the wind gradually increased to the seventies until at noon it blew with
the strength of a hurricane. Chief Officer Blair, stationed with a few
men under the fo'c'sle-head, kept an anxious eye on the anchor chain and
windlass.

About lunch time the anchor was found to be dragging and we commenced to
drift before the hurricane. All view of the land and lurking dangers in
the form of reefs and islets were cut off by driving snow.

The wind twanged the rigging to a burring drone that rose to a shriek in
the shuddering gusts. The crests of the waves were cut off and sprayed
in fine spindrift. With full steam on we felt our way out, we hoped to
the open sea; meanwhile the chain cable and damaged anchor were slowly
being hauled in. The ship's chances looked very small indeed, but, owing
to the good seamanship of Captain Davis and a certain amount of luck,
disaster was averted. Soon we were in a bounding sea. Each time we were
lifted on a huge roller the motor-launch, swinging in the davits, would
rise and then descend with a crash on the water, to be violently bumped
against the bulwarks. Everything possible was done to save the launch,
but our efforts proved fruitless. As it was being converted into a
battering ram against the ship itself it had to be cut away, and was
soon swept astern and we saw no more of it.

Most unexpectedly there came a lull in the wind, so that it was almost
calm, though the ship still laboured in the seas. A clearance in the
atmosphere was also noticeable for Cape Hunter became discernible to the
west, towards which we were rapidly drifting. This sight of the coast
was a great satisfaction to us, for we then knew our approximate
position ** and the direction of the wind, which had veered
considerably.

** It should be borne in mind that compasses are unreliable in the
vicinity of the magnetic pole.

The lull lasted scarcely five minutes when the wind came back from a
somewhat different quarter, north of east, as violent as ever. The
"eye" of the storm had passed over us, and the gale continued steady for
several days. That night the struggle with the elements was kept up by
officers and crew, assisted by members of the shore party who took the
lee-wheel or stood by in case of emergency.

"December 25. Christmas Day on the high seas off Adelie Land, everything
wet and fairly miserable; incipient mal de mer, wind 55-60; snowing!
When Davis came down to breakfast and wished us a Merry Chr