THE JOURNEY OVER THE PACK ICE 277 



that we saw the masts, and the dogs must have thought us 

 crazy, so absurdly did we behave. Before long we could see 

 the island, and, when we came nearer, a black spot on the ice. 

 It was Fiedler, who had seen us from afar and had run out to 

 greet us. But the news he brought was not exactly cheerful ; 

 our little vessel had been abandoned and every one thought it a 

 wreck. High up on shore they had built a house, quite a palace 

 it seemed to our eyes when we reached it. Thuesen had been 

 the architect and had certainly acquitted himself most credit- 

 ably. Dr. Howe was out for a walk when we arrived, but came 

 in shortly after us. He looked well and was very glad to see 

 us back. Ned and Ekajuak had come down to the house, and 

 before long the natives came trooping up to see the people who 

 had come back from what they thought was certain death. 



Even the much-needed wash was dispensed with until we 

 had had something to eat, and then commenced the rather 

 laborious business of the first wash for sixty days, putting on 

 clean clothes, and once more trying to look like civilized men. 



It was all very pleasant. The trip had been brought to a 

 successful issue, all the hardships were forgotten, all the days of 

 despair were a thing of the past. One of our purposes had been 

 attained; we had ascertained the extent of the Continental 

 Shelf, and even if we felt a little sorry that we had not found 

 the land we had so implicitly believed in, it was a consolation 

 for us to know that to prove the absence of land was of as 

 much scientific value as to find it ! 



HIGH UP ON SHORE THEY HAD BUILT A HOUSE. 



