IN WINTER QUARTERS WITH CAPTAIN SCOTT 275 



pleasant that I had to keep on reminding myself that I was in 

 Antarctica in the middle of the long night. Yet occasionally, 

 as on this day, Nature warned us that she was not to be trifled 

 with. 



Atkinson and I went off to read Bertram, leaving about 

 4 p.m. There was quite a lot of drift, and we soon lost sight 

 of the Hut, but luckily there was no mistaking the Ramp. 

 The end of my nose was nipped with — 25 F. and the gale of 

 wind. (You can apparently feel something " go with a ping," 

 just as if the blood froze in the end of your nose.) Anyhow, 

 it soon got warm again when covered by my mit. It was 

 worse on top, and we soon lost sight of all rocks and cones. 

 The wind kept fairly steady and we steered by that. After 

 about half an hour I counselled return, and we turned back 

 to regain our bearings, and after being out an hour and a half 

 we found Bertram. The fusees which we carried just burned 

 long enough to read the temperatures (minimum, —3 8°, 

 maximum, — 25 ). 



We reached the Hut about 6 p.m., and my task was over. 

 Atkinson was so pleased with our success that he decided to 

 go off 800 yards to Archibald. I tried to dissuade him, but 

 he said he'd be back in twenty minutes, and would just return 

 against the blizzard, and so couldn't miss the Hut — or at any 

 rate Cape Evans, which extended a quarter of a mile each side 

 of the Hut. 



Gran also started to go to " Clarence " about the same 

 time, but realized it was impossible, and managed to find Cape 

 Evans again, though quite at the wrong place. 



About 7 p.m. Nelson and I went out to have a look round 

 for Atkinson. It was very thick but not blowing so hard. 

 We informed Scott of his absence, and he immediately organ- 

 ized search parties, realizing better than we could the serious- 

 ness of the event. Atkinson had been out an hour, and we 

 could not imagine what had happened. Day took up tins of 

 oil to the top of Cape Evans, and burnt great flares every few 

 minutes for hours. Debenham, Gran, and I walked along the 

 top of the low cliffs on the Cape with candle lamps. 



We felt sure that he must have got to the coast, for it 

 stretches for thirty miles along the east, and that he was per- 

 haps sheltering in some cranny. We formed a long chain 

 from Cape Evans to Inaccessible Isle, and it was only by 



