The Spring and Summer of 1894. 407 



reaches no farther than 16 feet down. Peter, however, 

 has undertaken to cut away the 4 feet that are lacking. 

 There has been a lot of talk about this wager during 

 the whole winter, but they could never agree about it. 

 Peter says that Juell should begin to bore, while Juell 

 maintains that Peter ought to cut the 4 feet first. This 

 evening it ended in Juell incautiously offering 10 kroner 

 to anyone who would bore. Bentzen took him at 

 his word, and immediately set to work at it with 

 Amundsen ; he thought one did not always have the 

 chance of earning 10 kroner so easily. Amundsen 

 offered him a kroner an hour, or else payment per foot ; 

 and time payment was finally agreed to. They worked 

 till late on into the night, and when they had got down 

 12 feet, the borer slipped a little way, and water rose in 

 the hole, but this did not come to much, and presently 

 the borer struck on ice again. They went on for some 

 time, but now the borer would reach no further, and 

 Peter had to be called up to cut his four feet. He and 

 Amundsen worked away at cutting till they were 

 dripping with perspiration. Amundsen, as usual, was 

 very eager and vowed he would not give in till he had 

 got through it, even if it were 30 feet thick. Meanwhile 

 Bentzen had turned in, but a message was sent to him to 

 say that the hole was cut, and that boring could now 

 beg-in a^ain. When it was only an inch or an inch-and- 



O O < 



a-half short of 20 feet, the borer slipped through, and the 

 water spurted up and filled the hole. They now sank a 



