124 
WILD NORWAY. 
our acquaintance. From some lialf-understood remarks 
of Ivar’s, I thought the unknown beast might possibly 
be a wolverine. 
From here we had a very long walk over the wildest 
fjeld ground studded with lakelets, where broods of 
mallards dipped and dived, and trout dimpled the 
surface, in the assumed direction of Krok-vand; but 
midday was past ere the sight of its glistening waters, 
embedded amongst pine and birch forest, gladdened 
our eyes, after a nine hours’ walk. This is a lake of 
eight or ten miles in extent, with a shore-line about 
as irregular as that of Norway itself. So infinite are 
the ramifications of long headlands and peninsulas, 
with alternating bays and bights, that a straight mile 
along shore would probably be ten or fifteen following 
the sinuosities of the land. On our approach, a small 
grey goose rose from a patch of osier-scrub at the 
water’s edge, and pitched, croaking, about a hundred 
yards out. Feeling sure she had risen from her nest, 
we left the place to give her time to re-settle, and had 
lunch in heavy rain under some pines, near to which 
a pair of wood-sandpipers evidently had their nest, 
for one of them kept flying round in great anxiety, 
perching on the topmost boughs and uttering its 
metallic “ Chirkop, chirkop, chib, chib.” I was not, 
however, to be beguiled into searching for this im¬ 
possible nest, and presently returned to the lake. On 
“glassing” the water from a ridge which commanded 
the supposed nest, I saw the goose still afloat, but 
within shot of a wooded promontory, where a stalk 
was easy. While traversing this, I crept almost on to 
an old blackcock, which went off with much scuffle and 
