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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The new northland</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Louis Pope Gratacap</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Albert Operti</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 1, 2023 [eBook #69925]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Peter Becker, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEW NORTHLAND ***</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p><span class='small'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</span></p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div id='frontis' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/frontis.jpg' alt='frontispiece some uniformed men with guns and batons enter a room from a dark corridor' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE POLICE FOLLOW RIDDLE’S CUE</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> -<div> - <h1 class='c002'>THE NEW<br />NORTHLAND</h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='c004'>BY</span></div> - <div><span class='c004'>L. P. GRATACAP</span></div> - <div class='c005'>WITH 16 DESIGNS</div> - <div>BY</div> - <div>ALBERT OPERTI</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/publogo.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div><span class='c006'>NEW YORK</span></div> - <div><span class='c006'>THOMAS BENTON</span></div> - <div><span class='c006'>1915</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c001'> - <div>COPYRIGHT 1915</div> - <div>BY</div> - <div>L. P. GRATACAP</div> - <div class='c001'><span class='c007'>PRINTED BY</span></div> - <div><span class='c007'>THE EDDY PRESS CORPORATION, CUMBERLAND, MD.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c001' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c005'> - <div><span class='c008'>KROCKER LAND</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='c009'>A ROMANCE OF</span></div> - <div><span class='c009'>DISCOVERY</span></div> - <div class='c003'>BY</div> - <div><span class='c010'>ALFRED ERICKSON</span></div> - <div><span class='c010'>PROF. HLMATH BJORNSEN</span></div> - <div><span class='c010'>ANTOINE GORITZ</span></div> - <div><span class='c010'>SPRUCE HOPKINS</span></div> - <div class='c003'><span class='c006'>THE NARRATIVE BY</span></div> - <div><span class='c006'>ALFRED ERICKSON</span></div> - <div class='c011'><span class='c006'>EDITED BY</span></div> - <div><span class='c006'>AZAZIEL LINK</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c012'>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c013'> </td> - <td class='c014'><span class='small'><i>Page</i></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Preface (Editorial Note)</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_7'>7</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter I The Fiord</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_39'>39</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter II Point Barrow</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_63'>63</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter III On the Ice Pack</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_89'>89</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter IV Krocker Land Rim</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_116'>116</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter V The Perpetual Nimbus</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_141'>141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter VI The Crocodilo-Python</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_162'>162</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter VII The Deer Fels</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_184'>184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter VIII The Pine Tree Gredin</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_203'>203</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter IX The Valley of Rasselas</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_228'>228</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter X Radiumopolis</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_246'>246</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter XI The Crater of Everlasting Light</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_271'>271</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter XII The Pool of Oblation</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_288'>288</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter XIII Love and Liberty</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_308'>308</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter XIV Goritz’s Death and the Gold Makers</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_332'>332</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter XV My Escape</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_348'>348</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Chapter XVI The Sequel</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#Page_376'>376</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c012'>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> -</div> -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='85%' /> -<col width='14%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c013'> </td> - <td class='c014'><span class='small'><i>Page</i></span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Police Follow Riddles’ Cue (Frontispiece)</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#frontis'>28</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Fiord</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p0382'>39</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Professor and the Pribylof Seals</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p0682'>69</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>On the Ice Pack</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p0981'>98</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Krocker Land Rim</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p1302'>131</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Perpetual Nimbus</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p1581'>158</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Crocodilo-Python and the Wild Pig</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p1801'>180</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Deer Fels</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p1881'>190</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Pine Tree Gredin</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p2142'>215</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Meeting the Radiumopolites</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p2261'>226</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Valley of Rasselas</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p2382'>239</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Ziliah and Her Father</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p2921'>292</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>The Pool of Oblation</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p3001'>300</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Goritz’s Death</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p3341'>334</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Erickson’s Escape</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p3742'>375</a></td> - </tr> - <tr><td> </td></tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>Erickson’s Rescue</td> - <td class='c014'><a href='#p3821'>382</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span> - <h2 class='c012'>EDITORIAL NOTE</h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>This remarkable narrative of Arctic exploration -is itself a remarkable confirmation of the wisdom of -that tireless hunt for NEWS which has become -second nature to the newspaper man, and while -distinctively a mark of his calling, has attached to -his profession the opprobrium of “yellowness.” -The appropriation of this color—so intimately -associated in nature with the golden illumination -of the noon, the royal charm of lilies, and the -enduring lure of gold—to designate an irresponsible -and shameless sensationalism has never been adequately -explained. The “yellowness” of the live -journalist, turning with an instinctive scent to -follow to its end every new trail of incident, -sniffing in each passing rumor the presence of -hidden and serviceable scandal, and ruthlessly -breaking through the sham obstruction of modesty -to snatch the culprit or to free the victim, cannot -certainly be referred to the torpor marked by the -<i>jaundice</i> of the invalid, nor to the weakness of the -last stages of an emaciating fever. Perhaps if the -reproach is to be made, or can be made, intelligible, -the yellow color finds its subtle analogue in a mustard -plaster.</p> - -<p class='c016'>That popular cataplasm has a dignified and -ancient history, and is gratefully recorded in literature -for nearly two thousand years as a <i>contrarient</i> -of value, allaying hidden aches through the excoriation -of the uninjured and painless surfaces. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>process seems to involve an injustice in principle, -but it is, in spite of abstractions, a beneficent -practice. The “yellowness” of newspapers may -amaze modesty, startle discretion, and afflict innocence, -but it cures interior disorders, and the unpleasantness -of an ulcerated or inflamed skin should -be condoned or forgotten for the benefit of a regulated -stomach or a renovated joint.</p> - -<p class='c016'>However, this all <i>en passant</i>, as only remotely, -and yet diffidently, related to the manner of my -obtaining the circumstances and facts of the following -adventure. I have attributed my success -to the pertinacity of instinct and the olfactory -sense of mischief. It is true. Without one or the -other—though the combination of both rendered -failure impossible—I might not now be in the -enviable position of proclaiming a “beat” on my -professional rivals which no amount of editorial -venom, aspersion, contempt and innuendo will -ever obliterate from the annals of journalism, as -unprecedented.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I am indeed afflicted at moments with a sort of -discomfiture over my own modesty in not having -ransacked to better advantage the commercial -possibilities of my tenacity and acumen. Incredible -and hypnotizing as is this story of Mr. Alfred -Erickson, as a foil to its romantic daring and its -transcendent interest, the brief relation of the -episode—and its development—that led to its -publication, has a delightful thrill of excitement, -and an up-to-date volubility, so to speak, of incident, -that frames the story in the most exhilarating -contrasts.</p> - -<p class='c016'>An office boy, a temporary expedient for a -messenger and page, Jack Riddles, mercurial, -vagarious, and quick-witted, a sandy haired, long-limbed, -peaked-nosed and weazel-eyed creation, -with flattened cheeks, whose jackets were always -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>short, and whose trousers despised any intimacy -with the tops of his shoes, got me the story.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack is destined for great things in our metropolitan -annals. In the mission of the Progressive -party, with its millennial attachments, Jack and his -sort would be progressively eliminated. Crime -exists for detection, and detection is Life at its <i>n</i>th -power for such as he. Jack is endowed with a rare -intuition of ways and means when the center of a -reportorial mystery is to be perforated, and the -process of “getting there” to <i>him</i> is as inevitable -as the first half of the alphabet. Riddle’s only -counterpart was Octavius Guy, alias Gooseberry, -Lawyer Bruff’s boy in Wilkie Collin’s story of the -Moonstone.</p> - -<p class='c016'>He began his exploit on the top of a Fifth Avenue -’bus, and it was about the middle of September, -1912. Jack has a Hogarthian sense for the multitudinous, -the psychological, the junction of circumstance -and expression in revealing a plot or -betraying a criminal. To hang over the railing of a -Fifth Avenue ’bus and watch the crowds, the motor -cars, each vibratory shock, as the behemoth shivers -and plunges, bringing your interpretative eye -unexpectedly into a new relation with the faces of -that ceremonious throng, was intoxication for Jack. -It evoked exuberantly the passion of espionage. -There was indeed concealment here, in the packed -and methodical progression of people and people, -and yet more people. Yet with an average dumbness -or dullness, or just the homogeneous stare of -business, or the vapid contentment of contiguity to -riches and fashion, Jack caught glimpses, direct, -profound, of dismay or discontent; of the pallid, -revolting grimace of suffering, the snarl of envy, or -the deeper placidity of crime.</p> - -<p class='c016'>They were rare, but Jack watched for them; his -precocity ran that way and he was rewarded. It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>used up his dimes, it widened the solutions of continuity -in his nether garments and brought his feet -more familiarly in contact with the hard flagging. -Some supersensual instinct urged him. The succeeding -story attests the splendor of the revelation -he uncovered. Jack may have been about eighteen -years of age.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was opposite the Public Library, just below -Forty-second Street on Fifth Avenue and on the -west side of that thoroughfare that Jack’s eyes, -after a long stop which held up an endless phalanx -of automobiles, fell upon a man and woman who -conveyed to his thought a hint of crime. The -woman was beautiful too, a Spanish siren, full in -form, with developed curves that yielded so slightly -to the sway of her tight fitting mauve dress as to -start the conjecture that she did not belong to the -more rarified types of Venuses. A light feather -boa, deliciously pearly gray in tone, heightened the -carnation of her cheeks. These in turn yielded to -the orbed splendor of her eyes, and that to the -wealth of black hair darkly globed underneath a -maroon velvet turban-like cap, in whose folds -twinkled a firmament of greenish stars. Jack -literally devoured her radiance, so near was he to -her as she descended with her companion the last -terrace to the sidewalk between the amorphous -lions of the Public Library.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The man with her was inordinately, insolently -handsome, dark and tall, dressed a little beyond the -form of reticence, as was the woman. Herein -perhaps lurked the confession of their mutual depravity -to Jack, an untutored psychologist; to -all besides it appealed as a momentary sensation, to -some as barely an infringement of good taste.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The man wore a light fedora hat that suited the -bravado of his curled and graceful moustache, the -ovate outlines of his face, his liquid, voluptuous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>eyes, the sensuous thickness of his lips. Observation -stopped short at his face where he intended it -should. Its arrest was made imperative by a blue -and ormolu tie, relieved against a softly-tinted -yellow shirt, carrying a horseshoe of demantoid -garnets in a wreath of little diamonds. His feet -were encased in tan gaiters, a permissible distraction. -For an instant only the spectator was rewarded -with an appreciation of their admirable -<i>tournure</i>. Otherwise he was in black, relieved by -the white lining at the lapels of his coat, and he -carried a cane in his gloved hand.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a few instants after Jack’s ravished eyes -had fastened on this entrancing couple, that the -cane was raised sharply in the air to descend -abruptly on the woman’s head. The attack -involved the man’s slight retreat—a backward -gesture—and his turning aside, whereby his profile -cut keenly across the sunlit stone behind him, and -Jack was shocked into a delighted recognition of -the same profile in a print in the show window of -Krauschaar’s gallery. He remembered the title; -it was “Mephistopheles, A Modern Guise of an Old -Offender”; a smiling, swarthy beau at the feet of a -remonstrating and beautiful <i>ingenue</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The explosion was evidently the climax of an -altercation. Jack recalled the previous animated -demeanor of the couple. Explanatory reflections -were cut short by the velocity of the woman’s -defense. She flung herself on the man, caught his -arms with her outstretched hands, and kicked him -viciously. Infuriated, he tore himself away, raised -the cane and the next moment would have inflicted -a harsher insult on the defiant Amazon, into whose -face, so Jack thought, had sprung a tigerish fury, -when, from the stupified and expectant crowd before -them, half shrinking and half jubilant, shot a tall figure, -whose interposition transfixed both contestants.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>This meteoric stranger was remarkable for his -broad shoulders, and a peculiar taper in his frame -downward to his feet, that made him figuratively a -human top, the impression of any actual deformity -arising from his immense chest, on which, by a -connection scarcely deserving consideration as a -neck, sat his squat, contracted head. Prodigious -whiskers covered his face, invading his high cheeks -almost to the outer limits of his sunken eyes.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This hirsute prodigality contrasted with his -cropped cranium and his closely shaven lips. The -latter were long and thin-compressed, they seemed -to separate his chin from the rest of his face by a -red seam. His forehead was low and his head was -covered with a steamer-tourist’s cap. His clothes -were of plaid.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As he rushed between the wranglers he caught -each by the shoulder, and he pushed them apart. -He had turned toward the avenue, facing the wondering -throng, and Jack heard him speak quickly -and sharply, but in a guttural, obscured way that -suggested something that was not English or, if it -was, it was hopelessly incoherent to Jack’s ears -from its imperfect articulation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The man and woman seemed stunned into immobility, -and then obeying his gesture, followed -him on the sidewalk, jostled and pressed by the -crowd which at first, inquisitive but timorous, had -recoiled a little from the enigmatical encounter and -then, almost obstreperous and decidedly interested -engulfed the trio, who however pushed their way -through, energetically piloted by the stranger. -How quickly a drama evolves!</p> - -<p class='c016'>All three had almost simultaneously stepped into -the little <i>scenario</i>, and yet by the illusion of an -assumed sequence the last actor seemed a novelty, -related as unexpected, to the other two, as more -familiar and apparent. None of the three spoke, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>nor did they heed the interruption of the spectators -who tardily parted to let them pass. The moment -Forty-second Street was reached the leader turned -toward Sixth Avenue. Jack standing on the roof of -the ’bus, which slowly swung off into the restored -movement northward as the obstruction somewhere -ahead disappeared, saw them enter an automobile -opposite the northern entrance to the -library and dash westward.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack did not argue the matter with himself. He -had no compunctions. He jumped straight for the -to him (as perhaps to anyone) tangible certainty -that he had struck a trail of iniquity. But how to -follow it? His ruminations were cut short by the -loud honk of an automobile and there, returning to -Fifth Avenue at Fiftieth Street, he saw the yellow -limousine which contained the suspects wheeling -into the procession and, forced by the unrelieved -pressure to relax its impatience, moving with the -limping concourse at the same pace.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack watched it eagerly. His eyes never left it. -It swayed a little to the right and to the left as the -driver, probably under threats or persuasion, endeavored -to insert his vehicle into the chance -spaces that opened before him. This irregular and -tentative progress brought the automobile at length -directly alongside of the ’bus which had on it the -Nemesis of its (the automobile’s) occupants. It -was underneath Jack’s very eyes; he could have -dropped on its roof almost unnoticed. Jack’s -heart beat with trip-hammer throbs, and his mind -rehearsed the possibilities of murder, arson, burglary, -brigandage, kidnapping, etc., gathering headway -in that uncanny conference going on there -below under that burnished but impenetrable roof. -But he was exulting too with the steel-clad certainty -of having a “case,” and that a little intensive -use of his wits would promote him from the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>office floor to a reserved seat in the Reporters’ -Sanctum.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A jolt, a lurching swing, the vituperative shriek -of an ungreased axle, and the ’bus followed a -meandering lane that brought it into an unimpeded -headway. Jack sprang to his feet and watched -behind him the still imprisoned limousine—it too -shot ahead; noiselessly as a speeding bird it overtook -the ’bus and then with a graceful curve, -almost as if in mockery of his impotence, it vanished -into east Fifty-eighth Street.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack had a message for the Director of the Metropolitan -Art Museum. It was from myself in response -to an inquiry as to what space we could -afford for a description of a new Morgan exhibit. -Jack was a safe messenger, unmistakably accurate, -but we always discounted his celerity, because of his -preferences for a ride on a Fifth avenue ’bus and the -little delinquencies of delay his observational -powers tempted him to perpetrate. He was an -hour later than the most generous allowance of -time would justify. Jack was to bring back “copy” -for the next day’s issue. I lectured him. He -was sullenly respectful, indifferently contrite, and -showed a taciturn preoccupation that impressed -my reportorial instinct as significant.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As a matter of fact the missing hour was used in -traversing Fifty-eighth Street. The fruit of Jack’s -search was diminutive but it was conclusive. On -the pavement in front of No. — east Fifty-eighth -Street, Jack picked up a microscopic green glass -star. He knew where it belonged—the spangled -turban on top of the massed hair of that afternoon’s -<i>debutante</i>; <i>debutante</i> to Jack’s official criticism.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This minute betrayal had dropped from her hat, -from nowhere else, and the belligerent cane of her -escort had dislodged it. It had lain somewhere in -the folds and creases of the soft velvet, to fall just -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>there, unsuspectedly at the entrance of her retreat—a -frail enamel bead releasing to the world a -marvelous secret. For Jack Riddles intended to -watch that house; he would enter it; if it concealed -some half consummated plot of SIN, if -indeed the plot was over, its victims disposed of, -and the conspirators were there enjoying the harvest -of their guilt, he would know it, and—the -eventuality of failure never entered his head. He -felt, in every fibre, a certainty of wrong-doing, -something shadowy, perhaps darkly cruel in these -people. His prescience was involuntary; he never -explained it, he never himself understood it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack lived in Brooklyn, with his wifeless father. -That night as he left the office he dropped a postal -at a lamp post and took a car north. He was following -the trail. A little transposed I submit -Jack’s story as he gave it to me the next morning.</p> - -<p class='c016'>He came to the office a little late, and knocked at -my door. On entering I saw instantly that he was -in an advanced stage of nervous excitement. He -was pale, and a fluttering involuntary movement of -his hands, one over the other, as he stood before me, -with a glitter in his peculiarly shaped and small -eyes betrayed his mental agitation. He was quite -wet, had probably been drenched, and the first -symptoms of a chill showed that precautions were -necessary to avert a possible collapse. I told him -to sit down, opened a cellarette, which had its professional -and commercial uses, and poured out a -rather stiff jorum of the best whisky I owned.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As he swallowed in a gulping manner the -proffered contents of the glass, he was rather a -ludicrous and yet pitiful and heart-moving object. -His disordered hair, shabby clothes and a certain -forlorn wistfulness in his glance upward to me, combined -with his lean and disjointed anatomy gave -him an expression that was at once tender and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>laughable. Only a Cruikshank could have done -it justice. His spirits revived, animal heat reasserted -itself, and back with it, as if it had stood -somewhere aside until invited to return, came -boastingly his invincible pugnacity and confidence.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mr. Link,” his speech was customarily hesitating -with a deprecatory manner as if forestalling -interruption or correction, and impeded by a -slight stutter, but now, in the tide and torrent of -his thoughts, under the sway of the elation over his -first bit of detective work, it was rapid but coherent, -and oddly picturesque. “Mr. Link, I’ve nipped a -pretty piece of mischief in the bud—seems so to me. -Of course I’m just on the trail, and fetching up to -the big game that I think is in sight, barring the -trees—may take more work than I think. But the -proposition is as clear as glass that there’s a crooked -game being pulled off at — east Fifty-eighth Street, -and I’m convinced that ‘the deceits of the world, -the flesh and the devil,’ as it goes in the prayer book, -are behind it. Now here’s the evidence—not much -you may say, but I’ll hang up my reputation on -it—you know, Mr. Link, I have a little hereabouts -at finding out things, and I’m just convinced <i>it</i>—won’t -drop.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I was on the ’bus, stalled just below Forty-second -Street, opposite the Library. I saw a -couple of people, a man and a woman, coming down -the steps to the street. The woman—Well, I -couldn’t begin to tell you how stunning she was. -Beauty was just all over her, thick too, from her -feet to her head. I remember now the thought -struck me as I looked at her that she’d make a brass -man turn round to see her when she’d passed. And -the goods on her were as sweet and gay as herself—a -picture, Mr. Link, a real picture, if ever a woman -made one. The man was with her, good-looking -and cruel; neat, too, and Hell painted on him so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>plain it would make an angel throw a fit—if an -angel could, supposin’.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Now Mr. Link I hadn’t looked that long,” Jack -snapped his fingers, “before I felt, sir, that they -were <i>rotten</i>, not four flushers, but the <i>real bad</i>, like -those the Sunday School man told us of, who ‘build -a town with blood, and establish a city by iniquity.’” -The pause Jack interpolated here was as oracular -as the quotation. I did him a great injustice to -seem indifferent and impatient. Really I felt the -thrill of an inevitable sensation approaching, and—I -saw beyond it hypnotizing <i>copy</i>. Jack desiderated -encouragement, approval—I looked at the -clock over my desk and yawned. Surely it was -deliberate malice.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Like that, sir!” Jack clapped his hands -loudly; the ruse broke through my affectation, -and startled me into attention that he was -keen enough to see was as intense as he wished it -to be.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Like that, sir, they hit out at each other, and -there was a fight on! Then a husky— Well, a—white-hope -you might have called him—bounced -in; they knew him, he knew them, and the three -chased off in an automobile. I lost ’em, found ’em, -and tracked ’em down east Fifty-eighth Street. -She had green stars in her hat—things you could -hardly see—but they <i>shone</i>! I found one on a doorstep—and -last night <i>I watched the house</i>!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The typical story teller who at such a juncture -lights a cigar, finishes an unsmoked pipe, empties a -glass of grog, or rises with unconcealed surprise -over his neglect to fulfill an engagement <i>elsewhere</i>, -could not have surpassed the self-control with -which Jack, for the same purpose, intimated his own -retirement. He rose, crushing in his thin fingers -his poor bleached blue cap, his small sparkling eyes -raised to the clock, which a moment before I had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>invoked so heartlessly to aid the hypocrisy of my -assumed exemption from common weaknesses.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I think, Mr. Link, it’s time for me to see Mr. -Force.” Mr. Force was an assistant in the press-room.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The rebellious spirit of honesty which I had -shamelessly essayed to crush, got decidedly the best -of the situation now; behind it was the pressure of -my own exorbitant curiosity.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I think Jack, you’ll sit down and finish your -story.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack sat down.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“There was a vacant or closed house opposite. -I perched on the top step of the porch and glued my -eyes on No. —. I think, sir, that if any man or -woman inside had winked an eye at me from across -the street, I’d have seen it. But it wasn’t light -enough for long to watch trifles, and I just kept -looking at the front door and the windows. It was -right funny how the lights changed. They broke -out first on the second floor, then they dropped to -the basement, then they climbed to the third story, -down again to the first, but they ended in the attic -windows and they stayed there. Everything else -was as black as the tomb.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The wind hustled about a little, splashes of rain -hurried along with it, and it grew dark in the street. -Once or twice the shades lifted and, Mr. Link”—Jack -was a picture of poignant eagerness—“I saw -the big peach and her man, the two of the Library -steps, just the same as I see you. They’d open the -window too and look out together down into the -street. I knew why, sir. They expected that -limousine—and it came.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The constraint of any position more repressive -than sitting to Jack, now on the edge of his exposure -could not be imagined. He stood up, moved -towards me, the color mounting in his pale cheeks, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>his body bent a little forward, and his eyes lighting -up with an interior brilliancy that suddenly made -me realize Jack might become a good-looking man.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“After that they’d go away from the window -farther back; I think they carried a lamp with -them for the light would fade away, or else they -turned the gas off. At eleven o’clock—I could -hear the clock bells from the steeples—the wind -was racing and it began to rain hard. I got some -shelter under the doorway; the light never left the -attic across the street. I felt it all over me, sir, that -IT was coming. I’m not sure, I may have fallen -asleep, but I came to with a bounce. Lightning -was chasing through the sky and the thunder was -booming and—the door of No. — was open; the -light from the hall flickered over the wet sidewalk, -but the shower had passed. The man and the -woman both stood there for an instant, then they -went in and the door shut with a slam. I thought, -sir, I had lost the trail. I never felt worse. I -hated them, Mr. Link. Good reason, too.” His -hands suddenly searched his vest, they were unrewarded; -his face grew blank and he dropped his -hands helplessly, while a piteous look of consternation -and utter despondency shot from his eyes to -mine, by this time fully sympathetic and as lustrous -as his own.</p> - -<p class='c016'>His glance fell on his hat that lay at his feet on -the floor, a flood of revived remembrances followed; -he snatched it up, fumbled in its lining and pulled -out a scrap of wrinkled paper. The returning sunshine -of confidence renewed again the handsome -look I had noticed before. He certainly was -working up his effects with a remarkable melodramatic -insight that was captivating.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I ran down the steps into the street, I had -heard a distant croak of an auto-horn, and on top -of it came the toll of one o’clock from a tower. I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>had been asleep over an hour. There was no light -in No. — except upstairs, as before, in the attic. -Then the croak seemed to come from towards the -East River, and I saw two balls of light rushing at -me. IT WAS THE LIMOUSINE. I started -back, and stumbled over a small cobble stone. It -looked like an intervention—a message, Mr. -Link—who knows? I picked it up, and I pulled -out a jack knife I had in my pants. Why? I -didn’t know, but, sir, they both came in handy.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The auto sneaked up quiet enough, wheeled -round facing East River, and crept in a little to one -side of No. —. Mine wasn’t the only pair of eyes -watching for it. It had hardly grazed the curb -when the front door opened and there stood -Mephistopheles, behind the beautiful woman, both -in the half dark. I knew them, alright. The man -came down the steps bareheaded, he carried a short -something in his right hand. The sprinkle started -again, and a smash of thunder roared overhead, -and a clot-like gloom came out of it. Under that -cover I dashed over the street like a hare, and crept -tight up to the back of the car. In it sat Husky—the -peg-top fellow that met ’em in Fifth Avenue—and -another man, smaller, and sort of muffled up. -The chauffeur in front never stirred from first to last.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Meph. opened the door; Husky stepped out; he -shook the little man. I heard him mutter ‘Come -out here. Be fly, but quiet, or by God, I’ll stick -yer through and no compunctions, mind yer.’ -The bundle inside stirred; I peeped in from behind, -a little higher; he was in a black bag or something -like it, and as he stooped under the door and -stumbled out, the two caught him, lifted him and -started up the steps, where the woman leaned -forward—it seemed to me she kept clapping her -hands together softly as if she couldn’t hold in for -delight. Then, sir—”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>Jack straightened himself, bent back, relaxed, -pitched forward with one outstretched arm, projected -like a catapult, in front of him, “then, sir, -I let fly—not at them—I didn’t know who I might -hit and anyhow, hit or miss, they’d slipped off -through that door quicker’n snakes. That was no -use. The cobble stone slammed through the glass -side of the limousine, it went through that and split -the window opposite. I haven’t pitched for the -Bogotas for nothing, sir. Before they had time to -think, I jabbed my jack knife through the tire and -off it went like a mortar. Everything was quiet -then up above and the crash and the explosion had -the center of the stage, as you people say. I guess -it made their hearts jump. They looked around, -the woman screamed, and—I screamed—and that -chauffeur didn’t even turn about. For nerve or -sheer fright he had the record. Perhaps at such -times, sir, you can’t distinguish. Eh?</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, they lost their grip on the bundle, for it -was a pretty uneasy load to carry now; the interruption -perhaps gave the fellow inside some hope. -He rolled down the steps onto the pavement like a -bag of beans, moving slightly like a strangled dog. -I heard Husky’s voice, ‘Inside, inside with him! -Don’t stop, swat him,’ and then the black scoundrel -raised his cudgel and beat the poor creature -insensible. I heard him groan where I stood. I -was crazy with rage; I felt myself suffocating. I -had been shouting, ‘Help! Help!’ but my voice -left me; I discovered that I was very wet, and then -a strange vertigo came over me, a pain crossed -my chest, and a fire seemed to rage in my throat. -I was sick, sir. I am—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack tottered. I caught him, poor fellow; -exposure and overstrained emotions had prostrated -him. And he was still damp; perhaps breakfast-less. -I had been thoughtless, but no time was to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>be lost. There was an emergency room in the building, -and there Jack was hurried. Strengthened -with nourishment, and warmed again into animation -with stimulants, revived by sleep—he hardly -stirred for sixteen hours, so deathlike was his -slumber—he just escaped a serious illness. Recuperation -was instantaneous; his own mental -energy worked wonders and when two days later he -returned to the theme of his story hardly a trace of -his weakness was betrayed. He was keen to engage -in the solution of the midnight mystery and he -implored me not to share his discovery with anyone -else except the police to whom indeed I had already -related Jack’s experience. Jack realized that their -co-operation was indispensable. It was then he -showed me the wrinkled scrap of paper which he -had secreted in the lining of his cap, and afterwards -stuck in his trousers’ pocket, and which I had -forgotten.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was printed on it in pencil, “I am a prisoner. -My life is in danger. A. E.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The paper was of the thin and excellent quality -used in engineers’ pocket tables and handbooks.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It appeared that Jack upon feeling the sudden -desertion of his strength had stolen again to the doorway -of the empty house opposite No. — and must -have drowsed away there the rest of the night, -urged apparently by his ineradicable hope of further -disclosures. His persistency was rewarded by -finding this puzzling and startling bit of evidence. -He found it, most remarkably, on the floor of the -abandoned limousine.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The car had remained undisturbed all night in the -street, and this strange neglect on the part of its -previous users could only be explained by the supposition -that they feared some unpleasant complications, -involving disagreeable explanations with -its actual owners, unless they were the owners of it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>themselves. Jack crawled over to the car in the -earliest hour of the morning before the dawn had -yet grown strong enough to make its outlines -visible, while night practically covered the street. -No. — was dark from basement to attic, not a light -shone in it anywhere. He remembered that very -distinctly.</p> - -<p class='c016'>He had had an indefinite premonition or fancy -that something left behind in the car might be -found; clues like that figured in all the romances of -detection. He explored with his hands the corners, -the cushions, and the floor, when, passing his hand -along the edge of the carpet mat covering the floor, -it encountered a bit of paper rolled up into a pellet. -After the discovery of the writing he went to an -owl wagon restaurant, and then hastened to the -newspaper office.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But two hours later, when the daylight swept -through the city, he returned to Fifty-eighth Street, -from a restless feeling of suspicion, and agonized too -with the thought of the abused and helpless -prisoner. <i>The auto was gone</i>, and the mysterious -house revealed nothing, with its shades drawn -down and its immobile identity with the other -sandstone fronts hopelessly complete. If murder -dwelt behind its expressionless stories, or some -dastardly drama of persecution, extortion, torture, -effrontery and crime had been enacted there, no -telltale signal betrayed it. And yet to Jack’s inflamed -imagination it confessed its guilt; somehow -to his obsessed eye he saw the meanness of its -degradation, as if it shrank away from its orderly -and decent neighbors; as if indeed its neighbors -frowned upon it. He returned to the office and -told me his story.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A newspaper man has the keenest sort of scent -for sensation—especially the <i>yellow</i> newspaper man, -and I fail to recoil from making the confession of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>my personal <i>yellowness</i> in that respect. He is seldom -bewildered by scruples, seldom daunted by -danger; he doesn’t think of them. He starts the -engines of exposure and arrest, and records the -result. Half an hour after Jack’s story was told -Captain B— of the — precinct was closeted -with me, and I repeated Jack’s adventure.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack’s description of the three principals in this -suspicious criminal alliance was insufficient or -inadequate to enable Captain B. to recognize -them among the notables of both the under and the -upper worlds with whom he was acquainted. I -had not then seen the paper Jack found.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mr. Link,” Captain B. finally said, after a -short silence following my communication, “you -feel pretty sure of this young fellow, Jack Riddles? -The name suggests an equivocal character.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I feel a good deal surer of him, perhaps, than I -do of myself—if you can understand.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh I catch that. Well No. — will be watched -night and day for a short time. Your young -friend’s rather violent exploit may have scared its -tenants off. The auto went. Perhaps they went -with it. It won’t do to break in at once. We -must have some evidence of occupation and a line -on the occupants that runs straight with Riddles’ -description.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But that wretched man? Suppose they kill him. -A little less carefulness, Captain, might save him -and, under the circumstances, I don’t think I’d be -squeamish over precedents.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh, that team isn’t ready for murder yet—they’re -not thinking of it. They’ve kidnapped -someone for one reason or another. Bagging him -that way showed they wanted something out of -him. I’ll place them in twelve hours or so, and if -they cover the same size Riddles gave I’ll take the -risk and search the house.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>“Of course you’ll let us in, Captain, on the ground -floor so to speak?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Sure! I’ll tip you on the first peep we hear. -But get that boy on his legs; we’ll need him.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was just a day and a half later that a policeman -brought me a sealed envelope. Of course I -knew who had sent it. There was no answer the -policeman said, and left. I opened the missive -expectantly. I was not disappointed. Its contents -were more rapturously thrilling to my journalistic -hunger for marvels and mysteries, and those -labyrinthine prodigies of subterranean deviltry that -Cobb, or Ainsworth, or George Sand revelled in, -than any mess of crime I had tumbled on <i>or in</i>, since -Joe Horner, our chief city reporter, went through a -hatchway in the Bronx and dropped into a hogshead -of claret (Zinfandel) with two dead bodies in -it!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Captain B.’s note ran: “Riddles corroborated. -They’re there; three of them and a squeegee. Up -to mischief—perhaps forgery—something like it. -Pounce on them tomorrow. We’ve moved like -mice, and the trap has been set quietly. Nothing -more simple. Guess you might like to be in at the -death. Bring Riddles. We break cover at 11 p.m. -Meet at the police station * * *”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Riddles was then on the mend, and when I told -him how matters stood, the boy smiled grimly, -caught my hand and exclaimed: “Good medicine -for me, Mr. Link. I feel it to the end of my toes. -That’s the tonic I need. Trust me, I’ll be with -you, strong and hearty.” He was.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Captain B. had arranged the affair tactfully. He -had conveyed his suspicions to the householder on -the west side of No. — and had secured his permission -to admit three plain-clothes men through his -backyard to the backyard of No. —; also his own -party of six, with Riddles and myself as press agents, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>onto the roof, whence we expected to effect an -entrance through the roof door or skylight, while a -few men on the street would intercept flight in that -direction. Riddles was radiant; it was a beautiful -tribute to his sagacity; all this had come about -through his quick insight, his instantaneous sense of -obliquity, alias crookedness, when he saw the -quarreling pair on the Public Library steps. As -we cautiously climbed over the low parapet separating -the two roofs, with only the light of the stars to -guide us, not altogether appropriately I recalled -Jonathan Wild’s chase of Thomas Dauell over the -housetops, and also the burglary at Dollis Hill in -Jack Shepard. There were more apposite occurrences -in fiction to compare our maneuvers with, -but I thought of these.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I had shown to the Captain the pathetic call for -rescue scrawled on the paper scrap. It was palpably -written by a foreigner, perhaps a German, -certainly someone of Teutonic origin, and the paper -had been torn from a book, some such technical -guide for engineers as I had suggested. It did not -interest Captain B. greatly. He told me, before we -started out, that the “peg-top” man—a Hercules—the -beautiful woman and “Mephistopheles” had all -been seen, and no one else, but that dark ruby glass, -identical he thought with that used by photographers, -had been inserted in the front attic windows, -where he suspected the imprisoned man was -kept at work in some nefarious trade, from which -the trio derived support or profit. As to the -criminal character of “the bunch” he had no -doubts. The two men almost invariably carried -bundles into the house, but none out.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were at the doorway of a little triangular -erection which covered the stairway leading from -the roof to the attic and our approach, in rubbers, -had been almost noiseless. The door was shut, but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>only locked; the precautions against invasion had -been forgotten or overlooked. It was not even -bolted. Evidently the conspirators or counterfeiters, -or whatever they were, apprehended nothing; -we might catch them red handed. A stout -chisel enabled us to force the door inward, and a -dark lantern revealed a dilapidated stairway below, -ending in a kind of storage room, cluttered up with -the refuse of successive occupancies, a dangerously -inflammable chaos of rubbish, in which a feebly -sputtering match could create a conflagration -before it was suspected. It required some discrimination -to cross this <i>debris</i> without starting -some crumbling avalanche of fragments in the -boxes, baby carriages, stoves, chairs, trunks, -picture frames, racks and easels. As it was, with -our best efforts slides occurred, and the mastodon-like -tread of the detectives sank noisily through an -occasional bandbox. We paused anxiously—I did, at -least—at such moments, but the crash, so it sounded -to me, brought no response. I reasoned the house -must be vacant, and that our quarry had escaped.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We found that a closed door opened upon a narrow -hallway, and as we softly drew it back loud -voices most unexpectedly became audible, certainly -proceeding from the front rooms of that very floor; -from that front room wherein Jack had noticed the -light, and where the detectives reported the insertion -of the ruby panes. A hoarse dominant swelled -up in the excited conversation. Jack leaned towards -me and whispered “That’s Husky”; Captain -raised a warning finger, and we filed out, one by one, -gingerly tiptoeing toward the room which now -unquestionably contained the objects of our search. -The familiar scare or thrill which submerges all -lesser emotions, as the danger point in an encounter -is approached, decidedly manifested itself somewhere -in my anatomy, or probably all over it.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>Any mental analysis of my feelings was abruptly -halted by the threats or altercation now heard very -clearly in the room before us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had reached the door, beneath which a -streak of light gave a penumbral illumination to -the end of the little hallway. Below, in the house -itself, absolute silence reigned, and apparently -as complete darkness. Our approach was unnoticed. -The excitement or rage that overpowered -the speaker, breaking out in threats that now -became intelligible and startled us into a fierce impatience -to interfere, had certainly stopped his -ears. The suffocation of anger had made him -deaf.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Damn you—you’ll show us the trick, or else -your starved and scorched body will take the consequences. -We know well enough you can do it. -You’ve led us on with blind promises, but now -we’ve got you where we want you. You can’t get -out of this, remember, until we get what we want. -Can you understand?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And then you’ll kill, I suppose?” The voice -was strained, thick, foreign in accent, and low.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Riddles stretched himself up to my ear again and -whispered “A. E.?” I nodded assent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“No! No! Oh, no; but—you must not stay here.” -The voice was a woman’s. “We’ll take care of you. -Nicely too, Diaz, I guess. We’ll keep you where -you won’t tell tales.” A mean, cynical laugh followed, -a muttered corroboration from a third -person, who had evidently crossed the room. It -was this last voice that continued the harangue of -the prisoner in a smooth, polished, plausible manner -that thinly veiled its heartlessness; its crafty insinuation -betrayed a designing selfishness, but it -seemed welcome after the barking hoarseness and -ferocity of its predecessor, and the cruelty of that -feminine sneer. Its climax came at the close with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>a threat of fiendish wickedness that broke the tension -of our restraint.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Alfred Erickson, perhaps you can understand -your predicament a little better, if you will stop to -think it over. You are a stranger here, and you are -in our power. That, you probably realize pretty -well by this time. There is something else you may -not so clearly comprehend, and that is, we are not -afraid of consequences, because in your case, so far -as we are concerned, there will be no consequences! -You can extricate yourself easily enough if you will -be sensible. Obstinacy has its merits under some -circumstances; your perseverance in your Arctic -experiences was rewarded—and we know exactly -how—but obstinacy is of no avail just now, and no -rescuing party from Norway, or even from the New -York police will save you from, perhaps, an unfortunate -calamity.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This allusion appealed facetiously to the others, -and there arose a musical outburst of laughter from -the lady, with an accompaniment of harsh bass -grunts from the first speaker. The voice continued:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You possess a secret that the whole world has -been hunting for, and we propose that the world will -go on hunting for it before you will ever be -able to tell it. Share with us and, under reservations, -you will be well cared for. Refuse and, -as we have gone so far, we will find—and you -too—the rest of the way very simple. You’re not -at this moment likely to be able to help yourself. -That little incident outside,” Riddles nudged me -again, “meant nothing. You’re as much buried -alive in this attic in the first city of the world, as if -you occupied a tomb of the Pharaohs. We’re not -as self-controlled as you seem to be. We may get -restless. Then, sir”—we heard him step forward; -I imagined him leaning close to his victim, for it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>was evident the man was in some way confined—“then, -sir, up you go—you and your secret—in -smoke.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>His smothered rage broke out then, and we heard -him strike the man and curse him. There was the -remonstrance of a cry—that was all. The next -instant we would have forced our way through a -stone wall had we been against it, but Captain B. -raised his hand. His trained endurance amazed -me. The voice resumed:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Now what do you propose to do?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, what?” from the first ruffian.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We held our breaths and listened with all our -ears.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Let me get up. Let me talk this over with you. -You are driving me crazy! I can’t think. I will -forget what you say I know. You—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Hell with your parleying. I’ll untie your tongue. -I guess your memory will work quick enough -after this”; it was Husky threatening.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then succeeded the jeering encouragement of the -woman and, strange paradox, the voice was rich, -enticing, but mocking.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh, yes; just a little stimulation will hurry up -matters. Diaz we can’t wait much longer and,” -the menad fury broke loose, “if this miserable -creature holds out much longer we shall be ruined. -Burn him—burn him—scald it out of him, Huerta; -the dolt, simpleton, idiot—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was a shuffling movement inside, the sudden -bristling, rushing sound of an airblast (Could -it be a naphtha lamp?) and then a raving, rending, -terrifying cry, something that meant fear and rage -and madness, the awful, marrow-chilling shriek of -insanity.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Quicker than thought a man behind me shoved -us aside. He raised an iron mallet; it struck the -door with a splintering crash—another and another—the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>door burst inwards, torn from its lock, torn -from its hinges, and we all rushed forward. I heard -a shot, then another; the group in front of me -parted and an extraordinary scene was revealed, -one I can never forget. A huge broad-shouldered -man was crumpled upon the floor. There had -fallen from his hand a thick, long soldering iron; -it had been red or white hot; fallen on the floor it -was burning into the boards, and little swinging -flames encircled it. Near at hand was the large -form of a plumber’s furnace with the blue whistling -flame still shooting from it. Huddled in a corner, -cowering behind a menacing man—quickly subdued, -however, by a pointed revolver—was the -beautiful woman, a half dishevelled creature in a -deep yellow wrap, fastened a little distance below -her peerless throat by a big turquoise brooch. Her -abundant hair had become loosened, and it poured -over her shoulders in a raven tide.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The man in front of her was Riddles’ Mephistopheles. -He was pale, and the pallor hardly became -him. Although strikingly handsome it gave -a peculiar expression to his face, of craven hate and -sinister fear, if that can be understood. In both -his and the woman’s eyes shone a horrible surprise. -But the overpowering object in the room was the -half-naked figure of a man with extended arms and -divergent legs, strapped to a narrow table by iron -bands. These latter passed over his wrists and -ankles, and were actually screwed to the table. -His face was not readily deciphered; whiskers -covered his chin, a high forehead beneath overhanging -light hair and a large mouth formed together -the suggestion of a very dignified and intelligent -face. His condition was heart-rending; -bruises covered his body, one eye seemed swollen -and shut, and scars—I shuddered at the thought of -their having been caused by the iron in the hands of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>the prostrate fiend—marked the white but -defaced skin of his shoulders and arms.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was little furniture in the room—the tortured -man had probably been kept on the table at -night—a few chairs, a second table, and towards the -front of the room a long table covered with a confusion -of physical apparatus. It was the work of a -minute to search the criminals, and to handcuff -them; though the woman cried bitterly at the -degradation Captain B. was taking no chances, and -then the liberation of the pitiable victim of these -inhuman miscreants was effected. The stiffness of -his limbs almost forbade movement, and he cried -with pain—and for that matter I am sure with joy -too—as we tenderly raised him, lifted him into a -chair, and tried to relax the rigid muscles. His -agony, crucified so on his back, must have been -incalculable; evidently his resolute refusal had -driven his tormentors furious, and made them -incarnate demons. But what was it—the -SECRET? Reader, you are not to know, except -as you find it out yourself, by reading this almost -incredible story.</p> - -<p class='c016'>With our prisoners—the Hercules was carried -out; his femur had been split by the Captain’s -bullet and he was in desperate pain—we made our -way down through the house. There seemed to be -only two rooms showing any signs of habitation, -two rooms on the second floor used as bedrooms, -and their furnishment was a droll mixture of bareness -and luxury. Shreddy and hanging wallpaper, -a superb rug or so, a sumptuous easy chair, and then -wooden kitchen chairs, plain bedsteads, but a -bureau or toilet table covered with jewel boxes, and -in a corner odds and ends of silver utensils, heaped -up into quite a noticeable hillock. Was it these -that the men had been seen carrying so constantly -into the house? Our prying about uncovered some -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>decanters of wine incongruously stowed away in a -pantry below a washbasin. Their contents helped -Erickson, and some of the rest helped themselves.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Riddles had been gloating over the capture of his -game; his eyes never left the sullen, downcast face -of Mephistopheles, distorted too at moments with -angry scowls, nor the disturbed shadowed splendor -of the woman’s countenance. At an unguarded -instant Mephistopheles sprang out of the hold of his -captors, and brought his clenched, handcuffed -wrists down on the head of Jack, who promptly -dropped.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You dirty little fox, you did this. I know now. -I’ve seen you hanging about here. I’ll mark you! -I’ll mark you! I’ll tear your liver and heart out yet. -Oh, I don’t forget. Diaz never forgets.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He was jerked back into decorum and silence, and -somewhat injuriously rebuked as well, but a little -scar, bare of hair, was to remain as a memento of his -regard for Jack Riddles for many a long year afterwards.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I bargained successfully with Captain B. for the -possession of Erickson, and I took him home in a -taxi, greatly to my journalistic bliss. He was -pretty dangerously ill for days; the nervous breakdown -was dreadful. He raved and shouted and -was almost maniacal in his outbreaks. It was the -natural reaction of a powerful mind and nature -against the circumstances of his degradation and -insult. But he finally came round all right, the -glow of health covered his cheeks, and his earnest -eyes welcomed me with sanity and gratitude. -Then he told me his story, in two parts. The first -part explained the predicament in which we found -him here in New York, the second— Well, the -reader has it before him in this volume, exactly as -it appeared in the daily issue of the <i>New York -Truth Getter</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>A few words more to explain Mr. Erickson’s -equivocal, abject position in New York, as we found -him, and this Editorial Note will no longer restrain -the puzzled and vexed subscriber. These words -will be very few indeed, and may indeed prove very -unsatisfactory. Yet they will conveniently make -a skeleton framework or outline for deductions, -with which the reader may fill its expressionless -and yawning blanks, after the gift of his imagination -or the bias of his temperament, upon reading -the ensuing narrative.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Alfred Erickson reached San Francisco from the -Arctic Exploration, herein circumstantially described. -In San Francisco he formed, rather -rapidly, the acquaintance of Angelica Sigurda -Tabasco, and Diaz Ilario Aguadiente. There were -mutual prepossessions. Mr. Erickson also fascinated -his new friends by certain wonderful claims, -which were however partially supported by ocular -demonstration. They all came to New York. In -New York Mr. Erickson came to grief. He had -come too far from the base of his operations, and he -suffered from a complicated treatment. We rescued -him from its worst effects. I think that is all. -I will not trust myself to say more for fear of my -own remorse over misleading statements. Angelica -and Diaz were never prosecuted. Erickson was -afraid to tell his story before he wrote his book (this -book), and we all agreed he acted wisely from a -commercial standpoint, and the police so impressed -Angelica and Diaz with their—the police’s—contiguity -under any and all circumstances, in this -country anywhere, anyhow, that they left it. And -Jack’s “Husky” turned out to be a hardened -photographed and historic criminal, who had -played the heavy villain in the little mystery under -the same impelling motive that animated the minds -and tongues of Angelica and Diaz. He had also -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>captivated this captivating pair by blandishments -less peculiar than beauty, and he had wound up -Alfred Erickson into the tightest kind of a knot of -physical embarrassments, from whose Gordian -embrace Erickson had been delivered through the -intervention of the very humble instrument of -Fate, Jack Riddles.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Husky’s” name eluded determination for a -while, but was revived through his own inadvertence -in talking in his sleep, wherein the confession -transpired of his having “done up” Blue Brigsy at -a time when he himself carried the soubriquet of -“Monitor Dick.” The clue was slight; it proved -sufficient, and landed him in Sing Sing for a quarter -of a century.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Jack Riddles was “lifted.” He was taken out of -the proletariat, the pages, office boys and messengers, -and placed among the police reporters, where -he was duly taken in hand under instruction to -acquire the current cursorial gait and speed of the -slam-bang reportorial style. He will get it. This -relieves the situation created by Riddles’ opportune -circumspection from the top of the Fifth Avenue -’bus.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The reader, albeit he may demur at the jejune -skipping around the explanation of the mystery at -No. — east Fifty-eighth Street, has hereby had the -situation sufficiently cleared to feel himself ready to -enjoy Erickson’s story, and I assure him, he may -look forward with expectancy to find the residue, or -the heart, of that mystery resolved at, let me say, -page 400 or thereabouts, assuming that by that -time he cares any more about it. So that, pleasantly -impelled by the spur of curiosity, as regards a -secret yet undivulged, let him accept our editorial -invitation— Does he not see our obeisance, and the -sweep of our hand pointing to a door opening upon -unimaginable wonders?—to peruse the history of a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>voyage more marvelous than that of Marco Polo, -of Father Huc, of Mandeville, of Munchausen, of -Sinbad, the Aethiopics of Heliodorus, of Ariosto, of -Gulliver, of Ulysses, of Peter Wilkins, of Camoens, -of Pomponius Mela.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Sive per Syrtes iter aestuosas,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Sive facturus per inhospitalem</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Caucasum, vel quae loca fabulosa</i></div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Lambit Hydaspes</i></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>His unappeased wonder over a bit of unraveled -criminality will vanish in the excitement of discovery, -of adventure, of revelation, but at the other -end, as the book drops from his hand, finished and -admired, he will approve our reticence at this end, -for then he will know HOW Erickson got into his -difficulty, and WHY.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Erickson’s story was published in the <i>New York -Truth Getter</i>—of course the reader never saw it -there—prepared from his verbal narrative, his -notes, and memoranda, and so expressed in English -as to retain the glow, enthusiasm, amazement, -and graphic delineation of the original. It -was told to me in my library overlooking the sunlit -tides around Throg’s Neck; in the short winter -afternoons at times, at times through the long winter -evenings, with Erickson hanging over the hearth -where, as Max Beerbohm puts it, “gradually the -red-gold caverns are revealed, gorgeous, mysterious, -with inmost recesses of white heat.” Past all -dreams of wizardry, more remote from thought -than any visions of magic, stranger than the hallucinations -of invention, was this picture of the -unreal and terraced world descending in titanic -steps to the heated regions of the earth’s mass, -peopled with an impossible people, alive with -animal abundance and clothed in the vestal glory -of innumerable plants. In it were enacted those -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>transmutations which Science predicts as the last -triumph of human knowledge, and in it a wealth -transcending the maddest hopes of Avarice had -accumulated in an Acropolis of SOLID GOLD!</p> - -<p class='c016'>There in the frozen north, walled in by ice, -hidden in fogs, almost impenetrably concealed or -protected by storm, lay this incredible continent -of wonders, unsuspected by the world of one thousand -million people around it, the goal of whose -ambition it had already reached, the course of -whose evolution it illustrates, and who had, in these -latest years, begun to grope blindly for its guessed at -shores.</p> - -<div class='c019'><span class='sc'>Azaziel Link.</span></div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div id='p0382' class='figcenter id001'> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span> -<img src='images/p0382.jpg' alt='men, sitting on a veranda, watch a boat sailing on a fjord' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE FIORD</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER I<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Fiord</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>How well I remember it! The solemn, beautiful -fiord, framed within the pine tressed walls, flecked -with patches of sunlight, where its waters glistened -with beryl hues. Shaded in the recesses of the -cliffs where the lustreless flood softly murmured -with the faintest rhythmic cadence against the -rocky rims, immobile and caressed as they had been -for hundreds of thousands of years, and in a few -places yielding slowly to decay in shingled beaches. -And the music of nature united with the appeal to -the eyes of color and form, to entrance the visitor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A rushing brook singing like a girl hurrying to -some holiday joy, broke from the highlands, a silvery -thread, then a braid of pearls, then a sloping -cataract of splintered and rainbowed waves, then -in silence for a while, catching its breath, as the girl -might catch it, for a new descent, and then the -renewed song, through a tiny gorge, its jubilation -softened to a murmur, and then the flash and -chorus of its outspread ripples as it leaped into the -fiord. And that was the light soprano of the music -around us, and under it rolled the bass notes, muted -and <i>sfuggendo</i>, of the distant waterfall—<i>foss</i>—at -the inland head of the fiord, and towards which -were even then starting the pleasure boats, launches -and steam yachts of the tourists.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The sense of smell contributed its intoxication to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>the charmed surrender of eye and ear, for there was -flung down from the tree-crowned cliffs the scent of -wild flowers and the clean, resinous odors of the -spruce. The wind singing, too, like a chord accompaniment -to the cheerful ballad of the brook, and -the heavy recitative of the waterfall, brought this -fragrance to us, even as it swept in capricious rushes -outward over the fiord to its gateway, through -which the distant sea lay motionless like a blazoned -shield, beyond the <i>Skargaard</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A shelf of land, dropping off in a slope to the -waters of the fiord and pierced by a roadway whose -climbing curves led at last to the summit of the -cliffs, and which ended on the shore in a dock, then -gay with the summer glories of young girls and men, -held the picturesque red houses of a few farmers, -and the wandering walls of the comfortable hotel. -The brilliant green of the cut lawn, like an enameled -sheath, covered the little tableland, and venturesome -tongues and ribbons ran flame-wise up -crannies, ledges and narrow glades, to be lost in the -shadows of the firs and the sprayed and silken -birches high above.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Round a table on the broad piazza of the hotel, in -an angle where we looked straight through the eyelet -of the rocks to the sleeping ocean, a gold-backed -monster like a leviathan covering the earth, slumberously -heaving in the sun, I was sitting with three -companions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was my best friend, Antoine Goritz, a man -thickly bearded, with a broad, unwrinkled brow -sparingly topped by light wisps of straggling hair, -with a straight Teutonic nose, deep-set blue eyes -under carven ivory lids, beneath eyebrows deeper -tinted than his hair, and with a physical frame, -strong, massive, large, effective, perhaps a trifle -overdrawn in its suggestion of muscular power.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a titan mould, but the face above it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>humorously still and observant. I often compared -him to Sverdrup, Nansen’s captain, but he was a -bigger man. Like him he possessed the docility of -a child, the energy of a giant. Slow of speech -ordinarily, as he was slow of movement, but in stress -and excitement convulsed with his rapid, headlong -utterance, and rising to a momentum of action that -was irresistible and swift. He sat upright in a thick -brown plaid with a blue sailor’s scarf around his -broad neck and a straw hat like a coracle on his head.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Next to him sat Professor Hlmath Bjornsen, a -very tidy man of ordinary build and stature, but -oddly distinguishable by his abundant red hair, the -crab-like protuberance of his eyes (he wore no -glasses), his indented lips, which looked as if -stitched up in sections, also undisguised by any -covering of hair, his patulous, projecting ears. His -homeliness was saved by the merit of cheerfulness -at least, by a pug nose, a rosy complexion and a -demure, winning sort of smile that was generally <i>a -propos</i> of nothing, but was retained habitually as -nature’s protective grace against the premature -prejudices of first acquaintances. Professor Bjornsen -was a man learned in rocks, minerals, mines, -geology, the hard and motionless properties of the -earth. He was scrupulously neat, and his frequent -inspection of himself, especially his hands, was -equally disconcerting and amusing.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Spruce Hopkins was the next man, alongside of -myself, and probably he would have been the first -man whom an approaching stranger would have -looked at the longest, and concerned himself with -knowing the most. He was a Yankee, an American -of Americans, but of that Grecian phase which -rejects <i>toto-coelo</i>, the newspaper type, the Brother -Jonathan caricature, the cheap idiosyncracies of the -paragraph writer, unassimilable even with the -more credible picture,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>of one who wisely schemed</div> - <div class='line'>And hostage from the future took,</div> - <div class='line'>In trained thought and lore of book.</div> - <div class='line'>Large-brained, clear-eyed—of such as he</div> - <div class='line'>Shall Freedom’s young apostles be.</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Spruce Hopkins boasted no particular thrills. -His thoughts followed really a rather narrow gauge, -and he could weigh with premature or precocious -carefulness the two sides of a practical question -when his decision would have halted perhaps at -alternatives involving the emotions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>He had a superb figure, graceful, plastic, and -eloquent of strength. His face leaned, so to speak, -a little to the Brahmin type, but any introspection -it might have accompanied or suggested was lost in -the radiance of the eyes, the tempting sweetness of -his smile, the full-blown glory of his infectious -laughter, the spiced offerings of his genial tongue, -the crisp charm of his wavy, glossy, chestnut-tinted -hair, and that slight but irreducible <i>soupcon</i> of -swagger which gave him distinction.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And then there was myself; you see me, a hardy -man (a blush rose to Erickson’s cheeks; he could -not overcome some apprehension of my recalling his -recent humiliation), a sailor man with a little land -schooling, loving yarns, telling yarns, and—believing -’em.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Why, yes, Erickson,” I interrupted, “I suppose -you have been quite willing to believe some gilded -tales that those friends, your late companions here -in New York, told you, but even a captivating -gullibility hardly explains how a young giant like -you were found on your back, strapped to a table, -and about to be skewered like a spitted pig.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Ah, sir, patience. You shall know all, but—at -the end, at the end; even if I could resist a plausible -story, I could not always resist what goes with a -good story.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>“SCHNAPPS?” I interjected.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Please, sir, patience. It is worth while. I have -seen what no living man— Perhaps I shall never see -again my fellow travelers, the three who sat with -me on the hotel porch three years ago.” He bent -his head, his bruised, rough hand was passed over -his face, and I thought a flare of flame, shot from a -cleaving coal, showed on it the glistening trail of -moisture. “—what no living man has ever seen, a -country more wonderful than dreams or legends or -fairy stories have described or painted. Oh, sir, in -that new world in the north, something of the -imagery of the mythology of my forefathers seems -repeated; very vaguely indeed. There I have seen -Nilfheim, I have seen Hwergelmer and Muspelheim, -the world of fire and light, but different, yes -very different, and perhaps— Well, no, not Valhalla, -but something like Yggdrasill, and if it was -not Gladsheim, what was it?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He resumed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was Professor Bjornsen speaking, with his big -hands clutching his head on either side, buried -indeed in the luxuriant wealth of his ruddy hair, -with his staring eyes fixed on the table as if he saw -through it, looking at the land of his prophecies, -while we all listened, with our eyes measuring the -cliffs up to the green fringes that ran, a dark zone -against the sky, on their sun-blazed peaks.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Signs, signals, came to the explorers of Europe -long before Columbus set his face westward; long -before, standing at the peak of his little caravel, he -dared the perils and the powers of the bewitched -western ocean, the woods and weeds of Cipango -floated to the shores of Europe. There are signs -and signals now, gentlemen”; the Professor -brought his long fingers down with a smart, startling -slap on the table that brought our own hands -nervously to the sides of the unsupported glasses, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>lest they capsize in his assault of enthusiasm, while -his disordered hair flamed aureole-like over his -bulging forehead, beneath which smiled exultantly -his piercing green eyes.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Signs that an untouched continent is hidden in -the uncharted wastes of the western Arctic Sea. -A vast area of waters, a blank space on the map -lies there, but that is simply the refuge, for -cartographic lucidity, of our ignorance. What -really lies there is reciprocal on the west of Greenland -on the east, of the Franz Josef Archipelago and -Spitzbergen north of us. There is there another -large fragment of that original circumpolar continent -that Science, in a moment of intuitional certainty, -points to as the source of the world’s animal -and vegetable life. And the signs? You ask me, -your faces do, what they are. They are negative -indeed but they are convincing. Payer reached -82°5´ North Latitude, on an island, Crown Prince -Rudolf’s Land, and still further north he thought he -could see an extensive tract of land in 83°. He -called it Petermann’s Land. Driftwood on the east -of Greenland comes from Siberia, circuitously -perhaps around the pole, not across it, since the -‘Fram’ drifted from the north of Cape Chelyuskin -in 1893 to north of Spitzbergen in 1896. The wood -is Siberian larch and alder and poplar. Articles -from the American ship ‘Jeannette,’ which foundered -near Bennett Island, had taken the same -course, being picked up on the east coast of Greenland. -Professor Mohr held that they drifted over -the pole. Why did not the ‘Fram’ drift over the -pole? The set of the waters that way is obstructed, -and that obstruction is a continental mass. Nothing -surer.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Dr. Rink has reported a throwing stick, used by -the Eskimos in hurling their bird darts, not like -those used by the Eskimos of Greenland, and attributed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>by him to the natives of Alaska. The path -traversed by this erratic could not have been -directly eastward from Alaska, threading an impenetrable -and devious outlet in the Canadian -archipelago, neither was it over the pole, as any -pathway there would, constructively, have reached -northern and not eastern Greenland. Again that -invisible obstruction, as patent, as real, as the -influence of the undiscovered Neptune in the perturbations -of Uranus, which led Leverrier and -Adams to make their prophetic directions for its -detection.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Sir Allen Young, appreciating the nucleal density -of the land towards the pole, and speaking of -Nansen’s promised attempt to drift over it, said, -‘I think the great danger to contend with will be the -land in nearly every direction near the pole. Most -previous navigators seem to have continued to see -land, again and again farther and farther north.’</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Peary has seen Krocker Land. Over the western -verge of the horizon its peaks rose temptingly -to invite him to new conquests. That was a segment, -a tiny fraction, a mere hint of the unknown -vastnesses beyond. But the most convincing -symptoms—Ah, a feeble word to designate a fact—of -this continent are the observations of the United -States’ meteorologists. Dr. R. A. Harris, a competent -authority, has shown that the tides, mute -but eloquent witnesses, testify to its existence. -The diurnal tides along the Asiatic and North -American coasts are not what they would be if an -uninterrupted sweep over the Arctic Sea prevailed. -Their progress is delayed and along narrow channels -is accelerated or heightened, as past the shores of -Grant Land. Why? Again that undiscovered -country.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Harris, a clever fellow. Met him in Washington -just two years ago this autumn—a crackerjack -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>at mathematical guessing. The way he can figure -and run off a reel of equations on anything from the -rate sawdust makes in a wood mill to a mensuration -of the average dimensions of turnips is surprising. -If he says Krocker Land is there—why, then I guess -IT IS,” was Spruce Hopkins’ comment, while -we all turned our eyes from the cliffs to catch -the Professor’s rejoinder, and Goritz leaned towards -him, fixing him with those luminous orbs -of his that betrayed his suppressed excitement.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What does this man Harris say?” asked Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“He says,” answered Bjornsen, thrusting his -hands in his pockets after he had looked them over -in his habitual manner of inspection, “he says this. -The diurnal tide occurs earlier at Point Barrow than -at Flaxman Island; the diurnal tide or wave does -not have approximately its theoretical value; at -Bennett Island, north of Siberia, and at Teplitz -Bay, Franz Josef Land, the range of the diurnal -wave has about one-half of the magnitude which the -tidal forces acting over an uninterrupted Arctic -basin would produce; the average rise and fall at -Bennett Island is 2.5 feet, but the rise and fall of -the semi-daily tide is 0.4 at Point Barrow, and 0.5 -feet at Flaxman Island. And he makes this point.” -The Professor drew a red chalk from his vest pocket, -stood up, and pushing our glasses aside, drew a -squarish outline, broader on one side, with a tail -standing out at its lower right-hand corner. He -drew a circle a little above its long side, and -scribbled Pole within it, then a jagged scrawl to -either side, representing the coasts of Asia and -America, with an indentation like a funnel for -Behring Straits.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“He points out that the ‘Jeannette’, an American -ship sent out by the proprietors of the <i>New -York Herald</i>, stuck in the ice here”, he jabbed his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>crayon, which crumbled into grains under his pressure, -to one side of a projecting point of the outline, -“and that the ice drift carried her eastward”; -he made a flourish under the fascinating trapezoid -that we now understood embodied the suggested -continent; “while the ‘Fram’ stuck here,” again a -red splotch above the diagram, “and was carried -westward toward Greenland. Again why? Because -at a critical point between their two positions -the ice current is divided by the influence of a -terminal promontory of Krocker Land. It splits, -so to speak, the trend over the pole of the ice drift, -turning one arm of it eastward, the other westward. -His creative vision goes farther. A point of this -new land lies just north of Point Barrow in Alaska, -that causes the westward tide at the point; and he -thinks it is distant from Point Barrow five or six -degrees of latitude, 350 to 420 miles. Harris -claims the ice in Beaufort Sea, north of Canada, -here—” Another flaming signal was scrawled on the -white tablecloth below the right-hand corner of the -fascinating outline that now, assuming a magical -premonition of some great geographical reality, -kept our eyes fastened on it almost as if it might -sprout before us with mimic mountains and ice -fields.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Harris says that the ice in Beaufort Sea does not -drift freely northward, and is remarkable for its -thickness and its age. He says the ice does not -move eastward, for you see,” the Professor flung his -hands over the cryptogram on the tablecloth like an -exorcising magician, “you see Beaufort Sea is a sea, -land-locked by Krocker Land, that here approaches -Banks Island. Are you convinced?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We looked at each other a trifle slyly and disconcertedly, -and Goritz laughed, but it was Spruce -Hopkins who suddenly turned to the Professor, -caught his arm and held him for a moment without -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>speaking but with his face yielding slowly to some -growing impression of wonder within him until he -became quite grave.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You see, Professor, I feel about this thing this -way. I guess you’re not far wrong about this new -land; it’s exciting enough to think of it. I calculated -there was room up there for a little more -glory after I heard your lecture before the Philosophical -Society at Christiania last November; -glory for some of us, such as Peary and Amundsen, -Scott, Shackleton, Nansen, Stefansson, have won, -and I thought it over. I fell in with Erickson and -Goritz at Stockholm and we canvassed the matter, -sort o’ stuck our heads together and thought it out; -then we sent for you, and the demonstration seems -straight enough. Some rigmarole! Don’t get -angry Professor, that’s my way and, anyhow, I’m -not going back on you, not so much as the thickness -of a flea’s ear, and I think you’ll allow that can’t -count; but the more I looked at the matter the -more I wondered if there was anything about it the -least bit more substantial than glory.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And that wasn’t all, either. I think I’d like to -get back again.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, Professor,” it was Goritz speaking, with -his head tilted back, as he followed the scurrying -flight of sparrows amid the tasseled larches of the -opposite <i>gaard</i>, “dead bodies are rather indifferent -to glory. If we are great enough to get there, we -must be great enough to get back. It would be -no consolation for us to have our relatives and -friends sing;</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘<i>Sa vandra vara stora man</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Fran ljuset ned til skuggan.</i>’”<a id='r1' /><a href='#f1' class='c020'><sup>[1]</sup></a></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='fn'> - -<div class='footnote c000' id='f1'> -<p class='c021'><span class='label'><a href='#r1'>1</a>. </span>Thus our great men wander from the light down into the shades.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins smiled; he was neither hurt nor confused. -He shook his head assentingly, and his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>faint drawl prolonged itself somewhat in his mocking -rejoinder:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That’s all right, Goritz. As a corpse you probably -would attract a little more notice than either -Erickson or myself, but buried fathoms deep in an -Arctic sea, or just rolled over by a nameless glacier -in this nameless land, your own chances for a newspaper -obituary might shrink to very small proportions. -You might not even have your dimensions -mentioned.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz looked approvingly at the American, and -benignantly raised his hat and bowed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But the impatient Professor was in his chair, his -hands spread out before him; his smile had -vanished, his encroaching eyes had retreated, his -serrated lips were puckered, his eyebrows frowned, -and altogether he assumed such a sudden portentousness -of suppressed eagerness and concealed -thought that we rocked with delight and the -momentary restraint was forgotten. And with our -laughter there stole back into the Professor’s face -its usual smile, but it had enigmatically deepened -into a sort of mute expostulation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Listen,” he said, and he waved his hands, inviting -us to a closer attention; his voice fell; I -thought his peering eyes glanced to either side to -avert the proximity of eavesdroppers. “There is -good reason to believe that this new world of the -north is neither inclement nor barren. I believe it -is a place of wonders; in it rest secrets, REVELATIONS.” -There was now a sorcery in the Professor’s -voice that made us lean toward him, drawing -the circle a little closer, like conspirators over -an incantation. “What they are no once can tell. -You ask, Why? I believe this. I can hardly -explain; my faith in this is a growth, a coalescence -of many strands of feeling and many lines of study. -My conviction is complete. I admit that extrinsically, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>as I may say, it is unreasonable; intrinsically -it is now as inexpugnable as a theorem from Euclid, -or the evidence of my own senses.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That there is a new world south of the pole is -maintained by Science; it is the unalterable belief -of the explorers, the hydrographers, the geographers. -But what may that world be like? -What was it like? Long millions and millions of -years before our time the Arctic north was the -procreant cradle of ALL LIFE! From it streamed -the currents of animal and vegetable creation; it -was warm; forests of palms flourished along river -and lake-side, and within them roamed the creatures -of tropical or semi-tropical climates. Paleontologists -from Saporta to Wieland, from Keerl to -Heer have pointed this out, with an emphasis that -has varied with temperament or knowledge, from -conviction to surmise. G. Hilton Scribner, a clever -American <i>litterateur</i> says”—the Professor ludicrously -grasped for something in an inner coat -pocket and revealed a little book, exquisitely -bound, of scraps and extracts, and read from a -page whose smoothness he had marred by folding -a leaf—“he says, ‘thus the Arctic zone, which -was earliest in cooling down to the first and -highest heat degree in the great life-gamut was -also the first to become fertile, first to bear life, -and first to send forth her progeny over the -earth.’</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And Wieland, a remarkable Yale scholar, an -authority on fossil cycads and Chelonia, the latest -to speculate authoritatively along this line, writes”—another -creased page was turned to—“‘in a word, -that the great evolutionary <i>Schauplatz</i> was boreal -is possible from the astronomical relations, probable -from physical facts, and rendered an established -certainty by the unheralded synchronous appearance -of the main groups of animals and plants on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>both sides of the great oceans throughout post-Paleozoic -time.’”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But Professor,” it was my remonstrance that -now interrupted him, “that was millions of years -ago. It’s a dead world up there. Surely you don’t -think—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor broke in with a deprecatory -gesture of regret at his own impatience. “I know. -True, true, for the most part, but perhaps not for -all—not for all. It’s a deep matter.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Professor Bjornsen’s eyes were glistening with -enthusiasm; his manner became extravagantly -mysterious, and his words boiled out feverishly -from his scarred lips. “The north, to whose -enchantment the whole world bows; a strange, -magical region, lit by the supernal splendors of -heavenly lights, and wrapped in eternal snows, was -the Eden of our race. It was that <i>navel</i> of the -world related in all mythologies from India to -Greece, from Japan to Scandinavia; it was the -Paradisaic earth center, the fecund source of every -manner of life, endowed by the Creator with -original unrestrained powers of exuberance. Here -man originated; here was his primal home, here -his first estate, dressed as he was in every faculty -of mind, and enriched by all the gifts of nature. -As President Warren, another American, eloquently -wrote twenty-six years ago—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Again the Professor dove into his pocket, produced -his amazing little scrapbook, while we all -gazed at the excited gentleman with a new fascination -and astonishment. Here was the man of -crystals and mensuration, of ores, adits, drifts and -strata, riding the high horse of mystical and religious -analogy, and somehow we felt ourselves drawn -into the vortex of his cerebral excitement! We -were quite dazed in a way, and yet felt an elation -that kept us spellbound.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>“Ah, here it is. He wrote, President Warren, -‘the pole symbolizes Cardo, Atlas, Meru, Hara-berezaiti, -Kharsak-Kurra, every fabulous mountain -on whose top the sky pivots itself, and around -which all the heavenly bodies ceaselessly revolve.’