing.  White had suffered so severely, and reached such a precarious
+condition, that he required every day of the allotted time for
+recuperation, and even at its end his strength was by no means fully
+restored.  Cabot, on the other hand, woke after a thirty-six-hour nap,
+ravenously hungry, and as fit as ever for anything that might offer.
+After that, although he could never bring himself to assist in clubbing
+baby seals to death, he took an active part in the other work of the
+ship, thereby fully repaying the cost of the food eaten by himself and
+White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Of course, with their very first opportunity, both lads eagerly plied
+David Gidge with questions concerning the welfare of the Baldwin family
+and everything that had happened during their long absence.  Thus they
+learned to their dismay that another suit had been brought against the
+Baldwin estate that threatened to swallow what little property had been
+left, and that White, having been convicted of contempt of court for
+continuing the lobster factory after an adverse decision had been
+rendered, was now liable to a fine of one thousand dollars, or
+imprisonment, as soon as he landed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But what has become of my mother and sister?" asked White.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"They are in Harbour Grace," answered David Gidge, "stopping with some
+kin of mine.  You see, all three of us was brung to St. Johns as
+witnesses, and there wasn't money enough to take us back till I could
+come sealing and make some."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are a trump, David Gidge!" exclaimed Cabot, while White gratefully
+squeezed the honest fellow's hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I promised to look arter 'em till you come back," said the sailorman,
+simply.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length the sealing season closed, and the prow of the "Labrador" was
+turned homeward, but even now, after many an anxious discussion, our
+lads were undecided as to what they should do upon landing.  But a
+solution of the problem came to Cabot on the day that the steamer
+entered Conception Bay and anchored close off Bell Island, to await the
+moving of a great ice mass that had drifted into the harbour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I know what we'll do!" he cried.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap31"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+</H3>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE MAN-WOLF MINE.
+</H3>
+
+
+<P>
+As the deeply laden sealer drew near to land, Cabot had impatiently
+scanned the coast of the great island that he had once thought so remote,
+but which, after his long sojourn in the Labrador wilderness, now seemed
+almost the same as New York itself.  When the "Labrador" entered
+Conception Bay, at the head of which lies Harbour Grace, her home port,
+and was forced by ice to anchor, he inquired concerning a small island
+that lay close at hand.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Bell Island," he repeated meditatively, on being told its name.  "Isn't
+there an iron mine on it?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sartain," replied David Gidge.  "The whole island is mostly made of
+iron."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Then it is a place that I particularly want to visit, and I know what we
+will do.  Of course, White, we can't let you go to prison, but at the
+same time you haven't, immediately available, the money with which to pay
+that fine.  I have, though, right in St. Johns.  So, if you will endorse
+that New York draft to me, I will carry it into the city, deposit it at
+the bank, draw out the cash, and take the first train for Harbour Grace,
+so as to be there with more than enough money to pay your fine when you
+arrive.  After that I propose that we both go on to New York, where I am
+almost certain I can get you something to do that will pay even better
+than a lobster factory.  If that plan strikes you as all right, and if
+Mr. Gidge will set me ashore here, I'll just take a look at Bell Island
+and then hurry on to St. Johns."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The plan appearing feasible to White, Cabot&mdash;taking with him only his bag
+of specimens, to which he intended to add others of the Bell Island
+ore&mdash;bade his friends a temporary farewell, and was set ashore.  As the
+country was still covered with snow, he had slung his snowshoes on his
+back, and as he was still clad in the well-worn fur garments that had
+been so necessary in Labrador, his appearance was sufficiently striking
+to attract attention as soon as he landed.  One of the very first persons
+who spoke to him proved to be the young superintendent of the mine he
+wished to visit, and, when this gentleman learned that Cabot had just
+returned from Labrador, he offered him every hospitality.  Not only did
+he show him over the mine and give him all possible information
+concerning it, but he kept him over night in his own bachelor quarters,
+and provided a boat to take him across to Portugal Cove on the mainland
+in the morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From that point, there being no conveyance, Cabot was forced to walk the
+nine miles into St. Johns, which city he did not reach until nearly noon.
+Even there, where fur-clad Arctic explorers are not uncommon, Cabot's
+costume attracted much attention.  Disregarding this, he inquired his way
+to the Bank of Nova Scotia, where he presented the letter of credit that
+he had carefully treasured amid all the vicissitudes of the past ten
+months.  The paying teller of the bank examined it closely, and then took
+a long look at the remarkable-appearing young man who had presented it.
+Finally he said curtly:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sign your name."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cabot did so, and the other, after comparing the two signatures, retired
+to an inner room.  From it he reappeared a few moments later and
+requested Cabot to follow him inside, where the manager wished to see him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The manager also regarded our lad with great curiosity as he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You have retained this letter a long time without presenting it."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And I might have retained it longer if I had not been in need of money,"
+rejoined Cabot, somewhat nettled by the man's manner.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"You are Cabot Grant of New York?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not yet of age?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Not quite."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And you have a guardian?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I have."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you mind telling his name and address?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Is that a necessary preliminary to drawing money on a letter of credit?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In this case it is."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Well, then, he is James Hepburn, President of the Gotham Trust and
+Investment Company."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Just so, and you will doubtless be interested in this communication from
+him."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So saying, the manager handed over the telegram in which Mr. Hepburn
+instructed the St. Johns branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia to advance
+only the price of a ticket to New York on a letter of credit that would
+be presented by his ward, Cabot Grant.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"What does it mean?" asked Cabot in bewilderment, as he finished reading
+this surprising order.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I've no idea," replied the manager dryly.  "I only know that we are
+bound to follow those instructions, and can let you have but forty
+dollars, which is the price of a first-class ticket to New York by
+steamer.  Moreover, as this is sailing day, and the New York steamer
+leaves in a couple of hours, I would advise you to engage passage and go
+on board at once, if you do not want to be indefinitely detained here."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"In what way?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Possibly by the sheriff, who has wanted you for some time in connection
+with a certain French Shore lobster case that the government is
+prosecuting."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Perplexed and indignant as he was, Cabot realised that only in New York
+could his tangled affairs be straightened out, and that the quicker he
+got there the better.  Determined, however, to make one more effort in
+behalf of his friend, he produced the missionary's draft and asked if the
+manager would cash it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly not," replied that individual promptly.  "Under present
+circumstances, Mr. Grant, we must decline to have any business dealings
+with you other than to accept your receipt for forty dollars, which will
+be paid you in the outer office."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So Cabot swallowed his pride, took what he could get, and left the bank a
+little more downcast than he had been at any time since the day on which
+President Hepburn had entrusted him with his present mission.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I don't understand it at all," he muttered to himself, as he sought an
+eating-house, where he proposed to expend a portion of his money in
+satisfying his keen appetite.  "Seems to me it is a mighty mean return
+for all I have gone through, and Mr. Hepburn will have to explain matters
+pretty clearly when I get back to New York."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From the eating-house Cabot sent a letter to White, explaining his
+inability to secure the money he had expected, begging him to lie low for
+a few days, and announcing his own immediate departure for New York, from
+which place he promised to send back the amount of the draft immediately
+upon his arrival.  In this letter Cabot also enclosed fifteen dollars,
+just to help White out until he could send him some more money.  This
+outlay left our young engineer but twenty-five dollars, but that would
+pay for a steerage passage, which, he reflected, would be plenty good
+enough for one in his reduced circumstances, and leave a few dollars for
+emergencies when he reached New York.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Two hours later, still clutching the bag of specimens that now formed his
+sole luggage, he stood on the forward deck of the steamer "Amazon" as she
+slipped through the narrow passage leading out from the land-locked
+harbour, gazing back at the city of St. Johns climbing its steep hillside
+and dominated by the square towers of its Roman Catholic cathedral.  He
+was feeling very forlorn and lonely, and was wondering how he should
+manage to exist on steerage fare in steerage company during the next five
+days, when a familiar voice, close at hand, said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Hello, young man in furs!  Where do you come from?  Been to the North
+Pole with Peary?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Turning quickly, Cabot gasped out:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Captain Phinney!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No, not cap'n, but second mate Phinney," retorted the other.  "But how
+do you know my name?  I don't recognise you."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am Cabot Grant, who was with you on the 'Lavinia' when&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Good heavens, man!  It can't be."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"It is, though, and I never was more glad to see any one, not even David
+Gidge, than I am to see you at this minute.  But why are you second mate
+instead of captain?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Because," replied the other bitterly, "it was the only berth they would
+give me after I lost my ship, and I had to take it or beg."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"But I thought you went down with the 'Lavinia'?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"So I thought you did, but it seems both of us were mistaken.  All but
+you got off in two of the boats, and ours was picked up the next day by a
+liner bound for New York.  But how, in the name of all that is
+wonderful&mdash;  Hold on, though.  Let us go up to my room, where we can talk
+comfortably."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As a result of this happy meeting, Cabot's voyage was made very pleasant
+after all.  Much as he had to tell and to hear, he also found time to
+write out a full report on the Bell Island mine, and also a series of
+notes concerning the ore specimens that he was carrying to New York.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length the great city was reached, the "Amazon" was made fast to her
+Brooklyn pier, and Cabot went to bid the second mate good-bye.  "Hold on
+a bit," said the latter, "and run up to the house with me.  You can't go
+without seeing Nelly and the baby."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Nice calling rig I've got on, haven't I?" laughed Cabot.  "Why, it would
+scare 'em stiff.  So not to-day, thank you; but I'll come to-morrow."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The carriage that Cabot engaged to carry him across to the city cost him
+his last cent of money, but he knew it was well worth it when, still in
+furs and with his snowshoes still strapped to his back, he entered the
+Gotham building.  Such a sensation did he create that he would have been
+mobbed in another minute had he not dodged into an elevator and said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"President's room, please."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He so petrified Mr. Hepburn's clerks and office boys by his remarkable
+appearance that they neglected to check his progress, and allowed him to
+walk unchallenged into the sacred private office.  Its sole occupant was
+writing, and did not notice the entrance until Cabot, laying a folded
+paper on his desk, said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Here is that Bell Island report, Mr. Hepburn."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The startled man sprang to his feet with a face as pale as though he had
+seen a ghost, and for a few moments stared in speechless amazement at the
+fur-clad intruder.  Then the light of recognition flashed into his eyes,
+and holding out a cordial hand he said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear boy, how you frightened me!  Where on earth did you come from?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"From the steerage of the steamer 'Amazon,'" replied Cabot, stiffly,
+ignoring his guardian's proffered hand.  "I only dropped in to hand you
+that Bell Island report, and to say that, as this happens to be my
+twenty-first birthday, I shall be pleased to receive whatever of my
+property you may still hold in trust at your earliest convenience.  With
+that business transacted, it is perhaps needless to add, that I shall
+trouble no further the man who was cruel enough to leave me penniless
+among strangers."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Cabot, are you crazy, or what do you mean?  I received your Bell Island
+report months ago, and it was that caused me to recall you.  Why did you
+not come at once?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I never sent a Bell Island report.  In fact I never wrote one until
+yesterday, and there it lies.  Nor did I ever receive any notice of
+recall, and I did not come back sooner because I have been following your
+instructions and wintering in Labrador.  There I have acquired one of the
+most remarkable iron properties in the world, which I intend to develop
+as far as possible with my own resources, seeing that not one cent of
+your money has been used in defraying the expenses of my recent trip,"
+replied Cabot, hotly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But Mr. Hepburn did not hear the last of this speech, for he had opened
+the report laid on his desk and was glancing rapidly through it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"This is exactly what I expected and wanted!" he exclaimed.  "Why didn't
+you send it in before, instead of that other one?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I never sent any other," repeated Cabot, and then they sat down to
+mutual explanations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For that whole morning President Hepburn denied himself to all callers
+and devoted his entire attention to Cabot's recital.  When it was
+finished, and when the bag full of specimens had been examined, the elder
+man grasped the other's hand and said:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"My dear boy, you have done splendidly!  I am not only satisfied with you
+as an agent, but am proud of you as a ward.  Yes, this is your day of
+freedom from our guardianship, and I shall take pleasure in turning over
+to you the balance of the property left by your father.  It, together
+with the balance remaining on your letter of credit, and your salary for
+the past year, will amount to about ten thousand dollars, a portion of
+which at least I would advise you to invest in the Man-wolf mine."
+</P>
+
+<A NAME="img-309"></A>
+<CENTER>
+<IMG SRC="images/img-309.jpg" ALT="&quot;My dear boy, you have done splendidly!&quot;" BORDER="2" WIDTH="389" HEIGHT="519">
+<H3>
+[Illustration: "My dear boy, you have done splendidly!"]
+</H3>
+</CENTER>
+
+<P>
+"Then you intend to develop it, sir?" cried Cabot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Certainly, provided we can acquire your claim to the property, and
+engage a certain Mr. Cabot Grant to act as our assistant Labrador
+manager."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Do you think me capable of filling so responsible a position, sir?"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"I am convinced of it," replied Mr. Hepburn, smiling.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"And may I find places for White, and David Gidge, and Captain Phinney,
+and&mdash;&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"One of the duties of your new position will be the selection of your
+subordinates," interrupted the other, "and I should hope you would give
+preference to those whose fidelity you have already tested."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Within an hour after this happy conclusion of the interview, Cabot had
+wired White Baldwin the full amount of the missionary's draft and invited
+him to come as quickly as possible to New York.  He had also written to
+Captain Phinney asking him to resign at once his position as second mate,
+in order that he might assume command of a steamer shortly to be put on a
+run between New York and Labrador.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With these pleasant duties performed, our young engineer prepared to
+accept President Hepburn's invitation to a dinner that was to be given in
+his honour, and with which the happiest day of his life was to be
+concluded.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+THE END.
+</H3>
+
+<BR><BR><BR><BR>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Great Bear, by Kirk Munroe
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+
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@@ -0,0 +1,7351 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Great Bear, by Kirk Munroe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Under the Great Bear
+
+Author: Kirk Munroe
+
+Release Date: September 11, 2006 [EBook #19235]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE GREAT BEAR ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Al Haines
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Frontispiece: From it was evoked a monstrous shape.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  "Above this far northern sea Ursa
+  Major sailed so directly overhead
+  that he seemed like to fall on us."
+      --_From an early voyage to the coast of Labrador_.
+
+
+
+
+Under the Great Bear
+
+
+BY
+
+KIRK MUNROE
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR OF
+
+"The Flamingo Feather," "Dorymates," "The White Conquerors," Etc.
+
+
+
+
+New York
+
+International Association of Newspapers and Authors
+
+1901
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1900, BY
+
+DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAPTER
+
+      I. GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?
+     II. AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT
+    III. THE STRANGE FATE OF A STEAMER
+     IV. ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT
+      V. WHITE BALDWIN AND HIS "SEA BEE"
+     VI. THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION
+    VII. DEFYING A FRIGATE
+   VIII. A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED
+     IX. SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT
+      X. CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY
+     XI. BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY
+    XII. ENGLAND AND FRANCE COME TO BLOWS
+   XIII. A PRISONER OF WAR
+    XIV. THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE
+     XV. OFF FOR LABRADOR
+    XVI. MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH
+   XVII. IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG
+  XVIII. FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES
+    XIX. A MELANCHOLY SITUATION
+     XX. COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF
+    XXI. A WELCOME MISSIONARY
+   XXII. GOOD-BYE TO THE "SEA BEE"
+  XXIII. THE COMFORT OF AN ESKIMO LAMP
+   XXIV. OBJECTS OF CHARITY
+    XXV. LOST IN A BLIZZARD
+   XXVI. AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS
+  XXVII. THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY
+ XXVIII. CABOT IS LEFT ALONE
+   XXIX. DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK
+    XXX. THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE
+   XXXI. ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE MAN-WOLF MINE
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+From It Was Evoked A Monstrous Shape . . . _Frontispiece_
+
+On The Deck Of The Steamer "Lavinia"
+
+He Began To Kick At It With The Hope Of Smashing
+  One Of Its Panels
+
+At This The Enraged Officer Whipped Out A Revolver
+
+"Did This Come From About Here?"
+
+Others Fell On The New-Comers With Their Fists
+
+Livid With Rage, The Frenchman Whipped Out An
+  Ugly-Looking Knife
+
+A Solitary Figure Stood On The Chest Of A Bald Headland
+
+"Yim"
+
+"My Name Is Watson Balfour"
+
+He Reached A Point From Which He Could Look Beyond The Barrier
+
+"My Dear Boy, You Have Done Splendidly"
+
+
+
+
+UNDER THE GREAT BEAR.
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?
+
+"Heigh-ho!  I wonder what comes next?" sighed Cabot Grant as he tumbled
+wearily into bed.
+
+The day just ended marked the close of a most important era in his
+life; for on it he had been graduated from the Technical Institute, in
+which he had studied his chosen profession, and the coveted sheepskin
+that entitled him to sign M.E. in capital letters after his name had
+been in his possession but a few hours.
+
+Although Cabot came of an old New England family, and had been given
+every educational advantage, he had not graduated with honours, having,
+in fact, barely scraped through his final examination.  He had devoted
+altogether too much time to athletics, and to the congenial task of
+acquiring popularity, to have much left for study.  Therefore, while it
+had been pleasant to be one of the best-liked fellows in the Institute,
+captain of its football team, and a leading figure in the festivities
+of the day just ended, now that it was all over our lad was regretting
+that he had not made a still better use of his opportunities.
+
+A number of his classmates had already been offered fine positions in
+the business world now looming so ominously close before him.  Little
+pale-faced Dick Chandler, for instance, was to start at once for South
+Africa, in the interests of a wealthy corporation.  Ned Burnett was to
+be assistant engineer of a famous copper mine; a world-renowned
+electrical company had secured the services of Smith Redfield, and so
+on through a dozen names, no one of which was as well known as his, but
+all outranking it on the graduate list of that day.
+
+Cabot had often heard that the career of Institute students was closely
+watched by individuals, firms, and corporations in need of young men
+for responsible positions, and had more than once resolved to graduate
+with a rank that should attract the attention of such persons.  But
+there had been so much to do besides study that had seemed more
+important at the time, that he had allowed day after day to slip by
+without making the required effort, and now it appeared that no one
+wanted him.
+
+Yes, there was one person who had made him a proposition that very day.
+Thorpe Walling, the wealthiest fellow in the class, and one of its few
+members who had failed to gain a diploma, had said:
+
+"Look here, Grant, what do you say to taking a year's trip around the
+world with me, while I coach for a degree next June?  There is no such
+educator as travel, you know, and we'll make a point of going to all
+sorts of places where we can pick up ideas.  At the same time it'll be
+no end of a lark."
+
+"I don't know," Cabot had replied doubtfully, though his face had
+lighted at the mere idea of taking such a trip.  "I'd rather do that
+than almost anything else I know of, but----"
+
+"If you are thinking of the expense," broke in the other.
+
+"It isn't that," interrupted Cabot, "but it seems somehow as though I
+ought to be doing something more in the line of business.  Anyway, I
+can't give you an answer until I have seen my guardian, who has sent me
+word to meet him in New York day after to-morrow.  I'll let you know
+what he says, and if everything is all right, perhaps I'll go with you."
+
+With this the matter had rested, and during the manifold excitements of
+the day our lad had not given it another thought, until he tumbled into
+bed, wondering what would happen next.  Then for a long time he lay
+awake, considering Thorpe's proposition, and wishing that it had been
+made by any other fellow in the class.
+
+Until about the time of entering the Technical Institute, from which he
+was just graduated, Cabot Grant, who was an only child, had been
+blessed with as happy a home as ever a boy enjoyed.  Then in a breath
+it was taken from him by a railway accident, that had caused the
+instant death of his mother, and which the father had only survived
+long enough to provide for his son's immediate future by making a will.
+By its terms his slender fortune was placed in the hands of a trust and
+investment company, who were constituted the boy's guardians, and
+enjoined to give their ward a liberal education along such lines as he
+himself might choose.
+
+The corporation thus empowered had been faithful to its trust, and had
+carried out to the letter the instructions of their deceased client
+during the past five years.  Now less than a twelvemonth of their
+guardianship remained and it was to plan for his disposal of this time
+that Cabot had been summoned to New York.
+
+He had never met the president of the corporation, and it was with no
+little curiosity concerning him that he awaited, in a sumptuously
+appointed anteroom, his turn for an audience with the busy man.  At
+length he was shown into a plainly furnished private office occupied by
+but two persons, one somewhat past middle age, with a shrewd,
+smooth-shaven face, and the other much younger, who was evidently a
+private secretary.
+
+Of course Cabot instantly knew the former to be President Hepburn; and
+also, to his surprise, recognised him as one who had occupied a
+prominent position on the platform of the Institute hall when he had
+graduated two days earlier.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Hepburn, in a crisp, business tone, as he noted the
+lad's flash of recognition, "I happened to be passing through and
+dropped in to see our ward graduate.  I was, of course, disappointed
+that you did not take higher rank.  At the same time I concluded not to
+make myself known to you, for fear of interfering with some of your
+plans for the day.  It also seemed to me better that we should talk
+business here.  Now, with your Institute career ended, how do you
+propose to spend the remainder of your minority?  I ask because, as you
+doubtless know, our instructions are to consult your wishes in all
+matters, and conform to them as far as possible."
+
+"I appreciate your kindness in that respect," replied Cabot, who was
+somewhat chilled by this business-like reception, "and have decided, if
+the funds remaining in your hands are sufficient for the purpose, to
+spend the coming year in foreign travel; in fact, to take a trip around
+the world."
+
+"With any definite object in view," inquired Mr. Hepburn, "or merely
+for pleasure?"
+
+"With the definite object of studying my chosen profession wherever I
+may find it practised."
+
+"Um!  Just so.  Do you propose to take this trip alone or in company?"
+
+"I propose to go with Thorpe Walling, one of my classmates."
+
+"Son of the late General Walling, and a man who failed to graduate, is
+he not?"
+
+"Yes, sir.  Do you know him?"
+
+"I knew his father, and wish you had chosen some other companion."
+
+"I did not choose him.  He chose me, and invited me to go with him."
+
+"At your own expense, I suppose?"
+
+"Certainly!  I could not have considered his proposition otherwise."
+
+"Of course not," agreed Mr. Hepburn, "seeing that you have funds quite
+sufficient for such a venture, if used with economy.  And you have
+decided that you would rather spend the ensuing year in foreign travel
+with Thorpe Walling than do anything else?"
+
+"I think I have, sir."
+
+"Very well, my boy.  While I cannot say that I consider your decision
+the best that could be made, I have no valid objections to offer, and
+am bound to grant as far as possible your reasonable desires.  So you
+have my consent to this scheme, if not my whole approval.  When do you
+plan to start?"
+
+"Thorpe wishes to go at once."
+
+"Then, if you will call here to-morrow morning at about this hour, I
+will have arranged for your letter of credit, and anything else that
+may suggest itself for making your trip a pleasant one."
+
+"Thank you, sir," said Cabot, who, believing the interview to be ended,
+turned to leave the room.
+
+"By the way," continued Mr. Hepburn, "there is another thing I wish to
+mention.  Can you recommend one of your recent classmates for an
+important mission, to be undertaken at once to an out-of-the-way part
+of the world?  He must be a young man of good morals, able to keep his
+business affairs to himself, not afraid of hard work, and willing as
+well as physically able to endure hardships.  His intelligence and
+mental fitness will, of course, be guaranteed by the Institute's
+diploma.  Our company is in immediate need of such a person, and will
+engage him at a good salary for a year, with certain prospects of
+advancement, if he gives satisfaction.  Think it over and let me know
+in the morning if you have hit upon one whom you believe would meet
+those requirements.  In the meantime please do not mention the subject
+to any one."
+
+Charged with this commission, and relieved that the dreaded interview
+was ended, Cabot hastened uptown to a small secret society club of
+which he was a non-resident member.  There he wrote a note to Thorpe
+Walling, accepting his invitation, and expressing a readiness to set
+forth at once on their proposed journey.  This done, he joined a group
+of fellows who were discussing summer plans in the reading-room.
+
+"What are you going in for, Grant?" asked one.  "Is your summer to be
+devoted to work or play?"
+
+"Both," laughed Cabot.  "Thorpe Walling and I are to take an
+educational trip around the world, during which we hope to have great
+fun and accomplish much work."
+
+"Ho, ho!" jeered he who had put the question.  "That's a good one.  The
+idea of coupling 'Torpid' Walling's name with anything that savors of
+work.  You'll have a good time fast enough.  But I'll wager anything
+you like, that in his company you will circumnavigate the globe without
+having done any work harder than spending money.  No, no, my dear boy,
+'Torpid' is not the chap to encourage either mental or physical effort
+in his associates.  Better hunt some other companion, or even go by
+your lonely, if you really want to accomplish anything."
+
+These words recurred to our lad many times during the day, and when he
+finally fell asleep that night, after fruitlessly wondering who of his
+many friends he should recommend to President Hepburn, they were still
+ringing in his ears.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT.
+
+Thorpe Walling had never been one of Cabot Grant's particular friends,
+nor did the latter now regard with unmixed pleasure the idea of a
+year's intimate association with him.  He had accepted the latter's
+invitation because nothing else seemed likely to offer, and he could
+not bear to have the other fellows, especially those whose class
+standing had secured them positions, imagine that he was not also in
+demand.  Besides, the thought of a trip around the world was certainly
+very enticing; any opposition to the plan would have rendered him the
+more desirous of carrying it out.  But in his interview with his
+guardian he had gained his point so easily that the concession
+immediately lost half its value.  Even as he wrote his note to Thorpe
+he wondered if he really wanted to go with him, and after that
+conversation in the club reading-room he was almost certain that he did
+not.  If Mr. Hepburn had only offered him employment, how gladly he
+would have accepted it and declined Thorpe's invitation; but his
+guardian had merely asked him to recommend some one else.
+
+"Which shows," thought Cabot bitterly, "what he thinks of me, and of my
+fitness for any position of importance.  He is right, too, for if ever
+a fellow threw away opportunities, I have done so during the past four
+years.  And now I am deliberately going to spend another, squandering
+my last dollar, in company with a chap who will have no further use for
+me when it is gone.  It really begins to look as though I were about
+the biggest fool of my acquaintance."
+
+It was in this frame of mind that our young engineer made a second
+visit to his guardian's office on the following morning.  There he was
+received by Mr. Hepburn with the same business-like abruptness that had
+marked their interview of the day before.
+
+"Good-morning, Cabot," he said.  "I see you are promptly on hand, and,
+I suppose, anxious to be off.  Well, I don't blame you, for a pleasure
+trip around the world isn't offered to every young fellow, and I wish I
+were in a position to take such a one myself.  I have had prepared a
+letter of credit for the balance of your property remaining in our
+hands, and while it probably is not as large a sum as your friend
+Walling will carry, it is enough to see you through very comfortably,
+if you exercise a reasonable economy.  I have also written letters of
+introduction to our agents in several foreign cities that may prove
+useful.  Let me hear from you occasionally, and I trust you will have
+fully as good a time as you anticipate."
+
+"Thank you, sir," said Cabot.  "You are very kind."
+
+"Not at all.  I am only striving to carry out your father's
+instructions, and do what he paid to have done.  Now, how about the
+young man you were to recommend?  Have you thought of one?"
+
+"No, sir, I haven't.  You see, all the fellows who graduated with
+honours found places waiting for them, and as I knew you would only
+want one of the best, I can't think of one whom I can recommend for
+your purpose.  I am very sorry, but----"
+
+"I fear I did not make our requirements quite clear," interrupted Mr.
+Hepburn, "since I did not mean to convey the impression that we would
+employ none but an honour man.  It often happens that he who ranks
+highest as a student fails of success in the business world; and under
+certain conditions I would employ the man who graduated lowest in his
+class rather than him who stood at its head."
+
+Cabot's face expressed his amazement at this statement, and noting it,
+Mr. Hepburn smiled as he continued:
+
+"The mere fact that a young man has graduated from your Institute, even
+though it be with low rank, insures his possession of technical
+knowledge sufficient for our purpose.  If, at the same time, he is a
+gentleman endowed with the faculty of making friends, as well as an
+athlete willing to meet and able to overcome physical difficulties, I
+would employ him in preference to a more studious person who lacked any
+of these qualifications.  If you, for instance, had not already decided
+upon a plan for spending the ensuing year, I should not hesitate to
+offer you the position we desire to fill."
+
+Cabot trembled with excitement.  "I--Mr. Hepburn!" he exclaimed.
+"Would you really have offered it to me?"
+
+"Certainly I would.  I desired you to meet me here for that very
+purpose; but when I found you had made other arrangements that might
+prove equally advantageous, I believed I was meeting your father's
+wishes by helping you carry them out."
+
+"Is the place still open, and can I have it?" asked Cabot eagerly.
+
+"Not if you are going around the world; for, although the duties of the
+position will include a certain amount of travel, it will not be in
+that direction."
+
+"But I don't want to go around the world, and would rather take the
+position you have to offer than do anything else I know of," declared
+Cabot.
+
+"Without knowing its requirements, what hardships it may present, nor
+in what direction it may lead you?" inquired the other.
+
+"Yes, sir.  So long as you offer it I would accept it without question,
+even though it should be a commission to discover the North Pole."
+
+"My dear boy," said Mr. Hepburn, in an entirely different tone from
+that he had hitherto used, "I trust I may never forfeit nor abuse the
+confidence implied by these words.  Although you did not know it, I
+have carefully watched every step of your career during the past five
+years, and while you have done some things, as well as developed some
+traits, that are to be regretted, I am satisfied that you are at least
+worthy of a trial in the position we desire to fill.  So, if you are
+willing to relinquish your proposed trip around the world, and enter
+the employ of this company instead, you may consider yourself engaged
+for the term of one year from this date.  During that time all your
+legitimate expenses will be met, but no salary will be paid you until
+the expiration of the year, when its amount will be determined by the
+value of the services you have rendered.  Is that satisfactory?"
+
+"It is, sir," replied Cabot, "and with your permission I will at once
+telegraph Thorpe Walling that I cannot go with him."
+
+"Write your despatch here and I will have it sent out.  At the same
+time, do not mention that you have entered the employ of this company,
+as there are reasons why, for the present at least, that should remain
+a secret."
+
+When Cabot's telegram was ready, Mr. Hepburn, who had been glancing
+through a number of letters that awaited his signature, handed it to
+his secretary, to whom he also gave some instructions that Cabot did
+not catch.  As the former left the room, the president turned to our
+young engineer and said:
+
+"As perhaps you are aware, Cabot, there is at present an unprecedented
+demand all over the world for both iron and copper, and our company is
+largely interested in the production of these metals.  As existing
+sources of supply are inadequate it is of importance that new ones
+should be discovered, and if they can be found on the Atlantic
+seaboard, so much the better.  In looking about for new fields that may
+be profitably worked, our attention has been directed to the island of
+Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador.  While the former has been
+partially explored, we desire more definite information as to its
+available ore beds.  There is a small island in Conception Bay, not far
+from St. Johns, known as Bell Island, said to be a mass of iron ore,
+that is already being worked by a local company.  From it I should like
+to have a report, as soon as you reach St. Johns, concerning the nature
+of the ore, the extent of the deposit, the cost of mining it, the
+present output, the facilities for shipment, and so forth.  At the same
+time I want you to obtain this information without divulging the nature
+of your business, or allowing your name to become in any way connected
+with this company.
+
+"Having finished with Bell Island, you will visit such other portions
+of Newfoundland as are readily accessible from the coast, and seem to
+promise good results, always keeping to yourself the true nature of
+your business.  Finally, you will proceed to Labrador, where you will
+make such explorations as are possible.  You will report any
+discoveries in person, when you return to New York, as I do not care to
+have them entrusted to the mails.  Above all, do not fail to bring back
+specimens of whatever you may find in the way of minerals.  Are these
+instructions sufficiently clear?"
+
+"They seem so, sir."
+
+"Very well, then.  I wish you to start this very day, as I find that a
+steamer, on which your passage is already engaged, sails from a
+Brooklyn pier for St. Johns this afternoon.  This letter of credit,
+which only awaits your signature before a notary, will, if deposited
+with the bank of Nova Scotia in St. Johns, more than defray your year's
+expenses, and whatever you can save from it will be added to your
+salary.  Therefore, it will pay you to practise economy, though you
+must not hesitate to incur legitimate expenses or to spend money when
+by so doing you can further the objects of your journey.  You have
+enough money for your immediate needs, have you not?"
+
+"Yes, sir.  I have about fifty dollars."
+
+"That will be ample, since your ticket to St. Johns is already paid
+for.  Here it is."
+
+Thus saying, Mr. Hepburn handed over an envelope containing the
+steamship ticket that his secretary had been sent out to obtain.
+
+"I would take as little baggage as possible," he continued, "for you
+can purchase everything necessary in St. Johns, and will discover what
+you need after you get there.  Now, good-bye, my boy.  God bless you
+and bring you back in safety.  Remember that the coming year will
+probably prove the most important of your life, and that your future
+now depends entirely upon yourself.  Mr. Black here will go with you to
+the banker's, where you can sign your letter of credit."
+
+So our young engineer was launched on the sea of business life.  Two
+hours later he had packed a dress-suit case and sent his trunk down to
+the company's building for storage.  On his way to the steamer he
+stopped at his club for a bite of lunch, and as he was leaving the
+building he encountered the friend with whom he had discussed his plans
+the day before.
+
+"Hello!" exclaimed that individual, "where are you going in such a
+hurry.  Not starting off on your year of travel, are you?"
+
+"Yes," laughed Cabot.  "I am to sail within an hour.  Good-bye!"
+
+With this he ran down the steps and jumped into a waiting cab.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE STRANGE FATE OF A STEAMER.
+
+So exciting had been the day, and so fully had its every minute been
+occupied, that not until Cabot stood on the deck of the steamer
+"Lavinia," curiously watching the bustling preparations for her
+departure, did he have time to realise the wonderful change in his
+prospects that had taken place within a few hours.  That morning his
+life had seemed wholly aimless, and he had been filled with envy of
+those among his recent classmates whose services were in demand.  Now
+he would not change places with any one of them; for was not he, too,
+entrusted with an important mission that held promise of a brilliant
+future in case he should carry it to a successful conclusion?
+
+[Illustration: On the deck of the steamer "Lavinia."]
+
+"And I will," he mentally resolved.  "No matter what happens, if I live
+I will succeed."
+
+In spite of this brave resolve our lad could not help feeling rather
+forlorn as he watched those about him, all of whom seemed to have
+friends to see them off; while he alone stood friendless and unnoticed.
+
+Especially was his attention attracted to a nearby group of girls
+gathered about one who was evidently a bride.  They were full of gay
+chatter, and he overheard one of them say:
+
+"If you come within sight of an iceberg, Nelly, make him go close to it
+so you can get a good photograph.  I should like awfully to have one."
+
+"So should I," cried another.  "But, oh! wouldn't it be lovely if we
+could only have a picture of this group, standing just as we are aboard
+the ship.  It would make a splendid beginning for your camera."
+
+The bride, who, as Cabot saw, carried a small brand-new camera similar
+to one he had recently procured for his own use, promptly expressed her
+willingness to employ it as suggested, but was greeted by a storm of
+protests from her companions.
+
+"No, indeed!  You must be in it of course!" they cried.
+
+Then it further transpired that all wished to be "in it," and no one
+wanted to act the part of photographer.  At this juncture Cabot stepped
+forward, and lifting his cap, said:
+
+"I am somewhat of a photographer, and with your permission it would
+afford me great pleasure to take a picture of so charming a group."
+
+For a moment the girls looked at the presumptuous young stranger in
+silence.  Then the bride, flushing prettily, stepped forward and handed
+him her camera, saying as she did so:
+
+"Thank you, sir, ever so much for your kind offer, which we are glad to
+accept."
+
+So Cabot arranged the group amid much laughter, and by the time two
+plates had been exposed, had made rapid progress towards getting
+acquainted with its several members.
+
+The episode was barely ended before all who were to remain behind were
+ordered ashore, and, a few minutes later, as the ship began to move
+slowly from her dock, our traveller found himself waving his
+handkerchief and shouting good-byes as vigorously as though all on the
+wharf were assembled for the express purpose of bidding him farewell.
+
+By the time the "Lavinia" was in the stream and headed up the East
+River, with her long voyage fairly begun, Cabot had learned that his
+new acquaintance was a bride of but a few hours, having been married
+that morning to the captain of that very steamer.  She had hardly made
+this confession when her husband, temporarily relieved of his
+responsibilities by a pilot, came in search of her and was duly
+presented to our hero.  His name was Phinney, and he so took to Cabot
+that from that moment the latter no longer found himself lonely or at a
+loss for occupation.
+
+As he had never before been at sea, the voyage proved full of interest,
+and his intelligent questions received equally intelligent answers from
+Captain Phinney, who was a well-informed young man but a few years
+older than Cabot, and an enthusiast in his calling.
+
+Up Long Island Sound went the "Lavinia," and it was late that night
+before our lad turned in, so interested was he in watching the many
+lights that were pointed out by his new acquaintance.  The next morning
+found the ship threading her way amid the shoals of Nantucket Sound,
+after which came the open sea; and for the first time in his life Cabot
+lost sight of land.  Halifax was reached on the following day, and here
+the steamer remained twenty-four hours discharging freight.
+
+The capital of Nova Scotia marks the half-way point between New York
+and St. Johns, Newfoundland, which name Cabot was already learning to
+pronounce as do its inhabitants--Newfund-_land_--and after leaving it
+the ship was again headed for the open across the wide mouth of the
+Gulf of St. Lawrence.  Thus far the weather had been fine, the sea
+smooth, and nothing had occurred to break the pleasant monotony of the
+voyage.  Its chief interests lay in sighting distant sails, the
+tell-tale smoke pennons of far-away steamers, the plume-like spoutings
+of sluggishly moving whales, the darting of porpoises about the ship's
+fore-foot, the wide circling overhead of gulls, or the dainty skimming
+just above the wave crests of Mother Carey's fluffy chickens.
+
+"Who was Mother Carey," asked Cabot, "and why are they her chickens?"
+
+"I have been told that she was the _Mater Cara_ of devout Portuguese
+sailors," replied Captain Phinney, "and that these tiny sea-fowl are
+supposed to be under her especial protection, since the fiercest of
+gales have no power to harm them."
+
+"How queerly names become changed and twisted out of their original
+shape," remarked Cabot meditatively.  "The idea of _Mater Cara_
+becoming Mother Carey!"
+
+"That is an easy change compared with some others I have run across,"
+laughed the captain.  "For instance, I once put up at an English
+seaport tavern called the 'Goat and Compasses,' and found out that its
+original name, given in Cromwell's time, had been 'God Encompasseth
+Us.'  Almost as curious is the present name of that portion of the
+Newfoundland coast nearest us at this minute.  It is called
+'Ferryland,' which is a corruption of 'Verulam,' the name applied by
+its original owner, Lord Baltimore, in memory of his home estate in
+England.  In fact, this region abounds in queerly twisted names, most
+of which were originally French.  Bai d'espair, for instance, has
+become Bay Despair.  Blanc Sablon and Isle du Bois up on the Labrador
+coast have been Anglicised as Nancy Belong and Boys' Island.  Cape
+Race, which is almost within sight, was the Capo Razzo of its
+Portuguese discoverer.  Cape Spear was Cappo Sperenza, and Pointe
+l'Amour is now Lammer's Point."
