WESTWARD WITH THE SHIP. 53 



our usual designation for it was ' the Casting Hole,' for it really 

 seemed as if some time or other the whole of the pack would have 

 to be pressed through it. There lay we and the ice together 

 awaiting our turns we, at any rate, waiting to go through the 

 purgatory of the casting ladle before we could reach our goal. 



All hands now set to work to look over and repair their 

 equipment, first and foremost the footgear, so that every one 

 might be in readiness by the time we began on the autumn 

 sledging. The sledges also required looking to, and over-- 

 runners had to be made for all the sledges that would then be 

 in use. 



Where we might eventually winter it was still impossible to 

 say, but it was just as well to be prepared. If the worst came 

 to the worst, we might perhaps remain where we were for part of 

 the winter ; but wherever we were we should have to shoot game 

 for food, and it was therefore best to have our equipment in order. 



Fosheim's finger was not yet quite well, and consequently he 

 was not fit for much, though he could just manage a little work 

 at the planing-bench. He therefore helped us with the over- 

 runners for the sledges. 



Baumann and the mate had expressed a wish to go a long 

 shooting excursion on land, in the direction of Arthur Strait. It 

 did not follow, of course, that because we had failed to see anything 

 of game during our short trip ashore, there might not be any 

 farther inland, but all the same I had scruples about letting them 

 go. For one thing, I did not feel at all sure about the ice. We 

 had, however, only had a slack breeze from the north the whole 

 time of our sojourn up here, with the exception of a short period 

 when there was high wind from the south-east which drove us 

 north; but even should a land wind begin to blow and the ice 

 recede, we must somehow or other be able to get hold of them 

 again. So, after the most careful consideration, I set my 

 scruples aside, and Tuesday, September 11, was fixed as the day 

 for their departure. 



The engineers had by this cleaned out the boiler, laid up the 

 engines for the winter, and finished their work in the engine- 

 room. They were now doing duty on deck. We hauled up the 



