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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/19235-8.txt b/19235-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..05564f3 --- /dev/null +++ b/19235-8.txt @@ -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: 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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE GREAT BEAR *** + +***** This file should be named 19235-8.txt or 19235-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/2/3/19235/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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">—<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 & 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"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">GRADUATION: BUT WHAT NEXT?</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">AN OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </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. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">ALONE ON THE LIFE RAFT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </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. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">DEFYING A FRIGATE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">A CLASSMATE TO BE AVOIDED</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">SENDING IN A FALSE REPORT</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">CABOT ACQUIRES A LOBSTER FACTORY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">BLUFFING THE BRITISH NAVY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </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. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">A PRISONER OF WAR</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">THE "SEA BEE" UNDER FIRE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">OFF FOR LABRADOR</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">MOSQUITOES OF THE FAR NORTH</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">IMPRISONED BY AN ICEBERG</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">A MELANCHOLY SITUATION</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">COMING OF THE MAN-WOLF</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">A WELCOME MISSIONARY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </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. </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. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">OBJECTS OF CHARITY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">LOST IN A BLIZZARD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap26">AN ELECTRICIAN IN THE WILDERNESS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap27">THE MAN-WOLF'S STORY</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap28">CABOT IS LEFT ALONE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap29">DRIFTING WITH THE ICE PACK</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap30">THE COMING OF DAVID GIDGE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI. </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 . . . <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——" +</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——" +</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—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 "Lavinia."" 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—Newfund-<I>land</I>—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—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—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——" +</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—containing +an officer, and manned by six sailors—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—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." +</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—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.—Here all right. What shall I do next?——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.——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=""Did this come from about here?"" 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—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." +</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—but if +you don't want to do it, of course——" +</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—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." +</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—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—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." +</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—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—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——" +</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—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—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?" +</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—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——" +</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—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—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?" +</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—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—half wolf and half +man—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—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—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—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——" +</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——" +</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——" +</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——" +</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—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—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. +</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—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=""Yim."" 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—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. +</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—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. +</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—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." +</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=""My name is Watson Balfour."" 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——" +</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—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—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——" +</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—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. +</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——" +</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— 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=""My dear boy, you have done splendidly!"" 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——" +</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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE GREAT BEAR *** + +***** This file should be named 19235-h.htm or 19235-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/2/3/19235/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER THE GREAT BEAR *** + +***** This file should be named 19235.txt or 19235.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/2/3/19235/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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