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Show SYNOPSIS. The story opcna with the introduction of John Stephens, adventurer, a Massachusetts Massa-chusetts man marooned by authorities at Valparaiso, Chile. 15yn interested in mining operations in Bolivia, he was denounced de-nounced by Chile as an insurrectionist and as a consequence was hiding- At his hotel his attention was attracted by an Knlishman and a young woman. Stephens rescued the young woman from a drunken officer. He was thanked by her. Admiral of the Peruvian navy confronted con-fronted Stephens, told him that war had been declared between Chile and Peru and offered him the office of captain. He desired that that night the Esmeralda, a Chilean vessel, should be captured. Stephens accepted the commission. Stephens met a motley crew, to which he was assigned. He gave them final instructions. in-structions. They boarded the vessel. They successfully captured the vessel supposed to be the Esmeralda, through strategy. Capt. Stephens gave directions for the departure de-parture of the craft. He entered the cabin cab-in and discovered the English woman and her maid. Stephens quickly learned the wrong vessel had been captured. Xt was Jord Darlington's private yacht, the lord's wife and. maid being aboard. He explained the situation to her ladyship. lady-ship. Then First Mate Tuttle laid bare the plot, saying tht the Sea Queen had been taken in order to go to the Antarctic Antarc-tic circle. Tuttle explained that on a former voyage he had learned that the Donna Isabel was lost in 1753. He had found it frozen in a huge case of ice on an island and contained much gold. Stephens consented to be the captain of the - expedition. He told Lady Darlington. She was greatly alarmed, but expressed confidence in him. The Sea Queen encountered a vessel in the fog. Stephens attempted to communicate. This caused a fierce struggle and he was overcome. Tuttle finally squaring the sit-iiation. sit-iiation. Then the Sea Queen headed south again. Under Tuttle's guidance the vessel ves-sel made progress toward its goal. De Nova, the mate, told Stephens that he believed Tuttle, now acting as skipper, insane because of his queer actions. Stephens was awakened by crashing of glass. He saw Tuttle in the grip of a spasm of religious mania and ' overcame him. The sailor upon regaining his senses was ta ken ill. Tuttle commit ted suicide by shooting. Upon vote of the crew Stephens assumed the leadership and the men1 decided to continue the treasure hunt, the islands being supposed to be only 200 miles distant. Tuttle was buried in the sea, Lady Darlington pronouncing the service. Stephens awaking from sleep saw the ghost, supposed to have formed the basis for Tuttle's religious mania. Upon advice of Lady Darlington, Stephens started to probe the ghost. He on me upon Lieut. Sanchez, the drunken drunk-en officer he had humbled in Chile. He found flint at Sanchez' inspiration. En- : gineer McKnight played "ghost" to scare the men into giving up the quest. We stood there, silent and motionless, motion-less, waiting anxiously, ths men ranged along the rail, with their eyes all turned forward. I rang for full speed, and the Sea Queen fairly leaped ahead through the icy smother, smoth-er, flinging clouds of white spray over the heedless figures. Within ten minutes min-utes we hegan to perceive the huge mass we were approaching from the deck, and never before had my eyes looked upon so gigantic and majestic a mountain of ice. It was ono immense im-mense cliff towering into the upper air, being fully 300 feet high, and not less than 1,200 feet in length, with vast glittering pinnacles rising still farther into the sky, its entire front a sheer precipice, gleaming in cold blue, with hardly a darker shadow anywhere to yield relief to the eye. We rounded its eastern edge so closely close-ly one could have tossed a biscuit from the foreyard against its smooth front, the swell of its motion tossing the daring dar-ing yacht like an eggshell. Symes clung to his perch aloft with ths grip of a monkey, swinging back and forth to the wild swaying of the spar. Suddenly Sud-denly he yelled down: "There's wind comin' from the sou'west, sir." "Heavy?' "Looks to be a stiff breeze, an' it's bringing more snow." "Lay down from aloft." I sprang over to consult the binnacle-card, and then cast one swift, comprehending glance at the thickening thicken-ing gloom in the southwest. Beyond doubt the change had come. "Give her two more points north, wheelsman; keep her head noreast by nor' steady so. Mr. De Nova, send another man up here to the wheel. All hands now; stow everything; every-thing; tail on to those gaskets lively, my lads; we're in for a blow, and a run for our lives." To my amazement scarcely a man among them stirred, the eyes of the majority turning toward Anderson. Within a Minute De Nova Had Joined Me, His Eyes Still Heavy with Sleep. iDvidently there was an understanomg between them; they intended to revolt and had chosen him their leader. He stood just in front of the forecastle, a lumping big figure in his heavy clothes, his