1912] MET BY THE SHIP 289 
She steamed along past the berg and out ak^ig the floe. 
We pulled back hard, crossing crevasses carelessl)', but not 
falling in much, and iinally could make out tJiat sJio 
had a flag on the gatt', apparently recognising us. We 
kept along the edge of tlie gkicier till we could lind a 
place to get down. Here was a drop of 30 feet, almost 
vertkal, with a big tide crack and a tide pool at the 
bottom. Gran went down first, and then 1 got down 
half-way. Unluckily, as we were lowering the sk'clge 
Forde was pulled over by his harness and fell right on lo 
Gran, who was sepiashed into the snow while the sledge 
came down on top of us. It nearly broke in the middle ; 
however, we lugged it over to the ice aud set ott" hot-foot 
over the two miles of ice. The ship now ancJtored near 
the floe and four men came to meet us. The)' Jmrnessed 
up and tokl us the news. We lieard tliat the Southern 
Party were going very well, that there was no sign of 
Amundsen, and that there had been no accidents of 
importance.' Also tliat they had not been alfle to com- 
municate with Cape Evans until a week before, and 
had been unloading stores every available moment before 
they came over to search lor us. And then the world's 
news at first liearing made us feel safer in the Antarctic. 
Tlie disruption of China, the Franco-German-h!nglis]i 
trouble in Morocco, the Italians and Turks in Tripoli, and 
the great strikes in England. We had missed an eventful 
year during our S{)journ in the peacefirl regions of the 
South. 
It was no easy business reaching the ship. The sea 
ice was rapidly breaking up, and moving oil to the 
VOL. II. 