</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Assume this; assume that here the finger of -God first impressed this insensate whirling globe of -unconscious matter with the touch and promise of -life and Mind. Is it likely that all vestiges, all -signs, all remainders of that consecrated first endowment -should have quite disappeared, succumbed -ingloriously to the stiffening embrace of -cold, congealed in an eternal sleep beneath the -glaciers and the snows? I think not, my friends, -<i>I think not</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But,” it was the protesting voice of Goritz who -now voiced our incredulity, “haven’t the expeditionists, -the geographers, the explorers—hasn’t -everything we have been told, everything we have -read, all we know about it, and that’s a good deal, -from Franklin to Peary made it clear that at the -pole there is nothing but death, desolation, and -ice?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Antoine!” Here the Professor turned abruptly -to the big Dane, thrusting his umbrageous -crown of red hair almost into the thin locks of his -friend, and whispered hoarsely, “Ah! Antoine, the -secrets are hidden in that uncharted land beyond -the ice packs north of Point Barrow. The reservations -of life are there. You have all heard,” the -rufous glory now moved towards Hopkins and myself, -“of Symmes Hole? Of course you shrug your -shoulders; it was preternatural simplicity you say, -the mad dream of a fool, uproariously derided. -Yes! Symmes was not a fool; he was a brave man, a -soldier, chasing a reality through the distortions of -an hallucination. There is <i>no</i> hole; the earth is -not hollow, but—there is a depression; there must -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>be. The depression is at the North Pole somewhere. -It has not been found, and the Arctic seas -have been <i>parcourired</i> by explorers, as you notice, -Goritz. The depression is Krocker Land. If profound -its climate is temperate. Life, the remnants -of its first evolutionary phases, may be there—but -mark me!” The Professor positively dilated, -everything in him enlarged as if his bounding heart -sent fuller currents of blood to all its outposts; his -eyes were refulgent; I thought they were an -emerald green; his hair rose in the thrill of his -vaticination and his mouth opened into a vast -exclamatory <i>rictus</i>, in which flashed his big white -incisors like diminutive tusks. “Mark me, there -too will be found the last evolutionary phases of -the human race!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Here was a climax, and the mental stupefaction -of the Professor’s audience was exactly reflected in -the prolonged silence that ensued. It was entertaining, -however, to watch Spruce Hopkins’ fixed, -expressionless perusal of the Professor’s face, and -the immobile glory in the Professor’s answering -stare. Hopkins spoke first:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well! I like your certainty about that depression, -Prof. Can’t see it noway. You’re making -things interesting enough, but surely that depression -isn’t the gospel truth. Is it?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor relaxed; he laughed, and his -laugh was the most curious blend of a chuckle and -a whistle, utterly impossible to describe except by -reproduction. It always affected Hopkins hilariously; -he said the two elements in the Professor’s -laugh were satisfaction and astonishment; the -chuckle meant the first, the whistle the second, and -the state of the Professor’s mind could be well -gauged from the predominance of one or the -other. Just then the chuckle had the best of it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mr. Hopkins,” he said, “you are a very intelligent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>man. Don’t you see that a rotating and -solidifying viscosity cannot become solid without -forming a pitted polar extremity?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins withstood this assault with admirable -stolidity; he even looked injured.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My dear Professor; really your statement is -too simply put to appeal to the complicated convolutions -of my gray matter. Your manner is -juvenile. Such a subject should be treated in a -becoming obscurity of terms.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>After our amusement had subsided, Bjornsen -explained his view. It was easily understood. -The earth had cooled down from some initial -gaseous or lava-like stage, and, if the congelation -had not progressed far or fast enough at the poles, -centrifugal force at the equator would have withdrawn -enough matter to effect a depletion at one -pole or the other, with the consequent result (I recall -how particular the Professor was over this -point) of forming a graduated, evenly rounded and -smoothish concavity, if the polar areas were not -too rigidly fixed; or a broken, step-like succession -of terraces if they were. Later we were triumphantly -reminded by the Professor of this prediction. -Then too he involved his theory with demonstrations -of the vertical effect of rotation, producing -inverted cones or funnels in liquids, as is familiarly -seen in the discharging contents of a washbasin. -We were not convinced, and our evident apathy or -dissidence chilled the Professor into a taciturnity -from which he was scarcely aroused when cries from -the water’s edge of the fiord announced the return -of a fishing fleet, a phalanx of <i>jaegts</i>, the single -masted, square sailed, sturdy boats familiar to -tourists in sea journeys along the fair Norwegian -shores. It was welcomed with shouts and salutations, -and the waving of flags and handkerchiefs, in -which we joined.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>But the hidden springs of wonderment, the -latent impulse in young, strong men for adventure, -discovery, perhaps some marvelous realization of -the unknown, had been stirred within us. The -Professor would have been gratified if he had -known how restlessly Goritz and myself rolled -about in our beds that night, or how with sleepless -eyes, flat on our backs, we rehearsed his strange -statements, or in dreams encountered polar bears, -threading our way through devious leads to the -wintry coasts of a NEW CONTINENT. The -imagery of the north was familiar to us. We had -both visited Spitzbergen and the Franz Josef -Archipelago. As Hopkins had said, we had met -him at Stockholm and discussed together the sensation -of the hour, Bjornsen’s lecture at Christiania. -We were all three of us idlers—I by compulsion—but -firm in body, ambitious in spirit, and -half exasperated at our uselessness in the world’s -affairs. Goritz was a rich man, an only son, heir to -the fortune of a successful fish merchant in Stockholm; -I had a bare competency, and Spruce Hopkins, -a vagabond American, seeing the world but -yearning for sterner work, had already gained in -Europe an unenviable reputation for reckless -extravagance. It was at Hopkins’ suggestion that -we had invited the Professor to meet us at the -fiord, and we were all wondering how far we might -go in this strange experiment of finding Krocker -Land. Should we go at all?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Whatever satisfaction the Professor might have -felt over Goritz’s and my own agitation, his most -sanguine hopes of producing an impression would -have been inflamed to exultation had he known -that the Yankee had not slept a wink, had not taken -off his clothes, but had just, as he characterized it, -“stalled on everything,” until he got his bearings -on this “new stunt.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>The Professor’s equanimity was restored when -we met him in the diningroom at breakfast the -following morning, and he most good-naturedly -accepted professions of contrition at our mental -obduracy. But it was the American who confounded -him by his sudden determination and a -precipitant proposition to “<i>get away on the first -tide</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Prof.,” he exclaimed clapping the smaller man -on the shoulder with a cordial gaiety that shocked -Goritz, “I’m willing to take the chance. It’s a -big stake to win, though,” his whimsical smile propitiated -the Professor completely. “I’m not -buffaloed on all your talk about the tropical climate -we’re likely to meet. Of course, I’ve looked into -the matter a little, on my own hook, and just now -the plan of action is something like this. These -two good friends,” he waved his hands genially -toward Goritz and myself, “know a good deal about -zero temperatures, polar bears, walrus, starvation -and ice floes; you have surveyed Spitzbergen, and -as for myself—Well, honestly, I’m a tenderfoot -but young, hardy, sound as a steel rail, a good shot, -a prize rower, and once Prof., take it from me, I -strangled a mad dog with these hands.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins never looked handsomer than at that -moment, his face burning with an expectant eagerness, -the color rising to his temples beneath the -waves of chestnut hair, his frame and figure like -an Achilles.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor nodded his approval and assent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We’ll make a strong quartette; quite enough for -the jaunt. These big outfits are a blunder. I’ve -always thought that was the mistake the English -made. Plenty of dogs, rations and a few mouths -go farther, with less strain and less risk. And -another thing, friends,” he wheeled round from -the Professor, and addressed us, “no big ship, no -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>‘Fram’, no ‘Roosevelt.’ We’ll get the stiffest and -most flexible and biggest wooden naphtha launch -that can be made; stock her; carry her up on a -hired whaler from San Francisco, bunk at Point -Barrow, pick our best chance through the leads in -the open weather, and then with dogs, sleds, and -kayaks, take to the main ice and scoot for the happy -land of—Krocker! Eh?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz and I heard the extraordinary daredevil -plan with consternation. It seemed the limit of -foolishness, and absurdly ignorant. We waited for -the inevitable crushing denunciation of such folly -from the informed lips of the Professor. To our -amazement the Professor grew radiant, seized -Hopkins’ hands, shaking them vigorously, his pop-eyes -starting out with the most amiable encouragement, -while his beaming smile endorsed Hopkins’ -lunacy with mad enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Right, Mr. Hopkins! Right—the very thing. -No reserve, no retreat, no store ship is necessary. -I had convinced myself of the absolute propriety of -just such a course of action, but I expected to find -it a hopeless task to persuade anyone to believe me. -Krocker Land will supply us with everything, and -the ice course will be far more simple and easy than -Nansen’s trip from 86° to Franz Josef Land, or -Peary’s over North Greenland; a straight-away -run with a few water breaks. No great hardships. -At least,” and the Professor in a burst of audacious -nonchalance knocked over a few glasses and a water -carafe in his swinging ambulations, “none greater -than the ordinary experiences of an Arctic traveler. -I congratulate you, Mr. Hopkins, on your perspicacity—American -shrewdness. Ah! American—what -you call GAMENESS. Eh? Let me -assure you that had you been a hardened, experienced -North Pole explorer you would never have -hit on this; NEVER. You’d have stuck to the old -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>plans. And the only reason you are right now is -that Krocker Land is an exceptional proposition, -to be negotiated by exceptional methods. I -promise you exceptional results.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>For a few moments Goritz and I were dumb with -astonishment, and I think Goritz was almost -choking with indignation. Somehow he suppressed -his threatening outbreak and only muttered, “I -suppose we will never want to come back—never -need to?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>A ripple of comic commiseration crossed Hopkins’ -face:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Come now, Goritz. WHERE I COME BACK -is just <i>here</i>,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘<i>Sa vandra vara stora man</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Fran ljuset ned til skuggan.</i>’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>The situation was so funny, with that tantalizingly -humorous face of the Professor looking on in -perplexity, that Goritz burst into laughter, in which -I joined, and his evanescent rage was swept away.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But the Professor answered his implied sarcasm -quite literally.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Antoine,” he said, both hands raised imploringly, -“trust me; we shall find food in Krocker -Land, an abundance; the launch can return to -Point Barrow with a small crew, and when we want -it on our return—why—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>His indecision or uncertainty or the blankness -of his mind about it was quickly relieved by Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We’ll send a telegram ordering it over, and -<i>wait</i>—for it?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh it’s no joke Goritz”—Goritz admitted -<i>sotto voce</i> that it certainly was not. “We can get -back without it, our kayaks will answer. And you -forget the People of Krocker Land.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Why Professor,” I protested, “we haven’t -heard of them before.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>The Professor assumed a surprised air, became -portentously solemn, and then—I never felt quite -certain whether he actually winked at Hopkins or -not—gravely answered.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The people of Krocker Land, Erickson, are an -assured certainty. An unpeopled continent is as -much a <i>lusus naturae</i> as an unfilled vacuum.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Certainly, Erickson. Didn’t you know that? -Somebody must be provided to pocket the revenues -from whale blubber and walrus ivory, not to mention -the conservation bureau for glaciers, the output -of icebergs, and the meteorological corps for the -standardization of blizzards,” and Hopkins hid his -face in his hands to stifle his screaming mirth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But the Professor was neither ruffled nor amused; -he went on oracularly:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Erickson, the expectation is a little discouraging. -Well I’ll say from your point of view it is -almost impossible of belief that an unknown people -exists in an unknown land near the North Pole. -Now Stefansson’s discovery of the so-called Blond -Eskimos has nothing to do with my confidence in -this matter. It rests upon a broad deduction, an -<i>a priori</i> necessary assumption. If the original -Eden, the primitive center of dispersion, on the -basis of the unity of the human race—if—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Behind the Professor, whose labyrinthine locution, -sounding higher and higher, was attracting -some general attention among the guests of the -hotel, stood Hopkins with two tumblers of water in -his hands. He raised them suddenly above his -head and dropped them. The crash was startling, -and it was followed by an equally unexpected yell -of pain from Hopkins, who apparently slipped, fell, -seized the tablecloth and dragged to the floor a -varied array of glassware and cutlery in a clatter -that was deafening.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Confusion, explanations, reparation and a tumult -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>of amusement followed, and in it disappeared the -Professor’s voluminous harangue. It was never -resumed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins recovered his seriousness, and we -attacked the novel project he had suggested, -critically. All that next day we argued over it, -thrashing it out with the illuminative references -Goritz, the Professor and myself could make to our -own experiences, Hopkins listening and pertinaciously -sticking to his original suggestions. His -plan grew more and more attractive; its reasonableness -developed more and more under examination. -Of course all four of us were now thoroughly -excited; the lure of discovery almost maddened us, -and the necromantic charm of the Professor’s amazing -predictions, which we actually were unwilling to -resist, instilled in us the wayward and fantastic -hope that we were on the verge of a world-convulsing -disclosure. We have not been disappointed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The project finally took this shape: Hopkins and -Goritz volunteered to bear all the expenses connected -with the expedition; Hopkins would go to -America, consult naval architects, and have a -naphtha-propelled launch devised, combining, as -to its hull, features of the “Fram” and “Roosevelt” -in a diminutive way. Goritz would follow -and buy the supplies, clothing and equipment. -Then would come the Professor with instruments -and books, and finally myself with three chosen -men—Hopkins demanded they should be selected -in America—who would be the captain, engineer -and crew of the launch on its return to Point -Barrow, and who would look for us the next summer. -How preposterously sure we were that we -would find land and game! But how ineffectually -paltry after all were our expectations compared to -the reality.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When everything was ready—the end of a year’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>time was fixed for the date of our departure—we -would have the launch set amidships on a whaler, -and sail for Point Barrow, our prospective headquarters -on the North American continent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The last question Hopkins put to the Professor -before we parted was about the mineral wealth of -the new land, which had now incorporated its -actuality with every sleeping and waking moment, -seeming as certain as any other unvisited realm of -Earth which we had seen on maps, but never -visited.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Of course the Professor was quite equal to this -demand upon his imagination.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mineral wealth? Probably immense. The -mother lodes of the gold of Alaska have never been -found. They lie north of Alaska; the geological -extension of the mineral deposits of Alaska is -naturally in that direction, and the enrichment of -the primary crystallines with the precious metals -can be reasonably asserted to surpass the mythical -values of Golconda or California.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That suits <i>me</i>,” was Hopkins’ laconic comment.</p> - -<p class='c016'>At last the whole scheme was pretty thoroughly -worked out, down to its details. Correspondence -would be maintained during the summer. The -Professor left for Christiania, Goritz and myself for -Stockholm, and Hopkins steamed away to Hull on -the English ship “North Cape.” Our conference -had lasted just a week.</p> - -<p class='c016'>How wonderfully lovely was the day and scene -when he left us that June morning three years ago. -If portents of our success could be discerned in its -delicious, enveloping glory of light and beauty, -then surely we might be hopeful. The great gulls -were sweeping with deep undulations through the -upper sky, exulting in their splendid power, the -summer wind faintly stirred the dark spruces, -whose gentle expostulation at its intrusion reached -<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>us with a sound like the washing of waves on a faraway -shore. The granite rocks of peak and cliff -flashed back the unchecked sunlight; the road, -like a white ribbon, spun its loops to and fro over -the hillside, through meads where the glistening red -farm houses stood, that seemed like rubies set in an -emerald shield while the waters of the fiord -slumbered at our feet, a liquid mass of beryl.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It now seems to me as if a quarter of a century -had passed since then. And, if events are the -measure of duration to the subjective sense, it -might seem even farther away. I recall Spruce -Hopkins, radiant and handsome, amid a throng of -new acquaintances—he gathered friends about him -as frankly and quickly as roses attract bees—among -whom not a few young women offered him their -mute but eloquent admiration; I remember him -leaning over the rail of the steamer’s deck and reciting -in a rollicking drawl:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“When the sea rolled its fathomless billows</div> - <div class='line'>Across the broad plains of Nebraska;</div> - <div class='line'>When around the North Pole grew bananas and willows,</div> - <div class='line'>And mastodons fought with the great armadillos,</div> - <div class='line'>For the pine-apples grown in Alaska.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>(Editorial Apology. The foregoing chapter in -its diction and in certain studied phases of construction -will disturb the reader’s sense of congruity, -perhaps. He will be inclined to doubt its -authenticity as the exact narrative of Alfred Erickson. -The suspicion is partly creditable to his -literary acumen. The editor admits substantial -emendations useful for the purpose of imparting a -literary atmosphere.)</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER II<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>Point Barrow</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>We were all aboard the steam whaler “Astrum” -in the spring of the next year, and with us a marvel -of compact maritime construction, our naphtha -launch “<i>Pluto</i>”. Hopkins suggested the name on -the satisfactory ground that we were likely to have -“a hell of a time.” We had worked ourselves up -to the most supreme height of confidence and -enthusiasm. The Professor was in a sort of -demented state of expectation; Hopkins furiously -asserted the name of Christopher Columbus would -now be forgotten in the new fame to be allotted to -us, “the Arctic Argonauts,” and finally Goritz and -myself succumbed to a peculiar feeling of predestination.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Captain Coogan of the “Astrum” knew nothing -of our proposed destination. It was a stipulation -made by Hopkins that nothing on that point was to -be discussed, until we reached Point Barrow—if we -were to reach it—and the services of Captain Coogan -and his selected crew—not the usual polyglot -assemblage of ethnic odds and ends—were unconditionally -ours up to that moment. The temptations -of whaling were to be absolutely eschewed -until we had vanished into the fogs and wilderness -of the ice pack, beyond whose trackless waste lay -Krocker Land. Of course a sea dog like Captain -Coogan, a clever and hardy mate like Isaac -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>Stanwix, a pertinacious thinker like the engineer -Bell Phillips, and such an experienced and avaricious -reader as the carpenter Jack Spent (he had -made ten trips to Point Barrow) could make pretty -shrewd guesses as to our intentions. The stores -and supplies, the sledges and kayaks, splendid -vehicles of travel made under Goritz’s supervision, -were informing enough, had it not been for the -disconcerting secrecy of the actors in this strange -new ice-drama. I think we were regarded as a -“parcel of wild devils or fools,” though I think too, -with the exception of perhaps the Professor, our -physical constants were impressive.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our departure did not escape public notice. We -were besieged by reporters, but we were impenetrable, -and yet we were genially communicative -too. It was the Arctic or bowhead whale we were -interested in; we were naturalists, the Professor -was hoping to introduce the bowhead whale into -European waters; just now a preliminary study of -its habits, habitat, food, breeding grounds, and -commercial availability was indispensable. That -fiction sufficed. The remarkable launch prepared for -us was made into a skillful adjunct to our investigations. -We were honored by several columns of -interviews in the dailies, and the splash of our -adventure spread its circle of disturbance even to -Washington, whence official offers of assistance -and participation were received which—were never -answered. Among our visitors, for we did not -escape the invasion of sightseers, was that Goliah, -Carlos Huerta, from whose branding iron you -saved me.</p> - -<p class='c016'>(Erickson spoke this measuredly and calmly to -be sure, but his hands covered his face, and I saw -his body sway, convulsed by his emotion.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>“This man somehow appealed to me; perhaps -it was his herculean dimensions. He was familiar -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>with launches and machinery, and was very intelligent; -forceful, too. His suavity disarmed suspicion, -and his robust, seemingly ingenuous interest -pleased me. Almost his last words, before we -sailed, invited me to come to see him—he handed -me his card—and to tell him “all about it.” It -was a curious, inexplicable divination on his part -that I should have much to tell. That man, Mr. -Link, was the most ruthless scoundrel I ever met; -he was my first scoundrel; because I had never met -a scoundrel before I fell into his net.</p> - -<p class='c016'>(Again a pause. It lasted so long that I feared -some complication of feeling had robbed him of his -memory. I said “And Mr. Erickson, you left San -Francisco?” His consciousness returned, and he -turned to me smiling.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>Yes, we left San Francisco about the end of -April, a dull day with fog banks lifting and falling -over the Golden Gate, while a rising storm outside -was turning the ocean into water alps, smiting the -clouds. Our course was almost a direct line to -Behring Straits; we were to pass through the -channel between Unalaska and Uninak Islands, -then coast the Pribylof Islands for the benefit of the -Professor, reach Indian Point, on the Siberian side -of the strait where some of the natives, Masinkers -(<i>Tchouktchis</i>), could be seen, then cross to Port -Clarence on the Alaskan shore for an inspection of -the Nakooruks (<i>Innuits</i>); then two stops for the -benefit of Hopkins and Goritz. We also intended -to secure at the latter place dogs for our dash over -the ice to the Krocker Land shore from Point -Barrow. Captain Coogan recommended a stop at -Cape Prince of Wales where further ethnological -notes might be gathered, but this was overruled as -both the Professor and Hopkins expected to visit -the coal beds beyond Point Hope, and Cape -Lisburne in the Arctic Ocean.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>We came abreast of Pribylof about May sixth, -stalled off St. Paul’s Island in a still sea, light southwest -winds and rising tide. The Professor was -pulled off to the island in the morning; his eagerness -to visit these famous fur-seal rookeries being -irrepressible. He had talked of little else, in the -intervals when we were not discussing our momentous -enterprise, but the marvelous stories which -old navigators, Captain Scammon and Captain -Bryant had told, and the fascinating studies of -Elliot. He told us that formerly, in the middle of -the nineteenth century and later, these pelagic -mammals had swarmed in millions up to these -islands, rising from the ocean like a veritable mammal -inundation. He told us about the bull seals, -how they fought, their tenacity, their endurance, -how a bull will fight fifty or sixty battles for the -possession of his ample harem of twelve or fifteen -cows, and last out to the end of the season, three -months perhaps without food, living on his own fat, -covered with scars, eyes gouged out, striped with -blood; and how the jovial bachelors, not so disconsolate -as might be imagined, the “hollus-chickies,” -congregate to one side. He said the noise from -these monstrous breeding grounds, where thousands -of seals are roaring, bleating, calling—mothers, -fathers and pups—could be heard, with -the wind right, five or six miles to sea. He didn’t -expect to see the households developed then—it -was too early—but he might have an opportunity -to find a few advance bulls on their stations. He -found the bulls, and he found an adventure, and -<i>we found him</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was almost four or five hours after the Professor -had left the ship in a yawl rowed by two -sailors, that Hopkins, Goritz, and myself followed -him in another boat. We saw the yawl on a short -beach of sand, with the men sunning themselves -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>and asleep on the black rocks which hemmed in the -little cove. We ran our boat on the sands, the -men came strolling toward us, rubbing their eyes -and recovering from the inertia of what had been -an uninterrupted snooze. When we asked for the -Professor they told us he had disappeared, and had -ordered them to stay where they were while he -pursued his investigations. He certainly was nowhere -in sight and a little anxious over his long -absence we moved up to the broken rim of rocks -which probably separated this retreat from some -similar beach on either side.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The elevated cones and ridges of the island could -be seen towering up toward the interior in gaunt -gray surfaces, on which rested extensive patches of -snow. We surmounted the inconsiderable elevation -and found it was a broader barrier than we had -anticipated, a platform of jagged projecting crests -with intervening rocky basins or tables, the whole -an extended spur from a black wall of rock, on -whose summit were the clustering huts of a native -village. On the edges of the rocks hung a few large -cakes of ice, and the receding tide had left broken, -hummocky masses tilted at various angles over the -inclined faces of stone. The scene was chilly and -desolate and to add to its lugubrious desolation a -fog had slowly drifted in from the sea and was now -tortuously rolling down from the highland on the -opposite shore to the island. Our search for the -missing Professor would have to be hastened.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The Professor must be found,” said Hopkins. -“We shan’t know how to deal with the native -Krockerans when we meet ’em, without the Professor. -At present he is the only man alive who -understands their peculiarities, and as an interpreter -he’s bound to prove useful.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Of course,” said Goritz, “you don’t think the -seals can eat him?”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>“They might,” answered Hopkins, “but they -could never digest him. It would certainly be a -death potion to the venturesome bull who mistook -him for food. Likely as not he is now engaged in -explaining to an interesting family his plans for the -preservation and increase of them and their -kindred.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>During this irrelevant badinage I had crossed the -rocky flat and reached another cove or gully, -headed towards the land by a slope of broken -boulders, and floored with sand. We had as yet -encountered no seals. Looking beyond this bay I -saw on a promontory bounding the distant edge of -the beach what seemed like a human figure, or -indeed like a group of figures. Watching the objects -for a short time I could more clearly distinguish -them, and to my astonishment determined that one -was a man and the rest some erect animal forms, -doubtless seals. The group was at an extreme -point on the rocks, and, if the solitary human was -the Professor, his only possible retreat from the -beleaguering seals would be the water.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I hallooed to my companions, pointing to the distant -objects, and hastened forward onto the rock-strewn -beach. Goritz and Hopkins struggled over -the rough patch of rocks and overtook me.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, by the lives of all the saints!” cried -Hopkins, who had stopped a moment and with -shaded eyes was studying the enigmatical figures -silhouetted against sea and sky. “It’s the Professor -and three <i>beachmasters</i> apparently bent on his -capture, or else drinking in wisdom from his lips. -It might just be they’re competing for his services -in teaching their prospective families.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I can see him waving his hands, it seems to me, -and now he’s shooing them with his hat,” exclaimed -Goritz. “He’s in something of a fix. Hurry.”</p> - -<div id='p0682' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p0682.jpg' alt='armed men approach a boy surrounded by seals' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE PROFESSOR AND THE PRIBYLOF SEALS</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>We bounded forward, and over the beaten sand -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>raced together, taking quick glances ahead at the -now certain embarrassment of our friend. It was -indeed the Professor, and his predicament was unmistakable. -Amusement however mingled with -our anxiety, for as we drew near we could plainly -make out that he had taken his hat between his -teeth and was violently wagging his head, the -absurd appendage of his cap flying up and down -producing a very ludicrous effect. It was a serviceable -device, however, for the amazed seals had -stopped their approaches; their barking or snarling, -at first quite audible, had ceased, and they were -now attentively regarding the Professor with -almost immobile heads.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Guess,” called out Hopkins between breaths, -“they think the Professor is a little dippy, and are -reconsidering his engagement as a domestic -instructor.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were now near enough to attract the Professor’s -sight; he hailed us with swinging arms but did -not venture to desist from his mandarin-like wig-wagging. -The approach to his position was a little -difficult, and we suffered some falls. Our advent -had attracted the notice of the bulls and they -swerved about to receive us, humping their backs, -leaping forward on their flippers, and renewing -their truculent miauling or barking. We attacked -them with stones but their defiance was unchanged, -and they lunged and rushed, quite unappalled by -our onset. They would retreat almost immediately -to their former positions, holding the poor Professor -in chancery with an apparent unanimity that kept -Goritz laughing, for with every retreat, the Professor -would renew his violent gesticulations.</p> - -<p class='c016'>At length Goritz and Hopkins armed with an -armful of stones drove in on the biggest of the bulls, -and assailed him with such a shower of missiles that -his reserve was overcome, and he plunged forward, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>following them for twenty feet or more. I ran to -the Professor and caught his arm, and we got out of -the zone of danger, while the momentarily allied -<i>beachmasters</i>, frustrated from their imprisonment of -him, suddenly resented each other’s proximity and -after a miscellaneous “mix-up,” as Hopkins called -it, shuffled and loped away to their former stations, -the chosen spots for their future <i>seraglios</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>With the liberated Professor we sat down on some -stool-like fragments inserted in the sand of the -beach and heard his story. It was laughable -enough and added an unusual trait to the recorded -conduct of the big bull seals, usually indifferent to -the approach of men. These three indolent, unoccupied -forerunners of the great herds that might -soon be expected, had actually chased the Professor -and, having cornered him on the promontory, had -hopelessly besieged him. The Professor had been -too much interested or too imprudent. His amiability -perhaps had brought him into this unexpected -dilemma, for he had gathered up seaweed -from the rocks at the edge of the water, and -attempted to feed the bulls. They followed him, -and their disappointed expectations developed -later into the pugnacity that had made him a -prisoner.</p> - -<p class='c016'>While he was talking a few more seals emerged -from the ocean, lazily hauling themselves on the -rocks with that ill-assured clumsiness of motion so -strikingly replaced in the water by the greatest -grace, agility and speed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But Professor,” interrupted Goritz, “what were -you doing with your hat?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor, who had been much ruffled and -excited over his encounter, welcomed this inquiry -with a restored equanimity.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Ah! Goritz, that is a contribution to science. -On our return I shall call the attention of Lloyd -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>Morgan and other animal psychologists to this -novel observation. Antoine, it has long been -known that the rhythmical oscillation of a flexible -substance, a rag, hat, towel, banner, exercises a -peculiar influence on animals. It will allay the -ferocity of a mad dog or alarm him. Color has -something to do with it, as instance the red rag -which irritates the bull. Now—” here the Professor -looked critically at his steamer cap, and may -have mentally noted that it was a green and brown -Scotch plaid. “Now this influence seems curiously -reinforced if the substance or garment is taken in -the mouth and shaken.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The incorrigible Hopkins had again buried his -face in his cupped palms.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“No reason that is incontrovertible has been -assigned for this, but I assume that it is an appeal to -a latent <i>demonism</i> in animals, which in its later -evolution appears as <i>devil-worship</i> in aboriginal -people. I most fortunately recalled this, and at a -critical moment, when I was threatened with the -necessity of retreating into the sea—” The poorly -repressed vibrations in Hopkins’ body might have -been referred to sympathy or—something else. “A -quite unnecessary ablution, let us say,” and the -Professor smiled benignantly at me, as perhaps the -one most gravely interested in his narrative. “I -thought of this remarkable device, which I believe -has something of the nature of an incantation. -The effect was miraculous. This simple gesture -held the seals at bay; I think it is quite demonstrable -also that there is a physiological basis for -their evident stupefaction—the optic nerve. These -animals you know have very poor sight—the optic -nerve is disturbed and a cerebral vertigo is induced -which, like—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That settles it,” cried Hopkins, stumbling to his -feet with a very red face and hurrying across the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>sands. “Professor, there’s something worse than -seals on this island; there are the U. S. officials, -and—I guess they are charmproof.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Exactly,” assented the Professor in an absent-minded -way, “exactly, but had you gentlemen -restrained yourselves a little, I believe I could have -advanced an interesting corroboration to a hitherto -dimly—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>A gun shot was heard. It evidently came from -our men in the adjoining cove and we smothered -the Professor’s scientific homily with a shout, and -accelerated our departure.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When we reached the boat we found some natives -and two resident officials surrounding our men, the -former somewhat excited and demonstrative. The -officials questioned us and were informed of our -purely accidental visit, and with that explanation, -as the fog had increased and there were threatening -symptoms of a blow, we manned our boats and got -away.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Captain Coogan resumed our course, making -northwest for Indian Point, amid heavy ice, -whose leads were carefully followed until they -liberated us in open water, and the immediate danger -of being nipped was past. The next morning I -was awakened—my room adjoined Hopkins’—by -hearing the American reciting in a voice loud -enough to justify forcible remonstrance:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“<i>I met my mates in the morning (and Oh, but I am old),</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Where roaring on the ledges the summer groundswell rolled,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>I heard them lift the chorus that dropped the breakers’ song,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>The beaches of Lucannon—two million voices strong,</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>The song of pleasant stations beside the salt lagoons,</i></div> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span><i>The song of blowing squadrons that shuffled down the dunes</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>The song of midnight dances that charmed the sea to flame</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>The beaches of Lucannon—before the sealers came!</i>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>We made Indian Point, or Chaplin, as the settlement -is called, in five days, held back by floes and -fogs, narrowly escaping a collision with an adventuresome -and premature whaler making its way to -the same destination. These sailors often get -caught in the ice, when they are helpless, and if the -pack tightens on them, they are likely to come to -grief with a cut stem or a stoved side. We assisted -one poor fellow out of such a plight. His vessel was -shipping water fast, and we helped shift his load, -giving the boat a stern list that lifted its broken -nose and allowed him to make repairs.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Chaplin is a small settlement of natives on the -Siberian coast, the largest along the line to Behring -Straits. There may be some forty huts there, and -the whale men find it a convenient place to do a -stroke of trade. Indeed, if it were not for their -visits the unfortunate Masinkers might resign the -job of trying to live at all, as the whales are more -scarce than formerly, or more cautious, and walrus -and seal scarcely turn in closer than St. Lawrence -Island. The village is on a projecting tooth of -land—a mere sandpit—and back from the village -along the foothills is the curious, disconsolate looking -graveyard where the dead are buried in rudely -excavated holes and covered with stones and earth, -some with deer antlers stuck about as gravestones.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The natives were not slow in coming aboard, and -as we had outrun the whalers who are annually -expected, their reception of us was, so to speak, -enthusiastically hearty. I thought it was a trifle -overdone. The entire population tried to get -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>aboard, and assumed possession of everything with -such unsophisticated satisfaction that it strained -the limits of our hospitality and tired our patience -somewhat. They were a jocular, spontaneous and -chattering crowd, of all ages, many hues, and some -diversity of dress. Each canoe had received from -Captain Coogan a bucket of bread, but their appetite -for tobacco would have made a tremendous -contribution to the income of the United Cigar -Company. Everyone wanted it—men, women -and children, and it stood first in the commercial -schedule of trade. We rejected their whalebone -ivory and foxskins, but boots, skin shirts and coats -were acceptable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our very generous demeanor towards their needs -elicited the stormiest approval, but we regretfully -learned that it prolonged their occupation of the -ship which, so far as fragrance was considered, had -seriously declined from its former estate of habitability. -Articles of all sorts come handy to these -people, but as we were not prepared for their -omnivorous demands, tobacco formed the staple of -our barter.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now in our little library, whose usefulness the -sustained succession of long days of suspense or -idleness had fully demonstrated, we had read in a -small light blue book by Herbert L. Aldrich, called -“Arctic Alaska and Siberia,” of the author’s visit to -this very place. In the book a man, Gohara by -name, was designated as “<i>the Masinker of the -Masinkers</i>,” a man forty years of age, tall, commanding, -and “by far the best specimen mentally -and physically of his people.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We discovered him. He was yet vigorous, -though approaching seventy and his remarkable -spouse—his third wife then—<i>Siwurka</i>, maintained -a supreme position in his household, which the -advent, since Aldrich’s visit, of two younger women -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>had not disturbed. One of these later accessions -to Gohara’s domestic felicity was a person of becoming -rotundity, with a distracting tousle of hair -that almost covered her eyes. The inexpugnable -scientific curiosity of the Professor led him into his -second predicament with this young person, which, -for a moment, promised to be more serious than his -inquisitional visit to the fur seals.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was the last day of our stay at Indian Point -which had been prolonged by the viewless stretches -of ice moving out of the Arctic into Behring Sea, -and we were all ashore. As usual the Professor -deserted us, following out some preconcerted -scheme of observation or experiment in which our -participation was unnecessary or even resented. -It was some hours after we had missed him, and our -inspection of the <i>tupicks</i>, the dogs, the children, -and the industrial products of the Masinkers was -completed, that a large boy, prodigiously magnified -by his big boots, rushed upon our trailing group -crying:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Doghter! Doghter! He out of head. Hoopla!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The fellow was excited and out of breath with -running, and his excitement became reflected in the -faces of the natives around us, who were helplessly -bewildered and looked so.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“It’s the Professor—another row. Hold back -the crowd. I’ll go with this screaming lunatic and -extricate our distinguished friend. Some scientific -escapade, you can bet your hat on it,” whispered -Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>To inquiries of his acquaintances the boy kept up -an unintelligible jabber and pointed to the farther -side of the village. Apparently the assemblage -were on the point of bolting for the spot, in deference -to the boy’s ejaculations. Hopkins handed us -a package which he had been reserving for some sort -of a valedictory to Chaplin and its unsavory population. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>It was a liberal assortment of quids, -smoking tobacco, cigars and snuff, and its exhibition -and immediate distribution quelled the flight -of the rabble around us, whose inclination to stay -where they were instantly hardened like adamant.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins seized the boy, turned him around, and -the two vanished in the direction the boy had indicated. -In about half an hour, or less, they returned -with the Professor between them, much upset but -calm, and apparently indifferent to the objurgations -and imprecations, delivered in unvarnished and -vigorous <i>Tchoukchi</i>, hurled at him by no less a man -than Gohara, followed by his five wives, whose -voices querulously mingled and reinforced their -master’s denunciations. The situation was unquestionably -very amusing, very curious, and, -except for the fortunate intervention of Hopkins’ -miscellaneous propitiations, might have become -very annoying. We hurried the Professor to the -beach, got into our boats, Hopkins making a stern-wise -address to the multitude on the shore, a most -grotesque and tumultuous bunch of long, short, -thin, fat, smiling, frowning, dark and light figures in -skins and fur, and reached the “Astrum,” which -that very evening left the offing, and, over a clear, -moon-lit sea was directed toward Port Clarence in -Alaska. A hard blow was on, and the ice packs -had been scattered or driven eastward.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins’ story that night, after the Professor had -retired, which he did unusually early and with a -complete resumption of his smile and his good -humor, entertained us until after midnight. I -abbreviate its windings and prolixity, interspersed -with Hopkins’ incommunicable reflexions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The boy, conveniently named Oolah, led Hopkins -some way back of the settlement to a <i>tupick</i> of -considerable size, and covered with canvas (usually -walrus hide or skins form these roofings) which was, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>it so happened, Gohara’s storehouse, stocked with -trading material. Hopkins restrained his guide’s -impatience, and finding a convenient aperture for -the inspection of the interior peered within. To -his delighted astonishment there was the Professor, -with notebook and pencil, and near him in placid -wonderment, which occasionally broke in smiles or -deepened into terror, was the last and, with reservations -for taste, most attractive wife of the head -trader of Indian Point, <i>Ting-wah</i> by name. The -Professor’s performances were immoderately extravagant. -Seen in their incongruous environment, -combined with their novelty, they compelled -Hopkins to retire at intervals and roll on the -ground, in order to control the violence of his merriment, -another proceeding which strengthened -Oolah’s conviction in the immanence of the devil -among these strangers.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When Hopkins first descried the Professor, he -was standing erect with his arms raised high above -his head, close together, the hands in contact, -flapping and clapping them in an indescribably -funny way, while at intervals he shrank and -cowered over as if seized with the insupportable -pains of colic. To these antics the woman returned -a perplexed stare, as the Professor resumed -his normal manner, took up his pad -and pencil, and waited apparently for her response, -while she, equally expectant, stood -stock still and waited for more explicit communications.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then the Professor suddenly extended his arms -in front of him, and wheeled round on his heels, -with such commendable agility, that as he spun, -his expansive ears seemed almost obliterated. It -was then that Hopkins resorted to the refuge of the -ground to conceal his feelings. Still the woman -was mute, but her face showed a rising fear, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>her hands rose to her neck as if to seize something -from the skin pouch made in her upper garment.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor left off his physical maneuvers -and began a series of grimaces which, as Hopkins -expressed it, “would have dimmed the luster of the -best vaudeville star he had ever seen.” They -expressed almost everything, beginning with something -that might be called suffering, to a terrible -excruciation of joy, when the Professor exerted his -features to a degree that Hopkins called “the limit -of facial agony.” And yet the girl was silent, but -her eyes never left the Professor, and Hopkins, and -Oolah too, saw her quietly draw a knife from her -“bread basket.” Hopkins might not have observed -this if Oolah had not grunted, “<i>Stick ’im</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He felt then it was time to intervene, but his -interest and curiosity—“better’n a show” he repeated -over and over again—had up to this point -prevented him.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Suddenly the Professor desisted from his rapid -play of expression, and began to moan diabolically, -rolling towards the woman with supplicating arms. -The knife flashed, it was upraised, and the girl -crouched, her face darkening with either rage or -terror. The next moment she had sprung at the -now observant and terror-stricken Professor, who -executed a flank movement—“side-stepped” Hopkins -put it—and was out of the door and—into the -protecting embrace of Hopkins’ arms, while Oolah -with precocious intelligence intercepted Ting-wah. -The girl’s pent-up emotions spent themselves in -screams and fervent but barbarous complaints that -brought Gohara and his other spouses to her rescue. -Hopkins, utterly mystified by the Professor’s exhibition, -resorted to the very plausible explanation, -suggested by Oolah in the first place, that the Professor -had gone crazy, which indeed he most apostolically -believed himself. This answered the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>purpose, though it did not repress Gohara and his -family from uttering a string of uncomplimentary -epithets which might have provoked a serious disturbance -had it not been for Hopkins’ tact and the -celerity of our retreat. Gohara’s rage followed our -boat with stridulous recriminations.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor was noticeably crestfallen and -almost sullenly indifferent to our questions as to -what had happened. It was only a few days later, -when his spirits had become thoroughly restored, -that he spoke about it, with a sudden assumption of -confidence that delighted us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My friends,” the Professor began one cold, -radiant afternoon as we were ranged round the -naphtha launch admiring its adaptation, strength, -the happy conception of structural ice runners let -into her keel, the easily unshipped tiller and screw; -“My friends, the theories of the origin of language -have been various; there are the views of Geiger -as to its inception in movement and action, those -of Noire as to the importance of sound, onomatopoetic -or imitative, and the value of expression, as -with Darwin.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You see,” he continued with a fine indirection of -reference, which we appreciated, “I was before an -untutored child of nature. I attempted, along -these various lines of non-verbal intercourse to -secure an illuminative response that might throw -some light upon theory. Under the circumstances, -the subject, vitiated I think by contact with -European culture—Ah—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>Shied</i>” suggested Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” the Professor smilingly concluded, -“there was certainly an <i>hiatus</i>. Her aboriginal -powers of interpretation were dulled—dulled—perhaps -extinguished.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But Professor, you woke up a good deal of oratory. -In fact, Professor, you’re nervy and—if -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>I may be permitted the vulgarity of quotation—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘You would joke with hyenas, returning their stare</div> - <div class='line'>With an impudent wag of your head,</div> - <div class='line'>And you went to walk, paw-in-paw, with a bear,</div> - <div class='line'>“Just to keep up its spirits,” you said.</div> - <div class='line'>Without rest or pause—while those frumious jaws</div> - <div class='line'>Went savagely snapping around—</div> - <div class='line'>You skipped and you hopped and you floundered and flopped</div> - <div class='line'>Till fainting you fell to the ground.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>The Professor passed his hand approvingly over -the side of the launch, ignoring the jibe. We -dropped the subject, indeed forgot it, listening to -Goritz’s animated and assuring praise of the little -craft that would introduce us to a new continent, -and the incident was never again heard of.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our next haven was Port Clarence in Alaska, and -we had a lot of trouble making it. The ice streaming -out of Behring Straits was thick, and, as the -Yankee put it, “<i>numerous</i>.” The captain and -mates were keen to watch their chances, and we -often found ourselves surrounded by blocks that -the wind threatened to pack together to our imminent -peril. It was very early, and whereas the -whalers make Port Clarence about midsummer we -expected or hoped to get to Point Barrow about -that time. A northwest wind came up and scattered -the ice and gave us an open sea, though we -were compelled to make some long detours around -white meadows of snow-covered ice, that slipped -off into the recesses of low, cold fogs and suggested -illimitable barriers ahead of us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The distant rattling or caking sound of grinding -ice was sometimes constantly heard for hours, and -again vast fields, looking almost motionless, loomed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>up with the sun shimmering their surfaces into an -endless complexity of mirrors. Along the indented -or hummocky edges of these little continents we -would steam serenely and exult courageously in the -thought of crossing just such white ways to the -hidden wonders of a hidden world. We often fell -into fits of dreaming, buoyed up by the calm and -glowing vaticinations of the Professor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We finally brought up at the port and received a -tumultuous reception, having outrun the whaling -fleet. The natives, <i>Nakooruks</i>, crowded aboard, -and were intently watched but quite passively -shunned by the Professor. Water and wood were -taken on here, and about one hundred selected -dogs, whose points were minutely inspected or determined -by Goritz and myself. It was June, and -already flowers spun their colored webs over the -inhospitable shores, compensating for their brief -life here in the north by a marvelous abundance. -Yellow, white and blue, the bewitching patches -of moss-blue flowering hepatica, forget-me-not, -anemone, phlox and daisy charmed us, and for a -moment brought back such a flood of memories -that a surge of homesickness swept over us, the -last tug of the pleasant world we had turned our -backs on before the portals of a stranger world -opened and closed on us, perhaps forever.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We bought fish and furs from the natives who -had traveled hither with their pelts and offerings -from Norton Sound, Cape Prince of Wales, and -King’s Island. There was confusion and bustle on -shore, and on board the barking of dogs, guttural -controversies among the Eskimos, wailing of babies, -orders, the shriek of the donkey engine hauling on -cargo, produced a pleasant excitement which -attained its climax on the arrival of the United -States revenue cutter. Visiting of the captains, -exchange of news followed, and we were told that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>the season was unprecedented; the ice in the -Arctic had broken up early, there was a clear passage -in the straits and an audacious whaler had -attempted the passage and “skinned” through to -Point Hope. We were sanguine of reaching Point -Barrow early in July.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On the fourth of July we were under Cape Lisburne, -encountering the rush of the wind that seems -harbored by that lofty cliff, and which like a physical -avalanche pushed us over until the water rippled -over the lee rail. Along the shores everywhere -there was a broad avenue of open water, stretching -from the skirt of shore ice to the heavy packs, -sheeted with fogs and murmurously moaning, -inimitably flooring that mysterious ocean whose -furthest waters beat on the shores of Krocker Land.</p> - -<p class='c016'>From Cape Lisburne the shore line strikes at a -right angle to the Corwin coal fields, the low shores, -except for a few occasional interruptions, as with -Cape Lisburne itself, marking the margins of the -higher uplands in the interior. Salt lagoons, -crescent shaped beaches, sandpits, shoal basins, -furnish a monotonous succession of flattened, uninteresting -features, which practically reaches to -Point Barrow. At the Corwin coal beds slate, -sandstone and conglomerate overlie each other, -and the Mesozoic age of the beds themselves is -established. Here the Professor emerged from the -mental coma which had suspended his pedagogic -enthusiasms since we left Indian Point, and a few -fern leaf fossils unlocked again the storehouse of his -learning and loosened his tongue with eloquent -predictions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Standing up at our mess table with a beautifully -preserved fern leaf, sketched in black interlacings, -reticulations and frondy leaflets on an ashen-colored -slate, the Professor spoke to us, and indeed we ourselves -felt the thrill of a reconstructed world in this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>bleak land, as we saw this silent token of former -warmth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My friends,” he held up the fossil leaf, “here is -a vestige of the past, a leaf of a fern. It tells us of -hot, moist, heat-oppressed cycles of years, when -marshes densely thicketed with tree fern, swollen -with hot rains, drenched in a perspiration of mists, -covered these now arid snow-blanketed flats; when -a reptilian life, the consonant faunal response to -these climatic conditions flourished here also, when, -dropping into the bayous and ponds, leaf upon leaf, -branches, spores and trunks of an expanded filicine -flora built up the masses of vegetable debris in -later ages, to become consolidated and transformed -into coal and—” the Professor’s eyes -started, his inherent smile became a portentous -stare, and the wide ears seemed almost to converge -to catch his own words of promise; “and—<i>we shall -rediscover a warm or temperate climate here at the -North Pole. WHY?</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>His voice spoke this interrogation in something -like a squeal, so that the answer, in its unaffected -profundity, produced a really dramatic climax.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>Because we shall be nearer the center of the earth.</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We took on coal at the Corwin mines and -resumed our progress northward in the still unimpeded -lane of open water, with porridge ice -forming fast along the outer pack but the shore rim -intact, and bucking against a strong northeast current -setting along shore. We passed Point Lay and -Icy Cape the second day, and reached Point Barrow -on the tenth of July.</p> - -<p class='c016'>How well I recall our landing on the low beach of -this tip-top point of the continent, and wondering, -in a dreary dream of coming hardships and dangers, -at its desolation, a low barren sandbank forty to -one hundred yards across. At Cape Smythe -a small promontory raises a faint remonstrance -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>against the encroachments of the sea in a bluff of -about thirty feet elevation, and here we found the -village of Uglaamie, a cluster of twenty or more -huts, inhabited by a boreal tribe, the <i>Nuwukmeun</i>. -Life however, in the plants and animals revived -our feelings, and the Professor’s exultation over the -traces of old beach lines inspirited us. Here on the -land, in propitious spots, sprang up buttercups, -dandelions and a peculiar poppy; over our heads -flew flocks of eider ducks, a butterfly danced gayly -in its wavering flight by our side, and Captain -Coogan reported a school of whale running to the -northeast, “<i>in a hurry</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We found some standing portions of the United -States meteorological station placed here in 1902, -and Goritz stumbled upon a dismantled graveyard -where saint and sinner, rich and poor had promiscuously -suffered from the inroads of the Eskimo -dog. It offered a mournful commentary upon the -transitoriness of human greatness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But reflections were out of place; we had reached -the point of departure, and the Great Unknown -sternly invited us to begin our quest. Under such -circumstances the long subdued instincts of the -primal man reassert themselves, and an augury of -good fortune befell us that was droll enough, unrelieved -by the nervous solemnity of our feelings, but -which so connected itself with these as to give it an -absurd stateliness of meaning.</p> - -<p class='c016'>An angora goat was the queer and unexpected -waif we found here, left by an unlucky whaler the -previous year; a long haired, pugnacious billy goat, -whose property or power as a mascot had failed to -save the “Siren” from being “nipped, pooped and -swamped,” and lost in the remorseless ice. The -resident Eskimos in Uglaamie had imbibed respect -for the goat (which had been somewhat summarily -abandoned by its former devotees) and its influence -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>with the unseen agencies that control destiny. -But they were logical enough to conclude that its -intimacy was with bad—<i>tuna</i>—rather than with -good spirits. This omnivorous beast furnished us -with a favorable omen, all the more auspicious -because he embodied the very genius of destruction.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now this expatriated goat rejected the prostrations -and worship of the Nuwukmeun, like a -capricious deity, and perversely clung to us with -embarrassing insistence. The launch had been -put in the water; it seemed almost ideal in its -qualities, it shot through the water, it turned at a -suggestion; its mobility, its steadiness, its comfortable -size, its ample deck room, the large capacity -of its storage tanks, its strength and sinewy -stiffness delighted us. With this, and with propitious -chances, we could follow leads, narrow and -crooked, mount the ice, and make of it a giant sled, -to resume at an instant’s notice its natural home -and so circumvent all treacheries of ice or water, -with protean ease sailing on each.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Lost in his admiration of his creation, as it rose -and rocked in a low swell at the side of the whaler, -Goritz stood on the shore and forgot his priceless -chronometer which, wrapped in a red flannel rag, -he had for a moment placed on the sand. The -rest of us were not far from him, but might have -failed to detect the imminent danger, when suddenly -the Professor clapping his hands together in -vigorous whacks, shouted,</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Antoine! Antoine! The goat, the goat; the -chronom—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The sentence remained incomplete. Like a flash -Goritz had wheeled about, to see his hircine holiness, -with insufferable assurance, pick up in his -tremulous lips the precious watch. If Goritz -turned like lightning, his attack on the offender was -even a trifle quicker. He caught the beast by the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>throat, determined to intercept the descent of the -timekeeper into the intricate passages of the god’s -intestines. There was a struggle, the goat falling -over on its back and kicking with might and main, -while Goritz inexorably tightened his constricting -grip on the animal’s wind-pipe. There could be -but one of two results—a dead goat or the recovered -chronometer, and, of course, it was the latter.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The choking mascot, with an expiring effort, -gagged, and shot the uninjured instrument, still -swathed in its red envelope, from his mouth. The -fallen god’s subjects were at hand also, a little -bewildered over their deity’s predicament. When -the reparation, on the part of the goat, was made, -Goritz released him, kicked him, and the humiliated -tuna turned tail and incontinently bolted for -the nearest igloo, and—tell it not in Gath—the -affair was construed as a “<i>good sign</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was the eve of the day appointed for our northward -advance. Captain Coogan invited the -officers of another recently arrived whaler aboard, -and spread a generous banquet for us, which -involved the last resources of his larder and pantry, -and really seemed sumptuous. I think we all felt -a little overawed, or indeed a good deal so, by the -tremendous exploit we were embarking on. That -night the midnight sun shone strangely along the -horizon upon the waste of northern ice, illimitable, -roseate, inscrutable, the white cerement of a dead -continent, and that dead continent the one we -hoped to reach alive! Would we?</p> - -<p class='c016'>There were speeches, toasts, stories, impromptu -songs (Goritz played well on a mandolin and sang -some courage-inspiring ballads of Scandinavia, and -Hopkins could “warble” as he called it, quite -pleasingly) and we were wished “good luck” a -thousand times. Still we felt the restraint of an -overhanging mysterious fate, and all that Coogan -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>or Isaac Stanwix, or Bell Phillips, or Jack Spent, or -the newly arrived friends from Alaska, could contrive -to express of cheer and encouragement—and -the verbal part of the contrivance was rather -limited and monotonous—failed to dispel our -solemnity or the inner sense of serious misgiving. -We laughed indeed when Hopkins told the story -of the goat, the chronometer and the goat’s abrupt -contrition under Goritz’s forcible persuasion. -Hopkins concluded that it reminded him of an -incident “at home” narrated as follows in verse:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“There was a man named Joseph Cable</div> - <div class='line'>Who bought a goat just for his stable,</div> - <div class='line'>One day the goat, prone to dine,</div> - <div class='line'>Ate a red shirt right off the line.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Then Cable to the goat did say:</div> - <div class='line'>‘Your time has come; you’ll die this day’</div> - <div class='line'>And took him to the railroad track,</div> - <div class='line'>And bound him there upon his back.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The train then came; the whistle blew,</div> - <div class='line'>And the goat knew well his time was due;</div> - <div class='line'>But with a mighty shriek of pain</div> - <div class='line'>Coughed up the shirt and flagged the train.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>When all was over, and everyone had gone to bed -or bunk, and dreams, I stole out alone on the deck -of the “Astrum” and “thought it over.” The Arctic -silence weighed upon me like an ominous portent; -the dusky sun rolling its flaming orb along the -western horizon (it was two o’clock past midnight) -sent shafts of bronzy light over the rubbled ice -fields that returned a twilight glow, and along the -horizon on either side of the sun, low down, burned -a spectral conflagration. It was clear, the wind -blew, and chafing sounds, that may have been -roars from where they emanated, but came to me as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>hoarse whispers, rose northward, as if spirits spoke.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I remembered how Oolah, the Eskimo, explained -Peary’s success in reaching the pole; he said “<i>the -devil is asleep or having trouble with his wife, or we -should never have come back so easily</i>.” I devoutly -prayed that domestic turmoil in the household of -his satanic majesty might again prove distracting.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But to penetrate that vast icy solidity with a -naphtha launch! It seemed like trying to break -one’s way through a glacier with an ice pick. I -recalled the fable of the Pied Piper when at the -“mighty top” of Koppelberg Hill:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“A wondrous portal opened wide</div> - <div class='line'>As if a cavern were suddenly hollowed,”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c022'>and I remembered too, to a more practical purpose, -that Amundsen navigated the tiny “<i>Gjea</i>,” a sailing -sloop with a gasoline engine, from the Atlantic to -the Pacific.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER III<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>On The Ice Pack</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>Our task was before us and it was to be entered -upon at once. Perhaps you are thinking that we -were hopelessly amateurish, inconsiderate, improvident -and foolish. BUT WE SUCCEEDED. -Nor were we forgetful or ignorant. Everything -had been read. The elaborate preparations for -polar exploration in the great expeditions had been -studied. Two of us had been in the north before. -The apparent simplicity of our outfit arose from a -peculiar circumstance, and that was an imbedded -conviction, perhaps only in me shaken by recurrent -fits of alarm, that Krocker Land was a reality, and -that it was habitable. And that meant life and living.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then too we had fallen under a spell of imagination, -we had become hopelessly enthralled in the -visions of a new order of things. It was as if we -had drunk draughts of some Medean drug that had -stolen away our common sense and immersed us in -a flood of fantasies. I don’t think we confessed -anything concretely to one another; we talked together -about Krocker Land just as men might talk -about some portion of the earth that they had never -seen, but which as a geographical certainty was on -the maps and was known to possess an unusual interest. -Perhaps, after all, the Professor was responsible -for the orientation of thought that made -us clairvoyant and credulous.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>Still our plans had been fixed with a dry precision, -as those of other explorers had been, and our supplies -comprised just the things that stock the most -prosaic and methodically arranged scientific expeditions. -We had our tins of pemmican, of biscuit, of -sugar, of coffee, condensed milk, our oil and our oil -stoves. We were each provided with a rifle, a shotgun -and ammunition. There were matches, hatchets, -can openers, salt, needles and thread, -bandages, quinine, astringents, liniments, sledges -and kayaks, dogs and harness, tents, furs, alcohol, -rugs, snowshoes, pickaxes, saw-knives, <i>kamiks</i>, -certainly more things than Nansen and Johannsen -had had when they left the “Fram” and scooted for -the pole over the paleocrystic sea; and we were not -looking for the pole, we were engaged in a trip to a -continent, most certainly impingeable, because it -stretched over 90 or 100 degrees of longitude, and -20 or 30 degrees of latitude.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And then—Ah, here our minds, <i>irised</i>, so to -speak, like cracked crystals, furnished us a journey -into fairy land—once there, we were to be entertained -by wonders and comforts, then more -wonders and comforts! Had we ever said that to -each other consciously in our waking moments, we -would have forlornly concluded that <i>piblokto</i>, the -Eskimo hysteria, had carried us into the seventh -heaven of affectation and madness. No; it was -not fairy land indeed, but something more marvelous, -a miracle of realities that to recall even now -makes my head spin with the vertigo of a confessed -self-delusion. LISTEN!</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had staked everything on the naphtha -launch. As an invention it was ideal. We -expected to drive it over the ice floes, and to sail it -across the leads. It would hold all we needed, and -our team of dogs, forty or fifty in number, would be -able to pull it over the ice. If it was too heavy in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>the snows it could be lightened of its load on the -sledges, or on the sledge teams which we expected -would accompany it. The project appeared a little -cumbersome but safe. We had noticed the striking -absence from the western polar sea of icebergs, and -we concluded that the sea north of Point Barrow, -like the sea generally north of Cape Columbia or -Cape Sheridan was a frozen water, smooth or interrupted -only by the pressure ridges which scarred -its surface with cyclopean walls of massed ice. We -had indeed gone further in our inferences, and -assumed that no mountainous elevations, with their -chasms, intervening valleys and gorges made up the -coasts of Krocker Land, for if they had, as in Greenland -or Grant Land or as usually in the eastern -archipelago, the discharge of the ice streams that -filled them would have produced icebergs. Or was -the annual snowfall inadequate?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Certainly the spectacular processions of the icebergs -every spring and summer in the east were -absent in the west. The conditions presented -seemed to be a convincing assurance that our -naphtha launch and ice boat, in its composite -adaptation to land or water, would successfully -traverse the flat ice sheet. Not indeed that it -would actually be a plane table, but the obstacles -of hummocks, piled up ice floes, ridges, mounds -and walls could be circumvented, avoided, and the -launch bodily driven over the pack. Such maneuvers -might add much to the distance, but the resources -were sufficient for a long journey, and, were -we made to feel that the launch offered insurmountable -difficulties, we would abandon it, increase the -loads of our sledges with its distributed freight, and -go on.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The naphtha launch was a simple and interesting -vessel. It was a long, narrow, strong wooden raft -with curving sides, and a broad, smooth sloping -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>bow, reinforced by steel binders, bolts and rivets, -set on runners, with a short tiller, easily unshipped, -and a peculiar slanting propeller which was simply -one rotating blade of alternating plates of wood and -steel, allowing a shifting attachment to the engine, -so that its stem could be shortened or lengthened, -or withdrawn altogether, and the propeller -disk sheathed in a pocket in the body of the -vessel.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The upper works were a watertight box and -nothing more, about six feet in height, made up of -two skins, between which was packed asbestos, -built strongly, with no doors or windows. A few -covered eyelets allowed a poor sort of ventilation -which could be improved by opening the manhole -on top, through which entrance to the inside was -to be made. Through this manhole everything we -carried was introduced; the sledges and kayaks -were placed on its roof. This box-cabin covered -three-fourths of the length of the boat. The bow -admitted the socket and step for a mast and a small -sail. It had no beauty, no speed, but we believed -it was adaptable to the vicissitudes of travel before -us, because of its amphibious properties. If fairly -caught in an ice jam it would be crushed like a -peanut shell, but it was intended to rise on the ice, -and we expected to save it from the contingency of -any ice chancery by keeping it on open fields of ice.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The conditions before us welcomed this treatment, -or at least we thought so. We could give it -a load of two tons, which affords an equivalent of -one ton in traction force to haul, so that forty dogs, -pulling fifty pounds each, would draw it, and this -was a very lenient exaction. Circumstances vary, -and the phases of Arctic mutability are almost -incalculable, but once on the ice we anticipated -success. The weak feature of our plan was the -late start. If nothing could be negotiated, in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>slang parlance of exploration, we would return to -Point Barrow and wait until later.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The long days invited us and the calculable -chance of escaping the awful winter storms. What -we probably could not cross were the large pressure -ridges which are perhaps twenty feet high, a fourth -of a mile in width, and which contain individual -masses of ice as big as a small house, all in a <i>gallimaufry</i> -of confusion. But we would flank them -somehow; that was our purpose. The summer -might give us good leads, winding, penetrating -lanes of water drifting through labyrinthine courses -to the “promised land.” <i>It</i> was there, and it grew -in our thoughts every day as more and more desirable. -We did not care at what point we hit it. -Four hundred miles ahead of us somewhere lay -<i>terra firma</i>, and the conception grew in magnitude, -not as another Greenland buried under thousands -of feet of snow, a monstrous, appalling desert of -ice scoured by hurricanes and chilled in death with -a temperature half a hundred below zero. No! By -an incomprehensible infatuation (the Professor had -warped our judgments by his indefatigable promises) -we were convinced that Krocker Land contained -the resources of life.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Had not Peary at Independence Bay, on the very -northern edge of Greenland, found flowers, grass -and musk oxen? Had he not, when driving for the -pole, “repeatedly passed fresh tracks of bear and -hare together with numerous fox tracks”? And -then those uncovered veins of gold seaming the -primal rocks, how they swam before our eyes in -yellow reticulations over square miles of quartz! -We had become decidedly crazy about it all, for, -unexpressed, but cherished in our deepest hearts -were fantastic hopes of some indescribable faunal, -floral, <i>human</i> remnant, like Conan Doyle’s “Lost -World” or the Kosekin in De Mille’s “Strange <i>MS</i> -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>in a Copper Cylinder” in the Antarctic, and that -romantic and sufficing Paradise that Paine depicted -in “The Great White Way,” or even the nightmare -trances and inventions, the megalithic splendors -and horrific glories of Atvatabar, or the mythic -creatures in Etidorhpa. And yet our extravagancies -of imagination were all finally obliterated, even -to memory, in the grandeur and miracle of Reality.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In one respect we altered our first plan. Hopkins -had wished to have three Americans selected -to bring back our launch, and to pick us up again -the next summer. We changed that. We would -never come back, or if there were disappointments -(“Inconceivable,” said the Professor) we would get -back our own way unaided, and—</p> - -<p class='c016'>(Erickson looked at me solemnly, and his voice -struck a sepulchral tone that would have done -credit to Paris at the tomb of the Capulets.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And Mr. Link, I am the only one that <i>did</i> come -back. The Professor and Hopkins are in Krocker -Land today; Goritz is dead.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>(He resumed his narration.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>Captain Coogan steamed over to the ice pack -which lay beyond the shore channels of open water, -towing our launch, which certainly now seemed to -dwindle into an inconsiderable implement of insertion -in that trackless ocean of ice. He pushed his -way through the “slob” ice, and jammed the nose -of the “Astrum” upon the bulwarks of a great floe, -whose uneven, rumpled and snow encumbered surface -receded into a measureless distance, veiled, -gray, dismal. We disembarked with the dogs, -the launch came alongside, Goritz started the -engine and she bucked the ice hopelessly. Then -we windlassed her <i>onto</i> the pack, harnessed the dogs -to her in five teams, one pack from the bow, two -amidships and two at the stern, and started. -Goritz and I were good teamsters, and Hopkins -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>made a fair try at it, with promiscuous difficulties. -The rudder and tiller were unshipped. It -looked as if she would “go.” We did not make fifty -feet in our trial, but the dogs certainly could pull her -easily on her bone runners. Then came the unloading -of our supplies from the steamer.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The day was most favorable, clear, cold and still. -The wind with its usual aptitude for mischief in -these northern asylums of meteorological chaos, was -waiting to catch us later. We packed the supplies, -sledges, two kayaks, guns, ammunition, stoves, -oil, pemmican, and the assorted constituents of the -regular provisioning of an Arctic expedition, into -and on the launch, which made a very original and -unique picture. The Eskimos who came offshore -with the steamer and the dogs themselves seemed -quite thoroughly perplexed, and doubtless entertained -unspoken and unfavorable opinions as to our -final success, and the dogs were perhaps dubious as -to their own fate.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The closing hour of the day, scarcely separable -now from the night, with the sun always above the -horizon, found us ready. The dogs were an -anxiety. We hoped to feed them on fresh meat in -a large measure. Seals, the flipper, the bearded, -and the hooded, were common. Goritz and I were -good hunters, and a better shot than Hopkins never -lived. Our formal relations and duties were pretty -quickly arranged. Goritz was commander, with -especial charge of the dogs, Hopkins was engineer, -I was steward, and the Professor combined, very -happily, the services of cook and scientific observer. -We started with one hundred dogs, double perhaps -our actual needs, but the sometimes sudden and -unaccountable mortality among these animals -justified our precaution.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then came the leave taking and, for the first -time, an explicit avowal of our intentions, with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>Krocker Land pictured as our destination, and -also with the renewed stipulation, enforced by a -signed agreement and the additional security of -prepayment, that Coogan should return the following -year and look for us. I have said we did not -intend to return. We did not, but then that reservation -was a hidden, peculiarly communal feeling, -unspoken and realized between ourselves, as a -psychological dithyramb which we didn’t confess or -particularize, but which coerced us insensibly, as a -mission does a prophet, an ambition a conqueror, -or a dream a poet. Externally our demeanor was -of the ordinary rational type. Coogan should -come back for us—OF COURSE.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was picturesque and unprecedented, that -leave taking. The Arctic scene, the outlandish and -piled up “Pluto,” the waiting, serviceable dogs, -alert and incredulous, the swarthy, grimy, wrinkled, -heterogeneous natives, ourselves on one side of the -pictorial composition, Coogan, Stanwix, Phillips, -Spent on the other, with the crew in an amazement -of disgust hanging over the steamer’s taffrail, -perched in the rigging, or sauntering near us, and -that illimitable ice-packed sea, imperturbably -plotting our destruction. Hopkins delivered the -valedictory.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My friends,” he said with a profound sweep of -his cap, and a big obeisance that made the Eskimos -shout with glee, “we’re off for parts unknown. -You probably entertain a rather hopeful feeling -that we’ll never come back. May be. You never -can tell. At this end of the earth the unusual -usually happens. However, we’re not worrying. -Not in the least. To miss the resumption of your -acquaintance would distress us, and might hurt -your feelings, but it’s a case of taking what comes, -and kicking don’t go <i>up here</i>. You’re all aware of -that. No, you mustn’t put us in a class by ourselves. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>We are just part of the bunch, that for the -last one hundred years or more has been leaving -cards at the door of Our Lady of Snows, with an -occasional intimation on the part of her ladyship -that the visitors were welcome, but generally with -a bolted and barred entrance, and an upset of snow, -ice, wind and zeros from the upper stories of her -palatial residence, that compelled an inglorious -departure, or left the gentlemen in question dead -on the doorstep. Well, we’re ready to join the -previous company.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Only I don’t think so. I’m not in the least -nutty—I hope you catch me—and there are -scientific reasons—” Hopkins patted the back of -the Professor—“scientific reasons for banking on a -safe return, with the goods, for all of us. When -that happens, my friends, you’ll be very glad to see -us. Nothing will be too good for us, nothing too -handsome. The ordinary brand of explorer won’t -be in it with us, for if that kind gets back with his -clothes on, and the breath in his body, he gets in -the picture supplements, is put up for sale to the -highest bidder for receptions, cornerstone laying, -and memorial exercises; he can put the whole -country to sleep listening to his talk at one hundred -per—minute!—and is never known to disappear -from the public eye until he crosses the Styx on -another kind of expedition from which there -certainly is no ‘come back.’</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That won’t be our way. When next we reach -New York, and the land of the free and the home of -the brave, our suit cases will be so full of boodle that -you won’t be able to shut them with a steam compressor, -and we can give you cross references to all -the original sources of all the gold that the world -ever had or can have. The trusts won’t be in it, -John Rockefeller will dwindle into invisibility, and -the bunko lords and potentates on the other side of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>the big pond, always fishing for <i>big</i> money will just -scramble to get in first to sell their junk crowns to -us. JUST WAIT. If there’s an income tax on -our return, we’ll undertake single handed to run the -government and, what’s more expensive, buy up the -politicians. Fact, Captain Coogan; fact, Mate -Stanwix; fact, Engineer Phillips; fact, Jack Spent; -fact, all of you!” And Hopkins executed another -inclusive gyration, “And now, Good-bye.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I don’t think his audience took him in, or else -their previous convictions were only somewhat -strengthened by this nondescript allocution. The -Professor smiled benignly. Goritz grunted approval, -I felt queerly elated. Coogan came forward, -hoped it would all turn out right, promised -to look for us next summer, told us to stack up all -the spare meat we could when the winter set in and -shook hands. There was no more speech making; -the rest came forward and shook hands too, as did -all the Eskimos. Jack Spent, the carpenter, with -his spectacles on his nose, and his brushy whiskers -stiffened out like a privet hedge, tried to sing a song, -which by reason of its quavering falsetto brought -howls from the Nuwukmeun. Its import ran:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Good Luck to you my trusty mates,</div> - <div class='line'>Good Luck and Fortune brave,</div> - <div class='line'>May God and all the kindly Fates</div> - <div class='line'>Your souls and bodies save.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>The groups turned back, the grave Eskimos -climbing in last, over the “Astrum’s” rail. The -steamer backed out of the “porridge,” and we, -impatient to be off, trimmed up the dogs, tightened -the ropes over the pyramidal freight, and cheering -as we heard the parting whistles from the -“Astrum,” soon hazily obscured in a rising evening -dusk, went northward over the great ice field before -us.</p> - -<div id='p0981' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p0981.jpg' alt='men in parkas hiking along a rough, snowy path, accompanied by a small boat on skis' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>ON THE ICE PACK</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>The dogs were alert, the yacht-sledge went along -well, the ice was sloppy but fairly smooth, and the -floe had apparently escaped the contusions, bumps -and collisions, which heap up these Arctic rafts -with mounds, faults and pressure ridges, over which -our unusual equipage never could have made its -way. As it was, we at times traveled slowly enough, -avoiding inequalities and dodging obstreperous -humps. Towards evening of that first day -the thermometer fell, an easterly wind came out of -the sullen eastern sky, the snow flakes floated -thickly in the air, and the sun glared like a gigantic -ruby in the west, across which scurried veils from -snow banks, eclipsing and revealing it at inconstant -intervals—an augury of a storm.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We camped; that is we unharnessed the dogs, -who proceeded, accordingly to the conventional -style, immemorially recorded, to tie themselves up -into yelping snarls of fur and harness; we lit our -stove, partook of tea and pemmican, biscuit and -marmalade (Yes, Mr. Link, <i>marmalade</i>) and slipped -into protected nooks, amid the boxes on our diminutive -ark. As the wind was rising we turned her -lengthwise to the wind to prevent a capsize, -wedged her forward and, under warning to jump to -the ice if anything happened—a generalized warning -for almost every sort of disturbance—tried to -sleep.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a long time before dreams came to me, and -when they did come they were unwelcome, for I -seemed to be helplessly struggling up an inclined plain -of ice over which flowed a sheet of icy water. I woke -with a start. A roaring sound, almost stunning in -its loudness, came through the snowladen air. The -snowfall had increased and might have deadened -the distant report had it not been for the hissing -wind which brought the sound sharply to our ears, -mingling it menacingly with its own sibilant fury. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>Another and another! We all tumbled out on the -ice. The floe shook. We distinctly felt its tremors -under our feet, and, as it were, subterranean cracking -and splitting noises developed underneath us, as -if the floe might break. It was an anxious moment. -But the floe was some eight feet thick, a -resistant mass that might easily, however, succumb -to cleavage surfaces. The booming sound ceased, -but a prolonged crushing and rattling followed. -Goritz clapped his hands. It seemed an unaccountable -exhibition of spirits.