The Winter Night. 293 



might still be in life, but, though we searched well, 

 we could not find it. 



" It was altogether a deplorable story. To think that 

 we should have let a bear scramble on board like this, 

 and should have lost three dogs at once ! Our dogs are 

 dwindling down ; we have only 26 now. That was a 

 wily demon of a bear, to be such a little one. He had 

 crawled on board by the gangway, shoved away a box 

 that was standing in front of it, taken the dog that stood 

 nearest, and o-one off with it. When he had satisfied the 



O 



first pangs of his hunger, he had come back and fetched 

 No. 2, and, if he had been allowed, he would have 

 continued the performance until the deck was cleared of 

 dogs. Then he would probably have come bumping 

 downstairs ' and beckoned with cold hand ' in at the 

 galley door to Juell. It must have been a pleasant 

 feeling for ' Svarten ' to stand there in the dark and see 

 the bear come creeping in upon him. 



" When I went below after this bear affair, Juell said 

 as I passed the galley door : ' You'll see that " Kvik " will 

 have her pups to-day ; for it's always the way here 

 on board, that things happen together.' And, sure 

 enough, when we were sitting in the saloon in the 

 evening, Mogstad, who generally plays ' master of the 

 hounds,' came and announced the arrival of the first. 

 Soon there was another, and then one more. This news 

 was a little balsam to our wounds. ' Kvik ' has got a 

 good warm box. lined with fur, up in the passage on the 



