CHAPTER IV 



VARDO TO KOLGUEV 



The Land of Hope was far indeed from being the Land 

 of Promise. 



Only one person in all England knew as much about 

 Kolguev as ourselves, and he was now away in a boat 

 too big to take into those shallow seas. 



And we knew little enough. The Russians had failed 

 me altogether. 



I had been at the pains the year before to go for 

 information all the way to the White Sea coasts, only 

 to lind that not a soul among the Pomors could tell me 

 anything at all. 



How an ignorance so curious had come about I will 

 explain later in this book. But you can easily see how 

 all this would just give an added element of interest to 

 our venture. 



Whether those were right who had maintained that 

 we should find it quite impossible to land at all ; whether 

 if we did succeed in landing, we should discover a har- 

 bour where the Saxon might be secure ; what birds, 

 flowers, and mammals we should chance upon ; whether 

 we should find people there, or only a desolate and barren 