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” exclaimed Hopkins, “what do you make -of it?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The best thing for us. We’ve got another -length laid out for us on the straight track to -Krocker Land. This floe probably ended off there -somewhere,” he pointed northeast, “and now -another has struck it, crumpling the edges. We’re -not making such progress as we thought. The -whole sea is in motion, but pretty nearly due east, -so that as long as we go forward the easting does -not hold us back on the northing, or very little.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What do you say to breaking up camp now. -Let’s see what’s happened,” suggested Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Certainly,” chimed in the Professor, “Krocker -Land has a long coast of course. The nearer we get -to it the greater likelihood of eddies, conflicting -currents, flood tides and even favoring winds -driving us ashore. I’m for the advance.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And I,” I concurred. We dug out the dogs, -who were not very deeply covered, fed them, had -tea and biscuit and some potted beef stew, and -were off. Goritz calculated we had covered eight -miles in northing, though our speculative way -around obstacles had made the actual stretch -spanned much longer.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Curiosity and suspense conflictingly urged us to -make haste. The snow died away with the wind, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>and the sun, running its cartwheel course along the -horizon, again watched us from the east in a clear -sky. It was a “gorgeous Arctic day.” The summer -heat had not yet too strongly prevailed, and the -air almost sparkled over the dazzling splendor of -the ice, undulating where it was seen in spaces -somewhat cleared of snow, or spread with the deep -ermine of the snow itself, which again, in rifts, -drifts or circular heaps, reflected the sun like a -firmament of pinpoint stars. The snow, melting, -became compressed, and at length a duller lustre -relieved our eyes of the strain of the almost insupportable -brilliancy of the morning hours.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had made sluggish headway, the wet snow -clogging and detaining us; indeed we lightened the -load on the yacht-sledge, and used the sledges and -extra dogs to improve our progress. About noon -we saw the results of the night’s collision. A -toppling but not very high pressure ridge had -soared upward between our floe and another, presumably -larger, for it had overtaken the one we -were on. On that floe we must ourselves continue -our advance, for already to the north and west we -saw the broad leads of open water, indicated to -Goritz’s experienced eyes by the dark “water blink” -seen, as he told us, the day before.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But how to surmount the barrier of ice blocks? -Goritz and Hopkins went forward to investigate, -the Professor and myself watching the dogs whose -sudden alternations of obedience and mutiny kept -us perpetually active. Hopkins found a less -prominent section of the ridge, where the slanting -and unevenly disposed blocks might be flattened to -aid our progress, or be shattered into fragments, -with dynamite. We adopted Peary’s expedient in -shaking the “Roosevelt” free of ice at Lincoln Bay. -Dynamite sticks attached to poles were stuck -among the blocks, and connected by wires to our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>battery. Then we turned on the current. The -explosion seemed to stop our hearts and breath, but -if it did we were conscious enough to wonder at the -fountain of splintered ice that rose like a geyser in -the air, shimmering too with ten thousand irises -against the sun, as it subsided with clatter and -tinkling to the floe.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had cleared our way and to our exultation the -avenue opened showed us a wonderfully level and -unencumbered field of ice. This obstruction might -have been circumvented by taking to the water, -but too late we realized the danger of being crushed -in the battling floes that swirled together with the -current or were driven by the winds. It was a -prudent measure to keep to the ice at present. Our -launch was flat, rounded and intended, like the -“Fram,” to rise over the squeezing ice blocks. But -would it? It seemed a trifle top-heavy, with its -varied load. An upset would have been fatal; the -dogs would be lost.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And now joy ruled, hope rose, the promise seemed -granted. Oh, the incurable madness of human -dreams. A gleam of light betokens the full day; -it may be only a ray from a lantern, or the quiet -before the storm gives assurance of eternal peace; -it may be but the presage of the tempest.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We drove in triumph through the dismantled -gateway, pierced by the convulsion of those yellow -sticks of doom. Out on the white field, on which -perhaps only the wind had left its imprint, which no -eye but that all-seeing orb of day had ever scanned, -whose silence only the winds, the waves, the storming -ice had ever broken, and which now, the first -time since Eternity began its reign there, was -rudely assailed—we imagined it as an astonished -deity—by yelping dogs and four hurrahing mortals!</p> - -<p class='c016'>The snow was deep and melting, but our dogs -(Goritz had harnessed all the dogs and they were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>still in good condition) dragged the strange bulk of -our ice-yacht with its rocking cargo at a topping -speed. Exhilaration reigned, we were hilarious -with confidence. It was not long before Hopkins, -in spite of the heavy trudging, indulged in some -characteristic musical levity, and his baritone notes -finely contrasted with the silence of that void, in -which we alone seemed sentient and animated.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a college reminder, and I just recall that -the refrain had a most freakish incongruity:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘’Twas on the Arctic polar pack</div> - <div class='line'>I smoked my last cigar.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Well, the merriment did not last long. In about -an hour we saw before us a rising hillside, the snow -sloping up to an elevation of twenty feet or more -and having drifted in thick mounds above and -below it. We halted. Goritz plunged forward -and struggled to the top of the eminence. We -noticed him turning from side to side, leaning forward, -looking backward too over our heads, tramping -up and down like a dog on a lost scent. Then -he waved his arms. We understood his summons. -I watched the dogs, and Hopkins and the Professor -ran on, tumbling into the white heaps, apparently -hitting slippery surfaces below, which sent them -sprawling in a splutter of white dust. The three -men at length stood together and their gesticulations -made black strokes against a white-gray sky. -There was rain coming. I knew we had struck a -break; there was a bad hole ahead with a poor -chance of getting over it. Slowly the three -returned, and it was Hopkins who gave the first -intimation of the difficulty.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mr. Erickson, we’ve been a little ‘previous’ in -our expectations. I think perhaps that psalm of -joy was a mistaken indulgence on my part, or else -I unconsciously hit the nail on the head and—our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>last cigar <i>will</i> be smoked here and a few other last -things may happen along with it. Go up and look -at the scenery.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He motioned to the snowhill. I did not need the -invitation, I was already on my way, noticing -Goritz’s gravity and the absence of the Professor’s -static grin. And in the interval that may be -allowed between my first step and my surmounting -the snow bank covering the topsy-turvy <i>abattis</i> of -ice blocks, a paragraph of explanation may be -wisely inserted.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Anyone familiar with experiences of Arctic -voyagers in this western Arctic sea, as for instance -the thrilling pages of DeLong’s diary in the disastrous -“Jeannette” expedition, will recall the fact -of the broken condition of the polar pack in the -summer, and its hitherto almost invariably pictured -confusion of peaks, ridges and pits. Such a person -would question the truthfulness of the few previous -pages and note incredulously the absence of any -remonstrance on the part of the “Astrum’s” -officers at our foolhardy undertaking. There was -remonstrance enough however. We were told we -could not live in the broken, smashing, surging ice; -that there was no even ice floor; that everything -was uneasy, perilous, shifting, open; that we should -wait until winter had solidified the mass, and then -“just hike it north.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>And we knew pretty well ourselves just what -everyone else had seen and recorded. But we took -the chance, and by a perfect miracle of opportunity -found there was, outside of Point Barrow a marvelous -field of ice suited for our <i>progress</i>. (The real -word turned out to be <i>occupancy</i>.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, I got to the top of the snow pile, and my -heart beat a rapid retreat to my boots at the sight -before me. Ice, ice, ice, but everywhere in blocks -smiting each other, rolling, rocking, jamming, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>all together crying aloud in a jargon of groans, -shivers, reports, grumbles, growls, like packs of -quarreling dogs or wolves. It was a disconcerting, -discouraging spectacle, and it stretched endlessly -away on every side. And in the middle distance, -looming larger each instant, rose a floeberg that -came on, shoving to the right and left the ice -shards about it, resistlessly, as the steel prow of a -cruiser or battleship might sweep a flotilla of boats -and barges from the path of its imperious progress.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Its pinnacle blazed in the sun; its prow, a pointed -ice foot, pierced the obstacles before it with a rattling -discharge of rending and splitting; then -came an ominous silence and the powerful ice ram -rushed down upon us through softer or smaller -particles that brushed to each side in parting waves. -A few minutes more and its collision with our floe -would follow, and then—? I saw too quickly we -could make no headway in that hurly-burly of disorder, -and then the thought flashed on me that in -the pathway of this rushing dreadnought of the -north lay death and destruction.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I leaped down the pressure ridge and regaining -my feet at its base ran on shouting to the others, -who were arrested by my sudden return, “Back! -Back! Back!” waving to them to get away. -Goritz understood, the rest followed him. The -dogs were wheeled round, the crack of the long -whips sounded in their ears, and the sting of the -lash tingled on their backs. The lumbering -“Pluto” swept in a half circle, and was shot along -the trail we had just made towards the south. -Perhaps we had gained a hundred yards, when the -jolt came. It threw us on our faces and upset the -dogs. It came with a queer, smothered roar that -sharpened into a long, rending shriek; the ice -beneath shook with the blow, and then—parted! -A seam opened below the “Pluto,” and water -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>spouting from underneath covered the rearward -dogs. The Professor and Hopkins were on the -separated section. They sprang forward, while -Goritz jumped to his feet in a flash, and played his -whip like a demon on the dogs who seemed, to my -eyes, tied up in its rapid convolutions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The yacht-sledge crossed the chasm, and I, a -short distance behind, on the “calf” made by the -impact, pitched into the gap. I came up like a cork -and instantly felt Hopkins’ hand in the neck of my -coat. He dragged me out and for the moment we -were safe.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But behind us ploughed on the <i>devastator</i>. A -closer view revealed a great hulk of ice blocks -heaped up, up-ended pieces of the floeberg, perhaps -forty feet high. It would strike us again, the shock -of its first blow had allowed the strong current to -turn its extension northward, and it was slowly -revolving on a water pivot, and another face was -about to deliver a second disrupting blow further -along. There were no councils held just then. -We scampered out of danger at our best speed, -leaping to the sides of the “Pluto” and helping to -pull with the dogs, all together, with a simultaneous -inspiration. It worked well. We were slipping -along fast, thanks to the level surface, when BANG, -and then <i>bang</i> again, and then a fierce ripping -sound.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“A wallop on the slats, and a jolt under the chin. -<i>That rocks us</i>,” exclaimed Hopkins spasmodically.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz was keeping the air over the dogs blue -with imprecations and hot with the winnowing -lashes of his whip. We were too late. Twenty or -more feet ahead a black jagged line suddenly ran -over the ice, a million unseen hands seemed to have -seized the farther edge of the seam and pushed it -open with frightful speed. Deliberation was -impossible, but there must be a decision of some -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>sort, “<i>right off the bat</i>,” as Hopkins would say. It -came.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz called back, “Shoot it! Loosen the dogs! -All aboard!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We cast off the loops from the cleats, always -intended for quick release, and prepared for embarkation. -The word “prepared” does not fit, for -it was preparation wound to the top-notch of precipitancy. -Goritz turned the forward teams of -dogs and slowed the momentum of the boat-sledge. -She slid on, however, and almost dumped into the -lead that had been formed; a fortunate hump of -ice blocked her and made her cargo of boxes and tins -rattle absurdly. It had a silly effect like the wail -of a baby in a storm. I long remembered it. Getting -the dogs stowed was troublesome. We had -seventy (thirty had been discarded and sent back -with Coogan) but pemmican pitched on the boat -hurried them aboard and kept them there. Then -we pushed the boat overboard, holding her back -with boathooks. In another instant we were on -her, too, and the little voyage towards the receding -ice began—towards the larger mass, which we -believed to be still connected with the ice field we -had first traversed. That was a trifle, but it was -another matter lifting her to the surface of the pack. -We sloped the edge with picks, anchored a capstan -on the ice, and by main strength hauled her on, -putting in the dogs at the final pull. We fed the -dogs, fed ourselves, and took time to think. As -Goritz remarked, “there was some room for -thought.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our dilemma was this: Should we try to regain -the first floe cake, through the gateway we had -made in the pressure ridge, or stay where we were? -In any case the complete breakup of our platform -involved sticking to the boat, trusting that she -would not be crushed and waiting for the colder -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>days when the cementation of the floes would begin, -when we could push northward somehow over the -ice. A reconnaissance settled the question. Our -first floe had parted, the pressure ridge had disappeared; -south of us, as all around us, was the -treacherous, shifting, pulverized ice pack (the -particles of the pulverization were often small -rafts). We drilled the ice and found it from four -to six feet thick, and took our position in the center. -We were beleaguered; as with Marshal Bazaine it -was <i>J’y suis, j’y reste</i>, for each of us. A storm was -brewing, the wind rose and, as Mikkelsen has -described it, the ice floes “ducked and dipped and -hacked at each other, crushing and being crushed.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“As long as our island holds out we’re safe enough, -and if some good leads develop we might strike the -water, and make off for another,” said Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“There’s no place like home,” said Hopkins. -“Stick here. We’re drifting in the right direction. -When we sight the metropolis of Krocker Land we -can hoist our colors and, if there are proper harbor -facilities, come up the bay under full steam. I -guess the Professor understands the formalities of -these upper regions. He can introduce us to the -mayor and the aldermen and get us the freedom of -the city, and perhaps we can negotiate a commercial -treaty that will give the United States of America -the monopoly of the ice crop. If we could get an -attachment on these rory-borealises for the movies, -it would be a mint.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor ignored these pleasantries. He -also believed our safest plan was to stay on the floe -and drift at present. Game would turn up for the -dogs—seal, walrus—and when we touched Krocker -Land (persistent iteration had banished all doubts -now of its reality) we would find bear.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And really,” the Professor continued, “nothing -could be more favorable than our prospects at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>present. We are drifting northwest; wind and -tide are pushing us along on the right course. -Krocker Land, my friends, is not one hundred miles -away. This coming storm will help amazingly, -and I see no reason why we shouldn’t raise sail.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The suggestion was overruled by Goritz. The -danger of collisions was too great, and the headway -might be faster than we could overcome if we were -threatened with one. The ice was getting softer; -pools of water glistened all around us, and a bad -blow might break us up.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Watches were kept, and as the light lasted the -full twenty-four hours, we were not likely to be -surprised by unsuspected invasions. The higher -floebergs were to be feared. Their bases, prolonged -far below, furnished push surfaces to the tide for -perhaps hundreds of feet, and their mass supplied -momentum. They were dangerous neighbors. -And now the storm rose furiously around us. -Except for our peril it was a spectacle we might -have enjoyed. The Professor alone was absolutely -unconcerned, and his nonchalance calmed our own -apprehensions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The clouds in strips and bulging banners were -carried high above us. Streamers they seemed, -from the eastern sky where the high lying cirrus -flakes, slowly expanding into shapeless patches, -had already delivered their usual warning. These -again were soon blotted out in the onrushing scud -all around us. A dull yellow light at first spread -its sickly tint over the ice field, and the sun, -darkened and blurred, was soon utterly cloaked -from view. The wind rose quickly, brushing close -to the surface of the ice, ushering in interminable -strife among the pitching blocks. They ground -together, and the swell, started below them, kept -their edges pounding, while a tumult of groans and -creaking noises like the smashing of heavy glass -<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>raised an unceasing din, a din indeed that possessed -some of the elements of a wild, fascinating rhythm. -The rain came in pelting downpours, whipped into -horizontal sheets by the blast, and then with a -sudden drop of temperature changed to blinding -snow flurries, that buried everything in white dust, -and sometimes smote us with the sharpness of -myriad-edged microscopic needles.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The water washed in long flows over the sides of -the berg, and the berg itself rocked and shook, -threatening to start our ice-yacht into motion, and -to carry her and her precious cargo into the whirling, -fighting ice about us. Fortunately it continued -to grow colder, and the snow, besides offering -us means of banking the yacht, stem, stern, and -prow, and ramming her bowl-shaped sides with a -stiff embrace from which a jolt would hardly free -her, provided a bed for the poor dogs, who were -frantic with misery, howling and whining in disgust.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our berg had shrunk considerably; it was only a -remnant, an angle of the big field we had entered -with such rejoicing, and we knew it was getting -smaller. When the dogs had quieted, and we felt -that the launch was immovable, we crept into the -box-cabin and gratefully partook of hot tea, warmed -pemmican, and biscuit, with cups of soup to “wash -it down.” It was a parnassian feast, and though -we were anxious, the snug refuge and the soul-stimulating -grub brought us to the verge of exultation. -Even the hard knocks that the pack -received attested to our progress, and if it held -together, and the blizzard lasted, we would win some -miles of our journey, almost without effort, and, as -Goritz said, “it was just the sort of a blow to clear -the track.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I certainly had fallen asleep. Pictures had risen -like projections on a screen, one after the other, in -my mind, one melting deliciously into its predecessors, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>and all linked together by the memories of -home. My mother, my sister and her two boys -under the pine tree by the side of the dreaming -pond, holding in its reflexions the cloud-flecked -bosom of the blue sky, and the slanting cliff, the -hillside graveyard, and the reversed boats moored -to the little dock, and then the dash of the phaeton -down the road, the group waving their kerchiefs at -me, and my own answering salute, the turn of the -road, the dark passage through the spruce forest, -the cleared farmsides with the red houses, and the -clustering friends along the filled fences, cheering, -and then—a terrific bump—the phaeton had -smashed against a stone, and—!</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Wake up, Erickson, all hands busy.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was Goritz’s voice bellowing in my ear, it was -his hand, shaking me like a giant by the shoulder. I -leaped to my feet, dazed and, leaping to conclusions -as quickly, thought the ice had split our keel and we -were sinking. Everything was dark around me. I -heard Hopkins swearing over the oil lamps which -had fallen to the floor and the Professor mumbling -further away. And then came a curiously stifled -boom.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, what’s up?” I stuttered.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The ice cake is breaking up. There—it goes -again,” groaned Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Another report, louder, keener, like a gun shot, -was heard above the babel of noises that the wind, -the waters now and the straining boat, not to speak -of the cargo on the deck, rustled and scraped -throughout its many joints and the crevices between -the boxes, promiscuously raised. There was -a pause, then came another report that made us all -jump to the door; it seemed almost as if the launch -were cracking beneath our feet. It was a detonation -directly below us. Outside the wailing, demoniacal -storm was raging. Our cargo, thanks to its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>unbreakable anchorage to the deck, seemed safe, -but on all sides of us was water, laden with ice -blocks that beat trip-hammer blows against the -sides of the launch. OUR DOGS WERE LOST!</p> - -<p class='c016'>No, not all. Ten had struggled from their confinement -in the snow and had taken refuge on the -boat. The rest, swallowed up in the sundering of -the raft, had perished in the foaming sea. The -boat was tossing, and the waves would have -swamped us had not the watertight door of the -cabin house been shut. She was drifting helplessly -amid the ice-strewn billows, whose retreating slopes -were sheeted white with a lather of foam. We were -holding onto anything convenient, and were -drenched, but finally Goritz and Hopkins found their -way somehow with the agility and tenacity of cats to -the stern, and shipped the rudder, and in a few moments—they -seemed hours—we were in line with -the wind, and racing before it, lifted and shot onward -by the waves that, luckily for us, were not -dangerously crested, but were peaked hills of water, -whose ebullitions were somewhat suppressed by the -masses of ice distributed over them. We seemed -like playthings, and like playthings the giant of the -deep tossed us on, thus humorously willing to aid us -to our destination if we could stand the treatment.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The storm would half subside and then, as if -maddened at its clemency, would renew its violence. -As Hopkins put it, “She certainly can come back -good and hearty, gets her second wind and takes a -right hook, just as if nothing had happened. But -after all it’s no raw deal. We’re covering ground -fine, and not turning a hair to pay for it, provided -we can hold together. The insides of the weather -man are hard to fathom, and he has never been -credited with too big a supply of the milk of human -kindness, but if he isn’t putting it over us hard with -a goldbrick, it looks to me as if we might soon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>expect to run up against the revenue cutter of the -Krocker port. I suppose we can declare these -goods as essential to life, liberty, and the pursuit of -happiness, and beat the duty.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It grew lighter on the third day, and the awful -tumult lapsed suddenly into a peacefulness amazing -and ideal. The temperature rose and the skies -cleared, the sun was unclouded and intensely -brilliant for these latitudes, and, most glorious of -all, the ocean was clear of ice, only the green rolling -waves sweeping over the limitless distances, flattening -out against that magic circle where sky and -water meet, and where we half expected to see the -emergent peaks of mountains.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And the next days were wonder days. The air -was even balmy; the sea, cleared of its litter of ice, -invited us with green gleaming undulations to -tempt its mercies still farther. Our engine was -started, and the “Pluto,” albeit a little slowly, -forged on, and later, aided by a sail that drew every -wind that stirred, advanced over the ocean, with -even a flattering pretence to speed; her safeness -had been assumed at the start.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Except for the destruction of our dogs whom we -had already begun to admire and to cherish, -nothing seemed wanting for our perfect peace of -mind except a little more confidence that this -unknown world, now rapidly approaching, would -offer us a decent foothold; that it would not be an -ice-buried continent, the asylum of all the terrors -of the north, awful in its solitude, remorseless in its -scorn, brutal in its revenge. Well, the Professor -undertook to calm our doubts, and while he exerted -his culinary skill in the infinite variety of combinations -of soups, canned fruits, preserves, bread, cake, -biscuits, candy, pemmican, wine, custards, pie and -macaroni, he expended a more valuable art in convincing -us that we were indeed to discover a pleasant -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>country, and was not averse to beguiling us into -raptures over his fabulous pictures of its possibilities—“spinning -yarns” and “pipe dreams,” Hopkins -contemptuously styled them.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My friends,” said the Professor, sprinkling -dried raisins into the yellow dough which would -later be transformed into a delectable cake, “this -Krocker Land has been the dream of ages. -It is the ancient Eden, and it is preserved to us in -the records of prehistoric men who have retained -the childhood stories of still more ancient peoples. -Relatively it is a legend because no one has seen it. -In reality it will establish the unity of tradition, as -it ought,” and so on and on, with some new notions -of the oblateness of the earth’s form, and the fact -that at the north we were some thirteen miles -nearer the earth’s center, and then some more about -the unequal distribution of the interior fluid masses -of rock, and the great probability that such unsolidified -magmas, radiating great heat, might occur -in the boreal regions of the earth’s crust to produce -local warmth. But of course his great point was -the depression idea. He harped incessantly on that.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“It looks to me,” said Hopkins as we sat round -our little mess table in the cabin, “that if the going -stays good, and the food lasts, we surely will get -there. Holes are, however, dangerous things, and -Americans don’t relish getting into them too deep. -The grub question is important. We’ve stacks of -it just now, but this invincible habit of eating is -getting the best of it, and starvation is a most -inglorious death. Do you think, Professor, that -this Krocker Land has got any live stock on it?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The pained expression, of having been wounded -in the house of a friend, that came over the Professor’s -face, as he wiped his mouth and reluctantly -paused in his consumption of a ham sandwich -was very delightful.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>“In Krocker Land, Mr. Hopkins” this ceremonial -gravity was met by a severe, deferential attention -on Hopkins’ part that was perfect—“we may expect -to meet a concentrated reflexion of the palearctic -and the neoarctic faunas. Along the coast there -will be whales, walrus, seal, bear, the shores will be -tenanted by the eider duck; and snipe, geese, -ducks, ptarmigans, plover, will be found inland, -with the reindeer, the fox, hare, and the musk ox, -and—” here the Professor paused with a deliberation -intended to impress us—“and I should not be -surprised to meet with the American bald headed -eagle.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We all shouted, and the Professor hid his face -and his satisfaction in his sandwich. But Hopkins -accepted the challenge unflinchingly:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Good, Professor. If the American eagle is up -there, it certainly is God’s country, and a white man -can live in it!”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>Krocker Land Rim</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>On the fourth day came another change, for in -these haunts of the snow gods and the ice gods the -shadow of storm darkens quickly, and if these -deities descend to earth they wrap themselves -thickly in shades and mists and white trailing togas, -or else they just blow upon the earth their coldest -breath, killing all human life, lest they be seen of -men. That strange Arctic hush, the misty light -over everything, that grayish white light caused by -the reflexion from the ice being cast high into the -air against masses of vapor, that Nansen has described, -encompassed us. A mist, a fog, rose later, -or else descended, and Goritz said we were near -land, in which I concurred. Our excitement was -intense. Was the great revelation to be vouchsafed?</p> - -<p class='c016'>The fog of fogs grew, advancing upon us from the -four points of the compass, rising around us from -the water like spectres, descending from the skies in -soft, insensible folds, buried in the thickening -nebula, until, we could hardly see an arm’s length in -front of the boat. Then a chill came with it, light -breezes from the northwest (“From land,” said -Goritz) and then as if some resistance from the east -was roused into action, another tempest gathered -there, rushing ravenously upon us with a blind -rage, with wrack and cloud, with rain and snow, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>the last interference of the elements to destroy us, -before the secret of the north was revealed—a -senseless protest, for their madness only flung us -swiftly forward to the forbidden coasts.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The “Pluto” plunged and rolled; her rounded, -swollen bottom made her an easy prey to the balloting -waves, and unless she could be kept in the -wind her overturn seemed certain with ourselves -spilled into the distracted waters. It was hard -to do this, hard to stick to her deck at all, when -every now and then some vicious poke sent -her across, and we would cling like barnacles to -rope or rail or stanchion. The tiller was jerked -from Goritz’s hand and its arm dealt him a blow -that almost disabled him. I was pitched headlong -on the forward deck and narrowly escaped rolling -overboard; some of the cargo aboveships slipped its -fastenings and was lost, threatening the dislocation -of everything. This danger was too serious, and -Hopkins and I did our best to avert it, but do what -we could or might, the load was crumbling away -before our eyes, loosened from its fastenings by the -fierce storm. Box after box disappeared in the -gloom. The dogs were hustled into the cabin, -whence their howls and terrified whines issued like -the cries of lost souls. We were now pretty well -alarmed, and our predicament strongly resembled -the prelude to complete annihilation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Suddenly the Professor shouted, “The ice—the -ice again!” and the next instant we were pinned -in a pack of formidable blocks that thundered -around us, lodged on our deck, and beat into ruins, -as the waves lurched or hurled them over us, the -frail battlement of boxes which contained our -supplies. My heart sank within me. EVERYTHING -GONE! Not quite. There was something -left in the cabin, but on that raging waste of -waters—? The question stuck in my throat. In -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>that instant I seemed separated, sundered from all -the others, the concentrated agony of my terror—for -terror black and paralyzing it was—robbed me -almost of consciousness. Almost as in a trance I -heard Hopkins cry, “Look! Look!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Something happened. Actually it was a -meteorological phenomenon brought about by the -proximity of mountain masses perhaps; to my -mind it seemed like the visible extension of the -hand of God to pluck us from destruction. Above -us appeared a bright spot that was widening -rapidly; the motion within it was apparent, and -the velocity of the atmospheric rotations within it -must have been almost incalculable. It was becoming -a monstrous orifice into which poured the -abominable chaos that was overwhelming us; its -enormous vortex swallowed up the storm, transferred -in its outrageous coursing from earth to -heaven. The deity of Krocker Land favored our -approach. He had rebuked, repelled, dissipated -the tempest.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The scenic shock was really tremendous. The -dramatic intensity of the change, the startling -evolution from storm and darkness, blistering -winds, soaked with snow and rain, the earth-driven -rolling clouds, black and gray, tossed over -us and engulfing us in blankets of cold wetness that -sent shivering thrills of dread through our bodies, -as the waves mounted and pounced on us like -beasts of ravin! And then this magnificent uplift! -Oh, the calm, superhuman glory of it! The shattered -<i>debris</i> of the broken tornado vanishing above -us, and—as its myriad shaped or distorted curtains -rose—the sunlit dark mountain peaks, the -bare rocky crags, jeweled with snow, the ice-strewn -beaches of Krocker Land, evolving superbly before -our eyes, as if created then, at that very moment, -by the transfiguring finger of the Almighty. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>Mr. Link, it was the most sublime spectacle imaginable; -for me it was the climax of my life. I shall -never forget its wonder, its power, its amazing -enforcement of the idea of creation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I don’t think there was much difference between -any of us in our feelings at that moment; its immensity -appalled us in a way, and then it thrilled us. -Temperamental details were submerged in the overpowering -sensation. At first perhaps we thought -it an apparition, a mirage. It was unreal. And -then when the realization was acknowledged, to -put it bluntly, we gazed in stupid astonishment. -We were about four miles away, when the vision -broke, standing on our deck, from which every -vestige of our supplies had been carried off by the -ruthless wind and water. I believe we stood that -way for a quarter of an hour, before we quite came -to our senses, with the waves and wind still driving -us headlong on that apocryphal beach. Then we -began to take notice and to take precautions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The shore was partially encumbered with shore -ice, and the lashing waves were throwing upon it -other small and large fragments. The coast was -low, sandy, shelving, cut up by a few projecting and -sand buried ridges of rock, which, like spurs, passed -back into the interior, and may have been the outspread -roots of the looming ranges beyond and -behind them. Goritz managed to direct the launch -upon a flat expanse of sand on which we landed -with a thud that made the timbers creak. I think -the Professor was the first to leap ashore, then -Hopkins and myself, and at the last Goritz, with -the painter. The next wave drove the boat further -up the beach. Nothing now could budge her. -Somehow we looked then to Goritz for orders.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Better get everything out, and take an account -of stock. This is good enough camping ground, -until we get our bearings and perhaps a little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>better hold on our wits. I hope the Professor’s -faunas are expecting us.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This oblique hint to the loss of our provisions -dampened any ardor we might have succumbed to, -in our enthusiasm over the discovery. We set to -work with a will, and almost without a word. -There were some welcome surprises. The dogs -were safe, sound asleep in the cabin, exhausted by -their fright. They became a solicitude, however, -because of the additional mouths to fill, though, in -a state of idleness, half rations would keep them -well. But would we need them? Our ammunition -and guns were safe, our oil and stove, alcohol, -medical outfit, and six boxes of canned vegetables, -pemmican, biscuit, tea, coffee, chocolate, in all -perhaps three hundred pounds; and our spare -clothing, for which we offered fervent thanks. One -sledge was saved from the wreck, and one bruised -and broken kayak. The portable tent was uninjured, -and there remained a serviceable equipment -of cans and pots, though for that matter one -can for the preparation of our tea and coffee or -chocolate, and one pot for miscellaneous stews, -soups, and what Hopkins called “<i>hari-kari</i>,” were -all we needed. The watertight cabin had saved -much.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When the review was finished, and we felt -cheered over the immediate prospect, we drew up -the “Pluto” on the beach, anchored her, as well as -we could, and converted her into our camp. We -were clamorously hungry and the dogs were raging. -The Professor wasted no time, though just now the -allowances were rigorously measured. It might be -better when we caught sight of the Professor’s -“concentrated reflexion of the palearctic and neoarctic -faunas.” At the moment a sublime solitude -surrounded us. Yet I had noticed high up on the -shoulders of the rock and in the slight subsidences -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>that like saucers lay at their bases, the growth of -plants, and the quick eye of the Professor had noted -it too. Surely that meant game. I guess we both -understood that, for the Professor worked over his -fires and vessels with a boyish profusion of activity, -and was inclined to be lavish in his ingredients -(Goritz, watchful and prudent, stopped him), -while something like elation sprang up within me -and an utterly inappropriate yearning to sing and -laugh and dance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I remembered Mikkelsen’s and Iversen’s joy -when they descended from the cold monotony and -whiteness and treachery of the inland ice of Greenland -to the habitable earth with its flowers, and life, -and warmth. With Mikkelsen too vegetation had -meant animal life. They seemed inseparable correlates. -In Greenland it had been pygmy willow -trees, six inches high, with trunks an inch thick, and -blades of grass, and thick moss, and beautiful -heather, and then—musk ox!</p> - -<p class='c016'>What it was here would be disclosed as soon as -the evening meal was finished. We had all been -curiously dumb since we had been thrown ashore, -that is, there had been no reference made to our -wonderful landfall. Perhaps we were speechless -from sheer amazement, or some haunting dread -that our return was impossible, or that we were on -the margin, as it were, of bigger marvels. I think -the latter feeling made us almost mute. Our -fancies before we left Point Barrow had been high-strung -and the visions wrought in our minds were -almost mystical—I have explained that—but these -had very completely vanished during the last days -of turmoil and disaster, when the wonders we expected -to encounter were more likely to have been -found in another world than in this one. Yet you -see they really had not vanished, they had shrunk -somewhat, retreating into invisibility in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>crevices and holes of the mind, and now when the -stupendous reality confronted us they rushed out -from hiding, huger than ever, smothering us into -silence with their immensity! A new World, what -might not be in it? It was Hopkins who broke the -trance that imprisoned us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That transformation took the gilt off any lightning-change -stunt I ever have seen and—Of course, -Professor, there isn’t any guess coming that we’ve -ARRIVED, that this is Krocker Land?” he said -suddenly.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Not the slightest,” answered the Professor, -filling our cups with chocolate, and in a matter of -fact way that was final.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We have absolutely reached a New Continent. -Everything confirms that: Latitude, longitude, -direction from Point Barrow, and the topography. -It isn’t Wrangel or Herschel or Harold or Bennett, -or any part of the Franz Josef Archipelago. That -splendid fringe of peaks hides inner valleys that -decline into a central area of warmth, light and -Life!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I really think that we believed him. The -glorious extravagance of the prediction, its superb -audacity, its anomalous improbability subjugated -us totally, because our startled expectations would -be satisfied with little else. That was the psychology -of it. And Mr. Link, the Professor was -right. LISTEN!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our position was on a flat, shelving coast, slowly -rising to foothills, beyond which gaunt bare precipices -towered apparently to uplands, from which -soared the sharp serrations of a continuous cordillera. -It made a noble picture. Snow covered the -higher elevations, it lay in drifts in the lower chasms, -it formed a light covering on the tableland but -failed to approach nearer to the shore, which was a -series of sand or rubble flats, embedding low backs, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>pointed mounds, and dikes of diabase. Only at -one point was a glacier visible. To the north, almost -at the limit of vision we could see the glittering -ribbon high up in the mountains. The days -were shortening, and although the sun remained -for most of the time above the horizon, nightfall -was marked by its declination, when a peculiar -tawny golden glow filled the air. The mountains -were striped with light and shade, half roseate, -half black as ink; the highlands were also in gloom, -and between both the foothills made a beaded -girdle of whiteness like a necklace of gigantic -pearls on the dusky neck of an Ethiopian.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was no question of turning back. An -unappeasable hunger for discovery filled us. What -lay beyond those pearly pinnacles? WHAT? -Our plans were quickly laid. There was call for -expedition, for the Arctic night was coming, and -while sincerely, with three of us, some inexplicable -provision seemed imminent for its replacement, -Antoine Goritz resisted our madness at that point, -and told us that if this was a dead world, nothing -but the <i>dogs</i> would save us from death; our -<i>retreat would have to be over the frozen polar sea</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The first step was to find game: Seal, walrus, -bear, ox, hare, anything. We divided into two -skirmishing parties, Hopkins and I going to the -right, Goritz and the Professor to the left. The -dogs were tethered, and fastened to the launch. -The Professor and myself had already collected -some of the plants. How radiant and beautiful -they seemed in that still untrodden asylum, the -little green-leaved willows, a saxifrage, the yellow -mountain poppy of Siberia (<i>Papaver nudicaule</i>), -forget-me-nots, cloud berry, and in the boggy -hollows cottongrass, spreading its wavy down -carpet, while here and there tiny forests of bluebells -swung their campanulate corollas! The cold pure -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>waters of the snows fed these alpine gardens, and -we even detected the hum of insects amid the variegated -patches of delicious bloom. Game? “Well -I should smile,” shouted Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins and I, in splendid spirits, made our way -to the upland, a distance of some five miles, and -then through the snow, watching the slopes of the -foothills that made ideal pasturages for the musk -ox, if these “artiodactyls,” as the Professor rather -pompously spoke of them, were here at all. We -had not gone far when up a ravine, where narrow -meadows and boulder strewn intervals conducted, -between two steep hills, a cascading stream, breaking -from the craggy cliffs beyond, Hopkins espied -a little herd of four cows, two calves, and a bull. -Were they musk oxen? The horns looked different.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins skipped in glee, and, with his usual -recourse to verse (preferably Lewis Carroll’s), he -hoarsely whispered:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘What’s this? I pondered. Have I slept</div> - <div class='line'>Or can I have been drinking?</div> - <div class='line'>But soon a gentler feeling crept</div> - <div class='line'>Upon me, and I sat and wept</div> - <div class='line'>An hour or so like winking.’</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>“Erickson, my pop first. I’ll forego the tears. -Stalk them up to windward.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The animals had not noticed our vicinity, although -grazing and leisurely approaching us. We -finally squatted behind a rock, and just a half hour -later, as they reached the edge of the mimic field we -fired. Hopkins stretched out the bull; it sank -majestically to its knees, its head drooped, something -like a groan escaped its throat, and it fell -sideways. I was not so fortunate, nor skillful. I -wounded one of the cows, but there was no attempt -at escape. The herd pressed together, stamping a -little but almost motionless, as if paralyzed with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>terror, or robbed of volition by curiosity. Hopkins -let fly again and my wounded cow glided to the -ground. My second shot was fatal, and another -helpless brute succumbed. Then as if stricken with -a sudden consciousness of their danger, the -rest of the herd trotted off, spared further decimation. -Our larder would be well replenished, -and we both knew now, with an unshaken conviction, -that we were in a land of plenty.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We should worry!” sniffed Hopkins sententiously. -When we reached our quarry I was -amazed to note the peculiar narrowness and elevation -of the horns of the bull, and the dirty gray -maculations on the black hair of the pelage.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“A new species, Spruce,” I exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well then,” he replied, “here’s where the Professor -rings up the curtain on the textbooks, and—Say -Alfred!—as I had first blood, and bagged the -bull, why not hand it out as <i>Bos hopkinsi</i>?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“By all means,” I assented. When we got back, -and we did not return empty handed we found -Goritz and the Professor. They looked a little -dispirited but our report put such a pleasant aspect -on things that they quickly recovered. They had -found nothing, but that was due to the pertinacity -of the Professor in carrying Goritz off on a tour of -investigation. They had crossed the tableland and -had threaded their way half across the foothills, -until they met the frowning crags skirting the mountain -terrain. These were seamed with waterfalls -pouring into some encircling canon below them, -which again formed a channel for the escape of the -gathered floods, but whither they went was undetermined. -It was evident that the water of the -streams came from the melting snowbanks lingering -higher up on the mountains, and that the region -was one of very heavy precipitation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz insisted on bringing in the meat, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>indeed our mouths watered for a juicy steak. The -dogs were fed, and these insatiable beasts ravenously -devoured the pieces we threw to them, until -Goritz, fearing their consequent lethargy, drove -them off half frantic, harnessed them, and accompanied -by me took the sledge to our depot; returned -with the carcasses and skins and ushered in -a memorable night, lit by the futile rivalry of sun -and moon.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was first our supper when the Captain -permitted a relaxation of his restriction, and the -Professor plunged into the resources of our slender -commissariat with a most reprehensible <i>abandon</i>. -I believe we washed down our steak with <i>Eulenthaler</i>, -a few bottles of which had still survived our -perils. Then there was the Professor’s ecstasy -over the new species of <i>Bos</i>, for such it was, and his -delighted acceptance of Hopkins’ patronymic for -its technical name. And then—our Council of -War; war on the Unknown, the Mysteries of this -new land, the perils before us, and those that might -await us beyond those slumbering virginal crests, -from whose pinnacles even now the clustering genii -of the realm watched our intrusion with scorn and -hatred!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our debate was a little disputatious. Goritz was -quite immovably for returning that winter, executing -as much of a littoral survey as we could, to -return another season with an equipped expedition, -trusting to get back to Barrow, with the dogs, -sledge, kayak and launch, and with meat stores -from the <i>Bos hopkinsi</i>. The Professor vehemently -and feverishly protested. Here we were on the -brink of world-convulsing wonders. To decline -the invitation so miraculously extended to us was -flying in the face of all recorded traditions of exploration. -It was an ignominious flight from insignificant -dangers. He knew that beyond that portentous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>circle of peaks lay an inverted cone holding -within it warmth and civilization.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I think Goritz felt the appeal, but he was sagacious, -a prudent man, and had no vainglorious -desire to appropriate the forthcoming discoveries, -which the Professor gloated over, for himself. He -shook his head energetically. Then Spruce Hopkins, -who with myself had only interjected questions -and inquiring comments, and who with me -was fascinated by the Professor’s predictions and -promises, suggested a compromise.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My friends, I’m sort o’ on the outside of this -argument, though I guess my skin will get as much -punishment, either way, as any one of you. Can’t -you come to terms on this easy ground? Get up -there,” and he waved his hand towards the serene -splendid domes in their terrible beauty far above us, -“and if the land goes <i>down</i>, as we might say <i>hole-wise</i>, -we’ll stick, but if it goes straight, level, or <i>up</i>, -why we’ll beat it home again. That’s sense Goritz, -and I guess, Professor, it’s philosophy too.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This jocularity relieved the tension superbly, and -whether Goritz and the Professor were quite clear -as to how the provision should be interpreted, -Goritz consented to make the attempt to reach “the -rim,” as the Professor called it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The next days were days of anxious preparation. -It was no child’s play scaling that natural fortress, -and within its labyrinth of parapets, bastions, -moats, and demi-lunes, ramparts and ditches what -unforeseen dangers lurked! Our chief concern was -our stores; the inroads made upon them by the -storm was serious, and the inconvenience of starving -on the “rim,” in sight of the <i>promised land</i> was -disturbing. Our campaign would consist of making -<i>caches</i> of meat on the uplands, taking our condensed -food, tea and coffee on our backs, making -forced marches to the summit, reconnoitering and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>plunging on ahead, <i>if unanimous in that</i>, or else -tumbling back, and setting our faces homeward. -<i>Homeward</i>—the word seemed a mockery in that -strange and hidden corner of the earth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Another thing happened, though not quite -unexpected. The wind had shifted to the west, -bringing loose drifting ice and some hulking floebergs, -and the squally twists, the livid streaks in -the sky, and the sun’s sepulchral pallor had indicated -some rising uneasiness skyward. The change -came good and plenty later. The wind rose almost -to a tornado, though there was no snow or rain, just -a bitter cold searching wind. It smote the mountains. -We could see the sky-rocketing volley of -snow on their sides, and noted too that towards -their tops there was no disturbance, indicating a -semi-icy condition of the snow there, perhaps -better, perhaps worse for going. And now in the -turning of a hand the crowding ice packs were back. -As far as we could see their humps and fields spread -everlastingly, and the chorus of groans, wheezes, -and queer <i>hushing</i> sounds that they all sent up was -astonishing.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins shot a bear, before the storm attained -its top-notch of fury, which brought much cheerfulness -to the camp. I never shall forget it. It was -funny too; it might have been just as tragic. He -and I were off to the west, reconnoitering for a -possible easier entrance to the “rim,” when Hopkins -caught my arm nervously, and pointed out over the -groaning packs, and said he saw something moving. -I could not see it. We ventured out a little way on -some near shore ice and were behind a slight pressure -ridge, when a shockingly coarse growl issued -from the other side and a moment later a big polar -bear surmounted the pile, and laying both its front -paws on the blocks, over which its face rose, most -whimsically recalled the emergence of a preacher in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>high pulpit. We were pretty well taken aback, but -Hopkins slipped off his usual doggerel, <i>sotto voce</i> -however—while the bear watched us critically—</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“My only son was big and fine</div> - <div class='line'>And I was proud that he was mine,</div> - <div class='line'>He looked through eyes that were divine—</div> - <div class='line'>Indeed he was a BEAR.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>And then he raised his rifle and—Bruin wasn’t -there. We jumped up on the ridge, clambered to -the top and almost fell into his ursine majesty’s -arms. He had ducked down on seeing the rifle but -hadn’t budged from his position. It looked as if he -had met hunters before. Hopkins blazed away, and -I followed. The splendid beast gurgled and fell -backward dead.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had reached the foothills, crossed the -uplands, made our caches of meat, stuffed the dogs -and turned them loose—Goritz called it “burning -our ships behind us”—and were creeping along the -edge of the narrow deep chasm or canon which -caught the waters from the cliffs, gathering them in -an awful, tempestuous, writhing torrent, that -became almost maniacal in its agony where hidden -rocks stopped its course, or where it dropped into -black abysses. We must cross that chasm, climb -the cliffs, before we could begin the ascent of the -mountains. The chasm was twenty or thirty feet -wide, the cliffs rose above it, from our level, about -one hundred feet, and below us they descended to the -water trough, one hundred feet more. The problem -was to reach the bottom of the chasm, bridge -the raging brace, and then work up the cliffs. It -looked like a fly’s job. And what disclosures the -roofs of the cliffs and the mountains beyond had we -could only guess. These difficulties had been -anticipated, in one way; we had strong wire rope, a -flexible cable made of copper wire and skin.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>Crawling on hands and knees we were studying -the sides of the chasm, and not infrequently Goritz -would suspend himself, held by the rest of us, over -the frightful gulf, to determine where we might -safely enter this <i>inferno</i>, with a prospect of spanning -the seething, spouting, vociferous river, and of -scaling the black and jagged wall on the other side. -Our search was unavailing. We had explored the -bank for more than a mile. The delay was maddening. -Suddenly the Professor, who had been -silent, and had been studying the black and red -walls opposite, with occasional long examinations -eastward with the glass, exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We are making a mistake. Our course is up -and to the back of the glacier. These cliffs are -sedimentary; they lie on the eruptive crystallines -of the mountains; the river runs west; the glacier -has dammed its course eastward, where it should -flow, following the dip of the slates and sandstones. -It cuts the dip, and the glacier has crossed its path -and filled up this singular crevice, which is a fault -rift.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He looked triumphant; Goritz seized the suggestion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That’s right,” he shouted, “up the glacier and -then—we can use the dogs!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were soon back to the abandoned sledge; -some of the dogs had followed us, the rest were -sleeping off their debauch of raw bear’s meat. We -loaded the sledge with meat, from one of our caches, -leaving the other intact, and with awakened hope -started at a lively pace over the snow covered uplands -for the distant ice-river. The going was not -good for the snow had drifted somewhat, and was -soft and mushy, but the dogs were in excellent condition, -and they really seemed to understand that -they had escaped desertion.</p> - -<div id='p1302' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p1302.jpg' alt='four men and dogs stand, looking at a distant mountain range' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>KROCKER LAND RIM</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>In three hours the glacier was reached. It was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>a more significant feature than we had supposed. -Where it emerged from the mountain hollow it was -almost obliterated from view by an immense -morainal accumulation which had choked up the -river, as the Professor guessed, forming a small lake, -fed also, we discovered, by the underground waters -flowing from the glacier itself. Over this moraine -we made our way in a helter skelter manner because -of its unevenness, the scattered rocks bulging up -and intercepting our path with a perverse frequency -that drove Hopkins to improvisation:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“If I had a little dynamite</div> - <div class='line'>To put these pebbles out of sight,</div> - <div class='line'>I think I’d skip from pure delight</div> - <div class='line'>And say my prayers with all my might</div> - <div class='line'>As well I know is surely right.</div> - <div class='line'>But as it is they make me cuss</div> - <div class='line'>And put my temper in a fuss,</div> - <div class='line'>So if perdition is my share,</div> - <div class='line'>I owe it to this rocky lair.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>There was plenty of snow in places where the sun -had as yet failed to evict it, but everywhere melting -and warmth were encountered. The summer was -reigning, and the verdurous garb of green and -colored things was drawn like a veil over the rugged -grounds, soothing them into a transient loveliness. -We could see the rivulets from the snowbanks -coursing everywhere, and could hear from the -glacier the gurgle, rush, and tinkle too of hidden -rivers, while towards the coast, in the daytime, the -sun revealed a shield of wide-spread waters where -the floods from the melting ice poured over the -shore, and cut long, wide lanes in the rapidly -vanishing shore ice.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When we had struggled to the glacier wall we -found it an almost imperceptible rise to its surface, -and once there, our faces turned toward the ice-river -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>to gauge its character. It was badly crevassed, -and although the snow sheeting it over had -been heavy, much had disappeared. Along the -sides where the lateral moraine somewhat shielded -it the snow still remained, but the depressions traversing -it, sometimes in herringbone fashion, -showed the position of the masked depths, in whose -icy jaws our whole party, sledge and dogs might -readily be entombed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz went first with the dog leader, then came -myself at the head of the team, with Hopkins and -the Professor on either side of the forebraces of the -sledge. We were roped together, and the sledge—the -only survivor of its kind from the storm—was -heavily loaded. We each carried about twenty -pounds of condensed food, ingeniously harnessed -on our backs. It was an inconsiderable load and -might prove serviceable if the sledge vanished.</p> - -<p class='c016'>At first we advanced gingerly, bridging crevasse -after crevasse, but our confidence increased as the -snow flooring, although yielding, repeatedly proved -itself adequate for our support. At one point the -sledge smashed the weakened crust and threatened -to drag the dogs backward with it, as it hung almost -vertically into a wide slit, forty or fifty feet deep, -wherein the ice, to our eyes, was an aquamarine -mass of jewels. Hopkins lashed the dogs and they -hauled the sledge back again on the snow.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had reached a turn in the glacier’s track, and -a patch of outrageous confusion. The whole surface -seemed shattered, and serac-like monuments, -poised all over, threatened us. We were constantly -startled by crashes, and we moved with alarmed -caution, for not only were the holes deep but they -opened into sluiceways of hurrying water quite -capable of sucking any unwary intruder into subterranean -tunnels of ice. The dull plangor of the -beating currents arose to us with an ominous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>warning. The dogs here became nervous and unmanageable. -Again and again we bridged the -chasms with the sledge, and crept one by one over -the improvised crossings, coaxing the dogs to follow. -We now did not have the protection of the -friendly banks. Goritz had concluded to ascend -the mountainous ridge before us on the opposite -side of the glacier, where the glacier itself, like a -small “<i>jokull</i>” terminated, or began, in a neve -loaded cirque.</p> - -<p class='c016'>To do this we were compelled to cross the glacier. -After a good deal of dangerous work, with one or -two nearly fatal mishaps, we attained the central -dome of the ice and found here an ideally fashioned -space for resting and feeding. The dogs were -restless or sullen from hunger, and we needed the -encouragement of food ourselves. The worst limb -of our trip remained.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But it was a beautiful picture on every side. -The day was clear and warm, and, as we gazed far -below at the ice-flecked ocean over the glacier’s -marge, or upward into the rugged bowl, walled -with bold precipices, streaked ever and anon with -spouting waterfalls, or higher still to those mute, -imperishable peaks, guarding the secrets of the -wonder-land towards which we were slowly, -so slowly, moving, or lastly at the nearer edges of -land on either side, the constricted throat of the -glacier serpent, bountifully sprinkled with a vermeil -of audacious blossoms and tender grass, we -felt the thrill of our strange adventure keenly, and -rejoiced in it. But a few minutes later our spirits -were harshly dashed, and despair almost broke our -hearts.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was about two in the afternoon; everything -was repacked and we had resumed our snail-like -progress. The path, if it had been marked by a line, -would have been revealed as a maze of loops, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>necessitating countermarches and criss-crossings, -but its widest indirection, after hours of work, -showed that we were nearing our goal. The -flowers on the cliff beyond us were now almost -individually visible. They seemed like a lure to -invite us to hasten to their side, when a jolt and -tug, that nearly knocked my legs from under me, -and then a recoil that sent me sprawling among -the dogs.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The rope had parted; I saw its end fly upward, -even as I saw the tall form of Goritz with tossing -arms sink from sight. My God! Goritz had fallen -into a crevasse and—how the thought lacerated -me!—they were deepest, widest, on this side! -Hopkins and the Professor knew it almost as -quickly as myself. We recovered ourselves, and -ran forward. Lying flat, on the rim of what had -been a snow bridged crevasse, and held in position -by the other two, I leaned out. Never shall I forget -the horror of my feelings at that moment. -Below me caught on an ice arm, which held him -above the seething ice water, still deeper down on -the floor of the gash, was Goritz, those splendid -eyes imploringly lifted to mine:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Quick, Alfred—the rope!” I tore the rope from -around me, noosed it, shouting all the time in a sort -of delirium I think, “Hold on Antoine, you’re safe! -Hold on! On! On!” And then, with a glance at -Hopkins and the Professor, whose faces were -almost whiter than the snow at our feet, was on my -stomach again, the rope in my hand, and the noose -lowered carefully to my friend. He lay on his side -on a shelf of ice; a movement and he would slip -into the tide below him. It was a critical moment, -and yet only with the utmost precautionary slowness -and delicacy of adjustment could the rescue be -effected. Goritz knew that, though it seemed -incongruous to watch a man, prostrate, literally on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>the brink of destruction, approach the measures of -salvation with the deliberation with which one -might crack the shell of his breakfast egg. Slowly—the -seconds seemed ages—he drew the loop to himself, -caught one arm in it, thrust his head through -it, and was endeavoring to extricate his other arm -from its chancery beneath him, to engage it too in -the friendly loop, when—I heard the snap—the -shelf broke away! I slammed backward, called -to the others to pull, jabbed my spiked shoes into -the ice, and held on. Goritz’s voice came thickly -from his imprisonment:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Haul, Alfred!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>And haul it was; the weight seemed trebled. I -knew—the water was hauling too, but, before Goritz -went, it might, for all I cared, drag me to the same -doom. I guess Hopkins and the Professor felt that -way, too. It seemed nip and tuck. Were we all to be -pulled into the frigid maelstrom, to be finally ejected -into the Arctic sea in the rush of the sub-glacial river? -Somehow thinking this way put steel into our -muscles and defiance in my heart, and—we pulled -Antoine Goritz back to life at least, and his reception -on the top of that glacier was as fervent, if a -little less boisterous and showy, as if he had been -met by the king in an audience room at Copenhagen. -He was drenched and cold, had a wrenched shoulder -but I took his place ahead now, and he dried off -with exercise, after the fashion of Arctic navigators. -And a bowl of tea that the Professor bewitched -with a little of our last bottle of whisky helped -matters.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had left the glacier; that icy track was far -below us, and distance contracting and closing all -its wicked seams revealed it as a blazing white -ribbon, negligently thrown over the shoulders of -the still, black rocks. It looked well. The -aneroid registered 6000 feet. The snow was awful -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>in spots, and we rolled into holes unsuspectedly -saturated with water. Our snowshoes were indispensable, -but the dogs were almost useless, floundering -and helpless in the drifts. Our dog meat was -rapidly diminishing, and, if the cruel dilemma must -come, rather than to exhaust our supplies on them -we would be compelled to kill them.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were pushing along what bore the appearance -of a <i>col</i> or pass between two majestic peaks, -wrapped in ermine to their highest points, ermine -that in the day glittered magnificently, rayed and -starred with innumerable irises, and that in the -lesser illumination of the night was immobile and -dead, a monstrous winding sheet over a dead world.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A terrifying snow storm held us up for two days. -The air was so dense with the falling crystals that -we felt encased. It was a singular sensation. The -Professor, who had been incubating some ideas (we -always looked forward with expectancy to his first -utterance after a spell of prolonged silence), -launched the amazing paradox, during this storm, -and while we, in the most detached manner awaited -its conclusion in our snug tent, that we were -approaching a warmer, snowless, and rainy zone. -It was Hopkins who first recovered his powers of -utterance after this promulgation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Professor, as a sedative to the distracted mind, -you’ve got everything else winded. And for -novelty, well, Barnum and Bailey’s best advertiser -couldn’t begin to get the collocation of superlatives -necessary to give a hint of your surprising guesses.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“It is not difficult to understand,” resumed the -Professor urbanely, with that calm manner of -shelving the unconventional Yankee which always -enraptured Hopkins; “the wind has been westerly, -the excessive precipitation shows it was a moist -wind, a wind heavily laden with suspended water, -that moisture was dropped out as snow <i>here</i>, but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>west of us it must have escaped expulsion. Why? -Because it was not cold enough to condense it as -snow. I think, though, it fell <i>as rain</i>. We shall -see.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And,” he added a moment later, “on my theory -of a polar depression that would be so.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We went to sleep on that, and the depth of our -slumbers had some complimentary significance for -the Professor’s prediction.</p> - -<p class='c016'>After the storm, the sky failed to clear, and a -wind sprang up from the north that rapidly increased -in violence, hurling the snow in torrents, -blinding, cutting us and foundering the wretched -dogs, who lay down in their tracks repeatedly, or -snarled up together in vicious fights. But Goritz -was inexorable. He insisted on pushing ahead. -His reason was just. We were now near the turning -point; we had surmounted KROCKER LAND -RIM. Should we go on or turn back? If it was to -be back we had many things to think of, and not -much time to waste, with our larder growing -smaller each day and the prospect of half-rations -ahead. Goritz had a tender heart and I know he -wanted to get the dogs back, too.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Luckily the snow furnished better going, the -wind ceased, our hearts leaped again, and the stern -solemnity of that alpine land strangely elated us. -At night now, the sun almost sank below the horizon, -but its decline was the signal for the noiseless -evocation of half lights and shadows, spectral tints, -pale ghosts of mist curling over the endless desert of -snow, a retinue of chiaroscuros that glided hither, -thither, never quiet, yet never restless. And far -south we thought we saw the crystal light of half -eclipsed auroras. It all entranced me. I often -stole outside our tent to watch the voiceless drama -of the night, and often Goritz stood beside me. -And now—poor fellow—”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>(The speaker paused in his story, a sob choked his -voice; then it was over and he continued.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor was right; the snowdrifts thinned -away to bare ground. It was warmer, at first some -ten degrees, then more, and the land descended. -Had not Goritz lost? Should we not, according to -the protocol of our agreement, search the new land? -Goritz was unconvinced and inclined to temporize. -Yes, the land was lower, perhaps; it was warmer, -but how did we know it would keep so; a small -decline here might change into an ascent further -away; we were on a tableland, but another axis -of elevation might arise from it, and remember in -these solitudes there was not much life, no game, -and our stores would in ten days be exhausted, not -counting the dogs, some of whom must now be -sacrificed for the others.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This had the appearance of tergiversation. The -Professor was vehement, I and Hopkins leaned in -his favor, but I think all of us would have succumbed -to Goritz’s wish and certainly to his -command—the sweetest, bravest, most generous -soul I have ever known! At length, at Hopkins’ -suggestion, we compromised again on a reconnaissance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a pivotal point. We were in a sandy -plain, with much bare rock, and soily places now -greenish with moss or lichen. The surprising -feature was the sudden onsets of rain with the east -winds. It was rather misty all the time, and the -fogs made it abysmally cheerless. It was easy to see -that this excessive moisture formed the fathomless -snows among the mountains we had ploughed over.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On the day of the reconnaissance we all separated. -Goritz went north, the Professor, pertinacious in his -convictions, went due west, with the aneroid, -Hopkins and myself southward. Our reports were -to be made at the conference at night. We reassembled, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>all except Goritz turning up at the tent at -almost the same time. Hopkins said that for stone -breaking, the country he had walked over was the -most promising he had ever encountered. He -couldn’t imagine a better place for a penal -establishment. A reservation like it alongside -of New York City would raise the moral standard -of that city almost as high as anyone would -like to go. He thought perhaps we’d better turn -back.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor disheartedly admitted that the -land after sinking rose abruptly, and that there -might be another <i>axis of elevation</i>—the Professor -pronounced the technical observation with evident -disgust. The fogs grew so dense it was impossible -to determine. He concluded dolefully that, as -much had been accomplished, it might be well for -self preservation to return.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I corroborated Hopkins, and also suggested a -return. We had been talking informally, sharing -our observations, but their detailed presentation -awaited Goritz’s presence. And where was he? -We had been back an hour, and our hunger remonstrated -bitterly against his tardiness. Still another -hour passed, and nature refused to tolerate a further -deference to custom or respect. We ate our evening -rations—already they were being shortened—concluding -to go out on a search for Goritz, if he did -not soon come in. Another hour hurried by, and -yet no Goritz. We began to be alarmed, and yet -that seemed absurd. What harm could come to a -man in that flat land? And to a man of Goritz’s -strength and resources? Hardly had we thus -reassured ourselves when the tent flap was pushed -aside, and there stood Antoine Goritz, with one -hand behind his back.</p> - -<p class='c016'>His melodious voice was raised, his eyes shone, -his frame seemed expanded with excitement, his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>face was flushed, and the disengaged hand opened -and shut convulsively.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Gentlemen,” he said, “<i>we shall go on</i>. <i>Krocker -Land is inhabited</i>, and—it is a LAND OF GOLD!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He paused, stepped forward, and laid on our -soap-box table a broad belt of gold plates, engraved, -and united by a gold buckle, beautifully embossed.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER V<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Perpetual Nimbus</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>You probably might recall, Mr. Link, that wonderful -chapter in “Robinson Crusoe,” where Defoe -describes the feelings of his hero after he found the -footprints in the sand. I mention it here because -I am amused at the memory of how different were -our emotions as Goritz showed us the gold belt. -I turned last night to the pages of Defoe’s masterpiece -and jotted down this appropriate quotation; -it illustrates completely what I mean.</p> - -<p class='c023'>“I slept none that night: the farther I was from the -occasion of my fright, the greater my apprehensions were: -which is something contrary to the nature of such things, -and especially to the usual practice of all creatures in fear: -but I was so embarrassed with my own frightful ideas of -the thing, that I formed nothing but dismal imaginations -to myself, even though I was not a great way off from it. -Sometimes I fancied it must be the Devil, and reason -joined in with me upon this supposition; for how should -any other thing in human shape come into the place?”</p> - -<p class='c018'>That gold belt to us we knew meant human occupation -of this New Continent, and it was almost -impossible for us to control our violent joy over the -discovery. We were not worrying as to whether -it was the Devil or savages, and we felt sure we were -not the victims of illusion. Perhaps a little trepidation -crept in later, but for that moment we were -beside ourselves with happiness and wonder. And -yet we were at first silent, dumbfounded, bending -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>over the strange find in dazed delight, eager yet incredulous, -lost in a bewilderment of anticipation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor had produced a small pocket glass -and was nervously inspecting the plates, very much -to our annoyance, his ears and head seeming -constantly to be pushing our faces away. A look -of profound vindication appeared on his features, -and I think we sympathized with his feelings and -applauded them. Goritz beamed benignantly, -and I knew Hopkins was on the verge of a metrical -quotation. But the Professor had the floor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Gentlemen,” he began, “this belt has no possible -relation to any know human culture. The fabricators -of this <i>chef d’oeuvre</i>—it’s such in every sense—have -probably never existed outside of the eccentric -depression—the size of a small continent—into -which we shall be privileged to descend.” The -Professor bowed to Goritz, who was radiant from -his approbation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>He continued: “The figures engraved on these -plates, the relievos on this buckle, are autochthonous”—Hopkins -emitted a low whistle. “They are, -however, distinctly colubrine, reptilian, crotaline, -lacertilian, poly-catabolic-arbori-animalistic. They -indicate a serpent worship and a tree worship, and -are reminiscent of the Fall; I may call it the recapitulative -survival of myth.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins’ whistle had been attempting some -shriller ejaculations of surprise, but the verbal -avalanche smothered it. It was a suffocating -moment for all of us, and when Hopkins said, -“Professor, with a cocktail on top of this I believe -our cerebral intoxication would be complete,” the -interior danger of explosion increased almost -beyond control. But the Professor kept on, and a -little “plain stuff,” as Hopkins called it helped us -out of our embarrassment.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“An animal like a crocodile or an alligator, in a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>peculiar stage of evolution, approaching that of a -serpent, is depicted here,” his finger touched the -buckle, “and everywhere else are variations of one -theme, the Serpent and the Tree. The people of -this <i>Navel of the World</i> retain the traditions of our -religion.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>After that we all became intensely interested in -the belt or girdle, but we withheld our comments. -Our pretense was sincere enough. We were interested, -so interested that it would have been impossible -for any of us—the Professor alone was capable -of such sublime detachment—to have slept a wink -if we had tried to, but then our interest, in which -mingled the elixir of a fabulous Hope, succeeding -days and weeks of danger and uncertainty, was -satisfied at a lower stage of realization. With us it -was MEN and GOLD, and, scintillating back of -these noble facts, was the speechless marveling of -the world of letters, of science, at our recital, if ever -we got back to those things.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I asked Goritz all about it when we were together -outside of the tent. It seems he had walked about -three miles from the camp, and was watching a -flurry of wind tear up the water of a little pool, -literally boring it all out in spray, when, as the -action was accomplished, he saw the glint of the -gold. Another look and the belt was in his hand. -He sat down to catch his breath, and to quiet the -beating of his heart, and then when he had -recovered his composure, he had gone on, believing -that other trinkets might turn up, or that he might -encounter its makers, or anything in fact that might -explain the treasure trove—but the search had been -unavailing.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” I said as he finished, “what do you -think? The Professor has some wild notions about -it, but it looks to me as if the Professor has all along -sailed pretty close to the wind.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>“Yes, Alfred,” he answered, “there’s a kernel of -truth in his talk. Of course I always thought so or -I wouldn’t have come at all—And Alfred,” his -splendid eyes searched my own in that great way he -had, “I have had curious premonitions just now, -as I walked back to the camp. We are coming -upon incomprehensible things. We must go on, -though we may cross starvation before we reach -food, and—the <i>marvels beyond</i>. The rations I know -are low, and I know too we’ve a bad way ahead—<i>Mais, -esperons</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I would have said more but before us stood -Hopkins. He was actually smoking—“to keep -from going bug-house,” he explained, and then he -muttered:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Send me to the Arctic regions, or illimitable azure.</div> - <div class='line'>On a scientific goosechase, with my Coxwell or my Glaisher.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Camp was broken up the next morning. We -were wild to get away. Before we started the dogs -were fed the last of the bear meat, and we were all -put on half rations; the demands on our strength -for the work immediately before us would not be -great.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I also got a chance to see the belt better. It was -very short and made up of plates hooked together -with a larger buckle. There was absolutely no -metal but gold in it. The buckle was decorated -with an impossible serpentine monster with legs -and a snout-bearing head, indeed a thing very well -described by the Professor as a cross or mixture of -a huge snake and an alligator, and the plates were -engraved with hieratic markings that looked like -poles encircled by spiral lines.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“So,” I said to myself, “these are the reminiscent -Tree and the Serpent.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>“Look to me like bean poles,” remarked Hopkins, -who was looking over my shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On we went west. It seemed as if the abominable -rocks and sand would never come to an end, -the former sharp and knife-like, cutting our shoes, -the latter whirling in blinding sheets against our -faces, in spite of the almost constant fog, and even -the occasional rain. The sledge was lightened and -moved as carefully as possible, but the obstacles -could not be avoided in the mist, and before the -day was half over it was a wreck, so that its load -had to be distributed among us. There was made -at once a concentration of everything indispensable, -and the rest was abandoned. Our heavy packs did -not help our progress. The wind kept westerly. -It was strong. We were astonished at the absence -of snow and at the moderate temperature. The -thermometer denoted 0° and 2°, Centigrade. -These conditions seemed to bear out the Professor’s -claims, and the altitude was decreasing too. Then -came a desperately stony hollow, and the land rose -steadily until we were even higher than we had -been at the start. But there were no mountains -about us, just a broad back of sloping rock, “a gigantic, -intrusive, basaltic dike,” said the Professor, -between gasps, as fog smote us with almost the -solidity of water.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had made thirty miles, and nature and the -day were united in protest against a longer drive. -A yelp ahead, a shout from Goritz to “fall back,” -showed some danger line in our vicinity. We had -not stopped one instant too soon. One of the dogs -had plunged over a precipice, and we were then -standing on its crumbling edge. By one of those -sudden changes in nature which call to mind a -<i>divertissement</i> in a scenic theatrical display, the -fogbanks now drifted off and in the light of the low -western sun we looked out over a strange land.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>The barren and roughened ridge at last ended in -this inner line of the Krocker Land Rim. It -abruptly, like a palisade escarpment, fell off into -declivities or occasional slopes made up of the -talus of its decomposition or dilapidation. We -gazed now on a singular barrenness of steeply -slanting land, ribbed with asperities like hogs’ backs, -of parallel hills. Over this land, in the channels -that they had made for themselves, some -entrenched in precipitous valleys, rushed streams -fed by that continual precipitation which toward -the sea became snow, and inland away from a -colder atmosphere fell in torrents of rain.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The scene was indescribable, not by reason of -variety but of monotony of detail, and because -beyond it, far along a horizon that may have been -fifty or more miles distant the most perplexing -vaporous effects prevailed. What it might be it -was impossible to determine. There were constant -motions there, motions explosive and gradual, for -we could almost be sure that the cloudy masses were -processioning now measuredly in huge volume and -then disordered by internal rupture. We thought -we caught the flashes of electric storms.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The scene below us was most repellent. The -vicissitudes of cold and storm had ejected all semblance -of charm from those black, denuded rocks. -Their asperities, which were pinnacles hundreds of -feet high, were united by valleys bare to the eye, -from our point of view, of all vegetation, the whole -combination slanting inward, and composing a -broad, melanic sterility perhaps only paralleled on -the lifeless and crater-pitted plains of the moon. -The violent tossing streams, many of them hidden -in defiles of erosion, alone imparted the sense of -animation, and even this animation seemed ruthless -and destructive. It was utterly sullen, and when -it was not sullen, it was savage and threatening. It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>was all so overwhelming that we simply stared at -it, voiceless and despairing.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins broke the spell of our dismay: “Well, -Professor, this certainly is not Paradise, but I’m -willing to believe that it’s the shell, the outside of it, -and a pretty hard kind of a nut it makes. <i>Can we -crack it?</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>That indeed was the question we all silently -asked. Where would this wilderness of rocks and -waters lead us? Could we expect to find game or -any sort of food in this tableland of sheer, stark, -desolation? Our supplies were daily shrinking, -and we had been a little wasteful too, deluded by -the false hope of soon securing succor. It was a -long way back to the cache on the tableland, and a -longer one to the anchored launch on the sands of -the coast, but how far was it ahead of us to life? -At least behind there were bears and musk oxen, -and seal and duck; did anything replace them -before us? It made us pause; the risk of going on -was considerable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our council convened under rather straightened -circumstances of confidence and hope. The dogs -would be of no use in the marches before us, unless -indeed we threw them into the larder, and their upkeep -was an equivocal handicap, which might more -than offset their value as an aid to the commissariat. -Goritz said we had forty pounds of provisions, -about a pound a day for each man for ten -days; and there were the guns and ammunition to -be carried too, the instruments and the stoves and -oil. The tent outfit could be left behind; at a -pinch we might battle through without it. Battle, -though, to WHAT? Ah! That was the question. -Were we in a dead land? Was the gold belt a prehistoric -relic, having no relation to any living race, -a token of past occupancy by a people who had fled -from the fast contracting opportunities of life in this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>Arctic inferno? It was a good illustration of the -caprice of human feelings, our total rejection of the -considerations that a few days before had made us -jubilant, boastful, careless; so quickly does the -average man reflect the color of his surroundings.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our position was dismal indeed. The inexplicable -fogs settled around us, or, if the west wind -blew—and only for that brief interval when we -caught sight of the bewildering landscape below us, -had it ceased to blow—drifted over us in endless -cloud-like masses. A precipice was before us, how -many more were beyond that? And then the -return. The longer we thought over it, and turned -the angles of possibility to inspection the more -hopeless the prospect grew. But again the Gold -Belt? A shining lure of the Demon of Death to -tempt us to a horrible doom. As Goritz ostentatiously -showed it to us it became loathsome, sinister, -a delusive snare!</p> - -<p class='c016'>And this led to our great surprise. Goritz wished -to go on. He said so. This quiet, reserved, -strong man handed back to the Professor his predictions, -subscribed to with his own enthusiastic -acceptance, and the Professor, pirouette-fashion, -had wheeled around in a rather dogged scepticism. -I think Hopkins and myself, out of pure -dread, favored the return. Goritz had always -resisted the quest. The gold bauble was “getting -in its fatal work,” whispered Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz put it this way: We couldn’t get back. -The return trip would be far harder than to progress -in our present course. We had no sledge. Everything -pointed to success if we could keep on. The -land beyond us indicated a great depression, the -fogs rolling over us showed an approaching warmer -area; the glimpse that had been permitted us was -conclusive; once beyond that cloud zone and the -realities, the living realities, would begin. This -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>gold belt (he held up the glittering charm that had -turned his head) was no relic, its engraving was too -fresh, its outlines too sharp; it had been brought -where he had found it, it must have come from the -west, and the way, practicable for its former -wearers, was practicable for us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“How about a balloon, an aeroplane, anything -that flies?” suggested Hopkins. Antoine Goritz -became scornful, his French blood often came to -the surface. He looked straight at Hopkins, and a -frown clouded his face; it did not become him.