is
egotistical female swallowed the silly bait we offered, so arrogantly had
she planned to eliminate everybody excepting herself from the credit of
the discovery, that there seemed now nothing left for us to do except to
watch her hurdling deliriously toward destruction. _Should_ we burst into
hellish laughter?

We looked hard at Dr. Delmour and we decided not to--yet.

Said I: "To assist at the final apotheosis of Professor Bottomly makes us
very, very happy. We are happy to remain incognito, mere ciphers blotted
out by the fierce white light which is about to beat upon Professor
Bottomly, fore and aft. We are happy that our participation in this
astonishing affair shall never be known to science.

"But, happiest of all are we, dear Dr. Delmour, in the knowledge that
_you_ are to be with us and of us, incognito on this voyage now imminent;
that you are to be our revered and beloved leader.

"And I, for one, promise you personally the undivided devotion of a man
whose entire and austere career has been dedicated to science--in _all_
its branches."

I stepped forward rather gracefully and raised her little hand to my lips
to let her see that even the science of gallantry had not been neglected
by me.

Dr. Daisy Delmour blushed.

"Therefore," said I, "considering the fact that our names are not to
figure in this expedition; and, furthermore, in consideration of the fact
that _you_ are going, we shall be very, very happy to accompany you, Dr.
Delmour." I again saluted her hand, and again Dr. Delmour blushed and
looked sideways at Professor Lezard.

IV

It was, to be accurate, exactly twenty-three days later that our voyage
by sea and land ended one Monday morning upon the gigantic terminal
moraine of the Golden Glacier, Cook's Peninsula, Baffin Land.

Four pack-mules carried our luggage, four more bore our persons; an
arctic dicky-bird sat on a bowlder and said, "Pilly-willy-willy! Tweet!
Tweet!"

As we rode out to the bowlder-strewn edge of the moraine the rising sun
greeted us cordially, illuminating below us the flat surface of the marsh
which stretched away to the east and south as far as the eye could see.

So flat was it that we immediately made out the silhouettes of two mules
tethered below us a quarter of a mile away.

Something about the attitude of these mules arrested our attention, and,
gazing upon them through our field-glasses we beheld Professor Bottomly.

That resourceful lady ha