438 THE PROBLEM OF THE ANTARCTIC ZONE 



and her crew. If she had been beset, some of her company could 

 have reached the station over the ice while it was still compact, or, 

 if she was still afloat, she ought herself to have been able to reach 

 them. The absence of all news made the members of the expedition 

 gathered at the station more than uneasy as to the fate of their 

 comrades. 



The morning after the Argentine officers arrived, one of the 

 men, looking out of the hut, exclaimed that eight men were coming 

 over the ice. Under the impression that they were some of the 

 cruiser's crew sent to assist in removing the baggage from the 

 station to the ship, he went out to meet them, walking slowly, as he 

 tried to decide what was to be done if they could not speak any 

 language he knew. The others in the hut, watching him, saw him 

 suddenly leap forward and then turn to them and wave his arms. 

 "Larsen ! Larsen is here !" they heard him shout. 



With one accord they rushed out after him, and in a few 

 moments were eagerly shaking hands with the eight men, who were 

 a detachment sent out from the camp on Paulet Island to ascertain 

 whether the party at the station was still intact or whether it had 

 been rescued. The news was sent to the cruiser, and soon all the 

 members of the expedition and their baggage were on board and 

 the ship was steaming for Paulet Island. 



On arrival off the coast no signs of the remainder of the crew 

 of the "Antarctica" were to be seen, so the whistle was blown. 

 The men at the time were all in the shelter, sleeping, and the 

 sudden sound of the whistle roused them. For the moment they 

 could not believe their ears. Then one of them looked out and saw 

 the ship, and the shout with which he and his companions greeted 

 the sight rang far out over the water. 



Professor Andersson and his two comrades had left the "Ant- 

 arctica" on December 29, 1902 ; the ship was nipped on January 10, 

 1903; and the castaways arrived at Paulet Island at the end of 

 February. They had lived in the shelter they constructed, subsist- 



