We felt our way with utmost caution among the sleeping bodies around us,
examining the ground carefully with each foot before setting it down.
Our progress was naturally slow, but after awhile I saw the dark outline
of the barn looming up through the fog, in the first faint intimation of
approaching dawn.  We were getting along famously, and beginning to
congratulate ourselves upon our success, when Torrence reached for my
hand and then with his mouth against my ear, said:

"Now, be doubly careful; we are about to enter the building.  They are
thick as hail upon the floor!"

We crept slowly forward among legs and arms.  A dozen men were snoring
around us, and one fellow turned over, muttering something in his sleep,
as my boot brushed against his shoulder.  The ladder was gained. We
climbed up the side of the great machine without a sound, and took our
places within, as best we could in the darkness.  Again Torry’s mouth
was at my ear.

"I must wait a minute," he said, "until my eyes become accustomed to the
light.  As soon as I can see the outlines a little better we are off!"

The silence was only broken by the breathing of the sleeping men around
us.  I was in an agony of suspense fearing there would be some hitch at
the last—something wrong about the machine which might prevent its
rising. The time seemed eternal.  But the great open end of the barn was
growing in clearness of outline.  The fog was friendly; but the dawn was
approaching.  Again my brother’s hand was upon my shoulder.

"Now brace yourself!" he said; "we are going!"

The air ship trembled.  It was a sensation never experienced before.
The vibrations seemed to pass through the innermost fibers of my being.
I felt that we were being lifted in the air, and then that we were
slowly floating out at the open end of the barn.

There was a shout and a curse and a call to arms. Noiseless as our
movements had been, the men were aroused, and in an instant a score of
voices were calling and yelling in every direction:

"Stop thief!  Surround the barn!  Where are they?"

A hideous medley of curses, groans, and sounds of fighting rose through
the darkness from every quarter of the field; but the air ship was far
above, and hidden from eight in the dense gloom of the morning fog.

"Let them fight it out among themselves," said Torrence, drawing a long
sigh of relief; "we shall never see them again!"

We rose steadily and slowly for several minutes, Torrence saying it
would be necessary to be well above the houses, as we were going to pass
directly over London and must take no risk of a collision in the
darkness. Presently I could feel that we were sweeping ahead.  The
movement was perfect, and as we sped rapidly forward through the dense
atmosphere, catching an occasional glint of a street lamp below, all
sense of fear departed. The trembling had ceased; and I felt as though
we were floating rapidly away on the breast of a cloud, or upon, the
back of some monstrous bird; only here there was no effort.  It was the
only element comprehended.  I could imagine nothing more sublime, more
exhilarating.  It was the absolutely finished poetry of flight.  Beyond
this, there was a feeling of safety far surpassing that of earthly
locomotion, possibly due to the knowledge that we were lifted clear
above all obstacles; that no uncertain switch, or ill-timed train could
affect us.  On we swept, in an ecstasy of rapture, realizing neither our
speed nor place, engrossed only with the novelty of our situation, and
watching the coming dawn.

Suddenly a great, dazzling object not twenty yards away flashed past us.

"_Great God!_" exclaimed Torrence, rising, "I thought I was too high for
that."

"What was it?" I asked in amazement.

"The cross on top of St. Paul’s!"

We had narrowly missed it, and caught sight of it, just as it reflected
the first rays of the rising sun, in a rift of the fog, and just as I
was congratulating myself upon being above every earthly object.  But it
was a clear miss and no harm done.

Presently the fog cleared and we looked down upon the great city of
London speeding away below.

"And where are we going, old man?" I inquired at last, hardly able to
contain myself with the strange delight of this new sensation of flying.

"To the North Pole!" said Torrence, holding fast to his levers, screws,
and steering apparatus.

                                 *IX.*

With the rising of the sun the fog cleared, and the great city of London
was spread out away beneath us. It was a sight I can never forget, and a
sensation unequalled by any previous experience.  Patches of smoke
blocked out large areas of the metropolis, but there was promise of a
day of rare, Spring-like beauty.  As we floated aloft, above the smoke
and grime, through an atmosphere of translucent purity, we watched with
interest the shifting masses beneath, and drank in with delight the
marvelous scene.  On and on we flew, at one moment unscreened from the
streets and houses of the city, at, the next catching only occasional
glimpses of a tower or steeple piercing an earthward cloud, like the
finger of a submarine monster pointing heavenward. But far to the north
the smoke had vanished, and the green fields of Spring would soon be
under us.  It was a dream of bliss, transcending the power of words to
picture, or the imagination of man to conceive.

"It makes me shudder," said Torrence, "to think of what a narrow escape
we had just now.  A few feet more to the left and we would have banged
into St. Paul’s cross!"

I admitted that it would have been an ugly collision.

"The truth is," he continued, "I miscalculated our height; and in the
fog and darkness, we may have had some other close shaves, for all I
know."

"Hardly," I answered; "the houses in London are not high, as a rule."

"There are the Queen Anne flats at Victoria station," observed Torrence.

"True; but surely we did not go as far to the west as that?"

"Indeed we did.  I ran considerably out of our course intentionally.
You see I wanted to take in London by daylight; and wouldn’t have missed
the sight for a barrel of money.  I ran slow, as well as indirectly, or
we would have been well out of Middlesex by now.  But I really thought
we were higher, and should have consulted the barometer; but in getting
away from those hounds I never thought of it.  But thank God we’re all
right now. How do you like the air ship?"

"It’s the grandest thing on the earth or off of it!" I answered; "but
you haven’t told me why those fellows wanted us; and why we had to sneak
out of the hotel like thieves."

"There’s lots of time for that," he answered; "but let us not miss this
sight while we have it."

And I did not want to miss it myself, but before we had quite passed the
suburbs Torrence explained as follows:

"You remember Hart?" he began.

"Perfectly; you mean Wetherbee’s partner; the fellow we had our first
interview with."

"Yes.  Well, do you know that when the scoundrel discovered that we were
building the machine without his aid, and that we were becoming the talk
of London for our wealth, and manner of living, he was consumed with
envy, and fearing that he had lost a good thing, got out an injunction
against our moving the vessel, on the ground of being Wetherbee’s
partner?  Of course he totally misrepresented the facts, and——"

"Then you did violate the law after all!" I exclaimed, feeling that I
had been deceived.

"Not in the least!" he answered; "the paper was never served; I took
care that it shouldn’t be.  But there were men in waiting at the
entrance to the Mustapha, who confidently expected to catch me as I
passed in or out, and if I had not come by a private entrance and left
as we did, we should be down there now, and perhaps for a year to come,
waiting the settlement of a legal investigation. Now, I knew if I
stopped to explain matters to you, we might not get off.  You would
naturally argue the point, and the precious time be lost.  I was warned
of this pending injunction by one of the gentlemen I introduced you to
in the billiard room, who certainly did me a very decent turn in return
for my favors in the money line. The fellow found it out quite
accidentally, but he didn’t forget me."

I was amazed, and greatly relieved to find so simple an explanation of
what, but a few hours before had a painfully criminal aspect.  If
Torrence could explain the mystery of his sudden wealth as
satisfactorily I should be more than gratified; and this I suggested to
him.

"My dear boy," he answered, "every penny I have spent will be as
satisfactorily accounted for as being my own legitimate money as what I
have just told you.  I have never committed an illegal or dishonorable
act in its acquirement, and when the time comes to explain, I will do
it; but not yet."

He touched a button on his left, and I was conscious of slightly
increased speed.

The green fields were now beneath us, and the few clouds that hovered
above only kept the sun from being too warm.  The motion of the most
perfect boat, gliding before an imperceptible breeze, would be barbarous
compared with ours.

Our vessel was loaded with every luxury, including such clothing as we
should need in the latitudes we proposed to visit.  And not only were
there suits for cold weather but for warm as well, we having left our
trunks at the Mustapha.  Furs and eider-downs were here galore, beside
every contrivance for Arctic comfort. Beyond these, we had abundance of
fire-arms, and ammunition.  Our sleeping apartments were luxurious.
They were situated forward, with a comfortable bed in each, and
separated by a curtain with rings which slid upon a brass rod, running
parallel with the length.  Our cooking arrangements were astern, and
immediately before them our dining room or saloon—a cosy little
apartment with sliding windows, which could be opened to admit the
purest air in the world.  Indeed the ventilation had been admirably
planned, and nowhere, or in any kind of weather need we suffer from a
fetid atmosphere.  In the center, but below the main deck, was the
motive power, controlled from a small table above, where Torrence
manipulated screws, levers, and springs, utterly beyond my
comprehension.  The machinery was entirely out of the way, and the space
utilized to admirable advantage.  Cushioned seats surrounded the wall of
the saloon, and above was an open deck which ran the entire length of
the boat. This was surrounded by an aluminum rail, filled in with a fine
net of the same material.  It required more nerve than I possessed at
first to mount the ladder and look out over the taffrail, although the
sense of security below was perfect, so that I could inspect the country
from the saloon windows with as much indifference as though I were on
the deck of an ocean steamer.  It was not long, however, before I could
go above and lean over the bulwarks with equal intrepidity.  Through the
hatch the sky was always visible, even in the saloon, which was never
closed except in cold or stormy weather.

In order to make the construction of our air ship perfectly clear, let
the reader imagine a gigantic cartridge or cigar, tapering at each end.
Now flatten the top of your cigar, and put a railing around it and it
would represent our upper deck.  Now, divide your cigar longitudinally
halfway between the upper deck and the bottom, and from end to end; and
you have our main deck; in the center of which is the saloon or dining
room, or general living room, to the rear of which is the kitchen, and
forward, our beds.  Beneath this deck is the machinery, entirely out of
sight, and operated from either the saloon or the upper deck.

Our larder was more than ample; comprising an endless variety of tinned
goods, as well as quantities of such vegetables as would keep in the
open.  We had large supplies of both fresh and salt meats, and all
arranged to handle conveniently.  In short, it was a camping outfit upon
an extended scale, including wines, fruits, medicines and implements
which might become necessary during the voyage.  Having to do our own
work, the equipment had been planned upon the most judicious and labor
saving lines, so that it was astonishing how little effort was required
to prepare a meal; and having no back yard to keep tidy, it was only
necessary to throw the scraps and refuse overboard.

At times when we hovered nearer the surface of the earth it was amusing
to see what excitement we caused the populace.  In passing over a
village the entire population would turn out into the streets, and shout
themselves hoarse before leaving them out of sight, and being unlike the
ordinary balloon, we were naturally looked upon with greater
astonishment.  Torrence having set his controlling apparatus, it no
longer required attention, until some change in speed, elevation, or
direction was desired; so that he was as free to move about the vessel
as I was.  The landscape was passing beneath us, with a steady flowing
motion, giving the impression that a considerable distance would be
covered during the day, although the rate of speed was deceptive.  It
was interesting to trace our course over the charts, with which we were
amply provided.  Maps of each of the counties were spread out upon the
table, and we were singularly well situated to test their accuracy.

I was wondering how fast we were going and inquired.

"About twenty-five miles an hour," said Torrence; "she is capable of
much greater speed; but there’s no hurry, and I don’t want to strain her
on her maiden trip."

"And how high are we?"

"About five hundred feet."

I was reflecting that it was no very great height, or extraordinary
speed, when I heard the sharp swinging sound of a bullet, and looked
down.  I saw a man passing through a field with a gun in his hand and
looking up.  Evidently he had fired at us, not knowing what we were;
possibly with the intention of finding out.

"He’s going to shoot again!" I called to Torrence; but at that minute my
brother pressed a button and we were swung aloft with great velocity, as
if seized by some gigantic hand.

"I shan’t give him a chance," he answered, as we plunged into a cloud,
and then darted forward with increased speed.  Again we were enveloped
in a dense wet blanket, but as there was no fear of a collision, did not
slacken our rate, but swept on like a hurricane unable to see a thing in
any direction beyond the vessel.

"Now," said Torrence, looking at a small instrument on the governing
board, "we are whirling along at the rate of fifty miles an hour.  Risky
business on land in a cloud like this, but here—thank Heaven—there is
nothing on the track!  When we lower ourselves out of the fog, and come
in view of the earth again, our sporting friend will be lost to sight."

In about ten minutes we dropped to our former level, and reduced our
speed.  Of course there was no reason why we should not remain above,
except that it was more interesting to have the earth for a companion.

"Suppose he had hit us?" I observed.

"There’s not one chance in a hundred that he would hurt us if he had.  I
prepared for such enterprising fools by protecting her critical parts
with asbestos and rubber; but it isn’t pleasant to be fired at, and when
one can move out of range so easily it seems the right thing to do."

Later in the day I went above and found it the pleasantest part of the
boat, and was surprised to find how all fear had left me.  I asked
Torrence if he intended to land anywhere in England; to which he gave a
negative answer, saying that it might not be safe, from the danger of
having papers served upon him.

"There is no necessity to halt," he added; "our course is probably
watched, and the news of our landing will be telegraphed to London, and
they might make it difficult for us to get away again.  We are safe out
of their reach now, and it would be better to lot well enough alone.
When I land it will be upon some uninhabited coast where they can’t find
us."

"How long can you keep afloat?" I inquired.

