336 THE VOYAGE OF THE " FRAM 



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on that occasion consisted of preserved pears, we felt 

 that there was an unusually big lurch coming. Although, 

 of course, we had fiddles on the table, the plates, with 

 meat, potatoes, etc., jumped over the fiddles, which they 

 didn't care a button for, into Beck's cabin. I caught 

 one of the pears in its flight, but the plate with the rest 

 of them went on its way. Of course there was a great 

 shout of laughter, which stopped dead as we heard a 

 violent noise on deck, over our heads ; I guessed at once 

 it was an empty water-tank that had broken loose, and 

 with my mouth full of pear I yelled " Tank!" and flew 

 on deck with the whole watch below at my heels. A sea 

 had come in over the after-deck, and had lifted the tank 

 up from its lashings. All hands threw themselves upon 

 the tank, and held on to it till the water had poured off^ 

 the deck, when it was again fixed in its place. When 

 this was done, my watch went below again and lit their 

 pipes as if nothing had happened. 



On November 13 we passed the northernmost of the 

 Prince Edward Islands, and on the 18th close to Penguin 

 Island, the most south-westerlv of the Crozets. In the 

 neighbourhood of the latter we saw a great quantity of 

 birds, a number of seals and penguins, and even a little 

 iceberg. I went close to the land to check the 

 chronometers, which an observation and bearings of the 

 islands showed to be correct. 



Our course was then laid for Kerguelen Island, but 

 we went too far north to see it, as for two weeks the 



