i 14 Chapter IV. 



them, but they took care to keep out of the range 

 of a fowling-piece. Sverclrup, however, shot one or 

 two with his rifle. There was a great number of 

 them ; I could count as many as eight or ten at once. 

 They sat motionless on tussocks of grass or stones, 

 watching, no doubt, for lemmings, of which, judging 

 from their tracks, there must have been quantities. 

 We, however, did not see any. 



From the tops of the ridges we could see over the 

 Kara Sea to the north-east. Everywhere ice could be 

 descried through the telescope, far on the horizon ice, 

 too, that seemed tolerably close and massive. But 

 between it and the coast there was open water, stretch- 

 ing like a wide channel, as far as the eye could reach, 

 to the south-east. This was all we could make out, but 

 it was in reality all we wanted. There seemed to be no 

 doubt that we could make our way forward, and, well 

 satisfied, we returned to our boat. Here we lighted a 



O 



fire of driftwood, and made some glorious coffee. 



As the coffee-kettle was singing over a splendid fire, 

 and we stretched ourselves at full length on the slope by 

 its side and smoked a quiet pipe, Sverdrup made himself 

 thoroughly comfortable, and told us one story after 

 another. However gloomy a country might look, how- 

 ever desolate, if only there were plenty of driftwood on 

 the beach, so that one could make a right good fire, the 

 bigger the better, then his eyes would glisten with 

 delight -that land was his El Dorado. So from that 



