The Winter Night. 251 



thing imagination ? It is all I can do to limp about ; 

 but I just wonder if I could not get up and run with 

 the best of them, if there happened to be any great 

 occasion for it : I almost believe I could. A nice Arctic 

 hero of 32, lying here in my berth! Have had a good 

 time reading home letters, dreaming myself at home, 

 dreaming of the home-coming- in how many years ? 

 Successful or unsuccessful, what does that matter ? 



" I had a sounding taken ; it showed over 73 fathoms 

 (135 m.), so we are in deeper water again. The 

 sounding-line indicated that we are drifting south-west. 

 I do not understand this steady drift southwards. There 

 has not been much wind either lately ; there is certainly 

 a little from the north to-day, but not strong. What 

 can be the reason of it ? With all my information, all 

 my reasoning, all my putting of two and two together, 

 I cannot account for any south-going current here 

 there ou^'ht to be a north-o-oino- one. If the current 



o o o 



runs south here, how is that great open sea we steamed 

 north across, to be explained ? and the bay we ended 

 in farthest north ? These could only be produced by 

 the north-going current which I pre-supposed. The 

 only thing which puts me out a bit is that west-going 

 current which we had against us during our whole 

 voyage along the Siberian coast. We are never going 

 to be carried away south by the New Siberian Islands, 

 and then west along the coast of Siberia, and then north 

 by Cape Chelyuskin, the very way we came ! That 



