18 NEW LAND. 



We knew, of course, that when once the sun begins to be 

 powerful here in the north, shining by day and by night, the 

 snow vanishes like dew, and the transformation from winter to 

 summer takes place as if by magic. But this went beyond the 

 bounds of the conceivable. On our way inwards we had hardly seen 

 the sign of a lane outside the river, and now a lane had eaten its 

 way right across the fjord, and was nearly a mile in breadth ! But 

 under the ice, as well as above it, forces had been at work. Beneath 

 the ice, eating it away, ran the water from the river, warmer and 

 warmer with every day that passed. Even out at the ' Tram's ' 

 moorings the fresh water registered ten or twelve degrees of warmth, 

 though the river there came straight from lakes where the ice never 

 entirely melted, and its course was so steep and swift and deep 

 that it was little affected by the sunshine. In here, on the contrary, 

 the river ran for a long way through bare land with gentle slopes, 

 part of it even over flat, sandy soil, and always exposed to the 

 rays of the sun. A large fund of warmth must have accumulated 

 here, which was necessarily greater than in the other case, and 

 which worked with almost violent force. 



As aforesaid, we retraced our steps, drove across the ' val,' or 

 little isthmus, submerged at high water, on the west side of the 

 island, and in time reached the ' Frarn.' We brought back rain 

 and sleet with us. Happily the bad weather did not last long this 

 time, and we soon had the same brilliant sunshine as before. 



On board everything was going its even way. Baumann and 

 the mate were busy on the mainsail. The main rigging was com- 

 plete, and so trim that it was a pleasure to look at it. Fosheim, 

 poor fellow, was in a bad way. His finger was still painful, and 

 made him unfit for work. Once or twice, when he could stand it 

 no longer, he went out seal-shooting, but even this he found diffi- 

 cult, for he had to carry his hand in a sling, and to steal unawares 

 on a seal, especially with the stalking-sail, was almost an impossi- 

 bility. He had done previous service as ship's carpenter, and as 

 we were obliged to have one, and all the others had their appointed 

 work, I now took this task upon myself. Our main boom had 

 been entirely burned, and as we were now turning the old spare 

 boom into the main boom, we had to have a new spare boom in 



