Ci^apter (Cigi^t 



PROFESSOR DAVID'S NARRATIVE (.Continued) 



The old dragon under ground 



In straiter limits bounds 



Not half so far casts his usurped sway. 



And wroth to see his kingdom fail. 



Swinges the scaly horror of his folded tail. 



Milton. 



T T had, of course, become clear to us before this letter 

 was written, in view of our experience of the already 

 cracking sea ice near the true Granite Harbour, as well 

 as in view of our comparatively slow progress by relay, 

 that our retreat back to camp from the direction of the 

 Magnetic Pole would in all probabihty be entirely cut 

 otF through the breaking up of the sea ice. Under 

 these circumstances we determined to take the risk of 

 the Nimrod arriving safely on her return voyage at 

 Cape Royds, where she would receive the instructions 

 to search for us along the western coast, and also the risk 

 of her not being able to find our depot and ourselves at 

 the low sloping shore. We knew that there was a certain 

 amount of danger in adopting this course, but we 

 felt that we had got on so far with the work en- 

 trusted to us by our Commander, that we could not 

 honourably now turn back. Under these circumstances 

 we each wrote farewell letters to those who were nearest 

 and dearest, and the following morning, November 2, 

 we were up at 4.30 a.m. After putting all the letters 

 into one of our empty dried-milk tins, and fitting on 

 the air-tight lid, I walked with it to the island and climbed 



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