CHAPTER I I I 



SCHAROK AGAIN 



Sunday, July 22nd. — Soon after Uano had left us 

 last night, or rather this morning", the wind got up 

 very wildly from the north-east, and was accompanied 

 by a heavy drizzle of fog. As I did not feel sleepy I 

 sent Hyland to bed, and then went for a two hours' 

 stroll down the coast. The ice looked more promising, 

 for it had moved out to sea, and between it and the 

 sand-banks was quite a wide bit of open water. 



It was not a cheerful walk, and at five o'clock I was 

 back and ready to sleep. 



I was up again at six, and after an eight o'clock break- 

 fast went to sleep again till eleven, for it was such a 

 wretched day that this seemed the best thing to be done. 

 There was a good deal of skinning and writing to be 

 finished, so we did not have luncheon till 6 p.m., but 

 then, as it was Sunday, we finished the last of our little 

 tin of dried vegetables, which we had been eating once 

 a week. 



Hyland told me the following interesting story : — 



' The day before yesterday I was up by the lake when 

 a cock snowy owl came by and began cutting down at 



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