Part 12 (1/2)

It was from this pa.s.sably contented frame of mind that they were rudely awakened. Now they were obliged to face the fact that unless a twenty-mile plain of ice broke up within six weeks, they must bid a long farewell to their beloved s.h.i.+p and return to their homes as castaways. So with the arrival of the relief s.h.i.+ps there fell the first and last cloud of gloom which was ever allowed on board the _Discovery_. And as day followed day with no improvement in the ice conditions, the gloom deepened until anyone might easily have imagined that an Antarctic expedition was a most dismal affair.

On January 10 Scott wrote: 'Reached the s.h.i.+p this morning, and this afternoon a.s.sembled all hands on the mess-deck, where I told them exactly how matters stood. There was a stony silence. I have not heard a laugh in the s.h.i.+p since I returned.'

For some time a flagstaff had been erected on Tent Islet, ten miles to the north, and a system of signals had been arranged to notify any changes in the ice, but day after day the only signal was 'No change in the ice conditions.'

On the 15th to relieve the weariness of waiting for something that did not happen, Scott arranged that their collections and instruments should be transported to the relief s.h.i.+ps. Whatever the future held [Page 185]

in store he saw no reason why this should not be done, and to have anything at all to do during this trying time was a blessing; though he had by no means given up hope that the Discovery would be freed.

After a long spell at Cape Royds camp, Wilson returned to the s.h.i.+p on the night of the 21st with news that was all the more welcome at such an anxious time. Strolling over the beach one day to inspect what he thought was a prodigiously large seal he saw that it was quite different from any of the ordinary seals, and went back to the camp for his gun. Two of the _Morning_ officers were in camp with him, and all three of them proceeded to stalk this strange new beast. Their great fear was that they might only succeed in wounding it and that it might escape into the sea; so in spite of the temperature of the water they waded round it before they attacked. These tactics were successful, but their quarry when dispatched was far too heavy for them to move, or for Wilson to examine where it lay. On the following day, however, Colbeck came over in the _Morning_, and with the aid of boats and ropes the carca.s.s was landed on his decks. Then Wilson came to the conclusion that the animal was a sea-elephant commonly found at Macquarie Island, but never before seen within the Antarctic circle.

No change in the ice occurred until the 18th when some large pieces broke away, and by the 23rd Scott reckoned that the relief s.h.i.+ps were four or five miles nearer than they had been a fortnight before. But, [Page 186]

if the conditions were to be as they had been two years before, thirteen or fourteen miles of ice must go out in fifteen days, a far more rapid rate than it had been going during the previous fortnight. On the 28th, however, the first sign of real promise occurred, for the whole ice-sheet began to sway very slightly under the action of a long swell, its edge against the land rising and falling as much as 18 inches. 'We are all very restless, constantly das.h.i.+ng up the hill to the lookout station or wandering from place to place to observe the effects of the swell. But it is long since we enjoyed such a cheerful experience as we get on watching the loose pieces of ice jostling one another at Hut Point.'

Days of hope and anxiety followed, until the 14th of February arrived and brought the best of news with it. During the day nothing unusual happened, and it was not until Scott was at dinner that the excitement began. Then he heard a shout on deck, and a voice sang out down the hatchway, 'The s.h.i.+ps are coming, sir!'

'There was no more dinner, and in a moment we were racing for Hut Point, where a glorious sight met our view. The ice was breaking up right across the strait, and with a rapidity which we had not thought possible. No sooner was one great floe borne away. Than a dark streak cut its way into the solid sheet that remained and carved out another, to feed the broad stream of pack which was hurrying away to the north-west.

'I have never witnessed a more impressive sight; [Page 187]

the sun was low behind us, the surface of the ice-sheet in front was intensely white, and in contrast the distant sea and its forking leads looked almost black. The wind had fallen to a calm, and not a sound disturbed the stillness about us. Yet, in the midst of this peaceful silence, was an awful unseen agency rending that great ice-sheet as though it had been none but the thinnest paper.'

But fast as the ice was breaking, it was not fast enough for the relief s.h.i.+ps. Evidently there was a race between them to be the first to pa.s.s beyond the flagstaff round which the small company of spectators had cl.u.s.tered; although the little _Morning_, with her bluff bows and weak engines, could scarcely expect to hold her own against such a powerful compet.i.tor. By half-past ten those on sh.o.r.e could see the splintering of the ice as the s.h.i.+ps crashed into the floes, and the shouts of the men as with wild excitement they cheered each fresh success, could be distinctly heard.

