chap, xxiv MOUNT HEDGEHOG 



3 2 7 



We continued cautiously up the plateau after this, prod- 

 ding at every step, until we estimated that we must have 

 come a distance of at least five miles from the coast. The 

 ground appeared to drop slightly in front of us. We halted 

 to consult, and had just agreed that we must have passed 

 the watershed and be descending towards the east coast, 

 when the fog cleared for a moment in front of us, and 

 revealed within a stone's throw a precipitous wall of rock 

 fully 3000 feet in height. The top was still hidden in the 

 fog but what we saw convinced us that this was certainly 

 part of the mountain of which we were in search. At the 

 same time we discovered a rocky island on our right rising 

 out of the glacier ; we decided to camp on it for the night. 

 A bearing of it was quickly taken, and the fog closed down 

 again as thick as before. We reached the rock, however, at 

 8.30 P.M. without further accident than the temporary loss of 

 a leg in a crevasse. Raking together such stray stones and 

 earth as could be found, we pitched our camp (2074 feet) on 

 a rocky ledge and searched for- water. Not a drop could we 

 discover. The quest had to be given up in despair, and our 

 cooking-pot filled with snow. Three mortal hours and a half 

 did it take our little spirit stove to melt and boil sufficient 

 water to mix with our ration cartridges. 



At midnight we lay down in a heap on the ground and tried 

 to shiver ourselves to sleep. We had only been able to carry 

 up one thin ship's blanket between us, and the cold was con- 

 siderable. During the night the wind rose, and snow fell for 

 some hours ; the cold made sleep impossible. After fidgeting 

 incessantly for a couple of hours, the cook, who was sleeping 

 across our feet, got up and declared his intention of returning 

 forthwith to the ship. As he would certainly have tumbled 

 into a crevasse before he had gone one hundred yards, we 

 used our eloquence to dissuade him, and eventually com- 

 promised matters by allowing him to wedge himself in beside 