+
+While taking part in conversations of this kind both Cabot and Mrs.
+Phinney, who were the only passengers now left on the ship, kept a
+sharp lookout for icebergs, which, as they had learned, were apt to be
+met in those waters at that season.  Finally, during the afternoon of
+the last day they expected to spend on shipboard, a distant white speck
+dead ahead, which was at first taken for a sail, proved to be an
+iceberg, and from that moment it was watched with the liveliest
+curiosity.  Before their rapid approach it developed lofty pinnacles,
+and proved of the most dazzling whiteness, save at the water line,
+where it was banded with vivid blue.  It was exquisitely chiselled and
+carved into dainty forms by the gleaming rivulets that ran down its
+steep sides and fell into the sea as miniature cascades.  So
+wonderfully beautiful were the icy details as they were successively
+unfolded, that the bride begged her husband to take his ship just as
+close as possible, in order that she might obtain a perfect photograph.
+Anxious to gratify her every wish, Captain Phinney readily consented,
+and the ship's course was slightly altered, so as to pass within one
+hundred feet of the glistening monster, which was now sharply outlined
+against a dark bank of fog rolling heavily in from the eastward.
+
+Both cameras had been kept busy from the time the berg came within
+range of their finders, but just as the best point of view was reached,
+and when they were so near that the chill of the ice was distinctly
+felt, Cabot discovered that he had exhausted his roll of films.
+Uttering an exclamation of disgust, he ran aft and down to his
+stateroom, that opened from the lower saloon, to secure another
+cartridge.  As he entered the room, he closed its door to get at his
+dress-suit case that lay behind it.
+
+Recklessly tossing the contents of the case right and left, he had just
+laid hands on the desired object and was rising to his feet when,
+without warning, he was flung violently to the floor by a shock like
+that of an earthquake.  It was accompanied by a dull roar and an awful
+sound of crashing and rending.  At the same time the ship seemed to be
+lifted bodily.  Then she fell back, apparently striking on her side,
+and for several minutes rolled with sickening lurches, as though in the
+trough of a heavy sea.
+
+In the meantime Cabot was struggling furiously to open his stateroom
+door; but it had so jammed in its casing that his utmost efforts failed
+to move it.  The steel deck beams overhead were twisted like willow
+wands, the iron side of the ship was crumpled as though it were a sheet
+of paper, and with every downward lurch a torrent of icy water poured
+in about the air port, which, though still closed, had been wrenched
+out of position.  With a horrid dread the prisoner realised that unless
+quickly released he must drown where he was, and, unable to open the
+door, he began to kick at it with the hope of smashing one of its
+panels.
+
+[Illustration: He began to kick at it with the hope of smashing one of
+its panels.]
+
+With his first effort in this direction there came another muffled roar
+like that of an explosion, and he felt the ship quiver as though it
+were being rent in twain.  At the same moment his door flew open of its
+own accord, and he was nearly suffocated by an inrush of steam.
+Springing forward, and blindly groping his way through this, the
+bewildered lad finally reached the stairs he had so recently descended.
+In another minute he had gained the deck, where he stood gasping for
+breath and vainly trying to discover what terrible thing had happened.
+
+Not a human being was to be seen, and the forward part of the ship was
+concealed beneath a dense cloud of steam and smoke that hung over it
+like a pall.  Cabot fancied he could distinguish shouting in that
+direction, and attempted to gain the point from which it seemed to
+come; but found the way barred by a yawning opening in the deck, from
+which poured smoke and flame as though it were the crater of a volcano.
+Then he ran back, and at length found himself on top of the after
+house, cutting with his pocket knife at the lashings of a life raft;
+for he realised that the ship was sinking so rapidly that she might
+plunge to the bottom at any moment.
+
+Five minutes later he lay prone on the buoyant raft, clutching the
+sides of its wooden platform, while it spun like a storm-driven leaf in
+the vortex marking the spot where the ill-fated.  "Lavinia" had sunk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT.
+
+Anything less buoyant than a modern life raft, consisting of two steel
+cylinders stoutly braced and connected by a wooden platform, would have
+been drawn under by the deadly clutch of that swirling vortex.  No open
+boat could have lived in it for a minute; and even the raft, spinning
+round and round with dizzy velocity, was sucked downward until it was
+actually below the level of the surrounding water.  But, sturdily
+resisting the down-dragging force, its wonderful buoyancy finally
+triumphed, and as its rotary motion became less rapid, Cabot sat up and
+gazed about him with the air of one who has been stunned.
+
+He was dazed by the awfulness of the catastrophe that had so suddenly
+overwhelmed the "Lavinia," and could form no idea of its nature.  Had
+there been a collision?  If so, it must have been with the iceberg, for
+nothing else had been in sight when he went below.  Yet it was
+incredible that such a thing could have happened in broad daylight.
+The afternoon had been clear and bright; of that he was certain, though
+his surroundings were now shrouded by an impenetrable veil of fog.
+Through this he could see nothing, and from it came no sound save the
+moan of winds sweeping across a limitless void of waters.
+
+What had become of his recent companions?  Had they gone down with the
+ship, and was he sole survivor of the tragedy?  At this thought the lad
+sprang to his feet, and shouted, calling his friends by name, and
+begging them not to leave him; but the only answer came in shape of
+mocking echoes hurled sharply back from close at hand.  Looking in that
+direction, he dimly discerned a vast outline of darker substance than
+the enveloping mist.  From it came also a sound of falling waters, and
+against it the sea was beating angrily.  At the same time he was
+conscious of a deadly chill in the air, and came to a sudden
+comprehension that the iceberg, to which he attributed all his present
+distress, was still close at hand.
+
+Its mere presence brought a new terror; for he knew that unless the
+attraction of its great bulk could be overcome, his little raft must
+speedily be drawn to it and dashed helplessly against its icy cliffs.
+This thought filled him with a momentary despair, for there seemed no
+possibility of avoiding the impending fate.  Then his eyes fell on a
+pair of oars lashed, together with their metal rowlocks, to the sides
+of his raft.  In another minute he had shipped these and was pulling
+with all his might away from that ill-omened neighbourhood.
+
+The progress of his clumsy craft was painfully slow; but it did move,
+and at the end the dreaded ice monster was beyond both sight and
+hearing.  The exercise of rowing had warmed Cabot as well as
+temporarily diverted his mind from a contemplation of the terrible
+scenes through which he had so recently passed.  Now, however, as he
+rested on his oars, a full sense of his wretched plight came back to
+him, and he grew sick at heart as he realised how forlorn was his
+situation.  He wondered if he could survive the night that was rapidly
+closing in on him, and, if he did, whether the morrow would find him
+any better off.  He had no idea of the direction in which wind and
+current were drifting him, whether further out to sea or towards the
+land.  He was again shivering with cold, he was hungry and thirsty, and
+so filled with terror at the black waters leaping towards him from all
+sides that he finally flung himself face downward on the wet platform
+to escape from seeing them.
+
+When he next lifted his head he found himself in utter darkness,
+through which he fancied he could still hear the sound of waters
+dashing against frigid cliffs, and with an access of terror he once
+more sprang to his oars.  Now he rowed with the wind, keeping it as
+directly astern as possible; nor did he pause in his efforts until
+compelled by exhaustion.  Then he again lay down, and this time dropped
+into a fitful doze.
+
+Waking a little later with chattering teeth, he resumed his oars for
+the sake of warming exercise, and again rowed as long as he was able.
+So, with alternating periods of weary work and unrefreshing rest, the
+slow dragging hours of that interminable night were spent.  Finally,
+after he had given up all hope of ever again seeing a gleam of
+sunshine, a faint gray began to permeate the fog that still held him in
+its wet embrace, and Cabot knew that he had lived to see the beginnings
+of another day.
+
+To make sure that the almost imperceptible light really marked the
+dawn, he shut his eyes and resolutely kept them closed until he had
+counted five hundred.  Then he opened them, and almost screamed with
+the joy of being able to trace the outlines of his raft.  Again and
+again he did this until at length the black night shadows had been
+fairly vanquished and only those of the fog remained.
+
+With the assurance that day had fairly come, and that the dreaded
+iceberg was at least not close at hand, Cabot again sought
+forgetfulness of his misery in sleep.  When he awoke some hours later,
+aching in every bone, and painfully hungry, he was also filled with a
+delicious sense of warmth; for the sun, already near its meridian, was
+shining as brightly as though no such things as fog or darkness had
+ever existed.
+
+On standing up and looking about him, the young castaway was relieved
+to note that the iceberg from which he had suffered so much was no
+longer in sight.  At the same time he was grievously disappointed that
+he could discover no sail nor other token that any human being save
+himself was abroad on all that lonely sea.
+
+He experienced a momentary exhilaration when, on turning to the west,
+he discovered a dark far-reaching line that he believed to be land; but
+his spirits fell as he measured the distance separating him from it,
+and realised how slight a chance he had of ever gaining the coast.  To
+be sure, the light breeze then blowing was in that direction, but it
+might change at any moment; and even with it to aid his rowing he
+doubted if his clumsy craft could make more than a mile an hour.  Thus
+darkness would again overtake him ere he had covered more than half the
+required distance, though he should row steadily during the remainder
+of the day.  He knew that his growing weakness would demand intervals
+of rest with ever-increasing frequency until utter exhaustion should
+put an end to his efforts; and then what would become of him?  Still
+there was nothing else to be done; and, with a dogged determination to
+die fighting, if die he must, the poor lad sat down and resumed his
+hopeless task.
+
+A life raft is not intended to be used as a rowboat, and is unprovided
+with either seats or foot braces.  Being thus compelled to sit on the
+platform, Cabot could get so little purchase that half his effort was
+wasted, and the progress made was barely noticeable.  During his
+frequent pauses for rest he stood up to gaze longingly at the goal that
+still appeared as far away as ever, and grew more unattainable as the
+day wore on.  At length the sun was well down the western sky, across
+which it appeared to race as never before.  As Cabot watched it, and
+vaguely wished for the power once given to Joshua, the bleakness of
+despair suddenly enfolded him, and his eyes became blurred with tears.
+He covered them with his hands to shut out the mocking sunlight, and
+sat down because he was too weak to stand any longer.  He had fought
+his fight very nearly to a finish, and his strength was almost gone.
+He had perhaps brought his craft five miles nearer to the land than it
+was when he set out; but after all what had been the gain?  Apparently
+there was none, and he would not further torture his aching body with
+useless effort.
+
+In the meantime a small schooner, bringing with her a fair wind, was
+running rapidly down the coast, not many miles from where our poor lad
+so despairingly awaited the coming of night.  That he had not seen her
+while standing up, was owing to the fact that her sails, instead of
+being white, were tanned a dull red, that blended perfectly with the
+colour of the distant shore line.  A bright-faced, resolute chap,
+somewhat younger than Cabot, but of equally sturdy build, held the
+tiller, and regarded with evident approval the behaviour of his
+speeding craft.
+
+"We'll make it, Dave," he cried, cheerily.  "The old 'Sea Bee's' got
+the wings of 'em this time."
+
+"Mebbe so," growled the individual addressed, an elderly man who stood
+in the companionway, with his head just above the hatch, peering
+forward under the swelling sails.  "Mebbe so," he repeated, "and mebbe
+not.  Steam's hard to beat on land or water, an' we be a far cry from
+Pretty Harbour yet.  So fur that ef they're started they'll overhaul us
+before day, and beat us in by a good twelve hour.  It's what I'm
+looking fur."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" replied the young skipper.  "What a gammy old croaker you
+are.  They won't start to-day, anyhow.  But here, take her a minute,
+while I go aloft for one more look before sundown to make sure."
+
+As the man complied with this request, and waddling aft took the
+tiller, his more active companion sprang into the main rigging and ran
+rapidly to the masthead, from which point of vantage he gazed back for
+a full minute over the course they had come.
+
+"Not a sign," he shouted down at length.  "But hello," he added to
+himself, "what's that?"  With a glance seaward his keen eye had
+detected a distant floating object that was momentarily uplifted on the
+back of a long swell, and flashed white in the rays of the setting sun.
+
+"Luff her, David!  Hard down with your hellum, and trim in all," he
+shouted to the steersman.  "There, steady, so."
+
+"Wot's hup?" inquired the man a few minutes later, as the other
+rejoined him on deck.
+
+"Don't know for sure; but there's something floating off there that
+looks like a bit of wreckage."
+
+"An' you, with all your hurry, going to stop fur a closer look, and
+lose time that'll mebbe prove the most wallyable of your life," growled
+the man disgustedly.  "Wal, I'll be jiggered!"
+
+"So would I, if I didn't," replied the lad.  "It was one of dad's rules
+never to pass any kind of a wreck without at least one good look at it,
+and so it's one of mine as well.  There's what I'm after, now.  See,
+just off the starboard bow.  It's a raft, and David, there's a man on
+it, sure as you live.  Look, he's standing up and waving at us.  Now,
+he's down again!  Poor fellow!  In with the jib, David!  Spry now, and
+stand by with a line.  I'm going to round up, right alongside."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WHITE BALDWIN AND HIS "SEA BEE."
+
+The hour that preceded the coming of that heaven-sent schooner was the
+blackest of Cabot Grant's life, and as he sat with bowed head on the
+wet platform of his tossing raft he was utterly hopeless.  He believed
+that he should never again hear a human voice nor tread the blessed
+land--yes, everything was ended for him, or very nearly so, and
+whatever record he had made in life must now stand without addition or
+correction.  His thoughts went back as far as he could remember
+anything, and every act of his life was clearly recalled.  How mean
+some of them now appeared; how thoughtless, indifferent, or selfish he
+had been in others.  Latterly how he had been filled with a sense of
+his own importance, how he had worked and schemed for a little
+popularity, and now who would regret him, or give his memory more than
+a passing thought?
+
+Thorpe Walling would say: "Served him right for throwing me over, as he
+did," and others would agree with him.  Even Mr. Hepburn, who had
+doubtless given him a chance merely because he was his guardian, would
+easily find a better man to put in his place.  Some cousins whom he had
+never seen nor cared to know would rejoice on coming into possession of
+his little property; and so, on the whole, his disappearance would
+cause more of satisfaction than regret.  Most bitter of all was the
+thought that he would never have the opportunity of changing, or at
+least of trying to change, this state of affairs, since he had
+doubtless looked at the sun for the last time, and the blackness of an
+endless night was about to enfold him.
+
+Had he really seen his last ray of sunlight and hope?  No; it could not
+be.  There must be a gleam left.  The sun could not have set yet.  He
+lifted his head.  There was no sun to be seen.  With a cry of terror he
+sprang to his feet, and, from the slight elevation thus gained, once
+more beheld the mighty orb of day, and life, and promise, crowning with
+a splendour infinitely beyond anything of this earth, the distant
+shore-line that he had striven so stoutly to gain.
+
+Dazzled by its radiance, Cabot saw nothing else during the minute that
+it lingered above the horizon.  Then, as it disappeared, he uttered
+another cry, but this time it was one of incredulous and joyful
+amazement, for close at hand, coming directly towards him from out the
+western glory, was a ship bearing a new lease of life and freighted
+with new opportunities.
+
+The poor lad tried to wave his cap at the new-comers; but after a
+feeble attempt sank to his knees, overcome by weakness and gratitude.
+It was in that position they found him as the little schooner was
+rounded sharply into the wind, and, with fluttering sails, lay close
+alongside the drifting raft.
+
+David flung a line that Cabot found strength to catch and hold to,
+while the young skipper of the "Sea Bee" sprang over her low rail and
+alighted beside the castaway just as the latter staggered to his feet
+with outstretched hand.  The stranger grasped it tightly in both of
+his, and for a moment the two gazed into each other's eyes without a
+word.  Cabot tried to speak, but something choked him so that he could
+not; and, noting this, the other said gently:
+
+"It is all over now, and you are as safe as though you stood on dry
+land; so don't try to say anything till we've made you comfortable, for
+I know you must have had an almighty hard time."
+
+"Yes," whispered Cabot.  "I've been hungry, and thirsty, and wet, and
+cold, and scared; but now I'm only grateful--more grateful than I can
+ever tell."
+
+A little later the life raft, its mission accomplished, was left to
+toss and drift at will, while the "Sea Bee," with everything set and
+drawing finely, was rapidly regaining her course, guided by the
+far-reaching flash of Cape Race light.  In her dingy little cabin,
+which seemed to our rescued lad the most delightfully snug, warm, and
+altogether comfortable place he had ever entered, Cabot lay in the
+skipper's own bunk, regarding with intense interest the movements of
+that busy youth.
+
+The latter had lighted a swinging lamp, started a fire in a small and
+very rusty galley stove, set a tea kettle on to boil, and a pan of cold
+chowder to re-warm.  Having thus got supper well under way, he returned
+to the cabin, where he proceeded to set the table.  The worst of
+Cabot's distress had already been relieved by a cup of cold tea and a
+ship's biscuit.  Now, finding that he was able to talk, his host could
+no longer restrain his curiosity, but began to ask questions.  He had
+already learned Cabot's name, and told his own, which was Whiteway
+Baldwin, "called White for short," he had added.  Now he said:
+
+"You needn't talk, if you don't feel like it, but I do wish you could
+tell how you came to be drifting all alone on that raft."
+
+"A steamer that I was on was wrecked yesterday, and so far as I know I
+am the only survivor," answered Cabot.
+
+"Goodness!  You don't say so!  What steamer was she, where was she
+bound, and what part of the coast was she wrecked on?"
+
+"She was the 'Lavinia' from New York for St. Johns, and she wasn't
+wrecked on any part of the coast, but was lost at sea."
+
+"_Jiminetty_!  The 'Lavinia'!  It don't seem possible.  How did it
+happen?  There hasn't been any gale.  Did she blow up, or what?"
+
+"I don't know," replied Cabot, "for I was down-stairs when it took
+place, and my stateroom door was jammed so that I couldn't get out for
+a long time.  I only know that there was the most awful crash I ever
+heard, and it seemed as though the ship were being torn to pieces.
+Then there came an explosion, and when I got on deck the ship was
+sinking so fast that I had only time to cut loose the raft before she
+went down."
+
+"What became of the others?" asked White excitedly.
+
+"I am afraid they were drowned, for I heard them shouting just before
+she sank, but there was such a cloud of steam, smoke, and fog that I
+couldn't see a thing, and after it was all over I seemed to be the only
+one left."
+
+"Wasn't there a rock or ship or anything she might have run into?"
+asked the young skipper, whose tanned face had grown pale as he
+listened to this tale of sudden disaster.
+
+"There was an iceberg," replied Cabot, "but when I went down-stairs it
+wasn't very close, and the sun was shining, so that it was in plain
+sight."
+
+"That must be what she struck, though," declared the other.  Then he
+thrust his head up the companionway and shouted: "Hear the news, Dave.
+The 'Lavinia's' lost with all on board, except the chap we've just
+picked up."
+
+"What happened her?" asked the man laconically.
+
+"He says she ran into an iceberg in clear day, bust up, and sank with
+all hands, inside of a minute."
+
+"Rot!" replied the practical sailor.  "The 'Laviny' had collision
+bulkheads, and couldn't have sunk in no sich time, ef she could at all.
+'Sides Cap'n Phinney ain't no man to run down a berg in clear day, nor
+yet in the night, nor no other time.  He's been on this coast and the
+Labrador run too long fur any sich foolishness.  No, son, ef the
+'Laviny's' lost, which mind, I don't say she ain't, she's lost some
+other way 'sides that, an' you can tell your friend so with my
+compliments."
+
+Cabot did not overhear these remarks, and wondered at the queer look on
+the young skipper's face when he reentered the cabin, as he did at the
+silence with which the latter resumed his preparations for supper.  At
+the same time he was still too weak, and, in spite of his biscuit, too
+ravenously hungry to care for further conversation just then.  So it
+was only after a most satisfactory meal and several cups of very hot
+tea that he was ready in his turn to ask questions.  But he was not
+given the chance; for, as soon as White Baldwin was through with
+eating, he went on dock to relieve the tiller, and the other member of
+the crew, whose name was David Gidge, came below.
+
+He was a man of remarkable appearance, of very broad shoulders and long
+arms; but with legs so bowed outward as to materially lower his
+stature, which would have been short at best, and convert his gait into
+an absurd waddle.  His face was disfigured by a scar across one cheek
+that so drew that corner of his mouth downward as to produce a
+peculiarly forbidding expression.  He also wore a bristling iron-grey
+beard that grew in form of a fringe or ruff, and added an air of
+ferocity to his make up.
+
+As this striking-looking individual entered the cabin and rolled into a
+seat at the table, he cast one glance, accompanied by a grunt, at
+Cabot, and then proceeded to attend strictly to the business in hand.
+He ate in such prodigious haste, and gulped his food in such vast
+mouthfuls, that he had cleaned the table of its last crumb, and was
+fiercely stuffing black tobacco into a still blacker pipe, before
+Cabot, who really wished to talk with him, had decided how to open the
+conversation.  Lighting his pipe and puffing it into a ruddy glow, Mr.
+Gidge made a waddling exit from the cabin, bestowing on our lad another
+grunt as he passed him, and leaving an eddying wake of rank tobacco
+smoke to mark his passage.
+
+For some time after this episode Cabot struggled to keep awake in the
+hope that White would return and answer some of his questions; but
+finally weariness overcame him, and he fell into a sleep that lasted
+without a break until after sunrise of the following morning.
+
+In the meantime the little schooner had held her course, and swept
+onward past the flashing beacons of Cape Race, Cape Pine, and Cape St.
+Mary, until, at daylight, she was standing across the broad reach of
+Placentia Bay towards the bald headland of Cape Chapeau Rouge.  She was
+making a fine run, and in spite of his weariness after a six hours'
+watch on deck, White Baldwin presented a cheery face to Cabot, as the
+latter vainly strove to recognise and account for his surroundings.
+
+"Good morning," said the young skipper, "I hope you have slept well,
+and are feeling all right again."
+
+"Yes, thank you," replied Cabot, suddenly remembering, "I slept
+splendidly, and am as fit as a fiddle.  Have we made a good run?"
+
+"Fine; we have come nearly a hundred miles from the place where we
+picked you up."
+
+"Then we must be almost to St. Johns," suggested Cabot, tumbling from
+his bunk as he spoke.  "I am glad, for it is important that I should
+get there as quickly as possible."
+
+"St. Johns!" replied the other blankly.  "Didn't you know that we had
+come from St. Johns, and were going in the opposite direction?  Why, we
+are more than one hundred and fifty miles from there at this minute."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION.
+
+Although Cabot had had no reason to suppose that the "Sea Bee" was on
+her way to St. Johns, it had not for a moment occurred to him that she
+could be going anywhere else.  Thus the news that they were not only a
+long way from the place he wished to reach, but steadily increasing
+their distance from it, so surprised him that for a moment he sat on
+the edge of his bunk gazing at the speaker as though doubting if he had
+heard aright.  Finally he asked: "Where, then, are we bound?"
+
+"To Pretty Harbour, around on the west coast, where I live," was the
+answer.
+
+"I'd be willing to give you fifty dollars to turn around and carry me
+to St. Johns," said Cabot.
+
+"Couldn't do it if you offered me a hundred, much as I need the money,
+and glad as I would be to oblige you, for I've got to get home in a
+hurry if I want to find any home to get to.  You see, it's this way,"
+continued White, noting Cabot's look of inquiry, "Pretty Harbour being
+on the French shore----"
+
+"What do you mean by the French shore?" interrupted Cabot.  "I thought
+you lived in Newfoundland, and that it was an English island."
+
+"So it is," explained White; "but, for some reason or other, I don't
+know why, England made a treaty with France nearly two hundred years
+ago, by which the French were granted fishing privileges from Cape Bay
+along the whole west coast to Cape Bauld, and from there down the east
+coast as far as Cape St. John.  By another treaty made some years
+afterwards France was granted, for her own exclusive use, the islands
+of Miquelon and St. Pierre, that lie just ahead of us now.
+
+"In the meantime the French have been allowed to do pretty much as they
+pleased with the west coast, until now they claim exclusive rights to
+its fisheries, and will hardly allow us natives to catch what we want
+for our own use.  They send warships to enforce their demands, and
+these compel us to sell bait to French fishermen at such price as they
+choose to offer.  Why, I have seen men forced to sell bait to the
+French at thirty cents a barrel, when Canadian and American fishing
+boats wore offering five times that much for it.  At the same time the
+French officers forbid us to sell to any but Frenchmen, declaring that
+if we do they will not only prevent us from fishing, but will destroy
+our nets."
+
+"I should think you would call on English warships for protection,"
+said Cabot.  "There surely must be some on this station."
+
+"Yes," replied the other, bitterly, "there are, but they always take
+the part of the French, and do even more than they towards breaking up
+our business."
+
+"What?" cried Cabot.  "British warships take part with the French
+against their own people!  That is one of the strangest things I ever
+heard of, and I can't understand it.  Is not this an English colony?"
+
+"Yes, it is England's oldest colony; but, while I was born in it, and
+have lived here all my life, I don't understand the situation any
+better than you."
+
+"It seems to me," continued Cabot, "that the conditions here must be
+fully as bad as those that led to the American Revolution, and I should
+think you Newfoundlanders would rebel, and set up a government of your
+own, or join the United States, or do something of that kind."
+
+"Perhaps we would if we could," replied White; "but our country is only
+a poor little island, with a population of less than a quarter of a
+million.  If we should rebel, we would have to fight both England and
+France.  We should have to do it without help, too, for the United
+States, which is the only country we desire to join, does not want us.
+So you see there is nothing for us to do but accept the situation, and
+get along as best we can."
+
+"Why don't you emigrate to the States?" suggested Cabot.
+
+"Plenty of people whom I know have done so," replied the young
+Newfoundlander, "and I might, too, if it were not for my mother and
+sister; but I don't know how I could make a living for them in the
+States, or even for myself.  You see, everything we have in the world
+is tied up right here.  Besides, it would be hard to leave one's own
+country and go to live among strangers.  Don't you think so?"
+
+"How do you make a living here?" asked Cabot, ignoring the last
+question.
+
+"We have made it until now by canning lobsters; but it looks as though
+even that business was to be stopped from this on."
+
+"Why?  Is it wrong to can lobsters?"
+
+"On the French shore, it seems to be one of the greatest crimes a
+person can commit, worse even than smuggling, and the chief duty of
+British warships on this station is to break it up."
+
+"Well, that beats all!" exclaimed Cabot.  "Why is canning lobsters
+considered so wicked?"
+
+"I don't know that I can explain it very clearly," replied the young
+skipper of the "Sea Bee," "but, so far as I can make out, it is this
+way: You see, the west coast of Newfoundland is one of the best places
+in the world for lobsters.  So when the settlers there found they were
+not allowed to make a living by fishing, they turned their attention to
+catching and canning them.  They thought, of course, that in this they
+would not be molested, since the French right was only to take and dry
+fish, which, in this country, means only codfish.  They were so
+successful at the new business that after a while the French also began
+to establish lobster canneries.  As no one interfered with them they
+finally became so bold as to order the closing of all factories except
+their own, and to actually destroy the property of such English
+settlers as were engaged in the business.  Then there were riots, and
+we colonists appealed to Parliament for protection in our rights."
+
+"Of course they granted it," said Cabot, who was greatly interested.
+
+"Of course they did nothing of the kind," responded White, bitterly.
+"The English authorities only remonstrated gently with the French, who
+by that time were claiming an exclusive right to all the business of
+the west coast, and finally it was agreed to submit the whole question
+to arbitration.  It has never yet been arbitrated, though that was some
+years ago.  In the meantime an arrangement was made by which all
+lobster factories in existence on July 1, 1889, were allowed to
+continue their business, but no others might be established."
+
+"Was your factory one of those then in existence?" asked Cabot.
+
+"It was completed, and ready to begin work a whole month before that
+date; but the captain of a French frigate told my father that if he
+canned a single lobster his factory would be destroyed.  Father
+appealed to the commander of a British warship for protection; but was
+informed that none could be given, and that if he persisted in the
+attempt to operate his factory his own countrymen would be compelled to
+aid the French in its destruction.  On that, father went to law, but it
+was not until the season was ended that the British captain was found
+to have had no authority for his action.  So father sued him for
+damages, and obtained judgment for five thousand dollars.  He never got
+the money, though, and by the time the next season came round the law
+regarding factories in existence on the first of the previous July was
+in force.  Then the question came up, whether or no our factory had
+been in existence at that time.  The French claim that it was not,
+because no work had been done in it, while we claim that, but for
+illegal interference, work would have been carried on for a full month
+before the fixed date."
+
+"How was the question settled?" asked Cabot.
+
+"It was not settled until a few days ago, when a final decision was
+rendered against us, and now the property is liable to be destroyed at
+any minute.  Father fought the case until it worried him to death, and
+mother has been fighting it ever since.  All our property, except the
+factory itself, this schooner, and a few hundred acres of worthless
+land, has gone to the lawyers.  While they have fought over the case, I
+have made a sort of a living for the family by running the factory at
+odd times, when there was no warship at hand to prevent.  This season
+promises to be one of the best for lobsters ever known, and we had so
+nearly exhausted our supply of cans that I went to St. Johns for more.
+While there I got private information that the suit had gone against
+us, and that the commander of the warship 'Comattus,' then in port, had
+received orders to destroy our factory during his annual cruise along
+the French shore.  The 'Comattus' was to start as soon as the 'Lavinia'
+arrived.  The minute I heard this I set out in a hurry for home, in the
+hope of having time to pack the extra cases I have on board this
+schooner, and get them out of the way before the warship arrives.  That
+is one reason I am in such a hurry, and can't spare the time to take
+you to St. Johns.  I wouldn't even have stopped long enough to
+investigate your raft if you had been a mile further off our course
+than you were."
+
+"Then all my yesterday's rowing didn't go for nothing," said Cabot.
+
+"I should say not.  It was the one thing that saved you, so far as this
+schooner is concerned.  I'm in a hurry for another reason, too.  If the
+French get word that a decision has been rendered against us, and that
+the factory is to be destroyed, they will pounce down on it in a jiffy,
+and carry away everything worth taking, to one of their own factories."
+
+"I don't wonder you are in a hurry," said Cabot.  "I know I should be,
+in your place, and I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to take me
+back to St. Johns; but I wish you would tell me the next best way of
+getting there.  You see, having lost everything in the way of an outfit
+it is necessary for me to procure a new one.  Besides that and the
+business I have on hand, it seems to me that, as the only survivor of
+the 'Lavinia,' I ought to report her loss as soon as possible."
+
+"Yes," agreed White, "of course you ought; though the longer it is
+unknown the longer the 'Comattus' will wait for her, and the more time
+I shall have."
+
+"Provided some French ship doesn't get after you," suggested Cabot.
+
+"Yes, I realise that, and as I am going to stop at St. Pierre, to sec
+whether the frigate 'Isla' is still in that harbour, I might set you
+ashore there.  From St. Pierre you can get a steamer for St. Johns, and
+even if you have to wait a few days you could telegraph your news as
+quickly as you please."
+
+"All right," agreed Cabot.  "I shall be sorry to leave you; but if that
+is the best plan you can think of I will accept it, and shall be
+grateful if you will set me ashore as soon as possible."
+
+Thus it was settled, and a few hours later the "Sea Bee" poked her nose
+around Gallantry Head, and ran into the picturesque, foreign-looking
+port of St. Pierre.  The French frigate "Isla," that had more than once
+made trouble for the Baldwins, lay in the little harbour, black and
+menacing.  Hoping not to be recognized, White gave her as wide a berth
+as possible; but he had hardly dropped anchor when a boat--containing
+an officer, and manned by six sailors--shot out from her side, and was
+pulled directly towards the schooner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+DEFYING A FRIGATE.
+
+"I wonder what's up now?" said White Baldwin, in a troubled tone, as he
+watched the approaching man-of-war's boat.
+
+"Mischief of some kind," growled David Gidge, as he spat fiercely into
+the water.  "I hain't never knowed a Frencher to be good fur nawthin'
+else but mischief."
+
+"Perhaps it's a health officer," suggested Cabot.
+
+"It's worse than that," replied White.
+
+"A customs officer, then?"
+
+"He comes from the shore."
+
+"Then perhaps it's an invitation for us to go and dine with the French
+captain?"
+
+"I've no doubt it's an invitation of some kind, and probably one that
+is meant to be accepted."
+
+At this juncture the French boat dashed alongside, and, without leaving
+his place, the lieutenant in command said in fair English:
+
+"Is not zat ze boat of Monsieur Baldwin of Pretty Harbour on ze cote
+Francaise?"
+
+"It is," replied the young skipper, curtly.
+
+"You haf, of course, ze papaire of health, and ze papaire of clearance
+for St. Pierre?"
+
+"No; I have no papers except a certificate of registry."
+
+"Ah!  Is it possible?  In zat case ze commandant of ze frigate 'Isla'
+will be please to see you on board at your earlies' convenience."
+
+"I thought so," said White, in a low tone.  Then aloud, he replied:
+"All right, lieutenant.  I'll sail over there, and hunt up a good place
+to anchor, just beyond your ship, and as soon as I've made all snug
+I'll come aboard.  Up with your mud hook, Dave."
+
+As Mr. Gidge began to work the windlass, Cabot sprang to help him, and,
+within a minute, the recently dropped anchor was again broken out.
+Then, at a sharp order, David hoisted and trimmed the jib, leaving
+Cabot to cat the anchor.  The fore and main sails had not been lowered.
+Thus within two minutes' time the schooner was again under way, and
+standing across the harbour towards the big warship.
+
+The rapidity of these movements apparently somewhat bewildered the
+French officer, who, while narrowly watching them, did not utter a word
+of remonstrance.  Now, as the "Sea Bee" moved away, his boat was
+started in the same direction.
+
+Without paying any further attention to it, White Baldwin luffed his
+little craft across the frigate's bow, and the moment he was hidden
+beyond her, bore broad away, passing close along the opposite side of
+the warship, from which hundreds of eyes watched his movements with
+languid curiosity.
+
+The boat, in the meantime, had headed for the stern of the frigate,
+with a view to gaining her starboard gangway, somewhere near which its
+officer supposed White to be already anchoring.  What was his
+amazement, therefore, as he drew within the shadow of his ship, to see
+the schooner shoot clear of its further side, and go flying down the
+wind, lee rail under.  For a moment he looked to see her round to and
+come to anchor.  Then, springing to his feet, he yelled for her to do
+so; upon which White Baldwin took off his cap, and made a mocking bow.
+
+At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver, and began to fire
+wildly in the direction of the vanishing schooner, which, for answer,
+displayed a British Union Jack at her main peak.  Three minutes later
+the saucy craft had rounded a projecting headland and disappeared,
+leaving the outwitted officer to get aboard his ship at his leisure,
+and make such report as seemed to him best.
+
+[Illustration: At this the enraged officer whipped out a revolver.]
+
+After the exciting incident was ended, and the little "Sea Bee" had
+gained the safety of open water, Cabot grasped the young skipper's hand
+and shook it heartily.
+
+"It was fine!" he cried, "though I don't see how you dared do it.
+Weren't you afraid they would fire at us?"
+
+"Not a bit," laughed White.  "They didn't realise what we were up to
+until we were well past them, and then they hadn't time to get ready
+before we were out of range.  I don't believe they would dare fire on
+the British flag, anyway; especially as we hadn't done a thing to them.
+I almost wish they had, though; for I would be willing to lose this
+schooner and a good deal besides for the sake of bringing on a war that
+should drive the French from Newfoundland."
+
+"But what did they want of you, and what would have happened if you had
+not given them the slip?"
+
+"I expect they wanted to hold me here until they heard how our case had
+gone, so that I couldn't get back to the factory before they had a
+chance to run up there and seize it.  Like as not they would have kept
+us on one excuse or another--lack of papers or something of that
+sort--for a week or two, and by the time they let us go some one else
+would have owned the Pretty Harbour lobster factory."
+
+"Would they really have dared do such a thing?" asked Cabot, to whom
+the idea of foreign interference in the local affairs of Newfoundland
+was entirely new.
+
+"Certainly they would.  The French dare do anything they choose on this
+coast, and no one interferes."
+
+"Well," said Cabot, "it seems a very curious situation, and one that a
+stranger finds hard to understand.  However, so long as the French
+possess such a power for mischief, I congratulate you more than ever on
+having escaped them.  At the same time I am disappointed at not being
+able to land at St. Pierre, and should like to know where you are going
+to take me next."
+
+"I declare!  In my hurry to get out of that trap, I forgot all about
+you wanting to land," exclaimed White, "and now there isn't a place
+from which you can get to St. Johns short of Port aux Basques, which is
+about one hundred and fifty miles west of here."
+
+"How may I reach St. Johns from there?"
+
+"By the railway across the island, of which Port aux Basques is the
+terminus.  A steamer from Sidney, on Cape Breton, connects with a train
+there every other day."
+
+"Very good; Port aux Basques it is," agreed Cabot, "and I shan't be
+sorry after all for a chance to cross the island by train and see what
+its interior looks like."
+
+So our young engineer continued his involuntary voyage, and devoted his
+time to acquiring all sorts of information about the great northern
+island, as well as to the study of navigation.  In this latter line of
+research he even succeeded in producing a favorable impression upon
+David Gidge, who finally admitted that it wasn't always safe to judge a
+man from his appearance, and that this young feller had more in him
+than showed at first sight.
+
+While thus creating a favorable impression for himself, Cabot grew much
+interested in the young skipper of the schooner.  He was surprised to
+find one in his position so gentlemanly a chap, as well as so generally
+well informed, and wondered where he had picked it all up.
+
+"Are there good schools at Pretty Harbour?" he asked, with a view to
+solving this problem.
+
+"There is one, but it is only fairly good," answered White.
+
+"Did you go to it?"
+
+"Oh, no," laughed the other.  "I went to school as well as to college
+in St. Johns.  You see, father was a merchant there until he bought a
+great tract of land on the west coast.  Then he gave up his business in
+the city and came over here to establish a lobster factory, which at
+that time promised to pay better than anything else on the island.  He
+left us all in St. Johns, and it was only after his death that we came
+over here to live and try to save something from the wreck of his
+property.  Now I don't know what is to become of us; for, unless one is
+allowed to can lobsters, there isn't much chance of making a living on
+the French shore.  If it wasn't for the others, I should take this
+schooner and try a trading trip to Labrador, but mother has become so
+much of an invalid that I hate to leave her with only my sister."
+
+"What is your sister's name?"
+
+"Cola."
+
+"That's an odd name, and one I never heard before, but I think I like
+it."
+
+"So do I," agreed White; "though I expect I should like any name
+belonging to her, for she is a dear girl.  One reason I am so fond of
+this schooner is because it is named for her."
