184 Chapter V. 



noon, mistook a sunbeam fallino- throuo-h the hatch on 



O o 



the coal dust for a plank, and leaned hard on it. He was 

 not a little surprised when he fell right through it on 

 to some iron lumber. 



It became more and more difficult to make anything 

 of the land, and our observation for latitude at noon 

 did not help to clear up matters. It placed us at 

 76 2 north latitude, or about 14 miles from what is 

 marked as the mainland on Nordenskiold's or Bove's map. 

 It was hardly to be expected that these should be correct, 

 as the weather seems to have been foggy the whole time 

 the explorers were here. 



Nor were we successful in finding Hovgaard's Islands 

 as we sailed north. When I supposed that we were 

 off them, just on the north side of the entrance to Taimur 

 Strait, I saw, to my surprise, a high mountain almost 

 directly north of us, which seemed as if it must be on the 

 mainland. What could be the explanation of this ? I 

 began to have a growing suspicion that this was a regular 

 labyrinth of islands we had got into. We were hoping to 

 investigate and clear up the matter, when thick weather, 

 with sleet and rain, most inconveniently came on, and we 

 had to leave this problem for the future to solve. 



The mist was thick, and soon the darkness of night 

 was added to it, so that we could not see land at any 

 great distance. It might seem rather risky to push ahead 

 now, but it was an opportunity not to be lost. We 

 slackened speed a little, and kept on along the coast 



