don
asked for a sheet of letter-paper, and sent his acceptance in a large
sailor's hand to the address indicated. The same day he put himself
in communication with the Birkenhead shipbuilders, and twenty-four
hours later the keel of the _Forward_ lay on the stocks in the
dockyard.

Richard Shandon was a bachelor of forty, robust, energetic, and brave,
three sailor-like qualities, giving their possessor confidence,
vigour, and _sang-froid_. He was reputed jealous and hard to be
pleased, so he was more feared than loved by his sailors. But this
reputation did not increase the difficulty of finding a crew, for
he was known to be a clever commander. He was afraid that the mystery
of the enterprise would embarrass his movements, and he said to
himself, "The best thing I can do is to say nothing at all; there
are sea-dogs who will want to know the why and the wherefore of the
business, and as I know nothing myself, I can't tell them. K. Z. is
a queer fish, but after all he knows me, and has confidence in me;
that's enough. As to the ship, she will be a handsome lass, and my
name isn't Richard Shandon if she is not destined for the Frozen Seas.
But I shall keep that to myself and my officers."

Upon which Richard Shandon set about recruiting his crew upon the
conditions of family and health exacted by the captain. He knew a
brave fellow and capital sailor, named James Wall. Wall was about
thirty, and had made more than one trip to the North Seas. Shandon
offered him the post of third officer, and he accepted blindly; all
he cared for was to sail, as he was devoted to his profession. Shandon
told him and Johnson (whom he engaged as boatswain) all he knew about
the business.

"Just as soon go there as anywhere else," answered Wall. "If it's
to seek the North-West passage, many have been and come back."

"Been, yes; but come back I don't answer for," said Johnson; "but
that's no reason for not going."

"Besides, if we are not mistaken in our conjectures," said Shandon,
"the voyage will be undertaken under good conditions. The _Forward's_
a bonny lass, with a good engine, and will stand wear and tear.
Eighteen men are all the crew we want."

"Eighteen men?" said Johnson. "That's just the number that the
American, Kane, had on board when he made his famous voyage towards
the North Pole."

"It's a singular fact that there's always some private individual
trying to cross the sea from Davis's Straits to Behring's Straits.
T