Jakobsen held up his hand to make the party stop, and the next minute he was close up. "Reindeer," he whispered. "Four just round the point yonder feeding on the moss. Come." "Stay back, the rest of you," said the captain in a low voice. "You can come, Steve, my lad, and you, Johannes, be cautious." Then the novel kind of deer-stalking commenced, Jakobsen leading and taking advantage of every block of stone, turning round at times to make sure that his companions were keeping out of sight, and at last coming to a stand at where the defile they were threading opened out into a plain. He was behind a mass of rocks whose hollows were filled up with ice; and when all were together he whispered to them to be ready, and then clambered up till he was high enough to peer over cautiously before descending. "They are very wild and cautious," he whispered; "but they have not moved. Go forward now, creeping from rock to rock, and you are sure of one or two." "Come, Steve," whispered the captain. "Don't fire unless I tell you. Be ready to hand me your gun if I miss." He went off to the right of the pile of rocks, and the doctor took the left, all stooping and sheltering themselves till the end of the stones was reached; and upon raising himself a little so as to peer round the last, there, not fifty yards away, and grazing or tearing up the moss with their feet, were four deer, with their peculiarly shaped, branching antlers, and all apparently in perfect ignorance of danger being so near. "Can you see Mr Handscombe?" whispered the captain, drawing back to speak. "No, he is not in sight." "I'll wait, then, so as to give him a chance of getting within shot as well. It will steady my hand, too." "What's that?" whispered Steve, as a sound like one stone being thrown against another reached his ear. The captain reached forward again, and uttered an exclamation which brought Steve close up just in time to see the four deer bounding away, and to have his ears half deafened by the report of the piece, for the captain fired directly. "Gone! Lost them!" he cried, as the deer tore on. "Fire again." "With small shot?" said the captain. "No use, my lad. And I should have been so glad to have got a brace of these deer. It would have been such a good change for the men." "Hooray!" shouted Steve. "One's down!" For all at once the foremost of the deer stopped short, then staggered on a few yards, stopped again, and fell. At that moment a rifle shot rang out from their left, and the last of the flying deer pitched headlong amongst the stones and lay kicking. "Well done, doctor! and a very long shot, too! Ahoy, Johannes! Jakobsen!" he shouted as he placed a fresh cartridge in his gun. Then, as the men came up, "There you are! We'll get back to the boat with the fresh provisions. What shall you do, cut them up here?" "No, sir; tie their legs, and carry them on the lance-poles. We are enough to manage them."