TO THE HOLY HILLS 359 



deck to confer with his Samoyeds, and Alexander to his 

 deck, to confer with his. 



Presently they would be up on their poops and at it 

 again. 



Alexis. Where is the Englishman ? 



Alexander. In the cabin. 



Alexis. I want to see him. 



Alexander. He writes. 



Alexis. Hah ! Always writing. (They looked on 

 my writing so much as part of my uncanniness.) What 

 else did he say ? 



Alexander. If you don't go to-day you may not get 

 off at all. 



Alexis. But this bolvan. Bulchikoff had a bolvan on 

 board last year and the ship was lost. You know it. 



Alexander. I know it. But he does not burn it, 

 though I speak to him so much. Many times. 



Alexis. But my glass down goes. What does he say 

 to that ? 



Alexander. He says his glass down goes, but no 

 matter, so slowly. He says it must go down or up if it 

 is not still. 



Alexis. Does he say that ? Well, that is spoken 

 very well. 



And so on a hundred times over. 



You may imagine how I laughed at all this rubbish as I 

 lay in the cabin. But I did not feel happy, though I was 

 quite determined to get them off if I could. I knew that 



