326 A DAY AT FRAMHEIM 



themselves into the thick of the fight. ' Stop that, you 

 blackguards!" It was Hanssen who threw this admoni- 

 tion in advance, as he came rushing back. Zanko, who 

 was free, had kept his head sufficiently to observe the 

 approaching danger; without much hesitation, he cut 

 away and made for Framheim with all possible speed. 

 Whether the others missed their sixth combatant, or 

 whether they, too, became aware of Hanssen's threaten- 

 ing approach, I am unable to determine; certain it is 

 that they all got clear of each other, as though at a 

 given signal, and made off the same way. The capsized 

 sledge made no difference to them; they went like the 

 wind over the slope and disappeared by the flagstaff. 

 Hanssen did not take long to make up his mind, but 

 what was the use? He went as fast as he could, no 

 doubt, but had reached no farther than to the flagstaff, 

 when the dogs, with the capsized sledge behind them, 

 ran into Framheim and were stopped there. 



I went quietly back, well pleased with the additional 

 experience. Down on the level I met Hanssen on his 

 way to the depot a second time; he looked extremely 

 angry, and the way in which he used the whip did not 

 promise well for the dogs' backs. Zanko was now 

 harnessed in the team. On my return to Framheim I 

 saw no one, so I slipped into the pent -house, and waited 

 for an opportunity of getting into the kitchen. This 

 was not long in coming. Puffing and gasping like a 

 small locomotive, Lindstrom swung in from the passage 



