BACK AT THE HUT 



one days out, and our food was finished, though we had 

 been able to keep on full rations until the last day. We 

 had been able to march only on fourteen and a half days, 

 but we had made some good journeys on the way back, 

 having covered as much as twenty-five miles in a day. 



We found our little friends, the puppies, safe and 

 sound in the hut, and, their delight at seeing us again 

 was simply huge. Directly they heard us approaching 

 they started to make every effort in their power to 

 attract attention, and the moment the door was opened 

 they rushed out and fairly threw themselves upon us. 

 They twined their fat little bodies round our boots 

 and yelped in an ecstasy of welcome. Poor little dogs, 

 they had, no doubt, been lonely and frightened during 

 the three weeks they had spent in the hut, though 

 physically they seemed to have been comfortable enough. 

 They had eaten all the meat left for them, but they still 

 had biscuits, and they had put on flesh. Their coats were 

 quite black owing to their having lain amongst the frag- 

 ments of coal on the floor. 



The next day we started for Cape Royds, and had 

 the good fortune to meet the motor-car, driven by 

 Day, at a point about a mile and a half south of Cape 

 Barne. The sledges were soon hitched on behind, and 

 we drove back triumphantly to the winter quarters. 

 It was October 13 and we had travelled 320 statute 

 miles since we left the hut twenty- two days before. 

 We arrived hungry and rather tired, and were able to 

 appreciate at their full value the warmth and comfort 

 of our little hut. The adventurous puppies were outside 

 doing their best to convince their friends and relatives 

 that they were not three strangers trying to force their 

 way into the community. 



During our absence the Northern Party, consisting 



16 241 