coarse face and ugly jaw showing beneath a fur cap. "What yer turnin' north for in such a hurry, Mr. Stephens?" he growled, hoarsely. "It's not by vote o' the crew, an' we're the ones that's got they say of it on this voyage. We're for keepin' along this line o' latitude for a day or so anyhow. Tuttle might 'a' got his Aggers tangled an' missed a few leagues. Anyhow, we want the lady to give us her reckoning first." I felt the hot blood leap to my face, and my teeth clenched as I leaned over the rail gazing down at him. "Lads," I said, striving to master myself. ."I've put you exactly where I promised I would; I've shown you all that was here. You can see for yourselves your-selves what will happen if we hold on any longer. The wind has swept around; it is going to bring that whole pack of ice down on us. We've got to run for it, or be crushed. Now what I want to know is, are you with me, or with Bill Anderson?" They held off muttering, yet casting uneasy glances over the rail. Anderson Ander-son stamped angrily on the deck. "Oh, to hell with yer fine words," he said, grimly. "What if the wind has changed a bit? Can't we beat off the floe under steam the same as we did before? We're sailor-men, and not afraid of a rough sea. For one, I'm damned if I leave that gold to rot here without huntin' for it." Words were clearly useless, and 1 figured out our position, and this is the spot we've been hunting after in these seas. I've sent Symes aloft to look out for Tuttle's island. If there's any land in sight, well and good; we'll have a try for looting the Donna Isabel of those Spanish pesos. But if not, then we'll call it a wild goose chase, and the Sea Queen points her nose north." There' was a faint, half-hearted attempt at-tempt at a cheer, which ended in a muttering of oaths and a shuffling of feet on the icy planks. The glances of the fellows turned upward toward Symes, now securely posted on the fpretopsail yard, the glasses to his eyes. One or two among them, including in-cluding Anderson, clambered to the top of the forecastle where they could see ahead. "How the hell," the latter yelled "do we know this is the place, and suddenly from that point of vantage, that you ain't foolin' us just to get back?" The crowd turned their eyes on me, and I heard a growl of approval. "Principally because I say so, Anderson. An-derson. The chart, with our course pricked on it day by day, is yonder in the chart-house. And my figures are there also for this day's reckoning." reckon-ing." "But we don't any of us know anything any-thing about that!" "True enough, but there happens to be one on board who can figure it out for you if you doubt my word. Lady Darlington can do it." The rising medley of growling voices CHAPTER XVIII. Continued. He promised with an eager earnestness earnest-ness that went far toward convincing me I had not only conquered the man, but won his friendship as well. "Then wait here, McKnight, until I can pass back alone through the engine en-gine room. In ten minutes you slip through, and let this end it. Shake hands, my man." He gave me a grip I felt, and so I left him, a mere shadow in the black passage. Lady Darlington stood within the door of her cabin waiting for me, her face brightening as I emerged through the pantry door. "Who was It?" "McKnight; I caught him in the very act, but shall keep it from the crew. There will be no repetition of this affair, I am sure, for now we are homeward bound." How quickly her gray eyes lighted light-ed up, her hands instantly clasping mine. "Homeward bound, Mr. Stephens! Have we already attained the spot sought In this sea? Was there nothing noth-ing discovered there as a reward for all this long voyage?" "No, we are not yet there, but I have determined upon turning back. I can not take you any farther into danger." "But why? why? Is the peril so terribly desperate? How much farther far-ther south must we go?" "With fair luck, the wind holding as it is, we might attain the position to-morrow. 'Tis not a long run; but, Lady Darlington, I am arrnl'ti to risk it. The slightest slant of wind will bring the Ice crashing down upon us. V,"'. are under Damocles' sword, suspended suspend-ed by a hair. This is the beginning of winter in these Uitutudes of fierce gales from the south sweeping across leagues of frozen waters. We have been wonderfully fortunate thus far, yet, a single day, ay, a single hour, might seal our fate, hemming us in beyond be-yond any possibility of escape. I might take the chance if we were all . mere adventurers on board, but I dare not trifle any longer with your life." "I I am not that kind of a coward, Mr. Stephens. You you owe it to those men to push on, now we are so near their goal. You have pledged them your word, and and I want you to keep it." The companion-door slid hack, and a man came heavily down the steps. As he caught sight of us he pulled off his cap awkwardly. "Mr. De Nova sent me to call you, Bir," he said. "It's four bells." CHAPTER XIX. In Which We Attain 66 17' South. Wheu morning arrived the Sea Queen was plunging through an angry an-gry sea, in the midst of a