Torrence laughed.

"Forever, if I want to.  There’s no limit to our capacity in that line.
When the chemicals are exhausted, or have formed new combinations, I
have only to supply the proper proportions of air and water, and the
original conditions are restored.  So if for any reason it should prove
inconvenient to land, all we have to do is to drop a line with a bucket
over any river or sea, and pull up a pail of water, run the compressor
into the generator with the chemicals—and presto—all the power is
restored.  It is perpetual motion, with the very minimum of attention.
Rather it is gravitation neutralized; and so simple, it is a marvel men
never thought of it before."

I had made no inquiry about the North Pole, supposing it was only a
jest; not doubting, however, that he really meant to make an extended
trip northward; but now, on alluding to the subject, Torrence declared
that it was his serious intention to penetrate into the mysteries of the
Polar regions, farther than any navigator had ever gone.

"We may find it worth our while," he said, "and there is no reason why
we should not."

I told him that while I felt some doubt about the ice barriers, I was
ready to follow him anywhere; to which he answered with a good deal of
force that so long as the vessel depended only on the atmosphere for her
support, he could see no reason why we could not ride over icebergs,
frozen mountains and continents, to the ends of the earth.  All we had
to do was to keep above all obstructions, and to prevent ourselves from
freezing, against which possibility we were amply provided.  He showed
me how our saloon could be made perfectly snug, and heated to any
temperature desired; and that the motive apparatus was entirely
protected, and could likewise be kept warm.

"Should our upper deck become loaded with snow," he added, "we shall be
obliged to put on our extra feathers and go above to clean it off; not
such a very difficult matter when you consider that we are well provided
with the appliances."

Indeed, it seemed to me that nothing had been overlooked, and as
Torrence had all his life had a hankering for Arctic exploration, I was
not greatly astonished at his decision.  I reflected that the pole could
never be reached except by balloon, and that the difficulty of ordinary
ballooning was the impossibility of advancing against air currents, and
that since our ship had overcome that point, it did really appear as if
we might be in a fair way to accomplish something more than other
explorers.  I became greatly interested, and began to look for marvelous
results.

At noon I went into the galley and prepared dinner, while Torrence kept
watch above on the upper deck, where there was also a duplicate
controlling board.  We had eaten nothing since the previous night; the
excitement of getting off having kept the thought of food from entering
our heads, but now we were hungry.  It was undoubtedly the first time
since the creation that a meal had been cooked and eaten at that
elevation over Northhampton, but it was none the worse for that, and two
hungrier men could not have honored the occasion. From our seats in the
saloon we had a good outlook upon every side.  Forward we looked
directly ahead through the cuddy ports—aft—through our stern lights in
the galley, and upon either side were great sliding windows. The watch
was, of course, only to guard against any unexpected elevation in the
land, such as a hill, otherwise—or even had we been a little higher—we
might have drawn the blinds and run on with impunity.  After dinner we
threw the scraps overboard, and went on deck for a smoke, and watched
the country steadily slipping away beneath us.  We were fanned by a
gentle breeze, which might have been stiffer, but such wind as there
was, was blowing dead aft.

"This," said Torrence, looking about him with pride, "is what I call the
climax of living.  Above your enemies; above your friends; and out of
reach of all the petty annoyances of earth!"

I was as jubilant as he, and found it quite as difficult to conceal my
emotions, which were altogether natural; for has not flight been always
regarded as a prerogative of angels? and has not man aspired to it as
the most perfect form of migration?  The exhilaration was beyond
description; and as we swept on through that long summer day, there was
a sense of power and freedom which no other form of locomotion could
impart.

"I could never be content to live down there again!" I said, flipping
the ashes from my cigar overboard.

"Nor I," said Torrence; "not after this experience. The sky is good
enough for me!"

Toward evening we could hear the tinkling of bells and lowing of herds,
and catch an occasional shout of surprise from a frightened farmer, as
we dipped a little nearer earthward, and then skurried aloft and away,
before he had time to recover his equanimity.  At a small village in the
southern part of Lincolnshire we pounced suddenly upon a traveling
circus, and stampeded the entire crowd, not one of which will ever
forget us. It was the grandest game imaginable; to come swooping down to
within fifty or seventy-five feet of the ground, over an unsuspecting
congregation of countrymen, and then dart onward and upward amid their
shouts of consternation.  However, we did not indulge in this sort of
thing often, not wishing to incur the risk of being fired at.  It
showed, nevertheless, the absolute control we had over the machine, and
was interesting from a scientific, as well as a humorous point of view.

Toward sundown I smelled salt air, and knew we were approaching the sea.
Then we ran into a bank of mist, and the earth was lost to view.  I
asked Torrence where we were heading for, and he said:

"I am going to run around the city of Hull; leaving it a few miles upon
our right, so as not to attract attention, and then cross over to
Norway."

"You surely don’t intend to try the North Sea to-night!" I exclaimed in
surprise.

"Why not?  There is no danger," he answered.

I did not argue the matter, feeling safe in his hands. The fog bank
continued for some minutes, and when we suddenly ran out of it, imagine
my astonishment to find ourselves hovering directly over a large city,
with the sea beyond.

                                  *X.*

Torrence jumped up in consternation, and looking overboard, exclaimed
with an oath that he thought we were at least five miles to the
southwest of that town.

"And what difference does it make?" I inquired.

"Look for yourself!" he cried; "they are expecting us.  I feared our
course would be telegraphed to all sea ports; but they shan’t track me
out of the country," he added, looking aloft significantly, "that is,
not if I can help it."

"I should say we had decidedly the whip handle of them!" I replied.

"So we have.  Of course they can’t stop us, but I think it will be just
as well to give them a false scent for their trouble.  It may be
interesting to use a little strategy with these people, Gurt, although
we are undoubtedly masters of the situation."

Looking down I saw that the streets were crowded with people gazing up
at us; and around the Wilberforce monument, on both sides of the bridge,
it looked as if a mob had gathered to intercept our progress.  In the
open square, probably not less than a hundred soldiers had been
assembled under arms, and had a very threatening aspect.

"Surely they won’t fire on us!" I exclaimed.

"Not a bit of danger, they wouldn’t dare; and if they did, they couldn’t
hurt us.  No, the red coats are only for show; but if they got ugly, we
could clean out the crowd by simply dropping a lot of cartridges
overboard, without taking our guns out of the racks."

He pressed a button, turned a lever, and we slowed down.

"They want to speak to us, and perhaps it will be just as well to give
them a chance."

A man was waving a white flag, evidently intended to attract our
attention.  He appeared to be some high functionary of the town, judging
from his dress and general deportment.  He held a paper in his other
hand, which he indicated was for us.  Torrence waved his handkerchief in
reply, and pulled the air ship down to a dead halt, about two hundred
and fifty feet above the level of the street.

"It may be the injunction!" I suggested.

"Too late for that now," said Torrence; "they can’t enjoin me after I’ve
left.  But I don’t want them to know my course, and shall therefore
humbug them a little."

He looked earnestly above at a great white cloud that had crept up from
the southwest, and which had now nearly covered the sky.  He then took a
pencil, and with a writing pad resting on the rail, wrote:

"If you have any communication to make I will let down a line."

This he threw overboard.  It was picked up immediately, and handed to
the official who was standing quite separate from the others.  Shouts of
"lower your line!" were now heard distinctly, and in another minute we
had dropped a cord overboard, with a screw tied to the end for a weight.
It did not take long to draw up the line again, at the end of which was
an official looking document.  Torrence tore open the envelope hastily,
and began reading.  In a minute he thrust it into his pocket and said:

"Rot!"

"What’s the matter?" I asked him.

"That blackguard, Hart, wants to get me back to London.  Pretends I’ve
committed a crime by moving the air ship without his consent.  Promises
forgiveness—the lunatic—if I’ll return; and—of all the gall in
creation—says he will pay down a handsome sum, as he calls it, for a
half interest in the air ship, if I’ll come back and make it over to
him; and then to cap the climax, has the effrontery to threaten me if I
don’t do it.  The fellow must either be a dolt himself or take me for
one.  But I’ll make it interesting for him, nevertheless!"

"They must take us for a brace of nincompoops," I replied; "but is it in
the form of a summons?"

"Seems to be a kind of _capias_ for my arrest, but how on earth can they
execute their orders while I’m up here?" said Torrence.

"You surely don’t intend to return," I said, looking over his shoulder.

"Of course not; but I’m determined not to be tracked out of the country.
The man has done all he could to thwart me by foul means.  He has tried
to entrap me in a pretended form of law.  He endeavored to prevent my
sailing by procuring an injunction issued upon false representations,
and if he’s fool enough to suppose that I’d return to London—why let him
suppose it, and wait, and sweat!"

He now headed the air ship toward London, and rising, sailed away from
the town.

"Let them think what they please!" he said.  Torrence got up on the top
deck and waved his hat, and then every one shouted.  I think there was
some doubt, however, as to whether we really intended to return, until
they saw us gradually head about, and point our prow toward London; then
there was an unmistakable yell of delight from every throat.

We were soon running against the wind, due south. The cloud bank which
had been steadily pushing up out of the southwest now nearly covered the
sky at an elevation of many thousand feet.  The city of Hull was fading
in the distance.  It would soon be lost to sight.  I looked at the earth
below, and saw that we were steadily ascending upon an inclined plane.

"When we are wrapt in the bosom of the clouds," said Torrence, "I intend
to put about, and run directly over their heads, out of sight, and be
far to seaward before the sun sets."

The clouds were still at a great altitude above us; and to prevent our
real intentions being discovered we made the ascent very gradually,
still steering south, but on an ascending plane, so that upon entering
the cloud bank it would be apparent to all that we were still headed for
London.  The elevation might be easily accounted for on the hypothesis
of air currents, so that no suspicion of insincerity would be aroused on
the part of those watching us.

"Now," said Torrence, "as we are going up to a great height, we might
find it more comfortable to slip on warmer clothing; or at all events to
get out some top coats."

This we did, and then seating ourselves on deck, watched the great
feathery mass into whose bosom we were gradually ascending.  All at once
the earth, the sky, and the greater part of the air ship vanished.  We
had plunged into the cloud, and I could not even see Torry, who was
sitting only a few feet away.  Luckily we had on tarpaulins, or we
should have been wet to the skin.  It was like unaided flight, not even
our support being visible.  Torrence’s voice came out of the invisible,
producing a weird sensation, and I could feel that we were still being
borne rapidly upward.

"Still ascending?" I inquired, feeling as if I were addressing chaos.

"Still ascending!" came the answer.

"How much higher do we go?"

"Clear above this bank.  It will be pleasanter."

The words had a strange unnatural sound, as if coming from under the
water.  My body was the only objective reality in all creation, and even
the more distant parts of that showed a tendency to evade me.  Still
onward and upward, with nothing to prove our motion save the feeling
which the vessel imparted.  Suddenly a flood of sunlight enveloped us,
and we rose like a duck out of the water into another element.  A
milk-white sea was spread beneath; a dazzling sky above.  Again Torrence
was at his screws and levers.  We halted, and trembled for a moment in
midair, preparatory to changing our course; and then, with the rush of a
sudden gale, went swirling ahead in the opposite direction.  A minute
later he looked at the register and said:

"Altitude, eight thousand two hundred.  Speed, a mile a minute.  Course,
northeast by north!"

And now the Hullites could amuse themselves speculating how long it
would take us to reach London, while we swept on to the North Sea.

Our present altitude was unpleasantly cold, and the atmosphere
perceptibly rarefied, but it was not the intention to remain at such an
elevation longer than necessary, and when well beyond the English coast
we would descend to our former level.  It was here that a strange sight
attracted our attention.

As the sun worn down, our milky ocean became transfused with color.  At
first the change was slight, merely a rosy flush caught against the
higher points; but quickly the entire surface was emblazoned; flooded
with a million dyes of liquid fire, of a depth and splendor that was
dazzling.  Such purples, greens, and violets—vivid, intense, pale, and
shadowy.  It was as if we had suddenly discovered the polychromatic sea
of an unknown planet, but a sea whose waters were strangely lacking in
specific gravity and from whose surface a myriad eddies of violet and
other colored smokes arose like incense, curling, twisting, and falling,
and constantly changing tone, shape, and density over the entire mass.

We were bewildered—dazed.  While looking down upon this marvelous
panorama we were suddenly startled by a sight I shall never forget.  Far
down to the east another air ship was following at tremendous speed.
Black and forbidding it plunged along through the fiery waves, as if
bent on running us down.  It was the counterpart of our own vessel.  We
seized each other’s hands in amazement, overcome with horror.  So
brilliant was the scene below that it was an instant before we realized
that the awful object was our own phantom, or shadow, cast upon the
clouds beneath; but during that instant it was a terrifying sight.

When the sun disappeared we were left in the dull gray of twilight, and
as the cold was increasing began at once descending to a lower level.
Again the cloud drift was about us, darker and denser than ever; but we
quickly passed through it, and I was surprised on emerging, to find the
North Sea beneath, and the bluffs of Scarborough fading in the distance.

