REIXDKKR STALKING :^31 



ill tlic vnllovs \v1iovo tho food is riclifr mid llio voo-ct;ition 

 sutlicieiit to hide lliem. 



Wr iviunicil to llie scetcrs, and selecting the neatest 

 Imt. 1 marched in and took possession to the considcrnlilc 

 astonishment of the rair-haired young dauglitcr of \ ikings 

 wliose domain it was. as 1 was totally inial)le at that time 

 to exi)hiin to her in her own huiLiiiaijo liow much gratified 

 she ought to be at my intrusion. But she made a virtue 

 of necessity and n^tirod to tlie domain of another sister of 

 the craft, presently returning to bring me the one luxury 

 common to all in Norway — a cup of coftee from berries 

 roasted at the moment, ground between two stones, and 

 served with e;indied sugar. 



The next day 1 took another long stretch over the 

 Ijeld, buL saw noiliing, and returned the third lUdrning to 

 Hoass, where I was welcomed for my meat if not for 

 myself. I^)Ut the flesh pots were not enough to keep us 

 in Sundal, for the salmon still preferred the grovelling 

 worm to the painted fly, and we made preparations for 

 spending the rest of our time on the fjeld. 



We drove down the vallev to the head of the fjord, 

 and boated as far as the mouth of another vallev, the 

 Oxendal, whieh extends sonu' miles up into the fjeld. 

 Here, on the sliore of tlie fjord, tliere was a post station 

 whrre cverv travcljci' inu>t ciitir hi- n,im(\ The book 

 iiii-ludcd the records of thirty years, but tlir cntiiv list 

 hanllv covered a imge. and contained only oiif I'hi'jli-h 

 name. We were coiiipclhMl to spend three nights at a 

 farmhouse at tlie head of that valley, as tlie weatlier was 

 too b;id to go Up to the fjeld. aiid I faney that not even a 

 solitary traveller had ever penetrated there. 



