was second. He had not quite been able to catch up with Pym, who
was first, as every one had expected. To Eric's great delight, moreover,
Homer was first in the engineering class.

About a week later, the commandant called him into his office.

"Lieutenant Swift," he said, and the boy's face glowed at this first
use of the title, "you have been commissioned and ordered to the _Bear_.
I am told that you know a little Eskimo."

"Yes, sir, a little," Eric answered.

"Your showing in the Academy has been creditable," the commandant
continued, "and I have the pleasure of informing you that your
appointment as United States Commissioner on the _Bear_ on her next trip
has been forwarded to me," and he touched a paper lying on the desk.

"I have to thank Mr. Sutherland for that, sir," Eric answered.

"It is a matter of record, sir," the commandant answered a trifle
sternly, "that you have done your duty. Appointments in the Coast Guard,
Mr. Swift, are made upon the single basis of efficiency and fitness. I
have the honor to congratulate you upon your commission and to wish you
well."

Walking from the commandant's office, Eric, now "Lieutenant Swift," met
the first lieutenant. He looked so excited that the officer stopped and
spoke to him.

"You wanted to speak to me?"

"I've been ordered to the _Bear_, sir," blurted out Eric, for a moment
dropping the official speech and talking eagerly, "and I've got the
Commissionership, too!"

The first lieutenant raised his eyebrows slightly at the conversational
form of address, but he realized that the boy was bubbling over with his
news.

"I'm very glad, Mr. Swift," he said heartily; "perhaps you'll be able to
use a little of that Eskimo you learned."

"I'm so grateful to you, Mr. Sutherland," Eric began, but the other
stopped him with a slight gesture.

"I rather envy you your first trip into the Arctic," he said; "it's an
experience that no one ever forgets. And you will find out for yourself
whether I have overestimated the Eskimo as a race." He put his hand
kindly on the lad's shoulder, as he noticed the slight limp, and
remembered.

"You're going to extremes," he continued; "from the red-hot decks of a
burning ship to the ice hummocks of the polar seas. In that country I'll
pass on to you a word of warning that Commodore Peary once gave me. Make
it your motto in the Arctic. It is this--'Be bold, but never
desperate.'"

With a grateful answer, and with his commis