/> sung so many years, would you, girls?"



"O let us see Greenland, by all means, Doctor!" cried Mattie.



"What noted travelers we will be when we get back to Washington," and he

placed an arm about each of their waists and galloped them up and down

the little sitting room several times.



"I do believe that you grow to be more of a boy every year of your

life," panted Mrs. Jones, as she smoothed her rumpled hair.



"You are quite right, Maggie; and what is worse, I do not expect to ever

improve a bit on that line. Give me the heart of a boy while I live. And

now, Professor, I am ready to give you revenge for that last game or two

of chess that went to my credit."



While these two were oblivious to the world in a very closely contested

game, Mrs. Jones sat knitting while Mattie read aloud to her from a late

magazine. Denison and Fred were pacing the balcony for their

"constitutional." Will was working on his oil painting of Jennie Barton,

and so beautifully had he succeeded in bringing out the lovely features,

and trusting, fearless spirit that beamed from a pair of dark blue eyes,

that all the company, even to Sing, expressed their unqualified

admiration.



"Me sabe," said the acute Mongolian. "Ah! Will heap likee Miss Jennie."



The artist blushed, and they all laughed uproariously at his confusion,

and Sing went chuckling to the kitchen.



The following morning Silver Cloud had nearly crossed Davis Strait, and

the bold headlands of the western coast of Greenland were in plain view.

They crossed the western boundary line of that land of perpetual winter,

just a few miles north of the Arctic Circle.



"Hurrah!" shouted Dr. Jones. "In the Arctics at last!"



The wind held still a little north of due east, and Silver Cloud rode at

an elevation of between 3,500 and 4,000 feet. The surface of Greenland

was cold, dreary, and uninviting to a degree. Vast tracts of ice and

snow stretched in every direction, far as the eye could see. Away in the

interior a range of mountains broke the monotony of the landscape.

Toward morning a violent snowstorm gathered below them and hid the face

of Greenland from view until next morning. Silver Cloud, meantime, was

sent up to nearly 5,000 feet altitude, so that they might not collide

with any mountain peak during the night.



"Upon my word," said Professor Gray, as he stood on the balcony the

following morning, and looked out over the white and ghastly picture of

desolation, "I thought Labrador the most inappropriately named country

upon the earth, but think of calling this picture of all that is

inhospitable and forbidding--Greenland!"



By noon they were crossing swiftly the ridge that runs the length of

Greenland, so far as is known. Silver Cloud swept within three hundred

feet of one lofty peak, covered with eternal ice and snow. Then on and

on, swift as an eagle, over the high plateaux and steppes of Eastern

Greenland. Early the following morning they arose to find the Arctic

Ocean beneath, and Greenland disappearing in the misty horizon behind

them. The wind bore a point or so more easterly, and Dr. Jones was

tempted to seek a more favorable current. He descended to the 2,000 foot

level, but experienced no perceptible change.



"Well, we'll stick to my original plan. Anything north of due east or

west is good enough for us," said he.



But he grew restless as they hour after hour steadily continued upon

nearly the same latitudinal line, and descended to 1,000 feet

elevation. There was some change for the better at that altitude for

many hours. One thing that specially pleased them was the wonderful

sensitiveness of the globe to the slightest variation of the temperature

within its interior. The Doctor's plan of using hot air alone as the

floating power had been modified to the extent of dividing one-half of

the globe's interior into several compartments by thin sheets of

aluminum, and these were filled with hydrogen gas. The gas fell but

little short of the power necessary to float the ship, so that a slight

elevation of the temperature in the air chamber above that of the

external atmosphere was sufficient to float the vessel. When it was

desirable to descend, a trap being opened in the upper and lower parts

of the air chamber caused the hot air to rush out and the cold air in,

and the descent could be made rapidly or slowly, at the will of the

commander. By virtue of the zinc lining of the air chamber the

temperature would remain at a given point for many hours without the

consumption of a particle of fuel.



