well to the
southward of the broken coastal slopes. On reaching the spot where Mertz
had signalled and seeing no sign of any irregularity, I jumped on to
the sledge, got out the book of tables and commenced to figure out the
latitude observation taken on that day. Glancing at the ground a moment
after, I noticed the faint indication of a crevasse. It was but one of
many hundred similar ones we had crossed and had no specially dangerous
appearance, but still I turned quickly round, called out a warning word
to Ninnis and then dismissed it from my thoughts.

Ninnis, who was walking along by the side of his sledge, close behind
my own, heard the warning, for in my backward glance I noticed that he
immediately swung the leading dogs so as to cross the crevasse squarely
instead of diagonally as I had done. I then went on with my work.

There was no sound from behind except a faint, plaintive whine from one
of the dogs which I imagined was in reply to a touch from Ninnis's whip.
I remember addressing myself to George, the laziest dog in my own team,
saying, "You will be getting a little of that, too, George, if you are
not careful."

When I next looked back, it was in response to the anxious gaze of Mertz
who had turned round and halted in his tracks. Behind me, nothing met
the eye but my own sledge tracks running back in the distance. Where
were Ninnis and his sledge?

I hastened back along the trail thinking that a rise in the ground
obscured the view. There was no such good fortune, however, for I came
to a gaping hole in the surface about eleven feet wide. The lid of a
crevasse had broken in; two sledge tracks led up to it on the far side
but only one continued on the other side.

Frantically waving to Mertz to bring up my sledge, upon which there was
some alpine rope, I leaned over and shouted into the dark depths below.
No sound came back but the moaning of a dog, caught on a shelf just
visible one hundred and fifty feet below. The poor creature appeared
to have broken its back, for it was attempting to sit up with the front
part of its body while the hinder portion lay limp. Another dog lay
motionless by its side. Close by was what appeared in the gloom to be
the remains of the tent and a canvas tank containing food for three men
for a fortnight.

We broke back the edge of the neve lid and took turns leaning over
secured by a rope, calling into the darkness in the hope that our
companion might be still alive. Fo