LAND 99 
was very funny to see everything lying about just as we 
had left it, in that last rush to get off in the lull of the bliz- 
zard. On Marston’s bunk was a sixpenny copy of the 
Story of Bessie Costrell, which some one had evidently 
read and left open. Perhaps what brought the old times 
back again more than anything else was the fact that as I 
came out of the larder the sleeve of my wind clothes caught 
the tap of the copper and turned it on. When I heard the 
drip of the water I turned instinctively and turned the tap 
off, almost expecting to hear Bobs’ raucous voice cursing 
me for my clumsiness. Perhaps what strikes one more 
forcibly than anything else is the fact that nothing has 
been disturbed. On the table was the remains of a batch 
of bread that Bobs had cooked for us and that was only 
partially consumed before the Nimrod called for us. Some 
of the rolls showed the impression of bites given to them 
in 1909. All round the bread were the sauces, pickles, 
pepper and salt of our usual standing lunch, and a half- 
opened tin of gingerbreads was a witness to the dryness 
of the climate for they were still crisp as the day they 
were opened. 
“In the cubicle near the larder were the loose tins that 
poor Armytage and myself had collected from all round 
the hut before we left. 
“On the shelves of my cubicle are still stacked the 
magazines and paper brought down by the relief ship. 
Nothing is changed at all except the company. It is almost 
dismal. I expect to see people come in through the door 
after a walk over the surrounding hills. 
“We had not much time to look round us; for Camp- 
bell was cooking in the tent, so we slung a few tins of jam, 
a plum-pudding, some tea, and gingerbreads into a sack, 
and returned to camp. By this time it was snowing heavily 
and continued to do so after dinner so that we turned in 
immediately (1.30 P.M.) and went off to sleep. One thing 
worth mentioning is that on several of the drifts are 
well-defined hoof marks, some of them looking so new 
that we could have sworn that they had been made this 
year. 
