THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



eloquent of their feelings. The galley was washed out 

 and the fire extinguished. This happened more than once, 

 but so pluckily did the members of the cooking-depart- 

 ment work, that never during the whole of this very 

 uncomfortable time had we been without a warm meal. 

 This means far more than one is apt to think, for the 

 galley was only five feet square, and thirty-nine persons 

 blessed with extremely hearty appetites had to be pro- 

 vided for. 



In a large measure, this unbroken routine of hot meals, 

 the three oases of what I might call pleasure in the daily 

 desert of discomfort, was due to Roberts, who besides 

 being assistant zoologist to the expedition, was going 

 to act as cook. Seeing that the ship's stafT would have 

 more work to do than they could well carry out in pro- 

 viding for the thirty-nine people on board, he volunteered 

 the first day out to assist the ship's cook, and the 

 result was that we were always provided with fresh 

 bread and hot cocoa and tea. Montague, the ship's 

 cook, was ever at work, though the galley was in 

 a constant state of flood. The stewards, Handcock and 

 Ansell, worked wonders in getting the food across the 

 danger zone between the galley and the wardroom. 

 Ansell, with ten plates in one hand, overlapping one 

 another up his arm, would arrive safely at his destination, 

 though his boots were often filled with water on the way 

 aft. Of course there were times when he was not so 

 successful, and he would emerge from a sea with his 

 clothes, hair, and face plentifully sprinkled with food. 

 As a rule the accidents occurred in the wardroom, after 

 the arrival of the food. The tablecloth, after two or 

 three days, assumed an ecru colour, owing to the constant 

 upsetting of tea and coffee. Some of the staff had per- 

 force to take their meals standing, from lack of seating 

 accommodation, and the balancing of a plate of soup 



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