88 FARl^HEST NORTH 



rocking gently on the sea. It made one feel almost sav- 

 age to look at it. Visions of the Flying Diitchman and 

 other devilry flashed through my mind. 



Terrible disaster in the cook's galley! Mogstad goes 

 in and sees the whole wall sprinkled over with dark-red 

 stains — rushes off to Nordahl, and says he believes Juell 

 has shot himself through despair at the insufferable heat 

 he complains so about. " Great revolver disaster on 

 board the Fram ! . . ." On close inspection, however, 

 the stains appeared to proceed from a box of chocolate 

 that had upset in the cupboard. 



Owing to the fog we dared not go too near land, so 

 kept out to sea, till at last, towards morning, the fog lifted 

 somewhat, and the pilot found his bearings between Far- 

 sund and Hummerdus. We put into Lister Fjord, in- 

 tending to anchor there and get into better sea trim; 

 but as the weather improved we went on our way. It 

 was not till the afternoon that we steered into Ekersund, 

 owing to thick weather and a stiff breeze, and anchored in 

 Hovland's Bay, where our pilot, Hovland,* lived. Next 

 morning the boat davits, etc., were put in good work- 

 ing order. The Fraui, however, was too heavily laden to 

 be at all easy in a seaway ; but this we could not alter. 

 What we had we must keep, and if we only got every- 



* Both Hovland, who piloted us from Christiania to Bergen, and Johan 

 Hagensen, who took us from Bergen to Vardo, were most kindly placed 

 at the disposal of the expedition by the Nordenfjeldske Steamship Com- 

 pany, of Trondhjem. 



