A few years before, at San Francisco, in California, an island in the Pacific Ocean, Spencer Island, had been sold to the rich W. W. Kolderup, when he outbid J. R. Taskinar, of Stockton.[1] Spencer Island was habitable; it was only a few degrees from the Californian coast; it had forests, watercourses, a fertile soil, and fields and prairies fit for cultivation3; it was not an indefinite region, covered perhaps 28with sea and perpetual ice, which probably no one would ever occupy. For Spencer Island four hundred thousand dollars had been paid; for the polar territories it was not to be expected that anything like that amount would be forthcoming.
1. See “Godfrey Morgan,” by the same author.
Nevertheless, the strangeness of the affair had brought together a considerable crowd, chiefly of lookers-on, to witness the result. The sale was to take place at noon, and all the morning the traffic in Bolton Street was seriously interfered4 with. Long before the hour fixed5 for the sale the room was full, with the exception of a few seats railed off and reserved for the delegates; and when Baldenak, Karkof, Jansen, Harald, Donellan, and Todrin had taken these places, they formed a compact group, shoulder to shoulder, and looked as if they were a veritable storming column ready for the assault of the Pole.
Close to them was the consignee6 of codfish, whose vulgar visage expressed the sublimest7 indifference8. He looked the least excited of all the crowd, and seemed to be thinking only of how he could most profitably dispose of the cargoes9 now on their way to him from Newfoundland. Who were the capitalists represented by this man, with probably millions of dollars at his command?
There was nothing to show that J. T. Maston and Mrs. Scorbitt had anything to do with the affair. How could it be supposed that they had? They were there, though, but lost in the crowd, and were surrounded by a few of the principal members of the Gun Club, apparently10 simply as spectators and quite disinterested11. William S. Forster seemed to have not the least knowledge of their existence.
As it was impossible to hand round the North Pole for the purposes of examination, a large map of the Arctic 29regions had been hung behind the auctioneer’s desk. Seventeen degrees above the Arctic Circle a broad red line around the eighty-fourth parallel marked off the portion of the globe which the North Polar Practical Association had brought to the hammer. According to the map, the region was occupied by a sea covered with an ice-cap of considerable thickness. But that was the affair of the purchasers. At least, no one could complain that they had been deceived as to the nature of the goods.
As twelve o’clock struck, the auctioneer, Andrew R. Gilmour, entered by a little door behind his desk. He surveyed the assembly for an instant through his glasses, and then, calling for silence by a tap from his hammer, he addressed the crowd as follows:—
“Gentlemen, I have been instructed by the Federal Government to offer for sale a property situated12 at the North Pole, bounded by the eighty-fourth parallel of latitude13, and consisting of certain continents and seas, either solid or liquid—but which I am not quite sure. Kindly14 cast your eyes on this map. It has been compiled according to the latest information. You will see that the area is approximately four hundred and seven thousand square miles. To facilitate the sale it has been decided15 that the biddings for this extensive region shall be made per square mile. You will therefore understand that every cent bid will represent in round numbers 407,000 cents, and every dollar 407,000 dollars. I must ask you to be silent, gentlemen, if you please.”
The appeal was not superfluous16, for the impatience17 of the public was producing a gradually-increasing tumult18 that would drown the voices of the bidders19.
When tolerable quietness had been established thanks 30to the intervention20 of Flint, the auctioneer’s porter, who roared like a siren on a foggy day, Gilmour continued,—
“Before we begin the biddings, I think it right to remind you of three things. The property has only one boundary, that of the eighty-fourth degree of north latitude. It has a guaranteed title. And it will remain the property of the purchasers, no matter what geographical21 or meteorological modifications22 the future may produce.”
Always this curious observation!
“Now, gentlemen,” said Gilmour; “what offers?” and, giving his hammer a preliminary shake, he continued in a vibrating nasal tone, “We will start at ten cents the square mile.”
Ten cents, the tenth of a dollar, meant 40,700 dollars for the lot.
Whether Gilmour had a purchaser at this price or not, the amount was quickly increased by Baldenak.
“Twenty cents!” he said.
“Thirty cents!” said Jansen for the Dutchmen.
“Thirty-five!” said Professor Harald.
“Forty!” said the Russian.
That meant 162,800 dollars, and yet the bidding had only begun. The Canadians had not even opened their mouths. And William S. Forster seemed absorbed in the Newfoundland Mercury.
