THE HEART OF THE ANTARCTIC 



moisture in our sleeping-bags, from our breath and 

 Burberrys, made us very uncomfortable when the bags 

 had thawed out with the warmth of our bodies. Every- 

 thing we touched was appallingly cold, and we got no 

 sleep at all. The next morning (August 16) the weather 

 was threatening, and there were indications of the 

 approach of a blizzard, and I therefore decided to march 

 back to Hut Point, for there was no good purpose to be 

 served by taking unnecessary risks at that stage of the 

 expedition. We had some warm food, of which we 

 stood sorely in need after the severe night, and then 

 started at 8 a.m. to return to Hut Point. By hard 

 marching, which had the additional advantage of 

 warming us up, we reached the old hut again at three 

 o'clock that afternoon, and we were highly delighted to 

 get into its shelter. The sun had not yet returned, and 

 though there was a strong light in the sky during the day, 

 the Barrier was not friendly under winter conditions. 



We reached the hut none too soon, for a blizzard 

 sprang up, and for some days we had to remain in shelter. 

 We utilised the time by clearing up the portion of the 

 hut that we proposed to use, even sweeping it with an 

 old broom we found, and building a shelter of the 

 packing-cases, piling them right up to the roof round a 

 space about twenty feet by ten; and thus we made 

 comparatively cosy quarters. We rigged a table for the 

 cooking-gear, and put everything neatly in order. My 

 two companions were, at this time, having their first 

 experience of polar life under marching conditions as 

 far as equipment was concerned, and they were gaining 

 knowledge that proved very useful to them on the later 

 journeys. 



On the morning of August 22, the day on which 

 the sun once more appeared above the horizon, we 

 started back for the winter quarters, leaving Hut Point 



228 