+
+"How is that?"
+
+"Why, it is the 'Sea Bee,' and these are her initials."
+
+It was early on the second morning after leaving St. Pierre that the
+"Sea Bee" drifted slowly into the harbour of Port aux Basques, where
+the yacht-like steamer "Bruce" lay beside its single wharf.  She had
+just completed her six-hour run across Cabot Strait, from North Sidney,
+eighty-five miles away, and close at hand stood the narrow-gauge train
+that was to carry her passengers and mails to St. Johns.  It would
+occupy twenty-eight hours in making the run of 550 miles from coast to
+coast, and our lad looked forward to the trip with pleasant
+anticipations.
+
+But he was again doomed to disappointment; for while the schooner was
+still at some distance from the wharf, the train was seen to be in
+motion.  In vain did Cabot shout and wave his cap.  No attention was
+paid to his signals, and a minute later the train had disappeared.
+There would not be another for two days, and the young engineer gazed
+about him with dismay.  Port aux Basques appeared to be only a railway
+terminus, offering no accommodation for travellers, and presenting,
+with its desolate surroundings, a scene of cheerless inhospitality.
+
+"That's what I call tough luck!" exclaimed White Baldwin,
+sympathetically.
+
+"Isn't it?" responded Cabot; "and what I am to do with myself in this
+dreary place after you are gone, I can't imagine."
+
+"Seems to me you'd better stay right where you are, and run up the
+coast with us to St. George's Bay, where there is another station at
+which you can take the next train."
+
+"I should like to," replied Cabot, "if you would allow me to pay for my
+passage; but I don't want to impose upon your hospitality any longer."
+
+"Nonsense!" exclaimed White.  "You are already doing your full share of
+the work aboard here, and even if you weren't of any help, I should be
+only too happy to have you stay with us until the end of the run, for
+the pleasure of your company."
+
+"That settles it," laughed Cabot.  "I will go with you as far as St.
+George's, and be glad of the chance.  But, while we are here, I think I
+ought to send in the news about the 'Lavinia.'"
+
+As White agreed that this should be done at once, Cabot was set ashore,
+and made his way to the railway telegraph office, where he asked the
+operator to whom in St. Johns he should send the news of a wreck.
+
+"What wreck?" asked the operator.
+
+"Steamer 'Lavinia.'"
+
+"There's no need to send that to anybody, for it's old news, and went
+through here last night as a press despatch.  'Lavinia' went too close
+to an iceberg, that capsized, and struck her with long, under-water
+projection.  Lifted steamer from water, broke her back, boiler
+exploded, and that was the end of 'Lavinia.'  Mate's boat reached St.
+Johns, and 'Comattus' has gone to look for other possible survivors."
+
+As Cabot had nothing to add to this story, he merely sent a short
+despatch to Mr. Hepburn, announcing his own safety, and then returned
+to the schooner with his news.
+
+"Good!" exclaimed White, when he heard it.  "I hope the 'Comattus' will
+find those she has gone to look for; and I'm mighty glad she has got
+something to do that will keep her away from here for a few days
+longer.  Now, Dave, up with the jib."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED.
+
+Cabot had been impressed by the rugged scenery of the Nova Scotia shore
+line, but it had been tame as compared with the stern grandeur of that
+unfolded when the "Sea Bee" rounded Cape Ray and was headed up the west
+coast of Newfoundland.  He had caught glimpses of lofty promontories
+and precipitous cliffs as the schooner skirted the southern end of the
+island; but most of the time it had kept too far from shore for him to
+appreciate the marvellous details.  Now, however, as they beat up
+against a head wind, they occasionally ran in so close as to be wet by
+drifting spray from the roaring breakers that ceaselessly dashed
+against the mighty wall, rising, grim and sheer, hundreds of feet above
+them.  Everywhere the rock was stained a deep red, indicating the
+presence of iron, and everywhere it had been rent or shattered into a
+thousand fantastic forms.  At short intervals the massive cliffs were
+wrenched apart to make room for narrow fiords, of unknown depth, that
+penetrated for miles into the land, where they formed intricate mazes
+of placid waterways.  Beside them there were nestled tiny fishing
+villages of whitewashed houses, though quite as often these were
+perched on apparently inaccessible crags, overlooking sheltered coves
+of the outer coast.
+
+On the tossing waters fronting them, fleets of fishing boats, with
+sails tanned a ruddy brown, like those of the "Sea Bee," or blackened
+by coal tar, darted with the grace and fearlessness of gulls, or rested
+as easily on the heaving surface, while the fishermen, clad in yellow
+oilskins, pursued their arduous toil.
+
+To our young American the doings of these hardy seafarers proved so
+interesting that he never tired of watching them nor of asking
+questions concerning their perilous occupation.  And he had plenty of
+time in which to acquire information, for so adverse were the winds
+that only by the utmost exertion did White Baldwin succeed in getting
+his schooner to the St. George's landing in time for Cabot to run to
+the railway station just as the train from Port aux Basques was coming
+in.
+
+The two lads exchanged farewells with sincere regrets, after White had
+extended a most cordial invitation to the other to finish the cruise
+with him, and visit his home at Pretty Harbour.  Much as Cabot wished
+to accept this invitation, he had declined it for the present, on the
+plea that he ought first to go to St. Johns.  At the same time he had
+promised to try and make the proposed visit before leaving the island,
+to which White had replied:
+
+"Don't delay too long, then, or you may not find us at home, for there
+is no knowing what may happen when the warships get there."
+
+Even David Gidge shook hands with the departing guest, and said it was
+a pity he couldn't stay with them a while longer, seeing that he might
+be made into a very fair sort of a sailor with proper training.
+
+With one regretful backward glance, Cabot left the little schooner on
+which he had come to feel so much at home, and sprinted towards the
+station, where was gathered half the population of the village--men,
+women, children, and dogs.  The train was already at the platform as he
+made his way through this crowd, wondering if he had time to purchase a
+ticket, and he glanced at it curiously.  It was well filled, and heads
+were thrust from most of the car windows on that side.  Through one
+window Cabot saw a quartette of men too busily engaged over a game of
+cards to take note of their surroundings.  As our lad's gaze fell on
+these, he suddenly stood still and stared.  Then he turned, pushed out
+from the crowd, and made his way back towards the landing as rapidly as
+he had come from it a few minutes before.
+
+The "Sea Bee" was under way, but had not got beyond hail, and was put
+back when her crew discovered who was signalling them so vigorously.
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired her young skipper, as Cabot again
+clambered aboard.  "Did you miss the train after all?"
+
+"No," replied Cabot.  "I could have caught it; but made up my mind at
+the last moment that I might just as well go with you to Pretty Harbour
+now as to try and visit it later."
+
+"Good!" cried White, heartily.  "I am awfully glad you did.  We were
+feeling blue enough without you, weren't we, Dave?"
+
+"Blue warn't no name for it," replied Mr. Gidge.  "It were worse than a
+drop in the price of fish; an' now I feel as if they'd riz a dollar a
+kental."
+
+"Thank you both," laughed Cabot.  "I hadn't any idea how much I should
+hate to leave the old 'Bee' until I tried to do it.  You said there was
+another station that I could reach from your place, didn't you?" he
+added, turning to White.
+
+"Yes.  There is one at Bay of Islands that can be reached by a drive of
+a few hours from Pretty Harbour; and I'll carry you over there any time
+you like," replied the latter.
+
+"That settles it, then; and I'll let St. Johns wait a few days longer."
+
+So the little schooner was again headed seaward, and set forth at a
+nimble pace for her run around Cape St. George and up the coast past
+Port au Port to the exquisitely beautiful Bay of Islands, on which
+Pretty Harbour is located; and, as she bore him away, Cabot hoped he
+had done the right thing.
+
+When commissioned to undertake this journey that was proving so full of
+incident, our young engineer had been only too glad of an excuse to
+break his engagement with Thorpe Walling; for, as has been said, the
+latter was not a person whom he particularly liked.  Walling, on the
+other hand, had boasted that the most popular fellow in the Institute
+had chosen above all things to take a trip around the world in his
+company, and was greatly put out by the receipt of Cabot's telegram
+announcing his change of plan.  The more Thorpe reflected upon this
+grievance the more angry did he become, until he finally swore enmity
+against Cabot Grant, and to get even with him if ever he had the chance.
+
+He was provoked that his chosen companion should have dismissed him so
+curtly, without any intimation of what he proposed to do, and this he
+determined to discover.  So he went to New York and made inquiries at
+the offices of the company acting as Cabot's guardian; but could only
+learn that the young man had left the city after two private interviews
+with President Hepburn.  At the club where Cabot had lunched on the day
+of his departure, Thorpe's appearance created surprise.
+
+"Thought you had started off with Grant on a trip around the world?"
+said one member in greeting him.
+
+"No," replied Walling; "we are not going."
+
+"But he sailed two days ago.  At least, he said that was what he was
+about to do when he bade me good-bye on his way to the steamer."
+
+"What steamer, and where was she bound?" asked Thorpe.
+
+"Don't know.  He only said he was about to sail."
+
+"I'll not be beaten that way," thought Walling, angrily; and, having
+plenty of money to expend as best suited him, he straightway engaged
+the services of a private detective.  This man was instructed to
+ascertain for what port a certain Cabot Grant had sailed from New York
+two days earlier, and that very evening the coveted information was in
+his possession.
+
+"Sailed on the 'Lavinia' for St. Johns, Newfoundland, has he?" muttered
+Thorpe.  "Then I, too, will visit St. Johns, and discover what he is
+doing.  I might as well go there as anywhere else; and perhaps Grant
+will find out that it would have been wiser to confide in an old friend
+than to treat him as shabbily as he has me."
+
+Having reached this decision, Walling took a train from New York, and,
+travelling by way of Boston, Portland, and Bangor, crossed the St.
+Croix River from Maine into New Brunswick at Vanceboro.  From there he
+went, via St. John, N.B., and Truro, Nova Scotia, to Port Mulgrave,
+where he passed over the Strait of Canso to Cape Breton.  Across that
+island his route lay through the Bras d'Or country to North Sidney, at
+which point he took steamer for Port aux Basques and the Newfoundland
+railway that should finally land him in St. Johns.  On this journey he
+became acquainted with several Americans, with whom he played whist,
+which is what he was doing when his train pulled up at the St. George's
+Bay platform.
+
+At sight of his classmate, Cabot became instantly desirious of avoiding
+him and the embarrassing questions he would be certain to ask.
+Although our young engineer could not imagine why Thorpe Walling had
+come to Newfoundland, he instinctively felt that the visit had
+something to do with his own trip to the island.  He knew that Thorpe
+delighted to pry into the secrets of others; and also that he was of a
+vindictive nature, quick to take offence, and unscrupulous in his
+enmities.  Therefore, as his instructions permitted him to visit
+whatever part of Newfoundland he chose, he decided to avoid St. Johns
+for the present rather than risk the results of a companionship that
+now seemed so undesirable.
+
+Somewhat earlier on that same day one of Thorpe's travelling
+companions, named Gregg, spoke to him of Newfoundland's mineral wealth,
+and referred particularly to the Bell Island iron mines.
+
+"Yes," replied Walling, who had never before heard of Bell Island,
+"they must be immensely valuable."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," said the other, carelessly.  "Several American
+companies are trying to get control of them; but perhaps they are not
+what they are cracked up to be after all."
+
+"Isn't a New York man by the name of Hepburn one of the interested
+parties?" asked Thorpe, at a venture.
+
+"Yes, he is," responded Mr. Gregg, turning on him sharply.  "Why, do
+you know him?"
+
+"I can't say that I know him; but I know a good deal about him, and
+have every reason to believe that he has just sent an acquaintance of
+mine, a young mining engineer, up here to examine that very property."
+
+"Is he an expert?"
+
+"Oh, yes.  He and I were classmates at a technical institute."
+
+"Then you also are a mining engineer?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"Have you come to Newfoundland to investigate mineral lands?"
+
+"Not exactly; though I may do something in that line if I find a good
+opening.  At present I am merely on a pleasure trip."
+
+"I see, and I am glad to have made your acquaintance, as I am somewhat
+interested in mineral lands myself.  When we reach St. Johns I hope you
+will introduce me to your friend, and it may happen that I can return
+the favour by putting you on to a good thing."
+
+"Certainly, I will introduce you if we run across him," replied Thorpe.
+"At the same time I hope you won't mention having any knowledge of his
+business, as he is trying to keep it quiet."
+
+"Like most of us who have 'deals' on hand," remarked the other, with a
+meaning smile.  "But it is hard to hide them from clever chaps like
+yourself."
+
+At which compliment, Thorpe, who had only been making some shrewd
+guesses, looked wise, but said nothing.
+
+It happened that these two were playing whist when the train reached
+St. George's Bay, and Mr. Gregg remarked to his partner:
+
+"There's a chap staring at this crowd as if he knew some of us."
+
+Thorpe glanced from the window, and started from his seat with an
+exclamation.  At the same moment Cabot Grant turned away and hurried
+from the station.
+
+"Do you know him?" asked Mr. Gregg.
+
+"He is the very person I was speaking to you about a while ago,"
+replied Thorpe.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT.
+
+At sight of Cabot, Thorpe Walling's instinct had been to leave the car
+and follow him; but the thought of his luggage, which he knew he could
+not get off in time, caused him to hesitate, and then it was too late,
+for the train was again in motion.
+
+"The young man did not seem particularly anxious to meet his old
+classmate," remarked Mr. Gregg.  "In fact, it rather looked as though
+he wished to avoid recognition."
+
+Thorpe pretended to be too busy with his cards to make reply to this
+suggestion; but an ugly expression came into his face, and, from that
+moment, he hated Cabot Grant.  When, on the following day, he reached
+St. Johns and learned of the loss of the "Lavinia," with all on board,
+except those saved in the mate's boat, he was more perplexed than ever.
+Cabot's name was published as one of those who had gone down with the
+ill-fated steamer, and yet he had certainly seen him alive and well
+only the day before.  What could it mean?
+
+"Do you suppose Hepburn knows of his escape?" asked Mr. Gregg, who was
+stopping at the same hotel, and to whom Thorpe confided this mystery.
+
+"I haven't an idea."
+
+"What do you say to wiring and finding out?  It can't do us any harm,
+and might gain us an insight into the old man's plans up here."
+
+"I should say it was a good idea."
+
+As a result of this desire for information the following telegram was
+sent to the president of the Gotham Trust and Investment Company:
+
+"St. Johns, N'f'l'd.--Here all right.  What shall I do next?----C. G."
+
+
+And the answer came promptly:
+
+"Congratulations.  Send B. I. report.  If in need of funds, draw.----H."
+
+
+"That settles it!" exclaimed Mr. Gregg, exultingly.  "Hepburn is after
+Bell Island, and your friend was sent here to report upon its value.
+Now, it will be a pity if the old man doesn't get his information,
+which he isn't likely to do for some time with that young chap over on
+the west coast.  Some one ought to send him a report."
+
+"I have a mind to do it myself," said Thorpe, reflectively.
+
+"It would be an awfully decent thing for you to do.  Be a good joke on
+your friend, too, and make him fed ashamed of himself for cutting you
+so dead yesterday, when he finds it out.  He is bound to get into
+trouble if some sort of a report isn't sent in, now that he is known to
+have escaped from the wreck."
+
+"Confound him!" exclaimed Thorpe.  "I don't care how soon he gets into
+trouble; nor how much."
+
+"Oh, come.  That isn't a nice way to speak of an old friend and
+classmate," remarked Mr. Gregg, reprovingly.  "Now, I always feel sorry
+when I see a decent young chap like that throwing away a good chance,
+and want to help him if I can.  So in the present case, I think we
+really ought to send in a report that will satisfy old Hepburn, and
+keep the boy solid with his employers.  I shouldn't know how to word it
+myself, but if you, with your expert knowledge of the subject, will
+make it out, of course after taking a look at the mine, I'll see that
+you don't lose anything by your kindness."
+
+"All right," replied Thorpe, who was quite sharp enough to comprehend
+the other's meaning.  "I'll do it."
+
+So the two conspirators drove to the picturesque fishing village of
+Portugal Cove, where they hired a boat to carry them across to Bell
+Island.  There they paid a hasty visit to the mine, which Mr. Gregg
+plausibly belittled and undervalued, until Thorpe really began to
+consider it a greatly overestimated piece of property, and this idea he
+embodied in a report that he wrote out that very evening.
+
+"I'm glad to see that you think as I do concerning the real
+worthlessness of Bell Island," remarked Mr. Gregg, gravely, as he
+glanced over the paper, "and the man who would have anything to do with
+it after reading this must be a greater fool than I take old Hepburn to
+be."
+
+On the following day a type-written copy of Thorpe's report was made,
+signed "C. G.," and forwarded by mail to the president of the Gotham
+Trust and Investment Company.  As a result, a telegram was received a
+week later at the Bank of Nova Scotia in St. Johns addressed to Cabot
+Grant, and desiring him to return at once to New York.  As the bank
+people wired back that they had no knowledge of any such person, Mr.
+Hepburn in reply requested them to keep a sharp lookout for a young man
+of that name, who would shortly present a letter of credit to them, and
+provide him with a ticket to New York on account of it, but nothing
+more.  Mr. Hepburn also explained that, as Cabot Grant's guardian, he
+had the right to thus limit his ward's expenditures.
+
+Thus our lad fell into disgrace with his employer, who knew, as well as
+any man living, the exact status of the Bell Island iron mine, and had
+only requested Cabot to report on it in order to test his fitness for
+other work.
+
+While the correspondence with the bank was being carried on, Messrs.
+Walling and Gregg watched for the arrival of the young engineer, whom
+they expected by every train.  They also anxiously awaited the news
+that the Hepburn syndicate had withdrawn its offer for the Bell Island
+property, in which event it would fall, at a greatly reduced price, to
+the company represented by Mr. Gregg.
+
+Totally unconscious of all this, Cabot Grant was at that very time in a
+remote corner of the west coast, happily engaged in aiding certain of
+its inhabitants to discomfit the combined naval forces of two of the
+most powerful governments of the world.  Moreover, he had become so
+interested in this exciting occupation, as well as in certain
+discoveries that he was making, as to have very nearly lost sight of
+his intention to visit the capital of the island.
+
+When he reembarked on the "Sea Bee" at St. George's Bay, he fully
+intended to catch the train of two days later at the station to which
+White had promised to convey him.  He was glad of a chance to view some
+more of that magnificent west coast scenery, and when the little
+schooner finally rounded South Head, and was pointed towards the
+massive front of Blomidon, which David Gidge called "Blow-me-down," he
+felt well repaid for his delay by the enchanting beauty of the Bay of
+Islands that lay outspread before them.
+
+Soon after passing South Head, the "Sea Bee," with flags flying from
+both masts, slipped through a narrow passage into the land-locked basin
+of Pretty Harbour.  On its further shore stood a handful of white
+houses, and a larger building that fronted the water.
+
+"That's our factory!" cried White, "and there is our house, on the
+hillside, just beyond.  See, the one with the dormer windows.  There's
+Cola waving from one of them now.  Bless her!  She must have been
+watching, to sight us so quickly.  Oh, I can't wait.  Dave, you take
+the 'Bee' up to the wharf.  Mr. Grant will help you, I know, as well as
+excuse me if I go ashore first."
+
+"Of course, I will," replied Cabot; and in another minute the young
+skipper was sculling ashore in the dinghy, while the schooner drifted
+more slowly in the same direction.
+
+When they finally reached the factory wharf White was on hand to meet
+them, and beside him stood the slender, merry-eyed girl for whom the
+schooner had been named.  She unaffectedly held out a hand to Cabot
+when they were introduced, and at once invited him to the house to meet
+her mother.
+
+"Yes," said White, "you two go along, and don't wait for me.  You see,"
+he added, apologetically, to Cabot, "there's been a great catch of
+lobsters, and if I can only get them packed before we are interfered
+with, we'll make a pretty good season of it, after all."
+
+So the new-comer walked with Cola up the straggling village street,
+past a score of fisher cottages, each with a tiny porch, pots of
+flowers in the front windows, and a bit of a garden fenced with
+wattles, to keep out the children, goats, dogs, and pigs, that swarmed
+on all sides.  At length they came to the neatly kept and
+comfortable-looking house, overlooking the whole, that White Baldwin
+called home.  Here Cabot was presented to the sweet-faced invalid
+mother, who sat beside a window of the living-room, from which she
+could look out on the little harbour, and who was eager to learn the
+details of his recent experiences that White had only found time to
+outline to her.
+
+Both mother and daughter listened with deepest interest while Cabot
+told of the loss of the "Lavinia," and when he had finished Mrs.
+Baldwin said:
+
+"You certainly made a wonderful escape, and I am grateful that my boy
+was granted the privilege of rescuing you from that dreadful raft.  I
+am confident, also, that you have been brought to this place for some
+wise purpose, and trust that you are planning to remain with us as long
+as your engagements will permit."
+
+"Thank you, madam," replied Cabot.  "I wish I might accept your
+hospitality for a week, at least.  For I am certain I should find much
+to enjoy in this delightful region.  I feel, however, that I ought to
+catch to-morrow's train, as it is rather necessary for me to reach St.
+Johns without further delay."
+
+"It seems queer," remarked Cola, "that this stupid place can strike
+even a stranger as being delightful, since there is no one to see but
+fisherfolk, who can talk of nothing but fish, and there isn't a thing
+to do but watch the boats go and come.  For my part, I am so tired of
+it all that I wish something would happen to send us away from here
+forever."
+
+"My dear!" said Mrs. Baldwin to Cola, reprovingly.
+
+"Some one seems to have found an occupation here in collecting a
+cabinet of specimens," suggested Cabot, indicating, as he spoke, some
+shelves covered with bits of rock, that had attracted his attention.
+
+"Yes," admitted Cola, "I have found some amusement in gathering those
+things; but I don't know what half of them are, and there is no one
+here to tell me."
+
+"Possibly I might help you to name some of them," said Cabot, "as I
+have a bowing acquaintance with geology."
+
+"Oh! can you?" cried the girl.  "Then I wish you would, right away, for
+I am almost certain that several of them contain minerals, and I want
+awfully to know if they are gold."
+
+The next moment the two young people were standing before the cabinet,
+deep in the mysteries of periods, ages, formations, series, and other
+profound geologic terms.  All at once Cabot paused, and, holding a bit
+of serpentine in his hand, asked:
+
+"Did this come from about here?"
+
+[Illustration: "Did this come from about here?"]
+
+"Yes; ail of them did."
+
+"Could you show me the place, or somewhere near where you found it?"
+
+"I think I could, if we had time; but not if you are going away in the
+morning, for it would take at least half a day."
+
+"Well," said Cabot, "I believe I might wait over long enough for that,
+and guess I won't start for St. Johns to-morrow, after all."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY.
+
+The Baldwins were greatly pleased at Cabot's decision to wait over a
+train; for, as Mrs. Baldwin said, a desirable guest in that
+out-of-the-way corner of the world was the greatest of luxuries.  White
+was glad to prolong the friendship so strangely begun, and also to
+escape a present necessity for leaving his work to carry Cabot to the
+distant railway station, while Cola was delighted to have found what
+she termed a geologic companion.  After it was arranged that these two
+should set forth early the following day on a search for specimens,
+Cabot strolled down to the factory to learn something of the process of
+canning lobsters.
+
+He was amazed at the change effected in so short a time.  When he
+landed at Pretty Harbour the factory had been closed, silent, and
+deserted.  Now it was a hive of bustling activity, in which every
+available person of the village, including women and children, was hard
+at work.  Fires were blazing under a number of great kettles half
+filled with boiling water.  Into these, green lobsters were tossed by
+barrowfuls, to be taken out a little later smoking hot and coloured a
+vivid scarlet.  On the packing tables their shells were broken, and the
+extracted meat was put into cans, to which covers, each with a tiny
+hole in the middle, were soldered.  Then the filled cans were steamed,
+by trayfuls, to exhaust their air; a drop of solder closed each vent,
+and they were ready for labelling and packing in cases.  White Baldwin,
+in person, superintended all these operations, while David Gidge saw to
+the unloading of the "Sea Bee," and kept sharp watch on a gang of
+shouting urchins, who were withdrawing the live lobsters from the
+outside salt-water pens, in which they had been kept while awaiting
+their fate.
+
+White was in high spirits, for the travelling agent of a St. Johns
+business house had just offered a good cash price for his entire pack.
+
+"Of course," the young proprietor said to Cabot, as they viewed the
+busy scone, "we won't make anything like what we would if we were
+allowed a whole uninterrupted season; but, if they will only let us
+alone for a week, I'll pack a thousand cases.  Those will yield enough
+to support us for a year, and before that is up I'm not afraid but that
+I'll find some other way of earning a living.  Now, if I can only get
+sufficient help, I'm going to run this factory night and day for the
+next week, unless compelled by force to stop sooner."
+
+Cabot was already so interested that he promptly volunteered to aid in
+making the all-important pack.
+
+"I don't know anything about the business," he said, "but if you can
+make use of me in any way, I shall be only too glad of a chance to
+repay a small portion of the great debt I owe you."
+
+"Nonsense!" laughed White.  "You don't owe me a thing, and I don't want
+you to feel that way.  At the same time I should be ever so glad of
+your help in getting things well started; for just now one strong
+fellow like you would be worth a dozen of those children."
+
+So, a few minutes later, Cabot, clad in overalls and an old flannel
+shirt of White's, was as hard at work as though the canning of lobsters
+was the business of his life.  Far into the night he laboured, only
+pausing long enough to go up to the house for supper; and, on the
+following morning, he was actually pleased that a heavy rain storm
+should postpone the trip for specimens, furnish him with an excuse for
+prolonging his stay, and leave him at liberty to resume his
+self-imposed task in the factory.
+
+The storm lasted for two days, at the end of which time half the pack
+had been made, and Cabot had become so familiar with all details of the
+work as to be a most valuable assistant.  On the third day, the supply
+of lobsters on hand being exhausted, operations were suspended until
+the boats could return with a new catch; and, as the weather was again
+fine, Cabot and Cola set forth on their geological exploration.
+
+It was a glorious day, with a sky of deepest blue; the hot sunshine
+tempered by a cool breeze pouring in from the sea, and all nature
+sparkling with joyous life.  To Cabot, who had thought of Newfoundland
+as a place of perpetual fog, and almost constant rain, the whole scene
+was a source of boundless delight.  As the two young people climbed the
+steep ascent behind the village, new beauties were unfolded with each
+moment, until, when they reached the crest, and could look far out over
+the islanded bay, with the placid cove and its white hamlet nestling at
+their feet, Cabot declared his belief that there was not a more
+exquisite view in all the world.
+
+After gazing their fill, the explorers plunged into a sweet-scented
+forest of spruce and birches, threaded by narrow wood roads, and
+tramped for miles, stopping now and then to examine some outcropping
+ledge or gather a handful of snow-white capilear berries.  But the main
+object of their quest, the copper-bearing serpentine, was not found
+until they had gained the summit of the Blomidon range and were in full
+view of the sea.  Then they came to a distinct outcrop of
+mineral-bearing rock that caused the eyes of the young geologist to
+glisten with anticipation.
+
+While he chipped off specimens, studied the trend of the ledge, and
+made such estimates of its character as were possible from surface
+indications, his companion climbed a rocky eminence that, short of
+Blomidon itself, commanded the most extended view of any in that
+region.  She had hardly gained the summit when she uttered a cry that
+attracted Cabot's attention and caused him to hasten in her direction.
+In a few moments he met her running breathlessly down the hill.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.  "Are you hurt?"
+
+"A warship coming up the coast," she panted.  "I saw it plainly, and we
+must get back with the news as quick as we can."
+
+Much as Cabot hated to give over the exploration of that wonderful
+copper-bearing ledge, he did not hesitate to obey the imperative call
+of friendship, and accompanied Cola with all speed back to the village.
+When they reached it they found White jubilant over the extraordinary
+catch of lobsters that was even then being brought in.
+
+"Hurrah!" he cried, as Cabot appeared.  "Biggest catch of the season,
+and you are just in time to help pack it away.  But what brings you
+back so early?  I thought you were off for all day."
+
+"Oh, White, they are coming!" gasped Cola.
+
+"Who are coming?"
+
+"A warship.  I saw it from Maintop."
+
+"British or French?"
+
+"I don't know.  I only knew it was a warship because it was so much
+bigger than the 'Harlaw' and had tall masts."
+
+"Well, it don't make any difference," growled White, "one is just as
+bad as another, and our business is ruined anyway.  Why couldn't they
+have kept away for three days longer?"
+
+"What will they do?" inquired Cabot, curiously.
+
+"I don't know," replied White, bitterly.  "Either destroy or seize the
+whole plant and leave us to starve at our leisure.  Now, I suppose we
+might as well go up to the house and tell mother.  There's no use doing
+any more work under the circumstances."
+
+"I don't see why not," objected Cabot, who was not accustomed to
+throwing up a fight before it was begun.  "There is a possibility that
+the vessel may not be a warship after all, and another that she is not
+coming to this place.  Even if she does, you don't know that she has
+any warrant for interfering with your business.  So, if I were you, I'd
+go right on with the work and keep at it until some one compelled me to
+stop.  I say, though, speaking of warrants gives me an idea.  All you
+want is three days' delay, isn't it?"
+
+"That is what I want most just now," replied White.
+
+"Well, then, why not place this property in the name of some
+friend--David Gidge, for instance--and when those men-of-war people
+begin to make trouble let him ask them whose factory it is they are
+after.  They will say yours, or your mother's, of course.  Then he'll
+speak up and say in that case they've come to the wrong place, since
+this is the property of Mr. David Gidge, while their warrant only
+mentions that of Mrs. Whiteway Baldwin.  It'll be a big bluff, of
+course, and won't work for very long, but it may puzzle 'em a bit and
+give the delay of proceedings that you require."
+
+"I believe you are right about keeping on with the work," replied
+White, thoughtfully; "though I am not so sure about the other part of
+your scheme.  Anyway, I must run to the house for a little talk with
+mother, and if you'll just set things going in the factory I shall be
+much obliged."
+
+"All right," agreed Cabot, "I'll shake 'em up."
+
+And he was as good as his word, for when, after an absence of more than
+an hour, White reappeared on the scene he found the factory in full
+blast, with its operatives working as they had never worked before, and
+Cabot Grant, the most disreputable-looking of the lot, urging them on
+by voice and example to still greater exertions.  He seemed to be
+everywhere and doing everything at once.
+
+"Hello, old man!  We've got greenbacks to burn, and we're a-burning
+'em," he cried cheerily as he paused to greet his friend, and at the
+same time dash the streaming perspiration from his face with a grimy
+hand.  "What's the news?"
+
+"The news is that you are a trump!" exclaimed White, "and that in spite
+of all you are doing for us we want you to grant us still another
+favour."
+
+"Name it, my boy, and if it is anything within reason, including a
+defiance of the whole British navy, I'll do it," laughed Cabot.
+
+"I hope you will, for it is something that we all want you to do very
+much," responded White.  "You see it's this way.  I spoke of your
+suggestion to mother, and she thought so well of it that I went to the
+magistrate and got him to draw up a deed transferring this property,
+for a nominal consideration, to a friend.  Now it is all ready for
+signatures, and we want you to be that friend."
+
+"Me!" cried Cabot, completely staggered by this unexpected result of
+his own planning.  "You can't mean that.  Why, you don't know anything
+about me.  For all you know I might never give the property back to
+you."
+
+"We are willing to risk that," replied White, "and would rather trust
+you to act for us in this matter than any one else we know.  It is a
+big favour to ask, I know; but you said you felt indebted to me and
+only wanted a chance to pay off the debt, so I thought perhaps--but if
+you don't want to do it, of course----"
+
+"But I will, if you really want me to," cried Cabot.  "I have always
+longed to own a lobster factory.  It never entered my head when I
+proposed the plan that I would help carry it out; but if you think I
+can be of the slightest assistance in that way, why of course I am only
+too glad."
+
+So the papers constituting Cabot Grant, Esq., sole owner of the Pretty
+Harbour lobster factory were duly signed and recorded; and at sunset of
+that very evening our hero stood regarding his suddenly acquired
+property with the air of one who is dubiously pleased at a prospect.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY.
+
+Cabot was not long allowed to enjoy his sense of possession before
+experiencing some of the anxieties of proprietorship; for, even as he
+stood overlooking his newly acquired factory, a clipper-built schooner,
+showing the fine lines and tall topmasts of an American, rounded the
+outer headland and entered the harbour.  For a few minutes our young
+engineer, who was learning to appreciate the good points of a vessel,
+watched her admiringly as she glided across the basin and drew near the
+factory wharf.  Then he was joined by White, who had been detained at
+the house, and they went down together to greet the new-comer.
+
+She proved to be the fishing schooner "Ruth" of Gloucester, and her
+skipper, who introduced himself as Cap'n Ezekiel Bland, explained that
+he had come to the coast after bait.
+
+"I 'lowed to get it in St. George," he said, "but there was a pesky
+French frigate that wouldn't allow the natives to sell us so much as a
+herring, though they had a-plenty and were keen to make a trade for the
+stuff I've got aboard."
+
+"What kind of stuff?" asked Cabot, curiously.
+
+"Flour and pork mostly.  You see, I'm bound on a long trip, and being
+obliged to lay in a big supply of grub anyway, thought I might as well
+stow a few extra barrels to trade for bait; but now it looks like I
+couldn't get rid of 'em unless I give 'em away."
+
+"There's plenty of bait in the bay," remarked White.
+
+"Yes, so I've heard, and a plenty of frigates, too.  The Frenchy must
+have suspicioned where I was bound, for he has followed us up sharp,
+and as we came by South Head I seen him jest a bilin' along 'bout ten
+mile astarn, and now he'll poke into every hole of the bay till he
+finds us.  Anyhow, there won't be no chance to trade long as he's
+round, for you folks don't dare say your soul's your own when there's a
+Frenchy on the coast."
+
+"Nor hardly at any other time," remarked White, moodily.
+
+"There's another one, too--Britisher, I reckon--went up the bay towards
+Humber Arm ahead of us.  I only wish the two tarnal critters would get
+into a scrap and blow each other out of the water.  Then there'd be
+some chance for honest folks to make a living.  Now I'm up a stump and
+don't know what to do, unless some of you people can let me have a few
+barrels of bait right off, so's I can clear out again to-night."
+
+"There isn't any to be had here," replied White, "for this is a lobster
+factory, and the whole business of the place, just at present, is
+catching and canning lobsters.  You'll find some round at York Harbour,
+though."
+
+"No use going there now, nor anywhere else, long as that pesky
+Frenchman's on the lookout.  Can't think what made him leave St. Pierre
+in such a hurry.  Thought he was good to stay there a week longer at
+any rate.  But say, who owns this factory?"
+
+"This gentleman is the proprietor," replied White, indicating his
+companion as he spoke.
+
+"Hm!" ejaculated the Yankee skipper, regarding Cabot with an air of
+interest.  "Never should have took you to be the owner of a
+Newfoundland lobster factory.  Sized you up to be a Yankee same as
+myself, and reckoned you was here on a visit.  Seeing as you are the
+boss, though, how'd you like to trade your pack for my cargo--lobsters
+for groceries?  Both of us might make a good thing out of it.  Eh?
+I'll take all the risks, and neither of us needn't pay no duty."
+
+"Can't do it," replied Cabot promptly, "because, in the first place,
+I'm not in the smuggling business, and in the second our whole pack is
+engaged by parties in St. Johns."
+
+"As for the smuggling part," responded Captain Bland, "I wouldn't let
+that worry me a little bit.  Everybody smuggles on this coast, which is
+neither British, French, nor Newfoundland.  So a man wouldn't rightly
+know who to pay duties to, even if he wanted to pay 'em ever so bad,
+which most of us don't.  If you have engaged your goods to St. Johns,
+though, of course a bargain is a bargain.  Same time I could afford to
+pay you twice as much as any St. Johns merchant.  But it don't matter
+much one way or another, seeing as the idea of trading was only an idea
+as you may say that just popped into my head.  Well, so long.  It's
+coming on dark, and I must be getting aboard.  See you to-morrow,
+mebbe."
+
+As the Yankee skipper took his departure, Cabot and White turned into
+the factory, where all night long fires blazed and roared beneath the
+seething kettles.
+
+Until nearly noon of the following day the work of canning lobsters was
+continued without interruption, and pushed with all possible energy.
+Then a boy, who had been posted outside the harbour as a lookout, came
+hurrying in to report that he had seen a naval launch steaming in that
+direction.
+
+The emergency for which Cabot had been planning ever since he consented
+to become the responsible head of the concern was close at hand, and he
+at once began to take measures to meet it.
+
+"Draw your fires," he shouted.  "Empty the kettles and cool them off.
+Pass all cans, empty or full, up into the loft, and then every one of
+you clear out.  Remember that you are not to know a thing about the
+factory, if anybody asks questions, and you don't even want to give any
+one a chance to ask questions if you can help it.  Run up to the
+house," he added, turning to the boy who had brought tidings of the
+enemy's approach, "and tell Mrs. Baldwin, with my compliments, that the
+carriage is ready for her drive."
+
+So thoroughly had everything been explained and understood beforehand,
+and so promptly were these orders obeyed, that, half an hour later,
+when a jaunty man-of-war's launch, flying a British Jack, entered the
+little harbour, every preparation had been made for her reception.  The
+factory, closed and silent, presented no outward sign that it had been
+in operation for months.  Those who had recently worked so
+industriously within its weather-stained walls now lounged about their
+own house doors, or on the village street, as though they had nothing
+to do, and limitless leisure in which to do it.  White Baldwin, with
+his mother and sister, had driven away in a cart, leaving their
+tenantless house with closed doors and tightly shuttered windows.
+Cabot Grant, with hands thrust into his trousers pockets, leaned
+against a wharf post and surveyed the oncoming launch with languid
+curiosity.  The Yankee schooner swung gracefully at her moorings, and
+from her a boat was pulling towards shore; while on the deck of the
+"Sea Bee," also anchored in the stream, David Gidge placidly smoked a
+pipe.
+
+The launch slowed down as it neared him, and an officer inquired in the
+crisp tones of authority:
+
+"What place is this?"
+
+Deliberately taking the pipe from his mouth, and looking about him as
+though to refresh his memory, Mr. Gidge answered:
+
+"I've heard it called by a number of names."
+
+"Was one of them Pretty Harbour?"
+
+"Now that you mention it, I believe it were."
+
+"What kind of a building is that?" continued the officer, sharply,
+pointing to the factory as he spoke.
+
+David gazed at the building with interest, as though now seeing it for
+the first time.
+
+"Looks to me like a barn," he said at length.  "Same time it might be a
+church, though I don't reckon it is."
+
+"Isn't it a lobster factory?"
+
+"They might make lobsters in it, but I don't think they does.  Mebbe
+that young man on the wharf could tell ye.  He looks knowing."
+
+Disgusted at this exhibition of stupidity, and muttering something
+about a chuckle-headed idiot, the officer motioned for his launch to
+move ahead, and, in another minute, it lay alongside the wharf.
