IN GUSINA CAMP 79 



And now, before we close this day, comes something 

 which involves a moral, if one only knew how to point it. 



We often speculate on the law of chances ; we wish, 

 for instance, we could trace the steps, see some of the 

 working by which things which seem as if they must fall 

 out in such and such a manner, are just missed, just 

 fail. 



Well, the very first thing that met our eyes as we once 

 more reached the bank of the Gusina at our crossing 

 was the fresh track of nine reindeer and two sleighs all 

 up the side of the river mud. They had passed since 

 we crossed. So fresh was the track that the mud had 

 scarcely settled in the footprints of the deer. There 

 they were, sure enough, a light sleigh drawn by five and 

 a heavy sleigh by four deer. The men had probably 

 been up the river collecting drift-wood. We traced their 

 trail for some way. One more turn of the river bank 

 and they would have come full in sight of our little tent, 

 where we should doubtless have found them on our 

 return. But nothing told them ; and they stopped short. 

 How they missed seeing our footprints as they passed I 

 couldn't imagine. Fancy, if you can, an Indian missing 

 them ! When I came to know the Samoyeds I found 

 they were not Indians — by a very long way. 



But see the case : Here were we, the only two, 

 solitary white men on an Arctic island, in need of but 

 one thing, and that was native help. We knew abso- 

 lutely nothing of where these natives lived, but this very 



