The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1910-10-08

AN ARCTIC
KNIGHT
Story of an Exploring
Party
By EDWIN B. ERHART
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.
By EDWIN B. ERHART

ArterS ceased biting his nails and
rested long. lean chin in the hollows
of his hands.
Il could tell you something that
would surprise YOU" he said. gazing at
me across the table
stared at him expectantly.
"What?' | monosyllabled.
Arters gloomed meditatively. but
showed no disposition to answer.
The girl on the cot flung pitifully
thin arm over her head and moaned
and murmured in her sleep.
well. what?" | reiterated sharply.
The long trip that day across the mo-
notonous. never ending white plain
had done little toward improving my
temper.
Arters arose to his great height.
squared his broad shoulders and tip
toed around the table.
II am God.' he whispered in my ear.
saw that had to do with mad
man.
This is strange world" continued
Arters. a ruminant note In his voice.
Here we are come, you and |, to this
forsaken country in quest for lost
woman explorer and all for miser-
able pittance doled out to us by Chi
cago newspaper" He brushed an i'm
patient hand across his eyes. my
memory isn't all that it should be-
he confessed. II should have remem
,h1 L o.,d 81. se
trip would have been unnecessary"
Arters cast a furtive glance toward
the cot In the dim corner. ''ls she an
angel" he murmured querulously. ''or
Ruth Proctor, the girl we came search
ing for? can't seem to remember
somehow"
Both" answered. and my com
panion was satisfied.
1t seemed years since the Meteor
had assigned u.s. staff reporters at the
time. to the hazardous task of finding
Ruth Proctor. the intrepid girl ex
plorer. who had set out two years be
fore to find the north pole and was
now supposed to be somewhere In the
\ vicinity of the ninetieth degree.
| The Meteor is not one to stint its
embassies We. the words Of Arters
to the contrary. fairly reveled in mon
! ey. and the essentials of the trip were
all forthcoming and were of the best
| Our boat. the Lost Hope. was marve
/ of technical construction. made fol
this very purpose and for our enter
prising journal.
Miss Proctor. the young society wo
man who had forsworn New Yorl
| and the caIlow amusements of her Sc
to do something really worth while
had been conspicuous In the limeligh
on the eve of her departure and TO
twelve months thereafter. Now If sh
was referred to at all In the paper
formerly enthusing over her nerve an,
daring she was given no more than
passing paragraph. Her fame bad
fair to he niched with that of her I
Iustrious predecessor. Andre. the fam
of-failure.
But the Meteor kept an impatien
eye northward. and when the relic
expedition came home without her Al
ters and Iwere given the word to g
in search of the girl.
Arters was the Benjamin ]. Arter
of much mad scrambling on the pal
of ambitious dailies that lusted for hl
efficient services. He was a write
keen Of brain and pen and one Of th
highest salaried fact getters In th
: world of smudge and cheap pape
No college degree Journalist was A
ters, but reporter.
Smith, the managing editor. had sal
to me. "You are to accompany A
ters''-not ON account OF my stella
position on the staff. understand. b,
because l had been one of the advel
turers in that first rush to the Yuko
and knew my north.
Z Our ship had rare good luck. the K
drift allowing US at the last to con
within quarter mile Of the silel
Maid Of Orleans. Ruth Proctor's boa
OF course it was deserted. The L
:. book was gone. We had no way
e telling whether the crew had returnt
to the trail after the original first run
toward the pole or perished Of cold.
e With four Eskimos. dogs and sledg
we. began the tail of our trip. O'
route in all probability was the san
as that of Ruth Proctor's party.
Eskimos are peculiar humans. o
: men seemed perfectly contented, b
!. one morning we crawled out Of o
q sleeping bags to find them gone. Tn
had taken with them onr fastest dos
two sledses and large supply OF o
y provisions. Wisely we decided not
pursue.
e Fate must have planned our expe'
Y ton with an eye for the melodl
e matte. At any rate. when we fou
the fur clad maid explorer she "
I alone. seemingly deserted by evel
: :. body apd half crazed and sick. s
: had food. but in order to make Il
: last she had been slowly starving b.
= self to death. She was moving iowa
the pole: fell IN love with |
a straightway. and guess Arters did
n Ruth rrorfcr was a witching thi
despite her uuly. shape dessroyi
skins. and he hunger and snow fe'
had r,..'c der dainty face but Il
:. much more pathesically beautiful.
spite her stern resolve to find the p
'. and the self relInncs Of her. she v