“Now, gentlemen,” said Gilmour, “any advance on forty cents? Forty cents! Come, the polar cap is worth more than that; it is—”
What he would have added is unknown; perhaps it was, “guaranteed pure ice;” but the Dane interrupted him with—
31“Fifty cents!”
Which the Dutchman at once capped with—
“Sixty!”
“Sixty cents the square mile! Any advance on sixty cents?”
These sixty cents made the respectable sum of 244,200 dollars.
At Jansen’s bid, Donellan raised his head and looked at Todrin; but at an almost imperceptible negative sign from him he remained silent.
“Come, gentlemen,” said the auctioneer; “wake up! Surely you are going to give more than that?”
And the hammer began to move up and down, as if in disgust at the weakness of the bidding.
“Seventy cents!” said Harald, in a voice that trembled a little.
“Eighty cents!” said Karkof, almost in the same breath.
A nod from Todrin woke up the Major, as if he were on springs.
“Hundred cents!” said the Canadian.
That meant 407,000 dollars!
Four hundred and seven thousand dollars! A high price to pay for a collection of icebergs25, ice-fields, and ice-floes!
And the representative of the North Polar Practical Association did not even raise his eyes from his newspaper. Had he been instructed not to bid? If he had waited for his competitors to bid their highest, surely the moment had come? In fact, their look of dismay when 32the Major fired his “hundred cents” showed that they had abandoned the battle.
“A hundred cents the square mile!” said the auctioneer. “Any advance? Is that so? Is that so? No advance?”
And he took a firm grasp on his hammer, and looked round him.
“Once!” he continued. “Twice! Any advance?”
“A hundred and twenty cents!” said Forster, quietly, as he turned over a page of his newspaper.
“And forty!” said the Major.
“And sixty!” drawled Forster.
“A hundred and ninety!” said Forster.
You might have heard an ant walk, a bleak28 swim, a moth29 fly, a worm wriggle30, or a microbe wag its tail—if it has a tail.
Gilmour allowed a few moments to pass, which seemed like centuries. The consignee of codfish continued reading his newspaper and jotting31 down figures on the margin which had evidently nothing to do with the matter on hand. Had he reached the length of his tether? Had he made his last bid? Did this price of 195 cents the square mile, or 793,050 dollars for the whole, appear to him to have reached the last limit of absurdity32?
“One hundred and ninety-five cents!” said the auctioneer. “Going at one hundred and ninety-five cents!”
And he raised his hammer.
“One hundred and ninety-five cents! Going! Going!”
And every eye was turned on the representative of the North Polar Practical Association.
33That extraordinary man drew a large handkerchief from his pocket, and, hiding his face in it, blew a long, sonorous33 blast with his nose.
Then J. T. Maston looked at him, and Mrs. Scorbitt’s eyes took the same direction. And by the paleness of their features it could be seen how keen was the excitement they were striving to subdue34. Why did Forster hesitate to outbid the Major?
Forster blew his nose a second time; then, with an even louder blast, he blew it a third time. And between the blasts he quietly observed,—
“Two hundred cents!”
The Major seemed overwhelmed, and fell back against Todrin. At this price per square mile, the Arctic regions would cost 814,000 dollars. The Canadian limit had evidently been passed.
“Two hundred cents!” said Gilmour. “Once! Twice! Any advance?” he continued.
The Major looked at the Professor, and the Colonel, and the Dutchman, and the Dane; and the Professor, and the Colonel, and the Dutchman, and the Dane looked at the Major.
“Going! Going!” said the auctioneer.
Every one looked at the codfish man.
“Gone!”
And down came Gilmour’s hammer.
The North Polar Practical Association, represented by William S. Forster, had become the proprietors36 of the North Pole and its promising37 neighbourhood. And when William S. Forster had to name the real purchasers, he placidly drawled,—“Barbicane & Co!”
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1
auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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precedent
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| n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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consignee
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| n.受托者，收件人，代销人；承销人；收货人 | |
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sublimest
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| 伟大的( sublime的最高级 )； 令人赞叹的； 极端的； 不顾后果的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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cargoes
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| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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bidders
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| n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 ) | |
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intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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modifications
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| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
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scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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icebergs
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| n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 ) | |
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placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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bleak
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| adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的 | |
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moth
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| n.蛾，蛀虫 | |
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wriggle
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| v./n.蠕动，扭动；蜿蜒 | |
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jotting
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| n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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proprietors
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| n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 ) | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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