SOUTH 
I was looking at the men and stood beside me as easy and 
unconcerned as if he had stepped out of his car for a stroll 
in the Park. 
Soon half a dozen of us had the stores ashore. Our strength 
was nearly exhausted and it was heavy work carrying our goods 
over the rough pebbles and rocks to the foot of the cliff, but 
we dare not leave anything within reach of the tide. We had 
to wade knee-deep in the icy water in order to lift the gear 
from the boats. When the work was done we pulled the three 
boats a little higher on the beach and turned gratefully to 
enjoy the hot drink that the cook had prepared. Those of 
us who were comparatively fit had to wait until the weaker 
members of the party had been supplied ; but every man had 
his pannikin of hot milk in the end, and never did anything 
taste better. Seal steak and blubber followed, for the seals 
that had been careless enough to await our arrival on the 
beach had already given up their lives. There was no rest 
for the cook. The blubber-stove flared and sputtered fiercely 
as he cooked, not one meal, but many meals, which merged 
into a day-long bout of eating. We drank water and ate seal 
meat until every man had reached the limit of his capacity. 
The tents were pitched with oars for supports, and by 3 p.m. 
our camp was in order. The original framework of the tents 
had been cast adrift on one of the floes in order to save weight. 
Most of the men turned in early for a safe and glorious sleep, 
to be broken only by the call to take a turn on watch. The 
chief duty of the watchman was to keep the blubber-stove 
alight, and each man on duty appeared to fuxd it necessary to 
cook himself a meal during his watch, and a supper before he 
turned in again. 
Wild, Worsley, and Hurley accompanied me on an inspec- 
tion of our beach before getting into the tents. I almost 
wished then that I had postponed the examination until after 
sleep, but the sense of caution that the uncertainties of polar 
travel implant in one's mind had made me uneasy. The outlook 
we found to be anything but cheering. Obvious signs showed 
that at spring tides the little beach would be covered by the 
water right up to the foot of the cliffs. In a strong north- 
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