[CHAPTER XVII.]
REINDEER.
August 12.—
We wonder whether our friends in Scotland and Yorkshire have such a day as this: if they have, it is rough on the grouse.
There is not a breath the bottle-green wave to curl, and the sun shines as if Odin had redeemed his other eye.
The Skipper and Öla went forth to pursue, and walked over an enormous distance into the previously unknown region of Memurutungen. Up on the mountains life on a day of this kind is bliss; there is more air there than in the valley, and it is delightful to be far away from the busy world—consisting of your two pals and Ivar—below; surrounded by the snowy peaks and sky, with not a living thing save perhaps an eagle in sight.
In the middle of the day they came on fresh deer tracks, at which of course their flagging interest revived; and presently they descried on a snow fjeld about a mile away, two deer ‘scooting’ over the opposite mountain side. These they followed, and made a long détour to get the right side of the breath of wind that occasionally made itself felt up there, for the reindeer has probably the most acute scent of all the deer tribe. In the midst of this détour they suddenly came in sight of two other bucks, about 300 yards away, much finer animals than the first two; in fact, they had the best heads the Skipper ever saw. But luck was against him; they were wrong for the wind, and a puff came just at the moment, which carried the unwelcome intelligence to those deer that their hated enemy was upon them, and they departed round a corner at a rapid trot, and were no more seen. Then Öla looked at the Skipper with a sorrowful shake of the head, and said, ‘Meget store bocks!’ (very big bucks), and the Skipper replied with a still more portentous shake, ‘Meget, meget.’ So they were left with their mouths wide open, muttering, ‘Meget, meget store bocks.’ And after following the tracks some time without seeing anything more of the deer, they gave up the chase and returned to camp, getting home in a very exhausted state about 6.30.
During dinner old Peter Tronhūus arrived in camp with a packet of letters and papers, and a fore-quarter of venison from Rus Vand. Mr. Thomas had been like ourselves reindeer-less until yesterday, when he found a large herd, and was lucky enough to get two out of them.
Peter also told us that two friends of Thomas’s who had been staying with him were walking over the mountain to see our camp, and would then go to Gjendesheim with him in the boat in which he had come.