AN ARCTIC RESIDENCE 267 



along the coast and dragging them down to the water 

 edge. Accordingly we started on our long tramp 

 home, which we reached after six hours' walking. 

 The distance travelled all day could not have been 

 less than thirty-two miles. After an excellent 

 dinner and night's rest Erik, a small boy of twelve, 

 and I rowed along the coast to the valley where 

 I had killed the deer. We ascended the hillside 

 and proceeded to cut the animals into pieces, 

 which we placed in sacks for easy transport down 

 to the boat. Whilst doing so, Erik became faint 

 and unable to continue the work, for the injury 

 to his ribs had been accentuated by our hard 

 exercise on the previous day. I had therefore to 

 do most of the skinning and cutting up myself. 



Just as I finished this task I noticed five men 

 ascending the hill beneath our position. " Those 

 are fishermen coming to hunt reindeer," remarked 

 Erik. " Well, perhaps we can make them useful," 

 I suggested, but the words were hardly uttered 

 when one of the men, carrying a rifle, looked up 

 and saw us, when the whole lot at once took to 

 their heels. Fearing the loss of such excellent 

 transport, I dropped my knife and ran after them, 

 shouting, " Come up here. I will give you meat," 

 an argument which at last seemed to have its effect. 

 The men stopped, and after explaining to them that 

 I had killed two reindeer, and would give them a 

 fore-quarter if they would assist me to carry the 

 rest of the meat down to my boat, they joyfully 

 accepted, and soon we had all the sacks safely 

 transported down the hill and put on board. 



We had just started to row home when to my joy 

 I heard the throb of an engine, and in a few minutes 



