OUR RETURN 159 
was frozen hard, that I would not attempt to unpack 
at present. Thus for the second time we slept in the 
choom. 
We were not so tired now, and noticed the discom- 
forts more. I was, I must confess, not well content; 
for the edges of the choom were many inches from the 
ground, nor could we find any form of packing to keep 
out a cutting wind; for while there were women and 
children on the other side of the choom, I could not 
put in any claim to the reindeer skins, which were 
bundled there. The skins, too, were reduced in number, 
for some we had taken with us to sit on in the sleighs, 
and these were now wet or frozen from the passage of 
the streams. 
But sleep at last we did; and the last thing I saw 
was old Sailor creeping round in a half-guilty way, to 
find himself a comfortable position close to Hyland’s 
head. 
