296 FARTHEST NORTH 



hardly keep them open, and they water copiously. But 

 the consequences could be even worse. The train-oil 

 lamp which I had contrived out of a sheet of German 

 silver became o\'er-heated one dav under the hot frvincv- 

 pan, and at last tlie whole thing caught fire, both the 

 lumps of blubber and the train-oil. The iiame shot up 

 into the air, while I tried by every means in my power to 

 put it out, but it only grew worse. The best thing would 

 have been to convey the whole lamp outside, but there 

 was no time for it. The tent beo-an to fill with suffocat- 



O 



ing smoke, and as a last resort I unfortunately seized a 

 handful of snow and threw it on to the burning train-oil. 

 It sputtered and crackled, boiling oil tlew^ in all direc- 

 tions, and from the lamp itself rose a sea of flames which 

 filled the whole tent and burned everything they came 

 near. Half-suffocated, we both threw ourselves against 

 the closed door, bursting off the buttons, and dashed 

 headlong into the open air — glad, indeed, to have escaped 

 with our lives. \\ ith this explosion the lamp went out; 

 but when we came to examine the tent we found an 

 enormous hole burned in the silk wall above the place 

 where the frving-pan had stood. One of our sledge-sails 

 had to pay the penalty for that hole. We crept back 

 into the tent again, congratulating ourselves, however, on 

 having got off so easily, and, after a great deal of trouble, 

 rekindled a fire so that I could fry the last pancake. 

 We then ate it with sugar, in the best of spirits, and 

 pronounced it the most delicious fare we had ever tasted. 



