SNOWSTORM AND MISFORTUNE. 99 



placed him on a chest, and the bone-setters began their work ; but 

 no the arm would not go in. In his semi-conscious condition 

 Olsen took the whole thing with the greatest calm, and said 

 nothing when Fosheim and I then tried our hand on him. To our 

 surprise we were successful at the first attempt ! That it was with 

 unspeakable relief we heard the crack of the arm as it slipped into 

 its socket, I need hardly say. As for Olsen, notwithstanding all 

 he had taken down, it had not had much effect on him while we 

 were doing our worst the pain and excitement had kept him 

 sober but the instant the arm was in its socket he became dead 

 drunk. 



He was carried to his cabin in a hurry, put to bed, and a man 

 set to guard him. We thought perhaps he might become delirious, 

 or something of the kind, for, as I said before, he was not quite 

 sober. Fosheim took first watch. But Olsen behaved nicely the 

 whole night, and next morning was quite himself again. We 

 bandaged his arm so that he could not move the joint, and thus 

 he was to go for three or four weeks. 



Olsen's happiness, as he went about with his arm in the sling 

 after his successful cure, was quite touching to behold. He had 

 not had the slightest hope about himself, and during the agony he 

 went through had painted the future in very gloomy colours. If 

 Olsen was glad, we quacks were no less so, and proud into the 

 bargain. We had discovered a brand-new Arctic surgical treat- 

 ment, with the brandy fiend himself as assistant. But it is ever 

 the same : genius is simplicity, and evil for evil is only fair play. 



On October 23, the day after we returned on board, Baumann 

 and Eaanes went back again to the depot at Nordstrand. 



