SPRING 305 



four miles from Cape Evans. The moon still showed, and 

 on he walked and then at last he saw a flame. 



Atkinson's continued absence was not noticed at the 

 hut until dinner was nearly over at 7.15; that is, until he 

 had been absent about two hours. The wind at Cape 

 Evans had dropped though it was thick all round, and no 

 great anxiety was felt : some went out and shouted, others 

 went north with a lantern, and Day arranged to light a 

 paraffin flare on Wind Vane Hill. Atkinson never ex- 

 perienced this lull, and having seen the way blizzards will 

 sweep down the Strait though the coastline is compara- 

 tively clear and calm, I can understand how he was in the 

 thick of it all the time. I feel convinced that most of these 

 blizzards are local affairs. The party which had gone north 

 returned at 9.30 without news, and Scott became seriously 

 alarmed. Between 9.30 and 10 six search parties started 

 out. But time was passing and Atkinson had been away 

 more than six hours. 



The light which Atkinson had seen was a flare of tow 

 soaked in petrol lit by Day at Cape Evans. He corrected 

 his course and before long was under the rock upon which 

 Day could be seen working like some lanky devil in one 

 of Dante's hells. Atkinson shouted again and again but 

 could not attract his attention, and finally walked almost 

 into the hut before he was found by two men searching 

 the Cape. "It was all my own damned fault," he said, 

 "but Scott never slanged me at all." I really think we 

 should all have been as merciful ! Wouldn't you} 



And that was that : but he had a beastly hand. 



Theoretically the sun returned to us on August 23. 

 Practically there was nothing to be seen except blinding 

 drift. But we saw his upper limb two days later. In Scott's 

 words the daylight came "rushing" at us. Two spring 

 journeys were contemplated ; and with preparations for the 

 Polar Journey, and the ordinary routine work of the sta- 

 tion, everybody had as much on his hands as he could get 

 through. 



Lieutenant Evans, Gran and Forde volunteered to go 

 out to Corner Camp and dig out this depot as well as that 



x 



