he people on
board this vessel to be willin' to scoop along under the water when they
have got a chance of sailin' like Christians in the open air. It's the
sudden change that troubles you, Sarah; you'll soon get over it."

But Sarah was not satisfied. The Dipsey rolled a good deal, and the good
woman was frequently obliged to stop and steady herself when crossing
the little cabin.

"I feel," said she, "as if I had had a Christmas dinner yesterday and
somebody else had made the pies."

The dissatisfied condition of Mrs. Block had a cheering influence upon
Captain Hubbell when he heard of it.

"By George!" said he, "this seems like good old times. When I was
young and there was women on board, they all got a little sea-sick; but
nowadays, with these ball-and-socket ships, you never hear of that sort
of thing. A sea-sick woman is the most natural thing I have struck yet
on this cruise."

Mrs. Block's uneasiness, however, did not last very long. A few electric
capsules of half an alterative volt each soon relieved her; but her
mind was still out of order; she was not satisfied. She had accustomed
herself to submerged conditions, and ordinary voyaging was very
different.

"It wouldn't surprise me," she said, "if we should find that there
wasn't any pole; that's about the way these things generally turn out."

In a few hours the Dipsey had rounded the cape, keeping well off shore.
In front was a clear sweep of unobstructed water. With their telescopes
they could see nothing on the horizon which indicated the presence
of land. If the sea should stretch out before them, as they hoped and
expected, a sail of about seventy miles ought to bring them to the pole.
The Dipsey did not go at full speed; there was no hurry, and as he was
in absolutely unknown waters, Captain Hubbell wished to take no risks of
sunken reefs or barely submerged islands. Soundings were frequent, and
they found that the polar sea--at least that part over which they were
sailing was a comparatively shallow body of water.

Before they left Sardis, preparations had been made for an appropriate
and permanent designation of the exact position of the northern end
of the earth's axis. If this should be discovered to be on solid land,
there was a great iron standard, or column, on board, in detached parts,
with all appliances for setting it up firmly in the rocks or earth or
ice; but if the end of the said axis should be found to be covered by
water of no