Bottomly awoke. For a moment her lilac-tinted
eyes had a dazed expression, then they widened, and she lay very quietly
looking from one to another of us, cradled in the golden glory of her
hair, perfectly mistress of herself, and her mind as clear as a bell.

"Well," she said, "so you have arrived at last." And to Dr. Delmour she
smilingly extended a cool, fresh hand.

"Have you met my husband?" she inquired.

We admitted that we had.

"James!" she called.

At the sound of her voice James Skaw hopped nimbly to do her bidding. A
tender smile came into her face as she gazed upon her husband. She made
no explanation concerning him, no apology for him. And, watching her, it
slowly filtered into my mind that she liked him.

With one hand in her husband's and one on Dr. Delmour's arm she listened
to Daisy's account of what we were about to do to the imbedded mammoth,
and nodded approval.

James Skaw turned the mules so that she might watch the explosion. She
twisted up her hair, then sat up in her hammock; Daisy Delmour pressed
the electric button; there came a deep jarring sound, a vast upheaval,
and up out of the mud rose _five or six dozen mammoths_ and toppled
gently over upon the surface of the ice.

[Illustration: "Out of the mud rose _five or six dozen mammoths_."]

Miserable as we were at such an astonishing spectacle we raised a tragic
cheer as Professor Bottomly sprang out of her hammock and, telling Dr.
Delmour to get a camera, seized her husband and sped down to where one of
the great, hairy frozen beasts lay on the ice in full sunshine.

And then we tasted the last drop of gall which our over-slopping cup of
bitterness held for us; Professor Bottomly climbed up the sides of the
frozen mammoth, dragging her husband with her, and stood there waving a
little American flag while Dr. Delmour used up every film in the camera
to record the scientific triumph of the ages.

[Illustration: "Dr. Delmour used up every film in the camera to record
the scientific triumph of the ages."]

Almost idiotic with the shock of my great grief I reeled and tottered
away among the bowlders. Fooss came to find me; and when he found me he
kicked me violently for some time. "Esel dumkopf!" he said.

When he was tired Lezard came and fell upon me, showering me with kicks
and anathema.

When he went away I beat my head with my fists for a while. Every little
helped.

After a time I smelled cooking, and presently Dr. Delmour