CHAPTER Ly 
REACHING THE GOAL 
June 29th.—But we were not to have it all our own 
way. A biting north wind set up, and at 6.30 a.m. we 
rose, made a fire, boiled water for cocoa, finished the 
potted pheasant, ate some raisins, and then went down 
to the marsh to try again for the skua’s nest. 
The way these birds ‘carried on’ passes all description. 
They tried to lead us away from the nest by every con- 
ceivable device. They pretended that their eggs were 
in two or three places other than where they really were. 
One very striking phase of the performance was the 
following: A bird would drop in the water as if shot. 
Then it would flap helplessly for a bit, and if this did not 
move you, it would raise itself on its tail, beating forwards 
slowly with its wings and mewing like a cat. ‘Mewing’ 
exactly describes the sound. 
Sailor was very funny about it. They had a most 
tempting way of struggling painfully along on the ground 
about two yards in front of his nose, so that he was quite 
sure that he could catch one if only allowed to try. But, 
rated soundly for breaking once, he did not dare to try it 
again. Only he went crouching along, treading as softly 
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