NANSEN AS A MIGHTY NIMROD 371 



go back and make our way south along the shore till we got to leeward of 

 them. The only one who did not approve of this plan was the mate, who was 

 in a state of feverish eagerness to rush straight at some reindeer he thought 

 he had seen to the east, which, of course, was an absolutely certain way to 

 clear the field of every one of them. He asked and received permission to 

 remain behind with Hansen, who was to take a magnetic observation; but 

 had to promise not to move till he got the order. 



"On the way along the shore we passed one great flock of geese after 

 another; they stretched their necks and waddled aside a little until we were 

 quite near, and only then took flight; but we had no time to waste on such 

 small game. A little farther on we caught sight of one or two reindeer we 

 had not noticed before. We could easily have stalked them, but were afraid 

 of getting to windward of the others, which were farther south. At last 

 we got to leeward of these latter also, but they were grazing on flat ground, 

 and it was anything but easy to stalk them — not a hillock, not a stone to hide 

 behind. The only thing was to form a long line, advance as best we could, 

 and, if possible, outflank them. In the meantime we had caught sight of 

 another herd of reindeer farther to the north, but suddenly, to our astonish- 

 ment, saw them tear off across the plain eastward, in all probability startled 

 by the mate, who had not been able to keep quiet any longer. 



THE SEA, QUIET AND BEAUTIFUL. 



"A little to the north of the reindeer nearest us there was a hollow, 

 opening from the shore, from it seemed that it might be possible to get a 

 shot at them. I went back to try this, while the others kept their places in 

 the line. As I went down again towards the shore I had the sea before me, 

 quiet and beautiful. The sun had gone down behind it not long before, and 

 the sky was glowing in the clear, light night. I had to stand still for a 

 minute. In the midst of all this beauty, man was doing the work of a beast 

 of prey ! At this moment I saw to the north a dark speck move down the 

 height where the mate and Hansen ought to be. It divided into two, and 

 the one moved east, just to the windward of the animals I was to stalk. 

 They would get the scent immediately and be off. There was nothing for 

 it but to hurry on, while I rained anything but good wishes on these fellows' 

 heads. The gully was not so deep as I had expected. Its sides were just 

 high enough to hide me when I crept on all fours. In the middle were 

 large stones and clayey gravel, with a little runnel soaking through them. 



