a by the submarine
scare, and it was the end of September instead of June when she
finally arrived. It was a poor season for our dangerous North coast
and a very bad time for moving the deer, whose rutting season was just
beginning. My herders, too, were now much reduced in numbers. Most of
them had gone to the war, and as one had been sick all summer,
practically only two were available. To add to the difficulty, many
small herds of reindeer were loose in the country outside the corral.

However, we felt that the venture must be attempted at all hazards,
even if it delayed our beautiful ship taking a cargo of food to the
Allies--as she was scheduled to do as soon as possible--and though it
was a serious risk to remain anchored in the shallow open roadstead
off the spot where the deer had to be taken aboard. The work was all
new to us. The deer, instead of being tame as they had previously
been, were wild at best, and wilder still from their breeding season.
The days went by, and we succeeded in getting only a few aboard. We
were all greenhorns with the lassoes and lariats which we improvised.
A gale of wind came on and nothing could be done but lie up.

Then followed a fine Sunday morning. It was intensely interesting to
note the attitude which my crew could take toward my decision to work
all day after morning prayers. We talked briefly over the emphasis
laid by the four Evangelists on Christ's attitude toward the day of
rest, and what it might mean, if we allowed a rare fine day to go by,
to that long section of coast which we had not yet this year visited,
and which might thus miss the opportunity of seeing a doctor before
Christmas. As since this war has begun I have felt that the Christ
whom I wanted to follow would be in France, so now I felt that the
Christ of my ideal would go ashore and get those deer in spite of the
great breach of convention which it would mean for a "Mission" doctor
to work in any way, except in the many ways he has to work every
Sunday of his life. The whole crew followed me when I went ashore,
saying that they shared my view--all except the mate, who spent his
Sunday in bed. Idleness is not rest to some natures, either to body or
mind, and when at night we all turned in at ten o'clock, wet
through--for it had rained in the evening--and tired out, we were able
to say our prayers with just as light hearts, feeling that we had put
sixty-eight deer aboard, as if we had enjoyed that foretaste