to do, if able, and in exchange for that promise he gave me the few millions in pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones he had brought with him as proofs of his discovery. Gurthrie, have you not yet guessed the nature of that discovery?" "I should hope so," I answered. "And what is it?" "That the North Pole has a continent around it which is blessed with a temperate climate." "And is that all?" "That the sky has a luminous disk as big as a cart wheel, that takes the place of the sun!" "Nothing more?" "That the electrical condition of the atmosphere is highly beneficial to the nerves." "Go on!" said Torrence impatiently. "That pearls and precious stones are as common as dirt!" "Tell me what else he discovered," exclaimed Torrence, "and be quick about it!" "Not being Mr. Merrick, I’m sure I don’t know," I answered. "Don’t know!" roared Torrence, "do you mean to tell me that you don’t know where you are?" "Somewhere about the role I suppose. I might say ninety degrees north." My brother looked at me with a singular expression of pity, and then stooping down resumed his work of opening shells with an indifference that exasperated me. "Where in Heaven’s name are we then?" I shouted. "No matter just now," he answered. "I thought perhaps you would have guessed. I don’t want to shock you. Perhaps the truth will dawn on you later; if not I will tell you. Meanwhile, let us gather a few bushels of these pearls. They are of no value here, but they will be if we ever go home again." And so we set to work under the shadow of those awful cliffs, and in a couple of hours had secured unestimated value in the most perfect specimens conceivable. We packed these away in the air ship in a small sack, and then Torrence proposed that we name the stupendous headland before us "Mount Horror." I agreed that it would be an excellent name, well adapted to our feelings on approaching it, and descriptive of the gloom and phenomenal aspect of the mountain itself. The one on the opposite side of the channel he suggested we call "Mount Gurthrie," to which I also assented, and entered the names in our chart of discoveries. It was upon this desolate shore that we cooked our first ration of bear meat, brought all the way from Spitzbergen. Climbing into the hill beyond the beach among the sand and rocks, we found a quantity of dried seaweed, which we carried down to the shore for a fire. It burned with a crackling noise and pungent smell, so pleasant that we decided to carry some of it away with us, filling some bags, and throwing them on board before leaving. We had quite a picnic over our bear steak and coffee, although it was impossible to divest ourselves of a certain gloom, resulting from the lowering heights above. The air was still, and only the tiniest ripple of a surf came rolling in upon our rosy beach, and the stillness, the cessation of motion, and our extraordinary situation, made me for the first time long for home.