THE POLE! 
took the elevation and made the notes on a 
piece of tissue-paper at his head. With sun- 
blinded eyes, he snapped shut the vei^nier (a 
graduated scale that subdivides the smallest 
divisions on the sector of the circular scale of 
the sextant) and with the resolute squaring 
of his jaws, I was sure that he was satisfied, 
and I was confident that the journey had 
ended. Feeling that the time had come, I un- 
gloved my right hand and went forward to 
congratulate him on the success of our eighteen 
years of effort, but a gust of wind blew 
something into his eye, or else the burning 
pain caused by his prolonged look at the re- 
flection of the limb of the sun forced him to 
turn aside; and with both hands covering his 
eyes, he gave us orders to not let him sleep 
for more than four hours, for six hours later 
he purposed to take another sight about four 
miles beyond, and that he wanted at least two 
hours to make the trip and get everything in 
readiness. 
I unloaded a sledge, and reloaded it with a 
couple of skins, the instruments, and a cooker 
with enough alcohol and food for one meal 
for three, and then I turned in to the igloo 
135 
