The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-09-09
CHAPTER Xxx, TIKI,

tg CHAPTER NY, ,,f
Trough the White oa'e co., $50,
. ne Silver STIR shook the r'!l. l, III
her cordnge ana headed for the cnullIli,'
There wasNns slight current moving llo 1. ~,
and plenty az wnter. The diff Ice was
thin and rotten. When Hector came UP
the open sen wns eight KNOTS t .p emf.
him, and the yacht wns Keeping q MD
die course between the stretching snow NOV
tieds.E5B 3ls7'5Ss
AZ the pale and hentless sur, moved O. \
to- the west IL few bars OF cloud sWepta
over It, causing sort OF grey .Wilis ~.
The trorn .Australis the s fr ,
Llghts) flicktred over the snow l'rndu-
ally the nat shore began to show rows 1'''.
OF humr,ocks thnt ended IN n ridge Of
cliffs, Tho channel Ind ndrrowed until
It was barely half mile across.
There arc tho boys who made tile
row. row said Leckburn. y. 5b ~
What D." asked Give. i
The seals, my boy. Tens OF thou
sands OF them There's more treasure
on those rocks, in the shape Of sealskin.
than ever black Juan dreamed of,a Gooo
skins are almost worth their weight IN
gold day. The poor brutes nav, :, neen
pretty well e. exterminatod IN most
places ~
There was "a rush for binoculars and
telescopes The left shore curved into
n wide bay with broad stretch OF
smooth yellow sand. Little Of the sand
could be seen, for the black bodies OF
innumerable{ seals. Some were IN motion;
others lny9like great slugs. Tho water
too, boiled with them-ba ttalions' armies
Of fur seals. Further back every letlEe
OF rock had Its crowded tenants They
knew no fear. The water round the. ship
suddenly became alive with black bob
bling heads and glittcrng eyes, and tho
dir was filled with their llourse, sharp.
barks.
Lunch time, came. The sky had
frightened and the temperature was
considerably higher. Flushed faces told
tales g}of suppressed excitement me
Flame Mountain the Skull Ice, the Blood
Water, and the Night Thunder were al
behind them. Were they nearing the
floating dr1ft-weed. the next link III tho
chain that Joined Peril Island with the
Flame Mountain? They could hardly,
eat. Leckburn bounded up from the
table, as the whistle of the speaking tube
&g
"Hillo Burnand!"
..Iot d OF weed about, my lord. We're
just passing regular island Of IT.
"Hurrahl" yelled Hector.
They stampeded for the deck. The
channel was choked with masses OF
green water weed. covered With small
flowers OF bright yellow. In the slant
ing rays OF the sun the channel re-
sembled a vast green carpet strown with
newly-minted gold.
Now we've got nut to crack +" said
Hector thoughtfully. "The instructions
the old pirate left us warned us to ma *
the drift What did he mean BY that Il"
54if"Let lis mark IT md see. said Lcck-3
burn. There's n patch Of clear water
over there. We want something we can
see plainly. A foot bail would do The
cook looks after them, doesn't no?
i Mumps was ordered to Initiate q FOOT
Quite sure what Leckburn was going to
do. Taking four men with him, he pull
ed Tor the open wnterFand launched the
ball. 85s
sep her still lads" he said
\ The white cincle danced away, hesl-
tated. turned, and then noated north.
They followed It with their glasses
\ TITS coming .sback insiipre. 'Ti shouted
"And at th;1ndering good pace, too,
my lord" added the first officer.
Clearly there. was q, sharp current
dose to the shore, and Its trend was 70
the south. The ball glided past the thu.
boat. Near the, shore was b, streak 1't' ct
open water. 5
"wo'll follow the guide" cried his
lordship, land you come gently, y,
They pulled away In pursuit OF the
ball, which still continued to hug. the
stronger, and tile white object was lost
to sight behind jutting rock Leckburn
gave the crag a wide berth. Where is
it," he asked. = s sS J. .'iGs
IT aunno, my lord-yes, yonder."
The ball was dancing down a narrow
channel that Joined the main one at
right angles. s$3i
tered Leckburn triumphantly. Old
Black Juan did not leave great lot to
chance. Mark Drift is good. For
fortune, that's the way to Peril Island.
and we might easily have kept straight
The silver Star came In sight, and en-
tered the channel The boat was hoist
ed up. 81
Give opened his pocket book. whore
he had written down tho wording OF
the lost parchment
A ''It cannot be far now. The white gates
are to come, and the current which is
strong and smokes. Then there is the
long .leeshore where the sea elephants
dwell, and fair wind to the land OF
trea sure. What fair wind means.
don't fathom."
1T means nothing more or less than
plain sailing, guess. . said Hector ~
was the old sailors way OF putting II.
Anything easy and simple was fa'r
wind"
The Silver Star, steered by Jack Mars
den, cleared the narrows without mis-
hap. and passed through the white gates.
They surveyed them with delight Give
photographed the wonder Of nature.
with its dazzling snowy pillars and It's
huge roof. b q i.5.
! "Now, my learned Doctor" said Iec's-
burn, how do you account for that?'
'Ice, my lord III
"But It Is stone"
Gan the same my lord. 1t IS ice" said
the little doctor. ''Eyensin ENGLAND we
have instances OF rocks perohed on
hills--rocks, mean, whose comnosltion
Is quite different from anything IN the
vicIpity. In the Ia distant Past thy \, :,
were carried there by some g'san,ic
berg, which melted at last, and, as the
water receded, left them there should
say that this was left by the same
h. 4, tive