Scarcely half a mile of ice remained and the contest became keener and keener. On came the _Terra Nova_, but in spite of all her mighty efforts the persistent little _Morning_, dodging right and left and seizing every chance opening, kept doggedly at her side, and still seemed to have a chance of winning the race.

Meanwhile the spectators, in their nondescript tattered garments, stood breathlessly watching this wonderful scene.

'For long intervals we remained almost spell-bound, and then a burst of frenzied cheering broke out. It [Page 188]

seemed to us almost too good to be real. By eleven o'clock all the thick ice had vanished, and there remained only the thin area of decayed floe which has lately made the approach to the s.h.i.+ps so dangerous; a few minutes later the _Terra Nova_ forged ahead and came cras.h.i.+ng into the open, to be followed almost immediately by her stout little companion, and soon both s.h.i.+ps were firmly anch.o.r.ed to all that remains of the _Discovery's_ prison, the wedge that still holds in our small bay....

'And so to-night the s.h.i.+ps of our small fleet are lying almost side by side; a rope from the _Terra Nova_ is actually secured to the _Discovery_. Who could have thought it possible? Certainly not we who have lived through the trying scenes of the last month.'

The small wedge of sea-ice that still remained in the bay was cracked in many places, and would doubtless have departed of its own accord in a few days; but Scott, naturally impatient to get away, decided to hasten matters by explosions. Consequently at 1 A.M. on February 16 there was an explosion which shook the whole bay, and rudely disturbed not only the ice but also the slumbers of those who were not members of the explosion party.

A few hours later another explosive charge was borne out, and when all was ready Scott pressed the firing key. 'There was a thunderous report which shook the s.h.i.+p throughout, and then all was calm again.

For a brief moment one might have imagined that nothing had happened, but then one saw that each [Page 189]

crack was slowly widening; presently there came the gurgle of water as it was sucked into our opening ice-bed, and in another minute there was a creaking aft and our stern rose with a jump as the keel was freed from the ice which had held it down. Then, as the great ma.s.s of ice on our port hand slowly glided out to sea, our good s.h.i.+p swung gently round and lay peacefully riding to her anchors with the blue water lapping against her sides.... Thus it was that the _Discovery_ came to her own again--the right to ride the high seas.'

On that day it would have been impossible to find a prouder or happier s.h.i.+p's company, but with all their feelings of elation they did not imagine that everything would run smoothly after such a long period of disuse, and they knew also that much hard work lay in front of them if they were to carry out the remainder of their program. If the _Discovery_ was free before the navigable season closed Scott had resolved to spend the remaining time in exploring the region to the westward of Cape North, but now after two years'

imprisonment coal was lacking for such a scheme. Directly the relief s.h.i.+ps had arrived he had asked them for as great a quant.i.ty as possible, but although the replies had at first been satisfactory, a long month's fight with wind and ice had sadly reduced the amount they could afford to give. The only thing to do was to get without any delay what could be spared, and on the afternoon of the 16th the _Terra Nova_ came alongside to hand over her supply. 'The afternoon,' Scott says, 'was beautifully calm and [Page 190]

bright, and the weather seemed to smile peacefully on the termination of our long and successful struggle with the ice.... We little guessed what lay before us.'

On the 15th a large wooden cross, bearing a simply carved inscription to the memory of poor Vince, was erected on the summit of Hut Point, and on the following day the small company landed together and stood bareheaded round this memorial, while Scott read some short prayers.

The water was oily calm and the sky threatening as they pulled back to the s.h.i.+p after paying this last tribute of homage to their s.h.i.+pmate, but weather of this kind had been too common to attract attention. On that night Captain MacKay was dining in the _Discovery_ for the first time, and a great effort had been made to show him how good an Antarctic feast could be. In the middle of dinner, however, word came down to Scott that the wind had sprung up, and although he expected nothing serious he went up to see what was happening.

Then he saw they were in for a stiff blow, and reluctantly had to inform his guests of the fact. One glance at the sky satisfied MacKay, who was over the rail like a shot, and in a few minutes the _Terra Nova_ was steaming for the open and lost in the drift.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE 'TERRA NOVA' LEAVING THE ANTARCTIC. _Photo by F. Debenham._]

Very soon both wind and sea had risen, but although Scott did not altogether like the look of things and determined to get up steam as soon as possible, he did not want to hurry those in the engine-room after such a long period of disuse. But early in the morning [Page 191]

of the 17th the situation became really dangerous, and the _Discovery_ began to jerk at her cables in the most alarming manner.