Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 2 — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

A MAN _TO All about were other floes, but they were widely separated, and between them crisp waves of indigo were curling snappily. The island stood up sharp and jagged, much larger than Rainey had anticipated. It boasted. two cones, from one of which smoke was lazily trailing. Ice was piled in wild confusion about its shores, wrecked by the gale that had blown hard from four till eight, and was now subsiding with the swift change common to the Arctic. A deep hum of bursting surf undertoned all other noises and, prisoned as she was, the schooner and her floe was sweeping slowly toward the land in the grip of a current rather than before the gusty wind. Lund had fendered the schooner’s bows effectively before he went below with old sails that enveloped stem and swell, Sunes with ropes and bits of canvas. Within an hour the wind had ceased and the slush in the lagoon had pancaked into flakes of forming ice that bid fair to be- come solid within a short time, for the day was bitterly cold and tremendously bright. The sky rose from filmy silver-azure to richest sapphire, and the rolling waters be- tween the floes were darkest purple-blue. As the whip of the wind ceased they settled to a vast swell on which the great clumps of ice rose and fell with dazzling reflections. Lund came up within the hour and stood blinking at the brilliance. ‘““My eyes ain’t as strong yit as they should be,” he said to Rainey. “ I shouldn’t have slung them glasses so hasty at Carl- sen, though they spiled his aim, at that. If this weather keeps up I[’ll have to make snow-specs; there ain’t another pair of smokes aboard.” He made a shade of his curved hand as he gazed at the island. ‘“Current’s got us,” he said, “‘ an’ we'll fetch up mighty close to the beach. It lies between those two ridges, close together, buttin’ out from the volcano. Long Strait current splits on Wrangell Island, and we’re in the trend of the northern loop. That’s why the sea don’t freeze up more solid. It’s freezin’ fast enough round us, where there ain’t motion.” He seemed well satisfied with the pros- pect. “ Had breakfast?” he asked Rainey, and then: ly. HIS MATE. ‘All right. We'll git the men aft.” He bellowed an order, and soon every one came trooping, to gather in two groups either side of the cabin skylight. Their faces were eager with the proximity of the gold, yet half sullen as they waited to hear what Lund had to say. Since the attempt - against him Lund had said nothing about their shares. They acknowledged him as master, but they still rebelled in spirit. “ There’s the island,” said Lund. ‘“ We’ll make it afore sundown. The beach is there, waitin’ for us to dig it up. It Il be some job. I don’t reckon it’s frozen hard, on’y crusted. If it is we’ll bust the crust with dynamite. But we got to hop to it. There’ll be another cold spell after this one peters out an’ the next is like to be permanent. é [ want the gold washed out afore then, an’ us well down the. Strait. It’s up to you to hump yoreselves, an’ I'll help the Simao soa “We'll cradle most of the stuff an’, if they’s time, we'll flume the silt tailin’s for the fine dust. Providin’ we can git a fall of water. There'll be plenty for all hands to do. An’ the shares go as first fixed. I ain’t expectin’ you to do the diggin’ an’ not git a pinch or two of the dust.” The men’s faces lighted, and they shuffled about, lookin’ at each other. with grins of relief. ‘No cheers?” asked Lund ironically. ‘* Wall, I hardly expected enny. Hansen, you'll be. one of the foremen, with pay accordin’. Deming!”’ “| can’t dig,” said the hunter, truculent. ‘* Neither can Beale, with his ribs.”’ ‘“You’ve got a sweet nerve,” said Lund. ‘“[T reckon you’ve won enough to be suré of yore shares, if the boys pay up. Enough for you to do some diggin’ in yore pockets for you and Beale, His ribs ud be whole if you hadn’t started the Bolshie stunt. But (ll find something for both of you to do. Don’t let that worry you none.” “We've got mercury aboard somewhere,” Lund continued, to Rainey, when the men had dispersed, far more cheerful than they had gathered. ‘“ We’ll use that for concen- tration in the film rifles. Hansen ll have rockers made that ’Il catch the big stuff. If the worst comes to the worst, we’ll load up the old hooker with the pay-dirt an’ ~ Gomichbooks (E)