"There is no danger of our being sighted from land now!" said Torrence,
checking our descent, and fixing the altitude at about five hundred feet
above the sea, He also reduced our speed to its former rate, twenty-five
miles an hour, which he said was fast enough.  The temperature here was
warm and pleasant, with light breeze from the southwest, which, by the
by, we did not catch, as we were moving faster, in the opposite
direction, making our own wind.  The sea was deserted, and the land
barely visible.  It would still be some time before dark, and we took
places on deck to watch out for vessels.  We had purposely taken a
course away from the track of the Wilson steamers, which ply between
Drontheim and Hull; not that it was a matter of any vital importance,
but Torrence wanted to keep our movements from the public if possible.
This was easily done, both by reason of an extended horizon and the
enormous speed we could develop if necessary.

As darkness came on we went below, closing the shutters to all lookouts,
so as not to reveal our position, and then lighted a swinging lamp,
deriving all necessary ventilation from above, whence no light was
visible. Having thus shut ourselves in from the observation of the
world, we set about getting supper.  Nothing could be more cosy;
suspended in midair, and surrounded with every luxury, while partaking
of our evening meal.  The consciousness of absolute independence of the
world; the sense of power, which our command of the situation imparted,
was, to say the least, extremely gratifying.  The feudal lord in his
castle might be harried and captured by an enemy; but our enemies could
be laughed at with impunity.  After supper we amused ourselves with an
experiment at dish washing, which proved very satisfactory. The plates
were simply piled into a net and lowered to the sea by a cord.  After
swishing about for a while, they were drawn up clean.  Of course we
dropped our level to within forty or fifty feet of the water, and
greatly slackened speed during the performance, but it saved a lot of
trouble.  On completing these housekeeping arrangements we climbed up on
deck, for a chat and smoke before retiring.

The night was dark, there being no moon, and the sky overcast, beside
which the air was misty.  We kept our position well above all
mast-heads, should there be any, and took extra precaution to prevent a
certain nimbus-like reflection against the mist by putting out the
lights as soon as supper was over.

Torrence touched his controller, and we rose to our former altitude,
remarking that our course only insured us against collision with
steamers; and that sailing ships were liable to be found wherever there
was water enough to float them.

"And there is no danger of dropping to a lower level unawares?" I asked.

"Such a thing is impossible!" he replied.  "The air ship has just such
an antipathy for earth as her vibrations impart.  It is like the
negative pole of a magnet, and unless my controllers move of their own
accord, which is an impossibility, the vessel must remain upon just such
a plane as I put her."

"How about our being discovered in the morning? Will you run up into the
clouds again?"

"No," he said, "let them discover us.  I was only anxious to delude
those Hullites into the belief that we had really gone back to London.
If we are seen to-morrow, they won’t find it out until the next day, and
they are welcome to all the satisfaction it will give them. One thing is
certain; they will never follow where we are going!"

"No," I replied, "not if we succeed in reaching the Pole!"

"There is no _if_ in this matter," said Torrence, "for straight through
the Arctic regions we go, and without many stations either.  I know the
road.  We ’ve got the machine.  We’re stocked with provisions and
clothing. The great mystery will be solved at last.  By the by, old man,
hadn’t you better keep a record of our trip?"

"Decidedly!" I replied.

From that time, whenever possible, I wrote up the account of this
voyage, beginning with our landing in London; and the present voluminous
paper is the result.

At 11 o’clock Torrence insisted on my going below to bed, while he
continued the watch above.  It was a strange sensation, this crawling
into a bunk to sleep on an air ship, but I was exhausted with the
excitement of the day, and soon fell into a sound slumber, rocked by the
gentle swaying of the car.  Nothing could have been more soothing than
the situation; though why I should have felt no fear of falling was a
mystery, possibly induced by the negation of gravity which pervaded all
my surroundings, and perhaps, to a certain extent, even penetrated my
own body; though this is only a surmise.

If I dreamed, I do not know it, but was awakened while it was still dark
by the sound of music.  Sitting up, I listened in amazement.  Several
instruments were distinctly audible, and these were accompanied by half
a dozen voices.  Probably every one is familiar with the ravishing charm
of music while sleeping, and I awoke enraptured with this unearthly
fascination, believing at first that the sound had only been in my
dreams; but to my amazement it continued.  I recalled immediately where
I was, and my astonishment was only increased on remembering our
singular isolation.  There could be no doubt about it—there were musical
instruments, and there were human voices—but where out of heaven or
earth did they come from.  Slowly I crawled down from my bunk and groped
my way through the dividing curtains to Torrence’s; but he was not
there.  I thought it must be nearly morning but evidently he had not
come to bed.  Had he crossed the North Sea and landed without my
knowledge?  I could not believe it; nor could I think that we had
returned to England.  I pinched myself and bit my finger to make sure
that I was awake, and then slowly felt the way into the saloon, and
having reached the ladder, commenced climbing above, with a horrid dread
of some awful catastrophe having befallen us.  I stepped out upon the
deck and looked around. The dull red glow of Torry’s cigar caught my
eye; for there he was in the gloom, still sitting where I had left him,
his chair against the rail, and his arm hanging over.  Evidently he was
looking at something below, and leaning outward, did not see me.  Here
the music was even clearer than it had been below, and I paused for a
moment in dumb amazement to listen.  The instruments were well played,
and the voices strong and thrilling, with a wild pathos.  I glanced out
over the taffrail. The misty waters were still spread around us, and the
swish of the waves was distinctly heard.  Feeling as though suddenly
bewitched, I groped my way toward Torrence, who at that moment caught
sight of me.  He raised his hand, and said softly:

"Hush!  Do not speak a word!"

I moved cautiously along to his elbow.

"What is it?" I whispered; "where are we, and what does this music
mean?"

Taking me by the arm, he said in a low voice:

"We are floating just above the masthead of a Norwegian bark.  The men
are having a little frolic on board, and are playing and singing!"

He then went on to explain how he had overhauled the bark shortly after
I had gone below, and hearing the music had dropped a little and
slackened speed to enjoy it.

I looked over the rail and a weird sight it was.  Just below, through
the turgid atmosphere, was the huge silhouette of the ship, magnified in
the fog.  A few lights were visible along her deck, and near the center
was a reddish glow through which shadowy figures moved and danced.  No
detail was visible.  Nothing but the shifting shadows and the light, and
the great mass of the vessel. It was like a huge kinetoscope, with the
addition of music.

"The fellows are having a good time!" said Torrence; "sometimes in rifts
of the fog we can see them more distinctly.  Far from home, and with a
good-natured skipper, there is nothing to prevent their enjoying
themselves!"

At one moment the shadows would form a circle, when one would step into
the glowing center and perform some fantastic evolutions to the music.
The whole scene was wild and weird in the extreme.  A pink nebulosity
from out which dark mysterious figures were forever coming and going,
dancing, falling, and jumping.

We lingered quite awhile, looking and listening without their having a
suspicion of our proximity, and then Torrence, with a sudden burst of
enthusiasm over one of the performers, shouted "Hooray," at the top of
his voice.  Instantly the music stopped, and every man, seized with
panic, looked aloft; but we were dark and silent, and gave no token.
Slowly we rose again in the air, and in another minute had left the
Norwegian bark far behind.  It was a queer experience, and I have often
wondered how those people explained the mystery of the heavenward voice.

                                 *XI.*

The morning was radiant; not a cloud in the sky, nor a hatful of wind.
It was Torry’s turn to rest, while I kept watch, and that he needed it
was shown by the fact that he slept until noon.  Meanwhile I got my own
breakfast, and set his aside; and then resumed the lookout above.  From
my lofty perch I caught the occasional glint of a sail, or the dark
trail of smoke from a southerly steamer, but these were quickly dropped
astern, no matter what their course.  Our rate of progress was
uninterrupted, and the fascination of flight grew with familiarity.
When Torrence came on deck he decided to increase our speed, wishing to
make the coast of Norway before night, on account of the intricacy of
the mountain channels to be encountered there.

"Once in sight of land," he said, "we can shape our course and elevation
accordingly."

I agreed with him, and the water was soon rushing beneath us at a
fearful rate.  Both sailing ships and steamers were now passed like
stationary objects, but the wonder with which we inspired the passengers
unfortunately escaped our observation.  The day was warm, and the speed
agreeable, allowing us to remain on deck in comfort.

While racing, we passed a fleet of schooners loaded with lumber.  The
consternation caused on board was made apparent by the blast of half a
dozen trumpets, which reached our ears in a chorus, although we left the
boats so rapidly that the sound was only heard for a minute, and in a
quarter of an hour the fleet was out of sight.

At 4 o’clock we caught the first glimpse of the island peaks, off the
coast of Norway, and knowing that it would not be dark until after ten,
we slackened speed.

Nearing the land the sight was singularly beautiful. The dark blues and
greens against the black rocks of those mountain islands, made an
intensely vivid picture. Between these lofty heights were revealed
far-stretching vistas of bluest sea, bounded again by other islands and
other mountains.

Torrence said he should not venture in any of these channels, but
proposed running entirely outside the cordon of islands, keeping the
coast well in hand upon the right.  Fortunately there would be but two
or three hours of darkness, or it might have been expedient to seek a
higher level to avoid the possibility of accident by collision; as it
was, a sharp lookout would be all that was necessary.

After sailing up the coast for a couple of hours, I went below to
prepare supper, which we decided to eat on deck, so as not to miss the
magnificent scenery.  This we did, and later I was instructed in the art
of aerial navigation, and after changing our course a few points to
seaward for safety, Torrence went below to sleep, leaving me in charge.
During this watch our speed was materially lowered, as we did not deem
it wise to run rapidly along this dangerous coast, while I was alone on
deck.

The feeling of power as I sat there with absolute control of the vessel
was exhilarating.  I had never had such a sensation before.  Like a
visitor from another planet I floated on above the sea, inspecting the
most exquisitely weird and beautiful scenery, made doubly entrancing by
the lingering twilight, which seemed as if it would never fade away.
The intensity of the coloring, the purity of the atmosphere, and the
marvelous shapes of these mountain islands, made impressions not easily
obliterated.  There was an endless variety of fiords and water vistas
opening between them, and each vista and each island showed something
new.

Torrence slept soundly until 10:30 o’clock when, as the twilight had
deepened into gloom, I thought it best to call him, and went below to
sleep myself.  The night was quickly passed, as there was little of it,
and in the watches we rounded the headlands of the Sogne, the Geiranger,
and the Romsdal fiords, and then steering a little more to the east with
the trend of the coast, made for the great bay of Trondhjem, which we
reached about the middle of the afternoon.  Skirting the opening of the
fiord, Torrence asked if I thought it worth while to pay a visit to this
historic city of the Norwegians—Trondhjem being one of their most
important and beautiful towns.  If we concluded to go, he said it would
be best, in order not to attract attention, to land upon one of the
lonely island hilltops near the town, and thence make our way by foot
and boat.  We talked the matter over, but finally decided to let all
towns alone, it being possible that the authorities held orders for our
detention, as they had in Hull.

"We are quite safe where we are," said Torrence, "and when we stop, let
it be away from people."

Having decided to stick to the air ship, we went directly on past the
mouth of the bay without entering it.  The town itself is a number of
miles further up the fiord.

We now headed straight for the North Cape, which we reached in about
five days from London.  We passed the Lofoten isles, the Vest fiord,
Tromsoe, Hammerfest, and other points of beauty and interest along this
marvelous coast, without stopping at any of them, and landed upon the
northernmost point of Europe without accident.  On this desolate
headland we decided to make our first landing, to overhaul the
machinery, stretch our legs, and have a general pow-wow on Mother Earth
before proceeding further.

An elevated plain, lopped off at one end by a wall of granite, hundreds
of feet high, and overlooking the sea, stood ready to receive us.  No
human habitation is visible, but thousands of pigeons living in the
crannies of the cliff were frightened at our approach, and flew about
wildly in all directions.  Above this plain we halted, and then slowly
began our descent.

At the water level on the east is a steamboat landing, where the Olaff
Kyrre stops once or twice during the summer for the benefit of tourists
who find their way to the top by a winding path cut in the face of the
wall. Thence to the northern cliff is a level walk of over a mile across
this plain, along which a wire is stretched to guide those who happen to
be caught in a fog, which at times is very dense and sudden.

This plain afforded the isolation we sought, and with a slow and steady
movement we descended upon it.  We touched the ground so lightly that I
was not aware of our landing until Torrence threw out the ladder and
stepped over.  I followed immediately, and then we sent up a shout of
triumph for the success that had so far attended our journey.  We walked
around the air ship, admiring her from every point of view, and then
went away to see how she looked at a distance.  She was perfect!  The
grandest thing ever constructed; the most powerful engine for the
advance of man’s material welfare ever executed.  Torrence made a
careful examination of her working parts.  Not a screw or bearing was
out of place; and not withstanding the way we had speeded her on
occasions, she was none the worse for it.  She was carefully oiled, and
where necessary lubricated with graphite, and we had the satisfaction of
knowing that she was in quite as good condition as on leaving London.

"I am willing to trust my life in her across the frozen sea!" said
Torrence, observing her with intense admiration.

"Now is the time to decide if you’re not," I answered; "though for my
part I believe she is safer than dry land!"