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>“<i>Parbleu vous etes fou, mon frère, que Je crois,</i></div> - <div><i>Avec de tels discours vous moquez-vous de moi?</i>”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins didn’t wince; it wasn’t his fashion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, Goritz, I’m game for the deal. You -can’t put it over me with your <i>parlez-vous</i>. But -listen, we’ll never agree on this stake. It’s up to -the little Goddess on the Wheel. What do you -say?” He tossed something in the air and shouted:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Fair or Foul?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Fair,” called Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The shining object rattled among the stones; it -had a silvery lustre, and as the Yankee stooped and -picked it up, there was something strangely grave -in his face.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You win, Goritz,” he calmly said, as he -pocketed the trinket, “and I’ll follow you till the -curtain drops.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He rose and extended his hand; it was grasped -cordially by the big Dane, the two men facing each -other at almost the same level, both beautiful types -of manhood.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mr. Link, the object that Spruce Hopkins flung -upwards, and cast as the die of our destiny that day -is in my hand.” (He laid a flat silver medal on the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>table between us. I picked it up; on one side was -a masterly execution of the face of a lovely woman; -on the other was a sort of Satan.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mr. Link,” resumed Erickson, “that woman is -Angelica Sigurda Tabasco, and that man Diaz -Ilario Aguadiente, the two interesting occupants of -No. — east Fifty-eighth Street, from whose unpleasant -society you freed me. Hopkins gave me -that the last time I saw him alive. What he told -me then had something to do with the predicament -you found me in.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>(Mr. Erickson again retired into his obviously -gloomy thoughts, which I did not attempt to disturb, -and, on his emergence, continued his story.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>This impromptu solution won the day, and we -prepared for the unknown transit over that -unknown territory of which we had had one fleeting -glimpse, and which lay somewhere before us, in a -vast milkness of mist.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We concluded to take with us two dogs; the -rest—now three, one had gone mad (<i>piblocto</i>) and -had been shot—were killed, and a cannibalistic -feast offered to the survivors. The oil and stoves -were left behind; there might be enough fibre or -wood for fire, at least we hoped so. Our packs were -made as light as possible. We were in a race, like -Mikkelsen’s last lap, <i>a Race against Hunger</i>. The -sleeping-bags were discarded, the tent we carried a -short distance only. No grimmer or braver determination -ever animated explorers; we were not -running for safety, we were running <i>away</i> from it. -The step taken, our spirits rose, the former fancies -swarmed upon us, and perhaps the gold belt again -floated before our vision, an omen and a guide. -This imaginative sway of anticipation was needed, -or else we could never have plucked up courage to -make the fateful start.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The beginning was symptomatic enough of our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>coming dangers. To get over and down the precipice -on whose edge we stood was impossible without -a clearance of the besetting fogs, and fortunately, -as if by invitation for us to retain our resolution, the -fog lifted on the morning we started. We were on -the brink of a high columnar black wall, rising from -200 feet or less to 600 feet or more, from the rocky -floor of the country beyond. We searched for some -pathway for descent. Innumerable shelves and -footholds diversified the precipitous faces but they -were far apart, and often offered little more than -space for a bird or a goat. Once down the first -vertical cliffs the gigantic heaps of talus leaning -against their bases would afford us a practicable -though rough way to the bottom. And now we -saw with astonishment the obvious inclination of -the farther land. It seemed an almost unbroken -hillside, coursed by streams and stream beds, furrowed -by dry, stony valleys, cut by the low, serrated -backs of steep hills, the whole landscape -terminating in that distant medley of rolling clouds, -streaming vapor banks barely discernible, except as, -so it seemed, they were lit by flashes of light. -Were we on the outer flanks of a continental lava -bed, and was that cloud space beyond the lip of a -vast volcanic confusion? The question was not -asked aloud, but its staggering terror made us -tremble. Never, Mr. Link, did men more heroically -walk into the shadows of the Valley of Death -than did we.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The morning sun sent long shadows westward; -the day was actually warm; a sudden brightness -encouraged us. If the food lasted! That was the -terror that haunted us. Could it? At last Goritz -discovered far northward a gorge or ravine reaching -almost to the top of the palisade. Down this we -scrambled and found ourselves in the bed of a low -stream, which a day later became a swollen torrent, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>so quickly did precipitation feed the rivers, and so -enormous was its volume. This made our daily -progress more dangerous. We were soaked and -miserable ourselves, but the protection to our food -was imperfect, and that gave rise to serious doubts -as to whether it would last us ten days, the calculated -limit before its exhaustion. The biscuit half -turned to dough and the drenched tea exuded in -tawny drops from our packs. This led to a readjustment -and each man carried his rations of tea -and biscuit and chocolate underneath his coat. -The pemmican, force meat, cabbage and beans are -safe enough on our backs.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It soon became necessary to desert the watery -defile which we had first entered; it became more -and more confined, the banks were literally stone -heaps, and after one or two perilous slips which -might have accelerated our progress by dumping us -into the chasing flood we painfully climbed out over -a high rocky ridge on the summit of which our sight -was cheered to find low, herbaceous growths. Here -we managed to extort a niggardly flame which was -assisted by oil Goritz alone had had the prudence -to add to his load, and our evening meal was eaten -in some gratitude.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The rains, distressing as they were at intervals, -when the downpour became most vehement, were -on the whole preferable to the fogs. They cleared -the air, and we could see our way, calculate interruptions -and avoid disaster. As we went on the -vegetation increased in quantity, and often smiling—they -seemed smiling to our tired eyes although -lit by no sunlight—patches around us in sheltered -corners afforded welcome though damp camping -grounds. Our clothes were torn by frequent falls, -and our shoes are turning into tangled shreds. The -Professor had sprained his wrist badly—he narrowly -escaped rolling down an embankment which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>might have put him out of the running altogether—and -Goritz is in pain. I know it by his limping -gait, and the twitches of suffering that cross his -face. Something is the matter with me too, -fatigue and the insufficient or canned food is -telling on me. My muscles are stiff and aching, -the joints of my limbs red and swollen, and dark -blue spots were showing on my skin. Is it scurvy?</p> - -<p class='c016'>It is the sixth day, and we believe we have -made seventy miles. The cloud zone is approaching; -our prospect every day grows more -extraordinary, more terrifying; we encamp -behind a shoulder of rock, on a low upland which -separated two roaring rivers. The rain had -stopped and a colder atmosphere reveals the scene. -The temperature is just above 2° Centigrade, the -aneroid shows we had fallen two thousand feet -since we had left the Krocker Land Rim. We are -immobile, in a sort of stupor, yet fascinated by the -spectacle. Hopkins alone remains cheerful and -garrulous.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Professor,” he chatters, “the Rocky Road to -Dublin had nothing on this boulevard. The -gentleman who, by reason of a congenital failing, -which was assisted by circumstances outside of his -control, complained of the narrowness rather than -the length of the street would be inclined to make -some severe reflections on this thoroughfare also. -But we can be pretty sure the transformation takes -place the other side of the proscenium-show -yonder.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Poor Spruce Hopkins, he kept up his joviality for -our benefit, but we didn’t care much and I don’t -think he did. We were starving; it was half a -pound now a day. But Goritz never wavered a -hair, he urged us on, he promised food, rest, recreation -even, if we would persevere through the cloud -curtain.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>And now we were under it, cowering in dread -before the awfulness and magnitude of it. It rose -in towering gushes of stream, belched forth from a -huge crack in the crust of the earth in which poured -the full rivers that had accompanied our march. -Those rivers entered recesses of the heated earth, -and were returned in steam with detonations and -earthquakes, so that</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>The frame and huge foundation of the earth</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Shak’d like a coward.</i></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Reviewing it now, as it was revealed to us later -upon examination and study, the physiography of -the stupendous phenomenon we had reached was -this. Some strain had cracked the crust of the -earth in a long arcuate rift; it suggested the crevice -and it was irregular in the same way, which is seen -in the Almannaja in Iceland, but it was profoundly -deep, and the area communicated with the igneous -interior. The water that was continually condensed -from the steam that poured upward from -the huge fissure, as continually was returned, and, -except for interruptions in the reciprocal exchange -produced by meteorological conditions, such as cold, -heat and varying winds, this curious equilibration -was unbroken, had been for ages. The emergence -of the steam was irregular, though it was always -coming up at some points, and there was a synchrony -between points. We discovered later that -at very distant places from our position on the -great circular break there was no steam. The -rock beneath had become thoroughly cooled and -congealed, or the inner fires were absent, and the -water entering the chasm was lost within the crust, -or else, deviously percolating laterally may have -subsequently contributed its supply to the active -steam geysers when it touched the heated surfaces -which formed the sources of the latter’s energy.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>Therefore you may place this picture before your -mind, of a steam wall projected from a raggedly -edged, very broad earth rift, absorbed by the -atmosphere, or condensed in clouds, and intermittently -returned to the earth in rain or if transferred -by westerly winds, falling outside of the -Krocker Land Rim in snow.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The explosions that rent and shattered this -steam veil, or shattered the cloud masses above us, -were at first difficult to explain. It was after we -had penetrated and crossed the abyss that the -Professor suggested that they were due to a partial -decomposition of some part—a very, very small -part—of the steam into the gases hydrogen and -carbonic oxide, where coal or carbonaceous deposits -existed at rare or higher heats, and that these explosive -mixtures, retained somehow in the steam, -undiffused, were fired by electric-lightning sparks. -This theory never seemed scientific to me. But -the fact of such disturbances remained, and it was -owing to the momentary glimpse a terrific shock of -this kind permitted us across the void, that we -picked up daring enough to make the attempt to -cross the horrid gap.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were within perhaps five hundred feet of the -spouting cauldron, where rain was constantly -falling, crawling over rocks wet and slippery, -astonished and half delighted at the luxuriant -development of moss on the lips of pools or saucers -of water, and noting a great rise in temperature, -with that peculiar buried tumult of hissing, issuing -from the earth, when this happened. There was a -flash, a roar, and, as if a gigantic hand had parted -the dense curtain before us, our eyes crossed the -gulf, and we saw a land of greenness and of light!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Stunned, half sick, hungry, with a gnawing -wretchedness of desire, it almost seemed that we -had been duped by some illusion born of our weakness -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>and the deceptive play of the illuminated mist. -Huddled together in a niche of the rocks that were -in places dissected by cracks, that also discharged -tenuous lines of steam, we talked in whispers over -the marvelous apparition. Yes, we had all seen it. -There could be no mistake, but Goritz had seen -more. Across the black, vomiting pit was a bridge -of rock! It might have been some remaining partition, -holding its place against disintegration, -spared in some way for our salvation from the destructive -agencies that had here ripped the crust -asunder, or indeed it might have been built up from -some later solidified eruption. <i>Had</i> he seen it?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz was madly certain about that. Well, -and if he had, could we use it? There are desperate -stages in desperation that breed, Ajax-like, defiance -of danger. The sudden realization of a world of -beauty, a world of food, on the other side of the -steaming pit, nerved our poor flagging bodies, and -summoned an audacity of will to our minds! It -was our last chance. Myths of the past in that -delirious moment flocked back to my mind, which -pictured guarded paradises, defended gardens of -delight, treasures watched by dragons, elysiums -hedged with terrors, and always, always courage -won the prize, and passed the dangers. And yet -there must be caution; the old refrain sounded in -my ears, <i>Be not too bold!</i></p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz and Hopkins, the least impaired, reconnoitered -the pass. They moved down some stepped -ledges and were lost to sight. In an hour or so they -returned. Their faces were lighted with hopefulness. -They both believed the path was negotiable, -and they both agreed that there were periodic cessations -of the fiercer ebullitions from below. It -was also discovered that we could not make our -way to the right or left for any considerable distance. -We had trailed our way to an isthmus of land, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>enclosed by two impassable streams, shooting in -rugged wild channels. To think of crossing them -was sheer madness. Goritz and Hopkins had -actually advanced a little way on the bridge, straining -their eyes to catch some further intimations of -the delectable country we now believed would be -attained were we once over this inscrutable fissure. -The daylight, when the sun was highest and -easterly, was now short, and in the mist-encumbered -land, in the cloud-swept skies, that -light was almost eclipsed. Everything contributed -to our uncertainty and danger.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We made ready for the start. We consumed -every scrap of food, divested ourselves of unnecessary -outer clothing, which had already become -insufferably warm—<i>kamiks</i>, <i>nanookis</i>, <i>kooletah</i>—packed -our ammunition on our breasts, reversed -and strapped our guns on our backs (the Professor -added to his burden a pot and a fryingpan), tucked -away our matches, chewed the last tea leaves our -canister afforded, and with a few chocolate cakes -in our pockets went down the steps,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“*** <i>with a heart for any fate.</i>”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>I was indeed sick; exertion pained me, and a -nauseating weariness threatened at moments to -rob me of consciousness. The two poor dogs which -had escaped the extremity of our needs, less through -mercy than through revulsion, were turned loose. -Yet as we went down the ledges to the brink, I saw -them chasing us. Goritz roped us together again, -gave a few orders as to signals, and ordered the -descent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We went <i>a tatons</i>, literally on all fours; Goritz -first, then the Professor, then myself, then Hopkins. -As we drew near to the ominous edge, and felt our -way over the first steps of the stony crossing it -required all my strength of will to draw my legs -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>after my groping hands. At first it presented a -tolerable pathway, flat, narrow, but sloping dangerously -to either side, slippery from the constant -rain that fell from the saturated air. We silently -pushed on, Goritz by agreement stopping every -thirty counts (seconds), and resting five. Gradually -the path contracted and, in about thirty feet, -became a sharp backbone over whose sides our legs -dangled in the constantly steaming vault. It was -warm and almost stifling at intervals and then came -relief in the shape of whirling gusts of wind, which -however were disconcerting, and made our precarious -balance still more uncertain.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had probably proceeded fifty feet in all, when -a blackness shot through with red darts came before -my eyes; I reeled slightly and dropped forward, -instinctively clutching the wet rock and jerking the -rope that bound me to the Professor. The Professor -in turn pulled on Goritz, and our thin line -halted. It was arduous work for the Professor, -whose wrist was still aching.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A detonation thundered far away below us. The -spasm passed; I pulled the rope, the Professor -passed the signal, and we resumed our insect-like -progress. Singular that, as I moved again, the -thought of Dante and Virgil crossing the bridge -over the tenth circle, as illustrated by Dore, rose -distinctly, clear, indubitable, in front of me. It -even seemed possible for me to define the pagination -of the leaf I actually saw. This strange resuscitated -impression kept me conscious.</p> - -<div id='p1581' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p1581.jpg' alt='three men stand, looking into a volcano' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE PERPETUAL NIMBUS</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>On, on; the arete remained unchanged; our -progress was encouraging; I seemed cognizant of a -deeper gloom; it was the opposite wall. We had -reached it. Alas! It rose above our heads and -<i>must</i> be scaled! Goritz pulled the rope, the signal -ran through the file and we halted again. The -path broadened now, as at its eastern end, and our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>legs were relieved from the irksome straddle they -had been subjected to. It was a welcome pause to -me. I knew that the last scrap of effort I was -capable of was needed now, if some vertical wet -wall was to be surmounted in that almost impenetrable -blackness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In about fifteen minutes the tug came again, and -we knew Goritz had solved some problem of the -ascent confronting us. I heard him calling back, -and the Professor answering. Then I found myself -in this situation; on a fairly wide platform against -a broken wall and up it I heard the scratching exertion -of the Professor as he seemed to be bodily -pulled up the ragged face. The constantly falling -rain had ceased. But as the Professor rose, I felt -he was no longer attached to me. I drew in the -rope before me and came to its loose end. We -were separated! Aghast, I was unable to speak, -but my outstretched arms encountered Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Hopkins, Hopkins,” I hoarsely whispered, “the -rope has parted. We are alone!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Don’t worry,” replied that extraordinary man, -“we couldn’t be lonelier than we have been. This -solitude is the most unbroken bit of isolation I ever -walked into. Of course we’re separated. This -interesting masonry we’ve struck isn’t very well -constructed. It isn’t plumb. It hangs out a -<i>leetle</i> above. Goritz found it out, uncoiled himself, -got to the top, told the Professor to drop you and -me, and is now engaged in hoisting that scientific -encyclopedia up to bliss and safety. We won’t -stay dropped long. We’re to go the same way, and -really, admirably adapted for concealment of an -escaped felon as is this retreat, honest men could -afford to dispense with its protection.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I sometimes thought that when Hopkins talked -this way on the verge of destruction he was a little -demented from fear. Perhaps I wronged him.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>“But say, Erickson, you’re not well, old fellow.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I had fallen against him; another surge of giddiness -and harsh pains lacerating my joints had overcome -me. Then I was struck by a rope end; it -had descended from above. Understanding it all -now, and clutching at the hope of deliverance from -the terrors around us, I roused myself.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I heard the voice of Goritz shouting, “Tie up.” -And then Hopkins replying, “All right! Alfred is a -little out of sorts. He can’t help you much. -When I <i>say</i>, pull together.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins unloosed our connection, firmly fastened -me to the rope and, indicating my upward course, -telling me to “brace up,” and that it was the last -lap, pushed me up a declivity bristling with sharp -projections. For the first time I saw a dim light -filtering from above. I did not attempt to look -upward. The pull came, and I scrambled weakly -forward. Again the dark, red-riven cloud overwhelmed -me, my limbs seemed disjointed; a picture -of home, I thought, filled my eyes; a blow on -my head, then a vast detachment as if I were falling -through space succeeded, and I lost consciousness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And when I awoke! Ah! Mr. Link I have since -often believed that our first glimpse of heaven may -be like the vision of loveliness that surrounded me -when slowly my eyes took on their functions, and -my head cleared, and rational observation again -began. My pains, too, had for the instant subsided. -I felt almost disembodied, as if indeed in -some spiritual trance I had reached the other side -of death.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I was lying in deep grass on a hillside, bathed in -light; my friends around me—No, Hopkins was -not there. I noted that. Backward the steaming -wall of vapor was lit with a soft radiance, and resembled -an ever-changing cloud land. Above, the -sky was clear and blue; the distance was a revelation -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>of beauty, ponds and lakes separated by low -hills, whose summits held coppices of trees and -shrubs, sparkled and shone in far flung chains and -groups, and below, in a softly radiant vale, the -slim, long outline of a little lakelet, embosomed in -tall, waving reeds or grasses, like some titanic jewel, -gleamed, crystalline and keen.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ducks were swimming on its surface, and skimming -with beating wings its tiny waves. Herons -or cranes were wading in the sedges on its shores, -and a stirring and noisy aquatic bird life everywhere -about it, made it vocal and animated. Far -away a strange, soft light burned in the heaven, and -for a moment it seemed as if another sun had replaced -the diurnal traveler of the skies.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Crocodilo-Python</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>But nature reasserted its importunities, and -hunger gnawed my vitals. In a chapter of Admiral -Peary’s book, “Over the Great Ice,” is a thrilling -episode which describes his own and Astrum’s, -hunger before they slew the musk ox near Independence -Bay, Greenland, and the ferocity, almost, -with which they feasted on the raw meat. I once -thought that the story had been given a half -theatrical exaggeration. Now I know it was -truthful enough. My companions were also weak -and prostrated. I now saw clearly their thin, -pinched features, the natureless stare of their eyes, -the flaccid, hopeless flutter of their hands. I had -not realized how near we had been to dropping dead -in our tracks.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was a shot—another, then—another. -“God be thanked,” muttered Goritz, and the Professor -mechanically rose to his unsteady feet, and -shaded his eyes, looking down the hillside.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“He’s coming, and his hands are full,” at length -he said, and sank to the ground.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It seemed an eternity before the tall figure of the -Yankee brushed through the grass, and flung the -dead bodies of three wild geese among us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Few or none who have not known the extremity of -hunger can understand how, as Mikkelsen expresses -it, “one’s whole consciousness becomes concentrated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>into one importunate demand for food—food—food.” -And do you remember, if you read it, -how Mikkelsen and Iversen set up the tins of the -cache at Schnauder’s Island in a row, to feast their -eyes on them, and then, after all, came that -“feverish race with death—the grim death of -hunger”?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our state was not as desperate, but perhaps we -were not such hardened and strong men. It was -not long before a fire made of branches and twigs -and grass was burning merrily, and though there -was nothing but water to drink, and there were no -condiments—no salt or pepper, no bread or biscuits, -we devoured the fried duck with a rapture no words -can properly do justice to. It was not enough. -Hopkins must go again and again. But the larder -furnished us in these new, hospitable surroundings -was inexhaustible. We wondered whether the -sound of a gunshot had ever been heard here; the -birds were simply curious, not frightened, and only -interrupted their play or avocation with a momentary -and short flight.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We moved forward from our first resting place -and encamped under the leafy covering of a beautiful, -narrow, silver-leaved tree, that the Professor -told us was a relative of that ornament of parks and -pleasure grounds in Europe and America, the -<i>Anastatica syriachum</i>. We called our camp <i>Restoration</i>. -Hopkins suggested <i>Emptiness</i> as a name, -for several reasons, because of our unappeasable -appetites and because in it, besides ourselves, our -guns, a few cooking vessels (to be exact, just a pot -and a fryingpan) the rope we carried, and our few -instruments, our ammunition and our matches, -there were none of the appurtenances that are -associated with the name of camp. But the name -Restoration pleased us better, for here were we -filled with a wonderful animation of expectancy, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>here our strength had been fully restored, here we -had become joyful beyond estimation, the Professor -had resumed his alacrity of mind, and once more -we all embarked on the sea of fabulous imagining. -It was altogether wonderful. Where were we? -What was the meaning of this temperate charm of -climate? Whence came this broad illumination -when the sun had set?</p> - -<p class='c016'>The first moments of our mere animal restoration -passed, then a delicious weariness overcame us as we -surrendered to the mirthful spirit of surprise and -admiration, and to the curative properties of fried -or boiled duck. Around us stretched a magnificent -country, which bore the aspect of the sylvan loneliness -of the lakeland of Minnesota and Wisconsin -and Canada, though more undulating or hilly. The -wall of steam and cloud behind us, occasionally -glowing dully with the flame of its intermittent -explosions, extended north and south, or was lost -in the pearly exhalations of the distance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It formed an inexhaustible source of rain, for, as -the east winds prevailed, the mists swept over this -aquitanian land in showers, or, if the west wind, it -was rolled away in thunderous glory to deluge that -steep, barren zone we had descended, from Krocker -Land Rim, and, beyond the Rim, it fell again in -snow. The Professor, boastful now, and Goritz -calmly exultant, arranged the fortunes we were -about to meet in pleasing colors. To listen to -them as Hopkins and I lay on our backs in the -fragrant grass, starred with white and blue blossoms, -was like the recital of a fairy story, a legend -of miracles and marvels.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor took up the strain in this wise:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Here is the most wonderful illustration of Perpetual -Motion. The precipitation of the Arctic -Sea falls on this land in rain, outside of it in snow. -The rain flows down the rivers of the arid slope -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>under Krocker Land Rim, is emptied into the -heated or inflamed bowels of the earth, uncovered -by the huge meridional crevice, and returned as -steam to be again thrown down, evaporated and -reprecipitated in an endless chain of supreme -magnitude.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And, gentlemen, we have entered the polar -depression of which you were so scornfully incredulous. -We have already fallen two thousand feet -below the mean level of the earth. This is a temperate -region, with symptoms of subtropical or even -perhaps tropical life I believe we shall discover a -series of successive gigantic steps, each a recession -within the crust of the earth, like continental -amphitheatrical terraces, and at the Center—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What?” gurgled Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Ah! Mr. Hopkins, what indeed.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>But before the Professor could frame his answer -to the question, Goritz, whose reticence had now -succumbed to the wonders of our experience had -seized the thread of the lecture. He would outdo -the Professor in prophecies, with a merry fling or -soaring of imagination that made that cheerful -scientist dubious or irritated. I think he rather -resented this unexpected, half satirical participation -in the monopoly of his professional vaticinations.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I’ll tell you what, Hopkins,” would continue -Goritz smilingly, with a musical intonation that -accorded with the serenity of our surroundings, “it -will be a City of Gold—houses of gold, golden -chariots, golden furniture. We can break off the -legs and arms of the chairs and tables, knock down -the doors, rip up the flagging, and put up a stack -of gold bric-a-brac that will keep us forever. -We’ll go back, bring in the engineers, bridge that -gulf, and railroad the metropolis to the shore, ship -the whole thing to America and then—(by this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>time Hopkins would be pummeling me “<i>to sit up -and take notice</i>”) we’ll come back, seize the mines -and fetch the Millenium back to the world; no -more poor, no begging, no charities, just universal -peace and happiness!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“May be,” Hopkins would grunt as he knocked -me flat again, and fell himself face forward to the -ground, “may be, but Pujo and the Democratic -Congress will catch you, if you don’t watch out. -Why my dear, unsophisticated friend, if you gave -it away, and let people know you had a claim on the -original, inexhaustible goldbrick of the Universe, -the crowd up here would tilt the earth over, and set -it rolling the wrong way. And then—WHAT?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>So we often joked and laughed together in the -halcyon days that restored our strength and health. -But the fit of mere whimsical jubilation soon came -to an end. Our exploits were only begun, and -already two serious wonders attracted our attention -and brought us in contact with an amazing phenomenon. -The first was the unbroken illumination, -the measureless day! The sun itself hardly raised -its red disk above the horizon now. We knew that -the six months’ night was fast approaching, outside -of this enchanted bowl, and yet within its magic -circle the light remained, and there were no alternations -of day and night. A varying light indeed, as -there were clear or cloudy skies, but still the sensible, -broad day. What did this mean? What -anomaly of natural philosophy, of physics, of -astronomy, could be invoked to explain this aberration?</p> - -<p class='c016'>And the second was the Sleep of Vegetation. -The trees went to sleep, the flowers too. The -leaves of the trees turned upward, and clasped the -twigs and branches, exposing their dull brown -under surfaces only, and the sepals and petals of -the flowers did the same. Shielded behind the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>impervious dark film of the thickened integument, -the green upper surfaces remained as it were -closed; a voluntary recuperation that was novel -enough. The Professor was enraptured, and he -discovered that the breathing pores (<i>stomata</i>), -usually in plants on the under side of the leaf, were -here above, that too there was no prevalent custom, -so to speak, among the plants, in their -“going to sleep.” One plant would be thus sleeping -alongside of a wide-awake neighbor. But he -did note a kind of periodicity, in opening and -closing, as Pfeffer has done in plants kept -constantly in the dark. And it seemed to all of us -that the colors were both paler and deeper; deeper -in the reds and purples, paler in the greens and -yellows.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But that artificial sun that towards the west -illumined the zenith, an endless fixed lamp set in the -sky, immovable above the earth? What was that? -Towards it we hastened, now almost free of loads, -and free of cares, immersed in a reckless curiosity, -feeling the wantonness of a luxurious and marvel-bringing -pastime.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It grew colder, showing that the outside changes -affected the depressed area, but the phantom light -in the west was also a source of heat, and if we were -to drop down further within lower craters, the -“static heat of the earth,” the Professor averred, -would “increasingly raise the temperature.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our meals of bird became monotonous, but -though we saw fish in the lakes, we could not catch -them. Our instruments, matches, ammunition, -guns, and the indispensable pot and fryingpan, a -few odds and ends in our pockets and some vestiges -of other commodities in our packs made up our -possessions. A change of under clothing we had -vouchsafed ourselves, before we abandoned the -sledge, and an under dress too of serge, so that, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>though our skins and furs were thrown aside, “we -might be able,” as Hopkins said, “to meet the ladies -of El Dorado without a blush.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The scenes around us, as we pushed westward, -repeated themselves with inconspicuous changes, -but we would often enter into pictorial compositions -that exhaled an artistic beauty quite incomparable. -It was after a ten hour tramp over the interminable -savannahs, that the Professor, noting a cliffside, a -unique feature, towards the north, we directed our -steps thither. Then we encountered a picture that -swayed us by its loveliness, and we ran into a zoological -revelation also, that made our hair stand on -end, so that the emotional antipodes thus experienced -supplied us with some exciting themes for -conversation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We first stood at the beginning of a valley sloping -from us with wide, graceful reaches. It lay between -two series of hills, separated by minor -valleys, whose contributions of water, in tree or -bush-lined brooks, were added to the meandering -river that subjugated all other impressions in its -stately movement towards a far distant lake. This -latter formed a great mirror of light on the horizon. -The hills were much more deeply wooded than any -we had passed, indeed the country assumed a new -phase, and the languid inclines and faintly expostulating -elevations here were replaced by more boulders -and a piedmont-like picturesqueness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And yet there dwelt in the picture a gentleness, -an inviting softness of contour that was ingratiating, -while the banked trees, the occasional escarpments -of glistening rock, and that luminous, distant -haze over the faraway lake tended to add -strength and mystery. It was almost, by our -chronometers, mid-day when we entered this -delightful vale. Dark evergreens added a tonic -charm to the coloring, and above us, scoring the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>blue, were ranged radiating white ribs of compacted -cumulus.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had clambered up on the ledges of a rock -exposure, encumbered at its base by huge, confused -fragments, and edged at its summit by the bushy -fortress of a white flowered low tree like a wild -cherry. The <i>Anastatica</i>(?), so abundant in the -country we had passed over, had disappeared, and -with it, we surmised, that mirific population of -cranes, herons, geese, and ducks that made the -enchained lakes vocal with pipings, screams, haloos, -and bugle calls.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Looks good to me,” exclaimed Hopkins. -“Yes,” I said, “if we could take that picture with us -back to New York on a canvas or a film, or a plate, -we’d have ’em guessing. It’s a marvel. Pretty -hard to believe we’re at north latitude 84°. That’s -about it, Professor?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“84°, 50’, 5”,” replied the Professor sententiously, -as he applied his lens and his eyes to a -scrap of stone.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“New York?” snorted Goritz. “You surely -don’t ask for anything better than this. This is -Eden.” It certainly seemed so, and while Hopkins -contented himself with the comment that he hadn’t -noticed any snakes about, we turned attentive ears -to the Professor, who by this time had completed -his enthralled study of the glittering schist in his -hand.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Azoic rocks,” he cried, his becoming smile -mantling his face, his red, prominent ears and his -flaring hair making a droll combination. “Very -early rocks; the Grenville Series beyond doubt, -as named by the Canadian geologists; the first -solidifications of the earth’s crust, perhaps schists, -granites and limestones, though <i>here</i> schists with -pegmatite veins. An ancient circular axis surrounding -a circular depression that has never been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>covered by the later oceans. Gentlemen, we are -probably now situated on the one point of the earth -wherein the processes of evolution have never -played any role, because marine life has never existed -within it, and the processes of derivation -which have supplied the dry land with their mammalian -fauna from the animals of the sea have been -totally excluded, unless—unless—,” the judicial -introspection and litigation which the Professor -assumed at such critical points in his scientific -homilies were always diverting, “unless the barrier -had been broken at some point and the surrounding -ocean admitted, just as Walcott has surmised -may have been the case with the western protaxes -of North America, when the pre-Cambrian seas -introduced their life into the interior basin of the -continent. We shall see, however; the sedimentary -rocks of the inner circles (It was quite reassuring -to observe the Professor’s stalwart certainty -about everything) will reveal that. Even had no -such invasion been permitted, life would have -reached this isolated nucleus through the flight and -migration of birds who might readily enough, as -pointed out by Darwin, Wallace, Lancaster, Leidy -and others, have carried the embryos of fish, the -shells of molluscs and the larvae and bodies of -insects hither, and the winds themselves may have -assisted in this involuntary transit. The injection -of seeds might have taken place in all sorts of ways. -So far, you will observe that the faunal features, as -might be expected, are very scanty, and true mammals -are absent. The zoological peculiarities of -this paleolithic bowl are absolutely unique. As a -contribution to biological science our results -promise to assume important proportions.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Under the stimulus of this flattering encouragement -we resumed our way, following the banks of -the beautiful river to that remote splendor, the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>lake on the horizon, which seemed a fairy sea, -where indeed might float argosies of an indigenous -people which had been imprisoned in this inverted -earth cone since human occupation of our earth -began.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And it soon became apparent that we were again -rapidly descending, a transition indicated by increasing -warmth and the changed gradient of the -river which was flowing rapidly, more rapidly, -between thickset, outstretched arms of alder-like -trees. Our interest was intense. The utter, incalculable -strangeness of it all kept our nerves strung -to an extreme tension. Sometimes we were simultaneously -arrested by an overpowering mental -revolt against it, as though we felt we had lost our -senses, or as though some <i>trauma</i> had been inflicted -on our brain, and then we stood staring, in absolute -stupefaction. For all this was not simply new, it -was superbly beautiful.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Every way we’re to the good,” cried Hopkins. -“We’re walking right into a Safe Deposit that -would make Rockefeller or Rothschild coil up in a -colic of undisguised despair. That, in the first -place. Then, we’re mighty comfortable, well fed, -careless and improving. That counts in the second -place. And thirdly, if we get back to sanitary -plumbing, carved food, and flats, we’ll be able to -put up a story that will keep the people—I mean -everybody—gasping, and there won’t be enough -presses to print it, enough woodpulp to print it on, -and I assume it’s more than likely that we’ll precipitate, -as they say, the worst panic ever known, -because nobody will be able to work until they’ve -finished the story, and from appearances I think we -could a tale unfold that might cover a thousand or -more pages. Our copyright will be worth a king’s -ransom.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But they won’t read it because they won’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>believe it,” I said. “We’ll be classed with Munchausen -and old Doc. Cook, Symmes and Sinbad.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Won’t believe it?” exploded Hopkins. “Won’t -we show em? The Professor will rattle off the new -species, and how about our buying out the government -at Washington, and running the country just -free of expense a few days, say for a week, to prove -it? That will be convincing, I undertake to say. -And then the pictures. The camera’s working -yet, and there are a dozen or so of film rolls. But -don’t worry. We’ll be the biggest thing on the foot-stool, -and then—some. Christopher has had a fair -show, in fact he’s been rather spoilt, but he’ll have -every reason to be glad he’s out of sight when we -get there. Why really it’s hard to understand what -won’t happen.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>At that we all laughed, and that relief made us -serious again, and with eyes open, pencils scribbling, -and an occasional click of the camera (Hopkins -was our photographer) we hastened down the -now somewhat contracting valley. An elbow of -land pushed out and diverted the stream and on this -point, where the river turned, swerving back into its -first course, and where an expanse of yellow sand -and pebbles furnished an open space from which the -lake, the receding valley behind us, a gorge before -us, the open sky, and the encroaching flanks of -higher hills were all visible, we halted.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins seized the opportunity for a new flight -of speculation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Do you know,” and the shadow of a real embarrassment -on his face fixed our attention, “I’ve -been wondering who is to own this bailiwick. Of -course we’ll meet the native residents sooner or -later—their shyness is a little unaccountable as it -is—but you don’t imagine for a moment that the -first class national hogs of Europe would let a -promising domain like this go unappropriated? -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>Not much. Those disinterested potentates would -be up here before you could say Jack Robinson to -prove how necessary it was for the peace of the -world to cut it up at once. Gentlemen, this is an -international question, and we’re the only men who -have a right to settle it. What do you say?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh, my portion goes to Denmark,” chuckled -Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Mine too,” I added.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I owe allegiance to Norway,” reminded the -Professor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Funny—how clannish you are,” continued -Hopkins. “You’re all as good as Americans, and -you speak English. You’ve lived in the United -States, and you know, way down in your boots, that -she’s the Hope of the whole earth; the only thing -just now visible in the shape of government that -cares two coppers for the under dog. Ain’t that -so? Well I’ll tell yer,” and Hopkins squinted, -drawled, and put his long index on the side of his -very presentable nose, “I’ll tell yer. We’ll give -the Edenites a square deal, and let them decide. -You see we can each take the stump for our own -country, and then give them the choice at a general -Primary Election.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Will you let the ladies vote?” I asked innocently.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Why not? Certainly. Ladies first,” smiled -back the gallant Yankee.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well then,” I triumphantly concluded, “as they -can’t understand us, they’ll of course, after the -manner of their sex, be guided by LOOKS, and—America -wins.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We shouted at Hopkins’ discomfiture. He certainly -looked nonplussed and aggrieved. He was -shaping a retort, and his mouth had already formed -the words “See here, Erickson; don’t you fool -yourself—” when there was a movement on the -opposite bank. Almost instantly Hopkins’ quick -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>eye was diverted, and his arm shot forward, indicating -the intrusion, while he whispered in the stage-struck -style, “<i>Look, look!</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We turned as one man. Opposite, thrusting -their heads out of the foliage of the bank, and revealing -too the front quarters of their bodies were four -wild pigs, a hog, a sow and two youngsters. The -adult animals were of great size, with portentous -mouths and snouts, flat cheek protrusions, hairy, -pointed ears, and the animals bore two upturned -involuted tooth horns or tusks on each side of their -upper and lower jaws. The animals were black, -their bodies covered with coarse, spiny short hair, -bristling into a mane at the neck and their small, -fiery eyes snapped viciously. They were large -brutes, stout, muscular, possessed of a strange -hollow grunt that rumbled ominously inside their -heads for a while, and then became suddenly -audible as a terrifying, snorting squeal. It was the -oddest, most unaccountable animal noise any of -us had ever heard. But the Professor complacently -informed us that the creatures were undoubtedly -related to the Forest Pig—<i>Hylochoerus -meinertz hageni</i>—of British East Africa, and that -their study would add a new chapter to natural -history, while the skins of the monsters would be -eagerly competed for by the museums of the world.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins dismissed this with a wave of his hand, -urging the antecedent considerations of pork chops, -fresh ham, and sausage. The subjects of this -colloquy remained, however, undisturbed. Had -we shot them there was no discoverable way in our -position at the time to secure their bodies, and from -the gastronomic point of view the Professor questioned -their importance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The pigs watched us nervously for a short time, -then they grunted reflectively; their whitish-green -eyes were almost distended in excitement and shone -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>with a blue light. But with a raised arm, a thrown -pebble, and a shout from Goritz they flew off, crashing -among the undergrowth and easily traceable in -their flight down the hillside by the wake of -violently agitated shrubbery and herbs.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“An interesting encounter,” remarked the Professor. -“Its congener is found today over the -slopes of Mt. Kenia at a high altitude, where the -jungle and the forest meet, supposed by Akely to -follow the trail of the elephant, and addicted to an -inexplicable habit of scraping together leaves and -grasses which it forms into diminutive mounds. -We are coming into a warmer region, the increasing -prevalence of acacia and eucalyptus-like trees, the -occasional pitch pine, and something like an evergreen -oak indicate that, though this floral association -may be uncommon. I really believe that -along the edges of that great lake ahead of us are—<i>palms</i>!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was only a short way from this delightful spot, -with its sweeping view, that we heard the rush and -roar of falling water, as we now fought our way -through a tangled maze of branches, emerging at -intervals on grassy glades which bore evidence of -the past presence of the wild pigs. An hour later -we almost tumbled over the brink of a rocky gulf, -into which the gathered waters of the river obviously -fell. We could not see the falls, but the -spouting spray, rising in spiral puffs, the moisture -showering through the trees, and the dull bass -resonation from the tormented pool that caught the -plunging torrent, announced its nearness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a matter of some difficulty, making our -descent, and the ropes again did good service in -helping us down the vertical walls. It was pretty -clear that we were about to meet a picture of some -grandeur, for our climb continued, and when we -finally broke through to the river again, we had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>descended over three hundred feet. Fortunately we -were not required to increase our exertions to reach -a favorable position for enjoyment of the scenic -wonder we had circumvented. It was before us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Above us in a narrow sheet, in a setting of the -wildest beauty, the river poured its flood, tense, -glossy, when it first slipped over the rim, as with -that <i>convulsive</i> firmness of the young swimmer at -the first plunge over his head. Then it began -unraveling its woven strands, and became plicated -in silken ridges that unwound still more, or flew -apart in diamond dust, so volatile that it rose upward -in shimmers and rainbows, while at our feet, -discharged from the overburdened pool, rushed a -torrent of mobile beryl. It was transcendently -lovely in the frame of trees; and how amazing to -have repeated here, at the pole of the earth, the -familiar charms of the woodlands and streams, the -sylvan solitudes of the world in temperate and -tropical climes where the sun rose and set each day -throughout the year!</p> - -<p class='c016'>What was climate? “Climate,” retorted the -Professor, “is an atmospheric condition fundamentally -dependent upon the heat received from the sun, -but if there is light, that heat can come from the -interior level of the earth itself quite as well.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes,” we exclaimed, “if there is light, but the -light that, as with the sun, insures the processes of -growth in plants, should not be here, for the sun -has already run its course for the functions of -vegetation at the North. What is the meaning of -this continuous light that bathes this marvelous -new world we have entered? Does it, like the sunlight, -build up leaves, decorate flowers, strengthen -twig and trunk?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Ah! Does it?” soliloquized the Professor. -“<i>Solvitur ambulando</i>; look around us. What do -you see?”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>We did look around us, we were looking even -then, and the scene was indeed rich in color, in -greenness, in luxuriance perhaps of floral charm. -This everlasting illumination, with the strange -accommodation of the plants to an enforced sleep, -almost maddened us with wonder. To be sure we -found out later that the greenness changed, and, if we -had studied the matter more closely we would have -been made aware of a paleness in the grass (this -condition had been evident for some days, while a -peculiar effect within ourselves seemed referable to -this inexplicable light). I will return to this when -it has formed the topic of a later conference, held -during those divine hours passed on the hills of the -Deer Fels.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We now had satisfied our eyes with the picture -show, and we hastened on, for our supplies of duck -were almost exhausted, and, although the Professor -had added to this a salutary and delicious spinach-like -mess, made from the boiled shoots and tender -leaves of a plant like our poke or pigeon berry, -which grew abundantly in the valleys, yet we had -become impatient for some change of food. The -pigs suggested a new and appetizing novelty in our -cuisine. This indication of game in the country we -were approaching whetted our desire to begin a more -stirring life, and to penetrate now rapidly towards -the veritable center and solution of all this mystery.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was not long before we had threaded the precipitous -ravine, which from the foot of the falls -extended into the park-like expanses about the -great lake. A great lake it was, dotted with distant -islands and embosomed in a subdued white -land almost impossible to describe. The borders -of the lake were marshy and flat, the water was -fresh, and the vegetation in its neighborhood green. -It was a physiographic anomaly to find this freshness -enclosed in a land on whose face were written -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>most legibly the characters of sterility and dryness. -The soil of the low hills was parched, and a cactus -or euphorbia growth replaced the broad leaved -plants which had pertinaciously clung to our steps -up to this point, and had indeed pushed out into -the plain, but with an evident aversion, as they -became smaller, sparser, and at some remove disappeared -altogether. The spiky stiffness of something -like the Spanish Bayonet gradually assumed -predominance, and the ashen tokens of sage bush -(?) multiplied.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We concluded that in our hand-to-mouth method -of subsistence it might be unsafe to venture forward -on this trackless waste, and, still expectant of -finally terminating our exploration with the finding -of human beings, agreed to follow the margin of the -lake. This would keep us supplied with food, -would carry us on, apparently a little north of east, -and as its waters were fresh, would doubtless offer -some outlet of escape without compelling us to -traverse the inhospitable barrens.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was here that we shot some quail-like birds, -which furnished a new element to our larder, and -some acid and fruity berries proved edible, after -our ludicrously careful experiments had tested their -qualities. Then Hopkins ran against a formidable -wild hog and laid him low, and while he did not -prove exactly delectable, there was a noticeable -difference from previous entries on our menus which -made that addition welcome also. The Professor -extracted some lard which helped as fuel and served -to quicken into a blaze our sluggish fires.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The palms noted by the Professor were fully -realized, and they made the most curious and extraordinary -foregrounds, in conspicuous groups, -against the dull lengthiness and vapid immensity -of the chlorinated desert beyond them. It was at -this time that we hit the zoological phenomenon -<span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>hinted at before, which completed our nervous -prostration, if mental suspense and amazement -represent that state. We were encamped about -three days’ journey from the deep glade from -which we emerged on the plain, and were still following -the marginal fertile tracts bordering the -lake. The lake furnished some surprises.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Strips of muddy banks forming islands covered -with a profusion of plants, among which might -tower a palm, banks of marl wherein the Professor -picked out cretaceous fossils, occasional warm -springs, the condensed vapors of which floated -lazily upward, and which, where they spouted from -the ground, had erected basins of calcareous sinter, -or their waters trickled to the lake between banks -red and white like painted boards.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our camp—a fire, our knapsacks, our multi-serviceable -pot and fryingpan, and our outstretched -figures, with the instruments, always including our -camera outfit, a few implements and guns—was at -the foot of a thicket of high ferns, under a group of -palms, and we were at the base of an inconsiderable -hill or rise, whose top these ferns and palms concealed. -Hopkins had just returned from stalking -some of the wild pigs, but he was empty handed; -Goritz was very busy devising a stretcher or hurdle -for our various belongings, to be carried between -two of us, by turns, and the Professor was ruminating, -with head in his hands, his wing-like ears protruding. -I think I was asleep. Our supper had -been made memorable by <i>tea</i>; a hidden package -in one of our packs contained this precious leaf, and -it was quite noteworthy how it revived and cheered -us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, I felt a sharp jolt, and a cavernous abyss -yawned under my feet, and with a monstrous effort -I snatched a providential branch and saved myself -from falling. <i>My eyes opened</i>; I had seized Hopkins’ -<span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span>leg, and it was he whose energetic shaking had -broken my slumbers with this nightmare.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Get a move on, Alfred. The scrap of the centuries -is going on up there.” He pointed to the -grove and hilltop. “If we had a motion-picture -camera, we’d have everything in that line knocked -into junk. Get up. The White Hope is having it -out with the sable champion.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Utterly bewildered by these incomprehensible -words I struggled to my feet, and we both scrambled -<i>pele-mele</i> to the top, and there joined Goritz -and the Professor, who hardly noticed our approach, -so absorbed were they in watching the -strangest spectacle that ever human eyes beheld.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Out on the level on a thin carpet of herbs and -grass was reared the violent and horrible shape of a -writhing, bending, gracefully oscillating, whitish-green -monster, and before him the infuriated figure -of a black pig. The pig’s bristling mane was -erected, his small tail, like a bit of black rope, beat -upon his muscular buttocks, his eyes gleamed -viciously, his muzzle with its expanded nostrils was -upturned, and his challenge sounded like a cornet, -and again like a rolling drum.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But the creature before it mastered all attention. -The elongated head of a saurian armed along its -jaws with sword-like teeth, a long curved neck, a -thorax but slightly enlarged over the width of the -rest of the body, provided with a short pair of front -legs, terminated by claws perceptibly webbed, and -opening and shutting with a nervous rapidity, -noticeable dull-colored scales striping its sides, a -pair of much longer hind legs on whose skin-enwrapped, -stilt-like support it had raised itself, and -then a prodigious tail, heavy and fat at its protrusion, -but lengthening out into a thin python-like -body whose involuntary movements swayed it to and -fro in serpentine motions through the flattened weeds.</p> - -<div id='p1801' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p1801.jpg' alt='two animals face each other' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE CROCODILO-PYTHON AND THE WILD PIG</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>The color of the beast was most loathsome; a -sickly yellow white it seemed at first; a closer study -showed it to be a nauseating green, like a frog scum, -and yet through it all, as if summoned to the surface -at the will of the creature, coursed reddish -blotches, whose inflamed contrasts gave the whole -skin the aspect of inflammation, of purulent disease. -This coloring prevailed over the neck, the faintly -swelling belly, the sides, and over the hind rump -and thighs and anal region. The monster -awakened an awestruck repulsion. But at the -moment its source, home, meaning, were swallowed -up in the thrilling, tremendous combat between -these strange litigants, a wild boar of today, a -saurian—a <i>tyrannosaurus</i> or something like it—of -the Cretaceous!</p> - -<p class='c016'>The huge lizard was skillful, wavering, crafty and -sinuous. It swung from side to side, and when it -attempted to descend on its antagonist its mouth -opened, almost absurdly, as if waiting for the -appetizing bite its hunger or its ferocity anticipated. -A wicked mouth, shining with yellow teeth and -slobbering with saliva! Any disposition to laugh at -its floundering indecision was soon, or at once, overcome -by hatred of its hideousness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was interesting to watch the hog. He was -irresolute and then aggressive; he lunged outward -and then tumbled backward. As the giant lizard -reeled upward and then <i>poured</i> forward, the -bristling pig would run in, and then “sidestep,” -as Hopkins said. The ultimate object of both -combatants became increasingly clear; the saurian -aimed at crashing down on the pig, and the pig -relying on its sharp incisors intended to rip open -the defenceless abdomen of its foe. Again and -again with shifting success they attempted their -invariable <i>coups</i>, and again and again recoiled, -frustrated in their design.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>The fight passed through one episode of some -novelty. The saurian in flinging itself forward lost -its balance, and, as it were, stumbled to the ground. -We saw its eyes then, queer turgid, opal masses, lit -internally with fire. In a trice the pig leaped upon -its back, stamping and tearing, but, in another -trice, the effort seemed incalculable, the huge tail -of the snake lizard swept around and bowled the -discomfited porker sideways with a swishing blow -that knocked it down. Then for a moment it -seemed as if the coiling ribbon would enclose the -pig, when, held in its crushing vise, the lizard might -dissect its victim at leisure. But the pig squirmed -out of the trap, and, nothing daunted, resumed its -defence with less obvious pugnacity. Except for -its monstrous spectacular features the conflict grew -monotonous. And here came the end.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Nature was exhausted; an unguarded moment -of inattention and, like the black pounce of the -eagle, the ponderous head of the lizard fell on the -pig, the scimitar teeth cut into hide and bone. A -snarling roar, an infuriated lacerating drive by the -boar, and, though he sank sideways in a death -agony, his tusks had torn open the belly of his -conqueror. The viscera emptied from their enclosure, -an abominable odor assailed us, and the -great bulk of the amphibian lapsed to the ground, -its inverted head, caught in the chancery of its -body, broke its neck, and with a husky frightening -exhalation, like a magnified hiss, it fell in convulsions. -The pig was already dead.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Just then none of us were inclined to pursue any -investigations. We were all absolutely silent, and -all went back to our little camp in a state of mental -consternation. The Professor had no theories to -propose, nor had Hopkins any comments. As for -Goritz, he mechanically brought out the gold belt, -and as I bent over him and noticed its <i>relievos</i>, I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>felt convinced that its designer and artificer had -seen the saurian.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But something more awful occurred about three -hours afterwards, when, as we observed, the smell -from the battlefield became more and more intolerable. -The waters of the lake were furrowed with -approaching objects, exposed heads rose upon the -shore, shuffling and waddling and scrambling -creatures proceeded up the bank, and the entangled -bodies of the great lizard and the pig were soon -being torn to pieces, in the clapping jaws of the -former’s brethren, as they rustled and scraped -against each other in their envious greed in what, -by our reckoning, was their nocturnal banquet.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Soon, however, I fell asleep again; a feverish -sleep it was and I welcomed my awakening. It -must have been hours later, the lake was calm and -beautiful to see in the mysterious light, and it was -the cheerful, heart-inspiring voice of Hopkins that -half restored my normal gaiety. He was helping -the Professor at what in its serial position was our -breakfast, and he prattled to his benignant comrade:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘We were amphibians, scaled and tailed,</div> - <div class='line'>And drab as a dead man’s hand;</div> - <div class='line'>We coiled at ease ’neath the dripping trees</div> - <div class='line'>Or trailed through the mud and sand.</div> - <div class='line'>Croaking and blind, with our three clawed feet</div> - <div class='line'>Writing a language dumb,</div> - <div class='line'>With never a spark in the empty dark,</div> - <div class='line'>To hint at a life to come.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Deer Fels</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>I must hasten my story; so much remains to be -told, more wondrous, strange and unnatural, -though that last word is not to be interpreted in -any of its senses as abhorrent. Far from it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We hurried away from the scene of the peculiar -combat and the fratricidal feast. I do not think -we feared these hideous saurians. We looked for -them, and the Professor exulted in their evident -marks of an evolutionary history (philogeny, he -called it) quite isolated or diverse from those -established by Barnum Brown, Williston, Lowe and -others for the <i>sauropsida</i> of the—Mr. Link I was -actually going to say EARTH, in a foreign sense, -for somehow in this Krocker Land we felt detached -from all we had ever known or ever been. Had we -been transferred to Mars or the Moon or any other -inconceivably contrasted sphere, we could not have -felt more inimitably separated from what we had -called the Earth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>No more of the Crocodilo-Pythons, so Goritz -called them, were seen. We believed that their -habitats were in the half submerged broad flatlands -that rose in archipelagos out in vast expanses of -this inland sea. Perhaps we traversed a distance of -one hundred miles before the mingled expression of -sage desert and semi-tropical lake began to change. -The opposite boundary of the lake (Goritz as our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>geographer has named it the <i>Saurian Sea</i>) became -visible. We were approaching a constriction or -closing of its banks, and in a few days we perceived -that it emptied into a wild, deeply sunken ravine or -canon, an enormous, terrifying gorge of sandstones -and limestones, where we could just dimly discern -the foaming cataracts, the eye-like preparatory -pools, and then the sweltering froth of raging -rapids.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The water of the Saurian Sea enters this canon -(the Canon of Promise Goritz called it, for a reason -yet a long way ahead in my narrative) over an incline, -and a series of waterfalls, which were invisible to us. -It was hopeless to follow the canon, nor could we continue -northward for we were powerless to cross the -river. There remained the alternative of turning -to the left, penetrating the sage plain and attaining -the slopes of a hill country eastward, at whose feet -doubtless the desert terminated. It promised to -be an easy day’s journey and it was. The quail -had supplied us with food. They now replaced the -ducks. Indeed the Saurian Sea became almost -devoid of aquatic bird life as we advanced, an -eloquent testimony we thought to the fear of the -omnivorous brutes who lived there.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We crossed the desert and were delighted to -observe its gradual surrender to the encroaching -features of a pleasanter land, a hill country sloping -away into painted domes; not a land of heavy rainfall -nor deeply forested. Its undulating skyline -presented rounded and densely shrubby ground -which to our eyes seemed luminous with a pink -haze. The flanks of these hills were clothed in a -coarse grass unevenly distributed, and even absent -from bare spaces of the limestone rock, where a -gray half succulent moss flourished. We noted too -with some astonishment that these aspects of the -hills facing us seemed in shadow, contrasting effectively -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>with the singular pinkish aureole along their -high outlines.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz discovered with our glass the presence of -moving or browsing groups of animals and a -moment later exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“They’re deer, small deer. No worry now about -the commissariat.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You see,” murmured the Professor, “the sedimentary -rocks here prove that at some time this -boreal basin has been invaded by the sea, a former -deeper cavity has been filled up by these strata of -limestone, slate, sandstone and marl. The molluscan -remains, such as I have picked up, whether -in the Saurian Sea area, in the Canon of Promise, -or on these moors, are generically similar to those -of the cretaceous, tertiary, and paleozoic rocks of -Europe or America. About that there can be no -doubt,” and he approvingly exhibited the small -collection he retained from his examination. “The -outermost rocks of the Krocker Land Rim are the -earliest crystallines and eruptives. Their solidification -belongs to the very first primary conditions, -and I think there can be no doubt that -we can say that this stupendous cavity, continental -in extent, either represents that physical polar -pitting I alluded to when we discussed this expedition -in Norway, made when the Earth was assuming -its spheroidal shape and was a mass of swiftly -revolving mobile magma, or—” the Professor’s -succeeding statement impressed him so solemnly, -that his administrative and reportorial manner -became almost gloomy in its earnestness. We -watched him with dilated eyes—“or—that it represents -the wound, cicatrix, and HOLE from which -was ejected the earth’s satellite—the MOON.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Comment was in order, but we had become rather -plastic under the Professor’s instructions, or, shall -I say, gelatinized, and incapable of a natural -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>remonstrance against his dictations. But Goritz -demurred. Hopkins and I listened with admiration.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Professor, the moon came out of the side of the -earth, centrifugally separated at the equator by -fastest motion, surely not out of the pole. Darwin -has suggested, you know, that the Pacific Ocean—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“True, Antoine. True, true. I know all of -George Darwin’s speculations. True, but suppose -the axis of the earth’s rotation has changed; suppose -this very area here at 85° north latitude had -formerly been equatorial in position. That is a -view of commendable authority. It has been -urged to explain the Ice Age, though I admit, -Goritz, it has not, today, the most respectable -authorization.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>Mais, passons.</i>” This theoretical retreat and -deflection of the Professor before Goritz’s criticism -sensibly flattered my friend. “You see gentlemen, -that these startling surfaces before us seem, as you -have noticed, to be in shadow. I think that throws -some light on the character of the singular continuous -illumination of this region. Up to this point -we have generally been descending, since we left -the vapor shroud of the Perpetual Nimbus; we -have been climbing down the walls of a bowl whose -central sun is of sufficient intensity to illuminate it -throughout its extent, but, having an inconsiderable -volume or size as compared with the size of the -bowl itself, and also—mark me—a fixed position, -can only throw shadows when intervening objects -occur, as a lamp in the middle of a room illuminates -the whole room, but throws shadows toward the -walls of the room, where there are obstructions. -But the higher the position of the lamp in the room, -with reference to the floor, the shorter the shadows. -Here is an exact parallel, and I take it that as the -shadow of these hills, which may be three thousand -feet high, hardly extends into the plain, the fixed, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>subsidiary SUN we are approaching may be towards -the limits of our atmosphere, or say twenty-five -miles over the mean level of the earth.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We grasped this quickly enough, and the image -remained, as you will see in the sequel, substantially -correct, though greatly corrected as to altitude.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The deer were easily trapped; they hardly -noticed our approach, and, though startled by the -discharge of our guns, would only scamper off for a -short distance, herd in compact bunches, and -watch us. They were small animals, perhaps half -the size of the Virginia deer, but their flesh was -delicious, and our first meal, graced with the coldest -spring water and by a small toothsome red berry -like a strawberry, imparted to us the liveliest -spirits. We felt eager and excited, an almost irritable -curiosity had developed within us; forgetful -of all we had left, oblivious, through an inscrutable -exaltation of wonder, of the things, objects and -endearments of home, we hungered for adventure. -It was not many hours later that a new sensation -eclipsed everything we had so far experienced, and -threw us into an excitement that stirred the depths -of our beings.</p> - -<div id='p1881' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p1881.jpg' alt='four young people float using baloons and look down on men walking through the grass' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE DEER FELS</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>Less than a day was consumed in making the -ascent of the hills, which resembled steeply inclined -moors, and on their summits we entered on a sunny -(?) expanse, captivating in its loveliness of color, -and ingratiatingly varied in topography. The -tantalizing pinkish haze was explained. It was an -endless billowy ocean of pale heather, with clumps -of yellowness like gorse. As we looked over the -entrancing picture in a golden light, in a freshening -and tonic atmosphere, with a reverberant sense of -being travelers in fairy land, a poem taught me -long ago by an English friend came almost unbidden -to my lips:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>“‘What, you are stepping westward? Yea</div> - <div class='line'>’Twould be a wildish destiny</div> - <div class='line'>If we who thus together roam,</div> - <div class='line'>In a strange land and far from home,</div> - <div class='line'>Were in this place the guests of chance:</div> - <div class='line'>Yet who would stop, or fear to advance,</div> - <div class='line'>Though home or shelter he had none</div> - <div class='line'>With such a sky to lead him on?’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><i>And westward we too went on.</i></p> - -<p class='c016'>Marshes, wet concealed bottoms, lakes and -boggy tracts diversified these uplands; and down -gulches in the bold profiled bays streams poured in -cascades, all rushing westward. Coming over a -lower neck between the domes we came in view of a -dark blue lake of water far down in a narrow amphitheater; -just above it on a higher shelf was a -second smaller lake. What appeared to be white -gulls were sailing in circles over them. The picture -was a lovely one. We clambered up its -eastern wall, and, in the midst of low balsams that -here interrupted the heather, and so thickly -crowded together that you could walk on top of -them, we looked straight into the pocket. We lay -down on the short balsam trees, in a soft perfumed -bed of green needles, and gazed and gazed. A -strong wind blew. Far, far eastward rose that -portentous bulwark of clouds and misty confusion -which the Professor had called the “<i>Perpetual -Nimbus</i>,” and which was the cosmic screen of this -wonderland. Hopkins was on his back, and it was -he whose cry shot a new thrill of—How shall I name -it?—laughing consternation through us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My God,” he cried in a sort of stifled shout, -“there’s a gang of the fellows we’re looking for, -straight above us, in a cluster, like so many soap -bubbles.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Again his summons brought us to a concentrated -attention, and sure enough, dimly separable from -the air in which it floated, was a minute cloud of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>small balloons, and dependent from each group of -three the outline of a small human figure—and all -gently drifting in an upper current of air, certainly -less strong than the brisk gale about us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Get under the trees,” whispered Goritz, -“they’re coming down.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were quickly concealed, burrowing our way -with the alertness of moles below the thatched -branches, and each eagerly hunting for a spying -place whence we might watch this strange argosy. -Yes! They were rapidly approaching; the dangling -legs, the fluttering blue and yellow tunics, <i>confined -by golden belts</i> (!!!) were visible, curious unproportionate -heads, hanging forward as if from heaviness, -legs in loose trousers, and sandaled feet. -Then the wind blowing about us touched them and, -like a gyrating swarm of mosquitoes dispersed by a -breeze, they were flung away, dancing, bobbing, -hither and thither, and from them issued squealy -shouts and squeaky laughter. They came together -again, directed by means undiscoverable -to us, though the Professor detected some waving -objects in their hands, and then the crowd, perhaps -twenty, as if suddenly apprized of their desired -position, dropped like so many unsupported bodies -straight into the deep pocket of the little lake we -had just been admiring.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The wind did not drift them, the balloons seemed -collapsible, but, to our amazement, they expanded -again, checking the fall. In fact, unless our eyes -deceived us, and we all agreed as to the main point, -the balloons inflated and shrank, somehow at the -will of these extraordinary beings, producing an -effect not dissimilar to the opening and shutting of -a bird’s wing, the alternations of which carry it up -and down.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As they slid past us, perhaps not more than a -good stone’s throw from our place of concealment -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>we were permitted to catch a glimpse of them, and -it was hard to restrain the impulse of leaping to our -feet to obtain a longer inspection. Another -moment and they disappeared below the brow of -the hill. We emerged cautiously. Goritz spoke -first, though he, like the rest of us, seemed a little -stunned by the weirdness, the wizardry of it all.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“If they’ve gone down, they must come up. -But what are they?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” answered Hopkins, “search me! This -is nearer to fairy land than I ever thought a human -could get, and—I don’t believe I like it. Rather -goblin-like I thought, though not Gilbert’s notion -either;</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>‘The goblin-imp, a lithe young ape,</div> - <div class='line'>A fine low-comedy bogy?’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>“Certainly the genus <i>homo</i>,” said the Professor -reflectively, and looking more startled than pleased. -“They offer a field of unusual research. They -might be,” he lifted his eyes upward, almost as if -imploring light on the subject, “they might be -preadamites. They were not simian, not in the -least. Gentlemen,” sudden thought lit up his face -with the customary smile, while his lips retreated, -displaying his imperfect teeth, his eyes grew larger -or they issued farther from their orbits, and his red -hair, now inordinately long, draped his face in a -rufous tapestry that made him look still more -strangely excited. “Gentlemen, I have it (“Thank -God,” <i>sotto voce</i> from Hopkins), I have it. We -have here an isolated group of mentalities that have -been subjected to a restrictive and intensive process -of development. Of course they had initially the -prerogatives of reason. They have attained a -peculiar culture, it may be a very one-sided one, but -at least their methods of aeronautics leave little to -be desired, and they understand and practice metal -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>working, textile arts; they have a language. Personal -beauty they do not boast (“That’s putting it -mild; they looked like blueprints,” again <i>sotto -voce</i> from Hopkins) and their physiques seem -dwarfed and impoverished. How did they strike -you, Erickson? What did you see? Your linguistic -knowledge may help us, and—I think you had our -glass.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Parenthetically I may tell you, Mr. Link, that -I have been a poor sort of a journalist, and a teacher -of languages, and a traveler, a mixture of vocations -not conducive, you will say, to signal distinction in -any line.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“This is what I saw,” I began, with an assertiveness -that brought me wrapt attention. It was true -that I had seen a good deal; my monopoly of our -field glass had been complete. I spoke with -rather crisp acerbity because I had already taken a -strong prejudice against these jaundiced objects, -and neither as associates nor as subjects of study -was I willing to seek their acquaintance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“They are diaphanous yellow anthropological -<i>insects</i>, with big beetle heads dropping forward, -scrappy hair or none at all, are anemic, short bodied, -long legged, short armed, and absurdly pervaded -by a saffron-blueness—I can describe it in no other -words. You saw their dress; the tunic clothing -them like a nightshirt or a butcher’s blouse, is -cinctured by a <i>gold belt</i>! They are scarcely more -than three feet high.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Alfred,” asked Goritz, “are you sure about the -gold belt? I thought I saw yellow links around -their bodies too.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh, yes,” I replied indifferently, “the gold belts -were plain enough, but Antoine, I tell you you had -better leave these microbes alone.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The intensity of my repugnance amused them. -I think it was shared by Hopkins. He said, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>“They’ve rather got my goat, but the risk of seeing -the thing out is worth taking. They certainly have -the goods and, as for scrapping— Well, say, we -could blow ’em away.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Could you,” I indignantly flared up. “Not so -fast, Spruce. Did you see those tubes in their -white fingers?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, I saw them?” Hopkins rejoined interrogatively. -“Looked like lead pipe.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, I’m sure there’s devilment enough in -them. They raised them this way and that, and -guided their flight by them.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What’s the harm?” Hopkins continued. “Perhaps -they’ve a thing or two worth patenting in -ballooning; very likely. They’re funny enough, -but—Pshaw!—we can run ’em in any time with -these guns.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“How many balloons were attached to each -person?” asked the Professor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Three,” we all said together.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I thought so,” he continued, “one from each -armpit, and one from the belt. They spoke distinguishable -words. Could you make anything out -of them Erickson?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Why,” I muttered laconically, quite as a matter -of course, “It sounded like corrupted or archaic -Hebrew.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“By the Great Horn Spoon,” shouted Hopkins, -“<i>pawnbrokers</i>. Levitation would be worth while -to some I’ve known.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>After this explosion we were silent for a few -moments. Our thoughts were running wild over -the inscrutable occurrence which portended strange -developments ahead of us. Hopkins was elated at -the prospect of adventure, Goritz, I really believe, -was consumed with a passionate curiosity to see -more of the <i>gold</i>, the Professor was burning up -with scientific wonder and excitement, and I alone -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>was overcome by a repulsion which I could not -explain, and which, on the face of it, was unreasonable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Communing thus with our thoughts and quite -indescribably stirred, Hopkins cried out, “Beat it. -Here they are again,” and there, rising gently from -the depth below our elevation came the little flotilla -of bobbing manikins, announced even before they -were seen, by a shrill chatter, and squealy laughter, -which consorted naturally with their queer, aged, -wrinkled faces, the fluttering tunics entangling -their pipe-stem legs, and the odd diaphaneity of -their bodies.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I am not a naturalist, Mr. Link, and there are -some things in nature I cannot reconcile myself to: -snakes, caterpillars and BUGS.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were under our coverts in a jiffy; the celerity -of our movement was something like the noiseless -tail-up concealment in the ground of prairie dogs. -And our eyes became as active as our legs; not an -optic nerve but was strained to the full extent of its -reportorial powers. One feature of their machinery, -I had not noticed before. Flexible tubes tied -the balloons to their bodies, and these again were -connected under the sleeves of their tunics with the -lengths of pipe they carried in their hands. The -swelling and deflation of these balloons seemed -most delicately under their control, and at times -they would, like a swarm of flies, rise and fall, in a -perfect mimicry of a fly’s uneven and dancing undulations. -It was most curious and utterly inexplicable, -and then too when they moved to and fro or -advanced, the tubes were held behind them, and -some propulsion ensued which carried them on their -flight, though it was quite evident that any volition -on their part was quite overcome by the prevalent -currents of air. The latter they avoided by rising -above or sinking below it, and at the moment, as we -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>gazed, they surrendered themselves to the wind -blowing about us at our elevation, and were tossed -along it, in shrill enjoyment, and vanished westward. -They were absorbed in misty veils that -were drawn between us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Once more we came out of our hiding with a ludicrous -astonishment painted on our faces. Hopkins -looked the least bit scared. Almost instantly he -expressed his feelings.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“They certainly have me guessing. Old guys, all -of ’em. Perhaps they’re terribly old, and perhaps -that’s the way up here—everything very old -shrinks, wrinkles and wears glasses.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Glasses,” called out Goritz. “Yes! I saw that, -and do you know for more than a week my eyes -have ached. It’s something to do with this strange -light.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then came the confession from all of us, that we -had each been bothered with our eyes. Shooting -pains, blurry outlines, whizzing sensations in our -heads, and a sense of dryness of the eyelids, as -though they had been overheated by a mild exzema -of the skin. It was surprising, the moment we -attended to the matter, how urgent our complaints -became, and how communicative we were about it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I feel sure,” said Goritz, “that we are bewitched -by this light. These odd creatures have become -crinkled and gnarled by it. They’re a race of -dwarfs, prematurely aged and megalocephalic.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This last daring incursion into the Professor’s -domain of reserved scientific language rather -startled us. “’Peaching on the Professor’s -preserves,” whispered Hopkins. But the Professor -did not resent it. It was some minutes later, after -an expectant silence, that he very demurely suggested -that we all put on our snow goggles. And -we did. It seemed to help.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Of course, considerably flustered over the unexpected -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>appearance in this utterly unexpected manner -of the aboriginals of this enigmatical region, -we undertook to examine the narrow and deep little -valley into which our visitors had descended. It -was a rough scramble, as the sides of the pit -proved not only very steep but unreasonably rocky, -sharp and precipitous. When we finally reached -the bottom, and the Professor exultantly told us -the rock was a dolomite, that it contained coral -remains and brachiopodous shells that were -Devonian, we found ourselves in a peculiar place.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a kind of gigantic well, on the floor of -which and to one side were situated the two little -lakes we had seen from above. Considerable -water flowed into them from crevices in the walls, -and the place was overshadowed at one point by a -projecting ledge that formed a portico to a cavernous -recess. Leaden colored fish rose and sank in -the water of the lakes, and we thought the gulls, -who must have penetrated to this remote asylum -from Beaufort Sea, had been attracted by them. -It proved to be a dreary, bare hole and instilled in -us a feeling half despairing and melancholy.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“This isn’t the gayest place in the world,” said -Hopkins. “Our insect friends certainly didn’t -come here for recreation. Looks like a smuggler’s -retreat, or a den of crime. Perhaps we may find -here some enchanted troubadour, a chained damsel, -a lurking dragon, or the fountain of eternal youth, -which those cadaverous anchorites we saw upstairs -visit occasionally to keep the life in their shivering -shells. Or—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What’s this?” exclaimed Goritz, his muffled -voice proceeding from the recess into which he had -penetrated, entering its prolongation, which became -a sort of cave.