366 THE END OF THE WINTER 



A number of patents were invented. Of course, the 

 everlasting mask for the face was to the fore, and took 

 the form of nose-protectors. I, too, allowed myself to 

 be beguiled into experimenting, with good reason, as I 

 thought, but with extremely poor results. I had hit 

 upon something which, of course, I thought much better 

 than anything that had been previously tried. The day 

 I put on my invention, I not only got my nose frozen, 

 but my forehead and cheek as well. I never tried it 

 again. Hassel was great at new inventions; he wore 

 nose-protectors all over him. These patents are very 

 good things for passing the time; when one actually 

 takes the field, they all vanish. They are useless for 

 serious work. 



The sleeping-bags were also a great source of interest. 

 Johansen was at work on the double one he was so keen 

 on. Heaven knows how many skins he put into it! 

 I don't, nor did I ever try to find out. Bjaaland was 

 also in full swing with alterations to his. He found the 

 opening at the top inconvenient, and preferred to have 

 it in the middle; his arrangement of a flap, with but- 

 tons and loops, made it easy to mistake him for a 

 colonel of dragoons when he was in bed. He was 

 tremendously pleased with it; but so he was with his 

 snow-goggles, in spite of the fact that he could not see 

 with them, and that they allowed him to become snow- 

 blind. The rest of us kept our sleeping-bags as they 

 were, only lengthening or shortening them as required. 