The Doctor and Will together had devised a most ingenious method of

heating the hot-air chamber instantly. By the use of a small air pump

hundreds of atmospheres could be compressed into a very strong aluminum

chest or cylinder. Beneath this cylinder were a number of burners that

heated the compressed air several hundred degrees. As we said before,

when they desired to descend, an upper and lower trap were opened, the

hot air rushed out above and the cold air in below, causing the globe to

descend with great rapidity. This descent could be arrested at any level

by closing the trap, and a certain amount of the air let off from the

hot-air chest, and any temperature desired could be attained at once.

All this could be done at an expense of oil that was ridiculously and

incredibly small. While they could by no means steer or guide this ship,

yet, if the Doctor's theory of air currents should prove to be

scientifically correct, then they were by no means entirely at the mercy

of any and every adverse gale. And, at the worst, when a favorable

current could not be found, they could descend to the earth and anchor

until a fair wind prevailed. One thing further should be explained. When

it became desirable to ascend suddenly or rapidly, the hot-air chest

was thrown completely open, and the vast chamber was instantly filled

with air at any temperature required. When this operation was from any

cause necessary, the upper trap was closed and all the lower apertures

opened. The hot air from the chest immediately mounted to the upper end

of the air chamber, and forced the excess of cold atmosphere out through

these lower traps. The effect upon the globe was marvelous. It would

bound skyward like a rocket. By a series of experiments Will had

ascertained just the amount of pressure per square inch and the

temperature that was necessary to send the ship to a given altitude. The

rate of ascent was under perfect control by letting off the hot air

slowly or rapidly.



"What a mighty engine for good or evil in the world this ship would be,

if it could be guided or steered," remarked Professor Gray.



"I doubt if that can ever be done," replied Will. "The surface presented

to the current of atmosphere is too great to allow any sort of device to

operate satisfactorily."



"The Government is making experiments with what is called the aeroplane,

and the indications are that it is the coming method of aerial

navigation. But the degree of comfort that we are enjoying can never be

an attendant of that plan. I shall never cease to wonder at the speed

with which we are traveling over these Arctic regions in perfect

comfort. I never felt better in my life, and I have grown to feel as

safe as I ever did in my home in Washington," said Professor Gray.



They occasionally saw whales spouting, and it was exceedingly

interesting to watch the great icebergs that floated here and there over

the face of the deep. Some of them towered like crystal mountains,

hundreds of feet into the air.



"Just think how incomprehensibly great these masses of ice are,"

observed Professor Gray. "It is estimated that but one-eighth of the

berg protrudes above the surface. Now look at that monster! Not less

than eighteen or twenty miles long, and from five to six hundred feet

high, making it in the neighborhood of a mile in thickness. Ah! see that

big fellow turning over! Did you ever see anything so grand! I don't

wonder that navigating these seas is next to impossible."



They were all standing upon the balcony when they beheld this startling

scene.



For two whole days the beautiful ship continued steadily upon nearly the

same course. The Professor pointed out their position upon the map at

latitude 70 deg. 35 min., and longitude 50 deg. 20 min., East Greenwich.

At this point they encountered a terrible gale from the north. The

Doctor raised higher and higher, until they reached an altitude of ten

thousand feet. Still they flew at amazing speed toward the south. He

ascended to fifteen thousand, then twenty thousand feet elevation, but

on they went into the heart of Russia. Will went up into the globe and

hurriedly returned.



"You must lower, Doctor! The strain upon the rods is tremendous! The

outside atmospheric resistance is so slight at this elevation that we

shall certainly explode if you ascend any higher."



"Then we will descend and anchor at the first favorable spot, and there

await a south wind. There seems to be a great demand for air at the

equator just now. Well, let them have it," said he grimly, "but we are

sure to get a regurgitation in our direction before many days. So down

we go to study Russian habits and customs."



The upper and lower traps were opened in the air chamber, and they

rapidly descended to within five or six hundred feet of the earth. They

could plainly see that the foliage was being thrashed with great

violence by the gale.



