The Internet Detective Library — page 93: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

eft the ws in e way what that aring ger as issing Stokes inter- them, rather active, 1 offer mr the 1 were id not idn’t, dently » des- at the man, d Bel- u get pers I A STRANGE ATTEMPT AT CAPTURE. 87 CHAPTER XIII. A STRANGE ATTEMPT AT CAPTURE. Bellows nodded mysteriously and left the party. Stokes continued with the miners until they had conducted Cadloo back to the barracks. Immediately after he went to bed at his hotel, for the purpose of getting as much sleep as possible before what he believed would be a hard day’s work. At sunrise he was on the river with an Esquimau for a skipper —man and boat were new to Stokes. During his stay at Circle City he had had occasion to engage a boat for fishing and other excursions several times, and generally had used one particular boat. That craft now, however, was away from port, and he had been obliged to take the best that was offered to him, : The skipper was, like most of the Esquimaux, a silent fellow, and he appeared to understand less English than most of his race, Stokes gave him scarcely a thouglit, confining his attention wholly to the problem that would confront him when he should arrive at the island of Taska. The wind was not only exceedingly light, but it came from the north, so that the little craft had to make a great many tacks in order to cover the course. They had just rounded a little island when Stokes saw a small moving object on the water at a considerable distance, he strained his eyes to dis-inguish what it might be, but for a moment could not make out fora certainty. He turned to the skipper and asked : ‘‘Ts that a rowboat off there to the northwest ?’’ The skipper turned his head toward the northeast and looked vacantly. ‘‘The other way,’’ exclaimed Stokes, sharply; ‘‘I said to the northwest.’’ The Esquimau slowly turned his head, fixed his eyes upon the distant boat, and then looked straight before him without answer- in ‘‘Well?’’? said Stokes, impatiently. ‘‘What?’’ inquired the skipper. ‘I asked you if you thought that was a rowboat,’? A, Ra Gomicboo com