"That is exactly my idea," said he, "although, if you should feel
inclined to change your mind, there is another chance at Spitzbergen,
where we shall stop again before the final leap."

"I have not the slightest intention of doing so, old boy, in fact I am
quite as anxious to get to the pole as you are; and strange as it may
seem I feel safer in the air ship than standing here."

We were unanimous in our determination to go to the pole, and I will
guarantee that no expedition ever started for there with so good a
prospect of reaching it, or with greater comforts than we had.

We cooked our supper near the edge of the cliff overlooking the Arctic
Ocean, and we both felt that it was a solemn occasion, for we should
soon be placing an impassable gulf between ourselves and the land of
human habitations, and entering the great solitudes of the unexplored
North.

As there was no wood for fuel, we used an armful of our own kindling,
which we had brought for just such occasions, and while drinking hot
coffee we discussed the past, and the prospect of the future.

"I am absolutely certain of success," said Torrence; "nothing but an air
ship can reach the pole, and an air ship has never yet tried to get
there.  What’s the use of an old water-tank endeavoring to screw her way
through a continent of ice.  She might as well run her nose against
Gibraltar, in the hope of coming out on the other side.  The mystery to
me is why no one has ever tried this before."

"You’re not there yet, old man," I answered; "don’t crow before you’re
out of the woods."

"Ah!" said Torrence, smiling, "I believe the worst wood we had to get
out of was London; and having shot the rapids at Gravesend, I think we
can go the rest of the way."

I was quite as enthusiastic as he, but being without his knowledge, had
not the same convictions.

"And so Spitzbergen will be our next stopping place?" I observed,
between mouthfuls of coffee.

"Yes, when we shoot off this cliff to the northward we’ll set neither
eye nor foot on land for five hundred miles.  So make the most of this
boggy sward while we have it.  Five hundred miles to the north of this
is pretty far north—and then——"

"And then our real journey begins," I interrupted.

"You may say so," he answered, broiling a piece of bacon with a fork
over the coals.  "Certainly the most interesting part begins after
leaving Spitzbergen.  I flatter myself that the entire voyage from that
point will be one of unusual interest."

I had every confidence in our ability to reach the pole, for without the
difficulty of ice to encounter, I could see no good reason why we should
not.  Moreover, the season of the year would insure pleasant weather in
high latitudes; there would probably be no detention, as in other
expeditions, and it seemed a reasonable presumption that we should reach
90° north, while the summer was yet at its height.

Presently a dense fog came rolling in from the sea, and in a few minutes
the air ship was lost to view, although not more than forty or fifty
yards from where we were sitting.  We continued eating our lunch like a
couple of specters on each side of the fire, until, finding that we were
getting wet, I got up to go after some oilskins.  I thought I knew
exactly where the machine was, believing that I had sat down with my
back toward it, and at best did not suppose it possible to lose so large
an object so close at band.  I walked until quite sure that I had
covered the distance separating me from it, and then continued to walk
on farther.  Suddenly I stopped, convinced that I had mistaken the
direction.  I started upon another course, and after another
unsuccessful tramp stopped again.  Then I called for Torrence, and told
him that I was lost.  His voice sounded much farther than I thought it
should, and I tried to get back to him by following it.  Presently he
called out imperatively:

"Stop! don’t try to find me.  Stand perfectly still until it clears!"

"Why not? if you’ll keep on talking I’m sure to find you."

Then he shouted vehemently.

"Stop! for God’s sake, stop!  You’re risking your life with every step.
Have you forgotten that we’re on the edge of a precipice?"

I had not forgotten it, but his words startled me into realizing the
danger of my position, and I stood perfectly still.  Strangely enough I
had not thought of the possibility of tumbling over the cliff, believing
all the while that I was walking in the opposite direction; but now the
murmur of the sea on the rocks below convinced me that I was nearer than
I had supposed.

"If you move at all," shouted Torrence, "go only one step at a time.  I
mean, look carefully at each step before you take it."

I could not imagine how I had come so far, for his voice sounded
strangely distant.

"Have you moved from where I left you?" I called.

"No," was the answer, "and don’t intend to."

"That’s right.  I think I can find you if you keep talking."

"All right; go ahead; but watch the ground carefully at every step!"

The truth is I could not see much above a yard at a time, and a misstep
would have been fatal.  Torrence continued to talk, and I slowly
advanced in the direction from which his voice seemed to come.  Suddenly
my way was blocked by a solid wall and in another instant I saw that it
was the air ship.  I now perceived why the voice had been so faint, for
I had wandered clear around the machine, which had intercepted it.

Feeling my way carefully to the ladder I called out that all was well.

"No matter about the skins," came the answer, "let us get off as soon as
possible.  Go into the saloon and fetch a ball of twine from the locker;
tie one end to the step, then make your way slowly!"

I found the twine; groped forward with the ball in my hand, and reached
camp without accident.  Then we commenced carrying our cook tools back
to the boat.

"There is no place like home!" yelled Torrence, returning with the last
load.  In another minute he had climbed over the side, and drawing a
breath of relief, added:

"It is fortunate we travel by air instead of land or water, because we
shan’t have to wait for the fog!"

A few minutes more and the ladder was hauled in, the gangway closed, the
hatch to the upper deck shut down, and we were comfortably established
in our cosy cabin. Then Torrence going to his controlling board, pressed
a button, moved a lever, turned a screw, and we were swung gently up,
and resumed our journey north, 11° west, headed for Spitzbergen, which
Torrence said we should reach within twenty-four hours.

I don’t know why it was always such an indescribable pleasure to feel
clear of earth; and yet this was the fact. The first sensation of being
above the ground was a thrill of inexplicable delight.  It seemed as if
we were lifted into a higher plane of being, morally as well as bodily,
involving a certain arrogant sympathy for those left behind.  The poor
creatures knew so little about life, and it even amazed me to think that
I had been one of them for so many years without realizing the depravity
of my state.  Life without an air ship was not worth the living; but
with it, I could answer Mr. Mallock’s question without thought or
hesitation.

When the fog cleared we were many miles to seaward, and the rock-bound
coast of Europe showed only as a dark line against the horizon.
Torrence said there was nothing to prevent our going into the cuddy for
a sleep, which we needed, that in our present position there was no
danger; that collision was impossible, and falling equally so.  That the
air ship was headed for Spitzbergen, and could take care of herself—in
short, that we should be just as safe as if sleeping in the Mustapha.  I
suggested the possibility of icebergs but he explained that we were
above the altitude of the highest ever known in this quarter, and that,
moreover, it was improbable that any would be passed at this season and
this locality.  And so, taking his word for it, we both turned in and
slept ten hours without waking.  At the end of that time we felt like
new men, and climbed up on deck to look out.

A dull gray sea, bounded only by the sky-line, was rushing away beneath,
and so far as I could tell, our speed and elevation had remained
unchanged.  Despite my brother’s assurance, I could not help feeling
that we had taken an awful risk about the icebergs; but when he told me
that the ice masses formed off Spitzbergen were greatly inferior in size
to those coming down from Greenland, I was better satisfied.  Indeed, it
was very rare, he said, that an iceberg in this part of the ocean was
more than one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height; they were
differently shaped, being flat on top, and covering considerable area,
but never high; while our own altitude was more than a thousand feet.
Torrence had made quite a study of the polar regions, and I had great
confidence in his judgment.

On we sped—I cannot say during the day, for there was no night, although
we kept a record of the time, and at regular intervals darkened our
sleeping apartments to delude ourselves into the belief that it was
night above. While on watch we sunk to a lower level, as being warmer,
although it was getting to be the time of year when the mercury seldom
falls below freezing even in this latitude.  Occasional masses of ice
were now passed, though none of any considerable size, and I can
truthfully say that, except when above the clouds, we had not, so far,
suffered from cold.

About thirty hours after leaving the North Cape of Norway the irregular,
saw-shaped outline of Spitzbergen peeped above the horizon.  Our passage
had been uneventful, and as we neared the barren shores of the west
island, there was nothing to invite us to linger.  We decided, however,
to land for a short time before pursuing our journey northward.

Proceeding with care we entered the channel to the east of Prince
Charles Foreland, known as Foreland Bay. Moving up this passage to its
upper terminal, and then crossing King’s Bay, we effected a landing
opposite Cape Mitra, on the eastern shore of Cross Bay.  The whole
country was desolate beyond description, and we only halted for another
examination of our vessel before plunging into the great unknown beyond.

We touched earth on a shelly beach, and congratulated ourselves on
having reached this high latitude in safety.

Drift wood abounded, and we soon had a roaring fire, with the prospect
of a good meal ahead.  We took care this time to guard against fog by
carrying a line from the air ship to our encampment.

Torrence wanted to shoot a reindeer, an ice fox, or a polar bear before
leaving, although neither of us cared to make a sporting tour for fear
of getting lost; moreover, the time was valuable.  There were no
indications of life from our point of landing, although we knew the
islands abounded in Arctic game, and that the animals mentioned were
plentiful.  Torrence seemed particularly anxious to run across a herd of
deer, and when I suggested that a white bear would be a finer sight, he
shrugged his shoulders and said:

"Perhaps; but I have special reasons for wanting a deer, which I will
explain later; meanwhile let us get dinner."

And so we set to work upon the best our larder afforded, feeling that it
would probably be our last meal on land for a very indefinite time.
Indeed when I thought of the future and the unexplored regions ahead,
and the mysteries of the unknown awaiting us, I confess to some nervous
apprehension.

The realm we were about to penetrate had been from all time screened
from the eyes of man; was it not sacrilege to force the hand of
Providence and expose it now?

                                 *XII.*

We were in the midst of dinner when down the beach came a great, white,
swaggering bear, sniffing the air from side to side, for the fumes of
bacon, sausage, and fried potatoes which happened just then to be in the
pan. The suddenness of the apparition froze every drop of sporting blood
in my veins; but this perhaps, is not so much to be marveled at, when it
is remembered that we had left our arms and ammunition in the air ship,
full fifty yards away, though fortunately in the other direction.
Dropping the remains of dinner on the ground, we ran with one accord and
mortifying speed to the big machine, tumbled in over the side, and
hauled up the ladder with a dexterity never before equalled.  Here we
armed ourselves with a couple of Winchester rifles, and then crawled up
on deck to watch the enemy.  It was a painful sight to see our excellent
repast scattered right and left, nosed, pawed, and devoured before our
very eyes; but it was satisfactory to observe that the beast burned his
mouth and paws in his greediness.  When he got through licking his chops
and sucking his fingers he had time to look around, and catching sight
of the air ship, was surprised.  Evidently he was familiar with that
part of the coast and had never seen such a thing before. We decided to
wait until curiosity had brought him nearer, which it was not long in
doing.  Still sniffing, now probably for danger, the monster slowly
approached, and when two-thirds of the distance had been covered, he
stopped suddenly, overcome with astonishment.  It was our time to fire,
and crack went the rifles, almost at the same instant.  It had been
previously agreed that I was to aim for the head, while Torrence was to
shoot immediately behind the shoulder.  The animal started up with a
snort, surprised and wounded.  He showed his teeth and snapped as he
caught sight of us, and then turned and began licking his wound.  I was
surprised that he had not keeled over stone dead, for as the blood
trickled down over his long, dirty, white hair it looked to me as if it
issued from a vital point, but it was difficult to tell.  Presently the
sound of our voices renewed his anger, and he came at us, on a gallop.
We waited until he touched the vessel, when, just as we were about to
fire again, the bear raised himself upon his hind legs as if trying to
get a foothold to board us, and rolled over dead without a struggle.  We
discharged our rifles into the animal’s skull as he lay there, and then
after a few minutes went to work upon him.  It was a great find, as he
was large and fat.  We soon had him bled, and cut up into convenient
sizes.  We left the skin for other explorers, not caring to bother with
it, but the principal part of the meat was carefully stowed on board.
After this adventure we went back and finished our dinner, or rather we
cooked another; this time being careful to carry the rifles with us.

As we sat smoking our pipes around the camp fire, after finishing our
repast, I asked Torrence why he had been so anxious to kill a reindeer.

"For marks!" he said, blowing a volume of smoke into the air.

"Marks!" I exclaimed in astonishment; "what marks? What are you talking
about?"

"Ear marks," he answered, still puffing away at his pipe.

"And why are the ear marks of a Spitzbergen reindeer especially
interesting?" I inquired.

Torrence looked at me thoughtfully as he answered:

"Because they have been made by the hand of man!"

"And why shouldn’t they be?"

"For a very simple reason.  Because man does not inhabit these islands!"

"Then how is your theory supported?"

"By an enormous array of accumulated evidence that there are vast
continents to the north of us, which are inhabited both by man,
reindeer, and other animals!"

"You mean _continent_, not _continents_," I suggested.

"On the contrary; I believe there are continents fully equaling in size
Europe, Asia, Africa and the two Americas!"

Had the fellow lost his mind?  I looked carefully to see if he were
serious, and observing no indications of a joke, answered:

"Your theory might be all right if there was room enough around the pole
for all the land you speak of; but as there isn’t, I am afraid you’ll
have to be contented with one very moderate-sized continent, which I
will admit it is barely possible may exist.  As for its being inhabited,
I don’t believe it."