+
+"Is this the Pretty Harbour lobster factory?" demanded the officer as
+he stepped ashore.
+
+"I believe it was formerly used as a lobster cannery," replied Cabot,
+guardedly, "but no business of the kind is being carried on here at
+present."
+
+"It is owned by the family of the late William Baldwin, is it not?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Who then does own the property?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"You!" exclaimed the officer.  "And pray, sir, who are you?"
+
+"I am an American citizen named Grant, and have recently acquired this
+property by purchase."
+
+"Indeed.  Then of course you possess papers showing the transfer of
+ownership."
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"I should like to look at them."
+
+"They have been sent for record to the county seat, where any one who
+chooses may examine them."
+
+"Where shall I find a person by the name of Whiteway Baldwin?"
+
+"I can't tell you, as he has left the place."
+
+"Is any member of his family here?"
+
+"No.  All of them went with him."
+
+"Have you the keys of this factory?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"Then I must trouble you to open it, as I wish to look inside."
+
+As the two entered the building, and the officer caught sight of the
+machinery used in canning lobsters, he said:
+
+"I am very sorry, Mr. Grant, but I have orders to destroy everything
+found in this factory that has been, or may be, used in the canning of
+lobsters."
+
+"Those orders apply to the property of Mrs. William Baldwin, do they
+not?"
+
+"They do."
+
+"Then, sir, since she no longer owns this building, and I do, together
+with all that it contains, I warn you that if you destroy one penny's
+worth of my property I shall at once bring suit for damages against
+both you and your commanding officer.  I can command plenty of money
+and a powerful influence at home, both of which shall be brought to
+bear on the case.  If it goes against you my claim will be pressed by
+the American Government at the Court of St. James.  Moreover, articles
+concerning the outrage will be published in all the leading American
+papers.  Public sentiment will be aroused, and you doubtless know as
+well as any one whether England, with all the troubles now on her
+hands, can afford to incur the ill will of the American people for the
+sake of a pitiful lobster factory.  You can see for yourself that no
+illegal business--nor in fact business of any kind--is being carried on
+here at present, and, under the circumstances, I would advise you to
+take time for serious reflection before you begin to destroy the
+property of an American citizen."
+
+Bewildered by this unexpected aspect of the situation, and remembering
+how a suit brought by the proprietors of that same factory had gone
+against a former British commander who had interfered with its
+operations, the officer hemmed and hawed and made several remarks
+uncomplimentary to Americans, but finally decided to lay the case
+before his captain.  As he reentered his launch he said:
+
+"Of course you understand, sir, that no work of any kind is to be done
+in this building between this and the time of my return, nor may
+anything whatever be removed from it."
+
+"I understand perfectly," replied Cabot.  Yet within half an hour the
+employees of the factory had returned to their tasks, fires had been
+re-lighted, kettles were boiling merrily, and the place again hummed
+with busy activity.
+
+"Young feller, it was the biggest bluff I ever see, and it worked!"
+exclaimed Captain Ezekiel Bland a few minutes earlier, as he stood on
+the wharf with Cabot watching the departing launch.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+ENGLAND AND FRANCE COME TO BLOWS.
+
+The Baldwins returned to their home shortly after the departure of the
+discomfited officer, and listened with intense interest to Cabot's
+report of all that had taken place during their absence.
+
+"So one but a Yankee would have thought of such a plan!" exclaimed
+White, "or had the cheek to carry it out.  But it makes me feel as mean
+as dirt to have run away and left you to face the music alone."
+
+"You needn't," replied Cabot, "for your absence was one of the most
+important things, and I couldn't possibly have carried out the
+programme if you had been there.  Now, though, we've got to hustle, for
+I expect that navy chap will be back again to-morrow, and whatever we
+can accomplish between now and then will probably end the
+lobster-packing business so far as this factory is concerned."
+
+That night the workers received a reinforcement, as unexpected as it
+was welcome, from the crew of the Yankee schooner, who, led by Captain
+Bland, came to assist their fellow countryman in his struggle against
+foreign oppression.  With this timely and expert aid, the canning
+business was so rushed that by ten o'clock of the next morning, when
+the lookout again reported a launch to be approaching, every can was
+filled and the pack was completed.  More than half of it had also been
+removed from the factory and stowed aboard the "Sea Bee," ready for
+delivery to the St. Johns purchaser.
+
+"I wish he were here now," said White, "so that we might settle up our
+business with him before those chaps arrive."
+
+"Well, he isn't," replied Cabot, "and we must protect the goods as best
+we can until he comes.  In the meantime I think you'd better disappear
+and leave me to manage alone, the same as I did yesterday."
+
+"No.  I won't run away again.  I'm going to stay and face the music."
+
+"All right," agreed Cabot.  "Perhaps it will be just as well, since the
+factory is closed sure enough this time.  You must let me do all the
+talking, though, and perhaps in some way we'll manage to scare 'em off
+again."
+
+"If we could have just one day more we'd be all right," said White,
+"but there they come.  Only, I say!  They are Frenchmen this time.  See
+the flag."
+
+Sure enough.  Instead of flying the British Union Jack the launch that
+now appeared in the harbour displayed the tri-colour of the French
+Republic.  Thus, when Cabot and White reached the wharf, they were just
+in time to greet their acquaintance of St. Pierre, the lieutenant of
+the French frigate "Isla," whom White had so neatly outwitted in that
+port.  As he stepped ashore he was accompanied by a sharp-featured,
+black-browed individual, whom White recognised as M. Delom, proprietor
+of a French lobster factory located on another shore of the bay.
+
+"That chap has come for pickings and stealings," he remarked in a low
+tone.
+
+"Shouldn't wonder," returned Cabot, "for he looks like a thief."
+
+"Ah, ha, Monsieur Baldwin!  I haf catch you zis time, an' you cannot
+now gif me what you call ze sleep," cried the French lieutenant.  "Also
+I am come to siz your property, for you may no more can ze lob of ze
+Francaise.  Behol'!  I have ze aut'orization."
+
+So saying, the officer drew forth and unfolded with a flourish a paper
+that he read aloud.  It was an order for the confiscation and removal
+of all property owned by a person, or persons, named Baldwin, and used
+by them contrary to law in canning lobsters on the French territory of
+Newfoundland, and it was signed: "Charmian, Capitan de Fregate."
+
+"So, Monsieur Baldwin," continued the officer, when he had finished the
+reading, "you will gif to me ze key of your factory zat I may from it
+remof ze materiel.  I sall also take your schooner for to convey it to
+ze factory of M. Delom.  Is it plain, ma intention?"
+
+"Your intention is only too plain," responded White.  "You are come to
+aid that thief in stealing my property; but you are too late, for the
+factory no longer belongs to the Baldwin family."
+
+"Ah!  Is it so?  Who zen belong to it?"
+
+"This gentleman is the present owner," replied White, "and you must
+arrange your business with him."
+
+"Who is he?" demanded the Frenchman, surveying Cabot contemptuously
+from head to foot.  "But I do not care.  Ze material mus all ze same be
+remof."
+
+"I am an American citizen," interrupted Cabot, "and I forbid you to
+touch my property.  If you do so I shall claim damages through the
+American government, and in the meantime I shall call on the British
+frigate now in this bay for protection."
+
+"For ze Americains I do not care," cried the Frenchman, assuming a
+theatrical attitude.  "For l'Anglais, pouf!  I also care not.  When it
+is my duty I do him.  Ze material mus be remof.  Allons, mes garcons."
+
+A dozen French bluejackets, armed with cutlasses and pistols, had
+gathered behind their leader, and now these sprang forward with a
+shout, clearing a way through the collected throng of villagers.
+Advancing upon the main entrance to the factory, they quickly battered
+down its door and rushed inside.  With them went swarthy-faced Delom,
+who gloated over the spoil that now seemed within his grasp, and which
+would make his own factory the best equipped on the coast, he was
+especially pleased to note the pack all boxed ready for shipment, and
+our lads saw him direct the officer's attention to it.  As a result the
+latter gave an order, and in another minute a file of French
+bluejackets, each with a case of canned lobster on his shoulder, was
+marching towards the door.
+
+Just as they reached it there came a shout and a tramp of heavy feet
+from the outside.  Then a stern voice cried:
+
+"Halt!  What are you doing here, you French beggars?  Drop those boxes
+and clear out."
+
+As the Frenchmen halted irresolute, their officer, who could not see
+what was going on, but imagined that some of the villagers were
+blocking the entrance, shouted for them to march on and clear away the
+canaille who dared oppose them.
+
+The French bluejackets attempted to obey, but, with their first forward
+movement, they were met by an inrush of sturdy British sailors, who
+sent them and their burdens crashing to the floor in every direction.
+Some of them as they regained their feet drew their cutlasses, while
+others fell upon the new-comers with their fists.  A pistol shot rang
+out, and a British sailor pitched heavily forward.  At the same instant
+both officers sprang into the melee, beating back their men with the
+flat of their swords, and fiercely ordering them to desist from further
+fighting.
+
+[Illustration: Others fell on the new-comers with their fists.]
+
+So sharp had been the brief encounter between these hereditary enemies,
+that as they sullenly withdrew their clutch from each other's throats a
+British sailor remained on the floor striving to staunch the blood that
+spurted from a bullet wound in his leg, while near at hand lay a French
+bluejacket, as white and motionless as though dead.  Another Frenchman
+had a broken arm, while several others on both sides looked askance at
+their enemies from blackened eyes and swollen faces.
+
+"Sir!" cried the French lieutenant, the moment order was so far
+restored that he could make himself heard, "I am bidden by my
+commandant, ze Chevalier Charmian, capitan de frigate 'Isla,' to remof
+all material from zis building, and in his name I protest against zis
+mos outrage interference."
+
+"Sir," answered the British officer, "I am ordered by my captain to
+destroy all property contained in this building, and not permit the
+removal of a single article."
+
+"But I will not allow it destroyed!"
+
+"And I will not allow it removed."
+
+For a moment the two glared at each other in speechless rage.  Then the
+Frenchman said:
+
+"As humanity compels me to gif immediate attention to my men, wounded
+by ze unprovoked assault of your barbarians, I sall at once carry zem
+to my sheep, where I sail immediately also report zis outrage to my
+commandant."
+
+"Same here," replied the Englishman, laconically, and with this both
+officers ordered their men to fall back to the launches, carrying with
+them their wounded comrades.
+
+During the progress of this thrilling episode our two lads had watched
+it in breathless excitement without once thinking of leaving the
+building, though a back door opened close at hand.  So intent were they
+upon what was taking place that they did not notice the approach of a
+third person until he was close beside them and had addressed White by
+name.  He was the St. Johns travelling man, who had engaged the Baldwin
+pack for his firm, and now he said in low, hurried tones:
+
+"You fellows want to skip out of this while you can, for that British
+officer has got orders to arrest you both and carry you to St. Johns
+for trial.  Charges--contempt of court and carrying on an illegal
+business.  Awfully sorry I can't take your goods, but order has been
+issued that any one handling them will also be arrested and subject to
+heavy fine.  Hurry up.  They are making a move, and he'll be looking
+for you directly.  Don't let on that I gave you the tip."
+
+With this the man moved away, and without exchanging a word our lads
+slipped out of the nearby door.
+
+So fully was the British officer occupied in getting his men back to
+their launch without making another attack upon their hated rivals,
+that not until all were safely on board did he remember that he had
+been charged to bring off two prisoners.  Now he was in a quandary.
+Those whom he desired were nowhere to be seen, and he dared not leave
+his men, whose fighting blood was still at fever heat, long enough to
+go in search of them.  Also the French launch was about to depart, and
+it would never do for the captain of the "Isla" to be informed of the
+recent unfortunate encounter in advance of his own commander.  So, with
+a last futile look ashore, he reluctantly gave the order to shove off,
+and side by side, their crews screaming taunts at each other, the two
+launches raced out of the harbour.
+
+As Cabot and White watched them from a place of snug concealment, the
+latter heaved a sigh of relief, saying:
+
+"Well, I'm mighty glad they're gone, and haven't got us with them; but
+I do wish that fight could have lasted a few minutes longer."
+
+"Wasn't it lovely!" retorted Cabot, "and isn't the lobster industry on
+this coast just about the most exciting business in the world!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A PRISONER OF WAR.
+
+With the disappearance of the launches our lads realised that it was
+time to make new plans for immediate action.  So, as they walked slowly
+back towards the village, they earnestly discussed the situation.
+
+"It is too bad that I have drawn you into such a scrape," said White,
+"and the very first thing for me to do is to make an effort to get you
+out of it.  So, if you like, I will drive you over to the station this
+afternoon, where you can take the morning train for St. Johns."
+
+"No," replied Cabot, "that wouldn't do at all.  In the first place, you
+didn't draw me into the scrape.  I went into it with my eyes open, and
+am quite ready to stand by what I have done.  In fact I rather enjoy it
+than otherwise.  At the same time I do not propose to be arrested if I
+can help it, and for that reason do not care to visit St. Johns at
+present.  Even at the railway station we should be very likely to meet
+and be recognised by some of our recent unpleasant naval acquaintances.
+Besides, I am going to see this thing through, and shall stand by you
+just as long as I can be of any service, for I hope you don't think so
+meanly of me as to imagine that I would desert in the time of his
+trouble the fellow who saved my life."
+
+"I never for one moment thought meanly of you," declared White, "and I
+know that in rescuing you from that raft I also gained for myself one
+of the best friends I ever had.  For that very reason, though, I don't
+want to abuse your friendship."
+
+"All right," laughed Cabot.  "Whenever I feel abused I'll let you know.
+And now, it being settled that we are to fight this thing out together,
+what do you propose to do with the pack we have worked so hard to make?"
+
+"I don't know," replied White, despondently; "but, as it is legally
+your property, I think you ought to decide what is to be done with it."
+
+"Nonsense!" retorted Cabot.  "It no more really belongs to me than it
+does to that black-faced Frenchman.  At the same time I'd fight rather
+than let him have it."
+
+"I'd toss every case into the sea first," cried White, "and everything
+the factory contains besides."
+
+"'Same here,' as the Englishman said; but I guess we can do better than
+that.  Why not accept Captain Bland's offer, and trade it to him for
+groceries?"
+
+"I thought you were opposed to receiving smuggled goods?"
+
+"So I am on general principles," admitted Cabot, "but circumstances
+alter cases.  I consider the highway robbery that two of the most
+powerful nations of the world are attempting right here a circumstance
+strong enough to alter any case.  So I would advise you to accept the
+only offer now remaining open.  You will at least get enough groceries
+to keep your family supplied for a year."
+
+"I should say so, and for two years more, provided the goods didn't
+spoil."
+
+"Then you might sell what you couldn't use."
+
+"Where?" asked White.  "Not in Newfoundland, for they would be seized
+as contraband in any part of the island.  Besides, you seem to forget
+that as both of us are liable to arrest, we are hardly in a position to
+go into the grocery business just at present."
+
+"That's so.  Well, then, why not carry them somewhere else in the 'Sea
+Bee'?  To Canada, or--I have it!  You said something once about making
+a trading trip to Labrador, and now is the very opportunity.  Why
+shouldn't we take the goods to Labrador?  I don't believe we'd be
+arrested in that country, even for smuggling, and they must need a lot
+of provisions up there.  It's the very thing, and the sooner we can
+arrange to be off the better."
+
+"But you don't want to go to Labrador," protested White.
+
+"Don't I?  There's where you make a big mistake; for I do want to go to
+Labrador more than to any other place I know of.  Also I would rather
+go there with you in the 'Sea Bee' than in any other company, or by any
+other conveyance.  So there you are, and if you don't invite me to
+start for Labrador before that brass-bound navy chap has a chance to
+arrest me, I shall consider myself a victim of misplaced confidence."
+
+"I do believe you have hit upon the very best way out of our troubles,"
+said White, thoughtfully.  "If I could arrange to leave mother, and if
+the Yankee captain would make a part payment in cash, so that she and
+Cola could get along until my return, I believe I would go."
+
+"You can leave your mother and sister now as well as when you went to
+St. Johns, and better, for I am sure David Gidge would look out for
+them during the month or so that we'll be away."
+
+"But David would have to go along to help work the schooner."
+
+"I don't see why.  You and I could manage without him, and so save his
+wages, or his share of the voyage, which would amount to the same
+thing.  If one man can sail a 30-foot boat around the world alone, as
+Captain Slocum did, two of us certainly ought to be able to take a
+50-foot schooner up to Labrador and back.  Any way I'm game to try it,
+if you are, and I'd a heap rather risk it than stay here to be
+arrested.  There is Captain Bland now.  Let's go and talk with him."
+
+The Yankee skipper stood near the shattered door of the factory in
+company with a number of villagers, all of whom seemed greatly
+interested in something going on inside.  As our lads drew near these
+made way for them, and Captain Bland said:
+
+"'Pears like the new owner is making himself perfectly at home."
+
+Inside the factory the Frenchman Delom, who had remained behind to make
+good his claim to the confiscated property of his rival, was too busily
+at work to pay any attention to the disparaging remarks and muttered
+threats of those whom he had forbidden to enter.  He had collected all
+the tools and lighter machinery into a pile ready for removal, and was
+now marking with his own stencil such of the filled cases as remained
+on the lower floor.
+
+So dreaded was the power of France on that English coast that up to
+that moment no one had dared interfere with him, but Cabot Grant was
+not troubled by a fear of France or any other nation, and, as he
+realised what was going on, he sprang into the building.  The next
+instant our young football player had that Frenchman by the collar and
+was rushing him towards the doorway.  From it he projected him so
+violently that the man measured his length on the ground a full rod
+beyond it.
+
+Livid with rage at this assault, the Frenchman scrambled to his feet,
+whipped out an ugly-looking knife, and started towards Cabot with
+murderous intent.
+
+[Illustration: Livid with rage, the Frenchman whipped out an
+ugly-looking knife.]
+
+"No you don't," shouted Captain Bland, and in another moment Monsieur
+Delom's arms were pinioned behind him, while he struggled helplessly in
+the iron grasp of the Yankee skipper.
+
+"I think we'd better tie him," remarked the latter quietly.  "'Tain't
+safe to let a varmint like this loose on any community."
+
+White produced a rope and was stepping forward with it, but Cabot took
+it from him, saying: "For the sake of your family you mustn't have
+anything to do with this affair."  So he and Captain Bland bound the
+Frenchman hand and foot, took away his knife, and carried him for
+present safe keeping to a small, dark building that was used for the
+storage of fish oil.  Here they locked him in, and left him to meditate
+at leisure on the fate of those who have done to them, what they would
+do to others if they could.
+
+"Well," said Captain Bland, at the conclusion of this incident, "you
+young fellers always seem to have something interesting on hand; what
+are you going to do next?  Are you going to skin out, or wait for the
+return of the French and English fleets?  I'd like to know, 'cause I
+want to be getting a move on; but if there's going to be any more fun I
+expect I'll have to wait and take it in."
+
+"I expect our next move depends very largely on you, captain," replied
+White.  "Are you still willing to trade your cargo for our pack?"
+
+"I might be, and then again I mightn't," answered the Yankee, as he
+meditatively chewed a blade of grass.  "You see, the risk of the thing
+has been so increased during the past two days that I couldn't make
+nigh so good an offer now as I could at first.  Also, here's so many
+claiming the pack of this factory that I'm in considerable doubt as to
+who is the rightful owner.  First there's the Baldwin interest and the
+American interest, represented by you two chaps.  Then there's the St.
+Johns interest, represented by that travelling man; the British
+interest, which is a mighty powerful one, seeing that it is supported
+by the English navy; the French government interest, which is likewise
+backed up by a fleet of warships, and the French factory interest,
+represented by our friend in limbo, who, though he isn't saying much
+just now, seems to have a pretty strong political pull.  So, on the
+whole, the ownership appears to be muddled, and the pack itself subject
+to a good many conflicting claims.  I expect also that the factory
+workmen and the lobster catchers have some sort of a lien on it for
+services rendered."
+
+"Look here, Captain Bland," said Cabot, "we understand perfectly that
+all you have just said is trade talk, made to depreciate the value of
+our goods, and you know as well as I do that they have but one rightful
+owner."
+
+"Who is that?" asked the skipper with an air of interest.
+
+"Mrs. William Baldwin."
+
+"But I thought she deeded the property to you."
+
+"So she did; but as I am not yet of age that deed is worth no more than
+the paper on which it is written."
+
+"You don't mean it.  What a whopping big bluff it was then!" cried
+Captain Bland, admiringly.  "Beats any I ever heard of, and I'm proud
+to know 'twas a Yankee that worked it.  What you say does alter the
+situation considerable, and I'd like to have Miss Baldwin's own views
+on the subject of a trade."
+
+In accordance with this wish an adjournment was made to the house,
+where Mrs. Baldwin assured the Yankee skipper of her willingness to
+abide by any agreement made with him by her son and Mr. Grant.
+
+"Which so simplifies matters, ma'am," replied the captain, "that I
+think we may consider a trade as already effected, and make bold to say
+that this season's pack of the Pretty Harbour lobster factory will be
+sold somewhere's else besides Newfoundland."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE.
+
+The arrangement made with the Yankee skipper was satisfactory, save in
+one respect.  He was willing to trade provisions for canned lobsters to
+the extent of taking the entire pack, and he also offered to remove the
+machinery outfit of the factory on the chance of finding a purchaser
+for it in the States, but he refused to make any cash advance on the
+goods.
+
+"I'm willing," he said, "to risk considerable for the sake of being
+accommodating, and with the hope of making a little something, but I
+can't afford to risk cold cash."
+
+"I don't see how we can make a trade, then," remarked White, as he and
+Cabot discussed the situation.  "It will take every penny I've got to
+pay off the hands, and though I believe we could make a good thing out
+of a Labrador trip, I can't leave mother and Cola without a cent while
+I'm away.  If he would only let me have fifty dollars----"
+
+"He won't, though," interrupted Cabot, "but I will.  I have got just
+that amount of money with me, and, as I shan't have any use for it in
+Labrador, I should be more than pleased to leave it here for safe
+keeping."
+
+White at first refused to take his friend's money; but on Cabot's
+declaring that he had plenty more on deposit in St. Johns, he
+gratefully accepted the loan, which he promised to repay from the very
+first sale of goods they should make.
+
+Everything being thus arranged, preparations for departure were pushed
+with all speed.  Such of the pack as remained in the factory was
+hurried aboard the "Ruth" by a score of willing workers, who also
+transferred to her every tool and bit of machinery, including the big
+kettles.  Then she and the "Sea Bee," the latter manned by two of the
+Yankee sailors, with David Gidge as pilot, sailed from the harbour, and
+were lost to sight beyond its protecting headland.
+
+The next hour was spent in settling with the lobster catchers and those
+who had been employed in the factory, each of whom was warned to give
+no information concerning the movements of the two schooners.  This was
+barely finished when the boy who had been posted outside immediately
+after the departure of the naval launches came hurrying in with news
+that both of them were returning.
+
+"My!" cried Cabot, "but I'd like to see the fun when they get here."
+
+"I am afraid you'd see more than enough of it," replied White, "for
+they'll be keen on getting us this time.  So we'd best be starting.
+Hold on a minute, though; I want to leave proof behind that we haven't
+gone off with either of the schooners."
+
+With this he ran down to the oil house, in which their well-nigh
+forgotten prisoner was still confined.  Flinging open the door, he
+said, in a tone of well-feigned regret:
+
+"It is too bad, Monsieur Delom, that you should have been kept so long
+in this wretched place, but I dared not attempt your release while
+those terrible Yankees were here.  Now, however, they are gone and you
+are once more free.  Also, as I realise that I can no longer maintain
+my factory here, you are at liberty to make what use you please of its
+contents.  Accept my congratulations on your good fortune, monsieur.
+As for me, I must now leave you to prepare for my journey to St. Johns."
+
+With this White bade the bewildered Frenchman a mocking adieu, and left
+him still blinking at the sunlight from which he had been so long
+secluded.
+
+A few minutes later the Baldwin house again stood, closed and
+tenantless, while a cart driven by Cola, and accompanied by the two
+young men on foot, climbed the hill back of the village by a road
+leading to the nearest railway station.  Monsieur Delom witnessed this
+departure, as did many others, but no one saw the cart leave the
+highway a little later and turn into a dim trail leading through an
+otherwise pathless forest.  After a time it emerged from this on
+another road and came to a farmhouse to which Mrs. Baldwin had
+previously been taken.  Here mother and son bade each other farewell,
+while the former also prayed for a blessing upon the stranger who had
+so befriended them, and whose fortunes had become so curiously linked
+with theirs.  Then the cart with Cola still acting as driver rattled
+away, and was quickly lost to sight.
+
+It lacked but an hour of sunset when our refugees reached a pocket on
+the outer coast, in which the two schooners lay snugly, side by side,
+nearly filling the tiny harbour.  On the beach David Gidge already
+waited, and, as the lads transferred their few effects to the boat that
+had brought him ashore, he climbed stiffly into the cart which Cola was
+to guide back over the way it had just come.
+
+"Good-bye, Cola," said Cabot, as he held for a moment the hand of the
+girl he had come to regard almost as a sister.  "Try and have a lot of
+specimens ready for me when we come back."
+
+"Good-bye, sister!" cried White.  "Take care of mother, and don't let
+her worry about us.  We'll be back almost before you have time to miss
+us.  Good-bye, David!  I trust you to look out for them because you
+have promised."
+
+"Oh! how I wish I were a boy and going with you," exclaimed Cola.  "It
+is so stupid to be left behind with nothing to do but just wait.  Do
+please hurry back."
+
+"All right," replied her brother.  "With good luck we'll sail into
+Pretty Harbour inside of a month, and perhaps with money enough to take
+us all to the States."
+
+"Oh, wouldn't that be splendid!   Do get started, for the sooner you
+are off the quicker you'll come back," cried the girl.
+
+"That's so.  Come on, Cabot," and in another minute the boat had shot
+out from the beach, while the cart was slowly climbing the rugged trail
+that led inland.
+
+On reaching the schooners our lads found Captain Bland impatiently
+awaiting them, since the transfer of goods was nearly completed, and he
+was anxious to get his compromising cargo away from the coast patrolled
+by those meddlesome frigates.
+
+"Let me once get beyond the three-mile limit," he said, "and I wouldn't
+mind meeting a fleet of 'em; if either one of 'em caught me in here,
+though, I'd not only stand to lose cargo, but schooner as well.  So I
+reckon we'd best get a move on at once, and talk business while we tow
+out."
+
+As our lads wore equally desirous of gaining a safe distance from the
+authorities they had so openly defied, they readily agreed to Captain
+Bland's proposal, and four dories, each manned by a couple of stalwart
+Yankee fishermen, were ordered to tow the schooners from their snug
+hiding place.  While this was going on, and White was busily engaged on
+the deck of the "Sea Bee," Cabot and Captain Bland were examining
+invoices and price lists in her cabin.
+
+"Here's a list of all I've put aboard," said the latter, "and you'll
+see I've only made a small freight charge over and above the cost price
+in Boston.  Same time I've allowed for your pack the full market price
+on canned lobsters according to latest St. Johns quotations, and you
+ought not to sell a single barrel at less 'n one hundred per cent.
+clear profit.  As for the kettles and tools, here's an order on my
+owners in Gloucester for them, or what they'll fetch less a freight
+charge, provided I get 'em there all right; but I want both you and
+young Baldwin to sign this release that frees me from all claims for
+loss of property in case anything happens to 'em."
+
+"I am perfectly willing to sign it," replied Cabot, "because I have no
+ownership in the property, but I shouldn't think Baldwin would care to
+give such a release."
+
+"I guess he will, though," said the skipper.
+
+And he was right, for White readily consented to sign the paper, saying
+that the property would have been lost anyhow if it had been left
+behind.  "I have also full faith that Captain Bland will do the right
+thing about it," he added, "for, while I have always found you Yankees
+sharp as knives in a trade, I have yet to meet one whom I wouldn't
+trust."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Baldwin," said the skipper, "and I shall try my best
+not to be the first to abuse your confidence."
+
+So the paper was signed, and White had barely laid down his pen when
+the occupants of the cabin were startled by a loud cry from above,
+followed almost immediately by a distant shot.  Hurrying on deck they
+found that the schooner had reached open water and was beginning to
+feel the influence of an offshore breeze.  At the same time the man
+whom White had left at the tiller was pointing up the coast, where they
+caught sight of a steam launch that had just cleared South Head.
+
+"He fired a shot at us," announced the steersman.
+
+"That's all right 'long's he didn't hit us," replied Captain Bland.
+"It is our French friend, and he only took that way of hinting that he
+wished us to wait for him.  I don't think we can afford the time just
+now, though--leastways, I can't.  Hello there in boats!  Drop your tow
+lines and come alongside."
+
+"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away from him?" asked
+Cabot.
+
+"Dunno.  Mebbe, if the breeze freshens, as I believe it will.  Anyhow,
+I'm going to give him a race for his money.  Good-bye!  Good luck, and
+I hope we'll meet again before long."
+
+So saying Captain Bland, taking the steersman with him, stepped into a
+dory that had come alongside and was rowed towards his own schooner.
+He had hardly gained her deck before she set main and jib topsails and
+a big main staysail.  Our lads also sprang to their own sails, and
+spread to the freshening breeze every stitch of canvas that the "Sea
+Bee" possessed.  When they next found time to look at the "Ruth," White
+uttered an exclamation of astonishment, for she had already gained a
+good half mile on them and was moving with the speed of a steam yacht.
+
+"There's no chance of the Yankee being caught," he said enviously, "but
+there's a mighty big one that we will."
+
+Although the "Sea Bee" was holding a course in the wake of the "Ruth,"
+and was heeled handsomely over before the same freshening breeze, she
+was not doing so well by a half, and it was evident that in a long run
+the launch must overtake her.
+
+"She is certainly gaining on us," said Cabot, after a long look, and he
+had hardly spoken before a second shot from the launch plumped a ball
+into the water abreast of the little schooner and not two rods away.
+
+White, who was at the tiller, glanced nervously backward.  "Do you want
+to heave to and let them overhaul us?" he asked.
+
+"Certainly not," replied Cabot promptly.  "They have no right to meddle
+with us out here, and I would keep straight on without paying the
+slightest attention to them until they either sink us or get alongside."
+
+"All right," laughed the other.  "I only wanted to make sure how you
+felt.  Some fellows, you know, don't like to have cannon balls fired at
+them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+OFF FOR LABRADOR.
+
+Slowly but surely the launch gained on the flying schooner, until, as
+the sun was sinking behind its western horizon of water, she fired a
+shot that passed through the "Sea Bee's" mainsail and fell a hundred
+yards beyond her.
+
+"Wh-e-e-w!" exclaimed White, as he glanced up at the clean-cut hole.
+"That's rather too close for comfort, and I shouldn't be surprised if
+the next one made splinters fly.  However, it will soon be dark, and
+then, if we are not disabled, we may be able to give them the slip."
+
+"I don't believe there's going to be another shot," cried Cabot, who
+was gazing eagerly astern.  "No--yes--hurrah!  They are turning back.
+They have given it up, old man, and we are safe.  Bully for us!  I
+wonder what possesses them to do such a thing, though, when they had so
+nearly caught us?"
+
+"Can't imagine," replied White, who was also staring at the launch,
+which certainly had circled back and was making towards the place
+whence she had come.  "They are afraid to be caught out at sea after
+dark perhaps.  I always understood that Frenchmen made mighty poor
+sailors.  Lucky thing for us she wasn't a British launch, for they'd
+have kept on around the world but what they'd had us."
+
+In justice to the Frenchmen it should be said that their reason for
+turning back, which our lads did not learn until long afterwards, was
+the imminent exhaustion of their coal supply, which, not calculated for
+a long cruise, would barely serve to carry them back to the Bay of
+Islands.
+
+By the time the launch was lost to sight in the growing dusk the "Ruth"
+had also disappeared.  She was headed southward when last seen, and now
+White said it was time that they, too, were turning towards their
+ultimate destination.  So, topsails and mainstaysail were taken in, and
+the helm was put down until fore and mainsails jibed over.  Then sheets
+were trimmed until the little schooner, with lee rail awash, was
+running something east of north, on an easy bowline, carrying a bone in
+her teeth and leaving a bubbling wake trailing far astern.  With
+everything thus satisfactorily in shape, White lighted the binnacle
+lamp, and giving Cabot a course to steer, went below to prepare the
+first meal of their long cruise.  "You must keep a sharp lookout," he
+said as he disappeared down the companionway, "for I don't dare show
+any lights.  So if we are run into we'll have only ourselves to blame."
+
+Left thus to his own devices, Cabot realised for the first time the
+responsibility of his position and began to reflect seriously upon what
+he had done.  Until this time one disturbing event had followed another
+so rapidly that he had been borne along almost without a thought of
+what he was doing or of the consequences.  As a result, instead of
+carrying out the purpose for which he had been sent to Newfoundland,
+and studying its mineral resources, he now found himself forced into
+flight for having defied the authorities of the island, embarked upon a
+doubtful trading venture into one of the wildest and least known
+portions of the continent, and, with but a slight knowledge of
+seamanship, engaged in navigating a small sailing vessel across one of
+its stormiest seas.  What would his guardian and employer say could he
+know all this and see him at the present moment?
+
+"I wish he could, though," exclaimed Cabot half aloud, "for it would be
+fun to watch his look of amazement and hear his remarks.  I suppose he
+is wondering what has become of that Bell Island report I was to send
+in the first thing, and I guess he'll have to wonder for some time
+longer, as St. Johns is about the last place I feel like visiting just
+at present.  I certainly have made a mess of my affairs, though, so
+far, and it looks as if I had only just begun, too.  At the same time I
+don't see how I could have acted differently.  I tried hard enough to
+reach St. Johns, and would have got there all right if it hadn't been
+for this factory business.  But when the fellow who saved my life got
+into trouble, from which I could help him out, I'm sure even Mr.
+Hepburn would say I was bound to do it.  Besides, I have found one
+promising outcrop of copper, and now I'm off for Labrador; so perhaps
+things will turn out all right after all.  Anyway I'm learning how to
+sail a boat, and that is something every fellow ought to know.  I wish
+it wasn't so awfully dark though, and that White would hurry up with
+that supper, for I am powerful hungry.  How good it smells, and what a
+fine chap he is.  Falling in with him was certainly a great bit of
+luck.  But how this confounded compass wabbles, and how the schooner
+jumps off her course if I lift my eyes from it for a single instant.  I
+don't see why she can't go straight if I hold the tiller perfectly
+still.  There's a star dead ahead, and I guess I'll steer by it.  Then
+I can keep the sharp lookout White spoke of at the same time."
+
+Thus deciding, the anxious helmsman fixed his gaze upon the newly risen
+star that he had just discovered, and wondered admiringly at its rapid
+increase in brilliancy.  After a little he rubbed his eyes and looked
+again at two more stars that had suddenly appeared above the horizon
+directly below the first one.
+
+"Never saw red and green stars before," Cabot muttered.  "Must be
+peculiar to this high latitude.  Wonder if they can be stars, though?
+Oh! what a chump I am.  White!  I say, White, come up here quick!"
+
+In obedience to this summons the young skipper thrust his head from the
+companionway.
+
+"What's up?" he asked.
+
+"Don't know exactly," replied Cabot, "but there is a lighthouse or a
+dock or something right in front of us."
+
+"Steamer!" cried White as he sprang on deck and glanced ahead.  "Keep
+her away, quick.  I don't want them to sight us."
+
+"Steamer," repeated Cabot as he obeyed this order and let the schooner
+fall off to leeward.  "I never thought of such a thing as a steamer
+away up here.  Do you mean that she is a frigate?"
+
+"No," laughed White.  "There are other steamers besides frigates even
+in these waters, and that is one of them.  She is the 'Harlaw,' from
+Flower Cove, near the northern end of the island, and bound for
+Halifax.  It's mighty lucky she didn't pass us by daylight."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because she is already heading in for the Bay of Islands and would
+have reported us as soon as she got there.  Then we would have had a
+frigate after us sure enough."
+
+"But how do you know she's a steamer?  Mightn't she be a sailing
+vessel!"
+
+"Not with that white light at her foremast head.  Sailing vessels
+aren't allowed to show any above their side lights.  Now go below and
+eat your supper while I take her."
+
+This eating alone was such an unpleasant feature of the cruise that, as
+Cabot sat down to his solitary meal, he regretted having persuaded
+White to leave David Gidge behind.
+
+"I am afraid this going to sea shorthanded will prove a false economy
+after all," he said to himself, thereby reaching a conclusion that has
+been forced upon seafaring men since ships first sailed the ocean.
+
+Finishing his supper as quickly as possible, Cabot rejoined his
+companion, and begged him also to hurry that they might bear each other
+company on deck.
+
+"All right," agreed White, "only, of course, I shall be longer than you
+were, for I have to wash and put away the dishes."
+
+"Oh, bother the dishes!" exclaimed Cabot "Let them go till morning."
+
+"Not much.  We haven't any too many dishes as it is, nor a chance of
+getting any more, and if I should leave them where they are we probably
+wouldn't have any by morning.  Besides, it wouldn't be tidy, and an
+untidy ship is worse than an untidy house, because you can't get away
+from it.  But I won't be long."
+
+True to his promise, White, bringing with him a heavy oilskin coat and
+an armful of blankets, speedily rejoined his comrade, who was by this
+time shivering in the chill night air.
+
+"Put this on," said the young skipper, tendering Cabot the oilskin,
+"and then I am going to ask you to stand first watch.  I will roll up
+in these blankets and sleep here on deck, so that you can get me up at
+a moment's notice.  You want to wake me at midnight, anyhow, when I
+will take the morning watch."
+
+"Very well," agreed Cabot resignedly.  "I suppose you know what is best
+to be done, but it seems to me that we are arranging for a very
+lonesome cruise on regular Box and Cox lines."
+
+As White had no knowledge of Box and Cox he did not reply to this
+grumble, but, rolling up in his blankets until he resembled a huge
+cocoon, almost instantly dropped asleep.
+
+During the next four hours Cabot, shivering with cold and aching with
+weariness, but never once allowing his tired eyes to close, remained at
+his post.  Through the black night, and over the still darker waters,
+he guided the flying schooner according to the advice of the unstable
+compass card that formed the only spot of light within his whole range
+of vision.  At the same time, knowing how little of skill he possessed
+in this new line of business, and not yet having a sailor's confidence
+in the craft that bore him, he was filled with such a fear of the
+night, the wind, the leaping waters, and a thousand imaginary dangers
+that his hardest struggle was against an ever-present impulse to arouse
+his sleeping comrade.  But he would not yield, and finally had the
+satisfaction of coming unaided to the end of his watch.
+
+"Midnight, and all hands on deck," he shouted, and White, springing up,
+asked:
+
+"What's happened?  Anything gone wrong?"
+
+"Nothing yet," replied Cabot, "but something will happen if you leave
+me at this wretched tiller a minute longer."
