THE LAST SUMMER. 435 



This time the north wind was in earnest ; later in the evening 

 it began to blow hard, and the last remains of the ice hurried out 

 through the fjord. The Tram' did not escape coming into 

 collision with the floes ; the rock we were moored to began 

 to move like an erratic block, and did not stop before it 

 was in the clay under the mountain. At four on Monday 

 morning I sent Baumann up the mountain-side to scan the 

 ice. At six we lighted the fires, took the stern moorings 

 aboard, and at eleven in the forenoon of August 6 steamed out 

 through the fjord, going first to fetch the boat, a little west 

 of Hvalroskap. We went only a cable's-length from shore, but 

 the north-wester had brought us fog, and we saw nothing of the 

 land. The boat was soon found and hoisted up, and we steamed 

 east, first in close, afterwards in slacker ice. Every mile we 

 worked our way east the ice became slacker and slacker ; and soon 

 we were under full canvas, on our way, full-speed, homewards. 



