ession met quite firmly at
the bottom in smooth, blue, solid ice.

In a flash I called to mind the view of the Ice Fall from the glacier on
our outward journey with Captain Scott, I remembered the huge frozen
waves, and hoped with all my optimistic nature that this might be the end
of the great disturbance. I stood still and surveyed the wonderful valley
of ice, and then fell on my knees and prayed to God that a way out would
be shown me.

Then I sprang to my feet, and hurried on boldly. Clambering up the
opposite slope of ice, I found a smooth, round crest over which I ran
into a similar valley beyond. Frozen waves here followed in succession,
and hollow followed hollow, each less in magnitude than its forerunner.

Suddenly I saw before me the smooth, shining bed of the glacier itself,
and away to the north-west was the curious reddish rock under which the
Mid Glacier Depot had been placed. My feelings hardly bear setting down.
I was overcome with emotion, but my prayer was answered and we were
saved.

I had considerable difficulty in working back to the party amongst the
labyrinth of ice bridges, but I fortunately found a patch of hard snow
whereon my crampons had made their mark. From here I easily traced my
footmarks back, and was soon in company with my friends. They were truly
relieved at my news. On consulting my watch I found that I had been away
one hour. It took us actually three times as long to work our sledge out
into the smooth ice of the glacier, but this reached, we camped and made
some tea before marching on to the depot, which lay but a few miles from
us.

We ate the last of our biscuits at this camp and finished everything but
tea and sugar, then, new men, we struck our little camp, harnessed up and
swept down over the smooth ice with scarcely an effort needed to move the
sledge along. When we reached the depot we had another meal and slept
through the night and well on into the next day.

Consulting my old Antarctic diary I see that the last sentence written on
the 17th January says, "I had to keep my goggles off all day as it was a
matter of life or death with us, and snow blindness must be risked after
..." (a gap follows here until 29th January). The next day I had an awful
attack of snow blindness, but the way down the glacier was so easy that
it did not matter. I forgot whether Lashly or Crean led then, but I
marched alongside, keeping in touch with the trace by hitching the
lanyard of my