268 THROUGH THE HEART OF PATAGONIA 



position, far less to make any headway, and then, as was usual in 

 moments of need, the pumps ceased working alto(i;ether, and 

 Burbury shouted that no more tlian ten minutes' steam remained 

 in the boiler. There was nothino- for it but to turn her and to run 

 for the land. We found, however, small hope of anchorage, for 

 a bare fifty-foot cliff rose sheer out of the water and so continued 

 for a lono- distance ahead. Seeing" we were unlikely to dis- 

 cover a suitable position, we decided to cross the lake, but we had 

 not gone far when the propeller wheezed into silence. Strong 

 squalls caught us and made the launch roll and heave. Cattle got 

 into the canvas boat with the idea of trying to tow her, and 

 I forward, [)ut out the long oar, which we generally used as one 

 of the bulwarks — and we both endeavoured to keep her from 

 turning broadside on to the waves, in which case she would have 

 been swamped. 



Cattle shortly gave up his attempt to tow her ; in the sea then 

 running such an effort was hopeless. The wind increased. Cattle 

 came aboard, not without difficulty, and tried rowing with a short 

 oar. Meantime Burbury was baling water into the boiler with a 

 cooking-pot. The launch was rolling in a manner which made 

 rowing a difficult matter. Presently the oar I was using broke off 

 short and the launch was drifting ominously near to a reef. It was 

 a race as to whether we should get up steam before w^e were cast 

 upon it. We watched the index of the register slowly beginning 

 to quiver, and when it marked 30 lb. we were not much more 

 than a score or so of yards from the rocks. This was, how- 

 ever, enough to enable us to get way on and forge slowly out of 

 dano-er. 



Our steam did not last much longer than to allow us to find 

 shelter under the lee of a line of low rocks, which thrust themselves 

 out and served as a little breakwater in the lake. We remained there 

 while Burbury again filled the boiler, and, having got up steam, we 

 made the mouth of a deep inlet which afforded us good harbourage. 

 Here we landed, and found ourselves upon a peninsula shaped 

 like a spoon, the handle that connected it with the land being- 

 very narrow. At its upper end it joined the moraine of the great 

 glacier which I had called Giant's Cdacier. 



