The Origin of the Expedition. A memorable meeting. Inklings of a plot. My innocent enthusiasm. Our personnel. I put the proposition up to Triplett Page 17 Chapter II Our triumphant departure. A man missing. Wigmore's gallant embarkation. The _Kawa_ herself. A new idea in construction. A few boresome details Page 31 Chapter III The choice of a route. Off at last. We take aboard a passenger. Seeds of discontent. Into the long twilight. Radio reversals. The ice at last. Trouble with our water-line. Its happy solution Page 55 Chapter IV We reach the polar cap. The strange incident of the missing Orders. Who stole the papers? The Arctic summer. A sportsman's Paradise. Notes from my journal. Whinney's sad experience Page 79 Chapter V The last ten miles. A mental observation. We lose our magnetic bowsprit. The Big Peg at last! "The Lady, first!" We celebrate our arrival. I glimpse a vision Page 103 Chapter VI Fatal procrastination. Our one-dimensional position. An extraordinary ornithological display. I confide in Swank. His plan. I capture my vision. The Klinkas. An embarrassing incident Page 131 Chapter VII Still procrastinating. Our pastimes at the Pole. An exchange of love-tokens. Ikik's avowal. Caught in the embrace of the Aurora Page 163 Chapter VIII The Arctic Night. The temptation of Traprock. The pros and cons of falling. We solve an age-old riddle. Our Polar Christmas. The love-philtre. Abandonment Page 181 Chapter IX Sausalito's strategy. Orders must be obeyed. We turn southward. The parting. Mutiny and desertion. In the grip of the Ice King. A fight to the finish. Victory Page 205 Chapter X In home waters. The celebration in our honor. And what of my companions? Reveries and Recollections. The End Page 229 "_The Camera Cannot Lie_" ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Dr. Walter E. Traprock and Snak Frontispiece Triplett the Undaunted 23 Un Déjeuner à la Bougie 35 What the Well-dressed Explorer will Wear 47 The Big Hunting 59 The Two Bears 71 The Nine o'Clock Bottle 83 Intensive Optimism 95 The Avowal 107 About to be Captured 117