e-believe."

"Of course it was," added the captain; "but the knowledge of it saves
our bustling you. However, this isn't the time for talk of that sort. I
may tell you, since you do not know, that you are on the west coast of
Greenland, and that there is a Danish settlement not fifty miles from
you--although we don't leave cards on our neighbours."

He called for champagne then, and gave a toast--"The new recruit!" I
did not raise my glass with the others, which he saw, and became stern.

"Well," said he, "I won't have you hurried, and you're my guest until I
put the straight question to you. When that happens you won't think
twice about the answer, for we can be very nasty, I assure you. Now try
a cigar. These are good. They came from the collection of Lord
Remingham, who was on his way to America a few weeks ago."

"And met with an unfortunate accident," said the doctor, with mock
seriousness, which was taken up by the Scotsman, who remarked in his
best drawl--"May his soul ken rest!" and they all shouted with infamous
laughter, but I listened with a morbid interest when the doctor
continued--

"It's astonishing how good the quality of the tobacco and the champagne
is on board the ocean-going steamers; now this Bolinger '84 was the
special pride of the skipper of the _Catalania_, which unhappily sank
in the Atlantic through the sheer impudence of the man who commanded
her. As he liked it so much, I broke a bottle over his head before we
sent him to the devil, with five hundred others."

"You may say, in fact, that he made the acquaintance o' the auld man
wi' the flavour o' this gude stuff on him," said the Scotsman, which
made them laugh again; but Black was satiated with the banter, and he
rose from the table suddenly as the man Four-Eyes entered.

"This pleasant party must disperse," he said to me; "you can go to the
quarters we have provided for you, unless you would like to see more of
us. We are well worth seeing, I think, and we may give you some idea of
our other side."

"I should like to see everything you can show me," I replied, being
aflame with curiosity to know all that the strange situation could
teach me; and then he made a motion for the others to follow, and we
passed from the room.

CHAPTER XVII.

ONE SHALL LIVE.

The way from the dining-room was through a long passage, lighted with
arc lamps at intervals, and having the doors of many rooms on the
right-hand side of it. Several