CHAPTER III 



ON THE WAY TO THE SOUTH 



THE month of May, 1910, ran its course, beautiful as 

 only a spring month in Norway can be a lovely dream 

 of verdure and flowers. But unfortunately we had little 







time to admire all the splendour that surrounded us; 

 our watchword was ' Away ' -away from beautiful 

 sights, as quickly as possible. 



From the beginning of the month the Fram lay 

 moored to her buoy outside the old walls of Akershus. 

 Fresh and trim she came from the yard at Horten; you 

 could see the shine on her new paint a long way off. 

 Involuntarily one thought of holidays and yachting 

 tours at the sight of her; but the thought was soon 

 banished. The first day after her arrival, the vessel's 

 deck assumed the most everyday appearance that could 

 be desired: the loading had begun. 



A long procession of cases of provisions made its way 

 unceasingly from the basement of the Historical Museum 

 down into the roomy hold of the Fram, where Lieutenant 

 Nilsen and the three Nordlanders were ready to receive 

 them. This process was not an altogether simple one; 



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