+
+"I won't," laughed the other.  "It will only take me half a minute to
+get an eye-opener in shape of a cup of cold tea, and then you can turn
+in."
+
+When Cabot was at length free to seek his bunk he turned in all
+standing, only kicking off his boots.  The very next thing of which he
+was conscious was being shaken and told that breakfast was ready.
+
+It was broad daylight; the sun was shining; the breeze had so moderated
+that White had been able to leave the schooner to herself with a lashed
+helm while he prepared breakfast, and as Cabot tumbled out he wondered
+if he had really been anxious and fearful a few hours earlier.
+
+All that day and through the following night our lads kept watch and
+watch while the "Sea Bee" travelled up the coast.  Early on the second
+morning they passed Flower Cove, and from this point White headed
+directly across the Strait of Belle Isle, which, here, is but a dozen
+miles in width.  Then, as Newfoundland grew dim behind them, a new
+coast backed by a range of lofty hills came into view ahead; and, in
+answer to Cabot's eager question, White said:
+
+"Yes, that is Labrador, and those are the Bradore Hills back of
+Forteau."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH.
+
+While Cabot gazed eagerly at the lofty but still distant coast towards
+which all their hopes were now directed, his companion was casting
+anxious glances to the eastward, where a low hanging bank of cloud
+betokened an advancing fog.  He had good reason to be apprehensive, for
+this northern entrance to the gulf of St. Lawrence forms the shortest
+route for steamers plying between Canadian and European ports.
+Consequently many of them use it during the brief summer season when it
+is free from ice.  At the same time it is a stormy stretch of water,
+tormented by powerful currents, and generally shrouded in fog.
+
+Early in the season countless icebergs, borne southward by the Arctic
+current that hugs the Labrador coast, drift aimlessly over its troubled
+surface, and even at midsummer it is a passage to be dreaded.  White,
+being familiar with its many dangers, had good cause for anxiety, as he
+saw one of them about to enfold his little craft.  He consulted the
+compass, took his bearings with the utmost care, and then as Cabot,
+finding his view obscured, turned to him with a look of inquiry,
+remarked:
+
+"Yes, we are in for it, and you'd better keep a sharp lookout for
+steamers.  It wouldn't be very pleasant to run one down and sink it,
+you know."
+
+"I should say not," responded Cabot as he started for the bow of the
+schooner, where, steadying himself by a stay, he peered into the
+thickening mist curtain.  For half an hour or so he saw nothing, though
+during that time the hoarse bellowing of a steam whistle, approaching
+closely and then receding, told of a passing ship.  While the lookout
+was still listening to this a black form, magnified to gigantic size by
+his apprehensions and the opaqueness through which he saw it, loomed up
+directly ahead and apparently not a rod away.  With a sharp cry of
+warning the lad sprang aft, while a yell of dismay came from the
+stranger.  The next moment, both vessels having been headed sharply
+into the wind, lay side by side, heaving and grinding against each
+other, with their sails slatting noisily overhead.
+
+As our lads realised the true character of the other craft, they were
+ready to laugh at their fright of a minute earlier, for she was only an
+open fishing boat, carrying three men, a woman, and a couple of
+children.
+
+"We took ye for a steamer, first sight," remarked one of the men.
+
+"And we did the same by you," laughed White.  "Who are you and where
+are you bound?"
+
+"Mail boat from L'Anse Au Loup for Flower Cove," replied the man, "and
+as we're not sure of our compass we'd be obleeged if you'd give us a
+bearing."
+
+"With pleasure.  Come aboard and take it for yourself.  If you'll wait
+just a minute I'll have a letter ready for you."
+
+So saying the young skipper dived below and hastily pencilled a line to
+his mother, telling of their safety up to that time.
+
+While he was thus engaged Cabot learned that owing to the recent
+arrival of a steamer from St. Johns provisions were plentiful on that
+part of the Labrador coast, but were believed to be scarce further
+north.
+
+As a result of this information the "Sea Bee" was headed more to the
+eastward after the boats had again parted company, for, as White said,
+there was no use wasting time running in to Blanc Sablon, Forteau, or
+any of those places at which the trading steamer had touched.  "It is
+too bad," he continued, "for I did hope to dispose of our cargo
+somewhere along here.  If we could do that we might be home again
+inside of ten days.  Now, if we have to go far to the northward, it may
+be two or three weeks longer before we again sight Blomidon."
+
+"I am sorry for your sake," replied Cabot, "though I would just as soon
+spend a month up here as not.  I only wish we could land somewhere
+along here, for I am curious to see what land of a country Labrador is."
+
+This wish was gratified late that afternoon, when the fog lifted in
+time to disclose the fine harbour of Red Bay, into which, White said,
+they would run, so as to spend the night quietly at anchor, with both
+watches turned in at once.
+
+At Red Bay, therefore, Cabot had his first taste of life in Labrador.
+The shores looked so green and attractive that he wondered why the only
+settlement in sight--a collection of a dozen huts and fish houses,
+should be located on a rocky islet, bare and verdureless.  He asked
+White, who only laughed, and said he'd find out soon enough by
+experience.
+
+After they had come to anchor and lowered the sails, White got an empty
+water cask into the dinghy, saying that first of all they must go about
+a mile to a trout stream at the head of the bay for some fresh water.
+
+"Trout stream!" cited Cabot.  "How I wish I had my fishing tackle.
+Trout for supper would be fine."
+
+"There are other things equally important with tackle for trout fishing
+in this country," remarked White.
+
+"What, for instance?"
+
+"You'll know inside of half an hour," was the significant reply.
+
+So they rowed up the bay, Cabot filled with curiosity and White
+chuckling with anticipation.  The further they went the more was Cabot
+charmed with the beauty of the scene and the more desirous did he
+become to ramble over the green slopes on which, as White assured him,
+delicious berries of several varieties were plentiful.  At length they
+opened a charming valley, through which wound and tumbled a sparkling
+brook thickly bordered by alders and birches.  At one side were several
+substantial log cabins, but as they were evidently uninhabited Cabot
+began to undress, declaring that he must have a bath in that tempting
+water.
+
+"Better keep your shirt on until we have filled the cask," advised
+White, at the same time stepping overboard in the shallows at the mouth
+of the stream without removing any of his clothing.  They pulled the
+boat up until it grounded, and then White began hurriedly to fill the
+water barrel, while Cabot waded a short distance up stream to see if he
+could discover any trout.  All at once he stopped, looked bewildered,
+and then started back on a run.  At the same time he slapped vigorously
+at his bare legs, brushed his face, waved his arms, and uttered
+exclamations of frantic dismay.  The air about him had been suddenly
+blackened by an incredible swarm of insects that issued in dense clouds
+from the low growth bordering the stream, and attacked the unfortunate
+youth with the fury of starvation.
+
+"What's the matter?" inquired White innocently, as his companion rushed
+past him towards the open.
+
+"Matter!" retorted the other.  "I'm on fire with the bites of these
+infernal things, and we want to get out of here in a hurry or they'll
+sting us to death."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" laughed White, though he also was suffering greatly.
+"You've only struck a few ordinary Labrador mosquitoes and black flies."
+
+"Mosquitoes and black flies!" cried Cabot.  "Hornets and red-hot coals,
+you'd better say.  How can you stand them?  Your skin must be thicker
+than sole leather."
+
+"I can't very well," admitted White, "but this cask has got to be
+filled, and the sooner we do it the quicker we can get away.  Break off
+a couple of leafy branches to fight with and then keep 'em off both of
+us as well as you can.  It will only take a few minutes longer."
+
+In spite of their efforts at self-defence, faces, hands, and Cabot's
+bare legs were covered with blood before their task was completed, and
+they were once more in the boat pulling furiously for the wind-swept
+water of the open bay.
+
+"I never expected to find mosquitoes this far north," said Cabot, as
+the pests began to disappear before the freshening breeze and the
+rowers paused for breath.
+
+"Strangers are apt to be unpleasantly surprised by them," replied
+White, "but they are here all the same, and they extend as far north as
+any white man has ever been.  I have been told that they are as bad in
+Greenland as here, and I expect they flourish at the North Pole itself.
+They certainly are the curse of Labrador, and until ice makes in the
+fall they effectually prevent all travel into the interior.  Even the
+Indians have to come to the coast in summer to escape them, while the
+whites who visit this country for the fishing make their settlements on
+the barest and most wind-swept places.  The few who live here the year
+round have summer homes on the coast, but build their winter houses
+inland, at the heads of bays or the mouths of rivers, where there is
+timber to afford some protection from the cold.  Those are winter
+houses back there."
+
+"I wondered why they were abandoned," said Cabot, "but I don't any
+longer."
+
+"By the way," suggested White, "you forgot to try the trout fishing.
+Shall we go back?"
+
+"I wouldn't go fishing on that stream if every trout in it was of solid
+gold and I could scoop them out with my hands," asserted Cabot.  "In
+fact, I don't know of anything short of starvation, or dying of thirst,
+that would take me back there."
+
+After supper our lads went ashore at the island settlement, and were
+hospitably received by the dwellers in its half-dozen stoutly built,
+earthen-roofed houses.  These were constructed of logs, set on end like
+palisades, and while they were scantily furnished, they were warm and
+comfortable.  In them Cabot, who was regarded with great curiosity on
+account of having come from the far foreign city of New York, asked
+many questions, and acquired much information concerning the strange
+country to which Fate had brought him.  Thus he learned that Labrador
+is a province of Newfoundland, and that while its prolific fisheries
+attract some 20,000 people to its bleak shores every summer, its entire
+resident white population hardly exceeds one thousand souls.  He was
+told that from June to October news of the outside world is received by
+steamer from St. Johns every two or three weeks, but that during the
+other eight months of the year only three mails reach the country,
+coming by dog sledge from far-away Quebec.
+
+While Cabot was gathering these and many other interesting bits of
+information, White was becoming confirmed in his belief that to make a
+successful trading trip he must carry his goods far to the northward.
+
+So at daybreak of the following morning the "Sea Bee" was once more got
+under way, and ran up the rock-bound coast past Chateau Bay, with its
+superb Castle Rock, to Battle Harbour, the metropolis of Labrador,
+which place was reached late the same evening.
+
+At this point, which is at the eastern end of the Belle Isle Strait, is
+a resident population of some two hundred souls, a hospital, a church,
+a schoolhouse, and a prosperous mercantile establishment.  Here our
+lads found a large steamer loading with dried fish for Gibraltar, and
+here Cabot became greatly interested in the rose-tinted quartz that
+forms so striking a feature of Labrador scenery.
+
+At Battle Harbour they were still advised to push farther on, and so,
+bidding farewell to this outpost of civilisation, the "Sea Bee" again
+spread her dusky wings and set forth for the mission stations of the
+far North, where it was hoped a profitable market might be found.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG.
+
+The brief northern summer was nearly ended.  Its days were growing
+short and chill, its nights long and cold.  The month of October was
+well advanced, and flurries of snow heralded the approach of winter.
+Most of the Labrador fishing fleet had already sailed away, and the few
+boats still left were preparing for a speedy departure.  The last
+steamer of the season had come and gone, and the few permanent
+residents of the country were moving back from the coast into winter
+quarters.  Great flocks of geese streamed southward, and with harsh
+cries gave warning of the icy terrors that had driven them from their
+Arctic nesting places.  Night after night the wonderful beauties of the
+aurora borealis were flashed across the northern heavens with ever
+increasing brilliancy.  Every one predicted a hard winter, and
+everything pointed to its early coming.
+
+Nearly two months had elapsed since the little schooner "Sea Bee,"
+manned by a couple of plucky lads, sailed out of Battle Harbour on a
+trading venture to the northern missions, and from that day no tidings
+had been received concerning her.  The few who remembered her,
+occasionally speculated as to what success she had met and why she had
+not put in ah appearance on her return voyage, but generally dismissed
+the subject by saying that she must have been in too great a hurry to
+get south, as any one having a chance to leave that forsaken country
+naturally would be.  But the "Sea Bee" had not gone to the southward,
+nor was there any likelihood of her doing so for many long months to
+come.
+
+On one of the mildest of these October days, when the sunshine still
+held a trace of its summer warmth, a solitary figure stood on the crest
+of a bald headland, some hundreds of miles to the north of Battle
+Harbour, gazing wistfully out over the lead-coloured waters that came
+leaping and snarling towards the red rocks far beneath him.  He had on
+great sea boots that stood sadly in need of mending, and was clad in
+heavy woollens, faded and worn, that showed many a rent and patch.  As
+he leaned on the stout staff that had assisted him in climbing, his
+figure seemed bent as though by age, but when he lifted his, face,
+tanned brown by long exposure, the downy moustache on his upper lip
+proclaimed his youth.  Altogether the change in his appearance was so
+great that his most intimate friend would hardly have recognised in him
+the youth who had been called the best dressed man in the T. I. class
+of '99 a few months earlier.  But the voice with which he finally broke
+the silence of his long reverie was unmistakably that of Cabot Grant.
+
+[Illustration: A solitary figure stood on the crest of a bald headland.]
+
+"Heigh ho!" he sighed, as he cast a sweeping glance over the widespread
+waste of waters on which nothing floated save a few belated icebergs,
+and then inland over weary miles of desolate upland barrens, treeless,
+moss-covered, and painfully rugged.  "It is tough luck to be shut up
+here like birds in a cage, with no chance of the door being opened
+before next summer.  It is tougher on Baldwin, though, than on me, and
+if he can stand it I guess I can.  But I suppose I might as well be
+getting back or he will be worrying about me."
+
+Thus saying, Cabot picked up a canvas bag that lay at his feet and
+moved slowly away.
+
+A very serious misfortune had befallen our lads, and for more than a
+month the "Sea Bee," though still afloat and as sound as ever, had been
+unable to move from the position she now occupied.  After leaving
+Battle Harbour her voyage to the northward had not been more than
+ordinarily eventful, though subject to many and irritating delays.  Not
+only had there been adverse winds, but she had twice been stormbound
+for days in harbours to which she had run for shelter.  Then, too,
+White had insisted on stopping at every settlement that promised a
+chance for trading, and had even run fifty miles up Hamilton Inlet with
+the hope of finding customers for his goods at the half-breed village
+of Rigoulette.  But he had always been disappointed.  Either his goods
+were not in demand, or those who desired them had nothing to offer in
+exchange but fish, which he did not care to take.  And always he was
+told of a scarcity of food still farther north.  So the voyage had been
+continued in that direction along a coast that ever grew wilder,
+grander, and more inhospitable.
+
+In the meantime Cabot was delighted at the opportunities thus given him
+for getting acquainted with the country, and made short exploring trips
+from every port at which they touched.  From some of these he came back
+sadly bitten by the insect pests of the interior, and from others he
+brought quantities of blueberries, pigeon berries that looked and
+tasted like wild cranberries, or yellow, raspberry-like "bake apples,"
+resembling the salmon berries of Alaska.  Also he picked up numerous
+rock and mineral specimens that he afterwards carefully labelled.
+
+Finally, when they had passed the last fishing station of which they
+had any knowledge, and had only the missions to look forward to, they
+were overtaken, while far out at sea, by a furious gale that sorely
+buffeted them for twenty-four hours, and, in spite of their strenuous
+efforts, drove them towards the coast.  The gale was accompanied by
+stinging sleet and blinding snow squalls, and at length blew with such
+violence that they could no longer show the smallest patch of canvas.
+
+In this emergency White constructed a sea anchor, by means of which he
+hoped to prolong their struggle for at least a few hours.  It was
+hardly got overboard, however, before a giant surge snapped its cable
+and hurled the little craft helplessly towards the crash and smother
+with which the furious seas warred against an iron coast.
+
+In addition to the other perils surrounding our lads, the gloom of
+impending night was upon them, and they could only dimly distinguish
+the towering cliffs against which they expected shortly to be dashed.
+Both of them stood by the tiller, grimly silent, and using the last of
+their strength to keep their craft head on, for in the trough of that
+awful sea she would have rolled over like a log.  Neither of them
+flinched nor showed a sign of fear, though both fully realised the fate
+awaiting them.
+
+At last, with the send of a giant billow, the little schooner was flung
+bodily into the roaring whiteness, and, with hearts that seemed already
+to have ceased their beating, the poor lads braced themselves for the
+final shock.  To their unbounded amazement the "Sea Bee," instead of
+dashing against the cliffs, appeared to pass directly into them as
+though they were but shadows of a solid substance, and in another
+minute had shot, like an arrow from a bow, through a rift barely wide
+enough to afford her passage.
+
+As her stupefied crew slowly realised that a reprieve from death had
+been granted at the last moment, they also became aware that they were
+in a place of absolute darkness, and, save for the muffled outside roar
+of furious seas, of absolute quiet.  At the same time they were so
+exhausted after their recent prolonged struggle that they found barely
+strength to get overboard an anchor.  Then, careless of everything
+else, they tumbled into their bunks for the rest and sleep they so
+sadly needed.
+
+When they next awoke it was broad daylight, and their first move was to
+hasten on deck for a view of their surroundings.  Their craft lay as
+motionless as a painted ship, in the middle of a placid pool black as a
+highland tarn.  In no place was it more than a pistol shot in width,
+and it was enclosed by precipitous cliffs that towered hundreds of feet
+above her.  The schooner could not have been more happily located by
+one possessed of an absolute knowledge of the coast under the most
+favourable conditions, and that she should have come there as she had
+was nothing short of a miracle.
+
+Filled with thankfulness for their marvellous escape the lads gazed
+about them curious to discover by what means they had gained this haven
+of refuge.  On three sides they could see only the grim fronts of
+inaccessible cliffs.  On the fourth was a strip of beach and a cleft
+through which poured a plume-like waterfall white as a wreath of driven
+snow.
+
+"Did we come in that way?" asked Cabot, pointing to this torrent of
+silver spray.
+
+"I suppose we must have," rejoined White soberly; "for I can't see any
+other opening, and it certainly felt last night as though we were
+sailing over the brink of a dozen waterfalls.  But let's get breakfast,
+for I'm as hungry as a wolf.  Then there'll be time enough to find out
+how we got in here, as well as how we are to get out again."
+
+After a hearty meal they got the dinghy overboard and started on a tour
+of exploration.  First they visited the beach and found a rude pathway
+leading up beside the waterfall that promised exit from the basin to an
+active climber.
+
+"In spite of all the wonderful happenings of last night I don't believe
+we came in that way," said Cabot.
+
+"No," laughed White, "the old 'Bee's' wings aren't quite strong enough
+for that yet, though there's no saying what she may do with practice."
+
+Satisfied that there was no outlet for a sailing craft in this
+direction, they pulled towards the opposite side of the basin, but not
+until they were within a few rods of its cliffs did they discover an
+opening which was so black with shadow that it had heretofore escaped
+their notice.
+
+"Here it is," cried Cabot, "though----"
+
+His speech was cut suddenly short, and for a moment he stared in silent
+amazement.  The farther end of the passage was completely filled by
+what appeared a gigantic mass of white rock.
+
+"An iceberg!" exclaimed the young skipper, who was the first to
+recognise the true nature of the obstacle.  "An iceberg driven in by
+the gale and jammed.  Now we are in a fix."
+
+"I should say as much," responded Cabot, "for there isn't space enough
+to let a rowboat out, much less a schooner.  No wonder this water is as
+still as that in a corked bottle.  What shall we do now?"
+
+"Wait until it melts, I suppose," replied White gloomily, "or until the
+outside seas batter it away."
+
+So our lads had waited unhappily and impatiently for more than a month,
+and still the ice barrier was as immovable as ever.  Also, as the
+weather was growing steadily cooler, its melting became less and less
+with each succeeding day.
+
+During this period of enforced imprisonment they had made several
+exploring trips into the interior, but had failed to find trace of
+human life; nor were they able to go far either north or south on
+account of impassable waterways.  Neither could they discover any
+timber from which to obtain firewood, and as the supply on the schooner
+was nearly exhausted their outlook for the future grew daily more and
+more gloomy.
+
+For a while they had hoped to signal some passing vessel, and one or
+the other of them made daily trips to the most prominent headland of
+the vicinity, where he kept a lookout for hours.  But this also proved
+fruitless, for but two vessels had been sighted, and neither of these
+paid any attention to their signals.
+
+Thus the open season passed, and with the near approach of an Arctic
+winter the situation of our imprisoned lads grew so desperate that they
+were filled with the gloomiest forebodings.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES.
+
+Only once during their tedious imprisonment had our lads received
+evidence that human beings existed in that desolate country, and after
+they gained this information they hardly knew whether to rejoice or to
+regret that it had come to them.  One morning, some weeks after their
+arrival in the basin, to which they had given the name of "Locked
+Harbour," Cabot, going on deck for a breath of air, made a discovery so
+startling that, for a moment, he could hardly credit the evidence of
+his eyes.  Then he shouted to White:
+
+"Come up here quick, old man, and take in the sight."
+
+As the latter, who had been lighting a fire in the galley stove, obeyed
+this call, Cabot pointed to the beach, on which stood a row of human
+figures, gazing at the schooner as stolidly as so many graven images.
+
+"Indians!" cried White, "and perhaps we can get them to show us the way
+to the nearest mission."
+
+"Good enough!" rejoined Cabot in high excitement.  "Let's go ashore and
+interview them before they have a chance to disappear as mysteriously
+as they have appeared.  Where do you suppose they came from?"
+
+"Can't imagine, and doubt if they'll ever tell.  Probably they are
+wondering the same thing about us.  I suppose, though, they are on
+their way towards the interior for the winter.  But hold on a minute.
+We must take them some sort of a present.  Grub is what they'll be most
+likely to appreciate, for the natives of this country are always
+hungry."
+
+Acting upon his own suggestion, White dived below, to reappear a minute
+later with a bag of biscuit and a generous piece of salt pork, which he
+tossed into the dinghy.  Then the excited lads pulled for the beach on
+which the strangers still waited in motionless expectation.
+
+"Only a woman, a baby, and three children," remarked White, in a tone
+of disappointment, as they approached near enough to scrutinise the
+group.  "Still, I suppose they can guide us out of here as well as any
+one else if they only will."
+
+The strangers were as White had discovered--a woman and children, but
+one of these latter was a half-grown boy of such villainous appearance
+that Cabot promptly named him "Arsenic," because his looks were enough
+to poison anything.  They were clad in rags, and were so miserably thin
+that they had evidently been on short rations for a long time.  White's
+belief that they were hungry was borne out by the ravenous manner with
+which they fell upon the provisions he presented to them.
+
+Arsenic seized the piece of pork and whipping out a knife cut it into
+strips, which he, his mother, and his sisters devoured raw, as though
+it were a delicacy to which they had long been strangers.  The hard
+biscuit also made a magical disappearance, and when all were gone,
+Arsenic, looking up with a hideous grin, uttered the single word:
+"More."
+
+"Good!" cried Cabot, "he can talk English.  Now look here, young man,
+if we give you more--all you can carry, in fact, of pork, bread, flour,
+tea, and sugar, will you show us the road to the nearest
+mission--Ramah, Nain, or Hopedale?"
+
+"Tea, shug," replied the boy, with an expectant grin.
+
+"Yes, tea, sugar, and a lot of other things if you'll show us the way
+to Nain.  You understand?"
+
+"Tea, shug," repeated the young Indian, again grinning.
+
+"We wantee git topside Nain.  You sabe, Nain?" asked Cabot, pointing to
+his companion and himself, and then waving his hand comprehensively at
+the inland landscape.
+
+"Tea, shug, more," answered the young savage, promptly, while his
+relatives regarded him admiringly as one who had mastered the art of
+conversing with foreigners.
+
+"Perhaps he understands English better, or rather more, than he speaks
+it," suggested White.
+
+"It is to be hoped that he does," replied Cabot.  "Even then he might
+not comprehend more than one word in a thousand.  But I tell you what.
+Let's go and get our own breakfast, pack up what stuff we intend to
+carry, make the schooner as snug as possible, and come back to the
+beach.  Here we'll show these beggars what stuff we've brought, and
+give them to understand that it shall all be theirs when they get us to
+Nain.  Then we'll start them up the trail, and follow wherever they
+lead.  They are bound to fetch up somewhere.  Even if they don't take
+us where we want to go, we will have provisions enough to last us a
+week or more, and can surely find our way back."
+
+"I hate to leave them, for they might skip out while we were gone,"
+objected White.
+
+"That's so.  Well then, why not invite them on board?  They'll be safe
+there until we are ready to go.  Say, Arsenic, you all come with we all
+to shipee, sabe?  Get tea, sugar, plenty, eat heap, you understand?"
+
+As Cabot said this he made motions for all the natives to enter the
+dinghy, and then pointed to the schooner.
+
+It was evident that he was understood, and equally so that the woman
+declined his proposition, for she sat motionless, holding her baby, and
+with the younger children close by her side.  The boy, however,
+expressed his willingness to visit the schooner by entering the dinghy
+and seating himself in its stern.
+
+"That will do," said White.  "The others won't run away without him,
+and he is the only one we want anyhow."
+
+So the boat was rowed out to the anchored schooner, while those left on
+the beach watched the departure of their son and brother with the same
+apathy that they had shown towards all the other happenings of that
+eventful morning.
+
+"Look at the young scarecrow, taking things as coolly as though he had
+always been used to having white men row him about a harbour," laughed
+Cabot, "and yet I don't suppose he was ever in a regular boat before."
+
+"No," agreed White, "I don't suppose he ever was."
+
+They did not allow Arsenic to enter the "Sea Bee's" cabin, but made him
+stay on deck, where, however, he appeared perfectly contented and at
+his ease.  Here Cabot brought the various supplies for their proposed
+journey and put them up in neat packages while White prepared
+breakfast.  The former had supposed that their guest would be greatly
+interested in what he was doing, but the young savage manifested the
+utmost indifference to all that took place.  In fact he seemed to pay
+no attention to Cabot's movements, but squatted on the deck, and gazed
+in silent meditation at the beach, where his mother and sisters could
+be seen also seated in motionless expectation.
+
+"I believe he is a perfect idiot," muttered Cabot, "and wonder that he
+knows enough to eat when he's hungry."
+
+Then White called him, and he went below to breakfast.
+
+"Do you think it is safe to leave that chap alone on deck with all
+those things?" asked the former.
+
+"Take a look at him and see for yourself," replied Cabot.
+
+So White crept noiselessly up the companion ladder and peeped
+cautiously out.  Arsenic still squatted where Cabot had left him,
+gazing idiotically off into space.  At the same time a close observer
+might have imagined that his beady eyes twinkled with a gleam of
+interest as White's head appeared above the companion coaming.
+
+"I guess it is all right," said White, rejoining his friend.
+
+"Of course it is.  He couldn't swim ashore with the things, and there
+isn't any other way he could make off with them, except by taking them
+in the dinghy, and that chump couldn't any more manage a boat than a
+cow."
+
+In spite of this assertion Cabot finished his meal with all speed, and
+then hurried on deck, where he uttered a cry of dismay.  A single
+glance showed him that their guest, together with all the supplies
+prepared for their journey, was no longer where he had left him.  A
+second glance disclosed the dinghy half way to the beach, while in her
+stern, sculling her swiftly along with practised hand, stood the
+wooden-headed young savage who didn't know how to manage a boat.
+
+"Come back here, you sneak thief, or I'll fill you full of lead,"
+yelled Cabot, and as the Indian paid not the slightest attention he
+drew his revolver and fired.  He never knew where the bullet struck,
+but it certainly did not reach the mark he intended, for Arsenic merely
+increased the speed of his boat without even looking back.
+
+So angry that he hardly realised what he was doing, Cabot cocked his
+pistol and attempted to fire again, but the lock only snapped
+harmlessly, and there was no report.  Then he remembered that he had
+expended several shots the day before in a fruitless effort to attract
+attention on board a distant vessel seen from the lookout, and had
+neglected to reload.
+
+As he started for the cabin in quest of more cartridges he came into
+collision with White hurrying on deck.
+
+"What is the matter?" inquired the latter, as soon as he regained the
+breath thus knocked out of him.
+
+"Oh, nothing at sill," replied Cabot, with ironical calmness, "only
+we've been played for a couple of hayseeds by a wooden-faced young
+heathen who don't know enough to go in when it rains.  In his childish
+folly he has gone off with the dinghy, taking our provisions along as a
+souvenir of his visit, and he didn't even have the politeness to look
+round when I spoke to him.  Oh! but it will be a chilly day for little
+Willy if I catch him again."
+
+"I am glad you only spoke," remarked White.  "When I heard you shoot I
+didn't know but what you had murdered him."
+
+"Wish I had," growled Cabot, savagely.  "Look at him now, and consider
+the cheek of the plain, every-day North American savage."
+
+It was aggravating to see the young thief gain the beach and lift from
+the boat the provisions he had so deftly acquired.  It was even more
+annoying to see the embryo warrior's grateful family pounce upon the
+prizes of his bow and spear, and to be forced to listen to the joyous
+cries with which they greeted their returned hero.  Filled now with a
+bustling activity, the Indians quickly divided the spoil according to
+their strength; and then, without one backward glance, or a single look
+towards the schooner, they started up the narrow trail by the
+waterfall, with the triumphant Arsenic heading the procession, and in
+another minute had disappeared.
+
+As the last fluttering rag vanished from sight, our lads, who had
+watched the latter part of this performance in silent wrath, turned to
+each other and burst out laughing.
+
+"It was a dirty, mean, low-down trick!" cried Cabot.  "At the same time
+he played it with a dexterity that compels my admiration.  Now, what
+shall we do?"
+
+"I suppose one of us will have to swim ashore and get that boat."
+
+"What, through ice water?  You are right, though, and as I am the
+biggest chump, I'll go."
+
+Cabot was as good as his word, and did swim to the beach, though, as he
+afterwards said, he did not know whether his first plunge was made into
+ice water or molten lead.  Then he and White followed the trail of
+their recent guests to the crest of the bluffs, but could not discover
+what direction they had taken from that point.  So they returned to the
+schooner sadder but wiser than before, and wondered whether they were
+better or worse off on account of the recent visitation.
+
+"If they carry news of us to one of the missions we will be better
+off," argued Cabot.
+
+"But, if they don't, we are worse off, by at least the value of our
+stolen provisions," replied White.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A MELANCHOLY SITUATION.
+
+In Labrador, under ordinary circumstances, the loss of such a quantity
+of provisions as Arsenic had carried away would have been a very
+serious misfortune.  But food was the one thing our lads had in
+abundance, and they were more unhappy at having lost a guide, who might
+have shown them a way out of their prison, than over the theft he had
+so successfully accomplished.
+
+"The next time we catch an Indian we'll tie a string to him," said
+Cabot.
+
+"Yes," agreed White, "and it will be a stout one, too; but I am afraid
+there won't be any more Indians on the coast this season."
+
+"How about Eskimo?"
+
+"Some of them may come along later, when the snowshoeing and sledging
+get good enough, for they are apt to travel pretty far south during the
+winter.  Still, there's no knowing how far back from the coast their
+line of travel may lie at this point, and dozens of them might pass
+without our knowledge."
+
+"Couldn't we go up or down the coast as well as an Eskimo, whenever
+these miserable waterways freeze over?" asked Cabot.
+
+"Of course, if we had sledges, dogs, snowshoes, and fur clothing,"
+replied White; "but without all these things we might just as well
+commit suicide before starting."
+
+"Well, I'll tell you what we can do right off, and the sooner we set
+about it the better.  We can go inland as far as possible, and leave a
+line of flags or some sort of signals that will attract attention to
+this place."
+
+"I don't know but what that is a good idea," remarked White,
+thoughtfully.  "At any rate, it would be better than doing nothing, and
+if we don't get help in some way we shall certainly freeze to death in
+this place long before the winter is over."
+
+So Cabot's suggestion was adopted, and the remainder of that day was
+spent in preparing little flags of red and white cloth, attaching them
+to slender sticks, and in making a number of wooden arrows.  On a
+smooth side of these they wrote:
+
+"Help!  We are stranded on the coast."
+
+"I wish we could write it in Eskimo and Indian," said Cabot, "for
+English doesn't seem to be the popular language of this country."
+
+"The flags and arrows will be a plain enough language for any natives
+who may run across them," responded White, "and I only hope they'll see
+them; but it is a slim chance, and we'll probably be frozen stiff long
+before any one finds us."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," said Cabot, cheerfully.  "There's firewood enough
+in the schooner itself to last quite a while."
+
+"Burn the 'Sea Bee'!" cried White, aghast at the suggestion.  "I
+couldn't do it."
+
+"Neither could I at present; but I expect both of us could and would,
+long before our blood reached the freezing point."
+
+"But if we destroyed the schooner, how would we get out of here next
+summer?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know, and don't care to try and think yet a while.
+Just now I am much more interested in the nearby winter than in a very
+distant summer."
+
+The next day, and for a number of days thereafter, our lads worked at
+the establishment of their signal line.  They erected stone cairns at
+such distances apart that every one was visible from those on either
+side, and on the summit of each they planted a flag with its
+accompanying pointer.  In this way they ran an unbroken range of
+signals for ten miles, and would have carried it further had they dared
+expend any more of their precious firewood.
+
+While they were engaged upon this task the weather became noticeably
+colder, the mercury falling below the freezing point each night, and
+the whole country was wrapped in the first folds of the snow blanket
+under which it would sleep for months.  About the time their signal
+line was completed, however, there came a milder day, so suggestive of
+the vanished summer that Cabot declared his intention of spending an
+hour or so at the lookout.  "There might be such a thing as a belated
+vessel," he argued, "and I might have the luck to signal it.  Anyhow, I
+am going to make one more try before agreeing to settle down here for
+the winter."
+
+As White was busy moving the galley stove into the cabin, and making
+other preparations for their coming struggle against Arctic cold, Cabot
+rowed himself ashore and left the dinghy on the beach.  Then he climbed
+to the summit of the lofty headland, where, for a long time, he leaned
+thoughtfully on the rude Alpine-stock that had aided his steps, and
+gazed out over the vacant ocean.
+
+While Cabot thus watched for ships that failed to come, White was
+putting the finishing touches to his new cabin fixtures.  He was just
+beginning to wonder if it were not time for his comrade's return when
+he felt the slight jar of some floating object striking against the
+side of the schooner.  Thinking that Cabot had arrived, he shouted a
+cheery greeting, but turned to survey the general effect of what he had
+done before going on deck.  The next minute some one softly entered the
+cabin and sprang upon the unsuspecting youth, overpowering him and
+flinging him to the floor before he had a chance to offer resistance.
+Here he was securely bound and left to make what he could of the
+situation, while his captors swarmed through the schooner with
+exclamations of delight at the richness of their prize.
+
+As White slowly recovered from the bewilderment of his situation he saw
+that his assailants were Indians, and even recognised in one of them
+the hideous features of the lad whom Cabot had named Arsenic.
+
+"What fools we have been," he thought, bitterly.  "We might have known
+that he would come back with the first band of his friends that he ran
+across.  And to make sure that they would find us we filled the country
+with sign posts all pointing this way.  Seems to me that was about as
+idiotic a thing as we could have done, and if ever a misfortune was
+deserved this one is.  I wonder what has become of Cabot, and if they
+have caught him yet.  I only hope he won't try to fight 'em, for they'd
+just as soon kill him as not.  Probably they'll kill us both, though,
+so that no witnesses can ever appear against them.  Poor chap!  It was
+a sad day for him when he attempted to help a fellow as unlucky as I am
+out of his troubles.  Now I wonder what's up."
+
+A shrill cry of triumph had come from the shore, and the savages on the
+schooner's deck were replying to it with exultant yells.
+
+The cry from shore announced the capture of Cabot by two Indians who
+had been left behind for that express purpose.  Of course the
+new-comers had known as soon as they discovered the dinghy that at
+least one of the schooner's defenders was on shore, and had made their
+arrangements accordingly.  As we have seen, the naval contingent
+experienced no difficulty in capturing the schooner, and a little later
+the land forces carried out their part of the programme with equal
+facility.  They merely hid themselves behind some boulders, and leaping
+out upon the young American, as he came unsuspectingly swinging down
+the trail, overpowered him before he could make a struggle.  Tying him
+beyond a possibility of escape, they carried him down to the beach,
+where they uttered the cries that informed their comrades of their
+triumph.
+
+Until this time the schooner had been left at her anchorage, for fear
+lest any change in her position might arouse Cabot's suspicions.  Now
+that they were free to do as they pleased with her the Indians cut her
+cable, and, after much awkward effort, succeeded in towing her to the
+beach, where they made her fast.
+
+As the darkness and cold of night were now upon them, and as they had
+no longer any use for the dinghy, they smashed it in pieces and started
+a fire with its shattered timbers.  At the same time they broke out
+several barrels of provisions, and the entire band, gathering about the
+fire, began to feast upon their contents.
+
+In the meantime Cabot and White, in their respective places of
+captivity, were equally miserable through their ignorance of what had
+happened to each other, and of the fate awaiting them.  Of course Cabot
+had seen the schooner brought to the beach, while White, still lying on
+her cabin floor, was able to guess at her position from such sounds as
+came to his ears.
+
+During that eventful afternoon, while the savages were still preparing
+the plan that had resulted in such complete success, a white man,
+setting a line of traps for fur-bearing animals, had run across the
+outermost of the signals established by our lads a few days earlier.
+Its fluttering pennon had attracted his attention while he was still at
+a distance, and, filled with curiosity, he had gone to it for a closer
+examination.  On reaching the signal he read the pencilled writing on
+its arrow, and then stood irresolute, evidently much perturbed, for
+several minutes.  Finally, heaving a great sigh, he set forth in the
+direction indicated by the arrow.
+
+He was a gigantic man, and presented a strange spectacle as he strode
+swiftly across the country with the long, sliding gait of a practised
+snowshoer.  Although his wide-set blue eyes were frank and gentle in
+expression, a heavy mass of blonde hair, streaming over his shoulders
+like a mane, and a shaggy beard, gave him an air of lion-like ferocity.
+This wildness of aspect, as well as his huge proportions, were both
+increased by his garments, which were entirely of wolf skins.  Even his
+cap was of this material, ornamented by a wolf's tail that streamed out
+behind and adorned in front with a pair of wolf ears pricked sharply
+forward.  He carried a rifle and bore on his shoulders, as though it
+were a feather weight, a pack of such size than an ordinarily strong
+man would have found difficulty in lifting it.
+
+As this remarkable stranger, looking more like a Norse war god than a
+mere human being, reached one signal after another, he passed it
+without pausing for examination until he had gained a point about half
+way to the coast.  Then he came to an abrupt halt and studied the
+surrounding snow intently.  He had run across the trail made by Arsenic
+and his fellows a few hours earlier.  After an examination of the
+sprawling footprints, the big man uttered a peculiar snort of
+satisfaction, and again pushed on with increased speed.  An hour later
+he stood, concealed by darkness, on the verge of the cliffs enclosing
+Locked Harbour, gazing interestedly down on the fire-lit beach, the
+half-revealed schooner, the feasting savages, and the recumbent, dimly
+discerned figure of Cabot Grant, their prisoner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF.
