nt crept into his eyes--"what are we going to find? A beach with
a roaring surf on it, and if we get a boat through, a desolate,
half-frozen swamp behind it. It's quite likely there are people in the
country, Koriaks or Kamtchadales, but, if there are, they'll probably
move up and down after what they get to eat like the Huskies do, and we
can't hang on and wait for them. 'Most any time next month we'll have
the ice closing in."

Wyllard made no reply for another minute, and, as he stood with hands
clenched on the wheel, a puff of bitter spray splashed upon his
oilskins. They had been over it all often before, weighing conjecture
after conjecture, and had found nothing in any that might serve to guide
them. Now, when winter was close at hand, they had leagues of surf-swept
beach to search for three men who might have perished twelve months
earlier.

"We'll stand in until we pick up the beach," he said at length. "Then if
there's no sign of them we'll push north as long as we can find open
water. Now if you'll call Charly I'll let up at the wheel."

Another white man walked aft, and Wyllard, entering the little stern
cabin, the top of which rose several feet above the deck, took off his
wet oilskins and crawled, dressed as he was, into his bunk. Evening was
closing in, and for a while he lay blinking at the swinging lamp, and
wondering what the end of the search would be.

The _Selache_ was a little fore and aft schooner of some ninety-odd
tons, wholly unprotected against ice-chafe or nip, and he knew that
prudence dictated their driving her south under every rag of canvas now.
There was, however, the possibility of finding some sheltered inlet
where she could lie out the winter, frozen in, and he had blind
confidence in his crew. The white men were sealers who had borne the
lash of snow-laden gales, the wash of icy seas, and tremendous labor at
the oar, and the Indians had been born to an unending struggle with the
waters. All of them had many times looked the King of Terrors squarely
in the face. As an encouraging aid to strenuous effort they had been
promised a tempting bonus if the _Selache_ returned home successful.

While Wyllard pondered upon these things he went to sleep and slept
soundly, though Dampier expected to raise the beach some time next
morning. The skipper's expectation proved to be warranted, and, when
Wyllard turned out, the stretch of shore lay before them, a dingy smear
on a slate-green sea th