HANSSEN AT WORK 317 



darkness. My companion knew his way, so I could rely 

 upon him, but I should have hesitated to go in there 

 alone. The hole extended into the Barrier, and finally 

 formed a fairly large room with a vaulted roof. A spade 

 and an axe on the floor were all I saw. What in the 

 world was this hall used for? You see, all the ice and 

 snow from here has gone to our water-supply." So this 

 was Lindstrom's quarry, from which he had hewn out 

 ice and snow all these months for cooking, drinking, and 

 washing. In one of the walls, close to the floor, there 

 was a little hole just big enough for a man to crawl 

 through. 



* Now you must make yourself small and follow me; 

 we are going to visit Hanssen and Wisting." And my 

 companion disappeared like a snake into the hole. I 

 threw myself down, quick as lightning, and followed. 

 I would not have cared to be left alone there in pitch- 

 darkness. I managed to get hold of one of his calves, 

 and did not let go until I saw light on the other side. 

 The passage we crept through was equally narrow all 

 the way, and forced one to crawl on hands and knees; 

 fortunately, it was not long. It ended in a fairly large, 

 square room. A low table stood in the middle of the 

 floor, and on it Helmer Hanssen was engaged in lashing 

 sledges. The room gave one the impression of being 

 badly lighted, though it had a lamp and candles. On a 

 closer examination, I found that this was due to the 

 number of dark objects the place contained. Against one 