"It’s a pity, Gurthrie, for you’ll have to believe a great deal more
than that before you get through with this journey.  But speaking of the
reindeer, do you know that immense herds of them roam over these
islands; and that the enormous numbers which have been killed in former
years—amounting to several thousand sometimes, in a single season—tends
to support the theory that they have migrated from another land?  But
that is not all; for these creatures carry with them stronger evidences
of a habitable region to the north—for they cannot have migrated from
the south."

"And what is that evidence?" I asked.

"The ear marks we were speaking of," continued Torrence, "thousands of
these reindeer are marked; that is, they have their ears cut in a way to
indicate that it was done by the hand of man.  It is the opinion of many
hunters in this region that these animals have emigrated from an unknown
country to the north; and that is my belief also!"

"But you spoke of _continents_!" I urged.

"And I still speak of continents.  But wait; I do not wish to startle
you, or shake your faith in my sanity. What I know, I know; and what I
know, you shall soon see for yourself.  But mind, we are going into a
warmer climate, and we shall find all that I have intimated.  But a
little at a time; do not strain your mind with thoughts you have never
yet learned to assimilate."

I admitted that if it were a fact about the ear marks it was certainly a
curious one; whereupon Torrence declared that it was only one out of
many reasons for the theory, which he would explain later.  Altogether
there was a conviction in his manner which was very impressive. I
listened to him talk for more than an hour, and must confess that he
produced an array of alleged facts that were startling.  He ended by
declaring that our discoveries would vastly exceed those of Columbus in
their magnitude, and that we should go down to history as the greatest
of all explorers!

When Torrence stopped talking, our pipes had gone out, and the fire was
reduced to a few glowing coals. We got up to make preparations for a
final departure into the great unknown, and I confess, with a good deal
more awe than I had previously thought possible.  If Torrence was
oppressed by the contemplation of what we were about to undertake, he
only showed it by a more earnest and serious demeanor than he had yet
exhibited.  For my part, I dreaded to leave the island, overcome with
the thought of what might be awaiting us.  Beyond this, I was seriously
puzzled by my brother’s remark about continents, and their size, but
could not bring myself to insist on an explanation, which he seemed, for
the present, disinclined to give.  We had started together, and we must
pull together for the rest of the journey, come what might.

We now made a thorough and exhaustive examination of the machine, and
were gratified to find that everything was still in perfect order, as we
did not wish to land upon an unknown continent without the means of
returning. The vessel had been so thoroughly built, regardless of cost,
that she seemed as staunch as when she first came out of the hands of
the contractors at London.  We took aboard several casks of fresh water
for drinking, besides our bear meat; put everything to rights, and then
shutting ourselves inside, concluded to take a long sleep before
resuming our journey northward.  Nothing disturbed us; not even a polar
bear discovered our position, and when we arose at the end of twenty
hours’ rest, we partook of another hearty meal, and were ready to move.

Taking our places on deck, Torrence touched the controllers, and in a
minute we were suspended a couple of hundred feet above the beach.  Then
slowly we commenced navigating the tortuous coast, first bearing
eastwardly across the bay, and then following up the shore line as far
as the Norwegian isles, a reef of rocky keys off the northwest coast.
Here we took careful bearings; made allowances for the rather singular
behavior of the compass, and then heading the ship due north, bore away
upon our course.

I felt as if I were about to sail over the face of an unknown planet,
and in a great measure, it was just this that we were destined to
accomplish.  I was fully alive to the terrors of that mysterious,
strangely isolated quarter of our globe, where it seemed as if the
Almighty had set his ban against man’s advance, by encircling it with an
impenetrable barrier, to cross which, every effort, of which history
holds any record, was fruitless.

When the granite cliffs of Spitzbergen were fading from our view,
Torrence turned to me, and said with emphasis:

"Mark my word!  We are going to find a better climate ahead than we have
left behind.  We are going to find land, and a race of men who are
unknown to the world.  We are going to find many other things; but put
that much down as a record if you will;" and so I have entered it.

We were alone, and with a loneliness never felt before. The last
saw-like edge of Spitzbergen had sunk below the water line to the south.
Yes, even that terribly Northern foothold must now be looked upon as a
southern home, when compared with our present resting place. Should we
ever look forward to reaching it, as a tropical paradise—the bourne of
all our hopes and expectations? For Spitzbergen had known men; it was a
part of our own world, and as I watched it fade and sink away it seemed
close to all I had ever known and loved in my dear old earth, where
nothing could ever be so solemnly, so awfully foreign as where we were,
and where we were going.

Suddenly it became cold, and looking down we saw that the ocean had
grown strangely quiet, the sparkle and motion of the waves having left
it.  Descending to a lower level we saw that we were passing over a
field of pack ice, solid and impenetrable; and we slackened speed, and
sunk still lower to examine it.

As we slipped along close above its hummocky surface, at the rate of ten
or twelve miles an hour, we could appreciate some of the difficulties
with which Arctic explorers have had to contend.  What a herculean task
to forge ahead through such an obstacle, whether with ship or sled!  And
yet with what absolute ease we seemed about to solve the puzzle of the
ages.  However, we were still a long way from the pole, and there was no
telling what might happen before reaching it.  At times I would be
seized with a superstitious dread of some awful impending calamity, or
of some horrible condition of the earth’s surface or atmosphere, which
would make it impossible for man to live where we were going.  But
Torrence was firm and resolute, and if such thoughts ever troubled him,
he did not speak of them.  I could scarcely believe that we should
continue to the end as easily as we had begun, and advance without
hindrance into the forbidden mysteries beyond.

It grew colder, although I can truly say, so well were we provided
against the weather, that neither of us had suffered, and we continued
to sit on deck in our top coats without inconvenience.  Torrence made
half a turn in the screw controlling our elevation, and we rose slightly
higher, as there were dangerous looking inequalities in the ice ahead.
We also moderately increased our speed, keeping, however, low enough,
and running with just such headway as would enable us to see to the best
advantage the formations below and around us.

Presently it began to snow, and the ice field became covered with a
tattered sheet, the uneven protuberances sticking through in dirty
patches.  But it was only a summer shower, which we ran out of in a
dozen or twenty miles, leaving the sea of frozen waves and hummocks bare
again.  Then we came to floes, or extended areas of ice that had not
packed, wind-driven into the solid masses behind, but were still
shifting about with the current, undecided as to their future course.
The crunching and roaring of these masses was horrible.  Detached areas,
miles in extent, would rush at each other with Titanic power, and
meeting, rend the air with deafening crashes like the wrecking of a
thousand trains.

Next came the piling up into strange, fantastic shapes. Pyramids,
towers, and grim fortifications would threaten each other for a minute,
and then slowly advancing, meet with a report like thunder, splitting
the air from earth to heaven, and melt into each other, to be again
squeezed and piled into new designs.  It was an awful, yet fascinating
sight.  But the worst had not come.  Onward we swept over this crunching
and grinding world, roaring in agony to free itself from the embrace of
the demon Cold, which was slowly but surely stiffening it into immovable
forms.  And as we advanced, the thundering of the under world grew less,
for there was no more movement.  The forts, the towers, and the pyramids
had become fixed and silent, and a city of weird architecture followed.
A city of frozen monuments, deserted streets, of isolated villas,
cathedrals, parks, and gardens, lakes of dazzling whiteness, turreted
battlements with mounted guns commanding open spaces, and distant rivers
threading the land beyond.  But a deathlike silence reigned. It was a
marvelous change, but a greater still was coming.  Looking far to the
north we observed that these singular ice forms were growing in size and
splendor, so that it seemed advisable to rise a little higher to avoid a
collision.  But they grew.  The forts became lofty houses; the houses
cathedrals, and the cathedrals great ragged mountains of ice, with
pinnacles reaching skyward.

"This," said Torrence, turning toward me with great solemnity, "is the
Palæocrystic Sea—the sea of ancient ice—the sea which man has never
crossed.  We have passed the limits of the known; beyond lies the
mystery of the undiscovered world.  A world which you will soon admit is
greater, and of far more importance than our own!"

Although I could not gather his meaning, there was an import in his
words that appalled me.

And now the scene grew more terrible with each mile of advance.  Ages of
freezing and thawing, accumulations of snow and ice, had produced a
spectacle more awful than words can picture.  A sea of mountains and
valleys; of cañons black in eternal night.  A sea of silence.  A sea of
death.

But I will not dwell upon the horrors that separate the known from the
unknown.  The Palæocrystic is simply an unexplored belt of ice
surrounding the poles.  Indeed it is not known to be unbroken, or to be
of equal severity throughout.  It might be termed a ribbon of ice
mountains, which has been ages in forming, and which probably will not
average more than fifty miles in breadth, and at some points, doubtless
much narrower.  Beyond it we came upon free ice again, and further
reached the open polar sea.

Here was a marked change in the temperature, and as the air currents
were from the north, the frozen area had little effect.  Our thermometer
showed a few degrees above freezing, and a tendency to rise still
higher.

We now felt that we were fairly launched into an unknown world.  A
placid ocean stretched beneath to an unexplored horizon.

"Now!" exclaimed Torrence with enthusiasm; "if there are any discoveries
to be made, we ought soon to make them."

Taking out a pair of field glasses we searched the skyline from the
upper deck.

"No land in sight!" said Torrence; "but if I am not mistaken, yonder is
a flock of wild geese, leading our course, and not more than half a mile
ahead.

"They might be petrels!" I suggested.

"Whatever they are, I propose to give them a chase. A bird or two for
dinner wouldn’t be a bad idea!"

Although I had never hunted wild geese in an air ship, I agreed that it
ought to be good sport.

                                *XIII.*

Steering directly after the geese on an ascending plane, we put on a
tremendous spurt and soon had the whole gang squawking and floundering
before us.  There were hundreds, and when pressed, set the pace at a
rate that made the air whizz by like a hurricane.  It was intensely
exciting.  But the air ship was too swift to afford the slightest chance
of their escape.  In a few minutes we had overtaken them, broken their
columns, and flown directly into the flock.  Our shotguns were ready,
but, strange as it may seem, we did not use them, because more than a
dozen of the birds fell dead upon our deck from sheer fright, and we let
the others escape.  It was a strange experience; a method of hunting
probably never indulged in before; and it was not at all surprising that
the birds should have been frightened to death. The geese proved to be
fat and a great delicacy.

We then dropped to our former level and speed, and resumed the lookout
for land.  Ice floes were still occasionally met, though steadily
diminishing in size and apparent solidity.  A few hours later we passed
the last of them, and then met only an occasional chunk, or hummock,
which seemed to be floating northward.  We determined the direction by
descending close to the surface of the water, and making a careful
examination.  There could be no doubt about it; the currents which
carried these ice masses were trending northward.  It seemed to imply
some mystery, as yet unconsidered, although Torrence thought it possible
that they might be vortex in character, returning again to their
starting point.

At the usual hour we went below to partake of our midday meal, having
first reduced our speed to a rate not exceeding ten miles an hour, not
wishing to run upon anything startling during the stay below.  It was
fortunate we had done so, for upon coming on deck again, we saw a small
blue line to starboard, apparently not more than a dozen or fifteen
miles away.

"Land!"  We both shouted in a breath.

Immediately we changed our course in the direction of this island, as it
appeared; and while drifting toward it, considered whether we should
call it Attlebridge Land or Torrence Island.  Suddenly Torrence,
clapping his hand to his head, exclaimed:

"If it’s what I now believe it to be, we have not the right to name it!"

"And what do you believe it to be?" I asked.

"An island," said he.

"And why have we not the right to name it?"

"Because I believe it has been already discovered. Because I believe it
is inhabited!"

"Inhabited!" I shouted; "and by whom?"

"By a man."

"By a man, or by men?  Which did you say?"

"I said by a man—by one man—I believe that island has a _single
inhabitant_, but we shall see!"

Again I looked at my brother with curiosity, half-wondering if he were
demented.

"I understood you to say that the Palæocrystic Sea was the dividing line
between the known and the unknown world.

"And you understood me correctly," he replied,

"There is but one man in the world who knows anything about this island;
in fact he is the only man living who has a right to name it."

"I should imagine that the inhabitant you speak of would have an equal
right," I observed.

"That is just where you make your mistake," said Torrence with a knowing
look.  "Were he an ordinary man he might have; but under the
circumstances—hardly!"

"And what are the circumstances?  Why should he not name it?" I
insisted.

"Because he is an idiot!" said Torrence.

I started.

"And how do you know that?"

"If I am wrong we shall soon find out.  If I am right we shall equally
soon know it!"

He was searching the point of land with his glass, and seemed
disinclined to continue the subject, so with rather unpleasant emotions,
I concluded to wait for developments. It could not now belong before I
should know if there was any foundation for Torrence’s talk.  Certainly
what he had said savored of lunacy.

We now bore down upon the island rapidly, and saw a rocky ledge
surmounting a narrow beach, where we concluded to land.  The promontory
had a flat top, about thirty feet above the sea and we lowered ourselves
gently down upon it.  Scarcely had we done so than Torrence said:

"We shall probably have to explore in order to find traces of our
inhabitant; and I wonder, therefore, if it would not be wiser to sail
around the island before disembarking.  It would certainly save
trouble."

