146 FARl^HEST NORTH 



physical Jicat was expended. We packed ourselves tight 

 into the bag, and lay with our teeth chattering for an 

 hour, or an hour and a half, before we became aware of a 

 little of the warmth in our bodies which we so sorely 

 needed. At last our clothes became wet and pliant, only 

 to freeze ao:ain a few minutes after we had turned out of 

 the bag in the morning. There was no question of get- 

 ting these clothes dried on the journey so long as the 

 cold lasted, as more and more moisture from the body 

 collected in them. 



How cold we were as we lay there shivering in the 

 bag, waiting for the supper to be ready ! I, who was 

 cook, was obliged to keep myself more or less awake to 

 see to the culinary operations, and sometimes I succeeded. 

 At last the supper was ready, was portioned out, and, 

 as always, tasted delicious. These occasions were the su- 

 preme moments of our existence — moments to which we 

 looked forward the whole day long. But sometimes we 

 were so weary that our eyes closed, and we fell asleep 

 with the food on its way to our mouths. Our hands 

 would fall back inanimate with the spoons in them and 

 the food fly out on the bag. After supper we generally 

 permitted ourselves the luxury of a little extra drink, 

 consisting of water, as hot as we could swallow it, in 

 which whey-powder had been dissolved. It tasted some- 

 thing like boiled milk, and we thought it wonderfully 

 comforting; it seemed to warm us to the very ends of 

 our toes. Then we would creep down into the bag 



