314 A DAY AT FRAMHEIM 



but it gave an excellent light. We left Bjaaland. I 

 felt sure that the sledging outfit was in the best of 

 hands. 



We then made our way into the pent-house, and here 

 we met Stubberud. He was engaged in cleaning up 

 and putting things straight for the holiday. All the 

 steam that came out of the kitchen, when the door was 

 opened, had condensed on the roof and walls in the 

 form of rime several inches thick, and Stubberud was 

 now clearing this off with a long broom. Everything 

 was going to be shipshape for Midwinter Eve; I could 

 see that. We went in. Dinner was on, humming and 

 boiling. The kitchen floor was scrubbed clean, and the 

 linoleum with which it was covered shone gaily. It was 

 the same in the living-room; everything w r as cleaned. 

 The linoleum on the floor and the American cloth on 

 the table were equally bright. The air was pure 

 absolutely pure. All the bunks were made tidy, and 

 the stools put in their places. There was no one here. 



You have only seen a fraction of our underground 

 palaces, but I thought we would take a turn in the 

 loft first and see what it is like. Follow me." We 

 went out into the kitchen, and then up some steps 

 fastened in the wall, and through the trap-door to the 

 loft. With the help of a little electric lamp, we were 

 able to look about us. The first thing that met my 

 eyes was the library. There stood the Framheim library, 

 and it made the same good impression as everything else 



