CHAPTER XXV. 



SPRING JOUENEYS AND SUMMER IMPRESSIONS. 



ALL on board was in the best order. Peder had scraped away the 

 snow and ice from the 'tween decks ; and in the places in the hold 

 where ice was apt to form every reminder of winter had been 

 removed. 



Nevertheless, winter lingered long in Gaasefjord; there was 

 hardly a sign of any melting to be seen, and June 17 was about the 

 first day that the thermometer showed positive temperature. But 

 then fine weather set in, and the thaw was soon in full swing. In 

 the space of a few days Gaasedalen was almost snow-bare, with a 

 swarm of flapping, screaming geese up the river. Shooting, which 

 had already been begun, and carried on with some success, became 

 for a time a daily occurrence, and brought in good bags. 



We prepared at once for a dredging expedition to Jones Sound 

 and up through Hell Gate. The dredgers were to consist of 

 Peder, Simmons, Bay, and Isachsen, while Schei, Nodtvedt, Olsen, 

 and I were to drive their baggage out to them, and on the way 

 back make some trips in the fjord. One of the boat party was 

 to cross the neck to the ' Fram,' from the north side of the land, 

 to let us know when we might fetch the boat from the mouth of 

 the fjord. They were to dredge along the coast of North Kent on 

 their way south through the sound. 



On June 23 we broke up. Eight men and four teams. We had 

 enormous loads, but the sledges travelled easily, and our progress 

 was good. In the inner part of the fjord the ice was blue and 

 bright, with large pools of water on it ; it was almost entirely free 

 of snow. But by degrees, as we went farther out, the pools came to 

 an end, and there was deep loose snow, into which the dogs sank 



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