58 HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC 



in German with two of them and I discovered two more 

 who spoke French. A steward soon began to piece out 

 the table and in a few moments we found ourselves at 

 lunch with the hospitable fellows. We were a dozen 

 at the board. Commander Vilkitsky in charge of the 

 expedition, the captain of the ship Lieutenant-Com- 

 mander Peter Novopashenny, Lieutenant Nicolas Hel- 

 chert, the doctor Eduard Arnhold, the chief engineer and 

 the two navigating oflScer were our hosts. I sat between 

 Elting and Helchert, who spoke French. On the other 

 side of Elting, the chief engineer fed him in German. 

 Across the table the doctor held forth in English and 

 there was a constant undertone of Russian. 



Vodka whetted the appetite; sardines and other 

 appetizers foretasted a formal banquet. Soup, chicken, 

 vegetables, marsala, madeira, beer, salad, ice cream 

 frozen with snow, coffee and liqueurs, interspersed •with 

 cigarettes and followed by cigars, completely satiated us 

 and left us torpidly hearkening to the strain of Russian 

 songs on the phonograph. 



"You have been very kind," some one remarked, ''to 

 share your luxurious fare with us. You must Hve high if 

 it's always like this aboard." 



''Oh, we are very glad to see you," one of the officers 

 repHed. "We never have anji^hing to drink unless we 

 have guests." 



The officers reassured us considerably about our 

 Hability of getting into difficulties if we landed in 

 Siberian harbors without a permit from Baron von 

 Kleist, or other official source. On account of the high 

 mountains they could not telegraph by wireless to 

 Anad}T. We should have cleared and obtained our 

 papers at Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka, some twelve 

 hundred miles distant. 