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We rushed forward, all keyed now to an excited -limit of curiosity, so that, as Hopkins expressed it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>afterwards, “an invitation from the angel Gabriel -to step into Paradise, wouldn’t have phased us much, -in fact would have been an ordinary incident in our -investigations.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What is it, Antoine?” I cried as I reached him -and found him gazing in bewilderment at a shining -nodule of something ahead of him, in the deeper -gloom within. I asked no more questions, but -stood still with him, wondering. The others came -up and we all gazed awhile, transfixed by a common -astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The glowing mass, perhaps about the size of a -baby’s closed hand, shed a mellow radiance about -the cave; its light draped our own figures, and it -was reflected from innumerable bright points which -spangled here and there on the floor and walls like -minute lamps.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Diamonds,” murmured Goritz, awestruck.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The place was heated, and the light made us -shade our eyes. The Professor had moved alertly -forward in an impulse of almost desperate joy. He -stood in wrapt contemplation of the luminiferous -chunk, then he struck one of the scintillating projections, -a piece detached itself, and showered some -splinters through the air to the ground. The -splinters shimmered like microscopic mirrors.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>Sphalerite</i>,” he cried. “Zinc sulphide! This -is literally a chamber of Sphalerite, a huge pocket -enclosed in the limestone. It has been worked -somewhat; its extension in the rock is probably -very deep; and, gentlemen,” this apostrophe accompanied -by upraised hands, palms supplicatingly -held towards us, always denoted some especially -disturbing or exhilarating announcement, “this -light proceeds from some natural <i>phosphori</i>. It -may be,” he paused to allow our minds to adjust -themselves to a new attitude of marveling, “it may -be RADIUM. We are in a world of transmutations, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>the home of the Stone of the Philosopher. -In the world we have left—” the language was -positive, convincing, for now the feeling of translation -from all the familiarities of the world of -Europe and America grew persistently, even -though plants and animals expressed a similar life—“in -that world, the combined product of all its -mines, of all its laboratories, scarcely exceeds Two -Grammes. Here is perhaps four ounces, or the -Quarter of a Pound, and—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was then that a black clot, shaping itself in -irregular fingers with blue and yellow fringes revolving -raggedly around it closed my eyes. But before -vision departed, I saw the Professor clutch his -breast, stagger forward, and I heard him cry, “Out, -out!” and then I felt my knees stung by the -pointed stones and, blindly groping, I crawled away.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was later, I do not know how long, that I -recovered my sight and around me, languid and -prostrate; though reviving as I was, were my -comrades.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Transmutation?” said Hopkins, feebly smiling. -“It was pretty nearly a transference <i>over the river</i>, -and no return trip-slip either.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Heaven! How my head aches,” groaned Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Gentlemen,” the Professor gurgled, flat on his -back and sicker than any of us, but with his scientific -apparatus under control and working smoothly, -“we are on the eve of great discoveries. The -papers which I can prepare for the Royal Academy -of Sciences will throw a flood of light on a subject -hitherto only darkly approached. I am confident -that we were in the presence of a monstrous—monstrous -comparatively, you observe—mass of -radium. Further, I feel sure that the Stationary -Sun that maintains a perpetual day in this remarkable -land has something to do with radium emanations -from the Interior of the Earth!”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>The poor gentleman stopped abruptly, some -peculiar evidences of his own interior activity just -then making him roll over and refrain from speech, -because he was <i>otherwise engaged</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Do you suppose,” asked Hopkins, “that those -aeronautical hairpins left that gold brick inside -there?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Certainly,” answered the dilapidated Goritz. -“And they were up to something curious perhaps. -Why, somehow I can only think of Aladdin and the -lamp in the Arabian Nights. You remember it?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Of course, Antoine, but you see there are devilments -here that are not so very beguiling or so very -profitable. At any rate let us get out of here. -The wind has risen; a storm is coming on. The -darkness above looks interesting; in this hole it -will be just stupidly pitch black. I feel half -suffocated in this pit. There isn’t a very promising -chance for our survival if we go on into this radium -land, with a sun made of radium, when a handful -turns us into puppets and pretty nearly into -corpses. I say leave it, leave it all. It’s madness -to go farther.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“You are mistaken—mistaken,” interrupted the -Professor, who had regained his composure. “The -proximity—the reflections—our own unadaptability—fatigue—the -closeness of the confined -space and the—the—unmitigated monotony of our -food made us ill. No—no—We must see it all. -It will be the miracle of the century.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He gasped out his remonstrance and explanations -in dissected sentences that measurably restored my -good humor, so funny were they. A little later -and we had set about getting back to the balsams -on the cliff top, and to the small shelter we had so -far managed to construct, and whose protection in -a storm seemed very attractive. The storm itself -in these strange quarters promised new scenic -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>effects, and its meteorological features might -exceed all possible anticipation. Three of us had -become ecstatically anxious to see everything, one -of us (myself) shrank from his own baleful premonition -of the future.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But we had reached the height, and the freshness -of the air restored our equanimity, and made our -strength whole again, and before us, with slow -divulgements of unusual grandeur, spread the black -skirts of a storm. But it was not over us, though -patches of cloud were streaming from the west in -hurrying phalanxes, dun, disordered, driven, as if -under orders. And far off, beneath, it almost -seemed, that strange stationary sun now half -eclipsed, the hurlyburly of an inordinate atmospheric -disturbance was visibly in operation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The impression almost instantly made was that -of a cyclonic movement—a suction of the air into -the maelstrom center of a revolution that was gathering -from the four quarters reinforcements of -cloud and wind. A dull yellow light shone through -occasional gaps in the aerial concourse of vapors, -fish-gray chasms opened out at moments as if torn -apart by uprushing or irrepressible volumes of -wind, and, lit up by sharper flashes, they would -suddenly evert, pouring out in boiling currents -torrential black clouds. Then a cap of darkness -seemed to descend, and yet in the remnants of light -that stuck here and there to the flanks of -this mountainous obscuration, we could see the -multitudinous scurryings, windings and collisions -of the smoking flails and banks and missiles -of cloud.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Below this indivisible commotion, between it and -what seemed the earth, stole or lay a stratum of -light, and into this, slowly evolving like a gigantic -corkscrew from the storm above, grew downwards, -streaked with black, pillars of condensation, that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>were nothing else than water-spouts, terrible -tornadoes in traveling helices, erect, inclined, and -stalking towards and away from each other like -watery titans.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We thought we even saw their conjunction and -dispersal, but what was visibly secure in the picture -was the ascent heavenward of an intolerably wild -dust avalanche. The whiteness, for such it seemed, -smote and penetrated the clouds; it swerved and -was beaten into straight ribbons of livid light, or, -mingling universally, adulterated the inky burden -with a spurious ghastly filminess. Flashes of -lightning (a rare phenomenon in the north) that -must have been terrific in intensity and portentous -in size bit through the darkness, and rumblings -reached us from the remote conflict. Then agglomeration -and colossal curdlings and it all was -swallowed up in night!</p> - -<p class='c016'>We talked long that night upon the excitements -of the last ten hours, and it was plain to each one of -us that we were again approaching descents to -parts still farther below the levels already passed; -that the storm was over a distant depression; that -in the last day or two the actinic power of that -strange radiance that lurked somewhere in the -skies over this depression was becoming stronger -and more intolerable; that we might expect to -find the incredible influences of Radium in all this; -that perhaps in some way that Sun we saw, we felt, -which was the photal center, provocation and cause -of the plant life around us, and through which we -had passed, was now limiting or suppressing it; -the unmistakable dust or sand tornado showed a -desert region before us. Then, too, we discussed -the poverty of the faunal life, now growing thinner, -smaller, more depressed as we advanced, the -sallowness of the grass, the blueness of leafage, the -anemic pinkiness of the heather, our own tortured -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>feelings of alternate hope and apathy, of well being -and of sickishness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The bleaching, killing effect of this radium light -(so we called It) was partially overcome by the -rainfall which operated favorably for the plants. -In hunting the small deer, and even they became -more infrequent, we noticed that they occupied the -shadowed sides of the hills and, in this stationary -light, these shadowed sides remained almost -unchanged. I say <i>almost</i>, because it became more -and more apparent that the stationary Sun stirred. -It rose or fell or approached or receded. There -was some fluctuation too in its light. It was not a -lamp hung in the sky but an <i>aura</i> that floated inconstantly -over or around some central pivotal, -causal spot, that varied also in its emanations.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Should we go on? I was silent. Overwhelming -as might seem the inducements to break through -the veil of the mystery before us I hesitated—No, -I recoiled. But this was flagrant treachery to the -spirit and ambition of exploration. So I was -silent. Goritz dreaming of his Ophir and Golconda, -was impatient to hurry on. Hopkins felt -that there was nothing else to do; his doggerel -helped him out:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘What matters it how far we go?’ his scaly friend replied,</div> - <div class='line'>There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>But the Professor was resolute. Here were all -his predictions fulfilled—the vortical polar pit, the -warmth, the aborigines, Eden reminiscences (he -referred to the Crocodilo-Python) and now, what, -so he modestly admitted, he had never dreamed of, -the—</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>METROPOLIS OF RADIUM.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>Go on? Of course.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Pine Tree Gredin</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>After we had jerked some of the deer meat, fearing -that the diminishing chances for game would -leave us unsupplied, and as yet quite mystified as -to where or when we would engage the pygmy -people, we took up our loads and went on. The -storm whose gyrating fury had absorbed our attention -had raged itself away, though it was some -thirty-six hours before it cleared, and, slowly liberated -from the thickly wrapt curtains of gloom, the -now more and more obvious sun shone again. The -upland we were crossing caused us many perplexities. -The numerous broad troughs and depressions, the -tracts of tangled dead bushes and the hedges, -resembling “pressure ridges” of ice, which had been -somehow shaped by prevalent winds into long -fences of scraggly, prostrate trees, were increasingly -interspersed with sandy expanses, which we -interpreted as the melancholy presages of a desert -area beyond.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The average elevation was level, with a tendency -to fall as we advanced. We expected daily to reach -some abrupt drop which would announce our descent -into the “last hole of the Golf Links,” to -quote Hopkins. The scheme of Krocker Land -grew daily more and more convincingly simple. -Whatever limital lines embraced it, it was a sort of -amphitheater, with the serial displacements up or -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>down which we had already traversed succeeding -each other concentrically; it was temperate in -climate; it might become torrid because of its -inclusion in the deeper parts of the earth’s crust, or -because, even more probably, it was situated over -some residual uncooled igneous magma. It was -encircled, we assumed, by the profound crevice -we had bridged below the Rim, and its extraordinary -sun which gave light and heat was practically -concealed from external detection by the -gigantic vaporous wall of the “Perpetual Nimbus,” -endlessly created by steaming and evaporation from -the crevice itself, reinforced, too, by the turbulence -of the general atmosphere, which for days and days -had presented a turmoil, or else a dead waste, of -cloud-filled skies.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We thought of that outer world now slowly—nay, -rapidly—succumbing to the tightening grip of -frost and snow and ice, now again dark or visible -only in that strange sepulchral glow of aurora and -stars; of that vast Arctic desolation, the shrouded -corpse of a world, and of the gathering legions of -snowflakes endlessly dropping or whirling from the -blue-black empyrean; of the ice pack formed like -a vise around the empty, tenantless shores, and -groaning under the lash of the winds or the tyrannous -push of the tides; of the distant eastern -Arctic lands, pale with ghost lights over glacier -and mountain, inland ice, trackless coasts, black -rock-bound capes and the blue domed igloo of the -Eskimo; a land hallowed to thought by heroism; -on whose barren plains the monuments to the dead -rise in the wastes feebly to tell of devotion, courage -past knowledge to measure, faithfulness; where -the polar bear and the walrus alone maintain -nature’s plea against utter death.</p> - -<p class='c016'>How those thoughts contrasted with all this -around us, an undulating oasis in the polar desert, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>where now indeed the antipodes drew near in some -strange new development of sand and aridity. -Somehow this latter notion clung persistently. It -was partly due, no doubt, to a natural ascription of -deadly power in the inexplicable Sun, whose -strength each mile was revealed in a more deadly -manner; in part also to the decrescence of life, -now noticeable in many ways. There was a paling -and bleaching of the herbage, and for miles and -miles the movements of insects were almost absent, -while the deer vanished, and only moles or shrews -were occasionally detected in the crookedly ridged -ground.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was after five days’ continuous struggle over -the back of this lumpy and semi-mountainous region, -whose charm for us had long before disappeared, -and when the sharpest scrutiny no longer -disclosed the little deer whose succulent steaks and -chops had kept us happy and well, eked out with -water, and the still persistent berry I have mentioned, -that we reached the edge of a new descent. -Shielding ourselves in a low coppice of bushes from -the peculiar light, which was sensibly increasing in -strength and which seemed less softened by the -interposition of veils of mist and cloud, we could -just see, like a black ribbon painted along the -horizon, a zone of tree tops.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“TREES,” we shouted joyously.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, they are trees,” after a while came the -affirmative assurance. The Professor was studying -them with our field glass.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“They are trees, of some narrow leaved or -coniferous genus. They are so densely, darkly -gathered together. A wood now would indeed be -welcome, but we are fated for a rather trying -march over another desert. I can see a sand plain -stretching away ahead of us, terminating perhaps in -this new region beyond. I have a strong presentiment -<span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>that this wood forms the last screen to the -grand revelation we are certain to be vouchsafed. -It surrounds the home of the RADIUMITES.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“That’s a cheerful view of it, Professor, and not a -bad name. And if we are getting as warm as all that -don’t you think we might conjure up some plan of -operation before we meet these—these—<i>electrons</i>? -How’s that, Erickson? You see I have a talking -acquaintance with Science after all, even if I haven’t -got so far as to call her by her first name. Electrons -and Radiumites are rather related terms. Eh?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” I said, “Hopkins’ suggestion is surely a -wise one. These remarkable creatures have obtained -some curious insight into chemical laws. -They are our masters if we meet them. Before we -can do a thing they will transfix us with chemical -ions, or something like them, and decompose us into -our original elements. I’ve been thinking about -those little lead pipes they carried. I saw them -press them and wave them, and whenever they did -either, something happened; they went up and -down, or any way else, as they wished. The -balloons were not so very small; they appeared, I -think, smaller than they really were, and they did -look too small to lift their loads, little and light as -they seemed, even if they contained our lightest -gas-hydrogen. I tell you they’ve refined methods -in radio-chemistry perhaps, that enable them to -generate an even lighter gas, and its buoyancy is -out of all proportion to the gas volumes represented -in these small balloons. These little men are formidable -savants, who may get rid of us, if they want -to, like that,” and I snapped my fingers.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This harangue stirred the Professor. I meant it -should. His hair, which now seemed almost -redder than when we started, and had grown so -that it enveloped his head in a penumbral glory, -like a sunset fire, rose, as it were, to the occasion.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>“Erickson,” he retorted, “put away your fears. -The very fact of the intellectual promotion of these -people would make it certain that they have abandoned -savage ways, and that they would recognize -in us, to say the least,” it may be the Professor -blushed slightly, though the rufescent splendor of -his hair disguised it, “representatives of a culture -that will excite their curiosity, their—Ahem—<i>envy</i>. -Personally I feel confident that—Ahem—once -some sort of communication is established -between us, I can interest them. I should feel -honored even to present their contributions to -science before the Royal Academy of Sciences at -Stockholm. In the hierarchy of scientific authors -their names would arrest the attention of the whole -earth.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>After this flight there was a respectful pause, -until Hopkins resumed:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Say Professor, the particular culture that -would impress them most now would be a wash, a -clean shirt, a shave and a haircut. Eh?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor contemptuously ignored the -interruption, though a furtively repressed approach -of laughter on his face showed his appreciation of -its justice. We were indeed frights.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“And, Alfred, as to your suggestion of a gas -lighter than hydrogen in the balloons, perhaps you -are aware that so far as the apparent transmutation -of the elements permits any conclusions in the matter, -hydrogen has hitherto yielded only helium, -neon, carbon and sulphur, all heavier bodies. I -don’t say you are not right. It’s tremendously -interesting. However, you may have underestimated -the size of the balloons and over-estimated -the weight of the little men. They had a very -<i>papery</i> look to me, and of course,” the Professor -always had this pragmatic style of insisting <i>you -knew</i>, when he was inwardly crowing over his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>chance of illuminating your ignorance, “you know -that the levitation of hydrogen equals seventy -pounds to one thousand cubic feet of gas—at -ordinary pressures. Those balloons were larger -than they seemed; some reflexion in the air -diminished them, and really those aged infants, -I believe, scarcely exceeded thirty pounds in weight. -Do you know,” he became excitedly radiant, -“perhaps their tenuity has some relation to their -intellectual development—they represent some -final stage of human evolution, when the body -shrinks, and the mind enlarges, and—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The teeth drop out,” suggested Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“True, Mr. Hopkins. Professor Wurtz has -pointed out the probable absorption of the teeth -or their disappearance under the debilitating -influence of mental growth. These people may live -solely on saps, juices, milks, liquids, extracts.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This tickled Hopkins boundlessly, and he rattled -away—I don’t know whether it was quotation or -improvisation:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Really I hesitate to say,</div> - <div class='line'>What they promise now some day,</div> - <div class='line'>When learning and brain</div> - <div class='line'>Are fit for the strain,</div> - <div class='line'>Of telling the Truth to a hair.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“For the <i>Docs</i> have puzzled it out,</div> - <div class='line'>And there isn’t a reason to doubt,</div> - <div class='line'>That we’ll lose all our grinders,</div> - <div class='line'>All our gold-plugged reminders,</div> - <div class='line'>Of the toothache that taught us to swear.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“It’s a case of gray matter and such,</div> - <div class='line'>Though for that we need not care much,</div> - <div class='line'>For—cocktails and chowder for lunch,</div> - <div class='line'>Soft drinks, sangaree, and rum punch</div> - <div class='line'>Will surely be living for fair.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>“Come,” growled Goritz, “this sort of nonsense -isn’t getting us anywhere. Strap up your packs -and get out of this. The chances for grub ahead -are not the best in the world. The country is -already as bare as a cleared table, and what are we -going to do for water?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>That was a disagreeable predicament. Hitherto -the springs, little tarns or water holes, though decreasing -in number as we advanced, had fully met -our requirements, but if we were to cross any considerable -dry tract we might be seriously imperiled. -To be sure, the limestone country if prolonged -would almost certainly feed us, but that desert -land which our closest inspection of the distance -only made more unquestionable—How about that?</p> - -<p class='c016'>The conclusion we came to was to husband all -the resources we could command. It sounded -grandiloquent—<i>our resources</i>! What were they? -Some patches of jerked deer’s meat, our fryingpan -and pot, the remnant of our improvised tent and -our knapsacks, almost empty except for the -instruments, a few necessary implements, the -ammunition, still sufficient, and our guns. Our -clothing was desperately worn. Literally, we were -in rags, but a primitive kind of treatment in water, -from time to time, had freed this dejected apparel -of at least a large percentage—I really think a -preponderant percentage—of its dirt. The question -of water remained urgent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In about a day or so we came upon the outlines of -the desert plain—scrappy expanses of sand and -pebbles—mostly angular, and we noted the dust -occasionally sweeping heavenward in yellow clouds -but still we thought we also saw the dark farther -zone of trees. Our horizon was now more limited; -we had descended some fifteen hundred feet, and -the advantage of an elevated circumspection was -denied us. The professor determined the sand to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>be a pulverulent shattered and crumbling limestone, -and although absorbent and apparently -deeply bedded he believed we could, almost anywhere, -upon digging find water. This was encouraging, -and the trip over this tawny and sometimes -dazzling waste seemed less formidable. The -light became peculiarly tantalizing and objectionable, -and we were thankful enough for the goggles. -After deliberation we made up the canvas of our -little tent, which we still retained, into bags (we had -pack thread and sailors’ needles) and expected to -use them as water carriers. Then we trapped a -few moles, though recourse to this unpalatable -flesh would only be considered in an extremity, and -then, not without foreboding, we started over the -pallid desert.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We soon came upon traces of the great storm -which we had watched from the Deer Fels. These -were unmistakable. Deep gouges had been made -in the sand by the volleying and cutting winds, but -the most extraordinary vestiges of its violence were -the conical hills of sand, raised over the surface in -huge mammilary erections. These were distributed -with a very striking evenness, except at -spots, where it would seem the moving hills in their -translation had closed upon one another, and, -demolished in the collisions, left formless congeries -of tossed and sprawling heaps, which might have a -length of a mile or more, and were from half to three -quarters of a mile in width. They were disagreeable -obstacles, and ploughing through them was the -hardest kind of work, for the surfaces were -composed of a deep deposit of minute grains and -dust and our feet sank into them as quickly as -though we were engaged in a plunge through a -colossal flour bin or a wheat pit.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But our complaints and discouragements were -providentially rebuked. Fighting our way up and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>down these dry quagmires of dust, stumbling, -falling and not infrequently assisting to extricate -one another from the floury embrace, we had come -to the crest of a ridge which crossed diagonally one -of these shapeless, tortuous mounds. This ridge, -over the mean level of the plain, was almost twenty -feet high, a good measure of the strength of the -wind suction which had built it up. We were dusty, -almost exhausted, and the water we had carefully -conserved, as best we might (for the bags were not -watertight) in our canvas receptacles, was approaching -a dangerous depletion. It was absolutely -necessary, fight against it as we might, to -wash our mouths and throats, clogged and asperate -as they were with the grains and dust, quite often, -or, it seems to me, we would have been suffocated. -What gratitude we felt you may imagine, when, on -surmounting the ridge, our eyes fell upon a small -pool of water entrapped upon some impervious -bottom, in a natural bowl, enclosed by the ridge on -which we halted and a lower ridge beyond us. The -familiar thought of how it transcended in value -any imaginable wealth of gold and diamonds at that -moment flashed, I guess, through all of our minds. -We camped there. The water was clear and cool, -for, I should have mentioned it, the weather had -been colder, and, when our “fixed Sun,” as Goritz -called it was hidden, we suffered somewhat from -imperfect protection.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Queer we don’t hit any more of those weird -phantoms that own this place, isn’t it?” said Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh,” I replied, “they may be watching us now, -listening to us. You can’t tell. I think they’re a -sort of supernatural people that can do almost anything. -Perhaps they wear magic cloaks, hats, -shoes, that make them invisible. Speak easy when -you meet ’em Spruce, and don’t abuse them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>behind their backs, for—it may be—<i>to their -faces</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Look here, Alfred, I really believe you’ve -loosened a nut in that tight little head of yours. -To hear you talk gets on my nerves. Don’t do it. -Hasn’t the Professor explained it all as Evolution, -and how exceedingly friendly these fine folk will be -to us when they get a bead on our own families. -As for speaking easy, I shan’t speak at all. With -me it’s the case of Pat once again, and I couldn’t -get even as far as he did with the Frenchman with -his “<i>Parlez-vous français, and—give me the loan -of your gridiron.</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Alfred,” asked the Professor, “could you talk -with them, if it turns out that their language is -Hebrew?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Certainly,” I answered, “I am a Jew, and my -earliest training has never been forgotten. I have -been hugging the thought that I can understand -them or make them understand me. I grant, -along traditional lines there was something Hebraic -in their looks.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes Alfred—this,” said Hopkins, touching his -nose.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We laughed, but the Professor stared at me -thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Alfred,” at length he solemnly began, “the -Vestiges of Creation—Who knows but—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The sentence was never finished and to this day -I only dimly suspect the lurking and indefinable -thought that those world-dreams of the past, with -Eden placed at the North Pole, and a still more -irreclaimable theory of a residual population -descending from some God-made primal ancestor, -confusedly rose in the Professor’s mind, and that -he was groping his way to express this cryptic and -impossible illusion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>No! the Professor was probably utterly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>stunned into dumbness, as we were made half wild -with wonder by a cry from Goritz:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“SEE! Over there are the head and arm of a -dead man sticking out through the sand.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We jumped to our feet, followed with our eyes -his stiffened, outstretched arm and rigid finger, and -saw the chubby face of a corpse, with closed eyes, -streaming black hair, pushed out from a blanket of -sand, while an arm with a clenched hand was protruding -from the same covering. For a moment—perhaps -for several—we remained motionless, -perusing the face which was so astonishingly contrasted -with the lineaments of the diminutive -aeronautical philosophers, and noting too the convexity -of the earth covering the body, which indicated -a man or woman, of an average size or a little -undersized. What struck each one of us at once -was the unmistakable Eskimo type, the narrow -eyes, small <i>joufflu</i> nose, wide mouth, puffed -cheeks, low forehead and coarse, straggling and -profuse hair.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A little later and we had dug out of his grave the -astounding figure. When it was uncovered it -corroborated all our first impressions as to its -Eskimo relationship, but we then detected that its -construction was more slender and generally better -proportioned, and the beardless face was more -refinedly cut. Its dress was a yellow gown or tunic -over very loose bluish trousers, and its feet were -encased in roughly made loose slippers, fastened by -laces or strings over the instep. The material of -the dress was a woven wool. The tunic was -clasped by a broad belt of the same substance, -fastened by a leaden buckle; the trousers were held -in at the bottom by a kind of anklet of bone and -skin, and the sleeves of the tunic were similarly -confined.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But perhaps it was the buckle that excited our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>curiosity the most, for there was engraved—not -embossed—on it the same serpent and crocodile-like -figure that had been seen on the gold buckle -Goritz found, and over it too were the singular -conventions of a branched tree encircled by a -snake. Goritz compared his belt and buckle with -it and was convinced of their identical interpretation. -Nothing else was found. We detected no -pockets of any sort in the clothing—Yes, there was -something else, from under the body we dug up -spectacle-like yellow glasses.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was clear that the creature had been overwhelmed -in a sandstorm, but it was not clear why -he should have been alone and apparently wandering -a long way from his home and companions. -The incident incited us to greater haste, and when -we had replenished our water skins, we resumed the -exhausting tramp. The tree line became increasingly -plainer to view, and it offered a goal and prize -now that dissipated our fatigue and roused our -ambition. We had not discussed the Eskimo waif -but I guess through all of our minds slowly or -quickly filtered the conviction that he represented -a lower slave or working group; that we were soon -to break into a world of industry and achievement, -founded on social distinctions; that indeed up here -in Krocker Land flourished perhaps an oldtime -class regime with knowledge and power confined to -a priestly or imperial class, like Egypt, like Mexico, -like Peru.</p> - -<div id='p2142' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p2142.jpg' alt='four men look down to hills and a forest' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE PINE TREE GREDIN</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>Some of my first trepidation over the adventure -had vanished, but much remained. I felt no confidence -in those uncanny air travelers. Goritz -became impatient and almost retaliatory; he was -maddened by the vision of wealth, for he dreamed -we were coming close to some dazzling, incalculable -phenomenon of riches. Hopkins was good-naturedly -suspicious and apprehensive, but confessed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>to an overpowering desire to see the thing -out, and “<i>have it over</i>.” The Professor lived in -the seventh heaven of delectation over the prospect -of preparing a batch of papers, to be read before the -Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, that -would place his name high on the walls of the -Temple of Knowledge. All of us were thus anxious -to get on, and we made rapid progress. Need -there was, for our provisions were again nearing -exhaustion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was almost a hundred and twenty hours, or -five days, since we had left the Deer Fels before we -dragged ourselves into the first grateful shadows of -the great <i>Pine Tree Gredin</i>. So Professor -Bjornsen termed it. Such it was. A vast, plunging -hillside or scarp, covering miles and miles, and -appareled from top to bottom with this wonderful -vesture of tall pines. And it sang with the refreshing -music of innumerable brooks. The exhaustless -reservoirs of water emptied upon the vast desert -zone which, almost without leaving a trace of -greenness behind them, entered that profoundly -weathered and comminuted soil, engulfed completely, -as are the rivers of California or Colorado -or Persia, and reissued unsullied, purified and cold, -over this pine tree steppe.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The exhausted pilgrim through Purgatory who -sees the gates of Paradise open to him, would, for -Christians, furnish a description of our feelings as, -ragged, choked with dust, almost crazed with -thirst and speechless from fatigue, we threw ourselves -at the foot of the first towering grove, and -sank our heads into its moss lined bowls of living -water. As a Jew I myself recalled the pretty fable -of “<i>The Slave Who Became a King</i>” and all that -the shipwrecked wretch had felt when the new -people he had reached made him their king and fed -and clothed him; for indeed to us, as Nefesh was to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>Adam, this new stage was the Island of Life. I -had reason to remember the story more literally -afterwards.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And the marvelous stateliness of this blue-green -ocean of straight trees, the entrancing vistas between -the majestic columns, with a life of pheasant -and hare and squirrel, the bubbling cadences of -springs, and the rambling mirthfulness and riot -of the brooks, the deep-browed silence in places, -and the needle-thatched ground, inviting us to -sleep and dreams, had a fabulous expression, as if -the prelude to some unearthly—See how the whole -unreality of it haunts me—experience. But, -besides its picturesqueness, we rejoiced in the dusk-like -protection from the light; in the effect and -feeling of a dark submarine immersion, the light -became so beryl-like, that we again, and now as it -were <i>en masse</i>, encountered fresh reminders of the -still invisible people we must soon see face to face.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There were clearings which had been made in the -forest. They were dotted with stumps and crossed -by fallen trunks, and made outlooks from which we -saw the interminable distances of serried ranks of -trees. Far to the right, far to the left, far before us -with as yet no determinable limit in any direction, -the gigantic flood of pines flowed ceaselessly down -the sides of a continental amphitheater.</p> - -<p class='c016'>These cleared rings were suggestive enough. -There was no evidence that less toilsome methods -had been used than those adopted by prehistoric -man. The trees had been hacked and cut by stone -axes, they had been trimmed by stone axes, and we -found traces of fire around them, which had been -made to hasten their fall. But it was not long -before we came upon well-made roads threading the -forest, to which the clearings themselves were -tributary, and over which the great logs had been -transported.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>Besides we found dishes and cups, vessels of -various sizes, which were well advanced in fictile -skill, being watertight, with glazed bodies of white -and yellow or terracotta tints. And over them, as -on the buckles, were rudely painted and reburned -that now familiar symbol of the tree and serpent. -These interested us greatly, but our sharpest hunt -for some gold relics was unrewarded.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“No lost property worth advertising for ’round -here,” said Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well it’s still westward,” said Goritz. “We -must run them down soon. But see how endless -the prospect,” and he pointed to that unique multitude -of motionless trees, falling away and ever -downwards into some gigantic central subsidence.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was remarkable that we encountered no temporary -abodes, no camps, no settlements and no -laggard or outpost of the elusive people.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor, invincible in theorizing and pertinacious -in assertion, animadverted on our discoveries -in this way:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, these Radiumites show a sort of frustrated -culture. They have some specialized knowledge, -and then again they are in other respects primitive. -It’s a very interesting ethnological problem. It’s -a well known circumstance that civilizations decline -or even degenerate. The modern Indian of -Mexico or Peru offers a sad contrast to his -ancestors, but in the useful arts, as Tylor remarks, a -skill once acquired is seldom or never abandoned or -forgotten. If these people could smelt iron they -certainly would not resort to stone for felling trees. -Races like the New Zealanders have never learned -to reduce iron from its ore, though iron ore abounds -in their country.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The trails and roads proved to be labyrinthine, -and led us over long and useless journeys, frequently -back to our starting point. It was Goritz -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>who solved their apparent confusion and proved -that they were parts of intersecting loops or circles, -and that each series of circles connected with a -succeeding one by roads leading always from the -westernmost (or lowest) edge of each circle. These -latter roads seemed radial and continuous. The -plan was like this (Erickson showed me a drawing) -with the circles a mile or half a mile in diameter.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But it was the Professor who detected a remarkable -feature which plunged us all into renewed -speculations and wondering surmises. In following -one of these circular roads he observed that the -area enclosed by it was a depression, and this fact, -together with a less crowded growth and some -previous clearing permitted him to note that an unusually -large tree towered among the others, apparently -exceeding them greatly in height and, rudely -at least, it was at the center of the circular space.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As, at times yielding to a lotos-like influence, we -now moved more deliberately, and would remain -at one camping spot (this was before Goritz pointed -out the more direct line of advance over the radiating -roads) twenty or more hours, the Professor -would direct his steps to this tree as a landmark. -Some abstruse stirrings of suggestion urged him. -But it seemed almost a miracle of second sight, for -it uncovered an astounding system of combined -surveying or charting, associated intricately with -religious motives. He diverted our attention -indeed to a search which enriched us with some -valuable objects, though we were likely to have -lost them all later. But it thus led to the <i>denouement</i> -of an utterly unparalleled adventure by -forcing us sharply upon the mysterious people who -lived here, and opening up a chapter of incidents -and episodes never otherwise related, except in -tales of invention or in the dreams of disturbed -and romancing minds.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>He found his tree in a small, open, carefully -cleared space, and on it were not only carvings of -the ubiquitous serpent sign, but with this evidently -scripts, which he interpreted as prayers, or sacred -utterances and adjurations, and, more astonishingly, -conventionalized GOLD images (hardly exceeding -three or four inches in height) laid at the bottom of -the tree. These images rudely symbolized a -human figure enrolled in the coils of a serpent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When he brought one of these images into our -camp—he timidly refrained from disturbing the -others—you may imagine our excitement. Goritz -gazed and gazed at it in a trance of amazement -and gloating. He wanted to set out on an excursion -of discovery at once. But we overruled that. -The Professor had our attention completely. His -exploit gave a real authority to his entertaining -disquisition. We were thoroughly interested.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, here is a stupendous theme—Serpent and -Tree worship—developed on an unusual scale and in -an unprecedented manner. You see this enormous -forest is arranged in a chart-like manner into a -series—I might say a <i>Halysites</i>, as it were—of -encircling roadways, producing the effect of a -garland of wreathed snakes, while in each fold or -embrace, some tree, conspicuous for size or height, -or some physical perfection, has been selected, -about or around which again the serpentine coils -are enwrapped, a splendid combination of tree and -serpent worship ideographically presented in a -park plan. Again the votive objects attached to -the trees form a group of subordinated ornamental -commemorative or religious symbols, and the -whole display is ancestral, archaic, <i>turanian</i>, for -Fergusson holds that no Aryan people succumbed -to this peculiar cult, dimly shadowed forth in myth, -fable and history at the first emergence of racial -life.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>“Think of the legendary lore connected with the -strange prepossessions of early peoples, the myth -of Adam and Eve and the Serpent; the brazen -serpent lifted up in the wilderness by Moses, the -Serpent of Epidaurus in the temple of Aesculapius, -the dragon of the Argonauts, the serpent of the -oracle at Delphi, in the grove of laurel trees; the -serpent inhabiting a cave at Lanuvium, and -wrought into religious practices; the ascription to -serpents of healing powers and powers of divination; -the snake in Indian, Egyptian, Phoenician, -Assyrian religions. Think, Goritz and Erickson, -of the tree worship of the Scandinavians, culminating -in the <i>Yggdrasill</i>, the ash, whose branches -spread over the whole world, and even reach up to -heaven, the extended and dreadful homage paid to -great snakes in America, still existing among the -desert Indians of Arizona and New Mexico!</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But as a contribution to the ophitic lore I -believe we have found in this new polar continent -the central arcana of the mystery referable, for -aught we know, to the Adam legend. Gentlemen, -we are stepping on the skirts of a great mystery.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The solemnity of this conclusion which was -becomingly indicated by the Professor’s outstretched -hands and by the smile of benignant -invitation for us to assume his own gravity, was -somewhat abridged or spoiled by Hopkins’ interjection.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I’m afraid, Professor, that we’ll be stepping into -trouble if we pinch too many of these joints. I -say leave the contraptions alone.” This was -meant as a rebuke to Goritz who was for rifling -everything. I half believe he would now have -been willing to abandon our further march, hunt -for the wood temples, despoil them, and retreat, -recover our yacht and hike it over the ice for Point -Barrow. The gold had strangely turned his head.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span>“Yes,” I interrupted, for I was really anxious too, -though I was willing to join the laugh that followed -Hopkins’ remonstrance, “we must be careful. -There’s mystery enough here and there may be -power behind the mystery, enough also to send us -each about our business to Eternity.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>However, from this time we watched for the -trees that accentuated the great rings of woods, -marked off by the circular and intersecting roads. -We detected numbers of them, though for days -none would be found. Cleared spaces surrounded -them, but not always, nor indeed generally, were -there votive offerings of gold images, but bits of -apparel, pottery, glass beads (we wondered much -over these last), leaden, rudely shaped figures, -stone implements and carved wooden masks. We -wasted time in this pursuit, urged to it by Goritz’s -insatiable delight over the gold finds (we resisted -his intentions of taking everything away, though he -despoiled many of the trees), and I think the Professor -was responsible for much of our wandering, -for in his note taking he was indefatigable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The ground continued to descend, and though -the decline was interrupted by hillocks, protuberant -mounds and long, rising slopes, these exceptions -were accidental, and we realized that since entering -the forest we had descended nearly three thousand -feet. We were actually over five thousand feet -below the mean level of the earth. From some of -the elevations our view still measured the endless -stretch of sombre green (really a blue-green), -though we felt certain that a still lower valley -bounded its marge and that beyond the latter -limit there were hot springs or geysers, the gushing -upward of steam clouds was so incessant. And -then more wondrously, we were made aware of a -shaft of light, a luminous prism shooting upward -from the earth, which we began to suspect was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>related to the stationary sun from which this -puzzling and utterly unrelated nook of the earth -received light and heat, when outside of its charmed -and storm-beleaguered rim the polar seas and lands -lay bound in the iron grip of winter and were dark -beneath a sunless sky. Bewildering, maddening -paradox! We were often thunderstruck and -speechless, dimly doubting whether we had not -indeed “shuffled off the coil” of life, and had -become reincarnate in another sphere.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I guess that I alone had that feeling often, for -Hopkins’ imperturbable realism, Goritz’s avarice -and the Professor’s splendid vaulting ambition to -convulse the scientific world kept them mortally -conscious and human.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And now an amazing thing happened. It -began the rush of events that for three or four -months tossed us along a course of excitement that -made our heads spin and terminated in episodes for -all of us too fabulous to be believed and yet—Mr. -Link they are the sober, unvarnished truth. You -may doubt your ears, you may be tempted—you -will be—to put me in a class outside even of the -biggest assassins of truth—and as a journalist you -have known a good many, but in the end perhaps I -can re-establish my reputation by an appeal to your -eyes! That sort of evidence cannot be gainsaid.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, it turned out that we had nearly crossed -the interminable forest, and were tramping silently -along one of the radial roads, just after it had cut -(“bisected” the Professor insisted) the arc of one of -the great circles, when Goritz quickly raised his hand:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Listen! Music—drums!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We halted, breathless with wonder. Softly, in a -low, monotonous hum came the itinerant beating. -Yes, we all heard it, and with it, as we waited, was -mingled the metallic clangor of cymbals or something -like them.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>“‘Regardless of grammar they all said “That’s -them,’” whispered Hopkins, quoting his Ingoldsby.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>Up the tree.</i> They’re coming nearer,” said -Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Decidedly,” coincided the Professor. “As an -exhibition of the prehistoric musical art this will be -unique.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were not long in clambering among the outspread -boughs of a big pine, leaving our instruments -and packs at its foot (the species in growth and -cyclical arrangement of its limbs resembled the -white pine), helping each other until we were finally -asylumed among the topmost needles, peering out -over the receding road for the approaching procession, -if procession it was.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were not to wait long. The music, disentangled -now from the interference and dampening -effect of the trees, rose assailingly from the distance, -and the thumping drums and the dulcet swish and -clatter of the cymbals seemed almost beneath us. -We were straining our eyes, and, in our impatience -and curiosity, became careless of our position, all -half standing on the same bough, clasping the trunk -and leaning outward.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was a glittering, swarming effect in the -vista, and we saw the advancing ranks of the -strangers. Instantly we recognized the Eskimo, or -his modified image, in the first companies. They -were lurching ponderously forward, their legs and -shoulders advancing together to the irresistible -rhythm swelling behind them. They wore short -yellow tunics or sacks engirdled by cloth belts with -leaden buckles; blue trousers caught at the ankles -by leaden anklets and sandals completed their -dress, except that on their heads they wore broad, -white, hive-shaped straw sombreros not unlike the -head covering of the peons in Mexico. Each man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>swung a short bludgeon comically suggestive of a -New York City policeman’s club.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Cheese it—the Cop,” chuckled Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The ranks came on in goodly number and they -formed a stalwart, if clumsy and shuffling phalanx. -The band, as a proper misappropriation of the word -would describe it, succeeded. These, too, were all -of the Eskimo type, but men and women mingled -together; the men plied the small, stiff, vociferous -wooden drums and the women rather gracefully, -and with inerrant precision, smashed the cymbals -together.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Gold—by God,” croaked Goritz, and he almost -lost his balance in his admiration.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Gold they were indeed, and the metal delivered -a note less rasping and shattering than the ordinary -brass. The men and women of the band were -dressed in closer fitting garments, their legs were -naked, but over each of the women’s knees was -strapped a glittering gold cap and their hair was -braided with sinuous gold serpents. They burnished -the dark outline of the marchers like gleams -of light or fireflies in a summer gloaming. It -was really very pretty, and Hopkins nearly lost -his self control by starting our applause. The -impulse was momentary, for in a trice our eyes were -ensnared in the sight of the astonishing crowd of -little people that followed them.</p> - -<p class='c016'>They were perhaps larger than the strange little -men we had met on the Deer Fels, and their heads -did not fall forward with that irksome sense of -heaviness which afflicted those diminutive philosophers. -But they formed a diverting and animated -picture. They were in all sorts of order, and rather -prevalently without any order at all. In threes and -fours, in strings and lines, in gravely marching little -bands, and then in dancing disorder, all wearing -tunics and trousers of various colors or plaids, but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>with the belt and the hieroglyphic buckle. Every -now and then as they surged along they sang, a -midget song, quavering and odd, musical in a way, -but a rather poor way, and, like the shrilling -cymbals and the tom-tom drums, sing-songy and -monotonous. We became spell-bound at the weird -spectacle. They also wore broad brimmed straw -hats, but pushed back on their heads, as if to offset -that ludicrous tilt of their funny big heads.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And then came a host of the Eskimo girls beating -the cymbals again, but there were no drums or men.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, I must say,” softly spoke Hopkins, “the -popular chorus girl hasn’t anything on these peacherinas, -has she?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>But what was this amazing company that followed—bizarre, -fascinating, crudely savage, and yet -enigmatically enthralling? A chariot or a flat platform -car on low, solid wooden wheels, drawn by -goats whose horns were tipped with gold snails, -bore a group of diminutive figures which we all -recognized as being the very little men whose -aeronautics had so astonished us. They and more -like them sat back to back on this equipage of gold, -as in an Irish jaunting car, and one chariot succeeded -another, all loaded down with the <i>Areopagus</i> -of councilors and governors, for such they -certainly seemed to be. But they were sumptuously -dressed in violet cassocks, girt with gold; -gold chains encircled their necks, and pendent to -these was the serpent symbol. On their heads they -wore the flat broad brimmed hat bedizened with -gold trappings. These hats now lay in their laps, -their long-fingered, waxy hands folded over them, -and their eyes were protected by the absurd goggles.</p> - -<p class='c016'>They too were singing or praying, the chant -rising to us with the undulatory emphasis of a -Hebrew cantor, and—so it seemed to me—the words -were indeed a Hebrew jargon. But around them, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>before them, behind them, stalked an ordered regiment -of the slimmer, taller Eskimos; all men, and -they each raised on their left shoulders, held stationary -by the bent left arm and the right arm -extended across the breast, a pole of gold, on which -was entrained a living snake. The creatures were -imprisoned, for their necks were caught in locks at -the apexes of the poles. These snakes were black, -a glossy black, and on the glossy, glittering poles -they formed a strange <i>caduceus</i>. It was in a way -a horrible assemblage, and then again, against the -background of all of our incredible experiences, it -assumed a bewildering charm, as if it were a dream -half turned into a nightmare, or a nightmare -checked in its course by a remembered dream. On, -on, they swayed and moved, and amid these -ophidian pages, groups of drummers kept up a -ceaseless dull, stupid drubbing.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then something stranger followed. An empty -chair on a gold wagon, a chair itself of gold, but -shaped like the stump of a tree with two branches -sprouting from it, and between these as they were -projected above the stump, the spread figure—in -heraldry <i>displayed</i>—of the <i>Crocodilo-Python</i>, also -in gold. The hideous animal enormity was all -there, its anaconda-like tail winding about the tree -stump, its stilted hind feet grasping the lower ends -of the branches, its shorter webbed forefeet dragging -their curved ends towards its twisted neck, and -the saurian jaws in a horrid rictus, imminent above -that empty throne whose occupant perchance -might be some aboriginal Apollo or a grinning and -revolting savage sibyl.</p> - -<div id='p2261' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p2261.jpg' alt='three men in a tree look down on a festive parade of elfen-looking people' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>MEETING THE RADIUMOPOLITES</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>Well, Mr. Link, the spectacle, with this climax, -made us dizzy; some reminiscent weakness from -my swooning attacked me, but I would have been -safe enough. I stuck fast to the trunk of the tree, -when Goritz turning backward stepped on my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>support. It cracked, it broke. Hopkins seized -Goritz’s arm, the Professor Hopkins’ coat tail—what -there was of it—and ingloriously, with crash -and whisking flight from branch to branch, we four -hopeless Argonauts slumped from the top of the -lofty pine, with arresting scramblings and maniacal -clutchings, to the bottom, and were spilled to the -roadway; four voiceless, bedraggled, ragged, bushy-haired, -wild eyed, grimy men, more savage in our -destitution than the savages we had fallen amongst. -As we banged to the ground, a jolt stopped the -empty throne, with its golden splendors of the -distended image of the saurian, directly opposite -our jumbled, prostrate bodies.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Valley of Rasselas</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>It was an incongruous position, and a mind responsive -only to the ludicrous would have been -delighted with mirth over it. But it was really no -joke, and if Hopkins, whose risibilities were the -least easily subdued, had ventured upon one of his -whirlwinds of laughter, instead of sedately rising -(enjoining us to imitate him) and bowing profoundly, -it might have had a tragic termination.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As it was, Hopkins himself actually prescribed -our solemn behavior. It somehow appealed just -then to his freakish sense of humor to appear portentously -grave and decorous, and as he kept up his -salaaming we fell in with the trick, and were -bobbing away with the gravity of mandarins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The crowd, as we slammed into the road, were -pretty well upset. There was a queer gurgling -groan, and then a shout, and a few of the men -rushed forward with leveled poles, from which the -black squirming ribbons uncannily unrolled, as if -to strike us. Our appealing gestures for forbearance -disarmed them, and then curiously some of -them began to smile. Hopkins’ later reflection -that we would probably have “made a meal sack -split open with diversion,” was about correct, and -it must have been the preposterous absurdity of it -all, conjoined with our indefatigable rolling up and -down, and some improvised gesture of the Yankee, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>expressive of submission and subjection, that -gradually increased their merriment, until we had -in front of us a friendly audience, simmering with -amusement.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The commotion and noise of the bending, breaking -branches had been seen and heard much further -along the cortege, and it had caught the eye of the -dignitaries on the wheeled platform. In a few -minutes a number of these ambling, beetle-like -worthies arrived and, withdrawing cautiously into -the protecting circle of the Eskimo youth, gazed at -us with unaffected astonishment. We now had the -best opportunity to see them at short range, and -this was so desirable that we brought our antics to -a close, reciprocating their scrutiny with as keen an -inspection on our part. The impression made on -me, on all of us, was favorable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The faces of these short men were remarkable for -an unmistakable gravity; their eyes, from which -they had removed the goggles, were penetrating -and bright, sunken beneath arched and conspicuous -eyebrows, and set alongside of prominent aquiline -noses. The lower parts of their faces were weak, -narrowed, and clothed with a scanty pointed beard. -Their brows were broad, high and of alabaster -whiteness. This colorlessness pervaded their whole -anatomy, related at it were, to the thinness of their -legs, their slim long arms and pendulous fingers, -their flat and insufficient feet. We noticed then -that they carried in their belts tubes of metal -similar or identical to the wand-like ones that had -seemed to aid their flight with the balloons.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Their study of us was emphasized by considerable -stroking of the beards, shrugging of the shoulders, -and an occasional despairing waving of the -hands. Everyone, everything, remained motionless -while these wiseacres made up their minds as to -the meaning of our intrusion, or endeavored to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>meet the broader problem of what do to with us. -And so the whole mass slowly gathered, the first -ranks of the muscular Eskimo older men, the -drummers and the cymbalists, the fluttering, -diversified groups of the little people; they crushed -into the woods, blocked the road, climbed up into -the trees; many pressed near to us, their hands -resting on their hips, regarding us with a tense and -silent absorption that made me nervous.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins nudged the Professor. “Prof., give -’em a lecture, anything, only hand it over highly -flavored—<i>paprika-like</i>. Slam a few dictionaries -at ’em. What we need just now is a little intellectual -standing, I take it. These highbrows think -we’re no better than we look.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Oddly they had said nothing to us until they -noticed Hopkins talking; then one of them, a -rather benignant and especially reflective looking -individual, who had been arguing vehemently the -moment before with one of his colleagues, advanced -and said what sounded like “<i>do bau</i>” or, had it -been in such Hebrew as I myself understood, -“<i>dobare</i>”; namely “speak,” “talk.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor probably did not understand the -word, but he understood perfectly their wishes, and -under Hopkins’ admonition stepped forward, and -started a harangue. Nothing that had preceded -was so likely to ruin our discretion as the scene made -by this overture of the Professor’s. Hopkins was -compelled to grovel on the ground to suppress his -merriment, but this ruse was interpreted fortunately -as an expression of reverence for the -words or voice of our leader, and his explosions -reduced by this means to a subterranean titter -were further alleviatingly considered as a phase of -weeping.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor was a sight. Not any part of his -attire was whole, and his boots were devoid of toes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>and rent along the soles. He was dirtier, I think, -than any one of us, as his ablutions had been less -regular, so far as regularity was the appropriation -of an opportunity once a month, and he had been -torn and bruised and scratched, and had a most -despondent expression of hoodlumism. His hands -alone were presentable; I have referred to his sensitiveness -over his hands. And his hair! It was a -bright red, and it had grown profusely, and, exulting -in some untamed inclination to revert to savagery, -had grown outward in a stiff jungle that now -flamed around his ingratiating physiognomy like -some angry halo. Under the stress of his nervousness -and—his periods, he flourished his hands and -shook his head, and this immensely increased the -gap between his grandiloquence and his humiliating -appearance. It was side splitting.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And then increasing the ludicrousness of it all -almost insufferably, was the close attention of the -people, and the absurdly critical demeanor and -deliberation of the philosophers. Certainly nobody -understood a word of what the Professor said -and yet they listened with bent heads, devouring -eyes, and a mute satisfaction impossible to describe. -And the Professor, flattered or deceived by the thrilling -effect he was producing, fired off his lingo at a -greater speed, with a screaming voice (he probably -thought that if he yelled he would be better understood), -and more tumultuous gestures. The combination -was more unutterably funny than our -predicament was possibly grave. Hopkins was -unable to raise his head. I heard him groaning, -“Such a bizness. Choke him off.” I was compelled -to hide my head in my hands and allow my -convulsions to go for what they were worth as -emotional signals of despair. Goritz, a grave man, -lately a fiercely obsessed man, deliberately turned -his back and stuck his fingers in his ears.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>And this was some of the Professor’s sonorous -patter:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My friends you are amazed to see us, but we -have come from the great (hands pressed together) -world beyond your continent to find YOU (emphasized -by two pointing index fingers). We knew you -were here (an ascending shout), and we knew you -lived in a world of wonders (miscellaneous flourishes -of both hands over his head), and enchantments, -scientific miracles (a prolonged <i>crescendo</i>) of -which we wish to know more. Do not feel -astonished at our appearance (an inclusive sweep -of the right arm); we have traveled over the polar -sea, over mountain ranges, through a desert; we -have crossed the steaming chasm that encircles -your country (hands and arms in descriptive attitudes, -and constantly moving). We have essayed -the impossible (another shout), and we have accomplished -it (sudden drop into a growling bass); -we have,” etc., etc., etc., for at least ten minutes, -with the people positively hypnotized, so it seemed, -by his clamorous chatter.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The absurdity of this address was to us evident -enough, and yet it was just the kind of demonstration -on our part which impressed them. The Professor’s -style was valorous and friendly and noisy, -and the effect of his rattling appeal was propitious. -There would have been real danger for us, I believe -now, had they discovered how we had rifled the -tree temples. That might have roused their worst -hatred and made our position perilous.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Suddenly the benignant looking leader clapped -his hands together, and then put one over his -mouth, and the Professor wisely took the hint and -subsided. There was an animated colloquy begun -among the other chiefs and legislators, and we all -listened intently, I especially, for it became a -stronger and stronger conviction that these dignitaries -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>spoke a strain of Hebrew, to me not at all -understandable, and yet approaching my own -Hebrew vocabulary, but masked or distorted by -their peculiar nasality and squeakiness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The discussion grew vehement, and the little -doctors attained a degree of excitement that threw -them into violent gesticulations, their heads dancing -with their vigorous utterances, their beards -wagging, and their arms and hands flung around in -elucidations that seemed never to convince anyone. -Well, the upshot of it all was that an order was -given to take us in custody, which we were made to -comprehend by very expressive signs, and the order -was accompanied by a lot of gracious grimace, -deprecatory bowing and apologetic shrugs, whose -burden of significance we understood to be that an -escort would take us to the conveniences we needed—a -bath, renewed clothing, food, rest, shelter, etc.—while -the procession would pursue its ceremonial -transit, which we very well saw was a state occasion -connected with their religion and involving perhaps -a long journey consuming weeks for its completion. -I wondered whether they would discover our -thievery, and felt convinced that if they did our -sojourn amongst them would be less pleasant.</p> - -<p class='c016'>After some confusion and distracting running to -and fro, all of which had quite a civilized aspect -from the self-importance of the little actors, and the -typical uncertainty and contradiction of orders, -we were finally dispatched with an escort or guard -of Eskimo men, led by a chief or captain who had -received from the council a budget of directions -and injunctions, and who, as Hopkins put it, “had -rather <i>soured on the job</i>” which would deprive -him of the emotional reflexes of the religious revival—surely -a sort of vast national picnic.</p> - -<p class='c016'>By this time the spaces around us were jammed -tight with people, the little folk and the bulky -<span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span>Eskimos crowding together and picturesquely -intermingled; multitudes were leaping into the -trees and climbing out on the branches, so that we -were literally in a defile of the strangers, whose -drums and cymbals were now silent, and who, -passive and almost motionless, gazed at us with -a fixed wonder that robbed their faces of all -expression.</p> - -<p class='c016'>An incident reminded us forcefully of the strange -power of the little rulers over their bulky dependents -or subjects, and revived our astonishment at -the contents of the metal tubes they carried. -These tubes were in the possession of only the -“<i>faculty</i>,” the big headed, diminutive and rather -venerable looking persons who evidently ruled the -community and whose disproportionate power -probably sprang from the magical qualities of these -same tubes.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A tall, morose looking Eskimo had approached -us in a threatening manner after having been -ordered into the group who were to take charge of -us for the mission determined upon by the little -chiefs. Something in the half amused inspection -Spruce Hopkins made of him, or his own disappointment -irritated him, and with a sudden angry -cry he sprang out of the ranks, his face distorted -with savage fury, and raised the pole or spear he -carried to strike Hopkins, when the latter “side-stepped,” -and the big stick thumped harmlessly on -the ground.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Before anyone had time to intervene or calculate -the creature’s next move, the amiable disputant -who had taken so much interest in us nimbly -jumped before the man, snatched the tube -from his belt, directed it at Hopkins’ assailant, -pressed its end and sent the fellow sprawling on his -back in apparent agony. There was no sign of any -discharge, there certainly was no sound, perhaps -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>there was a momentary gleam of light; we learned -afterwards that there must have been. But the -moaning ruffian was effectually quailed, and the -hush, followed by a low quaver of satisfied subjection -from everyone, indicated the supreme power -of these physically impotent magicians over their -muscular companions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“If we could hand over a few of those pepper -guns to the New York police the gang, thug, and -crook fraternities would go out of business pretty -quick. Eh?” said Hopkins. “That’s slicker than -chain lightning.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“A powerful, suddenly produced and concentrated -X-ray effect,” commented the Professor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Goritz,” I asked, “where have you put the gold -images and trophies? It will probably be best for us -to keep them pretty well out of sight.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes I know,” returned Goritz. “I’ve thought -of that. They’re in my pack, and that won’t get -out of my hands. Don’t worry.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The main mass moved forward. There was a -scurrying to and fro, and a downpour of acrobats -from the trees. Long after all were out of sight we -heard the hum of the drums and dying whir of the -cymbals, reaching us through the forest. Then -we collided with another detachment, the commissariat, -a promiscuous mixture of figures, and -with them small flocks of goats. First came platform -cars drawn by strong big rams, piled up with -what looked like loaves of bread; these were succeeded -by the rambling goats and kids leashed in -fours and fives, and driven by goatherds of the little -people, all wearing the universal tunic and loose -trousers; then more cars heaped high with baskets -or hampers, and more and more, till Hopkins -exultingly declared:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well, we shan’t starve. I guess we’ve dropped -into a highly developed culture, as you say Prof., -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>among a people who realize the foundation principle -of enlightened living, a full and diversified -bread basket.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Just at the moment I turned and looked up the -slope behind us. I caught through a straight vista, -almost as if made for my view, the shifting lines of -the Eskimos with the gold poles and the black -serpents. Somehow the light struck them and -they seemed to glitter menacingly.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes! Mr. Hopkins, we have dropped down on a -civilization that perhaps is the most ancient on the -earth. This segregation of Adamites has developed -in this strangely protected seclusion a peculiar -knowledge, a knowledge, I am beginning to suspect, -only dimly anticipated by the Curies, Ramsays, -Rutherfords, Sollys.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“They have hit upon some of the properties of -matter by which, Mr. Hopkins, one kind of matter -becomes another kind, through radio-activity. -The prevalence of gold amongst them may be -attributable to a mother lode of which I have -spoken before, but these mysterious tubes, the -radium-like mass in the zinc-blende cave in the -Deer Fels, this utterly inexplicable light, hints at -deeper secrets. And yet, sir, with this last triumph -of scientific power in their grasp they unite an -elemental savage worship of snakes and trees, a -vestigial trace, sir, of the very first ages. Then it -is clear there is a peculiar industrial or politico-economic -phase of society conducted on a division -principle of fighters, workers and thinkers, a sort of -analogue to the formicary and the apiary—the ant -and the bees. Yes sir!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This last word was in recognition of Hopkins’ -enthusiastic denotement (with extended arms and a -loud “<i>Hurray</i>” which gathered the Eskimo guard -around us in a hurry and in some perplexity; they -were relieved when some speaking signs indicated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>Hopkins’ appreciation of “<i>grape juice</i>,” pure or -fermented), of the last wagons closing the food -supply for the peripatetic religious carnival. -These were also platform cars on the rudely -rounded solid wheels, burnt and charred, of -pine tree sections, but on them were huge earthenware -casks like the immense vessels found in Peru, -and like them ornamented with colored designs; in -this case manifold variations, conventionalized -and realistic of the Serpent and the Tree. Their -contents were unmistakable, for a mere water -supply was almost too abundantly found in the -innumerable brooks, springs, and deep pools of the -Pine Tree forest.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We’re certainly approaching civilization now. -As an ultimate evidence of man’s enlightenment, -quantity and quality of <i>booze</i> are complete. The -reign of reason and the Dominion of John Barleycorn -are simultaneous.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘John Barleycorn was a hero bold</div> - <div class='line in2'>Of noble enterprise;</div> - <div class='line'>For if you do but taste his blood,</div> - <div class='line in2'>’Twill make your courage rise.</div> - <div class='line'>’Twill make a man forget his woes</div> - <div class='line in2'>’Twill brighten all his joy</div> - <div class='line'>’Twill make the widow’s heart to sing</div> - <div class='line in2'>Tho the tear were in her eye.</div> - <div class='line'>Then let us toast John Barleycorn,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Each man a glass in hand;</div> - <div class='line'>And may his great posterity</div> - <div class='line in2'>Ne’er fail in Krocker Land.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>To let the provision annex pass as it lumbered by, -while tall drivers of the Eskimo plied long whips -whose lashes stung the air with rapid reports, and -the straining rams tugged and bolted, we had been -compelled to huddle to one side of the road. This -outbreak of Hopkins and the Professor’s soliloquy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>were amazing to our guard at first, but as soon as they -half comprehended Hopkins’ pleasure and his -musical voice sang Burns’ apostrophe they became -mightily amused, and they beamed on the American -with unstinted confidence.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz, who knew some Eskimo from his experience -in Greenland, attempted to talk to them, but -their answers were unintelligible; neither, I think -did they understand him, and it is also certain that -they did not converse among themselves in the -Semitic phrase peculiar to the little men. There -was very little talk of any kind amongst them or us, -and after the ebullition when we ran into the wine -cart, we relapsed into a resigned silence, enjoying -most a study of our guard. Nothing had been -taken from us, no search made of our packs, and our -guns still remained apparently unnoticed in our -hands. The “little doctors” as Hopkins called -them had indeed looked at them curiously, and I -felt certain they would on their return find out their -uses as also the uses of our instruments, the aneroid, -thermometers, chronometers, clinometer, artificial -horizon, all of which we had regained from their -hiding place below the pine tree from whose crown -we had so unexpectedly descended.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On, on, on, we tramped; the trees became -smaller, more distant, and an open ground appeared -before us. In another instant it was succeeded by -an even denser growth of younger and greener pine -trees; the road turned sharply; it crossed the thick -screen; another turn and, like a vision, the central -valley of Krocker Land unrolled before us, an endless -park, seamed by silver rivers, clothed in -emerald meads, tenanted by incalculable flocks, -and marbled in its lighting, by an incessant drift of -clouds that threw over it a penumbral shade.</p> - -<div id='p2382' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p2382.jpg' alt='four men, standing on a hill, look down on distant a valley and hills' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE VALLEY OF RASSELAS</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>That was a marvelous moment, Mr. Link. We -were dumb with admiration, and we stood still, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>rooted to the spot, immobile in a transport of -amazement. Nothing was said until the Professor -half audibly murmured, “The Valley of Rasselas,” -and the captain of our guard pointing to the -glorious picture muttered to himself. Familiar as -they were with the scene these unemotional men -appreciated our astonishment, and allowed us to -measure with our eyes the grand prospect. There -was a wayside house near at hand, an adobe structure -of red and yellow; beyond it the road dipped, -suddenly passing through a hewn gateway in the -cliffside which we had reached and which, with -varying heights and undulating limits, enclosed -like a mammoth parapet the scene of peace and -loveliness before us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>To this house we repaired. It was evidently -located there as a proscenium box for the contemplation -of the ravishing picture. On its porch, -most fitly placed, we sat on low benches and -attempted to record the details of the view, by our -eyes hardly recorded before, so lost had they been in -the enveloping, slumbering beauty. The cordiality -of our hosts was perfect; we munched spiced -<i>tortillas</i> and drank from absurd spherical mugs a -pleasant, ruby colored wine, a sort of <i>Tokay</i>. -And this, sir, is what we saw.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a flat land over which wandered three -separate rivers, fed by the spouting falls that -rushed over the cliffside from many points, the -gathered waters of all that tracery of streams in the -pine forest. Between these rivers spread vast -meadows or fields, thickly patched by motionless—so -they seemed—herds of sheep and goats. Braiding -lines or hedges of trees and shrubs parceled the -green plains into checkers and, as the eye passed -outward, these hedges, massing themselves in perspective, -banked the horizon with a continuous -wood. And there was a floating colorfulness in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>picture besides, a roseate-blueness, that we later -discovered came from an abundant wild flower like -our iris which nestled over acres of land in the wetter -spots. And far, far away with a spectral splendor -rose into heaven shafts, or one monstrous shaft, of -light. It glowed and pulsated, changing from an -opalescent pearliness to the hardened glint of steel, -anon streaked with bluish ribbons like a spectrum. -Nothing could be more wonderful.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Playing against it rose what seemed a volley -from steaming cauldrons, folded, unfolded, and -drifting. Following this magnificent radiation into -the sky it was lost in a wide halo or pond or lake of -strangely scintillating light; an overspread roof of -light it seemed, forming that stationary sun, that -from end to end, from side to side of this polar bowl -lit its manifold circumferential areas. Thither our -fascinated eyes rose, and then it became manifest -that the overflowing permeating glory of this scene -resided in the play of this light, apparently forever -veiled by nets and skeins and shifting aureoles of -clouds, that somehow formed a floor beneath it, so -that its emergent rays, as in our sunsets or sun risings, -shot outward, coronal-like, and as they -encountered the perpetual play of clouds and -vapors as perpetually painted them in colors. A -superb and marvelous meteorology, for this Valley -of Rasselas thus remained, for long periods perhaps, -bathed in the beauty of a royal sunrise or a royal -sunset.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This screening from the downpour of the light of -the stationary sun was certainly a beneficent provision, -for while there might elapse periods when -its unchecked blaze smote the valley, the harsh -ordeal of enduring it was constantly intermitted. -It was clear too that the rainfall was excessive, both -here and in the pine forest we had traversed; that -this navel of the world was a watery kingdom.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>Even as we gazed the pageant of the sky mysteriously -changed, and with its changes the complexion -of the picture earthward underwent delicate -transmutations too. From gay to sombre, from a -wide refulgence to a twilight grayness, from a -flecked radiance to the transient darkness of clotted -clouds, from a burning splendor of illumination, by -which things lost their definition, and the dazzling -excess of light blotted out details, to half light, -whereby a clearness of outlines developed, allowing -us to measure the distance, and to pick out house -and tree, bush, stream and rolling mead. We were -enraptured by reason of this protean aspect, and -watched and, still lingering, gazed, unsatisfied.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Eskimo men understood our delight and it -brought on their rather apathetic faces a smiling -approval. They chattered and gesticulated and -surrendered themselves to a renewed appreciation -of this age-old cradle, in which they had grown and -lived, strangely associated with the older race, -perhaps of some Semitic stock, strangely altered -from their rude forebears and separated more -strangely still with their associates from the thronging -world of men outside of this entrancing cell of -earth, and yet bearing the impress of traditions -which that outer world had created. How could -it be explained? Here was the new and crowning -marvel of the centuries—Krocker Land!</p> - -<p class='c016'>A floating tree trunk had indicated to Columbus -the vast unknown of the western continent and -the scattered prognostications of geographers had -led his scientific thought steadily forward to its -prediction and—it was found. A mountain’s darkness -brushing the horizon had crossed his vision as -Admiral Peary looked westward through his glass, -and betokened yet untrod tracts of earth; the -vagaries of the tides submitted to scientific computation -had proven to Harris their positive existence, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>and now to us, four froward, unknown men, it was -vouchsafed to establish in facts these symptomatic -guesses.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But our discovery was enriched by unsuspected -marvels; this immense polar depression, like a dent -in the crust of the earth, the peculiar succession of -dropping zones, their physiographic contrasts, the -stupendous circular—so we supposed—rift which -framed them, its igneous depths, that incessant up-pouring -of steam devising a curtain of cloud around -this screened continent, the perpetual chain of -changes in the precipitation of the condensed -vapors renewed again by evaporation, the survival -of saurian life, the meteorological perplexities -introduced, the bewildering fact of an ethnic evolution -in these small people, their peculiar association -with a dependent Eskimo race, the suggestion -of Adamic traces, the apparent control over -advanced chemical agencies, this indigenous tree -and serpent worship hinting at ancestral influences -lost in the shadows of the very beginning, and then, -more incredible than the wildest dreams of fiction, -this impossible stationary sun, sustaining this little -segregated world, feeding it with light and heat, an -unimaginable oasis in the incalculable desert of -Arctic snows and ice. WHAT WAS IT? Upon -what miracle of matter were we advancing?</p> - -<p class='c016'>I was lost in such reflexions when an exclamation -from the Eskimo—sounding like <i>ibbley</i>—and a -hand clapped on my shoulder straightened me into -attention. The pool of clouds over the valley -whose inconstant movement alternately veiled and -revealed the light beyond them, had parted, as -though a sudden wind had pierced it and driven its -parts in rapid and eccentric flight to all sides, as a -stone dropped in a pond sends the waves shoreward, -and, past the rift, we saw through the rising vapors, -beyond the rigid, fan shaped prism yet involved in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span>it, an incandescent surface like a mammoth shield, -a shield covering acres of space, and over it again, -and yet perhaps miles and miles further away, the -solemn grandeur of an ice capped lofty mountain.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a glimpse only; an instant later the -refluent clouds had flung themselves together again, -in the ceaseless to and fro, and, as I thought, rotary -motion, that conveyed such a changeable expression -to that peaceful hidden vale.</p> - -<p class='c016'>That glimpse, Mr. Link, is the memory of a -lifetime, it was a picture so inwrought with the -occasion and my own feelings as to remain with me -a deathless vision.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I suppose this extraordinary <i>pseudo-sun</i>,” -said the Professor after some moments’ silence “is -the most astounding thing we have seen. It is -certainly unaccountable. Its power to illuminate, -warm and enliven this little continent within the -circle of the Perpetual Nimbus surpasses comprehension. -On what theory of physics—for of course -it is not an extra-terrestrial phenomenon—can it be -accounted for?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“How about this Radium. There’s light and -heat in that isn’t there?” asked Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Of course, as we know it in its bromide salt. -But the radium couldn’t be a fixed object in the -sky, and, if on the earth, what fixes its rays or converges -them on one spot, and what is the radiant -material of that spot itself?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I have been thinking,” said Goritz, standing up, -while our Eskimo escort gathered around us, and -listened with a gravity that half persuaded me -they understood us, “I have been thinking that -there is a vortex of dust up there in that nebulous -mass, that heat and light reach it from some terrestrial -source and are again reflected earthward. -Would that meet the problem?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Perhaps,” assented the Professor, and even as -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>he spoke the light everywhere about us diminished, -so that the valley became hidden in a most dismal -half light, and then that feeble illumination -vanished, and we were literally plunged in darkness. -Waning of the light, amounting sometimes almost -to extinction, and lasting for some hours, had been -constantly observed by us on our journey from the -coast, but nothing so complete as this. We were -pretty well astonished, and remained silent, expecting -some novel demonstration, for now we had -become so convinced of our immersion in a sea of -Sinbad-like adventure, that we were not only prepared -but almost impatient for still newer and -newer and stranger happenings.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Eskimos were as silent as ourselves, but -when in perhaps half an hour the light revealed -itself again in the sky, as spluttering radiations, -somewhat like the splattering of sparks about a -slowly reconstructed arc light, and then became -continuous, and then gradually swelled to its -original intensity, and the valley once more -glowed under our eyes, they began singing. It -seemed to be some hymn or religious chant and we -connected it at once with superstitious feeling over -the removal and renewal of the light.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a wearisome iterative sing-song drone, -rising and falling in pitch, and sometimes deriving -a rhythmical accent from the clapping of their -hands. The voices were not unmusical, and there -was enough vocality in the words to even elicit an -approach to charm. When later we heard this -same song sung by thousands, its reinforced effectiveness -produced a positive spell.