The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1909-10-11

r AL AT OuCc y IcdTlul SI6uL mcI
his gaze.
Scarcely 20 yards in front was a
great block of ice coming right to.
wizards t = M, mounting and falling
on the stormy pillows, ready to
overturn at any moment and crush
them in its decent.
But this was not the only danger
that threatened the bold naviga-
tors. The iceberg was packed with
white bears, budding close togeth-
er, and evidently beside themselves
with terror.
The iceberg made frightfui
lurches, sometimes inclining at
such sharp angle that the animals
rolled pell-mell over each other and
set up loud growing, which
mingled with the roar of the ele-
ments and made a terrible concert.
For a quarter of an hour, which
seemed whole century, the sloop
sailed on in this formidable COM
pany, sometimes few yards dis
tant and sometimes near enough
to touch. The Greenland dogs
trembled, but Duke was quite i'm
perturbable. At last the iceberg
lost ground, and got driven by the
wind farther and farther away till
it disappeared in the fog, only at
intervals betraying it's presence by
the ominous growls of its passen-
gers.
The storm now burst forth with
redoubled fury. The little bark was
lifted bodily out of the water, and
whirled round and round with the
most frightful rapidity. Mast and
sail were torn off. and went flying
away through the darkness, like
some large white bird. A whirl-
pool began to form among the
waves, drawing down the ship grad
ually by it's irresistible suction.
Deeper and deeper she sank, whiz-
zing round at such tremendous
speed that, to the poor fellows on
board, the water seemed motion
less.
All five men stood erect, gazing
at each other in speeches. terror.
But suddenly the ship rose perpen-
dicularly, her PROV went above the
edge of the vortex, and getting out
of the center of attraction by her
own velocity, she escaped at tan
gent from the circumference, and
was thrown far beyond, swift as a
| ball from lannon's mouth.
Altamont, the doctor, Johnson,
and Bell were pitched flat on the
panks. When they got up, Hat
teras had disappeared!
1t was 2 o'clock in the morning.
For a few seconds they seemed
stupefied, and then cry of Hat
teras!" broke from every lip.
On all sides, nothing was visi-
BILE but the tempectuous ocean.
Duke barked desperately, and
lBell could hardly keep him from
fleaping into the waves.
[ Take the helm, Altamont,"
said the doctor, land let us try
our utmost to find our poor cap
tain
/ Johnson and Bell seized the
| oars and rowed about for more
than an hour; but their search was
/ vain-Hatteras was lost!
Lost. and SO near the pole, just
as he had caught sight of the
, goal!
The doctor called and shouted,
and fired signals, and Duke made
piteous lamentations; but there
was no response. Clawbonny
could bear up no longer; he'buried
his head in his hands, and fairly
wept aloud.
At such a distance from the
coast it was impossible Hatteras
could reach it alive, without an
oar or even SO much as a spar to
help him; if ever he touched the
haven of his desire, it would be as
a swollen, mutilated corpse.
Longer search was useless, and
nothing remained but to resume
the route north. The tempest was
dying out, and about in the
morning on the 18th of July, the
wind fell, and the sea gradually
became calm. The sky recovered
it's polar clearness, and less than
three miles away the land appear
ed in all it's grandeur.
The new continent was only an
island, or rather a volcano, fixed
like lighthouse on the north pole
of the world.
Go be continued.)
LANSING. Mich.-RObbers bind