boat made of a few planks torn from a wrecked American ship first
touches the coast or crosses the unknown ocean, can that diminish the
honor of the discovery? If you found on this shore the hull of an
abandoned ship, should you hesitate to make use of it? Doesn't the
glory of success belong to the head of the expedition? And I ask you
if this launch built by four Englishmen, manned by four Englishmen,
would not be English from keel to gunwale?"

Hatteras was still silent.

"No," said Clawbonny, "let us talk frankly; it's not the boat you
mind, it's the man."

"Yes, Doctor, yes," answered the captain, "that American; I hate him
with real English hate, that man thrown in my way by chance--"

"To save you!"

"To ruin me! He seems to defy me, to act as master, to imagine he
holds my fate in his hands, and to have guessed my plans. Didn't he
show his character when we were giving names to the new lands? Has he
ever said what he was doing here? You can't free me of the idea which
is killing me, that this man is the head of an expedition sent out by
the government of the United States."

"And if he is, Hatteras, what is there to show that he is in search of
the Pole? Can't America try to discover the Northwest Passage as well
as England? At any rate, Altamont is perfectly ignorant of your plans;
for neither Johnson nor Bell nor you nor I has said a single word
about them in his presence."

"Well, I hope he'll never know them!"

"He will know them finally, of course, for we can't leave him alone
here."

"Why not?" asked the captain, with some violence; "can't he remain at
Fort Providence?"

"He would never give his consent, Hatteras; and then to leave him
here, uncertain of finding him again, would be more than imprudent, it
would be inhuman. Altamont will come with us; he must come! But since
there is no need of suggesting new ideas to him, let us say nothing,
and build a launch apparently for reconnoitring these new shores."

Hatteras could not make up his mind to accede to the demands of his
friend, who waited for an answer which did not come.

"And if he refused to let us tear his ship to pieces!" said the
captain, finally.

"In that case, you would have the right on your side; you could build
the boat in spite of him, and he could do nothing about it."

"I hope he will refuse," exclaimed Hatteras.

"Before he refuses," answered the doctor, "he must be asked. I will
undertake to do it."

In fact, tha