172 ON THE BARRIER 



spoken of this remarkable natural formation with 

 apprehensive awe. It was as though one could always 

 read between the lines the same sentence : ' Hush, be 

 quiet! the mystic Barrier! ' 



One, two, three, and a little jump, and the Barrier 

 was surmounted ! 



We looked at each other and smiled; probably the 

 same thought was in the minds of all of us. The 

 monster had begun to lose something of its mystery, 

 the terror something of its force; the incomprehensible 

 was becoming quite easy to understand. 



Without striking a blow we had entered into our 

 kingdom. The Barrier was at this spot about 20 feet 

 high, and the junction between it and the sea-ice was 

 completely filled up with driven snow, so that the ascent 

 took the form of a little, gentle slope. This spot would 

 certainly offer us no resistance. 



Hitherto we had made our advance without a rope. 

 The sea-ice, we knew, would offer no hidden difficulties ; 

 but what would be the condition of things beyond the 

 Barrier was another question. And as we all thought 

 it would be better to have the rope on before we fell 

 into a crevasse than afterwards, our further advance was 

 made w r ith a rope between the first two. 



We proceeded in an easterly direction up through 

 a little valley formed by " Mount Nelson " on one side, 

 and ' Mount Ronniken ' on the other. The reader 

 must not, however, imagine from these imposing names 