We concluded therefore to take a leisurely tour of discovery, and
ascertain the size and general contour before landing; and so without
further ado, we rose again, almost as soon as we had touched the ground.

The island was rocky, but not without vegetation, its arable parts being
carpeted with vivid green.  There was also a quantity of small trees,
bearing a peculiar fruit, which neither of us had ever seen before.
Inland, it rose into billowy hillocks, to probably an elevation of a
couple of hundred feet, near the center.  Its shores were indented with
a number of bays or inlets, some of which made considerable inroad upon
it.  To the best of our judgment it was about four miles long, and of
very irregular width, as in places these inlets nearly cut it in two.
Thousands of pigeons flew out wherever we approached their rocky
nestings, but there appeared to be no other animal life.

"And where is your inhabitant?" I asked, when we had gone around the
greater part of the coast.

"We may not be able to find him at all," he answered; "I said we should
probably discover traces of him if we searched.  For my part, I have not
given that up."

But the words were scarcely spoken when he sprang to the governing board
and halted the vessel.  I saw that we were hovering over a green sward
which sloped gently to the water’s edge near the head of one of the
inlets described.  Lowering ourselves gradually we landed on a grassy
knoll, and Torrence immediately threw out the ladder and went over.  I
followed him, and in a minute saw what had attracted his attention from
above, but which had entirely escaped mine.  It was a rough looking
stone, set on end, in the sward, and there being no other stones in the
vicinity, it presented rather a peculiar appearance, inasmuch as it
seemed almost certain that it had been placed there by human hands.  We
examined it with growing interest.  There was something uncanny in
finding such an object in such a place.  It looked like a monument
intended to mark a tomb, or the headstone of a grave in some country
churchyard.  It was about three feet high, nearly covered with a green
mould, and had the appearance of great age.

"This," said Torrence, "is the first indication I have found!"

He was passing his hand over the face of the stone.

"Your single inhabitant must be a giant to plant such a rock as that!" I
observed.

"Not at all," said Torrence; "I have no idea that he even touched it."

"Then you think nature placed it there?"

"Neither; but what is this?"

He was still examining the face of the thing studiously, with both hands
and eyes.  I stooped down to examine it.  There was a roughness or
indentation, which did not seem to be natural.  Scraping the moss away
from the crevices, we discovered to my amazement the following
inscription, which I herewith give from a careful copy in my note book

[Illustration: Inscription]

There could be no possible doubt about this being an intentional design,
but in what tongue, or what it meant was a mystery.  We puzzled over it
for an hour, when Torrence suggested that they might be English letters,
rudely and ignorantly carved.  "For instance," he said, "the first might
very well be an N.  The second is evidently an E; while the third is
unmistakably intended for an I.  Now the fourth is the same as the
first.  The fifth cannot well be other than an L.  The sixth is the same
as the second, and the last is a T."  When we looked at it in this way,
it seemed clear enough.  Indeed what else could it be?  But what the
word meant, remained a mystery.  Suddenly it occurred to us that it
might be more than one word.  "Suppose," said Torrence, "that the last
five letters are intended to form the word ’Inlet’—a pronounced feature
of the coast of this island—and that the first two stand for North East.
There we seem to have it—North East Inlet—the stone probably refers to
something of interest in, or about the North East Inlet of the island!"

Surely we had solved the problem.  But when I reminded Torrence that we
had been searching for traces of his alleged inhabitant, and that he
should not be surprised at this discovery, he said:

"True enough; but exactly where they would be, or what they would look
like, or even if this was the right island, I could not tell; but now I
feel sure that I am right."

"The stone was evidently put here by some one," I remarked.

"Undoubtedly.  There is not the slightest appearance of its having been
deposited by nature; and the letters were cut with rough tools, by
ignorant hands."

"And you believe a human being could have reached this spot without an
air ship?"

"There is not one chance in a million that it could have been done," he
replied; "certainly _never_ by the course we have taken.  But there are
stretches of land reaching far to the north; and in certain seasons,
under the most exceptional circumstances, possibly some lost scout of
the Arctic seas might have drifted here, had he once pushed his way
across the frozen belt.  I say it is possible; but that is all.  Before
we leave we shall know whether it is a fact."

We lingered a few minutes while I made the copy of the inscription, and
then climbed back into the air ship, bound for the North East Inlet.

Skimming slowly around the shore we soon discovered the indentation we
were looking for, and following up its course for a few hundred yards
above the mouth, reached another of those turfy knolls, with which the
island abounded.  Around this the water ran directly into the land,
forming a diminutive lake a little higher up, with grassy slopes upon
every side.  It was a beautiful spot, entirely protected from the surf,
and screened from the winds as well.  Indeed, so sheltered and peaceful
a nook was it, and withal so inviting, that we decided to descend and
look around, having observed nothing extraordinary from above.

"If I do not discover something interesting here," said Torrence, "I
shall be disappointed."

Having landed on the hillock above the lake we separated, walking in
opposite directions.  The ground was covered with a brilliant, mossy
turf, where the black bed rock did not protrude; but where it did so,
only served to enhance the intensity of color by contrast.  I had not
walked far when I heard Torrence call:

"Hello!  Look at this!"

I hurried over to where he was.  There was no doubt about it.  He had
made a discovery.  On a grassy knoll, not far from the water’s edge, was
a small structure like a tomb, built of rough stones to the height of a
man’s breast, and about five feet in diameter.  It looked old, was moss
grown, and covered with a heavy cap stone. We felt convinced that in
this cairn was concealed some important secret, and that it was
undoubtedly the place referred to.  We went immediately to work to
remove the upper stone, which we found quite difficult, but by working
an iron wedge which we secured from the air ship, it slowly yielded to
our endeavors.  The stones were closely knitted together, having been
set in a rough mortar, made out of some tenacious kind of mud, but we
gradually worked them loose, and one by one rolled them on the ground.
In half an hour we had an opening large enough to look into.  It was
dark, but Torrence leaned over the edge and groped about with his hands.
Presently he was tugging at something and exclaimed:

"I believe I’ve got it."

A minute later he pulled out an iron box by a ring in the lid.  It was
covered with rust, and had a keyhole but no key.  We shook it gently.
There was something inside, and we tried to raise the lid; but it was
immovable.  I proposed to pound it open if possible with some of the
stones at our feet, but before doing so, we decided to examine the
crevices of the cairn for a key.  It was well we did, for our search was
rewarded by the discovery of an old brass key, covered with green oxide.
We polished it up with some sand, but before it would open the box we
had to go to the air ship after a little oil to lubricate the chambers.
At last we were successful, and turning back the lid looked in; but I
drew back with horror at the first glance, for directly under my eyes
was the rough, though strongly executed picture of a madman.  It was one
of those crude, intense drawings that gives the immediate impression of
lifelikeness.  Old and stained as the picture was, it was evident that
the artist had seized upon the most salient features of his subject, and
reproduced them with terrible effect.  It was the simplest sketch
imaginable, but the wild and painful glare of the eyes was intensified
by a reddish brown scar. which ran down the middle of the forehead.
Directly under this picture, which, by the by, was done upon a piece of
old cloth, was this extraordinary inscription

[Illustration: Inscription]

Examining the box again we found directly under the picture another
paper which upon examination proved to be an outlandish, water-stained
document.  At the first glance it looked like a foreign language, which
we had no doubt it was, but our attention being attracted by certain
words that looked like English, we examined it more carefully, and to
our amazement discovered that the paper was really in our own language,
though evidently executed by such an ignorant hand as scarcely to be
recognized as such.  We took possession of it, and I here give a careful
copy of it, without attempting to reproduce the handwriting, which is
almost unintelligible.

"Tu thim az finds these roks and kontents plese rede with kare an in
charty’s nam help ef he bee livin the pore kretur we shipreke saylers is
kompeled to leve on this lonsum plase.  Us 3 abil Bodid seamen was reked
in the ice from the Brig John W. Saunders, whaler, of the city of Hull.
There was 13 others of us wen the ship squeeched and busted, levin us
wid nothin but sum vittels and a few valybles, wich we tride to save.
We bilt some sleds outen her timbers, and loded thim with sich vittels
an truk as we wanted tu sav and started over the ice.  God amity nos how
fur or wher we traveled tu, hevin no berins no nothin tu go bi, and God
amity nos the orful sufferins we suffered.  All on us dide but us 3. We
traveled over montans ov ice, and it seemed like we kep a travelin fur
yers, tho in koors we nos it went so long as thet.  Bimby we finds
oursels a flotin on a chunk o ice ni az big az a farm.  Our vittels was
ni gone afore we struk the flotin’ ice, and all was ded but us 3 Ned
Merrick, Jo Niles and Jan von Broekhuysen who is uf dutch parents but
English birth.  We kep a flotin on the ice tel the long nite past and
the day kum agin; but we sede as how Jan was doin quer and one day he
went plum mad and tried to kil us.  We tide him down, and then we sited
this iland, tho in wut part uf the erth we kan’t tel.  We sede we wus
flotin strate fur here and the sea was ruf but not so kold as before.
We dun wut we kud fur our chums as dide but we kudent help oursels,
lesen them, and so lef, thim bak on the ice tu rot.  Wen we got close tu
this iland the sea wus up, and our ice chunk struk a rok and busted
afore we landed.  Jan von Broekhuysen struk his hed agin a rok and we
brung him ashore levin a bludy streke behind.  His fored got split in tu
and he wuz the orfulest site we ever sede—he warnt moren abut 20 yers o
age and that lik he got in the hed or his goin mad wun, plum noked the
reckolecshun outen him.  He node uz not—nor wher he hed bin, nor wher be
wuz, nor his own nam, nor nothin—nor yit kud he speke a single word.  We
hev heered as how a nok in the hed wud sometimes strik the memry outen
man, but niver is we seed one in sich a fix afore.  Jan van Broekhuysen
node nuthin’.  He wuz like tu one jes born—the rok wut split his hed
made the terriblest lookin skar we ever seed, and we washed it out and
dun the best we kud for him but waz not fix to sow it up agin.  He seen
us drink the water outen the spring, and he dun so 2.  he seen us ketch
the birds in the roks and ete um and he dun so 2, he seen us ketch the
fish and he dun wut we dun.  The frute here is bitter but it helps tu
kepe us aliv. Now how long we has lived here we kan’t tel, but we iz
goin awa in a bote we bilt outen skraps o drift wood and stuff we found
preferin tu resk the orful sea and ice agin than tu liv and rot on this
place wher man kums not. Jan von Broekhuysen has grode afeerd o us and
runs awa wenever we gos ni him and we seldum ketches a site o’ him.  We
has lost all kont o time and don’t no how long we has ben here nor wen
we kum nor nothin—but ther has ben 1 dark spel and 2 lite spels, and we
think it must a ben a yer sence we kum.  Siknes and hardship has ni
ruined us mind and body, and we don’t keer wut bekomes o us.  We bilds
this ere rok hut around this box wich we fetched with us havin’ sum o’
our valybles. We makes a pikter of Jan von Broekhuysen and paints that
skar on his hed wid our own blud but we douts ef eny man will ever see
him agin az he is wilder and skeerier nor a gote.  We haz also razed a
rok in anuder place for a sine.  It is with sorro that we leves our ole
komrade—but we kan nether ketch nor tame him.  Ef we node wut part uv
tho erth we wus in we wud no wher to strik fur, but we don’t, and rekon
we will both be drownd afore gettin any whers.  Ef eny person finds Jan
be kind to him.  We leves here amejetly.  Jan is livin’ on birds eggs,
birds, and fish, and sum o them qur apples there ain’t mutch else tu
ete.  Kind frends we saz farewel

"Yours Truly,
       (Signed) { "NED MERRICK,
              { "JOE NILES."

The original is very difficult to read, both on account of its peculiar
orthography and from its being smirched and weather-stained.  We went to
the air ship where I recorded this discovery, and then sealed it up in
the cairn, carrying the original paper with us.

"Sailor like," observed Torrence, "there is not a date in the paper from
beginning to end."

I had not thought of this before.

"He may have been here for years," I added.

"He may," Torrence replied, and then producing a paper from a large
packet, asked me what I thought of the signature.

I started, for I recognized it at once.  It was one of those I had seen
through the keyhole in the hotel Mustapha, and the signature was the
same as the one before me—Ned Merrick.  I then recalled the fact that I
had heard my brother address the mysterious stranger—I mean the sailor
we had first met upon the Thames boat, and whom afterward I had seen at
the Mustapha—as Merrick.  Could it be possible that he was the same who
had escaped through the ice belt to this island?  I was amazed, but
before I could make an inquiry Torrence continued:

"I now am certain that this island is inhabited, as I told you, unless,
perchance, the man has died.  I am also sure of the continents; for the
man Merrick having told me the truth in this most amazing case, it is
probable that he has not lied in other matters, especially as he gave me
proof, and as his story coincides with my own views.  Let us look for
Jan von Broekhuysen, then we will proceed upon our voyage."

We made a careful search for this extraordinary individual, but not
finding any traces of him, we returned to the vessel and prepared to go.

