IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 259 



would permit themselves the luxury of caustic remarks behind 

 their curtains — well knowing that the chance of scoring off a 

 member of the " afterguard " would not occur in a less 

 socialistic community. I remember playing off a game of 

 bezique with Taff Evans, who rather prided himself on the 

 game. At first, to my amazement, he was beaten, and the 

 mess deck crowded into our cubicle to jibe at Taff! How- 

 ever, he soon got " topsides " of a mere geologist. Dr. Atkin- 

 son was keen to learn Russian, and we used to hear him 

 chanting vocabularies with the two Russians in the mess-deck. 



If we wanted any repairs done, it was always easy, with a 

 little blarney, to get round Evans, or Crean, or Lashley, or 

 one or other of the petty officers, and all the scientists learnt 

 something of many handicrafts through contact with the 

 stalwarts of the navy. 



Debenham and Gran went off to visit Hut Point, and 

 bring back the specimens we had left there in April, so that 

 I had the Ubdug cubicle to myself. The enemy took advantage 

 of my lonely condition, and just as I had got off to sleep a 

 great beam of wood, six feet long, was pushed into my bunk 

 by some base villain. I arose in my wrath, and seeing that 

 " Marie " Nelson seemed somewhat conscious in his bunk, 

 I pushed it on to him, and added a chair or two, and various 

 other movables. He fell upon me, and we rolled about over 

 the main table until I skilfully deposited him up against the 

 Owner's cubicle, when he had to desist for fear of wrecking 

 it. Birdie Bowers, Meares, and Oates were hugely delighted, 

 the more so because Birdie had done the foul deed ! 



Such were the cowardly tactics of the Bunderlohg. 1 was 

 too tired to attempt to chastise Birdie, and turned in again, 

 merely remarking that he would not have dared to do this if 

 my honourable colleagues had been present. 



It was quite an accident, but almost all the scientists and 

 non-naval men were on the port side of the hut, while the 

 naval men and " Teamsters " were on the starboard side. 

 Dr. Wilson was out of place in the ranks of conservatism ; 

 but as he used jovially to egg on both sides, we rarely knew 

 his opinion on the burning questions of the day ! 



Curiously enough, the right arm of the conservatives 

 (" reactionaries " we called them) was our biologist Nelson. 

 He and Bowers argued largely, until Birdie became too deeply 



