ld. I can scarce believe the
truth of it. We are all elated to the seventh heaven of bliss. Pray
God we shall not be disappointed.

I have tried on several occasions to broach the subject of my love to
Lys; but she will not listen.

Chapter 7

October 8, 1916: This is the last entry I shall make upon my
manuscript. When this is done, I shall be through. Though I may pray
that it reaches the haunts of civilized man, my better judgment tells
me that it will never be perused by other eyes than mine, and that even
though it should, it would be too late to avail me. I am alone upon
the summit of the great cliff overlooking the broad Pacific. A chill
south wind bites at my marrow, while far below me I can see the tropic
foliage of Caspak on the one hand and huge icebergs from the near
Antarctic upon the other. Presently I shall stuff my folded manuscript
into the thermos bottle I have carried with me for the purpose since I
left the fort--Fort Dinosaur we named it--and hurl it far outward over
the cliff-top into the Pacific. What current washes the shore of
Caprona I know not; whither my bottle will be borne I cannot even
guess; but I have done all that mortal man may do to notify the world
of my whereabouts and the dangers that threaten those of us who remain
alive in Caspak--if there be any other than myself.

About the 8th of September I accompanied Olson and von Schoenvorts to
the oil-geyser. Lys came with us, and we took a number of things which
von Schoenvorts wanted for the purpose of erecting a crude refinery.
We went up the coast some ten or twelve miles in the U-33, tying up to
shore near the mouth of a small stream which emptied great volumes of
crude oil into the sea--I find it difficult to call this great lake by
any other name. Then we disembarked and went inland about five miles,
where we came upon a small lake entirely filled with oil, from the
center of which a geyser of oil spouted.

On the edge of the lake we helped von Schoenvorts build his primitive
refinery. We worked with him for two days until he got things fairly
well started, and then we returned to Fort Dinosaur, as I feared that
Bradley might return and be worried by our absence. The U-33 merely
landed those of us that were to return to the fort and then retraced
its course toward the oil-well. Olson, Whitely, Wilson, Miss La Rue,
and myself disembarked, while von Schoenvorts and his German crew
returned to refine the oil. Th