AND KAYAK 79 



of sight. A few days later we passed that 

 way again, and I asked him how he had fared 

 on his deer hunt. " I found the tracks," he 

 said, " and I followed them until I saw the 

 deer, and there were seventeen of them and 

 I got a fine fat one, and here is deer meat that 

 my wife is cooking for your supper." 



We had a boy with us on that trip home. 

 He had come by himself as far as the hut at 

 the foot of the pass, and now he wanted " a 

 lift over the mountains." Might he come with 

 my sled ? By all means, said I. This youth 

 had the unusual name of Heronimus, and how 

 he got it I do not know. I do not think that 

 he knew much about it himself, for he said 

 his name was Hero ; and as the drivers and 

 the hunting people all called him Hero, Hero 

 he shall be. In the morning there was a 

 powdery snow upon the ice, and when we 

 were ready to start there seemed to be no 

 Hero. The drivers took no notice of his 

 absence : they shouted " Aksunai " to the 

 people, and then with a roar of " huit " to 

 the quarrelling dogs they set the sled a-going. 

 But no Hero, in spite of his having asked 

 so eagerly the night before for a lift. I 

 asked Johannes, " Where is the boy, Hero ? " 

 " Running in front," said Johannes, and he 

 pointed to the soft snow through which we 