+
+Once Arsenic went to where Cabot was lying, and, grinning cheerfully,
+remarked: "Tea, shug.  Plenty, yes."  Then he laughed immoderately, as
+did several other Indians who were listening admiringly to this flight
+of eloquence in the white man's own tongue.
+
+"Oh, clear out, you grinning baboon," growled Cabot.  "I only hope I'll
+live to get even with you for this day's work."
+
+The Indians were evidently so pleased at having drawn a retort from
+their prisoner that he declined to gratify them further, or to speak
+another word, though for some time Arsenic continued to beguile him
+with his tiresome "Tea, shug," etc.  When the latter finally gave it up
+and started away to get his share of the feast, Cabot's gaze followed
+him closely.
+
+All this time our lad was filled with vague terrors concerning White,
+of whose fate he had not received the slightest intimation, as well as
+of what might be in store for himself.  Would he be carried to the
+distant interior to become a slave in some filthy Indian village, or
+would he be killed before they took their departure?  Perhaps they
+would simply leave him there to freeze and starve to death, or they
+might amuse themselves by burning him at the stake.  Did these far
+northern Indians still do such things?  He wondered, but could not
+remember ever to have heard.
+
+While considering these unpleasant possibilities, Cabot was also
+suffering with cold, from the pain of his bonds, and from lying
+motionless on the bed of rocks to which he had been carelessly flung.
+But, with all his pain and his mental distress, he still glared at the
+young savage who had so basely betrayed his kindness, and at length
+Arsenic seemed to be uneasily aware of the steady gaze.  He changed his
+position several times, and his noisy hilarity was gradually succeeded
+by a sullen silence.  Suddenly he lifted his head and listened
+apprehensively.  His quick ear had caught an ominous note in the
+distant, long-drawn howl of a wolf.  He spoke of it to his comrades,
+and several of them joined him in listening.  It came again, a
+blood-curdling yell, now so distinct that all heard it.  They stopped
+their feasting to consult in low tones and peer fearfully into the
+surrounding blackness.
+
+Cabot had also recognised the sound, but, uncanny as it was, he
+wondered why the howl of a wolf should disturb a lot of Indians who
+must know, even better than he, the cowardly nature of the beast, and
+that there was no chance of his coming near a fire.
+
+Even as these thoughts passed through his mind, the terrible cry was
+uttered again--this time so close at hand that it was taken up and
+repeated by a chorus of echoes from the nearby cliffs.  The Indians
+sprang to their feet in terror, while at the same moment an avalanche
+of stones, gravel, and small boulders rushed down the face of the cliff
+close to where Cabot lay.  From it was evolved a monstrous shape that,
+with unearthly howlings, leaped towards the frightened natives.  As it
+did so flashes of lightning, that seemed to dart from it, gleamed with
+a dazzling radiance on their distorted faces.  In another moment they
+were in full flight up the rugged pathway leading from the basin, hotly
+pursued by their mysterious enemy.
+
+The latter seemed to pass directly through the fire, scattering its
+blazing brands to all sides.  At the same time he snatched up a flaming
+timber for use as a weapon against such of the panic-stricken savages
+as still remained within reach.
+
+The flashes of light that accompanied the apparition, while
+illuminating all nearby objects, had left it shrouded in darkness, and
+only when it crouched for an instant above the fire did Cabot gain a
+clear glimpse of the gigantic form.  To his dismay it appeared to be a
+great beast with a human resemblance.  It had the gleaming teeth, the
+horrid jaws, the sharp ears, in fact the face and head of a wolf, the
+tawny mane of a lion, and was covered with thick fur; but it stood
+erect and used its arms like a man.  At the same time, the sounds
+issuing from its throat seemed a combination of incoherent human cries
+and wolfish howlings.  Cabot only saw it for a moment, and then it was
+gone, leaping up the pathway, whirling the blazing timber above its
+head, and darting its mysterious lightning flashes after the flying
+Indians.
+
+As the clamour of flight and pursuit died away, to be followed by a
+profound silence, there came a muffled call:
+
+"Cabot.  Cabot Grant."
+
+"Hello!" shouted our lad.  "Who is it?  Where are you?"
+
+"It is I, White," came the barely heard answer.  "I am here in the
+cabin.  Can't you come and let me out?"
+
+"No," replied Cabot.  "I am tied hand and foot."
+
+"So am I.  Are you wounded?"
+
+"No.  Are you?"
+
+"No.  What are the Indians doing?"
+
+"Running for dear life from a Labrador devil--half wolf and half
+man--armed with soundless thunder-bolts."
+
+During the short silence that followed, White meditated upon this
+extraordinary statement, and decided that his comrade's brain must be
+affected by his sufferings.
+
+"If I could only twist out of these ropes," he groaned, and then he
+began again a struggle to free his hands from their bonds.  At the same
+time Cabot, who had long since discovered the futility of such effort,
+was anxiously listening, and wondering what would happen next.
+
+With all his listening he did not hear the soft approach of furred
+footsteps, and when a blinding light was flashed full in his face he
+was so startled that he cried out with terror.  Instantly the light
+vanished, and he shuddered as he realised that the furry monster had
+returned, and, bending over him, was fumbling at his bonds.
+
+In another moment these were severed, he was picked up as though he had
+been an infant, and carried to the fire, whose scattered embers were
+speedily re-assembled.  As it blazed up, Cabot gazed eagerly at the
+mysterious figure, which had thus far worked in silence.  Curious as he
+was to see it, he yet dreaded to look upon its wolfish features.
+Therefore, as the fire blazed up, he uttered a cry of amazement, for,
+fully revealed by its light, was a man; clad in furs, it is true, but
+bare-headed and having a pleasant face lighted by kindly blue eyes.
+
+"You are really human after all!" gasped Cabot.
+
+The stranger smiled but said nothing.
+
+"And can understand English?"
+
+A nod of the head was the only answer.
+
+"Then," continued Cabot, hardly noting that his deliverer had not
+spoken, "won't you please go aboard the schooner and find my friend?
+He is in the cabin, where those wretches left him, tied up."
+
+This was the first intimation the stranger had received that any one
+besides Cabot needed his assistance, but without a word he did as
+requested, swinging himself aboard the "Sea Bee" by her head chains and
+her bowsprit, which overhung the beach.  Directly afterwards a flash of
+light streamed from the cabin windows.  Then White Baldwin, assisted by
+the fur-clad giant, emerged from his prison, walked stiffly along the
+deck, and was helped down to the beach, where Cabot eagerly awaited him.
+
+After a joyous greeting of his friend the young American said
+anxiously: "But are you sure you are all right, old man--not wounded
+nor hurt in any way?"
+
+"No; I am sound as a nut," replied White.  "Only a little stiff, that's
+all."
+
+"Same here," declared Cabot, industriously rubbing his legs to restore
+their circulation.  "I was rapidly turning into a human icicle, though,
+when our big friend dropped down from the sky in a chariot of flame and
+gave those Indian beggars such a scare that I don't suppose they've
+stopped running yet.  But how did you happen to let 'em aboard, old
+man?  Couldn't you stand them off with a gun?"
+
+For answer White gave a full account of all that had taken place, so
+far as he knew, and in return Cabot described his own exciting
+experiences, while the stranger listened attentively, but in silence,
+to both narratives.  When Cabot came to the end of his own story, he
+said:
+
+"Now, sir, won't you please tell us how you happened to find us out and
+come to our rescue just in the nick of time?  I should also very much
+like to know how you managed to tumble down that precipice unharmed, as
+well as how you produced those flashes of light that scared the savages
+so badly--me too, for that matter."
+
+For answer the stranger only smiled gravely, pointed to his lips, and
+shook his head.
+
+"Oh!" exclaimed both Cabot and White, shocked by this intimation, and
+the former said:
+
+"I beg your pardon, sir.  While I noticed that you didn't do much
+talking, it never occurred to me that you were dumb.  I am awfully
+sorry, and it must be a terrible trial.  At the same time, I am glad
+you can hear me say how very grateful we are to you for getting us out
+of a nasty fix in the splendid way you did.  Now, I move we adjourn to
+the cabin of the schooner, where we can make some hot tea and be rather
+more comfortable than out here.  That is, if you think those Indians
+won't come back."
+
+The stranger smiled again, and shook his head so reassuringly that the
+lads had no longer a doubt as to the expediency of returning to the
+cabin.  There they started a fire in the stove, boiled water, made tea,
+and prepared a meal, of which the stranger ate so heartily, and with
+such evident appreciation, that it was a pleasure to watch him.
+
+While supper was being made ready, the big man removed his outer
+garments of wolf fur and stood in a close-fitting suit of tanned
+buckskin that clearly revealed the symmetry of his massive proportions.
+
+"If I were as strong as you look, and, as I know from experience, you
+are," exclaimed Cabot, admiringly, "I don't think I would hesitate to
+attack a whole tribe of Indians single handed.  My! but it must be fine
+to be so strong."
+
+After supper Cabot, who generally acted as spokesman, again addressed
+himself to their guest, saying:
+
+"If you don't mind, sir, we'd like to have you know just what sort of a
+predicament we've got into, and ask your advice as to how we can get
+out of it."  With this preamble Cabot explained the whole situation,
+and ended by saying:
+
+"Now you know just how we are fixed, and if you can guide us to the
+nearest Mission Station or, if you haven't time to go with us, if you
+will give us directions how to find it--we shall be under a greater
+obligation to you than ever."
+
+For a minute the stranger looked thoughtful but made no sign.  Then,
+dipping his finger in a bowl of water, he wrote on the table the single
+word: "To-morrow."  Having thus dismissed the subject for the present,
+he stretched his huge frame on a transom and almost instantly fell
+asleep.
+
+Our tired lads were not long in following his example, and, though
+several times during the alight one or the other of them got up to
+replenish the fire, they always found their guest quietly sleeping.
+But when they both awoke late the following morning and looked for him
+he had disappeared.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+A WELCOME MISSIONARY.
+
+Although the outer garments of wolf fur belonging to the mysterious
+stranger were also missing, our lads were not at first at all uneasy
+concerning his absence, but imagined that their guest had merely gone
+for a breath of fresh air or to examine the situation of the schooner
+by daylight.  So they mended the fire and got breakfast ready,
+expecting with each moment that he would return.  As he did not, Cabot
+finally went on deck to look for him.
+
+The morning was bitterly cold, and the harbour was covered with ice
+sufficiently strong to bear a man.
+
+"The old 'Bee's' found her winter berth at last," reflected Cabot, as
+he glanced about him, shivering in the keen air.
+
+To his disappointment he could discover no trace of the man upon whom
+they were depending to aid their escape from this icy prison.  Cabot
+even dropped to the beach and made his way to the crest of the inland
+bluffs, but could see no living thing on all the vast expanse of snow
+outspread before him.
+
+"I guess he has gone, all right," muttered the lad, "and we are again
+left to our own resources, only a little worse off than we were before.
+Why he came and helped us out at all, though, is a mystery to me."
+
+With this he retraced his steps and conveyed the unwelcome news to
+White.
+
+"It is evident then," said the latter, "that we must stay here, alive
+or dead, all winter.  And I expect we'll be a great deal more dead than
+alive long before it is over."
+
+"Oh, I don't know," replied Cabot.  "This doesn't seem to be such a
+very uninhabited place, after all.  I'm sure we've had a regular job
+lot of visitors during the past week, and a good many of them, too.  So
+I don't see why we shouldn't have other callers before the winter is
+over.  When the next one comes, though, we'll take care and not let him
+out of our sight.  Why didn't you tie a string to one of those Indians,
+as I advised?"
+
+"Because they tied me first," answered White, laughing in spite of his
+anxiety.  "Why didn't you do it yourself?"
+
+"Because all the tying apparatus was aboard the schooner, and I hadn't
+so much as a shoe-string about me.  I wish I could have tied that
+scoundrel Arsenic, though.  If ever I meet him again I'll try to teach
+him a lesson in gratitude.  But what do you propose to do to-day,
+skipper?"
+
+"I suppose we might as well unbend and stow our canvas, since the 'Bee'
+'ll not want to use sails again for a while.  We might also send down
+topmasts, stow away what we can of the running rigging, get those
+provisions on the beach aboard again, and----"
+
+"Hold on!" cried Cabot, "you've already laid out all the work I care to
+tackle in one day, and if you want any more done you'll have to ship a
+new crew."
+
+It was well that the lads had ample occupation for that day, otherwise
+they would have been very unhappy.  Even Cabot, for all his assumed
+cheerfulness, realised the many dangers with which they were beset.  He
+believed that their unknown friend had deserted them, and that the
+Indians might return at any moment in over-powering numbers.  He knew
+that without outside assistance and guidance it would be impossible to
+traverse the vast frozen wilderness lying between them and
+civilisation.  He knew also that if he and White remained where they
+were they must surely perish before the winter was over.  So the
+prospect was far from cheerful, and that evening the "Sea Bee's" crew,
+wearied with their hard day's work, ate their supper in thoughtful
+silence.
+
+While they were thus engaged both suddenly sprang to their feet with
+startled faces.  A gun had been fired from close at hand, and with its
+report came a confusion of shouts.  Evidently more visitors had
+arrived; but were they friends or foes?
+
+White thought the latter, and snatched up a loaded revolver, declaring
+that the Indians should not again get possession of his schooner
+without fighting for it; but Cabot believed the new-comers to be
+friends.
+
+"If they were enemies," he argued, "they would have got aboard and
+taken us by surprise before making a sound."  So saying he hurried up
+the companionway, with White close at his heels.
+
+"Hello!" shouted Cabot.  "Who are you?"
+
+"We are friends," answered a voice from the beach in English, but with
+a strong German accent.  "Can you show us a light?"
+
+"Of course we can, and will in a moment," replied Cabot joyously.
+"White, get a----"
+
+But White had already darted back into the cabin for a lantern, with
+which he speedily emerged, and led the way to the beach.  Here our lads
+found a dog sledge with its team, and an Eskimo driver, who was already
+collecting wood for a fire, together with a white man, tall, straight,
+middle-aged, and wearing a long beard streaked with grey.
+
+"God be with you and keep you," he said, as he shook hands with Cabot
+and White.  "Where is the captain of this schooner?"
+
+Cabot pointed to his companion.
+
+"Where then is the crew?"
+
+At this both lads laughed, and Cabot replied:
+
+"I am the crew."
+
+"You don't mean to tell me that you two boys navigated that vessel to
+this place unaided."
+
+"We certainly did, sir, though we have not done much navigating for
+more than a month now.  But will you please tell us who you are, where
+you came from, and how you happened to discover us?  Though we are not
+surprised at being discovered, for we seem to be located on a highway
+of travel and have visitors nearly every day."
+
+"Indeed," replied the stranger; "and yet you are stranded in one of the
+least known and most inaccessible bays of the coast.  It is rarely
+visited even by natives, and I doubt if any white man was ever here
+before your arrival."
+
+"Then how did you happen to come?" asked Cabot.
+
+"I came by special request to find you and offer whatever assistance I
+may render.  I am the Rev. Ostrander Mellins, Director of a Moravian
+Mission Station located on the coast some twenty-five miles from this
+point."
+
+"But how did you know of us?" cried Cabot, in amazement.  "We haven't
+sent any telegrams nor even written any letters since coming here."
+
+"Did not you send a messenger yesterday?"
+
+"No, sir.  Most of yesterday we were prisoners in the hands of some
+rascally Indians."
+
+"I perceive," said the missionary, "that I have much to hear as well as
+to tell, and, being both tired and cold, would suggest that we seek a
+more sheltered spot than this, where we may converse while my man
+prepares supper."
+
+At these words both our lads were covered with confusion, and, with
+profuse apologies for their lack of hospitality, besought the
+missionary to accompany them into the schooner's cabin.
+
+"We should have asked you long ago," declared White, "only we were so
+overcome with joy at meeting a white man who could talk to us that we
+really didn't know what we were about."
+
+"Won't your man and dogs also come aboard?" asked Cabot, anxious to
+show how hospitable they really were.
+
+"No, thank you," laughed the missionary.  "They will do very well where
+they are."
+
+In the cabin, which had never seemed more cheerful and comfortable, the
+lads helped the new-comer remove his fur garments, plied him with hot
+tea, together with everything they could think of in the way of
+eatables, and at the same time told him their story as they had told it
+to their other guest of the night before.
+
+"And you did not send me any message?" he asked, with a quizzical smile.
+
+"I know!" cried Cabot.  "It was the man-wolf.  But where did you meet
+him, and why didn't he come back with you?  How did he manage to
+explain the situation?  We thought he couldn't talk."
+
+"I don't know that he can," replied the missionary, "for I have never
+heard him speak, nor do I know any one who has.  Neither did I meet
+him.  In fact I have never seen him, but I think your messenger must be
+one and the same with your man-wolf, since he signed his note
+'Homolupus.'"
+
+"His note," repeated Cabot curiously.  "Did he send you a note?"
+
+"Not exactly; but he left one for me at a place near the station, where
+he has often left furs to be exchanged for goods, and called my
+attention to it by a signal of rifle shots.  When I reached the place I
+was not surprised to find him gone, for he always disappears when it is
+certain that his signal has been understood.  I was, however, greatly
+surprised to find, instead of the usual bundle of furs, only a slip of
+paper supported by a cleft stick.  On it was written:
+
+"'Schooner laden with provisions stranded in pocket next South of
+Nukavik Arm.  Crew in distress.  Need immediate assistance.
+Homolupus.'"
+
+
+"With such a message to urge me, I made instant preparation, and came
+here with all speed."
+
+"It was awfully good of you," said White.
+
+"Perhaps not quite so good as you may think, since our annual supply
+ship having thus far failed to make her appearance, the mission is very
+short of provisions, and the intimation that there was an abundance
+within reach relieved me of a load of anxiety.  So if you are disposed
+to sell----"
+
+"Excuse me for interrupting," broke in Cabot, "but, before you get to
+talking business, please tell us something more about the man who sent
+you to our relief.  Who is he?  Where does he live?  What does he look
+like?  Why does he disappear when you go in answer to his signals?  Why
+do you call him a wolf-man?  What----"
+
+"Seems to me that is about as many questions as I can remember at one
+time," said the missionary, smiling at Cabot's eagerness, "and I am
+sorry that, with my slight knowledge of the subject, I cannot answer
+them satisfactorily.  The man-wolf was well known to this country
+before I came to it, which was three years ago, and dwells somewhere to
+the southward of this place, though no one, to my knowledge, has ever
+seen his habitation.  Some of the Eskimo can point out its location,
+but they are in such terror of him that they give it a wide berth
+whenever travelling in that direction.  As I said, I have never seen
+him, nor have I ever known of his holding communication other than by
+writing with any human being.  The natives describe him as a man of
+great size with the head of a wolf."
+
+"There!  I was sure it wasn't imagination," interrupted Cabot
+excitedly.  "When I first saw him his head and face were those of a
+wolf, but the next time they were those of a man, and so I thought I
+must have dreamed the wolf part.  I wonder how he manages it, and I
+wish I knew how he produces those lightning flashes.  If this were a
+more civilised part of the world I should say that they resulted from
+electricity--but of course that couldn't be away off here in the
+wilderness.  I asked him about them but got no answer."
+
+"Have you, then, seen and spoken with him?" asked the missionary.
+
+"Of course we have seen him, for he spent last night in this very
+cabin, and we have spoken to him, though not with him, for he is dumb."
+
+"I envy you the privilege of having met him, and am greatly relieved to
+learn that he is so wholly human; for the natives regard him as either
+a god or a devil, I can't tell which, and ascribe to him superhuman
+powers.  He has righted many a wrong, punished many an evil-doer, saved
+many a poor soul from starvation, and performed innumerable deeds of
+kindness.  He dares everything and seems able to do anything.  He is at
+once the guardian angel and the terror of this region, and, on the
+whole, I doubt if there is in all the world to-day a more remarkable
+being than the man-wolf of Labrador."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+GOOD-BYE TO THE "SEA BEE."
+
+White Baldwin was of course interested in this talk of the man-wolf,
+but he was, at the same time, anxious to hear what the new-comer had to
+say concerning the cargo of provisions for which he had so long sought
+a purchaser.  His heart beat high with the hope of a speedy return to
+his home and its loved ones; for he had already planned to leave the
+"Sea Bee" where she was until the following season.  In case he could
+dispose of her cargo, he would insist that transportation and a
+guide--at least as far as Indian Harbour--should form part of the
+bargain.  From Indian Harbour they would surely find some way of
+continuing the journey.  He might even reach home by Christmas!
+Wouldn't it be great if he could, and if, at the same time, he could
+carry with him enough money to relieve all present anxieties?  Perhaps
+he might even be able to take his mother and Cola to St. Johns for a
+long visit.  Of course Cabot would accompany them, for with the
+warships all gone south for the winter there would be no danger of
+arrest, and then he would find out what a splendid city the capital of
+Newfoundland really was.  Oh! if they could only start at once; but of
+course there were certain preliminaries to be settled first, and the
+sooner they got at them the better.
+
+Thus thinking, White took advantage of a pause in the conversation to
+remark: "What a very fortunate thing it is that you who want to
+purchase provisions and we who have them for sale should come together
+in this remarkable fashion."
+
+"It is so fortunate and so remarkable that I must regard it as a
+distinct leading of the Divine Providence that knows our every need and
+guides our halting footsteps," replied the missionary.
+
+"And do you think," continued the young trader anxiously, "that you
+want our entire cargo?"
+
+"I am sure of it; and even then we may be put on short rations before
+the winter is ended, for there are many to be fed."
+
+With this opening the conversation drifted so easily into business
+details that, before the occupants of the cabin turned in for the
+night, everything had been arranged.  White had been somewhat
+disappointed when the missionary said that, having no funds in St.
+Johns, he would be obliged to give a sight draft on New York in payment
+for the goods.  This slight annoyance was, however, speedily smoothed
+away by Cabot, who offered to cash the draft immediately upon their
+arrival in St. Johns, where, he said, he had ample funds for the
+purpose.  It was also agreed that our lads should be provided with fur
+clothing, snowshoes, a dog sledge, and a guide as far as Indian
+Harbour.  In addition to taking the cargo of the "Sea Bee," the
+missionary proposed to purchase the schooner itself, at a sum much less
+than her real value, but one that constituted a very fair offer under
+the circumstances.
+
+White hesitated over this proposition, but finally accepted it upon
+condition that at any time during the following summer he should be
+allowed to buy the schooner back at the same price he now received for
+her.
+
+"Isn't it fine," he whispered to Cabot, after all hands had sought
+their bunks, "to think that our venture has turned out so splendidly
+after all?"
+
+"Fine is no name for it," rejoined the other.  "But I do hope we will
+have the chance of meeting Mr. Homolupus once more and of thanking him
+for what he has done.  We owe so much to him that, man-wolf or no
+man-wolf, I consider him a splendid fellow."
+
+In spite of their impatience to start southwards, our lads were still
+compelled to spend two weeks longer at Locked Harbour.  First the
+missionary was obliged to make a visit to his station, and, on his
+return, the snow was not in condition for a long sledge journey.
+Furious winds had piled it into drifts, with intervening spaces of bare
+ground, over which sledge travel would be impossible.  So they must
+wait until the autumnal storms were over and winter had settled down in
+earnest.  But, impatient as they were, time no longer hung heavily on
+their hands, nor did they now regard their place of abode as a prison.
+Its solitude and dreariness had fled before the advent of half a
+hundred Eskimo--short, squarely built men, moon-faced women, and
+roly-poly children, looking like animated balls of fur, all of whom had
+been brought from the mission to form a settlement on the beach.  It
+was easier to bring them to the Heaven-sent provisions that were to
+keep them until spring than it would have been to transport the heavy
+barrels of flour and pork to the mission.  At the same time, they could
+protect the schooner from depredations by other wandering natives.
+
+So they came, bag and baggage, babies, dogs, and all, and at once set
+to work constructing snug habitations, in which, with plenty of food
+and plenty of seal oil, they could live happily and comfortably during
+the long winter months.  These structures were neither large nor
+elegant.  In fact they were only hovels sunk half underground, with low
+stone walls, supporting roofs of whale ribs, covered thick with earth.
+A little later they would be buried beneath warm, shapeless mounds of
+snow.  To most of them outside light and air could only be admitted
+through the low doorways, but one, more pretentious than the others,
+was provided with an old window sash, in which the place of missing
+panes was filled by dried intestines tightly stretched.  In every hovel
+a stone lamp filled with seal oil burned night and day, furnishing
+light, warmth, and the heat for melting ice into drinking water,
+boiling tea, drying wet mittens, and doing the family cooking.
+
+Cabot and White were immensely interested in watching the construction
+of these primitive Labrador homes.  They were also amazed at the
+readiness with which the natives made themselves snugly safe and
+comfortable, in a place where they had despaired of keeping alive.
+Besides watching the Eskimo prepare for the winter and picking up many
+words of their language, Cabot took daily lessons in snowshoeing and
+the management of dog teams, in both of which arts White was already an
+adept.
+
+According to contract, both lads had been provided with complete
+outfits for Arctic travel, including fur clothing, boots, and sleeping
+bags.  A sledge with a fine team of dogs had also been placed at their
+disposal, and an intelligent young Eskimo, who could speak some
+English, was ready to guide them on their southward journey.  He was
+introduced to his future travelling companions as Ildlat-Netschillik,
+whereupon Cabot remarked:
+
+"That is an elegant name for special occasions, such as might occur
+once or twice in a lifetime, but seems to me something less ornamental,
+like 'Jim,' for instance, would be better for everyday use.  I wonder
+if he would mind being called Jim?"
+
+On being asked this question the young Eskimo, grinning broadly, said:
+
+"A' yite.  Yim plenty goot," and afterwards he always answered promptly
+and cheerfully to the name of "Yim."
+
+[Illustration: "Yim."]
+
+At length snow fell for several days almost without intermission.  Then
+a fierce wind took it in hand, kneading it, packing it, and stuffing it
+into every crack and cranny of the landscape until hollows were filled,
+ridges were nicely rounded, and rocks had disappeared.  In the
+meantime, strong white bridges had been thrown across lake and stream,
+and the great Labrador highway for winter travel was formally opened to
+the public.
+
+November was well advanced, and our lads had been prisoners in Locked
+Harbour for more than two months when this way of escape was opened to
+them.  It had been decided that they should take a single large sledge,
+having broad runners, and a double team of dogs--ten in all.  On this,
+therefore, was finally lashed a great load of provisions, frozen walrus
+meat for dog food, sleeping bags, the three all-important cooking
+utensils of the wilderness--kettle, fry-pan, and teapot--an axe, and
+Cabot's bag of specimens.  With this outfit Yim was to conduct them
+over the first half of their 400-mile journey, or to Indian Harbour,
+where, through a letter from the missionary, they expected to procure a
+fresh team, renew their supply of provisions, and obtain another guide,
+who should go with them to Battle Harbour.
+
+When the time for starting arrived, the entire population of the new
+settlement turned out to see them off and help get their heavily laden
+sledge up the steep ascent from the beach.  At the crest of the bluffs
+the men fired a parting salute from their smooth-bore guns, the women
+and children uttered shrill cries of farewell, and the missionary gave
+them his final blessing, Yim cracked his eighteen-foot whiplash like a
+pistol shot, shouted to his dogs, and the yelping team sprang forward.
+Our lads gave a fond backward glance at their loved schooner, so far
+below them that she looked like a toy boat, and then, with hearts too
+full for words, they faced the vast white wilderness outspread like a
+frozen sea before them.
+
+All that day they pushed steadily forward almost without a pause,
+holding a westerly course to pass around a deep fiord that penetrated
+far inland, and might not yet be crossed with safety.  Yim ran beside
+his straining dogs, encouraging the laggards with whip and voice; White
+led the way and broke the trail, while Cabot brought up the rear and
+helped the sledge over difficult places.
+
+For several hours they followed the signal line with its fluttering
+flags, and felt that they were still on familiar ground.  At length
+even these were left behind, and for three hours longer they plodded
+sturdily forward, guided only by Yim's unerring instinct.  Then the
+short day came to an end and night descended with a chill breath of
+bitter winds.  Cabot was nearly exhausted, and even White was painfully
+weary, but both had been buoyed up by a hope that they might reach
+timber and have abundant firewood for their first camp.  Now, when Yim,
+throwing down his whip and giving his dogs the command to halt, calmly
+announced that they would make camp where they were, both lads looked
+at him in dismay.
+
+"We surely can't camp here in the snow without a fire or any kind of
+shelter!" exclaimed Cabot.  "Why, man, we'll be frozen stiff long
+before morning."
+
+"A' yite.  Me fix um.  You see," responded Yim, cheerfully.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+THE COMFORT OF AN ESKIMO LAMP.
+
+In that dreary waste of snow, unrelieved so far as the eye could reach
+by so much as a single bush, the making of a camp that should contain
+even the rudiments of comfort seemed as hopeless to White, who had
+always been accustomed to a timbered country, as it did to Cabot, who
+knew nothing of real camp life, and had only played at camping in the
+Adirondacks.  Left to their own devices, they would have passed a most
+uncomfortable if not a perilous night, for the mercury stood at many
+degrees below zero.  But they had Yim with them, and he, being
+perfectly at home amid all that desolation, was determined to enjoy all
+the home comforts it could be made to yield.
+
+First he marked out a circular space some twelve feet in diameter, from
+which he bade his companions excavate the snow with their snowshoes,
+and throw it out on the windward side.  While they were doing this he
+went a short distance away, and, from a mass of closely compacted snow,
+carved out with his knife a number of blocks, as large as could be
+handled without breaking, to each of which he gave a slight curve.
+With time enough Yim could have constructed from such slabs a perfect
+igloo or snow hut, but the fading daylight was very precious, and he
+did not consider that the cold was yet sufficiently severe to demand a
+complete enclosure.  So he merely built a low, hood-like structure on
+the windward side of the space the others had cleared.  One side of
+this was still further extended by the sledge, relieved of its load and
+set on edge.
+
+The precious provisions were placed inside the rude shelter, the
+sleeping bags covered its floor, and, when all was completed, Yim
+surveyed his work with great satisfaction.
+
+"It is pretty good so far as it goes," admitted.  White, dubiously,
+"but I don't see how we are to get along without at least enough fire
+to boil a pot of tea, and of course we can't have a fire without wood."
+
+"That's so," agreed Cabot, shivering.
+
+Yim only smiled knowingly as he groped among the miscellaneous articles
+piled at the back of the hut.  From them he finally drew forth a
+shallow soapstone bowl having one straight side about six inches long.
+It was shaped something like a clam shell, and was a specimen of the
+world-famed Eskimo cooking lamp.  He also produced a bladder full of
+seal oil.
+
+"Good enough!" cried Cabot.  "Yim has remembered to bring along his
+travelling cook stove."
+
+Setting the lamp in the most sheltered corner of the hut, Yim filled it
+with oil, and then, drawing forth a pouch that hung from his neck, he
+produced a wick made of sphagnum moss previously dried, rolled, and
+oiled.  This he laid carefully along the straight side of the lamp.
+Then, turning to Cabot, he uttered the single word: "Metches."
+
+"Great Scott!" exclaimed the young engineer, "I forgot to bring any.
+But of course you must have some, White."
+
+"No, I haven't.  Matches were among the things you were to look after,
+and so I never gave them a thought."
+
+The spirits of the lads, raised to a high pitch of expectation by the
+sight of Yim's lamp, suddenly sank to zero with the discovery that they
+had no means for lighting it.  Yim, however, only smiled at their
+dismay.  Of course he had long since learned the use of matches, and to
+appreciate them at their full value; but he also knew how to produce
+fire without their aid in the simplest manner ever devised by primitive
+man.  It is the friction method of rubbing wood against wood, and, in
+one form or another, is used all over the world.  It was known to the
+most ancient Egyptians, and is practised to-day by natives of the
+Amazon valley, dwellers on South Pacific islands, inhabitants of Polar
+regions, Indians of North America, and the negroes of Central Africa.
+These widely scattered peoples use various models of wooden drills,
+ploughs, or saws.  But Yim's method is the simplest of all.  When he
+saw that no matches were forthcoming, he said:
+
+"A' yite.  Me fix um."  At the same time he produced two pieces of soft
+wood from some hiding place in his garments.  One of these, known as
+the "spindle," was a stick about two feet long by three-quarters of an
+inch in diameter and having a rounded point.  The other, called the
+"hearth," was flat, about eighteen inches in length, half an inch
+thick, and three inches wide.  On its upper surface, close to one edge,
+were several slight cavities, each just large enough to hold the
+rounded end of the spindle, and from each was cut a narrow slot down
+the side of the hearth.  This slot is an indispensable feature, and
+without it all efforts to produce fire by wood-friction must fail.
+
+Laying the hearth on the flat side of a sledge runner and kneeling on
+it to hold it firmly in position, Yim set the rounded end of his
+spindle in one of its depressions, and holding the upper end between
+the palms of his hands, began to twirl it rapidly, at the same time
+exerting all possible downward pressure.  As his hands moved towards
+the lower end of the spindle he dexterously shifted them back to the
+top, without lifting it or allowing air to get under its lower end.
+
+With the continuation of the twirling process a tiny stream of wood
+meal, ground off by friction, poured through the slot at the side of
+the hearth, and accumulated in a little pile, that all at once began to
+smoke.  In two seconds more it was a glowing coal of fire.  Then Yim
+dropped his spindle, covered the coal with a bit of tinder previously
+made ready, and blew it into a flame, which he deftly transferred to
+the wick of his lamp.
+
+At sight of the first spiral of smoke our lads had been filled with
+amazement.  As the coal began to glow they uttered exclamations of
+delight, and when the actual flame appeared they broke into such
+enthusiastic cheering as set all the dogs to barking in sympathy.
+
+"It is one of the most wonderful things I ever saw," cried Cabot.
+"I've often read of fire being produced by wood friction, and I have
+tried it lots of times myself, but as I never could raise even a smoke,
+and never before met any one who could, I decided that it was all a
+fake got up by story writers."
+
+"I was rather doubtful about it myself," admitted White.  "But, I say!
+Isn't that a great lamp, and doesn't it make things look cheery?"
+
+White's approval of "Yim's cook stove," as Cabot called it, was well
+merited, for its five inches of blazing wick yielded as much light and
+twice the heat of a first-class kerosene lamp.  Over it Yim had already
+suspended a kettle full of snow, and now he laid a slab of frozen pork
+close beside it to be thawed out.
+
+While waiting for these he fed the dogs, who had been watching him with
+wistful eyes and impatient yelpings.  To each he threw a two-pound
+chunk of frozen walrus meat, and each devoured his portion with such
+ravenous rapidity that Cabot declared they swallowed them whole.
+
+Half an hour after the lamp was lighted it had converted enough snow
+into boiling water to provide three steaming cups of tea, and while our
+lads sipped at these Yim cut slices of thawed pork, laid them in the
+fry-pan, and holding this over his lamp soon had them sizzling and
+browning in the most appetising manner.  This, with tea and ship
+biscuit, constituted their supper.
+
+When Yim no longer needed his lamp for cooking he removed two-thirds of
+its wick and allowed the flame thus reduced to burn all night.  Over it
+hung a kettle of melting snow, and above this, on a snowshoe, supported
+by two others, wet mittens and moccasins were slowly but thoroughly
+dried.
+
+In spite of the hot tea, their fur-lined sleeping bags, and the
+effective wind-break behind which they were huddled, our lads suffered
+with cold long before the night was over, and were quite willing to
+make a start when Yim, after a glance at the stars, announced that
+daylight was only three hours away.  For breakfast they had more
+scalding tea and a quantity of hard bread, broken into small bits,
+soaked in warm water, fried in seal oil, and eaten with sugar.  White
+pronounced this fine, but Cabot only ate it under protest, because, as
+he said, he must fill up with something.
+
+The travel of that day, with its accompaniments of blisters and
+strained muscles, was much harder than that of the day before, and our
+weary lads were thankful when, towards its close, they entered a belt
+of timber that had been in sight for hours.
+
+That night they slept warmly and soundly on luxurious beds of spruce
+boughs beside a great fire frequently replenished by Yim.
+
+"I tell you what," said Cabot, as, early in the evening, he basked in
+the heat of this blaze, "there's nothing in all this world so good as
+that.  For my part I consider fire to be the greatest blessing ever
+conferred upon mankind."
+
+"How about light, air, water, food, and sleep?" asked White.
+
+"Those are necessaries, but fire is a luxury.  Not only that, but it is
+the first of all luxuries and the one upon which nearly all others
+depend."
+
+When, a little later, Cabot lay so close to the blaze that his sleeping
+bag caught on fire, and he burned his hands in putting it out, White
+laughingly asked:
+
+"What do you think of your luxury now?"
+
+"I think," was the reply, "that it proves itself the greatest of
+luxuries by punishing over-indulgence in it with the greatest amount of
+pain."
+
+"Umph!" remarked Yim, who was listening, "Big fire, goot.  Baby fire,
+more goot.  Innuit yamp mos' goot of any."
+
+"Oh, pshaw!" retorted Cabot, "your sooty little lamp isn't in it with a
+blaze like that."
+
+On the third day of their journey the party had skirted the edge of the
+timber for several hours, when all at once Yim held his head high with
+dilated nostrils.  At the same time it was noticed that the dogs were
+also sniffing eagerly.
+
+"What is it, Yim?"
+
+"Fire.  Injin fire," was the reply.
+
+"I'd like to know how you can tell an Indian fire from any other," said
+Cabot.  "Especially when it is so far away that I can't smell anything
+but cold air."
+
+But Yim was right, for, after a while, his companions also smelled
+smoke, and a little later the yelping of their dogs was answered by
+shrill cries from within the timber.  Suddenly two tattered scarecrows
+of children emerged from the thick growth, stared for an instant, and
+then, with terrified expressions, darted back like frightened rabbits.
+
+"The Arsenic kids!" cried Cabot, who had recognised them.  "Now I'll
+catch that scoundrel."  As he spoke he sprang after the children, and
+was instantly lost to view in the low timber.
+
+"Hold on!" shouted White.  "You'll run into an ambush."
+
+But Cabot, crashing through the undergrowth, failed to hear the
+warning, and with the loyalty of true friendship White started after
+him.  A minute later he overtook his impulsive comrade standing still
+and gazing irresolute at a canvas tent, black with age and smoke, and
+patched in many places.  It stood on the edge of a small lake, and
+showed no sign of occupancy save a slender curl of smoke that drifted
+from a vent hole in its apex.
+
+"Get behind cover," cried White.  "They may take a pot shot at any
+moment."
+
+"I don't believe it," replied Cabot.  "Any way, I'm bound to see what's
+inside."
+
+Thus saying he stepped forward and lifted the dingy flap.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+OBJECTS OF CHARITY.
+
+While Cabot felt very bitter against the young Indian whom he had named
+"Arsenic," on account of the base ingratitude with which the latter had
+repaid the kindness shown him, and was determined to punish him for it
+in some way, he had not the slightest idea what form the punishment
+would take.  Of course he did not intend to kill Arsenic, nor even to
+severely injure him, but he had thought of giving the rascal a sound
+thrashing, and only hoped he could make him understand what it was for.