raging snow storm which effectually concealed con-cealed all our immediate surroundings. With vivid remembrance of those vast ice. Gelds lving off our starboard quar- - , i ter, and the certainty that numerous bergs were drifting not far ahead, we were compelled to slow down our engines, en-gines, feeling a way cautiously through the white fog. The Ice-cakes buffeting our bows, and scraping along the sides, were a constant menace, requiring men to fend them off so as to keep rudder and screw uninjured; the mainsail had broken loose from its gaskets, and, frozen stiff as the heavy canvas was; proved difficult to secure; while the ice on our forward deck had accumulated to such a thickness as to be weighting us down by the head, and had to be chopped loose and flung overboard in great blocks. It was not far from noon when the heavy snow-clouds broke and went scurrying away like a flock of birds, leaving the wide sweep of waters clear to our view, with a yellow sun hanging cold in the pale blue of the sky. I hardly knew where we were, not feeling at all certain about the extent of our drift during the past 24 hours, and so hastily brought my instruments on deck and shot the sun, stepping into in-to the chart house to figure out our position. The result sent a sudden thrill of exultation through me. "We have attained the spot!" I exclaimed, ex-claimed, as I glanced up, and saw her gazing in at me through the open door. "Now we will ascertain the truth of Tuttle's vision." "The spot? Do you mean this Is the point of sea we have been seeking?" seek-ing?" "Ay! and now, thank God! we can head the other way." I sprang eagerly past her, clinging a life-line so as to keep my feet on deck, too thoroughly excited by my atevery to remain any longer long-er in idleness. "Johnson, run Defer., and call Mr. De Nova. Have him turn out at once." I watched the fellow slide to the companion, and made my ovu way to the bridge, sweeping my glasses anxiously anx-iously about the clearing horizon. Wiihin a minute De Nova had joined me. his eyes still heavy from sleep. "Mr. De Nova." I said, rapidly, my gloved hand sweeping a semicircle in our front. "I have just taku an observation, ob-servation, and this is latitude. UG 17' south and longitude 110 ci west. Send your sharpest-eyed lookout vo the forctopsail yard with these fclasses. Then call all hands." He went down the bridge stairs as though shot from a gun, and a moment later a young seaman nailed Symes was swiftly footing the ratlines, rat-lines, their coating of ice breaking under un-der his tread and rattling on the deck below. The men swarmed out from the forecastle and up the main hatch, ranging rang-ing themselves about the foot of the foremast, watching me eagerly, and occasionally peering up at Symes, now well above the cross-trees. "Lads." I cried, bending over the rail of the bridge, and staring down Into In-to their unturned faces "I've Just ripped back my heavy coat, dragging off my gloves, all patience exhausted "Come on, De Nova," I exclaimed: "you've got sense enough to realize what this means." I was over the rail with a leap, fron ing them on the deck. Almost to my surprise the Creole landed beside me: and without a word we s.ruck out at the heads in our front. It was a fierce mix-up for a minute, yet only a man oi two al t?i?h Anderson, the sud dennes: of our assault taking all the fight oi.t of most of them. I struck Big Uils twice squarely in the face driving Mm hack against the steps leading ti 'he forecastle dr-jc-k; over these he P-ill sprawling, his head thumping ihe plank. The next instant I had De.. .'ova's antagonists in the rear, and S-gether we laid them out against thj --ail. and none ton gently The mate'-..- mnile had becon.e ugly, and he wouUl have leaped into ;he rest of the bunch, h.t I caught his arm. (TO iE CONTINUED.) ceased almost instantly, and if I had felt any question as to what her ladyship lady-ship would do it was immediately silenced. si-lenced. She slipped to the rail of the stairs, her hood thrown back, her hair blowing in the wind. "I I believe thoroughly in Mr. Stephens," Ste-phens," she said, clearly, "but it is -ue that I know something of navigation, naviga-tion, '. vou really doubt his statement state-ment I will figure ii -,t for you." "Now y.m hear that, laas,"' my voice ringing out stern over the hubbub. hub-bub. "You'll believe this lady if her results are the same as mine. Now stop your growling." I hollowed my hands for a hail aloft. "What do you pick up, Symes?" His words came back in a thread of sound as he looked down upon us from his bobbing perch. "Not very much, sir, except water. There's a hell of a big field o' ice out yonder," pointing with one hand, the other gripping the spar, "but it's mostly fiat, an' all glistenin' with snow. There's maybe a dozen bergs ahead an' off the port quarter, mostly medium size, but with the devil of a big fellow a point or so to the north." "Any land?" "Not a sign, sir, unless that's It I take for a big berg. The shadows look dark enough for rock." "Ease her off two points, wheelman." wheel-man." "Two points it Is, sir." |