"How shall we manage to safely anchor in this awful wind, Doctor?" asked

Will anxiously.



"Do you see that high range of hills just ahead?"



"Yes."



"Well, they run east and west. We will drop immediately upon the other

side of them. There it must be comparatively calm. But sharp is the

word! We are there now!"



Downward dropped the great ship behind the sheltering crest of the

hills, and she, in a moment or two, was skimming quite easily along,

just above the treetops. In what appeared to be a great park, the anchor

was dropped into the top of a tree. It held securely, and Will and

Denison descended in the cage and made a very strong aluminum cable

fast about the trunk of the tree. After all was made secure, Dr. Jones

and Professor Gray also descended. The little company then began looking

around for signs of life.



"I see a large stone building down this avenue," cried Will.



"The Professor and I will prospect the place, while you two had better

remain here until our return," said the Doctor.



Accordingly they set off at a lively pace toward the building. As they

approached it they looked in vain for signs of human life. They found it

to be a massive ancient castle, standing in the midst of an extensive

grove or park. They were somewhat awed by the deathlike silence that

pervaded the place. They, however, stepped up to a massive oaken door,

and Dr. Jones seized the ponderous iron knocker and struck several

vigorous blows. They waited two or three minutes, but could hear no

sounds within.



"We have struck an enchanted castle, and I must see if I cannot awake

the Sleeping Beauty within," said Dr. Jones, and he was about to apply

the knocker again, when a deep bass voice from a window above addressed

them in a language with which they were unfamiliar.



"We cannot speak your language. Do you speak English?" asked Dr. Jones.



"Are you men, angels, or devils, and what do you want," returned the

voice in fairly good English.



The Doctor hastened to give the desired information, and told who they

were, etc., concisely as possible.



"What is that fearful and wonderful silver ball or globe in which you

dropped from the skies among us?"



After further explanations the bars were removed, and the massive door

swung slowly open. There stood before them a large, black-bearded man,

holding by the collars two large Russian hounds. The brutes growled and

showed their horrid fangs in a way that made the visitors cringe and

draw back.



"Please restrain your dogs, sir, for our mission is a perfectly peaceful

one," said Dr. Jones; and he smiled so blandly that the man seemed to

dismiss his apprehensions. He gave a signal which summoned two men, to

whom he consigned the dogs, and they were led away. He now invited them

to enter, and gave them seats in an adjoining room.



"Gentlemen, I am Count Icanovich, and this is my castle. I welcome you

to its hospitalities. You must excuse the reception we gave you, for I

must confess that I have never been so startled in my life as when I saw

your extraordinary ship come swooping down upon us a few moments ago.

Half my people are in fits, or hidden away in all sorts of holes and

corners."



"I am exceedingly sorry, Count, to have come so abruptly and informally

among you, but I assure you that we are here very much against our own

wishes. We are bound for the North Pole, but this terrible gale from the

north necessitated our anchoring for the present. But since fate has

cast us among you, I am very happy to make the acquaintance of Count

Icanovich. I am Dr. Jones of Washington City, United States, and this is

Professor Gray, of Smithsonian Institute, same city."



The Count shook hands with them very cordially, and asked, "How many are

there of your party?" Upon being told, he immediately desired that they

all be brought to the castle.



"We see but little of the world in this place," said he, "and we hail

this break in the humdrum monotony of our life with extreme pleasure."



The two gentlemen returned appropriate acknowledgments of the Count's

kindness, and arose to return to the globe for the company.



"Will you accompany us to the ship?" asked Dr. Jones.



"I thank you, but I am a victim of sciatic rheumatism, and can do but

little walking," returned the Count. "I hope, however, before you leave

us, to be able to inspect your wonderful air-ship."



"Is your sciatica of long standing?" inquired Dr. Jones, all the

instincts of a good physician being aroused at the presence of

suffering; and running over in his mind a list of remedies from force of

long habit.



"About three years. I contracted it from getting wet when warm. I am

incurable, and must grin and bear to the end."



