nt the exception that has been made in
your case. I am afraid it will lead to trouble by-and-by, unless, of
course, you choose to close with the offer that Black makes to you."

"You speak of an 'exception,' and an 'offer,'" said I; "but for the
life of me, I don't quite know what you mean. How has an exception been
made in my case, and what is the offer?"

"I will tell you in a minute; Captain Black has brought thirty or forty
Englishmen of your position, or better, to this place within the last
three years; not one of them has lived twenty hours from the time he
set foot in the rock-house. As for the offer, it is evident to you that
we could not permit any man to share our privileges, and to be one of
us, unless he shared also our dangers and our risks. In other words,
the time will come when you must sign an agreement such as I have
signed, and these men have signed--and I don't believe that you will
refuse. It is either that, which means full liberty, plenty of money, a
life which is never monotonous, often amusing, and sometimes dangerous;
or an alternative which I really won't dilate on."

"You lay it all down very clearly," I replied, "but you can have my
answer now if you like."

He raised his hand laughingly.

"Curse all emotion," he said, "it affects digestion. Black won't hurry
you--why, for the life of me, I can't tell, but he won't. You can't do
better than take things easy, and see the place. I've brought you a
'Panama,' for the sun can advertise himself at eight bells still; and
if you have nothing better to do, put it on, and light a cigar as we
stroll round."

The idea of inspecting the place pleased me. I followed Doctor
Osbart--for such his name was--down the rock slope we had trodden on
the previous evening; and thence to the beach, hard and baked with the
sun. The men, who had ceased the labour of discharging the steamer,
were lying about on the grassy knolls, smoking and dozing, and they
cast no friendly glances on me as we passed along the shore round the
edge of the bay, and mounted a soft grass slope which led to the
cliff-head on the other side. It was a long walk, but not unpleasant,
in the crisp, sweet, odour-bearing air; and when we had attained the
summit, a glorious seascape was spread before us. All about were the
white peaks and the basaltic rocks, towering above ravines where ice
flowed, or falling away to bright green pastures where reindeer trod.
The coast-line was lofty and aw