112 AT THE POLE 



catch the sun if it should be kind enough to look out. 

 Hassel and Wisting used one sextant and artificial 

 horizon, Hanssen and I the other set. 



I don't know that I have ever stood and absolutely 

 pulled at the sun to get it out as I did that time. If 

 we got an observation here which agreed with our 

 reckoning, then it would be possible, if the worst came 

 to the worst, to go to the Pole on dead reckoning; 

 but if we got none now, it was a question w^hether 

 our claim to the Pole would be admitted on the dead 

 reckoning we should be able to produce. Whether 

 my pulling helped or not, it is certain that the sun 

 appeared. It was not very brilliant to begin with, 

 but, practised as we now were in availing ourselves 

 of even the poorest chances, it was good enough. 

 Down it came, was checked by all, and the altitude 

 written down. The curtain of cloud was rent more 

 and more, and before we had finished our work — that 

 is to say, caught the sun at its highest, and convinced 

 ourselves that it was descending again — it was shining 

 in all its glory. We had put away our instruments 

 and were sitting on the sledges, engaged in the calcula- 

 tions. I can safely say that we were excited. What 

 would the result be, after marching blindly for so long 

 and over such impossible ground, as we had been 

 doing? We added and subtracted, and at last there 

 was the result. We looked at each other in sheer 

 incredulity: the result was as astonishing as the most 



