JV£ PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 5 



'"In amongst the fragrant birch, 



In amongst the flowers' perfume, 

 Deep into the pine-wood's church.' 



"Monday, November 19th. Confounded affectation 

 all this Weltschmerz ; you have no right to be anything 

 but a happy man. And if you feel out of spirits, it ought 

 to cheer you up simply to go on deck and look at these 

 seven puppies that come frisking and springing about 

 you, and are ready to tear you to pieces in sheer enjoy- 

 ment of life. Life is sunshine to them, thoufjh the sun 

 has long since gone, and they live on deck beneath a 

 tent, so that they cannot even see the stars. There is 

 ' Kvik,' the mother of the family, among them, looking so 

 plump and contented as she wags her tail. Have you 

 not as much reason to be happy as they } Yet they too 

 have their misfortunes. The afternoon of the day before 

 yesterday, as I was sitting at work, I heard the mill go- 

 ing round and round, and Peter taking food to the 

 puppies, which, as usual, had a bit of a fight over the 

 meat-pan ; and it struck me that the axle of the mill whirl- 

 ing unguarded on the deck was an extremely dangerous 

 affair for them. Ten minutes later I heard a doo^ howlinsr, 

 a more long-drawn, uncomfortable kind of howl than was 

 usual when they were fighting, and at the same moment 

 the mill slowed down. I rushed out. There I saw a 

 puppy right in the axle, whirling round with it and howl- 

 ing piteously, so that it cut one to the soul. Bentzen w^as 

 hanging on to the brake-rope, hauling at it with all his 



