118 AT THE POLE 



nearer the goal ; we could feel fairly certain of reaching 

 it on the afternoon of the 14th. It was very natural 

 that our conversation should be chiefly concerned with 

 the time of arrival. None of us would admit that he 

 was nervous, but I am inclined to think that we all had 

 a little touch of that malady. What should we see 

 when we got there? A vast, endless plain, that no eye 



had yet seen and no foot yet trodden; or No, it 



was an impossibility; with the speed at which we had 

 travelled, we must reach the goal first, there could be 



no doubt about that. And yet — and yet Wherever 



there is the smallest loophole, doubt creeps in and gnaws 

 and gnaws and never leaves a poor wretch in peace. 

 " What on earth is Uroa scenting?" It was Bjaaland 

 who made this remark, on one of these last days, when 

 I was going by the side of his sledge and talking to 

 him. " And the strange thing is that he's scenting to 



the south. It can never be " Mylius, Ring, and 



Suggen, showed the same interest in the southerly direc- 

 tion; it was quite extraordinary to see how they raised 

 their heads, with every sign of curiosity, put their noses 

 in the air, and sniffed due south. One would really 

 have thought there was something remarkable to be 

 found there. 



From 88° 25' S. the barometer and hypsometer 

 indicated slowly but surely that the plateau was begin- 

 ning to descend towards the other side. This was a 

 pleasant surprise to us; we had thus not only found 



