i6 WITH CARL OF THE HILL 



the ways of things about, till we came out at last on the 

 landvagen, one of the wildest roads and certainly the 

 worst that ever presumed upon the distinction " high.' 

 And after much tough work on the collar we found 

 high up a little cluster of wooden houses, grouped 

 about one of greater pretensions with a flagstaff and a 

 store. The holder of all this vested interest was 

 Olaf Christen j^«, as he took the trouble to make it 

 clear. A Dane by birth and rotund by training, he 

 had originally been a whaler in the Arctic seas. 

 But, induced by the profits of two good seasons, he 

 had exchanged his boat for an inland store ; and, still 

 retaining some interest in the seal and blubber line, 

 had come to be a considerable person in those parts. 

 He was busy taking to pieces an al fresco platform 

 hung with evergreens and gaily decked about, for 

 there had lately been a wedding and festal doings and 

 much dancing of the lads and girls. 



But as soon as Carl appeared, all work was 

 dropped. From all sides the neighbours gathered 

 in, and great was the health-drinking, hand-shaking, 

 hugging, and doffing of hats. The enthusiasm of old 

 Olaf at meeting an Englishman was beyond all hold- 

 ing. Yes, yes, he had been to England, he told me, 

 though that was long ago. It afterwards turned out 



