AND KAYAK 59 



over to me and said, &quot; Did you wash your 

 face this morning ? 



&quot; No,&quot; said I, &quot; the missionary told me 

 not.&quot; 



66 Good,&quot; said Julius, &quot; now your face will 

 not freeze.&quot; 



I shivered to think what would have hap 

 pened to my face if I had washed it : as it 

 was, my cheeks and chin ached with the cold, 

 and I could not help raising a furtive hand 

 from to time, just to make sure that I was not 

 yet frozen. 



By seven o clock the sky was beginning to 

 lighten, and we made our first halt at the 

 famous ten-mile point Parkavik (&quot; the meet 

 ing-place &quot;). There the men disentangled the 

 dogs, which by continual crossing over had 

 plaited their traces together like the strings 

 of a maypole ; and I thought it well to drink 

 some hot coffee. The coffee was not hot, 

 although it was in a stone jar wrapped in 

 a dogskin, but it was drinkable, which is more 

 than I can say for it a few hours later, when it 

 had assumed the form of ice-cream not 

 particularly tempting under the circumstances. 

 The drivers did not want any : they had 

 taken a good draught of water and a lump of 

 frozen seal meat before starting, in addition to 

 the breakfast of bread and meat and weak tea 