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was time to proceed; our guard evidently -thought so. The captain shook us each by the arm, -pointed down the road, and we tramped away, -watched eagerly by the few inmates of this roadside -house—a man, his wife, and three rabbit-eyed, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>almost naked kids. The road passed through a -gateway of stone, hewn in the cliffs, and with a -moderate grade conducted us some ten hundred -feet in vertical descent, into the Valley of Rasselas.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was the last step on our long journey, the goal -of dreams had been reached, Krocker Land was -discovered, and now the revelation was to be -crowned by a closing and incalculable drama.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER X<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>Radiumopolis</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>There had been noticeable for some time a -change in temperature. It grew colder and the -recurrent periods of darkness were more frequent. -It almost seemed as if the stationary sun responded -to the secular changes produced by the apparent motion -of the firmamental sun, and that, while light remained, -a reduced form of winter might still be expected -in this oddly conditioned corner of the earth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Already in some way the rumor of our approach -had spread far and wide. The fields were at first -crossed by solitary figures trooping to the roadside -to see the strangers. These were shepherds of the -great flocks of goats and sheep, whose slowly shifting -masses drifted over the meadow in irregular -blotches of white and brown and black. At times, -where we crossed marshy exposures on either side of -us, the gurgle of chattering water fowl reached us, -and then when we attained a higher ground hosts -of red and blue iris-like plants clothed the edges of -the fields, from whose corollas rose, like a visible -incense, innumerable white and yellow moths or -butterflies. It all was transcendently novel and -interesting, and though occasionally we shivered -when some chilliness entered the air, from passing -breezes flung into the valley from the vast cold outside, -we almost forgot our discomfort in our excitement -and enthrallment.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>The spectators along the route became more -numerous, a wide-eyed, open mouthed throng, at -first scarcely vocal, just an amused, staring -audience. They were made up of the larger -serving, working class—those I have designated as -Eskimos—and they hung over each other’s -shoulders in mute astonishment, their black eyes -sharply scrutinizing us, and very often their fingers -pushed out in expressive glee at the Professor, -whose superb shabbiness and challenging splendor -of hair always evoked the liveliest pleasure.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But as we advanced, mile upon mile, over a road -of perfect construction—evenly arched and well -ditched on both sides—we observed a changing -character in our audience. The little people were -thronging in. They came from distant low villages -and they imparted a contrasted demeanor to the -wayside. They were mildly clamorous and critical. -They broke into ejaculations, hallooed salutations, -and extended comments which kept them amused -and vibrating with curiosity. A few sombre older -people remained silent or grunted a few monosyllables -to each other, but the younger element was -quite irrepressible. At one place where the road -crossed a village community, the guards had to -become rigorous in maintaining an open path for us, -and into large trees—a tree that here resembled the -top-heavy Pawlonia of Asia—urchins nimble as -monkeys had climbed in clusters, and dropped on us -nuts and grain and leaves.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well the kids have the right spirit. I feel more -at home now when the <i>enfant terrible</i> shows up. -Where the youngsters have a sense of fun it seems -to me the fathers won’t have gotten so far beyond -it, as to serve us up in an imperial banquet, cut off -our heads as intruders, or feed us to the Crocodilo-Python,” -said Hopkins to me who was just alongside -of him. “I’m half afraid they’ve taken a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>shine to us, and will have us up in some municipal -museum for the education of the public. I feel -anxious about the Professor. They surely think -he’s a most attractive wild beast.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>And now we were trudging through a farm land; -agricultural acres expanded before and around us; -the bean, wheat, rye; the grape, apple, cherry; -clover fields and honey hives were in evidence, -though the harvesting—far later than in the south, -a singular inversion again proceeding from the -influence of the stationary sun—had been completed. -The red and yellow houses of adobe tile or -brick were gathered in small clusters and when, -over long distances they sprinkled the tawny or -sear landscape with patches of bright color, like bits -of new cloth on a worn gown, the effect was delightful.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our spirits rose; although prisoners over whom -no doubt some national parley or pow-wow would -be seriously held, and although distrustful of the -obsequious gestures (most decidedly so in my case) -with which the “little doctors” had invited us to -return with the guard to the <i>somewhere</i> we must -be now approaching, still the winning charm of the -land, the agreeable manners of the little people, and -the stolid unconcern of the larger race half convinced -me that our fate wouldn’t be a tragic one. -Our most ominous thoughts were connected with -those dreadful metal tubes!</p> - -<p class='c016'>I took occasion to study the people. The larger -serving or inferior class were Mongolian in type; -they resembled a taller, more slender and less intelligent -Eskimo norm, but the little people presented -a surprising range of individual variation. -The tallest of these latter were almost four feet in -height, the smallest scarcely exceeded three. -Literally they were a boreal pygmy race. The -dominating peculiarity among them was a tendency -<span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span>to macrocephalism which in the “little -doctors” became exaggerated, and made them -overbalanced and grotesque. In many the heads -did not too obviously exceed a normal size, and the -lower limbs were almost normally developed, -giving them shapeliness. The women were very -strikingly less afflicted with “big-headedness,” and -in them too the nose, attaining among the men a -preponderant magnitude was much more moderate -in size. Many of the young women were very -pretty, a few almost beautiful, and the becoming -attire of the tunic, the loose trousers bound, in -many instances, with gold anklets, the abundant -black hair coiled up in coronal chignons, and sinuously -decorated with the gold serpent-shaped pins, -administered a piquant loveliness. Generally the -men were not so attractive; an unpleasant lankiness -of limb, and (because of a deficient dental -development) sunken cheeks, with narrow chests, -and their unusual heads, on which too in a great -number of cases an extreme scantiness of hair was -observable, robbed them of physical rhythm and -proportion. But again among them were also -striking exceptions, and these gained immensely in -comeliness from the average homeliness of their -associates. The older men universally affected -beards, which some compensatory whim in nature -made abundant. All were dark.</p> - -<p class='c016'>My greatest achievement in observation on this -long march was the certain identification of the -language with a Semitic tongue, and the detection -among the taller people of an Eskimo dialect. This -last discovery was made by the help of Goritz, -whose knowledge of the eastern Eskimo dialects -was extensive, although he at first questioned my -conclusions. The reasons are philological and I -pass over them. I hope to discuss the matter -before the congress of Americanists, to be held in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>Philadelphia next year. It is enough for the following -chapters of my narrative to say that I -became proficient (reasonably so) through my -intimate acquaintance with Hebrew, with the -speech of the “little doctors,” and Goritz acquired -a less facile mastery of the Eskimo tongue. The -recognition of corruption in sound of a few consonants -and a peculiar ellipsis of some vowels, in the -first case, accomplished the feat for myself. When -I told Hopkins of my success he was overjoyed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Alfred, that is dandy. If we can tell what -they’re talking about, and get a line on their plans -we’ll skin through all right. When the proper -moment comes let ’em know you’re wise to their -gibberish, and they’ll take water quick enough. -Why, we might start a revolution, if they try to put -it over us. The big fellows could sweep them like -chaff—and then our GUNS.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes,” I curtly interjected. “And their tubes?” -Spruce was silent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had now been five days on our march and our -progress had been alternately hastened and retarded -by the curiosity of the people. Hastened -when messages from nearby villages along the road -came to our captain urging speed, that the citizens -of these country communities might inspect us a -little longer; retarded by reason of this same -importunity to allow the gathering countryside the -gratification of the show. For literally we had -become that, and had there been an enterprising -manager to exploit our novelty his receipts would -have been enviable. The crowds increased, the -rumor of our approach spread on every side, and to -meet their unappeasable wonder over our appearance -we were stuck up on platforms in the squares -or open places in the villages and watched, studied -and applauded by the insatiable throngs. It was -indeed a stupefying experience. Certainly it was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>abundantly ludicrous and amusing as well. -Hopkins of course enjoyed it. Goritz was patient -and obscurely piqued by it, the Professor regarded -it as ethnologically delightful, and I took advantage -of the display to note the people and their speech.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I have served a good many purposes in my life,” -said Hopkins, “but I never supposed I’d make a -drawing card in a traveling circus. Our united -effect is really gorgeous. I should think they -might improve the show by some fresh clothes. -But say—the Professor is immense. And he -TAKES. The way they shout and rubberneck -to get nearer to him will start something doing. -If the Professor only had a little political ambition -and an ounce of sense he’d organize a campaign -that would land him in the presidential chair. -And then! Well then we’d all be prime ministers, -and hand out the dope to these babies in a manner -so impressive that we’d hold the job down tight, -until we could get away with the loot. We’d make -Goritz treasurer and he’d come the Tammany act -on ’em so strong that maybe we could leave with all -the goods worth having in the country, in our jeans. -Eh?</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Look at ’em, now, surveying the Professor. I -feel an artistic jealousy of that red hair of his. It -certainly has ’em guessing. Perhaps they think -it’s a kind of halo, always on fire. He certainly -must keep it on his head. It’s our salvation. Let -the local barbers touch that, and find out it’s just -plain scissorable wool, and we’re in the soup—and -the Professor? Well, they won’t do a thing -to him.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>This fifth day turned out to be the last one of our -march. A memorable day it was. Larger and -larger grew the crowds; they met us, streaming -along evidently from some near point of population, -and, as now the captain of our guard would allow -<span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>no delay or halt, we assumed that our destination -was almost at hand. Attaining it formed a new -thrill.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had come to a marked irregularity in the topographic -monotony of the valley, a high, evenly -sloped ridge curving away on either side, which -might be the arc of a continuous or completed -circle, or just a natural accident. The broad road -ascended this hill. We had just stepped out on the -summit, when one of the intermittent light flashes -or sunbursts blazed on the strange scene before our -eyes. We were looking into a dish-like area, for -such it seemed, as we could trace north and south -the circumvallation of the ridge, and it was filled -with settlements which became denser in the distance, -and in that distance (later we discovered it -was about the center of the circular enclosure) rose -the dazzling pediments, stories and wings, of a -GOLD HOUSE.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Nothing could be more astonishing. Instinctively -we came to a full stop and gazed. And our -companions, familiar with the spectacle, were -arrested by the sudden apocalyptic flashing of light -from the burnished building, as “of summer lightning -on a dark night suddenly exposing unsuspected -realms of fantastic and poetical suggestion.” (A -line, Mr. Link, I found last night in a book by -George Saintsbury.) But the suggestions here were -overwhelmingly fantastic.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Imagine a swelling mound tapering to a narrow -platform, itself created by the leveling art of the -engineers, surmounted by a curiously heaped up -succession of stories, which were buttressed below -by extensions and porticoes, and frescoed or -incrusted throughout by rude and hieratic ornamentation—an -ornamentation that certainly had -more lucidity than the confused medley of symbol -and ideograph at Copán, but which had not yet -<span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>freed itself from a mixture of extravagance and -realism. Then finally imagine this executed in -what seemed to be pure gold, and all glittering in a -quick concentration of light. It was refulgent and -it was unearthly. Below it spread the dull tawniness -of an outreaching terracotta city.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What have we come to?” faltered Goritz, who -was transfixed by this new wonder.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“It might be called,” said Hopkins, “the Desire -of All Nations; at least it would look that way to a -thoroughbred anywhere inside of Christendom. I -wonder how long that pile would stand on the -principal street of the capitals of the world! The -army, with fixed bayonets, shot guns, and dynamite -bombs, couldn’t keep the gentlemen of America or -the spend-thrifts of Europe from getting their -hooks in somewhere. I think it must be the Casino; -nothing short of Policy or Poker could keep up an -establishment like that. Gold must be very cheap -hereabouts, or else the people need a little free -schooling as to the particular and pleasant uses it -can be put to. Looks that way.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Ah,” spoke up the Professor. “Barter, primal -conditions, prevail here, where a medium of -exchange is hardly needed. Gold to these people is -a color, an ornament. With it they have no more -than without it, for every desire is satisfied, and -the pride of possession or the sentiment of avarice -is unknown. All are equally happy, and all are -equally rich or poor. Gold has an interest to them -because it pleases the eye, and it is here dedicated -to personal or religious distinctions, but as <i>wealth</i>, -in our sense, it has no value. These flocks, these -acres of grain and fruits, mean subsistence, but -GOLD is something to look at—simply. Its name -here has probably no meaning of commercial -utility.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Pretty good for the eyes though, Professor,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>was Hopkins’ rejoinder, “and as for the name I -don’t recall anything</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Which acts so direct, and with so much effect</div> - <div class='line'>On the human sensorium, or makes one erect</div> - <div class='line'>One’s ears so, as soon as the sound we detect,</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c022'>unless perhaps—it might be—BEER—in a -drought.”</p> -<p class='c016'>“Well,” in an undertone from Goritz, “if Gold -has no practical uses in this outlandish nook of the -world, we can take enough of it away with us to a -place where it’s more useful than ornamental.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Have a care,” warned Hopkins. “Our heads -had better be kept on our shoulders, too. Remember, -Goritz, you’ve considerable loot in your -pack now. If they give us the third degree, and -start in on a customs house search, we may get to -another place where—where Gold wouldn’t be -worth the handling, because of the heat, or otherwise, -or because our immediate necessities were -otherwise provided for.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>All this while we were again rapidly moving on, -and with each step, while the marvel before us -grew larger, plainer, some of its first surprising -effectiveness changed. It began to be seen that it -was little more than a piled up structure of the -communal dwellings which dotted the plain beneath -it, but on it a queer aboriginal fancy had stuck -plates of gold,—or what seemed to be gold—and -that its corners were decorated with upraised -standards of gold delineating the patron god, or -demon, of the establishment, the Crocodilo-Python. -Over it too in whirls and corkscrew -spirals spread innumerable folded scrolls and winding -figures whose lumpy extremities betokened the -heads of snakes. It was not long before we had -gained the heart of the city. Everywhere it had -been a monotonous series of the tile huts, stuck in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span>tiers, one series over another, such as description -and photographs have made so familiar from the -Arizona and New Mexico region. There was now a -much smaller admixture of the taller people, and the -little men and women appeared to be almost the -only occupants of the city.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had come almost underneath the pimple-like -excrescence on which the golden habitation sat, -like a yellow corolla on the green bulb of a thistle, -and we found a space surrounding it of about a -thousand feet in width, filled with enclosures -holding, to our amazement, large black snakes, the -congeners exactly of those held aloft, in the procession -we had met, on golden rods. The walls of -these enclosures were of tile or rudely baked bricks; -some were screened with an open wicker work, -which in many instances had become dilapidated -or were quite worthless as fences to prevent the -egress of the snakes. In the enclosure bushes and -weedy herbs flourished, and their occupants hung -from the branches of these or torpidly lay in the -grass beneath, in repulsive bunches. I admit my -unreasonable aversion to snakes, and these extraordinary -protected nurseries overcame me with -disgust. Hopkins was hardly less disturbed. To -the Professor and to Goritz they were manifestly -attractive.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“St. Patrick can’t be the patron saint here,” said -Hopkins, “and whatever language they speak it -pretty certainly is not Irish. I think no one could -mistake their brogue for anything heard in Cork or -Dublin. As for the snakes, I guess what Bobbie -Burns said to the louse will fit them,</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>‘Ye ugly creepin, blastit wonners,</div> - <div>Detested, shunn’d by saunt and sinners.’”</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>“Every step we take,” solemnly rejoined the Professor, -“discloses new wonders. To me it is quite -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>evident that the trail of the ethnic origins of Tree -and Serpent worship crosses the pole!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes,” shouted Hopkins, “and to me, it’s quite -evident that the trail of these reptiles crosses ours. -Look out there!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He pointed ahead and over the road stretched -the wriggling bodies of twenty or thirty faintly -spotted black snakes, sleek and graceful, their heads -raised indifferently in a cool inspection of our -approach, and their tongues quivering in defiance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As soon as they were perceived by our guard, the -leader raised his hand, and we waited for their -ophidian majesties to satisfy their curiosity, and -pass on, which they did, swaying the cropped grass -on the wayside and vanishing into one of the -neighboring pounds over its loosened dejected -blocks. It was quite clear that the city of Radiumopolis—so -we came to distinguish it later—might -prove unpleasantly full of these creatures, for whom -the citizens maintained a most disagreeably pious -regard. It reminded the Professor of the great -center of Serpent Worship at Epidaurus, where -stood the famous temple to Aesculapius and the -grove attached to it in which serpents were kept -and fed, down to the time of Pausanius.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Once over the peripheral plain we began the -ascent of the mound at its center. There was a -simple stateliness about this terraced rise of steps, -formed of a red tile or brick, from its very gradual -recession and its extreme width. Here our eyes -measured and studied the astonishing house, or -temple, or Capitol, which was to be for us doubtless -a “house of detention” also.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a square composite, with openings on three -sides—those we could see—and pierced by window -embrasures, sensibly regular in their spacing. -Porches extended outward from the openings and -on these a little rather unsuccessful decorative construction -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>had been expended. Over each porch -entrance was the literal reproduction in gold and in -stucco of the local deity, in addition to the upraised -images—careening and expanded like hippogriffs—at -the four corners of the building. These latter -were made entirely of gold, and represented thousands -and thousands of dollars. It was indeed -stupifying to estimate their probable value.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The gold surface of the Capitol proved to be a -plastering of gold plates, not so well or so carefully -executed as to preclude the constant exposure of the -underlying adobe. But this prodigious prodigality -of gold was again most incredible.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were conducted at once into the <i>Acropolis</i> -so the Professor styled it—noting before we entered -a serviceable courtyard around it, which secured a -little dignity from a wall of bricks interrupted by -higher pillars, and also rimmed with gold. Entering -a broad hallway we were overcome by the -pervasive softly emitted radiance from lamps of -mineral on clumsy stands, and held on round gold -saucers or servers.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Radium,” said the Professor. “It is exactly as -I have been suspecting. These people have gained -access to some vast deposit of this miracle-working -element. It not unreasonably may be supposed -that it is exposed in some chasm in the crust of the -earth, entering to great depths, and perhaps -impinging on such central masses as have been -interpolated in some recent physical speculations, -as giving rise to the <i>static</i> heat of the earth. Here -we probably have an explanation of the abundance -of gold—<i>transmutation</i>! And here too some -adequate explanation of the stationary sun rays -converted by reflection into light and heat—Astounding! -Astounding!! Astounding!!!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>To me the fascination, in a way, of all this mixture -of wonders and horrors (the snake and later -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>discoveries and episodes) and primal simplicity, was -just that incalculable oddness or mystery of the -conjunction of some almost superhuman power -with the weird religion and the archaic habits. I -cannot describe how perversely it affected me, -sometimes raising my interest to a fever heat, and -again filling me with a tormenting fury of desire to -make my escape.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We passed through the hall, our guard, at some -gesture from the captain, closing around, and as we -emerged at its further end, again upon the outside -court, I, looking back, saw attendants cover the -radium masses with opaque caps. We were now in -a somewhat contrasted entourage. On this side -of the Capitol the city seemed excluded, and a -rather thick wood and an untamed undergrowth, -through which however stretched a broad highway, -monopolized the ground westward. We had -entered both the city and the Capitol from the -east. In an adjoining yard at the foot of another -symmetrically disposed terrace of steps was a -closed tenement, and into this we were led.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Imagine our delight to find it occupied by an -immense basin or pool, into which two conduits -poured hot and cold water. The immense bath -was even then gently steaming; the outer air had -grown increasingly colder. Rough masonry -couches, covered with rugs, had been built against -the walls, and on the edge of the huge tank -were scattered white chunks which, at first conceived -to be soap, turned out to be an indifferent -substitute, in the shape of an unctuous and gritty -clay.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This delightful prospect almost brought shouts -to our lips, and Hopkins raising his hands in mock -homage and gratitude, exclaimed:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“But this day of water, cleanliness, and soap,</div> - <div class='line'>I shall carry to the Catacombs of Hope,</div> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>Photographically lined</div> - <div class='line in2'>On the tablets of my mind,</div> - <div class='line'>When a yesterday seems to me remote.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>And to crown all we were given the tunic and -trousers of Radiumopolis with the belt and enigmatically -engraved buckle—of lead, to Goritz’s -ill-suppressed mortification. And then we were -taken back into the Capitol, and alloted four rooms -facing the east, each provided with a window, from -which we would now surely be able to watch the -pageant of the returning worshippers, priests or -celebrants. These rooms deserve a passing consideration. -They were low ceilinged, moderate -spaced, their floors carpeted with a rude figured -matting (again the conventional Crocodilo-Python) -their walls hung with rugs far less artistic than the -Navajo blanket, low couches upholstered with -matting and rugs or carpets, and across the doorway -a surprisingly artistic tapestry of gold threads, -figuring the Crocodilo-Python in a maze of interlacing -and sinuous outlines, something like the -convoluted sea dragon on the jade screens of China. -One of these curtains hung at the entrance of almost -every room in the Capitol, and they were very -numerous and capable of accommodating a remarkable -number of people.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There were on the ground floor—where our own -rooms had auspiciously been reserved—large assembly -rooms, or audience and council chambers, and, -as the sequel shows, one of these was the Throne -Room. There was no glass covering to the windows; -perhaps in a few instance screens of leather, -which were inserted in the openings of the rooms, -helped to exclude the cold, such as it was. Rain -was kept out by board frames. We found out that -there was seldom a cold exceeding 0° Centigrade, -and that radium stoves or our clothing itself, -mitigated any severity of weather the denizens of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span>these houses experienced. Everything reinforced -our first impressions, that the culture of the -Radiumopolites was simple, unostentatious, a little -grotesque and savage, but that their proximity to -some source of radium had evolved a mysterious -power among their wise men, which had overlaid -the <i>supellex</i> of their culture with this resplendent -glory of GOLD. Was it, as the Professor more -and more confidently believed—was it <i>transmutation</i>?</p> - -<p class='c016'>In our rooms we were supplied with the radium -lamps and were made to understand that too long -exposure to their influence was dangerous. Once -in possession of this marvel we surrendered almost -all curiosity to the inspection of the transcendent -material. Facts connected with its properties and -its power are considered in another place; our -immediate history in our new surroundings claims -precedence now. We were permitted the liberty -of the courtyard around the Capitol, but were not -allowed to descend the hill, nor to investigate the -surrounding city. Of course we saw the occupants -of the Capitol, who evidently formed a restricted -and semi-imperial class, and the many messengers, -tradespeople or supplicants who every day came out -of the city.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The small people were immensely the more -interesting of the two types. They varied much -among themselves, and exhibited individualities of -temperament, behavior and feature, that were -most absorbing. One defect amongst them -was the imperfect and incomplete teeth, especially -in the men, the apparently thin-shanked -(<i>platynemic</i>) legs, and the somewhat constricted -chests, indications, taken in connection with their -large heads, that the Professor interpreted as evidence -of great racial age. The women were often -sharply contrasted with the men, being larger, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>more shapely, and often boasting really extraordinary -beauty. This was most marked in the residents -in the Capitol, and one of these ladies of the Capitol -whom we later encountered promenading the courtyard -quite enthralled us. Her own appreciation of -the Yankee was on her side equally enthusiastic.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had our meals served to us in a separate -room, attended by servants of the larger race. We -sat at a table covered with a yellow cloth, with -designs woven upon it of the ubiquitous Crocodilo-Python, -and we ate from square dishes of pottery, -also yellow and bordered by blue traceries of interwoven -serpents, which revolted both Hopkins and -myself. Our cuisine was not much varied, and the -most pleasing element was the delicious wine. -The flat meal cakes, nuts, fruit and dishes of goat -and sheep meat, with some vegetables, were offered -relentlessly day after day, and it occurred to Hopkins -that if he could have had an assorted shipment -from Park and Tilford’s, and been allowed to make -a few simple experiments in the kitchen he could -easily have raised the standard of living immensely.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But I was making remarkable progress in acquiring -the tongue of the upper classes. My -excellent knowledge of Hebrew made this practicable, -and in a short time, before the return of the -Councilors, Priests or Governors from their peripatetic -religious pilgrimage made it supremely helpful, -I could actually converse intelligibly, and from -carefully enunciated addresses understand my -interlocutor. I was most lucky in hitting on a -very sympathetic teacher. It was no less a one -than Ziliah, the daughter of Javan, the president of -the Council and Ruler of the Capitol. He was the -benignant and expostulating little gentleman we -had encountered when our mishap precipitated us -from the pine tree top. She, his daughter, was -certainly the fairest of the children of Radiumopolis, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>and her wandering and liquid eyes had never -been more satisfied than they were now with the -sweet boyish beauty of Spruce Hopkins, the -Yankee.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah Lamech—if I may adopt the Gentile -practices of nomenclature—was one of the larger -women, and exhibited a different and piquant skill -in dress. Her trousers were rather baggy, her skirts -looped on the sides, so that her pretty feet in embroidered -goatskin sandals were delightfully visible. -The belt of gold plates and the wonderful buckle of -gold clasped her waist, constricting the blowsy upper -tunic, which was a delicate blue, and enriched -by interwoven threads of gold. It was loosened at -her neck and the dark, smooth skin bared at her finely -shaped neck, was decorated by a series of delicate -gold chains in a composite flat necklace. Her -abundant hair, as with the women we had met in -the pine forest, was made up in compact rolls, that -were held in place by the gold serpent pins, and -from her small ears hung tiny bells of gold.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Her face, as I carefully studied it, was distinctly -Jewish. The features were really perfect, and the -mingled softness and intelligence of her expression, -the half denoted charm of extreme sensibility in her -eyes, the mobility and loveliness of her mouth, a -swaying grace in her motions, an indefinable distinction -too in the carriage of her head, and the -enticing fullness of her bared arms—the sleeves of -her upper garment were caught up to her shoulders -by broad loops of ornamented gold—combined to -make of her a captivating and most novel picture. -She it was, whose heart the errant little god Cupid -had now sadly transfixed with his stinging arrows, -and her heart was beating wildly under the loosened -folds of her jacket with love for the blond American.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was my opportunity. Love is a quick teacher, -and makes quick confidences, especially with naive -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>and unsophisticated natures, as now, in this little -princess of the north. She met us frequently in -the courtyard surrounding the huge glittering -Capitol where we were constantly strolling, and I -recall the extraordinary picture she made, when -one of the black lustrous snakes rose from the parapet -on the edge of the hill as she was passing. She -bowed to us, seized the reptile, wound it around her -body, and lifted, above her own, its big wedge-shaped -head, with one hand, holding with the -other its scaly loops at her waist. The effort -brought color to her cheeks, excitement to her eyes, -and though neither Hopkins nor myself admired -the combination, her beauty won from the fantastic, -or repellent, contrast a most singular thrall.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was a maidenly coquetry with her, as -became her degree, for she retired after disengaging -the creature, throwing it back down the hillside, -whence it sped to the immense preserve below reserved -for these unpleasing guests. The ophidian -impress everywhere was to me almost unbearable. -These snakes traveled from their enclosures, more -or less frequently, in all directions; they were numerous -in the city, though, and, after their secretive -habits, were discovered most unalluringly in corners, -eaves, holes, roofs, hanging from trees, or nestled -on clothes. In the Capitol or Palace they were -not so common, and probably were never found -above the first floor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins of course realized his conquest, but -Hopkins decidedly abhorred snakes. When the -beautiful Ziliah vanished, he said with a most -comical grimace:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“A married life with a snake lady wouldn’t be -much better than a lifelong companionship with a -gin mill,” an ungallant commentary which I -denounced.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah and I loitered long together until under her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>adroit tutelage I became almost proficient in this -unquestionably deteriorated Hebrew tongue. And -then, when we fairly understood each other—how -the questions flew! She exulted in telling me all she -knew about her people, and the exchange on my -part, in telling her of our origin and home, with -welcome dilations on the talent and prowess of the -adorable Spruce, only too well repaid her efforts. -I told all these things to my friends, and for long -hours we would discuss and rehearse them with -increasing amazement. In conjunction with all -that I learned later, the picture to be presented of -Radiumopolis, the Radiumopolites, and their -country—KROCKER LAND—is mainly as follows:</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Valley of Rasselas lies to the southwest of -the Krocker Land terrain, and the city of Radiumopolis -to the southwestern corner of the valley -itself. They are eccentrically related to the vast -domain of encircling mountains, and to the stupendous -gorge of the Perpetual Nimbus, which seems -throughout its extent to penetrate to uncooled or -igneous wombs of the earth. But at one point -westward there is a superimposed gorge that actually -cuts the first encircling monstrous crack, and -through this secondary gorge, cutting the first to -immense depths, pours the deluge of the waters of -the river that empties the Saurian Sea into the -Canon of Promise. (See Chapter VI.) This -great river enters the Valley of Rasselas towards the -northwest, and after a short, peaceful transit, as a -brimming flood through wide savannahs, it turns -abruptly westward in an entrenched conduit and -resumes its terrible course through the canon I -named the Canon of Escape. Through this awful -defile and on the surging flood of that river I made -my own exit from Krocker Land, reached Beaufort -Sea, Behring Straits, and finally San Francisco. -Goritz’s appellation for the gorge beyond the Saurian -<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>Sea is, however, justified because of the river’s -final, though brief, passage across one extremity of -the blissful Valley of Rasselas.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Immediately southward, west of Radiumopolis, -are hot springs, a sort of geyser basin, whence hot -waters are constantly derived for the baths of the -city—and we found the latter to be numerous. -Beyond these again, in the same direction, the continental -rift of the Perpetual Nimbus almost closes, -and the horrible crack becomes a crevice easily -crossed. But beyond it again, in a crustal split -that defies computation to measure, or science to -explain, or experience to equal, lies, probably a -radium (?) mass fifty or more miles in linear extent, -with a width of three or four miles, and from which -constantly pours an almost cosmic immensity of -heat and light—<i>emanation-niton</i>. Its environs -are withered, blasted deserts of rock. No one has -ever approached it. Its emanation strikes a bare -mountain face beyond it—a part of the Krocker -Land Rim—and the incalculable volume of rays -(Cathode Rays) reflected into the upper atmosphere -over Krocker Land and immediately superior -to the Valley of Rasselas, are somehow arrested in -a nebulous ganglion which forms the Stationary -Sun of this utterly fabulous region. This sun is -really not stationary, nor is it in any sense equable, -as hints in my narrative have already indicated. -It moves, drifts north and south, east and west, -undergoes perturbations, dies out, flares up, and -would, to a properly equipped meteorological corps, -stationed at Radiumopolis, furnish, I believe, an -object of study absolutely unrivaled in terrestrial -science.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But from time immemorial in the radium land -fragments, nodules of a grayish or brownish -mineral, were picked up and their <i>nuclei</i> were later -revealed to be pure radium (they called it <i>Luxto</i>), -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>and from these by an accident—still retained in the -tradition of the people as a heavenly bestowed -revelation or miracle—the power of transmutation -was learned.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Mr. Link, we had already suspected this, as you -know, but when I actually learned it from the lips -of Ziliah—the love-dazed Ziliah—I verily doubted -my existence for a moment. In connection with -the whole complex, so to speak, of wonders, it -produced a half vertiginous feeling hard to describe. -Ziliah’s story was in this wise:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“A long, long, long, time ago, after a long darkness -in the Stationary Sun, a terrible storm broke -over Radiumopolis. The thunder, the lightning -flashes, had never before been heard or seen, and -there roared through the air an awful, destructive -wind. It upset houses, blew over part of the -Capitol, razed the trees; and then amid the -thunder and the lightning, in a downrush of air, -came a stranger, a little man strangely dressed in -white with a black cap, and he had a dark face. -He stayed with the people and taught them many -things, but only to the <i>rulers</i>, the older men, the -men of the council, would he teach the secret of -making gold. He took them away with him on a -journey westward to the radium country. They -were absent many days and when they returned -they were in rags, and their faces were pale, and -haggard, but their hands and their pockets were -filled with lumps of gold. The little stranger left -as he had come in another awful storm. He went -upward in a whirlwind and rode like a ghost -through fearful gusts and disappeared in a roar -of thunder and blaze of light, and a circle of -flame descended from his feet and burnt a deep -hole in the ground, as anyone can see to this -day, below the hill in the snake pasture. But -that wasn’t all. He carried away with him the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>beautiful daughter of the Head Man and she never -was seen again.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Why,” exclaimed Hopkins, when I repeated the -legend, “it’s a clear case again of Alice Hatton and -the Devil, though in that case Old Nick left nothing -behind him but a bad smell:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Now high, now low, now fast and now slow,</div> - <div class='line'>In terrible circumgyration they go—</div> - <div class='line'>The flame colored belle and her coffee faced beau!</div> - <div class='line'>Up they go once and up they go twice!</div> - <div class='line'>Round the hall! Round the hall! And now up they go thrice.</div> - <div class='line'>Now one grand pirouette the performance to crown,</div> - <div class='line'>Now again they go up, and they NEVER COME DOWN!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Whatever the legend meant it intimated that -someone had discovered this peculiar power in the -radium mineral, and the knowledge had been carefully -guarded, though, as Goritz said, “Of what use -was the knowledge when gold was needed by no -one?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>But the power itself, its physical or chemical -postulates, the method, the material! Later we -learned something, but not much, and I trust it -may be reserved for Science, <i>with the material -at my command</i> (which exerts this miraculous -power) to solve the problem of the ages.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah told me something of the origins of her -people and this curious civilization of theirs, but -it was vague and inconclusive. The small people -were an intensive people, whose unresisted control -of a physically stronger and bolder race resembles -some of the ethnic phenomena of Asia and Africa. -Their literature was practically little else than long -genealogies, the traditions transmitted by word of -mouth of former rulers, councils, the doings of a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>few notables, and a cosmology which very singularly -resembled the story recently deciphered on a -Sumerian relic by Professor Arno Poebel of the -University of Pennsylvania.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In fact these Radiumopolites had lived uneventful -lives and the incidents of history were controlled -exclusively by the incidents of weather, the -atmospheric and terrestrial perturbations involved -in their unique environment. When had they -reached this extraordinary polar depression? Were -they autochthonous? Was it not more likely that -the Eskimo people had assimilated with them, and -had been absorbed rather than, as in Ziliah’s -account, the reverse? These were unanswered -questions. To propose them only covered Ziliah’s -face with the shroud of an unhappy perplexity.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Their social economic life was very simple. As -far as Ziliah could tell me they had always been -governed by a patrician class, constituted of two -orders, one the Eminences of the Capitol, to which -Javan, Ziliah’s father, belonged, and who numbered -some twenty-four, presided over by a President, -and all of whose families, retainers, etc., were for -the most part domiciled in the great Capitol -building; and the Magistrates of the city, who -ruled over wards or bailiwicks, living in superior -structures, whose roofs were also distinguished by -gold plates, and which throughout the city blazed -picturesquely among the lowlier red buildings.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The religion in primitive communities, always a -controlling and oftentimes the most distinctive -feature of their culture, was in the Krocker Land -people a monotheistic faith which, however, secured -the satisfaction of visualization in a deeply rooted -and superstitious Tree and Serpent worship. Yet -THERE WERE NO PRIESTS. And this -anomalous condition was explained partially by -Ziliah, who told me that it had years before been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span>instituted as a Law of the People that only a King -could be their Priest. Whether they had ever had -Kings she did not know but there was some -prophecy made by one of the wise old men of the -Council, a hundred or more years ago that a King -would fall out of the clouds to them, that he would -look like a poor man, that he would not know their -language, that he would bring them a new wisdom. -It was some time before I could make out the -meaning of this. It dawned on me at last. Its -full meaning received a startling explanation later. -The services of the religion were controlled by the -Council (the Areopagus, as the Professor styled it) -of little Wise Men, and one prominent feature was -this periodic peregrination through the great Pine -Forest when the selected shrines were visited, the -votive tablets nailed to the sacred trees, and the -black snakes left to protect them. When I told -Hopkins about all this he shook his head gloomily;</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes, and how about Goritz’s loot? I guess the -God of Krocker Land won’t stand for that. -Erickson we’ll get it in the neck yet. The Professor -is our trump card.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh, yes,” I replied. “How about yourself? -The fair Ziliah pulls well with her father, I guess, -and you <i>pull</i> well with her!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins gave me a derisive glance. “Oh of -course. We’ll do the Captain Reece stunt—you -remember?</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“The captain saw the dame that day</div> - <div class='line'>Addressed her in his playful way—</div> - <div class='line'>‘And did it want a wedding ring?</div> - <div class='line'>It was a tempting ickle sing!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Well, well the chaplain I will seek,</div> - <div class='line'>We’ll all be married this day week,</div> - <div class='line'>At yonder church upon the hill;</div> - <div class='line'>It is my duty, and I will!’</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>“The sisters, cousins, aunts and shape</div> - <div class='line'>Of every black enlivening snake</div> - <div class='line'>Attended there as they were bid;</div> - <div class='line'>It was their duty and they did.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Of course in exchange for all these confidences, if -they could be called that, Ziliah exacted some confidences -in return, and I confess I had to resort -somewhat to invention, where I did not have -Hopkins’ precise directions in the matter, in meeting -her exorbitant curiosity over everything concerning -America. This disquisitional curiosity -was singular in an unsophisticated maiden of a semi-civilized -people who, it might have been supposed, -would have contented herself with the indulgence -of her affections and felt no interest in her hero’s -history.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But so it was. Spruce Hopkins understood her -admiration, but was extremely puzzled, certainly -at first, as to his own legitimate behavior in the -affair.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Crater of Everlasting Light</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>The return of the Ophidian Pilgrims, as the -Professor termed them, seemed unreasonably slow. -The wardens, Ziliah, and the servants of the Capitol -were all equally mystified over this unusual -slowness. Cold, dry weather supervened, for indeed -the stationary sun seemed sensibly to respond -to the secular influences of the seasons, as we know -them. We had all been too sufficingly engaged in -studying our new surroundings, to regret or miss -the absent Government, for a larger liberty had -been vouchsafed us, though one thing was forbidden. -We could not enter the precincts of the -forest to the west of the Capitol.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We walked through the city, we explored the -Capitol, we increased our acquaintance with the -domestic habits of the populace, and the Professor -and myself had accumulated notes on all of these -things, to be incorporated in the work on Krocker -Land which we fervently hoped to write, and which -now—Alas!—may never see the light, for—the -Professor is today a fixed official fact in that almost -mythical land in the Arctic Sea. But I hasten.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz had restrained with difficulty his almost -uncontrollable impulse to perpetrate some outrage -on the Capitol itself in his determination to accumulate -a fortune of gold. We had averted this -danger by very emphatic protests. We pointed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>out to him its danger and the folly of jeopardizing -our safety when the means of getting back—I had -almost said to the Earth, as if we had actually left -it—were now almost null, or were at least desperate. -We told him that the plunder in his room, if -found—and I began to fear that the depredations -on the tree shrines had already been detected and -were, in some way, a cause for the delayed return -of the pilgrims—would involve us all in grave -difficulties. To our entreaties or threats he became -deaf or obstinate, and I had followed him, in the -sleeping hours, when he expected to achieve his -robberies without molestation, only to intercept -him chiseling at the gold plates that encrusted the -Capitol.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In the meanwhile the Professor, whose popularity -increased with everyone, had become attracted to a -young Eskimo whose first astonishment over the -Professor’s poll of red hair had been succeeded by a -sort of personal adoration. He followed the Professor -with an attachment and fascination that -might have proved irksome. I made some inquiries -of my informant, the acquiescent Ziliah, -about him, and learned from her that he was a guide -and the gatherer of radium. He alone apparently -was able to penetrate the strange and ghastly -country where the radium masses were collected, in -that zone of the Unreal where lay the CRATER OF -EVERLASTING LIGHT. His peculiar ability -arose from his immunity to the influence of the -radium itself, which invariably prostrated those who -touched it, while the region itself forbade approach, -by reason of those indeterminable emanations -which destroyed the adventurers who entered it. -For some reason, or, in some way, Oogalah Ikimya, -the young Eskimo, enjoyed a unique invulnerability, -and on his efforts Radiumopolis depended for -its supply of radium. This distinction had given -<span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>him a particular arrogance. He alone now dared -the inexplicable dangers, or even knew the devious -route that threaded the labyrinths leading to this -unutterable place.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When I told my friends about this, we all felt a -mad desire to see, even at a distance, this intolerable -land, a mineral Gehenna. I knew of the man’s -devotion to the Professor, and I felt certain we -could gain his consent for us to accompany him. -No one of us felt a keener impatience for the trip -than Antoine Goritz. I told Ziliah of our wish. -She grew pale with horror at the suggestion; her -beautiful eyes pleaded with me to abandon the -suicidal project; she pointed to Spruce Hopkins in -piteous despair, she indeed flung herself at his feet, -and invoked his commiseration of her should he be -lost. Then she became tempestuous with scorn -and indignation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We could not go. The guards would prevent us. -She would summon the magistrates of the city. -Was she not Ziliah, daughter of the President, -head man of the Council? We should not stir. -NOT HE.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And that feminine transport over, she again -importuned us, with terrible threats of our fate, -not to consider it; so many had perished in the -same outrageous pursuit; dead bodies marked the -way; it was forbidden; the curse of the Crocodilo-Python -followed those who went there; it meant -madness, hysteria, death.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Finally it was made clear to us that whatever -Oogalah Ikimya might say this influential and -enamored young woman would prove hopelessly -obstinate. Physical force would be invoked to -restrain us. Oogalah himself rather welcomed this -opportunity to show off his skill, his exceptional -prowess, but his volubility and transports availed -nothing. Hopkins executed what the French -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>might call a <i>coup d’amour</i> and liberated us. -His overture to the despairing or incensed Ziliah -through me was rather compromising and risky, -but its effect was instantaneous and certain. Opposition -vanished when Hopkins explained that -the lovely woman <i>might get herself disliked</i>, and -that any conceivable state of future happiness -for both of them depended on <i>his having his way</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>So it eventually ended, as the mountainous -objections seemed to melt away like dew before -the sun, that we found ourselves on the road that -led westward from Radiumopolis, under the guidance -of Oogalah Ikimya, who strode before us with -rapid swinging of legs and arms, his face radiant -with pride. We had cautiously promised to be -careful, not to go farther than was prudent, to -satisfy ourselves with a distant view of the blasted -land, and to return as quickly as we went, for it was -insisted that we should hold ourselves ready for the -disposition of the Council, when the long delayed -pilgrims returned, to settle our fate.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The noisy rumor of our departure for the -Radium Country, and the haggling and delays that -preceded it, Ziliah’s outbursts and excitement, the -consultations over the permission to let us go at all, -Oogalah’s gossiping activity about it, led to the -population’s—which besieged us and surrounded us -almost daily—outpouring on the day of our departure, -so that for miles we were accompanied by a -crowd watching us with increased wonder, and, -among the older, with much ominous head shaking, -and, with the younger, many sneering comments, a -little cheering and some obstreperous farewells. -The Professor evoked much enthusiasm—he always -did. I do not know the <i>rationale</i> or the etiquette -of love matters in Krocker Land, but I remember -that Hopkins took the profusely smiling and opulently -lovely, young and small Ziliah aside, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span>tried to make her understand—without my help—that -their public parting should be very formal, no -matter how ecstatic their private one might be. -On top of that, considerably to his disappointment -or chagrin perhaps, Ziliah hugged him pretty -tightly when they stood on the terrace stairs as we -left the palace, and the very observing public -gathered about were neither amused nor interested.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was rather funny I thought, but I admitted, I -am sure, that as a display of superb manners it -would be unmatched anywhere else in the world of -so-called culture today. Atala came into my mind, -though Spruce Hopkins was a good deal of a contrast -to the sentimental Rene, and there was a -certain <i>aplomb</i>, directness, vivacity and insistence -in Ziliah that hardly suggested the Natchez -maiden. And there certainly was no Outogamiz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, at length we were on our journey. At -first the highway, for, though seldom used, this -western road was in a state of fine preservation, -traversed a thick but low wood entangled with -undergrowth. We had never entered this wood -before and had been especially prohibited from -entering it. Of course we tried to see all we could, -but there was absolutely nothing remarkable about -it. The land to the left sloped off into a marshy -tract. The people were numerous also at this -point, which interfered with our inspection, and I -know now that Oogalah, obedient to instructions, -hurried us along this section of the route—he first, -the Professor second, then Goritz, then myself, -then Hopkins—until we reached a spare, meagre -country, beyond which rose the western ranges of -the Pine Tree Gredin.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The land rose steeply, but it was almost bare, the -parched soil supported a ragged growth, and in this -appeared a few stunted pine trees. Apparently, -for many miles north and south, this condition -<span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>prevailed, an unhappy and strong contrast to the -pine tree zone to the east of the amphitheater, -where the land bubbled with springs, was murmurous -with brooks, and where the lofty, splendid -trees spread a temple-like shade over the vast -decline.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Beyond us already rose the faint shimmer of the -<i>Perpetual Nimbus</i>, that wall-like screen of vapor -that enclosed Krocker Land within the mountainous -Rim that lies outside of this veil of cloud, -though here, as I have already noted, the Nimbus -was wavering, inconstant, and in patches of the distance -absent. The Deer Fels country and the -aquatic and marshy plateaux were from here scarcely -distinguishable. A level tract of stony wastes was -this, varied by occasional rugged hills, depressions -that glistened balefully, dead ravines barely supporting -the niggardly growth of sapless yellow -plants that lurked here and there below boulders, or -sought the moisture of a few sullen pools whose -replenishment depended upon the infrequent but, -we were told, furious storms.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And the Nimbus—a paltry reproduction of the -incalculable vaporous discharges that encircle at -every other point this hidden paradise. The -chasm here was indeed deep, but imperfectly continuous, -and huge horsebacks of stone piled within -it formed practicable though most broken and uneven -bridges across it. The steam rising from the -heated rocks below was not visibly referable to any -water supply, as on the east, where the plunging -rivers so abundantly furnished the means of -raising this colossal stage curtain, and there was -absent from here that tumultuous rolling ocean of -clouds in the sky. Probably underground courses -supplied the water, for, after we had surmounted -one of the least precipitous and angular of the -bridges and had gotten into the rising territory -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>beyond, we encountered a puzzling intricacy of -profound cracks or fissures, and we could not only -hear but could see the patchy lustres of running -water in them.</p> - -<p class='c016'>From this point our guide turned abruptly -northward, taking us through a terrible desolation -of rocks, with the high snow-clad peaks of the -Krocker Land Rim gloriously looming skyward on -the left. I shall not forget that strange transit. -It was hard work. We carried our own supplies, -the water and a few instruments, and their weight -was almost insupportably increased by the discomforts -of the harsh, inhospitable land we traveled -through, and, by some dizzying influence which -began to strain our heads with headaches, to parch -our throats, and to produce a most uncomfortable -and absurd illusion of treading on air cushions. -This last hallucination made us unsteady, and after -a while it pestered us so much that we were compelled -to stop at short intervals to rest.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Oogalah kept on well ahead, looking back at us -every few minutes and distrustfully shaking his -head, with incessant gestures for increased speed. -We were not over anxious to hurry. The region -was extraordinary and its geologic features, as -connected with this unparalleled deposit, or vein, or -lode, or whatever it was, of radium, were certainly -worth noting. And then our heads! Hopkins -diverted us by his misery.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I’d like to look inside of my cranium just now. -I couldn’t begin to tell how it feels; something, I -should say, like what gunpowder men call <i>deflagration</i> -is taking place there, popguns going off -every few minutes, with a hurdy-gurdy accompaniment -in my ears and a bad taste in my mouth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“The Professor really ought to be very careful -and avoid any extra exertion. In a bean as full as -his, there probably isn’t much room for expansion, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>and I guess the right word for describing our condition -is expansion—almost unlimited. My head -may seem no bigger than usual, but I should say it -had already grown large enough for distribution to -a dozen headless gentlemen, enough to give each -of them a head piece of ordinary dimensions. -Whew—but this is fierce.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The poor fellow had clapped both hands to his -head as if to actually hold it together. And with -all of us the inscrutable sensations were becoming -insufferable. Goritz insisted on keeping on but we -overruled that. It was just possible that our -resting a while might accustom us to the strange -influence of atmosphere, and enable us to proceed -without this torturing plague of heat and noise and -dilation in our poor heads. We sat down. Oogalah -quickly discovered our reluctance, and was back -with us in a trice, gesticulating and vociferating as -well, absolutely unaffected, which brought to the -suffering Yankee’s face the most comical expression -of disgust and surprise.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I say, Erickson, this has me guessing. What -do you suppose that fellow’s made of? Rubber? -Cork? Do you know I believe he’d put electrocution -on the fritz. You’d be compelled to pulverize -him if you ever expected to drive the life out of his -body. One hundred yards more of this and I’ll -either join the choir invisible <i>ipse motu</i>, as they -say in the books, or just get one of you to pass me -over with a wallop on the cocoa, or a fine slit along -the carotid. I believe I could go so far as to commit -<i>hari-kari</i>, and not know it. It can’t be -possible that you fellows don’t notice it.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Notice it!” I answered. “My head feels like a -balloon. I almost wonder I don’t float off with it. -We can’t last this way. It would be a sorry ending -to this famous exploit, if we were all to burst like -soap bubbles.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>Oogalah by means of elaborate pantomime to the -Professor, and a few intelligible words to Goritz -acquainted us with his assurance that a hill about -one hundred yards away would bring us relief. We -struggled to it, sick and staggering. To our -amazement upon ascending it a little way relief -came, and our tormented heads sensibly shrank—so -it felt—to something like their usual volume. -Then we noticed, guided by the Professor’s acumen -in such matters, that while the region was unmistakably -an igneous complex, the rocks we had -passed over were entirely granitic, and the elevation -on which we now stood was a basic olivine-peridotite, -dense and black, and in some way -exempt from the radiumistic occlusions which perhaps -saturated the granitic batholith around it. I -will not stop to discuss this, sir, but later we indeed -established the fact that the enormous outflow of -granite lava had brought to the surface innumerable -radium bodies, distributed through it in molecular -aggregates of considerable size, and that the unseen -but voluminous discharge of the emanation so -affected us, while the gabbro dikes, containing none, -afforded an impermeable flooring for our passage.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then, too, we were now approaching the splendid -prism of light that shot upward, yet obliquely, in a -vast pulsating diffusion of a delicate radiance that -grew, as we advanced, more and more intolerable. -Our progress consisted now in crossing, as quickly -as our stumbling movements would allow, the -granitic intervals that separated the ranges of low -basic hills. On these latter we regained our -strength and composure, and prepared for the succeeding -dashes that carried us over the perilous -interludes. It was amazing to watch the <i>insouciance</i> -and activity of our guide. He did not even -protect his eyes. It seemed as if some physiological -peculiarity rendered him immune to the terrifying -<span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span>disorders that signalized to us, instantly, the presence -of these puissant particles of radium, or else -he had become so from his long continued exposures, -a theory quite incomprehensible to us.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But even to this dogged and halting march there -was a limit. Oogalah himself had enough rectitude -of purpose to realize that, and perhaps too he felt -vainglorious of his superiority. He indicated -almost sternly a final towering hill, a continuation -of the broken cordillera we had been following, -which should be the terminus of our exploration. -We—at least Hopkins and myself—would not have -cared to overpass it. We were deadly faint and -exhausted when we reached it, and but for the -magnanimous help of the Eskimo, who carried our -packs, I think we would have swooned and fallen -by the way. The Professor seemed the least -susceptible to the mysterious influence, and this -amusingly vexed and confounded Hopkins. Brute -willpower and his insatiable fever of desire to obtain -the transmuting substance which raised before him -the vision of boundless wealth, kept Goritz on his -feet. With the Professor it was the energizing -power of scientific curiosity. The paralyzing -effect of suffocation was really noticeable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, after a few minutes’ rest, with Goritz -impatient and the Professor aflame with wonder, -we started up a portentously narrow hill, and a high -one too. Oogalah pointed out its pinnacle as our -destination, and then turned westward into that -dizzying and unearthly country wherein lay the -trough of radium. Around us fell the radiance of -its wonderful emission, but we found that the -climbing path—it had been worn well into the rock -by previous pilgrims—clung to the eastward scarp -of the hill, and was therefore actually in shadow—a -welcome relief. Perhaps five hours were consumed -in this toilsome ascent, but when we reached -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>the last winding trail, and had clambered to a small -shelf immediately under the ragged apex, we looked -over a scene of unparalleled terribleness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The pen of Dante or the pencil of Dore alone -could have done justice to its weird and frightful -desolation, not entirely expressed in lifelessness, but -in the awful grimace in it of tortured and disfigured -matter. The blacks, purples and reds, smeared -over it wrote in it a sort of agony of disgrace and -unseemliness and pain. I wonder if the landscapes -of the Moon resemble it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>For a long way in the foreground, where we saw -with astonishment the running figure of Oogalah, -stretched a broken platform of white quartzite, -and through this sprang the strangest confusion of -lines, skeins, dashes and drippings of black, purple, -brown, and traceable here and there, as of the -tracks of a bleeding animal or man, chained drops of -red. It was not beautiful certainly, it had no -ornamental or decorative features; it was, rather, -scoriaceous and blasting.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Beyond this rugose platform rose two mounds, -one ashen and white—the Professor said it was a -bleached, corroded and kaolinized granite—the -other a purplish, livid mass streaked with threads or -blotches of yellow (sulphur, the Professor thought), -and these hills ran north and south, becoming -reduced to sprawling and unwholesome heaps of -slaggy consistency which ever and anon encroached -on the quartzite zone and even encumbered it, as if -tossed upon it in drifts of scattered nodules.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Through the gateway, between the two first -mounds, we saw even now the form of Oogalah -passing, but he was no longer erect. He was -crawling on hands and knees, and over his head -hung a towel. Hopkins and myself shuddered for -him. His venturesome undertaking seemed to us -<i>simply</i> suicide. He intended to bring us each a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>mass of the mineral—a small piece. When he -gathered this miracle-working substance for Radiumopolis, -we were told, he first camped behind one -of the peridotite hills, then issued upon his dangerous -mission, collected what he could, returned to his -camp, and for weeks kept at it until his supply was -sufficient. The store made, he removed it in the -same laborious way, stage by stage, until he came -to the safer country, where he was met by numerous -assistants who transported the radium homeward.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But we could see from our elevation beyond -these dead heaps, beyond, into the vale of Acheron, -as it were,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><i>Quam super haud ullae poterant impune volantes</i></div> - <div class='line'><i>Tendere iter pennis</i>;</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c022'>a further dead valley declining into the deeper -chasm from which sprang the auroral light. This -chasm was evidently indefinitely prolonged northward; -from it rose the coronation or rays which -seemed converged upon a marvelous blazing precipice -on the further boundary of this irregular, -narrow, longitudinal canon. Into the canon itself -it was impossible to look. It was enclosed in the -upper valley which we could see, and which -presented a spectacle of stony desolation. Its -sides were evidently precipitous on the east, and -pretty generally hidden from us, but on the west it -presented to us a long, receding slope of rock -palely illuminated beneath the light streaming in -a broad and thick flood over it. These rock -exposures were curiously discolored, and also -curiously spotted with glow-spots, from included -radium perhaps.</p> -<p class='c016'>Clefts or rents tore down their sides, and ragged, -serpentine embrasures interrupted the cliffs that -bordered it. Black recesses contrasted with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>bright surfaces, and sharp crests (<i>arete</i>) bristled -here and there in jagged series, where the cliffs -attained elevations of probably thousands of feet. -It was a vast abyss and was split more deeply by a -secondary and later fissure which had uncovered -the central masses of radium. Nowhere could we -discern any evidences of aqueo-thermal activity, -no steam spirals anywhere. The vapor line was -eastward along the crack where the Perpetual Nimbus -appeared. Beyond, far beyond, rose the snowy -tops, the glacier ridden summits of the Krocker -Land Rim.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was enthralling. Remember, Mr. Link, it was -the night time of the polar world, and here all was -bathed in light or silhouetted in shadow, while that -Stationary Sun which filled the immense valley land -with light, imparted to it warmth; it shone in its -peculiar zenith, deriving in some way (by reflection -from the crystalline walls to the west) its replenishment -of light and heat from this stupendous source -of both. We watched in a trance of amazement -for hours. There were perceptible pulsations in the -emanation, and it was altogether remarkable to -observe that these were recorded in the variable -sun, obviously susceptible to these changes. Its -reference (the sun’s) to the radium masses, here -uncovered, was now indisputable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It had now in the advanced season become -apparent that the earth’s secular changes were not -quite dissipated in the Krocker Land basin by its -unique feature of the Stationary Sun. For weeks -it had been growing colder, and now—to our -astonishment a spectacle of dazzling beauty relieved -the singular weird terror of this lifeless scene. We -saw a gathering gloom from far away darken the -peaks of the Krocker Land Rim; it spread and became -revealed as a snowstorm. A wind brushed -over us—another instant and the wide zone of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>delicate radiation was transformed into an indescribably -glorious firmament of stars, shifting, -dying out and renewed, and around us from the sky -fell a shower of icy particles, a flurry from the -tempest that was sweeping over the distant ranges.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hardly had we recovered from the shock of this -unexpected display when we heard the voice and -saw the form of Oogalah approaching our position, -from the opposite side of the hill. He had executed -his errand and was returning, and the expanded -bag in his hands showed that he had accomplished -his purpose. We had seen him disappear in the -defiles beyond the crumbling hills. He showed the -strain of his work and the effect of the unnatural -influence of that exposure, but in a short time, after -resting, his strength and composure returned, and -he was ready for the home journey. He afterwards -told me he had never looked into the chasm, or -chasms, whence the radium emissions or radiations -proceeded. He had not cared to. Once on the -field of his dangerous occupation, groveling to the -ground, he moved cautiously over the rocky flooring, -and extracted the mineral masses from the -veins wherein they seemed to be segregated, <i>hammering -them out</i>. Formerly he had been able to -pick the nodules up loose from the granite ledges. -That was no longer possible. He had exhausted -the supply of free lumps, and now he was compelled -to practice this superficial mining. He knew that -the surface finds were abundant further down the -slopes of the defile, but he dreaded the experiment -of entering further into the disorganizing influences -of the lethal chamber. He had once been rash in -that way and had swooned, and only the brush of -some cavorting wind current from above, such as -we had ourselves felt, had sufficiently revived him -to enable him to regain his feet and to escape.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On our return Goritz monopolized Oogalah. He -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>plied him with questions, and evinced the most -excited interest in his work. Poor fellow—the -poison of the lust for gold, <i>sacri fames auri</i>, had -entered his mind and heart. A magnificent man, -Mr. Link, sturdy, resourceful, remorselessly self -forgetful, and most simple in tastes, a lovable -brother, if ever there was one, but sir, never the -same after that unlucky find of the gold belt, when -we crossed the first barrier of the Krocker Land -Rim.</p> - -<p class='c016'>He became secretive, avaricious, moody, -impatient, a delirious dreamer, and then most -unaccountably suspicious. It was a revolution in -character that would have puzzled an expert in -psychology or nerves to explain. To me it was a -pretty bad shock, and when at last the unhappy -man—but let that wait. It displays a measure of -the pernicious power of the temptation of money to -corrupt (the word in Goritz’s case is misapplied), to -alter nature and temperament, and all because he -expected to enjoy its pleasures in the world we had -left; for gold in Krocker Land for any of ordinary -uses, like ours, was literally not much more desirable -than so much earth. To the Radiumopolite it -administered, it is true, a mild esthetic pleasure. -There was some recondite recognition in his ingenuous -nature of its beauty at least, and its -unchangeableness. To the rulers, the doctors, the -chiefs, it may have seemed more; at any rate they -devoted it to the purposes of distinction and -religion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz on our way back was most impatient to -examine the strange mineral Oogalah had brought -us, but the man refused to let him, intimating, quite -fiercely, that it should be distributed among us when -we got back to the Capitol, and not before. This -refusal really arose from his intention of giving the -Professor the largest piece. As Hopkins averred, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>the Professor had Oogalah “<i>buffaloed</i>” an epitomized -substitute, certainly not intelligible, for a -lengthier explanation of the Professor’s extraordinary -influence over the man.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I remember we were all silent on our way back; -we were dazed, and the journey had been rapid -and arduous. The Professor himself had indeed, -for weeks past, neglected to speculate on the wonders -about us, and we now seldom received from him -those lectures with which he had first instructed us. -Perhaps he was overwhelmed by the incredible -realization of the prophecies he had made to us on -the sylvan banks (how far away and distant they -seemed) of the beautiful fiord in Norway, under a -summer sky.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Once again within the charmed borders of the -Valley of Rasselas we found the highway deserted. -It was a contrast to the eager multitudes that had -escorted us when we left. Past the mysterious -swamps on the right from which, at one moment, I -thought I heard a queer sucking wail or bark, as of -some big animal, and on into the city, and yet no -encounters! Past the bathhouses, over the wide -serpent pasture with its populous cribs, up the wide -western terrace of steps of the Golden Capitol, and -not one welcoming face—only the listless snakes -sluggishly gliding or coiled in varnished mats.</p> - -<p class='c016'>To these omnipresent, pervading inhabitants we -had become, in a manner of speaking, accustomed; -we found them in the streets of the city, and through -the courtyard of the Palace, over the parapets, -ensconced in niches in the walls, rising hideously -from the pavement of the inner halls, or unexpectedly -and unwholesomely slipping over the mats of -our rooms, or dripping like dark thongs from their -cornices. Hopkins detested them.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“I tell you, Erickson,” he would exclaim, “an -externalized <i>delirium tremens</i> of this sort is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span>worse than drink. Beats me how people ever came -to think well of these critters. They’re the most -painfully unpleasant denizens of this earth that I -have ever encountered—<i>to me</i>. Tastes differ of -course, but I can’t help feeling that nobody really -likes ’em, and pretences to the contrary are just -plain lies, or the deponents have never enjoyed the -advantages of a public school education, a hot bath, -towels, soap, the morning newspaper, pure food, -clean shirts, and the white things that generally go -to make up white civilization—in other words, -Alfred, they’re just savages like these big and little -demons all around us.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“How about Ziliah?” I might ask mischievously.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The handsome fellow would smile bewitchingly. -“Say Erickson, if Ziliah and I ever go to housekeeping -we’ll cut out the snakes—<i>I will</i>—and I’ll -start up Anti-Snake missions, until we get the -people converted into regular Christians—the real -Irish sort. Then I’ll come the St. Patrick act on -them, and exterminate the varmints, and coming -generations, hereabouts, will call me blessed.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were somewhat more astonished to enter the -western doorway of the Capitol and still find no one, -but we could see darkly through its dingy length—the -radium lamps were covered—and noted a crowd -outside of its eastern entrance. At the same time -something like beating cymbals and tanging drums -came to our ears, and then unmistakably the shouts -of people.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“They’ve come back,” shouted Oogalah in his -lingo, and he rushed past us, mad with expectation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We followed him with almost equal precipitancy, -and the bag of radium mineral that had cost us all -this effort was forgotten. Oogalah dropped it, we -neglected it in the sudden excitement, and—<i>it was -never again found</i>.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Pool of Oblation</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>Oogalah was right. It was the return of the -pilgrims, and the delighted city, plunged for days -in wondering doubt over their safety had rushed -bodily out to meet them. Our momentary importance -was hopelessly eclipsed. I dreaded lest it -might undergo an inverted resurrection, and that -these potent little men, incensed over our discovered -depredations, might turn angrily upon us -and destroy us. For the moment I forgot these -apprehensions in pure admiration at the novel -exhibition.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When we emerged on the courtyard at the eastern -entrance of the Capitol we found the broad mound -on which the gold house was erected crowded. -Immediately in front of it was a jostling mass -of women, and prominent among them, by -reason of stature and position, was standing the -pretty Ziliah, arrayed in certainly her best and -most becoming costume, at the head of the broad -stairway, a view down which led the eye straight -eastward over the wide thoroughfare, now fenced -in by enthusiastic multitudes. Literary reminders -constantly recur to me, and just then I was amused -to find myself picturing Rome when Pompey -entered it and recalling Marullus’ proud words, in -Julius Caesar:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'><span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>“And when you saw his chariot but appear,</div> - <div class='line'>Have you not made a universal shout,</div> - <div class='line'>That Tiber trembled underneath her banks</div> - <div class='line'>To hear the replication of your sounds</div> - <div class='line'>Made in her concave shores?”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>There was no Tiber, to be sure, but there were -the people, and the shout, albeit rather more shrill -and piercing than thunderous. The air seemed at -moments and in places thick with the rising hats -that were tossed with splendid nerve, in acclamation -of the advancing procession.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On it came, hardly visible at first, save as an -oscillating shimmer and movement, and accompanying -the incessant rumpus of the shattering -cymbals and the thumping drums. The musicians -evinced a pardonable pride and extracted as much -noise as vigor and appreciation could extort from -their very willing instruments. It was exciting -enough. As the first companies of the Eskimos -approached and the cataract of sound poured over -us we sought some higher outlook. A narrow ledge -like a water-table separated the second from the -first story of rooms in the communal palace. We -could, by boosting and climbing on each other, -reach this, and once there the <i>coup d’oeil</i> would be -complete. Goritz bent forward. With the lightness -of a deer Hopkins sprang up, straightened himself, -and touched the coping. He swung onto it, -and—I half dreaded it would give way—it held. -Then we maneuvered the Professor up. I followed -and with a long pull we jerked Goritz off his feet and -hauled him to us, and thus rather absurdly and -flagrantly placed, we awaited the event. Our feet -dangled over the crowd below and, as we were in -full view of the terrace of steps and the road, the -first thing the returning “doctors” would behold, -would be our desecrating presence on the walls of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>the palace. But we were oblivious to consequences -just then.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Gazing down immediately underneath our perch -we saw the ladies of the Capitol bunched in a many -colored knot at the head of the steps. Crushing -upon them were the servants, attendants, guards, -and an indiscriminate crowd of citizens, and down -these steps, kept inviolately clean, on either side, -was a line of the taller Eskimos, a man to every -step, with a black snake coiled round his waist, but -with its neck and head held outward in an inclined -position, so that a view from our seat crossed a profile -of extended snakes’ heads and necks, somewhat -symmetrically displayed in two series. It was a -most peculiar bizarre picture.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Already the first regiment of men in the procession -had halted, fallen irregularly backward along -the side of the road, and then massed beyond these -was the tireless band, men and women in their -tight bodices and sacks, their naked legs, and the -picturesque gold knee-caps. Almost instantly -appeared the bright gold poles, around which, when -we met them in the pine forest, had been coiled the -imprisoned snakes. The snakes were no longer on -them. The companies holding these advanced, -strode up the steps, and stalwartly, with a martial -erectness absent from everyone else, lined themselves -with the snake holders. The diversified and -variegated cohorts of the little people which we had -noticed in the forest, had evidently dispersed, lost -here and there along the route, for they doubtless -were adventitious accretions, followers from custom -or for amusement, and with them too had vanished -the very considerable commissariat.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There remained only the jaunting cars, with their -odd but impressive little occupants, and that jolting, -shivering, monstrous gold throne, bearing the -shocking effigy of the Crocodilo-Python. Yes, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>here they were! The tugging rams with snail tipped -horns, and the council in violet gowns bedizened -with gold braid and chains, utterly insignificant -lilliputian creatures, with their beetle heads. -True, but the deadly power lurking in those metal -tubes—What was that?—not to be gainsaid, not to -be denied. The thought of it gave me a shuddering -sense of impotence, before these caricatures of men.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Of course the wagons could not ascend the steps, -and the governors softly alighted—it was quite -delightful to see their noiseless flitting to and fro—purring -into each other’s ears as they came -together, and then separating with mimic gestures -of expostulation or disgust or approval. They -looked, so we thought, almost as they had when we -first met them, and I began to wonder whether they -did not harbor in their light, frameless and bobbing -little anatomies, extraordinary powers of resistance, -abnormal energies perhaps.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was a little decorous shifting to and fro, -and ceremonious bowing and scraping, which had -the most incalculably ludicrous appearance, as if, -after all, they were nothing but vaudeville puppets. -Hopkins of course appreciated all that uproariously. -Finally they started up the stairs, led by the benignant -little gentleman who had told the Professor -to “speak,” and afterwards most effectively had gone -through the dumb show of telling him to “shut up,” -and who, by the way, was Ziliah’s father. They -rose towards us with a mincing dignity that was -really pleasing. We noticed again their whiteness, -their thinness, their long arms, their thin fingers, -their senile-like agitation, their pointed beards, and -the singular splendor of their eyes. The latter -were now uncovered, the disfiguring goggles hung -from their necks by the most delicate filaments of -gold.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There were quite a number of them, perhaps -<span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>thirty in all, and as they slowly drew near to us we -realized that while they belonged to the racial -configuration of the little people, they were probably -immensely removed from them, too, by an -intellectual gap that bore some reference to training -or descent. The Semitic character of these -little people was irrefragable.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hardly had the President—it turned out that -such an appellation might describe him—reached -the middle of the ascent than we were treated to a -charming show of filial affection. Ziliah, ravishingly -fixed up in close fitting attire, and distinguished -by some gold trinkets that became her -extremely well, ran down the steps and—fell into -her father’s arms? No—not that—exactly. There -were some insurmountable difficulties, related to -the comparative sizes of the principals, that made -that commonplace impossible. Ziliah took her -father <i>up</i>, hugged him, kissed and—<i>set him down -again</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I heard Hopkins groan, and the query came in an -undertone: “Where’s my mother-in-law?”</p> - -<div id='p2921' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p2921.jpg' alt='a woman, standing at the base of the steps up to a small castle, holds a baby. Small men with weapons stand on either side of the steps' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>ZILIAH AND HER FATHER</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>After that there was a great deal of confusion. -Mothers and daughters, wives and sons, the magistrates -from the city and innumerable friends -poured over the steps to meet the dignitaries, and, -for all the world, it just then resembled, allowing -for the difference in latitude and other things, the -homecoming of a western deputation to your congress; -their arrival at the town hall, and their -admiring reception by the neighbors. And the -democratic expression of things increased. The -snake sharps on the steps, so Hopkins designated -them, disappeared with their charges, depositing -them in the enclosures in the “snake pasture,” the -gold-polemen scrambled up the steps and entered -the Capitol, the rams, jaunting cars, and the grinning -throne-horror left too, but where I could not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>see. We encountered the latter again under pretty -startling circumstances. Then when all this had -happened the crowds from the city jammed everything, -with a shrilling of voices ascending to us that -sounded like a magnification, a megaphoning, of -countless crickets. The bigger people, the Eskimos, -were scarcely visible. We felt relieved—<i>I did</i>. -We had been quite forgotten, and that spoke volumes -for our safety. We discussed the situation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “Suppose we get down and join the -house warming. It’s just possible that they have -something better to eat than usual on occasions -like this. I’d welcome a change of diet.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “As this was a huge snake picnic, it may be -they wind it up by eating snakes.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “Bah!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor: “My friends, now that the -Faculty has returned Erickson must interview -them, explain our mission, establish scientific -relations with them if possible, get the records, -assure them of the astonishment which will be felt -over their existence when we report it before the -scientific bodies of the world, solicit from them some -demonstration of their knowledge of transmutation, -aeronautics, the X-ray; those powerful tubes they -manipulate; and then really we should be thinking -of <i>getting home</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “Professor, I don’t think we’ll find the Faculty, -as you call them, very communicative (“Tight -wads?” interjected Spruce.) I’ve learned some -things from Ziliah, and judging from her communications -I believe these people know very little -about themselves and what’s more I believe they -exercise their occult powers without knowing the -<i>rationale</i> of them either. At any rate while I can -get along with their speech I know I should be -floored in any intricate matter. As to—getting -home. I agree with you, but—HOW?”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>The Professor: “But Alfred, be reasonable. -Learn what you can. Try them. I do admit our -return presents difficulties.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz: “There can’t be much of the naphtha -launch left now.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “But Antoine, you are not thinking of -getting out! I believe you intended to apply for -naturalization papers.