124 AT THE POLE 



Everything we had with us had now to be marked 

 with the words " South Pole " and the date, to serve 

 afterwards as souvenirs. Wisting proved to be a first- 

 class engraver, and many were the articles he had to 

 mark. Tobacco — in the form of smoke — had hitherto 

 never made its appearance in the tent. From time to 

 time I had seen one or two of the others take a quid, 

 but now these things were to be altered. I had brought 

 with me an old briar pipe, which bore inscriptions from 

 many places in the Arctic regions, and now I wanted it 

 marked " South Pole." When I produced my pipe and 

 was about to mark it, I received an unexpected gift: 

 Wisting offered me tobacco for the rest of the journey. 

 He had some cakes of plug in his kit-bag, which he 

 would prefer to see me smoke. Can anyone grasp 

 what such an offer meant at such a spot, made to a 

 man who, to tell the truth, is very fond of a smoke 

 after meals? There are not many who can understand 

 it fully. I accepted the offer, jumping with joy, and 

 on the way home I had a pipe of fresh, fine-cut plug 

 every evening. Ah! that Wisting, he spoiled me 

 entirely. Not only did he give me tobacco, but 

 every evening — and I must confess I j^ielded to the 

 temptation after a while, and had a morning smoke 

 as well — he undertook the disagreeable work of 

 cutting the plug and filling my pij)e in all kinds of 

 weather. 



33ut we did not let our talk make us forget other 



