From this time on we met with no difficulty, and rapidly drew near to our destination in regular daily marches of twenty geographical miles.  After men and dogs had received their daily ration on the evening of the 15th, our sledge cases were practically empty; but, according to our last position, we should not have more than twenty geographical miles more to Framheim.

Saturday, December 16. —­ We broke camp at the usual time, in overcast but perfectly clear weather, and began what was to be our last day’s march on this trip.  A dark water-sky hung over the Barrier on the west and north-west, showing that there was open sea off the mouth of the Bay of Whales.  We went on till 10.30, our course being true west, when we made out far to the north-west an ice-cape that was taken to be the extreme point on the western side of the bay.  Immediately after we were on the edge of the Barrier, the direction of which was here south-west and north-east.  We altered our course and followed the edge at a proper distance until we saw a familiar iceberg that had broken off to the north of Framheim, but had been stopped by the sea-ice from drifting out.  With this excellent mark in view the rest of the way was plain sailing.  The sledge-meter showed 19.5 geographical miles, when in the afternoon we came in sight of our winter home.  Quiet and peaceful it lay there, if possible more deeply covered in snow than when we had left it.  At first we could see no sign of life, but soon the glasses discovered a lonely wanderer on his way from the house to the “meteorological institute.”  So Lindstrom was still alive and performing his duties.

When we left, our friend had expressed his satisfaction at “getting us out of the way”; but I have a suspicion that he was quite as pleased to see us back again.  I am not quite certain, though, that he did see us for the moment, as he was about as snow-blind as a man can be.  Lindstrom was the last person we should have suspected of that malady.  On our asking him how it came about, he seemed at first unwilling to give any explanation; but by degrees it came out that the misfortune had happened a couple of days before, when he had gone out after seals.  His team, composed of nothing but puppies, had run away and pulled up at a big hummock out by the western cape, ten miles from the station.  But Lindstrom, who is a determined man, would not give up before he had caught the runaways; and this was too much for his eyes, as he had no goggles with him.  “When I got home I couldn’t see what the time was,” he said; “but it must have been somewhere about six in the morning.”  When we had made him put on plenty of red eye-ointment and supplied him with a proper pair of goggles, he was soon cured.