ap of
about sixty or seventy feet.

I shouted again, "Well done, boys! Well done!" I was terribly excited
myself.

Then they came to me and said: "Now we are going to have a new game."
They planted several sticks in the snow in different positions on the
declivity of the hill, and said, "Paulus, we are going to show you how
near we can come to those sticks; we will almost touch them with our
skees."

When they were ready I raised my flag. They came down the hill almost
with the same rapidity as before, but pushed their guiding sticks deeper
into the snow; and most of them came within a few inches of the sticks.

After passing one they would change their direction and move to another,
either on the left or right, further down.

This terminated the day's sport. We returned to our encampment. I had
had a day of great delight.

CHAPTER XIX

WE ENCOUNTER MORE WOLVES.--MY GUIDE KILLS TWO WITH HIS BLUDGEON.--A
VISITING TRIP WITH A LAPP FAMILY.--EXTRAORDINARY SPEED OF
REINDEER.--WE STRIKE A BOULDER.--LAKE GIVIJAeRVI.--EASTWARD AGAIN.

Now I kept a sharp lookout over the horizon as we drove along, for I
thought wolves might make their appearance again at any moment. My Lapp
guide was also apprehensive.

When we stopped for our meals he said to me, "If our reindeer scent or
see wolves, they will become uncontrollable. It will be impossible for
us to stop them, and if we try to keep in our sleighs we shall be surely
upset, for the animals will be so wild from fright. We had better have
our skees handy, so that we can throw them out of our sleighs and then
jump out ourselves."

Then, brandishing his bludgeon, he said fiercely, "I will make short
work of some of them. They will never run after any more reindeer."

I brandished my gun, and cried, "Woe to the wolves if they come near us.
I will give them enough buckshot to make them jump."

We continued our journey, the Lapp keeping close to me. Suddenly he
stopped and said, "Paulus, I am going to tie your sleigh behind mine
and fasten your reindeer to it. I do not know why, but I have an idea,
somehow, that there are wolves around, and I expect to see them at any
moment. At any rate it is better to be prepared for them."

After my sleigh was attached as he had said, we resumed our journey, I,
quietly seated in my sleigh, having no reindeer to drive, only using my
stick as a rudder. About two hours afterwards as we skirted a forest of
fir trees we s