"Do you feel better quiet, or when moving about?"



"Oh! I must move about. I usually put in hours at night hobbling up and

down my room."



"The bed feels so hard that you cannot find an easy spot to lie on. You

are always worse before storms. After sitting a little while you stiffen

up, feeling much better after moving about. The tendons of your legs

have a drawing sensation, and feel as if too short. There is more or

less of numbness and paralysis, and a wooden sort of feeling of the leg

when walking. You also have lightning-like shocks of pain through the

limb, now and then. Your attacks come on every few weeks, and it is the

left limb that is affected. You can be cured."



The doctor rattled these symptoms off with great volubility. The Count

looked at him with open-eyed wonder. The professor was not less

astonished at the positiveness with which Dr. Jones thus detailed the

Count's symptoms without any previous knowledge of the case.



"Whether you be angel or devil, I do not know; but certain it is that

you have told my symptoms better than I could have done myself. But you

make a bold assertion when you say that I can be cured. Do you know,

man, that I have had the best advice in Europe, and have spent a fortune

seeking relief?"



"Are you taking medicine now, sir?"



"No. I have thrown physic to the dogs, and may God have mercy on the

dogs. I am thoroughly disgusted with physic and physicians. And why

should I not be? Several years since, I saw my wife die of pulmonary

consumption. And now my only child lies in a chamber above, well

advanced in the same terrible, wholly incurable disease. As if this were

not enough, I myself am suffering the pangs of h--l with a lingering,

incurable complaint. Why shouldn't I detest the whole lying, infernal

business?" he roared, striking the floor savagely with his cane.



"Sure enough, sure enough," said the Doctor soothingly and

sympathetically. "I do not blame you in the least. But we will see if

something cannot be done for you, Count. I believe in my soul that I can

cure you, and that right speedily. Let us now hasten back, for our

people will be alarmed at our long absence."



They found them indeed wondering and anxious. All immediately descended

and repaired to the castle. The Count met them at the door, and, after

a formal introduction to each, led them to a large, quite modernly

furnished drawing-room.



"Now," said the Count, "please make yourselves at home. I intend that

you shall be my guests while you remain in this vicinity. You will be

shown to your rooms in a few moments. You will please excuse me now, and

I will see you at dinner, which will be at six o'clock."



He was about leaving the room, limping painfully, when Dr. Jones stepped

up to him, and, pulling a small vial from his vest pocket, said: "Put

out your tongue, Count; I wish to give you a dose of medicine that will

cure your sciatica."



The Count looked at him suspiciously a moment, then sat down as

requested, and put out his tongue. Dr. Jones shook a grain or two of

powder upon it.



"You will suffer less to-night than you have done in a long time. It is

very possible that this one dose will cure you perfectly and

permanently."



"I tell you frankly, sir, that I have not a particle of faith in your

minute, tasteless dose affecting me in the slightest," said the Count

with a half angry glare in his deep-set black eyes.



"I do not care a fig for your faith, sir," replied Dr. Jones in his

independent American manner. "Happily for you, this is not a Christian

Science cure that I am performing. You have the indicated remedy in your

circulation now; and with all due respect, believe what you please."



The company of friends were looking on anxiously, fearing that the

Doctor was too brusque with the nobleman. But that individual smiled,

and really seemed quite pleased and amused at Dr. Jones' positive,

straightforward way of doing business.



"Evidently you are not deficient in the element of faith, Doctor, and

I can but wish that your faith may not be in vain in this instance."



After the Count had withdrawn, Professor Gray said: "Dr. Jones, I do not

at all understand how you could tell the Count his symptoms as you did,

without any previous knowledge of the case. Does sciatic rheumatism

always present just the same picture, or set of symptoms, that you

should be able to so rapidly and correctly tell his purely subjective

sensations?"



