Friendly relations having been established between the Flatlanders and the Poloese, both nations turned their attention to the arts of peace.

 

Among other things, Captain Vane and his party devoted themselves once more, with renewed energy, to the pursuit of discovery and scientific investigation. An expedition was planned to Great Isle, not now for the purpose of consulting Makitok, the oracle, as to the best time for going to war, but to gratify the wishes of Captain Vane, who had the strongest reason for believing that he was in the immediate neighbourhood of the Pole.

 

“Blackbeard says he must be very near nothing now,” observed Chingatok to Anders the day after their arrival.

 

“Near nothing!” exclaimed Teyma, who was sitting close by.

 

Of course the giant explained, and the premier looked incredulous.

 

“I wish I had not left my sextant behind me in the hurry of departure,” said the Captain that evening to Leo. “But we came off in such hot haste that I forgot it. However, I’ll ask Amalatok to send a young man back for it. I’m persuaded we cannot now be more than a few miles distant from our goal.”

 

“I quite agree with you, uncle, for when I looked at the north star last night it seemed to me as directly in the zenith as it was possible to imagine.”

 

“Ay, lad; but the unaided eye is deceptive. A few miles of difference cannot be distinguished by it. When did the Pole star become visible?”

 

“Only last night; I fancied I had made it out the night before, but was not quite sure, the daylight, even at the darkest hour, being still too intense to let many of the stars be seen.”

 

“Well, we shall see. I am of opinion that we are still between twenty and forty miles south of the Pole. Meanwhile, I’ll induce Teyma to get up an expedition to the island of this Maki-what?”

 

“Tok,” said Leo; “Makitok. Everything almost ends in tok or tuk hereabouts.”

 

“Who, and what, is this man?” asked the Captain.

 

“No one seems to know precisely. His origin has been lost in the mists of antiquity. His first forefather—so tradition styles him—seems, like Melchisedec, to have had no father or mother, and to have come from no one knows where. Anyhow he founded a colony in Great Isle, and Makitok is the present head of all the families.”

 

Leo then explained about the mystery-thing called buk, which was wrapped up in innumerable pieces of sealskin.

 

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