LINDSTROM AMUSES HIMSELF 327 



that led round the house. In his arms he again carried 

 the big bucket full of ice, and an electric lamp hung 

 from his mouth. In order to open the kitchen-door, he 

 had only to give it a push with his knee; I slipped in. 

 The house was empty. Now, I thought, I shall have a 

 good chance of seeing what Lindstrom does when he is 

 left alone. He put down the bucket of ice, and gradually 

 filled up the water-pot which was on the fire. Then he 

 looked at the clock : a quarter-past eleven - - good ; 

 dinner will be ready in time. He drew a long, deep 

 sigh, then went into the room, filled and lit his pipe. 

 Thereupon he sat down and took up a doll that was 

 sitting on a letter-weight. His whole face lighted up; 

 one could see how pleased he was. He wound up the 

 doll and put it on the table; as soon as he let it go, it 

 began to turn somersaults, one after another, endlessly. 

 And Lindstrom? Well, he laughed till he must have 

 been near convulsions, crying out all the while : " That's 

 right, Olava; go it again!" I then looked at the doll 

 carefully, and it was certainly something out of the 

 common. The head was that of an old woman evi- 

 dently a disagreeable old maid with yellow hair, a 

 hanging under- jaw, and a love-sick expression. She 

 wore a dress of red-and-white check, and when she 

 turned head over heels it caused, as might be expected, 

 some disturbance of her costume. The figure, one could 

 see, had originally been an acrobat, but these ingenious 

 Polar explorers had transformed it into this hideous 



