again to our ungracious cicerone.

"A snug little box you have here, Mr, er--"

"Hoyt, sir--Colman Hoyt."

"Ah, yes--of North Pole fame. You are the man--"

"Who has led four expeditions to reach it, and failed as often. That is
MY title to fame. And also my qualification for membership in the
Utinam Club," he added, grimly.

"Ah, yes--the discovery of the Pole. A unique and delightful idea in
clubdom--eh, Thorp? To succeed--"

"No, sir; to FAIL," interrupted Mr. Hoyt, rudely. "What the devil do
you suppose I am doing in this galley? You must be a very new member of
the Utinam Club."

"To tell the truth, Mr. Hoyt," said Indiman, with an air of engaging
frankness, "I have never, until this moment, even heard of the Utinam
Club. But for all that I am convinced that I am about to become a
member of it, and I may say the same for my friend, Mr. Thorp. Now,
possibly you may be inclined to assist us."

Mr. Hoyt stared. "It's a pity, isn't it," he remarked, reflectively,
"that our standard of eligibility doesn't conform to that of your
impudence. Still, I won't say that it can't be done; this is a
proprietary club, you know. You had better see Dr. Magnus."

"Dr. Magnus?"

"The proprietor of the Utinam Club. Here he comes now."

A slight, gray-haired man of fifty or there-abouts had entered the hall
from the rear and immediately came forward to meet us. His eyes were
the extraordinary feature of his face, piercingly brilliant and
enormously magnified by the spectacles that he wore. The lenses of the
latter were nearly an eighth of an inch thick and evidently of the
highest power. Even with their aid his powers of vision seemed
imperfect. On hearing the few words of explanation vouchsafed by the
unamiable Mr. Hoyt, he drew from his pocket a second and third pair of
glasses and deliberately added both to his original optical equipment.
I know that I felt like a fly under a microscope in facing that
formidable battery of lenses. But the scrutiny seemed to satisfy him;
he spoke courteously enough:

"Step into my office, gentlemen, and we will talk the matter over."

Mr. Colman Hoyt had departed without further formality, and we followed
our host into the room adjoining the hall on the right. It looked like
the study of a man of science; charts and globes and plaster-of-Paris
casts were everywhere, while the far end of the apartment was occupied
by a huge, flat-topped table covered with papers, test-tubes, and
glas