ctor very sarcastically.

"O yes! Doctor, I assure you that I heard every word of it."

"And what was I just talking about?"

"Um--ah--O yes, I remember. It was where the two deserters were sitting
on their coffins and were just about to be shot. I want to hear that
out," and Fred looked the picture of anxiety and interestedness.

"Do you, though!" snorted Dr. Jones. "If I served you right, I would
drop you through the manhole, just to wake you up."

CHAPTER XXI.

Things Material and Spiritual.

The wind continued all night as last noted, and Silver Cloud, without a
tremor or swaying motion of any kind, was scurrying across the barren
wastes of the Arctics at marvelous speed. At noon upon the second day
from the Pole, Professor Gray took an observation, and announced that
they then were at latitude 68 deg., 20 min., longitude 120 deg. 16 min.,
West Greenwich.

"We are about crossing the Arctic circle. We are just above the barren
grounds north of Great Bear Lake," said the Professor. "Shortly after
breakfast to-morrow morning we will cross the northern boundary of the
United States at our present speed."

"What great body of water is that I see ahead?" asked Denison a little
later.

"That is Great Bear Lake," replied Professor Gray. "See how the
vegetation begins to show up."

The weather was superb, and the lake lay calm and smooth beneath them as
a mirror. While they were tearing through the skies at express train
speed, their elevation being a little over 3,000 feet, they could
plainly see through their glasses that small birch trees and evergreens
upon the banks were nearly motionless.

"Now you see an illustration of my theory," cried the delighted Doctor.
"Here are we in a gale; below, scarcely a breath of air is stirring. It
did not work in Russia, and we were obliged to anchor. But I shall
regard that as a providential affair and shall stick to my theory. I
would not for anything have failed to plant the good seed which we left
there. Great good will come of it, and it may be the commencement of a
general recognition throughout all Europe of God's great law of cure. If
so, I shall count that as of infinitely greater importance than the
location of the North Pole."

The wind veered to the northwest toward evening, and a consultation of
the map showed that they were heading precisely as they wished to. On
the following morning, they crossed what the Professor informed them was
the Lake of