tory and abrupt in their leader's manner
that no one thought of asking him a question, though all were filled
with surprise and curiosity as to what he meant to do.

"Come here, Leo," he said, after his orders had been obeyed. "Hold this
coil, and pay it out as I walk to the berg with the end in my hand."

The coil was one of extremely fine copper wire. Leo let it run as the
Captain walked off. A minute or two later he was seen to enter the dark
blue cavern and disappear.

"My dear dad is reckless," exclaimed Benjy, in some anxiety, "what if
the roof o' that cave should fall in. There are bits of ice dropping
about everywhere. What _can_ he be going to do?"

As he spoke, the Captain issued from the cave, and walked smartly
towards them.

"Now then, it's all right," he said, "give me the coil, Leo, and come
back, all of you. Fetch the machine, Alf."

In a few minutes the whole party had retired a considerable distance
from the huge berg, the Captain uncoiling the wire as he went.

"Surely you're not going to try to blow it up piecemeal?" said Leo.

"No, lad, I'm not going to do that, or anything so slow," returned the
Captain, stopping and arranging the instrument.

"But if the box contains gunpowder," persisted Leo, "there's not enough
to--"

"It contains dynamite," said the Captain, affixing the coil to the
machine, and giving it a sharp turn.

If a volcano had suddenly opened fire under the iceberg the effect could
not have been more tremendous. Thunder itself is not more deep than was
the crash which reverberated among the ice-cliffs. Smoke burst in a
huge volume from the heart of the berg. Masses, fragments, domes, and
pinnacles were hurled into the air, and fell back to mingle with the
blue precipices that tumbled, slid, or plunged in horrible confusion.
Only a portion, indeed, of the mighty mass had been actually disrupted,
but the shock to the surrounding ice was so shattering that the entire
berg subsided.

"Stu-pendous!" exclaimed Alf, with a look of awe-stricken wonder.

Benjy, after venting his feelings in a shriek of joyful surprise, seemed
to be struck dumb. Anders and Butterface stood still,--speechless. As
for the Eskimos, they turned with one hideous yell, and fled from the
spot like maniacs--excepting Chingatok, who, although startled, stood
his ground in an attitude expressive of superlative surprise.

"So,--it has not disappointed me," remarked the Captain, when the
hideous