MIRAGE 247 



Up with the glass, then the good old glass that has 

 served me for so many years. Yes, there was certainly 

 something curious. It must be the Bay of Whales that 

 we were looking down into, but what were those black 

 things moving up and down? They are our fellows 

 hunting seals, someone suggested, and we all agreed. 

 Yes, of course, it was so clear that there was no mis- 

 taking it. " I can see a sledge and there's another 

 and there's a third." We nearly had tears in our eyes 

 to see how industrious they were. ' Now they're gone. 

 No ; there they are again. Strange how they bob up and 

 down, those fellows ! ' It proved to be a mirage ; what 

 we saw was Framheim with all its tents. Our lads, we 

 were sure, were just taking a comfortable midday nap, 

 and the tears we were nearly shedding were withdrawn. 

 Now we could survey the situation calmly. There lay 

 Framheim, there was Cape Man's Head, and there West 

 Cape, so that we had come too far to the east. " Hurrah 

 for Framheim! half-past seven this evening," shouted 

 one. "Yes, that's all we can do," cried another; and 

 away we went. We set our course straight for the 

 middle of the bay. We must have got pretty high up, 

 as we went down at a terrific pace. This was more 

 than the forerunner could manage; he flung himself on 

 a sledge as it went by. I had a glimpse of Hanssen, 

 who was busy making a whip-handle, as I passed; the 

 soles of his feet were then very prominent. I myself 

 was lying on Hanssen's sledge, shaking with laughter; 



