TO THE HOLY HILLS 343 
I found Hyland better; and he accepted an invitation 
from Verrmyah and Katrina to spend the night in their 
choom, now pitched by the Baroshika. At Scharok 
also I found the whole of the Uano family, who had 
taken up their abode in a small lean-to. That day 
seventy-six of Uano’s calves had been killed, and 
Hyland told me that four men had skinned seventy- 
eight calves in six hours; which, said Hyland (who 
had had some experience in that line), was very good 
work. 
There was great rejoicing in Alexander’s hut; for 
at the harbour mouth had appeared a sail, which could 
be no other than Alexis’. So he had not died after 
all. And this was proved later on when the vessel, 
having come to an anchorage in the creek a mile and 
a half away, some of his men came ashore. It appeared 
that, since his departure from Okshin in June, he had 
been slowly coasting along, bartering with mainland 
Samoyeds. 
This evening I came across for the first time a 
character destined to play (though we did not know it 
then) a considerable part in our story. 
I was sitting in Alexander’s hut drinking tea (Uano 
was there, and Mrs. Uano, dirty Shabla, who had 
come up from the Gobista, and one or two more) when 
suddenly the door opened and a most extraordinary 
figure appeared. 
No words of mine can possibly convey to you even 
