A VISITOR FROM THE SHIP 269 



said, as soon as he came in. It was no surprise to him 

 to find a man from the Fram in Lindstrom's bunk. 



When we heard that the visitor had been under our 

 roof for a whole day, we assumed that in the course of 

 that time he had heard all about our own concerns from 

 Lindstrom. We were therefore not inclined to talk 

 about ourselves; we wanted news from without, and 

 Gjertsen was more than ready to give us them. The 

 Fram had arrived two days before, all well. After lying 

 at the ice edge for a day and a night, keeping a constant 

 lookout for the "natives," Gjertsen had grown so curious 

 to know how things were at Framheim that he had 

 asked Captain Nilsen for " shore leave." The careful 

 skipper had hesitated a while before giving permission; 

 it was a long way up to the house, and the sea-ice was 

 scored with lanes, some of them fairly wide. Finally 

 Gjertsen had his way, and he left the ship, taking a signal 

 flag with him. He found it rather difficult to recognize 

 his surroundings, to begin with ; one ice cape was very like 

 another, and ugly ideas of calvings suggested themselves, 

 until at last he caught sight of Cape Man's Head, and 

 then he knew that the foundations of Framheim had not 

 given way. Cheered by this knowledge, he made his 

 way towards Mount Nelson, but on arriving at the top 

 of this ridge, from which there was a view over 

 Framheim, the eager explorer felt his heart sink. Where 

 our new house had made such a brave show a year 

 before on the surface of the Barrier, there was now no 



