TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



day. But Ralph would not be comforted. Sud- 

 denly he reminded me that on this very evening 

 Agnes and Cecily had promised to come over from 

 their camp three or four miles away to have supper 

 with us, and compare notes. Then, and not till then, 

 did I discover the cause of all Ralph's bitterness of 

 spirit I Realizing that something must be done to 

 relieve the present state of tension, I set my mind to 

 work, and at last I said, " Well, as near as I can 

 figure it out we have been moving due north most 

 of the day, since the wind has been from the north, 

 and we have travelled all the time with our faces 

 to the wind." 



"True," said Ralph, "but how in this infernal 

 Snowstorm when the wind is always shifting, and 

 blows from all four quarters of the globe at once, 

 and in this cursed darkness, how, I ask you, can we 

 tell which is north and which is south?" 



My reply was that if he had not been temporarily 

 off his mental balance he could have solved the prob- 

 lem at once^ since we both knew that lichen and 

 moss only grew on the boles of trees on the side 

 which was sheltered from the icy northern winds in 

 these Arctic regions. And thus, if we kept walking 

 with the bare boles of trees facing us we must be 

 travelling due south. Suiting my actions to the words 

 I set out, keeping a careful eye upon the bare tree 

 stems, and followed by Ralph in moody discontent. 



After walking for nearly an hour we came across 

 a small stream, and trusting it might prove to be the 

 one which flowed from the lake near our camp, we 



