We were up on the Fjeld, Edward and I and Anders our guide, in quest of
reindeer. How long ago it was we will not ask; for after all it was not
so very long ago. How did we get there? Well; if you must know we went
up to the head of the Sogne Fjord in a boat, and then we drove up the
valley in carioles till we were tired, and then we took to our legs,
and, now, about three P.M., we were on the Fjeld making for the
_Soeter_ or Shieling, where we were to pass the night. On this our
first day, we did not expect to meet deer, so on we plodded over the
stony soil slanting across the Fjeld which showed its long shoulder
above us, while far off glared the snowy peaks, and the glaciers stooped
down to meet the Fjeld, for as the Norse proverb says, if the dale won't
come to the mountain, the mountain must meet the dale. On we went,
Anders cheering the way by stories of _Huldror_ and Trolls, and running
off hither and thither to fetch us Alpine plants and flowers. All at
once, in one of these flights which had brought him up to the very edge
of the shoulder above us, we saw his tall form stiffen as it were
against the sky, and, in another moment, he had fallen flat, beckoning
us to come cautiously to him. As we reached him stooping and running, he
whispered "There they are, away yonder;" and sure enough, about half a
mile further on, close under the shoulder, which broke off into an
immense circular valley or combe, we could make out two stags, three
hinds, and some fawns, at play. It was a strange sight to see the low,
thick-set stags with their heavy palmated antlers, leaping over one
another and over the hinds, and the hinds and fawns in turn following
their example. "A sure sign of rain and wind," said Anders. "It will
blow a hurricane and pour in torrents to-morrow, mark my words. I never
looked to find them so low down; let us try to get at them." We crept
down then, well under cover of the shoulder, and, led by Anders, went on
till he said we were opposite the spot where the deer were at play.
"But, by all the powers," said he, "be sure to take good aim both of
you, and bring down each a stag. I will take one of the hinds, but I
will not fire before you." And now began the real stalk; we had about
three hundred yards against the wind to crawl on our hands and feet over
stones, and gravel, and dry grass, and brambles, and dwarf willow,
before we could get to the edge of the shoulder, and look down on the
deer. For nearly the whole distance all went well, our bellies clove to
the dust like snakes, as we wormed our way. But, alas! when we were not
ten yards from the edge, Edward uttered a cry and sprang to his feet.
Anders and I did the same without the cry, only to see the deer off at
full speed down the combe, followed by a volley of oaths and a
billetless bullet from the old flint rifle which Anders carried. For
myself I turned to Edward and felt very much as though I should like to
send my bullet through him.
"Why, in the name of all that is unholy, did you utter that yell and
scare them away."
"Oh, I am very sorry," he said, "but I came across this thing like a
bramble, only the prickles are much sharper, and it tore me so I
couldn't bear it;" and, as he spoke, he pointed to a stout trailing
_Rubus arcticus_ over which he had crawled, and which had taken toll
both of his clothing and flesh.
Anders looked at him with unutterable scorn. "When the gentleman next
goes after reindeer, he had better take Osborn's Pipe with him. Come
along, no more reindeer for us to-day; no, nor to-morrow either. The
peaks are going to put on their nightcaps; we must try to get to the
_Soeter_ before the storm comes on." After a tough walk, during which
Anders said little or nothing, we got to the shieling, where two girls,
a cousin of Anders and his sister, met us with bright hearty faces. They
had been up there looking after the cattle since June, and it was now
August, and they had made heaps of butter and cheese. There were three
rooms in the _Soeter_, a living-room in the middle, and on either hand
a room for the men and another for the women. There were outhouses for
the butter, and cheese, and milk, and cream. We had sent up some
creature comforts, and with these and the butter, cream, and cheese, we
made a good supper; and now we are sitting over the fire smoking our
pipes, and listening to the rain as it patters on the roof, and to the
wind as it howls round the building. Under the influence of tobacco and
cognac Anders was more happy, and got even reconciled to Edward, whom he
regarded as a muff. Looking at him mockingly, he said again, "What a
pity you had not Osborn's Pipe."
"And, pray, what was that?" asked Edward; "was it anything like this?"
holding out his cutty pipe.
"God forgive us," said Anders; "there are pipes and pipes, and Osborn's
Pipe was not a tobacco-pipe, but a playing pipe or whistle. At least so
my grandmother said, for she said her grandmother knew a very old woman
down at the head of the lake, who had known Osborn and seen his pipe.
But, if you like, I'll tell you the story. The girls are gone to bed,
and so they won't trouble us, though there's a good bit of kissing in
the story, and, when you hear it, you'll both say we should have been
lucky if we had only had Osborn's Pipe when the gentleman scared away
the deer. But here goes."