A hastily shouted warning brought the men tumbling out, but fortunately the loose ice which filled the bay damped the wave down so much that, though it flowed right under the hut, nothing was carried away.

It was a narrow escape, though, as had they been washed into the sea nothing could have saved them.
Although they themselves gradually became accustomed to the darkness and the dirt, some entries in their diaries show that occasionally they could realize the conditions under which they were living.
"The hut grows more grimy every day.

Everything is a sooty black.

We have arrived at the limit where further increments from the smoking stove, blubber-lamps, and cooking-gear are unnoticed.

It is at least comforting to feel that we can become no filthier.