236 



SPITSBERGEN chap, xvii 



hay, sacks of oats, cooking things all mixed together. To 

 render cosmic such a chaos was the work of many hours, 

 and could only be commenced after the tents were pitched, 

 and each became a centre for the accumulation of its 

 owner's particular baggage. The whole of the day that 

 followed after a long sleep was occupied with the same 



ABANDONED WIMEKEI 



business, and not till late could we look round in peace, 

 knowing where we were and what we had. 



The hours of sleep were hours of heavy rain, which 

 drenched everything we had left about ; but when break- 

 fast-time came, perhaps at four o'clock in the afternoon, 

 rain ceased and the weather manifested a dignified reserve. 

 Clouds withdrew aloft and gathered themselves into fine 

 lines and mottled areas, all grey and still, for there was not 

 a breath of air, and the fjord was glassy and leaden, the 



