Will stared curiously at his brother as he pronounced the mystical word
“ambergris.”
“I won’t keep you in the dark speculating over what I mean,” said Alan.
“Ambergris is a substance found in whales in very rare instances and
only under certain conditions. It is used in the manufacture of cologne
as the base to hold the perfume, and is almost worth its weight in
gold.”
“And how did you find it?” asked the interested Mr. Bertram.
“It was during the cruise of the Albatross. We had came to anchor,
and I was strolling down the shore with two members of the crew, when
we came across a dead whale. To make a long story short, we examined
it and suspected the presence of ambergris. We found enough to fill a
cask.”
“And it was valuable, you say?” inquired Mrs. Bertram.
“Yes, indeed. We obtained a cask and brought it on board the ship. We
did not tell the crew of it. In all our wanderings I clung to that
ambergris, and on our way to Watertown left it at Portland.”
“You sold it?” asked Will.
“Yes, for many thousands of dollars. I divided the money with the crew
of the Albatross. The remainder is mine.”
The faces of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram beamed with joy at the good fortune
of their son.
Within a week affairs had resumed their wonted serenity with the
Bertram family.
Alan and Jack were compelled to visit Portland to attend the
preliminary trial of Captain Morris.
It was expected that Will’s evidence would be required in the case, but
Jack Marcy’s testimony was sufficient.
One evening they returned, and Will was informed that the case against
Morris had been decided.
“He was found guilty of scuttling the ship,” Jack told him.
“What did they do with him?” asked Will.
“He was sent to the penitentiary for a long term of years.”
“And Parker?”
“He was released upon giving his testimony against Morris. The mate of
the Golden Moose had disappeared. The three sailors were given light
terms of imprisonment.”
“And our suit for the stolen whale-oil was decided in our favor. Morris
agreed to give us the money he had and the yacht to prevent being
prosecuted for imprisoning you.”
The people of Watertown soon saw a change in the circumstances of
the Bertram family, and Alan, who was a favorite generally, was met
everywhere with friendly consideration.
The yacht Captain Morris had transferred to him was put in better
order, and for a time Will and Jack ran it down the coast, doing a
prosperous business.
Hugo, with a generous present from Captain Bertram, went off on another
sea voyage.
Willis returned home, and Tom was taken into service on the yacht.
Captain Bertram himself purchased a warehouse in Watertown and entered
business on his own account.
One day as Will entered the office he found there his old employer, the
menagerie agent, Mr. Hunter.
“I was passing through Watertown and wanted to see you once more,” said
Mr. Hunter. “You left us abruptly up in the woods.”
Will explained how he and Tom were lost, and told of his succeeding
adventures.
“I never earned the salary you paid me in advance, Mr. Hunter,” he said.
“We won’t quarrel about that, Will,” was the hearty reply.
Will offered the polar bear’s skin to Mr. Hunter for his menagerie, but
the latter said:
“No, no, Will. That is a memento of your Arctic experience you must
keep.”
A year after his return from his eventful voyage to the frozen north
Will Bertram was owner of the yacht he and Jack had sailed for his
brother.
Later he left this business to enter the warehouse.
With industry and perseverance as their motto, Alan and Will
Bertram soon attained a commercial success, and as partners became
representative men in the community.
When Will thought of his life as a castaway it was with pleasure, for
that experience had developed many manly qualities.
He shuddered as he thought of the evil course and the punishment of
Captain Morris.
His brief imprisonment in Morris’ yacht had shown him the true
hideousness of crime, and from its contact he always shrank in after
years.
Whenever Hugo came to Watertown he was a welcome guest at the house of
the Bertrams.
Willis visited his old companions in exile very frequently, and Jack
and Tom, the latter grown to a self-reliant, earnest man, and Will
often met with him to talk over their past experiences together.
Mr. and Mrs. Bertram found their declining years the happiest of their
life.
Blessed with a competency, they passed a life of happiness and comfort,
proud of the sons who cherished their love as a precious boon.
The polar bear skin is still a trophy in Will’s room in the new Bertram
mansion.
Often he relates how it came into his possession to visitors.
And whenever he recites the sufferings himself and his companions
endured in the far north he gratefully remembers the kind providence
which brought them safely through all their perils.
Looking back over the years, that adventurous experience in the Arctic
zone is as fresh as if an occurrence of yesterday.
It is like a fairy picture in his memory--the days when he and Willis
and Tom were young explorers UNDER THE POLAR STAR.
THE END.
* * * * *
THE GOLDEN LIBRARY.
The press, the pulpit, the parents, and the general public cry out
for bright, pure, and attractive reading for boys and girls. Juvenile
literature of the demoralizing kind only has heretofore been sold on
the news-stands at cheap prices. The GOLDEN LIBRARY comes to the rescue
of a long-suffering community. Its pages are full of interest, its
stories are original, full of life and brave endeavor for the right. It
is not a goody-goody Sunday-school series. It will not cater to cant,
hypocrisy, or vileness of any kind. It is for the right, the bright,
the pure, the honest, first, last, and all the time. It has no other
mission than to supplant the bad with _something good_ that shall be
equally as attractive to the young of both sexes and of all conditions.
