178 ON THE BARRIER 



laughed! Decorum was no longer possible; I simply 

 shook with laughter. Away they went through the 

 loose snow, the seal first and the hunter after. I could 

 see by the movements of the pursuer that he was furious. 

 He saw that he was in for something which he could not 

 come out of with dignity. The seal made off at such a 

 pace that it filled the air with snow. Although the 

 snow was fairly deep and loose, the seal kept on the 

 surface. Not so the hunter: he sank over the knees at 

 every step, and in a short time was completely out- 

 distanced. From time to time he halted, aimed, and fired. 

 He himself afterwards asserted that every shot had hit. 

 I had my doubts. In any case the seal seemed to take no 

 notice of them, for it went on with undiminished speed. 

 At last the mighty man gave up and turned back. 

 "Beastly hard to kill," I heard him say, as he came on 

 board. I suppressed a smile did not want to hurt the 

 fellow's feelings. 



What an evening! The sun is high in the heavens 

 in spite of the late hour. Over all this mountainous 

 land of ice, over the mighty Barrier running south, 

 there lies a bright, white, shining light, so intense that 

 it dazzles the eyes. But northward lies the night. 

 Leaden grey upon the sea, it passes into deep blue as 

 the eye is raised, and pales by degrees until it is swal- 

 lowed up in the radiant gleam from the Barrier. What 

 lies behind the night that smoke-black mass we 

 know. That part we have explored, and have come 



