STILL WEATHER-BOUND 255 



was " The Red Rose and the White." Unfortunately 

 the story of the Two Roses was very soon finished ; but 

 Johansen had a good remedy for that : he simply began 

 it over again. My reading had the advantage of being 

 incomparably stiffer. Russian verbs are uncommonly 

 difficult of digestion, and not to be swallowed in a hurry. 

 For lack of mental nutriment, Stubberud with great 

 resignation consoled himself with a pipe, but his enjoy- 

 ment must have been somewhat diminished by the 

 thought that his stock of tobacco was shrinking at an 

 alarming rate. Every time he filled his pipe, I could 

 see him cast longing looks in the direction of my pouch, 

 which was still comparatively full. I could not help 

 promising a fraternal sharing in case he should run short ; 

 and after that our friend puffed on with an easy mind. 



Although I look at it at least every half -hour, the 

 barometer will not go up. At 8 p.m. it was down to 

 2730. If tliis means anything, it can only be that we 

 shall have the pleasure of being imprisoned here another 

 day. Some poor consolation is to be had in the thought 

 of how lucky we were to reach the tent at the last 

 moment the day before yesterday. A storm as lasting 

 as this one would in all probability have been too much 

 for us if we had not got in. 



Wednesday, December 6. — The third day of idleness 

 has at last crept away after its predecessors. We have 

 done with it. It has not brought any marked variation. 

 The weather has been just as violent, until now — 8 p.m. — 



