268 WANDERINGS AND MEMORIES 



Arthur Johnsen turned up with his motor-boat and 

 gave us a tow back to the farm, which we reached 

 in little over an hour. The same evening I stopped 

 the mail steamer by telephoning to the mainland, 

 and in four hours reached Hammerfest, after a very 

 pleasant little holiday. I took with me one whole 

 reindeer as a gift to my excellent hostess, Froken 

 Jansen, but after a fortnight of living almost 

 exclusively on this poor meat I wished more than 

 once I had not been so generous. 



On the 10th of September I reported to the 

 Legation in Christiania the arrival off Honningsvaag 

 of the first German submarine, and was told that 

 I was mistaken, and that the boat was an English 

 one proceeding to Archangel. Two days later I 

 reported it again, and knew that my information 

 was correct, as certain Norwegian fishermen whom 

 I had asked to inform me of such an event, had 

 both seen and talked to the crews on board, and 

 they assured me that the men were undoubtedly 

 Germans. Again I was told not to send incorrect 

 messages. Four days later, the 16th, two Norwegian 

 ships, Dania and Knut Hilde, were sunk off Honning- 

 svaag, and our troubles began. From this date 

 until December 1st, when it became dark all day 

 and impossible for the U-boats to operate, some 

 five German submarines continued to sink Nor- 

 wegian ships almost daily between Honningsvaag 

 and the Murman coast. The Russian torpedo 

 boats which had charge of this field of operations 

 were both scarce and inefficient. On October 8th 

 two U-boats coolly went up and shelled the wire- 

 less station at Tsipnavolok on the Murman coast. 

 Whilst so engaged a Russian gunboat came up 



