Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 2.djvu/248

 bonny, of your city, who will introduce himself to you at the right time.

"It is necessary that all the men chosen for the expedition of the Forward shall be English, unencumbered by family ties, unmarried, sober, as neither beer nor spirits are allowed on board, and ready for any enterprise and any suffering. Give the preference to those of sanguine temperament, who possess a great amount of animal heat.

"You will offer them five times as much as the ordinary wages, with an increase of one-tenth each year of service. At the close of the expedition £500 is guaranteed to each man and £2,000 to yourself. These deposits will be left with Messrs. Marcuart & Co., the aforesaid bankers.

"The campaign will be long and arduous, but honorable. You need have no hesitation about it, Mr. Shandon. Reply to me by letter, addressed to K. Z., Poste restante, Gotteborg, Sweden.

"P. S.—On the 15th of February next you will be forwarded a large Danish stag-hound with loose hanging lips, very dark in color, and striped with black. You will take him on board, and order him to be fed with barley bread mixed with boiled greaves. You will notify his safe arrival to me at Leghorn, Italy, addressed to the same initials.

"The captain of the Forward will present himself, and make himself known when he is required. You will receive further instructions just before you sail.

"K. Z., Captain of the Forward.

"To Mr. Richard Shandon, Liverpool."

was a good sailor and a man of established reputation. He had been in command of whalers for years, and was familiar with the Arctic Seas. A letter like the foregoing did not consequently astonish him so much as might have been expected. Astonished he certainly was, but in a cool, composed sort of fashion, like a man who has received similar communications before. He was in a position, too, to meet the required conditions. He had neither wife, nor child, nor relatives; he