134 NEW LAND. 



in the midst of the camp, so that the tent was in danger of 

 being torn to bits. I had started after them as fast as my 

 legs could carry me, to try and prevent an accident, but before 

 I reached the scene I saw the guy-ropes give way and the 

 whole of one side of the tent fall in. Furthermore, I was just in 

 time to see ' Gammelgulen ' swallow the last lump of our supply 

 of butter, and ' Svartflekken ' gnawing for all he was worth at 

 the pemmican. I can never again be angrier than I was at that 

 moment, and I tore in after the dogs to administer summary 

 chastisement. But when I got hold of them I was so out of 

 breath that I could do nothing, and the whole band of thieves, 

 which well understood what they had to expect, made themselves 

 scarce in a moment. 



After the dogs had been securely tied up, we set to work 

 to repair the tent. A stiff breeze happened to be blowing straight 

 down the valley, and the thermometer showed -4 Fahr. 

 ( 20 Cent.). A hard job it was ! One whole hour did we 

 sit sewing with fine needles and thread at the thin silk material 

 of which our tent was made and with what fingers ! Frost- 

 bitten over and over again, covered with blisters which were 

 filled with watery matter, to say nothing of other casualties; 

 and with a skin so thick and hard that it was like horn. 

 But there was no reason to be put out about a small mis- 

 fortune. We consoled ourselves by a goodly portion of beef for 

 dinner, as much steaming hot broth as we wanted, a cup of coffee 

 afterwards, and then a pipe, which thawed one completely, 



body and soul. One's pipe, ah ! And such good company 



as Bay always was ; but he had one constitutional fault he 

 never could learn to smoke, so I had to do the smoking for us 

 both. 



We began to make our plans for the morrow. To take sledges 

 with us was out of the question, so we decided to carry as well 

 as we could provisions for three days, a gallon of oil, the tent, 

 sleeping-bags, guns, an axe, a flaying-knife, the camera, a sextant, 

 and the inevitable glasses. The dogs we decided to take with 

 us loose, as we hoped to shoot some bears or polar oxen for them 

 on the west coast. We would then make a sledge of the skins, 



