38 NEW LAND. 



ptarmigan on the plateau there, the mate and I went on farther. 

 We wanted to get a glimpse of the surroundings of Hayes Sound, 

 and thought that, in any case, it would be easy to peep into 

 Alexandra Fjord. The scenery was prettier there than we had 

 expected to find it. The country was entirely free of snow, 

 with shining young ice on the pools and the parts of the fjord 

 where there was no current. Some broods of eider-duck were 

 waddling about between the blocks of ice or sitting on the beach 

 sunning themselves, and we also saw some loons. 



We set off in search of Alexandra Fjord, crossing one big 

 valley after another, and every ridge we climbed we thought that 

 when we got to the top of it we should be sure to see the fjord before 

 us. But no, there was always another valley, and always another 

 ridge ! And thus we continued for many hours during the night. 

 At length we began almost to give up belief in an Alexandra 

 Fjord, and decided to turn back as soon as we should have 

 reached the top of the next ridge ; but there at last lay Alexandra 

 Fjord before us in the twilight ! But what was that yonder 

 between two of the islands ? Was it a ship or an iceberg ? It 

 looked very remarkable. 



We thought that this was matter for investigation, and so we 

 marched on along the grassy land by the side of the fjord until 

 we were right under Twin Glacier. From a point of land just at 

 this place, we discovered the object to be nothing but a hummock 

 of ice lying between the islands ; but some quite ordinary cracks, 

 or grooves, in the face of the mountain behind it, assisted by the 

 mystery of twilight, gave precisely the effect of the rigging of a 

 ship. 



On our way back, we sat down to rest on a little patch of fine 

 moss and heather. We lighted a fire and got out our pipes, the 

 only refreshment we had with us. 



It was a very beautiful night, so deep and large and still. 

 There were high mountains around us, but we could only just 

 discern them in the twilight. On the black fjord floated ice- 

 blocks, lighting it up, and looking as if they had come from 

 fairyland. When we turned our gaze heavenwards, the air was 

 inky-blue and warm, and the stars were deep-set in it. 



