Shortly after this adventure, Nansen was one day standing on a hummock, looking round over the vast desert of snow, ice, and rock. Suddenly he heard a sound like the bark of a dog, and then something very like the report of a gun. He shouted to Johansen, who called back that he heard nothing. Nevertheless, Nansen resolved to go in the direction of the sound, and find out what it was. Off he started over the hummocks. After traveling some distance he came upon the footprints of an animal. It might have been the track of a fox or a wolf, but it looked strangely like the track of a dog. Then Nansen distinctly heard a dog barking in the distance. Very soon he heard a human voice also. Wild with excitement and joy, he mounted a hummock and shouted at the top of his lungs. An answering shout started him off at full speed in the direction from which it came. Amid a sea of hummocks, Nansen soon saw the figure of a man, followed by a dog. The two men walked toward each other, waving their hats. When they met they shook hands, and after they had exchanged a few words the stranger looked sharply at Nansen, and said, “Are you not Nansen?” “Yes, I am.” “By Jove! I am glad to meet you.” The two shook hands again and again. The stranger was Jackson, the English Arctic explorer, and his ship, the _Windward_, was expected every day. Jackson told Nansen that the land on which he stood was Franz Josef land. Jackson then sent a man to bring Johansen to his camp, and soon both he and Nansen were enjoying the comforts of civilized life. After fifteen months of blubber and bear meat, it was a welcome change to eat the food of white men, to sleep in beds, to read newspapers and books, and to have a change of clothing. It was arranged that Nansen and Johansen should sail with Jackson on the _Windward_ for Norway. The ship arrived July 26, and August 7, under a favorable wind, the whole party embarked. A pilot boarded the vessel when she reached the coast of Norway, and when he found that Nansen was a passenger, he was amazed. The pilot told Nansen that everybody thought him dead, for the _Fram_ had not been heard from. Nansen assured him that the _Fram_ was safe, for he felt sure that Sverdrup would bring the vessel home. Immediately after landing, Nansen and Johansen went to a telegraph office, where they sent many dispatches, so that the wonderful news of their return was soon received over all parts of the civilized world. Nansen had succeeded in reaching latitude 86° 14ʹ, farther north than any other explorer had yet attained, and had returned safely. Millions of people rejoiced, and Nansen’s name was upon every tongue.