94 ON THE WAY TO THE SOUTH 



at midnight the anchor let go of the bottom, and just as 

 the Seventh of June* rolled in over us, the Fram stood 

 out of Christiania Fjord for the third time. Twice 

 already had a band of stout-hearted men brought this 

 ship back with honour after years of service. Would it 

 be vouchsafed to us to uphold this honourable tradition ? 

 Such were, no doubt, the thoughts with which most of 

 us were occupied as our vessel glided over the motion- 

 less fjord in the light summer night. The start was made 

 under the sign of the Seventh of June, and this was taken 

 as a promising omen ; but among our bright and confident 

 hopes there crept a shadow of melancholy. The hill- 

 sides, the woods, the fjord all were so bewitchingly 

 fair and so dear to us. They called to us with their 

 allurement, but the Diesel motor knew no pity. Its 

 tuff -tuff went on brutally through the stillness. A 

 little boat, in which were some of my nearest relations, 

 dropped gradually astern. There was a glimpse of 

 white handkerchiefs in the twilight, and then farewell ! 

 The next morning we were moored in the inner 

 harbour at Horten. An apparently innocent lighter 

 came alongside at once, but the lighter's cargo was not 

 quite so innocent as its appearance. It consisted of no 

 less than half a ton of gun-cotton and rifle ammunition, 

 a somewhat unpleasant, but none the less necessary, 

 item of our equipment. Besides taking on board the 

 ammunition, we availed ourselves of the opportunity of 



* Anniversary of the dissolution of the Union with Sweden. TP. 