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor: “There are the—Balloons? -Perhaps—”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “Dear Professor, cut it out. There is -some difference in size and weight between these -midgets and us. Really, if you’re solicitous on the -subject of the posthumous notices you are destined -to receive in the learned journals of the world, try -the balloons. None in mine. Rocking the cradle -and watching Ziliah cook snakes is preferable. -And seriously I could make a hunch at getting on -here if somehow we could improve the brand of the -religion—but this snake business has me going. -I guess, too, a little eugenics might help the people. -Interbreeding, I should say, with the huskies would -add something to the linear dimensions of the inhabitants, -for really the girls have some class.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “It seems likely to me that one might reach -Beaufort Sea by a short overland route to the west. -It’s pretty clear that Radiumopolis is far towards -the western border of the Valley of Rasselas, and -the Rim, and the sea beyond that, are not far off. -Our trip to the radium country showed that.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor: “The importance of this discovery -outranks anything that has happened in the -world since the discovery of America. It’s too -astounding to be even indicated in a few words. -The radium deposit alone is the most tremendous -fact in nature today. For one, I should deplore the -destruction of this most curious aboriginal culture -with the ethnic problems displayed in it, but it is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>our indefeasible right to proclaim to the world the -presence here of the radium. The whole aspect, -industry, economics, finance, <i>health</i> of the world -will be profoundly modified by its exploitation.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz: “Well I should say nothing about it. -Let it be. We can use what we learn about its -powers for ourselves. That seems right enough to -me. What can be the use of turning the whole -world topsy-turvy, and of course as a consequence -exterminating these innocent people. Do you -suppose you could hold back for one hour the rampaging -hordes that would pour into this little -valley and inundate it with hungry, riotous -savages? Put a mining town with its rum and its -demons in the place of this contented realm with its -picturesque life, its peaceful ceremonies, its long -inherited customs that for centuries upon centuries -have never changed; erase or debauch a community -that on the very edge of the roaring world, -since time began, has kept on its quiet hidden way -in this unassailable nook, and do you think you -will ever forgive yourselves for the ruin, the devastation? -It would curse you to your death.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We all looked at Goritz with surprise. He did -not often turn on the oratory like this. It was a -touch, I said to myself, of his old nature. The -plea was well made and it kept us silent for some -time, and I think the longer we measured its meaning -the more it affected us. Suddenly Hopkins -broke the silence.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Say, where’s everybody? There isn’t a soul in -sight.” It was true; the mound hill, the courtyards, -the road, the steps, the doorway, the snake -pasture, the parapets, which it seemed but a few -moments before had been crammed with the chattering -multitude, were deserted. In our absorption, -seated above the heads of the crowd on the -comfortable ledge, we had forgotten to note its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span>disappearance. Always anxious over some possible -new development which would endanger our safety, -and never confident of the good intentions of the -little wiseacres with their preternatural powers, -their minute crooked devices, and their probable -deceit and malevolence, I now felt some alarm at -this silence and desertion. Was it some new turn in -affairs, a new stage in their ceremonial procedure -that portended any harm to us? I had wondered -over the apparent forgetfulness of our presence, -and our absolute neglect. Was it part of some -preconcerted design, an ostentatious indifference, -concealing some mischievous plot for our undoing? -For it was quite easy, indeed unavoidable to conceive, -that these little rulers, impregnable hitherto -in their power, would view suspiciously our advent -among them. A secluded bred-in civilization like -this, is jealous of intrusion, resents the foreigner, -and spurns novelty. It has always been so and -the Faculty—the word the Professor complimented -them with—would readily descry in us the forerunners -of a more dangerous invasion. It would be -well to watch them and—where they were?</p> - -<p class='c016'>I leaped to the ground and the rest at once -followed. We ran around the corner of the building, -first to the north—in which direction the city -was far less expanded than southward and eastward—and -the same emptiness confronted us. -But to the south and at the west the contrast was -startling. The areas were packed with streaming -throngs; crowds from streets were discharging into -the broad highway leading westward, that one on -which we had just returned from the radium hunt, -and, as we hastened to the west side of the Capitol, -we saw that the concourse was passing out on the -same boulevard towards the swamp land just outside -the ranges of the city. Our elevation enabled -us to trace the variegated ribbon of people, made -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>up of the little folk for the most part, and occasionally -a towering figure, moving <i>silently</i> outward in -an enormous evacuation of the city. What had -preceded them or what they followed we could not -undertake to determine.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Fragments and sections of the formal parade, as -it had returned from the ceremonial circuit, were -embedded in the stream, and we guessed the Council -led the procession. Glancing into the broad -central hall of the Capitol—where the radium -lamps were—nothing was seen. The big communal -house of government was bare and abandoned. -Goritz’s hand passed enviously over the broad -encrusting plates of gold which now any ruthless -pillager could have torn away, but he did not -attempt to remove one. We certainly would have -interposed had he tried it. It required no deliberation -on our part to conclude to mingle in the crowds. -It might be that if their destination was the swamps -we now might learn something of the uses of that -mystery-shrouded depression and reservoir.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Running down the western terrace of steps we -were soon immersed in the multitude, though by -reason of our physical proportions we rose above -them like tall saplings among bushes. Some -familiarization with us had been gained by the -Radiumopolites, and although we never stirred -abroad without awakening interest, they no longer -regarded us with the first unsubdued wonder and -curiosity. And on this occasion we were less -likely to excite attention, as a more dreadful expectation -filled their minds.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Slowly we made our way for a mile or so until -the sombre thickets and enshrouding vegetation of -the swamps came into view. And then a rapid -dispersal began. Down innumerable paths and -trails, all more or less artificially finished, the people -vanished. Files of them entered these forest alleyways -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>and the quickly thinning throngs left us comparatively -free. We passed a broad road leading -to the left, down which in the distance we discerned -a line of vans pulled by Eskimos, and on them -prostrate and bandaged or chained figures, some -moving, we thought! For the moment we were -rooted with horror. What could they be? What -was this? A public execution, a sacrifice, a holocaust? -Good God—could it be a cannibalistic -feast? Great as were our suspicion and terror, the -constraining power of a savage curiosity drove us -on. Down the very next lane we met, we rushed -<i>pele-mele</i>, with something like rage, something like -disgust, something like a sickening fear, a blend -hard to analyze.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Perhaps we had run a half a mile, when we burst -through the last encircling hedge of bushes and -found ourselves on the shore of a turbid, muddy, -malodorous pool, confined by a low wall of clay, -paved with tile, and then surrounded by the outstretched -cordons of the adult population—not a -child was visible—of Radiumopolis! And immediately -above us, at the side, so that we could inspect -the actions of its occupants, was a low platform, -also of clay, perhaps twenty feet high. On this -platform, ranged in a circle, were those detestable -worthies (?) and behind them stood the vans, and -on the vans—motionless bodies in small low heaps, -like fagoted wood! Yes! They were dead—all -dead—<i>quite dead</i>. God be praised for that!</p> - -<p class='c016'>From somewhere back of the platform the cymbals -began their clamorous cries, but whether it -was due to an augmented band or an exasperated -effort, the noise seemed redoubled, rising into a -screeching tumult quite indescribable. And then -the people shouted. It sounded like <i>Lam-bo-o, -Lam-bo-oo</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was a curious vocality and perhaps as nearly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>as anything might be likened to the querulous -squeal of monkeys, with just a faint amelioration -of disapproval on the assumption that it was singing. -That—the combined discord of the cymbals -and the singing—continued for perhaps fifteen -minutes, with intervals of a minute or so. It was -altogether unearthly. Now we began to see that -the pond or pool or swamp connected by a narrow -neck of water with more remote basins, that may -have had interminable connections in all directions, -forming a web of waterways.</p> - -<p class='c016'>From these distant bayous and lagoons now -issued three or four or five sinuous monsters, rushing -forward upon the waves of their own disturbance, -their saurian heads raised slightly, and the -huge convolutions of their tails discerned in the -wash of their wakes, as they hastened, as if with -some anticipatory avidity for their meal, towards -us, towards the platform, from where the immolation -awaited them. They were the <i>Crocodilo-Pythons</i>. -We recognized at once the white-green -beasts we had seen in the Saurian Sea. Yes, the -same obscene, unspeakable beasts.</p> - -<p class='c016'>They only revealed their terrifying bulk as they -approached the platform and finally came to rest -before it. Then inserting their muscular posteriors -in the mud, beyond which lazily rolled the python-like -tails in portentous folds, their heads and fore-quarters -slowly rose into the air. This exposure -made us quail and yet exult, with an excitement no -language can convey. The same repulsive coloring -masked them, the greenish-yellow skin, the agitated -and red blotches. Higher and higher, -mounted the snapping jaws, and at moments the -mucus covered eyes emerged with a baleful glitter; -the long neck swayed and the short front legs beat -the air, as if in expostulation at delay. The -fascinating thrill of horror which such a sight -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>causes can be understood; only the painter can -justify it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And, sir, they were fed—<i>fed</i> with corpses, while -the infernal cymbals banged on, and the insignificant -people wailed their “<i>Lam-bo-oo, Lam-bo-oo!</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The bodies were naked and they were the dead of -both races; the gaping jaws caught them as the -sea lion catches with inerrant skill the tossed fish, -that no sooner reaches the expectant jaws than it -vanishes with a hollow-sounding gulp. So for the -most part did these small bodies go, the dilating -necks of the animals marking their descent to the -cavernous abdomens. A few vicious twirls maybe, -a shivering hammering together of the jaws, accompanied -at times with a dip beneath the water, sending -muddy waves to the banks, indicated the less -easy negotiation of the larger bodies.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Revolted and overcome by the pervading half-sickening -stench—in part the exhalations from the -vile saurians—we turned away. As we went back -I caught a full view of the little dignitaries in their -violet gowns, their glittering chains and their beehive -hats, and what an incongruous contrast it -made. In their frailness, their whiteness, their -chirping volubility, with their overmade heads, -their tenuous shanks and their globed eyes they -took on, to me, the whimsical likeness to delicately -cut and animated <i>netsukes</i> in ivory, dressed like -toys; and I thought too their enlarged heads might -keep company with their compressed hearts, though -certainly we could not say yet, and religious habits -often accompany many horrors, much bad taste, -and a lot of antiquated humbug.</p> - -<div id='p3001' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p3001.jpg' alt='two men throw a body into a river. Two bear-like creatures wait below' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>THE POOL OF OBLATION</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>We got away, the Professor reluctantly. He -said the “mandibular action” merited longer observation, -and Hopkins inquired, “I wonder how the -undertakers of Radiumopolis relish this sort of -burial? It certainly saves the mourner considerable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>in flowers and gravestones, but I don’t believe -I would cotton to finding my ancestors in the bones -of an alligator. It’s decidedly composite you -know, like as in “The Yarn of the Nancy Bell,” -when the man who had eaten a good deal of everybody, -sang:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘Oh, I am the cook and a captain bold,</div> - <div class='line'>And the mate of the Nancy brig,</div> - <div class='line'>And a bo’s’n tight, and a midshipmite,</div> - <div class='line'>And the crew of the captain’s gig.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'>Long after we had regained the highway, and -were on our solitary way to the city we could hear -the smashing cymbals, the thudding drums, and -the dolorous salutation of the—Well WHAT? -Worshippers. Ugh! But we did meet Oogalah and -he was in dreadfully low spirits, with a face full of -misery, wringing his hands in distress. When he -saw the Professor he ran up to him and stood before -him in a woe-begone way, quite incapable of explaining -his grief. Goritz could make him out -fairly well and he asked him “What is the matter? -Sick?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“No! No! Oogalah not sick, but the Big Men -have thrown his dead mother to the Serpent!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Of course we were interested, and Goritz extorted -from our friend an astonishing story. Briefly, it -was this. Every year at the winter solstice (for -later we found that these people possessed a calendar) -a ceremony of sacrifice was celebrated at the -Pool of Oblation—so I named it. Formerly, many, -many decades before this, live men and women -had been thrown to the carnivorous saurians, but -that had been altered (“by the Progressives,” -Hopkins suggested), and now the dead only, and -not more than a dozen or so, were thrown to them; -a reduction in numbers because the beasts sometimes -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>refused some of them, and the bodies corrupted -the pool.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Every five years the great lustration of the Forest -Temples took place. That was the festival whose -beginning and termination we had seen. At these -times the whole woodland where the chosen trees -are cleared—the Tree Temples—would be traversed, -and at each Tree Temple chants would be -sung, a black snake left, and some gold offering -attached to the tree itself. Shorter pilgrimages -occurred four times each year. The snake pasture -was kept up as a nursery for the supply of the wood -temples, for the snakes did not long survive in the -pine forest. This year the Great Lustration had -been unaccountably delayed—Oogalah did not -know why, but he had heard that the “Big Men” -(“A decided catachresis,” said the Professor, “for -they literally are pygmies”), were very angry about -something (my heart jumped with a sudden fear -when Goritz told us this).</p> - -<p class='c016'>Oogalah’s mother died while we were away with -him in the radium country, and the Magistrates of -the city, who saw to the gathering of the yearly -hecatomb, had <i>attached</i> her. Deaths were not -numerous, it appeared; the supply of corpses—adequate, -that is, for a satisfactory oblation—was -not always secured, and a few sheep or goats made -up the deficiency, their saurian majesties being at -the same time importuned not to resent the substitution. -“A Radiumopolite,” commented Hopkins, -“may be a sweet morsel, but, under the circumstances, -I surely would prefer mutton.”)</p> - -<p class='c016'>Oogalah could not tell us much about the “Serpent” -(our Crocodilo-Python), or his worship. He -said it had always been so, and that the “big -ponds” toward the south were full of them. He -had traversed these once on a raft, and apparently -had got the scare of his life, for the beasts wobbled -<span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span>about him and, except for an inconvenient satiety -at the moment, might have picked him and his -companions off like crumbs from a plate. He said -too that it was in the savannahs, morasses and -meadows of the “southland” that the food for the -black snakes in the “serpent pasture” was foraged. -“A typical surviving remnant, doubtless,” said -the Professor, “of <i>Cretaceo-Juro-Triassic</i> scenery.”)</p> - -<p class='c016'>Oogalah’s communications quite restored his -peace of mind, and the gift of a pocket knife -from Goritz put him into such blissful acceptance -of his domestic bereavement, that the theft -of two or three dead mothers would have been -thankfully condoned for a similar exchange in the -case of each.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had again reached the city but in darkness. -The clouds had thickened in an impenetrable -curtain over the Stationary Sun, and the deepest -gloom had settled over everything. Forebodings -filled my mind. Superstitiously watching every -symptom of nature I dreaded the effect of this -eclipse on the people, and their cunning little -governors, who might at any moment change their -deferential behavior into a ruthless malignancy. -After their rite of propitiation this darkening of the -sun might indicate to them a yet unappeased deity, -for, as the Professor had put it, the “Serpent and -the Sun had a consentaneous meaning in many old -mythologies.” Why then was he unappeased? -<i>The Strangers and their profanation of the Shrines.</i> -I always returned to this suspicion with dread. A -few moments later my worst fears were confirmed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had ascended the western terrace of steps and -were immediately beneath the western facade of -the Capitol, still to all appearances empty, when a -flying figure met us, and in another instant the arms -of Ziliah were about Spruce Hopkins’ neck, and—my -conclusion on the matter can scarcely be questioned—his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>were probably about hers. It certainly -was a bad case of nerves. Ziliah was in a -sort of hysteria, moaning and gasping with (so -Hopkins called it) a “<i>strangle hold</i>” on his “wind-pipe,” -that also quite robbed her lover of the -power of utterance. I intervened. The incident -might have terminated in their mutual suffocation—so -it seemed to me.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The fair and stricken Ziliah told her story.</p> - -<p class='c016'>She had not gone to the Oblation. No; she did -not like it. But then there was something else. -“Spooce” was in danger, her own “Spooce”—and -all of us, <i>all</i>. The governors did not like us; they -were afraid of us, afraid we might bring more—her -father was as bad as the rest of them. And they -had found out something, she did not know what, -something we had done. We were enemies of the -<i>Serpent</i>, and—Ziliah’s agitation at this juncture -quite robbed her narrative of coherency, but in a -lucid interval I understood her—we were to be -sacrificed; we would be fed to the Serpent!!!</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Zerubbabel and Heliopolis,” shouted Hopkins. -“You don’t mean it? Does she say so? Well so -help me—if we don’t blow the pack into kingdom -come—and twice as far. How much powder have -we got left?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>The tubes</i>,” I remonstrated.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins was silent; he remembered their power, -and it was not so many hours since something of the -same inscrutable influence had nearly brought us -all to the verge of extinction.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Never, to the last day of my life, Mr. Link, will -I comprehend what happened then. Was it the -hand of God—or was it telepathy. WHAT? -Ziliah repeated the words I had uttered—exactly. -She loosened Hopkins’ embrace, she moved -stealthily towards me, I saw her deep, sweet eyes -raised to mine, her hands closed on my cheeks; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>the boreal dusk light that comes from the firmament -even when clouded, made her whole face -visible. In it shone a strange divination; she -repeated the words, “<i>the tubes</i>,” and then sighed; -seized with a sudden inspiration, I forced my mind -upon hers; my brain contracted (it felt so), as with -a fierce concentration of will I projected the sense of -my words and all they implied upon, in, through, -the spirit before me—the spirit that itself leaped -to their comprehension.</p> - -<p class='c016'>She crouched slightly, moved away, but her soft -fingers closed around my hand, and she drew me -towards her.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We entered the broad hall of the Capitol, -Ziliah holding me tightly and leading me. We -turned into a passage-way. At its dark end we -stumbled on a half raised arched tile. Ziliah -raised it, and seemed sinking below me, as I felt her -pull me down. I stooped and felt the edges of an -opening. My wary foot detected a stairway. -Together we descended and in a dozen or more -steps reached the floor of a chamber whose walls -seemed only a few feet off on every side of us. -Ziliah led me to the corner of this room, pushed -upon a wooden door and we entered what proved to -be a much larger room. Then telling me to wait, -my guide left me. Another instant and a soft -radiance filled the place. It came from a radium -lamp which Ziliah had uncovered. She pointed to -a table in the center of this apartment. On it lay a -metal box—a leaden trunk. Ziliah raised its lid. -I leaped forward. I already knew what to expect.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In the bottom of the box lay, neatly aligned in -rows, thirty leaden tubes, one probably for each of -the governors. Here at last in our power, our -possession, were the murderous little vials. But -were they charged with their life-arresting power? -And how to use them? I stood perplexed, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>Ziliah remained motionless by me gazing at me with -a mute happiness, as she realized she had attained -my wishes. But it was plain that the dear creature -knew nothing about them. No—the clever little -doctors were not such fools as to popularize their -peculiar knowledge, and the dark beauty, tears yet -bepearling her long lashes, was just a child before -them, <i>as I was</i>. But why had they left them here -at all? They must have been deposited after the -return, for the doctors indubitably had worn them -in their girdles when we so inauspiciously dropped -onto the road in the pine forest. Did they have a -duplicate set? The thought unnerved me.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now not the least remarkable circumstance in -this startling episode was that I had not talked to -Ziliah at all, though we understood each other. -Telepathy, or sympathy, or suggestion, had done -its perfect work so far; not a word had passed -between us, but at this obstructive ignorance -staring me, so to speak, in the face I opened my -mouth.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Ziliah are these all?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“ALL,” came the answer very quietly, but with a -frankness and certainty that assured me.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Do you know anything about them Ziliah? -How they work?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah knew nothing. “The—,” I understood her -to mean the doctors, including her precious father, -“will kill you all—Ah! Spooce, too. No! No! -Take them away,” pointing to the chest, “AWAY—AWAY.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The girl’s nerves were reasserting themselves; -time was running away too, my friends were -deserted, and detection was imminent at any -moment. Another glance at the desperate little -instruments, and then—<i>nolens, volens</i>—I picked -them up and pushed them under my tunic, so that -I felt their cold surfaces chilling my skin.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>Then I shook Ziliah and pointed to the door, -closing the lid of the chest. She understood. Our -way back was as noiseless as our entrance had been. -Unless our footprints remained as silent betrayers -of our robbery, there was no reason for suspicion, -no proof of our misdeeds. Misdeed indeed; it -was our SALVATION.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In five minutes I was back with my friends, and -Ziliah, reaching the limit of her endurance comfortably -fled to her familiar refuge—Hopkins’ arms.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now you may ask incredulously—Why did you -not in the first place ask Ziliah where were <i>the -tubes</i>; why impair the credibility of your story by -injecting this transcendental nonsense about—<i>telepathy</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I don’t know, sir; the facts are just as I have -related them.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER XIII<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>Love and Liberty</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>We soon heard the swarming crowds returning, -and before long saw the flat wagons, with the straining -goats drawing them, and softly luminous from -the radium bulbs held in wickerwork cages, and on -them the governors, much agitated and confused. -It was really a rout. Panic had seized the people, -the guards were in disorder, and they failed to repel -the surging masses that rolled up against the rocking -chariots. It was a straggling, in some sections -a struggling, cortege, and the dominant purpose -was to get under cover, for the blackness deepened, -the very last glimpses of light had vanished, and a -night of storm and wind with a cold rain had -blotted out the smiling peacefulness of Radiumopolis.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Fortunately, the construction of the houses was -excellent and, except as the wind drove rain -through or past the crevices of the board or leathern -insertions, their interiors were probably quite dry -in storms. The rooms at the Capitol were completely -so.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And now the running groups, the populace, the -guards, officials hastening variously on their many -ways could be heard tramping and surging along, -with only occasional ejaculations of impatience or -alarm, but all in an evident race and retreat.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I did not wait long with my friends. I knew -<span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>Ziliah was with them—<i>with one</i>. I clutched my -intolerable load closer, I sprang to the eastern -terrace, now deserted, and rushed down, suddenly -seized with the thought of destroying the infernal -machines I carried. It was a <i>great loss to science</i> -no doubt, but at the moment I felt convinced that -once these preposterous weapons were lost to the -little doctors, we were safe. I cried in my heart, -“Our guns against everything.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>So on I flew, and straight out into the serpent -pasture, now and again slipping on some coiled or -gliding snake to where I knew that well hole lay -which marked the departing kick of the celestial -visitor who had taught Radiumopolis the trick of -making <i>gold</i>. It was a deep hole and it was full of -water. I reached it. I opened my tunic and from -it the bundle of pestiferous little arsenals of magic -tumbled, and splashed in the water—and were -gone. The pack that fell off Christian’s back and -rolled backward into the sepulchre could not have -been gotten rid of with more satisfaction to that -tired pilgrim than I freed myself of those hateful -little tubes. Of course afterwards the Professor -was dreadfully upset about it. He deplored the -“<i>loss to science</i>.” “Perhaps,” retorted Hopkins, -“but—we count too.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I soon returned to the others and found them—minus -Ziliah, who had been persuaded to retire to -her boudoir—nestling against the corner of the -Capitol where there was less wind and rain, -enjoying the home gathering of the Sanhedrin, -its wives and children, relatives, attendants, and -the police.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My!” gurgled Hopkins under his breath, “such -a coop of hens! And the cackling! What’s hard to -understand is how such poultry govern this land, -and how they have the nerve to keep up this -detestable religion with its snakes and its crocodiles; -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>and yet—blame—me—they certainly are on -the inside of a good many things, and they surely -are on a <i>Gold Basis</i>, and some of our best people -wouldn’t mind swapping all they know, for just -that one particular bit of information which will -turn a leaden pot into a gold one.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“We must know how, too,” grumbled Goritz.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” continued Hopkins, “say the word and -we’ll revolutionize this country, get into the -government, and run the mint.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I was getting impatient with this nonsense, and -I said, “Now see here my friends, we are four men -against thousands—why talk such rubbish? We’re -all in danger because of our imprudence but I think -we can steer away safely though our difficulties, -get the confidence of everyone—perhaps more, and -come out, as you might say Spruce, on the Top of -the Heap. Ziliah knows what she is talking about -and she says we’re to be put out of the way. But -that perhaps won’t be so easy now. I’ve stolen -the tubes and buried them out of sight <i>forever</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The three men sprang around me and seized me -with one exclamation: “No!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Yes I have—they’re gone. Come to our rooms -and I’ll tell you everything. We must use diplomacy, -but if they push us to the wall there are our -<i>guns</i>. The people are accustomed to us and are -indifferent. Those little doctors never will let us -get out alive if they can help it. There’s more than -our lives at stake; there’s the revelation we shall -give to the great world outside of this polar hole—about -these strange people, their achievements, -their knowledge, above all about that radium mass -which may change all the civilization we are -acquainted with into something quite different. I -do not agree with Goritz, though I can sympathize -with his appeal. Science <i>must know</i> of this place, -and what is here. Science, I say, MUST KNOW.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>In a few words I explained what had happened, -when we had gotten to our rooms, which still -remained undisturbed. I told them of the curious -suggestive influence on Ziliah (Hopkins said he -“didn’t like it”), how we penetrated the subterranean -room, how I found and seized those menacing -little vials, and how I despatched every one of them -into the fathomless mud and water (the Professor -compared it with “the crime of the Caliph Omar -who burned the Alexandrian Library”), and how -now, with Ziliah as an ally, and with our guns, we -might turn the tables on the discomfited doctors. -“Guess you’ve taken the sting out of their tails—the -little wasps,” exclaimed Hopkins.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We did not have to wait long for developments. -The storm passed, the light returned and it was -much colder. Warmer clothing was given us, and -our meals were even more liberal. This excessive -hospitality made me suspicious and I insisted that -the bearers of the cakes and bread, the wine and -milk, the meat and vegetables should partake of a -little of each, before us, and this I ingeniously -explained to them was the custom of our native -countries. They never hesitated, and the courtesy, -as they understood it, quite delighted and propitiated -them. This too was a part of my rule. -I intended to conciliate them so thoroughly that I -might be able to make them spies on our enemies—“<i>pump -’em</i>,” said Hopkins. Ziliah watched diligently; -the beloved Spooce was an invaluable -hostage.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our liberty was not interfered with, it seemed -extended, and the Professor kept up his unremitting -labors in making notes for the voluminous papers -he was contemplating, and which he idolatrously -regarded as his possible monument in the files of -time. Goritz became a confirmed pilferer, and his -stock of gold objects, whittlings and fragments grew -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>dangerously. I remonstrated, but he kept at it. -I could not get the wizened little doctors to talk. -I addressed them as I met them in the palace in -the Hebrew patois I had acquired, and which I was -convinced they understood. But no—not a word; -a bow, those wrinkling smiles, that deferential -obeisance, and the palms of their hands rubbed -together meditatively, while the prodigious eyes -watched me, I thought, with an unmistakable -malice, and—with FEAR.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We seldom saw the ladies of their households -which, as Hopkins expressed it, “considering our -extreme manly beauty, as compared with the <i>ALL -IN</i> look of their own matrimonial boobs, is a reflection -on their good taste, a proof of their imperfect -education. Everybody else likes us,” he said. -And that was true. We met with the most -amiable reception, and Goritz’s skill in talking with -the Eskimos, and my astounding success with the -Hebrew lingo was giving us a vogue that it seemed -unreasonable the little rulers did not see was -ruinous to their prestige. Could it be possible that -they were afraid of us—afraid of our popularity? -I thought that they would avail themselves of the -discovered thefts of the tree shrines and of the -unpropitious storm, on the day of the Oblation, to -turn the populace against us as <i>personae non gratae</i> -to their deity.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But they had not, and the storm was forgotten. -It was bewildering, for I felt sure Ziliah was not -deceiving me, and that our lives somehow were at -stake. Perhaps—perhaps—in that curious complicated -psychology of their dwarfed natures, cowardice, -deceit, sharpness, superstition, ferocity even, -were so mixed up with an enervating feebleness of -mind, in spite of their astuteness, that it made -them, as Lady Macbeth puts it, “infirm of -purpose.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>At any rate we would watch our guns, in all -senses, and we literally did watch those we owned, -carrying them with us, always strapped to our -backs, our cartridge belts at our waists, and a part -of our dress. I think this alarmed our spies a little.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But now the <i>crux</i> of the whole situation came to -light. Two things had happened and both of -these were known to Ziliah. Ziliah was splendid—the -“best ever” said Spruce—“true down to her -little toe bone; she turned down her own dad and -turned ag’in the Government rather than see us -licked. Tell you what, Alfred, I’ll take my chances -with her, and—it’s good-bye to the States.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was this way. And to begin with, Ziliah’s -father’s first name was Javan, and, because the -coincidence is so extraordinary, the names of those -little governors, and there were thirty of them, are -worth repeating, because again—as the Professor -was the first to observe—they can all be found in -the first Chapter of the Book of Chronicles, in our -Bible. This is the list: Riphath, Kittim, Put, -Cush, Pathrusim, Lud, Hul, Joktan, Peleg, Hadad, -Naphish, Jeush, Jaalam, Shammah, Shobal, Homan, -Uz, Samlah, Bela, Zephi, Zyrah, Ebal, -Manahath, Anah, Amram, Mibsam, Gomer, Magog, -Anamim, Ludim.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I took these down carefully from Ziliah, by word -of mouth, and they confirmed all we had inferred -of Semitic relations but when later—much later -sir, on my return to America—I made the comparison, -as the Professor suggested, I was dumbfounded. -But I will not stop now to elaborate -reflections. My story has already lengthened -beyond my expectations, and there is much to -recount.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Two things had happened, I have said. Oh, by -the way, Mr. Link, I might insert this here—Javan, -Ziliah’s father, encouraged his daughter’s intimacy -<span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span>with Hopkins; he thought it would lead to something. -It did. As Hopkins put it, “it was the -Guy who put the <i>eat</i> in <i>Beat</i> it.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The two things were—the theft of the tubes had -been discovered, and there had been a Council held—a -“<i>pow-wow</i>” according to Spruce, in which -Javan threw a bomb into the deliberations for -our destruction because he connected what he -had to say at the “pow-wow” with the disappearance -of the little wizard wands. A wonderful -denouement was at hand. It all came about as -follows:</p> - -<p class='c016'>The excursion through the pine tree shrines -showed a considerable damage, and the inspectors -were sure the mischief had been perpetrated by us. -Our tracks were unmistakable; they found our -camps, and they noted that the pillaging had been -done, as it were, yesterday. Their indignation was -great, but, as the detection of the outrage was -actually unnoticed by the multitude, and had only -come to the knowledge of the little doctors—the -Sanhedrin as we had called them—and had not -then been seriously considered at first, except by a -few leaders—apparently the older and shrewder -men, Put and Hul, Peleg, Hadad and Javan, himself, -the President—it was concluded to keep still -about it, and that nothing should be done until -they had returned. But the outrage, as they considered -it, made them rather anxious as to the state -of mind of the insulted serpent and tree deities—the -<i>numina</i> of their unseen world. Propitiation -was in order, and they had taken pains to visit all -the shrines, repair the mischief, attach new offerings, -sing and dance and pray, and go through a -snake ceremonial with the doctors as masters of the -ceremony, as indeed these odd creatures were really -priests to the nation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>They talked a great deal about it among themselves, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>but they were dreadfully bothered by -Javan’s scruples as to touching us, and all because -he recalled an ancient prophecy of a fall from the -clouds of a beggar-like man, who would not know -their language, and who would bring them a new -wisdom, and who would be their King.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now it seems this ancient prophecy was in their -archives, as you might say, and action in our case -was to be delayed until its exact portents or contents -were ascertained. There were queer coincidences -in the matter. Our descent from the top of -the pine tree, albeit awkward and a little unseemly, -was a good deal like a drop from the clouds. <i>It -seemed so to them.</i> Our beggarly condition was -really shamefully clear. Then we did not speak -their language, and as to the new wisdom, the -Professor’s harangue rather filled the bill there, and, -in spite of themselves, his red hair had impressed -them, <i>as it did everybody else</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Certainly there were or might be discrepancies. -There were four of us for instance; we had been in -the wood some time—desecrating it too, a profanation -inconceivable in a future King—a heaven-sent -King! These considerations cheered them greatly, -for really the little fellows did not wish to abdicate. -So they mulled these things over and fixed their -plans very craftily. They’d get back, ignore us, -seem to forget all about us, hunt up the precious -document, and, if they came to the conclusion to -“<i>do us</i>,” as Hopkins said, the affair would be kept -very secret, and—their white fingers clasped the -ominous tubes as they raised them significantly -over their big heads—<i>they wouldn’t be long about it -either</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>At the return to Radiumopolis Javan heard from -Ziliah’s own lips—very soon, I suppose, after she -lifted him up in her arms on the terrace steps—what -a dreadful state her heart was in over Spooce, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>Javan (“perfidious dad,” Hopkins called him) -simpered, sniggered, and encouraged her attachment. -But Ziliah possessed some feminine acuteness—“No -piker, <i>she</i>,” declared Hopkins—and she -was not many minutes in finding out the true -position of affairs; viz., the enmity of the Directorate, -the existing government, for us. She was -in an agony of fear, and, aflame with her love, she -had met us and told me of our danger. Then, sir, -as you may incredulously recall, I did that telepathic -act, and cleared away the most formidable -obstacle in our way.</p> - -<p class='c016'>From that moment Ziliah was ours, every heart -beat, every brain pulse was for us. She certainly -<i>played</i> her father, but we had no intentions against -his life, and it was just simply immolation for us all -in his case, as the coterie would have sent us on the -long road in a hurry, and then all this strange tale -would never have entranced your ears. Ziliah, as -the verdict of the world will pronounce, chose the -better part. Her devotion led us into the light of -deliverance.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The old record of the prophecy was brought to -light. It actually was engraved on a gold tablet. -That showed, sir, that the knowledge of transmutation -was over a hundred years old in Krocker -Land, for, as you will learn, there is no mining for -gold in Krocker Land; that mother lode which the -Professor predicted, as far as we know is a dream -only. All the gold in Krocker Land comes from -Radium Transmutation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah saw the tablet, she heard it read; for that -matter she read it herself (“A twentieth century -woman and no mistake,” was Hopkins’ tribute to -her sagacity), and now what I tell you, sir, will -hardly be believed. It has such a fabulous fairy-like -sound.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The prophecy read thus: The future King would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>fall from the sky, in the shape of a man dressed in -rags, with hair red like blood, with a strange -language on his tongue, and “he KILLS with -THUNDER.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>That, sir, brought our guns and the Professor into -the drama, and swept the stakes into our hands. -You shall see.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The prophecy did mightily disturb the council. -They convened in their state chamber, and argued -it out circumstantially, and Ziliah, conveniently -disposed for the revelations to be expected, listened. -The upshot of their deliberations was that there -was much difference of opinion, with a preponderant -feeling that the Professor was a dangerous -probability. Had we fallen from the sky, or just -dropped out of the branches of the tree, and, if that -was our first appearance how about the thefts? -Yes—yes—the thefts, and the traces of our previous -camps, and then the <i>killing with thunder</i>? -There was some ill-natured derisive and weak -giggling over this. Thunder indeed!</p> - -<p class='c016'>The upshot of it all was that Javan was deputed -to keep an eye on us, and probably the best thing -to do, taking a strictly conservative view of the -matter was to— Ziliah didn’t catch this, but when -I told her Hopkins, he winked assertively and drew -the forefinger of his ring hand across his throat, and -said nothing.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Anyhow the little elders came out from the conference, -looking greatly satisfied, very benignant, -and were happily garrulous. But the second event -was the discovery of the disappearance of the -tubes. It seemed that some recuperative effect -was sought for in thus storing them in the -metallic box in the subterranean chamber, but—WHAT? -And whether other agents were -present in the box will never be known, as -indeed the mystery of those tubes is itself a closed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span>chapter, unless forsooth the Professor elicits the -information as to their fabrication, by reason of his -present control of the scientific resources— But -pardon me, I anticipate.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The tubes had been placed in the chest almost -instantly after the re-entrance of the cortege into -the Capitol. A literal translation of Ziliah’s -remark as to the need of this would be that they -were “<i>dying out</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>You can imagine Javan’s despair, consternation, -and amazement. Apparently there were no more -of these stupefying inventions handy, and the Sanhedrin -were really at their wits’ end. At this -juncture Ziliah became a perfect demon of suggestion. -Hopkins’ enthusiastic submission to her -charms inflamed her with a sprightliness of mind -that kept us busy too, and won our case. Ziliah -knew that the citizens of Radiumopolis, which -practically was Krocker Land, the outlying agricultural -sections being little else than a <i>diaspora</i> of -Radiumopolis itself, were not so loyally disposed -towards the exclusive Areopagus on Capitol Hill, -and that some shock of wonderment that might -establish our supernatural origin would solve the -<i>impasse</i>, and give us the upper hand, for literally -there was now no way out of the dilemma but for -us to RULE.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah conceived the idea of our subverting the -reigning government as quickly as we had reached -the same conclusion, and Hopkins was not slow to -sharpen her perceptions. But <i>she</i> formed the plan -of our <i>coup d’etat</i>. We had thought (and the -Professor was as deeply implicated as any of -us, he realized our plight and for once worldly -aims gripped and diverted his mind) to make a -public appeal to the people or else insidiously -foment discontent, lead an attack on the now -defenceless governors, seize the throne, as it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span>were, and establish the dynasty of Hlmath Bjornsen -the First.</p> - -<p class='c016'>At first blush the Professor seemed greatly -puzzled and unwilling, and his bulging eyes stared -at us with blank misgivings. But when the rigor of -our situation was forced upon him, with the compelling -<i>suadente potestas</i> of his red hair, and its -felicitous conjunction with aboriginal prophecy, he -worked himself into a real glee over it that was -delightful. To Hopkins there was something so -macaronic and side-splitting about this role of the -Professor’s, that he could scarcely look at his half -rueful, absorbed expression, his odd mouth, the -prodigious ears, and the coronal splendor of his -hair, without being overcome with a badly concealed -merriment that might have turned our -plans awry with anyone less essentially good-natured -than the Professor.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Of course we improved our popularity, and we -put the Professor through ambulatory excursions -that must have tired his legs. From the first the -people had “cottoned” to him (<i>fide</i> Hopkins), and -we wanted them to become intimate with their -future KING. Certainly it seemed like a huge -joke.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Everything was coming our way. The governors -had actually become afraid of us. We were no -longer confined to the Capitol. We fascinated our -guards by giving them all the trinkets we could find -about us, and Goritz and I talked constantly -with the people. The Sanhedrin might have -turned the people against us by revealing our thefts, -but somehow they did not try it. They did not -even enter our rooms for proof. I think we began -to despise them. They had a secretive, feeble way -that too plainly advertised their impotence. It -was evident indeed that some fatal collapse in their -authority was imminent, and they did not have the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>miraculous tubes to reinstate themselves. Nothing -could have withstood them then. Between the -prophecy and the loss of the tubes they were desperate. -Our sedition prospered in the meanwhile.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Suddenly it occurred to me that their apathy and -shrinking avoidance of a collision meant mischief. -It might be ominous. Were they—the thought -transfixed me with horror—were they secretly at -work repairing their loss, MAKING OTHER -TUBES? Of course they were; in the light of this -suggestion their apparent timidity was explained. -It was not timidity. Nay, it was just a delicate, -artful duplicity that was fooling us. Ziliah must -find out and then one way or another we must test -the situation. Of course the prophecy that Ziliah -had recounted to us was constantly the keynote of -our plans. To lose our chance now would be madness.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And Ziliah? She wheedled Javan and Put, and -Cush, and Hul, and the rest successfully. They -thought she was keeping us quiet, and they thought -too their own inoffensiveness was blinding us. Ah -ha! <i>It was</i>—while they contrived their devilish -weapons anew. They had made no outcry when -they found them gone. That might have liberated -the people of their fear for themselves. But was -Ziliah possibly playing us false? There was or -certainly had been a countermine at work and she -had failed to detect it. These foxy patriarchs were -fooling our own spy in their camp, or again—<i>was -Ziliah false</i>?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well sir, Ziliah was “straight as a string and true -as gold,” to quote Hopkins. She knew nothing -about the making of the new tubes, but she would -find out. Her terror over this new turn in the -affair was greater than our own, her surprise too. -Ah, sir, she knew what those tubes meant, what -they could do!</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>She soon returned to me—it was easy enough, -and it was easy to do it unnoticed. Javan trusted -her implicitly, and indeed she and I had been somewhat -hoodwinked by him. Ziliah confirmed my -suspicions. The new tubes were indeed under -way. The <i>eukairia</i>, the “nick of time,” had come. -We must strike. Then it was that Ziliah told us -HOW.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We were to take on the grand air, assert our -provenance from Heaven, repeat the prophecy from -the tablet, call the Professor <i>Shamlah</i>, and threaten -destruction if the Sanhedrin did not receive us at -once, see that our thunder bolts were ready, and -use them. The message, to be taken by Ziliah, -would admit that our manners had been humble -and that Shamlah had concealed his mission. But -delay would be cut short. The time for his royal -assumption was at hand. We would come to them -with our thunder tubes and talk with them; and -if our overture was rejected we would go to the -people and show our power.</p> - -<p class='c016'>That was our ultimatum; batteries on both -sides were now unmasked and the issue defined. -What we needed just then were theatrical properties, -some chromatic detonating explosions, fireworks, -skyrockets, roman candles, flower-pots, -fire-fizzes of any sort that would give us a supernatural -flavor. As Hopkins said, just one night’s -Coney Island Payne’s Fireworks outfit, and what -wasn’t ours in the joint, wouldn’t be worth having. -But—<i>we had only our guns</i>. That however was a -good deal.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah returned the answer of the Conventicle. -They would not see us just now, <i>later</i>, perhaps in -fourteen <i>settas</i>, which meant, in our time, about a -week. Oh ho! That was the limit of our sufferance. -In a week they would meet us <i>on their own terms</i>. -The crisis had come.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>It was not half an hour later that Goritz, Hopkins, -the Professor and myself, as faultlessly attired -as our wardrobe and toilet facilities permitted, -marched from our abode in the city, down the great -highway. Our guns were in our arms, clasped -tightly to our chests, and all the ammunition we -possessed was loaded in our cartridge belts and -pockets. We were instantly noticed and numerously -attended. We entered the serpent pasture, -at the eastern end, and walked to the eastern -terrace of steps, and up these to the courtyard -above. We were seen. Men and women, girls -and boys, in a desultory manner at first, then in -hastening groups, emerged from the Capitol and, -among them a few of the little rulers. The rumor -of attack spread.</p> - -<p class='c016'>From the houses of the city, its looms and barns, -the workshops and bakeries, its gardens, the cloth -manufactories, the metal shops, the curious small -people gathered, and with them the larger race from -near and far, while the idle and loafing contingent, -always large and drifting instinctively towards -every new incident, hastened in mirthful or expectant -groups, pouring along behind us. Each fresh -accession stimulated a wider circle of attention, -until it almost seemed as if the populace were -following us <i>en masse</i>. They overflowed the road, -they dispersed over the meadow land appropriated -to snakes, they clambered up on the dilapidated -cutches, where the snakes congregated and clustered, -in gaping crews, on the steps of the terrace. -Their humor seemed propitious. The peculiar -gaiety that characterized them when we were -brought to Radiumopolis, dampened or made a -little grave by wonder, again affected them that -day, but it was freer and more hospitable, and I -think they already appreciated the situation. -Goritz and I had been rather industrious disseminators -<span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>of mischief—“<i>Semeurs d’emeute</i>” Antoine -said.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When we came to the last step of the terrace we -separated. The Professor took a central position, -and the light luckily turned his splendid coiffure -into a garnet glory that must have transported the -audience around us. Goritz and Hopkins flanked -him, I stood somewhat to one side. We all held -our guns—magazine rifles—but the Professor, it -was agreed, should remain statuesque and motionless, -only succoring us at any critical juncture. -I have a splendid voice, I proposed to use it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>By this time the throng in the doorway of the -Capitol almost blocked it. The dignitaries were -coming out quickly and the magistrates from the -wards of the city were arriving, but all somewhat -<i>en deshabille</i>. Their court robes were forgotten, or -too hastily deserted, and their appearance assumed -an absurdly shrunken manner and tenuity. We -very certainly outclassed them. The Professor, -<i>par excellence</i>, was magnificent. The people measured -the spectacular effect and, I guess, shrewdly -preferred our “make-up.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I began my demand. I spoke for the SON of -THUNDER, and I spoke of the prophecy which -described his coming to rule his people, and then, -it was a master stroke which almost unnerved my -friends, knocked the Directory plumb off its feet, -and thunderstruck the people, <i>I showed the golden -tablet</i> (Ziliah’s stroke), and read it. By this time I -had acquired fairly well the Hebrew dialect of these -people, and they understood me. I pointed to the -Professor who, responding to some histrionic -impulse, which none of us had even suspected in -him, raised his hands as if invoking the heavens, -and then bowed to me, to Goritz, to Hopkins, and -in unimpeachable—English, said in a loud domineering -tone,</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span>“REVEAL MY POWER—FIRE!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now this was absolutely an improvisation. We -had not planned the affair exactly in that way, but -we were on the <i>qui vive</i> (Johnnies-on-the-spot, -averred Hopkins), and off went the whole magazine -of guns in a glorious unison. It was really immense, -coming as it did upon the heels of the prediction, -that—<i>he kills with his thunder</i>. Only we hadn’t -killed anything. And then the Professor by -another sublime intuition filled the required bill. -It was nearing spring time and the reinforcement -of the light and heat from the diurnal sun was -beginning to be felt. Some straggling Arctic gulls -crossed the sky. The Professor was a fair shot. -The accentuation of a supreme moment nerved his -arm, brightened his eye, and put the force of precision -in his aim. He fired—a gull fluttered to the -ground almost at our feet—another shot, and a -second bird flopped actually upon the heads of the -dismayed councillors, who were now in a fine -frenzy of agitation.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The mercurial disposition of semi-civilized people -and that contagion of admiration which, as Le Bon -has shown, infects a mob, as with the sharp upward -rush of a fire fanned by high winds, had an invincible -illustration then and there. At first there was a -silence; as if shocked into dumbness by the inexplicable -occurrence, or bewildered by a confusion of -responses they could not define, they for a moment -awaited direction. <i>It came.</i> Oogalah, in the very -first rank of the attendant crowds, shouted with -hoarse exultation:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“<i>PEEUK—PEEUK—PEEUK.</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then came the reaction of release from incertitude, -and the assemblage caught the sound— Nay, -the word, and from side to side, to and fro, hither, -thither, the cry doubled and redoubled, until it -almost seemed as if the convulsed nation would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>start some riotous stampede in favor of that darling, -red-headed, heaven-sent, death-dealing sovereign. -And the Professor, animated by I know not what -elan of conquest, seized his rifle in both hands, and -holding it horizontally before him, stepped forward -against the heterogeneous throng of courtiers, officials, -and Areopagites that crammed every inch of -space in front of the Capitol, as if he were the -<i>Demiurge of Destruction</i>. In a fright they gave -way, and in the path thus made we followed. -There was nothing else to do, although this demonstration -to me seemed unaccountable and dangerous, -as it might lead to some unexpected disaster -and an anticlimax of ridicule and repulsion. With -the Professor it was just an involuntary spasm of -stage play, with no clear purpose outlined or even -seen in it. Behind us in the regurgitant host I -could hear the stentorian roars of Oogalah. This -unexpected and vociferous ally after all had a -grudge to gratify; he had not altogether forgotten -his inviscerated mother. His appeals were quite in -favor of the new allegiance. You see, sir, it was an -orgulous moment for the Professor, and I don’t -think he knew exactly what he was about.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But Luck, which after all favors a good many -more people than fools, intervened. We had -gotten rather tightly entrapped in the brigades -about the Capitol, when we were met by a huddle -of the patriarchs, themselves somewhat violently -jostled by the pushing citizens. Here were Javan, -and Put, and Hul, Peleg, Hadad, the head men, -and they presented a very sorry and despoiled -appearance. Their nervous white hands ran over -their straggling beards in piteous perplexity, and, -lacking the surplusage of their state regalia, they -appeared even more contemptible than depressed.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Knowing me best and perhaps too dismayed by -the flaming presence of the <i>Pretender</i> himself, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span>Javan literally flew to my arms and urged clemency. -It was complete <i>capitulation</i>. I knew it. But the -victory must be more crushing. The last struggle -of the victim must be squelched. It had occurred -to me before that an epic seriousness, if not majesty, -might be given to our high-handed pretensions by -shooting down the Crocodilo-Python effigies at the -corners of the palace. The risk might be considerable, -and then again it might be very little, -with tremendous compensating benefits if the dice -fell the right way. How would the people take it? -I did not know. This moment of irresolution -permitted something to happen which gave us the -upper hand most beautifully, eliminated violence, -and struck the keynote of a perfect CONCILIATION.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Ziliah, ardent, arrayed superbly, with her -copious dark hair bound up, as was the fashion of -the upper-class women, with the little gold serpents, -wearing the gold caps on her knees, her ankles -encased in gold filagree that rose half way up the -naked leg, her feet in golden sandals, and swathed -somehow in a soft delicate blue tunic covering her -thighs and body, but falling away from the pillar-like -neck and firmly moulded breasts, a vision of -picturesque loveliness, sprang amongst us. Her -face was flushed by excitement but radiant in -smiles. And of course she wore the golden belt -with its serpent buckle.</p> - -<p class='c016'>She flung her arms around the Professor, kissed -him on both cheeks, salaamed, bending her knees -to the ground with a wonderful, unstudied grace. -Then she took her astonished father’s hand and led -that little gentleman forward, and then Put, and -Hul, Peleg and Hadad—the remaining elders, -arrived, but had shrunk from the presentation. -Then Ziliah spoke. Her voice was high keyed, but -musical, and had a soaring quality in it that carried -<span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span>far. Silence fell and the intensity of the psychological -moment made me wonder at the girl’s -prescience.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Father, make peace with these men. They -bring us a New Wisdom. We shall be happy with -them. Let the Son of Thunder (my eyes at that -instant fell on Hopkins; he was visibly squirming -in an agony of suppressed mirth at the designation, -but the Professor retained a most noble immobility) -be your guide, your companion. These men will -all be brothers to us, and this man (she knelt again -at the feet of Hopkins, who seized her in his arms, -and lifted her to his face) will be my husband.” -Javan’s astonishment then was a study.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I was transported, and I rushed in to the <i>rapprochement</i>, -as she ended, with fresh promises of -friendship.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Nothing would be disturbed, nothing changed. -We came to them strangers from the clouds, we -would bless them with new powers. The Great -Serpent still should reign.</p> - -<p class='c016'>At all this there was a great shouting, a tempest -of approving comment, and the landslide of public -endorsement overwhelmed the council. The retreating -or abashed or cowardly members of “the -Syndicate of Old Toddlers,” as Hopkins said, -issued from their niches in the crowd, and Javan, -caught in an <i>enjambment</i> from which he could not -extricate his party, surrendered. He came -forward, and after him came Put, Hul, Peleg, -Hadad; and the Professor, with a fine urbanity -that capped the climax and swept away all traces -of resentment or repugnance, fell on their necks, so -to speak, though the act had to be rather -sedately done for he would incontinently have -knocked them down. It had a delightfully funny -and <i>picaresque</i> effect and I again felt, as I had felt -hundreds of times before, that it all was a dream -<span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span>and unreal. The string as it lengthened embraced -the whole Areopagus, and this fraternal -ceremony evidently, as Hopkins noted, “tickled -the little old fellow to death.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>They were all there: Riphath, Kittim, Cush, -Pathrusim, Lud, Hul, Joktan, Naphish, Jeush, -Jaalam, Shammah, Shobal, Homan, Uz, Samlah, -Bela, Zephi, Zerah, Ebal, Manahath, Anah, Amram -Mibsam, Gomer, Magog, Anamim, Ludim. I am -sure I did not know their identity; I counted them, -thirty in all. That consummated matters and set -Professor Hlmath Bjornsen of Christiania on the -throne of Radiumopolis in KROCKER LAND.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Javan and the other doctors softened beautifully, -and actually expanded into a self-satisfied body of -patronage and allegiance. The Professor was -“shown through” the Capitol, and he threaded its -maze of compartments, saw its Council Chamber, -enriched with gold, hung with gaudy rugs, and -found there the as yet unoccupied clumsy and incalculably -valuable gold throne which we had seen -shaking and rattling in the procession, itself a relic -of some old time, when this isolated kingdom had -had a king, but was young compared to that still -more remote time when “the stranger” taught -that king’s progenitor the miracle of making gold.</p> - -<p class='c016'>From it now, under the aegis of its hideous -device, the rearing Crocodilo-Python, our dear -Professor was to dispense justice to the Radiumopolites. -Of a truth it was an almost inconceivable -<i>denouement</i>. What would, what could, the Professor’s -colleagues at the University say, and by -what insupportable hypothesis could they explain -this transmutation?</p> - -<p class='c016'>And there was to be a Coronation! Oh yes. -Javan and the rest of the Fathers had conspired -successfully there; indeed the fuss of its preparation -and the importance of their parts in its conduct -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>had now really made them inanely jubilant over -the whole revolution in state affairs.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins and I walking eastward along the broad -highway over which we had entered Radiumopolis, -out into that fair Valley of Rasselas which was -again stirring with the field life of the advancing -spring, talked rather earnestly of our predicament, -for, after all, predicament it was. How were we to -get home and tell our story? We were to be made -a good deal of here but—could we escape? Goritz -had become eager to return with his gold -“souvenirs” (never inquired for), with his radium, -with the secret of making gold, if he could learn it. -That was yet concealed and, much more important, -so were the tubes. Those balloons, the radium-lit -cave in the Deer Fels. And there was the great -ethnic wonder of the people themselves, the marvel -of the Stationary Sun, the radium country! It -was impossible to reconcile ourselves to a lifelong -immurement in this monotony. Science must -break through into this chrysalis of wonders. It -was our bounden duty to bring <i>her</i> here. But -literally we were captives; the hocus-pocus of our -descent from the sky would not let us demean ourselves -in ordinary ways (in spite of past precedents -of the vulgarity on the part of heaven-descended -kings) and we began to see we had prepared a -dilemma for ourselves which might end more fatally -than the enmity of the little doctors had threatened.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Now all was changed, and like flies in honey were -we hopelessly entangled. Perhaps the most fortunate -of us all was Spruce Hopkins himself, who -frankly loved Ziliah; but even he wanted to -“vamoose” and take his bride with him, for he -thought she would “take the edge off the jolliest -swell ladies anywhere.” The Professor, now the -joke was over and our necks safe, was sick to death -of his role, and only extracted a comforting morsel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>of pleasure from it in its possibility of opening to -him the few but very peculiar secrets of physics and -chemistry which the Faculty of Radiumopolis -monopolized—monopolized too, we learned, by a -rigid system of verbal transmission. And then our -thunder! It wouldn’t last for ever; and our -celestial powers would fail conclusively in creating -cartridges on demand, owing to the unscrupulous -fondness on the part of the Radiumopolites, which -was having easily foreseen and disastrous consequences. -Our supply was shrinking fast. We -adopted the expedient of delegating the role of -<i>Thunderer</i> to the Professor, which saved shot, or at -least extended the usefulness of our arsenal. The -peaceful nature of the Professor was, however, so -far exasperated by the improvident urgency of his -subjects that he confessed to a murderous inclination -to shoot them at the same time. If any one of -us got away he would need his gun and ammunition -and much more—a stock of provisions too, and -transportation. We both felt pretty blue.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “One of us must make a break -soon.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “Well you certainly can’t. Your family’s -here now.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “Ziliah’s a sport. She might just -prove to be the guy to put <i>light</i> in flight. Besides -I could tell her some things about the way we live -in New York that might increase her desire to -travel.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “But we came from Heaven!”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “Yes, I know—we’re the angelic sort. -Say, if I wanted to desert Ziliah—and I don’t—I -could play up the Lohengrin gag. Get her to ask -questions, get mad about it—and <i>quit</i>.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “Easier said than done.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “There’s no chance to skip out up here -in this everlasting daylight.”</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>I: “Pshaw! That isn’t it. Think of the journey -back; think of the ice pack.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hopkins: “If we could only wireless back for a -relief expedition.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>I: “<i>If.</i>”</p> - -<p class='c016'>We turned back, gloomy and dispirited. When -we reached Radiumopolis we found King Hlmath -Bjornsen thundering from the Capitol and Goritz—gone.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER XIV<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>Goritz’s Death and the Gold Makers</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>I skip the coronation and enthronement of King -Hlmath Bjornsen of Krocker Land in Radiumopolis, -because the King asked me to do so in my -last interview with him. He wishes to reserve its -features for his great book. He thinks that the -ceremonies, taken in connection with many other -considerations prove that the Krocker Land culture -ties together a number of ancestral ethnic cults, and -that there is good reason to believe that the mixture -of semi-savage practices, the archaic or nepionic -status of society, the advanced language, the peculiar -acquisitions of the patrician class, their specialized -though limited knowledge, the vitality of the -serpent-monster worship taken in connection with -the biological fact of a partial, at any rate, survival -of Mesozoic conditions in limited topographic -basins, as seen in the Saurian Sea, in the chain of -swamps beyond the Pool of Oblation, and especially -in the undeniable and formidable fact of the existence -of the Crocodilo-Python, an animal quite -unlike any known saurian, indicate what he terms -the concatenated debris of a series of overlaid civilizations -and that its complete interpretation will -carry us back to the probable origin of <i>Homo -sapiens</i> and the Garden of Eden, restricted of -course to a purely naturalistic conception. (Erickson -<span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>took a long breath, and then—he was off -again.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>The geological features of this polar pit, its -stepped or terraced conformation, the extraordinary -igneous activity revealed beneath it and -the disclosure herein of immense endomorphic -radium deposits, combined with unparalleled -meteorological phenomena are also reserved by the -Professor, the King, for personal and elaborate -treatment. With the especial opportunities now -available the Prof—the King (It’s difficult for me -to be consistent in alluding to my old friend) will -prosecute inquiry, so far as his official duties permit, -but through me, Mr. Link, he most fervently -implores scientific recognition of the facts so far -recorded in this narrative, and immediate scientific -interposition in his behalf and cooperation for his -assistance. (Erickson again paused and allowed -the full meaning of his elongated statements to -penetrate my purely secular mind.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>However, this in passing, Mr. Link. I will recur -to it. Let me resume my story, omitting under the -foregoing stipulations any description of the Professor’s -enthronement. I am indeed approaching -the moment of my own hazardous dash from -Krocker Land for the outer world.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Goritz, I said, had disappeared. It seems he -had not been seen for many <i>settas</i>—setta is equivalent -to about twelve hours. Hopkins and I had -been away scouring the countryside, and knew -nothing of Goritz’s whereabouts. I have already -hinted at his restlessness, moodiness, and his unceasing -hunt for gold. Latterly this had become -changed into an intense eagerness to revisit the -radium country with Oolagah to collect radium.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We had not yet seen the process of transmutation, -certain as we were as to its accomplishment -and knowledge of the same among the Radiumopolites, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>a knowledge probably limited to the -doctors. Goritz had a theory as to the illimitable -power of radium to effect this conversion. He was -mistaken. He was dissatisfied with the pieces we -had been given—oxidized lumps holding the unchanged -metal in their centers—and was always -teasing Oogalah to take him again to the radium -valley or chasm. Oogalah refused. I think he did -not relish Goritz’s company. Now Hopkins and I -believed Goritz harbored the intention to gather -his belongings at a favorable moment, mostly the -gold objects and the radium, and, trusting blindly -in his great strength, experience, and resources, to -force his way back to the Krocker Land Rim, regain -the coast, hunt up the naphtha launch and possibly -make some attempt to sail back to Point Barrow. -It was sheer madness. We had had few occasions -to argue it with him, as he rather avoided us, and -his secretiveness and stealthy activity strengthened -our suspicions. Hopkins half feared the unfortunate -man was losing his mind.</p> - -<div id='p3341' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p3341.jpg' alt='a man lies prone at the lip of a volcano' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>GORITZ’S DEATH</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>But when we learned of his absence—we were all -rather marked men now in Radiumopolis and our -goings and comings were minutely noticed—I -suspected at once he had tried to get to the radium -fields alone and had been lost or destroyed there. -Taking Oogalah, now acting under orders, Hopkins -and I started out. We reached the peridotite hills -which afforded us such welcome relief against the -inordinate misery of our heads, that arose from the -powerful emanations of the region of the granite -ledges. No traces of our missing friend appeared. -Oogalah left us, passing through the gateway -between the sulphur patches, and made straight -for the edge of the cliffside that broke down into the -unapproachable and impossible crevice. Beyond the -farthest point he dared to penetrate lay the -prostrate body of Antoine Goritz, our former -<span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span>leader, dead. Oogalah could see him plainly, but -he hesitated to try to reach him, and it would have -been impossible for him alone to have carried this -youthful giant back. Goritz’s head was towards -Oogalah coming from the east. He had fallen -headlong, a little crumpled up, as if in convulsions -when he fell, and in his hands, still clutched in an -irretractable deathgrip, were two lumps of radium.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Sorrowfully Hopkins and I turned back, followed -by the mute but wondering Eskimo. We could not -possibly have recovered the body then, but we -hoped to later. We had already heard that the -workers in radium, the Gold Makers, were like -Oogalah immunized or less sensitive to its paralyzing -influence, and with some of these men we hoped -the recovery could be made. We noticed on this -sad errand that our own susceptibility had changed, -that it deterred us less, just as for months past the -irritation of the eyes from the peculiar light of the -land had passed away, which before, in the Deer -Fels, even in the Pine Tree Gredin, had afflicted -us. So, reluctantly we returned, fully assured by -Oogalah that with assistance from some of the -gold makers the body could be withdrawn. And -that, sir, partially led to our second visit to the -village of the Gold Makers.</p> - -<p class='c016'>That gold was made by some miraculous power, -aided by some peculiar skill in the Radiumopolites, -we had convinced ourselves, before we reached that -city. Since then the spectacle of the Capitol, the -apparent extravagance of the use of gold in decoration -and in apparel, and even in the appurtenances -of the rooms and homes of the officers of the city, -the shockingly hideous Crocodilo-Python effigies -on the palace, and that impossible, realistic creation -of the Serpent-Throne in which the Professor sat at -the time of his triumphant coronation, and Ziliah’s -story and the equally credible narrations of Oogalah -<span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>confirmed specifically our suspicions. But we had -never seen it made, nor even found in the industries -of the city any trace of its manufacture. That the -odd encounter of ours with the sphalerite in the -limestone cave of the Deer Fels, when the convocation -of little men drifted down from the sky, borne -by those incommensurable balloons (and, by the -way, we had never since seen a balloon in use or -idle) had something to do with gold making, we -were positive.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Since our arrival and establishment in the city -we had heard of the Gold Makers. It was for them -that Oogalah explored the radium fields near the -Crater of Everlasting Light. Oogalah told us most -of what we learned about them. They were a -different people again from either the Eskimo or the -Hebrew type in the city of Radiumopolis, and the -Valley of Rasselas. They lived in a secluded community -many miles away from Radiumopolis, and -seldom visited the city, though they occasionally -intermarried with the comely Eskimo girls or the -larger women of the small race. When we inquired -the cause of their isolation Oogalah said the <i>mines</i> -were where they were to be found, and the burial -grounds.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The last named excited our wonder, but Oogalah -was vague on the subject and seemingly uninterested. -He did exhibit some enthusiasm over his -recollections of the wildness and beauty of the -country where the Gold Makers lived and worked, -and mentioned a mighty river there. This was the -river that issued from the Canon of Promise, the -effluent from the Saurian Sea, which, as I have said, -again turned westward and through another -savage defile entered the Kara Sea. That river I -named “<i>Homeward Bound</i>,” for by it I came out.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, the Professor, after his accession, expressed -the strongest desire to see the Gold Makers and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span>their country, and said that we all must accompany -him. For the Professor had acquired a little knowledge -of the language, and with me as interpreter -he got on famously, and told the Council of -wise men that he was writing a book about them, -and after they had mastered the idea, for among -their other trivialities they had no books, no -writings of any sort, they took to it immensely. -This appeal to their vanity—megalomania literally -and figuratively—was a great stroke. Bjornsen -will find out all their knowledge before he abdicates.</p> - -<p class='c016'>So it very soon materialized that we should be -shown the Gold Makers. (This was some time -before Goritz’s death.) It was a picturesque trip. -I shall never forget it, and for good reasons. It -started me on my way home.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Professor, Goritz, Hopkins, myself, and the -chief men of the Senate, Javan, Put, Hul, Peleg and -Hadad, made up the party with the guard, drivers -and a few attendants. We went in their odd -wooden-wheeled jaunting cars, pulled by the very -lively and entertaining rams.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It would form an appealing and pleasant study -for me to describe the Junta of Radiumopolis—those -thirty humorous little figures, with the sedate, -old, and variously featured faces, a galaxy of physiognomies -that embraced good nature, cunning, -sullenness, querulous self importance, feebleness, -gravity, benevolence (more in the seeming than in -the reality, I take it) spitefulness, apathy, fussiness, -dullness, alertness, sympathy, cruelty, perhaps -sternness, and above all a mannerism of profundity -unspeakably amusing. Their physique is hopeless, -for they have pin bodies and have pin heads, as -Hopkins described them, and their off-the-center -look with their top-heavy heads and bowed -shoulders make a mannikin effect, ludicrous and -grotesque. All are dark.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>But while we are on our way to the Gold Makers, -through the open flowering meads and broad -pastures and arable acres of the Rasselas Valley, -I will try very briefly—<i>in staccato</i>—to put before -you Javan, Put, Hul, Peleg and Hadad.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Javan, the father of Ziliah, was by far the best -looking, and generally the best formed. His face -was really handsome, and his beard made no false -claim to being one. It was full and flowing. His -eyes were large, glowing and passionate. He -smiled too much, and a “few crowns and bridges -made from home material would have benefited his -mouth organ,” said Hopkins. His cheeks were -hollow and pale, but the positive beauty of the -broad white brow seemed to compensate for all -other defects.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Put was a rather tall man, under the restricted -sense of long and short as applied to these gentlemen, -and nearly bald. His nose was a more -modest creation that those of most of his colleagues, -but his mouth, in so small a face, was portentous. -Nature by some ineptitude had almost omitted his -ears, and his eyes had a glassy and fixed stare -(when not concealed by the official goggles), but the -forlorn remnant of some forgotten smile had -become fastened in his face, which actually helped -the artificial effect of his eyes to the point of making -you almost believe he was of wood or plaster, and -not of flesh and blood. Hopkins quoted the Bab -Ballad verse, which runs,</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c017'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“‘The imp with yell unearthly-wild,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Threw off his dark enclosure:</div> - <div class='line'>His dauntless victim looked and smiled</div> - <div class='line in2'>With singular composure.</div> - <div class='line'>For hours he tried to daunt the youth,</div> - <div class='line in2'>For days indeed, but vainly—</div> - <div class='line'>The stripling smiled! to tell the truth</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>The stripling smiled inanely</i>.’”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c018'><span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span>Hull was somewhat shorter but he was a distinct -analogue to Put, with most of Put’s eccentricities, -softened, by no means to the point of extinction, -but so far as to make him a laughable simulacrum.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Peleg was the best example of this small Semitic -people in the thirty Areopagites. He was really -muscular in a way, well developed, with a hawk’s -eye, and a severity that would require, I surmised, -very little provocation to turn it into ferocity. -His head seemed less ponderous, he carried it -straighter, and a deeper glow of redness in his face -imparted to him a humanity denied by the parchment-like -texture of his fellows. His beard too, -was full and his hair really rich and luxuriant. I -think he would have proven a firm friend.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Hadad was an anomaly. He was fat. Hopkins -called him “the Alderman”; he was the presumably -happy possessor of a so-called corporation (as -Hopkins put it, “a Trust individualized as an -abdomen”), and his voice and laugh were musical. -Generally I don’t insist on the association, but I -have found it noticeable. Hadad had pop-eyes -and an incorrigible habit of spitting. He seemed -loquacious, and he usually could be found in the -midst of any discussion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This conventionalized description might produce -a wrong impression. These little men did not dress -in coat, vest and pants. Figure them in yellow or -blue tunics falling well below the knees, sometimes -in a sort of violet cassock, either bound with the -rococo gold belt and its conspicuous gold buckle, -with leggings or buskins, with the beehive hat, and -all this apparel on state occasions loaded with gold -chains. You can conceive that they presented a -most unusual appearance, even one of some dignity, -though it must be confessed their relatively large -noses undeniably depraved it with a vaudeville effect. -Hopkins never could get over this impression.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>“Alfred, if I could ship ’em, as they stand, on the -hoof so to speak, to New York!—sign a contract as -manager, and bill ’em for a tour of the States, my -financial horizon would be cloudless. Eh?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The defects of these diminutive people seemed -increased by contrast with the taller race, who were -well made, normal in every way, and whose women -were most pleasing. And as regards the ladies of -the small type, they were much bigger than the -men—another fact to the disadvantage of their -undersized partners—and often, as with Ziliah, -they were superb. (The matrimonial question was -already looming ominously prominent for King -Bjornsen, and his counsellors, I knew, were solicitous -for his royal appreciation of their daughters—“one, -or several or all,” said Hopkins.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>And <i>there</i> was the great and glorious land of the -Gold Makers. As we approached, its diversity and -contrasts became excitingly apparent. And, as in -myself dawned the scheme of making it the point of -my departure, or ESCAPE, to that great outer -world from which like thrown pebbles Chance—not -in this case a blind goddess—had dropped us into -this sealed and secluded lesser world, it assumed a -veritable splendor. Far off the shimmering agitation -of the broad stream that poured its accumulated -flood down a long grade from the Canon of -Promise, in a vast crosscut through the Pine Tree -Gredin, sparkled in our view. Hills, low and -sparsely wooded, rose from the floor of the Valley -of Rasselas—we had already reached the latter’s -northwestern limit—between them were flat and -grassed interspaces, and in the foreground a savannah-like -expanse, quite treeless, and then far to the -right the clustering villages of the Gold Makers. -Obviously the river dominated the scene, with that -far distant background of indefinite elevations -outlining the northern concentric bulwarks of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>Krocker Land, beyond which a good glass might -detect the shroud of the Perpetual Nimbus, and yet -farther, infinitely removed, but seen in presence if -not in form, the snowy or ruddy pinnacles of -Krocker Land Rim. The river before it reached -the pastoral foreground had recovered its calm, and -only in its full tide did the gliding patches of foam, -and here and there a larger, more disquieted wave, -indicate the turmoil and torture of its descent. -The road drew near to its banks. Within our view -it turned westward, and we could see that it again -passed outward between the walls of a rugged and -imposing defile. Could I trust myself to its impetuous -current, and find over its boiling waters an -avenue of escape? So I mused, as we jolted along -and as, to me, the scenery brought back long forgotten -pictures of the Vale of Llangollen in -Wales.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Scarcely were we in sight of the villages than -some of their occupants hurried to meet us. When -they came closer, to our wonder, we found them, as -Oogalah had described, of a different racial type -from the rest of the Radiumopolites and very unmistakably -Samoyedes, men from the vast Siberian -uplands, physically distinguishable by the broad -faces and pyramidal skulls of the Turanian family. -These nomads of the treeless fringes of Siberia, so -far as indications showed or inquiry elicited, had -been in a small company, wrecked on the Arctic -coast of Krocker Land in some dateless past. They -had made their way into the Valley of Rasselas, had -established themselves without molestation in this -restricted corner, and had then—how, remained an -unanswered or insoluble question—come under -subjection of the Radiumopolites. When the -peculiar industry which now engaged them had -developed was as indefinite in its relations to what -went before or followed after it as the advent of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span>supernatural(?) stranger who had taught Radiumopolis -the process of gold manufacture itself.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It seemed however that at an early time these -Samoyedes had been appropriated as workers in -this singular art, because of their discovered immunity -from the deleterious effects or influences of -the hypostatic element.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I saw men and women fishing in the broad river, -and to my amazement found their boats were -literally rafts—wooden logs bound together by -ropes or thongs of leather and fibre. Hardly had I -perceived this before the thought and hope flashed -through my mind that on some such vehicle of -transit I could trust myself to the stream, and that -it was most likely that these hardy highlanders -could give me the information I now needed as to -the channel, direction, debouchment, and navigableness -of the noble water in its course to the coast.</p> - -<p class='c016'>One of the strange idiosyncracies of the Radiumopolites, -in spite of their attested skill in workmanship, -their intelligence and emotional liveliness, was -their obtuseness in geographic matters, or better, -<i>numbness</i>. I don’t think they ever questioned the -fact of their absolute finality both in place and in -existence. Outside of the distant Krocker Land -Rim was nothing but that blockade of ice, of which -they had heard—the gold belt found by Goritz was -a token of an aeronautic (?) reconnaissance—and -outside of that, if speculation in their minds suggested -the query, was just nothing again. As the -Professor said, “The centripetal tendency of many -primitive cultures was well understood, but in this -case it was pivotal on a new topographic conformation -that forbade migration.” I don’t suppose it -ever occurred to a Radiumopolite to even ask what -might become of that river cutting across this corner -of his Eden-like valley. They had become -<i>static</i>, and what they knew and what they enjoyed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>never changed. In house building, in weaving, in -a rude artistry of design, in agriculture, in brick -and tile and pot making, in their religion, in their -games, they had attained a development that gave -them happiness. And that ended it. It was -Inca-like, or Mayan, Toltecan, Aztecan, or any of -the American cultures which inhabit one spot, -flourishing within it and never exceeding it, like the -phenomena of centralization in plants and animals. -And yet what questions this same culture suggested -to a less individualized student, that -diminutive Semitic race, the tree and serpent -survival, and this unique oligarchy of little magnates!