on the bottom. A deerskin robe had 

 been placed in the sledge and Mr. Po- 

 laski wrapped another around him and 

 put the rein in his right hand. 



"When you want the deer to go to the 

 right, drop the rein on his right side 

 and when you want him to turn to the 

 left, drop it on his left side. I will go 

 ahead and your deer will follow on 

 after mine so you will not have to do 

 much driving." 



Mr. Polaski got into his sledge, bade 

 good bye to the Lapp, spoke the starting 

 word to the deer and off they went. 

 Alex's deer gave a leap which nearly up- 

 set him, and started on a run after the 

 other deer. The sledge lurched so from 

 side to side Alex found it no easy matter 

 to keep his balance. They had not gone 

 far when he was tossed out into the 

 snow and over went the sledge bottom 

 side up. The deer stopped, turned his 

 head and looked with stupid surprise at 

 the scene. Mr. Polaski halted to see if 

 Alex was hurt, but the boy was only 

 covered with snow and he soon had the 

 sledge righted and started again. After 

 four or five such upsettings, Alex 

 learned to keep his balance better. The 

 deer was now going at good speed and 

 he began to enjoy the drive. There were 

 no other people in sight, nothing but 

 snow, everywhere, and Alex thought 

 how dreary the .ride must be to one 

 traveling alone. His uncle was nearly 

 always within talking distance so he 

 was not lonesome. He was not uncom 

 fortably cold for he was used to cold 

 weather, but it made his legs ache to 

 have them stretched out so. He pulled 

 up his knees but at the next lurch of the 

 sledge out he went. 



"I've got to rest my legs a minute," 

 he shouted to his uncle. 



"I forgot you were not used to riding 

 in that position and never thought about 

 your legs aching. We will stop awhile 

 and let our deer feed." 



The deer were soon scraping the snow 

 away with their hoofs and noses and 

 feeding on the moss underneath, while 

 Alex and his uncle walked about to keep 

 warm and get the stiffness out of their 

 legs. 



"Well, what do you think of reindeer 



driving. Is it all that you expected or 

 are you disappointed?" 



"I like it even better than I thought I 

 should, but it is kind of hard work to 

 keep from tipping over.'' 



"You would soon get used to the 

 lurching of the sledge, then you would 

 get along all right." 



"How much farther is it to the place 

 where we are to stay over night?" 



"Between twenty-five and thirty miles, 

 I should judge. We would better start 

 as soon as you are ready, for it will be 

 twilight before we reach there." 



About three hours later they were 

 warmly welcomed into the hut of a Lap 

 land family. Alex was glad to get in 

 out of the cold, but such a dingy place 

 as it was! He wondered if the hut 

 would seem like home to him if he had 

 never known any other. How good the 

 supper tasted! There was black bread, 

 reindeer meat, butter and cheese made 

 from reindeer milk and plenty of milk 

 to drink. Alex did not realize how hun 

 gry he was until he began to eat. 



"Anybody would think I hadn't had 

 a thing to eat in a week," he remarked. 



Mr. Polaski laughed and said, "I 

 thought you would do justice to youi 

 supper. I know nothing better than a 

 reindeer drive to sharpen one's appe 

 tite." When the meal was over, Mr. 

 Polaski and the Lapps settled down for 

 a long chat. 



"Come, boy, I guess you'd better turn 

 in if you're as sleepy as all that." Alex 

 opened his eyes and rubbed them sev 

 eral seconds before he realized where 

 he was. "You're to sleep right here on 

 these deerskins. All you've got to do is 

 to get into this sleeping sack. Put your 

 feet into it and I'll help you." Mr. Po 

 laski pulled the deerskin sack up to 

 Alex's neck, then threw more deerskins 

 over him. "There, I guess you'll be 

 warm enough. Good-night." 



After breakfast the next morning 

 Alex and his uncle were taken out to 

 see the herd of reindeer driven out to 

 feed on the lichen. The Lapp was very 

 proud of his herd and well he might be 

 for it consisted of over four hundred 

 well-conditioned animals. Alex was 

 amazed to see so many deer together. 



