TRICKS OF THE ATMOSPHERE 91 



therefore, to be very careful about what one sees or 

 does not see. In most cases it has proved that travellers 

 in the Polar regions have been more apt to see too much 

 than too little ; if, however, we had charted this tract as 

 we saw it the first time, a great part of the mountain 

 ranges would have been omitted. 



During the night a gale sprang up from the south- 

 east, and blew so that it howled in the guy-ropes of the 

 tent; it was well that the tent-pegs had a good hold. 

 In the morning, while we were at breakfast, it was still 

 blowing, and we had some thoughts of waiting for a 

 time ; but suddenly, without warning, the wind dropped 

 to such an extent that all our hesitation vanished. What 

 a change the south-east wind had produced! The 

 splendid covering of snow that the day before had 

 made ski-running a pleasure, was now swept away over 

 great stretches of surface, exposing the hard substratum. 

 Our thoughts flew back; the crampons we had left 

 behind seemed to dance before my eyes, backwards and 

 forwards, grinning and pointing fingers at me. It would 

 be a nice little extra trip back to the Butcher's to fetch 

 them. 



Meanwhile, we packed and made everything ready. 

 The tracks of the day before were not easy to follow; 

 but if we lost them now and again on the smooth ice 

 surface, we picked them up later on a snow-wave that 

 had resisted the attack of the wind. It was hard and 

 strenuous work for the drivers. The sledges were diffi- 



