By nine in the morning we began to expect the return of our comrades; according to our calculation they should then have covered the distance —­ twenty-five miles.  It was not till ten o’clock that Hanssen made out the first black dot on the horizon, and not long after the second and third appeared.  We both gave a sigh of relief as they came on; almost simultaneously the three arrived at the tent.  We told them the result of our observations up to that time; it looked as if our camp was in about 89deg. 54’ 30’’ S., and that with our encircling we had therefore included the actual Pole.  With this result we might very well have been content, but as the weather was so good and gave the impression that it would continue so, and our store of provisions proved on examination to be very ample, we decided to go on for the remaining ten kilometres (five and a half geographical miles), and get our position determined as near to the Pole as possible.  Meanwhile the three wanderers turned in —­ not so much because they were tired, as because it was the right thing to do —­ and Hanssen and I continued the series of observations.

In the afternoon we again went very carefully through our provision supply before discussing the future.  The result was that we had food enough for ourselves and the dogs for eighteen days.  The surviving sixteen dogs were divided into two teams of eight each, and the contents of Bjaaland’s sledge were shared between Hanssen’s and Wisting’s.  The abandoned sledge was set upright in the snow, and proved to be a splendid mark.  The sledge-meter was screwed to the sledge, and we left it there; our other two were quite sufficient for the return journey; they had all shown themselves very accurate.  A couple of empty provision cases were also left behind.  I wrote in pencil on a piece of case the information that our tent —­ “Polheim” —­ would be found five and a half geographical miles north-west quarter west by compass from the sledge.  Having put all these things in order the same day, we turned in, very well satisfied.

Early next morning, December 16, we were on our feet again.  Bjaaland, who had now left the company of the drivers and been received with jubilation into that of the forerunners, was immediately entrusted with the honourable task of leading the expedition forward to the Pole itself.  I assigned this duty, which we all regarded as a distinction, to him as a mark of gratitude to the gallant Telemarkers for their pre-eminent work in the advancement of ski spot.  The leader that day had to keep as straight as a line, and if possible to follow the direction of our meridian.  A little way after Bjaaland came Hassel, then Hanssen, then Wisting, and I followed a good way behind.  I could thus check the direction of the march very accurately, and see that no great deviation was made.  Bjaaland on this occasion showed himself a matchless forerunner; he went perfectly straight the whole time.  Not once did he incline to one side or the other, and when we arrived at the end of the distance, we could still clearly see the sledge we had set up and take its bearing.  This showed it to be absolutely in the right direction.