“I am all ready to start, sir,” he added.  “My coal and provisions are on board, my crew has been selected, and I can set sail this very day.”

“Thank you, captain,” replied the professor, “not only for your promptness, but for the very kind reception you have given me.  But one question more:  Can you tell me how long it will take you to reach the shores of Greenland?”

“My vessel makes about eleven knots an hour, and as the distance from Bergen to Greenland is only about twenty degrees, I can count upon arriving there in less than a week.”

“Make all possible haste, captain,” replied Sylvius Hogg.  “If any of the shipwrecked crew did survive the catastrophe, two months have already elapsed since the vessel went down, and they are perhaps in a destitute and even famishing condition upon some desert coast.”

“Yes, there is no time to lose, Monsieur Hogg.  I will start this very day, keep my vessel going at the top of her speed, and as soon as I find any trace whatever I will inform the Naval Department at Christiania by a telegram from Newfoundland.”

“God-speed you, captain,” replied Sylvius Hogg, “and may you succeed.”

That same day the “Telegraph” set sail, followed by the sympathizing cheers of the entire population of Bergen, and it was not without keen emotion that the kind-hearted people watched the vessel make its way down the channel, and finally disappear behind the islands of the fiord.

But Sylvius Hogg did not confine his efforts to the expedition undertaken by the dispatch-boat “Telegraph.”  On the contrary, he was resolved to multiply the chances of finding some trace of the missing “Viking.”  Would it not be possible to excite a spirit of emulation in the captains of merchant vessels and fishing-smacks that navigated the waters of Iceland and the Faroe Islands?  Unquestionably.  So a reward of two thousand marks was promised in the name of the government to any vessel that would furnish any information in regard to the missing “Viking,” and one of five thousand marks to any vessel that would bring one of the survivors of the shipwreck back to his native land.

So, during the two days spent in Bergen Sylvius Hogg did everything in his power to insure the success of the enterprise, and he was cheerfully seconded in his efforts by Help, Junior, and all the maritime authorities.  M. Help would have been glad to have the worthy deputy as a guest some time longer, but though Sylvius Hogg thanked him cordially he declined to prolong his stay.  He was anxious to rejoin Hulda and Joel, being afraid to leave them to themselves too long, but Help, Junior, promised him that any news that might be received should be promptly transmitted to Dal.

So, on the morning of the 4th, after taking leave of his friend Help, Sylvius Hogg re-embarked on the “Run” to cross the fiord of the Hardanger, and if nothing unforeseen occurred he counted on reaching the Telemark by the evening of the 5th.