to change the records in his magnetic cave and
visit his instruments on the Hill. Twenty minutes later he would be back,
as often as not covered with drift and his wind helmet all iced up.
Meanwhile, the more hardy ones were washing: that is, they rubbed
themselves, all shivering, with snow, of a minus temperature, and
pretended they liked it. Perhaps they were right, but we told them it was
swank. I'm not sure that it wasn't! It should be explained that water
was seldom possible in a land where ice is more abundant than coal.

One great danger threatened all our meals in this hut, namely that of a
Cag. A Cag is an argument, sometimes well informed and always heated,
upon any subject under the sun, or temporarily in our case, the moon.
They ranged from the Pole to the Equator, from the Barrier to Portsmouth
Hard and Plymouth Hoe. They began on the smallest of excuses, they
continued through the widest field, they never ended; they were left in
mid air, perhaps to be caught up again and twisted and tortured months
after. What caused the cones on the Ramp; the formation of ice crystals;
the names and order of the public-houses if you left the Main Gate of
Portsmouth Dockyard and walked to the Unicorn Gate (if you ever reached
so far); the best kinds of crampons in the Antarctic, and the best place
in London for oysters; the ideal pony rug; would the wine steward at the
Ritz look surprised if you asked him for a pint of bitter? Though the
Times Atlas does not rise to public-houses nor Chambers's Encyclopaedia
sink to behaviour at our more expensive hotels, yet they settled more of
these disputes than anything else.

On the day we are discussing, though mutterings can still be heard from
Nelson's cubicle, the long table has been cleared and every one is busy
by 9.30. From now until supper at 7 work is done by all in some form or
other, except for a short luncheon interval. I do not mean for a minute
that we all sit down, as a man may do in an office at home, and solidly
grind away for upwards of nine hours or more. Not a bit of it. We have
much work out of doors, and exercise is a consideration of the utmost
importance. But when we go out, each individual quite naturally takes the
opportunity to carry out such work as concerns him, whether it deals with
ice or rocks, dogs or horses, meteorology or biology, tide-gauges or
balloons.

When blizzards allowed, the ponies were exercised by their respective
leaders between break