None of us had seen that cave or could say if it was large or small, wet or dry; but as we drifted on our floe and later, when navigating the treacherous leads and making our uneasy night camps, that cave seemed to my fancy to be a palace which in contrast would dim the splendours of Versailles.
The swell increased that night and the movement of the ice became more pronounced.

Occasionally a neighbouring floe would hammer against the ice on which we were camped, and the lesson of these blows was plain to read.

We must get solid ground under our feet quickly.

When the vibration ceased after a heavy surge, my thoughts flew round to the problem ahead.

If the party had not numbered more than six men a solution would not have been so hard to find; but obviously the transportation of the whole party to a place of safety, with the limited means at our disposal, was going to be a matter of extreme difficulty.