270 FOUR YEARS IN THE WHITE NORTH [Sept. 



eight tons of coal brought from the point in the little 

 punt. All was now secure. 



The Arctic is ever ready with a surprise It seems 

 to delight in turning white into bleak, to smash plans 

 utterly, to drown hope with a flood of disappointment, 

 and then again to whisk away darkness with a flood of 

 sunshine. 



On September 7th there was a faint putter — putter — 

 putter heard far to the south. Could it be possible? 

 Yes, it was Rasmussen's boat returning to Etah; the 

 clumsy Danish model could not fail of recognition. 

 Various reasons for her return were racing through my 

 mind. With the aid of binoculars I could recognize 

 Doctor Hovey, Captain Comer, Ekblaw, and Jot stand- 

 ing on the deck. 



Their story can be told in a very few words The ex- 

 pected relief-ship had not arrived. The ice conditions 

 below Umanak were so unfavorable that it was deemed 

 imprudent to attempt the crossing of Melville Bay. 

 Hovey, Comer, and Jot had returned to spend the winter 

 with me at Borup Lodge. Ekblaw and Doctor Hunt 

 would continue at our sub-station at Umanak until an 

 opportunity presented itself of proceeding southward by 

 mail-teams in December. 



Rasmussen, in company with his assistant, Mr Koch, 

 a botanist, and Ekblaw, left Etah on the 9th to return 

 to Umanak. 



Once more the lodge seemed to awaken from its 

 lethargy and take on an air of cheerfulness. We settled 

 down for our fourth and last year, in many ways the 

 happiest of them all. New faces, new stories, untried 

 sources of information. Doctor Hovey never revealed 

 his regret at having ventured into the North, nor his 