Examine it and read it. The publishers believe it is just the thing,
and intend that it shall make a brave fight for recognition on its
_merits_. Give us a good word, _if we deserve_ it, whenever you can.
CATALOGUE.
=1= =ONE CENT CAPITAL=; or, A Young Clerk’s Adventures. By Archie
Van.
=2= =HONOR BRIGHT=; or, The Young Surveyor of Green River. By Henry
L. Black.
=3= =UNDER THE POLAR STAR=; or, The Young Explorers. By Dwight
Weldon.
=4= =BOUND TO WIN=; or, Jack o’ Lantern, the Ferry Boy. By Dwight
Weldon.
=5= =TWENTY CRUSOES=; or, The Grammar School Castaways. By Henry L.
Black.
=6= =BAREFOOTED BEN=; or, The Boy who Built a Railroad. By author of
“Honor Bright.”
=7= =TRUE TO HIS COLORS=; or, Bert Noble, the Young Reporter. By
Henry L. Black.
=8= =WORKING HIS WAY=; or, The Brookville Boys’ Club. By Dwight
Weldon.
=9= =CLEAR GRIT=; or, A Young Emigrant’s Adventures. By Archie Van.
=10= =CLEAR THE WAY=; or, The Boys of Bear Hollow. By John Gordon.
=11= =SENT ADRIFT=; or, Around the World on Eighty Cents. By Henry A.
Wheeler.
=12= =WHEEL AND WHISTLE=; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Linden. By
Archie Van.
=13= =TRUE AS STEEL=; or, The Anvil-Boy of Bessemer Forge. By Henry L.
Black.
=14= =LINK AND LEVER=; or, The Boy Railroader of Rushville. By John
Gordon.
=15= =TWO BRAVE BOYS=; or, The Mystery of the Great North Woods. By
Dwight Weldon.
=16= =ROUGH AND READY=; or, A Young Hero in Tatters. By Henry A.
Wheeler.
=17= =CAMP AND CANOE=; or, Cruise of the Red Jackets in Florida. By
St. George Rathborne.
=18= =BLOWING A BUBBLE=; or, The Bardstown Boys’ Stock Company. By
Captain Castleton.
=19= =FIGHTING TO WIN=; or, The Crusoe Boys of Treasure Island. By
John Gordon.
=20= =PURE PLUCK=; or, A Telegraph-Boy’s Adventures. By Dwight
Weldon.
=21= =OUT WEST=; or, The Pioneer Boys of Sun Prairie. By Henry A.
Wheeler.
=22= =AFLOAT WITH A CIRCUS=; or, The Diamond-Seekers of Natal. By
Henry L. Black.
=23= =TRIED AND TRUE=; or, The Locksmith Boy of Frankford. By Archie
Van.
=24= =MAIL-BAG AND MONEY=; or, The Boy Postmaster of Brimfield. By
Captain Castleton.
=25= =UP NORTH=; or, Making a Man of Himself. By John Gordon.
=26= =BOY MILLIONAIRE=; or, The Lost Mine of the Sierra Madre. By
Henry A. Wheeler.
=27= =RIFLE AND ROD=; or, A Cruise Down the Lake. By J. M. Merrill.
=28= =BRIGHT AND EARLY=; or, The Boy Who Became a Detective. By John
Tulkinghorn.
=29= =ALWAYS ON DECK=; or, Making a Start in Life. By Archie Van.
=30= =WESTWARD HO!= or, The Cabin in the Clearing. By Henry L. Black.
=31= =ALL ABOARD!= or, The Rival Boat-Clubs. By Weldon J. Cobb.
=32= =UP IN A BALLOON=; or, The Gas Well of Mont Clare. By Captain
Castleton.
=33= =TOM BERKLEY’S LUCK=; or, A Brave Boy’s Fight for Fortune. By
Weldon J. Cobb.
=34= =THE BOY MILL-OWNER=; or, Doing His Level Best. By J. M. Merrill.
=35= =HIS OWN MASTER=; or, Young Samson of the Iron Mills. By Henry A.
Wheeler.
=36= =PLUCKY NAT=; or, A Bright Boy’s Adventures in Texas. By George
Henry Morse.
=37= =BEN BLY’S BIRTHRIGHT=; or, The Boy Farmer of Fox Valley. By John
Tulkinghorn.
=38= =DICK FARLEY’S GRIT=; or, A Diamond in the Rough. By Dwight
Weldon.
=39= =ALMOST A MAN=; or, The Boy Pilot of the Mississippi. By Captain
Castleton.
☞ The GOLDEN LIBRARY is published semi-monthly, and is for sale by all
newsdealers, or will be sent by mail, prepaid, on receipt of the price:
Subscription, $2.25 a year; single copy, 10 cents.
Address
Albert Sibley & Co.,
Publishers,
No. 18 Rose St., New York.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are
mentioned.
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have
been corrected.