"Not by any means, Professor. A scientific prescription, like a stool,

must have at least three legs to stand upon. You will remember that the

Count had already told me that moving about, especially at night,

mitigated his pains; that he contracted his ailment from getting wet;

and I noticed that he favored the left leg in walking. These were the

three legs for my stool, or prescription. I felt positive that the

remedy indicated was Rhus Toxicodendron. So I merely mentioned the

leading characteristics of that drug, and I was not mistaken. You see,

then, that I did nothing marvelous nor supernatural. Now, any one of

many other drugs might have been indicated if the symptoms had been

different from what they were. The symptoms of the disease must always

be the same as those that the indicated drug is capable of producing in

crude doses. Rhus tox. will cure the Count because, in every case of

poisoning by that drug, there will be produced the symptoms found in his

case. Like cures like. This is a universal law of God. I feel quite sure

that the Count will experience great benefit from the one dose I have

given him."



"I shall watch this case with the greatest interest," said the

Professor. "You will make a convert of me to your system if you perform

a cure of so obstinate and painful a disease with an infinitesimal dose

of medicine."



"All right, my dear sir. I always feel confident of a cure when the

symptoms are clear cut as in this instance."



A general conversation was now entered into for a few moments, when

servants entered and signaled them to follow, and each was conducted to

a comfortable apartment. They shortly after assembled again in the

drawing-room and awaited the announcement of dinner. Fred opened the

piano, and he and the ladies sang a trio. They were glad when a servant

appeared and signaled them to follow him to the dining-room. The Count

was the only Russian present who could speak English. So he watched

carefully and interpreted the wants of his guests to the servants, and

but very little trouble was experienced. They found the cooking very

palatable, and their mode of living aboard Silver Cloud in the frosty

atmosphere of the Arctic region had sharpened their appetites

enormously.



The Count talked with them about their journey, and was much interested

in the graphic accounts given by the different members of the party of

their experiences. Will explained the plan and construction of the

globe. The Count was a good listener, and seemed deeply impressed with

all that was said upon the subject.



"It seems to me incredible that you were so short a time ago in

Washington City, U.S., and are now sitting at my dining table in the

heart of Russia. And think of the circuitous route by which you came!

Still I am prepared to believe anything when I look at yonder wonderful

silver globe, and remember how you dropped among us from the skies as

you did to-day."



After dinner Will and Denison borrowed a lantern and went to see that

Silver Cloud was all right for the night. The wind swayed the monster

ball back and forward gently, and there seemed to be no great strain

upon the cables.



"I think we had better get out the other two cables," said Will. "I do

not feel quite safe. A heavy gust might tear it away, and that would be

a calamity indeed."



So he ascended to the engine-room and passed the cable ends to Denison,

who made them securely fast to adjoining trees.



A very enjoyable evening was spent in the great drawing-room. Of course

music constituted the chief source of pleasure. Fred brought his anthem

and glee books from the cabin of Silver Cloud, and the old walls of the

castle certainly seldom, if ever, rang with such music as was discoursed

there that night. The domestics had so far recovered from their fright

that they now crowded the adjoining hall to hear the singing. So

ravishing was the harmony to their semi-barbaric ears that, conjoined

with the marvelous manner of their coming among them, these poor

creatures were ready to fall down and worship them as heavenly

visitants. The Count himself seemed to enjoy the music exceedingly, and

encored long and loudly. When they separated for the night, he shook

hands cordially with each, and said:



"My good friends, I cannot sufficiently thank you for the pleasure you

have afforded me this evening. You may be sure that my invalid daughter

has enjoyed your delightful music. She desired that the door be opened

so that she has heard it all. She was an accomplished vocal and

instrumental musician before her illness. Perhaps she may feel well

enough to see you in the drawing-room to-morrow evening."



Turning then to Dr. Jones, he said: "Well, Doctor, whether it be your

medicine or music that has charmed away my pains, I do not know; but it

is certain that I have not been so free from suffering for a long time.

I bid you all a very good night."



After a consultation it was thought best that two should sleep aboard

Silver Cloud every night so long as the party remained with the Count.

So Will and Denison took upon themselves this duty, and immediately

repaired to the cabin for the night.