102 CAPE CHELYUSKIN 



right up. I seized my gun, but at the same moment it 

 turned round and disappeared as quickly as it had 

 come. The whole thing had happened in a moment, 

 and I was just going to remark to Johansen that we 

 were fortunate in escaping so easily from that adventure, 

 when I noticed that my legs were wet. I listened, 

 and now heard the water trickling into the kayak 

 under me. To turn and run her in on to the sunken 

 ledge of ice was the work of a moment, but I sank 

 there. The thing was to get out and on to the ice, 

 the kayak filling all the time. The edge of the ice was 

 high and loose, but I managed to rise ; and Johansen, 

 by tilting the sinking kayak over to starboard, so that 

 the leak came above the water, managed to bring her 

 to a place where the ice was low enough to admit of 

 our drawing her up. All I possessed was floating 

 about inside, soaked through. So here we lie, with 

 all our worldly goods spread out to dry and a kayak 

 that must be mended before we can face the walrus 

 again. It is a good big rent that he has made, at 

 least six inches long ; but it is fortunate that it was no 



worse/ 



The kayak was mended, and, after a long rest, it was 

 past noon on the 17th of June when Nansen turned 

 out to prepare breakfast. After doing so he went up 

 on a hummock to look around. Flocks of little auks 

 were flying overhead, and, amid the confused noise of 

 their calls, he heard a couple of barks from a dog. 

 Thinking he was mistaken he waited for a time, and 

 then the barking was unmistakable, bark after bark, 

 one of a deeper tone than the other. He shouted to 

 Johansen, who started up from the sleeping-bag in- 



