THE COMMANDANT'S HERMIT LIFE-. 439 



at my watch when I lit the lamp), and much darker than was 

 pleasant for the work before me. 



' The bear meanwhile had made itself quite at home. In 

 order to get at one of the blubber-cases (it had chosen the one 

 which stood on the side of the depot facing the hut) it had thrust 

 the empty boxes out of its way, and had thrown down one of the 

 two dog-food boxes which had been placed on the cases of blubber. 

 The marks of all its claws were clearly visible in the tin. The 

 other box was open, and the bear had tasted a couple of the rations, 

 but had evidently not found them to his liking, for he had spat 

 them out again into the box. It had then very carefully lifted the 

 tin down on to the snow, and then also very carefully raised the 

 lid of the blubber-box. But just as it was going to begin its meal, 

 it had evidently heard my clatter inside the hut, and had sat 

 down to listen, with its right paw clasping the edge of the box. It 

 was in this position, at any rate, that I found it, when I raised 

 myself up, after creeping out. The bear was about fifteen yards 

 away from me, and as soon as it saw me, rose, large and fat and 

 hissing ; it made the open tin rattle as it put its left paw down 

 on it. It looked just as if it were thumping the table, to show 

 what a fine fellow it was, and reminded me of one of my 

 friends on board so much so that I half unwittingly addressed 

 it in the way usual between us ; a manner, however, hardly fit 

 for publication. Whether the bear felt offended at this I know 

 not, but certain it is that it got up and walked, growling, with 

 long measured steps round the depot, in the direction of the sea. 

 As soon as it was clear of the depot I aimed, and shot it in the 

 shoulder; I could just discern the sights through the darkness. 



' The bear uttered such a loud growl that it seemed to make the 

 stillness ring. The fire from my gun had dazzled me, and I could 

 no longer see the sights, and the bear itself I only saw as a shape- 

 less mass, which seemed to have grown most incredibly larger. 

 The other barrel, the small-shot barrel, which was loaded with a 

 large ball, I fired straight into the mass without going through any 

 such formality as aiming. Then I made a well-ordered retreat 

 behind the hut, and put in some fresh cartridges. I do not much 

 believe in hurrying, but I did this in less time than it takes to 



