ck.
This day sighted a berg within which was a dark, shadowy object. On
going in the ship boats to investigate we saw to our amazement that the
said object was a ship. The ice surrounding it was thin, mostly having
melted.

"'From what I knew of such craft I decided, incredible as the idea
might seem, that the craft within the berg was a long frozen up Viking
ship. Not knowing just what her recovery might mean, I undertook to
blast her free of her prison. We had plenty of dynamite on board for the
very purpose of ice-blasting. By three of this p. m. we had the ship
blasted open. I and my officers at once entered the hole the explosive
had made in the craft's side. We expected to find strange things, but
none of us was prepared for what followed. The hold of the imprisoned
ship was full of ivory.

"'My first officer, William Clydesdale, an Englishman, and a college man
before strong drink ruined him, pronounced the ivory to be that of the
tusks of the extinct mammoths which scientists say formerly inhabited
these regions.'"

"Phew! This is romance with a vengeance!" exclaimed Rob.

"Did they get the ivory?" asked the practical Paul Perkins.

"Yes," rejoined the officer, rapidly skimming over the further pages of
the log, "and they estimated the stuff roughly at about five hundred
thousand dollars' worth of exceptional quality."

"How did the ship get frozen in the ice?" asked Hiram. "The Viking ship,
I mean."

"Who can tell," returned the ensign. "I have heard of such things at the
North Pole. Several explorers have even brought back fragments of the
Norseman's lost craft; but I never heard of such an occurrence
transpiring in the Antarctic regions. But let's read on."

The log continued to tell of hardships encountered in beating back
around the Horn with the valuable cargo; of discontent of the crew; of
their constant demand to have the hoard divided equally among the
officers and men, and of the captain's refusal to accede to their
requests. Finally the entries began to grow short and disconnected, as
if whoever was writing up the log was on constant watch and had little
time to spare. Indeed, one entry read:

"Mutiny threatens constantly. The men mean to seize the ivory and take
to the boats."

Following that no entries were made for several days. Then came a
startling announcement, both in its brevity and suggestiveness of
tragedy.

CHAPTER V.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PAST

"'What I dreaded has