A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 89 



inshore, and Michael Petrovitch shot a couple which 

 flew close to the boat. We also saw a seal — '' Nyrpe,'' 

 as it is called on the Yenesei — which thrust its melancholy 

 face out of the water about twenty yards from '^ the boat. 

 AntonofF fired at it, but his shot did not take effect. 

 The Siberians say that seals are fond of red, and 

 accordingly Nill was directed to stand up in the bows 

 in the hope that if the seal rose again, the sight of him 

 might lure it within shot. But I never quite understood 

 whether it was the colour of Nill's shirt or of his beard 

 which was supposed to be so attractive to the seal ! 



We reached Golchika at midnight in broad sunshine, 

 and found Mrs. Antonoff beginning to wonder at our 

 non-return. She had prepared a good supper for us, 

 and, needless to say, we did full justice to her pirogi, 

 eggs, and kaviare. And nobody knows the bliss of a 

 warm, dry sleeping-bag unless they have previously 

 spent forty-eight hours afoot, in a more or less soaked 

 condition for the greater part of the time. 



