The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-01-25

gave you shelter and carried you on
Der OF the crew. Of course II we'd
had any reason TO act contrary. we'd
have done So. And that's why II
seemed to us-to me. I would say.
that you probably had some reason
IN this case. here. And. wcil-we'd
like to know what II is.
hut tho man he had addressed as
Roscoe STROBE on with undated
pace. sr>if he had not heard For any
attention he paid to his questioper he
might havsr been alone In that 81.
psnse OF ice and sky.
Pianck accepted the silent rebun as
II II had been only what he had ex.
prcted. but he sighed regretfully. lie
had once known. and II was only four
years ago. that same staggering trick
Of contemptuous authority himself.
Tie had been master. the most tyran-
nical sort OF master. some say. to be
found anywhere IN tho world: the
captain Of an American whaler. And
this very man. at whose heels he was
scrambling along over the Ice. had
been one " his crew. had never ap.
preached the quarter deck where he
reigned supreme. without an apollo.
getic hand at his forelock. ard had
always passed to the leewerd side Of
him up on the deck
But the Walrus had been destined
never 20 see port again She fingered
too long on the whaling grounds to
get back through Behring strait that
fnll; and failed In the attempt 10
make Mckenzie bay. where other
whalers in similar plight put In for the
winter. Instead Of this friendly har.
Dor, she WAS caught in the pack and
carried. relentlessly. north aud west.
ward. The milling pressure Of great
masses OF ice crushed in her stout
hull. SO that the open water they had
been hoping for. became. at once.
their desdliest peril The momen, the
Ice broke away. she would go TO tho
bottom like . piummet.
But still the SLOW. irresistible drift
OF the ice pack carried them north and
vest into a latitude and longit nde
which. SO far as they know. no human
travellers had ever crossed before.
And then in the depth OF the arctic
night. bereft Of hope. and half muffin.
ols. they found a land that never had
been charted, and. most marvellous OF
all. a human welcome For here on
the shore were Captain Fielding and
the two other survivors OF hiH IN.
fated expedition.
The fate of the explorers ship had
been. II seemed. precisely that OF the
Walrus. She had been caught la The
pack. crushed In II and carried against
this coast Before the coming OF
spring. and with IL the breaking Of
the Ice. Fielding and his men had been
Of these. the greater part stfil re-
manned.
OF the Walrus people, in all. there
were IL. and these. with the three
original castsways. settled down TO
the prospect of an indefinite number
We can live like Christians" Cap
tain Fielding had said. and We can
always hope"
His superior knowledge OF arctic
conditions made him. rather than Cap
tain Planck. naturally commander Of
the little company. lie established
the regimen of their life. doled out
the store from day to day. and. rs
best he could. through that long win
ter night. provided entertainment for
the forlorn little group. lie told them
OF his explorations on the coast. OF the
lay OF the land. OF what they might
hope to see when the sun should
come back TO them. marking the DO
ginning OF another long arctic day.
Among other things. quite casually
he told them OF ledge In the hills.
across the glacier. which contained.
he believed, the most extraordinary
deposit OF gold ia the world. So In
credibly rich was Il. that the rock
itself had almost been replaced by
solid metal. The Alaska gold. he said.
was only the sweepings. In his opin-
ion. OF this immense store.
At the sound OF the word gold" the
eyes OF the man named Roscoe had
frightened for the FIRST time since
they had taken him. shiyering from
his long immersion In the cold water.
aboard the Walrus He drew into tho
circle that sat about the reading lamp.
and began asking questions. Gold was
something he knew about. He had
mined It In Australia, In California,
and In the Klondike. lie questioned
Captain Fielding about the exact
whereabouts of the ledge. about the
sort Of ore II occurred In. and about
the best means OF cutting II out.
To some extent his own excitement
infected the others. Even Captain
Planck. whose only well-understood
form OF wealth was whale blubber. be-
gan to take an interest In Roscoe's