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Arrived within the precincts of the Samoyedian -village, there was a bustling reception from dogs -and children. These were the first dogs we had -seen. Then a slow emergence of women and older -men from the low briquette abodes followed. -Almost without noticing their salutations, Javan, -Put, Hul, Peleg, Hadad, leading the way, took us -through the scanty settlement to a series of barracks, -also made of burned clay briquettes, and -entered the first one. On long rude tables were -heaped, in this armory, piles of <i>galena</i> (lead sulphide), -and the glistening mineral was in nodules, -free and clear, or enclosed in a pulverulent limestone. -It was the duty here of the workmen to -extract the mineral from its matrix, pound it into -dust, and separate it in small wicker baskets. It -was then carried away in these receptacles, by men, -to other buildings. In another house or shed -<i>Sphalerite</i> (zinc sulphide) was similarly treated. -From these preparatory stages we passed to the -radium storehouse. This was practically a cave -dug in the side of the hill, where the material, -gathered by Oogalah was kept, and which we were -not permitted to enter. The radium masses were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>thrown into this place through an opening above, a -sort of chimney, and removed below by an opening -which permitted their extrication by stone hoes. -As they were drawn out they were taken in baskets -to the Mixing House. The critical work was -effected here.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In every respect it was like the other workshops, -but in it the workmen did not remain more than -two hours at a time, the “shifts,” as we would say, -being then changed. At one end of this building -the radium nodules were cleared of their dull -coatings of oxide. Instantly the metallic nuclei, -which was malleable to a slight degree, but which -soon developed brittleness, were pushed towards -other workmen, who hammered them with stone -mallets or hammers until they were broken or -splintered into grains or small angular pieces. -This triturated metal was pushed forward again -with slate knives to the last group of workers to -whom the basket of pulverized lead and zinc mineral -had been brought.</p> - -<p class='c016'>These operators divided the broken radium into -lots and poured over each lot the contents of a -single basket. The heap thus formed of the commingled -radium and sulphide was then drawn to the -edge of the stone and brick table and carefully -scraped into a leathern or woven apron or bag and -tied up. From this house these bundles were -carried away to a distant upland which furnished -a favorable soil for their burial; they were deposited -in holes, five to ten feet deep, the -variation in depth having some reference to the -size of the bundles. These burials were then not -disturbed for a length of time which corresponded -to about a year of our time. At the expiration of -that period they were exhumed and examined. -Fortunately we were enabled to see this stage of the -process also. The bundle being taken out of its -<span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span>sepulture is opened on a table and its contents -spread out in a thin layer. From the granular -commixture the gold particles are carefully picked -out, and are then collected for welding by pressure -into larger pieces.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Certainly nothing could have been more amazing -than the exhibition thus offered of the transmuting -power of this wizard element. The transmutation -is never complete, that is, the original mass of -galena or sphalerite is never wholly converted into -gold. The residues are reinterred with the almost -unaltered radium, and after six months are again -examined. The second crop of gold grains invariably -is less, and after a third trial the mixture is -carefully freed from the radium and the unaffected -sulphide thrown out. The radium thus used is -kept apart from the fresher supplies of radium -whose potency is always stronger. But the partially -exhausted reagent is saved, and used over and -over again with fresh ores. For, just as the radium -suffers a diminution of efficacy, so does the sulphide -lose its susceptibility to its influence. This necessarily -involves considerable sorting, parceling, -labeling and adjustment. Superintendents watch -the operations of each workhouse, and the new and -old supplies of the radium and of the ores are -successfully recorded and mutually apportioned, as -experience dictates. The lead sulphide yields the -larger percentage of transmuted gold.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In all instances the crop of gold is small, and its -accumulation slow, so that the rich displays at -Radiumopolis must have represented the result of -many years of this peculiar labor. Javan told me -that the yield of gold was steadily diminishing -because of the difficulty of obtaining radium, and -the almost exhausted condition of the lead and -zinc sulphide mines. Then he told me of a possible -new replenishment of the latter from deposits far -<span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>beyond the pine tree forest to the east. The -Professor, Hopkins, and myself exchanged an astute -smile of understanding as did also Goritz, though -less intelligibly. We recalled the flying trip of the -doctors, and the radium-lighted cave in the Deer -Fels. The mines of sulphide in the limestone hills -of the Gold Makers’ country are of the types familiar -to the miners of the same mineral in Minnesota, -Wisconsin and Iowa.</p> - -<p class='c016'>With what wonder stricken faces the Professor, -Hopkins, Goritz and I gazed upon the flattened -piles of sulphide ore and radium, after the long-buried -mixture was taken out of the ground in -whose seclusion the miraculous effect had indisputably -been produced. The lead-gray glint of the -ore made more conspicuous the scattered dust of -gold amongst it, with particles cohering to half -converted lumps of galena. And our wonder -transcended words when we were led into an adjoining -room where the gold detritus was hammered -into sizeable bits, and these again compacted into -sticks or nodules, while on the shelves surrounding -this apartment, the collected masses lay in bewildering -confusion. Aladdin’s Lamp seemed almost less -insupportably incredible.</p> - -<hr class='c024' /> - -<p class='c016'>It was on the occasion of the enforced second—but -much desired—visit, when we besought the -services of the Samoyedes to recover the body of our -lost friend, that I again studied, more closely, the -chances of the river liberating me from the increasingly -unendurable imprisonment. A few of the -hardened Samoyedes were brought back with us, -after this errand of mercy, to Radiumopolis, and -with Oogalah they recovered the body of Goritz. -I think the Council would have been pleased to -have instituted a special Crocodilo-Python festival, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>and delivered the poor fellow’s body to the horrible -denizens of the neighboring swamps, but King -Bjornsen forbade that sternly, and it caused some -unpleasantness. It was another indication to me -of the inevitable “blow-up,” as Hopkins called it, -of our amicable relations with these Radiumopolites, -and the increasing urgency of my effecting my escape, -to bring to my friends the means of their -possible extrication. Under the pretence of returning -Goritz to the sky, from which (with us) he had -come, we secretly buried him in the valley, and -there he lies today.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was something of a <i>contre-temp</i> to have Goritz -die at all. It gave a rather second-hand and made-up -look to our claims to have come from the -heavens, and to the inquiring minds of our enemies -supplied undesirable data for starting grave doubts -as to our authenticity—still another danger lurking -in our path, or, as Hopkins gloomily put it, -“another nail in our coffins.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our friend was King indeed, but the enthusiasm -that had carried him to that eminence lacked -permanence. It could not be rooted in racial consanguinity, -it was probably constantly decried by -the little doctors, and the Professor, to quote the -epigrammatic Hopkins, was a “poor mixer.” That -last word unveiled a multitude of perils.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER XV<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>My Escape</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>You must have observed, sir, that in my narrative -I have from time to time exhibited our variant -and varying frames or states of mind toward the -strange conditions we were approaching, and the -still stranger ones we actually entered. You have -been told that some of us dreaded to go on—myself -for instance—that later, diverted or enthralled by -the strangeness of it all, we wanted to go faster, -that from shrinkingly divining some disaster we -were lulled into the anticipation of great pleasure, -and that when our actual danger was reached and -surmounted it might seem we should almost have -resigned ourselves to stay; resigned ourselves to -that serenity of mind depicted by Doctor Johnson, -from whose work the Professor derived the name he -had given to the central vale of Krocker Land, -where, “such was the appearance of security and -delight which their retirement afforded, that they -to whom it was new always desired that it might be -perpetual.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>But it surely does not require much penetration -of feeling, to say the least, or sympathy of mind, to -see that our position would very soon become unendurable, -from the same general repugnance in all -of us and from particular motives in each. To -begin with, we soon felt stifled in this recondite -and obsolete and trivial civilization; the very circular -<span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span>enclosure which shut it in became a prison, -and after all, if we were of the same zoological -<i>stirps</i>, as these people, we had differentiated too -much for pleasurable association. At no time have -I felt so keenly that the breath of the modern man’s -life must be the breath of the world where it moves -the fastest and its breath is quickest.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then there was the wonderful discovery itself to -be published, the Professor’s notes, crowded upon -the pages of a notebook he had most carefully preserved, -to be given to science. Goritz before his -death yearned for the gratification of indulgences -to be purchased by his new wealth, and, as he -thought, his new knowledge. I revolted at the -surroundings, the snakes and the periodic sacrifices, -and feared an inevitable distrust and collision. -Hopkins loved Ziliah, but he had found in this -<i>rara-avis</i> a positive promise of supreme adaptation -to the best life he could give her in the world. At -any rate he wished to try it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Our discontent increased, our impatience chafed -our nerves, and in hastily stolen conferences we -determined upon a supreme effort to escape. We -were tormented by the espionage and ruffled manners -of the Council of Thirty, who interminably -buzzed about us, and had probably shrewdly -detected our hidden restlessness. And the utter -dullness of the life! Never before have I so unspeakably -realized that even if you cannot live in -the current of life, you must live near it, hear its -murmurs, watch its waves, and rejoice in knowing -those who swim either with or against it. We had -all been dreadfully disappointed in the Radiumopolites.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Again and again we planned to break away under -some pretence of revisiting our celestial home, -hurrying off and disappearing completely, though -now we had made up our minds to return with big -<span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span>reinforcements of assistance and to turn over this -new continent to the examination and gaze of -science. It seems a cruel decision. But why not? -Krocker Land could not in any case remain much -longer concealed, and we were entitled to the fruits -of our adventure, while we were reasonably confident -we could make its investiture by our civilization -safe, humane, undisturbing. I think differently -now, but that was our conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“This Ascension business,” as Hopkins called it, -was just humanly possible by the use of balloons, -and it was apposite that at the Professor’s enthronement, -the aeronautics of the Radiumopolites were -displayed at last. It very oddly turned out that -only the smaller race played with the balloons. -The word is deliberately correct. These balloons -were a kind of household furniture or means of -diversion, as a bicycle is with us. They furnished -inexhaustible amusement to the little people, but -even there their use was limited to the very daring -or the <i>very light</i>. Almost every family possessed -one. And yet more curiously it was in the balloon -line that experiment and invention were actually -stirring these ludicrous people to improve and add -to what they knew. This activity sprang from the -unsatisfactory discrimination their present aeronautical -knowledge made between light and heavy -weights.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This ballooning in Krocker Land is in every -way anomalous and extraordinary, and like their -knowledge of transmutation partakes of the miraculous, -certainly the previously unsuspected. -Science here is again in the presence of a New Departure. -The balloons are filled with a gas having -a far greater buoyancy than pure hydrogen and it -is derived from gas wells, themselves of very -moderate depth, but evidently supplied from far -more deeply seated sources. It is incontestable. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>A balloon not three feet in diameter will levitate -thirty pounds!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Except for the astonishing transmutation this -physical fact invades the realm of the unbelievable -more deeply than anything else.</p> - -<p class='c016'>No evidence of this wide-spread predilection -appeared before the Professor’s enthronement. -The suppression of the sport had something to do -with the ceremonial rites of visiting the tree shrines, -I believe, the winter solstitial feeding with human -bodies of the saurians, and awaiting the spring -planting of grain. The opening of the season, so -to speak, is inaugurated by the ascent of the entire -Areopagus, and after that the amusement becomes -general.</p> - -<p class='c016'>All of the Aeropagites are not equally expert, -and many, after a sufficient aerial excursion to meet -the ceremonial requirements, which are <i>de rigueur</i>, -subside and retire. But the art of sailing the air -is traditionally a matter of pride, and the leaders -do very well. It was an adventuresome trip for -them to have attempted reaching the outskirts of -Krocker Land when we met them softly settling -down on the Deer Fels, and it later proved almost -indubitable that they were the customary political -bosses, Javan, Put, Hul, Peleg and Hadad, though -a closer inspection of these worthies corrected some -of our first impressions, expressed before in that -chapter of this narrative.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The experimental efforts at improvement arose -from the discontent and envy of the heavier individuals -over the glad pastimes and disportments of -the lighter ones. You see the method involved -the use of at least three balloons, one from each -shoulder and one from the waist, and as three feet -diameter was the maximum size, safely manipulated, -those weighing over ninety pounds—and -there were a great number of these, almost all -<span class='pageno' id='Page_352'>352</span>adults of the taller race, and many women of the -smaller—were simply excluded from this diversion. -<i>Hinc illae lacrymae</i>, and hence also the energy of -invention to overcome this disparity.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When the sports began, nothing could have been -more interesting and spectacular. Groups would -rise together, separate, and reunite. This air-swimming -was effected by fans attached to the -wrists. But the Aeropagites revealed a superior -guidance, at least we imagined so, for when their -floating shapes had thrown shadows on the illumined -summits of the Deer Fels, they had been -provided with those inexplicable tubes, and up to -the moment of my escape these miracles had not -been repeated. And the NEW tubes—where were -they?</p> - -<p class='c016'>The proper state of the weather was indispensable -and only in complete calms would the amusing -exhibition take place. As in all exercises, -bolder spirits attempted their excursions under -perilous conditions in high or moderate winds, but -these had often resulted in loss of life, the unhappy -aeronaut falling or actually being driven headlong -like a fly or moth beyond the valley into the solitudes -and dangers of its encircling zones.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The harness—for it is nothing less—which the -aeronaut assumes holds him easily and steadily to -the three bubbles above him, and, as he generally -can regulate his flight with his hands, his indeterminate -control is over his descent. Few accidents -occur. The balloons are symmetrized in position -over him, the one at the waist being nearest his -body and the two outside bags higher but on a level -with each other. His control is entirely over the -central balloon which he may quickly deplete by -opening a valve. Variations of adjustment and of -apparatus, as might be imagined, are numerous, -and individual tastes or designs introduce great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span>diversity. There may be four or five or even six -balloons employed, but in this case they are made -much smaller. The balloons may be of different -sizes. Along the direction of increasing the number -of maximum sized balloons lay the hopes of the -bigger people, but there had been some bad mishaps, -and the balance or adjustment proved difficult. -The levitation became unmanageable, and -the descents were often appallingly rapid and -shockingly tragic.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When these air revels began—as they did at the -Professor’s coronation—minus the crown—we momentarily -seized upon the project of adapting this -locomotion for our flight. It required a very brief -inspection to utterly expose the hopelessness of -this scheme and still more strongly occurred to us -the prohibition from attempting to leave together. -Such a wholesale evacuation, unless accomplished -as one might say <i>de coup de tonnerre</i>, would never be -practicable, and as Hopkins ruefully reminded us, -“Ziliah may be an angel, but I’d rather sour on her -prospects of being a balloonist.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Literally I was the only free man, now that -Goritz was gone, and literally upon me devolved -the task of getting back, rousing the world, and -effecting my friends’ release. How should, how -could I do it?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Always distressed by this inseparable anxiety, -the trip to the Gold Makers suddenly appealed to -my searching mind with a strong likelihood that the -great river we had skirted might carry me safely, -and, too, with a swiftness beyond our hopes to -liberty, though when more seriously considered, it -might prove, I saw, to be only the <i>Liberty of Death</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Immediately, therefore, after our return I found -a convenient occasion to discuss this project with -the Professor and Hopkins. It struck them both -favorably, though they rather shrank from recommending -<span class='pageno' id='Page_354'>354</span>it, as it was equally clear that if the river -could be, as it were, employed at all, it would probably -prove to be an obstreperous and mischievous -servant. However, that <i>way lay my path</i>.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Under the pretence—hardly ever now were we -free from some dogging spy at our elbows—of -wishing to report more faithfully the operations of -the Gold Makers in that book which he was -writing on Radiumopolis, and which somehow had -now captivated the fancy of the Council, the Professor -(King Bjornsen), Hopkins and myself revisited -the distant village. Although we were not -permitted to go unattended, it was easy enough for -me to engage the Samoyedes in conversation, and -ask them about their knowledge of the great river. -They spoke quite freely about it, and proved not -only willing to tell me all they knew, but discouraged -my plan to navigate the river to its mouth, by a -not altogether lucid account of the attempt of one of -their fishermen to venture on the river beyond the -rocky gateway frowning on them to the west, and -of his receiving some sort of violent treatment at -its hands, he being thrown ashore and returning -along the banks of the stream, reaching home -almost more dead than alive. So ran their broken -and obscure story.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Where was this man? “Dead.” Were any of -his family, descendants, acquaintances, intimates, -living? “Oh—yes—he knew everybody.” After -some painstaking examination, accompanied by an -immense amount of irrelevant recollections of what -he did after his return, how he died, and how he -was buried, his size, his strength, his obstinacy, -and a recital of the disposition of his slender estate, -I uncovered a trail of associations leading to an old -blind man who was yet alive, and who, it was -supposed, knew a little more exactly than anyone -else what this daring disciple of Izaak Walton had -seen or experienced.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span>This ancient was located, but it proved a mountainous -task to extract much intelligible information -from him, partly because he was dreadfully -deaf, hopelessly stupid, and so incoherent that the -interpreters chosen to interview him appeared to -be at their wits’ ends to make him out, and more -particularly because he was himself suspicious of -his examiners.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I at last came away with the impression that the -man had floated off peacefully on the swelling -breast of the flood as it emerged from the broad -lake-like embayment in the Gold Makers’ land, and -had been carried along for a great distance at a -rapid rate but not with much or any danger, until -the descent brought him to a change in the bed or -banks of the river (what this change was could not -be determined), and that he had even survived this, -but that later he jumped overboard from his raft -(for raft it was), and reached the shore and, satisfied -with his adventure, had made his way back by -almost incredible exertions.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Singular as it may seem to you, sir, my deductions -from this incomplete story, bristling as it -might seem with unimagined, untold dangers, were, -that the river maintained a full flow, was seldom -interrupted by obstructions, had some serious -breaks in its grade, which, however, did not involve -actual falls, and, if violent at any point, was not -unnegotiable, as you say. The fisherman evidently -passed the worst place alive, but did not survive -the shock. He lost his nerve and got ashore—and -besides, in his case, there were most valid reasons -for objecting to a lengthier transit.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This favorable interpretation, so far as it helped -me to make up my mind, was really itself helped by -a kind of desperation. It was impossible for me to -remain in this solitude any longer. An almost -fierce monomania of repulsion was growing within -<span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>me, and, of some natural hardihood myself, this -excitant for action bestowed on me an almost unnatural -indifference to danger.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Later I told my friends I had made up my mind. -Whatever perils lay in my way I would cope with -them as I could—but GO I would, and as an avenue -of escape that seemed to promise the quickest -release I preferred the river. There were many -solemn and affecting conferences—continued as we -had opportunity—and the preparations were, so -far as the resources allowed, carefully made. They -were indeed so wisely made that I reached the -Siberian Sea safe and sound. The intervention of -Luck or Providence in assisting him, is consciously -or unconsciously expected by every Arctic explorer, -probably by any explorer; and with the contribution -of his best judgment, unsparing effort, and -personal fortitude, he is inclined to put the blame -of his failure—if he fails—on those two omnipotent -factors. If he succeeds, a brave man is probably -not less inclined to give them the credit.</p> - -<p class='c016'>We selected the best rifle of our little collection, -stored all of our ammunition, depending on the -ingenuity of Hopkins and the King to reconcile the -Radiumopolites to this sequestration of their -beloved thunder, the Professor entrusted to me -some pencil scribbled papers, and then we turned -our attention to my personal equipment. I -believed that in a week’s time at the most I would -be enabled to reach the coast. We all felt that, -assuming a parallel conformation of the various -zonal strips we had traversed entering Rasselas, -their proximity on the west argued for a probable -narrowing of their width. To have attempted the -eastward route over the path we had taken had no -attractions for me, and from the first we felt my -absence would then be more quickly discovered, -and myself <i>willy-nilly</i> overhauled.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span>But later we turned our first plans upside-down. -Hopkins said my departure should be a public -event, that we would never be able to accomplish -anything satisfactorily in this hidden, secret -fashion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Take the bull by the horns; fly a high kite and -put it up to ’em this way. Tell ’em the shade, -spirit, spook, anything that’s handy of Antoine -Goritz, has appeared to you, and told you to take to -the water; that big things will be brought back that -way; that the Serpent God wishes it—Oh, anything. -Hand it out strong and lively and scary. -I guess that’ll rehabilitate Goritz too, give him the -<i>saecula saeculorum</i> sort of effect, and it won’t do us -any harm either to keep up our show of being on -intimate terms with ghosts and such.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Will they believe it?” I asked.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Sure. Why not? What else have they got to -do? They’re made that way. All of these rubbishy -people who came into existence before gas and -electricity, the telephone, trolley car, pasteurized -milk and incubators, will believe anything you tell -’em about goblins and witches and scarecrows and -second sight and dreams and invisible voices. Try -it, Alfred. It’s a cinch.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, we did try it and it was, to put it that way, -an unalleviated success. Still there was a fly in the -ointment, in a way. Ziliah told Hopkins the little -doctors were overjoyed—they wanted <i>me</i> out of the -road. I asked the Professor and Hopkins what -they thought about that and they both agreed -they could take care of themselves. This upshot of -the matter was indeed a rather disturbing surprise, -but—my departure was a triumph!</p> - -<p class='c016'>The resources of Radiumopolis were at my disposal—food, -clothing, and although direction or -information could not be furnished, the physical -requisitions for combating hunger and cold were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span>generously provided. This alacrity on the part of -the little rulers was unmistakably connected with -their expectation that the adventure would be the -last of <i>me</i>. They were obedient to the injunctions -of King Bjornsen, but their subserviency was -hypocritical in its protestations of devotion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Unluckily there was the most helpless ignorance -of boat making to contend with, and the additional -provocation to despair that there were no tools to -make them with. This historic fisherman had -tried to do the trick with a raft. I would take a -raft too. What else? The Samoyedes built them -well and strongly, and under my uncontrolled -supervision a narrow raft made of two tiers of logs, -crossed in position and bound together with the -strongest ropes, was prepared. On this a woven -hamper was firmly fastened, and in that were placed -my provisions (tortillas, and dried meat) and extra -clothing, and rugs, and a sleeping bag of sheepskin. -A pack strapped to my back carried Goritz’s gold -souvenirs, some radium masses, a compass, chronometer, -matches and a selection of fishing hooks and -lines. A gun was almost riveted to my side, so -immobile did it seem. But the <i>tour de force</i> of foresight -was involved in the insertion of two short -posts (five feet high) at the stern, though distant -from the raft’s edge by about three feet, and distant -from each other by three feet. To each of -these posts, at the level of my shoulders, was -reamed a hole for two looped leathern thongs, so -adjusted that standing between the posts I could -insert my arms in the loops, clasp my hands across -my breast, and secure a chancery that nothing -short of dislocation of the raft itself could break, or -the avulsion of my own arms from their sockets, -while in an instant I could free myself.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The Samoyedes rigged up a rude steering tiller -which of course was indispensable. It consisted of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>a girdle suspended from a cross piece, binding the -two abovementioned posts, through which a stick -paddle was swung. It was decidedly awkward, as -it displaced me from my position of safety between -the posts, and therefore at critical moments might -prove quite worthless, if not a positive danger. -Here I must count on my own agility and strength. -Besides this tiller half a dozen poles and as many -oars were tied to the posts projecting above them -like short masts. These might prove very serviceable. -But there was also a last Atlantean touch. -Two of the three foot balloons were firmly tied to -the crosspiece of the upright posts. It was the Professor’s -suggestion, and I am positive that at a -critical twist it saved matters.</p> - -<p class='c016'>That was about all, except that some further -records were given me by Bjornsen and they were -consigned to the great woven hamper. Well, -some learned societies will be saved head splitting -disputes, and no less head dizzying theories, the -former perhaps not altogether harmless. <i>That -hamper never came through.</i></p> - -<p class='c016'>By the beginning of July I was ready for the -plunge. The day was auspicious, clear but torrid, -with the stationary sun wrapped in luminous -clouds, and its overwhelming rival coursing a higher -altitude in unchecked splendor. The great river -assumed an enticing placidity; its tranquil current -had even lost the chained bubbles floating from the -shattering cascades that freed it from the Canon of -Promise. And Radiumopolis had bodily transferred -itself to the scene; the banks, the hills, the -roofs of a few abandoned sheds were closely -crowded, by a wonderfully variegated multitude, -intensely interested, subdued into a faintly murmurous -throng by the excitement of admiration. -I was something more than a hero that day. Obeying -the summons of the spirit of my former companion, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>I was to rejoin him along that trackless -pathway of the great river, whose banks touched -heaven, in whose inaccessible depths dwelt all the -demons of death and terror.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was a reservation of space, at the point -where my raft swung uneasily, for the King, the -Council, Hopkins and Ziliah, and the magistrates -of the city, and only a Hogarth could have done -justice to that commixture of physiognomies, the -odd and contrasted figures, interspersed with the -taller men and women, all wearing their regalia, and -the massed battalions beyond them in holiday array. -Some daring aeronauts circled in the air -above me. Flowers did not figure in the festivals -nor in the predilections of the Radiumopolites, -though blue and yellow blossoms lit their landscapes -with a smile of floral prettiness that was very -bewitching, and their own blue and yellow tunics, -or coats, indicated some sympathy with these -colors. On this occasion I was presented with some -flat pincushion-like mats made up of these flowers -by some blushing girls, and from the laughter—gentle -and decorous—that this evoked, I believed -they evinced a warmer sentiment than regret. Of -course my mission, as publicly declared, precluded -my probable return, or, at least, it meant my long -absence. By the Council doubtless, certainly by a -few undisguised enemies in it, it was hoped that it -meant my wholesale and irremediable destruction.</p> - -<p class='c016'>As I shook hands with all I came at last to the -Professor (King Bjornsen) and Hopkins. Our -hands closed tightly and we dared not look each -other in the face. I heard Hopkins whisper, -“Heaven help you,” and if prayer reaches the -throne of Grace when it is consecrated by the -heart’s holiest hope, that prayer, I know, ascended -to its place. As the Professor embraced me, he -loosened the belt of lead I had worn and replaced it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>with a heavy gold girdle whose big buckle bore the -carven Serpent. That, Mr. Link, I have never -shown to anyone. Diaz, Huerta nor Angelica have -ever seen it. It will amaze you. The Professor -removed it from his own waist. There was a half -hushed remonstrance. But the King’s gift was -interpreted favorably, and as I received it a shout -went up, and even the Council, for prudent reasons -possibly, indulged in a titter of endorsement. My -raft was pushed by willing hands into the stream. -Its prow or front yielded to the gentle urgency of -the current, and turned. I stood upon the hamper, -and waved my hat—not the beehive contraption -but a sheepskin fez—and again the Radiumopolites, -now strangely stirred by this solemn -gliding departure of a single man into the unknown, -broke spontaneously into one of their sing-song, -not quite unmusical, and not exactly musical, -chants, which rising in pitch until it swelled to me -over the water, almost seemed, I drearily thought, -like a dirge. Its crooning wail still filled my ears -when all details of the multitude were lost, and the -shadow of the great gateway of rock, into which the -river was relentlessly carrying me fell across the -glassy wave that had now become my path to -liberty.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There was now nothing to be thought of but self-preservation -amid unknown and unsuspected dangers. -I seized some bread—<i>tortilla</i>—a hunk of the -dried, not unpalatable meat, and drank some wine. -This interjected meal raised my spirits. A momentary -<i>sang-froid</i> replaced my nervousness, and -indeed, so great was my exultation at the thought of -regaining the vanished world, of liberation from an -unendurable stagnation and the bald, horrible -misery of a silly paganism, that I became almost -cheerful. That mood did not last long. Already -I had passed the portal of the deep canon. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span>red sandstone walls rose in sheer precipices above -me, and were rising visibly higher beyond. A few -shrunken pine trees clung here and there to shelves -of rock, while through some upward openings, and -leading into transverse valleys, I caught glimpses -of the dark green motionless tops of the serried -trees that here marked the amphitheater of the -Pine Tree Gredin.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The grimness of the swiftly developing descent -almost appalled me now. I was on the back of a -resistless flood not yet maddened into a fury of -impetuous violence by opposition, nor quickened -into the onset of a galloping torrent by sharper -changes in its gradient, but doubtless bringing me -and my smoothly drifting raft into just such wild -vicissitudes. Could either one or the other survive -them? The clumsy boat beneath my feet was a -willing servant. It responded to the strokes of the -tiller, and my dismal forebodings were momentarily -forgotten in the amusement it gave me to swing the -raft from side to side of the still broad waterway. -As the light became dimmer, and a half crepuscular -dusk crept into the deepening fissure over whose -topmost edges the sky hung like an illuminated -ribbon, I felt the grip of a solemn dread, the precurrent -rigor of that deadly <i>rigor animae</i> which -palsies the heart.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Still on and on, in a course that scarcely deviated -from a straight line, and thus safely conducted <i>us</i> -(to me my little barge shared, as a sentient thing, -our common danger, and it alleviated my solitude -to fancifully, as children do, personify it, talk to it, -praise it) toward that distant goal, the ice-packed -shore of Krocker Land. The bed of the stream lay -in a rectilinear joint and the weathering on either -side had not greatly widened the aperture above. -The picture changed only in detail. The frowning -sides, walls scarcely relieved by any vegetation or, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>which, if there, was too far above me for my eyes to -detect, offered no distinction in color. Nature had -not here spread her palette of blending hues, those -that over the silent expanses of the Grand Canon -of the Colorado transfer the colors of sunset to the -immutable stone. It was the utter sternness, the -harsh, immense uniformity of the still increasing -precipices that crushed the soul. I seemed like an -atom in the void, a plaything of nature; for a -moment, and for a moment only, seen in this outraged -solitude, to become then a part too of the -lifeless panorama.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The cliffs rose now a thousand feet or more, and -sensibly receded, the dislodged blocks from their -summits building an awful fringe of titanic boulders, -angular monoliths, at the water’s edge. Beyond -me stretched the unvarying avenue, the shooting -river seeming far away, motionless and fixed like a -congealed mass, though every particle of it was -flying onward with fresh acceleration. There -could be no doubt of that. Points observed on -the shores were more and more rapidly passed. -This hastening pace became to me a portent of disaster. -The angry river, placable at first, luring its -audacious victim onward, now in sullen mastery, -with a rising temper, as if impatient over its own -leniency threatened to hurl the petty intruder, the -graceless little egotist, into eternity. It would -have done with him, washing his lifeless corse on its -sullied waters to the depthless ocean, a memento -and a warning, if so paltry an object could be either. -Thus I seemed to divine the storm of its gathering -wrath.</p> - -<p class='c016'>So far the great volume of water had been accommodated -in the channel, and the surface of the river -was almost smooth. But with the increasing speed -the channel narrowed, and the water became turbulent. -Waves rushed on and out from the shores -<span class='pageno' id='Page_364'>364</span>and rolling backs of water chased each other in the -center of the stream. Fortunately, though the -waves washed the raft from end to end and sometimes -drove me to the protection of the upright -posts, the river maintained its straight course, and -we still rode gallantly onward. There were sudden -dips, down which we slid with alarming velocity, -that made me shudder, but nowhere a rock, a -breaker, no treacherous bend, no falls, not even yet -the dashing turmoil of a rapid. What invention of -malice was this?</p> - -<p class='c016'>Suddenly my eye noticed a prominent bulge in -the river, perhaps three or four miles ahead. It -lay about midstream. Here was some formidable -interruption? Was there a sluice-way on either -side of it? If so I could avoid it; the balloons -helped my buoyancy. The raft trembled. Ah, -already it felt some premonitions of the tussle. -Yes, a decided—no, not a bulge after all; it was a -drop, the river fell over a ledge, but apparently a -low one, so low that the deep volume filled it up, -making the transition from above to below it inconsiderable, -and below—I could just see—was retardation, -and expansion; the river moved there over -a flat! Curious, such relenting!</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Have no fear, Old Boy,” I shouted, stamping -the logs beneath me to awaken their attention, -“stick together, take a brace and over we go, safe -and sound.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The spot seemed to rush towards us. For an -instant I hesitated. Should I scoot to the sides -and avoid the plunge? Was it a trap? The tortuous -flow sideways might smash us against the rocks, -and then—Ah! then, <i>requiescat in pace</i>. Down -the center, sink or swim, there was no help for it—once -over, thrice saved—a wetting perhaps, perhaps -a mouthful of water.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The boiling water lashed us, and something like -<span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span>a moan came to me from the shores, almost as if the -baffled river gnashed in its impotent disgust. I -steered for the rounded mound in front; a straining -creak from the grinding logs, a sharper bolt ahead—I -clung to the posts, and the neglected tiller dragged -behind—another sprint and I saw the shelving face -of the water below the drop tossing furiously. -Over, with an upward jolt; that was the greatest -danger of all. But the sturdy frame held together, -and then in a tussle of bristling waves, noisy, each -one striking over its neighbor’s shoulder at us, and -I hard at the tiller, we raced down the slope, inundated, -wrenched, even pitched a little, but quite -safe, quite sound. I could not restrain my impulse -to shout, though a moment later, as the mocking -echoes smote my ear, fear stilled my voice, and -stunned conscience whispered: “Pride goeth before -a fall.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>The raft swam later into the center of a lake-like -space, in a welter of bubbles and foam from the -cascading water. The cliffs here declined, and to -the north a pass led upwards at whose termination -on the waterside two deer were actually drinking. -Had they heard me shout? Their undisturbed -assurance denied it. But now they caught sight of -me and were retreating with backward glances as -they halted on the grass-lined trail. I was in the -Deer Fels.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I steered my craft, which had now gained the -prestige of an actual companionship, toward the -shore, drew out one of the poles, and poled it carefully -inshore at a sandy brink not far from the footprints -of the deer. I was very quiet now, so as not -to frighten away the animals who watched me from -a high point. Their presence delighted me, and -reinforced my courage. Had they been at my side -I could not have raised a hand against them, so -fraternal and human did they seem. But oh, for a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_366'>366</span>voice to answer my own! I talked to myself, but -not loudly. I dreaded to wake those jeering echoes.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The sunlight streamed through the pass, and I -went up a short distance very softly, for the deer -were vigilant, but still remained where I could see -them. I lay down on a grassy knoll and dried myself. -Then I returned to the raft and picked out -some food. Much of it was wet and the contents -of the hamper needed overhauling and drying. I -made a fire, finding some chance sticks and wood, -and in the one kettle left to us, and which Hopkins -had given me, I actually made a stew which tasted -divine.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Then I climbed to the top of the ridge and looked -about. I could see the pine trees’ shadow eastward, -the rolling hill land of the Fels about me, and -beyond, westward, the big plateau of the aquatic -trough, and then I thought I caught the pale, -fluctuating, gushing pillars of the Nimbus and, as -had often happened from other points, glimpses of -the pinnacled and snow-capped Rim. I momentarily -doubted my own resolve. Should I abandon -the raft and travel over the land to the coast? But -that awful crevice of the Nimbus rose threateningly -to mind. I feared it. Before it the untried terrors -of that descent to the coast by the imprisoned -plunging stream actually looked inviting. Perhaps -too the worst was over. And then the quickness -of it. Twenty-four hours more and I would -be released. Released? How? Thrown on a pitiless -coast, beleaguered by the endless ice! What -madness was this. Safety, a kind of animal happiness, -at least, had been mine in the sleeping vale of -Rasselas. But now—? I shuddered, and the -swarming rogues of despair and foreboding rose in -clouds like gnats from a shaken bush. It was an -instant when a man’s heart seems to weaken into -water.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_367'>367</span>I had slowly retraced my way, and there I stood -at the edge of the waterway, one foot lifted to step -upon the raft, to all appearances a man calmly bent -upon the fulfillment of his purpose. And yet all -the while I was beset with conflicting and warring -thoughts. It was so as I took the sleeping bag and -a rug or so and tied them to the posts, arguing -almost unwittingly that, were the hamper swept -away, I would thus save <i>them</i>. And then blindly -I crammed my pack—ready at any crisis for my -back—with food. It was even so as I took my -place on the raft, as I pushed it off from the shore, -as I maneuvered it into the streamway, even as I -took the tiller and guided my boat on to the fastest -current. The automatic force of some ulterior -prevention just kept me in the chosen line of work, -unconsciously and yet irreversibly. Strange!</p> - -<p class='c016'>Again the darkness of the canon walls fell around -me, and then only the subdued mind rose and reformed, -as it were, visibly, my unalterable determination. -And indeed now there no longer was -room for incertitude. The rush forward keyed -every sense into a vivid expectancy. The bed of -the river had become more gorge-like, the uneven -and projecting cornice edges of the rock on either -side sent back the bounding water, and the surface -around me was filled with leaping waves. The -course though, most luckily, remained almost -undeviatingly straight. To have engineered a -curve or any sharp deflection would have been -almost impossible at the rapid swing the raft was -taking in the descent, which, however, hardly -varied from my previous experience. It was difficult -enough to keep “my keel” steady, with the -constant tendency of the logs to throw themselves -across the stream. It was buffeted by the “rollers” -sent inward from the shores, and the rapid pull of -the midstream was itself interrupted or diverted by -<span class='pageno' id='Page_368'>368</span>the development of short waves, that chased down -the center of the channel, and that indicated obstructions -or inequalities in the bed over which the -water was impetuously pouring.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was only by the stiffest exertions that I was -enabled to keep the raft headed true, and, as it was, -over the rougher passages it was swept with water. -I was drenched, the spray and waves splashed and -rose upon me. I now realized the indispensable -assistance given by the posts and the unbreakable -loops, one of which at least was constantly in use. -The management of the tiller, in this half imprisonment, -was awkward, but in spite of strains, shiftings, -violent jolts and lunges the raft shot well along -the center, and did not seriously deviate from an -axial position.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was evident, too, as we swept onward, though -my attention was too eagerly fixed on the recurrent -predicaments in the water to be able to notice it -carefully, that the canon above had enormously -widened. I mean that the upper walls had receded -through progressive weathering; the tunnel-like -grimness had somewhat softened, and more light -fell on me. Fortunately there were changes in the -gradient of the rocky floor, and while some were on -the wrong side of the account, others introduced -agreeable relief. These latter were more level -stretches where the turbulence disappeared, and the -raft floated evenly, and was easily kept obedient to -her helm.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I had been running safely enough, though the -margin of safety, it must be said, was often a very -narrow one, for some ten or twelve hours, and the -loss of sleep, constant anxiety, the wetting and the -indifferent sustenance had been slowly telling on me -when my weary eyes detected a new, perhaps a -crowning danger.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Before me the walls of the canon seemed to close—they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_369'>369</span>always did so in the manner of a perspective -coalescence—but this was now different. There -was a break in the continuity of the channel. The -stream turned to the left, and I saw a wall of rock -before me. At such a point a whirlpool effect was -inevitable, and this, apart from the danger of a -wreck on the rocks in the rapids, I had most -dreaded.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I noticed the elbow was rounded towards the -south, forming a sort of pool, and reminding me of -the Niagara whirlpool, but it was not so large, and, -as the raft began to be seized by a stronger current, -it was also evident that the bed sloped again, and -that the stream attained a dangerous velocity. -The waves spanked and broke over the raft, the -distance was white with foam; I was rocked as in a -cradle, and I felt that I must abandon the tiller, -insert myself between the posts, and hold on to the -loops. If the raft escaped or survived engulfment -I might then be saved. The balloons were intact -and their attachments unbroken. They were -doing some service, though a slight one, as they -dragged behind me, restraining my descent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Another feature appeared ahead in the rapidly -nearing vortex, about which all doubt was now -removed; I could see its powerful rotation. This -new feature was a periodic uplift of the water from -the pool in a broad spout or fountain, ejected obliquely -and falling on the waves beyond the whirlpool -itself. At first this outburst alarmed me. -Its discharge seemed so unaccountable and so violent. -A moment later I felt it might mean my -safety.</p> - -<p class='c016'>On like an arrow <i>we</i> sped—the raft had become a -companion—and fearing the tiller might in some -way become entangled or deflected and in the turmoil -of our certain submergence play some fatal -trick that would disable me, I cast it loose. I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_370'>370</span>could see it swing past the raft, and dance madly -on the combing surges. Then it was lost but I -strained my eyes to detect, if possible, its emergence -in the spout ahead. I thought I saw it, but now in -the clutches of the ravenous tide, I became blind -with unmistakable terror. The noise of the chaotic -water around me seemed like a low roar, mingled, -too, with an interminable hiss, and in the gloom of -the desolate stony chasm the menace almost -darkened my mind and made me unconscious.</p> - -<p class='c016'>A boom struck my ear, low, definite, smothered; -I attributed it to the regurgitant geyser from the -whirlpool. A leap forward, a choking rattle from -the logs beneath, and then a wrenching twist that -threw my feet from under me, and the water rose -solidly over my head. I could reach the air by -pulling myself upward on the straps about my arms. -I saw the balloons tugging desperately and two -reports like the bursting of a bomb immediately -followed. They were in tatters. Again I sank; -this time it seemed like doom. Yet I was still conscious, -and then, as if an omnipotent arm thrust -from below raised us, I felt the raft pressed upward -against the welter and inrush, and then a titanic -convulsion, and the raft, and I dangling to the -posts, were shot bodily out of the maelstrom, -though scarcely lifted above the surface; and, -enveloped in the hill of water that accompanied us, -the raft swam out again upon the descending -stream, in a turbulence of waves that made me -dizzy with its confusion.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I hardly realized I was alive, but in a few minutes -every sense attested its reality. I <i>felt</i> the pack on my -back—I had very early secured it there—I <i>heard</i> -that the creaking, groaning logs were still intact, -I <i>looked</i> before me and saw the hamper had been -swept away, I <i>tasted</i> the cold water in my mouth. -I was saturated, it almost seemed, and I was faint, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span>perhaps from shock, in a measure. The sturdy -posts which had been my refuge were unshaken, -and now, straight before me in a shouting turmoil, -the waters put on to me a friendly guise, and seemed -just delirious over my escape. So quickly does the -temperature and spirit of the heart find its reflection -in inanimate nature. For now, though I had -been despoiled I was safe, and my gun, my cartridges, -some food at least, my fishing tackle, the -evidences of Krocker Land, many notes, the compass, -matches—in a watertight box—and, thanks -to my forethought a rug and a sleeping bag were all -with me, as most helpful friends.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The recovery had been so unexpected that I felt -gay as a child, and as the French say, everything -about me wore for a little while <i>couleur de rose</i>. -The stream itself, ample and full, sprawled out in a -wider bed; before me a break in the canon walls, -on one side, indicated some tributary valley and -affluent and—I was rummaging my pack—here -was a bottle of undiluted, unwatered wine! I -almost emptied it. A tortilla and some strips of -dried meat completed my banquet. I was myself -again. The poles and paddles lashed to the posts -were still there, and one of the former was soon in -my hands, for the guidance of the boat. The best -I could do now would be to keep her off the shores, -turn and wriggle as she might in the middle stream.</p> - -<p class='c016'>My composure now returned, and permitted me -to consider my predicament more calmly. Where -was I? A few minutes after I asked myself this -question, the lateral valley opened to view. It was -a rough, rocky streambed in which now a probably -much shrunken tributary to the river—Homeward -Bound—on which I was, made its way from a bare, -rugged upland. But here I caught a glimpse of -the sluggishly ascending vapors and clouds from -the Perpetual Nimbus. I could not be mistaken. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_372'>372</span>The wall of wavering whiteness seemed to stretch -southward. The confirmation of the Professor’s -hypothesis was complete. The Valley of Rasselas -was an enclosed pit, on all sides of which the terraced -zones we had traversed on the east, would -certainly be found. Here on the west less developed, -compressed and narrower, they still existed. -Radiumopolis at least was excentrically placed in -the valley, but the valley itself was excentric also. -Then I would soon be crossing the Rim, and apprehensions -of new difficulties swarmed in my mind. -The canon I was in cut across the great circular -fissure which surrounded Rasselas, and the position -of the whirlpool perhaps marked the crossing. -Could it be possible? It was an extraordinary -geological situation I was sure, but its explanation -could wait. What terrors of rapids, falls, or cataracts, -or more whirlpools lay before me? I looked -ahead. The light from the stationary sun had -gone, but the friendly luminary that now more -than replaced it, was burning in the sky, and it -showed my future course.</p> - -<p class='c016'>To my delight, on either side the canon walls -declined; indeed, it seemed that far off they became -simply high banks and nowhere were there perceptible -disturbances in the stream itself. The -great volume poured its almost unruffled torrent -over a very ancient bed, and the whole aspect of -the river assumed a peculiar sedateness, as it were, -compared with the rushing, headlong haste it had -shown above the whirlpool. And there! On either -side rose the snow crowned pinnacles of the Rim! -The encircling mountain fence of Krocker Land was -opened here by a valley, and in that valley, deeply -entrenched, Homeward Bound was placed. And -now a new and beautiful feature developed. -Brooks or streams, fed perhaps by melting snows or -ice, leaped into my river from the still high cliffs. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span>I could count a dozen or so, the splash of the falling -water breaking the surface of the river into waves, -and the noise of their motion and impact filling the -canon with a half musical roar. It was a fascinating -picture.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The river turned, not abruptly, but swinging -southward in a long arm or curve, and then a vista -developed that, for an instant, filled me with fresh -alarm. On the left side the cliffs fell away, and -their place was taken by the face, it looked so, of a -small glacier. I was at sea level perhaps. The -wall rose somewhat on the right, and intermittent -threads of water still seamed their sides with lines -of light and whiteness, but to the left there -appeared the wide mouth of a glacial <i>coulisse</i>, and -from the ice mass in it, little bergs floated in the -now much retarded and widened river. The bergs -scared me. A white or yellowish turbidity spread -from the glacier, the contribution of rock-meal -brought by the river that issued from beneath it.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was quite possible to guide my raft by the -paddle I had, and, though the Homeward Bound -maintained considerable current still, it had but -little directional force. In half an hour I was -opposite the glacier, and amongst its bergs. I -gazed eagerly seaward, trusting I might catch some -glimpse of the coast that must be near at hand. -But the view closed again, there seemed to be a contraction -of the river, the walls rose on both sides, -and now the river’s flow was but little more than -the propulsion caused by its residual momentum.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The ice serpent wound upward into the snow -recesses of the mountains. Opposite to me its -riven front glowed with beryl and sapphire veins; -the white calves lazily caught the motion of the -stream, and almost, it seemed to me, resented my -intrusion, so suddenly did they gather about me, -either in derision or in menace. I did indeed feel -<span class='pageno' id='Page_374'>374</span>powerless among them. Ice cakes flecked the -stream. I was in a treacherous company. Anxiously -I steered my craft through them, but in the -mist that sprang from their sides, I would sometimes -fail to see them and an inauspicious bump would -send me sprawling. I felt that the moment of -release was approaching. Soon the pale, haunted, -Arctic Ocean would hold me. I felt its immensity -already, and now that the excitement of the -scramble for liberty, this arrowy voyage down the -strange and majestic chasm of a great new river of -the earth, was behind me, my heart quailed before -the UNKNOWN, that confronted me with what—Deliverance -or Death?</p> - -<p class='c016'>The mountains sloped away on either hand, or -were, in fact, already behind me, for I was now -floating with a diminished current that aided my -avoidance of the torpidly drifting bergs. I was in -a canal, literally cut through an ancient gigantic -moraine, the vast scourings of an ancient ice sheet. -It was not long delayed—my emergence on the -ice-bound shore of western Krocker Land. The -banks declined and slowly disappeared, yielding -now to the broad fringe of a coastal plain where the -river, encountering a varying resistance, had succumbed -to the vagaries of mere idleness, and swung -in broad loops to the sea. Yes—there it was—to -quote the graphic words of Nansen—“that strange -Arctic hush, and misty light, over everything,—that -grayish white light caused by the reflection -from the ice being cast high into the air against -masses of vapor, the dark land offering a wonderful -contrast.”</p> - -<div id='p3742' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p3742.jpg' alt='a man in torn clothes sits on the shore of some water. There is a gun at his side' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>ERICKSON’S ESCAPE</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>And now the river widened, its banks receded and -dwindled. To the north the high Rim advanced -upon the sea, and black promontories rose in -august severity in the glare of day, desolate and -grim, their skirts fringed with the white surf of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_375'>375</span>inrolling waves. Beyond them open water and -then ice floes, endless prospect! To the south the -Rim declined abruptly into a wide detrital platform -of sand and clay banks, and huge boulders, -and, here and there, like white ships, the icebergs -that had stranded. I was in the Kara Sea. Beyond -that dread, compassionless horizon lay Siberia—but -could I reach it? The awful chill of a realization -of my abject helplessness for the first time -overwhelmed me. I was alone in the Arctic Ocean, -a mere atom before the uncontrollable forces that a -whim of the weather might suddenly summon forth -on their wild errands of destruction; or else a waif -cast on a desert shore to be left with pitiless irony, -in the calm scorn of merciless Nature, to perish.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I’m not a praying man, Mr. Link, but somehow -I asked GOD then to help me.</p> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_376'>376</span> - <h2 class='c012'>CHAPTER XVI<br /> <br /><span class='sc'>The Sequel</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>I worked my tried and still most workable and -useful raft to the shore, and stepped from it to the -sand, between some ragged floes of ice—a kind of -ice foot. The loss of the hamper was a heavy blow, -and to confront the unknown future with a few -morsels of meat and some soaked <i>tortillas</i> seemed -only a desperate and suicidal bravado. I was for a -while stunned into a torpor of inaction. I had -managed to force the raft somewhat up on the -shore, but I took the precaution of further loading -it with stones. Until I had more clearly made up -my mind what would be my next step, I would not -part company with this friend, for somehow to me -<i>then</i>, the mute bundle of logs had become almost -animate with a human affection.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And now the reaction against fatigue and all the -sleepless hours made me faint and weak. I must -first sleep. I untied the welcome sleeping bag and -the rug, and disengaging the heavy gold belt—what -a mockery its value seemed in this sterile -solitude—and the small hatchet which it held, I -rolled myself up, and instantly fell into unconsciousness. -I must have slept almost twenty-four -hours, for the sun which had been declining to the -horizon was in almost the same position when I -awoke. I was ravenously hungry, but my courage -had returned, and at least I felt equal to considering -my plans.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_377'>377</span>But first it was food. I made a fire, warmed or -toasted the flat pancakes and roasted the meat -chunks, and these with water contrived to satisfy -my hunger. The contents of the pack were now -my sole resource. They had been well soaked, but -I had spread them on the white sands, and in the -heat of the sun they had dried, even the matches -proving serviceable again. My gun, which had -been well greased (swagged) was uninjured, and the -wax-smeared cartridges retained their murderous -facility of exploding. If game was to be had the -life in my body might yet reasonably expect considerable -prolongation. And why not game? -I recalled our first encounter when we were unceremoniously -introduced to Krocker Land—the musk -oxen. But was I to become a prowling Robinson -Crusoe; were the days, the weeks, the months—there -could not be years—before me to be a savage -struggle to just live and then realize—<i>starvation</i>? -At any rate there must be a plan. What should it -be? It was then that my mind working feverishly -over a few projects—the only ones I could conceive -of, and all of them preposterous—was suddenly -arrested by recalling that this very summer, even -during this month, Coogan and Stanwix, Phillips -and Spent would be pushing the “Astrum” through -that very sea—but farther east—to find us. On -that peg of suggestion I hung my hopes. I would -work eastward if I could, or as far as possible, keep -a watchout, and hope for the best. What else?</p> - -<p class='c016'>At first I thought I could make use of the raft, as -there was much open water, but it required only a -little circumspection to show me that the plan was -impracticable; worse, fatal. I must fight my way -somehow along the coast eastward, replenishing -my larder with game, possibly with fish, not going -farther than the inevitable angle—there must be -such a turning point—where the land contours bent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_378'>378</span>northward. That was a <i>plan</i>, it had a significant -value. Immediately my spirits rose, so quickly -does the mind recover its equipoise in an emergency -when it is set about a rational scheme of action. It -was really difficult for me to desert the raft. In -that long drive through the canon of Homeward -Bound, the irrepressible instinct of companionship -had nurtured a curious hallucination of impersonation, -and the bundle of dead logs had assumed an -indefinite but real vitality. Could not I shape or -build from it a serviceable sledge, and still, transformed, -keep it in my service? Then again, could I -spare the time to effect this change? I had only my -hatchet for an implement, and the thongs and -strands, rope and cords that had so stoutly kept it -intact for nails and iron bands.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I abandoned the project, but before I started on -my desperate search, I hacked enough timber from -it to build a fire and cooked or roasted my last meal -over it. It partook to me of the fantastic feeling of -a valedictory.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The shore along which I now made my way was -favorable for a rapid advance. It was a low upland, -mainly detrital in composition with a beach -apron of sand, gravel, and mud flats. It sloped -upward to a semi-piedmont zone of hills, beyond -which towered the monarchs of the Rim. The view -landward was inspiritingly beautiful, and when the -fogs that rolled inward from the vast ice-flecked -and iceberg-studded sea, were absent the picture -was entrancing. Rich verdure covered the upland, -inundating, like a green flood, the opening valleys, -slopes and sheltered ingles, and bearing on its -bosom the Arctic yellow poppy and even the golden -stars of the dandelion. Surely in this land I might -expect to find game.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Nor was I to look long. I could just see, far off -against a protruding dazzling granite mound, a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_379'>379</span>moving spot. It was the <i>Ovibos hopkinsi</i>. I -almost laughed. I recurred to our first encounter -with this new mountain sheep, when Hopkins and -I first saw it, in an almost identical environment, -when we landed at Krocker Land. I watched it -with the eye of a voluptuary. Fresh meat would -taste—Ah! my mouth watered—I could not -venture a simile.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I hastened up the beautiful Arctic glen, and the -still unsuspecting animals moved towards me. -Now they saw me, and the bulls ranged themselves -in defence, behind them the still grazing cows, -startled only for a moment into attention. There -was no inclination to escape. Only as I fired and -the foremost bull staggered sideways and then -dropped headlong at my second shot, did the herd -shuffle to one side and then scamper away. Before -I had reached the fallen leader their shaggy heads -had disappeared over a fold of ground that shut in -an adjoining valley.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I cut some steaks and loaded myself with the -juicy red masses of flesh. Although Greely and -Peary had failed to smoke-dry meat, perhaps I -might succeed. I returned to the raft. It had -become a base of operations. Here I cooked my -steak and with the tasteless <i>tortillas</i> they made a -feast. But the momentary thought of jerking the -meat was hopeless. It would take too long and -then it might prove futile. If Coogan was looking -for me, I must be looking for him. One more long -sleep and then I must “be going.” I felt sad, and -the glorious dying day bathing the horizon in carmine -and gold, to be shifted a little further on, with -scarcely a change of color, into sunrise, from its -very exorbitant splendor oppressed me. I slept, -but I tossed with forbidding dreams. I WAS -NOT WELL.</p> - -<p class='c016'>The next day I started down the coast, but I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_380'>380</span>revisited the <i>ovibos</i>, tore more meat from the carcass, -and with my pack, a sleeping bag, the rug, my -gun, and a bundle of splinters of wood I began my -journey. The heaped up bundles on my back bent -me, and I did not expect to make a record in walking. -I was carrying my household on my back. -But the favoring character of the shore cheered me, -and it almost seemed that the peaks, barricades and -buttresses of the mountains receded. I was on an -extensive morainal or alluvial plain, furrowed by -small valleys and inconspicuous ridges, where it -rose to the amphitheatrical wall of the Krocker -Land Rim. <i>If</i> it would last!</p> - -<p class='c016'>The diary of my daily progress for the next few -days need not be rehearsed here. It was satisfactory -on the whole, but the sure signs of scurvy had -begun to show themselves, and some rheumatic -ailment began to make every step I took painful. -I seemed to see the end of it all, and, anticipation -fed disease. My march each day lessened; the -meat had been consumed in a few days, and was -supplemented by ducks, a seal, and another <i>ovibos</i>, -so that for almost ten days I suffered no deprivation -of actual nourishment, but my swelling limbs, the -pasty and aching jaws, the occasional vanishing of -all strength, and temporary collapses gave insistent -warnings that I could not continue. A dull sense -of helplessness supervened, my memory wavered, -delusions visited my brain, and ever and again -the white ice-packed sea seemed a snow covered -tableland on which I might walk safely. -Only some frantic remnant of sanity prevented -this suicidal impulse. I was delirious at times -with pain.</p> - -<p class='c016'>And the end of the propitious coast was in sight. -I must have made, Mr. Link, in those ten days, by -superhuman exertions, some one hundred and fifty -miles, furiously driving on, almost unconscious of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_381'>381</span>my motion. And now a black rampart of bold -hills, stretched out like an arresting arm, crossed -the horizon. Higher and higher rose the forbidding -cliffs, and I saw with despair that they entered the -sea in escarpments, whose vertical and gloomy -walls were beaten by waves, or against which the -churned ice was flung in broken cakes. Beyond the -stern barrier my flagging strength could never take -me. And yet, in my feebleness I hastened to reach -it as an ultimate goal over which, I almost thankfully -noted, so worn was I in spirit, I could not pass. -Temperamental decay was at work in me, and I -became inert. <i>I did not care.</i></p> - -<p class='c016'>At last—oh how heavily dragged my feet, how -wearingly surged the pains! I had come to the dark -shadow of the cliffs. It was a sheer precipice. -My wandering and scarcely seeing eyes dimly noted -its immensity. It crushed the last vestiges of -effort. Its undeniable prohibition smote me as a -physical violence. I fell headlong. Nothing was -with me but my gun. Pack, rug, sleeping bag, all -had been dropped, the first last, for to its unequivocal -testimony (in the gold and in the radium) of all -I had seen, all I had been through, I clung with an -almost demented obstinacy. And now that was -left behind. Some recurrent spasm of vitality -returned; I struggled to my feet, shaking in an -ague, and just able to support myself against a -detached splinter of rock, almost at the foot of the -overhanging bluff, that seemed to my seared sight -to touch the sky.</p> - -<p class='c016'>What was it then that made me seize my gun, -and, steadying myself by some superhuman help—Yes, -Mr. Link, by some help not of this earth—empty -the magazine of cartridges in a crashing -volley against that impenetrable rock? Was it -madness, the last rage of defeated purpose, or was -it inspiration? I do not know, but as the sharp -<span class='pageno' id='Page_382'>382</span>reports multiplied, and to my racked nerves -sounded in terrific <i>crescendos</i> I fell forward. The -sense of hearing was the last to desert me, and -though my eyes had closed, even while the shattering -reverberations from the cliff rang in them, I -HEARD AN ANSWERING SHOT. It was all -I heard. I had swooned.</p> - -<p class='c016'>But, Mr. Link, the ebbing tide of life returned, -slowly indeed at first, so slowly that the friendly -faces around me seemed only indefinite, leering -masks, before which I shuddered. Warmth reasserted -its sway, the warmth of life. I felt fresh, -cleanly nourishment, the <i>elixir of whisky</i> slipping -down my throat, and then a delicious thrill of comfort, -and I became conscious, to find myself eating -and drinking and around me the anxious, staring -faces of Coogan, Isaac Stanwix, Bell Phillips, and -Jack Spent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was for an instant only, the violence of my -return to consciousness weakened me, and I sank -back in their arms, but as I did, the overmastering -care that lay deepest in my heart struggled into -utterance, through all my clouded mind, and I -gasped, pointing to the path over which I had come, -“The pack—the pack.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was not many hours later that I again awoke, -in the luxurious cabin of the “Astrum,” pillowed in -an easy chair, and watching with grateful eyes the -ministering mercies of my friends. Very gradually -my sapped strength and health were renewed, but -indeed it sometimes occurs to me that I shall never -be quite all I once was. The multiplied strains, -repeated, contrasted, with the unapparent but <i>real</i> -nervous shocks of excitement suffered in the ordeals -of entering Krocker Land, and those less obviously -but most certainly disordering experiences in -Radiumopolis, with the whole effect of the -monstrous unreality of it all, have unhinged my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_383'>383</span>system. And then—the agony of my last humiliation -in this city.</p> - -<div id='p3821' class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/p3821.jpg' alt='"the' class='ig001' /> -<div class='ic001'> -<p>ERICKSON’S RESCUE</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class='c016'>The story told by Coogan was a most simple one. -It corroborated my expectations and of course -exactly justified my conduct. The “Astrum” -according to orders left Point Barrow, and steamed -into the ice, which proved to be unusually negotiable, -looking for us. They failed to discover any -signs of us on the ice pack, but in an adventuresome -trip northward, invited to the undertaking by -the open water, they made a landfall, and found -there the “<i>Pluto</i>,” our naphtha launch. It was on -almost exactly the place of our landing from the -storm. They concluded we had skirted the new -land, reconnoitering it edgewise, as it were, or at -any rate their first and prudent course was to do so. -They had managed to creep on safely through broad -leads between the shore ice and the big floes, until -they came to the <i>massif</i>, that, like an out-thrust -arm with clenched fist, cut the land in two. They -had rather gingerly picked their way through the -ice around the frowning headlands when my shots -were heard. The rest is the usual story—the -story I have hinted at—and my pack was safe. <i>It -lay at my feet.</i></p> - -<p class='c016'>Now to tell the truth I was rather reticent with -Coogan and the others as to my own adventure. I -did not wish then to tell them everything or even -much. The whole marvel must be elsewhere and -differently unfolded. It must be given to the -world through science, and the national government -of the United States must be empaneled for -the rescue of my companions. I desired the -audience of a nation, and the ears of the world. -And now—deplorable reversion—I am telling it -to you alone. I hid much or all, admitted that the -new continent was large, that we had entered it, -that the Professor and Hopkins were pursuing investigations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_384'>384</span>there, and that I must return in time -with a larger expedition. They seemed to understand -my reticence—or was it commiseration?—and -good-naturedly left me alone. About two -months later we arrived safely in San Francisco.</p> - -<p class='c016'>(“Mr. Link”—the voice of the speaker perceptibly -lowered, I might say perceptibly trembled—“it has -been a pleasure to rehearse this wonderful experience, -pleasant to recall my two friends still exiled -in that mysterious continent, pleasant to believe -that through the instrumentality of your publication, -they may be extricated from their bewildering -embarrassments, but—it is not pleasant to finish -my story.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Mr. Erickson was silent for a few moments, as if -he half expected me to release him from the implied -obligation of explaining more completely the origins -of the predicament in which we found him. But I -was relentlessly silent, and after a glance at my -imperturbable and fixed gaze, he turned his head -aside and resumed the “last measure of his tale.”)</p> - -<p class='c016'>I was not long in finding my former acquaintance -to whom now instinctively, in my dearth of companionship, -I had recourse for advice, and sensibly -for succor—Carlos Huerta. Nothing could exceed -the boisterous ardor of his welcome. He was overjoyed -and appeared almost rapturous in his demonstrations -of astonishment and delight at seeing me. -Of course I succumbed all too easily to the caresses -of his friendship—and then (the speaker paused -again and a flood of carmine filling his cheeks and -glowing warmly even in his temples, revealed his -confusion), he introduced me to the most beautiful -woman I have ever seen in all my life, Angelica -Sigurda Tabasco, whose intimate, Diaz Ilario -Aguadiente, was a gentleman of marvelous cordiality. -I was literally taken to their hearts. You -see, sir, plainly my state of defencelessness against -<span class='pageno' id='Page_385'>385</span>these scheming reprobates—cunning parasites of -fortune—whose suave geniality disarmed suspicion, -and whose enthusiastic sympathy, not unintelligent -either, warmed my weary heart and opened my lips.</p> - -<p class='c016'>They wormed a good deal out of me, they saw the -gold—<i>not the buckle</i>—the radium, and they actually -listened to the recital of our visit to the Gold -Makers. Then they laid their plans. I was to be -coaxed to New York—how many specious inducements -could be given for me to go there. The season -was not too late for any relief expedition, and at -New York all the avenues of approach to capital -could be reached. I was to give a public lecture, -the best social and scientific auspices would protect -it, and from New York the wave of interest would -radiate to all the capitals of the world. It seemed -so simple, it was so inviting, and then it was urged -with such cordial plausibility and fervor, and all -accompanied by that personal suasion of admiration, -and the artifices of encouragement in surroundings -that were sumptuous and enthralling. -I was completely taken in.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I came on to New York with Huerta, who -lavished every kindness on me, and whose incessant -questioning as to the process of gold transmutation -which I had seen easily assumed the guise of a -natural curiosity. The merest accident prevented -my bringing on to New York the precious pack in -which the gold souvenirs, the <i>gold buckle</i>, and the -radium mineral masses were preserved. The trio—themselves -deceived by their gloating cupidity—had -urged the necessity of protecting this property -by placing it in a safety-deposit vault, and when -the day arrived for Huerta and me to leave San -Francisco, at the last moment, and just as I -expected to call at the safe deposit company to -claim and remove my property, I was seized with a -chill that rapidly increased into a convulsive fit, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_386'>386</span>followed by a temporary coma. I was alone in the -room of my hotel and the seizure was so sudden -that I was unable to summon assistance. When -it had passed, much time had been lost, and -actually fearing to reclaim the pack in my then -physical condition I concluded to leave it, and have -it forwarded later upon a written order.</p> - -<p class='c016'>This was quite feasible, and in some respects, so -I thought at the moment, safer and more preferable, -as I had taken the unusual precaution of enclosing -the pack in a strong metal box.</p> - -<p class='c016'>When on the train I explained to Huerta my -mishap he at first changed his demeanor, frowned -and fidgeted and nettled me by his half suppressed -acerbity. I think then I might have been saved, -had his suspicious temper prolonged itself. But -it was gone almost instantly, and his customary -deceptive solicitude and optimistic confidence -replaced it and my doubts vanished. It was also -supposed by me that Angelica and Diaz would -remain some time longer in San Francisco, and -when I encountered them in east Fifty-eighth Street -I was stupefied, though of course, by that time, I -had no reason to feel any surprise over any development -in my relations with these monsters.</p> - -<p class='c016'>In New York Huerta conducted me to an eastside -boarding house. It is incredible how I permitted -myself to follow him. Even while suspicion and -distrust began to assail me I accompanied him into -a common sort of house, apparently the resort of -men only, and rather hard looking characters at -that, and yet with these pregnant signs of coming -mischief, I kept alongside of this inhuman brute, -sat with him in a duskily lighted room at a shabby -table, served by some slatternly woman waiters, -under surroundings hopelessly sordid and dull. I -was not myself, Mr. Link; the stamina of resistance -was extirpated in me, and I was led like a child. -The <i>denouement</i> followed quickly.</p> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_387'>387</span>That very night or evening I went to my room or -what I supposed was my room, only to discover it -was a small bathroom, provided with a sleeping -cot. I had preceded Huerta, who pointed to the -door. As I opened it my surprise caused me to -retreat, but Huerta pushed me in, and instantly he -was joined by two other men from a room near at -hand, and the door was locked. Of course, as by a -flash of light, an unexpected danger was revealed. -I saw that I was trapped.</p> - -<p class='c016'>There happened to be one chair in the place. -Huerta, whose whole demeanor now altered, -motioned toward it with a scowl and the other men -stepped forward. Each of them carried a short -leaden pipe. Mr. Link, I am not a timid man—what -I have gone through shows that—but I was -intimidated then. I glanced around me; there -was not a window in the room; it was lighted by a -smoking gas jet.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Well,” I said, collecting my thoughts to meet -the situation, “I guess you have me. What is it? -What do you want?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Huerta’s agreeable style was resumed. “Why -just this, Mr. Erickson. You have got a sort of -knowledge which is rather valuable, and we want -to make an agreement with you; you might call it -a sort of combine. You have got hold of some very -interesting information. Let’s pool it and work it -for our common benefit.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“What information,” I asked and leaped to my -feet, infuriated at the smiling, insulting visage that -he wore as an answer to my question.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Oh! Calm yourself. These gentlemen and -myself are not icebergs, but perhaps we can hit as -hard. The thing is simple enough. Sign this -paper.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He held out a folded sheet which I at once recognized -as having been torn from a writing pad in the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_388'>388</span>Pullman in which we had come to New York. It -was an order on the safe deposit company in San -Francisco to forward to him, Carlos Huerta, my -pack, the satchel of gold and radium. Then -followed his address, which was—east Fifty-eighth -Street, the very house in which you found me, -Mr. Link.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I threw the paper in his face. It was <i>maladroit</i>. -His temper—and he had the passion of a fiend—broke -loose and he struck me. I jumped at him, -and hurled the chair straight at his head, but it was -intercepted, and, in a trice, the three rushed at me -and held me, kicking, squirming, and shouting, on -the narrow bed. No help came; I was bound and -was knocked almost senseless.</p> - -<p class='c016'>(It was some time before Erickson could continue; -he was in a pitiful agitation, walking over and -across the room with a most distressful expression -on his face. At length he pulled himself -together and resumed his story.)</p> - -<p class='c016'>Well, they kept me in that room some five days. -I was fed and attended by my captors—I think now -partially drugged by them. But my will remained -stubborn. I had faced death before, I could face -it now, though it seemed more terrifying in this -wretched shape than meeting it undisguised -beneath the open skies. This obstinacy drove -Huerta frantic. I calculated that it would lead to -an outbreak or issue soon. <i>It did.</i></p> - -<p class='c016'>The sixth night the room was entered by the -three men to whom, now weakened, dazed, nervous -with disgust, I could offer no resistance. I was -really sick. They tied my arms and legs and -gagged my mouth, and put me in a sack. It was -then, before they completed their task, that I -managed to secrete a few scribbled words on a slip -of paper, which I had kept by me, and later succeeded -in forcing through an aperture in the bag. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_389'>389</span>This paper your boy Riddles found. I was whisked -off in an automobile, unloaded like a sack of -potatoes at the door of—east Fifty-eighth Street, -and taken to the attic floor where you and the -police found me.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Before you came I was confronted with Angelica -and Diaz, and the proposition was very attractively -made that nothing should be said in any public way -about Krocker Land, but that my gold specimen -should be sold as bullion, and that we four should -form a transmutation plant with the radium that -I had brought back. Accede to this, they explained -(they were somehow convinced that I was -withholding the secret technique I had learned of -the process of transmutation), and combine with -them, and my life and freedom would be assured.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I saw through the ruse, feeble as I had mentally -become. My life, at least its short continuance, -depended upon my resisting their demands. Once -granted, the paper signed, what I knew of the -transmutation revealed—and I now sedulously -encouraged their belief in a more or less recondite -process which demanded physical apparatus and -silver bullion—and my life would be but a flash in -the pan—out—like that. (And Erickson snapped -his fingers.) If I could delay the upshot—inevitable -in any case unless relief came—until some -lucky chance brought me deliverance and I hoped -the paper scribble would—I might yet survive.</p> - -<p class='c016'>Therefore I pleaded, I argued, I promised everything -if they would liberate me, and then upon -their savage refusal, I grew dogged and silent. It -was then or a little afterwards that the conversation -occurred that you and the police overheard -and then, when these ruthless, bloodless imps of -Hell were about to inflict their brutal torture—the -door was burst open, <i>and all was over</i>.</p> - -<hr class='c024' /> - -<p class='c016'><span class='pageno' id='Page_390'>390</span>I recall distinctly the evening on which Mr. -Erickson concluded his stupendous narrative. It -had been agreed that, apart from some brief announcements -before the various proper scientific -bodies of the world, no details should precede the -publication in book form of Erickson’s personal -account and the serial report in the <i>Truth Getter</i>. -All this is now a part of history, and a part which -fairly challenges comparison with those thunderstruck -days when Columbus and Cabot, Vespucius, -Hudson, and Verrazani rolled up the curtain that -hid the western world.</p> - -<p class='c016'>I say I remember the evening. It was a sombre -dying twilight in March. The servant had just lit -the lamp of the library, and a hoarse wind rose -petulantly outside, like the distant drone of a fog -whistle. A vision stood at the door. It was my -daughter, Sibyl. She was resplendent. I noticed -Erickson’s awed rapture. She held an evening -paper in her hand. Her voice was as beautiful as -her person. Its music conveyed this message:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Father, this paper has a telegram from St. -John’s, Newfoundland, saying that Donald -McMillan has reached Krocker Land, and below it -is one from Point Barrow, saying Stefansson has -reached Krocker Land. Isn’t that a surprising -coincidence?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>Erickson sprang toward her, and she handed him -the paper; his face in the red reflection from the -hearth looked sallow. He read the lines.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“My God, it’s true—Then Hopkins and the -Professor are saved.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>“But,” I interjected with proper journalistic -trepidation, “where do we come in, Mr. Erickson?”</p> - -<p class='c016'>He gazed at me as if petrified:</p> - -<p class='c016'>“RUSH THE COPY.”</p> - -<p class='c016'>It was rushed, and before McMillan or Stefansson -were again heard from, Erickson’s story was the -property of the world.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_391'>391</span> - <h2 class='c012'>EDITORIAL NOTE</h2> -</div> -<p class='c015'>There are many things in the foregoing pages -that perhaps awaken incredulity. There are -some inconsistencies of statement. There seems -to be discoverable a feeble effort at invention. The -reader will almost instantly, upon reading the last -word of it—and surely he can afford to skip none—feel -that perhaps a little enlightened cross examination -would have confused a veracious chronicler. -I am inclined to suppose that almost mechanically -he might murmur to himself, “Those balloons, -<i>dubious</i>—those tubes, <i>impossible</i>—the Crocodilo-Python, -<i>preposterous</i>—the little Hebrews, <i>madness</i>—the -radium chasm, <i>a nightmare</i>—transmutation, -<i>poppy-cock</i>—the Perpetual Nimbus, <i>deliberate lie</i>,” -and so on, until affected by his own overheated -thoughts and a partially justifiable resentment at -having been made the victim of a fabrication, which -has consumed some ten hours of his time, and -would have, assuming its reality, supplied him with -the most perdurable reasons for rejoicing that his -lot was cast at the beginning of this twentieth -century, he indulges in some specific appeals, -<i>more majorum</i>, to the demon of darkness to make -away with its editor.</p> - -<p class='c016'><i>Gentle</i>—pardon the inappropriateness of the -word, but to say <i>Irate</i> might only increase my condemnation—Reader—<i>wait</i>. -<i>We shall all see.</i> Vilhjalmar Stefansson and Donald McMillan are on -the very verge of this new continent.</p> - -<p class='c016'>THEY WILL TELL US.</p> - -<p class='c016'>“Not so fast, Mr. Editor”—It is the voice of the -wife of the Gentle Reader—“Not so fast! What -connection had Spruce Hopkins with either -Angelica or Diaz? You remember the flat silver -medal that Hopkins flung into the air on Krocker -Land Rim, and which was the last token Erickson -received from the Yankee?”</p> - -<p class='c016'><i>Ah—Madame, that is another story.</i></p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c005' /> -</div> -<p class='c016'> </p> -<div class='tnbox'> - - <ul class='ul_1 c005'> - <li>Transcriber’s Notes: - <ul class='ul_2'> - <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. - </li> - <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected. - </li> - <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant - form was found in this book. - </li> - </ul> - </li> - </ul> - -</div> -<p class='c016'> </p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NEW NORTHLAND ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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