“I thought that I had only got an attack of nerves but Campbell asked me if I had heard any shouting, for he had certainly done so.  It must have been the seals calling to each other, but it certainly did sound most human.  We are getting so worked up that we should not be a bit surprised to see a settlement of Japanese or some other such people some day when we stroll round towards Blacksand Beach.  The Old Sport created some amusement this evening by opening a tin of Nestle’s milk at both ends instead of making the two holes at one end.  He informed us that he had got so used to using two whole tins of milk for cocoa for fourteen people at night that he always opened them that way.

“As a consequence we have to spend most of our spare time making bungs to keep the milk in the tin."[112]

Meanwhile, as was to be expected, the action of the, I suspect, abnormal summer sea temperature was showing its effect upon the sea-ice.  Sea-ice thaws from below when the temperature of the water rises.  The northern ice goes out first here, being next to the open water, but big thaw pools form at the same time wherever a current of water flows over shallows, as at the end of Cape Evans, Hut Point and Cape Armitage.

On January 17 the ice was breaking away between the point of Cape Evans and the ship, although a road still remained fast between the ship and the shore.  The ship began to get up steam, but the fast ice broke away quickly that night.  I believe they got steam in three hours, twelve hours being the time generally allowed:  only just in time, however, for she broke adrift as it was reported.  The next morning she made fast to the ice only 200 yards from the ice-foot of the Cape.

“For the present the position is extraordinarily comfortable.  With a southerly blow she would simply bind on to the ice, receiving great shelter from the end of the Cape.  With a northerly blow she might turn rather close to the shore, where the soundings run to three fathoms, but behind such a stretch of ice she could scarcely get a sea or swell without warning.  It looks a wonderfully comfortable little nook, but of course one can be certain of nothing in this place; one knows from experience how deceptive the appearance of security may be."[113]

The ship’s difficulties were largely due to the shortage of coal.  Again on the night of January 20-21 we had an anxious time.

“Fearing a little trouble I went out of the hut in the middle of the night and saw at once that she was having a bad time—­the ice was breaking with a northerly swell and the wind increasing, with the ship on dead lee shore; luckily the ice anchors had been put well in on the floe and some still held.  Pennell was getting up steam and his men struggling to replace the anchors.

“We got out the men and gave some help.  At 6 steam was up, and I was right glad to see the ship back out to windward, leaving us to recover anchors and hawsers."[114]