+In the excitement of the past two weeks he had forgotten all about
+Arsenic, but the sight of those ragged children had awakened his
+animosity, and he had followed them, hoping that they would lead him to
+the object of his just wrath.  It was only when he reached the
+sorry-looking tent that he remembered the other savages whom Arsenic
+had brought with him on his second visit to the schooner, and wondered
+if some of them might not be concealed behind the canvas screen ready
+to spring upon him.
+
+With this thought he stepped nimbly to one side as he threw open the
+flap, and stood for a moment waiting for what might happen.  There was
+no rush of men and no sound, save only a faint cry of terror, hearing
+which Cabot peered cautiously around the edge of the opening.
+
+A poor little fire of sticks smouldered on the ground in the middle,
+filling the place with a pungent smoke.  Through this Cabot could at
+first make out only a confused huddle at one side, from which several
+pairs of eyes glared at him like those of wild beasts.  As he entered
+the tent a human figure detached itself from this and strove to rise,
+but fell back weakly helpless.  In another moment a closer view
+disclosed to Cabot the whole dreadful situation.  The huddle resolved
+itself into a woman, hollow-cheeked and gaunt with sickness and hunger,
+two children in slightly better plight, and a little dead baby.  There
+was no other person in the tent, and it contained no furnishing except
+the heap of boughs, rags, and scraps of fur that passed for a bed, and
+a broken kettle that lay beside the fire.  On the floor were scattered
+a few bones picked clean, from which even the marrow had been
+extracted; but otherwise there was no vestige of food.
+
+"I believe they are starving to death!" cried Cabot, as he made these
+discoveries.
+
+"It certainly looks like it," replied White, who had followed his
+friend into the tent.  "I wonder what they did with all the provisions
+they stole from us."
+
+"Probably they were taken from them in turn to feed those other
+Indians.  At any rate, they are destitute enough now, and we can't
+leave them here to die.  Go and bring Yim with the sled as quick as you
+can, while I wake up this fire."
+
+"All right," replied White, "only I'm afraid he won't come."
+
+"He must come," said Cabot decisively.
+
+The hatred between Eskimo and Indian is so bitter that it took all
+White's powers of persuasion, together with certain threats, to bring
+Yim to the tent, but once there even he was sufficiently roused by its
+spectacle of suffering to bestir himself most actively.
+
+During the next hour, while the starving, half-frozen Indians were
+warmed and fed, the rescuers discussed the situation and what should be
+done.  They could not leave the helpless family as they had found them,
+neither could they carry them away, and it would be folly to remain
+with them longer than was absolutely necessary.  They could not gain a
+word of information from the woman or children as to how they had
+arrived at such a pitiable plight, what they had done with the stolen
+provisions, why their friends had abandoned them, or what had become of
+Arsenic.
+
+"I'll tell you what," said Cabot at length; "we'll provide them with a
+supply of wood and leave all the provisions we can possibly spare.
+Then we will hurry on to Indian Harbour, send back some more provisions
+from there by Yim, and get him to report the case to Mr. Mellins."
+
+As there seemed nothing better to be done, this plan was carried out,
+though dividing the provisions made each portion look woefully small,
+and by noon the sledge was again on its way southward.
+
+The head of the fiord having been reached, the trail now left the
+sheltering timber and struck across an open country, which was also
+extremely rugged, abounding in hills and hollows.  Over these the
+sledge pulled heavily, in spite of its lightened load, because one of
+the ice shoes, with which its runners were shod, had broken and could
+not be repaired until camp was made.
+
+When they had gone about three miles, and while our lads were still
+talking of the suffering they had so recently witnessed, they were
+attracted by an exclamation from Yim, who was pointing eagerly ahead.
+Looking in that direction, they saw a line of dark objects, that had
+just topped a distant ridge, running swiftly towards them.
+
+"Caribou!" shouted White, in great excitement, at the same time seizing
+his rifle from the sledge and hastily removing it from its sealskin
+case.  In another minute sledge and dogs were concealed in a bit of a
+gully, with Cabot to watch them, while Yim and White, lying flat behind
+the crest of a low ridge, were eagerly noting the course of the
+approaching animals.  When it became evident that they would pass at
+some distance on the right, White, crouching low, ran in that direction.
+
+The caribou appeared badly frightened, pausing every few moments to
+face about and cast terrified glances over the way they had come.  All
+at once, during one of these pauses, a shot rang out, followed quickly
+by another, and, as the terrified animals dashed madly away in a new
+direction, one of their number dropped behind, staggered, and fell.
+
+"I've got him!  I've got him!" yelled White, wild with the joy of his
+achievement.
+
+"Hurrah for us!" shouted Cabot.  "Steaks and spare-ribs for supper
+to-night."
+
+"Yip, yip, yip!" screamed Yim to his dogs, and with a jubilant chorus
+of yells and yelpings, the entire outfit streamed over the ridge to the
+place where the unfortunate caribou lay motionless.
+
+In his broken English Yim gave the lads to understand that it would be
+advisable to camp where they were, in order to prepare their meat for
+transportation, and also to mend their broken sledge shoe.  This
+latter, he explained, could be done much better with a mixture of blood
+and snow than with any other available material.  He furthermore
+intimated that he feared they might be overtaken by a blizzard before
+morning, in which case they could best defy it in a regularly built
+igloo.
+
+All these reasons for delay seemed so good that the others accepted
+them, and the work outlined by Yim was immediately begun.  In cutting
+up the caribou, as in building the snow hut, Cabot, from lack of
+experience, could give but slight assistance, and, realising this, he
+made a proposal.
+
+"Look here," he said.  "The wood we have brought along won't last long
+and I want a good fire to-night.  I also want to carry some of this
+meat to those poor wretches we have just left.  We have got more than
+we can take with us, anyhow.  So I am going back with a leg of venison,
+and on my return I'll bring all the wood I can pack."
+
+"But you might lose the way," objected White.
+
+"No one could lose so plain a trail as the one we have just made,"
+replied Cabot, scornfully.
+
+"Suppose it should be dark before you got back?"
+
+"There will be three hours of daylight yet, and I won't be gone more
+than two at the most.  Anyhow, I must get some of this meat to those
+starving children."
+
+White's protests were ineffectual before Cabot's strong resolve, and,
+as soon as a forequarter of the caribou could be made ready, the latter
+get forth on his errand of mercy.  Although he had no difficulty in
+finding the trail, it was so much harder to walk with a heavy load than
+it had been without one that a full hour had passed before he again
+came within sight of the lonely tent in the forest.
+
+One of the children who was outside spied him and announced his coming,
+so that when he entered the tent he again found a frightened group
+huddled together and apprehensively awaiting him.  But they were
+stronger now, and the children uttered little squeals of joy at sight
+of the meat he had brought, while even the haggard face of their mother
+was lighted by a fleeting smile.
+
+For the pleasure of seeing the children eat Cabot toasted a few strips
+of venison over the coals, and these smelled so good that he cut off
+some more for himself.  In this occupation he spent another hour
+without realising the flight of time, and had eaten a quantity of meat
+that he would have deemed impossible had it all been placed before him
+at once.
+
+As he was bending over the fire toasting a strip that he said to
+himself should be the last, a slight cry from one of the children
+caused him to look up.  He barely caught a glimpse of a face at the
+entrance as it was hastily withdrawn, but in that moment he recognised
+the features of Arsenic.  At sight of the ill-favoured young Indian all
+of Cabot's former resentment flamed up, and springing to his feet he
+dashed from the tent, determined to give Arsenic the thrashing he
+deserved.
+
+Of course Cabot had removed his snowshoes, but, as the young Indian had
+done the same thing, both were compelled to readjust these
+all-important articles, without which they would have floundered
+helplessly in the deep snow.
+
+Arsenic was off first, and though Cabot chased him hotly he could not
+overcome the advantage thus gained.  Being also much less expert in the
+management of snowshoes, he tripped several times, and finally pitched
+headlong.  When he next regained his feet Arsenic had disappeared in
+the timber, and our lad realised the futility of a further pursuit.
+Now, too, he noticed that the sky had become heavily overcast, and that
+a strong wind was soughing ominously through the tree tops.
+
+"It must be later than I thought," he reflected, "and high time for me
+to be getting back to camp."  With this he hastily gathered a bundle of
+sticks to be used as firewood and started, as he supposed, towards the
+open; but so confused was he, and so many turns did he make, that more
+than half an hour was wasted before he finally emerged from the timber.
+Here he was dismayed to find that snow was falling, or rather being
+driven in straight lines by the wind, which had increased to the force
+of a gale.
+
+"I've got to hump myself to reach camp before dark, but I'll make it
+all right," he remarked to himself, as he set forth across the white
+plain.
+
+He took a diagonal course that he hoped would lead him to the trail,
+but by the time all landmarks were obliterated by the descending night
+he had failed to find it.  In looking back he could not even
+distinguish the timber line from which he had come.  Then the awful
+conviction slowly forced itself upon him that he was lost in a
+trackless wilderness, swept by the first fury of an Arctic blizzard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+LOST IN A BLIZZARD.
+
+So numbed was our poor lad by the shock of his discovery that, for a
+few moments, he stood motionless.  Of course it would be of no use to
+continue his hopeless struggle.  Even if he had come in the right
+direction he must ere this have passed the place where his companions
+were encamped.  If he could only regain the timber there might be a
+slight chance of surviving the night; but even its location was lost to
+him, and a certain death stared him in the face.  At any rate it would
+be a painless ending, for he had only to lie down to be quickly covered
+by a soft blanket of snow.  Then he could go to sleep never again to
+waken.  He was very weary, and already so drowsy that the thought of
+sleep was pleasant to him.  Such a death would certainly not be so
+terrible as drowning after a hopeless struggle with black waters.
+
+With this thought every incident of that awful night after the loss of
+the "Lavinia" flashed into his mind.  How utterly hopeless had seemed
+his situation then and how desperately he had fought for his life.  But
+he had fought, and had won the fight.  What was the use of learning a
+lesson of that kind if he could not profit by it?  Was not his life as
+well worth fighting for now as then?  Of course it was; nor was his
+present position any more hopeless than that one had been.  Then he had
+drifted with the wind, and now he would do the same thing.  If he could
+hold out long enough he would fetch up somewhere sometime.  It was
+merely a question of endurance.  Even in that howling wilderness, with
+death on all sides, there were still three chances for life.  The drift
+with the wind might take him to the igloo that Yim must have built ere
+this.  How bright, and warm, and cosey its lamplighted interior would
+be.  How glad they would be to see him, and how he would laugh at all
+his recent fears.  But of course there was not one chance in a million
+of his finding the igloo.  It was not at all unlikely, though, that the
+drift might take him to a belt of timber, into which the bitter wind
+could not penetrate; and where he could crawl under the thick,
+low-hanging branches of some tent-like spruce.  Even such a shelter now
+seemed very desirable, and would be accepted with thankfulness.  If he
+failed to reach timber, the wind might blow him to some region of
+cliffs and rocks that would shelter him from its cutting blasts.  If he
+missed all these chances, and if worse came to worst, he could always
+go to sleep beneath the snow blanket, and it would be better to do that
+with the consciousness of having made a good fight than to yield now
+like a coward.
+
+All these thoughts flashed through Cabot's mind within the space of a
+minute, and, having determined to fight until the battle was either won
+or lost, he flung away his now useless burden of firewood and started
+off down the wind.  Tramping through that newly fallen snow, even with
+the support of racquets, was exhausting work, but the effort at least
+kept him warm, and, before he came to the end of his strength, some
+hours later, he had covered a number of miles.  He had also come to the
+least promising of the three places he had hoped for, and found himself
+in a region of cliffs, precipices, and huge rocks, among which he could
+no longer make headway, even though he had not reached the limit of
+endurance.
+
+But he had reached that limit, and now only sought a spot in which he
+might lie down and go to sleep.  Of course the snow would quickly cover
+him, and doubtless he would be buried deep ere the fury of the storm
+was past.  But he had a vague plan for putting his snowshoes over his
+head like an inverted V, and hoped in that way to be kept from
+smothering.  At the same time he had little thought that he should ever
+see the light of another day.
+
+"Only a bit further and then I can rest," he muttered, as he pushed
+into the blackness of a rift between two tall cliffs, and experienced a
+partial relief from the furious wind.  It seemed as though he ought to
+penetrate this as far as possible, and so he struggled weakly forward.
+Then he stumbled over something that lay across his path and fell
+heavily.  As he lay wondering whether an attempt to regain his feet
+would be worth while, he seemed to hear the distant but strenuous
+ringing of an electric bell, and almost smiled at the absurdity of such
+a fancy in such a place.  The thought carried him back to the
+electrical laboratory of the Institute, and he began to dream that he
+was still a student of ohms, volts, and amperes.
+
+In another moment his consciousness would have been wholly merged in
+dreams, but suddenly the place where he lay was filled with a blaze of
+light that apparently streamed from the solid rock on either side.  So
+intense was this light that it penetrated even Cabot's closed eyes, and
+aroused him from the stupor into which he had fallen.  He lifted his
+head, and, still bewildered, wondered why the laboratory was so
+brilliantly illuminated.
+
+Then, through the glare, he saw the driving snow-flakes with their
+dancing shadows magnified a hundred fold, and, all at once, he
+remembered.  Staggering to his feet, and groping with outstretched
+arms, he pushed forward along the narrow pathway outlined by the
+mysterious light.  He no longer heard the sound of bells, but in its
+place came strains of music that blended weirdly with the shrieking
+wind, and irresistibly compelled him forward.  The pathway sloped
+downward and then took a sharp turn.  As Cabot passed this the light
+behind him was extinguished as suddenly as it had appeared, the wild
+music sounded louder than ever, and directly in front of him gleamed
+two squares of light like windows.  Between them was a dark space,
+towards which he instinctively stumbled.  It proved to be as he had
+hoped, a door massive and without any means of unclosing that his blind
+fumblings could discover.  So he beat against it feebly and uttered a
+hoarse cry for help.  In another moment it was opened, and Cabot,
+leaning heavily against it, fell into a room, small, warm, and brightly
+lighted.
+
+For a few minutes he lay with closed eyes, barely conscious that his
+struggle for life had been successful, and that in some mysterious
+manner he had gained a place of safety.  Gradually he became aware that
+some one was bending over him, and opening his eyes he gazed full into
+a face that he instantly recognised, though it had sadly changed since
+he last saw it.  At that time it had expressed strength in every line,
+but now it was haggard and worn by suffering.
+
+"The Man-wolf!" gasped Cabot, in a voice hardly above a whisper.
+
+A slight smile flitted across the man's face, and then, without
+warning, he sank to the floor in a dead faint.  His mighty strength had
+been turned to the weakness of water, and the iron will had at length
+relaxed its hold upon the enfeebled body.  As the man-wolf fell, a
+stream of blood trickled from his mouth, and he choked for breath as
+though strangling.
+
+There is nothing so effective in restoring spent strength as a demand
+upon it from one who is weaker, and at sight of the big man's
+helplessness Cabot was instantly nerved to renewed effort.  He sat up,
+cut loose his snowshoes, closed the open door, and rid himself of his
+snow-laden outer garments.  Then, by a supreme effort, he managed to
+drag the unconscious man to a bed that was piled with robes and lean
+him against it.  His eyes had already lighted on a jug of water, and
+fetching this he bathed the sufferer's face, washed the blood from his
+mouth, and finally had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes unclose.
+Then he helped him on to the bed, and though during the operation the
+man's face expressed the most intense pain, he uttered no sound.  But
+the movement was accompanied by another hemorrhage, so severe that it
+seemed to our distressed lad as though the man must surely bleed to
+death before it was checked.  When it finally ceased the exhausted
+sufferer dropped asleep, and, for the first time since entering that
+place of mysteries, Cabot found an opportunity for looking about him.
+
+Although the room was small it was comfortably furnished with a table,
+chairs--one of which was a rocker--a lounge, and the bed on which the
+man-wolf lay.  There were no windows nor doors except those in front.
+The ceiling was of heavy canvas tightly stretched, while the walls were
+hung with the skins of fur-bearing animals, and the floor was covered
+with rugs of the same material.  At first Cabot paid no attention to
+these details, for his eyes were fixed upon the most astonishing thing
+he had seen in all Labrador.  It was a lamp that, depending from the
+ceiling, gave to the room an illumination as brilliant as daylight.
+
+"Electric, as I live!" gasped the young engineer.  "A regular
+incandescent, and those lights out on the trail must have been the
+same.  That was an electric bell too.  I know it now, though I couldn't
+believe my ears at the time.  The light he scared the Indians with must
+have been an electric flash, worked by a storage battery.  But it is
+all so incredible!  I wonder if I am really awake or still dreaming?"
+
+To assure himself on this point Cabot went to the light, and, as he did
+so, came upon another surprise greater than any that had preceded it.
+He had wondered at the comfortable temperature of the room, for there
+was nowhere a fire to be seen, and the blizzard still howled outside
+with unabated fury.  Now, on drawing near to the lamp, he found himself
+also approaching some heretofore unobserved source of heat, which he
+discovered to be a drum of sheet iron.  It stood by itself, unconnected
+with any chimney, and apparently had no receptacle for any form of
+fuel, solid, liquid, or gaseous.
+
+"A Balfour electric heater," murmured Cabot, in an awe-stricken tone,
+"and I didn't even know they had been perfected.  I don't suppose there
+are half-a-dozen in use in all the world, and yet here is one of them
+doing its full duty up here in the Labrador wilderness, a thousand
+miles from anywhere.  It is fully equal to any tale of the Arabian
+Nights, and Mr. Homolupus must, as the natives say, be either a god or
+a devil.  I do wonder who he is, where he came from, what has happened
+to him, where he gets his electricity, and a thousand other things.  I
+wish he would wake up, and I wish he could talk."
+
+Cabot's curiosity concerning the weird music that had drawn him to that
+place had been partially satisfied by the discovery of a violin on the
+floor beside the sick man's bed.  Now, as he flung himself wearily down
+on the lounge for a bit of rest, he became conscious of the muffled
+b-r-r-r of a dynamo.  That accounted in a measure for the electric
+lights, but still left our lad in a daze of wonder at the nature of his
+surroundings.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS.
+
+When Cabot threw himself down on that lounge he fully intended to
+remain awake, or at most to take only a series of short naps, always
+holding himself in readiness to assist the sufferer on the opposite
+side of the room.  But exhausted nature proved too much for his good
+intentions, and he had hardly lain down before he fell into a dead,
+dreamless sleep that lasted for many hours.  When he next awoke it was
+with a start, and he sat up bewildered by the strangeness of his
+environment.  Daylight was streaming in at the frost-covered windows
+and the storm of the night before had evidently spent its fury.
+
+Almost the first thing he saw was the tall form of his host bending
+feebly over the electric stove.  His face was drawn with pain, and he
+was so weak that he was compelled to support himself by grasping the
+table with one hand while with the other he stirred the contents of a
+simmering kettle.
+
+"Let me do that, sir!" cried Cabot, springing to his feet.  "You are
+not fit to be out of your bed, and I am perfectly familiar with the
+management of electrical cooking apparatus, though I don't know much
+about cooking itself."
+
+The man hesitated a moment, and then permitted the other to lead him
+back to his bed, on which he sank with a groan.  Here Cabot made him as
+comfortable as possible before turning his attention to the stove.  On
+it he found two kettles, each having its own wire connections, in one
+of which was boiling water while the other contained a meat stew.  On
+the table was a box of tea, a bowl of sugar, and a plate heaped with
+hard bread.  Finding other dishes in a cupboard, Cabot made a pot of
+tea, turned off the electric current, and served breakfast.  Before
+eating a mouthful himself he prepared a bowl of broth for his patient,
+which the latter managed to swallow after many attempts and painful
+effort.
+
+Cabot ate ravenously, and, after his meal, felt once more ready to face
+any number of difficulties.  First he went to the bedside of his host
+and said:
+
+"Now, Mr. Homolupus, I want to find out what is the trouble and what I
+can do for you.  Are you wounded, or just naturally ill?"
+
+The man looked at his questioner for a moment, as though he were on the
+point of speaking.  Then he seemed to change his mind, and, reaching
+for a pencil and pad that lay close at hand, he wrote:
+
+"I am shot in the chest."
+
+"Who--I mean how----" began Cabot, and then, realising that his
+curiosity could well wait, he added: "But, with your permission, I will
+examine the wound and see if there is anything I can do."
+
+With this he sought and gently removed a blood-soaked bandage, thereby
+disclosing a sight so ghastly that it almost unnerved him.  The wound
+was so terrible, and the loss of blood from it had evidently been so
+great, that how even the giant frame of the man-wolf could have
+survived it was amazing.  Having no knowledge of surgery, Cabot could
+only bathe and rebandage it.  Then he said:
+
+"Now, I am going to be your nurse, and you must lie perfectly still
+without attempting to get up again until I give you leave."
+
+Seeing an expression of dissent in the man's face, he continued:
+
+"It's all right.  I am under the greatest of obligations to you, and am
+only too glad of a chance to pay some of it back.  So I shall stay
+right here just as long as you need me.  Fortunately I know something
+about both electricity and machinery, having been educated at a
+technical institute, so that I shall be able to manage very well with
+your plant.  But I do wish you could explain a few things to me.  Is
+your name really 'Homolupus'?"
+
+The sufferer smiled and wrote on his pad:
+
+"My name is Watson Balfour."
+
+[Illustration: "My name is Watson Balfour."]
+
+"Of London?" queried Cabot.
+
+The man nodded.
+
+"Is it possible that you can be Watson Balfour, the celebrated English
+electrician, who is supposed to have been lost at sea some years ago?"
+
+Again the man smiled and made a sign of assent.
+
+For a moment Cabot stared, well nigh speechless with the wonder and
+excitement of this discovery.  Then he broke into a torrent of
+exclamations and questions.
+
+"Why, Mr. Balfour, I know you so well by reputation that you seem like
+an old friend.  Your 'Handbook of Electricity' and your 'Comparative
+Voltage' are text books at the Institute.  The whole scientific world
+mourned your supposed death.  But how do you happen to be up here, and
+how have you managed to establish an electric plant in this wilderness?
+Why are you masquerading as a man-wolf?  How did you lose the power of
+speech?  How did you become so severely wounded?  Can't you tell me
+some of these things?"
+
+For answer Mr. Balfour wrote: "Perhaps, some time.  Tell first how you
+came here."
+
+So Cabot, forced to curb for the present his own overpowering
+curiosity, sat down and told of all that had happened since the
+departure of the man-wolf from Locked Harbour.  When he had finished he
+said:
+
+"And now, I ought to go outside and see if I can discover any trace of
+my companions, who must be awfully cut up over my disappearance.  But
+don't be uneasy, Mr. Balfour, I shan't go far, and whether I find them
+or not I shall certainly come back to stay just as long as you need me.
+I hope you will sleep while I am gone, and I wish you would promise not
+to leave your bed, or move more than is absolutely necessary, before my
+return."
+
+When Cabot first stepped outside the shelter that had proved such a
+haven of safety to him, he was dazzled by the brilliancy of the day.
+After becoming somewhat accustomed to the glare of sunlight on
+new-fallen snow, he turned to see what sort of a house he had just
+left.  To his surprise there was no house; the only suggestion of one
+being two windows and a door set in a wall of rock that was built at
+the base of a cliff.
+
+"It is a cavern," thought Cabot, "and that is the reason the room is so
+easily kept warm.  Mighty good thing to have in this country,
+especially when it is lined with furs."
+
+The snow lay unbroken, and there was no sign of the trail he had made
+the night before.  For a short distance, however, he could go in but
+one direction, for the only way out was through the narrow defile by
+which he had entered.  At its mouth he found the wire over which he had
+fallen, and thereby given notice of his approach by causing the ringing
+of an electric bell.
+
+"When he heard it he turned on the lights," said Cabot to himself.
+"It's a great scheme for scaring off Indians and attracting white men.
+I wonder if any other person ever found the place?  What a marvellous
+thing my stumbling on it was, anyhow.  Now, which way did I come?"
+
+Gazing blankly at the surrounding chaos of snow-covered rocks, our lad
+could form no idea of the route by which he had been led to that place,
+through the storm and darkness of the preceding night, nor of how he
+might leave it.
+
+"There is no use wandering aimlessly," he decided at length, "and I'll
+either have to gain a bird's-eye view of the country or get Mr. Balfour
+to make me a map.  To think that I should have discovered him, and here
+of all places in the world.  What a sensation it will make when I tell
+of it.  Of course I shall do so, for I'll get out of this fix all right
+somehow.  What a state of mind poor White must be in this morning.  I
+know I should be in his place.  He's all right, though, with Yim to
+pull him through, and they'll make Indian Harbour easy enough.  Then I
+shall be reported lost, and after a while Mr. Hepburn will hear the
+news.  Wonder what he thinks has become of me anyhow?  I am following
+out instructions, and wintering in Labrador fast enough.  Only I don't
+seem to have much time to investigate mining properties, and of course
+it's no use trying to find 'em buried under feet of snow.  Perhaps Mr.
+Balfour has discovered some while roaming around the country as a
+man-wolf.  How absurd to think of 'Voltage' Balfour as a man-wolf!
+Wonder why he did it?  How I wish he could talk!  Wonder why he can't?"
+
+While thus cogitating, Cabot had also been climbing a nearby eminence
+that promised a view of the outlying country, but from it he could see
+nothing save other hills rising still higher and an unbroken waste of
+snow.
+
+"It's no use," he sighed.  "I don't believe I could find them, even if
+I had plenty of time.  As it is, I don't dare stay away from Mr.
+Balfour any longer.  I'm afraid he's a very sick man, with a slim
+chance of ever pulling through."
+
+So Cabot, after an absence of several hours, turned back towards the
+snug shelter so providentially provided for him, and for which he was
+just then more grateful than he could express.  He was thinking of the
+many wonders of the place when he reached its door; but, as he opened
+it and stepped inside the room, he was greeted by a greater surprise
+than he had yet encountered.  Nothing was changed about the interior,
+and the wounded man lay as Cabot had left him, but with the appearance
+of the latter he exclaimed:
+
+"Thank God, dear lad, that you have come back to me!  It seemed as
+though I should go crazy if left alone a minute longer."
+
+Cabot stared in amazement.  "Is it a miracle?" he finally asked, "and
+has your speech been restored to you, or have you been able to speak
+all the time?"
+
+"I have been able, but not willing," was the reply.  "I had thought to
+die without speaking to a human being.  I even avoided my fellows,
+believing myself sufficient unto myself.  But God has punished my
+arrogance and shown me my weakness.  Until you came no stranger has
+ever set foot within this dwelling, to none have I spoken, and not even
+to you did I intend to speak, but with your going my folly became
+plain.  I feared you might never return; the horror of living alone,
+and the greater horror of dying alone, swept over me.  Then I prayed
+for you to come.  I promised to speak as soon as you were within
+hearing.  Every moment since then I have watched for you and longed for
+your coming as a dying man longs for the breath of life.  Promise that
+you will not leave me again."
+
+"I have already promised, and now I repeat, that I will not leave you
+so long as you have need of me," replied Cabot.  "But tell me----"
+
+"I will tell you everything," interrupted the wounded man, "but first
+you must look after the dynamo.  It has stopped, and if you cannot set
+it going again we must both perish."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY.
+
+An accident to the dynamo in that place where there was no fuel, and
+electricity must be depended upon for light and heat, was so serious a
+matter that, for a moment, even Cabot's curiosity concerning his host
+was merged in anxiety.
+
+"Where shall I find it?" he asked.
+
+"In the cavern back of this room.  The doorway is behind that bearskin.
+This upper row of keys connects with the storage battery, and the
+second key controls the lights of the dynamo room.  If there is a bad
+break I can manage to get to it, but I wouldn't try until you came,
+because I promised not to move."
+
+All this was said in a voice that faltered from weakness, and a wave of
+pity surged in Cabot's breast as he realised how dependent upon him
+this man, so recently a mental as well as a physical giant, had become.
+
+"I expect I shall be able to attend to it all right," he said
+decisively, as he turned on the stored current that would light the
+unknown cavern.  "At any rate, I shall be able to report the condition
+of things, so that you can advise me what to do, or else my training is
+a greater failure than I think."
+
+With this he lifted the bearskin, opened a door thus disclosed, and
+found himself in a small, well-lighted cavern that was at once a dynamo
+room, a workshop, and a storehouse for a confused miscellany of
+articles.  Without pausing to investigate any of these he went directly
+to a dynamo that had been set up at one side and examined it carefully.
+It appeared in perfect order, and the trouble must evidently be sought
+elsewhere.
+
+Cabot had wondered by what power the dynamo was driven, and now,
+hearing a sound of running water, he stepped in that direction.  A
+short distance away he discovered a swift-flowing subterranean stream,
+in which revolved a water wheel of rude, but serviceable, construction.
+As nothing seemed wrong with it, he was obliged to look further, and
+finally found the cause of trouble to be a transmitting belt, the
+worn-out lacing of which had parted.  As portions of the belt itself
+had been caught in the pulleys and badly cut, it was necessary to hunt
+through the pile of material for a new one, and for leather suitable
+for lacing.  Then the new belt must be accurately measured, laced
+together, and adjusted to its pulleys.
+
+Although the temperature of the cavern was many degrees above that of
+the outside air, it was still so low that Cabot worked slowly and with
+numbed fingers.  Thus more than an hour had elapsed before the dynamo
+was again in running order, and he was at liberty to return to the
+living room.  In the meantime his curiosity concerning this strange
+place of abode and its mysterious tenant was increased by the
+remarkable collection of articles stored on all sides.  There was no
+end of machinery, tools, and electrical apparatus of all kinds,
+including miles of copper wire and chemicals for charging batteries.
+Besides these, there were ropes, canvas, furniture, boxes, barrels, and
+other things too numerous to mention.
+
+"What a prize this place would have been for the Indians if they had
+ever discovered it," reflected the young engineer.  "I wonder that he
+dared go off and leave it unguarded."
+
+When he finally returned to the outer room, he found it even colder
+than the cavern in which he had been working, and realised, as never
+before, the value of the knowledge that had enabled him to restore the
+usefulness of that electric heater.  After getting it into operation,
+and making his report to the sick man, who had impatiently awaited him,
+there was another meal to prepare.
+
+So, in spite of Cabot's overwhelming desire to hear Mr. Balfour's
+story, there was so much to be done first that the short day had merged
+into another night before the opportunity arrived.  When it came, our
+lad drew a chair to the bedside of his patient and said:
+
+"Now, sir, if you feel able to talk, and are willing to tell me how you
+happen to be living in this place, I shall be more than glad to listen."
+
+"I am willing," replied the other, "but must be brief, since talking
+has become an exertion.  As perhaps you know, I was a working
+electrician in London, where, though I had a good business, I had not
+accumulated much money.  Consequently I was greatly pleased to receive
+what promised to be a lucrative contract from a Canadian railway
+company for supplying and installing a quantity of electrical apparatus
+along their line.  I at once invested every penny I could raise in the
+purchase of material and in the charter of a sailing vessel to
+transport it to this country.  On the eve of sailing I married a young
+lady to whom I had long been engaged, and, with light hearts, we set
+forth on our wedding trip across the Atlantic.
+
+"The first two weeks of that voyage were filled with such happiness
+that I trembled for fear it should be snatched from me.  During that
+time we had fair weather and favouring winds.  Then we ran into a gale
+that lasted for days, and drove us far out of our course.  One mast
+went by the board, the other was cut away to save the ship, and, while
+in this helpless condition, she struck at night, what I afterwards
+learned to be, a mass of floating ice.  At the time all hands believed
+us to be on the coast, and the crew, taking our only seaworthy boat,
+put off in a panic, while I was below preparing my wife for departure.
+Thus deserted, we awaited the death that we expected with each passing
+moment, but it failed to come and the ship still floated.  With
+earliest daylight I was on deck, and, to my amazement, saw land on both
+sides.  We had been driven into the mouth of a broad estuary, up which
+wind and tide were still carrying us.
+
+"For three days our helpless drift, to and fro, was continued, and then
+our ship grounded on a ledge at the foot of these cliffs.  Getting
+ashore with little difficulty, we were dismayed to find ourselves in an
+uninhabited wilderness, devoid even of vegetation other than moss and
+low growing shrubs.  One of my first discoveries was this cavern with
+its subterranean stream of water, and two openings, one of which gives
+easy access to the sea.  Knowing that our ship must, sooner or later,
+go to pieces, and desirous of saving what property I might, I rigged up
+a derrick at the mouth of the cavern, and, with the aid of my brave
+wife, transferred everything movable from the wreck; a labour of months.
+
+"Winter was now at hand, and, foreseeing that we must spend it where we
+were, I walled up the openings and made all possible preparations to
+fight the coming cold.  We burned wood from the wreck while it lasted,
+and in the meantime I labored almost night and day at the establishment
+of an electric plant.  But the awful winter came and found it still
+unfinished, and before the coming of another spring I was left alone."
+
+Here the speaker paused, overcome as much by his feelings as by
+weakness, and, during the silence that followed, Cabot stole away,
+ostensibly to see that the dynamo was running smoothly.  When he
+returned the narrator had recovered his calmness, and was ready to
+continue his story.
+
+"She had never been strong," he said, "and I so cruelly allowed her to
+overwork herself that she had no strength left with which to fight the
+winter.  She died in my arms in this very room, and I promised never to
+leave her.  Also, after her death, I vowed that my last words to her
+should be my last to any human being, and, until this day, I have kept
+that vow, foolish and wicked though it was.  I have talked and read
+aloud when alone, but to no man have I spoken.  I have also avoided
+intercourse with my fellows, selfishly preferring to nurse my sorrow in
+sinful rebellion against God's will.  Now am I justly punished by being
+stricken down in the pride of my strength.  At the same time God has
+shown his everlasting mercy by sending you to me in the time of my sore
+need.  And you have promised to stay with me until the end, which I
+feel assured is not far off."
+
+"I trust it may be," said Cabot, "for the world can ill afford to spare
+a man of your attainments."
+
+"The world has forgotten me ere this," replied Mr. Balfour, with a
+faint smile, "and has also managed to get along very well without me.
+Whether it has or has not I feel that I am shortly to rejoin my dear
+one."
+
+"How did it happen?  I mean your wound," asked Cabot, abruptly changing
+the subject.  "Was it an accident?"
+
+"It may have been, but I believe not.  Dressed in wolf skins, I was
+creeping up on a small herd of caribou two days ago, when I was shot by
+some unknown person, probably an Indian hunting the same game, though I
+never saw him.  I managed to crawl home, and as I lay here, filled with
+the horror of dying alone, the ringing of my alarm bell announced a
+coming of either man or beast.  I found strength to turn on the outer
+lights and to sound a call for aid on my violin that I hoped would be
+heard and understood."
+
+"It was fortunate for me that you did both those things," said Cabot,
+"for I should certainly have remained where I fell after stumbling over
+the wire if it had not been for the combination of light and music.
+But tell me, sir, why have you masqueraded as a man-wolf?"
+
+"For convenience in hunting, as well as to inspire terror in the minds
+of savages and keep them at a respectful distance from this place."
+
+"Have they ever troubled you?"
+
+"At first they were inclined to, but not of late years."
+
+"Not of late years!   Why, sir, how many years have you dwelt in this
+place?"
+
+"A little more than five."
+
+"Five years alone and cut off from the world!  I should think you would
+feel like a prisoner shut in a dungeon."
+
+"No, for I have led the life of my own choice, and it has been full of
+active interests.  I have had to hunt, trap, and fish for my own
+support.  I have tried to redress some wrongs, and have been able to
+relieve much distress among the improvident natives.  I have busied
+myself with electrical experiments, and have explored the surrounding
+country for a hundred miles on all sides."
+
+"Have you discovered any indications of mineral wealth during your
+explorations?" asked the young engineer, recalling his previous thought
+on this subject.
+
+"Quite a number, of which the most important is right here; for this
+range of cliffs is so largely composed of red hematite as to form one
+of the richest ore beds in the world."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+CABOT IS LEFT ALONE.
+
+Deeply interested and affected as Cabot had been by the electrician's
+story, his excitement over its conclusion caused him momentarily to
+forget everything else.
+
+"Does the ore show anywhere about here?" he asked eagerly.
+
+"Yes.  Lift one of the skins hanging against the wall and you will find
+it.  It is better, though, in the lower portions of the inner cavern,
+for the deeper you go the richer it gets."
+
+In another moment our young engineer was chipping bits of rock from the
+nearest wall, and then he must need explore those of the storeroom,
+where, on a bank of the subterranean stream, he found ore as rich as
+any he had ever seen, even in museums.  Returning with hands and
+pockets full of specimens, he said:
+
+"This is the very thing for which I came to Labrador, but have thus far
+failed to find.  Of course I have discovered plenty of indications, for
+the whole country is full of iron, but nowhere else have I found it in
+quantity or of a quality that would pay to work.  Here you have both,
+and close to a navigable waterway."
+
+"On which the largest ships may moor to the very cliffs," added Mr.
+Balfour.
+
+"It means a fortune to the owner, and I congratulate you, sir."
+
+"My dear lad, I don't want it!  I am an electrician, not a miner.  Even
+if I were inclined to work it, which I am not, I should not be
+permitted to do so, for my earthly interests are very nearly ended.
+Therefore I cheerfully relinquish in your favour whatever claim I may
+have acquired by discovery or occupation.  If you want it, take it, and
+may God's blessing go with the gift.  Also, under this bed, you will
+find a bag containing more specimens that may interest you.  Of them we
+will talk at another time, for now I am weary."
+
+With this the man turned his face to the wall, while Cabot, securing
+the bag, quickly became absorbed in an examination of its contents.
+Among these he found rich specimens of iron and copper ores, slabs of
+the rare and exquisitely beautiful Labradorite, with its sheen of
+peacock-blue, and even bits of gold-bearing quartz.  For a long time he
+examined and tested these; then, with a sigh of content, he laid them
+aside and went to bed.  His mission to Labrador was at length
+accomplished, and now he had only to get back to New York as quickly as
+possible.
+
+But getting to New York from that place, under existing circumstances,
+was something infinitely easier to plan than to accomplish.  To begin
+with, he had promised to remain with the new-found friend, who was also
+so greatly his benefactor, so long as he should be needed, and he meant
+to fulfil the promise to the letter.  But to do so taxed his patience
+to the utmost; for, in spite of the electrician's belief that he had
+not long to live, the passing of many weeks found his condition but
+little changed.  At the same time, in spite of Cabot's best nursing and
+ceaseless attention, he failed to gain strength.
+
+Having once broken his years of silence, he now found his greatest
+pleasure in talking, and Cabot had frequently to interrupt his
+conversation on the pretence of taking outside exercise, to prevent him
+from exhausting himself in that way.  He hated to do this, for Mr.
+Balfour's words were always instructive, and he so freely yielded the
+established secrets of his profession, as well as those of his own
+recent discoveries, to his young friend that Cabot acquired a rich
+store of valuable information during the short days and long nights of
+that Labrador winter.
