NORTH POLE OF THE WINDS 



miles from the coast. Had our motor ceased to 

 function, as it had done during the day, we could 

 not have escaped destruction, but the skipper's 

 tinkering of his engine had fortunately been well 

 done, and we never for an instant lost steerage- 

 way. With what anxiety we waited for the dawn! 

 Cramer was still suffering from digestive trouble 

 brought on by his late starving experience and was 

 in addition very sea-sick. He was in the cabin 

 with me and was most uncomfortable. 



There seemed nothing that we could do but wait 

 and trust to our skipper's skill in avoiding the 

 reefs. Potter, always alert, spent the long night 

 with the skipper in the engine room. Just as dawn 

 was breaking the sloop passed over a reef so 

 that the white water showed clearly beneath us, but 

 fortunately a heavy sea carried us over without 

 striking. Had we struck nothing could have saved 

 us, since we were from eight to ten miles off the 

 coast in a very heavy sea. 



Soon now it was light enough to see and we 

 could make out distinctly the lofty Hjortetakken 

 and the "Saddle", the two snow-capped peaks 

 which betrayed clearly the position of Godthaab. 

 We were now able to thread our way through the 

 reefs by the channel which enters the fjord. It had 

 been for us a 200 mile voyage, though only about 



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