ping of snow
blocks wrapped in black bunting.

Next day it was blowing a little harder and the sky was overcast, snow
falling all day. What bad light means can be gathered from the fact that
Laseron on crawling out of the tent in the morning raised an alarm that
our tent had been blown away in the night. It turned out that our tent
was hidden by a mound which he could not see, though only about ten
yards from it.

I had been given the option of relieving the supporting party of any of
their gear I coveted and I used it freely. The sledgemeter was the first
thing commandeered, ours, made by Correll, having developed some slight
complaint in its interior. Their cooker, being in good condition, was
also taken. We all cast longing eyes at the roomy wind-proof tent but
finally decided that it was too heavy--forty pounds as against our own
of twenty-six pounds, including tent and poles.

At 7 P.M. we said good-bye to our supporters, Hurley exposed the last
plate of his big reflex camera, which they carried back to the Hut, and
a few minutes later Webb, Hurley, and I were standing alone watching
three black specks disappearing in the drift; a stiff wind helping them
along in great style. We were left to our own resources now, for better
or for worse. "Weird" is how I described my feelings in the diary.

The same night it blew a hurricane and only dropped to sixty miles per
hour during the 23rd, compelling us to remain in camp. Not an ideal
birthday for Webb, but we made the most of it. I quote from my diary:
"Turned out and rolled bags at 3 P.M. for lunch, for which we opened a
wee tin of bacon ration brought for the occasion. Had some extra lumps
of sugar (collared from the eleven-mile cave) in our tea. After the wine
had been round (i.e. after a special second cup of tea), I gave Eric
a pair of stockings from Murphy, and then 'Hoyle' and I smoked a cigar
each which Webb produced. Dinner at 7 was also a special affair as we
had the remains of the bacon ration in the hoosh, with great effect.
Also an extra strong brew of cocoa boiled quite smooth. Burberrys on and
a stroll outside in the wind for a yard or two to get up a circulation;
then into bag where I am smoking a plebeian pipe which is very tame
after the glories of the day, especially as I suspect my tobacco of
being a bit damp."

Such was the first of the two "auspicious occasions" we had on the
journey.

After going carefully through the gear, we discarded a pi