ell when once in tune, but
the cylinders, especially the two after ones, tended to get too hot,
whilst the fan or wind playing on the carburetter tended to make it
too cold. The trouble was to get a balance between the two, and this
is effected by starting up the engines, then stopping and covering
them and allowing the heat to spread by conductivity--of course,
a rather clumsy device. We camped ahead of the motors as they camped
for lunch. Directly after, Lashly brought his machine along on low
gear and without difficulty ran it on to Cape Armitage. Meanwhile
Day was having trouble with some bad surface; we had offered help and
been refused, and with Evans alone his difficulties grew, whilst the
wind sprang up and the snow started to drift. We had walked into the
hut and found Meares, but now we all came out again. I sent for Lashly
and Hooper and went back to help Day along. We had exasperating delays
and false starts for an hour and then suddenly the machine tuned up,
and off she went faster than one could walk, reaching Cape Armitage
without further hitch. It was blizzing by this time; the snow flew
by. We all went back to the hut; Meares and Demetri have been busy,
the hut is tidy and comfortable and a splendid brick fireplace had
just been built with a brand new stove-pipe leading from it directly
upward through the roof. This is really a most creditable bit of
work. Instead of the ramshackle temporary structures of last season
we have now a solid permanent fireplace which should last for many
a year. We spent a most comfortable night.

This morning we were away over the floe about 9 A.M. I was anxious to
see how the motors started up and agreeably surprised to find that
neither driver took more than 20 to 30 minutes to get his machine
going, in spite of the difficulties of working a blow lamp in a keen
cold wind.

Lashly got away very soon, made a short run of about 1/2 mile,
and then after a short halt to cool, a long non-stop for quite 3
miles. The Barrier, five geographical miles from Cape Armitage, now
looked very close, but Lashly had overdone matters a bit, run out of
lubricant and got his engine too hot. The next run yielded a little
over a mile, and he was forced to stop within a few hundred yards of
the snow slope leading to the Barrier and wait for more lubricant,
as well as for the heat balance in his engine to be restored.

This motor was going on second gear, and this gives a nice easy
walking sp