TO SKAAREPJORD. 235 



winded it, and I made ready to give it a suitable reception. But 

 the fellow was suspicious ; before he came within tolerable range 

 he turned off towards land, and disappeared behind an iceberg. 



I was not at all anxious for an outrunner of the kind, for with 

 our light loads and on the slippery ice, I was afraid ' Greylegs ' 

 and the dogs would decide the course, and that we might find 

 ourselves going in a direction that we did not want. I therefore 

 ran in towards land as quickly as I could, so as to pass the iceberg 

 and get within range of the wolf. But it was no use, the animal 

 was too quick, and ran past me out of shot. When it had come 

 on my lee side it sat down, and I thought I had better try a shot 

 at it ; at least I might arrive at frightening it away. I took as 

 full a sight as I could, and held high, but the range was too long ; 

 I saw the snow fly up where the bullet struck the ground, a good 

 way beyond the wolf. I then tried another shot, and this time it 

 hit its mark, I could see, for the wolf sprang into the air, whirled 

 round once or twice, and then ran towards the crack. But its 

 pace soon grew slower, and as soon as it was on the ice-foot it 

 sank down, and remained lying where it was. We let it alone, 

 and continued on our way. 



We camped in the evening at the head of the fjord, between 

 high mountains on both sides, just outside a long stretch of sandy 

 soil, which extended from the fjord a good way up inland, almost 

 without an incline. 



Here the storm had made a clean sweep of everything that 

 could be swept. The snow had been blown away to the last flake. 

 It was very evident that the wind could blow properly here when 

 once it set down the fjord. We were both anxious to go a little 

 way up the wide valley we saw in front of us, but as it was late 

 in the day, and the wind had increased so much as to make the 

 weather bitterly cold, we decided to stay where we were for the 

 night, and explore the valley next day. 



During the evening the south wind went down, and we had quite 

 a comfortable night. But towards morning a breeze sprang up, 

 and almost immediately afterwards a whole gale was blowing. It 

 was a taste of what the weather could do in here, in the fjord. We 

 had had a good many experiences of divers kinds on this journey, 



