AND KAYAK 123 



for Nain at six o'clock to-morrow morning ? ' 

 " Yes," said Daniel, without a moment's 

 hesitation, and no more perturbed than if I 

 had asked him to do one of the everyday 

 things at which he is so handy. " Yes," he 

 repeated, and turned and went home. 



When I walked down the jetty in the morn- 

 ing the four Nain men were at their places : 

 the tallest, chosen captain by his mates, was 

 in the bows with a pole, scrutinising the ice 

 field ; the others were leaning over their oars, 

 smoking and chatting and exchanging gossip 

 with the people who had gathered to see us 

 off. Stroke oar was vacant ; but even as I 

 looked about for Daniel, the man himself came 

 lurching along hugging a big stone. 



" Aksuse," he said, and dropped the stone 

 gently into the boat. The others took no 

 notice, beyond the usual " Ah," and Daniel 

 ambled off again. For fully five minutes he 

 went on with his task of collecting stones, and 

 at last I asked him, " Are these for ballast ? ' 

 Daniel grinned and twinkled. " Me cook," 

 he said, and settled to his oar. " Taimak, 

 hai ? " said the captain. " Taimak," I answered 

 from my place by the rudder, and we were off. 



I really think that the first few miles out of 

 Okak were the slowest that I have ever travelled, 

 not even excepting soft-snow-travelling on a 



