chap, xxiii HORN SOUND 315 



been fifty years ago, or more — he sailed with his sloop in 

 the spring, and came in June to the Dun Islands. Now the 

 Russians had been very successful in their winter trappings, 

 and they had a great quantity of skins, which Andersen saw 

 and coveted. He thought it would be cheaper to take them 

 than to buy them, so he just killed the Russians, who were 

 weak, and took their stuff away. He killed them with a 

 harpoon on which was his name, and, when he went off, he 

 forgot the harpoon and left it behind. Shortly afterwards 

 the skipper Stuer of Tromso came that way with his sloop, 

 and he too landed on the Dun Islands, and found the bodies 

 of the murdered Russians, and in one of them Andersen's 

 harpoon sticking, so he knew what had happened. He sailed 

 away and met Andersen's sloop, and went on board and 

 talked with Andersen, who suspected that Stuer had found 

 him out, though nothing was said. At all events, Andersen 

 was afraid, and considered how he might be rid of Stuer. 



" They sailed on, hunting along the edge of the ice-pack, 

 and one day, when they were very far from land and Stuer 

 was away from his sloop in his walrus-boat, Andersen went 

 on to Stuer's sloop and managed to do it some harm, so 

 that presently it seemed to be sinking. Then he went again 

 to the sloop and rescued Stuer's wife and the people on 

 board, and sailed away with them to Hammerfest ; for, 

 what with the things he had taken from the Dun Islands, 

 and the catch he had made, he had already a full cargo. 

 At Hammerfest he landed the people and his cargo, and 

 told how Stuer's sloop had gone down, and how Stuer him- 

 self must be lost, for he was away in his open walrus boat, 

 and had not returned and could not be found. Then he 

 sailed away again from Hammerfest to the ice. 



" Meanwhile Stuer had returned to his sloop and found 

 her in a bad way, but he succeeded in patching her up and 

 brought her back to Tromso, where he met his wife. He 



