WAITING TO START 379 



" Ah, but how do you know they have it as cold as 

 this? I expect it's far warmer where they are, among 

 the mountains ; and you can take your oath they're not 

 lying idle. Those boys have shown what they can do." 



This was the sort of conversation one could hear 

 daily. The uncertainty was worrying many of us not 

 all and, personally, I felt it a great deal. I was deter- 

 mined to get away as soon as it was at all possible, and 

 the objection that much might be lost by starting too 

 early did not seem to me to have much force. If we 

 saw that it was too cold, all we had to do was to turn 

 back ; so that I could not see there was any risk. 



September came, with - 43'6 F. That is a tempera- 

 ture that one can always stand, but we had better 

 wait and see what it is going to do ; perhaps it will only 

 play its old tricks again. Next day, - 63'4 F.; calm 

 and clear. September 6, - 20'2 F. At last the change 

 had come, and we thought it was high time. Next day, 

 - 7'6 F. The little slant of wind that came from the 

 east felt quite like a mild spring breeze. Well, at any 

 rate, we now had a good temperature to start in. Every 

 man ready ; to-morrow we are off. 



September 8 arrived. We turned out as usual, had 

 breakfast, and were then on the move. We had not 

 much to do. The empty sledges we were to use for 

 driving up to the starting-point were ready; we only 

 had to throw a few things on to them. But it turned out 

 that the mere fact of having so few things was the cause 



