■RETURN TO THE SHIP. 445 



liad to traverse sharp rocky slopes, blocks, and lumps of 

 snow over high chains of mountains ; and from the 

 summit of the last they looked down upon the winter 

 harbour. 



. There lay the ship still surrounded with ice. The 

 coast-land, which we had left in its winter dress, had 

 again donned its characteristic brown, and looked quite 

 strange. 



Payer and Ellinger descended from the mountain. 

 Full of joyful expectation did they approach the ship, 

 which struck them (as it did us afterwards) as being 

 wonderfully lai'ge and stately. It was midnight when 

 the travellers reached it, after a march of twenty-one hours 

 and a half. A black face looked up astonished from 

 the engine-room. It was that of the engineer Kranschner, 

 who was busily cleaning all up for the summer cruise. 

 The unusual footsteps on deck called Copeland, Borgen, 

 and Pansch up armed, and the meeting was attended 

 with as much excitement as if they had been separated 

 for years. 



At Captain Koldewey's desire, Sengstacke immediately 

 came back to meet us with provisions, and on the foh 

 lowing day (27th April) we all reached the ship together. 



After such an expedition there is great danger in 

 entering suddenly under a warm roof. Upon reaching 

 the cabin, the blood rushed immediately to the surface. 



What a wonder the ship seemed to us ! A cabin — 

 which had now been turned into a carpenter's shop — in 

 which one could stand upright; boxes on which we 

 could sit. Here, after five weeks, we could once more 

 undress ourselves ; here a berth, with mattress and 

 coverings, invited us instead of the sleeping-sack. 



