4 oo WITH SCOTT : THE SILVER LINING 



extension of the ice-sheet. Debenham spent some time 

 making a detailed plane-table survey. I fixed several theo- 

 dolite stations, but as the days went by our life settled into 

 a monotonous round. 



I cut the meals down to two a day. We had plenty of 

 seal meat and biscuit, but all the other stores were approaching 

 their last week. 



We used to have a meal about 7 p.m. every other day, 

 a half ration of pemmican ; for although seal meat is not so 

 black as it's painted (and it's very black indeed), yet we had 

 eaten little else for a month, and were all heartily sick of it. 

 Then we turned in, and used to yarn or read till about 3 a.m., 

 when we managed to get to sleep. We turned out at noon, 

 and had a biscuit and seal lunch. During the afternoon we 

 used to walk over the cape and inspect the cracks in the 

 sea ice. One man was kept fairly busy cutting up seal meat, 

 and the cook coaxed the stove to cook the fry. 



Debenham was our only smoker, and certainly found 

 tobacco a great solace. I had brought socks instead of tobacco, 

 and had looked forward to jeering at him when his tobacco 

 and socks gave out. Unfortunately our socks lasted much 

 better this trip, as our boots were stronger, and I never used 

 my spare socks ! 



Gran started a drama — a great nature play full of storms 

 and wrecks, with a strong substratum of melodrama. It was 

 called " Tangholman Lighthouse," and we used to urge him 

 to fill it full of incident, and cut out the " nature " part of it. 

 I read " Martin Chuzzlewit " for the ninth time and found it, 

 as always, very interesting ; while Forde tackled " Incom- 

 parable Bellairs " — a book which charmed Gran — but luckily 

 Forde made it last a very long time. 



We played chess with our cardboard pieces. I think we 

 were fairly even, though Debenham tried risky openings to 

 my advantage. The place of Evans as Society Entertainer 

 was taken by Gran. His varied adventures in Arctic seas, 

 among the Andes, in Turkey, Venezuela, and others of the less- 

 known regions of the earth interested us much. He was, I 

 remember, very anxious to experience the delights of station 

 life as pourtrayed by Debenham. 



The 20th of January was Gran's birthday. I was sorry 

 I couldn't return his kindly present (of Savoy sauce, etc.), 



