At this time the sun shone out brightly, tinting rosily the distant
hills, and spreading a carpet of light under our feet upon the
ice-covered surface of the bay. The clear, cold air we breathed was
fairly exhilarating, sparkling like diamonds in the sun-beams, and
causing the feathery snowflakes under our feet to crackle with a
delightful crispness.

When the elasticity of the reindeer's spirits had been somewhat lessened
by exercise, a real start was made, and we watched them until only small
dots on the distant trail could be distinguished.

Something unpleasant has happened. M., the Finlander, told me this
morning that he wants the room I occupy upstairs, and, of course, I will
have to give it up. As the other rooms upstairs must be left for the
men, of whom there are such numbers, there is no place for me except on
the old wooden settle in the sitting room. To be sure, this is in a warm
corner, but there are many and serious inconveniences, one being that I
must of necessity be the last one to retire, and this is usually
midnight.

For some time past I have been turning over in my mind the advisability
of asking for the situation of nurse and teacher to Jennie and Charlie,
and living in the hotel. Supplies are growing shorter in the Mission as
the weeks go by, and my own are about exhausted, as is also my money.
The children need me, and there is plenty of room in the hotel, though I
am not fond of living in one.

I have consulted Mr. H., who sees no harm in my doing this if I want to.
Meals are one dollar each everywhere in Chinik, and most kinds of
"grub" one dollar a pound, while for a lodging the same is charged. To
earn my board and room in the hotel by teaching and taking care of the
two children I should be making an equivalent to four dollars a day, and
I could have a room, at last, to myself. This is the way I have figured
it out; whether Mollie and the Captain will see it in the same light
remains to be seen.

Later: I ran over to see Mollie and her husband, and to present my plan
to them. They both assented quickly, the Captain saying he does not want
Jennie to stop her studies, and she is fond of having me with her.
Besides, her mother wants to spend a good deal of time out hunting and
trapping, as she thinks it better for Jennie, Charlie and herself to
have fresh game, of which they are so fond, than to eat canned meats. I
think it is better for them, and shall not object to some of the same