As we were clearing the coast a creature of scarcely human aspect, clad
in a robe of feathers and covered to the waist with a mass of tawny gray
hair, appeared to rise out of the sand.  He probably emerged from the
shelter of some neighboring rock, and stood for a moment looking at us
in amazement.  On a motion to alter our course, as if to pursue him, the
creature disappeared as suddenly and strangely as he had come.  He was
simply invisible, and it would have been useless to waste our time in an
effort to capture him.  There was no doubt to our minds that this was
Jan von Broekhuysen.

                                 *XIV.*

Northward again we proceeded on our journey, and from the upper deck
surveyed the solitude of an ocean unknown to human eyes.  All traces of
ice had vanished; the sea was tranquil and the air pleasant.  Naturally
enough our conversation fell upon the mysterious cairn and its contents.

"In my opinion," said Torrence, "this Jan von Broekhuysen is the most
unique creation of our planet.  He is the only human being of his kind
since creation.  I will guarantee that not in a million years has the
earth produced such another!"

I asked him what he meant, and suggested the possibility of others
having been lost under like circumstances, while admitting the
improbability of their having reached such a latitude.

"That is not it at all!" he exclaimed; "Jan von Broekhuysen stands
alone, and for this reason.  Because he is the only living creature of
our race who has been put alone in an uninhabited world, and who has
never seen nor communicated with a fellow-creature!"

"You mean since he was twenty years old, for I believe the paper says
that was his age," said I.

"No," replied Torrence, "I mean nothing of the kind. I mean that never,
for a single instant, has he seen or communicated with a fellow-being
until he saw us!"

"I don’t understand you.  Doesn’t the paper say he twenty years old when
wrecked?"

"Certainly.  But doesn’t the paper say that when he struck he lost his
memory?"

"But what of that? he’s sure to have seen plenty of people in the first
part of his life."

"Gurt, that fellow never had any other part to his life.  His life began
afresh after landing on that island. His past having been wiped out, he
was born again.  His memory being gone, the past had no existence for
him. He knew no more about a previous existence than you or I know about
a life before this.  Practically he was reincarnated, inasmuch as his
brain had lost every picture and every record of the past.  He came as a
new man to a new world, knowing nothing.  The first twenty years of his
life was no more his than if it had belonged to another body.  I claim
that Von Broekhuysen is the most unique creature that ever visited our
planet!"

I was impressed, and thought some time before answering.  Finally I
said:

"It is doubtless a remarkable case, but you must be accurate in your
statements, and when you declare that the fellow has never either seen
or communicated with a fellow-being since losing his memory, you must
not forget his comrades, Niles and Merrick, who were with him for a year
afterward; surely he must remember them."

"Not at all," said Torrence; "when those men left him he was only a year
old, so to speak.  He had entered his new existence but a twelvemonth
before; and although he had the size and strength of a man, he was but
an infant, so far as his mind was concerned, and I defy any one to
recall anything which happened at that time of their lives.  No one can
remember what happened when he was but a year old.  I have thought it
all out, old boy, and Von Broekhuysen ought to belong to a museum!"

There was no gainsaying what my brother said.  I wanted to ask him how
Merrick had made his escape, and what had become of the other fellow,
but a look warned me that an appropriate time had not come for these
questions.  I was impressed with the marvelous way in which Torrence had
been prepared for our discovery by this extraordinary man, Merrick, who
must have seen more of the mysteries of the Arctic regions than any
human being alive.

We were sailing over a sea of vast extent, whose shores were mythical.
Whither would it lead us?  Although it was the time of year when we
might reasonably expect to find moderate weather, even in high latitude,
we were amazed to find the air so temperate and pleasant as it was.  We
sat on deck nearly all the time, when not engaged in eating or sleeping,
and often without our top coats.  We kept constant watch on the horizon,
the water below us, and the sky above; expecting at any moment to
discover the outline of some unknown continent, but as the monotony of
sky and water continued we began to sympathize with Columbus.

Twenty-four hours after leaving the island, which we agreed to call Von
Broekhuysen, we estimated that we could not have come less than four
hundred miles, and yet there had not been the slightest indication of
land, although we had not changed our course half a degree. It was the
same placid, unmarked, and unknown ocean. Whither were we drifting?

It was about here that the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere
began to strike me as peculiar.  The northern horizon had been subjected
to a singular phenomenon for a good many hours, which I ascribed to one
of those effects of light so common in these latitudes. It was simply a
crescent-shaped cloud, growing in height as we advanced.  At first it
subtended the segment of an arc of about sixty degrees across the
horizon, steadily ascending toward the zenith with our progress.  But
gradually this form lost its definiteness, and melted into the sky in a
mellow haze, which softened the light and obscured the sun.  We were
glad enough to have the glare off the water, as it had been quite
trying, but I was at a loss to account for the phenomenon which had
abolished it.  If Torrence understood this he failed to explain it to
me—advising me to wait and see what would happen.  I mention it here as
an important fact bearing upon our future discoveries.  I had never
before seen so peculiar a cloud, retaining a definite form for so long a
time, fixed in density and character save that the arc grew as we
proceeded; and I naturally puzzled myself a good deal meditating on it.
But it was not until later that I ascertained the cause of this
astounding phenomenon.

Forty-eight hours after leaving the island we were still floating over
the same placid sea, and without indication of land upon any point of
the horizon.  We were working our way along at the rate of five and
twenty knots, under perfect conditions, when a thought struck me.

"How far have we come since leaving the island?" I asked.

Torrence looked at the indicator.

"About six hundred miles," he said.

"Exactly; and as Von Broekhuysen’s island is not more than two hundred
and fifty from the pole, we must have passed it, and be running down on
the other side of the earth.  It surely can’t be long before we strike
the frozen belt again; indeed we ought to be there already. But there
hasn’t been a block of ice, or a bit of cold weather to speak of yet.
How do you account for it?"

"Don’t bother about the ice," said Torrence; "you ought to be glad we
haven’t got any."

"But we ought to have it," I insisted, "according to my calculations——"

"Damn your calculations," he answered laughing; "didn’t I tell you I was
going to show you a new world, and new continents!"

"Continents!  I should enjoy even a shovel full of mud at present."

"Have patience; if Merrick could cross this sea in a dugout, with a
cotton sheet, we surely have an equal chance of doing so; although I
confess I think he must have struck a strip of land to the east or west
which we have missed.  But we are on a straight course and bound to come
out all right if we keep on."

"You expect to run down then over Alaska?" I inquired.

"I expect nothing of the kind.  Wait and you will see."

And I had to wait, for he would say nothing more just then, although I
asked him numerous questions.

It was shortly after this that I observed another most singular
phenomenon in the sky, which struck me with such amazement that I was
filled with awe.  About twenty degrees south of the zenith there
appeared in the heavens an enormous disk of pale light, only
distinguishable from the rest of the sky by being brighter and more of a
bluish tinge.  I should say it was a hundred times as large as the sun,
distinctly defined, and though not brilliant by contrast with that
luminary, was probably twice as luminous as the surrounding parts of the
sky.  There was something so utterly amazing in this sight that I could
not take my eyes from it, and even Torrence was impressed, although I
could see that he had a plausible explanation in his own mind.  When I
had stared long and earnestly without observing the slightest change in
the appearance, he said:

"When you have got a little more used to things here I will talk
plainer.  There are mysteries about our planet not even realized; and we
are on the high road to solve one of the most astounding."

The disk of light continued.  It did not seem to grow larger or smaller,
or to change its position in the heavens, and after I had grown weary of
looking at it, directed my attention again to the horizon, and was
startled by the unexpected appearance of two very singular objects.
They were small and very distant, but the glass revealed a couple of
dark spots four degrees to the port of our course, and hard upon the
sky-line.  Later a more careful observation showed a pair of black
columns rising directly out of the sea.  These objects, whatever they
were, now absorbed our entire attention, and we steered directly for
them.

Our compass had behaved so strangely of late that we depended in a
measure upon the triangulation of the rudder, which we knew was
inviolable in a still atmosphere, such as had favored us since leaving
Spitzbergen.  This feature of our steering apparatus was really very
clever, and entirely original with my brother, who had devised it for
the special purpose of obviating the difficulties mariners often
encounter in Arctic waters from the extreme sensitiveness and uncertain
freaks of the magnetic needle.  It consisted in a semi-circular dial,
accurately inscribed with degrees, minutes, and seconds, upon which an
indicator, connected with the rudder bar, acted. Thus any deviation from
a given course was accurately recorded by this index finger, and while
unaffected by air currents, was thoroughly reliable.  Another great
advantage in determining our position, lay in the fact that we were
enabled by the aid of our speed register to know exactly how fast we
were traveling.  Of course in a high wind it would be more difficult to
utilize these contrivances with accuracy, as another computation that of
estimating the velocity and direction of the air current would have to
be entered upon a condition which fortunately had not troubled us.

We continued, head on, for the points mentioned, the nature of which, we
were unable to decipher, even with the excellent glasses at our command.
Although running at a good rate, it was impossible to tell at the end of
half an hour whether these dark projections were any nearer than when we
had first seen them.  The air was clear, and the field of vision
extended.  The light appeared to differ from that of our own day, being
less intense and exceedingly restful and pleasant to the eyes. I can
compare it to nothing I know of, although in an inaccurate way it might
be said to resemble, on an exaggerated scale, that charming blending of
moonlight with the gloaming.  It was here that I first noticed what
seemed to be an electrical condition of the atmosphere that filled me
with the most agreeable sensations.  I felt lighter, stronger, in every
way healthier, and in better spirits.  Torrence also spoke of this, and
I am sure that I am right in ascribing it to our environment.  The sun
itself continued invisible, while the luminous disk referred to remained
unchanged.  We were indeed entering an unknown world.  Where would it
end?

After an hour’s run we could just perceive that the dark columns ahead
were a trifle nearer, though still thoroughly indefinite as to
character.  Torrence looked at the register.  Twenty-five miles an hour.

"They are still at a great distance," he said, "and I propose to hasten
my acquaintance with them."

He moved up the speed controller five miles faster, and then we took
seats and lighted cigars.

"Why should we not push her up to a mile a minute," I suggested, "and
satisfy our curiosity so much the sooner?"

"I don’t know," he answered, "there is no reason except a strange
apprehension that comes over me sometimes lest we have an accident.  We
seem so far from all we know."

"I thought you had every confidence."

"So I have.  The truth is I am excited.  We are on the verge of an
astounding discovery, I am dead sure that Merrick is right, and that I
am right—but hush—do not ask me yet.  I do not want to unnerve you.  A
little later!"

"You unnerve me a great deal more by not telling me than by telling me.
What is it?"

But he was quiet; with his glasses trained carefully on the objects
ahead.

At the end of two hours more we appeared only a trifle nearer the
columns, although we were undoubtedly seventy miles closer than when
first sighted.  Torrence was growing nervous.  He walked the deck,
chewing his cigar.  Presently he stopped, and said:

"I can’t stand it.  I’m going to give her five miles an hour more," and
moved up the controller accordingly.

We were now moving at the rate of five and thirty miles an hour, but
even at this rapid pace, it was three good hours before we could decide
with any certainty the nature of the columns; and then we saw that they
were twin mountains of extraordinary height, rising out of the sea.  In
another hour they were much more distinct, though still very far, and I
was at a loss to account for our having seen them at so great a distance
at first, except upon the ground of the many singular effects of light
and atmosphere which we encountered. Among these was a strange
indefiniteness about the horizon, totally differing from the prevailing
conditions in other parts of the world.  The sky-line blended with the
heavens in a kind of atmospheric veil, self-luminous, and illusive.  The
effect was altogether pleasing, though entirely novel.  Occasionally the
clouds would be rosy as after sunset, which I again attributed to some
electrical condition of the air, possibly the aurora, which, had it been
the Arctic night instead of day, I imagined would have made a wonderful
display.  But this was purely hypothetical on my part, and when I
suggested it to Torrence, he looked at me with surprise and said:

"Night!  There is no night here!"

"Not now," I replied; "but six months hence there will be."

"Never!" said he; "there is never any night here.  It is always as light
as this!"

I saw from his mood that it would be useless to argue, and so continued
my investigation of the twin mountains, which had grown near enough to
be easily inspected with the naked eye.  Torrence calculated that they
must, have been more than two hundred miles away when first seen.

When we had approached near enough to observe them in detail, we
slackened speed.  Rising directly out of the ocean, they presented a
marvelous picture; for their stupendous height and rugged grandeur is
surely not equalled in the world we inhabit.  We moved slowly toward
them, wishing to take in the scene from our deck to the best advantage.
We photographed them at different ranges, and were always surprised to
find that our last picture had been so remote.  We moved more slowly as
we approached, finally reducing the rate to five miles an hour,
believing we were within half an hour’s run of the shore, but were
undoubtedly ten or a dozen miles away at that time.

A stupendous wall of black granite rose before us, to a height which we
estimated to exceed twelve thousand feet.  This was the mountain upon
the left; the one on the right was nearly as high, though not so
absolutely precipitous.  Between these mountains was a channel about a
mile wide.  Coming to a halt before these appalling objects, two hundred
and fifty feet above the sea, we stood on deck, overwhelmed at the awful
sight.  Below stretched a crimson beach, running back to a chaotic sand
hill, strewn with huge masses of broken stone, from the top of which
towered in one unbroken wall the palisade or face of the mountain
itself.

