416 NEW LAND. 



of the ropes with which it was lashed, and was able to give this a 

 couple of turns round his wrist, so that he had a hold on the sledge, 

 but in overturning it his ' ski ' had become crossed under one of 

 the sledges, and away went man, sledges, and loads, with the snow 

 flying high in the air around them. 



I set off after them as fast as I could lay legs to the ice I 

 seemed to be flat on it, and wished my legs were twice as long. 

 My idea was to get in front of the dogs and stop them, but they were 

 going at such frantic speed that there was no heading them off. I 

 was afraid every minute that Fosheim would let go the lanyard and 

 the dogs run away. Once loose, it would be difficult to say when 

 we might see them again. 



Suddenly they came to a standstill without any apparent 

 reason, but this was not at all to the liking of ' Gammelgulen,' who 

 was always a self-willed dog, and before I came up he had begun 

 to howl and pull so at the traces that they all started off again, 

 with Fosheim in tow. It was worse than the Asgaardsrei itself! 

 I did not bless them as they tore on ahead of me, but blessings or 

 the reverse were equally ineffectual, and on they went at the same 

 unholy pace. At last I managed to overtake them, but by that 

 time they were so mad that they were almost unmanageable. We 

 then took off our ' ski,' threw ourselves on the sledges, and set the 

 course for Fourth Camp. We were now going in the right 

 direction, and at great speed, for the going was good, and improved 

 as we came nearer under land. 



After a short time we came across a seal ; but it was lying in a 

 hollow in the ice, and we did not see it before we were close up 

 to it. It wisely took to the water at once, but the sight of it was 

 enough to excite the dogs, and off they started again at the wildest 

 pace towards land. 



Two or three miles north of Fourth Camp was a largish ice- 

 berg, and on this we set the course, for I thought there must 

 certainly be a lane near by, and that there might be a seal to be 

 seen this fine wea'ther. We greatly required an addition to our 

 store of dog-food, for we had now only a ration and a half left 

 for each dog. Certainly not a bright look-out. 



A little way from the berg we made a halt, and overturned the 



