"He is but an indifferent reader of history who does not see the hand of Almighty God displayed upon the side of Liberty and Union throughout all this tremendous war. Even so great a man as W.E. Gladstone, the 'Grand Old Man' of England, said that the eighteen millions of the North could not subdue the eleven millions of the South. But he did not know that the edict had gone forth from the court of Heaven that these who arrogantly held the height of the hill must come down from thence. And so we fought and won this grandest battle of the war--and perhaps of the world." Here the Doctor paused and looked around upon his audience. He had worked himself into a fine glow as these splendid reminiscences passed before his mind. To his horror he found his hearers fast asleep, except the Professor, and his eyes were winking and blinking suspiciously. "Well, if you are not an interested lot of fellows!" cried Dr. Jones. Fred roused at this juncture and said: "Go on, Doctor. That is the most thrilling story I ever heard." "Do you really think so?" asked the Doctor very sarcastically. "O yes! Doctor, I assure you that I heard every word of it." "And what was I just talking about?" "Um--ah--O yes, I remember. It was where the two deserters were sitting on their coffins and were just about to be shot. I want to hear that out," and Fred looked the picture of anxiety and interestedness. "Do you, though!" snorted Dr. Jones. "If I served you right, I would drop you through the manhole, just to wake you up." CHAPTER XXI. Things Material and Spiritual. The wind continued all night as last noted, and Silver Cloud, without a tremor or swaying motion of any kind, was scurrying across the barren wastes of the Arctics at marvelous speed. At noon upon the second day from the Pole, Professor Gray took an observation, and announced that they then were at latitude 68 deg., 20 min., longitude 120 deg. 16 min., West Greenwich. "We are about crossing the Arctic circle. We are just above the barren grounds north of Great Bear Lake," said the Professor. "Shortly after breakfast to-morrow morning we will cross the northern boundary of the United States at our present speed." "What great body of water is that I see ahead?" asked Denison a little later. "That is Great Bear Lake," replied Professor Gray. "See how the vegetation begins to show up." The weather was superb, and the lake lay calm and smooth beneath them as a mirror. While they were tearing through the skies at express train speed, their elevation being a little over 3,000 feet, they could plainly see through their glasses that small birch trees and evergreens upon the banks were nearly motionless.