+
+With the apparatus at hand, he was able to conduct many experiments and
+put into practice a number of his newly acquired theories.  The sick
+man followed these with keenest interest, and aided his pupil with
+shrewd suggestions.  At other times they discussed the mineral wealth
+of Labrador, and Mr. Balfour drew rough diagrams to show localities
+from which his various specimens had been brought.  He also gave much
+time to a sketch map of the surrounding country, especially the coast
+between the place where the "Sea Bee" had been left and Indian Harbour,
+beyond which his knowledge did not extend.
+
+With these congenial occupations, time never hung heavily in the
+wilderness home of the Man-wolf, and, though bitter cold might reign
+outside, fierce storms rage, and driving snows pile themselves into
+mountainous drifts, neither hunger nor cold could penetrate its snug
+interior, warmed and lighted by the magic of modern science.  With the
+passing weeks the old year died and a new one was born.  January merged
+into February, and days began noticeably to lengthen.  Through all
+these weeks Cabot kept up his strength by frequent exercise in the
+open, where, in conflict with storm and cold, he ever won some part of
+their own ruggedness.  At the same time, his patient grew slowly but
+surely weaker, until at length he could converse only in whispers, and
+experienced such difficulty in swallowing that he had almost ceased to
+take nourishment.  One evening while affairs stood thus, he roused
+himself sufficiently to inquire what day of the month it was.
+
+"The thirteenth of February," replied Cabot, who had kept careful note
+of the calendar.
+
+Instantly the man brightened, and said, with an unexpected strength of
+voice: "Six years to-morrow since we were married.  Five years to-day
+since she left me, and to-night I shall rejoin her.  Wish me joy, lad,
+for the long period of our separation is ended.  Good-night, good-bye,
+God bless you!"
+
+With this final utterance, he again lapsed into silence, closed his
+eyes, and seemed to sleep.  Several times during that night Cabot stole
+softly to his patient's bedside, but the latter was always asleep, and
+he would not disturb him.  Only in the morning, when daylight revealed
+the marble-like repose of feature, did he know that a glad reunion of
+long parted lovers had been effected, and that it was he who was left
+alone.
+
+Although the position in which our lad now found himself was a very
+trying one, he had anticipated and planned for it.  He had no boards
+with which to make a coffin, but there was plenty of stout canvas, and
+in a double thickness of this he sewed the body of his friend.  Before
+doing so he dug away the snow beside a cairn of rocks that marked the
+last resting place of her who had gone before, and placed the electric
+heater, with extended wire connections, on the ground thus exposed.
+Within a few hours this soil became sufficiently thawed to permit him
+to dig a shallow grave, to which, by great effort, he managed to remove
+the shrouded body.  After covering it, and piling above it rocks as
+large as he could lift, he returned to the empty dwelling, having
+completed the hardest and saddest day's work of his life.
+
+So terrible was the loneliness of that night, and so anxious was Cabot
+to take his departure, that he was again astir long before daylight,
+completing his preparations.  He had previously built a light sled that
+he proposed to drag, and had planned exactly what it should carry.  Now
+he loaded this with a canvas-wrapped package of cooked provisions, a
+sleeping bag, a rifle together with a few rounds of ammunition, a light
+axe, his precious bag of specimens, and the Man-wolf's electric
+flashlight with its battery newly charged.
+
+With everything thus in readiness he ate a hearty meal, threw the
+dynamo out of gear, closed the door and shutters of the place that had
+given him the shelter of a home, adjusted the hauling straps of his
+sled, and set resolutely forth on his venturesome journey across the
+frozen wilderness.
+
+In his mittened hands Cabot carried a stout staff tipped with a
+boathook, and this proved of inestimable service in aiding him down the
+face of the cliffs to the frozen surface of the estuary; for, by Mr.
+Balfour's advice, he had determined to follow the coast line rather
+than attempt the shorter but more uncertain inland route.
+
+Although the distance to be covered was but little over one hundred
+miles, the journey was so beset with difficulties and hardships that
+only our young engineer's splendid physical condition and recently
+acquired skill, combined with indomitable pluck, enabled him to
+accomplish it.  While he sometimes met with smooth stretches of
+snow-covered ice, it was generally piled in huge wind-rows, incredibly
+rugged and difficult to surmount.  Again it would be broken away from
+the base of sheer cliffs, where stretches of open water would
+necessitate toilsome inland detours over or around lofty headlands.  He
+was always buffetted by strong winds, and often halted by blinding
+snowstorms.  He had no fire, no warm food, and no shelter save such as
+he could make by burrowing into snowdrifts.  During the weary hours of
+one whole night he held a pack of snarling wolves at bay by means of
+his flashlight.  But always he pushed doggedly forward, and after ten
+days of struggle, exhausted almost beyond the power for further effort,
+but immensely proud of his achievement, he reached the goal of his long
+desire.
+
+Indian Harbour--with its hospital, its church, its two or three houses,
+and score of native huts, seemed to our lad almost a metropolis after
+his months of wilderness life, and the welcome he received from its
+warm-hearted inhabitants when he made known his identity was that of
+one raised from the dead.  White Baldwin and Yim had been there many
+weeks earlier, and had reported his disappearance under circumstances
+that left no hope of his ever again being seen alive.  Then the latter
+had set forth on his return journey, while White had joined a mail
+carrier and started for Battle Harbour.
+
+Now occurred what promised to be a serious interruption to Cabot's
+southward advance, for no one was proposing to travel in that
+direction, and, in spite of their hospitality, his new acquaintances
+were not inclined to undertake the arduous task of guiding him to
+Battle Harbour, 250 miles away, without being well paid for their
+labour, and our young engineer had no money.  Nor, after his recent
+experience, did he care to again encounter the perils of the wilderness
+alone.
+
+But fortune once more favoured him; for while he was chafing against
+this enforced detention, Dr. Graham Aspland, house surgeon of the
+Battle Harbour Hospital, who makes a heroic sledge journey to the far
+north every winter, arrived on his annual errand of mercy.  He would
+set out on his return trip a few days later, and would be more than
+pleased to have Cabot for a companion.
+
+Thus it happened that one bright day in early March the music of sledge
+bells and the cracking of a dog driver's whip attracted the inmates of
+the Battle Harbour Hospital to doors and windows to witness an arrival.
+Two fur-clad figures followed a great travelling sledge, and one of
+them dragged a small sled of his own.  As he came to a halt, and began
+wearily to loosen his hauling gear, he cast a glance at one of the
+upper windows, and uttered an exclamation of amazement.  Then, with a
+joyful cry, he shouted:
+
+"Hello!  White, old man!  Run down here and say you're glad I've come!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK.
+
+Cabot had learned from Dr. Aspland of White's arrival at Battle Harbour
+two months before, with a leg so badly wrenched by slipping into an ice
+crevice that he had gone to the hospital for treatment, but had
+expected that he would long ere this have taken his departure.  At the
+same time White had, of course, given up all hope of ever again seeing
+the friend to whom he had become so deeply attached.  He had been
+terribly cut up over Cabot's disappearance on the night of the
+blizzard, and, with the faithful Yim, had spent days in searching for
+him.  They had gone back to the timber, only to find the Indian camp
+deserted, and that its recent occupants had made a hasty departure.
+Finally they had given over the hopeless search and had sadly continued
+their southward journey.
+
+Now to again behold Cabot alive and well filled poor White with such
+joyful amazement that for some minutes he could not frame an
+intelligent sentence.  He flew down to where the new arrival still
+struggled with his hauling gear, and flung himself so impulsively upon
+him that both rolled over in the snow.  There, with gasping
+exclamations of delight, they wrestled themselves into a mood of
+comparative calmness that enabled them to regain their feet and begin
+to ask questions.
+
+For some time White had been sufficiently recovered to resume his
+journey, had an opportunity offered for so doing, but, as none had come
+to him, he had earned his board by acting as nurse in the hospital.  If
+he had been anxious to depart before, he was doubly so now that he had
+regained his comrade, and Cabot fully shared his impatience of further
+delay.  But how they were to reach the coast of Newfoundland they could
+not imagine.  It would still be many weeks before vessels of any kind
+could be expected at Battle Harbour, and they had no money with which
+to undertake the expensive journey by way of Quebec.
+
+"If only the ocean would freeze over, we could walk home!" exclaimed
+Cabot one day, as the two friends sat gloomily discussing their
+prospects.  And then that very thing came to pass.
+
+A dog sledge arrived from Forteau, that same evening, bringing a
+wounded man to the hospital for treatment, and its driver reported the
+Strait of Belle Isle as being so solidly packed with ice that several
+persons had traversed it from shore to shore.
+
+"If others have made the trip, why can't we?" cried Cabot.
+
+"I am willing to try it, if you are," replied White, and by daylight of
+the following morning the impatient lads were on their way up the coast
+in search of the ice bridge to Newfoundland.  Cabot had traded his
+electric flashlight for a supply of provisions sufficient to load his
+sled, which they took turns at hauling, and four days after leaving
+Battle Harbour they reached L'Anse au Loup.  At that point the strait
+is only a dozen miles wide, and there, if anywhere, they could cross
+it.  It was midday when they came to the winter huts of L'Anse au Loup,
+and they had intended remaining in one of them over night, but a short
+conversation with its owner caused them to change their plans.
+
+"Yas, there be solid pack clear to ither side all right," he said, "but
+happen it 'll go out any time.  Fust change o' wind 'll loose it, and
+one's to be looked for.  Ah wouldn't resk it on no account mahself, but
+if Ah had it to do, Ah'd go in a hurry 'ithout wasting no time."
+
+"It is a case of necessity with us," said Cabot.
+
+"Yes," agreed White, "we simply must go, and the quicker we set about
+it the better.  If we make haste I believe we can get across by dark."
+
+Thus determined, and disregarding a further expostulation from the
+fisherman, our lads set their faces resolutely towards the confusion of
+hummocks, "pans," floes tilted on edge, and up-reared masses of blue
+ice forming the "strait's pack" of that season.  Five minutes later
+they were lost to sight amid the frozen chaos.
+
+"Wal," soliloquized the man left standing on shore, "Ah 'opes they'll
+make it, but it's a fearsome resk, an' Gawd 'elp 'em if come a shift o'
+wind afore they're over."
+
+Nothing, in all their previous experience of Labrador travel, had
+equalled the tumultuous ruggedness of the way by which Cabot and White
+were now attempting to bridge that boisterous arm of the stormy
+northern ocean, and to advance at all taxed their strength to the
+utmost.  To transport their laden sled was next to impossible, but they
+dared not leave it behind, and with their progress thus impeded they
+were barely half way to the Newfoundland coast when night overtook
+them.  Even though the gathering darkness had not compelled a halt,
+their utter exhaustion would have demanded a rest.  For an hour White
+had been obliged to clinch his teeth to keep from crying out with the
+pain of his weakened, and now overstrained, ankle, and when Cabot
+announced that it was no use trying to get further before morning, he
+sank to the ice with a groan.
+
+Full of sympathy for his comrade's suffering, the Yankee lad at once
+set to work to make him as comfortable as circumstances would permit,
+and soon had him lying on a sleeping bag, in a niche formed by two
+uptilted slabs of ice.  Profiting by past experience, they had procured
+and brought with them an Eskimo lamp with its moss wick, a small
+quantity of seal oil, and a supply of matches, so that, after a while,
+Cabot procured enough boiling water to furnish a small pot of tea.
+When they had eaten their simple meal of tea, hard bread, and pemmican,
+White's ankle was bathed with water as hot as he could bear it, and
+then the weary lads turned in for such sleep as their cheerless
+quarters might yield.  About midnight the wind that had for many days
+blown steadily from the eastward changed to northwest, and, with the
+coming of daylight, it was blowing half a gale from that direction.
+
+To Cabot this change meant little or nothing, and he was suggesting
+that they remain where they were until White's leg should be thoroughly
+rested, when the other interrupted him with:
+
+"But we can't stay here.  Don't you feel the change of wind?"
+
+"What of it?" asked Cabot.
+
+"Oh, nothing at all, only that it will drive the ice out to sea, and,
+if we haven't reached land before it begins to move, we'll go with it."
+
+"You don't mean it!" cried Cabot, now thoroughly alarmed.  "In that
+case we'd best get a move on in a hurry.  Do you think your leg will
+stand the trip?"
+
+"It will have to," rejoined White, grimly; and a few minutes later they
+had resumed the toilsome progress that was now a race for life.  But it
+was a snail's race, for the task of moving the sled had devolved
+entirely upon Cabot, White having all he could do to drag himself
+along.  Each step gave him such exquisite pain that, by the time they
+had accomplished a couple of miles, he was crawling on hands and knees.
+
+Still, as Cabot hopefully pointed out, the Newfoundland coast was in
+plain sight, and the ice held as firm as ever.  He had hardly spoken
+when there came a distant roaring, that quickly developed into a sound
+of crashing and grinding not to be mistaken.
+
+"The ice is moving!" gasped White.
+
+"Then," said Cabot bravely, "we'll move too.  Come on, old man.  We'll
+leave the sled, and I'll get you ashore even if I have to carry you.
+It isn't so very far now."
+
+With this the speaker disengaged his hauling straps and turned to
+assist his comrade, but, to his dismay, the latter lay on the ice pale
+and motionless.  What with pain, over-exertion, and excitement, White
+had fainted, and Cabot must either carry him to the shore, remain
+beside him until he recovered, or leave him to his fate and save
+himself by flight over the still unbroken ice.  He tried the first
+plan, picked White up, staggered a few steps with his helpless burden,
+and discovered its futility.  Then he proceeded to put the second into
+execution by calmly unloading the sled and making such arrangements as
+his slender means would allow for his comrade's comfort.  The third
+plan came to him merely as a thought, to be promptly dismissed as
+unworthy of consideration.
+
+In the meantime the ominous sounds of cracking, grinding, rending, and
+splitting grew ever louder, and came ever closer, until, at length,
+Cabot could see and feel that the ice all about him was in motion.  By
+the time White recovered consciousness, a broad lane of black water had
+opened between that place and the Newfoundland coast, while others
+could be seen in various directions.
+
+"What are you doing?" asked White, feebly, after he had struggled back
+to a knowledge of passing events, and had, for some minutes, been
+watching his friend's movements.
+
+"Building an igloo," answered Cabot, cheerily.  "We might as well be
+comfortable while we can, and though my hut won't have the
+architectural beauty that Yim could give it, I believe it will keep us
+warm."
+
+It would have been more than easy, and perfectly natural, under the
+circumstances, to give way to utter despair; for of the several
+hopeless situations in which our lads had been placed during the past
+few months, the present was, by far, the worst.  At any moment the ice
+beneath them might open and drop them into fathomless waters.  Even if
+it held fast, they were certainly being carried out to sea, where they
+would be exposed to furious gales that must ultimately work their
+destruction.  In spite of all this, Cabot Grant insisted on remaining
+hopefully cheerful.  He said he had squeezed out of just as tight
+places before, and believed he would get out of this one somehow.  At
+any rate, as crying wouldn't help it, he wasn't going to cry.  Besides
+all sorts of things might happen.  They might drift ashore somewhere or
+into the track of passing steamers.  Wouldn't it be fine to be picked
+up and carried straight to New York?  If steamers failed them, they
+were almost certain to sight fishing boats sooner or later.
+
+"Yes," added White, catching some of his companion's hopefulness, "or
+we may meet with the sealers who leave St. Johns about this time every
+year and hunt seals on the ice pack off shore."
+
+"Of course," agreed the other.  "So what's the use of worrying?"
+
+In spite of the brave front and cheerful aspect that Cabot maintained
+before his helpless comrade, he often broke down when off by himself,
+vainly straining his eyes from the summit of some ice hummock for any
+hopeful sign, and acknowledged that their situation was indeed
+desperate.
+
+That first night, spent sleeplessly and in momentary expectation that
+the ice beneath them would break, was the worst.  After that they
+dreaded more than anything the fate that would overtake them with the
+disappearance of their slender stock of provisions.  While this
+diminished with alarming rapidity, despite their efforts at economy,
+their ice island drifted out from the strait, and soon afterwards
+became incorporated with the great Arctic pack that always in the
+spring forces its resistless way steadily south-ward towards the
+melting waters of the Gulf Stream.
+
+Land had disappeared with the second day of the ice movement, and after
+that, for a week, nothing occurred to break the terrible monotony of
+life on the pack, as experienced by our young castaways.  Then came the
+dreaded announcement that one portion of their supplies was exhausted.
+There was no longer a drop of oil for their lamp.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE.
+
+White, who was still confined to the hut with his strained ankle,
+announced that they no longer had any oil upon Cabot's return at dusk
+from a day of fruitless hunting and outlook duty on the ice.
+
+"That's bad," replied the latter, in a tone whose cheerfulness strove
+to conceal his anxiety.  "Now we'll have to burn the sled.  Lucky thing
+for us that it's of wood instead of being one of those bone affairs
+such as we saw at Locked Harbour."
+
+"Our provisions are nearly gone too," added White.  "In fact we've only
+enough for one more day."
+
+"Oh, well!  A lot of things can happen in a day, and some of them may
+happen to us."
+
+But the only thing worthy of note that happened on the following day
+was a storm of such violence as to compel even stout-hearted Cabot to
+remain behind the sheltering walls of the hut, and, while it raged, our
+shivering lads, crouched above a tiny blaze of sled wood, ate their
+last morsel of food.  They still had a small quantity of tea, but that
+was all.  As soon, therefore, as the storm abated Cabot sallied forth
+with his gun, still hopeful, in spite of many disappointments, of
+finding some bird or beast that, by a lucky shot, might be brought to
+the table.
+
+The ice pack was of such vast extent that it seemed as though it must
+support animal life of some kind, but Cabot traversed it that day for
+many miles without finding so much as a track or a feather.  That
+night's supper was a pot of tea, and a similar one formed the sole
+nourishment upon which Cabot again set forth the next morning for
+another of those weary hunts.
+
+This time he went further from the hut than he had dared go on previous
+expeditions; but on them he had been hopeful and knew that even though
+he failed in his hunting he would still find food awaiting him on his
+return.  Now he was desperate with hunger, and the knowledge that
+failing in his present effort he would not have strength for another.
+In his mind, too, he carried a vivid picture of poor White, crouching
+in that wretched hut over an expiring blaze fed by the very last of
+their wood.
+
+"I simply can't go back empty-handed!" he cried aloud.  "It would be
+better not to go back at all, and let him hope for my coming to the
+last."
+
+So the young hunter pushed wearily and hopelessly on, until he found
+himself at the foot of a line of icebergs that had been frozen into the
+pack, where they resembled a range of fantastically shaped hills.
+Cabot had seen them from a distance on a previous expedition, and had
+wondered what lay beyond.  Now he determined to find out, though he
+knew if he once crossed them there would be little chance of regaining
+the hut before dark.  It was a laborious climb, and several times he
+slid back to the place of starting, but each mishap of this kind only
+made him the more determined to gain the top.  At length, breathless
+and bruised, crawling on hands and knees, he reached a point from which
+he could look beyond the barrier.  As he did so, he turned sick and
+uttered a choking cry.
+
+[Illustration: He reached a point from which he could look beyond the
+barrier.]
+
+What he saw in that first glance was so utterly incredible that it
+could not be true, though if it were it would be the most welcome and
+beautiful sight in all the world.  Yet it was only a ship!  Just one
+ship and a lot of men!  The ship was not even a handsome one, being
+merely a three-masted steam sealer, greasy and smeared in every part
+with coal soot from her tall smoke stack.  She lay a mile or so away,
+but well within the pack, through the outer edge of which she had
+forced a passage.  The men, evidently her crew, who were on the ice
+near the foot of Cabot's ridge, were a disreputable looking lot,
+ragged, dirty, unkempt, and as bloody as so many butchers.  And that is
+exactly what they were--butchers engaged in their legitimate business
+of killing the seals that, coming up from the south to meet the
+drifting ice pack, had crawled out on it by thousands to rear their
+young.
+
+This was all that Cabot saw; yet the sight so affected him that he
+laughed and sobbed for joy.  Then he stood up, and, with glad tears
+blinding his eyes, tried to shout to the men beneath him, but could
+only utter hoarse whispers; for, in his overpowering happiness, he had
+almost lost the power of speech.  As he could not call to them he began
+to wave his arms to attract their attention, and then, all at once, he
+was nearly paralysed by a hail from close at hand of:
+
+"Hello there, ye bloomin' idjit!  Wot's hup?"
+
+Whirling around, Cabot saw, standing only a few rods away, a man who
+had evidently just climbed the opposite side of the ridge.  He
+recognised him in an instant, as he must have done had he met him in
+the most crowded street of a great city, so distinctively peculiar was
+his figure.
+
+"David!  David Gidge!" he gasped, recovering his voice for the effort,
+and in another moment, flinging his arms about the astonished mariner's
+neck, he was pouring out a flood of incoherent words.
+
+"Wal, I'll be jiggered!" remarked Mr. Gidge, as he disengaged himself
+from Cabot's impulsive embrace and stepped back for a more
+comprehensive view.  "Your voice sounds familiar, Mister, but I can't
+say as I ever seen you before.  I took ye fust off fer a b'ar, and then
+fer a Huskie.  When I seen you was white, I 'lowed ye might be one of
+the 'Marmaid's' crew, seeing as she was heading fer the pack 'bout the
+time we struck it.  Now, though, as I say, I'm jiggered ef I know
+exectly who ye be."
+
+"Why, Mr. Gidge, I'm Cabot Grant, who----"
+
+"Of course.  To be sartin!  Now I know ye!" interrupted the other.
+"But where's White?  What hev ye done with Whiteway Baldwin?"
+
+"He's back there on the ice helpless with a crippled leg, freezing and
+starving to death; but if you'll come at once I'll show you the way,
+and we may still be in time to save him."
+
+With instant comprehension of the necessity for prompt action, Mr.
+Gidge, who, as Cabot afterwards learned, was first mate of the sealer
+"Labrador," turned and shouted in stentorian tones to the men who were
+working below:
+
+"Knock off, all hands, and follow me.  Form a line and keep hailing
+distance apart, so's we'll find our way back after dark.  There's white
+men starving on the ice.  One of ye go to the ship and report.  Move
+lively!  Now, lad, I'm ready."
+
+Two hours later Cabot and David Gidge, with, a long line of men
+streaming out behind them, reached the little hut.  There was no answer
+to the cheery shouts with which they approached it, and, as they
+crawled through its low entrance, they were filled with anxious
+misgivings.  What if they were too late after all?  No spark of fire
+lighted the gloom or took from the deadly chill of the interior, and no
+voice bade them welcome.  But, as David Gidge struck a match, a low
+moaning sounded from one side, and told them that White was at least
+alive.
+
+It took but a minute to remove him from the hut, together with the few
+things worth taking away that it contained.  Then it was left without a
+shadow of regret, and the march to the distant ship was begun.  Four
+men carried White, who seemed to have sunk into a stupor, while two
+more supported Cabot, who had become suddenly weak and so weary that he
+begged to be allowed to sleep where he was.
+
+"It's been a close call for both of 'em," said David Gidge, "and now,
+men, we've got to make the quickest kind of time getting 'em back to
+the ship."
+
+Fortunately there were plenty of willing hands to which the burdens
+might be shifted, for the "Labrador" carried a crew two hundred strong,
+and, as the little party moved swiftly from one shouting man to
+another, it constantly gained accessions.
+
+At length the sealer was reached, and the rescued lads were taken to
+her cabin, where the ship's doctor, having made every possible
+preparation for their reception, awaited them.  They were given hot
+drinks, rubbed, fed, and placed between warm blankets, where poor,
+weary Cabot was at last allowed to fall asleep without further
+interruption.
+
+The animal sought by the sealers of Newfoundland amid the furious
+storms and crashing floes of the great ice pack is not the fur-bearing
+seal of Alaska, but a variety of the much less important hair seal,
+which may be seen almost anywhere along the Atlantic coast.  From its
+skin seal leather is made, but it is chiefly valuable for the oil
+yielded by the layer of fat lying directly beneath the skin and
+enveloping the entire body.  These seals would hardly be worth hunting
+unless they could be captured easily and in quantities; but, on their
+native ice in early spring, the young seals are found in prime
+condition and in vast numbers.  Each helpless victim is killed by a
+blow on the head, "sculped" or stripped of his pelt, and the flayed
+body is left lying in a pool of its own blood.
+
+The crew of a single vessel will thus destroy thousands of seals in a
+day, and in some prosperous years the total kill of seals has passed
+the half million mark.  Now only about a dozen steamers are engaged in
+the business, but by them from 200,000 to 300,000 seals are destroyed
+each spring.  The movements of sealing vessels are governed by rigidly
+enforced laws that forbid them to leave port before the 12th of March,
+to kill a seal before the 14th of the same month, or after the 20th of
+April, and prohibit any steamer from making more than one trip during
+this short open season.  The crews are paid in shares of the catch, and
+men are never difficult to obtain for the work, as the sealing season
+comes when there is nothing else to be done.
+
+As March was not yet ended when our lads were received aboard the
+"Labrador," and as she would not return to port until the last minute
+of the open season had expired, they had before them nearly a month in
+which to recover their exhausted energies and learn the business of
+sealing.  White had suffered so severely, and reached such a precarious
+condition, that he required every day of the allotted time for
+recuperation, and even at its end his strength was by no means fully
+restored.  Cabot, on the other hand, woke after a thirty-six-hour nap,
+ravenously hungry, and as fit as ever for anything that might offer.
+After that, although he could never bring himself to assist in clubbing
+baby seals to death, he took an active part in the other work of the
+ship, thereby fully repaying the cost of the food eaten by himself and
+White.
+
+Of course, with their very first opportunity, both lads eagerly plied
+David Gidge with questions concerning the welfare of the Baldwin family
+and everything that had happened during their long absence.  Thus they
+learned to their dismay that another suit had been brought against the
+Baldwin estate that threatened to swallow what little property had been
+left, and that White, having been convicted of contempt of court for
+continuing the lobster factory after an adverse decision had been
+rendered, was now liable to a fine of one thousand dollars, or
+imprisonment, as soon as he landed.
+
+"But what has become of my mother and sister?" asked White.
+
+"They are in Harbour Grace," answered David Gidge, "stopping with some
+kin of mine.  You see, all three of us was brung to St. Johns as
+witnesses, and there wasn't money enough to take us back till I could
+come sealing and make some."
+
+"You are a trump, David Gidge!" exclaimed Cabot, while White gratefully
+squeezed the honest fellow's hand.
+
+"I promised to look arter 'em till you come back," said the sailorman,
+simply.
+
+At length the sealing season closed, and the prow of the "Labrador" was
+turned homeward, but even now, after many an anxious discussion, our
+lads were undecided as to what they should do upon landing.  But a
+solution of the problem came to Cabot on the day that the steamer
+entered Conception Bay and anchored close off Bell Island, to await the
+moving of a great ice mass that had drifted into the harbour.
+
+"I know what we'll do!" he cried.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+ASSISTANT MANAGER OF THE MAN-WOLF MINE.
+
+As the deeply laden sealer drew near to land, Cabot had impatiently
+scanned the coast of the great island that he had once thought so remote,
+but which, after his long sojourn in the Labrador wilderness, now seemed
+almost the same as New York itself.  When the "Labrador" entered
+Conception Bay, at the head of which lies Harbour Grace, her home port,
+and was forced by ice to anchor, he inquired concerning a small island
+that lay close at hand.
+
+"Bell Island," he repeated meditatively, on being told its name.  "Isn't
+there an iron mine on it?"
+
+"Sartain," replied David Gidge.  "The whole island is mostly made of
+iron."
+
+"Then it is a place that I particularly want to visit, and I know what we
+will do.  Of course, White, we can't let you go to prison, but at the
+same time you haven't, immediately available, the money with which to pay
+that fine.  I have, though, right in St. Johns.  So, if you will endorse
+that New York draft to me, I will carry it into the city, deposit it at
+the bank, draw out the cash, and take the first train for Harbour Grace,
+so as to be there with more than enough money to pay your fine when you
+arrive.  After that I propose that we both go on to New York, where I am
+almost certain I can get you something to do that will pay even better
+than a lobster factory.  If that plan strikes you as all right, and if
+Mr. Gidge will set me ashore here, I'll just take a look at Bell Island
+and then hurry on to St. Johns."
+
+The plan appearing feasible to White, Cabot--taking with him only his bag
+of specimens, to which he intended to add others of the Bell Island
+ore--bade his friends a temporary farewell, and was set ashore.  As the
+country was still covered with snow, he had slung his snowshoes on his
+back, and as he was still clad in the well-worn fur garments that had
+been so necessary in Labrador, his appearance was sufficiently striking
+to attract attention as soon as he landed.  One of the very first persons
+who spoke to him proved to be the young superintendent of the mine he
+wished to visit, and, when this gentleman learned that Cabot had just
+returned from Labrador, he offered him every hospitality.  Not only did
+he show him over the mine and give him all possible information
+concerning it, but he kept him over night in his own bachelor quarters,
+and provided a boat to take him across to Portugal Cove on the mainland
+in the morning.
+
+From that point, there being no conveyance, Cabot was forced to walk the
+nine miles into St. Johns, which city he did not reach until nearly noon.
+Even there, where fur-clad Arctic explorers are not uncommon, Cabot's
+costume attracted much attention.  Disregarding this, he inquired his way
+to the Bank of Nova Scotia, where he presented the letter of credit that
+he had carefully treasured amid all the vicissitudes of the past ten
+months.  The paying teller of the bank examined it closely, and then took
+a long look at the remarkable-appearing young man who had presented it.
+Finally he said curtly:
+
+"Sign your name."
+
+Cabot did so, and the other, after comparing the two signatures, retired
+to an inner room.  From it he reappeared a few moments later and
+requested Cabot to follow him inside, where the manager wished to see him.
+
+The manager also regarded our lad with great curiosity as he said:
+
+"You have retained this letter a long time without presenting it."
+
+"And I might have retained it longer if I had not been in need of money,"
+rejoined Cabot, somewhat nettled by the man's manner.
+
+"You are Cabot Grant of New York?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"Not yet of age?"
+
+"Not quite."
+
+"And you have a guardian?"
+
+"I have."
+
+"Do you mind telling his name and address?"
+
+"Is that a necessary preliminary to drawing money on a letter of credit?"
+
+"In this case it is."
+
+"Well, then, he is James Hepburn, President of the Gotham Trust and
+Investment Company."
+
+"Just so, and you will doubtless be interested in this communication from
+him."
+
+So saying, the manager handed over the telegram in which Mr. Hepburn
+instructed the St. Johns branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia to advance
+only the price of a ticket to New York on a letter of credit that would
+be presented by his ward, Cabot Grant.
+
+"What does it mean?" asked Cabot in bewilderment, as he finished reading
+this surprising order.
+
+"I've no idea," replied the manager dryly.  "I only know that we are
+bound to follow those instructions, and can let you have but forty
+dollars, which is the price of a first-class ticket to New York by
+steamer.  Moreover, as this is sailing day, and the New York steamer
+leaves in a couple of hours, I would advise you to engage passage and go
+on board at once, if you do not want to be indefinitely detained here."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"Possibly by the sheriff, who has wanted you for some time in connection
+with a certain French Shore lobster case that the government is
+prosecuting."
+
+Perplexed and indignant as he was, Cabot realised that only in New York
+could his tangled affairs be straightened out, and that the quicker he
+got there the better.  Determined, however, to make one more effort in
+behalf of his friend, he produced the missionary's draft and asked if the
+manager would cash it.
+
+"Certainly not," replied that individual promptly.  "Under present
+circumstances, Mr. Grant, we must decline to have any business dealings
+with you other than to accept your receipt for forty dollars, which will
+be paid you in the outer office."
+
+So Cabot swallowed his pride, took what he could get, and left the bank a
+little more downcast than he had been at any time since the day on which
+President Hepburn had entrusted him with his present mission.
+
+"I don't understand it at all," he muttered to himself, as he sought an
+eating-house, where he proposed to expend a portion of his money in
+satisfying his keen appetite.  "Seems to me it is a mighty mean return
+for all I have gone through, and Mr. Hepburn will have to explain matters
+pretty clearly when I get back to New York."
+
+From the eating-house Cabot sent a letter to White, explaining his
+inability to secure the money he had expected, begging him to lie low for
+a few days, and announcing his own immediate departure for New York, from
+which place he promised to send back the amount of the draft immediately
+upon his arrival.  In this letter Cabot also enclosed fifteen dollars,
+just to help White out until he could send him some more money.  This
+outlay left our young engineer but twenty-five dollars, but that would
+pay for a steerage passage, which, he reflected, would be plenty good
+enough for one in his reduced circumstances, and leave a few dollars for
+emergencies when he reached New York.
+
+Two hours later, still clutching the bag of specimens that now formed his
+sole luggage, he stood on the forward deck of the steamer "Amazon" as she
+slipped through the narrow passage leading out from the land-locked
+harbour, gazing back at the city of St. Johns climbing its steep hillside
+and dominated by the square towers of its Roman Catholic cathedral.  He
+was feeling very forlorn and lonely, and was wondering how he should
+manage to exist on steerage fare in steerage company during the next five
+days, when a familiar voice, close at hand, said:
+
+"Hello, young man in furs!  Where do you come from?  Been to the North
+Pole with Peary?"
+
+Turning quickly, Cabot gasped out:
+
+"Captain Phinney!"
+
+"No, not cap'n, but second mate Phinney," retorted the other.  "But how
+do you know my name?  I don't recognise you."
+
+"I am Cabot Grant, who was with you on the 'Lavinia' when----"
+
+"Good heavens, man!  It can't be."
+
+"It is, though, and I never was more glad to see any one, not even David
+Gidge, than I am to see you at this minute.  But why are you second mate
+instead of captain?"
+
+"Because," replied the other bitterly, "it was the only berth they would
+give me after I lost my ship, and I had to take it or beg."
+
+"But I thought you went down with the 'Lavinia'?"
+
+"So I thought you did, but it seems both of us were mistaken.  All but
+you got off in two of the boats, and ours was picked up the next day by a
+liner bound for New York.  But how, in the name of all that is
+wonderful--  Hold on, though.  Let us go up to my room, where we can talk
+comfortably."
+
+As a result of this happy meeting, Cabot's voyage was made very pleasant
+after all.  Much as he had to tell and to hear, he also found time to
+write out a full report on the Bell Island mine, and also a series of
+notes concerning the ore specimens that he was carrying to New York.
+
+At length the great city was reached, the "Amazon" was made fast to her
+Brooklyn pier, and Cabot went to bid the second mate good-bye.  "Hold on
+a bit," said the latter, "and run up to the house with me.  You can't go
+without seeing Nelly and the baby."
+
+"Nice calling rig I've got on, haven't I?" laughed Cabot.  "Why, it would
+scare 'em stiff.  So not to-day, thank you; but I'll come to-morrow."
+
+The carriage that Cabot engaged to carry him across to the city cost him
+his last cent of money, but he knew it was well worth it when, still in
+furs and with his snowshoes still strapped to his back, he entered the
+Gotham building.  Such a sensation did he create that he would have been
+mobbed in another minute had he not dodged into an elevator and said:
+
+"President's room, please."
+
+He so petrified Mr. Hepburn's clerks and office boys by his remarkable
+appearance that they neglected to check his progress, and allowed him to
+walk unchallenged into the sacred private office.  Its sole occupant was
+writing, and did not notice the entrance until Cabot, laying a folded
+paper on his desk, said:
+
+"Here is that Bell Island report, Mr. Hepburn."
+
+The startled man sprang to his feet with a face as pale as though he had
+seen a ghost, and for a few moments stared in speechless amazement at the
+fur-clad intruder.  Then the light of recognition flashed into his eyes,
+and holding out a cordial hand he said:
+
+"My dear boy, how you frightened me!  Where on earth did you come from?"
+
+"From the steerage of the steamer 'Amazon,'" replied Cabot, stiffly,
+ignoring his guardian's proffered hand.  "I only dropped in to hand you
+that Bell Island report, and to say that, as this happens to be my
+twenty-first birthday, I shall be pleased to receive whatever of my
+property you may still hold in trust at your earliest convenience.  With
+that business transacted, it is perhaps needless to add, that I shall
+trouble no further the man who was cruel enough to leave me penniless
+among strangers."
+
+"Cabot, are you crazy, or what do you mean?  I received your Bell Island
+report months ago, and it was that caused me to recall you.  Why did you
+not come at once?"
+
+"I never sent a Bell Island report.  In fact I never wrote one until
+yesterday, and there it lies.  Nor did I ever receive any notice of
+recall, and I did not come back sooner because I have been following your
+instructions and wintering in Labrador.  There I have acquired one of the
+most remarkable iron properties in the world, which I intend to develop
+as far as possible with my own resources, seeing that not one cent of
+your money has been used in defraying the expenses of my recent trip,"
+replied Cabot, hotly.
+
+But Mr. Hepburn did not hear the last of this speech, for he had opened
+the report laid on his desk and was glancing rapidly through it.
+
+"This is exactly what I expected and wanted!" he exclaimed.  "Why didn't
+you send it in before, instead of that other one?"
+
+"I never sent any other," repeated Cabot, and then they sat down to
+mutual explanations.
+
+For that whole morning President Hepburn denied himself to all callers
+and devoted his entire attention to Cabot's recital.  When it was
+finished, and when the bag full of specimens had been examined, the elder
+man grasped the other's hand and said:
+
+"My dear boy, you have done splendidly!  I am not only satisfied with you
+as an agent, but am proud of you as a ward.  Yes, this is your day of
+freedom from our guardianship, and I shall take pleasure in turning over
+to you the balance of the property left by your father.  It, together
+with the balance remaining on your letter of credit, and your salary for
+the past year, will amount to about ten thousand dollars, a portion of
+which at least I would advise you to invest in the Man-wolf mine."
+
+[Illustration: "My dear boy, you have done splendidly!"]
+
+"Then you intend to develop it, sir?" cried Cabot.
+
+"Certainly, provided we can acquire your claim to the property, and
+engage a certain Mr. Cabot Grant to act as our assistant Labrador
+manager."
+
+"Do you think me capable of filling so responsible a position, sir?"
+
+"I am convinced of it," replied Mr. Hepburn, smiling.
+
+"And may I find places for White, and David Gidge, and Captain Phinney,
+and----"
+
+"One of the duties of your new position will be the selection of your
+subordinates," interrupted the other, "and I should hope you would give
+preference to those whose fidelity you have already tested."
+
+Within an hour after this happy conclusion of the interview, Cabot had
+wired White Baldwin the full amount of the missionary's draft and invited
+him to come as quickly as possible to New York.  He had also written to
+Captain Phinney asking him to resign at once his position as second mate,
+in order that he might assume command of a steamer shortly to be put on a
+run between New York and Labrador.
+
+With these pleasant duties performed, our young engineer prepared to
+accept President Hepburn's invitation to a dinner that was to be given in
+his honour, and with which the happiest day of his life was to be
+concluded.
+
+
+
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Under the Great Bear, by Kirk Munroe
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