SOUTH 
the thin beginnings of crevasses. Soon they were increasing 
in size and showing fractures, indicating that we were travelling 
on a glacier. As the daylight brightened the fog dissipated ; 
the lake could be seen more clearly, but still we could not 
discover its east shore. A little later the fog lifted completely, 
and then we saw that our lake stretched to the horizon, and 
realized suddenly that we were looking down upon the open 
sea on the east coast of the island. The slight pulsation at the 
shore showed that the sea was not even frozen ; it was the bad 
light that had deceived us. Evidently we were at the top of 
Possession Bay, and the island at that point could not be more 
than five miles across from the head of King Haakon Bay. 
Our rough chart was inaccurate. There was nothing for it 
but to start up the glacier again. That was about seven o'clock 
in the morning, and by nine o'clock we had more than recovered 
our lost ground. We regained the ridge and then struck south- 
east, for the chart showed that two more bays indented the 
coast before Stromness, It was comforting to reaHze that we 
would have the eastern water in sight during oux journey, 
although we could see there was no way around the shore- 
line owing to steep clifis and glaciers. Men lived in houses lit 
by electric light on the east coast. News of the outside world 
waited us there, and, above all, the east coast meant for us 
the means of rescuing the twenty-two men we had left on 
Elephant Island. 
196 
