under which -- far below -- our tent stood. Surrounded on all sides by
huge crevasses and gaping chasms, it could not be said that the site
of our camp looked very inviting. The wildness of the landscape seen
from this point is not to be described; chasm after chasm, crevasse
after crevasse, with great blocks of ice scattered promiscuously about,
gave one the impression that here Nature was too powerful for us. Here
no progress was to be thought of.

It was not without a certain satisfaction that we stood there and
contemplated the scene. The little dark speck down there -- our
tent -- in the midst of this chaos, gave us a feeling of strength
and power. We knew in our hearts that the ground would have to be
ugly indeed if we were not to manoeuvre our way across it and find a
place for that little home of ours. Crash upon crash, roar upon roar,
met our ears. Now it was a shot from Mount Nansen, now from one of the
others; we could see the clouds of snow rise high into the air. It was
evident that these mountains were throwing off their winter mantles
and putting on a more spring-like garb.

We came at a tearing pace down to the tent, where our companions had
everything in most perfect order. The dogs lay snoring in the heat
of the sun, and hardly condescended to move when we came scudding
in among them. Inside the tent a regular tropical heat prevailed;
the sun was shining directly on to the red cloth and warming it. The
Primus hummed and hissed, and the pemmican-pot bubbled and spurted. We
desired nothing better in the world than to get in, fling ourselves
down, eat, and drink. The news we brought was no trifling matter --
the plateau to-morrow. It sounded almost too good to be true; we
had reckoned that it would take us ten days to get up, and now we
should do it in four. In this way we saved a great deal of dog food,