Lowering ourselves gently to this beach we landed in a new world and
language cannot picture the appalling sublimity of the scene, or
describe our emotions.

"Surely these cliffs must mark the end of the earth!" I exclaimed.

"Hush!" said Torrence solemnly; "it is only the beginning!"

He was pale, and I could not help wondering if my face were as white as
his.

Craning my neck backward I looked up.  A cloud had hidden the top, and I
felt dizzy.

                                 *XV.*

Immediately on landing we made another careful examination of the air
ship, and to our intense satisfaction found that she was still in
perfect condition.  We had come a long journey, and thoroughly tested
her powers in varied temperatures and atmospheric conditions, but the
distance was as nothing to what was to come.

As we stood on this brilliant beach and looked back at the southern sky
I observed that the disk of blue light was a little smaller, and a very
little higher in the heavens.  Still there was no sun, but this great
circular shield was a focus for the dissemination of light upon every
side.  I stood marveling at it until Torrence called me.  He was
examining the crimson shells a little higher up the shore.

"Come," he said, "and look at these!"

I walked over to where he was.

The shore was literally covered with pink mollusks, a large percentage
of which contained true pearls of extraordinary size and beauty.
Torrence was pounding them open with a couple of stones.

"Within a hundred yards of this spot," he said, "lies a fortune greater
than the combined wealth of the Rothschilds.  In the pearl fisheries of
the old world not one shell in a thousand contains a pearl of any value.
But here, in these strangely colored mollusks, ninety per cent. enclose
gems of extraordinary merit."

He held one up for my inspection.

"Here," he said, "is one which I have opened at random. It is of the
first water; of perfect skin and orient; the most delicate texture, and
without speck or flaw, and is worth at the lowest estimate one hundred
pounds. Without going a dozen steps we can find ten times that value.
Some of these pearls are pink, and from what I have seen and heard of
them, I do not think they will ever fade——"

"From what you have heard?" I interrupted; "what do you mean?"

"My dear fellow, the shores of this continent are strewn with these
shells for hundreds of miles at a stretch, as its mountains are filled
with gold and diamonds.  Do you not know that Merrick had the value of
millions in them.  It was from him that I heard of them, and from him
that I bought millions of pounds worth."

"Bought!" I exclaimed in astonishment.

"Yes, bought!"

"And with what pray?"

"With a promise," said Torrence "Money was of no use to him, but fame he
valued.  As you know, he and Niles escaped from Von Broekhuysen Island.
Niles was lost, while Merrick alone reached the world we are now in.
How he got there, or what his adventures are, it is not necessary to
relate; but he did it, and I now know that he found land much nearer the
island than we have—but that is unimportant.  How he reached his home
again is even still more wonderful, and a volume might be written about
the man’s terrible sufferings and adventures; but his life was
embittered by the incredulity, the cold skepticism, and indifference
with which he was greeted on every hand, by those who were too bigoted
and ignorant to heed his story, or even investigate the proofs of the
new world, which he brought with him. The geographical societies of a
dozen cities either listened to him as they would to the ravings of a
madman, or turned a deaf ear with scorn.  And this treatment he received
wherever he went, and at the hands of organizations termed scientific,
whose plain duty was to listen to the words and test the affidavits of
the applicant.  But the nature of Merrick’s claims was so astounding
that no one, high or low, would heed him, and yet he only discovered
that which I have always believed in.  I, alone, of all the world, gave
the fellow proper audience.  I saw at once his claim to credence.  I
promised what he demanded in exchange for his wealth—notoriety.  He saw
that with the air ship I should be able to prove all that he had ever
said, and that I could make his name great among coming generations.  He
saw that I could upset the position of the wiseacres who had refused to
hear him, and make them the butt of their fellows.  All this I promised
to do, if able, and in exchange for that promise he gave me the few
millions in pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones he had brought
with him as proofs of his discovery.  Gurthrie, have you not yet guessed
the nature of that discovery?"

"I should hope so," I answered.

"And what is it?"

"That the North Pole has a continent around it which is blessed with a
temperate climate."

"And is that all?"

"That the sky has a luminous disk as big as a cart wheel, that takes the
place of the sun!"

"Nothing more?"

"That the electrical condition of the atmosphere is highly beneficial to
the nerves."

"Go on!" said Torrence impatiently.

"That pearls and precious stones are as common as dirt!"

"Tell me what else he discovered," exclaimed Torrence, "and be quick
about it!"

"Not being Mr. Merrick, I’m sure I don’t know," I answered.

"Don’t know!" roared Torrence, "do you mean to tell me that you don’t
know where you are?"

"Somewhere about the role I suppose.  I might say ninety degrees north."

My brother looked at me with a singular expression of pity, and then
stooping down resumed his work of opening shells with an indifference
that exasperated me.

"Where in Heaven’s name are we then?" I shouted.

"No matter just now," he answered.  "I thought perhaps you would have
guessed.  I don’t want to shock you.  Perhaps the truth will dawn on you
later; if not I will tell you.  Meanwhile, let us gather a few bushels
of these pearls.  They are of no value here, but they will be if we ever
go home again."

And so we set to work under the shadow of those awful cliffs, and in a
couple of hours had secured unestimated value in the most perfect
specimens conceivable. We packed these away in the air ship in a small
sack, and then Torrence proposed that we name the stupendous headland
before us "Mount Horror."

I agreed that it would be an excellent name, well adapted to our
feelings on approaching it, and descriptive of the gloom and phenomenal
aspect of the mountain itself.  The one on the opposite side of the
channel he suggested we call "Mount Gurthrie," to which I also assented,
and entered the names in our chart of discoveries.

It was upon this desolate shore that we cooked our first ration of bear
meat, brought all the way from Spitzbergen.

Climbing into the hill beyond the beach among the sand and rocks, we
found a quantity of dried seaweed, which we carried down to the shore
for a fire.  It burned with a crackling noise and pungent smell, so
pleasant that we decided to carry some of it away with us, filling some
bags, and throwing them on board before leaving. We had quite a picnic
over our bear steak and coffee, although it was impossible to divest
ourselves of a certain gloom, resulting from the lowering heights above.
The air was still, and only the tiniest ripple of a surf came rolling in
upon our rosy beach, and the stillness, the cessation of motion, and our
extraordinary situation, made me for the first time long for home.

A bird of an unknown species came flying toward us from over the water.
Its plumage was brilliant with trailing feathers of red, green, and
yellow; while upon its head was a topknot of the same colors.  Torrence
thought he should like to have it and so fetched his gun. The bird
circled above, full of curiosity.  Perhaps we were the first human
beings it had ever seen.  Descending spirally it came at last within
easy range, but we had not the heart to kill it.  Then, apparently
satisfied with its investigation, commenced an upward course, circling
away again, just as it had come; only this time aiming its spirals
toward the top of the cliff, until lost to view. Torrence then
discharged the gun in the air to hear the reverberation from the rocks.
The sound was impressive, coming back to us like thunder from the
heights. It was probably the first time a gun had ever been discharged
in this desolate quarter of the globe, and I was glad it was not in the
destruction of life.

When the smoke had cleared away and the echoes ceased, we were attracted
by a whirring sound above, and looking up saw thousands of pigeons which
our shot had frightened from their nests.  We watched them while they
skurried about in dismay, until, finding that no harm had been done,
they settled back among the rocks again.

We had made a hearty meal and were beginning to think of going when
Torrence suggested that we ascend the face of Mount Horror in the air
ship instead of taking our way up the channel, or following the
precipitous and rugged shore line for another exit.  I reminded him that
it would probably be cold at such an elevation, but agreed that it would
afford a magnificent view of the country.  Besides, we wanted to inspect
the crater, feeling sure the mountain was an extinct volcano, and so
determined to ascend to the highest elevation first, and then continue
our journey northward over the country beyond, or through the channel
which offered a clear passage in the direction of our course.  This
chasm through which the river ran was sublime and terrible.  A rent in
that stupendous rock formation which seemed to dwarf and threaten the
very foundations of the earth on which it rested.  We could but regard
it with feelings of awe. An overpowering desire to escape its depressing
influence possessed us.

Safely aboard the air ship we began ascending the wall as if passengers
in a huge elevator, which in fact we were.  Again the birds flew out,
terrified at our approach, some falling dead from sheer fright, a few of
which we secured on deck.  Hugging this terrible escarpment we were
enabled to examine its formation with accuracy.  Large blocks of
syenitic granite hung loose, ready to drop at any minute and we saw how
for ages the cliff had been slowly disintegrating, and receding from the
sea by action of storm and catyclism. Lightning had also played its
part, and its handwriting was visible on every side.  Ledges large
enough to hold a house were loaded with nests and eggs of every color
and size.  We consulted about the feasibility of capturing some of
these, by halting and climbing out after them, but concluded to let them
go, as the danger was too great.  It involved not only the risk in
scrambling from the vessel to the ledge, but the additional chance of
being smashed by a falling rock from above.  Of course in our ascent we
were careful to keep far enough away to obviate that possibility.

When we had risen clear above Mount Horror we looked down into the
fearful chasm that separated us from Mount Gurthrie.  It was a sight
never to be forgotten.  To the south lay the unspotted ocean; but to the
north the land sloped away rapidly, and beyond the highest elevations
which, in themselves, were mountains of no mean height, but so far below
as to seem trivial; beyond these, I say as far as the eye could reach,
extended a beautiful country, with rivers, valleys, lakes and hills,
with forest, plain, and mountain.  The panorama was entrancing, and the
effect on us profound.

Hovering over the crater, which we found just as we expected, we looked
down into a black abyss, so vast and awful, that we had no inclination
to investigate it, although it was large enough for us to have descended
bodily with the air ship.  There was no smoke, nor were any sulphurous
fumes emitted.  Evidently the volcano had been extinct for ages; and we
passed rapidly on upon our north bound course, glad enough to have dry
land under us once again, and to descend to a lower and warmer level.
We were soon down among the foothills, and traversing a well timbered
country, rising from time to time to clear the elevations encountered.
The panorama that now stretched away before us was one of ravishing
beauty, and we took our places on deck with lighted cigars to enjoy it.
I suggested that we name the new land "Torrenzia," but Torrence only
declared that while people might call it what they pleased, the credit
of the new world must go to the man who had first seen it.

"You seem to think there is only one scrap of a continent here," he
said, "and Torrenzia may do well enough for one; but remember it is a
new world we have entered; and if I am not greatly mistaken we shall
find it studded with civilizations equal to any we know. Certainly you
are dense, Gurthrie, and stupid to a degree, not to have guessed by this
time where we are!"

I did not answer; in fact I was provoked that he should be so secretive
with the information he possessed.  I confessed to my bewilderment at
what we saw but was still in the dark as to the truth.

We now ran rapidly forward over a picturesque country, and through an
atmosphere not only temperate but exhilarating.  About a hundred miles
inland the timber and water courses were less prolific, and fifty miles
farther we merged upon a great, treeless plain, covered with short
tussocky grass, sand, and rocks.  At intervals were to be seen the bones
of animals bleaching where they had fallen, the entire skeletons being
generally intact.  More than once we descended to the ground to examine
them, but could not decide whether they were buffalo or some other
creature.  What surprised us most was the fact that there appeared to be
no living ones.  But we did not waste our time upon this arid plain,
fearing to run short of water, and being particularly anxious to
discover if our new world was inhabited.  As we sat on deck smoking our
cigars, rushing into the gentle breeze ahead, we felt like monarchs, or
rather god-like creatures, who owned and ruled a world from above.

We had little time for sleep, our excitement being intense, and the
short intervals we spared for an occasional nap, were taken alternately,
the one remaining on deck promising the other to wake him as soon as
anything of special interest occurred.  I had just come above after one
of these short siestas and joining my brother observed him looking with
unusual interest through the glass at something below.

"What is it now?" I called, leaning over the rail.

At a glance I saw that the nature of the country had changed.  No more
skeletons; no more sand and rocks, or arid desert, but a great sheet of
water lay to our right, while below and beyond were trees and fields,
which looked as if they were cultivated; and here and there, at
intervals of a mile or two, were undoubtedly the walls of human
habitations.  I do not say they were houses, for houses have roofs,
whereas these edifices were roofless.

"I am sure I have discovered houses," said Torrence; "and I am trying to
see if there are any people!"

I took the glass from his hand.

"There is no doubt about it," I exclaimed; "and what is more, they do
not appear to be ruins, but houses in perfect repair, judging from their
similarity and the condition of the grounds around them.  But what kind
of climate must these people enjoy to require no roofs? Certainly it can
never rain!"

"Nor snow!" he added with a smile.

"What made you think of snow?"

"I thought, perhaps, you were thinking of it," he replied.

"Why?"

"Because you said it was high time we were in the ice belt again!"

I started.

"And how far have we come?" I asked.

"From where?"

He looked carefully at his register and made a calculation.  He then
said:

"We are now one thousand three hundred and eighty miles from Von
Broekhuysen’s Island, and about one thousand one hundred and thirty
miles north of the North Pole—if you can imagine such a thing—I mean