other professions.

"Among the books and papers of Admiral Porter Turck, who
lived two hundred years ago, and from whom I am descended,
many volumes still exist, and are in my possession, which
deal with the history and geography of ancient Europe.
Usually I bring several of these books with me upon a
cruise, and this time, among others, I have maps of Europe
and her surrounding waters. I was studying them as we came
away from the Coldwater this morning, and luckily I have
them with me."

"You are going to try to make Europe, sir?" asked Taylor,
the young man who had last spoken.

"It is the nearest land," I replied. "I have always wanted
to explore the forgotten lands of the Eastern Hemisphere.
Here's our chance. To remain at sea is to perish. None of
us ever will see home again. Let us make the best of it,
and enjoy while we do live that which is forbidden the
balance of our race--the adventure and the mystery which lie
beyond thirty."

Taylor and Delcarte seized the spirit of my mood but Snider,
I think, was a trifle sceptical.

"It is treason, sir," I replied, "but there is no law which
compels us to visit punishment upon ourselves. Could we
return to Pan-America, I should be the first to insist that
we face it. But we know that's not possible. Even if this