AND KAYAK 113 



I picked my way among the other doggy 

 mounds that lay here and there in the frozen 

 river-bed, and so got my precious kettle safely 

 to the snow house that the men were just 

 finishing. Of all the snow houses that I have 

 ever had for shelter, that one was the smallest. 

 I had the middle, because I was the tallest, 

 and even then I had to draw my knees up 

 to lie down at all. The drivers packed them- 

 selves in one on each side of me, and there we 

 lay. They, the sturdy fellows, snored lustily, 

 although they had no bed but the dogs' 

 harness and no covering but the clothes they 

 wore ; but I, well I had snow in my sleeping- 

 bag ! Imagine yourself, cold and tired, push- 

 ing your feet into the depths of a fine thick 

 bag of padded sealskin, and meeting with an 

 icy mass of half -frozen snow ! 



Ugh ! the thought of it makes me shiver ! 



I crawled down head first and scraped the 

 most of the snow out ; but the bag was damp 

 and clammy, and it took me half the night 

 to thaw it to a comfortable warmth. 



I fell asleep before morning, and woke 

 suddenly to find one of the drivers pushing 

 a mug of hot tea into my hands, and I blessed 

 the kindness that had left me to sleep while 

 they boiled the kettle and made ready for the 

 journey. 



