"We can't go much farther on this tack," said he, as he folded up his map.
"What's to prevent us from keeping on to the north pole?" asked Churchill.
"It is almost night, in the first place, and in the second, we shall come to a lake in the course of an hour, where we must take boats."
"I don't believe anything is wrong about the matter."
"Don't you? Then what are we doing up here?"
"Never mind; we shall soon come to that other road, and then we shall know whether Sanford means to go to Kongsberg or not."
"He has stopped ahead of us. He is waiting for us to come up," added Burchmore.
"Yes; and there is the road which turns off to the right."
Sanford and those who had arrived with him left the carioles, and gathered at the junction of the two roads. Burchmore followed their example.
"What's the matter? What are you stopping here for?" demanded Clyde Blacklock, rather imperiously.
"Some of the fellows think we are going to play them a trick," said Sanford, with his sweet and innocent smile.
"That's my name," replied the cashier, rather indifferently.
"Are you the fellow that wants to break up the party?" blustered Clyde.
"No, I'm not. I'm the fellow that wants to go to Christiania. We ought to have kept to the right at the last station."
"I don't object; you can go whichever way you please," added the cashier, very gently.
"But we mean to keep the party together; and we might as well fight it out here as in any other place."
Clyde threw off his overcoat, as though he intended to give a literal demonstration of his remark.
"I don't consider you as one of the party," added Burchmore.
"No, I do not. You don't belong to our ship, and I don't pay your bills."
"No matter for that. If you are not willing to go the way the rest of us wish to go, I'll pound you till you are willing."
"No, no, Old England; we don't want anything of that sort. Burchmore is a first-rate fellow," interposed the politic Sanford.
"You leave this fellow to me; I'll take care of him. I can whip him out of his boots."
"I shall stick to my boots for the present," replied Burchmore, who did not seem to be intimidated by the sharp conduct of the Briton. "I am willing to listen to reason, but I shall not be bullied into anything."