A 



Vadsaeth and Svardal. 177 



no fresh water at hand, and within a quarter of an hour 

 we were again afloat. 



The breaking day, and now warmer atmosphere, 

 cheered us up, and we rowed steadily on until 6 a.m., 

 when the hamlet and church of Eikefjord came into view 

 about five miles distant. 



The boat now suddenly commenced to let in water 

 at a pace that no bailing could keep under, and it was 

 evident that the leak must be plugged. 



The fjord was at this point more than a mile in width, 

 and the rocky margins so abrupt that landing was im- 

 possible ; but, by piling up the baggage in the bow, we 

 managed to lift her stern and discovered a hole as big 

 as a snipe's egg, which took some minutes to plug. 

 By the time we got her put to rights a strong and 

 squally wind had sprung up right in our teeth, which 

 completely disconcerted our half-hearted crew, who, 

 upon their own authority, gave up rowing, and hoisted 

 the sail. 



The ordinary fjord boat, such as we occupied, has 

 merely two or three inches of keel, and has no pretensions 

 to beat to windward, and the sail is only of use in running 

 before the wind ; yet it is difficult to tell how clever a 

 man may be in a boat, so I allowed them to set sail with 

 the almost inevitable consequence that we made a lot 

 of lee-way in a couple of beats. 



2 A 



