MYSTERIOUS MOVEMENTS 329 



any elaborate toilet, but sat down to table at once. 

 The dishes were not many: a thick, black seal soup, 

 with all manner of curious things in it seal meat cut 

 into " small dice ' is no doubt the expression, but it 

 would be misleading here ; " large dice " we had better 

 call them with potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnips, 

 peas, celery, prunes, and apples. I should like to know 

 what our cooks at home would call that dish. Two 

 large jugs of syrup and water stood on the table. Now 

 I had another surprise; I was under the impression 

 that a dinner like this passed off in silence, but that was 

 by no means the case here. They talked the whole 

 time, and the conversation chiefly turned on what they 

 had been doing during the forenoon. For dessert they 

 had some green plums. Pipes and books soon made 

 their appearance. 



By about two o'clock the boys gave fresh signs of 

 life. I knew they were not going to work that after- 

 noon St. Hans' Eve but habit is a strange thing. 

 Bjaaland rose in a peremptory fashion, and asked who 

 was going to have the first turn. After a lot of ques- 

 tions and answers, it was decided that Hassel should be 

 the first. What it was I could not make out. I heard 

 them talk about one or two Primuses, and say that 

 half an hour was the most one could stand, but that did 

 not mean anything to me. I should have to stick to 

 Hassel; he was going first. If there should be no 

 second man, I should, at any rate, have seen what the 



