THE GRANITE HARBOUR EXPEDITION 395 



which Forde and I took sides to keep things lively. " We 

 agreed that Germany could not conquer a colony, even if it 

 were handed over to them ; that the Kaiser's aspirations ought 

 to be humbled, and that the British officers were not so highly 

 educated as the German." Gran had many tales of the vast 

 amount of linguistic and mathematical knowledge which they 

 amassed. 



Friday the \ith. — No sign of the ship ! This is the day 

 I backed for our meeting. However, my cookery is over for 

 a time. 



Gran and I walked over to the Tongue to measure the 

 movement of the ice. On the 26th of December I had sighted 

 on to the stake with the theodolite, and obtained a movement 

 of thirty feet in twelve days. " She is fairly galloping to sea." 

 On this occasion we both wore spiked boots, and so had 

 little difficulty on the glacier, though the recent snow had 

 hidden all but the largest crevasses. On arrival at the stake 

 — which had not suffered from the blizzards — Gran lay on 

 the snow with the field glasses, and observed Debenham, who 

 was posted with the theodolite at the camp station. Meanwhile 

 I moved east or west, and Debenham signalled to Gran until 

 I stood on the transit with the crack in the Kar Cliffs. Now I 

 made a direct measurement from this line to the stake, and 

 found a movement to the east of eighty-two feet. Therefore 

 the glacier has a velocity of almost a yard a day. The sketch 

 (Fig., p. 374) shows exactly how this determination — which I 

 believe to be the most accurate in Victoria Land — was made. 



Gran suggested trying another route back, so we moved 

 into one of the huge gullies (which nearly dissect the Tongue 

 every half-mile) and we found it remarkably easy. There 

 were three little lakelets between thirty-feet walls, showing 

 there was no drainage into crevasses here, and we reached the 

 bay ice with great ease. 



I discussed pushing off for Cape Roberts instead of waiting 

 close to the Bluff. There was no possibility of the ship coming 

 in to us, and we could meet them as easily from the entrance. 

 On the other hand, there seemed no way out of the cul-de-sac 

 at Cape Geology if the ship did not arrive, and the sea-ice 

 broke away. So, after talking it over, I decided to leave our 

 headquarters on the 14th. 



On the 13th Debenham and Gran went to the Bluff, and 



